I got an honorable mention and, I'm getting a book that I'll be reviewing here soon as I read it!
Thanks Rourke at Modern Survival for the contest, and for the book!
"Getting Out Alive: 13 Deadly Scenarios and How Others Survived" by Scott B. Williams
Also, check this out.
BusinessInsider: Here's Why The World Is Going To End On May 21, 2011
And here is this. An amazing photo of the space shuttle breaking through the clouds taken by someone in just the right place, at just the right time. Amazing!
Much thanks to the Ozarker over at Conflicted Doomer and rj at Global Glass Onion for their links this morning. Thanks guys, it's always appreciated! Ozarker has a great new article up on her blog and if you missed it, check out rj's weekly wrap-up.
And now something from Kunstler at Clusterfucknation. He does a superior job of summing up the news of Dominque Strauss-Kahn's shenanigans.
A Flea In His Ear
Imagine the fright mask that the Sofitel Hotel maid's face turned into when a black swan in the form of an international banking poobah waddled out of the suite's bathroom with wings rampant. Black swans appear now in the unlikeliest places. I bet you a million Euros that Dominque Strauss-Kahn's lawyer will say that his client was driven mad by relentless, revolving, unresolvable thoughts of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain, and that he mistook the hotel maid for Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou. Wasn't it poor Karl Marx, driven mad first by capital and then by boils, who said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce."Japan
DesdemonaDespair: Over 900 tons of radioactive sludge from Fukushima sold for cement
Fukushima I Nuke Plant has been one big "dirty bomb."
Z3NNews: TEPCO reveals meltdown occurred hours after quake
In what amounts to a relatively stunning revelation, Japan’s Kyodo News has just reported that TEPCO, the nuclear power company in charge of the beleaguered Fukushima nuclear power plant, now claims that reactor number 1 had suffered a meltdown just 16 hours after the March 11 earthquake. Odder still, the news briefly appeared on the English version of the Kyodo News website around 8p.m., Sunday night Japan time, only to be removed roughly 15 minutes later. The alert was posted not as a linkable html news page, but via a Java script scrolling message at the top of the site. That message has now, inexplicably, disappeared. Despite the quick removal of the news alert we, as well as other veteran journalists, managed to catch the news before it was erased.
RawStory: Japan widens evacuations outside plant zone
BusinessInsider: Political Infighting Is Damaging Japan's Massive Reconstruction Plan Just Like In 1923
MainichiDaily: Contaminated nuke plant workers going back on job as safety regs go by wayside
Safety standards for workers at the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture have been relaxed without any scrutiny, forcing workers to do their jobs without being completely decontaminated, it has emerged.
NaturesWrath: Japan Nuclear Plant Shutdown Amid Quake Fears
DesdemonaDespair: TEPCO: Meltdowns in Reactors 2 and 3
The water gauges for the Reactors 2 and 3 are not to be trusted, said TEPCO's Matsumoto in the press conference on May 12 (I watched the live-recorded video) when the company officially acknowledged the meltdown of the Reactor 1.
Global Conflict
ZeroHedge: Here It Comes: Shi'ite Iran Sends "Solidarity" Flotilla To Sunni-Controlled Bahrain
Those seeking the spark that will set off the next middle east conflagration can finally rest easy. Reuters reports that Shi'ite-ruled Iran sent a flotilla to Bahrain on Monday to show solidarity with mainly Shi'ite Muslim protesters, escalating tensions with the island kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. As a reminder, Barhain is the nation that imposed a total and complete media blackout, going so far as to expel a Reuters correspondent, while most likely continuing its atrocities against protesting Shi'ites, which has raised the specter of a possible war erupting on the tiny island home, so critical to the US navy, and situated only 60 miles away from the world's largest Gwahar oil field. If Iran is serious about this latest escalation between Shi'ites and Sunnis, and it certainly appears to be, all hell may break loose as this could be the straw that not only breaks the proverbial camel's back but launches a full out Gulf States war (and woe to those short CL in a worst case scenario that sees the involvement of Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, not to mention all of the the middle eastern countries).
abcNews: London on Alert: Police Receive 3 Coded Bomb Threats
EmptyWheel: Another US “Diplomat” Arrested (Briefly) in Pakistan
US-Pakistani relations really didn’t need this right now. Pakistan arrested–and then released, apparently because the person’s claim to have diplomatic status checked out–an American with high tech gear allegedly snooping around a nuke lab.
