January 2020 was the warmest January on record for the Earth

 Countercurrents | February 14, 2020

Last January was the hottest January on record over the world’s land and ocean surfaces, with average temperatures exceeding anything in the 141 years of data held by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The record temperatures in January follow an exceptionally warm 2019, which has been ranked as the second hottest year for the planet’s surface since reliable measurements started. The past five years and the past decade are the hottest in 150 years of record-keeping, an indication of the gathering pace of the climate crisis.

According to NOAA, the average global land and ocean surface temperature last month was 2.5F (or 1.14C) above the 20th-century average. This measurement marginally surpassed the previous January record, set in 2016.

The Philippines Are Choosing New Allies – Asia Is Watching

by Andre Vltchek

Countercurrents | February 14, 2020

Now what? President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is outraged. He wants an end to the U.S. military presence in his country. He wants to curb all cooperation with the U.S. armed forces. He hits hard, talks big. And his people seem to be behind him, no matter what – his popularity rating is high and rising, now around 87%, which is something unimaginable anywhere else in Southeast Asia, or in the world.

Under a colorful headline on February 7, 2020, ‘End that son of a b*tch’: Duterte confirms US-Philippines military collaboration agreement is toast’, RT reported:

“Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is “terminating” the Visiting Forces Agreement, which provides legal immunity to US military drills, in retaliation for the US canceling the visa of a political ally and fellow drug-warrior.

Canada: Reconciliation Is Dead: RCMP Invade Unist’ot’en Territory

by UnistotenCamp

Canada invades. Invades on behalf of industry. Invades during ceremony. Canada tears us from our land. Tears us from our families, from our homes. Takes our drums away. Takes our women away. Jails us for protecting the land, for being in ceremony, for honouring our ancestors.

Democrats Team Up With Trump to Maintain Disastrous Healthcare System

by Michael Pappas

On Tuesday, February 4, Donald Trump delivered his third State of the Union (SOTU) address. As expected, it was filled with contradictions, falsehoods, and distortions. Among other things, Trump spoke for close to ten minutes about health care in the U.S., claiming that he “will always protect Medicare.” However, neither Trump and the Republicans, nor the Democrats can be trusted when it comes to health care.

US Regime Change in Venezuela: The Documented Evidence

by Tony Cartalucci

First published on January 25, 2019

The Latin American nation of Venezuela faces dangerous destabilization with the United States and its allies having recognized opposition figure Juan Guaido as “president” and declaring actual Venezuelan president – Nicolas Maduro – no longer recognized.

In response, President Maduro has demanded US diplomatic personnel to leave the country.

Protests and counter-protests have reportedly taken to the streets as both sides attempt to seize the psychological and political initiative.

US Sanctions Venezuela Again to Prove Socialism Doesn’t Work

Real News Network | February 10, 2020

Shortly after Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaidó got a standing ovation at Trump’s State of the Union address, United States officials promised more sanctions on Venezuela. Why?

Indian economy will be hit hard by rising heat: Global report

by Pushp Bajaj

Extreme heat will significantly lower the outdoor working capacity of India’s labour workforce in the next three decades, putting at risk, the country’s economic growth, a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute has warned.

In India, nearly 75 per cent of the labour force (some 380 million people) is exposed to heat- related stress. By 2030, the average loss in daylight working hours could put between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at risk annually, the report said.

The McKinsey report analyses the physical risks and socio-economic impacts of climate change across the world in the next three decades under a business-as-usual scenario.

Three things historical literature can teach us about the climate crisis

by David Higgins, Tess Somervell

Down To Earth | February 11, 2020

New novels about climate change — climate fiction, or cli-fi — are being published all the time. The nature of the climate crisis is a difficult thing to get across, and so imagining the future — a drowned New York City, say; or a world in which water is a precious commodity — can help us understand what’s at stake.

This is unsurprising in these times of crisis: Fiction allows us to imagine possible futures, good and bad. When faced with such an urgent problem, it might seem like a waste of time to read earlier texts. But don’t be so sure. The climate emergency may be unprecedented, but there are a few key ways in which past literature offers a valuable perspective on the present crisis.

Climate emergency: A question of semantics?

by Kapil Subramanian

Down To Earth | February 10, 2020

The Financial Times, London published a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from Claire Perry O’Neill, the sacked president of the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP 26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The letter reveals that Down To Earth (DTE)’s “single blog post” was the only material evidence in the dossier used to justify her sacking. More importantly, the letter also contains the UK’s seven-point CoP 26 Glasgow Action Plan, about which DTE produced an 1,866 word-analysis (excluding block-quoted texts) of which, 1,503 words directly addressed each point. Sorry editors!