Monthly Archives: July 2022

Plus Ça Change: Lessons from a Mall

current mall/parking lot footprint near my home, showing proposed towers It has been above 35ºC (close to 100ºF) all week here in Coquitlam. Like most Vancouverites I have no air conditioning. On top of that, I’m on Day 15 since … Continue reading

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Collapse, Not Apocalypse

Thomas Cole’s ‘Destruction’, the fourth of his five-panel series ‘The Course of Empire‘, 1836. Public domain. Several people have pointed me to Chris Hedges’ latest article “The Dawn of the Apocalypse”, which includes a lengthy summation of the current state … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 14 Comments

It Just Is

more on radical non-duality, and some new scientific theories; the usual caveats apply for those who find such blather annoying image of the galaxy group Stephan’s Quintet, new, from NASA’s Webb telescope I was never a fan of The Matrix, … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

Automating Away Customer Service

cartoon by the late New Yorker cartoonist Robert Weber, one of the few cartoonists who worked mostly with charcoal There is a double interface between the producers and customers of the things we buy and sell: sales and marketing, and … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

Not Meant to Govern Each Other

The late David Graeber talks with Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, image from London Real (2015) The gradually accelerating collapse of our economic and financial systems, political systems, health and education systems, essential infrastructure, civil discourse, and of course our climate … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

Half Time Score: Coronavirus 10, Humanity 0

Hard to believe I’m still writing about this subject. But here we are. Just about 2 1/2 years after its first appearance on the planet, and despite all human efforts, the latest estimates are that: 2/3 of the earth’s population … Continue reading

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Links of the Month: July 2022

cartoon by Michael Leunig from his fans’ FB page No further comment. This is where we are, now. Turn it off, if you can, and go outside and play. COLLAPSE WATCH New Yorker cartoon by Lars Kenseth Sri Lanka: This … Continue reading

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Sclerotic Systems, Sclerotic States

poll by CBS of US voters in May 2022 The other day someone asked me how I can reconcile my views that we have no free will with my argument that the US is sliding, not-so-slowly, into being a fascist … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

Unbearable Witnessing

Cartoon by Michael Leunig So maybe you’re a journalist, on the front lines reporting endless atrocities, lies and trauma. Maybe you’re a health care worker, forced to compromise on the best care you can give because of your employer’s rules … Continue reading

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Characteristics of an Unhealthy Culture

Photo credits, clockwise from upper left:  1. China pollution — Damir Sagoli for Reuters; 2. Trump stormtroopers in Portland — Noah Berger for AP: 3. Garbage-pickers in Lagos — Samantha Appleton, in The New Yorker;  4. Refugees in Greece — Daniel Etter/New York Times/Redux /eyevine:  5. Child labourers … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments