Common Dreams:
“A groundbreaking new study is confirming what green campaigners have long argued: in order to stave off climate disaster, the majority of fossil fuel deposits around the world—including 92 percent of U.S. coal, all Arctic oil and gas, and a majority of Canadian tar sands—must stay ‘in the ground.’
The research is a boost to world-wide green campaigns, from the bid to stop the Keystone XL pipeline to grassroots protest against Arctic drilling.
The new findings were published in the journal Nature and authored by Christophe McGlade and Paul Ekins, both of whom hail from the University College London.
They write, ‘Policy makers have generally agreed that the average global temperature rise caused by greenhouse gas emissions should not exceed 2 °C above the average global temperature of pre-industrial times.’ ”
—>The NYT didn’t cover this report. Not business friendly enough for our newspaper of record.
———
Common Dreams:
“Advocacy groups vow to fight back against what they believe is a preliminary ‘stealth attack’ that portends a wider assault on a program that makes survival possible for millions of vulnerable Americans. …
An attack by the Republican Party on the nation's Social Security program took less than one full working day. Included in a new set of rules passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday was a new measure making it more difficult to move funds between separate accounts maintained by the Social Security Administration. A seemingly technical provision on the surface, critics says it puts millions of disabled and elderly Americans at risk and sets the stage for further attacks aimed at the wider program. …
In response to approval of the new rule, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) chastised Republicans in the House. ‘The GOP is inventing a Social Security crisis that will threaten benefits for millions and put our most vulnerable at risk,’ Warren fumed via her Twitter account. ‘This is ridiculous. 233k people in MA receive Social Security disability benefits that could be threatened by these political games.’ “
—>The NYT buried this latest attack against Social Security on its Opinions Blog. The paper is in bed with Wall Street, which has always wanted to get its hands on more funds that belong to working people.
———
Freedom Socialist Party:
“Millions of workers don’t have any pension or retirement savings. Social Security will be their only income later in life. To enable the theft of that income, conservative news outlets push the lie that Social Security is going broke, even though it’s funded through 2036 and needs only minor adjustments.
The Social Security Trust Fund has over $2.8 trillion, yet politicians constantly threaten to raise the qualification age for full benefits to 70, cut payments, and reduce Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA). They also forced the Social Security Administration (SSA) to close 80 offices and 500 contact centers where people get in-person help. SSA has also laid off thousands of workers.
In a move akin to attacks on U.S. postal delivery, SSA plans to move to automated phone systems and subcontracting. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is blowing the whistle and leading a campaign to defend Social Security.”
—>Strange when the only Socialist in the Congress is Social Security’s most ardent defender. Stranger still when a Socialist Party blog gives readers a more coherent analysis of the attack on SS retirement benefits than the NYT.
