Making capitalism history

by Faramarz Farbod

Change Links | July 4, 2019

To perish or to radically transform the way we relate to one another and to nature, that is the question humanity has never had to face until now.

The evidence backing the above assertion is strong and accumulating. Nevertheless, there remains a stubborn problem of awareness as many who understand the perils facing humanity fail to connect them to its source: the capitalist organization of planetary life. Failure to address this problem will only guarantee that the predictable future characterized by immense suffering associated with a generalized social collapse and ecological ruination on a planetary scale will come to pass.

Himalayan glaciers retreating fast: Cold War spy satellites helped find the fact

by Farooque Chowdhury

Countercurrents | July 05, 2019

Glacier melt in the Himalayas today is twice as fast as it was before 2000. With conditions remaining unchanged, the glaciers are likely to lose two-thirds of their total ice.

Images, once secret, from Cold War-period US spy satellites helped find out the fact.

Hexagon, a US spy program in the 1970s-’80s, launched 20 satellites to photograph secretly our world including the Himalayas. The US Geological Survey digitized the images after declassification in 2011 for scientists.

‘We’re worse than Venezuela!’: Hondurans in US-backed regime speak out Share

The Grayzone | July 08, 2019

Average Hondurans in the capital Tegucigalpa’s central park tell Max Blumenthal their humanitarian crisis is much worse than Venezuela’s. The US-backed right-wing coup regime of Juan Orlando Hernández kills dissidents and shoots protesters, as it tries to privatize healthcare and education.

Video by Ben Norton

Venezuela Urges UNHCR to Correct 70 Mistakes in its Report

by Narkis Blanco

RESUMEN | July 05, 2019

The report submitted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet, has 70 mistakes in it demonstrating a lack of objectivity and impartiality, said the Venezuelan Government in a statement on Thursday.

The OHCHR submitted to the Venezuelan Government in English an “advance, unedited version” of Bachelet’s report last June 28 for the Government to raise general considerations.

Upon review, the Venezuelan Government found several mistakes such as the fact that many of the sources were not correct since they were not official and that the report omits the result of the visits carried out by Bachelet in the country. Eighty two percent of the interviews presented in the report were made to people located outside Venezuelan territory.

FACE OF AN ECONOMY: U.S. citizens continue to worry about their finances and student debt is particularly stressful

A Journal of People report

Students at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2016 pull a mock “ball & chain” representing the $1.4 trillion outstanding student debt. (Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) [THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS USED HERE NOT FOR ANY COMMERCIAL, PROFIT-MAKING PURPUSE, BUT ONLY AS PART OF THE REPORT, WHICH IS FOR EDUCATIONAL, NON-PROFIT, NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSE]

The U.S. citizens continue to worry about their finances, and student debt is particularly stressful, finds a new survey by Bank of America.

This is a face of the economy.

The respondents in the survey were particularly concerned about not having enough savings, the possibility of a looming recession, and their ability to cope with debt.

Market’s morality: Teen Vogue promotes “real work” – sex work – for young girls

A Journal of People commentary

Teen Vogue has recently been blasted for “promoting sex work” as “real work” to young girls/

Teen Vogue published in April an article that advertised sex work as “real work” to its audience, which is made up mostly of girls between the ages of 12 and 18.

The magazine has to face backlash for “promoting prostitution” after publishing the article.

The article – “Why Sex Work Is Real Work” – got attention and criticism after the magazine decided to promote it on Twitter in mid-June.

Scientists have eliminated HIV in mice for the first time. Is a cure for humans coming?

A Journal of People report

Scientists have successfully eliminated HIV from the DNA of infected mice for the first time, bringing them one-step closer to curing the virus in humans. A research report says this advancement of science.

The research report – “Sequential LASER ART and CRISPR Treatments Eliminate HIV-1 in a Subset of Infected Humanized Mice” – has been published in Nature Communications (volume 10, Article number: 2753 (2019)) on July 2, 2019.

The booming wellness market and suggestions on what to eat, but not the basic question

A Journal of People commentary

Articles write:

“Signs you may not be eating enough.”

“You want to feel better in your body, or desire to live in better health. There is a puzzle: Feel good in your skin. Micromanaging our food intake can feel soothing, especially if cutting calories or restricting food groups initially sparks weight loss.

“We are constantly encouraged to “resist” favorite foods.”

“There are a few tools that can keep in you healthy.”