Ideology of racism

An interesting article written by Hamid Dabashi, an Iranian professor at Columbia University in New York, defines the ideological conviction of the social construction of races. The author says there are powerful interests vested in sustaining the bloody history of racism in Western countries. This means that the ideology of racism is an useful tool for those in power to divide people to rule them better.

In this context, the richest 1% of people use racial categories, such as black, red or yellow, to conceal the real battleground, which is the clash between the upper class and the middle class. A poor person branded as "white" has nothing in common with a rich manipulator of such racist ideologies.

Low-taxes havens

As it is known, after many governments around the world had declared a state of emergency, citizens were encouraged to stay at home. As a consequence, since March 2020 an increasing number of people have been buying what they need online. And it seems unavoidable that many stores will permanently shut down. Unfortunately, the more big tech companies sell their products and services online, the more retailers shut down their businesses. The picture below shows an old shop whose owner had been selling olive oil and wine for decades. Since early march 2020 it has been shut down. 

The main problem is that big tech companies, such as Amazon and Google, shift their profits to low-taxes havens. And countries where revenues are earned haven't been allowed to tax big tech multinationals. That's why big tech companies can be very competitive and so able to destroy retailers around the world. In other words, they're destroying the middle class slowly and gradually.

In this perspective, two days ago in Venice, finance chiefs of the G20 large economies have just endorsed the first step of a plan to stop multinationals shifting profits to low-taxes havens. The deal would establish a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%, as big tech companies would be taxed on where they sell products and services, rather than on the location of their headquarters.  

Fourth wave or false information

Since late June there has been a great deal of talk about a fourth wave of coronavirus. Many countries, such as France, Italy, and Ireland are likey to have a fourth wave of the COVID-19 virus, as the new variant begins to take hold. It seems that the rapidly transmissible strains were first identified in India, where government imposed restrictions.

Unfortunately, these bad news have a big impact on people's mental health, not to mention of false information, which are important in manipulating public opinion and creating an atmophere of uncertainty.

Menanwhile, many people in the EU would like to enjoy beaches, coffees, and restaurants, although governments have painted a bleak picture of the Summer ahead.

Effects of Israel's 11-day offensive in May

 

With regards to my previous post, it is to be noted that  Gaza's sewage treatment plant was hit during Israel's 11-day offensive in May. The electricity distribution company is unable to provide sufficient energy for treatment plants and waste water pumping stations. That's the reason why Gaza's authorities have no choice but to pump that waste into the sea.

The situation will dangerously raise the water pollution in Gaza and its surroundings. And in addition to the environmental impact there will be also social problems, as for many families in Gaza the beach is the only public space they can socialize.

In Gaza Strip territory there is nothing except the sea, and now it is polluted.

It happened in the 2nd half of May 2021

 

In May 2021 families, women, children and infants were killed in their homes by israel airstrikes on a small strip of land where nearby two million people are crowded.

The crisis was triggered in early May, when Palestinians began to protest in East Jerusalem over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families in the West Bank town of Sheikh Jarrah. In addition to this, Israel's police threw shock grenades inside the al-Aqsa mosque on the last Friday of Ramadam in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces broke into the mosque prayer hall!

After Israel had bombarded the besieged Gaza strip for the fourth time in 12 years, the U.S. approved a $ 735 Millions weapons sale to Israel. The approval was criticized by legislators in Congress, and several Democrats introduced resolutions to block the sale of precision-guided missiles.

The news reported no sense of alarm, as they didn't mention the possible crime against umanity and the Amnesty International's call for a halt to U.S. weapons sales to Israel. 

According to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, a crime against humanity is committed "as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack" ... From 14th to 21st May Israel's military campaign killed at least 253 people, including 66 children. At least 12 people were killed by Palestinian armed groups.

Italy's underwater archaeological sites

There are many traces of human existence underwater, which are not protected by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. This Convention aims at preventing the distruction or loss of historic and cultural information and looting.

The pictures show some underwater archaeological sites dated back to over 20 centuries ago. They are located 70 Km North from Rome. Unfortunately, in the early 1970s some residential houses were built close to those underwater archaeological sites. The problem is that people, who build those houses, weren't prosecuted. If they had been adequately prosecuted in the 1970s, Italy's underwater cultural heritage would be protected. 

 

Cryptocurrencies' value continues to drop

 

With regards to my previous post about cryptocurrencies' regulation, I have just learnt that the American clean energy company based in Palo Alto, Tesla Inc., will no longer accept bitcoin for car purchase.

Many environmentalists and some Tesla's shareholders have been increasingly critical about the way cryptocurrencies are "mined" using vast amount of electricity generated with fossil fuels.

On 27 February, 2021, the British newpaper "The Guardian" wrote: "It's not just the value of bitcoin that has soared in the last year - so has the huge amount of energy it consumes".  In this perspective, a professor of economics at the University of New Mexico recently said that the amount of electricity used to mine bitcoin has been more than the electricity used by entire countries, like Ireland.

On the one hand, Tesla Inc. is accelerating the world transition to sustainable energy with electric cars and integrated renewable energy solutions for home and business. On the other hand, in the first two months of this year bircoin rose in value thanks to an endorsement by Tesla's Elon Musk, who planned to accept the cryptocurrency as payment. This inconsistency is often a major events that affect the markets! The perception of cryptocurrencies' value changes as the market seeks a new equilibrium making price reflect new information and major news. 

The pictures above show how electricity generated with fossil fuels may affect the environment (The power plants in the pictures are located in Italy).