Author: Laurel L. Russwurm

is a self publishing novelist and photographer.

Catch a Green Wave

white text over a green wave: Waterloo Region's Green Wave Starts Here: 2018 Candidate preNomination Social, Thursday, January 31st, 7:00–9:00pm at Fresh Ground 256 King St E, Kitchener, ON N2G 2L1, Canada

Excitement in the Green community is at an all time high: the Green movement is growing.  You may already be part of it without even realizing it!  Every conversation you have about our communities, economies, and environment builds the impetus toward change. We’re seeing an appetite for a green future beyond anything we’ve seen in past elections… and this one hasn’t even begun!

WTGreens are growing a people-powered movement in Waterloo Region to elect our first Green MPs!

You’re invited to our 2019 WRGreens Candidate preNomination Social
Thursday, January 31st
7:00 – 9:00pm
at Fresh Ground ~ 256 King St E, Kitchener

People from all parties and backgrounds are invited to come find out how we will make the community, economy, and environment our priority.

WRGreens believe our only credible path toward a healthy and robust future for our region and our country is decisive action: we need to start electing Green MPs.  We have all the tools and solutions. All we need do is choose to act together.  Be part of the solution by joining the first wave of this movement as we build toward the October election!

Come meet Waterloo Region’s Green Party candidate nominees

So far we have half a dozen declared candidate nominees for Kitchener Centre, and we may have contested nominations in all 5 ridings!  This is your chance to find out what our potential Waterloo Region Greens candidates are working for, and why they’ve committed to running under the Green banner in 2019!  If you are interested in throwing your hat in the ring (or know someone else who might be) for the riding of

contact WRGreens Nominations Chair Kris Braun at kris.braun@greenparty.ca

Our first combined nomination meeting will take place on March 6th, when GPC members of the Kitchener Centre and Waterloo EDAs will choose their candidates.  Then In April, we’ll host the combined meeting for Kitchener South–Hespeler, Kitchener–Conestoga, and Cambridge candidates.

If you’re not a member yet, before you can vote for the next Green Party Candidate in your riding, you’ll need to join the party.  You can purchase your $10 membership online before the preNomination Social, or you can wait and do it at the event.

Whether you’re a GPC member or a friend, this will be a great opportunity to grab a coffee, listen to music, and get to know each other.  Families are welcome.

Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/382995449117240/

RSVPs are appreciated so we can be sure to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend.  Sign up for this free event on the
Eventbright Page: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/waterloo-region-greens-pre-nomination-kickoff-tickets-54805419485

coming soon:

Joint Nomination Meeting for the Kitchener Centre and Waterloo Electoral District Associations

  • What: WRGreens Regular Meeting and Joint Nomination Meeting
  • When:  Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
  • Where: To Be Determined
    • Cutoff for new memberships would be Monday, February 4th,  2019

Joint Nomination Meeting for Kitchener South–Hespeler, Kitchener–Conestoga, and Cambridge Electoral District Associations

  • What: WRGreens Regular Meeting and Joint Nomination Meeting
  • When:  First week of April
  • Where: To Be Determined
    • Cutoff for new memberships will be in the March, 30 days before the nomination contest.

WR Greens all logos

Peak indifference: “extreme weather events” drive record US acceptance of climate change as an immediate problem

mostlysignssomeportents:

Peak indifference is the moment at which a far-off problem becomes so obvious that the number of people alarmed about it begins to grow of its own accord; a new Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication survey finds that 46% of Americans believe that they are living through adverse effects from climate change right now (up 9% in a year)  and 72% of Americans say climate change is ’“extremely,” “very,” or “somewhat” important to them personally’ (the highest figure ever recorded); 57% acknowledge the scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change (also the highest level ever).

After peak indifference, the activist’s job changes: once people start self-converting to believers because they are experiencing undeniable negative consequences of inaction, the next job is to convince people who know there’s a problem that it’s not too late to do something about it. After peak indifference, you have to fight nihilism. (via Naked Capitalism)

https://boingboing.net/2019/01/24/self-radicalizing.html

Billionaire U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he doesn’t “understand why” unpaid federal workers need money

mostlysignssomeportents:

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is puzzled as to why 800,000 furloughed federal workers need to visit food banks to keep their families from starving, when they can simply get a loan.

From Reuters:

Asked about their struggles, Ross told CNBC: “I know they are, and I don’t really quite understand why.”

“The banks and the credit unions should be making credit available to them,” he said, noting that the government would give federal employees back pay. “There really is not a good excuse why there really should be a liquidity crisis.”

Wilbur Ross is has a net worth of around $700 million, according to Forbes. Before becoming Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Ross was co-chair of the Bank of Cyprus, which is a laundromat for dirty Russian money. From The Dallas News:

The country of Cyprus has a long history as a laundromat for dirty money, particularly from Russia. Cyprus is referenced 530,937 times in the Panama Papers, and the Bank of Cyprus, the country’s largest bank, is referenced 4,657 times. And the cast of characters linked to the bank and President Donald Trump is troubling.

https://boingboing.net/2019/01/24/u-s-commerce-secretary-wilbur.html

The problem with electing the 1% of the 1% is that they really have no idea what normal life is like.

books0977: A Letter of Recommendation (1881). Charles Louis…



books0977:

A Letter of Recommendation (1881). Charles Louis Baugniet (Belgian, 1814-1886). Oil on panel.

Great attention is paid to rendering the meticulous details of the interior from the porcelain cups and saucers to the fine fabrics of the elegant ladies’ dresses. A young woman is being considered for a potential position as a servant. Baugniet subtly juxtaposes the nonchalance and snobbish attitude of the ladies against the quiet demeanor of the girl who nervously awaits their decision.

Limits to trickle-down: Trump’s tax-cut “boom” fizzles

mostlysignssomeportents:

Trump’s multi-trillion-dollar giveaway to the richest Americans and largest US corporations led to a rise in GDP, but it was a short-lived sugar-high: the major effect was a trillion dollars in stock buybacks that padded the bottom lines of super-rich investors who barely touch the real economy (you can only own so many super-yachts and operating costs are funneled through offshore flags-of-convenience anyway).

But investment in “factories, software and new equipment” only rose modestly for a single quarter, and has now fallen again.

https://boingboing.net/2019/01/23/buybacks-r-us.html