tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22903415.post3220497581510790966..comments2024-03-26T11:32:37.965-07:00Comments on From the Wilderness' Peak Oil Blog: UK to Lose Triple A Rating This Year - Rogers; Virulent Bird-HUman Flu Hybrid Made in LabJenna Orkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05812985825726850202noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22903415.post-21057739111277487952010-02-26T03:35:59.823-08:002010-02-26T03:35:59.823-08:00And as for more: Be sure to read eyeballs' ab...And as for more: Be sure to read eyeballs' above post for a nicely expanded report describing the exact same additudinal/behavioral antics that are endemic amongst all small predominantly greed-guided minds lusting for unexploited territory.RanDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05841404809073660720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22903415.post-15515904677254032972010-02-25T15:55:28.406-08:002010-02-25T15:55:28.406-08:00OrwellianUK, We're not M and J, but you can be...OrwellianUK, We're not M and J, but you can bet your booties that the only way China and the US are ever gonna be allies is strictly in terms of when each are able to use the other; and this is a whole lot of why the world we're living in sucks like it does.RanDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05841404809073660720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22903415.post-54941494517628580162010-02-25T03:16:27.502-08:002010-02-25T03:16:27.502-08:00The moves by China on US Bonds, in addition to bei...The moves by China on US Bonds, in addition to being related to American political maneouvering on Tibet and Taiwan, could also be an implicit warning to the US (and Israel) to keep it's hands (and missiles) off Iran, and perhaps Venezuela, both of whom china has made substantial energy deals with. <br /><br />What do you think Mike and Jenna?OrwellianUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03605173659842718539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22903415.post-40427437443938555722010-02-25T01:09:55.384-08:002010-02-25T01:09:55.384-08:00Sometimes it's hard to read the articles poste...Sometimes it's hard to read the articles posted here. The Newsweek article on Africa is like the "blow your mind" China article: infruriatingly ass-backwards. Just a little cognitive thinking unwinds the author's premise and "blows your mind" for a whole different reason.<br /><br />First, it is based on a book about Africa, by guy with an Indian name. Majahan has been a "social entrepreneur", meaning he supposedly cares about poor people. But his own writings offer a different perspective.<br /><br />His last book began with these words: <br /><br />“The rapid development of the 86 percent of the world population in countries with a per capita gross national product (GNP) of less than $10,000 has made these areas the new lands of opportunity. But their complexity and distinctive characteristics will require different market strategies to realize these opportunities.”<br /><br />The lead expert for this Newsweek article is not a native African, giving us the lowdown on what his region needs. This is an Indian opportunist (he has been Dean of the Indian School of Business) writing about how to tap the low-income “consumers” of Africa. After introducing Mr. Majahan, Newsweek’s next sentence reads:<br /><br />“While few of them have the kind of disposable income found in Asia and the West, these accountants, teachers, maids, taxi drivers, even roadside street vendors, are driving up demand for goods and services like cell phones, bank accounts, upmarket foodstuffs, and real estate.”<br /><br />With the exception of real estate (probably controlled by a local elite) the items on that list are sold from abroad, i.e. aggressively insinuated into populations that never before thought them necessary. This used to be called “neoimperialism”, but now it seems to be equated with optimistic humanitarianism. A bit further on, the article boasts:<br /><br />"Spurred by eager investors, governments have steadily deregulated industries and developed infrastructure. As a result, countries such as Kenya and Botswana now boast privately owned world-class hospitals, charter schools, and toll roads that are actually safe to drive on.”<br /><br />Aggressive privatization and deregulation have … what? Built toll roads, world class hospitals and charter schools? Who uses those things? Who can afford to? This kind of economics creates a “middle class” by exploiting the resources and labor (maids?) of a country, then directs the new-found purchasing power of that class (individually tiny, but collectively worth harvesting) toward multi-national corporations, who suck this concentrated cash out of the country. Further on:<br /><br />“As a result, foreign multinationals like Unilever, Nestlé, and Swissport International report some of their highest growth in Africa.”<br /><br />No surprise. <br /><br />Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post Company, which also puts out Foreign Policy magazine and a major Spanish language periodical El Tiempo Latino (sent unsolicited to "selected zip codes"). It also operates Cable One. Newsweek and its affiliates serve the interests of the conservative eastern elite by making complex international issues “understandable” in terms that suit Wall Street. A recent example is <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/231991" rel="nofollow"><br />this op-ed </a> by Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, which proceeds in a very stately and reasonable manner toward “regime change in Iran”. <br /><br />Oh. Now we know what needs to be done. Good thing it’s exactly what the foreign policy establishment is already busy with. Oh, look, General Motors is coming out with hybrid cars. The world is as it should be. Everything’s fine.<br /><br />And we can make money off the Africans, while feeling good about it. Ahhhh….Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15089030424077326543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22903415.post-62462047452897111052010-02-25T00:56:30.481-08:002010-02-25T00:56:30.481-08:00thank you, jenna, for your hard work. i hope you a...thank you, jenna, for your hard work. i hope you are feeling better.Joscahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13568833757858648061noreply@blogger.com