Issue 68: 28 Oct to 3 Nov 2021

Climate

If pledges already made at Glasgow are met, warming ‘to peak below 2 degrees’
Nick O’Malley | Age SMH

With “net zero 2050” and 1.5°C in same breath, Glasgow reeks of cognitive dissonance
David Spratt | Renew Economy

Will Steffen: 2030 targets matter
Alex Bainbridge | Green Left
No, net zero by 2050 won’t cut it. That’s far too late.

COP26 omits biodiversity loss from agenda
Sue Arnold | Independent Australia

The Morrison government’s emissions projections are a farce based on technological pipe dreams
Greg Jericho | The Guardian
It’s clear the Coalition has given up on the Paris agreement

How the gas lobby captured Morrison’s Glasgow response
Marian Wilkinson | The Saturday Paper
A close relationship with the head of Santos has seen the Morrison government pursue a policy built around unproven carbon capture and storage

The lies and manipulations used for Australia’s new 2030 emissions projection
Ketan Joshi | Renew Economy

Australia considering more than 100 fossil fuel projects that could produce 5% of global i ndustrial emissions
Bec Pridham,  Adam Morton | The Guardian

“Remarkable:” South Australia reached 100 pct renewables nearly every day in October
Giles Parkinson | Renew Economy

Crimes Against Nature: $2 million whales, wartime Britain and the economics of saving the planet 
Jeff Sparrow | The Guardian
Why not democratically and rationally decide the measures needed to save the planet, and then … do them? Why not, in other words, plan?

Morrison is not Trump — but Australia is filling a Trumpian slot on the world stage
Guy Rundle | Crikey
The PM’s schtick is to be Trump-lite: he snips and snipes and pompously proclaims how he won’t be pushed around by a bunch of foreigners.

It’s time for Anthony Albanese to get angry
Judith Brett | The Conversation

Politics and Economy

RBA chief says it’s all about the wages
Michael Pascoe | The New Daily
Without quite saying it, the RBA’s monetary policy for at least the next couple of years will primarily be about getting wages growth up off the floor.

Pandora Papers: is the world’s biggest leak the world’s biggest cover-up?
Michael West | Michael West

Can’t find workers? Why not pay more instead of exploiting children and migrants
Van Badham | The Guardian
The creative energy found by employers to avoid wage rises is yet another reminder the promises made to workers by neoliberal economics are lies, lies, lies

Australia’s Largest Retail Union Colludes With Bosses to Exploit Workers
Harry Stratton | Jacobin
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association organizes retail workers across Australia. Under its hard-right social conservative leadership, the association cooperates with employers to enrich its top officials at workers’ expense.

“Job Security” – Worth Fighting For
Ned K | Vanguard
The stand downs, job losses and cuts to hours of work experienced by millions of workers during the Covid 19 pandemic of the last two years have taken the level of job insecurity to new heights.

Meta-Facebook: The Quest for the Infinite Office
Timothy Erik Ström | Arena
Zuckerberg describes the metaverse as ‘an embodied internet’. In this, he could not be more wrong: the metaverse is precisely about deepening the forces of disembodiment.

Justice, World and Culture

Justice for Assange is justice for all
John Pilger | Independent Australia

Aboriginal boy left in apartment for over a year budget estimates reveals
Rachael Knowles | National Indigenous Times

New bill aims to end the removal of First Nations’ children
Markela Panegyres | Green Left

Sudan: The people resist the coup
Susan Price | Green Left

Japan’s reluctance to cut emissions rivals Australia
Gavan McCormack | Pearls and Irritations

The Australian publishing industry’s problem with class
Michele Freeman | Overland online

Profit-hungry hippies aren’t progressive
Ruby Healer | Red Flag
Bohemian bug-outs off the beaten track have become nerve centres for COVID denialism. It’s easy to see why: these are places where amethysts and ashwaganda are accepted as well-documented cures for illnesses both physical and spiritual.

Judith Butler: Gender Politics versus Fascism?
Simon Cooper | Arena