Very important book is available as a free PDF document:
Plan B Version 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester R. Brown
I bought a copy of the paperback and also put it on my Kindle where I'm currently reading it. Lots of facts I was not aware of. Highly recommended. Knowledge is power.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Dennis Kucinich is reading 35 articles of Impeachment of George W. Bush live on C-Span into the Congressional Record. It is very edifying. This is living history. Go Dennis!
James Howard Kunstler interviewed on his new book, "A World Made by Hand", about a post-peak oil world.
Looks like a good web site to keep checking back on: Political Attack Truth-O-Meter
James Howard Kunstler interviewed on his new book, "A World Made by Hand", about a post-peak oil world.
Looks like a good web site to keep checking back on: Political Attack Truth-O-Meter
The Dog that Didn't Bark
Despite every Western media outlet which has mentioned PM Nour al-Maliki's two day trip to Tehran including a claim that he would confront Iran over alleged meddling in Iraq, public statements from Maliki's office at the close of the visit are utterly devoid of any mention of the issue. Instead, Maliki has gone out of his way to assure the Iranians that his country won't be used for an attack on theirs and the Iranians for their part have said that they consider a peaceful Iraq to be essential to their own security.
That's really not all that surprising, although you wouldn't think so from reading Bush administration pronouncements or mainstream media stenographic repetition of the administration's talking points. When push comes to shove, the real story is that the Iraqi faction most backed by Iran is the Iraqi government - and that Sadr is a looser cannon who is far less under Iran's control.
And despite the US "suspecting" that every captured Shiite arms dealer or insurgent is part of those "Iranian-backed special groups", often purely on the circular argument that they're Shiite, there's evidence to suggest that a more of the weaponry washing around Iraq was "mislaid" from US-provided stockpiles than came from Iran. In neither case. of course, does the presence of black market entrepreneurs selling that country's weaponry to insurgents prove that the country's government is deliberately arming insurgents.
Despite every Western media outlet which has mentioned PM Nour al-Maliki's two day trip to Tehran including a claim that he would confront Iran over alleged meddling in Iraq, public statements from Maliki's office at the close of the visit are utterly devoid of any mention of the issue. Instead, Maliki has gone out of his way to assure the Iranians that his country won't be used for an attack on theirs and the Iranians for their part have said that they consider a peaceful Iraq to be essential to their own security.
That's really not all that surprising, although you wouldn't think so from reading Bush administration pronouncements or mainstream media stenographic repetition of the administration's talking points. When push comes to shove, the real story is that the Iraqi faction most backed by Iran is the Iraqi government - and that Sadr is a looser cannon who is far less under Iran's control.
And despite the US "suspecting" that every captured Shiite arms dealer or insurgent is part of those "Iranian-backed special groups", often purely on the circular argument that they're Shiite, there's evidence to suggest that a more of the weaponry washing around Iraq was "mislaid" from US-provided stockpiles than came from Iran. In neither case. of course, does the presence of black market entrepreneurs selling that country's weaponry to insurgents prove that the country's government is deliberately arming insurgents.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Robert Silverberg: Reflections: The Death of Gallanium (We are running out of more than oil)
DailyKos: Global Warming 101: A Short Reading list (This will give you a good grounding in facts for all the global deniers in your life)
DailyKos: Global Warming 101: A Short Reading list (This will give you a good grounding in facts for all the global deniers in your life)
Friday, June 06, 2008
You really need to read this piece from the London Review of Books concerning the state of affairs in the Gaza Strip.
It's Solar Power's time to shine
John McCain (aka McSame) is the Lime Green Monster
It's Solar Power's time to shine
John McCain (aka McSame) is the Lime Green Monster
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
NPR: Paul Polak, founder of International Development Enterprises, a non-profit organization that aids poor communities in the developing world is Fighting Poverty in his own way
Larisa Alexandrovna in a Buzzflash interview on Siegelman, Minor, Diaz... READ IT. It is a Attorneygate in a nutshell. If you haven't understood the Don Siegelman witch hunt this is your opportunity to get the skinny.
At-Largely reports on Blackwater's purchase of a fighter-bomber from Brazil, that will set them up with a no-bid contract to train Iraqis who are being herded into purchasing eight of them.
At-Largely reports on Blackwater's purchase of a fighter-bomber from Brazil, that will set them up with a no-bid contract to train Iraqis who are being herded into purchasing eight of them.
Monday, June 02, 2008
retired Lt Gen William Odom, passionate and eloquent critic of Bushevism, is dead. Here is a testimony on his legacy from NPR.
Winter Soldiers on the Hill
Veterans of the Iraq War have finally testified before Congress about the violence against civilians, torture, and lax rules of engagement. But their larger campaign -- convincing other soldiers to oppose this war -- is ongoing.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable ... a book I just finished listening to on audio CD, in a wide-ranging interview has a harsh assessment of Bankers, Economists, and the Fed.
Kevin Phillips, author of American Theocracy and now Bad Money (a book I am currently reading) lays into the Fed with this HuffPo piece: Bernanke Panky
The Oil Drum has a review of Dmitry Orlov's Book--Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects. This review is the one that convinced me to go ahead and buy a copy though.
