Thank you Alex for your tireless commitment to Golden Age of Gaia… Enjoy your break from the News Roundup! Hello all …very pleased to be with you this Monday.
Finance & Technology: How free shall our internet super highway remain?
“Net neutrality” has become quite the buzzword these days! Ultimately the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to regulate it in a way that they can make more money from it –well, there’s no surprise there. However, that would mean that us taxpayers would be on the hook for additional costs. Yep, that sounds like our government and their cohorts, Big Corpo(rations). “FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wants to prevent Internet providers from blocking certain websites consumers want to visit. Or charging extra to Netflix or YouTube for fast lanes to your home.”
Just like most things, our government and big corporations are trying to devise another way to get us to pay for services in our world, rather than they taking some responsibility and recognizing they too play a role. And role that does not shuck every bill onto us, especially when they are the ones who make money hand over fist… millions and billions of dollars!
“You know, our million dollar bonuses were not quite enough from last year… what do you say we propose another law to alleviate another one of our bills and get the people who make $15/hour to pay for it.” I can somehow hear those words echoing behind closed doors of boardrooms across most global corporations and governments. Is it just me, or do you also see these disgusting patterns over the last couple of decades?
Never thought I’d say this to a major corporation, but here’s one situation where we are actually on the same side: Thank you, AT&T, for standing up to the FCC. (1) Thank you kudos also goes to President Obama who too is defending net neutrality, encouraging our government to keep our Internet free and open. (2)
1. AT&T: We’re Going to Sue the Government by CNN Money.
2. Obama Puts Foot Down: No Internet Fast Lanes by CNN Money.
Politics, Near & Far: Was it appropriate for Speaker Boehner to Invite PM Netanyahu?
March 3rd is the big day –the day scheduled for PM Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress just two short weeks before his own country Israel’s elections. As it seems, both parties are upset with Boehner for inviting Netanyahu during such important days when the PM might be better served staying in his own country to engage with his own people.
Many on Capitol Hill have declared that this is pure political games in the making: “I am disappointed in the Republican leadership’s invitation of Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress with the apparent purpose of undermining President Obama’s foreign policy prerogatives…I will not be attending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech because it does more harm than good to the bipartisan U.S.-Israel alliance,” Replied Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI). (1)
Further one needs to wonder why Netanyahu even accepted the invitation with his elections just around the corner –what type of message is he sending to the people of his country? As an alternative news editor, I’ve read week after week that Netanyahu is part of the Bush-cabal organized crime family …and if that’s true, then I do not trust him as far as I can throw him.
“If a deal is impossible to reach, then Netanyahu and Republican members of Congress are in essence volunteering to take the blame for the failure of the talks by calling for new sanctions, rather than letting the blame rest where it rightly should—squarely on Iran’s shoulders.” (2)
Let us be very clear here, politics is –always– playing a role …nationally or internationally! First, tweaking the discussion to foreign policy and national security, Netanyahu is using his own strengths. Second, with impeccable English, he captivated Congress last August, as evidenced by a loud applause: “If any image could convey the difference in gravitas between Netanyahu and his challenger, it would be this.” Make no mistake, this IS political games in the making, by using this Congressional audience in an attempt to win votes. (2)
Further, the Vice President’s chair is typically in the TV frame when televised, and if Biden is absent, then the speech may be about that fact. And if many Democrats choose to not show, then that too will probably hurt Netanyahu’s cause: “I find it very disturbing when a foreign leader in the midst of a campaign for re-election is allowed to address Congress for the sole purpose of undermining a foreign policy priority shared by the Obama administration and our European allies to score political points at home. In my view Mr. Netanyahu’s speech before Congress is nothing more than a campaign event hosted by Speaker Boehner and paid for by the American people. Mr. Netanyahu’s re-election campaign is not my concern, but politicizing and damaging the U.S.-Israeli relationship by aligning his government with Republicans in Congress against President Obama is something I completely reject. For these reasons, I will not be attending his address to a joint session of Congress next month,” stated Betty McCollum (D-MN). (1)
1. Growing Backlash to Boehner’s Inappropriate Invitation by National Iranian American Council.
2. Israel Election: Why Is Netanyahu Addressing Congress? by Nathan B. Sacks. Newsweek.
Renewable Energy: End the fossil fuel pillaging of Lady Gaia
Thank you, thank you, thank you, City of Burlington, who’s recently converted the city buildings into receiving 100% renewable energy through three different means: Wind, solar, and hydroelectric.
Ken Nolan from Burlington Electric states, “The city is always looking at the environmental impact. Greenhouse gas reduction is a major thing that we’re concerned about and we are always trying to improve on. But in looking at whether to buy renewable power, we really were focused on an economic decision at the time.”
“Nolan says that switching from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy will likely save the city about $20 million dollars over the next two decades. What’s more, consumers haven’t been hit with a big price increase: While residential customers across the US have seen small but gradual increases in their utility bills over the years, Burlington’s rates haven’t increased since 2009,” replied PBS NewsHour correspondent William Brangham.
“Here’s how they do it: about a third of Burlington’s renewable energy is produced at this biomass facility. Biomass is just a fancy word for something that gets burned to produce energy — in this case, they haul in wood from across Vermont, use the heat to make steam, and thus generate electricity. So that’s about 35% of Burlington’s production. Another 20% or so is sourced from wind turbines like these on the hills of a neighboring town, and solar arrays like this one at the airport add another small amount to their total. But the biggest portion of the city’s renewable production comes from hydropower… some they source from other places, like this older hydroelectric dam in Maine, some they produce at their own plant on the Winooski river. Water pressure from the river spins big underground turbines, which in turn generates electricity.”
VIDEO: Running on Renewable Energy, Burlington, Vermont Powers Green Movement Forward by PBS.
If your current situation is heavy, then please remember that this too shall pass!
We Are All One
Gavin