Wednesday, March 31, 2010

PIGS JUST GREW FUCKING WINGS

http://www.postcarbon.org/press-release/85743-obama-administration-cops-to-likelihood-of

Damn, we did it.

"This may not be the beginning of the end. It is not even the end of the middle... But it is the end of the beginning."

My guess is that there will be real congressional hearings in the summer or fall. This is a great moment for the Peak Oil movement. Post Carbon is calling for what I wrote in Points Two and Four of "Confronting Collapse". We all did this. Big eyes read this blog and the Facebook page for the movie. Our movement needs to prepare to take center stage PDQ. Collapsenet will be there. The world will be looking to all of us soon, so brush your teeth.

MCR
************************************************************************
From Jenna Orkin

...and here's Obama's answer to the problem (along with nukes:)
Obama to Allow Oil Exploration Off US East Coast as Part of Energy Plan

Headlines
Jeff Rubin: Oil To Triple Digits By The End Of This Year, And New All-Time Highs During Next Year
Here's What The Oil Drilling Really Means: Obama Is About To Bring Back Cap & Trade
Several hours later: Obama opens new oil drilling offshore in climate drive
Steel Set to Soar
US Navy plane crashes in Arabian Sea

Economy/US
Goodbye, Federal Reserve
Hello Fannie and Freddie. The Fed ends its $1.25 trillion mortgage bond buying binge, but there's good news for the housing market.
Rising Rates, The End Of Fed Mortgage Buying, And Fannie Mae's Stinginess Stoke Fears Of A NYC Real Estate Double Dip
ADP Says U.S. Companies Unexpectedly Cut Payrolls
States have $5.17 Trillion in Pension Obligations, Gap is $3.23 Trillion; State Debt as Share of GDP
The 12 Markets Already In A Housing Double Dip
Mich. neighborhood complains it is overrun with rats - from Rice Farmer

Europe
They Thought Europe's Unemployment Had Stabilized... But Now It's Soaring Again
Irish Banks Need $43 Billion on ‘Appalling’ Lending
Greece Plans to Sell Global Dollar Bond by Early May
Greek Debt Chief: EU Deal Talk Hurt More than Helped
Jarvis axes 1,100 jobs after rescue hopes fade
Unions ask the Government to save staff, arguing that a deal would cost a fraction of the billions used to bail out banks

Asia
U.S., India agree on nuclear-fuel reprocessing Nuclear Liability Bill will compromise on right to life & health
"(Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Marxist Communist Party of India) said the bill favoured American nuclear companies as it fixes no responsibility on the foreign suppliers who would be providing the reactors."

This is coming two weeks before a Washington nuclear summit, aimed at reducing nuclear proliferation.
Can nuclear summit ease security concerns?
The result of the talks is likely to be announced in a communique, which will not be that "exciting," said Collina, adding his expectations are somewhat limited. "Whenever you bring that many nations together and try to get them to agree on a common agenda, that's what you end up with -- the lowest common denominator," he said. "It doesn't have to push the envelope very far."

Pakistan: "On Wednesday evening, Swiss prosecutor Daniel Zappelli told the Associated Press that Zardari cannot be prosecuted in Switzerland because Pakistan's constitution grants him immunity as a head of state.
"Zardari, husband of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has seen his stature within Pakistan erode considerably over the last year as pressure has mounted against him from an alliance that includes the country's military, opposition parties and vocal media critics."
10 Signs of Speculative Mania in China
Chinese Farmer And Son Light Themselves on Fire To Protest Land Sale
A Blueprint for Malaysia
"Malaysian companies don't repatriate capital because they see fewer decent investment opportunities at home. The same goes for foreign investors.

The only way to change this trend is to roll back Malaysia's overweening public sector and open space for competition and creative destruction. Mr. Najib acknowledged this Tuesday, saying 'we need a new way of doing things.' He laid out a plan for privatization of state-owned companies, sales of government land, a reassessment of subsidies and a review of restrictions on foreign investment in services."
Report warns on US’ Myanmar strategy
The report by the Asia Society, a leading think tank, supports US efforts to press the generals who have ruled Myanmar for decades to hold credible elections and to give more rights to minorities and activists…. “It is quite possible that the leadership’s primary objective in engaging with the United States is to demonstrate to its own population that the United States endorses” the junta’s “road map to democracy” and a constitution that enshrines the military’s leading role in politics, it said.

Terror/Intelligence
Assassination Attempt at Silver Market Manipulation Whistleblower?
Al Qaeda operative: Osama bin Laden healthy, calling the shots
Osama bin Laden, in tape, threatens to kill Americans
CIA given details of UK Muslim students
Darpa Chief: Fix America’s Critical Geek Shortage

Environment/Health
Toads 'can detect earthquakes'
Organic farmers paid for measures they already have in place
Cigarettes might contain pig blood
That's good news, right?

