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Kay Bradley

Katharine Hayhoe - "Our future is still in our hands" | The On Being Project - The On B... - 0 views

onbeing.org/...r-future-is-still-in-our-hands

climate climate change environment faith action

shared by Kay Bradley on 15 Nov 21 - No Cached
  • I was talking with a pastor just recently, and he asked me very genuinely, he said, “How do I talk to people about climate change, when the only solutions that we are told that there are to climate change is to stop eating meat” — which is a very big deal in Texas, with those barbecues, it really is. It’s an identity issue. I’m not saying this facetiously; it is literally an identity issue — “and stop driving trucks, also an identity issue, stop traveling, stop having children, which is also an identity issue — basically, stop all these things that actually we often see as defining who we are?” And he said, “How am I supposed to tell people that we’re supposed to do this, when it’s as if I’m telling them, you know, we have to just” — and I think these were my words — “return to the Stone Age, unplug everything, and all the solutions are bad”?
  • And sadly, the way our human psychology is built, psychologists have shown that we, as humans, are much more averse to losing what we have than gaining something new.
  • I think there are some very smart people who have put those pieces together and deliberately communicated a message to us that we’re going to lose all we hold dear, instead of messaging the truth, which is, don’t you want to be more energy independent, rather than less? Don’t you want to have a car that is faster, that you never have to go to the gas station again — especially in the days of COVID — than the one that you have today, and that doesn’t produce air pollution that’s responsible for almost 9 million deaths a year? Don’t you want to grow food in a way that is healthy and good for the soil and for people and for the animals, too? Don’t you want to invest in nature, so it can protect us by purifying our air and our water and protecting our coastlines and providing habitat for animals and preventing zoonosis? When we actually start talking about real solutions  — and that’s the Yale survey that you referred to that I talk about in the book — when we ask people about real solutions, everybody’s on board. Everybody says, heck yes, I would love to do that. And so that is where we can directly address the fear, head-on.
  • ...21 more annotations...
  • what you’ve been saying. “What we need to fix this thing is rational hope.” How do you instill rational hope? And I mean, how do you do that, right, when you’re out there?
  • And then the second thing is recognizing that we are already moving towards a better future. Now, it might not seem like that, because all the headlines are full of doom and gloom and bad news. But when we start to look for hopeful news — and sadly, we have to go out and look for it, because if you just go — I did an experiment the other day, where I went to the website of a major news organization, and I just paged down through 35 headlines. And about seven or eight were very neutral; like, they didn’t evoke any emotion in me. They were just neutral, factual headlines. And every single other headline was negative — every one. So when we go and we look, though, for the hopeful stories of people who are making a difference, that imbues us with a sense of efficacy, that, wow, there’s somebody over there who’s doing something.
  • And you’re talking about what I refer to as a muscular hope.
  • Nobody in Texas knows that we have the biggest army base by land area, in the U.S., Fort Hood, that is 43 percent powered by clean energy.
  • Nobody knows that the Dallas Fort Worth airport was the first large carbon-neutral airport in North America.
  • Nobody knows that the city of Houston, which is home to, of course, most of the headquarters of many large, multinational oil and gas corporations, that the city of Houston has — is going to be meeting its Paris targets, in terms of reducing its carbon emissions.
  • we think of climate action as a giant boulder sitting at the bottom of an incredibly steep hill, and it’s only got a few hands on it. It’s got, you know, Al Gore’s hands are on it, and maybe Jane Goodall, and maybe a couple other hands, but nobody else. And so there’s just no way we’re going to make it up that hill. Like, just forget it. Why even waste my time? That’s sort of mentally how we think.