Frontline documentary, Sick Around the World goes a long way to exposing the shortcomings of the U.S. healthcare system. (You can watch it on line)
Dr. Housing Bubble: How I learned to love SoCal and forget the Housing Bubble
New sacreligious Manga out of Japan: Let's Bible!
Veterans of the Iraq War have finally testified before Congress about the violence against civilians, torture, and lax rules of engagement. But their larger campaign -- convincing other soldiers to oppose this war -- is ongoing.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable ... a book I just finished listening to on audio CD, in a wide-ranging interview has a harsh assessment of Bankers, Economists, and the Fed.
Kevin Phillips, author of American Theocracy and now Bad Money (a book I am currently reading) lays into the Fed with this HuffPo piece: Bernanke Panky
The Oil Drum has a review of Dmitry Orlov's Book--Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects. This review is the one that convinced me to go ahead and buy a copy though.
Frontline documentary, Sick Around the World goes a long way to exposing the shortcomings of the U.S. healthcare system. (You can watch it on line)
Dr. Housing Bubble: How I learned to love SoCal and forget the Housing Bubble
New sacreligious Manga out of Japan: Let's Bible!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Barr Trail in Winter Part II
The second part of my "documentary" on running the Barr Trail in winter. This one takes us from no-name creek to Barr Camp at 10,200' elevation.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
This morning's CRUD run on Garmin Connect.
Ran up Barr Trail to Barr Camp, turned right on the Elk Park Trail up to the meadow. Lost the trail in snow. Rich Muzzy, Rick Hessek, Scott Jaime, and John ? continued for another mile or so, while I scaled the rock pile northeast of the meadow to get a view. I could see down to the Manitou Reservoir and had great views of Pikes Peak and Bottomless Pit and all the way to the Elk Park Trailhead on the Pikes Peak Highway. In the mean time John Genet and Keith Grimes caught up to us. We returned to Barr Camp where John Genet and the rest ran up Barr Trail for A-Frame, while I headed back down to Manitou Springs with Keith Grimes.
Ran up Barr Trail to Barr Camp, turned right on the Elk Park Trail up to the meadow. Lost the trail in snow. Rich Muzzy, Rick Hessek, Scott Jaime, and John ? continued for another mile or so, while I scaled the rock pile northeast of the meadow to get a view. I could see down to the Manitou Reservoir and had great views of Pikes Peak and Bottomless Pit and all the way to the Elk Park Trailhead on the Pikes Peak Highway. In the mean time John Genet and Keith Grimes caught up to us. We returned to Barr Camp where John Genet and the rest ran up Barr Trail for A-Frame, while I headed back down to Manitou Springs with Keith Grimes.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Guerrilla Gardeners: A growing green grassroots initiative is afoot, or, well, underfoot so to speak, and is cropping up globally in cities such as London, Toronto, and Los Angeles.
Some Free ebooks sites: WOWIO, Manybooks.net
Jason Stoddard: The Death of the PC and the rise of Us, Computer
Some Free ebooks sites: WOWIO, Manybooks.net
Jason Stoddard: The Death of the PC and the rise of Us, Computer
Dr. Albert Bartlett: Arithmetic, Population and Energy
Bill Moyers interviewed Isaac Asimov. He asked Asimov, “What happens to the idea of the dignity of the human species if this population growth continues?” and Asimov says, “It’ll be completely destroyed. I like to use what I call my bathroom metaphor. If two people live in an apartment, and there are two bathrooms, then they both have freedom of the bathroom. You can go to the bathroom anytime you want, stay as long as you want, for whatever you need. And everyone believes in freedom of the bathroom. It should be right there in the constitution. But if you have twenty people in the apartment and two bathrooms, then no matter how much every person believes in freedom of the bathroom, there’s no such thing. You have to set up times for each person, you have to bang on the door, ‘Aren't you through yet?’ and so on.” And Asimov concluded with one of the most profound observations I've seen in years. He said, “In the same way, democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive overpopulation. Convenience and decency cannot survive overpopulation. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears. It doesn’t matter if someone dies, the more people there are, the less one individual matters.”
Bill Moyers interviewed Isaac Asimov. He asked Asimov, “What happens to the idea of the dignity of the human species if this population growth continues?” and Asimov says, “It’ll be completely destroyed. I like to use what I call my bathroom metaphor. If two people live in an apartment, and there are two bathrooms, then they both have freedom of the bathroom. You can go to the bathroom anytime you want, stay as long as you want, for whatever you need. And everyone believes in freedom of the bathroom. It should be right there in the constitution. But if you have twenty people in the apartment and two bathrooms, then no matter how much every person believes in freedom of the bathroom, there’s no such thing. You have to set up times for each person, you have to bang on the door, ‘Aren't you through yet?’ and so on.” And Asimov concluded with one of the most profound observations I've seen in years. He said, “In the same way, democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive overpopulation. Convenience and decency cannot survive overpopulation. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears. It doesn’t matter if someone dies, the more people there are, the less one individual matters.”
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
TED Talks: Mark Bittman: What's Wrong with what we eat?
