Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Difference Between Latvia and California

From Jenna Orkin:

Latest: Twitter reports Mousavi under house arrest; Rafsanjani resigned.


What's the difference between Latvia and California? Answer: A week.

Financial Crisis

ECB Fears Bank Crisis

Is Eastern Europe on the Brink of an Asia-Style Crisis?
Latvia Faces Economic Meltdown
California Fifty Days from Financial Meltdown
China's Foreign Trade Plunges Deeper in May
Bank Rescue Costs UE States $5.3 Trillion, More Than German GDP

Countries and other entities respond to the crisis according to their respective abilities and "needs:"

Central Banks May Put Half Reserves Into Gold

Russia May Swap Some US Treasuries for IMF Debt
China's Commodity Buying Spree
Global Financial Crisis Could Drive Poor Colombian Children to Join Guerrilla Groups
G8's Promise to Africa is Likely To Be Broken
Canadian Banks, Ranked World's Best, Step Up Job Cuts
Mandelson Says Britain Will Join Euro

Behind the Scenes:
Geithner to Allow Banks to Repay TARP Although TARP Stress Test Analysts Say Test Was Flawed
Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Was Audited Says Expert
America's Sea of Red Ink Was Years in the Making
Yet who could have seen it coming?


Energy Crisis

German Military Opposes Gazrpom's Baltic Pipe
Obstacles pile up for Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline (from Rice Farmer)
Energy fuels new 'Great Game' in Europe (from Rice Farmer)
Is the West's Love for Oil Receding for Good?
The Crude Reality of Peak Production
Oil Drops After Record Plunge in European Industrial Production
US Oil Imports at Risk
Chrysler's Next Fear: High Gas Prices
The World in Energy Statistics
EU Lines Too Old to Deliver 2020 Renewables Target

Swine Flu
Millions of Britons Could Be Infected with Swine Flu
Note the following two sentences appearing in the same article:

[WHO Director Dr. Margaret Chan] told a press conference in Geneva the majority of cases have been mild with most people making a full recovery without the need for medication....

Confirmed cases and their close contacts have received the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and orders have been placed for 90 million doses of H1N1 vaccine which are due to be delivered by December.
Swine Flu Drugs Will Replace Containment


Intelligence/Torture
Classification and the Descent Into Torture: Comments by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Teachers Urged to Join MI5
Bin Laden Hiding in Pakistan, CIA Says
See what a little waterboarding can do?

And...
Industrial food is killing us, claims ‘Food, Inc.’ movie (from Rice Farmer)
Goldman May Get $321 Million on Missed Trade Center Deadlines
American Friends of the British Nationalist Party
Guppies Provide Lessons in How to Evolve Fast
US Man Arrested in Gold Bullion Ponzi Scheme (February)
Policeman Uses Taser on 72-Year-Old Woman
...for speeding.

23 comments:

Sebastian Ernst Ronin said...

Novacadia hits the Wall Street Journal!!! Divided We Stand

tahoevalleylines said...

California has their California National Guard units, with facilities over the state, notably Camp Roberts near Paso Robles, and the Sacramento legacy HQ site at 28th & C Streets. The C street block has the Union Pacific line at north side of the block, and on C street, the Electric Interurban rr, Sacramento Northern was once situated ,until the freeway came a block over in 1953.

Latvia does not have the sort of dormant rail footprint as seen in California. California can systematically inventory the rr branchlines list, and one-by-one rehab these rail assets to de-minimus freight service. Agricultural corridor, like the Placerville and Nevada County Narrow Gauge, and Isleton, Calaveris, Capay Valley, Monterey and Napa Valley lines can be returned to service quickly.

The point is, hedge against trucking collapse ASAP with covering transport of food and maintaining mobility in the corridors where agriculture must be shipped. Yes, other states can too, but it would be cool for underdog California to get the Peak Oil jump here! Hello, Governator? Get copy of 1995 50
/80 rail study from Will Kempton, and talk to French TGV builders...

