From Jenna Orkin
Quote of the day:
[T]he Fed is addicted to opaqueness and its senior ranks believe the bankers when they claim that the people must never be allowed to learn the truth about asset losses. One of the conflicts of interest that a banking regulator must never succumb to is the temptation to encourage or allow the regulated entity to lie about its financial condition for the purported purpose of preventing a run on the bank.
Headlines/Drums of War
Iran denounces U.S. "nuclear threats," to hold drill
Chávez parades army built for fight with US
US: Iran strike 'off the table'
Iranian missile may be able to hit U.S. by 2015
Israelis Debate Striking Iran Without U.S. Consent - from Rice Farmer
Would the U.S. Shoot Down an Israeli Jet? Top Officer Won’t Say - from Rice Farmer
China Just Grew Its Oil Demand By 10x The Rate of Global Supply Growth
Economy/US
Now we know the truth. The financial meltdown wasn't a mistake – it was a con
Geithner and the NY Fed Accused of Willfully Ignoring Fraud and Covering Up Lehman's Bad Assets by Senior Regulator During the S&L Crisis
Sovereign debt threat
Sovereign Debt Crisis Likely to Spread: Roubini
Spiralling sovereign debt is the top threat to world economy, warns IMF.
Why the U.S. Can't Inflate Its Way Out of Debt - from Rice Farmer
The Great Global Bank Robbery
The Worst 2011 State Budget Gaps
The last picture show? Debts cast shadow over MGM
Video: Eliot Spitzer on Goldman charges
Markets Rebounding On Potentially Fatal Blow To The SEC's Case
SEC 3-2 vote split along party lines
Parched Kansas Is Battlefield in $2.7 Billion Monsanto, DuPont Corn Fight
Europe
Roubini Explains The Simple Reason That Aid To The PIIGS Is Doomed To Failure
Commentary: Soros Talking the Euro to 'Death'
Greece May Need $112 Billion in Aid
Iceland’s Banks ‘Could Collapse’ Without Central Bank Knowing - from Rice Farmer
How lending Greece a hand could get Germany kicked out of the Euro - from Rice Farmer
German Windfall Profits From Exiting The Euro - from Rice Farmer
German State Appoints First Minister of Turkish Origin
France moves towards banning Muslim veil in public
Terror/Intelligence
Village burned, looted in Kyrgyz ethnic violence
'US forces bombed British soldiers'
Google releases tool to show government censorship requests - from Rice Farmer
Undersea telecoms cables face growing risks: report
Volcano
Second, more powerful Icelandic volcano likely to explode soon
Airlines, scientists split over impact of ash
Airlines lost more than $1.7 billion: IATA
Volcano ash could be good for gardens
Ash cloud hurts U.S businesses
Marijuana
Marijuana in America
Many support legalization as some states already allow medical use. An end to prohibition would create tax revenue. But does it make sense?
How Big Is The Marijuana Market? State by State Guide to Marijuana Laws
Why We Are Covering Marijuana, Big Time
Science/Environment
New thinking on a matter of life and death
Nuffield Council launches consultation on the ethics of offering financial incentives to deal with the shortfall in public donations of sperm, eggs and organs.
Computers beat doctors at diagnosing child illnesses
Anger as Brazil approves Amazon rainforest dam
Climate Change's Clear Winners: Europe's Wild Boar Population Exploding
Dead Whale Full of Trash
And...
"Life is short. Have an affair"
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25 comments:
RE: China Just Grew Its Oil Demand By 10x
This Business Insider hot flash includes these two statistics:
"According to the International Energy Agency, the world's oil supply is expected to grow by 1.3 million barrels per day in 2010."
AND
"For the first quarter of this year, Chinese petroleum demand averaged around 8.1 million b/d according to Platts estimates, up 16% versus the corresponding period of 2009."
Now I’m not good with math, but if last year’s usage was 7 million b/d, and it increased by 16% this year, wouldn’t that be just over 8.1 mb/d? If so, the rise was about a million plus barrels a day, while the world supply increased by 1.3 mb/d. Isn’t China's increase somewhere under 100% of world supply growth, rather than 1000%? As I say, I’m not good with math. Maybe someone else can check that one for us.