Samantha Power commencement address: Be a Good Ancestor
Jason Stoddard Blog (I found him on manybooks.net)
David Holmgren, founder of Permaculture: Future Scenarios
Samantha Power commencement address: Be a Good Ancestor
Jason Stoddard Blog (I found him on manybooks.net)
David Holmgren, founder of Permaculture: Future Scenarios
Monday, May 26, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
From the archives of Harper's magazine (1956): Subways are for Sleeping
Pharyngula has this: Birth Pangs of a Police State
Pharyngula has this: Birth Pangs of a Police State
Minneapolis is hosting the Republican National Convention this summer, and that means we're seeing an uptick in sleaze (you might want to avoid public restrooms when these guys are in town). The most bizarre part of it all is that the FBI is looking for villains in all the wrong places.
What they were looking for, Carroll says, was an informant--someone to show up at "vegan potlucks" throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protestors, schmoozing his way into their inner circles, then reporting back to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The effort's primary mission, according to the Minneapolis division's website, is to "investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines."
Vegan potlucks now fall within the definition of a terrorist cell, as defined by the US Attorney General? What are they going to do, threaten a mass assault by kumbaya-singing hordes in birkenstocks armed with lumps of tofu?
This is not about protecting citizens. It's about silencing the expression of dissent, no matter how mild.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Interesting Trails...
I left my house this morning with the plan to run up the Barr Trail to No-Name Creek (mile 3), then turn right on Longs Ranch Road to the intersection with Bob's Road, then continue on an obscure trail down Hurricane Canyon that leads eventually to the Manitou Reservoir, take another trail that ascends to the Barr Trail at the 7.8 mile-to-go sign, then continue on to Barr Camp before returning down the Barr Trail.
However, when I neared the Manitou Reservoir I noticed the forest service had erected a sign that pointed north with "Heizel Trail" on it. I had forgotten where this trail goes so I headed up it to see if I could get a bead on where it terminates. At first it was not a trail at all, but just a way through the open woods marked by the occasional red tag on trees. It popped out on the "real" Heizel Trail where there was a trail post pointing down the trail I had just ascended stating to stay on the trail down at the Manitou Reservoir. Apparently they are trying to keep people away from the reservoir which is why they are trying to redirect the Heizel Trail. I continued up the Heizel Trail past some fantastic granite formations and occasional outstanding views of the Peak until it crested on a high ridge overlooking highway 24 and Cascade. At this point I jettisoned my plans to return to the Barr Trail and descended the Heizel Trail to the town of Cascade, ran down the Highway to the Ute Pass Trail and returned to Manitou Springs with a side-line on the Pipeline Trail.
Very interesting 3.5 hours!
However, when I neared the Manitou Reservoir I noticed the forest service had erected a sign that pointed north with "Heizel Trail" on it. I had forgotten where this trail goes so I headed up it to see if I could get a bead on where it terminates. At first it was not a trail at all, but just a way through the open woods marked by the occasional red tag on trees. It popped out on the "real" Heizel Trail where there was a trail post pointing down the trail I had just ascended stating to stay on the trail down at the Manitou Reservoir. Apparently they are trying to keep people away from the reservoir which is why they are trying to redirect the Heizel Trail. I continued up the Heizel Trail past some fantastic granite formations and occasional outstanding views of the Peak until it crested on a high ridge overlooking highway 24 and Cascade. At this point I jettisoned my plans to return to the Barr Trail and descended the Heizel Trail to the town of Cascade, ran down the Highway to the Ute Pass Trail and returned to Manitou Springs with a side-line on the Pipeline Trail.
Very interesting 3.5 hours!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Brendan Demelle: Unearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report
NYT: James Risen: Blackwater is making its comeback
NYT: James Risen: Blackwater is making its comeback
Friday, May 09, 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Frans Lanting: A lyrical view of life on Earth
Ted Talks: Frans Lanting: A lyrical view of life on Earth
In this stunning slideshow, nature photographer Frans Lanting presents The LIFE Project, a collection that tells the story of our planet, from its eruptive beginnings to its present diversity. Hoping for a glimpse of the world the way it was in the age of photosynthesizing stromatolites, "back before the sky turned blue," Lanting journeyed to a remote lagoon in Australia, the only place in the world where stromatolites still exist. The story moves forward from there, via a lyrical collection of photographs set to a soundtrack from Philip Glass.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Richard Heinberg's MuseLetter #193: It's Happening Global Warming, that is...
I completely agree with Glen Greenwald that Jeremiah Wright deserves much more attention.
500 Climate Changers List from DailyKos
I completely agree with Glen Greenwald that Jeremiah Wright deserves much more attention.
500 Climate Changers List from DailyKos
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A bench returns to nature in the cloud forest in Costa Rica....We spent this morning hiking the trails of Monteverde Forest Preserve at 4000' elevation on the Continental Divide. Fantastically high ferns, moss-covered trees rising 200' to the sky covered with multiple varieties of orchids and epiphytes. What is an epiphyte? A plant that lives on its host in a non-parasitic relationship, that is it draws its minerals and water from the clouds and mist in the air.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
American River 50
The first 27 miles were flat on asphalt bike path so I tried to run as slow as I could and stay on the dirt sides as much as possible. I reached 27.4M in 3:24 -- plenty fast for me at my advanced age but I felt just fine. The final half of the race was scenic rolling single track trail through beautiful meadows with wildflowers interspersed with sections of forest. I hit cruise mode and passed about ten people up until the "Last Gasp" aide station at mile 47.6. The final 2.4 miles were up a steep road and here I flagged a bit getting passed at the last minute by two runners: one of them Tim Twietmeyer who has run the race 29 of the 30 times it has been run with a PR of 6:05 on the course. Rebekka followed my trek in style in our rented Cadillac STS, saving the day by returning to me 10 miles later the water bottle I had inadvertently discarded that held all my salt tablets! She had to really scurry along the course as I ran faster than advertised!
