EU Chief, Ursula von der Leyen, was quoted as saying ‘The West as we knew it no longer exists’ in an interview with German newspaper Zeit and captured here in Euronews. She is correct. It no longer exists, but more importantly, it’s not coming back. The world has changed and while many continue to hope for a return to stability, it is not going to happen. We are on a new path now and we have an opportunity to build something even better out of the ashes. But we must accept where we are first. We’ve got to look it in the eye.
Massive change was always on our doorstep, one way or another. With the multiple impacts of the polycrisis here to stay, there are aspects we can control and there are aspects out of our control, and what we have no control over is the role of nature in the system we have built. Nature is no longer reliable in regard to the civilization we rely on, because we took too much and pushed it into a new geological age. The “Age of Consequences” has arrived much earlier than anticipated, and how we handle this age is what matters now.
If you can move towards acceptance of this new age and work out your role in it, you will be a lot better off than those closed to this reality – which continues to be the majority. Unfortunately, when the majority does wake up, there’s a high probability it will be very ugly – one of my biggest concerns. Regardless, what we had is not returning, so what’s next? That is the question we are being asked to answer now.
There is a group of people already writing that story, and they leapt at a very unique opportunity, with the election of Donald Trump core to their strategy. Before Trump’s second term, this group were already powerful, but their ambitions remained unreachable. Today, they have free reign in the White House and in halls of power across the world. This is the Techbros, the Cryptobros, or the TechReich – a term coined by Gil Duran. Gil was also on the fringes, writing about what this group were planning to do, and now people are listening to him.
Understanding this story, the people behind it, their goals, who is welcome into this future and who is not, as well as the role of technology in creating it and driving even more ecological destruction, is VERY important to understand. If we do not face this, how can we overcome it?
After seeing this story shared by many, but never the mainstream press, I was pleased to see The Guardian pick it up in the article The rise of end times fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor. It has finally been taken out of the fringes and is in the mainstream where it needs to be. The article is an intense read and here’s a few quotes, but PLEASE, read it. Spend the time on this information. It’s important.
Inspired by a warped reading of the political philosopher Albert Hirschman, figures including Goff, Thiel and the investor and writer Balaji Srinivasan…. they dream of splintering governments and carving up the world into hyper-capitalist, democracy-free havens under the sole control of the supremely wealthy, protected by private mercenaries, serviced by AI robots and financed by cryptocurrencies.
If we are to meet our critical moment in history, we need to reckon with the reality that we are not up against adversaries we have seen before. We are up against end times fascism.
It is terrifying in its wickedness, yes. But it also opens up powerful possibilities for resistance. To bet against the future on this scale – to bank on your bunker – is to betray, on the most basic level, our duties to one another, to the children we love, and to every other life form with whom we share a planetary home. This is a belief system that is genocidal at its core and treasonous to the wonder and beauty of this world. We are convinced that the more people understand the extent to which the right has succumbed to the Armageddon complex, the more they will be willing to fight back, realizing that absolutely everything is now on the line.
The article doesn’t just talk about the tech bros, it covers the Christian Nationalists and the Rapture, Steve Bannon’s MAGA audience, and it offers suggestions on what we can do about it. This is the sort of information we need to understand, because we are not showing the level of imagination required to understand this moment, and we need to, before it’s too late.
If you want to understand how this applies, check out this story – it’s long, but equally worth your time The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI – Mother Jones.
And another. Now, tech that can track traffickers of all descriptions is a good thing, so why the secrecy? We need to know what’s going on – yes? This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops | WIRED
Another story worth your time, understanding Palantir, Peter Thiel’s company
Tariffs
When it comes to tariffs, here’s some news if you want to catch up
- Unsurprisingly but will it work, based on how the US is behaving towards the whole world? US to demand EU pulls away from China in return for cutting tariffs – The Irish Times
- Always interesting to listen to Sachs – Jeffrey Sachs’ Scary Prediction On US-China Trade Deal Amid Tariff War| Trump| Xi Jinping| Markets
- A good overview – How the battles Trump loves to wage explain his presidency | CNN Politics
- Yep – ‘Completely man-made’: Markets tumble after Fed Chair suggests Trump’s tariffs will cause inflation
- Really interesting discussion with Tom Friedman – Why Trump Could Lose His Trade War With China | The Ezra Klein Show
- Fascinating read and don’t underestimate the Global South – The global economy is in turmoil. Now is the time to build a new order | Business and Economy | Al Jazeera
- Insightful – look at the absolute dominance of China here – Why China curbing rare earth exports is a huge blow to the US
Finally, the response from Japan’s Prime Minister – no messing around here
Some good news. Maybe America will get over its addiction to fast fashion? Could be a positive outcome in a dire situation. Another bonus, social media platforms, like Meta, will also suffer from the lack of advertising revenue – double bonus Temu and Shein warn of US price hikes from next week due to Trump tariffs | Retail industry | The Guardian.