Anyway, everyone else’s oil use is down, so I guess China more or less accounts for what’s missing elsewhere. I’m frankly surprised to hear the IEA announce that supply will increase by a percent and a half. I had expected that there would be less trade in oil than last year, due to the industrial downturn. Course, 2009 was a lousy year for industry. Maybe it’s those green shoots.
eyeballs
based on a cursory perusal:
they say supply increased 1.53%. china's demand increased 12.8%. divided 12.8 by 1.5 and you get approx 8.
"Spiralling sovereign debt is the top threat to world economy, warns IMF."
links to the dead whale video.
Any ideas on who was responsible for the volcano erupting?...:)
“We are not taking any options off the table as we pursue the pressure and engagement tracks,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. “The president always has at his disposal a full array of options, including use of the military... It is clearly not our preferred course of action but it has never been, nor is it now, off the table.”
Kinda sounds like a nuclear strike against Iran is NOT off the table, actually.
It is time to LEGALIZE IT!
The issue is not the sticky icky CA bud the whole world enjoys to smoke. The issue is money.
The state of CA will be the number one exporter of sticky icky to the entire world.
There is so much money to be made. Everyone knows about micro-brews right? Well CA would be the land of micro-pot.
Some strands can only be grown in CA and very hard to replicate. From the mountain sides of Humboldt to the houses in San Diego. Even Orlov knows pot is the way to go, or at least it could help with this "recession."
I have a hard time believing CA, or any other state, would legalize consumption outright.
We'll have the chance to vote.
Canadian natural gas production to make a large drop.
From Bill Powers.
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/powers/2010/0421.html
ATL: I agree, it's way past the time IMO. This goes full circle for me, it was how I came across MCR (cop V CIA) in the first place!
You are mistaken if you think "Some strands can only be grown in CA and very hard to replicate."
Annual plants are possibly the easiest plant to clone/replicate from cuttings (which can survive transatlantic postage) and indoor environments can be tweaked to suit any given latitude/conditions.
Hybrid varieties can be difficult to replicate from seed, but this is a product of prohibition too, it prevents breeders from planting the required number of seeds for successful breeding. To breed a certain (new) variety to the point where 95%+ seeds only display the desired genetic traits (i.e. a stable phenotype) requires breeding techniques dependant on selection e.g. back crossing with grand parent generation etc. depending on the stability of the parents, this could mean the trait you are looking for may only occur in 1:64k plants. Commercial "fancy plant" breeders plant out hundreds of thousands of seeds and pay a bonus to workers who spot an anomalous plant (e.g. variegated leaves). There are short-cuts like introducing hermaphrodite genes and back crossing with it's own offspring, but this only breeds in poor unstable genes in the long run IMO. I recommend R.C. Clark's book "Marijuana Botany: Propagation and Breeding of Distintive Cannabis" to any 'budding' breeders.
The end of prohibition will mean breeders can get serious, to the point where (in theory) you could tailor any given strain to produce given ratios of THC/CBD/CBN etc. just like GW Pharma has done.
I'm wondering if the reason NORML/activists haven't raised the carbon footprint angle of indoor growing, is because it may be a two edged sword. It could be used for or against depending which side someone is arguing from.
The 14 year gaol sentence hanging over anyone in the UK who plants a seed seems overly draconian IMO, and guarantees clandestine growers willing to take the risk will grow indoors.
Free the seed!
Spain produces solar energy at night!
result of bad policy
Associated Press:
Britain posts largest budget deficit since World War II; public sector borrowing at 10.9 percent of gross domestic product
GrTz,
V
Flu shots suspended after 45 kids hospitalised
GrTz,
V
"Kinda sounds like a nuclear strike against Iran is NOT off the table, actually."
Well, considering that they're doing everything imaginable to convince the general public that war with Iran is imminent...
George W's Iraqi WMD campaign was just a chapter test to see how effective our public education system has been over the past 100 years. Apparently they were satisfied with the results. Now it's time for the final exam!
The financial meltdown wasn't a mistake? – It was a con?!!!
Jeeze!!! Who'd've ever guessed!!!
Pass the bowl.
@gamedog: Sounds like you know your sticky icky! :-)
I've been threatening to grow it on my roof for the past few years now.. For medicinal purposes, of course! ... And to make shits! Yeah... And pants too! ... And Rope! ... Lots and lots of ROPE!
