Day: September 22, 2023

What About All This “Greenwashing”?

With all the predictions of catastrophic environmental damage being done by corporations a new term has entered into our vocabulary….”Greenwashing”.

But first a definition….

Greenwashing is a term used to describe a false, misleading or untrue action or set of claims made by an organization about the positive impact that a company, product or service has on the environment.

I recall after the Gulf oil spill BP set about giving their logo a more serene look with yellows and greens….but did little to change their disastrous practices.

Researchers have identified the threat greenwashing poses to a “nature positive” world, one where environmental decline halts and biodiversity outcomes improve. The research is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution

“As with the term ‘net zero,’ you’ll soon start to see the businesses you buy from, and the governments you vote for, making claims that they are being, doing, or contributing to nature positive. But to be clear, such an achievement is only possible if we fundamentally change how we run our society and economy.

“What we really need are standards, so that it’s clear what constitutes misleading information, and transparency, so that consumers and voters can tell the greenwash from the genuine efforts for change.”

https://phys.org/news/2023-09-greenwashing-threat-nature-positive-world.html

People should be wary of unfounded green credentials of companies whose greenwashing poses a direct threat to the environment, scientists have warned.

Can you think of any corporations that have friendly-up their approaches?

Do not be fooled….they may look environmentally friendly but it is only a mask to preserve their practices and profits….nothing more.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

This Is A Must Read!

(Sorry John this is a day late)

With the shutdown once again looming on the horizon the GOP has done what it always does….offer massive cuts in all social programs.

My friend John at Liming’s Lynkx has provided a look at this barbaric attack on the American people…..and the link he provides…

Right Wing Republicans Going After Critical Safety Net Programs Once Again

When will Americans wake up to the barbarity of the GOP and their hatred of the American people?

What say you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine And The Shut Down

It is that time again…the debate over the looming shutdown…..and part of the problem will be our massive infusion of cash into Ukraine…

The Pentagon has said that the government shutdown that will happen if Congress doesn’t pass a funding bill by September 30 could hinder US support for Ukraine.

Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood told POLITICO that the Defense Department’s suspension of what is considered nonessential activities expected under a shutdown could interrupt “delivery of defense articles, services and/or military education and training” for Ukraine.

During government shutdowns, the US military typically stops activities that are deemed unnecessary for national security, including training. The Pentagon could issue exemptions for the Ukrainian training, but if not, the programs will be forced to stop, including the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s that recently started inside the US.

Sherwood said that the Pentagon would still have access to funds to take weapons from military stockpiles for Ukraine, a program known as the Presidential Drawdown Authority. The Pentagon recently claimed billions became available in PDA for Ukraine due to an “accounting error” that overvalued weapons previously sent to the country, and Sherwood said those funds could be rolled into the next fiscal year, which starts on October 1.

But Sherwood said the actual deliveries could be stopped if the activity is suspended during the shutdown, regardless of whether or not there is funds for the weapons. The Pentagon would also not be able to dip into the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a program that allows the US to purchase weapons for Ukraine.

(antiwar.com)

This could explain the urgency for Zelensky’s visit to the UN and later to the White House and Congress with demands and looking for more hand-outs.

Speaking of Ukraine funding….

Surely you have heard of the Freedom Caucus….you know that bloc of sleazy, lying bigots on the GOP fringe….as I type this portion of my post I feel dirty and in desperate need of a shower….but on this one issue , I repeat this ONE ISSUE, I agree with the Freedom Caucus.

These 50 House members have said there should be no blank check policy toward Ukraine…..

The House Freedom Caucus, the roughly 50-member bloc of Republicans, has voiced strong opposition to a stopgap measure. In August, the group released a list of demands that would be necessary for them to approve the spending bills on the table. Included in the group’s statement from last month — which required the support of 80 percent of its members — is a rejection of “any blank check for Ukraine in any supplemental appropriations bill.”

Punchbowl News reported that McCarthy was considering attaching the disaster relief to a continuing resolution while omitting aid to Ukraine from the short-term spending bill, setting up a potential showdown with the White House and Senate.

McCarthy has sent mixed signals about his position on Ukraine aid since saying that there would be no “blank check” for Kyiv prior to ascending to the speakership. By deciding to separate Ukraine aid from the stopgap funding bill and reportedly instead tying it to controversial immigration policies, McCarthy has leaned closer to the right flank of his party on this question.

This maneuver may open the door for more debate over funding for Ukraine, though the group is not necessarily in agreement over what precisely “no blank check” means.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/republicans-ukraine-aid/

As I have stated I am NO supporter of the Freedom Caucus under normal conditions but on this issue I am for I am weary of watching tax dollars flying in all directions except to this country.

But not to worry….the Pentragon has stated that if a shutdown occurs it will not effect aid to Ukraine…

The Pentagon will exempt its operations supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia from a government shutdown that will happen if Congress fails to pass a funding bill by September 30.

During government shutdowns, the US military typically suspends activities that are deemed not vital to US national security. But Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood told POLITICO on Thursday that US support for Ukraine would not be suspended.

“Operation Atlantic Resolve is an excepted activity under a government lapse in appropriations,” Sherwood said, using the name for US military activities in Europe that have come in response to events in Ukraine since 2014, the year a US-backed coup in Kyiv led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the civil war in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

US support for Ukraine includes training of Ukrainian forces in the US and in Europe, arms shipments, and providing targeting intelligence. Just two days earlier, Sherwood told POLITICO that US support for Ukraine might be hindered by a shutdown.

The POLITICO report on the Pentagon’s decision to exempt the Ukraine operations came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington. The Pentagon said Austin met with Zelensky “to reaffirm the steadfast US support for Ukraine.”

(antiwar.com)

Will military pay be exempt?

I will not apologize for siding with those losers on the Right….but something needs to be done to rein in the waste of American cash.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”