Anthropocentrism | Vandana Shiva on Social and Environmental Injustice of Industrialism – We are powerful beings in a powerful world

The two blogs I’m currently posting are intertwined, in that they are both on the subject of anthropocentrism, social and environmental injustice and the destruction of the natural world (including occupation of humans) through industrialization and the current capitalism paradigm.

Double Happiness

https://carolkeiter.wordpress.com/2021/07/07/anthropocentrism-mass-extinction-from-industrialized-fast-fashion-blind-consumerism/

I had a conversation last evening with an economics student who revealed that the farmers in the USA are squeezed out by licensing and the corporate industrialization of the farming ‘industry’, I recalled instantly that this theme replicates what Hasan Minhaj expressed in his show ‘the Patriot Act’ on the Marijuana industry. Small farmers forced out of the industry because it has become so massive and industrialized.

Vandana Shiva – physicist turned ecological activist – has been an advocate for Indian farmers, tens of thousands of whom were driven to suicide by the actions of Monsanto, who put a patent of ownership on farmers’ seeds. Monsanto is the same company involved in the production of industrial chemicals and insecticides (RoundUp) from their initial creation of nerve gas. She speaks of the arrogance of technocrats and industrialists.

In this interview with FRANCE 24, Vandana Shiva states that Bill Gates ‘is continuing the work of Monsanto’. 

In this exceptional interview with Russell Brand, Vandana Shiva talks about the hypocrisy of Bill Gates in this interview with Russell Brand in which she articulately demonstrates her clarity of issues on a grand scale. 

In it, she quotes Mahatma Gandhi

the “labor of our body in the service of the earth”.

She states, “We live in a powerful world of energy and as humans, have access to this creative power of the universe through aligning ourselves spiritually – dharma – with the right action.”

I first learned of Vandana Shiva when she spoke at one of the many events of the two week long educational and activism gathering – theplacetob – in Paris, coinciding with the COP 21 in 2015. Among the speakers, Naomi Klein.

We need to recognize – become recognizant – of this power, and occupy our own spiritual paths, intuitively – in community with all of the natural world.

Occupy Yourself

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Fascism, Racism and Environmental Injustice ~ Naomi Klein

Basically, I looked at Naomi Klein’s facebook page posts, and decided to share the information. Shamelessly, judiciously; regarding fascism, racism and environmental injustice. The text below accompanying the article on the need to abolish fascism, I was unable to select/copy/past the text on Chrome or Safari on my iPad, so I typed it in order to share. 

It’s basically about the fact that abolishing racism needs to go hand in hand with abolishing capitalism that is in the reins of corporations, rather then the people owning and operating their resources and utilities, and putting their own effort and mutual trust into the commons, from which they also profit. Racism is a part of a larger picture of objectifying nature. Therefore we need to look differently upon how we utilize and share our resources. When we are in control of how we use our land, we will be approaching differently. Instead of viewing ‘work’ and ‘jobs’ that sabotage the natural world and spoil our immediate surroundings, we can choose to put our insights, time and labor into ‘re-creating’; contributing to beautifying, cleaning, and manifesting sustainable energy, housing and land that enhances the habitats of the other creatures with whom we share our planet.

America Needs to Break the Back of its Fascist Movement Now — Or Else

written by Umair Haque

Kristallnacht is all about the normalization of fascism that lead to the Holocaust of Nazi Germany.

The article is basically about the fact that abolishing racism needs to go hand in hand with abolishing capitalism, which is in the reins of corporations, rather then the people owning and operating their resources and utilities. We can put effort and mutual trust into creating and developing our commons, from which they also profit. Racism is a part of a larger picture of objectifying nature. Therefore we need to look differently upon how we utilize and share our resources. When we are in control of how we use our land, we will be approaching differently. Instead of viewing ‘work’ and ‘jobs’ that sabotage the natural world and spoil our immediate surroundings, we can choose to put our insights, time and labor into ‘re-creating’; contributing to beautifying, cleaning, and manifesting sustainable energy, housing and land that enhances the habitats of the other creatures with whom we share our planet.

Here’s the writing that accompanied the article, by Naomi Klein:

“Calls to ‘Defund the police’ and ‘Abolish the police’ are not just a call to reign in the arm of the state that is brutalizing and murdering African-Americans and minorities, it is rightly a call for community control of state institutions.  

This call is in line with what happened at Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021, for the police have now exposed themselves as being predominantly white supremacist, leaving a minority of officers not knowing what was going to happen, to defend Capitol Hill….against police officers and US military tied to fascism and white supremacy. 

