Friday, December 19, 2008

Reproduced from the "comments" section of today's earlier post:


eyeballs wrote:

Hi Jenna!

Again, I'm not out to contend and prove, but would like to clarify. I've lived in Taiwan since 1988, except for 5 years in Oregon, recently. I'm in Taiwan now. The Diaoyutai article does not say what Mike says it says.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JL17Ad01.html

Three things matter around these ridiculously tiny islands: national pride/national security (or in Oriental parlance, "face"), fish, and petroleam reserves -- in that order. If the total oil and gas reserves were efficiently harvested, they wouldn't run Shanghai for a week. Everyone knows that. But they would be commercially viable, barring accidents or international interference, so the governments involved all have to somehow answer the question: Why aren't WE harvesting this booty? But a great deal more money is being made between China, Japan and Taiwan (which, as the "Republic of China", officially claims not only the Diaoyutais, but Beijing) and loss of goodwill would more than offset the dram of petroleum available. So they talk about it, they bluster about it, and one HK guy with an ROC flag died after jumping into the sea and trying to reach the main island as the Japanese Navy did maneuvers around his boat.

Of greater practical value are the fish stocks. Fishermen from various nations, or regions, or whatever, go there, get chased off by someone's navy, protest, etc. Again, the question is posed: Aren't these OUR fish? So in order to show its testicles, each government must go through the motions of lodging a protest, etc. And again, nobody lets this get out of hand because the Sony business and the Chinese low-end tech components and the Taiwanese investment are just too important to fuck with for a few fish.

Of greater importance to China -- and presumably Japan, is security. It's hard to imagine a serious military base on even the main Diaoyutai, which is about the size of a football field, thurst out of the ocean by high, jagged cliffs. But an acknowledged (tollerated) 24/7 military "presence" there would block either Japan's southern waters, or put a serious hole in China's eastern perimeter. For this reason, permanent military presence has not been established by either. It is a demiliterized zone - although warships significantly travel there, to renew one claim or another. All parties are very careful not to actually escalate.

There is slightly more oil and gas around the Spratley Islands, south of Taiwan. Again, the total reserves are not much, but worth something. But these are claimed by Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, China ... and of course Taiwan. Taiwan has an airstrip on the biggest island, in fact. Vietnam may have a sub base in the archipelligo and Philippine troops are also stationed around some cays. China considers the whole lot to be part of the motherland, citing the continental shelf, among other things. (The same argument is also employed to demonstrate that Taiwan is an integral part of China.)

My point is that no one is "fighting over the scraps". Everyone is, on the contrary, trying very hard NOT to fight, while at the same time justifying their "sovereignty". These island groups highlight subtleties of Asian politics that differ from the Palmerston/Perry "gunboat diplomacy" of imperial Western powers. China will not take these islands -- or Taiwan -- until the value of trade and the threat of a debilitating war diminish beyond their actual value. And if fighting ever took place, it would not be primarily for the petroleum reserves... it would be for the symbolic confirmation that China was, in fact, The Boss. The PRC is obviously heading in that direction with some enthusiasm, but it's not there yet.

http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2008/04/new-chinese-ssbn-deploys-to-hainan-island-naval-base.php

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/a-chinese-aircraft-carrier-not-if-but-when

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/18/asia/AS-China-Aircraft-Carrier.php

I don't dispute Mike's basic point that resource wars will become fiercer, for ever smaller bits (unless we can somehow, perhaps by Protocol, solve the matters peacefully -- and I'm not holding my breath). But in this case, he's wrongly interpreting a complex, ongoing situation that is not, in fact, escalating. It's important not to let skewed interpretations reinforce existing expectations, 's why I mention it.

Blessings!


MCR said...

DEAR EYEBALLS: I have never so thoroughly enjoyed being corrected and instructed. Please feel free to chime in any time you want. Thanks!

MICHEL -- What a great catch that story on the Iranian Navy and piracy. It's a huge piece of the map. I need a couple of days to chew on it... I don't think I like it much.

MCR

***********************************************************************************
JO adds:

As you read the following from the Somali pirates front, bear in mind who's doing the talking:

Pirates Capture Ukrainian Ship Bearing Arms to Kenya
Mysterious Cargo Aboard Iranian Ship Seized By Pirates Raises WMD Concerns
Iran: Pirates and Secret Wars

Last week, the UN approved a resolution allowing foreign troops to pursue pirates on land in Somalia

Africom, here we com. [sic]

JO
*************************************************************************************

MUST READ

http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/2008/1219.html

This guy has it about right, though I disagree about wealth destruction. There is no wealth as we have known it when there is no energy. Wealth will be measured in completely new (old) ways: food, water, land, shelter, clothing... and gold.

Read the whole story, but this quote knocked my socks off:

"I then showed a chart of the monetary base (all paper dollars and coinage in existence). It took 200-years for the monetary base to go from $0 to $800 billion, but in just the past 3-months it has grown from around $800 billion to $1.5 trillion, and by the time you read this it will probably be surpassing $1.6 trillion. That's double the number of paper dollars in existence since last summer!"

That's one of the reasons he says that what's coming is worse than all previous financial disasters COMBINED. He includes everything from the Great Depression to Weimar Germany, to the Tulip Bubble.

MCR


JO adds:

The graphs in the article will look sickeningly familiar to anyone who's ever glanced at the hockey puck curve of population growth since the discovery of oil.


WHERE'S ELLIOT SPITZER WHEN YOU NEED HIM?

There's Good News and Bad News in Recent Events

By

Michael C. Ruppert

Dec. 18, 2008 10:00 Am PST -- Just after the debacle and demise of Elliot Spitzer last spring, Jenna sent me the below article. What I have listed below is all the reference data I have. (Maybe she can put up a link.) This was some fabulous critical analysis. (I didn't fact check it.)

DID BEAR STEARNS FALL OR WAS IT PUSHED? HOW INSIDER TRADING SAVED JPMORGAN AND LOOTED THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER

Ellen Brown, May 12, 2008
www.webofdebt.com/articles

Elliot Spitzer was a serious guy and I have to agree that he was conveniently removed long before he could – as Governor of New York – put some serous people in jail behind this criminal collapse that the elites knew was coming. Sure, the collapse would have been here anyway, but it might have been mitigated much better. (It can still be mitigated much worse.) There is so much yet to come. And old Bernie Madoff, as significant as he is, would have turned out to be a smaller
fish that Spitzer might have nailed a while ago compared the real tuna that have yet to surface. They may never. Elliot Spitzer is a forgotten memory now and Madoff is rattling the world.

