From Jenna Orkin:
Quote of the day:
A lightning rod properly mounted to a roof and properly grounded serves one, and only one, purpose: To dissipate a powerful and dangerous energy harmlessly into the ground. Lightning rods collect the energy at one precise point, and by doing so spare the building from ruination. This is precisely what happened in the last Presidential election. Under the ruse of choice U.S. voters were once more herded into two parties of the same stripe: Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. The building (at least for now) spared from ruination was the Federal Reserve, along with all of its paper contents. As I have mentioned before, it is the WWE wrestling analogy.
It all looks like real competition, but it is totally fake and scripted. If any REAL competitors show up (like Ron Paul), they are shown the exit before they can take off their warm-up jackets. So unwelcome are legitimate foes that arch-conservative Fox News saw fit to exclude fellow Republican Ron Paul from their sponsored Presidential debate.
James McShirley
Economic Crisis/US
TARP Special Investigator Says Bailout Total May Reach $23.7 Trillion
Foreclosure Filings Hit Record 1.5 Million; One in Eight Americans Delinquent; Obama's Mortgage Rescues Create ‘Confusion’
500,000 Will Exhaust Unemployment Benefits by September, 1.5 Million by Year-end
Bernanke Terrified Over Commercial Real Estate, Seeks Still More Power Over Consumers
Ten countries on the brink of failure (from Rice Farmer)
China to Deploy Foreign Reserves
Philadelphia is Out of Cash; Pension Spiking in California; Massive Tax Hikes in Oregon
San Francisco Peak Oil Task Force Report
Deal Reached to Close California's $26 Billion Budget
US Car Dealer Offers Free Kalashnikov With Every Purchase
Stepping on the Gas in Record Amounts
Gates Announces Temporary Increase in US Army
CIT May Receive $3 Billion Rescue From Bondholders
Spyware on BlackBerrys
Europe
Europe's new tactics for the far right
Tories want to give Bank of England greater powers
BP Says North Sea Oil, Gas Production to Decline 9% This Year
Swine Flu
Doctors warn over vaccine for vulnerable patients
Swine Flu Epidemic Could Derail Britain's Recovery
Drug groups to reap swine-flu billions
Russia/Asia
Car Sales Plummet by 55% in H1
Ruble Posts Record Gain on Oil Surge
Biden Supports Ukraine’s NATO Bid
Clinton: US to build nuclear plants in India
Environment
Giant Chinese Dustball Circles the Earth
Japanese Fishermen Brace for Giant Jellyfish
Fraudsters Target Tax on Carbon Credits
Hole in Jupiter
July Temperatures Set Records
Bees: An Amateur Apiary Revolution
From Secrecy News:
STATE DEPT OFFERS NEW CAVEAT ON NIXON TAPES
The transcripts of Nixon White House tape recordings that are published in the State Department's official Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series are merely "interpretations," not official records, the State Department acknowledged in the latest FRUS volume that was released this month. As such, those transcripts are susceptible to revision and correction."Readers are advised that the tape recording is the official document, while the transcript represents solely an interpretation of that document," the new FRUS volume states in the Preface. The statement goes beyond previous FRUS references to poor tape quality. It is evidently a response to a simmering scholarly controversy over the accuracy of published FRUS transcriptions of the Nixon tapes, which appear to include clear errors.Here are some examples of suspect "interpretations" from the Nixon FRUS Volume XIV (Soviet Union, October 1971-May 1972) that was published in December 2006 (with audio clips courtesy of nixontapes.org):
FRUS, as published (p.171): Kissinger: "On the other hand, you and I know that you were going to go for broke against the North."
Probable Correction: Kissinger: "On the other hand, you and I know that you weren't going to go for broke against the North." (.mp3).
FRUS, as published (p.172): "What they do is they're asking for, cuddling for, the things we are going to do anyway. Like troop withdrawal."
Probable Correction: "What they do is they're asking toughly for the things they know we’re going to do anyway, like troop withdrawals."
FRUS, as published (p.743): Nixon: "You see, that's the point [South Vietnamese President Nguyen] Thieu made which is tremendously compelling."
Probable Correction: Nixon: "You see? That's the point that you made which is tremendously compelling." (.mp3)
FRUS, as published (p.746): Nixon: "And, you see, I'm going to lift the blockade as I've said. It’s not over yet--the bombing's not over yet."