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

S. Korea on High Alert; Drugs, Terrorism and Shadow Banking

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
S. Korea on High Alert After Deadly Shipwreck
'Upheaval imminent in North Korea' - from Rice Farmer
Credit crisis cost the nation £7trn, says Bank of England
Drugs, terrorism and shadow banking
Obama Administration Cops to Looming Oil Shortage
The True Causes Underlying The Moscow Metro Bombings - from Rice Farmer

Economy
Could This Be Start of 'The Great Bear Market in Bonds'?
State Debt Woes Grow Too Big to Camouflage
Many states are facing Greek-style budget woes
Irish banks face shortfall of €32bn
Government liable for up to three-quarters of black hole.

Terror/Intelligence/World
Is a Serious Israel/EU Crisis in the Works?
Feds: Militia wanted war against U.S.
China invited to join IEA as oil demand shifts
IEA chief admits watchdog risks losing relevance.
US Gears Up for Offensive in Kandahar
The US and allies have boosted their troop numbers to 126,000, with the number set to peak at 150,000 by August as the fight expands from Helmand into Kandahar Province, the heartland of the insurgency.
Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. In CIA 'Intelligence Coup' - from Rice Farmer
Fingerprint system 'stigmatises pupils'
Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund Head Al Nahyan's Body Is Located, Emirates Reports
Court OKs Repeated Tasering of Pregnant Woman
Hoo ha!
McDonalds to Double Restaurants in China

Health/Science
Oil conglomerate 'secretly funds climate change deniers'
Special Report: Genes and the future of medicine
It sounds Orwellian, but volunteers are lining up to donate their DNA to a vast experiment that will track them to the grave.
Sex infection gonorrhea risks becoming "superbug"
Sex virus blamed for rise in head and neck cancers

4-Mini-Big Bangs created in cosmos origins project
Four baby universes, just in time.

And...
Tough Times in Buckingham Palace
DCMS officials... accept that the Queen has been "hard hit" by the cost of energy.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Seoul Hints at N. Korea Role in Ship Mystery; N. Korea Warns South to Stop Border DMZ Tours

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Blasts rock Moscow subway stations
Seoul hints at N Korea role in ship mystery
North Koreans use cellphones to bare nation’s secrets
North Korea warns South to stop border DMZ tours
US militants charged in plot to kill police
FBI make Christian militia arrests

Energy
Power crunch looms for Britain
Deciding the Arctic's Future Behind Closed Doors
Diplomats from Finland, Iceland and Sweden are upset; indigenous groups are furious. Five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean are meeting behind closed doors on Monday to discuss the region's future. Many of those who have interests in the Arctic have not been invited.
Explorers fail to strike oil in test sites off Falklands
Company seeks first U.S. oil sands project, in Utah
PetroChina Plans $60 Billion of Overseas Expansion
Halliburton Hunts for Bacteria Killer to Stave Off Crackdown on Shale Gas
Natural Gas Gaining 50% for Goldman as Exxon Bets $28.5 Billion

Economy
J.P. Morgan: Fed Tightening Is Coming, Here's What You Have To Know
Greenspan Shocked That Debt Is High And Interest Rates Are Rising
Claude Rains lives.
Insider Buying Remains Non-Existent - from Rice Farmer
Half of Commercial Mortgages to Be Underwater: Warren - from Rice Farmer
FDIC Balks at WaMu Repayment to JPMorgan: Report
Bankers return to their bad habits

Intelligence
Anti-extremist scheme 'spies on Muslims'
Fingerprint system 'stigmatises pupils'
From Secrecy News:

"I believe that there is a discrepancy between what most Americans believe is legal and what the government is actually doing under the Patriot Act," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) in a statement last week on the Senate floor regarding reform of the Patriot Act...

"The Biometrics Identity Management Agency leads Department of Defense activities to prioritize, integrate, and synchronize biometrics technologies and capabilities and to manage the Department of Defense’s authoritative biometrics database to support the National Security Strategy," according to a March 23 Order (pdf) issued by Army Secretary John M. McHugh that redesignated the previous Biometrics Task Force as the BIMA...

"State Secrets and Executive Accountability" by Christina E. Wells, Constitutional Commentary, forthcoming.

"The Shadow of State Secrets" by Laura Donohue, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, forthcoming.