OK, back to grass roots CA Vs. Latvia: Why mention the National Guard? Call up the AAR Library at (202-639-2100, and ask for copy of the 1956 Van Fleet transport doctrine book,"Rail Transport And The Winning Of Wars". Note the General's concerns about homeland attack, importing oil from unfriendly counties, etc. Note also the explanations of usefulness of branchline rail for disaster recovery and economic rebuild. Anyone notice the unused rail lines scattered around the Katrina disaster? In a different generation, cleanup would have commenced immediately, been done YEARS ago, with rail based damage recovery logistics. Railway efforts after the 1906 SF Earthquake would be a real eye-opener for the road gang. Simple enough for a Latvian to do it...

The 3000+ US County Planning Bureaus need to get hold of the "US Rail Map Atlas Volumes" from spv.co.uk, along with Van Fleet's little transport book. Study and talk to their respective state NG Commandant about re-commissioning the Railroad Operating & Maintenance Battalions. With that commenced, work can be prioritized to rehab, one by one, dormant branch rail lines.

Of course, rare are the ones with initiative, leaders with nerve and skill to get the info, and put together a plan, maybe starting work with volunteers from service groups and prison trustees. Initial classroom work with the RR Rulebook (GCOR) plus the sources noted above. Add Christopher C. Swan's "ELECTRIC WATER" for compendium of off-the-shelf tech and methods for creating local-oriented energy and transport systems.

General Van Fleet calls railroads "Second Dimension Surface Transport Logistics Platform", descriptive of the basis for transport mix in the America that was a lending not a borrowing nation, and energy independent... Hmmm. Someone in Latvia will read this, so, you National Guard office adjutants, get cracking!

tahoevalleylines

Don Hynes said...

There's some awful smart people in this community so I'll ask an obvious yet perhaps dumb question:
"Russia, Brazil Plan to Buy $20 Billion IMF Bonds (with
Russian held US Treasuries)" - WHAT??!! The key words inthis new story isn't about Russia diversifying into IMF Bonds but that Russia will use the US Treasuries to purchase the IMF Securities. In other words Russia will peddle the debt they are holding and think at risk to the IMF for more "secure" IMF treasuries? What's wrong with this picture??

anton v said...

Wow - MCR is one prescient son of a bitch!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5516536/US-cities-may-have-to-be-bulldozed-in-order-to-survive.html

From the 1.26.09 Blog Post (my edits):
"I can see an absolute patchwork quilt of regions in this country with various levels of civil unrest, from paradises to the "no-man's lands". I can see Green Zones being carved out around vital infrastructure where life will remain good for at best five years. Those inside the Green Zones will be lucky. As an example, I can easily see that Los Angeles International Airport, the San Pedro Harbor and north to Malibu will likely be a Green Zone. Green Zones could be protected by regimental to division-sized military units depending on the region's size. Same with San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Houston... But not all major cities will be so lucky. Not enough personnel... Put a fence around it! I see eventual mass migrations along geographic corridors of unrest and lawlessness. These will become the fault lines for regional disintegration. I see state and local governments dumping their flight plans and assuming massive emergency powers on an ad hoc basis in an increasing vacuum. I see hunger. I see that there are six new bird flu cases in China. And I see all of that regardless of whether the government, or The Powers That Be, or the New World Order, or whatever you want to call it is orchestrating it or whether it is just happening as a result of our unenlightened ways. This is what mankind is doing to itself, right now.

MCR

Could Some of the Nafta Superhighways be Defining Future Borders of Wastelands and Protected Zones?

It certaintly looks true for key coastal regions in the northeast, southeast and west. But, as this map suggests, we can see how CONUS is divided north-to-south. But what will happen east-to-west? Any one got the graphics capability and the data to superimpose a map of FEMA's ten regions over the Superhighway map? That would tell us bucketsfull.

Pandabonium said...

