Pope Francis: Capitalism is 'Terrorism Against All of Humanity'
Pope Francis argues that modern economy's worship of 'god of money' leads to disenfranchisement and extremism
Pope Francis surprised reporters on a flight from Krakow to the Vatican late Sunday when he blamed the "god of money" for extremist violence in Europe and the Middle East, saying that a ruthless global economy leads disenfranchised people to violence.
"Terrorism grows when there is no other option, and as long as the world economy has at its center the god of money and not the person," the pope told reporters, according to theWall Street Journal. "This is fundamental terrorism, against all humanity."
The pope was responding to a journalist's question about whether there is a link between Islam and terrorism, particularly focusing on the fatal attack on a priest by Muslim extremists in France last week.
"I ask myself how many young people that we Europeans have left devoid of ideals, who do not have work. Then they turn to drugs and alcohol or enlist in [the Islamic State, or ISIS]," he said, Reuters reports.
His own experience in interreligious dialogue had shown him that Muslims seek "peace and encounter," he said. "It is not right and it is not just to say that Islam is terroristic." And he said no religion had a monopoly on violent members.
California Civil Law Suit against George W. Bush et al
The plaintiff, Sundus Shaker Saleh, alleges that high ranking Bush-Administration officials intentionally misled the American people by making untrue claims that Iraq was in league with Al Qaida and that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. She also alleges that certain of the Defendants, and in particular, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz, publicly supported an invasion as early as 1998 and used 9/11 as an excuse to push for an invasion of Iraq, regardless of the consequences.
Victory in the heart of the Amazon!
The Brazilian environmental agency has cancelled the licence for the proposed São Luiz do Tapajós megadam in the heart of the Amazon. After 30 years fighting to protect their home, this is a huge victory for the Munduruku People and 1.2 million people from Australia and around the world who stood in solidarity with them to say no to this dam!
The changing character of precipitation
As climate changes, the main changes in precipitation will likely be in the intensity, frequency, and duration of events, but these characteristics are seldom analyzed in observations or models
Food After Fossil Fuels
Since our current food system is so heavily dependent on fossil fuels, major changes to agriculture, farm labor, food processing, food transport, and food packaging are likely as we move toward the renewable future. The transition to 100% renewable energy thus raises some profound questions for the future of our food system.
http://www.postcarbon.org/in- conversation-food-after- fossil-fuels/
BLACK SWAN FUND: 'There's going to be chaos'
London-based hedge fund 36 South Capital Advisors makes buckets of money when markets go haywire.
Jerry Haworth, the firm's CEO, is ready, and waiting expectantly.
He spoke to Raoul Pal from Real Vision TV in an interview aired Friday, and said that central banks have been trying to dampen volatility by pumping money into the economy, but that in the end this will backfire.
Here's the relevant bit from the interview (emphasis ours):
"The credit bubble has got so big that the participants can't service their interests, and the government is one of the biggest participants, so they dragged the interest rate down to zero, and then they got trapped there. Even a homeless person can service a $1 billion loan at zero, so one wonders how it is going to end.
"It creates second order consequences where people say, 'well, it's free money,' and that I think is eventually going to create the inflation. Now that you have the inflation, now you've got the dilemma: What do you do with interest rates? If interest rates follow suit, there's going to be chaos. Equity markets, property markets, bond markets. Can you imagine the property market in London at [an interest rate of] 7%? Probably the price will drop 50% to 75%."