Environment/Health
Humans 'too stupid' to save climate
James Lovelock
Junk food could be addictive 'like heroin'
Fears gonorrhoea becoming untreatable
Gulf Stream Not Slowing Down

And...
German Firm Wins Right to Make Beer Called 'Fucking Hell'

Sunday, March 28, 2010

FBI Agents Conduct Raids in Three States; Rich Sell Munis for First Time

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Athens bomb blast kills one and injures two
Jets scrambled after passenger plane alerts

Economy/US
When banks become owners, opportunity knocks
Rich Stunned By Recession Sell Munis for First Time
Why Small Businesses Fear Obama's Health Care Despite Today's Exemptions
Will Federal Stimulus Money for States Expire Before Recovery Arrives?
Alan Greenspan Discusses The Fed's Inability To See Bubbles, Is Confident There Is A "Bubble Waiting To Burst In China"
Does This Bank Watchdog Have a Bite?
Death of a Loophole, and Swiss Banks Will Mourn

Energy/Resources/Terror
DOE Saying Possible Peak "Liquid Fuels" by 2011 (from Jon Noel)
Utah gov. OKs eminent domain on federal land
"Herbert signed a pair of bills into law that supporters hope will trigger a flood of similar legislation throughout the West, where lawmakers contend that federal ownership restricts economic development in an energy-rich part of the country. "
Marines Take Unusual Steps to Reduce Battlefield Fuel Demand - from Rice Farmer
"A typical Marine Corps combat brigade needs more than a half-million gallons per day."
FBI agents conduct raids in Mich., Ohio, Ind.
‘Patriot’ hate groups grew by 244% in 2009 - from Rice Farmer
US Marine: I will Fight American Civilians - from Rice Farmer

World/Intelligence
Russia drops two time zones to boost economy
India begins effort to implement national ID system
Ageing spies unable to use the internet
WHO 'overstated' swine flu danger

Environment
The Nuclear Waste Problem: Where To Put It?
UN: Dirty Water Deadlier Than Wars
US proposes to veto mountaintop removal coal mine

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Mumbai Attacker's Ties to US to Remain Classified; Arab League Prepares Alternative to Peace Process

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines/US
CBO Report: U.S. National debt will rise to 90% of GDP
Greenspan Calls Treasury Yields ‘Canary in the Mine’
Bond Market Verdict: Treasuries Riskier Than Toilet Paper! - from Rice Farmer
Arab League Prepares Alternative to Peace Process
Gulf sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan missing after plane crash
More heroin and marijuana flowing into the U.S.
Unemployment Rises In 27 States, Drops In 7 States
212,000 to lose jobless benefits April 5 - from Rice Farmer
4-Day School Weeks Coming To Illinois
Defence industry warning
Britain's £35bn defence industry at risk of shrinking by up to 70pc.
Third of flights cut as union warns of more strikes
Fifteen New Taxes in Healthcare Bill
Lawsuit Re Boondoggle for Special Interests in Healthcare Bill
Former militiaman unapologetic for calls to vandalize offices over health care - from Rice Farmer
"He said he believes throwing bricks through windows sends a warning to Democratic lawmakers that the health-care reform legislation they passed Sunday has caused so much unrest that it could result in a civil war."'
'Texas schoolbook massacre' rewrites American history
Here's Why Everyone's Freaking Out About The End Of Fed Mortgage Buying
Stimulus Funds Went to Nonexistant Zip Codes (January)
Bankers named suspected conspirators in muni case

Energy/World
Venezuela's Chavez Decrees Creation of Russia-Pdvsa Venture
Domestic Gas to Lose Subsidies Business The Moscow Times
What You Need To Know About The State Of The South Korean Economy

Terror/Intelligence
Mumbai Attacker's Ties to US Intelligence to Remain Classified
State Dept. Says Drone Attacks Are Legit Self-Defense
Thai protesters surround PM's office
New RFID Tag Could Mean the End of Bar Codes
UK Police Ask Internet Cafes to Snoop on Customers
Law Enforcement Appliance Subverts SSL
Psychiatric Drugs in Military
May explain some of the suicides.

Environment/Health
Earth Entering New Age of Geological Time
"...we are in the train of producing a catastrophic mass extinction to rival the five previous great losses of species and organisms in Earth’s geological past.”
France to Scrap Carbon Tax; Wants an EU-Wide Levy
Australia Prepares Swine Flu Shots from Stockpile

Friday, March 26, 2010

South Korean Navy Ship Sinks; Saudi and Emerati Ships Clash; UK Intercepts Russian Bombers

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
South Korean navy ship sinks; North link "unlikely"
This, a day after North Korea Threatens "Unprecedented Nuclear Strikes" On America
Saudi and Emerati Ships Clash Over Oil Borders in Gulf Sea Battle
UK intercepts Russian bombers
Five Steps of the Global Geopolitical Dislocation Phase - from Elizabeth Miller
China Has 'Test' Meeting Grains Goal, Premier Says
Saudis to Turn Increasingly to Oil to Meet Power Needs
Murdoch launches the debate: will we pay for news on the net?

