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Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Join Team Orca!


Join Team Orca!

by C.A. Matthews

It’s not every day that warming oceans and the detrimental effects they cause make the news in four separate, but not unrelated stories.  

One would hope that a warming ocean would be as relaxing and therapeutic as a warm bath, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. Warming oceans can generate more and more intense storms on land—higher winds, more outbreaks of larger tornadoes, more flooding. They can also cause more havoc in the oceans themselves, generating more hurricanes and typhoons, as well as practically boiling microscopic food sources that many aquatic lifeforms rely upon for life, and these lifeforms, in turn, provide food for even larger lifeforms that prey on them.

To put it bluntly, warming oceans means we all are up Shit Creek without a paddle. Warming oceans are yet another component of the climate catastrophe caused by too many greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.  

But what can we do? We’re addicted to fossil fuels to run our power grids. We adore our gasoline-guzzling vehicles. Huge Big Oil lobbyist groups promote the interests of the fossil fuel industry to keep the best politicians that money can buy in charge and in their pockets. We the poor and unconnected are screwed. We could become extinct before you know it.

Luckily for us bipedal, land-dwelling types, the Earth is full of other intelligent species to take our place on top of the food chain. Unfortunately for them, most of these intelligent species dwell in the oceans, our climate changing warming oceans.

One of the most intelligent creatures on our benighted planet is the orca. Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family. These beautiful sea mammals were once labeled killer whales because they can hunt down and consume other sea creatures much larger than themselves, including giant squids and full-grown whales. Orcas, not us, are probably the most successful mammal on Earth. They’ve been around in their evolved state for 6 million years and have no known predator. Except humankind, that is. 

You might remember how adorable the famous orca “Shamu” was, as pictured on SeaWorld posters. Why don’t we see these majestic beasts in aquatic theme parks anymore? If you guessed it was because orcas have actually lived up to their former name of killer whale when it came to occasionally hurting and killing their human zookeepers, you’d be right. 

Highly social creatures, orcas being forced to live by themselves in tiny swimming pools and made to jump through hoops in order to entertain crowds really started to piss them off. You can’t blame the orcas for acting out. Would you like being jammed into a fish pond and kept away from your family members? Of course they got violent in order to express their anger and frustration at their imprisonment. Wouldn’t you? 

In other words, orcas aren’t a creature to ignore or whose actions should ever be taken lightly. We can learn a lot from them.

Recently, orcas have been observed aggressively attacking yachts—and sinking them—around the Strait of Gibraltar off the coast of Spain. They did so as a gang in a well-orchestrated attack. It was deliberate. The orcas knew what they were doing and probably what could happen to the humans onboard the sinking yachts.

Orcas hang out together in pods, which are family groups of 50 or more orcas run by a grandmother, and they are highly capable of communicating behaviors with each other and with other pods of orcas. Scientists have always been fascinated at how quickly orcas do communicate with each other and with other pods and how multiple pods can join together to form an even larger army of orcas. 

What’s even more fascinating is that orcas from far distant pods are actually imitating the yacht ramming behaviors that were noted in the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Uh-oh. They’ve attacked yachts in the North Atlantic as well.

Could the heating up of our oceans be driving the orcas crazy? Could the overcrowded sea lanes be a problem? Could humanity's blatant disregard of the health of the very waters that ultimately sustain us all act like a poison to orcas? Is over-fishing depleting other species that orcas depend upon for sustenance? It’s possible. Already the dwindling numbers of wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest have seen orca numbers diminishing in the area as well.

But orcas are a very adaptable species—they live in every ocean of the Earth, from the North Atlantic down to the Antarctic Ocean and across the wide and woolly Pacific Ocean. You’d think a smart animal like an orca would do just like humans do when climate change causes the place they call home to be less than hospitable to live in. They’d migrate to a better place. 

And here comes the third story of life on the warming oceans I promised. 

Migrants of the human variety cannot simply move themselves from their war-torn and/or climate-ravished homelands and cross oceans to find a new home and make a new life for themselves in another part of the world. No, there are other humans who don’t want these climate and/or war refugees crossing oceans to live in the same country with them. US mainstream media pundits and more than a few politicians label these climate/war refugees “illegals” and “hordes” and “unwanteds”. We are told to fear them and treat them as inferiors, ignore them and send them away. 

Homeless migrants are not welcome anywhere in the European Union apparently, either. Only 104 people have been rescued from a boat that carried an estimated 750 refugees after it capsized on June 13 in the open sea near the coastal town of Pylos. Hundreds of lives were lost, mostly children and their families, when the boat didn’t make it to shore in Greece and the surrounding Coast Guard operations couldn't have cared less about rescuing them. 