Winner Anton Krupicka's AR50 race report
Jean Pommier, good friend and 2nd place finisher at this year's Costa Rica Coastal Challenge, his AR50 race report
My finish: 7 hours 13 minutes; 1st 50 - 59 age group; 24th overall
Monday, April 07, 2008
Earthlings -- 1 hour 35 minute documentary -- we are all earthlings: fish, animal, plant -- we are all on this earth evolving together
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Rep. Jane Harman Comments on The Release of Bush's Law by Eric Lichtblau on TPMCafe.com and gets slammed by a tough crowd
The "On The Table" primary challenge movement started in San Francisco with Shirley Golub is spreading all over the country.
Mark Welyczko in OR-01, Joe Walsh in OR-03 and Nancy Moran in OR-05 are "The Impeach Team", putting the heat on their districts to put them in the impeachment column to support H.Res 799 to impeach Dick Cheney, and to support Wexler's call for impeachment hearings.
Larisa Alexandrovna: Of Violent Sex Crimes Covered up by your Tax Dollars
The "On The Table" primary challenge movement started in San Francisco with Shirley Golub is spreading all over the country.
Mark Welyczko in OR-01, Joe Walsh in OR-03 and Nancy Moran in OR-05 are "The Impeach Team", putting the heat on their districts to put them in the impeachment column to support H.Res 799 to impeach Dick Cheney, and to support Wexler's call for impeachment hearings.
Larisa Alexandrovna: Of Violent Sex Crimes Covered up by your Tax Dollars
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Slate: Fixing it: Repairing some of the worst Bush administration screw-ups.
End the war on terror as a legal paradigm; abolish military commissions, and restore FISA.
Vanity Fair: The Green Light As the first anniversary of 9/11 approached, and a prized Guantánamo detainee wouldn’t talk, the Bush administration’s highest-ranking lawyers argued for extreme interrogation techniques, circumventing international law, the Geneva Conventions, and the army’s own Field Manual. The attorneys would even fly to Guantánamo to ratchet up the pressure—then blame abuses on the military. Philippe Sands follows the torture trail, and holds out the possibility of war crimes charges.
Kirst's Earthship's Adventures in Taos
Larisa Alexandrovna: Torture Americana
TomGram: Howard Zinn: End of Empire
Figure out how to watch "Garbage Warrior" a documentary on Earthship builder Michael Reynolds...
End the war on terror as a legal paradigm; abolish military commissions, and restore FISA.
Vanity Fair: The Green Light As the first anniversary of 9/11 approached, and a prized Guantánamo detainee wouldn’t talk, the Bush administration’s highest-ranking lawyers argued for extreme interrogation techniques, circumventing international law, the Geneva Conventions, and the army’s own Field Manual. The attorneys would even fly to Guantánamo to ratchet up the pressure—then blame abuses on the military. Philippe Sands follows the torture trail, and holds out the possibility of war crimes charges.
Kirst's Earthship's Adventures in Taos
Larisa Alexandrovna: Torture Americana
TomGram: Howard Zinn: End of Empire
Figure out how to watch "Garbage Warrior" a documentary on Earthship builder Michael Reynolds...
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
'Stop-Loss' Trailer
Saw this movie last Sunday. Every American needs to see this. They need to confront the raw truth of what the Iraq occupation means to middle America. We are ruining young souls for what? FOR WHAT? OIL? WAKE UP AMERICA!
The Worst Environmental Disaster in the history of the world. The process of extracting and refining tar sands -- also known as Canadian crude -- involves strip-mining a 50,000-square-mile span of forest (approximately the size of Florida) located in the western Canadian province of Alberta.
Bill Gross on the credit meltdown: Pyramids Crumbling
The Collapse Party A new party whose time has come? We need to confront our impending collapse. Is "the Collapse Party" going to surge on our two-party system as we implode like the old Soviet Union?
Dmitry Orlov: The Five Stages of Collapse (We are in the first stage -- credit collapse)
World Food Prices Soar as Asia consumes more
LA Times: Perfect Storm of Hunger in the Third World
Review of Dmitry Orlov's "Re-Inventing Collapse"
Bill Gross on the credit meltdown: Pyramids Crumbling
The Collapse Party A new party whose time has come? We need to confront our impending collapse. Is "the Collapse Party" going to surge on our two-party system as we implode like the old Soviet Union?
Dmitry Orlov: The Five Stages of Collapse (We are in the first stage -- credit collapse)
World Food Prices Soar as Asia consumes more
LA Times: Perfect Storm of Hunger in the Third World
Review of Dmitry Orlov's "Re-Inventing Collapse"
Slab City
On a sun blanched slab in the California desert, a new off-the-grid, on-the-slab city has been attracting full-time vacationers for years.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Noam Chomsky: Why Don't We Ask What's Best For the Iraqis? [VIDEO]
As Chomsky bluntly states, aggressors have no rights. Our occupation is criminal. What Americans want for Iraq is irrelevant.