  • But the reality is, when we start to look around and see that 90 percent of new energy installed last year, during COVID, was clean energy, and we start to see that cities all over the world are taking action on climate change, and big businesses, like Microsoft and Apple and AT&T — you know, they’re building the biggest solar farm in the U.S., outside of Dallas, to supply major corporations with clean energy. So really, that giant boulder, it is already at the top of the hill, and it’s already rolling down the hill in the right direction, and it already has millions of hands on it. It just doesn’t have enough to get it going faster. And when we think, well, maybe I could add my hand to that, because I could get it going just a little bit faster, that’s totally different than if we think it’s at the bottom of the hill, not budging even an inch. So I find tremendous hope from that.
  • Texas, if Texas were its own country, it would be the seventh-most prolific emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, it’s the number one emitter in the U.S. — and Texas leads the nation in wind generation, for example.
  • that, honestly, and here’s the crazy thing. When you look at how the world has changed before — and it has changed. I mean, you know, 200 years ago it was somehow completely socially acceptable to have other human beings in slavery. And 150 years ago, it was entirely acceptable to say that women’s brains were too small and too fragile to be educated, because they would overheat.
  • It is the verse in Timothy where it talks about fear, where it says, “God has not given you a spirit of fear.”
  • that verse goes on to say, is a spirit of power, which is kind of an old-fashioned word, but in modern parlance it means to be empowered; to be able to act.
  • Or “agency.”
  • Yes, agency. Exactly — a spirit of agency. I like that.
  • And that’s the opposite of being paralyzed by fear. And we also have a spirit of love, which means we can be thinking of and considering others, not just ourselves and our own needs
  • So caring about this issue and acting on it is not only consistent with who we are, but it enables us to more genuinely express what we truly care about
  • It’s about acknowledging that, to care about climate change, you only have to be one thing, and that one thing is a human, living on planet Earth.
  • But talk about why it matters to you. Talk about how you both ski, or you’re both parents and you’re worried about your kids and the playground being too hot for them, or the fact that you fish and you’ve noticed that the fish populations are changing, or the fact that your basement got flooded last time it rained. Talk about something that matters to you and to the person that you’re talking with, and then do your research, to learn about what real climate solutions look like, and share that information with people.
  • do you know what our city is doing? Find out what your city’s doing. Tell people. Do you know what your state’s doing? Do you know what your church is doing? And if you don’t know, ask, and then if they’re not doing anything, say, hey, here are some things that you could be doing. And I even have a list on my website, because people often ask me that. So I’ve got a list of, you know, what could your church do, what can you do at school — all of these different things you can do.
  • hope begins with fear or despair or anxiety, it begins, as the bible says in the Book of Romans, it begins with suffering. And that suffering produces perseverance, and that perseverance produces character, and the character produces hope
  • in the middle of the century, it was somehow acceptable to say that, depending on the color of your skin, you could or couldn’t enter certain buildings or sit in a place on the bus. So the world has absolutely changed before, and how did it change? It was when ordinary people of no particular wealth or fame decided that the world could and should be different, and they decided to not only take personal action, but to use their voices to talk about why it mattered, what could be done, and to advocate for change in every sphere in which they were.
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Nov 21
     