This isn’t the first capsizing of a ship full of human beings trying to escape terror that  was denied a safe port in Europe. Over 23,000 refugees have drowned or gone missing while trying to reach European shores between 2014 to 2022, but the real number is probably much higher. No one is keeping records of how many people embark on these deadly journeys in the first place. (Working as an advocate with immigrants in the US, I can’t say it’s any better when climate/war/cartel violence refugees try to cross our borders to find a safe haven here. Read The Unwelcoming Society to see how Americans sometime treat strangers and others.) 

Orcas and human beings trying to escape dangerous situations have something in common—they’re not wanted by the status quo. Those with money and power don’t care if they continue to pollute our oceans and rage war to make their obscene profits. The billionaires/oligarchs simply don’t care if orcas and poor people looking for safety suffer or die, which leads to my last story related to oceans. 

In case you’ve been living under a rock, a “tourist submarine” (I never knew there was such a thing before) imploded and killed a handful of billionaires who wanted to view the wreck of the Titanic in the cold depths of the North Atlantic. These super-wealthy persons (who each could afford a $250,000 ticket) were engaged in “tragedy tourism.” They wanted to go beneath the waves and ogle the ocean graves of hundreds of poor immigrants, unfortunate working class human beings who were stuck in the lower decks and drowned in the sinking of the Titanic. The horrible loss of life happened because the rich passengers were given first pick of the seats on the inadequate number of lifeboats onboard. Only those who could afford first class tickets were considered worth saving apparently

This tourist submarine story was repeatedly broadcast on mainstream media outlets every night and day for a week. (Check out Lee and Eleanor’s video for their excellent analysis of this story.) The salaciousness of the taxpayer-funded rescue operation was built up for maximum effect in order to divert attention away from several other embarrassing news stories that came out this past week. It was used as a distraction to keep the working classes from thinking about just how horrible the fate of other workers can be at times. 

Do you recall hearing much about the hundreds of human beings drowning off the coast of Greece? Did you know that US Supreme Court says it's okay for cops to not read you your rights and to keep innocent people in jail? How deep Biden family corruption goes? No, you probably didn't hear anything about it. Perhaps the worst tragedy is that propagandized viewers will never realize how they were manipulated not to see the inhumanity of our treatment of refugees and the corruption happening in US because of the celebrity rich dying in such a novel way. 

At $250,000 a pop, billionaires must really love looking at drowned working class people’s remains and their personal effects lying on the ocean’s floor. In another hundred years or so, billionaires will be taking tourist submarine rides to go down and ogle the corpses of the migrant children lying off the coast of Greece, right? 

The Earth doesn’t need more billionaires and their sycophants. The Earth can certainly do without the Big Oil lobbyists and their ilk, causing global climate change and ocean warming. We don’t need more sociopaths staring at our corpses and giggling over how silly we were to attempt migrating to safer lands that don’t really exist. We the workers, the wage slaves, are the people who make things and grow food and clean toilets—what is it that billionaires actually do to make the world a better place for all? Nothing.

This is where the orcas in their family pods ramming yachts have the right idea. The orcas aren’t taking shit from the bourgeoisie class that causes the most pollution on the planet any longer. And neither should we. (Read The Average Billionaire for data on just how much these super-wealthy persons pollute.)The workers of the world need to form pods or groups and get out there and “ram” the “yachts” or “tourist submarines” or whatever else billionaires flaunt as symbols of how they oppress us and dominate all useful discourse in our world to the point of environmental collapse. Workers’ pods could communicate to other pods about what ways they found the most effective to “sink the yachts” just like the orcas in their pods are doing. 

We the workers no longer need to put up with these billionaires' contempt and ill-treatment of us. We need to swim in formation and save our oceans and our homes before it’s too late. Will you join me? Will you become like the orca, a majestic sea mammal who doesn’t put up with shit from anybody?

Welcome to Team Orca! We're glad to have you onboard. Let's get to work.


