News Roundup 09/16/20
By: Franciso Hermosillo
How Climate Change Will Reshape America
“Remember…Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires.” As if Smokey Bears 1947 slogan wasn’t enough to warn Americans of climate change dangers, then these recent California fires had to have made a dent in their perspectives. 900 fires were directly started as a result of an abnormal lightning storm, six times as many in 2019, breaking that record. Aside from California, the country will be ravaged by an unforeseen migration of people moving to more temperament areas of the country, as research shows that one in 12 Americans in the southern half of the country will move up more North.
Source: New York Times
Black Sabbath's Paranoid Album Turns 50
Fan or not, its easy to overlook Black Sabbath as anything but “A group of blue-collars blokes screaming satan…” As we approach the 50th anniversary of the bands second album, Paranoid, one must see through that veil and listen for the strife from a working class perspective. Bassist and primary lyricist for Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler reminds us of this as he has always acted as the overseer for the political direction of the band. He gave a purpose to the band beyond the music they created and led the directionless; the bullied and depressed away from strife in the 1950s.
Source: The Guardian
Venezuela: UN Accuses Maduro of Crimes Against humanity
UN investigators have published a report that provides evidence proving that President Maduro, along with other senior officials have ordered or contributed to crimes such extrajudicial executions and torture. Experts, Marta Valinas and Francisco Cox worked under the Geneva-based rights council last September to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity in Venezuela over the past 5 years. The findings which are based upon 3,000 individual cases, either investigated or examined, led to the conclusion that Maduro and his defense and interior ministries were aware of crimes committed by security forces and intelligence agencies.
Source: The Guardian
Mexican Women Take the Streets Against Amlo's Inaction on Femicide
In an act against the Mexican Government downplaying the current murder and rape tolls, women stormed the headquarters for country’s human rights commission (CNDH). On September 15th, a day before Mexican Independence Day, women like Yesenia Zamudio, whose daughter was killed in an act of “suspected femicide” were seen speaking at the CNDH demonstration. Another woman was there to prove that the government didn’t care about them as she shouted, “I did this the right way” and tore the handful of CDNH papers. The masked protestors claim that they will not leave until President Obrador takes affirmative action against the country’s spiraling mortality rate.
Source: The Guardian
Birds Dropping Like Flies in Mass Die-off in South-Western US
A large region of the Southwestern United Stated has been witnesses to a mass die off of many species of birds. New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and stretching into Nebraska is where birds such as swallows and warbles have been found dead by the dozens in just a two mile stretch, claims Martha Desmond who is a professor in the biology department at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Reports and findings suggest that the country’s recent influx of wildfires and climate change is to blame for this mass die off since bird behavior can be seen as direct response.
Source: The Guardian