AMAZING REVELATIONS ABOUT THE BREAKUP OF THE UNION AND LONG-TERM BUSH FAMILY STRATEGY
Plus,
--A Survival Tip for Those With the Money
--READING SIGN
--A New Song from Me to the Blog
by Michael C. Ruppert
(C) Copyright 2009, Michael C. Ruppert. All Rights Reserved
READING SIGN
Greek Group Vows Attacks On Police
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-05-greece-violence_N.htm?csp=34
This is not unrest. This is revolution.
Toyota Shuts Down All But One Assembly Line http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/05/news/international/toyota_assembly/index.htm
They only did that for show. They wanted to shut them all down. This is not Depression. This is another sign that the heartbeat is stopping.
China Facing Worst Drought in 50 Years -- The summer grain harvest is in jeopardy. Picture famine in a country with 29 million unemployed, displaced persons.
Wall Street Soars on Job Losses -- It could not have been more transparent, naked or ugly. Wall Street rallied because 600,000 more people lost their jobs. When are people going to get this! I have been screaming this at the top of my lungs for years. It's GLOBALCORP!
Democrats Agree to Education Cuts in Bailout -- Suicide in slow motion.
SURVIVAL TIP
Recommendation for those who can afford it: Get redundant on as much of your communications as possible. I see deterioration in cable and Internet service everywhere. What I'm thinking is that if I owned a house now, or was building one; I would have both cable and satellite for Internet. I would have a landline and a cell. I would have a diesel generator and maybe 10-20 gallons of fuel. The first power interruptions shouldn't last more than a few days -- maybe a week. But service interruptions for phone and Internet could be real problems. It's not likely that cable and satellites will go down at the same time.
THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGINS -- STATES PLANNING FOR SECESSION, VOIDING U.S. CONSTITUTION
A REVELATION OF THE BUSH FAMILY STRATEGY
I am watching closely how (the number keeps growing) five state legislatures have introduced resolutions announcing their secession from the Union in the event that certain things happen. Er, excuse me... when they happen.. Doh!, as they happen. (Matt Savinar's tracking them at LATOC). The answer to all this fragmentation/secession/break up discussion is obvious. Why reinvent the wheel. Just break up the 50-state union and turn the states loose. That is actually provided for in the Constitution. It doesn't require creating new governments, legislatures and courts. It's obvious. These resolutions didn't just spring up since January 20th. Following a dissolution of the Republic into a federation, large states like California and Texas are likely to break up within a few years after that. Hell, when it was drafted, the Texas state constitution provided that Texas could break itself up into five states if it wanted to. It still can! If it did, it would automatically become a federation and become the "Russia" to Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Eastern New Mexico. Shoot, and also to a big chunk of Mexico (and the Gulf) too. Texas would be the de facto seller of energy to much of the rest of the continent... A filthy-rich kingdom... in dinosaur think. (Forget that they have little water and the hurricanes have been getting just a little stronger lately.)
All of a sudden I understand why a Northeastern family (which is still Northeastern at heart) made itself into a Texas family with such care and devotion over two generations.
This is a huge new insight for all of us. We all need to play with this new chunk of territory for a while.
A NEW SONG FOR THE BLOG
The song is called "Bluebird" from Buffalo Springfield's first album. Steve Stills sang it. OK, somebody tell me who played banjo on it? Richey Feuray, or was it Stills? That was some kick-ass banjo.
Enjoy...http://fromthewilderness.com/Bluebird.mp3
P.S. -- Rosie has been downloaded more than 10,000 times. Go figure...I just wrote a review for a new CD by The CHEETERS. In that review I wrote that the only things left to trust are good, raunchy sex and a beat... Rock and Roll!
MCR
***********************************************************************************
Jenna Orkin adds:
We're now officially in the vortex. The "D-" word which the talking heads tiptoed around for so many months, clinging to the tattered life preserver of "Recession," is now history anyway. Today we skipped straight to "Crisis" while President Obama maintained the stimulus package was necessary to avert "Catastrophe." This, just a few days after MCR announced he was running out of superlatives.
You have to hand it to the Bush family and the Rockefellers and whatever other Skull 'n' Bonesmen have been planning this coup for the last hundred years or so. They sure had stick-to-it-iveness, in addition to sticking it to us.
Guess it's time to stockpile some food. Here in NYC I have an extra cannister of soy powder, expiration date 2011. It'll be a sign the end is nigh when my kid's willing to eat it.
Sex and rock 'n' roll. Didn't there used to be a third category wedged between the other two in that list? But what do I know about these things? (I can hear MCR's response from across the continent: "Less than anyone I've ever met.")
The London Connection to the Somali Pirates
"These young men carrying guns are just foot soldiers. Their leaders are in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Canada."
IMF Almost Halves Asian Growth Prospects
India May Shed 1.5 Million Export Jobs By March End
"The Federation of Indian Export Organisations has said the job losses could be far worse, predicting the global economic slowdown would see at least 10 million Indians in the export sector become unemployed by March." And that's just in exports.
Economic Crisis Reveals Divergence Among the BRICs
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency
Mission statement for new agency
PBS's Limited Hangout on 9/11
Cheney Warns of New Attacks
This is finally wafting up into the mainstream media. Along with Mitt Romney's schadenfreud-ish observation that the Obama administration is off to a "rocky start," it may be laying the groundwork for the inevitable "I told you so's" when the plans for secession and threats of 'unrest' become realities.
With the arrival of Peak Oil, the curtain has closed on Act 1 of the drama Petroleum Man. What will happen in Act 2? Chekhov said, "If there's a gun on the wall at the beginning of the play, by the end it must go off." In the world's nuclear arsenal are many guns on the wall. If life copies art, will there be an Act 3 in which the players, having learned their lesson the hard way, live sustainably? To explore these and other questions... FTW's Act 2 Blog. Read, comment, take heart! Orkin
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74 comments:
Hi Mike,
If Texas "strikes out" on its own, I wonder if and when it will go to war with Aztlan.
"A filthy-rich kingdom... in dinosaur think."
Dinosaur think....lol
What do we make of the PBS limited hangout?
Mike, any recommendations for those who don't have those financial means?
“If you’re headed for a cliff, you’ve got to change direction,” Obama said. “That’s what the American people called for in November, and that’s what we intend to deliver.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090206/pl_politico/18482
What was that? An echo in the Hall, resonating from MCR sometime ago?
A slobbering Tyrannosaurus Rex backed up to the edge, one foot raised teetering over the abyss, facing down Lemmings from every nation, pretending to be in charge! Unable, or unwilling to step aside & let the inevitable run it's course, no different than any time in American history.
And then on the throughly negative side!
http://infowars.net/articles/may2008/010507Pentagon.htm
And here is the MM spin, Is this informative?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_us/pentagon_the_information_war_5
On a positive note, I see people are opening up and confirming/affirming what others have posted using different words, and phraseology which is different from what we were taught. I can not grade the contributors, each one of you is valuable and will have a positive effect on the future.
I miss Patton, Kamilov and many more, who added more to the map than they know, they are denying
us their knowledge, which possibly was/is their intent, they are welcome to use anything of value they find here. I am sure they will improve everyone's future! I would enjoy their input.
MCR,
I listened to your song while I read the rest of yours and Jenna's comments and followed the links.
As I did, I had a vison of the future. I was wandering through the wilderness and came upon a man singing by a campfire. It was you, once agin offering warmth and comfort. In the vision as it is now, I had little to offer in return but my gratitude.