Yeah, I'm the reason they'll never legalize weed. They can always point to someone like me, and say: "Look at him... That's what smoking pot does to you!" And, of course, they're absolutely right! After all; why else would anybody refuse to serve the corporate empire?!
Gamedog:
If it's legalized you better believe all those "freedom fighters" in Humboldt County will protect their strands. You have to get the seeds to grow the strands. At least the farmers should make it harder to replicate their micro-pots.
Other places do not have the climate we in CA have.
Indoor "trainwreck" will be different than outdoor "trainwreck."
Look. you guys, I know I'm an asshole... People have been telling me to shut-up for as long as I can remember! But, until people start to address the REAL problem in this world, I have no intention of keeping quiet!
I have had to listen to an endless stream of proposed "solutions" my entire life. I've even had a few novel ideas of my own! But, you know what? No matter how well thought-out they are... No matter how scientifically feasible they might be... NONE of them stands even the SLIGHTEST CHANCE of succeeding, unless some sonofabitch in a silk suit and a pair of alligator shoes is able to MAKE A BUCK off of it!
THAT'S the problem you have to eliminate FIRST, or you're NEVER going to accomplish ANYTHING! And I'm going to keep SCREAMING that until people either GET IT, or this species is EXTINCT... Which ever comes first!
You have to STOP DOING what's causing the problem! You have to stop supporting these people! You have to STOP polluting! You have to STOP buying imported goods! You have to STOP driving 2 blocks to the store to get a pack of cigarettes! You have to STOP EVERYTHING!!
And you have to START AT HOME! You just can't shove it down other people's throats, and expect anything to change! You have to be the vehicle of that change!
WHAT the FUCK GOOD does giving LECTURES do?!?! Al Gore spends half his life flying all over the world in his private jet, giving talks about global warming. Talk about HYPOCRISY!!... Imagine if we all did that... We'd all be dead by the end of the week!
KILL THE MONEY, and you KILL THE PROBLEM!
Why do you think I'm so god damned happy about the financial collapse? It's because I figure it's probably the only thing that can save this planet! And I can only hope and pray that we learn enough from it that we don't go and build the whole damned thing right back up again!
Yikes, speaking of weed seeds....wonder how many patents Monsanto has....
Another thing about weed...I've said it before in here, I'll keep saying it, legalization without decriminalization and destigmatization is a con to make the rich richer and keep the poor poorer.
I've never had trouble buying weed, and since I neither grow it nor sell it, I could care less whether or not it's legal...although I'd rather that it was....for the greater good.
I do know that the intiative here in Cali contains harsh punishments in it, and I wish that weren't the case.
ATL: There may be "connoisseur" type hybrids, local specials etc. but I don't think a breeder/grower who could corner the market in a particular strain will corner the market for retail, especially when everyone can grow their own legally. Many seed suppliers already stock "Humboldt" & "trainwreck" seeds, these strains were bred from Afghani & mexican strains years ago, the Afghani I tried had relatively high indica % in the genes (more couchlock than cerebral) I'd give it 3/10 when compared to pure Sativa varieties, which will not corner any markets either as the flowering period is far too excessive (14-24 weeks+) they will remain a niche market. Sativa hybrids will dominate IMO, just as they have in the seed market for over 20 years, which in reality is the only way for breeders to profit from their work, selling the seeds.
Strain popularity is often driven by fashion, see how the "purple haze" strain was popularized by music, it was never anything special, the "purple" in the name was caused by frost in Holland which actually degraded THC production, yet it still caused a spike in demand and many Dutch growers followed the trend until it was shown to be poor practice. There are simply far too many excellent varieties already out there for any strain to corner any market.
You are correct in that two clones of the same plant will be different when grown in completely different environments indoor/outdoor as gene expression is partially due to environment, but indoor you can grow up to 6 crops per year with an 8 week flowering time strain, and more with 6 week strains although g/watt month may be slightly lower overall on 6 week strains the annual yeild is higher due to more crops. Outdoor you only get one shot per year and risk of weather/pest damage and theft can be higher.