As Chomsky bluntly states, aggressors have no rights. Our occupation is criminal. What Americans want for Iraq is irrelevant.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Anti-War Protest in Hollywood, CA -- 15 March 2008
CS Independent: Stairway to heaven: Summit Ministries spreads the word — and some worry — in my home town: Manitou Springs
CS Independent: Stairway to heaven: Summit Ministries spreads the word — and some worry — in my home town: Manitou Springs
King Kong meets Godzilla: Peak Oil versus Global Warming: Which will come first? The race to the collapse of civilization.
Spencer Ackerman: Obama's Sweeping Foreign Policy Critique: Democrats should not have to act like Republicans to pass some test on national security. It's time to end the politics of fear.
After Words: Susan Faludi author of "The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America" interviewed by Marie Arana.
After Words: Susan Faludi author of "The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America" interviewed by Marie Arana.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Antiwar.com: Operation Cassandra Plausible disaster scenarios for our forces in Iraq IF we attack Iran
Important perspective piece from Alternet.org: Five Things You Need to Know to Understand the Latest Violence in Iraq
Much truth here: Jeremiah Wright letter to the NY Times
NYT: Paul Krugman: The B Word (Bailout--would you believe $3T?)
Chris floyd: Worried Just a Bit? Bush Launches Economic 'Shock and Awe' on Iran
Colorado Springs Indy Film Festival 25 - 27 April 2008
Food Art
Important perspective piece from Alternet.org: Five Things You Need to Know to Understand the Latest Violence in Iraq
Much truth here: Jeremiah Wright letter to the NY Times
NYT: Paul Krugman: The B Word (Bailout--would you believe $3T?)
Chris floyd: Worried Just a Bit? Bush Launches Economic 'Shock and Awe' on Iran
Colorado Springs Indy Film Festival 25 - 27 April 2008
Food Art
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
HuffPost: Naomi Klein and Jeremy Scahill: Players, not Cheerleaders
Truthout: Penny Coleman: Pentagon holds 60K Prisoners of War (through stop loss)
C-Span Book TV: Samantha Power on her new book: Chasing the Flame
When belief in the system fades
The Oil Drum: The financial crash has a simple cause and a simple solution
HuffPost: Bob Cesca: The tide is turning
Changing minds about the triple threat: Peak Oil, Climate Change, Overpopulation
Truthout: Penny Coleman: Pentagon holds 60K Prisoners of War (through stop loss)
C-Span Book TV: Samantha Power on her new book: Chasing the Flame
When belief in the system fades
The Oil Drum: The financial crash has a simple cause and a simple solution
HuffPost: Bob Cesca: The tide is turning
Changing minds about the triple threat: Peak Oil, Climate Change, Overpopulation
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, Tell the Truth and Run, the dramatic story of muckraking journalist George Seldes (1890-1995), is a piercing examination of American journalism.
HuffPo: Jane Smiley: Why I was right about Iraq (look for the comment by ScooterLiddy (me): HuffPost pick!)
HuffPo: Zack Exley: Jesus for President: encouraging signs that young Jesus Freaks actually are asking the question "What would Jesus do?"
Silhouette City: new film on religious right and the threat it poses to our civil liberties.
Consortium News: Iraq as War Crime (Part I)
HuffPo: Jane Smiley: Why I was right about Iraq (look for the comment by ScooterLiddy (me): HuffPost pick!)
HuffPo: Zack Exley: Jesus for President: encouraging signs that young Jesus Freaks actually are asking the question "What would Jesus do?"
Silhouette City: new film on religious right and the threat it poses to our civil liberties.
Consortium News: Iraq as War Crime (Part I)
Annals of the past: Another passport breach in history: Another Bush not only illegally accesses Bill Clinton's passport file, he uses the information to attack Clinton's foreign trips with controversial innuendos.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
In case you missed it last Friday: Bill Moyer's Journal: Body of War (about Phil Donahue's important new movie on Iraq casualties)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A Bankrupt Superpower
A Bankrupt Superpower
The Collapse of American Power
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
In his famous book, The Collapse of British Power (1972), Correlli Barnett reports that in the opening days of World War II Great Britain only had enough gold and foreign exchange to finance war expenditures for a few months. The British turned to the Americans to finance their ability to wage war. Barnett writes that this dependency signaled the end of British power.
From their inception, America's 21st century wars against Afghanistan and Iraq have been red ink wars financed by foreigners, principally the Chinese and Japanese, who purchase the US Treasury bonds that the US government issues to finance its red ink budgets.
The Bush administration forecasts a $410 billion federal budget deficit for this year, an indication that, as the US saving rate is approximately zero, the US is not only dependent on foreigners to finance its wars but also dependent on foreigners to finance part of the US government's domestic expenditures. Foreign borrowing is paying US government salaries--perhaps that of the President himself--or funding the expenditures of the various cabinet departments. Financially, the US is not an independent country.
The Bush administration's $410 billion deficit forecast is based on the unrealistic assumption of 2.7% GDP growth in 2008, whereas in actual fact the US economy has fallen into a recession that could be severe. There will be no 2.7% growth, and the actual deficit will be substantially larger than $410 billion.
Just as the government's budget is in disarray, so is the US dollar which continues to decline in value in relation to other currencies. The dollar is under pressure not only from budget deficits, but also from very large trade deficits and from inflation expectations resulting from the Federal Reserve's effort to stabilize the very troubled financial system with large injections of liquidity.