    "Well, we live, today, in a country, the United States, that is more politically polarized than it's been in either of our lifetimes, ever. And that just seems to be getting worse by the day." What Hayhoe and others are pointing to is another way of communicating about climate change.
Kay Bradley

COP26: Key Outcomes From the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow  | World Resources I... - 0 views

www.wri.org/...comes-un-climate-talks-glasgow

shared by Kay Bradley on 01 Dec 21 - No Cached
  • The world still remains off track to beat back the climate crisis.  
  • ministers from all over the world agreed that countries should come back next year to submit stronger 2030 emissions reduction targets with the aim of closing the gap to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees
  • Ministers also agreed that developed countries should urgently deliver more resources to help climate-vulnerable countries adapt to the dangerous and costly consequences of climate change that they are feeling already —
  • ...46 more annotations...
  • curb methane emissions,
  • halt and reverse forest loss,
  • align the finance sector with net-zero by 2050
  • ditch the internal combustion engine
  • accelerate the phase-out of coal,
  • end international financing for fossil fuels,
  • “Not nearly enough” to the first question, “yes” to the second. 
  • 151 countries had submitted new climate plans (known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs)
  • To keep the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C within reach, we need to cut global emissions in half by the end of this decade.
  • these plans, as they stand, put the world on track for 2.5 degrees C of warming by the end of the century.
  • If you take into account countries’ commitments to reach net-zero emissions by around mid-century, analysis shows temperature rise could be kept to around 1.8 or 1.9 degrees C.
  • some major emitters’ 2030 targets are so weak (particularly those from Australia, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Russia) that they don’t offer credible pathways to achieve their net-zero targets.
  • a major “credibility gap”
  • To fix this problem, these countries’ must strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets to at least align with their net-zero commitments. 
  • as well as ramping up ambition
  • the pact asks nations to consider further actions to curb potent non-CO2 gases, such as methane, and includes language emphasizing the need to “phase down unabated coal” and “phase-out fossil fuel subsidies.”
  • This marked the first time negotiators have explicitly referenced shifting away from coal and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in COP decision text.  
  • this COP finally recognized the importance of nature for both reducing emissions and building resilience to the impacts of climate change,
  • Did Developing Countries Get the Finance and Support They Need? 
  • In 2009, rich nations committed to mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 and through 2025 to support climate efforts in developing countries
  • developed countries failed to meet that goal in 2020 (recent OECD estimates show that total climate finance reached $79.6 billion in 2019).
  • The Adaptation Fund reached unprecedented levels of contributions, with new pledges for $356 million that represent almost three times its mobilization target for 2022. The Least Developed Countries Fund, which supports climate change adaptation in the world’s least developed countries, also received a record $413 million in new contributions.
  • COP26 also took steps to help developing countries access good quality finance options.
  • For example, encouraging multilateral institutions to further consider the links between climate vulnerabilities and the need for concessional financial resources for developing countries — such as securing grants rather than loans to avoid increasing their debt burden. 
  • COP26 finally put the critical issue of loss and damage squarely on the main stage
  • Climate change is already causing devastating losses of lives, land and livelihoods. Some damages are permanent — from communities that are wiped out, to islands disappearing beneath the waves, to water resources that are drying up.
  • Countries also agreed to operationalize and fund the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage, established at COP25 in Madrid, and to catalyze the technical assistance developing countries need to address loss and damage in a robust and effective manner.  
  • International Carbon Markets.
  • negotiators agreed to avoid double-counting, in which more than one country could claim the same emissions reductions as counting toward their own climate commitments.
  • his is critical to make real progress on reducing emissions.
  • Common Time Frames. In Glasgow, countries were encouraged to use common timeframes for their national climate commitments. This means that new NDCs that countries put forward in 2025 should have an end-date of 2035, in 2030 they will put forward commitments with a 2040 end-date, and so on.
  • Transparency. In Glasgow, all countries agreed to submit information about their emissions and financial, technological and capacity-building support using a common and standardized set of formats and tables.
  • 100 high-level announcements during the “World Leaders Summit"
  • including a bold commitment from India to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 that is backed up with near-term targets (including ambitious renewable energy targets for 2030), 109 countries signing up to the Global Methane Pledge to slash emissions by 30% by 2030, and a pledge by 141 countries (as of November 10) to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 (backed by $18 billion in funding, including $1.7 billion dedicated to support indigenous peoples).  
  • Glasgow Breakthroughs, a set of global targets meant to dramatically accelerate the innovation and use of clean technologies in five emissions-heavy sectors:
  • power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.
  • 46 countries, including the U.K., Canada, Poland and Vietnam made commitments to phase out domestic coal,
  • 29 countries including the U.K., Canada, Germany and Italy committed to end new direct international public support for unabated fossil fuels by the end of 2022
  • Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, led by Costa Rica and Denmark — with core members France, Greenland, Ireland, Quebec, Sweden and Wales — pledged to end new licensing rounds for oil and gas exploration and production and set an end date that is aligned with Paris Agreement objectives
  • Efforts were also made to scale up solar investment
  • new Solar Investment Action Agenda by WRI, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Bloomberg Philanthropies that identifies high-impact opportunities to speed up investment and reach ISA’s goal of mobilizing $1 trillion in solar investment by 2030.
  • Non-state actors including investors, businesses, cities and subnational regions also joined collective action initiatives aimed at driving economic transformation.
  • Over 400 financial firms which control over $130 trillion in assets committed to aligning their portfolios to net-zero by 2030
  • banks, asset managers and asset owners fully recognize the business case for climate action and the significant risks of investing in the high-carbon, polluting economy of that past.
  • 11 major automakers agreed to work toward selling only zero-emission vehicles globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets.  
  • In the year ahead, major emitters need to ramp up their 2030 emissions reduction targets to align with 1.5 degrees C, more robust approaches are needed to hold all actors accountable for the many commitments made in Glasgow, and much more attention is needed on how to meet the urgent needs of climate-vulnerable countries to help them deal with climate impacts and transition to net-zero economies.
Karan Rai