Economy
EU Steers Greece to IMF, Pledges Loans as Last Resort
Jim Rogers: Greece Should Have Been Left To Die
Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again
Treasury Will Soon Have to Pay More to Finance Growing Debt
Treasury Yields Rise; What's Cooking?
Everyone's Freaking Out About Soaring Yields Now
Goldman Sachs Is Lured to Warsaw by $10 Billion of Government Asset Sales
Tea Party Advocates Who Scorn Socialism Want a Government Job
JPMorgan, Lehman, UBS Named as Conspirators in Muni Bid-Rigging
New York Helicopter Commute for $200 a Day Signals Revival on Wall Street

Intelligence/Terror
U.S. looks to export drone technology to allies
Mobs Are Born as Word Grows by Text Message
Professor: Eight million Africans died in wars financed by US, UK
Why It's Time to Break Up the NSA
The CIA and the Nazis - Declassified archives document ties between CIA and Nazis - Where Is Hitler?!

Energy/Resources
Startling New Research Says Peak Oil May Happen by 2014
Amid Nanotech's Dazzling Promise, Health Risks Grow
Regulated or Not, Nano Foods Coming to a Store Near You - from Elizabeth Miller
Why Nanotech Hasn't (Yet) Triggered the 'Yuck Factor'
Nano-Products Are Everywhere
As Temperature Rises, Earth Breathes Faster — and Maybe Harder
Obsession With Growth Stymies Regulators
Natural Gas Future Discussed at Bush [as in W] Institute - from Jon Noel
Pickens Makes Moves on Water - from Jon Noel

And...
Female Chimpanzees Drive the Culture
"we’re just as closely related to the bonobo. We could look at them and ask, why don’t we have sex rather than kissing on the cheek?"

Comment: I tried that once but the bonobo snubbed me.
Men do not grow grumpy with age, research finds

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Social Security Bust

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Whoops, Social Security Just Went Bust
NYT: Social Security payout to exceed revenue
Bin Laden threatens Americans with execution
U.S. official dismisses bin Laden threat as absurd
Japan's $50 Trillion Question Could Have A Catastrophic Answer

Economy
New Home Sales Fall to New Low in Feb
THE GREAT DISCONNECT: Stocks 30% Overvalued, Housing Rolling Over
Stall in housing market threatens economy
Bernanke says economy still needs aid of Fed
Highlights: Bernanke on unwinding Fed emergency programs
19,000 Job Cuts Projected For NYC; Illinois Bill to Slash Pensions; Florida Bill To Slash Pensions
Utah, Florida help non-residents pack guns
California getting closer to legalizing use of marijuana
Police believe a gang is targeting officers - from Rice Farmer
"Such is the new reality for police here, where life has increasingly taken on the feel of a war zone."
The death of primary care physicians
Tom Whipple of Falls Church News on the UK Energy Minister and Peak Oil

Europe/World
Europe agrees IMF-EU rescue for Greece

Sovereign Lies: Why Euro Is Destined to Collapse - from Rice Farmer
Merkel's Killer Poker Game Has Shown How, In The End, The Eurozone Is Simply Run By Germany
Seeking Lower Fuel Costs, Ukraine May Sell Pipelines
Turkey takes delivery of Israeli-made drones
Israel 'to defy Barack Obama' over settlements
Colombian troops rescue oil workers
What Joe Dwyer's Death Can Teach Us about PTSD
In 2009, more than twice as many soldiers died by their own hands than were killed by the enemy in Iraq.

Intelligence/Terror
RAF intercepts Russian bombers over Stornoway - from Rice Farmer
Ghana rolls out Biometric Passport
Printable Nanocircuits Promise to Make RFID Tags More Ubiquitous Than Bar Codes - from Rice Farmer
CIA could face prosecution due to U.S. drone raids in Pakistan
Russia conducts anti-submarine drills in Sea of Japan - from Rice Farmer
Wikileaks Promises "Pentagon Murder Cover-up" Details, Goes Suspiciuosly Silent

Environment
Giant dam to devastate 200,000 tribal people in Ethiopia
Trade Beats Conservation at UN Wildlife Talks
Why Are All the Bees Dying?

And...
Child Abuse by Irish Priests Makes Church Seek Aid From Angry Parishioners
Why not? Everyone else is getting a bailout.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

MICHAEL C. RUPPERT Web Streaming Q&A

MICHAEL C. RUPPERT in a Web Streaming Q&A Session after a screening of COLLAPSE at Goldsmith’s College, University of London – Watch it Live, Friday March 26th (12:30 PM, PDT, 3:30 PM EDT, 7:30 GMT)

Watch it live here! -- http://www.ustream.tv/channel/collapsenet (The film will not be live-streamed. The Q&As following are expected to last for 45 minutes to one hour.)

Goldsmiths College, University of London is proud to have the first-ever UK screening of the critically-acclaimed Bluemark Films' documentary "Collapse" followed by a live Q&A with the film’s only subject Mike Ruppert. -- While the collapse of human industrial civilization and the subject of Peak Oil were either unthinkable or unknown to most a year ago, they seem front and center these days. Ruppert has an estimated 80% accuracy rate in economic, political and energy predictions over a decade of investigative journalism. He accurately and precisely predicted the crash of 2008 for years. Now he predicts that as much as two thirds of the human race may perish in the next five to ten as food disappears and lights go out around the world.

More than half of the predictions Ruppert made in the film – which finished shooting in June 2009 – have already come true. That will make you seriously ponder the other dire predictions he made in the film. Ruppert has authored two books, one of which (“Crossing the Rubicon”) is in the Harvard Business School library. His critically acclaimed new book “Confronting Collapse” was the foundation for the film. (Available through Amazon.com in the US and UK)

**** -- “Above all else see COLLAPSE. Above all else” – Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun Times

CRITICS PICK! Shockingly persuasive… unexpectedly moving – Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times

From popcorn chompers such as 2012 to more cerebral fare like The Road, movie audiences are being offered multiple visions of the apocalypse these days. Collapse is hands-down the most chilling. – Jennie Punter, The Globe and Mail

“The Peak Oil/Sustainability movement easily numbers in the millions, if not tens of millions worldwide. The global response to the film has been overwhelming and it is apparent that all those who have been voices in the wilderness, predicting these events with accuracy and anguish for decades were right. – The U.K. is being ravaged worse than the U.S. thus far. But sadly, the real suffering has only just begun for us all. Lord Hunt knows it. He’s just called an emergency summit on Peak Oil because it cannot be hidden anymore. He knows there can be no recovery.” – Michael C. Ruppert.

This event is made possible by support from the Sociology Department at Goldsmiths and organized by PhD candidate in visual sociology, David Rose, Bluemark Films and Michael C. Ruppert.
david.rose@gold.ac.uk
http://www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id=3564 (Screening location)

For Additional Information:
http://www.collapsemovie.com/
http://www.mikeruppert.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Collapse
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From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Here comes a wave of developed country downgrades
Portugal Downgraded to AA- by Fitch on Concern Over Mounting Debt Burden
Greece Will Default `at Some Point,' Hurt Euro, UBS Economist Donovan Says
Euro Testing Record Lows Against The Franc
This 1% Move On The Dollar Is Epic Folks, Check Out The Sea Of Red We're Staring At This Morning
National security challenged by Arctic climate change
Russia and the Arctic: Parachuting In
Energy in Saudi Arabia: A Kingdom Running on Empty?
The 15 Oil And Gas Pipelines That Are Changing The World's Strategic Map

World
Mercs vs. Pirates: Deadly Shootout on the High Seas
UK government spending rise above 50% of GDP - from Rice Farmer
Seventh Person Arrested in Britain's Biggest Insider Dealing Investigation
Banks Could Get off Lightly with Crisis Levy - Germany
Venezuela Asks Electricity Heads to Resign
China says no to Pakistan link
'Even War Is Good for Economic Growth'
Netanyahu flies home amid media blackout
Relations between Israel and US hit new low as PM completes visit to Washington without even an official photograph.

US
Sales of New U.S. Homes Drop to Lowest on Record on Job Concerns, Weather
Bernanke Wants to End Bank Reserve Requirements Completely: Does it Matter? What Chaos will Result?
US Economist Says China Could Act on Yuan if US Quiet
FBI probes threats over Democrats' healthcare vote
Most Americans Say They Missed 73% Rise in S&P 500
Bove Says Shares of U.S. Banks May Quadruple by 2012 on Lower Loan Losses
Democrats Owe Thanks to Reagan for Health-Care `Reconciliation' Procedure
State attorneys general sue over health bill
America's New Nuclear Option: Small modular reactors

Terror/Intelligence
New FBI Files Alleging AIPAC Theft of Government Property and Israeli Espionage Released - from Rice Farmer
Millions now licensed to carry concealed guns
Lawmakers Propose National ID Card
Hacking the Planet
Terrorists 'could use exploding breast implants to blow up jet' - from Rice Farmer
China Newspaper Says Google Helping US Intelligence

Environment
Bees in trouble after bad winter
Rising seas claim island at centre of 30-year dispute

And...
Monkey with 16,000 Facebook Fans

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

World Oil Reserves at Tipping Point

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
World oil reserves at tipping point
Oil reserves 'exaggerated by one third'
Tipping Point: Near-Term Systemic Implications of a Peak in Global Oil Production
Platts: China's Oil Demand Tops Record High in February
Newcastle Coal Exports Fall 24%; Ship Queue Shortens
British Gas workers vote to strike
Strikes will hit millions in run-up to election

Economy
Why John Mauldin Is Worried About A 40% Market Decline
15 States Where Folks Are Too Depressed To Even Look For Work
Fourteen states sue over Obama health reforms
U.S. states may be the next dominoes to topple over - from Rice Farmer
California, in Financial Crisis, Opens Prison Doors
Why the U.S. can't inflate its way out of debt - from Rice Farmer
Ron Paul: National bankruptcy will lead to repeal of 'Obamacare' - from Rice Farmer
It Begins: Florida Set To Change The Rules Of Its Retirement System As Prelude To Eventual Social Security Endgame
Netanyahu raises stakes ahead of meeting with Obama
Study: Canadian stimulus package had negligible economic effect
Secret Service Paid Credit Card Hacker $75,000 a Year
After 15 Months Of Being Long Only, Jim Rogers Loading Up Some Shorts

Terror/Intelligence
US aviation security to adopt Israeli model

Europe/World
Anticipating Eurozone Collapse - from Rice Farmer
"We have to put the loaded gun on the table to ensure that the markets react properly."
Greek Crisis May Provoke Trichet-Bernanke Split That Extends Euro's Slide
Budget figures are not based on reality, say experts
Over-optimistic growth forecasts mean Labour could fail to hit deficit target
Top Mossad agent expelled over passport row
Mossad's top agent expelled from UK over passport assassination row as British-Israeli relations sink to new low.
Analysis: expulsion marks new low in relations
Rising waters threaten Nile Delta
Scientists warn higher salinity in the fertile region could lead to economic disaster.

And...
Eyes betray numbers in our heads, study says
"It may be harder to lie about your age, or your pok­er hand, af­ter new re­search."

How about oil reserves?
Man 'too fat to put in ambulance'
'Too big to fail' doesn't work for humans.
Orchid Mantis

Monday, March 22, 2010

Peak Risks in UK: Soaring Oil Prices or Al Qaeda; Wave of Airline Strikes Sweeps Europe

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
U.S. Government Exposes Its Own Oil Supply And Demand Data To Be Completely Flawed Energy minister will hold summit to calm rising fears over peak oil
Amrita Sen, an oil analyst at Barclays Capital, believes the price of crude could pass $100 this year and reach nearly $140 by 2015. Francisco Blanch, of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has speculated it could hit $150 within four years.

Leggett says all these scenarios could be much too optimistic. He is convinced that Britain must prepare as quickly as possible for a situation when oil becomes so expensive that international trade is hampered and globalisation breaks down.
Nuclear terror risk to Britain from Al-Qaeda

Politics and Peak Energy
F.D.A. Asks Pediatricians to Stop Using a Diarrhea Vaccine for Now
Although there is no evidence of harm, government officials want to know why pieces of a pig virus are in the vaccine.
Next Big Issue? Social Security Pops Up Again
Was that "pop" as in a bubble popping?

Economy/US
Obama Paying More Than Buffett as Treasuries Show U.S. Losing AAA Stature
Once Again, Moody's Is Behind The Curve, As The Debt Market Has Already "Downgraded" The US From AAA
Inflation Issuance Hits Record $200 Billion; Predictably Wrong Hyperinflation Calls; Ducks in a Row
Junk Bond Sales Increase to Highest Before 2007's Seizure: Credit Markets
The Next Crisis is ... a Labor Shortage?
Underemployment At Record 20% According To Gallup - from Rice Farmer
Bank Of America: Why This Bond Market Measure Could Be The Canary In The Coalmine
Obama's health care bill may be 'Pyrrhic victory'
Political courage or electoral suicide?
Obama to `Spread the Wealth Around' as Health-Care Bill Imposes New Taxes Stealth Taxes Rise
Insiders Remain Sellers of the Rally - from Rice Farmer
Stimulus Plan for Rail Line Shows System of Weak Links
Secret Service Investigating a Conservative's Obama Assassination Tweets

World
Stunner: China Set To Announce Record Trade DEFICIT In March - from Rice Farmer
Wave of Airline Strikes Sweeps Europe
500 soldiers face sack amid funding crisis
Projects and personnel to be hit as MoD attempts to plug funding shortfall, which may be anything up to £80bn, MPs warn
Job fears as light tanks contract goes to US
German coalition agrees on levy for bank bailouts
Why April Will Be A Huge Test For The PIIGS
Russian diplomat sees U.S. arms pact in days
Labor shortage exceeds 2 mln in Pearl River delta
Ghana invite Malaysia in oil exploration

Intelligence
Scientists Successfully Embed Silicon Chips Inside Human Cells - from Rice Farmer
From Secrecy News:
Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment
An extensive compilation of official documents, policy advocacy statements, and assorted commentary on the U.S. decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 is presented in "The Iraq Papers," a new book from Oxford University Press.