Probable Correction: Nixon: "And, you see, that I'm going to live with the blockade as I've said. Well, it's an ultimatum." Kissinger: "Yeah." Nixon: "Bombing is not an ultimatum." (.mp3)
There is widespread agreement that it is not possible to produce a perfect transcript of the Nixon tapes. "Audio fidelity was never one of the design considerations of the original, surreptitious taping system," said one former official. But by publishing the transcripts alongside other undisputed archival records, the FRUS series has appeared to boast a higher level of transcription accuracy than it has in fact provided."It is perfectly possible for two experienced auditors to transcribe two conflicting versions of the same conversation," said Dr. William B. McAllister, the Acting General Editor of the FRUS series, though he admitted that only one of them could be correct. He said that the problem of interpreting official records was not altogether new and was also not limited to the Nixon tapes. The renowned Long Telegram that was sent by George Kennan in 1946 has some garbled text that has been interpreted in different ways. And with the growing importance for historians of audio, video, and even twitter records, "It's only going to get more tricky.""Readers are urged to consult the recordings themselves for a full appreciation of those aspects of the conversations that cannot be captured in a transcript," the FRUS volumes recommend, "such as the speakers' inflections and emphases that may convey nuances of meaning, as well as the larger context of the discussion." A growing selection of Nixon audio tapes can be found online at http://www.nixontapes.org/.The interesting new FRUS volume on "American Republics," which is the first FRUS publication in 2009, addresses U.S. policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean between 1969 and 1972, including covert action. The new volume, published online only, excludes materials on Bolivia, which the editors say have not yet been declassified, and it also omits records on Chile, which are to be published separately. The Preface states that documents on Uruguay are not being published "due to space constraints." In fact, however, space is not at a premium in online "e-volumes," and Secrecy News is told that the Uruguay compilation has not been declassified, which ought to have been noted.
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23 comments:
The James McShirley link seems to be broken Jenna
it was unfixable and has therefore been replaced with another mcshirley link thx
Very interesting, Foreign Policy magazine's "Faild States Index". If you don't know the jargon "failed state", please look into it. This is the new put-down which justifies American and European intervention into areas unable to defend themselves against international aggression.
Very funny that even al Qaeda (which we are expected to believe exists in the same way that Bechtel or England exist) finds Somalia unatractive. I wouldn't want to live there. But the underlying assumption is that the right thing for the region is a strong state, that can kick everyone's ass and make the place safe for banking, hotels and fast food restarurants.
When this assumption is applied to both Afghanistan and Pakistan as "top ten failed states", it means we need to kick some ass and make the people there follow laws that are both uniform and useful to Wall Street, London and Brussels. The "chronically ungoverned" region of western Pakistan has been taking care of itself for long decades and centuries. It has been left alone by all the empires but (with questionable success) the British. Similarly, no one has ever successfully conquered Afghanistan, and the reason it's not part of British India is because the strongest empire on Earth drew the Durand Line in 1893 and said, "the folks on the other side of this line are ungovernable." The Russians had a hard time there, too.
Maybe a State is not what is needed. Maybe peace and local self-determination would be okay. Maybe the horrors of feudalism, even including women baking bread instead of going to college (I know, I know) is how things work there, and maybe no volume of cluster bombs is going to have a positive effect. Quite a few international observers have said the U. S. is strengthening the Taliban and allied forces, not bringing democracy or a love of West ways.
I found it funny also that China was listed at #57, though it has the world's only large, functioning economy, the biggest army and is likely to dictate the new world currency.
I did not see Iceland on the list, nor any Baltic or East European state.
The United States was not listed, although it is so far into debt that nobody expects it to produce enough goods or taxes to pay off the debt. California, of course, is pathetic. The American army is overextended and making no progress in either of its two wars, and the country's highways are falling apart. Of course, I could go on but why bother?
The "failed state" is a dangerous meme and should be watched like a rattlesnake. This list is likely to represent countries considered ripe for takeover by foreign military, in the service of foreign capital. Who can sing a dirge dark enough, as Western culture, hijacked by mad imperialists, dashes to its doom?
That's a great quote from James McShirley.
The massive growth of the Internet from the time George W. Bush first took office has enabled us to understand much more of what's really going on behind the scenes, outside of just the rhetoric coming from the politicians. It appears the Bush Administration's job was to loot the American economy massively for the powers that be before the dire ramifications of Peak Oil set in. And with Obama we now have a charismatic member of a minority to handle the masses when they riot, and get unruly and out of control from what definitely will be coming our way. And he's continuing to arrange the looting for the powers that be with what's still left of our economy, too.
To me, in many ways Obama is really just George Bush with far more charismatic presentation skills.
In follow-up to the McShirley quote, I did some research months ago because I became very suspicious about how John McCain rose so quickly to become the Republican nominee for President in 2008, when just months earlier he was considered to be a huge underdog.
