The US did as little as they could at COP15. Obama’s speech in Copenhagen today was tepid, and the pretend agreement just announced is way too little, with even the US government saying it wasn’t enough to stop climate change.
The health care reform bill as proposed is, I think, worse than nothing as it forces those without insurance to buy it, with no controls on price. That is unfair, inequitable, and does nothing to hold down costs or provide better care
As for bank reform, Obama snubbed by his bosses
So, is Obama inept and weakening or in fact resolutely carrying out the bidding of corporate America against the interests of the rest of us? Because on health care, climate change, and bank reform he has essentially ceded control to business interests with barely a fight. That’s not coincidence.
But whose speech (and role) at Copenhagen was very much geared to saving the planet and promoting a peoples movement against climate change? Who nailed the environment issues? Who called out the pollies for being toadies of bosses? Who said,”If the climate were a bank, they would have bailed it out already”.None other than Hugo Chavez — who this blog chooses to denigrate — and Evo Morales. This is something highly significant for those who complain about left politics and for anyone looking for something to get excited about. The Latin American peoples movements have moved onto a world stage and shown the capitalist toadies up for their complete and utter failure to do anything viable to save the planet from several degrees of catastrophic warming.
Lauren Carroll Harris’ report from Copenhagen captures some of this significance:‘We will not die quietly’: Voices from the Third World at Copenhagen.
I don’t know about you lot, but this is something to get excited about because an alternative way forward for humanity has been sharply posed.
I agree. Tuvalu too was amazing. They pretty much started the whole thing rolling. And yes, Chavez’s comments were excellent too. I quoted him Wed. on that BTW.