The longstanding conflict over press publication of national security information is revisited in the forthcoming book "Necessary Secrets" by Gabriel Schoenfeld (Norton Books, May 2010).

Environment
Beijing is in environmental meltdown
Air Pollution Hits Record High in Hong Kong
Toxic Waters
A series about the worsening pollution in America's waters and regulators' response
Making Water Out of Thin Air

And...
Money 'only makes you happy if you have more than neighbours'

Sunday, March 21, 2010

In a Debt and Credit Sandwich... Clinton's Mea Culpa in Haiti

From Jenna Orkin

You know that saying that Mike likes to quote? "In a ham and egg sandwich, the chicken is involved but the pig is committed."

In a debt and credit sandwich, who's the chicken and who's the pig? Does it depend on how big the debt and debtor are?

That in turn reminds me of the old saw about the difference between a dialect and a language: A language has an army.

Headlines/US
IMF's Lipsky Says Advanced Economies Are Facing `Acute' Debt Challenges
Diminishing marginal productivity of debt: Debt saturation phase transition reached - from Rice Farmer
Deck Chairs Secure Aboard USS Financial Regulation
War ships don't have deck chairs. Where did they come up with that metaphor? Sounds familiar.
Bernanke Says Large Bank Bailouts `Unconscionable,' Must Not Occur Again
Victory for Bloomberg in Freedom of Information Lawsuit with Fed
Here's Why Lehman's Accounting Was Completely Bogus -- And Why The Rest Of Wall Street's Still Is
Loan Spread Points to Limits on US Housing
German Central Bank Admits that Credit is Created Out of Thin Air - from Rice Farmer
New Baghdad and the Collapse of Capitalism - from Rice Farmer
"The U.S. economy is like an out-of-control sports car in search of a tree."

Asia/Africa
High Tech Research Moves From U.S. To China
The New Conventional Wisdom: It's Shadow Banks And Regional Governments That Will Take Down China
Photos of Beijing Sandstorm
India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
After today's test, India has become the first and only country in the world to have a "maneuverable supersonic cruise missile in its inventory," he said in New Delhi.
Japan mulling 14 new nuke plants $2bn to help Darfur
“The donor conference is backed by the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), but also includes representatives from China, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and others.”
DRC: Regional hydro project collapses
(Damming the Mighty Congo – for aluminum smelting.)
“It was a big decision. It would be good for Congo to retain more of the project’s electricity for its own use.”
UN Plans to end DR Congo peacekeeping mission

Americas
Petrodollars threatening Amazon
“The dozens of hastily granted oil and gas concessions Peru´s government has given to countries from Vietnam to Brazil already cover 41 percent of the Amazon region, and exploration and drilling there threatens indigenous populations and local flora and fauna, according to a new study by the University of Barcelona.”
With cheap food imports, Haiti can't feed itself
‘They're led by former U.S. President Bill Clinton — now U.N. special envoy to Haiti — who publicly apologized this month for championing policies that destroyed Haiti's rice production.
Clinton in the mid-1990s encouraged the impoverished country to dramatically cut tariffs on imported U.S. rice.
'"It may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not worked. It was a mistake," Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 10.

‘"I had to live everyday with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I did; nobody else."

‘…Street markets have reopened, filled with honking trucks, drink sellers clinking bottles and women vendors crouched behind rolled-down sacks of dry goods. People buy what's cheapest, and that's American-grown rice.

‘The best-seller comes from Riceland Foods in Stuttgart, Arkansas, which sold six pounds for $3.80 last month, according to Haiti's National Food Security Coordination Unit. The same amount of Haitian rice cost $5.12.’

