Last week, New York City voters said yes on instituting ranked choice voting (RCV) by roughly a 3-1 margin. This new system of voting will take hold in 2021, and will be the method used for city elections, special elections, and primaries. The vote of NYC residents on the 5th of November showcases the need …
Author Archives: Søren
Storytime Sunday: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful valley in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park known as Hetch Hetchy Valley. Today, there lies a reservoir in this part of Yosemite. The story of how Hetch Hetchy Valley was transformed involves a bitter debate between the two major factions of the environmental movement in …
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Max Blumenthal’s Arrest, Media Hypocrisy, Freedom of the Press
On 25 October, American journalist and author Max Blumenthal was arrested in Washington DC. Blumenthal is the founder and the current editor of the Grayzone, an independent news website that challenges the narratives of media outlets that call for endless war and the continuation of American empire. He has written extensively about events in Venezuela, …
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Cool Moon Stuff
No tricks in the title. This blog is simply about interesting information related to our planet’s original satellite. There’s not really an over-arching story, and not much questioning of power structures occurs. Still, at the very least it’s interesting trivia, and, if you’re like me, great facts to spout just for the sake of it …
The Rise of Public Banks?
On 2 October, California signed the Public Banking Act, which will allow city and county governments to create public banks. This event might seem insignificant, a mere technicality. Public banks, however, are a powerful tool to increase communities’ control over their own economic livelihood and finances. California’s Public Banking Act could set the stage for …
It’s the Food (Says John McDougall) Part II: Corruption
Are you ready for a whopper of a blog, or, given the subject, an Impossible Whopper of a blog? Let’s get started then, shall we? Last week we cut through the muddy waters of human nutrition and discussed the optimal diet for human health. This week we will come to understand why it seems like …
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Thalidomide, Corporate Criminality, & Corruption
You might have heard of the pharmaceutical thalidomide before, along with the terrible birth defects it caused. But how was this drug developed? How did its teratogenic (causing birth defects and abnormalities) effects go unnoticed? How did the 100,000 pregnancies affected by this drug and 10,000 infants born live with birth defects go unnoticed by …
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It’s the Food (Says John McDougall) Part I: Nutrition
You’ve seen the conflicting headlines before. This week: eggs are bad for you. The next: eggs are good for you. Scientists just can’t seem to figure out what foods are killing us and which ones keep us alive. Meanwhile the population is getting sicker, plagued by chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. 55% …
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Ingjald the Ill-Ruler: Killer of 12 Kings
Here’s a brief little post about an interesting historical figure: Ingjald the Ill-Ruler, a Swedish king from the 7th century. What we know about Ingjald comes from a volume penned by Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sturlson in 1225. This book, the Ynglinga Saga, follows a line of Swedish kings throughout the ages. Ingjald, son …
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Bernie’s Ultimate Anti-Corruption Plan!
On Monday, 7 October, Bernie Sanders unveiled his comprehensive plan to combat political corruption and get money out of politics. Funnily enough CNN and MSNBC haven’t picked it up yet, at least of the time of writing. But, I’m sure the mainstream media has a good, honest reason for not covering this story. No ulterior …
Green Humanist 