Surviving Capitalism (Not) : 14 things we learned – and the Abbott government didn’t

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, March 15, 2014

14 things we learned – and the Abbott government didn’t

Click here to access article by Giles Parkinson from RenewEconomy (Australia). (Note: the term "furphy" in the article is Australian slang for "rumor".)

Climate change is real, and it [is] man-made, Australia’s policies are a joke, renewable energy investment is leaving Australia, wind and solar do not add costs to the grid, they don’t need new back-up, and they have been reducing prices. And the world is changing while Australia stands still.

I doubt that there is any place on earth where people are experiencing worse extreme weather events as they are in Australia. I am reminded of this every year when I watch tennis players competing in temperatures over 100 degrees at the Australian Open in January. Tournament tennis officials were forced to put a roof on top of some of their stadiums to handle this, but I think they will soon need air conditioning if they want to continue to hold the Australian Open.

This piece reports on all the deceptions and games the Australian capitalist government plays to continue with business as usual. Also, as an antidote to this discouraging news, the author has placed at the end of the article a parody of their ruling establishment performed by two outstanding Australian comedians (Clarke and Dawe).