Saturday, April 24, 2010

Washington Think Tank Predicts New Mideast War

RobotTrainMaker - Chief Communication Technologies Officer (CCTO) – CollapseNet



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From Jenna Orkin:


Headlines
Washington Think Tank Predicts New Mideast War
JO comment: This is one of those articles that get posted not so much for the reliability of their content as for the simple fact that they're getting major airtime where it counts.
Israel Weighs Merits of Raid on Iran and Repercussions with US
Obama Revives Rumsfeld’s Missile Scheme, Risks Nuke War - from Rice Farmer
China opens missile plant in Iran - from Rice Farmer
N.Korea seizes S.Korean assets, warns of war - from Rice Farmer
South Korea raises warship, finds clues on sinking
Real IRA may be planning UK bombing campaign
'Terrorists' blamed for attacks amid Thai deadlock - from Rice Farmer
Governments will bankrupt us
Thai PM rejects protesters' peace offer
Ethiopia explosion kills at least five

Economy
Euro risks losing long-term friends
Greek P.M. Calls Greece a "Sinking Ship", Tip of Iceberg in Bailout Requests; Interactive Map of Debt to GDP; What Countries Hold Most Greek Debt?
Debt quicksand is all around
Grassley Slams GM, Federal Gvt Over Loans Repaid with Bailout Money
Do bank purchase of 10 and 30 year Treasurys spell trouble?
Food prices surge most in 26 years
How long should we help the unemployed?
Record 21% Of Americans Think They'll Get Canned In The Next Year
Real Job Loss Pain Number Is 54%
Majority of Americans Distrust Government
No Shit Dept: Senate Reveals Rating Agencies Beset by Conflicts
Blagojevich Defense Team to Subpoena Obama
Britain's richest see their fortunes soar


Energy/World
China's Construction Boom Pushes Power Consumption Up 25%
Venezuela to pay Chinese loan with crude, trade
Oil Producers Risk Blowouts in Search for Deep Fields
Pakistan turns off lights to end energy crisis
Earth Day energy crisis: Pakistan plans shorter work week, curfews
Britain 'facing electricity blackouts'
What’s it like to live without electricity?
Earth Day is gone, but it’s a fact of life that 1.6 billion people worldwide have no electricity in their homes.
Food vs. fuel: Growing grain for food is more energy efficient
Where America Really Stands with Solar
For decades American leaders have been saying we'll invest more in solar, but we're still waiting.
China Tries to Sterilize 10,000 Parents Over 1-Child Rule
Cannons Fire Deodorant in Beijing


Terror/Intelligence
New Copyright Agreement Could Chill Free Internet Speech
Arizona Bill Puts Racial Profiling Into Law Southern Poverty Law Center List of "Patriots" Includes Ron Paul.
New Speed Cameras Trap Motorists From Space
Allies to turn blind eye to Afghan corruption Kim Sengupta: Troops will remain in place 'for decades' after handover to support local forces.
DoJ Abandons Warantless Attempt to Read Yahoo Email
Colleague Disputes Case Against Anthrax Suspect
“'...among the senior scientists, no one believes it.'


Asked why he was speaking out now, Dr. Heine noted that Army officials had prohibited comment on the case, silencing him until he left the government laboratory in late February. He now works for Ordway Research Institute in Albany.

Dr. Heine said he did not dispute that there was a genetic link between the spores in the letters and the anthrax in Dr. Ivins’s flask — a link that led the F.B.I. to conclude that Dr. Ivins had grown the spores from a sample taken from the flask. But samples from the flask were widely shared, Dr. Heine said. Accusing Dr. Ivins of the attacks, he said, was like tracing a murder to the clerk at the sporting goods shop who sold the bullets."

15 comments:

Unknown said...

RE: What's it like to live without electricity?

"As a result, three out of four Ghanans in the north are without electricity to refrigerate with, to cook with, to study with, to start businesses with."

Oh my! Abraham Lincoln taught himself to read by the fireside, using coals from the fire instead of a pencil. Clearly, some kind of Life is possible without being on the grid. But wait! They can't even start businesses and participate in the global capitalist economy. Horrors! They might have to do traditional subsistence farming and get by on fresh, organic vegetables from their own garden instead of refrigerating the stuff they buy (with handsome profits off those electrified businesses) at ... Carrefour, Marks and Spencer, Safeway...

And cooking without electricity? Tell me it's not so! You mean they don't have nuclear power plants to boil water to turn turbines to send electricity along a complex and wasteful series of wires so that they can once again boil water hundreds of miles away? We'll definitely have to get right on this.

Thank our lucky stars for the MSM, which keeps us informed of these tragedies, so we can dive in and help out the unfortunate primitives.

agape wins said...