ISIS Displaying a Deft Command of Varied Media - 4 views

www.nytimes.com/...t-command-of-varied-media.html

command media nytimes ISIS social media Kurds Iraq

shared by Karan Rai on 31 Aug 14 - No Cached
  • Karan Rai on 31 Aug 14
     
    The article that I chose to put in our Diigo list was about ISIS's ability to sway younger people in foreign countries through their use of social media. According to this article, ISIS is recruiting people from the West (USA/EU) through Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Kik and more. They are essentially the "new-age" terrorist organization because ISIS is able to very effectively use digital means to spread their message. For example, about two weeks ago, ISIS released a video in which they beheaded an American journalist. This video was posted on Facebook and Twitter and spread very, very quickly. Additionally, the article states that ISIS's recruitment message has been very successful as they have received hundreds of recruits from the West (USA/EU). Possibly as a response to the growing power of ISIS, today Germany decided to supply thousands of armaments to the Kurds in Iraq in order to fight off ISIS. I am curious to see how the USA handles in the situation with ISIS because they are obviously a group that has the capability to do a lot of damage but I doubt the USA wants to support a group that will eventually turn against them like the Mujahideen fighters in the 1980s.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • janh97 on 04 Sep 14
     
    This article was very concerning. It just reminds me how the promise of power will make people do unthinkable things, evident numerous times in history. It's even scarier how this movement is grabbing people's attention through casual social media settings. What the article said about people asking questions about ISIS on ask.fm and then being directed to kik for a more personal discussion was crazy!
  • caseyyamamura on 04 Sep 14
     
    It is alarming how quickly ISIS can recruit and spread information through social media. It truly is "online jihad 3.0".
  • aaron_godinez on 04 Sep 14
     
    Couldn't twitter and other online website deactivate their accounts? or block some of their posts or something, or is it a legal issue? ISIS seems appears to be an organized terrorist group. The fact that they have that kind of book keeping is strange. Their ability to publicize their actions and demands seems to put more pressure on the actions of intervening political parties.
Kay Bradley

