Remember when McCain was the “cool” republican? Maybe he was never that cool. He certainly gave that impression alongside the conservative crazies though. We’ll he’s certainly changed his opinion on a number of things and physically he appears like a flaky fuddy duddy old man.

Now he’s picked a young woman to turn his “out of touch” rep around for the better. Sarah Palin is a good pick for him in that respect, but holy crap.

-         she’s all for exploiting AWAR for oil drilling

-         she used to own a commercial fishing industry

-         lifetime membership to the NRA

-         her husband is an oil production operator in Alaska

Yikes!

Don’t get me wrong; even after Obama’s emotionally charged speech last night, I have not jumped on the Obama wagon. The Dems are just as controlled by the corporations as the Republicans. Hell, the major DNC sponsor was AT&T (let the wiretapping begin!). But a McCain presidency is not an option. The US has a very tarnished reputation that needs mending. Another war-mongering old white guy is not the face our country needs. If it is true that McCain has agreed with Bush 90% of the time and only 32% of the American people approve of Bush’s policies, I’m not sure how he logically stands a chance.

The truth is elections aren’t won logically. There will be a bunch of emotionally charged issues on the ballot this year: gay marriage, abortion…etc. What goes on in our personal lives is of nobody’s business but our own. I live in the American West where the attitude (especially for conservatives) is “government: stay out of my business.” These are useless topics for a presidential election especially during a time when our influence extends to every corner of the planet. There are bigger, historically more important issues that need our attention. If our influence and power extend all over the planet, then I think it’s only fair that the whole world should be allowed to vote in our elections. Sounds like a crack-pot idea, I know, but it’s only fair.

Live Science just came out with a list from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List identifying “Ten Species You Can Kiss Goodbye.” The following species have been labeled as “critically endangered,” which means that each is expected to go extinct in the next ten years.

10. California Condor

9. Sumatran Orangutan

8. Ganges Shark

7. Mountain Gorilla

6. Philippine Crocodile

5. Black-footed Ferret (In Arizona)

4. Siberian Tiger

3. Red Wolf

2. Western Gray Whale

1. Sumatran Rhinoceros

If you go to the site, there are pictures and descriptions of each of these animals. Loss of species is, of course, nothing new.

Scientists estimate that the current rate at which species are becoming extinct is between 100 and 1,000 times greater than the normal “background” extinction rate - and say this is all due to human activity.

Check out this site too.

Following last summer’s record minimum ice cover in the Arctic, current observations from ESA’s Envisat satellite suggest that the extent of polar sea-ice may again shrink to a level very close to that of last year.

Envisat observations from mid-August depict that a new record of low sea-ice coverage could be reached in a matter of weeks….

Current ice coverage in the Arctic has already reached the second absolute minimum since observations from space began 30 years ago.

I just kinda thought this was funny, though perhaps a bit sad too.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trail on Friday for “social dangerousness,” a charge that could carry up to four years in prison.

Authorities arrested the 39-year-old lead singer of the band Porno para Ricardo at his Havana home on Monday as he was working on a new album. Cuban law defines “social dangerousness” as behavior contrary to “communist morality,” and authorities use the charge to detain offenders before they have a chance to commit a crime.

All this week, Amy Goodman is reporting live from Denver. Instead of the usual hour broadcast, daily coverage is two hours long all week. I have to say, Democracy Now! is presenting the most well-rounded coverage of the convention, both inside the building and the protests outside. She has a lot of dedicated journalists on the ground interviewing politicians, delegates, corporate sponsors, writers, analysts, and activists and protesters of all varieties. A lot of necessary critiques of Obama color many of the interviews.

Twelve states, New York City and the District of Columbia are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming the Bush administration has failed to rein in emissions from oil refineries.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday the suit is aimed at forcing the EPA to adopt new regulations to reduce oil industry pollution that contributes to global warming.

Nothing is as it seems. The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t actually protect the environment. They, like the Forest Service, serve as a mediator between the needs of the natural world and those who would exploit it. They are the ones that facilitate compromises. Any compromise comes at the expense of the planet. Here is an illustration….