4,25,10;12:28am
I am in full agreement with Elmo, & RanD, they are both, and have always
been saying/have said the same thing.
I have always worked on the positive side of Human nature, BUT I can see, along with Hotspringswizard that it ain't going to change human denial/reliance on the familiar, the lack of sudden or drastic/unexpected change. Evolution is not, never has been slow/gradual, the changes have always been sudden, and shocking
to those involved. Those that think they are prepared are also ALWAYS overwhelmed! Grow your Potatoes, Cultivate your pot/hemp, concoct your Spice, get Doped/drunk/stoned, store your water, hoard your Gold.

Look for, think about what you never could even think, watch "white light, Black Rain", & then watch "Graveyard of the Fireflies", I am reading "The Last Train From Hiroshima", "The Survivors Look Back.".
It extends on the interviews from White Light, Black Rain, or The movie puts a face on the words in the book

Those who thought they knew what to expect were in shock for days, even our "experts" did not want to "see" what happened, yes "we" responded sooner because we were prepared to move in and "Mop Up"!
Sure; just as ever since 9-11, any cleanup has only benefited those in power, Where is the "Aid for Haiti"?
I have named several books that state what to expect, someone has a plan, & it's not for your best interest!

When things truly "wind Down"; where are the elements to to restart "OUR" McDonald's lifestyle.
Japan was prepared to kill from house to house, they had "Homeland Defense", & "Victory Gardens", BUT they were not ready for a "Normal"
Earthquake, they couldn't forecast the one that "WAS" planed by All sides, it just became a game of "Who's on First"

MCR has a right to make a Living, but "Making A Living" is becoming
a DEAD issue, several here have offered their services; has anyone received a thanks, but no thanks; Elmo, your blog looks fine, what can you offer?
Amae is an emotion generated in some Japanese(Those who were in close contact with the regular Fire Bombing, and the Atomic bombings.), it is being seen more and more as things become more frantic.
Amae can be Healing, or Damaging; the backlash against Amae, as against Agape is always destructive/Selfish!

gamedog said...

RE: South Korea raises warship, finds clues on sinking.

Looking at the pictures, it is unlikely caused by a standard torpedo, contact, or limpet mine. Neither was it an internal explosion.

The only weapon that can bend the hull inward right across the keel would be an influence mine IMO.

Influence mines sit on the seabed, armed and actuated by either acoustic, magnetic, or pressure sensors. They can be set to allow some ships to pass (to avoid lead ships in convoy). The pressure sensor detects the bow wave of the ship which arms it, then either the acoustic sensor, or magnetic sensor, detects the engines (engine room most vulnerable) for the trigger.

Can be air dropped, submarine, or ship deployed. Must have a timer device to render the mine inactive after a certain period (Geneva convention).

They work by causing a huge explosion at depth, which sends up a huge bubble & pressure wave, breaking the ships back.
========================
Elmo: "if he feels that getting the truth out there is so damned important, then why does he want to sell it to us?"

would you rather MCR found ...

"better ways to make money"?

v said...

Chomsky Warns of Rise of the Far Right in the U.S.


GrTz,

V

gamedog said...

In the 1970s Iran paid Britain for thousands of tanks, but when the Shah fell they were sold on to Iraq. Now Tehran wants its money back. (and wins in court)

click

Elmo said...

agape_wins, I have NOTHING to offer; because I believe that NOTHING is exactly what is required. People need to turn back! Any and all action will be met by equal and opposite reaction. Yes, the laws of physics also apply to human behavior! That's the lesson we've yet to learn. Or maybe it's the one we've forgotten... because it seems to me that most of the uncivilized savages of the world have no trouble understanding the principle.

The Aztecs had a saying: "The earth makes many sacrifices that we may live. It is necessary that we make sacrifices to her in gratitude."

Elmo said...

I can make hypothetical prediction about the world's future. Tell me if it sounds similar to your own...

Say the global economy collapses (slowly, as predicted by most economists)...

Eventually, no matter how much money I can scrounge up, it won't be enough to pay the bills, buy food, etc... I will have gardens planted; but in all likelihood, they won't produce nearly enough to survive on. And with everyone else around me in the same situation (most having made little or no preparations of their own), my gardens will have likely been picked clean before they ever come to harvest.

This will force me to turn to criminal activities, eventually resulting in my arrest and imprisonment. Betty, my girlfriend, who is physically disabled, won't be able to take care of herself, so she will have to go live with someone... probably my ex-wife, and her starving entourage. Meanwhile, I will rot in my cell, along with the rest of those deemed unworthy to be fed anything more than whatever rat is unlucky enough to crawl within reach.

Eventually I, and everyone I know, will die of starvation, disease, violence, or some combination thereof. The rest of the world will do whatever is in their power to stave-off the same fate. Stores will be picked clean. Farms and feedlots will die, having been left unattended. Marshall law will be invoked. All attempts by the people to organize will be met with violent opposition. Anarchy will rule the streets.

