The term “banana republic” has become a cliche to describe economic imperialism throughout history, but the legacy of colonialism persists in Latin America today. The tradition of predatory capitalism echoed in the recent death of Miguel Angel González Ramírez, a member of the Izabal banana workers’ union SITRABI in Guatemala.

The Greek bailout is in trouble, threatened by a disagreement between the ECB and Germany and France who are threatening not to release the next tranche of bailout funds. The Greek government has no leverage, and any default will hurt mainly the Greek people.

You can’t miss the whiff as you drive along the 10 freeway heading to or from Arizona, a strange and horrifying stench, the Salton Sea. Chris Metzler–who visited us last year with “Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone”–co-directed “Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea, an occasionally whimsical and deeply sad look at a man-made lake; the hopes, dreams and disasters that sprung from it; and the people who try to stay afloat on its shores.

Fundamentally, the issue of antibiotic resistance isn’t about medicines or animals, but about the relationship between people and what we eat. These new disease risks point to ethical questions on industrial farming, the mass consumption of animals, and the workers at the heart of this enterprise. When basic health standards are ignored, everyone gets hurt.

We haven’t heard a lot about the Fukushima nuclear disaster lately, but this story on the extent of radiation sounds really bad. A Japanese Ministry reports that as much as 8% of the country was contaminated.

The next couple months will be consumed with discussion about the Catfood Commission II, and their efforts to reach a $1.5 trillion or higher deficit package. This will frustrate any attempt to pivot to jobs. But as long as that’s known, activists and organizations can point out best practices on that committee while trying to force the conversation in a different direction.

One way to do that is to consistently point out that job creation is the best and most robust way to ensure any deficit reduction, and that reducing the deficit with 9% unemployment is a near-impossibility. Another way is to point out how much deficit savings can be gained merely by engaging in the vitally necessary actions of protecting the earth from climate change.

I think this could lead to the belief that the bill has become a Christmas tree. Harry Reid’s push to legalize online poker in the bill adds to that as well. And nothing will take down this bill faster than cries of “pork” and “the cornhusker kickback” (in this case, actually having to do with corn).

Ethanol subsidies are up for renewal at the end of the year. And some prominent conservatives have pitched letting them expire, to the chagrin of farm-state Senators and establishment Republicans.

Finally, some good news coming out of November’s election: Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will replace outgoing Sen. Blanche Lincoln on the Senate Agriculture committee as chair.

We live in a short attention-span theater world (ironically, a Comedy Central show once hosted by Jon Stewart) where all too often, the voiceless and the less powerful need the backing of a louder megaphone to get their claims a hearing. Colbert displayed during the hearing that he understands this implicitly.