A book about science and its relationship to war? I'd love a book like that. So I snapped it up and couldn't put it down.
I couldn't put it down because it was so hideous. I kept thinking, "He has to make a judgment call at some point, right?"
He never does.
Time and again, he offers garbage. No ethics, just bromides like "what a country funds is what that country prioritizes." And that's actually not correct. It's what a government funds is what the government prioritizes. Americans? We want food and shelter. Instead, we have war, war, war. Because that's what our government wants.
Now, yes, Neil is aware that science produced the nuclear bomb and all that, but, hey, don't fret, the same technology can be used to mine rare resources on earth that are more plentiful in space and this will lead to peace. Really? I think it will lead to greed and Black Friday on a universal scale.
I've lost all respect for Neil with this book. He cannot stand up because he refuses to call out science that invents weapons and destroys lives.
Those things just sort of happen and the answer is always generic and never really holds the powerful accountable.
If you've ever wondered why he was so popular, this book will help you grasp that Neil deGrasse Tyson is the court jester of the empire.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
#Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that he is not going to hold on to power, as Iraq moves closer to forming a new government
Talk about moment passed, ship has sailed. THE WASHINGTON POST and REUTERS have both reported earlier this week that Hayder al-Abadi did not have the support needed for a second term as prime minister. Did the news only just reach him?
Dropping back to yesterday's snapshot:
Hayder's had four years (after being installed by Barack Obama) and he's accomplished nothing.
In a desperate bid to be seen as doing something, his office Tweeted the following this morning:
The @IraqiGovt is implementing wide-ranging reforms to Iraq’s electricity sector to end outages and provide reliable and efficient power to homes businesses across the country
Of Hayder's above announcement, MIDDLE EAST EYE notes:
Thursday's announcement comes as
the two largest factions in the Iraqi parliament united in calls for
Abadi to resign after failing to resolve the problems in southern Iraq,
which has been plagued with polluted water and electricity shortages.
The parliament is preparing to elect a new speaker on Saturday.
More than 30,000 people have been hospitalised as a result of pollution in the water supply.
The end is near for Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's U.S.-friendly leader
He had four years to deliver something, anything. And he failed. Four years with nothing to point to with pride. He did not put an end to ISIS. He did not put an end to corruption. Yes, Mosul is liberated or 'liberated' from ISIS but it took him three years in office to get serious about that.
Iraq shares a border with Saudi Arabia, so let's note this.
#EDITORIAL: The #Basra riots have served to highlight the extraordinary extent of the #corruption and incompetence of the former government and its officials, many of whom unfortunately are still in place. —
Riots? Peaceful protests is what they were until the protesters were repeatedly attacked and killed. The editorial notes:
The
government of Haider Al-Abadi has no one else to blame except itself.
Since he took over in 2014, Abadi has failed to undo the distortions and
harm done to the country during the appalling administration of Nuri
Al-Maliki. Maliki had hollowed out the army by firing competent and
generally Sunni officers, replacing them with lickspittle military
nonentities whose sole qualification for command was a slavish loyalty
to him. Thus when a handful of [ISIS] terrorists mounted a probing raid
on the defenses of Mosul, the army immediately fled, with most of its
pathetic commanders leading the rout.
Maliki very quickly became addicted to power, assigning the significant security and defense ministries to his own control.
Hayder followed Nouri al-Maliki. There was no better rotation available. Nouri encouraged the boos and hisses. Being better than Nouri wouldn't be that difficult but Hayder was so lousy that even in comparison to Nouri he could't stand out.
May 12th, Iraq voted. That's four months ago. There is still no government. In 2010, Iraq voted in March and didn't get around to forming a government until November. Over eight months.
Whether on the streets of Basra or elsewhere, Iraq does not want more of the same. AL-MONITOR notes:
The office of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a statement Sept. 10 calling for selecting a new prime minister who is competent and courageous to run a country plagued by rampant corruption and a weak state system.
The statement said, “The [Shiite] authority told the various [political] parties … that it will not support any new prime minister chosen from the politicians who have been in power in the past years, whether he was affiliated with a party or independent." The statement claimed that "most of the people have lost hope in any of these figures to achieve the desired improvement of the situation and to fight corruption.” It continued, “If a new figure endowed with competence, integrity, courage and firmness is chosen, it would be possible to communicate with the new prime minister on the country’s best interests, otherwise the authority would maintain its approach of boycotting the country's government officials.”