A troubled currency and financial system and large budget and trade deficits do not present an attractive face to creditors. Yet Washington in its hubris seems to believe that the US can forever rely on the Chinese, Japanese and Saudis to finance America's life beyond its means. Imagine the shock when the day arrives that a US Treasury auction of new debt instruments is not fully subscribed.
The US has squandered $500 billion dollars on a war that serves no American purpose. Moreover, the $500 billion is only the out-of-pocket costs. It does not include the replacement cost of the destroyed equipment, the future costs of care for veterans, the cost of the interests on the loans that have financed the war, or the lost US GDP from diverting scarce resources to war. Experts who are not part of the government's spin machine estimate the cost of the Iraq war to be as much as $3 trillion.
The Republican candidate for President said he would be content to continue the war for 100 years. With what resources? When America's creditors consider our behavior they see total fiscal irresponsibility. They see a deluded country that acts as if it is a privilege for foreigners to lend to it, and a deluded country that believes that foreigners will continue to accumulate US debt until the end of time.
The fact of the matter is that the US is bankrupt. David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the US and head of the Government Accountability Office, in his December 17, 2007, report to the US Congress on the financial statements of the US government noted that "the federal government did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) and compliance with significant laws and regulations as of September 30, 2007." In everyday language, the US government cannot pass an audit.
Moreover, the GAO report pointed out that the accrued liabilities of the federal government "totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007." No funds have been set aside against this mind boggling liability.
Just so the reader understands, $53 trillion is $53,000 billion.
Frustrated by speaking to deaf ears, Walker recently resigned as head of the Government Accountability Office.
As of March 17, 2008, one Swiss franc is worth more than $1 dollar. In 1970, the exchange rate was 4.2 Swiss francs to the dollar. In 1970, $1 purchased 360 Japanese yen. Today $1 dollar purchases less than 100 yen.
If you were a creditor, would you want to hold debt in a currency that has such a poor record against the currency of a small island country that was nuked and defeated in WW II, or against a small landlocked European country that clings to its independence and is not a member of the EU?
Would you want to hold the debt of a country whose imports exceed its industrial production? According to the latest US statistics as reported in the February 28 issue of Manufacturing and Technology News, in 2007 imports were 14 percent of US GDP and US manufacturing comprised 12% of US GDP. A country whose imports exceed its industrial production cannot close its trade deficit by exporting more.
The dollar has even collapsed in value against the euro, the currency of a make-believe country that does not exist: the European Union. France, Germany, Italy, England and the other members of the EU still exist as sovereign nations. England even retains its own currency. Yet the euro hits new highs daily against the dollar.
Noam Chomsky recently wrote that America thinks that it owns the world. That is definitely the view of the neoconized Bush administration. But the fact of the matter is that the US owes the world. The US "superpower" cannot even finance its own domestic operations, much less its gratuitous wars except via the kindness of foreigners to lend it money that cannot be repaid.
The US will never repay the loans. The American economy has been devastated by offshoring, by foreign competition, and by the importation of foreigners on work visas, while it holds to a free trade ideology that benefits corporate fat cats and shareholders at the expense of American labor. The dollar is failing in its role as reserve currency and will soon be abandoned.
When the dollar ceases to be the reserve currency, the US will no longer be able to pay its bills by borrowing more from foreigners.
I sometimes wonder if the bankrupt "superpower" will be able to scrape together the resources to bring home the troops stationed in its hundreds of bases overseas, or whether they will just be abandoned.
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com
The Collapse of American Power
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
In his famous book, The Collapse of British Power (1972), Correlli Barnett reports that in the opening days of World War II Great Britain only had enough gold and foreign exchange to finance war expenditures for a few months. The British turned to the Americans to finance their ability to wage war. Barnett writes that this dependency signaled the end of British power.
From their inception, America's 21st century wars against Afghanistan and Iraq have been red ink wars financed by foreigners, principally the Chinese and Japanese, who purchase the US Treasury bonds that the US government issues to finance its red ink budgets.
The Bush administration forecasts a $410 billion federal budget deficit for this year, an indication that, as the US saving rate is approximately zero, the US is not only dependent on foreigners to finance its wars but also dependent on foreigners to finance part of the US government's domestic expenditures. Foreign borrowing is paying US government salaries--perhaps that of the President himself--or funding the expenditures of the various cabinet departments. Financially, the US is not an independent country.
The Bush administration's $410 billion deficit forecast is based on the unrealistic assumption of 2.7% GDP growth in 2008, whereas in actual fact the US economy has fallen into a recession that could be severe. There will be no 2.7% growth, and the actual deficit will be substantially larger than $410 billion.
Just as the government's budget is in disarray, so is the US dollar which continues to decline in value in relation to other currencies. The dollar is under pressure not only from budget deficits, but also from very large trade deficits and from inflation expectations resulting from the Federal Reserve's effort to stabilize the very troubled financial system with large injections of liquidity.
A troubled currency and financial system and large budget and trade deficits do not present an attractive face to creditors. Yet Washington in its hubris seems to believe that the US can forever rely on the Chinese, Japanese and Saudis to finance America's life beyond its means. Imagine the shock when the day arrives that a US Treasury auction of new debt instruments is not fully subscribed.
