Midday open thread: promoting digital security for protesters; focusing attention on the states
Today’s comic by Jen Sorensen is Thanksgiving survival tips 2016:
• Trump’s top picks for his administration have one thing in common: They’re climate change deniers: Sen. Jeff Sessions, picked for the attorney general’s slot says carbon dioxide is simply “plant food”; Rep. Mike Pompeo, picked for attorney general, denies the scientific consensus on climate change and excoriated President Obama for labeling it our greatest national security threat; retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, picked as national security adviser, ridiculed Obama for talking about climate change in Canada after the attack in Orlando; chief strategist Steve Bannon has accused the pope of “hysteria” regarding climate change; Chief of Staff Reince Priebus once remarked, “Look, I think we all care about our planet, but melting icebergs aren’t beheading Christians in the Middle East.”
• Meanwhile, nations made progress in climate talks in Marrakech:
In the end, parties seemed satisfied with the Marrakech negotiations. “COP22 has been what it needed to be,” said U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa, “a COP of action that has accelerated progress under the Paris Agreement across finance, new initiatives, ambition, and solidarity.”
Though U.N. officials may be encouraged by their progress, they’ve got a lot more hard work to come if there’s to be any chance of limiting warming to 2 degrees C — let alone 1.5 degrees — above pre-industrial levels. Neither the Paris nor Marrakech negotiations get us remotely close to that goal, so now the focus turns to the the 2018 conference. Over the next two years, it will become clearer whether the 2016 Marrakech meeting was the point at which climate action swelled to meet and exceed the ambition of Paris — or another year in which U.S. politics stalled progress, again.
• White House remains quiet in wake of Standing Rock confrontation.
• Are people having less sex because of the outcome of the election?
• Katrina vanden Heuvel on why Democrats should focus on the states:
For years, many progressives — including me — have called for taking our movement to the states. Yet Democrats have prioritized maintaining control of the presidency while giving short shrift to state-level infrastructure. Meanwhile, Republicans have invested heavily in winning state legislative and gubernatorial races, which has allowed them to advance conservative policies across the country and seize control of congressional redistricting. Heading into 2017, there are 68 legislative chambers under Republican control, 34 Republican governors and a record 29 Republican state attorneys general. It’s painfully clear which party’s strategy has been more effective.
• Bill Budington of Electronic Frontier Foundation offers 10 tips on digital security for protesters: Enable full-disk encryption on your device; remove fingerprint unlock; take photos and videos without unlocking your device; install Signal; read our Surveillance Self Defense (SSD) guide for street-level protests; use a prepaid, disposable phone; back up your data; consider biking or walking to the protest; enable airplane mode; organizers should consider alternatives to Facebook and Twitter.
• Trump’s plan on repatriating overseas profits will further enrich the rich. The president-elect says his plan to give companies a tax break on profits they are holding overseas will spur new investment:
But when Bloomberg News recently asked some top CEOs what they would do with the money if they took part in the tax break, they indicated the money would go straight to wealthy shareholders. Companies can increase the value of their stock by buying back shares, thus enriching those who already hold the shares. They can also hand money directly back to shareholders through dividends.
• On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Donald Trump is corrupt AF! And you’ll need to know all the ways in which that’s true before your relatives arrive for T-day. Armando joined for an extensive discussion of emoluments, Trump Tower Buenos Aires, diplomatic community graft, and more!