The IPCC’s “Final Warning,” by Andy Worthington

Image by Matt Hrkac via Flickr

by Andy Worthington
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Andy Worthington’s website, Mar. 22, 2023
March 25, 2023

On Monday, the frenetic gossipy world of nonsense and distraction that, rather sadly and shamefully, constitutes most of what passes for news and culture these days paused for a moment to reflect upon the publication of the most significant document that will be published this year — the latest climate change report prepared by the climate scientists of the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the United Nations body founded in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide “regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.”

Chris Hedges: Mexico’s Epidemic of Murdered Journalists

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Dandelion Salad
March 24, 2023

with Chris Hedges

TheRealNews on Mar 24, 2023

More than 150 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000. The case of Regina Martinez, an investigative journalist assassinated in her home in the state of Veracruz in 2012, is emblematic of this war being waged against the press. Katherine Corcoran, former Associated Press bureau chief for Mexico and Central America, joins The Chris Hedges Report to discuss her book on the case of Regina Martinez and the wider context of the killings of journalists in Mexico, In the Mouth of the Wolf.

Michael Hudson and Dennis Kucinich: The Anatomy of Bank Failures, the Financialized Economy and Collapse

Image by Ross via Flickr

by Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
March 23, 2023

Overview: This was an impromptu conversation precipitated by former Congressman Dennis Kucinich to have a deep dive discussion with a former economic advisor, Michael Hudson, on the shockingly large recent bank collapses. As the former chair of the powerful Government Oversight Subcommittee, Kucinich had a ringside seat in unraveling the bank collapses after the housing bubble burst. He confronted the players in the field with withering questions in Congressional hearings. Now Kucinich wanted important feedback from a banking insider on how this crisis was different than the one in 2008.

Reckless Capitalist Banks Rescued by Government Socialism – Again! by Ralph Nader

Image by Alex Cameron via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page, Mar. 20, 2023
March 22, 2023

Once again, government socialism – ultimately backed by taxpayers – is saving reckless midsized banks and their depositors. Silicon Valley Bank (S.V.B) and Signature Bank in New York greedily mismanaged their risk levels and had to be closed down. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in return, to avoid a bank panic and a run on other midsized banks went over its $250,000 insurance cap per account and guaranteed all deposits – no matter how large, which are owned by the rich and corporations – in those banks.

Staying Alive in a Country of Death, by Brad Wolf

Screenshot by tind via Flickr

by Brad Wolf
Guest Writer, Dandelion Salad
March 21, 2023

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

So screamed the character Howard Beale in the 1976 movie “Network,” a prescient commentary on the corporate capture and slow suffocation of America. Howard was a prime-time news anchor who’d had enough.

Society’s Collapse Has Already Begun, by Rainer Shea

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by Rainer Shea
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rainer’s Newsletter, Mar. 10, 2023
March 20, 2023

American workers are stuck in a prison, a prison that they’re kept in through the perpetual threat of homelessness. This isn’t truly a rhetorical point, it’s an empirically proven reality. Nearly two-thirds of the country’s workers are now living paycheck to paycheck, meaning this last year’s inflation has made them easier to coerce. That’s the directly stated goal of the capitalist ruling class at this stage. A Bank of America memo from last year said decreased worker living standards will represent greater leverage for employers. The consequences of this are the destruction of these people’s mental and physical wellbeing. They’re being strained, abused, and exploited while having to choose between this and living on the streets.

Ralph Nader, Dahr Jamail and Matthew Hoh: Iraq War—Twenty Years Later + Peace in Ukraine – Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
March 19, 2023

with Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader Radio Hour on Mar 18, 2023

In a lively and insightful roundtable discussion, Ralph hosts former Marine company commander, Matthew Hoh, who when not deployed also worked in the Pentagon and the State Department, and independent and unembedded Iraq war correspondent, Dahr Jamail. They mark the twentieth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and discuss the consequences of that misbegotten and illegal war. Plus, we hear a clip from Ralph’s and Patti Smith’s antiwar concert tour conducted in 2005.

20 Years After the Invasion of Iraq, Will the Media’s Complicity be Flushed Down the Memory Hole? by Jeremy Earp

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by Jeremy Earp
Guest Writer, Dandelion Salad
March 18, 2023

“All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen

As mainstream U.S. media outlets pause to remember the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it’s clear that there’s a lot they hope we’ll forget – first and foremost, the media’s own active complicity in whipping up public support for the war.

Chris Hedges and Seymour Hersh: How America Destroyed the Nord Stream II Pipeline

Image by Felton Davis via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
March 17, 2023

with Chris Hedges

TheRealNews on Mar 17, 2023

Who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines? In February, veteran journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh dropped a bombshell report detailing how President Joe Biden ordered the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines.

Michael Hudson: Why 3 US Banks Collapsed in 1 Week + Why the Banking System is Breaking Up + The Mechanics of a Bond Market and its Impact on the Banking Crisis

Image by Steffi Reichert via Flickr

by Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
March 16, 2023

Geopolitical Economy Report on Mar 14, 2023

Economist Michael Hudson analyzes the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature Bank, explaining the similarities to the 2008 financial crash.

How U.S. Military Spending Works, by David Swanson

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy, Mar. 10, 2023
March 15, 2023

Here’s how this works each year.

1) Biden proposes a massive increase in military spending — above and beyond both what he proposed the year before and what the Congress increased that to. If you look at U.S. military spending according to SIPRI in constant 2021 dollars from 1949 to now (all the years they provide, with their calculation adjusting for inflation), Obama’s 2011 record will probably fall this year. If you look at actual numbers, not adjusting for inflation, Biden has set a new record each year.

Finian Cunningham and Jodi Dean: Western Capitalism’s Historic Crisis: There’s Actually A Socialist Alternative

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by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Ireland
March 14, 2023

Finian Cunningham on Mar 9, 2023

Western capitalism and its supposed democracy are in terminal crisis as increasing numbers of people reject the system’s abysmal economic failure: record levels of poverty, inequality and relentless militarism and warmongering.

Ralph Nader and Dahr Jamail: We Are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth

By Ernest Smith via Wikipedia, Public Domain, Link

Dandelion Salad
March 13, 2023

with Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader Radio Hour on Mar 11, 2023

In a jam-packed program full of abundant insight, Ralph first welcomes back Dahr Jamail to discuss his work We Are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth about what we can learn from indigenous people who have survived incredible disruptions to the climate to their families and to their way of life.

John Pilger: The Betrayers of Julian Assange + John Shipton, John Pilger, David McBride: Anything to Say?

Image by Simone Ramella via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
March 12, 2023

Consortium News on Mar 11, 2023

Anthony Albanese was mouthing his favourite platitude, “enough is enough” long before he was elected prime minister of Australia last year. He gave many of us precious hope, including Julian’s family. As prime minister he added weasel words about “not sympathizing” with what Julian had done. Apparently we had to understand his need to cover his appropriated ass in case Washington called him to order.

God in Drag, by Kenn Orphan

Image by Multnomah County Library via Flickr

by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
March 11, 2023

With the recent spate of vicious attacks on drag performers and drag shows, I’ve been thinking a lot about a brilliant quote by the late Ram Dass: “Treat everyone you meet as if they were God in drag.” And I think it gets to the heart of this manufactured controversy.