Of the 72 million voters for Trump, about 15,000 laid siege to the Capitol. Of about 75 million Democratic voters, there is still disillusionment with both parties. 

What does that mean? If reflects 5 things:

1. The economy after 2008 has changed. It is now based on and surviving on debt. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) saw the US govt. hand $ trillions to banks (but not to people) …and it is this govt. debt that is keeping capitalism afloat. (Yes, the debt that future American youths will have to pay off).  

In the GFC, people lost their homes, jobs, were evicted, and houses sat empty with windows smashed and graffiti after banks sold them, while people moved into cardboard boxes and ate from charities. 

2. Capitalism globally is unable to create jobs. It is no longer a job-creating machine. 

The main areas where jobs are now being created are in mining (yes, digging out things that don’t belong to American corporations, for they belong to First Nations) or clean energy. 

The exceptions are a few countries like China which has bounced out of a Covid-driven recession. 

3. Where there is economic crisis, there will be political crisis. 

The alternative to Trump that is being offered in the US, is what the US had before Trump…which are the very conditions that led people to vote for Trump. 

This i no rib-digging, please listen carefully. It is unfortunate that the Democrats have never been able to answer this question:

“What will you do to increase job security and create job opportunities?” This is why they have lost a chunk of workers’ votes.

The crisis of capitalism will continue to affect the Biden administration as it needs to choose between “subsidizing and defending corporations”, or “funding people and cutting their purse strings from corporations”. 

4. Let’s look at the phrase “All Live Matter”. Capitalists and Republicans are all about ‘gas-lighting-, which is a form of abuse and violence. They have no respect for people’s demands. 

In Australia, a royal commission investigation into abuse of the elderly in nursing homes, and of people with a disability in institutional care, saw the govt. immediately adopt the recommendations. 

This also happened after an investigation into the hotel quarantine system that allowed Covid-19 to rip through the elderly in nursing homes.

But the govt. hardly took up any recommendations after the commission investigation into why so many First Nations people have been dying when in contact with the police in a police van, in an overnight jail cell, or in custody. Yes, police have been murdering Aboriginal people regularly. 

Since that investigation that released 339 recommendations in 1991, over 440 Aboriginal people continue to be killed by the police, without any police conviction. 

And when people say ‘Black Lives Matter’, the Australian conservative govt. says ‘no, all lives matter’. It’s like saying to the investigation into the elderly or disabled…’Elderly Lives matter, we need to fund services for the Elderly properly’, they instead say ‘No, all lives matter, we don’t need to fund services for the Elderly anymore than for anyone else’. 

Call it out as gas-lighting. They use a statement of equality to undermine our “call for equality”. Throw back at them phrases like ‘Racist, racist, racist…’ when they question our chants of ‘Black Lives Matter’….because they are gas-lighters and abusers.

5. Capitalists do not care about our free speech. The corporations fired Colin Kaepernick when he expressed himself under the 1st Amendment. If they believe in free speech, they would not be trying to capture Edward Snowden or Julian Assange. 

The capitalists’ push for ‘free speech’ for fascists, is to normalize and spread racism, hate speech and fascism.

FREEDOM FOR THE FASCISTS AND WHITE SUPREMACISTS IS DEATH FOR THE REST OF US.

So in conclusion, of the 72 million Trump voters who did not lay siege to the Capitol, we need to break the backs of the fascists to show voters that there is an alternative hope in the hopelessness offered by capitalism. 

This means that in the US, it’s time to join our “Labor Actions to Defend Democracy”, “united against Hate”, First Nations’ movements, our ‘Black Lives Matter’ groups, and importantly our unions…and organize national movements. 

We know it’s possible to have mass movements on the streets that are Covid-safe, political, strong and can move the state to make changes in our call for solutions and answers that we need to hear.

In the rise of racism and fascism, we need to build a militant, non-compromising, anti-racist movement that fights for a better world, a better way of doing things.

This is the only way we can push the Biden administration to go further in prioritizing the people over corporations. This is the only way we can stop Trumpism even when Trump is gone. 

In other countries, there will be equivalent organizations. We all have racists to address, by setting the example that we will fight for a better society on our own terms, defy capitalism, and will break the backs of fascism.

From the fascism in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, Chile, India, Hungary, Israel and other places, past and present….we say ‘Never Again’. 

And also featured as a post on Naomi Klein’s facebook page, is this article about what is neglected to being mentioned in the news, day after day, week after week.

Top scientists warn of ‘ghastly future of mass extinction’ and climate disruption

written by Phoebe Weston

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