Spitzer was a very risky bet all along for anyone believing in white knights. I believe he had some seriously good intent. He had very big cojones for sure. But he did not have a national base and he obviously did not have the smarts or self control to avoid a self-inflicted wound. Way back in the 9-11 movement from 2003 through 2005 there was one activist who just kept insisting that a solitary state politician would crack the case. The activist kept pushing the movement to spend time, money and energy convincing Spitzer to pick up 9-11 and run with it. Petitions, donations, pleas to organize and demonstrate to make Spitzer save the world. All I could say to myself was, "You f—ing idiot." I sighed in disgust at the belligerent naiveté and all the wasted energy and attention that was flushed. At the time Spitzer was the NY Attorney General with no federal jurisdiction or standing to crack anything as big as 9-11. He would never have stood a chance. Without a broad governmental base, especially in at the federal level, Spitzer was totally vulnerable. Using a military metaphor, he had no armor, no air cover, and no heavy artillery.

That particular 9-11 activist is in my number-four spot for having done more to damage the real 9-11 movement over time than anyone else. I'll tell you who the number one and two destroyers of 9-11 were… but that's all you'll get from me: Amy Goodman and Alex Jones (in that order). I just don't have time for dead-end bs. None of us do now. For me the sex life of politicians is utterly irrelevant to anything… Vive la France! Now, some of the less-sophisticated minds who come here will say, "See, this is proof that there's a master plan."… Bullshit. All Elliot Spitzer's public assassination is, is the proof that the dinosaur elites saw the shit storm coming and they cut the legs out from under a guy who would likely – as Governor – have shown the ubiquitous corruption now just emerging in the stark light of day. Do you think Madoff was the end of that? As Bernie Madoff demonstrates, the elites are out of their league now. They are "dying" too. Even the highest rungs must be starting to sense the impending climate change and ecological/energy/economic event horizon that is upon them.

Spitzer's great failing was that he could not control or subvert his personal needs to protect his larger mission. Forget about whether his actions with an escort were right or not. (Like I said, I could care less.) They were, in our ridiculous moral climate… vulnerabilities. They demonstrated a choice of self over service, and risk taking that was not justified if his mission was that important. He handed his enemies the means for his own destruction and you can bet that they could have put him down any time before that. They have handles (leashes) like that on a great many powerful people. For as much as has been thrown at me over thirty years I have never given any reason for anyone to discredit me. That has come at a great personal price. There were risks I just never took, and life opportunities and experiences I avoided just to keep myself on the field. All that could be done to me was to manufacture a fictitious scandal and it failed. It did extract a heavy toll but I'm still here, intact, with a great new book out in a few months. (No announcement yet. Don't ask.)

So I haven't written for a while because everything that is happening is just so smack dab in the middle of the map we made in "Rubicon" and at FTW that it's heartbreaking to watch: The breakdown of the economy, the collapse of moral and ethical standards, and ever-increasing dysfunctionality. Everything is broken. I am saving the really good news for last… It is Christmas time.

DarkNetz commented that she had seen a big CEO on a videotape sounding like he was quoting from my video, "The Truth and Lies of 9-11." He was. She wondered who else read us. I can tell you that a great many powerful people read me and have for years. They are even more powerful than this one CEO. They just dare not mention my name yet. They can't acknowledge Colin Campbell, Matt Simmons, Richard Heinberg and many others either. I am getting less angry about that as time passes because I know that this will pass too. The old paradigm cannot afford to "see" us in the Peak Oil movement. They read us under the blankets with flashlights, afraid of getting caught – like Spitzer with his mistress. They know how accurate our map has been and those executives who did find us have benefitted from our accurate predictions and map making. There's a reason why "Rubicon" was at or near the number one spot in both Politics-Reference and Public Affairs-Reference for the first eight months of this year at Amazon

But, as the old paradigm dies, things will be stripped away until we who have been sounding the warnings will be the only things left to look at.

And talk about accurate predictions. Here's just a few…

CHRIS COX AND THE SEC

Everyone's asking, "How did the SEC miss Madoff? It had warnings. Go back and pick up "Rubicon" again. Look up Chris Cox in the index. You'll find him in the chapter on Russia. He chaired hearings on how the U.S. looted Russia in the late 90s under the direction of Al Gore.
You'll see that he said some honest things but that he stopped short when any political capital he might have acquired from truth-telling turned into possible collateral damage for Republican interests also backed by the now shaken elites who back both parties… But remember, all constituencies are unwinding now. Who are Republicans? Who are Democrats?

Chris Cox is not the brightest bulb on the tree and he is certainly no troublemaker. He was just the perfect guy for SEC as things started coming down.

AND SPEAKING OF RUSSIA…

Bush got his global free-fire on Somalia. But it's not all his. A new player joins the U.S. and Russia in the Global War on Piracy. (I'd call it G-Wop but I'd get sued, rightly, by Italians.)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPOE5B7jOAmk&refer=home

I described this a week ago. In another recent story from a few days ago I saw that, for the first time ever, China has sent warships to patrol the Gulf of Aden against piracy. OK, let's see. It's the first time Chinese warships have ventured beyond the Pacific and Indian oceans. The US, Russia and China are moving to control the seas around the Horn of Africa and the Straits of Hormuz. It's pretty clear that parts of the die-off map are being handled by the big three powers together. They are moving to control Middle East oil, 60 percent of all the known oil on the planet. I suspect a tripartite and very secret agreement that a lot of the "who-eats-and-who-dies" decisions will be made this way.

But the scariest thing of all is that OPEC has just moved to cut more than two mbpd from production and the oil price is still falling. The elites just cannot control the economic implosion… a supernova implosion it appears.

The Bumpy Plateau, described so accurately and by so many, for so long, is looking like one steep initial crash, followed by a flattening out with maybe a flicker of recovery, then off the cliff we go. The reaction to OPEC's move tells me that we have very little time.

To read more about the Bumpy Plateau go to:
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/members/100406_markets_react.php.


JAPAN AND CHINE FEUD OVER SCRAPS
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JL17Ad01.html

What this story says is what we told you at FTW for years. All the major powers know there is very little oil left to find and they are fighting over relatively tiny reserves that are close by. We must have published four or five stories on the Sino-Japanese dispute but the first one started came after China tried to extend its territorial waters to the continental shelf. I mentioned it first, vis a vis Japan, in "GlobalCorp", which is proving to be one of my most enduring essays ever. We followed it closely in our section "Key Stories From Around the World" (which is no longer available from the archives but will be next year we hope).