US foreign aid is worth defending now more than ever - 0 views

www.brookings.edu/...h-defending-now-more-than-ever

shared by Kay Bradley on 19 Nov 19 - No Cached
  • he U.S. government is giving short shrift to international development goals and American values, China appears poised to eclipse America’s economic dominance, and the climate crisis is now an existential threat to us all.
  • current U.S. administration will almost assuredly continue to favor transactional deals and brinksmanship over preserving America’s role as a transformational leader in foreign assistance.
  • we need a new narrative.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • With U.S. leadership adrift and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) halting at best, what can motivate the community of nations to redouble their efforts to realize a better world?
  • aid delivery is being reshaped thanks to citizen-driven social movements, multinational companies motivated to be socially responsible, and powerful foundations backing experimental approaches.
  • The climate crisis, which is hitting developing countries hard, was a central topic at our roundtable, since its effects are already transforming development prospects and confounding those who track long-term environmental and social trends
  • Thus, climate-based migration may soon create one of the greatest sources of insecurity and conflict in the latter part of the 21st century.
  • Developing countries also face a youth bulge; unless we equip youth for the workforce of the future, unemployment will skyrocket and an entire generation will lack purpose and hope for the future, making them particularly vulnerable to radicalization strategies of extremist movements.
  • These individuals need both soft skills and competency in science, technology, engineering, and math if they are to be successful in the economy of tomorrow.
  • Today, China oversees major financial assets and development via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its ambitious strategy to broaden and deepen its economic relationships and build and fund infrastructure worldwide.
  • Chinese focus on infrastructure lending presents an alternative to grant aid offered by the U.S. and like-minded donors who traditionally promoted human rights and democratic governance.
  • policymakers would do well to find areas around which they can cooperate—for example, on pollution reduction, anti-poverty programs in South Asia, or the prevention of health pandemics
  • Opinion polls clearly highlight that Americans care deeply about doing good in the world.
  • Put simply, American values are alive and well, despite increasing U.S. government disengagement on these issues.
  • The city of Pittsburgh just signed a partnership agreement with Aarhus, Denmark, to work together to transform their old industrial areas into thriving and equitable urban spaces running on clean energy. Another example is Hawaii—a U.S. state that is sharing its experiences in creating innovative partnerships to advance sustainable development with islands such as Palau,
Elizabeth Sundsmo

Diss Information: Is There a Way to Stop Popular Falsehoods from Morphing into "Facts"?... - 0 views

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm

popular perceptions information presidential campaign tactics misinformation psychology

shared by Elizabeth Sundsmo on 15 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Elizabeth Sundsmo on 15 Oct 12
     
    . Directly, this article is a psycological analysis scientists have done about how misinformation affects peoples actions and decisions, but I also think that it plays a role in the election, foreign relations, and the turns the economy takes.
miriambachman

Opposition in Syria Is Skeptical of Strikes - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...a-is-skeptical-of-strikes.html

Syria

shared by miriambachman on 30 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • miriambachman on 30 Sep 14
     
    This article is interesting in that it explains the US condoned airstrikes and military presence in Syria from the point of view of Syrian citizens. We've discussed in class how the US has developed a mentality where we assume a) that we are a well-liked global super power and b) that we are morally obligated to get involved in any conflict given our national power/influence. However, this article shows that some Syrian citizens are deeply disturbed by the presence of the United States, as air strikes have destroyed several communities of non-ISIS supporters and have caused numerous casualties. Additionally, the constant air strikes seem to have had the opposite effect of what was intended: many Syrians have developed anti-American attitudes and have begun to identify with ISIS. So, basically, the very actions we have taken to eliminate ISIS have increased public support of the Islamic State. That is not to say that every (or even the majority of) Syrians now support ISIS, but it is interesting to take a look at the repercussions of our actions in the eyes of a nation that is directly affected.
Jenna Mowat

Arab League speaks out on human rights abuse, positive development of Arab Spring - 9 views

I think it is interesting that the Arab states took a strong stance in condemning Syria when the neighboring states had no direct conflict with Syria. I question why the government decided to chang...

