We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, May 26, 2011

U.S. weather extremes show "new normal" climate

Click here to access article from Reuters News Service. 

Yes, the extreme weather we are seeing and will continue to experience is being referred to a the "new normal". This means that the ruling class political operatives know that there is nothing they can do to ameliorate it within the existing capitalist system. And, because they believe that there is no alternative to capitalism, they are telling us to "suck it up" because it is not going to get better. 
"What we're seeing is the new normal is constantly evolving," said Nikhil da Victoria Lobo of Swiss Re's Global Partnerships team. "Globally what we're seeing is more volatility ... there's certainly a lot more integrated risk exposure."
When capitalists talk about "risk exposure", they mean risk to their investments, not humanity.