CALIFORNIA COLLAPSING

My state is so broke it's shutting down major construction projects and laying off tens of thousands right before Christmas. How is your state doing? I see a bridge collapsed in Atlanta today… lack of maintenance I'm sure. Two nights ago Nat Geo ran a great show on collapsing infrastructure… everywhere. It showed clearly not only how expensive, but how energy intensive it is to rebuild thing like sewers, water pipes, aqueducts, and the grid.

Now the simple, logical thing to do would be to look at three problems: collapsing infrastructure, severe water shortages and near total soil depletion in urban areas and fix much of them with one simple stroke. How? Pass an immediate federal law requiring all states and localities receiving federal aid to review, rewrite, and suspend prohibitions against composting toilets in residences. They're safe. The good ones have no odor at all and are very sanitary, fine for any house… They also produce some of the best fertilizer in the world that doesn't have to be driven anywhere. The human waste not needing to be disposed of wouldn't come flowing out on the streets when there's no money left to fix sewers. The soil would be healthier to plant gardens in, and we'd have flushed that much less fresh water that would then be available to water the gardens. The disease sure to follow from massive sewer failures wouldn't happen either.

Naw! That's too simple.

THE AUTO BAILOUT

At this point, had Bush not done something, he would have made one clear statement above all else. "We know the Big Three aren't going to make it and we're not going to waste a penny on them." That would have been the right decision but we would have seen one go before Barack Obama took office. That might have been a tailspin he couldn't pull out of, even temporarily, by the time he got there. That's all this was… buying a little time.

ROD BLAGOJEVICH

Could be a nasty protracted cat fight here. It will be a great sideshow at the end of the universe.

MIRACLE ON PENSYLVANNIA AVENUE

OK, now for the good news…

President-elect Obama has named Colorado State Senator Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior. Salazar is a really good guy who gets Peak Oil. Here's a quote from Salazar that I used in my new book "A Presidential Energy Policy":

"To hear Bush touting Western oil shale as the answer to $4 per gallon gasoline, as he did again yesterday in the Rose Garden, you would think it was 1908 . . . or 1920 . . . or 1945 . . . or 1974. Every couple of decades over the past century, the immense reserves of the oily rock under Colorado and Utah reemerge as the great hope for our energy future.

"Bush and his fellow oil shale boosters claim that if only Western communities would stand aside, energy companies could begin extracting more than 500 billion barrels of recoverable oil from domestic shale deposits. If only the federal government immediately offered even more public lands for development, the technology to extract oil from rock would suddenly ripen, oil supplies would rise and gas prices would fall.

"If only…

"Furthermore, energy companies are still years away -- 2015 at the earliest -- from knowing whether this technology can cost-effectively produce oil on a commercial scale…

"… It would take around one ton of rock to produce enough fuel to last the average car two weeks.

"… How is a federal agency to establish regulations, lease land and then manage oil shale development without knowing whether the technology is commercially viable, how much water the technology would need (no small question in the arid West), how much carbon would be emitted, the source of the electricity to power the projects, or what the effects would be on Western landscapes?...

"The governors of Wyoming and Colorado, communities and editorial boards across the West agree that the administration's headlong rush is a terrible idea… "

19 Salazar will stop the last-minute actions of the Bush Administration to favor preposterous oil shale development in their tracks… Again, we have more access. Salazar knows us.

It is pretty clear that Obama is following an FDR pattern in his cabinet. FDR put polar opposites in his cabinet and watched them fight. He learned that way. Like I said from the start, Barack Obama's presidency cannot and must not be judged on a few snapshots (Oh yeah, Polaroid went bankrupt today too.) You have a Neocon, energy idiot as National Security Advisor (Jones) but his portfolio isn't energy is it? What Obama is saying to all of us is, if you've got an agenda bring it forward. We'll listen. Now is the time. The Secretary of the Interior has more influence on domestic energy policy than anyone except the Secretary of Energy and the President.

We have several toes in the door I'm telling you.

DEMOCRACY AND THIS BLOG

This blog is not a democracy. This blog is also not a government. Neither I nor Jenna was elected by anybody.

We have no obligation to let disrupters, mental cases and the ill-informed occupy this space or our minds. This is a self-selected group, run by me and Jenna with the express purpose of facilitating knowledge, information, learning and experience between like-minded individuals. My job (Jenna does 95% of the work) is to make sure that this list functions as effectively as possible. It just so happens that we have chosen to share our discussions in a way that can be read frequently by anyone in the world who wishes too. We have nothing to hide.

We have no obligation to anyone to compromise the effectiveness of our list in the name of democracy because we are not a government. We are problem solvers, not problem makers. Jenna lets the growing number of talented stalwarts see just a little of the huge volume of messages intended to destroy our effectiveness. She is doing a fabulous job and I support her 100%.

We welcome and encourage new participants to comment. That they come with an open mind, a willingness to work a little, and good intent is all we ask.

There are some of you who very shortly will find all of your comments rejected without being read or posted. All I can say to that is… tough shit. We – all of us who work hard to make this blog good – are saving lives. As the skipper, my job is to help make you more productive and
eager to come here every day. That's all I care about.

I can't say how much deep affection I have for the regulars here. Soul mates. Brothers and sisters. Sons and daughters. Family. We're feeding each other health food. It's getting close to Christmas and the thought I'd like to close this long entry with is a quote I got from you guys. Its significance was recently reinforced in something that came up in a discussion between me and a new friend; a talented young writer named Emilie (write your own script). It took on special meaning as I just absorbed and meditated on the myriad ironies that adorn this year's Christmas tree.

This line -- which I got from this list -- sums up my whole life experience more succinctly than anything I have yet seen or heard.

It's not about how large you live. It's about how well you live.

MCR
*******************************************************************************

Jenna Orkin adds:

Russia Plans To Test Obama, Diplomat Says
Russia, India China Cooperate On New Aircraft Carriers
Russian Arms Exports To Top $8 Billion

India is a major buyer of Russian arms ranging from advanced fighter jets to aircraft carriers, though some of those deals were postponed by price increases and delivery delays.


Moscow is also striving to sell more to the Middle East, Southeast Asian and Latin American states.

At Meeting in Brazil, Washington Is Scorned

With the rise of China as a principal export destination and the visit last month by President
Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia to court Latin American leaders, there are more frequent reminders that the United States is becoming an ever more distant player in the affairs of the region, said Riordan Roett, the director of the Latin American Studies program at Johns Hopkins University.


Russia Blames Dawood Ibrahim For Mumbai Attacks
Russian Warship Sails Into Havana Bay
Russia To Provide Free Fighter Jets In Beirut

Did Bear Stearns Fall Or Was It Pushed?
as per MCR's hint.

EPA Could Speed Up Approval Of Coal Plants

“There are a bunch [of coal plants] that they are going to argue now don’t have to consider carbon dioxide, and which will be beyond the reach of the incoming Obama administration,” said Bruce Nilles, director of the anticoal campaign at the Sierra Club, an environmental group.

Energy Dreams: Looking Towards a Bright Future Using Much Less Energy

JO

58 comments:

Author, Script Writer, Film said...

Have you noticed that the photos of Russian ships, both those sailing about off Venezuela and Cuba, portray ships built in the sixties and seventies? The reason for this is simple. The Russians have not been building any warships for quite some time. They have a few new ones out, all right, but those are big-shouldered coastal defense ships, like our own Littoral thing ( littoral meaning that area of the coast from the high tide mark to a bit further out. Those ships are useless against just about anything except small coastal vessels. The soviets are rapidly moving toward no extended naval forces at all. So, i would not be real concerned here.

brell said...

yeah, it looks super old and busted!

Dave Crossland said...

A Cambridge (UK) physics professor has just published a book on energy, and published 100% of it online:

http://withouthotair.com/download.html

"For anyone with influence on energy policy, whether in government, business or a campaign group, this book should be compulsory reading."
- Tony Juniper, Former Executive Director, Friends of the Earth

"At last a book that comprehensively reveals the true facts about sustainable energy in a form that is both highly readable and entertaining."
- Robert Sansom, EDF Energy

I hope MCRs new book is in the same league :-)

martypantsROK said...

Such amazing insight into the world. I admire your diligence in spreading the truth to those of us without the time or knowledge to dig it all up and analyze it. Ever since being a paid FTW subscriber I come to your site as often as possible to learn and spread the information to those willing to listen (too few, frankly). And yes, I got jacked when FTW went down before my subscription ran out, but I'd never ask for a refund for the great work you do. Cheers, and Merry Christmas

Spindles said...

Well written as always Mike. I have been a subscriber to FTW, I was personally there at the 'truth and lies' speech, and have bought and read Rubicon serveral times over. But in FTW's absense I have turned increasingly to Alex Jones' site for a large chunk of my daily news. I don't always agree with his stances on things (mainly peak oil), but have found allot of coverage of current events pretty good. I totally agree that Amy Goodwin is a big time gatekeeper, but can you comment on why Alex is number two on the list?
I miss the rock that FTW was and love the blog. I love Alex Jones work as well, but he will always be a distant second to the work that you and your team do. Is this a conflict of interest?

Stay safe Mike.

brisa said...

So glad to see you are up to sharing your insights these days...it always makes for interesting and informative reading. You have been missed.

BTW...a picky point...but wouldn't it be better to say "I couldn't care less."?

whistling grizzlybear said...

That
article by Ellen Brown about Bear Stearns



is fantastic.

To insert links here - example using the URL for Google
[a href="http://www.google.com/"]Google
[/a]

... except use pointy brackets (sounds like Cheney's new torture toy), these things <>, instead of the square brackets, these things [].

MCR said...

It's better, Dave. Trust me.

MCR

brisa said...

I watched an interview with Jesse Ventura the other day where he stated that while governer of MN, the CIA had operatives within the state government.

How long was Spitzer serviced by this prostitute? Four years? So people in a position to squeeze him probably had that info. As long as he played ball...no one is the wiser. As soon as he goes off the reservation...he's front page news and ruined.

How many other pols are in danger of blackmail? Undoubtedly plenty.

Ruiz said...

A small example of political enemies needing to work together:

(this is Raul Castro speaking in 2008)

“We’ve had permanent contact with the U.S. military, by secret agreement since 1994. It is based on the premise that we would discuss issues only related to Guantanamo. On Feb. 17th, 1993, following a request by the U.S. to discuss issues related to buoy locators, was the first contact in the history of the revolution. Between March 4th and July 1st, the Rafters Crisis took place. A military-to-military hot line was established, and on May 9th, 1995, we agreed to monthly meetings with primaries from both governments. We alternate locations between the American base at Guantanamo, and in Cuban-held territory. We conduct joint emergency-response exercises."

And...

“I’ll tell you the truth. The base is our hostage. As a president, I say, the U.S. should go. As a military man, I say, let them stay.”

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/19830

PeakedOut said...

I was hoping to leave all of this gloomy reality behind and went to see the new James Bond. Smack in the middle of the movie a governernment character declares "Everyone knows the world is running out of oil!!" Later, the Bolivian water crisis is used as a subtext of the plot line. So much for mindless distraction. Today at work, my boss, the Govenator proposed a 10% pay cut. And still so few are willing to listen. Who's voice will ring out like that little Who girl on that tiny dust speck and break through to the unhearing ears of the world? I'm tired of being Horton the elephant. I suspect many of you are too.

As for censorship, I am tired of the endless debating. I come here to read news updates and find kindered spirits. And to hopefully learn things that will help me prepare. Many thanks to all who contribute. Some days you scare the hell out of me, and some days you save my sanity. Peace and joy to you all.

NB Patton said...

Well folks, its been a hoot!
Regrettably, I believe this post from MCR, is my queue.
I am not moving on with any ill intent or the harboring of any negative emotions, but only with the realization that this blog just doesn't do "it" for me anymore.
And I hope those of you so inclined, keep it alive and well, as it represents a special chapter in my mind's silly little quest for enlightenment.
I sincerely thank you all very much. Especially Mike and Jenna for creating a such a great port in this vast tumultuous sea of information.
I'm sure I will pop in from time to time to read MCR's prophetic insights, but I won't waste our collective time by posting my unwanted thoughts.

May you all live long and prosper!

Jenna Orkin said...

spindles:

remember peter dale scott's dictum that to be effective, disinformation must be 90% accurate.

sunrnr said...

Collecting rain water is illegal!!!

In my planning for how to survive what's coming I thought of collecting rain water as I've seen done in Saba and as been suggested by others in this blog.

Good idea, eh? Well, it turns out that it is illegal! The state maintains that all the water is pre-allocated and if you collect it, that's considered stealing!

I'm thinking that with what's coming, that will be the least of the state's worries. I'll do what ever I need to to keep my family safe, warm and fed.

namaste

John said...

Despair in Once-Proud Argentina
Hi guys, this article is pretty old, dates back to 2002.
English not being my mother language, this is a well written piece that explains many things much better than I can.

If you believe USA is already in a depression and it could get worse, PLEASE read this article.
It will explain better to those that are unfamiliar with Argentina, why there are many parallelisms between this country and USA, and in some ways it will portrait a better picture of what I try to explain here many times.

Please do read it. A lot of water has gone under the bridge and we have an entire set of new problems, but these ones during the first months and years, may unfortunately become common in USA one day.
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/
Sunday, November 30, 2008

John said...

Citigroup Predicts Bleak Future For World

http://freedomswings.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/citigroup-predicts-bleak-future-for-world/

Citigroup is a US bank most notable recently for needing a bailout from the government so one would be lead to believe that an internal memo from the bank predicting a bleak global future would be covered by the American press. Not so, of course, because American journalism is dead. The UK’s Telegraph ran the story today and it verifies what many of us have been trying to warn the good people of this country about...

jesse said...

Hello all, I have spent the last 3 days catching up on the last several months' activity on this blog (to my great edification and RELIEF). I read Rubicon immediately upon publication, and read FTW to the degree I was able (having been, I must admit, too lazy to subscribe). The last thing I read of MCR's was his heartrending cry for help from Venezuela...and lamented the price he had paid for his years of dedication to the truth. I returned a few weeks ago from a long trip around Europe, backpacker style, during which I spent minimal time online. I made this trip despite Mike's admonition to prepare. prepare. prepare. But at the same time, my travels allowed me to learn much about myself and others (while doing what I could to spread the Peak Gospel to those with ears to hear and eyes to see). So it is difficult for me to express how happy I have been these past few days, to discover that Mike has recovered, happily relocated, and re-initiated his work. It is, to me, a reunion with an old friend (not to mention teacher)...Thank you, too, Jenna, for the obviously multifaceted role you play in moderating the horseplay on this intellectual playground. I have been impressed with the level of discussion here, and look forward to continuing my education with all of you. I just wanted to express how happy I am to see Mike in good health, and his mind returned to "fighting form"--I will doubtless be awaiting all new posts with bated breath, and contributing to the lively exchange among community members when I feel I have anything to offer to such a highly-evolved bunch. Keep up the good work. And in living well, Mike, surely our lives WILL loom large to those in need of new maps when they finally notice that their old ones do not describe the territory we now enter. Respect.

---jesse

ProGo said...

I'm with PeakedOut on this as well.

When does the elephant get so big as to get impossible for the mainstream to ignore? I think its a big sign when even Hollywood starts dropping big Peak refrences. During the 007 movie I almost had to stifle my laughter in the theater when the Peak Oil was uttered.

The plot basically read like a FTW laundry-list: Peak Oil, corporate corruption, fresh water, and covert-intel groups and 3rd world governments.

I say lets get some residuals.

v said...

Three Out of Four Undersea Cables Connecting Internet Traffic Between the Middle East and Europe Have Been Cut


Mmmmm...something about to happen?

Phil said...

test, just try to log on

Phil said...

To NB Patton, Don't stay away too long. All of us must progress.
Bon continuation!

gaelicgirl said...

sunrnr: I was startled by your comment about rainwater collection being illegal in the US--I know it is in some South American countries. I did a (admittedly quick) Google search, and as far as I could see, it is illegal in a few states (Colorado and Utah were two that jumped out--dry, Western states of course), but did not see anything suggesting that it's illegal in the whole country. If you have valid information to the contrary, it would be great if you post it here.

RanD said...

Although my thinking regularly fits well to MCR's, right now my conscience compels me to say that the standards of wealth that will sustain our species in what I recognize as being the impendent world of Universally Recognized Values -- which is the world beyond the one which is methodically collapsing around us right now -- will necessarily be fundamentally different from the value standards of this current world which I see necessarily heading inexorably to its inevitable and utter conclusion.

In our species' not distant future, rather than wealth being measured in "completely new (old) ways: food, water, land, shelter, clothing... and gold", I see wealth routinely flowing uninterrupted -- equally and equitably --throughout humankind's membership, directly as a consequence of humankind's having established species-wide recognition of ultimate and immeasurable -- thus never-changing -- values that are entirely distinct from the traditional ever-changing values posited upon mere gross physical material objects.

These entirely new and exclusive standards of Universal/Existential Value will be: Love of Truth, Love of Knowledge, Love of Existence.

Without changing how we think, it is impossible to truly change anything.

carfree christy said...

Homemade compost toilets are easy, cheap and can be done in city with a little space and great care for neighbors. I recommend carpenters cloth, the prime expense, used to keep animals out. In the arid west, these must be watered to keep microbes happy and if in new Orleans, covered and built high for big rains!
Everything goes in pile, food scraps, etc...Humanure by Joe Jenkins is the book to read but his website has that and a short version also free to read and print...Gpovernment officials will be sent copy free.
Make the corners solid on pile with wood and having three sides of pallet is good too...I have been doing this for at least four years here in the very middle of dense urbanity...
Every time you go, you know you are doing the right thing.
Those on anti-biotics or cancer drugs should abstain...kills essential microbial biodiversity.
I wrote a longer post but it got lost, I am computer challenged...
Anyway thanks Mike for the push for this fertilizer, indeed it is great and if one waits until the heat is gone from pile, adding a handful of fast breeding worms gets it all even better...
To finished product, safely and most conservatively is two years! Start now so you "get it"
I love that Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, the chapter on the sewers of Paris, way back in 1830, made eloquent comments supporting this...how there they were wasting several great resources-a good translation has marvelous excrement words one has never seen! (Mike-don't call it "waste"-by product, or resources or whatever) So these are water (river Seine then), our shit, and energy primarily...Last thought is that one may as well add that pumping water is the biggest gov user of energy, but that may not be accurate enough for here...
Vandana Shiva's Soil Not Oil should be read by all...I think she is a Gramsci, "Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will"...type..but super writer, not on to compost toilets yet so if you have an in, tell her...
thanks all.

agape wins said...

Someone said we could not be trusted, that we had to provide links as proof
of our statements!
A link provided is proof of nothing but an opinion, to be accepted or rejected,
as FTW has said:

Blogger FTW admin said...

spindles:

remember peter dale scott's dictum that to be effective, disinformation must be 90% accurate.

7:55 PM

Here is a link where you can pick and choose

http://www.answers.com/

Make your own choice about why I included the following links, with some cuts from each one,
all make good reading.
Think, trust no one, question, & look it up!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/opinion/20patricof-frist.html?th&emc=th

The corporation’s board includes key members of the president’s cabinet — the secretaries of state and Treasury, the United States trade representative and the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development — along with a bipartisan group of four citizens appointed by the president on the advice of Congress. The cabinet members make sure the program operates according to the president’s foreign policy, while the four private members see that it remains faithful to the principles that Congress laid down for it.

Lorne Craner, the president of the International Republican Institute; Bill Frist, a former Republican leader of the Senate; Kenneth Hackett, the president of Catholic Relief Services; and Alan Patricof, a founder of a venture capital firm, are appointees to the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s board.

http://www.answers.com/topic/marshall-plan

Historians continue to argue the main thrust of the plan. The main arguments are that the plan was (1) humanitarian in seeking to ameliorate postwar economic suffering; (2) anti-communist in that it sought to rebuild the economies of western European countries to resist communism; and (3) designed to help the American economy since participating nations had to spend these dollar-denominated grants in the United States (and later Canada) for purchases of goods and services.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/movies/19wond.html?em

That last scene, when Harry comes back from the war and says, “To my big brother, George, the richest man in town”? Well, as I sat in that classroom, despite the dreary view of the parking lot; despite the moronic Uncle Billy; despite the too-perfect wife, Mary; and all of George’s lost opportunities, I felt a tingling chill around my neck and behind my ears. Fifteen years old and imagining myself an angry young man, I got all choked up.

And I still do.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/opinion/19krugman.html?em

Think of the way almost everyone important missed the warning signs of an impending crisis. How was that possible? How, for example, could Alan Greenspan have declared, just a few years ago, that “the financial system as a whole has become more resilient” — thanks to derivatives, no less? The answer, I believe, is that there’s an innate tendency on the part of even the elite to idolize men who are making a lot of money, and assume that they know what they’re doing.

Anne said...

Jenna,
Thought you guys should see this if you havn't already..but can't seem to make the link work...so...Google "Global Systemic crisis" it comes up.
Anne

Gools said...

FYI Iran has joined the Gulf of Aden party:

href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7793603.stm"]Iran sends ship against pirates
.

John said...

U. S. Senate Minority Report:

More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims

Scientists Continue to Debunk “Consensus” in 2008
-------------------------
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=2674e64f-802a-23ad-490b-bd9faf4dcdb7
-------------------------
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=83947f5d-d84a-4a84-ad5d-6e2d71db52d9&CFID=300233&CFTOKEN=55377011

AussieGal said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really appreciate the work you all put into keeping us informed :)

If you need a "Crash Course" in economics and would like to understand the problems behind "the hockey stick", I recommend you watch at least Chapter three of a doco called "The Crash Course", by Chris Martenson. I never really put all the pieces together: Exponential growth, inflation, credit bubble, demographics, lack of savings, failing infrastructure, Peak Oil, general resource depletion and throw in a little human corruption.
Now I do!! It goes for over three hours in total, but just like time spent watching Denial stops here, it is time very well spent!!

gildone84 said...

Perhaps this doesn't matter so much now in the context of the economic collapse, etc, but a key witness in a lawsuit over election fraud in Ohio, and who had the goods on Rove and Cheney, died in a plane crash on 12/19/08. Michael Connell, the "IT guru" of the RNC and Whitehouse, was "on the scene of every dubious election we’ve had over the last eight years, starting with Florida 2000" (see Democracy now link below). He was talking and knew enough to nail Rove, Cheney and others. Rove threatened him if he testified in the case.
Back in October/Novemeber a federal judge ordered him to testify.

The mainstream media has ignored the lawsuit story. The Akron Beacon Journal did a story on the plane crash today, but never mentioned he was a key witness in the ongoing election fraud case:
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/36482529.html

Here are some other relevant links:

Democracy Now! did a story on the case in October month:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/3/on_eve_of_election_day_is

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/20/115123/56/832/675467

http://www.atlargely.com/2008/12/one-of-my-sources-died-in-a-plane-crash-last-night.html

This doesn't smell right, if you ask me...

Jenna Orkin said...

eyeballs wrote:

Hi Jenna!

Again, I'm not out to contend and prove, but would like to clarify. I've lived in Taiwan since 1988, except for 5 years in Oregon, recently. I'm in Taiwan now. The Diaoyutai article does not say what Mike says it says.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JL17Ad01.html

Three things matter around these ridiculously tiny islands: national pride/national security (or in Oriental parlance, "face"), fish, and petroleam reserves -- in that order. If the total oil and gas reserves were efficiently harvested, they wouldn't run Shanghai for a week. Everyone knows that. But they would be commercially viable, barring accidents or international interference, so the governments involved all have to somehow answer the question: Why aren't WE harvesting this booty? But a great deal more money is being made between China, Japan and Taiwan (which, as the "Republic of China", officially claims not only the Diaoyutais, but Beijing) and loss of goodwill would more than offset the dram of petroleum available. So they talk about it, they bluster about it, and one HK guy with an ROC flag died after jumping into the sea and trying to reach the main island as the Japanese Navy did maneuvers around his boat.

Of greater practical value are the fish stocks. Fishermen from various nations, or regions, or whatever, go there, get chased off by someone's navy, protest, etc. Again, the question is posed: Aren't these OUR fish? So in order to show its testicles, each government must go through the motions of lodging a protest, etc. And again, nobody lets this get out of hand because the Sony business and the Chinese low-end tech components and the Taiwanese investment are just too important to fuck with for a few fish.

Of greater importance to China -- and presumably Japan, is security. It's hard to imagine a serious military base on even the main Diaoyutai, which is about the size of a football field, thurst out of the ocean by high, jagged cliffs. But an acknowledged (tollerated) 24/7 military "presence" there would block either Japan's southern waters, or put a serious hole in China's eastern perimeter. For this reason, permanent military presence has not been established by either. It is a demiliterized zone - although warships significantly travel there, to renew one claim or another. All parties are very careful not to actually escalate.

There is slightly more oil and gas around the Spratley Islands, south of Taiwan. Again, the total reserves are not much, but worth something. But these are claimed by Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, China ... and of course Taiwan. Taiwan has an airstrip on the biggest island, in fact. Vietnam may have a sub base in the archipelligo and Philippine troops are also stationed around some cays. China considers the whole lot to be part of the motherland, citing the continental shelf, among other things. (The same argument is also employed to demonstrate that Taiwan is an integral part of China.)

My point is that no one is "fighting over the scraps". Everyone is, on the contrary, trying very hard NOT to fight, while at the same time justifying their "sovereignty". These island groups highlight subtleties of Asian politics that differ from the Palmerston/Perry "gunboat diplomacy" of imperial Western powers. China will not take these islands -- or Taiwan -- until the value of trade and the threat of a debilitating war diminish beyond their actual value. And if fighting ever took place, it would not be primarily for the petroleum reserves... it would be for the symbolic confirmation that China was, in fact, The Boss. The PRC is obviously heading in that direction with some enthusiasm, but it's not there yet.

http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2008/04/new-chinese-ssbn-deploys-to-hainan-island-naval-base.php

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/a-chinese-aircraft-carrier-not-if-but-when

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/18/asia/AS-China-Aircraft-Carrier.php

I don't dispute Mike's basic point that resource wars will become fiercer, for ever smaller bits (unless we can somehow, perhaps by Protocol, solve the matters peacefully -- and I'm not holding my breath). But in this case, he's wrongly interpreting a complex, ongoing situation that is not, in fact, escalating. It's important not to let skewed interpretations reinforce existing expectations, 's why I mention it.

Blessings!

sunrnr said...

gaelicgirl - my apologies. My experience is with Utah, which indeed is a very arid state. I was amiss in not stating that up front.

That said, there has been a great deal written about how water rights in the West have been coerced many times over. Bottomline is that millions of people and millions of acres of agriculture now exist where they shouldn't. With the increasing loss of water that will become very apparent.

Besides the looming energy crisis, the water crisis in many parts of the US and the world will be even bigger.

namaste

whistling grizzlybear said...

gildone84 - reporting on the case of Michael Connell's - thanks for taking the initiative.

Generally I think it takes a few weeks or months for the pieces to fall into place. For example, in the case of Paul Wellstone's death, it eventually emerged that the FBI van that went to investigate the crash - started driving to the crash site before the plane left the ground. That detail did not come out right away.

I agree, this one stinks. That was an awfully convenient plane crash for Rove, Cheney, et al.

MCR said...

DEAR EYEBALLS: I have never so thoroughly enjoyed being corrected and instructed. Please feel free to chime in any time you want. Thanks!

MICHEL -- What a great catch that story on the Iranian Navy and piracy. It's a huge piece of the map. I need a couple of days to chew on it... I don't think I like it much.

MCR

businessman said...

Anne...Thanks so much for the suggestion to Google the term "Global Systemic Crisis". In doing so I found articles including the following one, written by an organization that accurately predicted our recent financial crisis quite some time ago.

In this article they predict some additional grim economic outcomes occurring by March of 2009:

http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-30-is-available!-Global-systemic-crisis-New-tipping-point-in-March-2009-When-the-world-becomes-aware-that-this_a2567.html

Rice Farmer said...

About those islands...

With good timing, this article appeared recently.

"China shelves island dispute, yet again"
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JL17Ad01.html

Here in Japan, I too have a front-row seat on this drama. To put it very simply, no one wants to rock the boat too much. There's a lot of posturing, but there are few people who think the islands are worth getting into an angry spat, or even a military confrontation. When the issue appears in the Japanese media, the distinct impression I get is that everyone had forgotten those islands and suddenly someone remembered them again. It's a recurring theme that comes and goes. So when I read Eyeballs' comment, I found myself nodding in agreement.

Peter J. Nickitas said...

Questions to all:

On 19 December 2008, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange closed its "shout from the pit" trading floor and made the transition to electronic trading.

Is this more conducive to price and food supply manipulation?

Can anyone draw analogies or cite precedents in favor of one position or another?

What is the current correlation of forces between Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)? The Sec'y of Agriculture-designate, Tom Vilsack, has taken a pro-ethanol stance in the past, a position that ADM favors and Cargill disfavors.

I do not have many answers for the blog, but I do have sincere questions for discussion and action.

Thank you.

Peter J. of Minneapolis

Peter J. Nickitas said...

ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7792688.stm

I see this as another development for the map, like one of those periodic advisories from AAA for inclusion in their old "trip tickets".

The following is a quote from the above article:

"We've lost three out of four lines. If the fourth cable breaks, we're looking at a total blackout in the Middle East," said Mr Wright.

"These three circuits account for 90% of the traffic and we're going to see more international phone calls dropping and a huge degradation in the quality of local internet," he added.

"Normally you would expect to see one major break per cable per year. With four you should have an insurance policy. For this to happen twice in one year, on the same cable, is a serious cause for concern."

Peter J. of Minneapolis

Anonymous said...

On the subject of harvesting rainwater...
I believe in most southwest states in the U.S., there are "laws" against collecting rainwater, including my beloved Texas. But, if someone wants to come out here and give me a ticket, they are more than welcome.
In my opinion, records are meant to be broken, and most rules are meant to be badly bent to the point of being ratified or simply ignored.
After all, if you haven't broken at least one rule or law by supper time then what did you get out of bed for?

RayLeeUS said...

Wonder how long the farce of blaming subprime mortgages will continue. Isn't it true that the entire value of all outstanding mortgages is only about $10.5 trillion? If the bailout price tag is at $8.5 trillion and rising, we could have paid off every single mortgage in the country in full pretty soon - not just the subprimes. Wouldn't that have made all the banks more than solvent? Wouldn't that have boosted consumer confidence, reduced credit card and other debt (with no mortages to pay, lots more money for purchasing and paying down other debt).

This crime is so painful to watch. If only Spitzer didn't give them such ammunition to ruin him so easily. Given the enormity of the crime, however, I doubt they would have declined to use any tool in their arsenal to stop him.

ATL said...

Has anyone read this article written by Spitzer, that appeared hours before he was outed?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html

"Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye."

Jenna Orkin said...

v sent in part:

v has left a new comment on your post "Reproduced from the "comments" section of today's ...":

"Switzerland is ready to send soldiers on board Swiss ships sailing in waters near Somalia to protect them from pirates".

So now we have Switzerland, USA, China, Russia, Iran, France, Japan and the NATO in the Gulf of Aden.
Even Blackwater have a warship over there......

Jenna Orkin said...

before everyone gets their knickers in a twist about what i omitted from v's comment, it was a link to an article on 'american free press.' see oilempire.us, among others, regarding that site

NewMatrix said...

Is Faux News (courtesy AP) finally beginning to wake up?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470824,00.html

As you read it, do you too get the feeling the the Fed is strategically pre-positioning cash reserves for some kind of otherwise unforeseen purpose?

Are simple electronic DigiDollars moving, or actual palettes of green? I wonder what the geographic distribution looks like if its the latter.

A prelude to gridcrash?

Why

tony p said...

Mike (and everyone else), did you see this one?

Report: India may attack Pakistan
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=79031&sectionid=351020402
"Indian military has prepared operations against targets in Pakistan and awaits the signal to go forward, a US intelligence report says."

sunrnr said...