Arab spring Libya Syria League Human Rights

started by Nicholas Hirsch on 07 Sep 11 2 follow-ups, last by Jenna Mowat on 08 Sep 11
quinnlewis

What ISIS Really Wants - 6 views

www.theatlantic.com/...384980

shared by quinnlewis on 19 Nov 15 - No Cached
  • quinnlewis on 19 Nov 15
     
    Insight into the goals and values of ISIS. Interesting to compare with traditional Islam and how ISIS interprets the religion and then puts it into action. The opaque curtain between ISIS and the outside world has left a huge gap in our knowledge on how to predict their actions or defeat them. It's a really long article but if you only have time to skim: pay attention to the large statements in bold and sections the reading is organized in to learn about specific aspects of their regime.
  • Kay Bradley on 19 Nov 15
     
    "In December, The New York Times published confidential comments by Major General Michael K. Nagata, the Special Operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State's appeal. "We have not defeated the idea," he said. "We do not even understand the idea." In the past year, President Obama has referred to the Islamic State, variously, as "not Islamic" and as al-Qaeda's "jayvee team," statements that reflected confusion about the group, and may have contributed to significant strategic errors." Wow. That's concerning!
topiarey

UN accused of 'shocking' lack of action over murder and rape in South Sudan - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...n-over-murder-rape-south-sudan

shared by topiarey on 15 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • topiarey on 15 Dec 15
     
    The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has been accused of a "complete and utter failure" to protect civilians in one of the most dangerous and volatile parts of the war-ravaged country.
ethana2020

Previously Unknown Sources Come Forward in a New Book About Harvey Weinstein - 6 views

I think it is really interesting how Gloria Allred, who is so against sexual harassment, believes that these settlements are an okay way to deal with the issue of sexual harassment, as it allows th...

https:__www.nytimes.com_2019_09_08_books_harvey-weinstein-book-kantor-twohey.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

started by dtarkoff on 08 Sep 19 2 follow-ups, last by ethana2020 on 09 Sep 19
Kay Bradley

Democrats Ready Impeachment Charge Against Trump for Inciting Capitol Mob - The New Yor... - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...mocrats-trump-impeachment.html

shared by Kay Bradley on 09 Jan 21 - No Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 09 Jan 21
     
    ""If the president does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our action," Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a letter on Friday.Credit..."
Kay Bradley

They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free. - The New York Times - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...afghan-women-prison.html

shared by Kay Bradley on 02 Mar 20 - No Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 02 Mar 20
     
    Fghanistan
petertimpane

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema claps back after chased into bathroom by pro-Biden agenda protester... - 0 views

abcnews.go.com/...story

Infrastructure bill Sinema Manchin

shared by petertimpane on 06 Oct 21 - No Cached
  • petertimpane on 06 Oct 21
     
    Senators Sinema and Manchin, the two moderate democrats holding up Biden's infrastructure plan, were both pushed to back the bill in semi-private situations. The question is whether or not is a form of political action we should encourage or not
audreybandel

Who Owns a Recipe? A Plagiarism Claim Has Cookbook Authors Asking. - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...theft-cookbook-plagiarism.html

shared by audreybandel on 30 Nov 21 - No Cached
  • audreybandel on 30 Nov 21
     
    Posting this because we were talking about intellectual property.
Kay Bradley

What We Know About the Railroad Labor Talks to Prevent a Strike - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...rail-labor-strike-talks.html

railroad labor unions

shared by Kay Bradley on 30 Nov 22 - No Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 30 Nov 22
     
    "The agreement reached in September would have allowed workers to take time off up to three times each year for a routine medical appointment without risking disciplinary action, but many workers said that the concession was insufficient and that it did not address the deeper issue underlying their concerns: a business model that seeks to minimize labor costs and results in chronic understaffing."
nicksandford

Belarus opposition leader jailed in Lukashenko 'purge' | Belarus | The Guardian - 1 views

www.theguardian.com/...ava-jailed-in-lukashenko-purge

shared by nicksandford on 30 Nov 22 - No Cached
  • nicksandford on 30 Nov 22
     
    Belarus is one of the last remaining authoritarian regimes in Europe, and have begun a crackdown on opposition movements in recent years. Freedom House ranks them very low for Political Rights and Civil Liberties, and recently, the main opposition leader was arrested and hospitalized from prison after suffering serious injuries.
  • Kay Bradley on 01 Dec 22
     