The US has squandered $500 billion dollars on a war that serves no American purpose. Moreover, the $500 billion is only the out-of-pocket costs. It does not include the replacement cost of the destroyed equipment, the future costs of care for veterans, the cost of the interests on the loans that have financed the war, or the lost US GDP from diverting scarce resources to war. Experts who are not part of the government's spin machine estimate the cost of the Iraq war to be as much as $3 trillion.
The Republican candidate for President said he would be content to continue the war for 100 years. With what resources? When America's creditors consider our behavior they see total fiscal irresponsibility. They see a deluded country that acts as if it is a privilege for foreigners to lend to it, and a deluded country that believes that foreigners will continue to accumulate US debt until the end of time.
The fact of the matter is that the US is bankrupt. David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the US and head of the Government Accountability Office, in his December 17, 2007, report to the US Congress on the financial statements of the US government noted that "the federal government did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) and compliance with significant laws and regulations as of September 30, 2007." In everyday language, the US government cannot pass an audit.
Moreover, the GAO report pointed out that the accrued liabilities of the federal government "totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007." No funds have been set aside against this mind boggling liability.
Just so the reader understands, $53 trillion is $53,000 billion.
Frustrated by speaking to deaf ears, Walker recently resigned as head of the Government Accountability Office.
As of March 17, 2008, one Swiss franc is worth more than $1 dollar. In 1970, the exchange rate was 4.2 Swiss francs to the dollar. In 1970, $1 purchased 360 Japanese yen. Today $1 dollar purchases less than 100 yen.
If you were a creditor, would you want to hold debt in a currency that has such a poor record against the currency of a small island country that was nuked and defeated in WW II, or against a small landlocked European country that clings to its independence and is not a member of the EU?
Would you want to hold the debt of a country whose imports exceed its industrial production? According to the latest US statistics as reported in the February 28 issue of Manufacturing and Technology News, in 2007 imports were 14 percent of US GDP and US manufacturing comprised 12% of US GDP. A country whose imports exceed its industrial production cannot close its trade deficit by exporting more.
The dollar has even collapsed in value against the euro, the currency of a make-believe country that does not exist: the European Union. France, Germany, Italy, England and the other members of the EU still exist as sovereign nations. England even retains its own currency. Yet the euro hits new highs daily against the dollar.
Noam Chomsky recently wrote that America thinks that it owns the world. That is definitely the view of the neoconized Bush administration. But the fact of the matter is that the US owes the world. The US "superpower" cannot even finance its own domestic operations, much less its gratuitous wars except via the kindness of foreigners to lend it money that cannot be repaid.
The US will never repay the loans. The American economy has been devastated by offshoring, by foreign competition, and by the importation of foreigners on work visas, while it holds to a free trade ideology that benefits corporate fat cats and shareholders at the expense of American labor. The dollar is failing in its role as reserve currency and will soon be abandoned.
When the dollar ceases to be the reserve currency, the US will no longer be able to pay its bills by borrowing more from foreigners.
I sometimes wonder if the bankrupt "superpower" will be able to scrape together the resources to bring home the troops stationed in its hundreds of bases overseas, or whether they will just be abandoned.
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
HuffPo: Larisa Alexandrovna: American Dead Worth the cost of war? By what math? (This is the music the magnificent lady Larisa listens to: Cat Power)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Chicago Tribune: The Obama I know Even-handed piece by an arch-conservative newspaper
Stunner! Bear Sterns sold out to J.P. Morgan for $2 a share (FT) (WSJ) after closing at $30 on Friday and $169 a share in Jan 2007. World markets and Dow futures in free fall. What happened to the $200 billion bailout?
Meanwhile, Greenspan tells us economic crisis could be worse since WW II. Now he tells us. Thanks Allan. And wasn't the chimp-in-chief just telling us a couple weeks ago that economists were telling him we weren't headed for a recession?
Stunner! Bear Sterns sold out to J.P. Morgan for $2 a share (FT) (WSJ) after closing at $30 on Friday and $169 a share in Jan 2007. World markets and Dow futures in free fall. What happened to the $200 billion bailout?
Meanwhile, Greenspan tells us economic crisis could be worse since WW II. Now he tells us. Thanks Allan. And wasn't the chimp-in-chief just telling us a couple weeks ago that economists were telling him we weren't headed for a recession?
Saturday, March 15, 2008
George Speaks, Badly
We are in big trouble as the Perfect Storm is on us: Debt, Austerity and Iraq
Paul Krugman: Betting the Bank "I used to think that the major issues facing the next president would be how to get out of Iraq and what to do about health care. At this point, however, I suspect that the biggest problem for the next administration will be figuring out which parts of the financial system to bail out, how to pay the cleanup bills and how to explain what it’s doing to an angry public."
We are in big trouble as the Perfect Storm is on us: Debt, Austerity and Iraq
Paul Krugman: Betting the Bank "I used to think that the major issues facing the next president would be how to get out of Iraq and what to do about health care. At this point, however, I suspect that the biggest problem for the next administration will be figuring out which parts of the financial system to bail out, how to pay the cleanup bills and how to explain what it’s doing to an angry public."
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Lost over Iran: How the Press let the White House craft the narrative over nukes.