Here's what I discovered:
In October of 2007 only 12% of all Republicans wanted John McCain to be their party's nominee for President.
In November of 2007 John McCain had to take out a $3,000,000.00 personal loan to keep his campaign in business.
In January of 2008, the Iowa Caucus was the first primary held, and John McCain finished fourth in it. Yet for some strange reason his photo was the only one shown on the front page of the New York Times the day immediately after the primary was held.
And in February, 2008, John McCain was the only Republican candidate standing who would clearly be nominated for President by his party.
To go from having only 12% of your party wanting you to be their nominee, to actually becoming their candidate for President in such a short period of time, doesn't happen without some major help coming from behind the scenes.
In addition, I researched the Supreme Court justices who were on the U.S. Supreme Court back in the year 2000. It's interesting that the media never reported that all five justices who voted to stop the recount of the election in Florida, and give the election to George W. Bush, were nominated to their positions on the Court by Republican Presidents.
http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/50noticias/8003219.shtml
México: Baja 7,5% producción de crudo en primer semestre
Mexico drops 7.5% in crude oil production. Cantarell is no longer the field with highest production, its place having been taken by the nearby Gulf field Ku-Maloob-Zaap.
Total drop in production in 2008: 9.2%.
In addition, Mexico suffered a further loss of revenue owing to the drop in the crude oil price to $47.37 dollars a barrel.
Mexico has cut $3.7 billion dollars from its budget to adjust for these facts.
Ho! Say it again, Businessman!
The most succinct summary of 21st century American history that I can imagine:
"It appears the Bush Administration's job was to loot the American economy massively for the powers that be before the dire ramifications of Peak Oil set in. And with Obama we now have a charismatic member of a minority to handle the masses when they riot, and get unruly and out of control from what definitely will be coming our way. And he's continuing to arrange the looting for the powers that be with what's still left of our economy, too.
"To me, in many ways Obama is really just George Bush with far more charismatic presentation skills."
That's hot. Uncle Sam could be mistaken for Santa Claus, with a big sack of loot, flying off for some remote Artic location. When this reality sinks in, it's time to say "Grab a shovel or wire up your shortwave or build that wood oven and let's start taking care of each other."
The link to the "Philadelphia is Out of Cash;Pension Spiking in California;Massive Tax Hikes in Oregon" article seems to be in need of a fix too if possible.I found this on the return list when I entered the above headline into my home page's search engine:
Since late 2006 349 major U.S.lending operations have "imploded"
There is a list of those 349 institutions,as well as an "Ailing/Watch List",2 Lenders who have returned,and a list of 12 "Implodes Around the World"
And another list here of 127 banks that have "imploded" since 2007.
On another note,congradulations Mike on winning your legal battle,if I haven't already offered my congrats.Good to hear you're getting some well deserved R&R,and looking forward to your next musical contribution to your/Jenna's blog.
P.S. Eyeballs,I thought it weird that the U.S. wasn't included on that list too.Your comment was a nice "Ah ha!" for me when I read it,followed by an immediate "duh" and a slap to the forehead.Thanks.
Chris
Never forget: "Peace + <3 = Information"
Is it just me,or is this article talking about a version of PROMIS?
Stock Traders Find Speed Pays,in Milliseconds:
"It is the hot new thing on Wall Street,a way for a handful of traders to master the stock market,peek at investors’ orders and,critics say,even subtly manipulate share prices.
It is called high-frequency trading—and it is suddenly one of the most talked-about and mysterious forces in the markets.
Powerful computers,some housed right next to the machines that drive marketplaces like the New York Stock Exchange,enable high-frequency traders to transmit millions of orders at lightning speed and,their detractors contend,reap billions at everyone else’s expense."
Catacombs could house flu victims
Old underground burial chambers in a Devon city could be used to store the bodies of swine flu victims if the outbreak worsens, a council has said.
This is outrageous scaremongering! From my own City Council which is bad enough... but the BBC have picked it up and made it national news (I heard it first as a morning news item on a national BBC radio channel). The amount of hype and scaremongering on the BBC and newspapers is getting to fever pitch.
The government run website for requesting tamiflu online went live during the week - and promptly went down because of the enormous number of people accessing it (2,600 a SECOND!). Many were people who did not have the flu but merely wanted a stock of Tamiflu in the house in case. Big-pharma companies will be rubbing their hands in glee!
Just as there are reports that the flu may have peaked in some areas, the BBC have switched their focus to an”expected” worse outbreak in the autumn. Don’t want the population to get complacent and not line up for the vaccine when it gets here do we??? How would that affect profits? (not to mention any darker motives TPTB may have?).