    Maria Kalesnikava. . . . what guts! "Kalesnikava was arrested last September and taken to the border, where she was told to leave the country. Instead, she reportedly ripped up her passport, risking prison rather than going into exile." She was charged with conspiracy to seize power, calling for action to damage national security, and calling for actions damaging national security using media and the internet. At the same court hearing, the lawyer Maxim Znak, another member of the opposition council's leadership, was given a 10-year prison sentence on similar charges. He had gone on hunger strike while awaiting trial to protest against the charges against him. "We demand the immediate release of Maria and Maksim, who aren't guilty of anything," wrote Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an opposition leader who ran for president against Lukashenko. She is based in Lithuania and cannot return to the country without facing arrest.
Robert Giesler

U.S. Suspects Iran Was Behind a Wave of Cyberattacks - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...nd-a-wave-of-cyberattacks.html

Iran cyberattacks

shared by Robert Giesler on 14 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Robert Giesler on 14 Oct 12
     
    This article is about cyberattacks on the various companies, specifically Saudi Aramco, an oil company. Apparently Iran is behind the attacks. I find it interesting how cyber warfare might become an even bigger part of conflicts today. It's also interesting how the US and Israel have both been attacking companies from Iran, which isn't scrutinized, yet as soon as Iran does it, it's a huge issue.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Elizabeth Sundsmo on 15 Oct 12
     
    I also find the difference of who is scrutinized (and who is not) interesting. The dependency on technology and computers in the global economy in light of this article makes me wonder if this is not just becoming a bigger part of conflicts, but perhaps the main conflict in countries fighting for an economic or even global edge. To me it seems a bit reminiscent of the Cold War because countries will race to develop malicious and protective software in order to feel safe, much like the US and Russia did with nuclear warheads to deter the other (although all it would really take is one warhead sent from each country to insure mutual destruction). "...the United States might redefine defense in cyberspace as requiring the capacity to reach forward over computer networks if an attack was detected or anticipated, and take pre-emptive action.... For now, officials have decided to hold back. "The countries who need to know we have it already know," the senior intelligence official said."
  • Adam Pease on 15 Oct 12
     
    I think the relationship between nuclear security and cyber attacks is interesting. The US does not receive much criticism for deploying Stuxnet (designed to damage Iran's nuclear program), but Iran is criticized for deploying computer viruses aimed at other elements of US defense. This raises interesting questions about whether or not Western states have a right to deny non-Western states nuclear acquisition.
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    Great point in your post about emphasis of investigations, Robert
Matt Harband

Iranian Rial in Downward Spiral - 1 views

www.economist.com/21564607

Iran speculation hyperinflation inflation rial

shared by Matt Harband on 13 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Matt Harband on 13 Oct 12
     
    The Iranian national currency, the rial has been in steady decline for months, and the only method that the government has used to combat the issue is to print more money-- not the best plan of action.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Alexander Luckmann on 14 Oct 12
     
    Inflation at above 25% since January -- that's a ridiculous rate. As we saw in "Commanding Heights", economy and politics are closely tied together, and it will be fascinating to see to what extent the economy swings support toward Ahmadinejad's opposition. Could Iran be in a similar position as Russia was in the '80s, perhaps spending far too much on the military (nuclear bomb??) to manage the economy wisely?
  • Thomas Peterson on 15 Oct 12
     
    I agree with what Alexander said. I think it would be interesting to investigate whether or not the Obama administration has considered applying economic pressure to Iran in order to achieve diplomatic means. With Iran in such an unstable economic state (which I am surprised isn't covered more by American news media), why would the US government even consider using military force against Iran if the Ahmadinejad regime could be destabilized in another way. We'll see how Obama and Romney treat this issue in the foreign policy debate, as Obama could use an argument based on Iran's economic instability in going against Romney's position on using military force against Iran.
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    yes!
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