“Hey Forest Service, I’m a huge douche bag and I want to deforest 50 acres of land for my beautiful luxury condos.”
“50 acres deforested? I can’t let you do that. You need to at least leave the large old trees.”
“Of course! Big trees are good for property values. What about those ancient trees that are just plum in the way?”
“Well, I don’t want to deter you from your work. In the past, trees that happen to get in the way are killed accidently or by unknown causes. We certainly wouldn’t hold you responsible if some happen to die on your watch.”
“That’s good to know. These trees are really old, they could conceivably die any day now.”
“Right, and you don’t want those falling on new condos. What an insurance nightmare. Hey let me recommend a few companies that would take these trees off your hands at a handsome price.”

For the EPA, just substitute “trees” for emissions standards. Whatever compromise is dished out, the environment gets the short straw every time. At least a few states are being responsible.

In my previous entry, I said “Of the 100 biggest economies in the world, most are corporations, not countries.” Then I provided this link. As it turns out, that list is from 2000. I found the updated list (2007) and was shocked by how different it is. Check out how much has happened in the last 7 years.

Of the 100 biggest economies in the world, most are corporations, not countries. We also know that the richest corporations are oil companies. Chevron, for example, just reported a record 6 billion in profits. With this in mind, we shouldn’t be surprised that the corporate-owned-media is perhaps less critical of these corporations than they should. It’s dramatically more disturbing to see that, more and more, oil companies are actually sponsoring the news we receive. While perusing CBS today, I saw this ad for Exxon.

Then we see the so-called “progressive” Atlantic Monthly selling out to big oil with this banner ad alongside Andrew Sullivan’s column. Even public broadcasting is not outside the influence of corporate interests. Here is the sponsor for PBS’s Jim Lehrer’s News Hour.

That our media is dominated by advertising is nothing new. 100% broadcast revenues come from advertising; about 50% of magazine revenues come from ads; 80% of newspaper revenue comes from ads. And now the internet. Ads are everywhere and totally obnoxious. While in the 80’s, studies show that the average person was exposed to 1,500 commercial impressions a day. Today–with the internet, product placement, and advertising in places like school, sports, and many other unlikely places, that number has risen close to 4,000. They’re even talking about putting billboards in space now. Can you imagine gazing up at a beautiful Flagstaff starry night, and seeing a Nike logo?

So what we’ve done and what has become detrimental, both to the credibility and reliability of our media, is we’ve turned all of our systems of media, of journalism, as vehicles to sell us more and more commodities. Oil companies have no place in our media. Chevron claims, “Corporate Responsibility: The Power, the Power of Human Energy. Finding Newer Cleaner Ways to Power the World.” Reading this, one could easily forget they even sell oil. What they are selling, besides oil (which is, in part, actually causing all the problems it claims to be solving), they are selling an image. Are we really going to rely on Chevron, Shell, Exxon, and BP to “find newer cleaner ways to power our world.” They destroy communities and they sell oil. It doesn’t matter to whom, and it doesn’t matter the cost. And now our news is sponsored by these global terrorists?

An earthen dam broke near the Grand Canyon early Sunday after heavy rains that forced officials to pluck hundreds of residents and campers from the gorge by helicopter. No injuries were immediately reported.

The failure of the Redlands Dam, about 45 miles upstream, caused some flooding in the village of Supai, where about 400 members of the Havasupai tribe live, said Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge. She said there was no structural damage, but that some hiking trails and foot bridges had been washed out. The National Weather Service reported that trees had been uprooted.

From Grand Canyon Wildland’s Council:

Slow Food Alta Arizona and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council are joining forces to present their messages of sustainable food systems and protection of wildlife corridors and habitat. Join us for a community crawdad boil and enjoy a delicious but non-native delicacy from our very own northern Arizona streams! While crawdads are tasty and nutritious, they are an invasive species that threaten native plants, animals, and their habitats. The Community Crawdad Festival will be held at Ft. Tuthill County Park, Maricopa Ramada on Sunday, August 24 from 3-7pm. Suggested donation is $15 per person. We will be serving wild-caught crawdads, potatoes, corn, drinks, dessert and enjoying live music from local musicians.

Any donations after cost will be divided between Slow Food Alta Arizona and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council to help advance their work. Both are 501c3 organizations. For more information contact Denise Hudson or Gay Chanler at altaazslowfood@yahoo.com or Emily Omana at Emily@grandcanyonwildlands.org.