This is an interesting piece ‘The Tsunami Is Coming’: China’s Global Exports Are Just Getting Started – The New York Times – and to give you a flavour for what’s being advertised beyond the US now that it’s no longer a reliable market, my husband got this beauty today. Is this what the American gents were purchasing?
Has America gone full fascist?
Many don’t want to believe it, but it’s all out in the open now. A couple of reads to consider:
- American Concentration Camps – The Chris Hedges Report
- Trump threatens Harvard’s tax-exempt status after freezing $2bn funding
- The Trump White House is axing the wire service spot from the coverage pool, the latest salvo in its battle with the AP | CNN Business
- Trump and Bukele Bond Over El Salvador Deportation in Oval Office – the actual title is Trump and Bukele Bond Over Human Rights Abuses in Oval Office Meeting
However, the bigger story
Beyond the shenanigans in the US and all it entails, the world is in an ecological crisis. Right now, early heat is shattering India and Pakistan. Hundreds of millions of people living in both countries are facing the early arrival of heatwaves, and that makes it even more dangerous, because they haven’t had time to adjust. In Balochistan, which is in Pakistan’s southwest, it could reach up to 49 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit), not dissimilar to Death Valley in the US.
One frustration with CNN’s reporting is this statement: Extreme heat has killed tens of thousands of people in India and Pakistan in recent decades and climate experts have warned that by 2050 India will be among the first places where temperatures will cross survivability limits. It’s not going to happen in 2050, it’s already happening. When will the media get it?
James Hansen and team have released a new report and it’s not going to cool down – 2025 Global Temperature.
Copernicus and the WMO released its latest report – European State of the Climate : extreme events in warmest year on record and Second-warmest March globally, large wet and dry anomalies in Europe | Copernicus.
The financial cost of climate change (and that’s only one dimension of the crisis we are in) is finally being discussed – Climate Change Could Become a Global Economic Disaster – The New York Times.
Because our food is also being poisoned and yes, I know it’s grim, but if we don’t face it, we won’t solve it. Some very recent examples:
- ‘Heavy metals’ contaminate 17% of the world’s croplands, say scientists
- Dutch warned not to eat homegrown eggs over forever chemicals fears – POLITICO
- Climate change will make rice toxic, say researchers – Ars Technica
What are we doing about all the challenges we face? Well here’s an example – we are continuing the destruction and this idea of making the United States the world’s “dominant seafood leader” – seriously, tell him he’s dreaming! Have you seen the Chinese fleets? Do you know how quickly they can build ships? Yeah Nah!
Trump Opens Marine National Monument to Commercial Fisheries – The New York Times.
This is what we need to save – Thirteen photos that will make you care about the ocean.
And a final one. I’d love it if a secret city was found under Giza and it completely upended world history, but that isn’t likely – Is there really a secret city under Egypt’s Giza pyramids?
Plenty more when you click through to The Weekend Reads. Updating it at least once a day, check in often.
Favorite visual or meme
The week started off with this
Fair
Fair again
Yep, fair
And if you didn’t know the Chinese were funny, they are certainly showing their humour stripes at the moment!
If you know, you know….
My content and my pals
First up, I got listed on another top podcast list – Best 80 Climate Science Podcasts – this is a cool one!
The Know Show was a deep dive into the world of Trump and all of the impacts it’s having around the world, and here’s a view from Asia. Super grateful to Coen Tan andPhilip F. Hisn for joining us. Great conversation!
This is a quote that got my attention this week. If you’re looking for the answer and feel hopeless, this is how we fight. We must all gather in our communities, organize, fight, act and write a new story for the future. Let’s create small islands of coherence across the world and shout down those who don’t represent or include us. We can and must do this!
Dig into the news
Plenty more to read, listen to or watch, so do click through to the reads at the image below, and a reminder, this platform has articles going back weeks, so have a scan and read/watch/listen to whatever jumps out at you.
Let me know what caught your attention? Or share with me what has your attention now? There’s a lot going on, which means none of us can cover everything. Besides, it’s always great to get feedback so I know I’m delivering something of value.
Cheers
Andrea
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