Environment/Science
Volcano erupts in Iceland, hundreds flee
Iceland Preparing for Second, More Devastating Volcano
Internet is biggest threat to species
Illegal trade in wildlife on the net is one of the biggest threats to endangered species, say experts Bomb tests could detect wine fraud
Vintage of wines made from grapes harvested since atomic bomb tests can be dated to within a year
Why Everything You've Been Told About Evolution Is Wrong

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Ich Bin Ein Zombie Japan; From Solitary: Phase II of the Debt Crisis

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Martin Armstrong Writes From Solitary Confinement: "We Are Entering Phase II Of The Debt Crisis"
The Entire World Is Zombie Japan Now, And If Any Central Bank Tightens We're Doomed
What will a post-peak world be like? We might be about to find out
World's slums grow despite rapid economy growth: U.N.
Iranian Government accused of arming Taleban

Economy
Federal Reserve Shouldn't Have Power Stripped: Frank
Bernanke: Keep Fed as Watchdog of Small US Banks
Yeah, it's them sneaky little banks that're the real threat.
The FHA Is Being Run Like A Ponzi Scheme That Will Surely Implode
Manitoba Chiefs declare a state of emergency over winter roads
Quick Guide To Why The UK Is Screwed
Greenspan: I Had Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Financial Crisis

Intelligence/Terror
What's the Point of Nuclear Weapons on Instant Alert?
Russia: Navy needs at least 50 nuke subs - from Rice Farmer
Military intelligence 'ran renegade torture unit'
CIA’s Jihadi Chat Room Hacked by Pentagon - from Rice Farmer
Drones may be sent soon to help with border security, Napolitano says - from Rice Farmer
Syrian Murder, Israeli Planes Not Linked - from Rice Farmer
Colombian Journalist Shot and Killed
A gunman killed a Colombian journalist who had received threats and reported on politicians linked to paramilitary death squads, police and the victim's family said on Saturday.

World
Greece Will Pay Its Debts, Will Not Default
TV's new chairman: UK faces 'national crisis'
The economy is in worse shape than the 1970s, says Archie Norman
Yemen declares end to northern war
Europe and Central Asia facing energy crunch - World Bank report - from Rice Farmer
Drought continues in China, 51 million people affected
China Drawing High-Tech Research From U.S. - from Rice Farmer
Here's Why Taiwan Is Destined To Submit To Beijing's Will
Nations Decline to March to U.S. Beat - from Rice Farmer
Ex-IMF head urges insolvency mechanism for states
British Airways Flight Attendants Strike in Bid to Halt Pay, Staffing Cuts

Unrest
Thousands Rally in Russia Against Economic Policy
Black lawmakers say 'tea party' protesters used racial epithets
China's anti-riot squad maintains public security in Port-Au-Prince after earthquake - from Rice Farmer

Environment/Science
Cap and Trade's Last Hurrah
The Most Amazing Solar Plant On Earth Doesn't Use A Single Solar Panel
Magnitude-5.6 Quake Near Guantanamo, Cuba
Large Hadron Collider Triples Its Own Record
Car runs on coffee waste
Step Closer to Cloak of Invisibility

And...
Fiddling While Undergoing Brain Surgery

Friday, March 19, 2010

Water Insecurity Critical in Arab Region; If Spain Goes Down, the Entire Global Economy Is Toast

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Water Insecurity is Becoming Critical for the Arab Region
If Spain goes down, the entire global economy is toast

Economy
Sovereign Debt Resolution: So, Will the U.S. Sell Manhattan? from Rice Farmer
India Unexpectedly Raises Interest Rates After Inflation Hit 16-Month High
Sarkozy Opposes IMF Involvement in Greek Crisis, Widening Rift With Merkel
Health bill would add 3.8% tax on investment income
Idaho first to sign law against health care reform States hope for a rich uncle
True Money Supply (TMS) vs. Austrian Money Supply (AMS or M Prime)
Court orders Fed to release bailout documents
State-Owned Banks May Be Future of Banking
Federal Employees Owe Massive Back Taxes
Hawaii lawmaker tries to stem flood of 'birther' requests for Obama birth certificate

Intelligence/War
Russians Give Message to U.S. Generals in Afghanistan: Bribe the Taliban
Minutes of secret meeting also say 'more troops won't make a difference.'
In Afghanistan war, dirty money talks
Court: Cyberbullying Threats Not Protected
Synagogue Bomb Suspects: The Feds Put Us Up to It! - from Rice Farmer

Energy/Environment
Who's Hurt by $3 Gas?
Brace yourself for higher prices at the gas pump this summer.
Tories plan new nuclear power plant every 18 months
Genetically modified mosquitos could be used to spread vaccine for malaria
Tony Blair's secret dealings with South Korean oil firm UI Energy Corp
Judge rejects ground zero settlement
Congresspersons Nadler and Maloney issued a joint press release on this development:

“The uncertainty surrounding the settlement demonstrates yet again the urgent need for Congress to pass the Zadroga Act, which would provide guaranteed health care and an estimated $6 billion in compensation for those who lost their health as a result of the 9/11 attacks. "