The night before last, I dreamt that my wife and I left our children with friends and began to drive away. We soon crossed a bridge that spanned a raging torrent of water. By the time we crossed the bridge the water was covering the roadway. The water was rising so fast that there was no way to get back to my kids. At that realization, I shot upright in bed, heart pounding, wide awake.
It is time to keep family and friends close.
I'm so glad I've had the advanced warning of what is happening. So many around me are in shock.
Lastly, with 10,000 downloads of your song, I hope you don't give up your day job!! We need you!!
Happy Birthday!!
M wrote:
AMAZING REVELATIONS ABOUT THE BREAKUP OF THE UNION AND LONG-TERM BUSH
> FAMILY STRATEGY
> the Texas state constitution provided
> that Texas could break itself up into five states if it wanted to. It
> still can! If it did, it would automatically become a federation and
> become the "Russia" to Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Eastern New
> Mexico. Shoot, and also to a big chunk of Mexico (and the Gulf) too.
> Texas would be the de facto seller of energy to much of the rest of
> the continent... A filthy-rich kingdom... in dinosaur think. (Forget
> that they have little water and the hurricanes have been getting just
> a little stronger lately.)
for blog:
Perhaps this is related to the fact that Texas is the only US state that has its own power grid.
Quebec also has its own grid.
http://www.slate.com/id/2087133/
Why Texas has its own power grid
the Wikipedia page for the North American Reliability Corporation has a map that shows the regional grids
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Electric_Reliability_Corporation
Those concerned about "deep integration" of the US, Canada and Mexico will probably not approve of the logo for the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, which coordinates the western power grid that stretches from Tijuana to BC, from the Pacific to Denver.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Electricity_Coordinating_Council
Great job on the vocals, Mike! Your voice sounded even better this time a cappella!
You made an interesting choice with a Buffalo Springfield tune as Dewey Martin their drummer passed away earlier this week.
I believe it was most likely Stephen Stills who played banjo on that song. In an interview with Vintage Guitar magazine he said that he played guitar, piano, and banjo on the first CSN album, indicating that he knows how to play the instrument.
Mike -
You kick ass! I hadn't gotten a chance to listen to you till now, and your bravery knows no bounds! A cappella, no less, wow.
Like others have said, I've heard your spoken voice, and I'm amazed at your pipes.
And also thanks for your enthusiastic response to my post - I felt a big wave of exhilaration and humility! I write for a living, too; technical stuff that's only read by engineers, so you're response was way beyond what I'm used to seeing (and coming from a writer who I really respect!).
Cheers, and thanks for giving us your thoughts and this venue.
Shouldn't be too surprising, I was doing my own 'If I had unlimited funds, where would I buy up land?' modeling, and I figured to have some land in the Texan Oil Province, some land in West Virginia, for the coal, and following the river valleys particularly of Tennessee. Due to the likelihood of changes in the landscape due to climate change, I wrote off chunks of the Florida peninsula, as well as parts of the Lower Mississippi.
If you will, I think that we are at a point analogous to the state of the Soviet Union in the early days of 1990, possibly late 1989.
I wonder how long it would be until, as Orlov describes: "The summer of 1990 particularly stands out in my mind: it was the summer when we ate nothing but rice(imported), zucchini(grown by us), and fish(from a local lake, caught by some neighbors)" - Reinventing Collapse, page 85 - .
Another couple of bumps up ahead...
H2O: http://www.leakbird.com/public-works/water-rationing-bolinas-california-usage-public-works-sonoma-california-drough
Foreclosures: http://www.cnbc.com/id/28898377
The foreclosure article doesn't mention that really loud ticking you're hearing from the commercial real-estate market, either.
Summer of Hell, indeed...
Thanks for the sounds and thoughts. As always, much appreciated!!!
02,06,09
As I said, I saw it more than once, all packing plants have Cockroaches &
Rodents! They can be found in the most unexpected places.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090207/ap_on_go_ot/salmonella_outbreak
Mike look at this "Top Shelf" piece on wikileaks:
"Unconventional Warfare in the 21st century : US surrogates, terrorists and narcotrafficers"
The reason why its important is because it ties so many loose ends back into the fold. Here it is:
http://88.80.13.160/wiki/Unconventional_Warfare_in_the_21st_century_:_US_surrogates%2C_terrorists_and_narcotrafficers
Businessman -- Oh man, I met Dewey Martin two or three times in the 80s when he would gig up at Will Geer's old ranch on Topanga.
As the songwriter said:
"If you believe in forever, then life is just a one night stand.
"If there's a rock and roll heaven, you know they got a hell of a band."
Trivia Question: Who sang it?
MCR
Re "STATES PLANNING FOR SECESSION, VOIDING U.S. CONSTITUTION"
As taken from my secessionist colleague's blog, Harold Thomas at The Ohio Republic:
http://ohiorepublic.blogspot.com/
"Legislators in at least nine States have had it with Federal meddling! They have therefore introduced resolutions asserting the sovereignty of their States in the current session, which began last month. Those States are Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, California, and Georgia. Twelve additional States reportedly are considering the introduction of such resolutions: Colorado, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Alaska, Kansas, Alabama, Nevada, Maine, and Illinois."
I probed Harold on two developments: 1. the historic stance taken for States' rights; 2. does the initiative for a Con-Con play into a globalist trap.
Harold's short response to #1 was:
"I see States' rights as a predecessor step to secession, as a way of warming up the American people to the idea. Most Americans have been so indoctrinated by the near-divinity of Abraham Lincoln that the idea of secession is abhorrent to them."
Response to question #2:
"I do not see the sovereignty resolutions, etc., as a trap against secessionists, because secessionism is not on the mainstream radar screen yet; but we must be alert and careful, because traps could be laid against us."
The context is: The initiative to call a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) is now two states short of moving forward. Should a Con-Con be convened, will the Feds jump all over this to re-write the Constitution to their advantage? This was the nature of my original question to Harold: is the Con-Con initiative stepping into a pre-laid trap?
BTW, Michael, I would like to lay claim to the byline "Is There a Con-Con Con In the Works?" =:-D (Con-Con Con has a real nice hook to it.) That post should be going up shortly over at the Novacadia Alliance blog.
Below is a re-posting of RanD's response(s) to Tim's and Todd's final readers' comments on FTW's Feb 2, 2009 post. The information therein is of incomparable value to those who would choose to find themselves overarchingly focused on the ever unfolding human experience.
Tim:
I heartily commend you for your words, which clearly evince the Universal Process whereby your 'body's' purely physical 'brain' is being developed by your 'personal Divine spirit's' entirely incorporeal 'mind' to bring into focus the whole of reality's picture. You (Tim) and I (D of RanD, as in David) share this exact same 'contextual paradigm' (i.e., 'same path'), along with all other comparably physically-mentally-spiritually comprised living beings, whether all of us are comparably conscious of such facts notwithstanding. Moreover, regarding 'this path', please do know that RanD implements no attitude of condescension or imperiousness whatsoever when stating that RanD (i.e., the two persons team of very common human messenger-laborers which is Ruthie & David) are significantly (but not by a whole lot) further along 'the path' than you and most others are. The Universal Process' rate of acceleration at this time is progressively exponential: as we should expect, reality is concerned with harvesting the best and nothing less, and keeping up to pace until 'the end' determines whether one's personal 'mind' remains part of humankind's evolutionary continuum). RanD's reply to your words follows:
You say "[e]vil does not exist"; RanD says that's not true. Read again -- as many times as you need to -- to see how RanD defined "evil" in the post from which you generated your response. Then, after developing due understanding of what RanD refers exclusively to when using the term "evil" (meaning simply that which is "not good"), tell me what word you would prefer using to generally characterize such common human practices as theft, murder, lying, warfare, rape, environmental destruction, slavery, torture, deception, child abuse, wife abuse, husband abuse, girlfriend/boyfriend abuse, trespass etc. You also say that "God has no 'enemies'."; RanD heartily agrees: such a thing is of course the one thing that is definitively impossible with GOD. You also say that "[t]he Divine Reality is the process of infinite possibilities."; RanD's words express very nearly the same thing: "...EVERYTHING is capable of existing." You also say that "[e]vil or the Devil is just a childish personification of apparent disappearance."; RanD says that that's a linguistically confused and ultimately worthless sentence -- i.e., a linguistic/conceptual 'solecism'. You also say "[t]he more spiritually advanced you are ['one is' would be a better choice of words], the less reactive you are [one is] to the death process."; RanD says your message here is exactly the same as RanD's. You also say "[a]ll of us, me, you, the blades of grass, the kitty-cats, MCR's dawg, the stars, none of us is exempt from this process."; RanD totally agrees. You also say "[t]he higher your [one's]consciousness, the less "evil" [didn't you just tell us above that "[e]vil does not exist"? -- which is it, does or does not "evil" exist?] manifests in your [one's] world" (which it truly doesn't in RanD's, btw); whereas RanD says "...upon humankind's realization -- as announced via fulfillment of their own fully conscious articulation -- of themselves in relation to their means and purpose for existing, all evil [meaning, in RanD's words, specifically all of humankind's clearly 'not [and obviously never] good' subversive mentalities/behaviors/practices] will imminently be removed from the entirety of GOD's Creation."
On particularly such matters as these, read very carefully and write very carefully, my friend. Otherwise you will surely only variously keep both yourself wronged and mislead them who would want to believe everything you say is good. Humankind's world is already filled with minds whose bodies will readily put on uniforms and murder their brothers and sisters believing they are free to do so as long as it is in the name of 'their god' and 'their country', who go to church at least once in a while if not regularly and practice whatever form of mere empty ritual which has no relationship to the actualities of the real world nor their own essentially mindless behaviors.
Tim, it is absolutely necessary to state oneself accurately, clearly, and consistently if one desires experiencing one's highest potential for understanding reality. And it is only possible to do that by becoming fully consciously one with the words one expresses; which is what RanD's exclusive mentor -- i.e., the Ultimate Mental and SPIRITual Force which both underpins and overarches this current Universe -- who 30+ yrs ago intimately and thoroughly informed me was and always is the case for anyone with an interest in personally remaining part of humankind's evolutionary continuum via giving her/his life in service to the Universal Common Good..
We wish you well, and very much look forward to perhaps meeting you one day. Sincerely, RanD
*******.
Todd:
RanD's mentor emphasized to Ruthie and me that the three fundamental existential phenomena which constitute the foundation of our current Universe are 1.) physical matter/energy, 2.) the Mind (i.e., consciousness of SELF-Self-self), and 3.) the SPIRIT of LIFE (GOD). Of these three, physical matter and the mind are ever ultimately ephemeral and thus subject to genuine "death"; whereas the SPIRIT -- which is the ONE exclusive living GOD that is LIFE, it-SELF -- is therefore reality's own, ultimate, and truly singular never-changing, never-dying, eternal and infinite existential foundation. If you should find knowledge greater than this, please advise us so we can all be disabused of our folly :)!
Here's also looking forward to perhaps seeing you as well as Tim -- along with all you other FTW kinda heads-&-hearts-together folks -- in the future too! Sincerely, RanD
Ivan, Orlov is another big telescope focused on the galaxy of asteroids that are headed our way. He has been sharing his first hand experience of the death of a super power in the 1980s. (http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/ )
In addition to his Stages of Collapse, comments from Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur are also posted, concerning those in her Ohio district who face foreclosure: “Don't you leave.” She names the Banksters covered in Rubicon as the culprits. Hmmm; it’s always the same cast of suspects at the heart of the crime - Just a few more ingredients into the volatile stew that is brewing.
Dmitry Orlov: 5 Stages of Collapse
Stage 1 - Financial collapse: Faith in "business as usual" is lost. The future is no longer assumed resemble the past in any way that allows risk to be assessed and financial assets to be guaranteed. Financial institutions become insolvent; savings are wiped out, and access to capital is lost.
Stage 2 - Commercial collapse: Faith that "the market shall provide" is lost. Money is devalued and/or becomes scarce, commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread shortages of survival necessities become the norm.
Stage 3 - Political collapse: Faith that "the government will take care of you" is lost. As official attempts to mitigate widespread loss of access to commercial sources of survival necessities fail to make a difference, the political establishment loses legitimacy and relevance.
Stage 4 - Social collapse: Faith that "your people will take care of you" is lost. As local social institutions, be they charities, community leaders, or other groups that rush in to fill the power vacuum, run out of resources or fail through internal conflict.
Stage 5 - Cultural collapse: Faith in the goodness of humanity is lost. People lose their capacity for "kindness, generosity, consideration, affection, honesty, hospitality, compassion, charity" (Turnbull, The Mountain People). Families disband and compete as individuals for scarce resources. The new motto becomes "May you die today so that I die tomorrow" (Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago). There may even be some cannibalism.
Marcy Kaptur of Ohio is the longest-serving Democratic congresswoman in U.S. history. Her district, stretching along the shore of Lake Erie from west of Cleveland to Toledo, faces an epidemic of home foreclosures and 11.5 percent unemployment. Now, she is recommending a radical foreclosure solution from the floor of the U.S. Congress: "So I say to the American people, you be squatters in your own homes. Don't you leave." She criticizes the bailout's failure to protect homeowners facing foreclosure. These mortgages were made, then bundled into securities and sold and resold repeatedly, by the very Wall Street banks that are now benefiting from [a government bailout]. The banks foreclosing on families very often can't locate the actual loan note that binds the homeowner to the bad loan. "Produce the note," Kaptur recommends [to] those facing foreclosure demands of the banks. "[P]ossession is nine-tenths of the law," Rep. Kaptur [said]. "Therefore, stay in your property. Get proper legal representation ... [if] Wall Street cannot produce the deed nor the mortgage audit trail ... you should stay in your home. It is your castle. It's more than a piece of property. ... If you look at the bad paper, if you look at where there's trouble, 95 to 98 percent of the paper really has moved to five institutions: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wachovia, Citigroup and HSBC. They have this country held by the neck."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/04/EDK215MNA0.DTL
Personal energy generation - If you have the space, wind conditions and a bit of capital to spend here's a link to a wind turbine for home use.
www.swiftwindturbines.com
They have one that produces up to 1.5 kilowatts/hour. Not really base loading, but every little bit will help.
I believe it's also eligible for the 30% federal tax credit.
The farther and faster we can all get away from the ship when it goes under, the better.
namaste
I have found some healing in reading the Federalist papers over the past few weeks. I'd like to share a part of Federalist Paper #9 which Hamilton titled it "The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection"
I think this quote from paper #9 is the greatest summary of what we have seen with the Executive Branch of government over the past 8 years. Everything from the appointment of severely underqualified "ideological yes men" to run departments, to creating division amongst ourselves using petty Southern jealousies left over from the Civil War. They have sown the seeds necessary to divide us and then re-conqueror us.
We stood up in November to throw them out and PNAC has a century long goal of ruling America. We've lived their "vision" of America and what better way to divide us into factions while the economy collaspes into a tar pit. They divide us into factions and then form another union where they are in charge. The funding they need to do this is in the $$Trillions they've been accused of stealing from the US Treasury. The military power is in the political leanings of the US Military where questioning "Republican Patriotism" is considered a sin. Also think about the private U.S. mercenaries they have encouraged and built. All they've done is now changed suits and are working subliminally as Obama pointed out yesterday through MSM. They are getting prepared for this and I think Mike is barking up the right tree on this. I feel this quote says it all, it's a bit long but summizes the last 8 years in a nut shell.
"The utility of a Confederacy, as well as to suppress faction and to guard the internal tranquillity of States, as to increase their external force and security, is in reality not a new idea. It has been practiced upon in different countries and ages,and has received the sanction of the most approved writers on the subject of politics. The opponents of the PLAN[US Constitution] proposed have, with great assiduity, cited and circulated the observations of Montesquieu on the necessity of a contracted terrority for a republican government...If we therefore take his ideas on this point as the criterion of truth, we shall be driven to the alternative either of taking refuge at once in the arms of monarchy, or of splitting ourselves into an infinity of little, jealous, clashing, tumultous commonwealthes, the wretched nurseries of unceasing discord, and the miserable objects of univseral pity or contempt. Some of the writers who have come forward on the other side of the question seem to have been aware of the dilemma; and have even been bold enough to hint at the division of the larger States as a desirable thing. Such an infactuated policy, such a desparate expedient, might by the multiplication of petty offices, answer the views of men who possess not qualifications to extend their influence beyond the narrow circles of personal intrigue, but it could never promote the greatness or happiness of the people of America."
Therefore I believe promoting the idea of a sustainable economy as a result of Peak Oil is a great thing, but it still fails to compensate for the ever nonchanging ways of human nature. There is an ingrained political hierarchy that is in our DNA that has remained stable throughout time. This has not changed and I don't see it changing. Therefore I don't see the political paradigm changing anytime soon.
Jenna - Mike isn't giving FTW away for free is he? Looks like there's an Alex Jones/CIA affiliate offering it for download at http://federaljack.com/ (see the sidebar on the left).
Obviously don't publish this if you don't want attention drawn to it.
Holy cow, cityhopper. They've got the entire 696 pages of Crossing the Rubicon posted as a PDF file there.
Mike...I had to lookup who sang it...;)
It sounds like you've definitely been involved in the music community in L.A. throughout your lifetime!
sunrnr,
Your link is swiftwindturbine.com
Mike,
I also have the same question Renzy proposed. What do those of us who do not have financial means do?
Sebastian Ronin
I have been following the Con Con issue for a long time. I always knew that would be the last nail in the coffin. They are not planning a new Con Con to GIVE us MORE rights!
Here are two more links.
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/77217
http://www.jbs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4373&catid=7:jbs-news-feed&Itemid=97
At the time Alexander Hamilton (our first big bankster) was writing, the United States was the Atlantic seaboard. Now it spans the continent and beyond with more than 700 military installations around the world.
A good book to read is The Breakdown of Nations by Leopold Kohr. He argues that some nations are too big to be real democracies.
Peak Oil will likely shrivel our transportation networks. Our congress people won't fly home every weekend. Any political decisions that help us will be made at local and maybe state level.
We may get secession, but we won't call it that. We'll be too busy trying to survive as a people.
Bigelow - Thanks! Should have proof read after having the morning caffine fix.
namaste
koolkarma817: Thank you. Legislation and statutes cannot undo nor prevent the consequences on the horizon. To my mind, it is the equivalent of holding up a pillow of statutes and/or good intentions before the runaway freight and declaring: "Stop. We know what you are."
BOOOOF!!! Chicken feathers everywhere. The dark beast of rampant entropy keeps on hurtling towards its destiny.
TO EVERYBODY asking about what I recommend for those who don't have enough money to get redundant on satellite and cable...
I don't have a recommendation. Sorry. That's why I started that entry with the words "For those who can afford it..."
There is no one-size-fits-all solution and in many parts of collapse, there are going to be no solutions at all except the mandate to ride the tiger.
MCR
"A good book to read is The Breakdown of Nations by Leopold Kohr. He argues that some nations are too big to be real democracies."
Plato believed that the population of a balanced participatory government is no greater that 5,040.
Putin in Davos, and now this piece of the map:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=NIM20090207&articleId=12191
Per, good for you to plug Breakdown of Nations! Re "He (Kohr)argues that some nations are too big to be real democracies."
What even a great many secessionists miss when reading Breakdown is that Kohr's argument against size has to do primarily with size of population and only secondarily with size of land mass. There is always a critical point in population when a society cannot help but go imperialistic and fascist. It is almost a mathematical precondition and determination.
It is curious that both Kohr and Hubbert published their major statements in 1957. And here we thought the only thing going on then had been Elvis! (BTW, do folks know that Colonel Parker was an ex carnie and, based on that experience, marketed Elvis as a freak?)
Hi Sebastian,
Yes indeed. Even Norway,small as it was, succumbed to imperialism. Because of overpopulation, the Vikings went on their raids. They colonized England,Ireland,Iceland and Greenland. The French gave them Normandy, from which they invaded England. They ruled Sicily for a century or so. The Swedes settled Russia and gave its name (from the Rus folk) and provided bodyguards for the Byzantine emperor.
They weren't always the peaceful people we know today. Maybe there's hope for the US.
Thankyou Tim & Todd for your most recent wonderful responses to Ruthie and me. And thank you too, anton v, for your ever wonderful words. We are immeasurably pleased & humbled to be sharing this place with you. Sincerely, RanD.
Sebastian, I think you have a point...
While a State might have the power to seceed from the Union it doesn't really have a standing army to defend it's independence.
But lets say they did(or rather when) how do they stop say the National guard moving in and the Government closing down State Government?
A rebellion does make a good excuse to go in and clap down on these Rogue States...
And suddenly these FEMA camps get busy...
Also, are we seeing a genuine secession movement here?
From World Net Daily:
NEW YORK – As the Obama administration attempts to push through Congress a nearly $1 trillion deficit spending plan that is weighted heavily toward advancing typically Democratic-supported social welfare programs, a rebellion against the growing dominance of federal control is beginning to spread at the state level.
So far, eight states have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, including Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.
Analysts expect that in addition, another 20 states may see similar measures introduced this year, including Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania.
"What we are trying to do is to get the U.S. Congress out of the state's business," Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Randy Brogdon told WND...
(More in link)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=88218
I have been researching the credit crisis and recently read Rubicon. I have two buddies picking it up shortly and can't wait to tear through it!
Unbelievably awesome job Mike.
One thing the inflation vs deflation debaters miss is all that matters is food and energy. Both set to skyrocket!
http://callingallangels3.blogspot.com/2009/02/inflation-deflation-and-stimulus.html
Should Chavez be able to do this? What faction of the Venezuelan population protests against him?
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5161UO20090208
"Tens of thousands of Venezuelans streamed through the streets of Caracas on Saturday to protest leftist President Hugo Chavez's second attempt to change the constitution to let him govern as long as he wins election."
(from a Buffalo Springfield fanatic)...Bluebird was from their 2nd album "Buffalo Springfield Again", its a Stephen Stills number, with Stills over-dubbing lots of acoustic and electric guitars, and Charlie Chin frailing on the banjo
It ain't just the Greeks that have the threat thing going on.
Earlier this year I did a few net searches for "milita". I did this because about 15 years ago a guy I worked with was big into talking about them. At that time it there were a lot of VHS videos by a guy named "Mark from Michigan" with the Michigan Milita.
I did not find a lot on the net. Probably any smart milita is so far underground you are not going to find it on you-tube. However, I did find a very interesting one. I kind of figure it is not what it says it is but more of a thing to wind up some crazy's to have an excuse to declare martial law. Anyhow it is worth your time to view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4dSy_vuIsw&feature=related
SAMBHADI -- I think you miss something entirely. The National Guards belong to individual states. There is the Clifornia National Guard and the Texas National Guard, etc.
The Guards beong to the states and they can be sent back to the staes or the states can recall them if released from Federal service. That's got to be a part of the plan. And think of all the military bases in Texas!
WEZBO -- Thanks man!
MCR
I have a idea that would solve alot of problems and create a new economic structure that will end our use of fossil fuel forever.
Impossible you say?
A plant exists that produces biodiesel,lubricating oil,building materials(entire house can be built with it). It needs no fertilizer and grows in allmost any environment,and produces a extremely high yield per acre.
This plant can replace liquid oil 100%.....
Industrial hemp
http://azhemp.org/Archive/Package/Uses/uses.html
Do more research on it it truly is amazing.
This could be grown evrywhere,sold to a processing plant by the pound/ton whatever,by anybody that grows it.The mass can be burned in existing coal fired power plants with no modification,think of all the c02 that is eaten out of the air just growing the fuel,no mining involved like coal.
Everything runs on biodiesel,every house needs to convert to a on demand water heater that is oil powered,like a toyo water heater,and furnaces,that have over 90% efficiency.This eliminates the need for natural gas to be piped anywhere,or the need to drill anywhere.very small vehicles with diesel engines,big rigs can still run to transport material.
There it is,money based on totally green energy,grown locally,used nationwide.Combatting climate change on a MASSIVE scale,this is workable if implemented immediatly,maybe after the crash.think of the jobs created from it.And the power would be rightfully back in the peoples hands,where it belongs with evryone working together for our common cause.
Hey Mike,a biodiesel powered A-8.
Businessman - doh, I meant CTW instead of FTW. I suppose Mike ought to take it as a sort of back-handed compliment.
Coming back on topic, at the end of last year there was an ex-KGB analyst predicting civil war and the break up of the US by mid-2010 in the event of the US defaulting on its sovereign debt. He claimed that other countries would effectively carve up the US after an economic collapse. It got covered in the US media and elsewhere at the time and kind of ties in with an idea expressed by Richard C. Cook about the European bankers having long held plans to control the US and use it's military power for its own ends.
Mike's comments about the US and Russia make it seem that the US (and its armed forces) are being used by all sides. In other words, the US is being led towards its own destruction by the Europeans, with Russia being allowed (and probably implicitly encouraged) to take advantage of events. A few excerpts :-
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html
California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.
"It would be reasonable for Russia to lay claim to Alaska; it was part of the Russian Empire for a long time." A framed satellite image of the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Russia like a thread hangs from his office wall. "It's not there for no reason," he says with a sly grin.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9193
The goal of the British imperial planners, as expressed by Cecil Rhodes in his Will of 1877—“the ultimate recovery of the United States of America as an integral part of the British Empire ”—has largely been accomplished. The U.S. and its youth became the “muscle” which won World Wars I and II and which, it appears, is now being groomed for World War III against Russia and China . In their essence, all three are petroleum wars fought by the U.S. on behalf of the financial controllers, overseen in turn by the old British/European nobility.
It has been apparent that the goal of this imperial establishment has been to work on both sides of the Atlantic to destroy the ability of the U.S. to perform as the world’s greatest industrial democracy and turn it into a forested wasteland, with population centers on the two coasts, while supplying the military personnel needed for foreign conquest. This is to be accomplished at the same time the population of the rest of the world is reduced by mass global starvation, a circumstance which is underway as this is being written. This phase of the plan—world population reduction—was laid out by the Club of Rome decades ago.
http://mikeruppert.blogspot.com/2009/02/obama-honeymoon-is-over-quick-order.html
A deeper reading of international stories pretty much makes it clear that the U.S. and Russia have reached what appears to be a sensible and rational accord. The U.S. will remove its military presence from Russia's back yard and Russia -- which also has an inherent stake in regional stability -- will allow U.S. military supplies to reach Afghanistan through Russia. It is in Russia's best interest to let the U.S. bear the brunt of that war. Not only does the U.S. bear the cost, it benefits Russia.
Sambahdi, thanks for your feedback on the notion of NAmerican secession. In order of your queries, I shall offer short overviews.
Re “While a State might have the power to seceed (sic) from the Union it doesn't really have a standing army to defend it's (sic) independence.”
Every secessionist organization that is currently up and running makes the point in its mission statement for peaceful, non-violent secession, i.e. referendum, vote-at-large, etc. This neutralizes the charge of sedition under any number of existing statutes. As to the legal challenges under the Constitution, to which there are opposing opinions, it will likely require the first secessionist state out of the gate to set a legal precedent. In Canada, because of the history with Quebec, there exists the Clarity Act which allows for secessionist negotiations, although heavily favored to the Feds.
As for a standing army, should things get to that stage, then it may come down to past historical precedents: will the troops (in the case you cite, the National Guard) side with the people? When push comes to shove, will troops open fire on their own. As you may know, posse comitatus has been gutted, but that is a paper gutting.
Re “And suddenly these FEMA camps get busy.”
Busy and ugly. A couple of weeks ago, a commenter offered a link to a map of FEMA installations. They are concentrated in the South, primarily in Texas and Florida. This leads me to swing over to MCR’s take on the camps. What I see, is that a buffer zone has been established to deal with societal collapse and consequent mass migrations for survival. The national/ethnic group that the buffer zone will “capture” I leave to your imagination.
I hope to present at this year’s NAmerican secessionist convention in Texas a position paper dealing with the ten FEMA Zones actually constituting a secessionist Trojan Horse. Every successful revolution (as opposed to an unsuccessful revolution) always inherits the institutional apparatus of its predecessor, to then be modified to the aims of the revolution. A regional perception and related identities in the U.S. has never really been encouraged due to a little event that culminated in 1865. For better or for worse, our adversary has hypothetically handed to secessionists a regional breakdown with attached institutions, bureaucracies, etc. on a silver platter, i.e. ten autonomous eco-states in-waiting. Unfortunately, this implies that we will need to struggle through the dark and sinister days of the zones being triggered into place.
Lastly, re “Also, are we seeing a genuine secession movement here?”
That remains to be seen. The organizational structure and status of the movement is sloppy and non-effective, exactly where it should be at this historical stage, i.e. crawling before walking. With the way and the speed that things are unfolding, a secessionist statement could be released on a daily basis to position the movement in the public psyche, but a legitimate medium recognized by all various secessionist organizations to do such does not exist. There are isolated rumblings, to which I am party, for the creation of a NAmerican Secessionist Congress. A motion to this end has been forwarded to the chair of this year’s secessionist convention. If the motion makes it to the floor or not for full democratic discussion and vote may come down to some internal political and diplomatic wrangling. If a split in the movement is to occur, now is the time to insert that wedge and let the pieces fall where they will.
Mike,thank you for including a prayer that my hearing go well in your birthday wishes.May you have several more to come,and may they be joyous.Thank you also for your musical contributions to the blog.Its quite a change from the way you almost seem to rap when you speak to hearing your voice with a hint of country,yet the same level of soul in it.It's a great opening of the steam valve to sing isn't it?I've only sung once on stage(karaoke),I was piss drunk at the time(in 2000 this would have been),but I had enough presence of mind to remember I messed up on the second verse,and that I still had a blast anyway.Since then I've only been singing in the shower,and until June 16,2007(when my license was revoked for some trouble I got into in 2003;long story)in my car.Even then though it is a great emotional and spritual release/relief.On that note,keep 'em coming Mike,they're great!I'd love to be able to match you songs,but I lack a studio.All I have is a little computer mic,and I don't know how to save it to a file that I would be able to post on here.My knowledge of computerland only goes so far,along with my patience and time to figure it out.So here is a song that given the time,patience and equipment I would love to sing and post on here for you,Jenna,and all the fellow bloggers.Lacking
those it's gonna have to be the real McCoy.I thought of it after you posted your first one.At the end you mention that it was the saddest song he had ever written.This one by Radiohead is described by their singer Thom Yorke as the angriest song he has ever written.It is about his fury at the "brutality of American war-making" after hearing about the
1991 bombing of the Amiriyah shelter in Iraq,where 408 women and children were boiled to death after two laser-guided American missiles broke water pipes in the bunker above them.It is called "I Will",and for some reason is set to a clip of some film with Bjork in it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Q12akXFSc
Let those that have ears, hear. Let those that have eyes, see.
Thank you for opening my eyes and ears.
Z.
To those wondering how to get backup communications who don't have the means: Perhaps if you have a group of like-minded people in your network, you could pool resources and share such a system. We know we are going to have to be happy with less and sharing what used to be ours to monopolise is going to be a reality. I am wondering if most of the media as we know if will continue to exist anyway. Perhaps a world band radio would be a good addition to your preparedness arsenal. Maybe some pirate stations will pop up to provide us with real news.
What will happen to your backup generator Mike, once there is no more gasoline to run it? About 10 years ago I made a mini-solar power system with 150 watts of solar panels, 2 marine batteries, a charge controller and a voltage inverter, most of which was purchased on-the-cheap over time on Ebay. I got some larger LED bulbs and can run lights, several hours of TV and limited microwave or other small appliance use off of this. Several of my LED bulbs have more than 100 LED's and provide a surprising amount of light and use roughly 5-7 watts of energy apiece. I have already resigned myself to the loss of the refrigerator if and when the grid goes down. One could always use wind power rather than solar, since it gives more watts per dollar spent than solar panels. I am thinking small these days. The less energy a device uses the better. If the device is man-powered all the better. I think the Amish have it all figured out. They will be the least scathed by all of this unless the non-Amish loot them out of existence.
Being more practical than philosophical, I am still wondering what Mike's survival/escape plan might be once things get bad, assuming you are hanging out in LA. You gonna walk several hundred miles in 90+ degree heat to a more secure location or hope that peace and love are going to sustain you in a city with over 2 million desperate people as neighbors? Would hate to see our leader poorly positioned.
cj, re "You gonna walk several hundred miles in 90+ degree heat to a more secure location or hope that peace and love are going to sustain you in a city with over 2 million desperate people as neighbors?"
Ouch!!! ROFLMAO!!! I especially like the "peace and love" part. I would expect that Michael will also be ROFLHisAO.
BTW, are you familiar with the Poor Man's Guide to Wind Power & Battery Systems?
http://www.poormanguides.com/
This strikes me as a fairly decent system and cheap like borscht. There are a couple of vids in the site of units in action. I'd like to get one up this summer, then it's bye bye grid. And then there are two acres waiting for me to learn how to become a farmer. What a ridiculous adventure that is going to turn out to be. =:-D Fortunately, there's a farmers' market just around the corner during summer months.
CJ et al -- I'm amazed that since I am living two miles from the largest man-made harbor in the world (Marine Del Rey), and less than ten from the second-businest port in the nation (San Pedro), and a full coastline you guys think I would take a land route out if I needed to leave.
When all is said and done, after millions have fled an unsustainable region there will always be coastal, fishing, and merchant shipping communities along the California coast. The San Pedro/Long Beach ports are and will be -- for the foreseeable future indispensible to getting enormous amounts of essential goods into the U.S. from the Pacific rim.
There will be sufficient water eventually to sustain a greatly reduced population. Why? Because in the pre-industrial demographic that was sustainable.
This is my home. If I am going to die I will die here. I, like all of us, will report on what happens as things deteriorate and that is our job. As successes are achieved we will report them. As lessons are learned, we will all report those.
But as for disclosing all the details of any survival plans I may have, I ask: "Are you nuts?" Survival strategy details are meant to be shared with only those in the immediate family or tribe or whatever you call it; only those who will actually take part.
In the long run, there will always be coastal commerce in California, from which ports and harbors can be reached from Canada to Central America and points south. To the west is the entire Pacific Rim. As I have always said, survival is all about maximizing options.
Please -- no more questions about my plans (which are not finalized because it's not necessary now). Use your heads! Do not try to copy me. You don't live here.
MCR
MCR
Not sure if this has already been covered... It's basically proof of what the Neocon's are planning next.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/13/rumsfeld-on-2006-election_n_101537.html
‘National Emergency Centers Establishment Act’:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-645
The counter intelligence service of Novosibirsk region has recently noticed an increase in activity by Asian-Pacific countries in Siberia. Dozens of foreign spies and agents have been discovered in the region in 2008, according to the FSB.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/36983
Interesting story coming out of Russia.Anybody see any significance in this? Looks like alot of new research in oil and gas geology.
Have the Russians got something new going on????
By the way, Mike.... you're actually a pretty sophisticated singer...by that , I mean, you capture some very subtle vocal inflections of both Jackson Brown and Stills in your covers...inflections that most cover singers would miss....you'd make a hell of a cover-band singer!
Both "practical" and "philosophical":
cj's #44 5:54 comments' last paragraph points to it all. And RanD loves you all.
Sincerely, RanD
I may have posted this in another thread by accident. Apologies if I did. Here's a strong recommendation to MCR to check out the now-wrapped TV show "The Wire." Any ex-cop should love it. There is a quote late in Season 1 that sounds straight from Mike about how when the police investigate homicides in the drug trade, nobody cares, but when they investigate where the money goes, everyone (especially the politicians) gets nervous. The title of this speech from the show's creator, David Simon, sounds a heck of a lot like Rubicon. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJNkL12QD68
But for Mr. Simon's proclamation that populations will remain urban in the future, this speech could have been delivered at any peak oil conference.
Obama’s New Stimulus Plan May Be the Needle That Pops the Treasury-Bond Bubble
http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/01/28/us-treasury-bubble/
Rise of nationalism in bad times
"In the meanwhile, there was an international row caused by a controversial "Buy American" clause in the package, passed by the House. The clause has sought to ensure that only American iron, steel and manufactured goods are used in government funded projects. European nations have already hinted that they would move WTO to strike the provision illegal as it discriminates against foreign suppliers in regard to US government projects."
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=113876
Washington Post pointing at China calling in it's $600 Billion+ in US T-Bills...
America's New Rescuer: Japan
"During his confirmation hearings, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner fixated on China. But Beijing is sitting on its own social and political bubble, which is about to burst. When that happens, China will be tempted to draw massive amounts of its global savings back home if only to buy off the angry mobs in the streets. Japan is a more logical focus."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/AR2009020602992.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
The plan B appears to be let Japan finance the US Govt when the Russians and Chinese demand payment for their US T-Bills once their Dollar Reserves are spent.
As a long time lurker on this site who's read Rubicon (twice) I'm thinking it's finally time to offer my public support in the work you're doing here.
One thing I would like to know is people's opinion on the future of Canada as my brother has just emigrated there from the UK convinced of its self-sufficiency for years to come. Thoughts?
Wezbo -- Great compliment, Thx. I knew someone would catch that, and yeah... I survived a really screwed up adolescence and teen years singing along with records while the parents screamed at each other in the rest of the house...
Singing was and is a survival skill.
MCR
Question for MCR:
What is the ramification of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1990 that held the Feds could send National Guard units anywhere it wanted (in that case, to train for prospective action in Central America), even though the governors opposed the measure? Is the answer that, as long as the Guard is federalized, the Guard belongs to the Feds?
See Perpich v. Dep't of Defense, 496 U.S. 334 (1990)
Since 1933, federal law has provided that persons enlisting in a state National Guard unit simultaneously enlist in the National Guard of the United States, a part of the Army. The enlistees retain their status as state Guard members unless and until ordered to active federal duty, and revert to state status upon being relieved from federal service. The authority to order the Guard to federal duty was limited to periods of national emergency until 1952, when Congress broadly authorized orders "to active duty or active duty for training" without any emergency requirement, but provided that such orders could not be issued without the consent of the governor of the State concerned. After two State Governors refused to consent to federal training missions abroad for their Guard units, the gubernatorial consent requirement was partially repealed in 1986 by the "Montgomery Amendment," which provides that a governor cannot withhold consent with regard to active duty outside the United States because of any objection to the location, purpose, type, or schedule of such duty. Petitioner, Governor of Minnesota, filed a complaint for injunctive relief, alleging, inter alia, that the Montgomery Amendment had prevented him from withholding his consent to a 1987 federal training mission in Central America for certain members of the state Guard, and that the Amendment violates the Militia Clauses of Article I, § 8, of the Constitution, which authorize Congress to provide for (1) calling forth the militia to execute federal law, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, and (2) organizing, arming, disciplining, and governing such part of the militia as may be employed in the federal service, reserving to the States the appointment of officers and the power to train the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress. The District Court rejected the Governor's challenge, holding that the federal Guard was created pursuant to Congress' Article I, § 8, power to raise and support armies; that the fact that Guard units also have an identity as part of the state militia does not limit Congress' plenary authority to train the units as it sees fit when the Guard is called to active federal service; and that, accordingly, the Constitution neither required the gubernatorial veto nor prohibited its withdrawal. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
Page 496 U. S. 335
Held: Article I's plain language, read as a whole, establishes that Congress may authorize members of the National Guard of the United States to be ordered to active federal duty for purposes of training outside the United States without either the consent of a state governor or the declaration of a national emergency. Pp. 496 U. S. 347-355.
Peter J. of Minneapolis
I remember reading here, on another thread, that there could be a "green zone" in LA (Santa Monica to Malibu) in the event of the
What happens to the green zone if cities like Riverside, San Bernadino or Palmdale become restless? Check points to get through Malibu Canyon?
Thanks Sebastian for the feedback.
...and the wind power link.
cheers.
p.coil, re "One thing I would like to know is people's opinion on the future of Canada as my brother has just emigrated there from the UK convinced of its self-sufficiency for years to come. Thoughts?"
Here's a hint: Canadians, on a per capita basis (largely due to climate) are the biggest energy pigs on the planet. It is an industrial nation, ergo the dynamics of implosion/devolution, etc. apply. The bulk of the population is spread along the 49th, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. That leaves a lot of land, but can you work it with the energy resources and physical assets that will be left?
All in all, the rural Maritimes are pretty good. Property is cheap, but there's a reason for that: there's no work. It is possible to grab an old farmhouse on a couple of acres for under $50K. So a home-based business or enough capital to purchase outright and get at it will do. The growing season is short allowing for only one crop, so one has to get it right the first time.
Cultural barriers are difficult to break through as with most rural environments. Do not expect to meet too many "cosmopolitan" allies. The Maritimes share with New Englanders one of the oddest nouns for "stranger/outsider:" Come-From-Away. If you haven't been born here you will remain a Come-From-Away for the rest of your life.
To get an idea of how embarrassingly cheap property values are, visit:
http://www.mls.ca/map.aspx#
The National Guard belongs to the States? I wonder if the release of a memo by SecDef Gates this past December is about to change all of that?
Gates Memo Announces Final Assimilation of National Guard and Reserve.
The National Guard is being assimilated into the "Total Force" of the US military.
http://www.survivalistnews.com/2008/12/11/the-congress-blog-gates-memo-announces-final-assimilation-of-national-guard-and-reserve/
The recommendations…involve the assimilation the National Guard and Reserves into the regular US military, under control and management of the DoD. Some recommendations that were accepted and show this disturbing trend include the assertion that it should be codified into federal law that it is the DoD’s responsibility to provide support to civil authorities, is a "core competency" and comprises and equal importance to its combat responsibilities. In addition, DoD should prepare the bulk of necessary planning etc., and the response to any catastrophe. Further, proposed changes in legislative language will created after an assessment by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in consultation with DHS, other federal agencies and " representative State and local officials as appropriate (which may be accomplished through the Council of Governors, once established)."
The statement that the DoD, various intelligence, various federal agencies and "representative State and local officials as appropriate (which may be accomplished through the Council of Governors, once established)" will be determining the role of the Guard and Reserves - and the "integrated role" of the National Guard and Reserves in the "Total Force" - in emergency situations that affect states is alarming on several levels. Notice how the input from representatives of the People are "as appropriate" listed with the Federal agencies, and listed last. Just like ingredients listed on food labels, the departments and responsible persons listed here are listed in order of their importance and level of input. And note also the "Council of Governors" which has "yet to be established."
The yet-to-be-established Council of Governors will eliminate the control of state Governors, who are representatives of the People of their states and the bulwark against federal intrusion and co-opting of the rights of the People within their states, over the National Guard of their states. Without the control of the National Guard, the governors no longer have the authority to deploy them to protect the People of the state from the federal government. "Homeland missions" are now under federal control of the DoD, according to the recommendation accepted by SecDef Gates.
Reserve and Guard designations are to be eliminated in rank and title, the Guard and Reserves have a common personnel management system (combining Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) and the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA)), pay system, education (to achieve "joint qualification" certification and credits), retirement system, medical and dental care system, and their command structure within NORTHCOM. Guard and Reserve members now have common missions ("Joint Duty Assignments") and "all reserve duty will be considered active duty." In addition, the military will now "reduce duty statuses from 29 to 2" (active/non-active), create a civilian skill database that is like NATOs and will "allow worldwide interoperability." All of these measures are intended, as repeatedly stated to achieve a "Total Integrated Force."