Related articles and other interesting links:

Orcas are ramming yachts off the Spanish coast – is the whale world rising up? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/25/orcas-ramming-yachts-spanish-whale-behaviour-trauma-humans

Orca rams into yacht off Shetland in first such incident in northern waters  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/21/orca-rams-yacht-off-shetland-first-such-incident-northern-waters

Orcas have sunk 3 boats in Europe and appear to be teaching others to do the same. But why? https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/orcas-have-sunk-3-boats-in-europe-and-appear-to-be-teaching-others-to-do-the-same-but-why

Shipwreck in Pylos. Open Letter by Over 180 Human Rights Organizations https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/22/shipwreck-in-pylos-open-letter-by-over-180-human-rights-organizations/

The Mediterranean Shipwreck Tragedy Was an Outcome of Militarism https://truthout.org/articles/the-mediterranean-shipwreck-tragedy-was-an-outcome-of-militarism

Missing Sub Gets 100X More Coverage Than Drowning Refugees https://youtu.be/Y0XxGHOUpIw

Two episodes at sea: The submersible Titan and hundreds of refugees drowned in the Mediterranean https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/22/ilqz-j22.html

Brutal Heat and Storms Grip Southern States and Mexico on First Day of Summer https://truthout.org/articles/brutal-heat-and-storms-grip-southern-states-and-mexico-on-first-day-of-summer/

The Pacific Northwest’s Deadly 2021 Heat Wave Fuels a New Lawsuit Against Big Oil https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/24/the-pacific-northwests-deadly-2021-heat-wave-fuels-a-new-lawsuit-against-big-oil/

El Niño Is About to Accelerate the Global Climate Crisis. It’s Time for Action. https://truthout.org/articles/el-nino-is-about-to-accelerate-the-global-climate-crisis-its-time-for-action/

The Irony Of World Refugee Day: Celebrating, Then Blaming The Victims https://popularresistance.org/the-irony-of-world-refugee-day-celebrating-then-blaming-the-victims/

Mediterranean Migrant Shipwreck Reveals Cost of Cruel European Asylum Policies https://truthout.org/articles/mediterranean-migrant-shipwreck-reveals-cost-of-cruel-european-asylum-policies/

Supreme Court rules out suing police for Miranda violations https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna35012

East Coast Wildfires Put Incarcerated People on Frontlines of Climate Crisis https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/20/east-coast-wildfires-put-incarcerated-people-on-frontlines-of-climate-crisis/

West Bank Dispatch: 14 Palestinians Killed in 3 days; Army Carries Out Drone Strike in Jenin https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/23/west-bank-dispatch-14-palestinians-killed-in-3-days-army-carries-out-drone-strike-in-jenin/

Biden’s Asylum Policy Continues Tradition of US Cruelty to Haitians  https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-asylum-policy-continues-tradition-of-us-cruelty-to-haitians/

Merrick Garland STUNNED By Investigation RESULTS (clip) https://youtu.be/H78mfJK34uA

Cornel West TACKLES Liberal & Conservative MEDIA (clip) https://youtu.be/hdh98yKyVeg

Lithium Nevada Lawsuit Aims To Stop Praying At Sacred Site
https://popularresistance.org/lithium-nevada-lawsuit-aims-to-stop-praying-at-sacred-site/

Debunked: Media falsely claims China is building spy base in Cuba
https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/media-china-cuba-spy-base

Biden’s Refusal to Demand Accountability for Israeli Army Killings Is an Open Farce https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/22/bidens-refusal-to-demand-accountability-for-israeli-army-killings-is-an-open-farce/

The Unlimited Campaign Spending by Corporations and Billionaires Has Destroyed Democracy https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/22/the-unlimited-campaign-spending-by-corporations-and-billionaires-has-destroyed-democracy/

The Elite War on Free Thought
https://www.racket.news/p/the-elite-war-on-free-thought

Pastor Fined for Feeding and Housing the Homeless https://youtu.be/OOzByUAsSBQ

 
Media Silent as IRS Whistleblowers Expose Blatant Biden Family Corruption (System Update #105) https://rumble.com/v2vz0v2-system-update-show-105.html

The Average Billionaire https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-average-billionaire.html

The Unwelcoming Society https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-unwelcoming-society.html

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Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Choose what level you'd like to subscribe at via the buttons on any post online at: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

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Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Impossible Things (Uniting The Left)



Impossible Things

(Uniting The Left)

by. C.A. Matthews

“Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

It might not be quite six, but there is one big impossible thing I believe we can accomplish before breakfast. Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I’d like to see the Left unite just once and elect a non-duopolist, non-corporate-owned, non-warhawk candidate for president.

Yes, I’m talking about Dr. Cornel West. And, yes, I know the odds are against anyone uniting the American Left anytime this century. A girl can dream though, can’t she?

Perhaps...the time has come to bring the entirety of the Left together in order to mount a strong offense against the duopoly or the “uni-party with two names.” As a Green, Dr. West cannot accept any campaign contributions from lobbyists or corporations like the Dems and Republicans regularly do. That fact already makes him less suspect to persons who view themselves as being on the far left side of the Overton Window.  