A 'time bomb' for world wheat crop

"The Ug99 fungus, called stem rust, could wipe out more than 80% of the world's wheat as it spreads from Africa, scientists fear. The race is on to breed resistant plants before it reaches the U.S." (emphasis added)

Pandabonium said...

Don Hynes - this is perhaps not about financial risk, but rather gaining more influence, as this article suggests:

BRIC seeks global voice at first summit

"China, Russia and Brazil have pledged to help capitalize the IMF as they seek more influence at the fund."

Jenna Orkin said...

lenny wrote in part:

Lenny has left a new comment on your post "The Difference Between Latvia and California":

Attn. Mr. Ruppert,
Your screener, Orkin, has blocked a submission I made to your website. In it I referenced an article that explains why Larry Silverstein waited all day before pulling WTC 7..... Who is this Jenna Orkin, hijacker of the From The Wilderness website? Couldn’t she have proof read the manuscript....
Where was friend Jenna to advise and polish up the content?
Mr. Ruppert has already produced a valuable body of hard copy video and print. It is pioneering, original and first class investigative but, unfortunately, politically out of vogue. It will, however, stand forever alongside the classics of great expose journalism on personal and public (maybe; O K, probably not) library shelves and show up forever on Amazon and Alibris and at book sales as a reminder that no matter what the currant spin of the powers in control, yes, there is an alternate reality that says, as history will always confirm, there was in fact a bunch of wheelers and dealers manipulating the sheep and pulling off bloody coups.
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Bob Dylan (Amazon MP3 downloads, Ballad of a Thin Man)

businessman said...

lenny is a bit too full of himself and condescending...

Jenna has pretty much had it with any additional 9/11 speculation. She's been there, done that, and has put more time into the subject than over 99% of the people on the planet.

As was pointed out to me when I submitted something on the subject about 30-60 days ago, most of the "new" conversation out there about 9/11 can't be proven, and it just engulfs all of us into a gossip-like environment in here.

Jenna wants the focus in here to be on helping everyone to prepare for what's coming, and looking backwards and just speculating on what may have happened around 9/11 really isn't pertinent to that discussion.

Sebastian Ernst Ronin said...

anton v, re "Any one got the graphics capability and the data to superimpose a map of FEMA's ten regions over the Superhighway map? That would tell us bucketsfull."

Someone already did that for us in here several months ago. Sorry I can't remember who it was or under which thread. If you wish not to take the time to hunt it down, drop me an email and I'll send you the jpg I saved.

novacadia @ gmail dot com

Sebastian Ernst Ronin said...

Who is this Jenna Orkin, evil puppeteer behind the editorial curtains? LOLOL

Andrea Muhrrteyn said...

Mr. Michael Ruppert, Ms. Jenna Orken, and all FTW Readers (at least those that daddy and mommy Mugabe Ruppert, allow you to read)

FYI: Comment to: NBPatton: The FTW Blog: A Gross Hypocrisy

=====================
Hey Patton, ;-)

Looks like I spoke to soon!!

The following comment did not go through to The Difference between Latvia and California; NBPatton, being Latvia, and FTW, being California. The difference being CENSORSHIP that would make the G.W. BUSH AND DICK CHENEY WHITE HOUSE BLUSH... but anyway.... ;-)

----------------------

FYI:

Parallel Goals: Economic Relocalisation & Political Secession:


Act4: ♥ Economic Relocalization of Local Communities for Self Sufficiency ♥


Act4: ♥ Worldwide Peaceful Secessionary Movements Peaceful Political Secession!!! ♥

Sign the HARTSSTARH Legal and Political Petition to the Nobel Institute: Norwegian Nobel Committee.

-----------------------

Not quite sure what the hell the problem they got with that comment.... anyway...

Hope you well...