The DoD will write legislative language that will be delivered to Congress so that existing laws will be amended to enable these changes to be made, in addition to policy changes within the Department itself. Some of these changes have yet to be codified into law and reflect only the recommendations accepted by SecDef Gates, others have already been implemented.
Attempts to remove or lessen control by governors of the National Guard is nothing new. In 1986 "James H. Webb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, disclosed a week ago that he had been directed to prepare a bill that would prevent governors from blocking the assignment of their Guard units to Central America for training." In August 2006,
National Guard units can always be relased back to the states can't they? Is that any more unthinkable than secession, the dissolution of the constitution, governmental collapse, or the end of industrial civilization?
And if states secede they will certainly call the Guard units back.
I have many military contacts and I can guarantee that California National Guard units (or those from ANY state) will not shoot their own neighbors. They will keep the peace but all the individuals in the military from E1to O7 have deep personal feelings and are very aware of the issues.
MCR
MCR
Doesn't bode well when one mixes in the Praetorian Guard, i.e. the Blackwaters of this world. Due to relative size possibly whittled down to flying squad, from hot spot to hot spot?
I have always wondered about the provision in US NorthCom that allows for the deployment of American and Canadian troops on each others soil. Fast forward two years to NAU, social breakdown, etc. Exchange of troops eliminates the ties to community...theoretically. Personally, I think the brass big brains are dreaming on this one.
Secession by states or secession within states is messy enough, but what happens when areas from two adjoining states secede to form a new union for mutually beneficial economic reasons? I'm thinking that the state of Jefferson, which has been advocated for some time, might become a reality under the New Paradigm:
http://www.jeffersonstate.com/
RE: collapse of Federal authority
From 1787 until the latter 20th century, federal authority has been generally favorably received as the protector of “our way of life”. (The South had a different, non-industrial “way of life” that competed unsuccessfully, ditto various "Whiskey Rebels"...) As “our way of life” declines, however, there is a huge indignation with Federal authority which the “War on Terror” was not able to assuage for long. (In fact, it is now a contributing cause to that indignation.) In that sense, we’re nearly ripe for a disempowerment of the Federal machine.
But not so fast, people. Being, as it is, controlled by a very few very strongly empowered families, this Beast is not going to give up easily. In fact, I don’t think you want to kick dust in its eyes even at this point. It's armed and dangerous.
To lose against an angry Uncle Sam would be disaster. And what about a victory? I urge readers to search the web for “fall of the Carolingian Empire” to see what a power vacuum really means. Feudalism was the salvational system that Western finally evolved to, not the despicable immediate result.
In that and other crises, multiple “governments” have straggled around, with a variety of weapons and resources, imposing themselves almost at random on the confused countryside. For the foreseeable future, whoever controls “the U. S. government” will have access to horrific weapons and serious funding. Yet you might have armed men wearing State of California uniforms, City of Fresno uniforms, possibly even U.N. get-ups, and if they have the weapons to play that game, they will tax citizens, execute dissidents, burn homes and appropriate nice bits of territory… until the next group (with or without traditional uniforms) comes bashing through. As Federal authority diminishes, these other entities will correspondingly (and competitively) fill the vacuum.
I recommend a look at modern Africa if you want a good picture of uncertain constitutional authority. Imagine the Texas Empire fighting the Mormon Republic of God for the remains of the Southwest, while the “U.S.A.” viciously holds its vital swath between a citadel in Colorado and the port of L.A. The L.A. underground is negotiating with a severely challenged Bay Area Republic for arms to rise up but the Latino Union continues to attack all other parties for control of its “traditional territory”, allying adventurously with first one, then another. Wave upon wave of Koreans, Chinese and Japanese, armed and desperate, are landing on the West Coast, looking for food…
Instead of celebrating the end of Federal power like it was Christmas at last, we need to do some serious networking to patch together a relative consensus (or a peaceful patchwork of them) among 350 million confused Americans. I’m not really a fan of Leo Strauss, but both he and Hobbes insisted that myths and powerful leaders were required to move the masses. Anyone who disagrees should get busy right now.
As punk teenagers (and on into our 20s, for some) Chaos seemed like a nice idea. No rules! But, in fact, competing “governments” is generally a recipe for fear and brutality. It is the milieu in which Hobbes grew up, and accounts for his weird adoration of Sovereignty. We don’t want to go there.
wow, eyeballs aka "braincells."
eyeball: All excellent points, woven into a fairly stark and fractured scenario of what could be. There are likely scenarios that no one has even imagined yet.
However, it alters nothing. The collapse and implosion of a civilization is exactly that. The dynamic of institutional entropy scratching at the end of time is inherent. No one has ever claimed, at least I have not, that the current century is going to be a touchy-feely cake walk. If anyone wishes that type of spin they are more than welcome to join their local Green party.
Degrees of hurt and suffering await us that, even if honestly informed about, would be cast aside in order to retain some kind of flimsy, psychic sense of self-preservation. The imminent shake down is a bullet that cannot be dodged. It is history. It need not be taken personally.
Re "We don’t want to go there." Of course, no one WANTS to go there. But here again, the sentiment implies that there is some kind of magic will that can alter history, a last minute rising of the John Wayne gene riding over the hills to save the day, call it a wrap, happy ending, all applaud. This movie cannot be stopped and surgically edited to satisfy the folly of human expectations.
The consequences of our decisions loom on the horizon. Human vanity is about to receive a severe smack up the side of the head...and no one is prepared, no one, at least not at the social level.
eyeballs, an after thought: By resorting to Hobbes are you not in fact justifying and endorsing the Leviathan?
Re wow, eyeballs aka "braincells."
Cute! I wonder how many people actually know that the eye is an extension of the brain...indeed, brain cells.
Alas, survival instincts swirl around the R-Complex.
Eyeballs' post brings to mind another fine book, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr. The story begins in a new Dark Age, after a nuclear war. It then "progresses" to a new Renaissance ruled by vicious dictators and a new Atomic Age where Leviathans go to war. Of the three periods the one I disliked least was the Dark Age, and that got me interested in the original Dark Age.
I found out that it wasn't as bad as some historians think. If you'd been a Roman slave, the Dark Age was an improvement.
The Feudal period came, as eyeballs pointed out, after the death of Charlemagne. It endured for a few centuries because the peasants needed protection against marauding armies. In those days the nobles had better weapons (horses and armor, etc) but that might not be true in the future.
There is a lot of firepower in the hands of the peasants these days. Plus some experience in democracy and asymmetric combat. As eyeballs said, we need to network with the other peasants to keep the freedoms we have.
http://www.mises.org/books/ouroboros.pdf
It's not relevant to this story, but there's no way to post non-story related comments, and I though Mike and others might enjoy reading this. I just found it during one of my Wikpedia journeys. Garet Garret is kind of like the William Gibson of the 1920's. He wrapped his mind around the big picture in a way 21st century folks still struggle with.
Hi Michael,
I began to awaken from my slumber after hearing a talk from Richard Heinberg, and then reading your excellent "Rubicon." I have been a business journalist since 1999 and have been looking for ways to get the word out. My current gig consists of writing articles for an audience of small business owners, most of whom cling to the promise of a mythical "recovery" that I doubt will ever come (not a real and lasting one, anyway). Would you be willing to speak with me on the phone sometime? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the future of entrepreneurship or perhaps hear some suggestions for sources and resources.
Thank you kindly for your important work.
Sincerely,
Steve Tanner
editor, California Executive
digitaldebris@yahoo.com
stanner@provpubs.com
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