The article about the Iranian ship held by Somalie pirates is a bit interesting. Having worked in the handling of nuclear wastes left over from making the original bombs, I'd have to agree that the symptoms appear to be caused by direct exposure to high level radioactive material.

It has to be in shielded containers or the entire crew and pirates would have died. Also, the level and type would be detectable by a fly over with proper instrumentation.

Possibly some one opened a container they shouldn't have. Why the lack of interest from the US? Because they know what it is, but are hoping another country boards the vessel and finds the material. That way there would be third party confirmation that Iran has nuclear material?

Was it a plant? I'm guessing yes as a pretext for more action against Iran.

What next?

namaste

Jenna Orkin said...

v has left a new comment on your post "Reproduced from the "comments" section of today's ...":

Dear Mike and Jo,

Some articles, feel free to use/post the ones which are interesting:

'Greek Syndrome' is catching as youth take to streets
First it was Athens. Now the Continent's disillusioned youth is taking to the streets across Europe.


"ISI cleared of Mumbai involvement".


"U.S.-Georgia Security Pact Said To Be In The Works".


regards,

V(incent)

vajacondios said...

hi everybody!
there is one thing i like to know for new years evening...i know - there's christmas inbetween. but this christmas will become a disaster. (or people forget the materialistic aspect of it and return to the basic story, i summarize: a poor man and his young woman have to move because the Emperor says so - the young woman is pregnant - nobody wants to give them shelter - a prince of peace gets born with a mule and a cow as witnesses. sounds old this story. in fact, it's a basic fate of todays people behind every news story you read and share with each other - hidden in numbers.)

new years evening, however. now that everything is pretty messed up: my wish for next year would be that Mike's upcoming book will be a huge hit and a breakthrough for his mission. but mike, i have a very serious question. this wish is felt from my heart. nevertheless, should i wish so? here is my concern: to acknowledge you with this new book would mean the total collapse of every moral credit america has ever enjoyed in the long run with 'rubicon'. i should add, i write from germany. after reading 'rubicon' three times (thank you very much!) there is no doubt of it: neither your genial approach, nor the fact, hat 'they' hide an evil truth out there in the wilderness. to see this evil truth revealed about 9/11(you name 'them')and the aftermath of it (war, torture, economic insanity, corruption all over the place) would mean to discredit america like germany after ww2 - in front of the world and to itself, wouldn't it? this will be very hart to swallow for the superpatriots living in the land of the free and the brave. how will america overcome this shock?
for example, how embarassing will it be for all those in the media who denied you over the years? all those experts can take their stuff and go home. (but this is true for international media as well...)

is it a fair thoght/question to share/ask?


i wish you all the best unmaterialistic christmas ever
and a happy new year with mike's book hitting a top spot!

Titus Pullo said...

uh oh...

Russia warning Europe of gas shortages again...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/22/gazprom-shortage-warning

(sorry if this has been posted)

Jeff said...

Hi Mike and Jen and all people aboard,this morning on rueters there was a article that read japans exports collapse,not long afterward it was removed and a new article was written.This has got to be a very important domino to fall.Who is next?

Titus Pullo said...

Mike, Jenna...

Have you seen or commented on the demise the other day of Mike Connell, Karl Rove's IT guy set to testify on the WH e-mail purge scandal? He was "plane-crashed." Sounds like a Wellstone special all over again.

Unbelievable. No wait... Completely believable.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/114674/republican_it_guru_for_rove_and_mccain_warned_of_sabotage,_dies_after_crashing_his_plane_--_was_set_to_testify/

P.S., ever wonder what kind of a political landscape we'd have faced this election season had Wellstone lived and ran for the highest office?

gaelicgirl said...

Here's another piece of Peak Oil already happening. From today's (Tuesday, Dec. 23) New York Times front page:

"In Budget Crisis, States Reluctantly Halt Road Projects"

www.nytimes.com

Uninteresting said...

I just read this:

http://www.newscentralasia.net/Articles-and-Reports/389.html

It contains a possible explanation about the hoarding of 'surplus opium'.

businessman said...

Here's an Associated Press article discussing what Jeff had mentioned had disappeared on Reuters. The article is titled, "Japan Exports Plunge Record Amount on Weak Demand".

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gN_kUngERLcfGYFHR3q1grHfn_kAD957MG880

businessman said...

And in the spirit of the Holidays...

Twas the Night Before Christmas
When All Through The Blog
Not a Creature Was Posting
They Were Sipping Egg Nog

And Taking a Break
From the Talk of Peak Oil
While Instead Giving Gifts
Unto Those Who They're Loyal

And Counting Their Blessings
and Giving a Cheer
With Hopeful Excitement
for the Coming New Year

But in 2008
Santa's Been Very Kind
To Have Brought Back a Soul
With a Very Keen Mind

His Name is Mike Ruppert
Former L.A.P.D.
And When He Returned
People Shouted With Glee

For Of All the Blessings
We Are Counting This Year
The Return of Our Michael
Has Given Us Cheer

And in 2009
When the Stuff Hits the Fan
For a Mentor I'm Grateful
To Have Such a Man

With Knowledge Amazing
And Insight So Keen
To Guide Me Along
To Where Pastures are Green

And in Closing This Poem
To This Man Who I Like
Merry Christmas to All
And God Bless You, Dear Mike

Jenna Orkin said...

whoa, businessman. he's getting a special email re that one. what did you put in that egg nog?

redrosebeader said...

My sister tried to put a hand pump on her well in middle California, and found out that was illegal!

Jenna Orkin said...

eyeballs wrote:

Dr. Chu says a typical coal plant emits 100 times more radiation than a nuclear plant, given the flyash emissions of radioactive
particles.


response from Mark:

while it is true that coal burning releases lots of radioactive
particles (which previously were safely encapsulated deep in the
Earth's crust), nuclear reactors create hundreds of new radioisotopes that did not exist on Earth before the discovery of fission in 1938.
(There was one very slow scale natural uranium deposit that had a little fissioning in Africa a few million years ago, but otherwise the statement is 100% correct.) Fission is not known to happen anywhere else in the universe, and fission products are definitely not compatible with creatures using DNA.

If we were smart, and planning to stay on Earth for the long term,
we'd rededicate the various laboratories figuring out fancier means of genocide and omnicide to focus upon how to live lightly and well. Solar electricity. LED lights. Organic agriculture everywhere. Assuring that everyone on Earth has their basic needs met (see Maslow's hierarchy). All we'd have to do is convert the military industrial complex, a task that would increase security for those currently at the top of the pyramid as well as the six billion who aren't. That's the path that would lead toward a gentle decrease in population, avoiding catastrophe and global war.