Protected strains will remain a niche market IMO, I don't condone the practice personally. When people talk about "free the weed" they should really mean full freedom IMO, otherwise they are just as bad as Monsanto, or G.W. Pharma who have patented more than 20 strains with known THC:CBD:CBN ratios for med use. These people should remember they are standing on the shoulders of giants who have fought the system for many years producing the original seed strains (from original IBL's) they themselves have bred from.
Clandestine growers have been exchanging seeds and clones for many years freely, this is how it should be done IMO.
Free the seed, but don't free it so someone can lock it up again!
Elmo, you write, " But, until people start to address the REAL problem in this world, I have no intention of keeping quiet! ". Well then you have chosen for yourself an endless endeavor, that being your " attempts " to chide by your words everyone in the world to just stop everything they are doing.
The momentum of these grave changes occuring around us all will take their course, and you should be able to see that even your thoughts that everything people are doing should just stop, is a completely unrealistic expectation. This great contraction/collapse will proceed, seeing the decline of complex human socities because of myriad intricate reasons related to why such systems have inherent properties that mean they must ultimately fail.
But clearly, these things will happen for other reasons than your ongoing mission to tell people to just stop what they are doing.
People will only stop, because the realities of the circumstance around them will prevent them from proceeding as they have, not because they have been implored by some/you to just " stop ".
With that said, I still appreciate your input here, providing your own interesting addition to the mix of personalities :-)
"I could care less whether or not it's legal"
Yeah, well some of us would prefer it were legal so we didn't have to buy it. :-)
"People will only stop, because the realities of the circumstance around them will prevent them from proceeding as they have, not because they have been implored by some/you to just " stop "."
Mass starvation; poisoning; disease; famines; etc... all because people refuse to heed warnings that are thousands -- THOUSANDS -- of years old!
Yeah, we're locked into it, I know that. They knew it even back then! But the individual option has always existed to turn away.
The endless mantra I hear emanating from all directions: "Buy Gold"! ... Why should I believe anything else than that the world has absolutely no understanding of their situation; nor any intention of ever turning away from anything?
A few will turn away. The rest will die. This is evolution at the human level. It is the first time in earth's history that it will happen by choice. Or it may be the end of everything. The earth doesn't care either way.
But I'm sure you know as well as I do that all of this profiteering and pontificating is all the fantasies of overgrown children. Don't you think it's time that we get a grip on those children, before they rape, pillage, plunder, and consume this entire planet out of existence? And if you fit any of the above categories, don't you think it's time somebody gave you a good solid ass-whipping? I sure as hell do!
Elmo, The raping, pillaging, plundering and mass consuming won't be stopping, even though you, I and many others might wish it would. Its all such a monumental travesty but momentum and the inherent nature of humans will mean all of these practices will continue. Also I think its clear the situation regarding these things will only get worse, as the world situation degrades.
Its understandable to be angry about how things are going so terribly wrong. But then, the world has never been a neat and tidy place, its just that now we have the capacity to screw things up on such a huge scale.
The grand reckoning is coming, and there will never be enough people walking around with signs that say " please stop " to change this.
No sense mulling around in a bitter state. Best to get about the business of how you will survive and adapt in your local, learning the skills of living a simple life successfully, but even this of course will only provide you with a chance at making it.
When it comes down to it, I think the grand trends in play will overwhelm everyones well laid plans. I understand why it makes you bitter Elmo, where you want to do some ass-whipping on the perps of all of this crap, but the bad JUJU will still come, and we will all just have to deal with it, as best we can.
I can see the potential for a massive horti-culture clash in Ganja-land...
Anything good and sticky got that way by ripening without any pesky pollens from male plants. Sin-semilla...without seed.
What will happen when we start growing the hemp strains for fiber by the acre? All that male pollen's going to seed-up everyone's cash crop, driving the smokables even further underground; into energy-intensive rooms sealed with pollen filters.
Same plant family with two radically opposing cultures. Ultimately, we'll need the fabric and lubricants more than the medicine, but the whole durn species has been demonized so successfully, clear thinking about all this has somehow become murky.
Maybe the bud-growers and hemp hackers will make the historic bout between sheep ranchers and cowboys look like a big western picnic. That's going to be one hell of a Trainwreck...
genius, hawkeye
Aw shucks, Jenna, I got a 3,000-mile blush on!
I think I'll flesh this angle out into a whole piece...
thanks, eye
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