Bill Gates is my favorite environmentalist.

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Friday February 19, 2010 · 9:31 AM PST

2010/02/19 · 09:31

For someone who's big into Linux, this is difficult to admit. For years, Bill Gates has been to me the Borg leader, Death Star commander, and so on. But the truth is that Bill Gates is a hero, and quite possibly the wisest public environmentalist on the planet.

I was already aware of his foundation's excellent work in Africa and always agreed that universal vaccination is the best quality-of-life bang for the buck that's available. Every move by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is clearly the result of deep research, and shows they are prepared question common preconceptions when deciding on how their funding could do the most lasting good.

But this week there has been a gamechanger: The single most sane and insightful talk on our environmental future. The link to it is here.

http://www.ted.com/...

lump1

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Thursday January 21, 2010 · 1:05 PM PST

2010/01/21 · 13:05

The entire purpose of this diary is to direct people to Naomi Klein's article in the Guardian. It's the most insightful thing I've read in weeks.

Poll

152 votes Show Results

The verdict on the first year of the Obama presidency is:

152 votes Vote Now!

The verdict on the first year of the Obama presidency is:

Obama's advertising was fundamentally sincere, and despite appearances, he's being the transformational president that we hoped he would be.

16 votes

Obama's advertising was fundamentally sincere. He is trying to be the guy he said he was, but can't overcome the inertia of the broken system.

58 votes

He is a guy who ran a deceptive marketing campaign - the "product" never did much resemble the advertising.

66 votes

Something else - I will elaborate below.

12 votes

You wanted Direct Democracy? Then enjoy Prop 8!

lump1

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Friday March 06, 2009 · 9:32 AM PST

2009/03/06 · 09:32

So it's looking like the undemocratic courts of California don't have the nerve to overturn the will of the people, who voted to end all same-sex marriages in our most populous state. Prop 8 is a great victory for Direct Democracy. But it's a great defeat for justice and sanity. This is no accident. I will argue that the case illustrates something deeper about the fundamental moral bankruptcy of Direct Democracy.

Poll

41 votes Show Results

Which dkos "consensus view" most misguided?

41 votes Vote Now!

Which dkos "consensus view" most misguided?

Solar + wind + geothermal + conservation + biofuels will give us all the energy we'll ever need.

4 votes

The fatcat banks should not be getting bailout money.

6 votes

Auto worker jobs should be protected by government action even if their industry cannot compete openly.

12 votes

We should seek criminal charges for Bush, Cheney and their gang.

4 votes

Something else (will comment below).

6 votes

I agree with every view that's popular here.

9 votes

It's not enough for Palin to exceed expectations!

lump1

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Thursday October 02, 2008 · 2:25 PM PDT

2008/10/02 · 14:25

The spin before tonight's debate seems to be focused on one thing, and one thing only: Will Sarah Palin exceed the generally-held expectations about her performance. We all know those expectations to be very low. The common narrative seems to be that if she exceeds those very low expectations, she wins the debate. To me, that sounds absurd.

lump1

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Saturday July 19, 2008 · 1:03 AM PDT

2008/07/19 · 01:03

I was hoping that someone here who knows something about politics in Africa could confirm, deny, or otherwise comment on this story from The Mail. There has been some discussion of it on digg, but I'd like to hear from someone who knows more about the situation.

The article claims that "750,000 Chinese have settled in Africa over the past decade" in a concerted effort to strip the continent of all natural wealth, to gain near-exclusive access to its markets, and to use it as overflow space to accomodate Chinese people and pollution.

Poll

86 votes Show Results

In 30 years the geopolitical situation will be as follows:

86 votes Vote Now!

In 30 years the geopolitical situation will be as follows:

The US will still be the single superpower, and that is a good thing.

7 votes

The US will still be the single superpower, and that is a bad thing.

2 votes

The world will be US-China bipolar, and that is a good thing.

5 votes

The world will be US-China bipolar, and that is a bad thing.

22 votes

There will only be regional, but no truly global powers, and that's good.

9 votes

There will only be regional, but no truly global powers, and that's bad.

5 votes

The whole notion of statehood will start to dissolve, and that's good.

5 votes

The whole notion of statehood will start to dissolve, and that's bad.

7 votes

There will be some other global power arrangement.

24 votes

So are we ba-bombing Iran or not?

lump1

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Saturday July 12, 2008 · 10:09 AM PDT

2008/07/12 · 10:09

I’ll tell you who’s ba-bombing right now: John McCain. Sure, we still have to do a lot of work to prevent him from mounting a comeback, but barring big surprises, the odds are against him.

If Iran stays unbombed to Obama’s inauguration day, it will probably see only diplomatic pressure for the next four years. So any Strangelove in the administration must act fast if he wants to make sure that Iran receives its fair share of timely shock and awe. In this diary, I want to explore whether this is likely to happen in the waning months of the Bush presidency.

Poll

62 votes Show Results

While Bush is still president

62 votes Vote Now!

While Bush is still president

there won't be an attack on Iran.

13 votes

Israel will attack Iran before November, with no material support from the US.

8 votes

Israel and the US will launch a coordinated attack on Iran before November.

19 votes

The US will launch a unilateral attack on Iran before November.

4 votes

an attack on Iran will be launched only once Obama is president-elect.

11 votes

Kucinich will use elfin magic and get Bush impeached before he can start another war.

7 votes

Let's put down our pitchforks and torches and think about what Kucinich just did.

lump1

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Monday June 09, 2008 · 10:56 PM PDT

2008/06/09 · 22:56

Almost everyone here thinks that the day when Bush is out of office couldn't come soon enough. Many of us agree that he committed genuine, impeachable crimes. I definitely sympathize on both counts. However, the fact that Dennis Kucinich decided to file articles of impeachment today, two days after our party got our presidential candidate, is pregnant with meaning. And it isn't good. It's not good for us, it's not good for our congressional candidates, and it's very bad for Barack Obama and his campaign for president.

lump1

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Monday January 21, 2008 · 10:18 PM PST

2008/01/21 · 22:18

There is a disturbing meme in the Democratic air tonight. Democrats admit that on one level, they are disgusted with the unfairness and pettiness of Hillary Clinton's attacks on Obama. And yet they profess an admiration for that very same quality in Clinton: Her sharp elbows might win her the general election. On the front page of TPM, a reader drew the analogy this way:

I'm reminded of people who hate lawyers because they're too contentious and sleazy and aggressive -- but when they get sued, they insist on getting the meanest bull dog of a lawyer they can find.

There is no doubt that Hillary is the meanest candidate that we Democrats can find this year. I'm troubled, however, by the logic that says that we should support her because she fights dirty. It seems to me perilously short-sighted. If Hillary can campaign without principles in the Democratic primary, then she can also govern without principles in the Presidency. This might not only be disastrous for our country, it might completely undo the Democratic revival that's currently sweeping the country.

RSS

Bill Gates is my favorite environmentalist.

Must-read Naomi Klein article.

You wanted Direct Democracy? Then enjoy Prop 8!

It's not enough for Palin to exceed expectations!

China taking over Africa: Is this true?

So are we ba-bombing Iran or not?

Let's put down our pitchforks and torches and think about what Kucinich just did.

Elect a Machiavellian campaigner, get a Machiavellian ruler.