Patricia Kullberg hosts this episode of the Old Mole which includes the follwing segments:
The Coming Battle over Climate Chaos: In part two of a two part interview, Bill Resnick speaks with Richard A. Smith about the looming climate disaster. In part one Bill and Richard discussed whether human society can survive climate change if it continues under the management of elites determined to maintain capitalism with its requirements for exponential growth. They concluded that unfettered growth is not possible on a finite planet. This week they discuss the immediate future, which is likely to feature more frequent and damaging climate disasters, which in turn will lead to growing demands for a sweeping mobilization of all resources and a command war economy to meet the threat. Such a development would trigger the political war of the century, the left with its program in opposition to capitalist forces seeking ongoing and unsustainable growth. Who will prevail depends on how we organize today.
Richard Smith is an historian of modern China and also an environmentalist activist who co-founded the organization System Change Not Climate Change. His writings include two books: China’s Engine of Environmental Collapse and Green Capitalism: the God that Failed.
Coco: Today we bring you a Movie Mole piece from our archives, a review by Joe Clement and Jan Haaken of the animated film, "Coco." In the summer of 2018, “Coco” screened in various parks around the city. It was also a very big hit in Mexico and around the globe. "Coco" is a visually rich tribute to Mexican culture, and a children's story that explores a range of themes: family, traditions, music, growing up, and love and death. In this review from 2018 we include introductory comments by veteran Old Mole Clayton Morgareidge, who died over a year ago. With his introduction we are reminded of our dear departed comrade and how his spirit continues to guide us.
This year, if you can't find someone with a projector for a backyard screening, you can still find the film to watch for free online through the Multnomah County Public Library.
Of Women and Salt: Book Mole Larry Bowlden reviews Gabriela Garcia’s wonderful debut novel, Of Women and Salt, which is a series of interconnected stories spanning three generations of women living in Cuba and Miami. It is a story of captivity and the desire for flight and freedom, a story of women and story-tellers, of women and salt.
Abolish the Senate: It has been called the most undemocratic governing institution in the world. While this may be hyperbolic, this institution may hold that position among the so-called Western democracies. And that institution would be the U.S. Senate. Many say it should be abolished. While this is unlikely to happen, it certainly offers food for thought for radical reform . Today, Tom Becker reads from an article entitled “Why We Should Abolish the Senate” by David Perlman and Ashly Jordan, published June 8, 2021 in Counterpunch.
- KBOO