Eventually, the world powers will determine that the only hope is to eradicate large numbers of "worthless eaters". People will be driven at gunpoint into prison camps, and left to starve. Meanwhile, military battles will rage for control of what few resources remain. In the end, this will turn nuclear.

The few remaining 'elite'; who, until now, have kept themselves hidden in underground bunkers, will take whatever stores they can carry, and climb into their space shuttles.

I believe I've already told the rest of the story.

Unknown said...

Elmo, Elmo, Elmo,

As indismissable as the possibilities are, that you raise, they are not inevitable. For one thing, this human race could limp along for some time (of course doing more damage along the way, but progressively less of it). Furthermore, collapse comes unevenly and unfairly. I would not like to be an urban, unemployed, uneducated "citizen" of some gangster-run African country. But being British or American could still be slightly better for some time. Furthermore, your talents and understanding could be used for personal salvation as well as helping your community and the world, yielding a much greater likelihood of decent conditions for all concerned.

In a slow crash, the biosphere continues to suffer, and human numbers also drop pretty radically -- but over time, meaning that the most vulnerable (including those with bad attitudes) go first. You and your girlfriend need not be among the first to perish, though all of us will die, eventually. There is a good chance that humans will continue to exist after the crashing has more or less resulted in a new steady state level.

In a fast crash, there's a shock, plenty of carnage, but the biosphere suddenly breathes again, and begins to recover. The planet recovers slowly, but neither all of it nor all of the humans are destroyed. You may easily make a good Life for yourself in constrained conditions, if you're left standing.

Though we exist under conditions we cannot ever fully control, we do largely write our own script. I urge you to fantasize something nicer than starving in prison. And for the sake of your girlfriend, intend nice things for her, too. There will be liberating, as well as constraining elements of any crash.

Oh, and about the Aztec sacrifices, the heads of the best-looking seven year old girls may have pleased their gods, but lopping them off with stone axes might be an inappropriate expression of gratitude in our own day. Sacrificing the family car in an elaborate and soul-sanctifying ceremony might work, though. And the daily sacrifice of one's compost is recommended, to keep on the good side of the Earth goddess.

gamedog said...

Elmo: Transition Towns?

Local Food: How to Make it Happen in Your Community: How to Unleash a Food Revolution Where You Live (Transition Guides) by Tamzin Pinkerton and Rob Hopkins

click

Elmo said...

eyeballs,

These things are already happening: The dead zones in the oceans already exist. The water tables are already depleted. The deserts are already expanding. Major species are already extinct. None of this is subsiding. All of this is accelerating. Never mind what men are likely to do to each other in the face of all this!

If I were to ask: "what was the cause of it all", would the answer not be: "our relentless ambition to make the world a better place"? No, of course not! We all know it was the politicians, the bankers, and the corporations, right?

They'll die last, ya know... after everything else is gone. Or should I say, once there's nobody left to sell it to! Do you think one day some technology will arise that will be able to stop that? If you can guarantee me a "yes" answer, then I might consider changing my point of view.

Elmo said...

Oh, and about: "the heads of the best-looking seven year old girls may have pleased their gods, but lopping them off with stone axes might be an inappropriate expression of gratitude in our own day.... It's by far the best form of population control anyone has come up with yet! So, no, I wouldn't say it would be inappropriate; especially in this day and age!

Jeesh! don't you guys ever get tired of hearing yourselves say: "Things are different today"? As if ignoring the problem long enough somehow changes the solution! Yes, blood sacrifice will come one way or another. Putting it off just makes it happen bigger. Mark my words; it's coming!

There is such a thing as "balance", ya know. The universe is built on it. And right now we're about as far out of balance as any species can possibly be. The Aztecs were not. We may not agree with their political practices, but they could sure as hell teach us a thing or two about balance!

RanD said...

I'd say that any intelligent person posting here at FTW who claims in her/his post that they had "NOTHING to offer" is feigning at fooling her-/himself and his/her fellow posters alike. Every single thought that is posted here is important enough -- at least to its poster -- to be considered valuable enough to at least think about, write out and post; and then even more value is added to every post made here by every reader who gives it thought which expands into another response. Isn't this merely the routine mechanics of routine conversation in action?

Also:

What eyeballs said to Elmo, Elmo, Elmo reads out as feasible to R & D as if R & D had written it themselves; and all of which began with an encouraging comment from Agape Wins! Nice, huh!

Thanks, guys.

Elmo said...

"What eyeballs said to Elmo, Elmo, Elmo reads out as feasible to R & D as if R & D had written it themselves"

... !

RanD said...

Regarding "... !":

Read carefully; think carefully. We, too, stand by our statements; sincerely.

Elmo said...

"Read carefully; think carefully. We, too, stand by our statements; sincerely."

So do I... Like the one where I said everything you say on the Internet ends up in some government database... Everything!