Lara
========================

Perhaps, they problem with the Petition, is that unlike Mr. Ruppert's criticism of the neocon right Bush White House; this Petitions criticism of the neoliberal left; honourably confronts the Nobel Peace Prize Recipients it criticises, to their faces with the allegations related to their conduct; and provides them the political, moral and spiritual opportunity to examine the evidence against them, invites their participation in the conversation; and practices what it preaches in terms of intentional and conscious commitment to spiritual radical honesty forgiveness values.

As usual, it appears for much of those who call themselves 'the left'; or 'liberals'; confronting those you criticize honourably to their face, is not their practice; dissing them behind their backs, and shutting down any means of communication, with them; while publicly professing to endorse 'spiritual' values.... is the norm...

Perhaps one day it may change.. I sure hope so... Till then!

Jenna Orken and MIchael Ruppert; the two of you are two faced hypocrits; when it comes to your alleged support for 'freedom of speech', encouraging a frank discussion; and as for your commitment to 'spiritual values'.... you are in fucking fantasy land.

Respectfully,

Lara Johnstone

Anonymous said...

I am utterly disgusted that this blog is participating in the whitewashing of the Iranian election.

Several hundreds of thousands of Iranians showed up to support Ahmajinadad at his acceptance speech in Tehran yet all we hear about are the "tens of thousands" protesting. All polls showed Ahmadinadad well in the lead. his winning was and is not a suprise to anyone. This is an obvious attempt to convince the US population that the Iranian leader is a tyrant.

The inclusion of this crap on this blog leads me to believe that Jenna Orkin is just another jew that cannot be trusted to tell the truth about the Middle East.

I hope I am wrong and an explanation will be forthcoming.

v said...

It's official - cheap oil era is over

The meaning of the Tehran spring

@Mike/Jenna, or anyone else: What do you guys make of what's happening in Iran?

V(incent)

John Kelty said...

This is why I've stopped treating this site as a blog and started treating it as an alternate Drudge Report. It's still a valuable source of information, censored or not.

sunrnr said...

In Carolyn Baker's "Sacred Demise" about the collapse we're now headed into and what you can do to embrace it, there is a whole section on community, communication and talk circles.

Dissention and controversy will happen in any group. What's important is how it's handled, or not.

All are to put judgement and opinions aside as they listen totally to what the person speaking is saying. They may disagree, but everyone has a right to express their concerns, opinions and logic.

Without that, the group will dissolve and lose it's power, much as I see happening here.

NB Patton, Lara, Lenny, Ms Murrhteyn, maybe it's not so much the content of your posts, but the attitude of how it comes across that's at issue.

All, give up the "need" to be right and just put forth the information. If we get it, we get it. If we're too intellectually challenged in your opinion, try stating things another way so that we do get it and learn from your wisdom.

Being at odds with one another sure isn't going to help down the road when we will all need each other and what we collectively have to offer.

That said ....

namaste

kiki said...

thanks sunrnr for your post - you saved me the trouble of saying it and said it much more succintly and without the angst i was tempted to respnd with - i tend not to respect anyone who uses a racial slur or otherwise denigrates another - you are a class act !

businessman said...

sunrnr is a very interesting individual...very grounded in the spiritual principles as taught by the Masters...while actively playing in the financial markets also!

Andrea Muhrrteyn said...

Jenna,

I still got my issues with you and Mike, on some things, and, support you on others.

This is just to say, thanks for posting my comment, to you and Mike publicly. I did not think you would; and am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by your courage to do so. Thank you. I imagine that took guts. So, here's a 'comment salute' to your guts! ;-)

Furthermore, to say, on the issues we disagree upon, I am committed to active listening; and if needs be, agreeing to disagree. Perhaps we even agree, and only think we disagree! Wouldn't that be a fuckign joke! ;-)

I would like to support you, in any way I can, where I agree.

Where I disagree... -- of course -- I would like to have the opportunity to say how or why I don't; if relevant. For me, the important thing is LISTENING to each other, so that -- if we can -- we hear what was actually said, not what we think was said. I don't mind if my toughts or ideas, are not followed, admired, or even if they are scorned and vilified. But when I dissent, and am censored, for no reason (or what I imagine is no reason), it appears plausible, ego issues are involved (or that becomes my 'reason').