Sistani's statement came in response to claims by some politicians that the latter had proposed several candidates for the office of prime minister and refused the nomination of others. Mohammed al-Ghabban, former interior minister and a leader of the Fatah-affiliated Badr Organization, said Sept. 10 that the religious authority had intervened to find an alliance between the Fatah Alliance, which includes a number of factions of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) close to Iran, and the Sairoon Alliance. Ghabban noted that the events in Basra and the poor performance of the government in dealing with this crisis and its repercussions undermined the Reform and Construction Coalition between Abadi and Sadr. “This has led to new alignments, convergences and understandings between Fatah and Sairoon under the guidance of the Shiite authority,” he said.
Again, it's now been four months since the elections and still no government formed. In fairness, we probably shouldn't present it as Iraq being unable to form a government. In 2010, the US government was responsible. They backed Nouri al-Maliki who refused to step down and Barack Obama had the US broker The Erbil Agreement that gave Nouri his second term. The US government is always involved in this.
And though the US press plays coy and dumb, others don't feel the need.
From THE ECONOMIST today:
Inside the Green Zone, Baghdad’s government enclave, Brett McGurk, America’s regional envoy, and Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force, Iran’s foreign legion, are marshalling their allies.
Each is trying to shape the formation of a ruling coalition to his taste, following Iraq’s messy general election in May. Iran wants a “Shia house”—comprising more than 200 of the parliament’s 329 members drawn from a range of Shia parties—to run the show. Mr McGurk wants to have the reins held by a cross-sectarian coalition of Kurds and Sunni Arabs led by Shia “nationalists” less beholden to Iran. Mr McGurk’s would-be coalition, called Islah (“Reform”), has some 145 seats. General Suleimani’s rival bloc, known as al-Bina (“Reconstruction”), has 109 or so. Neither has the majority required to choose a president and prime minister.
While the issue of the next prime minister remains a question, the position of Speaker of Parliament may be filled. ANADOLU AGENCY reports:
The
National Axis, a Sunni-leaning parliamentary bloc, has nominated
Mohamed al-Halbusi for the post of speaker of Iraq’s recently-elected
parliament.
In
a statement, National Axis spokesman Laith al-Deleimi said the bloc had
chosen its “sole nominee” for the post, which, under Iraq’s
constitution (promulgated after the 2003 U.S. invasion), is reserved for
a Sunni Muslim.
But already there are claims that al-Halbusi will not fill the slot.
REUTERS correspondent Raya Jalabi offers:
“The message from Basra is loud and clear for all political elites,” said @aalmawlawi “They’ve realized, if you like, that there’s a ticking time bomb.”
Latest developments on government formation in Baghdad following the unrest in #Basra:
Both Iran and the US have been trying to shape the next government in Iraq. But the rising Fatih-Sadr coalition shouldn't be read as a sure victory for Iran. Rather, it + #Basra protests (where Iranian consulate was burned down) mark a shift inwards for Iraq's political leaders.
“The way the US & the Iranians have viewed Iraq until now is if they back their horse, they can control the country,” said @renadmansour. “What this new potential coalition is saying – or at least what the Sadrists are saying – is [...] We’re not your proxies, we’re your allies.”
Analyst Duaa Malik offers:
شنو؟ خراب يلفك.
ايقنت اليوم ان لا احد يشعر بمعانات البصرة الا من شرب من ماء شط العرب.
رد العراقيين اليوم لي كان مخزي وعار على من ينادي بوحدة البلد. اي بلد واي وطن تحاربني من اجله وانت تقول أنتم، اهل البصرة، "تتظلمون". فلوس البصرة وخيراتها ماكسرت عينكم من واجهتوني؟ صدق الگال: فوگ شينه گوات عينه.
Coming at you straight from #Basra (before he probably got arrested):
“# The people want an atheist prime minister.”
#BasraProtests #البصرة_تنتفض #Basrah #البصرة
The #Iraqi government has arrested dozens of innocent civilians who participated in the protests in #Basra. Continuing to use such tactics against the people of #Basrah would only generate anger and further unrest: bonne chance. #BasraProtests #البصرة_تنتفض #البصرة
Earlier today, Pope Francis spoke to the Catholic Charitable Organizations. Lydia O'Kane (VATICAN RADIO) reports, "The Pope’s address to the Catholic Charitable Organizations on Friday offered encouragement and appreciation for the work that they do in Syria, Iraq and neighbouring countries, but it was also a speech in which the Pontiff made a forceful appeal to the international community asking them 'not to neglect the many needs of the victims of this crisis, and above all to set aside special interests in order to be at the service of peace, and to bring an end to war'."
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A-okay
7 hours ago
Sad but true
7 hours ago
