A glimpse into the monarchy when Prince Charles becomes king

May 16 2022

In recent years, Prince Charles has taken up more of the Queen’s royal duties as his succession to the throne draws closer. Those who know and have met him say they’re confident in his ability to lead what’s expected to be a smaller monarchy with diminished global influence.

Decarbonizing India’s Energy Economy: A Conversation with Professor Michael B. McElroy • The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute

Mittal Institute: Thank you for speaking to us, Professor McElroy. You have done a lot of research at the intersection of energy, climate, air pollution and development in China. When and why did you start broadening your interest to these same challenges in India?

Michael B. McElroy: China became the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases about 10 years ago, surpassing the United States. The United States is number two. The EU is number three. And number four is now India, with a rapid growth rate in terms of its emissions. Then you look at the overall dynamics of its situation. India has the world’s second largest population, it has rapid growth in its GDP, and its influence on global affairs is important and growing. In some sense, people are looking at the path that China took: it progressed from the point where Chinese were not worried about climate change in the 1990s and 2000s – instead focused on poisoning people from the air pollution they were breathing – to the point it is at now, where China has begun to resolve some of its worst air quality problems and is increasingly taking a leadership role in dealing with the new global imperative of climate change. It is natural to wonder now if that is the model for India’s future as well, or in what respects it can or should take a different path? India has very serious air quality problems; India is also very heavily reliant on coal as its primary energy source. And so, in some respects, it’s an obvious thing to explore next India’s future energy economy in a world of changing climate.

“How do you paint your own slave?” Painter Julie Mehretu Analyzes Velázquez | The Artist Projec

Protests in Argentina’s Capital against Agrochemical company Monsanto | WION Climate Tracker

May 16 2022

Environmental activists staged a protest in Argentina’s capital opposing the Agrochemical company Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds. They have claimed that these seeds disrupt the ecological system and contribute to climate change Food-Matters,

Gravitas Plus: Which countries could go the Sri Lanka way

May 14 2022

Sri Lanka’s debt crisis is a warning to the world. The World Bank says a global debt storm is coming. It could engulf 70 developing countries & make their economies fall like dominoes. What are the threats they face? How can they be averted? Palki Sharma explains.

Mali withdraws from West Africa military alliance

May 16 2022

Mali is withdrawing from a military alliance in West Africa because of disagreements with other members about its leadership. 5,000 personnel from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger are in the G5 Sahel force, to combat armed groups in the restive region. Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports.

The billionaire class cannot have it all

May 16 2022

We must tell the billionaire class, who are getting richer and richer, and enormous corporations, whose profits are soaring: You can’t have it all. We need an economy which works for all — not just the few on top.

Abortion Activist Renee Bracey Sherman: Democrats Demand Our Votes But Fail to Protect Our Rights

May 16 2022

Tens of thousands took to the streets across the U.S. Saturday to protest threats to abortion rights as part of a coordinated day of action, under the banner “Bans Off Our Bodies.” We speak with Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and executive director of pro-abortion group We Testify, about the racist history behind anti-abortion movements and the failure of Democrats to protect reproductive rights over the years. “Abortion restrictions were really to push white people to have more babies and restrict and … control the fertility of Black and Brown people across this country,” says Sherman. Her new piece for Time magazine is headlined “Voting Won’t Save Abortion Rights.”

Antiracist Scholar Ibram X. Kendi: Republicans Must Address How White Supremacists Target Youth

May 16 2022

We speak to prominent antiracist scholar Ibram X. Kendi about the epidemic of young white males who commit white supremacist domestic terrorism. This comes as an 18-year-old white shooter sought out a majority-Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, and killed 10 people on Saturday. Kendi says this phenomenon will only get worse if antiracist education is not introduced to white children and children of color alike at their most vulnerable stages of development. Even before critical race theory was under attack, there was a dearth of educators and education that reinforces “the source of racial disparities and inequities in our community is not the inferiority of a particular racial group but this history and presence of racist policies,” he adds. Kendi’s recent piece for The Atlantic is headlined “The Danger More Republicans Should Be Talking About: White-supremacist ideology is harmful to all, especially the naive and defenseless minds of youth.”

Buffalo Massacre: Gunman Cited Racist “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory Popularized by F ox News

May 16 2022

The mass shooter who killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday posted a racist manifesto online before targeting a majority-Black neighborhood. His writings took heavily from conservative conspiracy theories that white people were in danger of being replaced by people of color. This so-called Great Replacement conspiracy theory has been promoted by major far-right media figures including Tucker Carlson of Fox News. “What it does is create a dynamic where believers view immigrants and nonwhite people as an existential threat not only to themselves physically but to their position in society,” says Nikki McCann Ramírez, associate research director at Media Matters for America, who has researched how Carlson uses his show to launder white nationalist ideology. We also speak with prominent antiracist scholar Ibram X. Kendi, who says mainstream conservatives are increasingly parroting extremist talking points.