Meanwhile our 4 year old daughter is up and about again after 4 days with an unspecified bug - without the aid of tamiflu.
Great analysis eyeballs - spot on - thank you for posting your thoughts as always.
Just a casual scan of the top (so called) failed states makes me think that there is a high correlation to western strategic interests and our lack of control of them (especially importance to the west in terms of oil supply or transport).
The map is even more obvious as an “us vs them” statement. All the west’s allies are “stable” or “most stable” (including Ireland and the UK in their atrocious financial states?). Whereas all our competitors/enemies are either “borderline” “in danger” or “critical” (including Brazil and Russia with their huge natural resources).
a peon
that link, too, has been rendered more up-to-date
It's interesting that the powers that be seem to be gearing up for a massive swine flu outbreak and/or vaccination program beginning in the Fall, and that others are predicting a more massive financial collapse beginning in the Fall.
LOL...purely coincidence, I'm sure.
So what's wrong with failed states? =:-D
Paul et al,
Thanks for the health updates on your daughter and very glad that she is well. I worry more about "forced vaccines & cures" than the flu pandemics themselves. I hope we on this blog can deliver a more level headed take on these events than we get from the news. With our global perspective, we can act as a counter balance to the madness that is the mass media. Peace and freedom to you all.
Oops, it's a leak!!!
GPNS Leadership: Intent to Offer
Dedicated forum for Nova Scotia Green Party leadership bid is here. No use in bugging party members over on the party forum. Re the platform statement, the white words carry as much weight as do the black words. It's the White Album all over again.
Fort Detrick breach of security back in April
Link
i saw some leaflets (small quarter sheet size) re: forced "flu" vaccinnation taped to the lamp posts in oakland and or sf these past two weeks, so some people are obviously awake. hooray.
FP you are soooo transparent.
Swine Flu Plc: Cashing in on the pandemic
Huge pharmaceutical companies, face-mask manufacturers and even internet opportunists are raking in the money.
Hi, I thought I'd leave a post about our efforts to have the National Academy of Sciences do an immediate scientific investigation of "peak oil," including impacts and policy advice.
Here are some links:
http://oildepletiondebate.blogspot.com/
Health care is an issue that creates spinning wheels in rat cages. How will health care reform create real change? It seems over and over time and time again, we have a movement in this country and then the health care issue comes in to rat spin us to death.
I am waiting for a manhattan project for green energy to create the change. Why Obama has not given us the Manhattan design is creating much conspiracy and anger in me.
Health care is not the catalyst for change.
Darfur is a perfect example of the current storms facing humanities collapse, from deforestation and a lack of resources. Africa is in big trouble. In a time where we exponentially grew from 1 billion people to 6 billion on this planet in less than 100 years from squandering fossilized sunlight that produced oil which took 100,000 years to create from nature, it is now time to eco nest into a small group and wait out the depopulation event.
If you are looking to be in a safe place, to me the only choice is setting up an eco village.
I am setting up a meeting with a host of entertainment industry celebrities to orchestrate the first artisan eco village. My expectations will most likely fail me, I dont see how I can rally people into this expedition. But I HOPE THE USE OF MY FATHERS NAME AND THE LABEL CHIEF SONG WRITING LEGEND that he was brings me my flock.
I have to say, I am met with huge disbelief by many who wish to continue this capitalism surge on the world. But the planet can not survive another capitalist comeback.
What to do? Do we continue the course with a bitter end, or do we try to interface modern technologies into efficiency? How do we include efficiency into the world economy?
There is not one subsidy for efficiency in this country.
Profit does not relate with efficiency.
Mother nature did not create money, we need to find another way to live on this planet.
I find myself literally trying to save people and no one is listening. I interviewed the best scientists, went on a journey seeking the evidence to act, received it, and I try to Paul Revere the message, I have failed. The egos of Atlanta, my old village network of Jewish friends, I tried an experiment with them, i played the drill sergeant attitude adjustment, and tried to shout out with vulgar tough guy expressions, thinking that would work, but it only made them hate me and resent the cause.
But then if all my mentors, who are incredible scientists and ecologists are using honey to create change all these years, where is the change? I want to use vinegar.
We can not save everyone.
With all this talk of people care, why does the ecology not get a seat in the process? To me, earth care is people care, heal and repair the earth creating lush bio diverse eco system food forests will develop healthy people.
We use technology as a religion to heal, that is very disturbing to me. Get ready for the great shift back to natural patterns, it is coming and I am told its already here.
Russell.
Weather:
I've studied my oak tree and it's acorns and how it relates to Winter weather across the Eastern US. We have a 1 in 50 to 75 yr winter coming up in the Eastern US.
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