Author: The Mound of Sound

His followers are probably stupid enough – rock bottom stupid – to believe him. They believed him when he said that Covid-19 would be gone by April.  Today, while touring wildfire devastated California, Donald Trump said that climate change, global heating, is going to just go away. Consider an exchange that

Orban, Erdogan, Bolsonaro, Netanyahu, Duterte, Duda, Modi and Trump, a gallery of authoritarian thugs. They’re not alone. There are others who are just getting started or are waiting in the wings. We decry the global retreat of liberal democracy. It seems not a day goes by without some outrage as

It seems Justin is rethinking his fossil fuel fuckups. The world’s just not digging that high-carbon, low value crud that he once figured was worth pursuing even when the private sector was running for the exits. Not his most lucid moment. Michael Harris writes that the Dauphin’s moment of truth

It’s simple. Straightforward as it can be. No elaborate theories needed. Just two facts, mathematical certainties. Since 1970, the population of non-human animals species has declined by 68 percent. Since 1970, the population of that other species, homo sapiens or humans, has more than doubled. D’ya think they’re connected somehow,

Covid 19 party, Vancouver It’s happening in Israel and Europe, Asia and the United States, Canada too perhaps. These places (and others) are seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 infections. It could be many things – end of summer parties, exuberant college students returning to campus, Covid-fatigue leaving some people hostile

A disturbing article in The Guardian on the perilous state of democracy in America. The article presents the views of the leaders of several major US organizations and they’re worried, very worried. They include Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Michael Waldman president of

One of Donald Trump’s oldest 40 Thieves, Roger Stone, says Trump should seize power if he loses to Joe Biden in November.  Night of the Long Knives? Roger Stone, whose 40-month prison sentence for lying to Congress and witness tampering in the Russia investigation was commuted by Donald Trump, has

Wildfire smoke from the Oregon and Washington forest conflagrations is beginning to head east. The 48 hour outlook from Firesmoke.ca shows Calgary getting hard hit. The smoke could spread to the lakehead by Tuesday. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes wonders whether, with a pandemic, droughts, floods and now uncontrollable wildfires painting much of

There’s a bad moon rising for California. Reeling from a resurgence of Covid-19 infections the state ran headfirst into an outbreak of wildfires that have now beset Oregon and Washington. Now we have another problem – La Nina has reared her ugly head. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, NOAA,

A shakeup in the Michael Flynn case. The retired judge, John Gleeson, appointed to advise the court pulls no punches. The Attorney-General’s attempt to have the charges dismissed against Mike Flynn, charges to which Flynn already pleaded guilty and stands convicted, is an act of pure corruption.

When it comes to Covid-19, we’ve shown ourselves to be a pretty reckless bunch. Trump wants to persuade voters that he’ll have it wrapped up shortly after the election. Plenty will believe him even though he’s  a proven liar. So, what’s up? I think Wolf Blitzer’s interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci

 He was a frequent guest on MSNBC panels, a weasel who dutifully tried to defend Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and, above all, Donald Trump. Michael Caputo somehow rose to become the spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services where his main contribution has been to fix the reports

While the western states are predominantly Democrat-leaning, Republicans control a lot of territory in the central and eastern regions. That includes parts of Oregon currently beset by wildfires. The state of Oregon says it’s bracing for heavy loss of life. Some 500,000 have left the fire zone but an undetermined

The New York Daily News reports that the federal Treasury Department has skimmed millions in funds designated for tracking and treatment of 9/11 first responders. The Treasury Department mysteriously started withholding parts of payments — nearly four years ago — meant to cover medical services for firefighters, emergency medical technicians

  George Monbiot claims, when it comes to corruption, The City (as London is known) takes second place to no one. When you connect the words corruption and the United Kingdom, people tend to respond with shock and anger. Corruption, we believe, is something that happens abroad. Indeed, if you

  Expect the next few months, the next few years, the next few decades to be – tumultuous.  The fires that ravaged a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos are a harbinger of a tsunami of migration in the years ahead as vast swathes of the world are

A substantial percentage of environmentalists claim that the question of overpopulation has no place in climate change policy. Au contraire, mes amis.  Let’s go back to 1970, half a century ago. Since 1970, animal (non-human) populations have plummeted by 68 per cent. What else has been going on over the

  To Chris Hedges, whether Trump loses or wins the election in November is a matter of bad or worse.  If Trump wins, then I think you will see a very naked and frightening authoritarianism. Trump already functions for his followers as a cult leader. And remember, Trump gets a

  Herman Cain listened to Donald Trump. He was a fan. He supported the Mango Mussolini. Herman Cain was the co-chairman of Black Voices for Trump. But Herman has left the Trump campaign. He’s dead. Cain was a vocal opponent of wearing masks to thwart the spread of Covid-19.  The

Part of my routine every morning is to check Environment Canada’s weather forecast. Now I first visit www.firesmoke.ca to see what I’ll be breathing today. Today is looking pretty grim. Smoke from the Oregon wildfires is being driven hundreds of miles out into the Pacific. Easily 350 miles. Then it