I may be wrong; and if so I apologise... but from my experience in 'activism'.. ego issues are one of the number one reasons for how those who allegedly are on the same side.. end up battling each other; instead of finding ways to honestly communicate, share their disagreements and, still support each other, on the issues they do agree upon.

Anyway, I'll leave it htere for now.. let is percolate with you, and Mike, and hear what you, or he, or both of you, got to say.

Respectfully and Sincerely,

Lara
PS: I ain't got a problem with you being as frank, or blunt, as you wish. Others may, but if its me you talking to; please feel free to say exactly, and I mean exactly what you think. No dilutions, no 'frankly-lite'.

RayLeeUS said...

I'm a bit late on reading these comments, but for all those people that are belly-aching about their comments not being posted, with cries of "censorship": get real or get lost. This blog is clearly not the ONLY blog on the internet. You are free to post whatever you want on countless other sites including any that you produce yourself. If you want to know what is acceptable and not acceptable to the host and editor of this site, go back and read prior posts and comments on the subject of posts and comments. If you do, you should be able to get the idea pretty easily and know when the comments your'e preparing to submit fall within the general idea of what's helpful and contributive and what's not.

If you dont' want to take the time to apprise yourself of the "ground rules" that have been clearly stated here - including the fact that some comments are not posted simply because they are not to the point of what is being focused on right now and not because they are specifically objectionable - then dont' complain when the rules you implicitly agreed to are applied in a way you don't like.

If you feel you've been overlooked unfairly, then argue your case. Jenna is a sincere person that will reconsider if moved - we've seen it. But if you just cast personal aspersions in response to a rejection then you've just affirmed that she was right to begin with; an underlying belligerent attitude has a way of showing through.

And a question for anyone saying "who's this Jenna person and what has she done to Mike??" - Are you kidding me? Are you getting paid to post this nonsense?

Jenna Orkin said...

thank you, rayleeus!!!


for the record, andrea murrhteyn has written the following which is only a small sampling from the three comments she sent in.

also for the record, this conversation is soon drawing to a close.

ever,
the fucking tealady


Andrea Murrhteyn has left a new comment on your post "The Difference Between Latvia and California":

Radical Hon(our)sty Response to Mr. RayleeUS [2/3]:

As for NBPatton! I'd take a bullet for him any fucking day of the week; that's how 'real' he is. I don't know why the fuck his comments have been censored. I do know at times, Jenna's fucking politically correct ego, goes into overdrive...

So, I have no problem not posting anything here at this blog; I post what I consider relevant to the topic, and information on issues occuring elsewhere, or on issues of radical honesty communication.

Radical Honesty, should you not be aware, is the only community on the planet, where individuals who are 'far right', 'far left', 'in the middle', 'black' 'Asian', 'Crhstian' 'gun huggers' and 'gun haters'... etc.. etc... can work together, and love the fuck out of each other.. and be brutally honest... and they love the fuck out of each other, and have no need to censor one goddamn word from another.. cuase the foundation, their CONSTITUTION IS TRANSPARENCY AND RADICAL HONESTY.. not 99% of the time; not just when it suits 'Jenna' or when it suits 'Mike the boss'... BUT 100% OF THE TIME.... NO FUCKING EXCEPTIONS, FOR NOBODY, NOT THE BOSS, NOT THE FUCKING TEALADY... EVRYBODY GETS TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT THEY FUCKING THINK!

Sebastian Ernst Ronin said...

Two lumps, no cream, please and thank you.

businessman said...

Jenna...You've been taking some potshots from people lately and I admire you for hanging in there!

The idea that you and Mike can't run this Blog anyway you want to is way, way out of line. You've been right-on in censoring those rage-filled comments for the past year, and you have my vote of confidence in handling the exact same situation once again.

Jenna Orkin said...

thanks once again businessman