So, there’s no chance of Big Oil promising President West a load of cash to sign over more federal lands (national parks/reserves) to them to drill for oil, such as Biden has done recently with the Willow Project. Not taking cash from billionaires/oligarchs and relying solely on the support of regular people like you and me makes Dr. West seem like an honest candidate who will listen to the working classes over the wealthy, doesn’t it?

But where does Cornel West stand on issues such as the proxy war in Ukraine? To Leftists—and I mean real Leftists, not faux ones such as A.O.C. and the Squad—this is an exceedingly important issue. The Military-Industrial Complex or simply “the War Machine” is all about making huge profits at the expense of human lives and the care of our environment. It’s safe to say that Dr. West running as a Green is decidedly pro-humanity and pro-environment. 
 
Dr. West’s Christian belief in seeing the image of God (imago dei) in the face of every human being and taking seriously the directive in the book of Genesis of being a “good steward of the earth” prevents him from starting a senseless war for profit. The idea of starting a war to grab resources, such as natural gas, while destroying hundreds of cities and killing thousands of peoplewhile polluting an entire country’s croplands with depleted uranium shells from US given ordinance in the processwould be anathema to Cornel West. Depleted uranium is radioactive, and it’s been linked to cancer, birth defects, and environmental damage in areas it’s been used, including Iraq, where US forces frequently fired the toxic munitions. Its impact is still being felt there today.

How refreshing it is to contemplate having a US president who possesses no desire to shed blood either at home or across the globe! Since Dr. West is running as a Green, he must agree with its pro-peace/anti-violence and pro-environment platform. Rest assured, a West administration will not start another conflict such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Grenada, Vietnam… just to make the CEOs of Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin happy.

The unhappy faux leftists (a.k.a. the Democratic Party) will try to throw dirt on Dr. West because of his well-articulated, humanity-loving beliefs. I have no doubts that some Dems will call him “antisemitic” because he has openly declared his support of the Palestinian people and their struggles to live in peace.  

Once again, as a professing Christian, Cornel West doesn’t want to see any of God’s children suffering and dying. He has said so on many occasions. He has clearly stated that he supports and cares for all people—poor, rich, black, white, brown, indigenous, gay, trans, straight, leftists or right-wingers. Why would he approve of the modern state of Israel bombing and taking land away from Palestinians? Why wouldn’t he want to bring about a peaceful end to the hostilities there and elsewhere?

Podcaster Briahna Joy Gray asked Dr. West about his support of the Palestinian people as compared to DNC candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pro-Israel stance. West answered her quite plainly:

“You want a presidential candidate… who has a backbone… If [RFK Jr.] thinks somehow that each [Palestinian] baby who was killed somehow was never in any way, intentional, deliberate, [Israel] didn't know what they were doing—he needs to really get off the crack pipe.”

Faux leftists like RFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson stand to receive a lot of money from a political action committee funded by the Israeli government, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee or AIPAC. AIPAC is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States and has over 100,000 members, 17 regional offices, and “a vast pool of donors” according to their website. Their annual revenue in 2014 was over $77 million dollars. 

Faux leftists like RFK Jr. and Marianne aren’t necessarily bloodthirsty or racist or genocidal toward the Palestinian people. It’s just that they love all the money they get from lobbyists like AIPAC just by being Democratic Party duopolists. Why would they give up so much money and their party’s possible nomination just to save the lives of innocent Palestinian children? Remember: “Rich, White Lives Matter” too! 

I could go on about how I believe Cornel West is the candidate to unite the Left because of his integrity and compassion, but I like to keep these posts under 10,000 words. Besides, there’s plenty of time to articulate many more points before November 2024. For now, I just want to plant a seed in the mind of the American Left and let it germinate and grow, perhaps to blossom into a strong movement of activists determined to wipe out the corruption and warmongering that has dwelt for far too long within the halls of government. 

Too many are suffering from hunger, homelessness, lack of health care, overwhelming student debt… We owe it to them to fight for a candidate who will speak up for the oppressed both at home and abroad. Let’s sit down and talk things over about how a Cornel West presidential campaign could bring the Left together and attract others to the cause of building a better world. We owe it to future generations to cooperate now in order to get rid of the lesser evil mindset of the duopoly and, in turn, mandate beneficial change for the greater good.

“Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system.” Dorothy Day, peace activist 


Related articles and other fascinating links:

Green Party US Ten Key Values: https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values

Green Party Four Pillars: https://www.gp.org/4_pillars  

 


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Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Choose what level you'd like to subscribe at via the buttons on any post online at: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

If you'd like to help out in the meantime, buy me a coffee!  https://ko-fi.com/therevolutioncontinues

More details to come. Power to the people!