If you are new to Peak Oil here is a good primer
Winter Soldiers: The Iraq generation
Do you love wilderness? Read this and act now: Things we do in the Big and Wild
Results from our deployment of Agent Orange in Vietnam
If you are new to Peak Oil here is a good primer
Winter Soldiers: The Iraq generation
Do you love wilderness? Read this and act now: Things we do in the Big and Wild
Results from our deployment of Agent Orange in Vietnam
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Wars will be fought over water in this century.
Who Owns Water?
Water is Big Business
CBC Special on Water
Slightly unrelated: TomDispatch: Permanent Energy Crisis Hits Home
Who Owns Water?
Water is Big Business
CBC Special on Water
Slightly unrelated: TomDispatch: Permanent Energy Crisis Hits Home
Mike Gravel Speaks Out Against the Vietnam War (1971)
Watch this to understand why as a military officer so passionately supported the candidacy of Mike Gravel for president. Then watch him as he reads the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record. THIS IS TRUE PATRIOTISM.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Let's see, we attacked Iraq because Cheney said the case that Hussein was linked to Al Qaeda was iron tight. The Pentagon now tells us after examining 600,000 documents in the Iraq Government archives that there was no link. Meanwhile uncurious George W. Bush holds hands with the Saudis, who harbored 15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers and whose assorted princes are financing Al Qaeda.
Now we have Admiral Fallon suddenly resigning. Why? He has been consistently opposed to attacking Iran, instead favoring real politic. What comes next? Our country has been hijacked by crazies. Why is impeachment off the table?
Now we have Admiral Fallon suddenly resigning. Why? He has been consistently opposed to attacking Iran, instead favoring real politic. What comes next? Our country has been hijacked by crazies. Why is impeachment off the table?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Steven Clemons, at The Washington Note weighs in on the Samantha Power issue:They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Liberal Interventionists?
Bill Foster (Dem) wins Dennis Hastert's seat in a special election. A HUGE win with national implications in solid Republican territory.
Robert D. Steele, one of my favorite reviewers on Amazon.com weighs in on Samantha Power's latest book: Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World
Bill Foster (Dem) wins Dennis Hastert's seat in a special election. A HUGE win with national implications in solid Republican territory.
Robert D. Steele, one of my favorite reviewers on Amazon.com weighs in on Samantha Power's latest book: Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World
I'm in Maryland on the lower Potomac near Piney Point, where tomorrow I'll be running marathon state #47. That is if I successfully complete the damn thing. This is my second attempt at this state. The first one, a couple of years ago, ended at mile 19 when I became uncontrollably hypothermic. That was the only marathon out of some 87 or so that I have ever dropped out of. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be in the 20's with 20 MPH wind, bringing the feels like temperature into the teens or less. I didn't bring a coat.... What can I say... I'm a minimalist...
Friday, March 07, 2008
Some mistakes you don't get to "do-over." Wiping out a unique fish, the Menhaden, the keystone species of America's Atlantic and Gulf fisheries, amounts to ecocide. And a peculiarly foolish mistake, too — nothing great accrues to any of the grubby perpetrators, or their equally grubby political enablers. Devastation only provides literally chicken-feed to a few. Dr. H. Bruce Franklin, an eminent literary expert and historian of American culture, tells this fish story in an unforgettable way. Please also buy his book, The Most Important Fish in the Sea
. Total runtime an hour and eleven minutes.
Defenders of Wildlife: My Yellowstone Wolves Blog
I was very saddened to hear that Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winner for her seminal work, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide", was forced to resign from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary a "Monster". Please read this most intelligent book she has graced the world with. Understand the dialogue she presented. The idea that Obama asked her to advise his campaign shows the high degree of enlightenment that illuminates his campaign and his personage. Can anyone imagine the Neanderthals of the Bush-Cheney cabal actually reaching for insight and truth like Obama evidenced by his reaching out to Samantha Power?
The Oil Drum asks: Where do we go from here? The Next Agriculture
. Total runtime an hour and eleven minutes.Defenders of Wildlife: My Yellowstone Wolves Blog
I was very saddened to hear that Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winner for her seminal work, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide", was forced to resign from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary a "Monster". Please read this most intelligent book she has graced the world with. Understand the dialogue she presented. The idea that Obama asked her to advise his campaign shows the high degree of enlightenment that illuminates his campaign and his personage. Can anyone imagine the Neanderthals of the Bush-Cheney cabal actually reaching for insight and truth like Obama evidenced by his reaching out to Samantha Power?
The Oil Drum asks: Where do we go from here? The Next Agriculture
Thursday, March 06, 2008
I just read Susan Jacoby's insightful "Age of American Unreason". One of the best of many recent books to explain America's current state of ignorance. Here is an interview of her on NPR. Susan has a blog on secularism on the WAPO web site.
Bjork's Shanghai Surprise
Bjork's Shanghai Surprise
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
I love Colorado Springs. For all those who think we are hopelessly wed to Right-wing Christianists like Ted Haggard, James Dobson, and The New Life Church I offer up this:
Colorado Springs Culture Cast "Deeply Rooted" Dance Theatre at Colorado College: Csdance.org
Colorado Springs Culture Cast: Geeks who Drink
Colorado Springs Culture Cast "Deeply Rooted" Dance Theatre at Colorado College: Csdance.org
Colorado Springs Culture Cast: Geeks who Drink
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