Guardian: Gaddafis named as war crimes suspects by international criminal court
Chief prosecutor requests arrest warrants for Libyan leader, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi
BBC: Bomb warning received in London
A bomb warning has been received relating to central London, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
NewYorkPost: International Criminal Court seeks Khadafy's arrest for crimes against humanity
Guardian: Saudi diplomat shot dead in Pakistan
Shooting comes two days after grenade attack on consulate in Karachi as tensions rise between Sunni and Shia populations
Time: Arab Protesters Descend on Israeli Borders
(MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights) — Mobilized by calls on Facebook, thousands of Arab protesters marched on Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, sparking clashes that left at least 15 people dead in an annual Palestinian mourning ritual marking the anniversary of Israel's birth.
Reuters: Blackwater founder builds foreign force in UAE: report(
Reuters) - The crown prince of Abu Dhabi has hired the founder of private security firm Blackwater Worldwide to set up an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the United Arab Emirates, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
The Times said it obtained documents that showed the unit being formed by Erik Prince's new company Reflex Responses with $529 million from the UAE would be used to thwart internal revolt, conduct special operations and defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from attack.
ibtimes: Israeli Troops Kill Syrian at Border, Aim at Legs to Disperse Crowds
Time: A Third Intifadeh? Deadly Nakba Protests Spark Fears of Israel-Lebanon Border Escalation
WashingtonPost:Israeli troops fire at Palestinian protesters on borders, killing at least 12
CSMonitor: Palestinian 'nakba' protests turn deadly. Israel sees Iran's 'fingerprints.'
Eight people were reportedly killed in separate incidents along Israel's borders with both Syria and Lebanon – and dozens were wounded in the West Bank and Gaza – during the Palestinians' annual 'nakba' protest against Israel.
TheEconomist: Unrest on the borders
ON SUNDAY Israel got an unexpected and unpalatable taste of its nightmare scenario: masses of Palestinians marching, unarmed, towards the borders of the Jewish state, demanding the redress of their decades-old national grievance.
ZeroHedge: Casualty Reported As Protesters Storm Israel Embassy In Cairo; Video Of Palestinians , Syrians Entering Israel-Controlled Golan Heights
NPR: Massacre In Northern Guatemala Leaves 27 Dead
Assailants killed at least 27 people — decapitating most of the victims — in a part of northern Guatemala plagued by drug cartels, national police said Sunday.
WashingtonPost: In Greece, austerity kindles deep discontent
WashingtonPost: Israeli troops fire at Palestinian protesters on borders, killing at least 12
Financial News
NYT: I.M.F. Names New Leader
Hours after its chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in connection with the alleged sexual attack of a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, the International Monetary Fund on Sunday named John Lipsky as acting managing director.
DailyBail: CHART: Who Funds The IMF?
GlobeandMail: Why the U.S. GDP number may be as bogus as a three-dollar bill
WashingtonPost: Treasury to tap pensions to help fund government
WSJ: As Debt Limit Reached, Agreement Still Far Off
BusinessInsider: Before Arrest On Sex Allegations, IMF Boss Was Scheduled For Huge Week Of European Crisis Meetings
YahooFinance: Why Republicans May Not Fear Bumping Against the Debt Ceiling
CBSMoneyWatch: Survey: Americans Still Believe Homes Are A Better Investment than Stocks
CharlesHughSmith: Capital Accumulation and Opting Out of the Consumerist Machine
MyBudget360: The endgame of the credit card nation
40 year bull market in revolving debt expansion comes to a sudden halt. U.S. consumers on average have 4 credit cards with 1 out of 7 having 10 or more.
TheDailyBail: Geithner Sends Doomsday Letter To Congress Predicting Double-Dip Recession If Debt Ceiling Not Raised
SeattleTimes: Economists: Lower growth, higher oil prices coming
WashingtonPost: U.S. should sell assets like gold to get out of debt, economists say
UPI: 'Fill 'er up,' hits a limitDETROIT, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. drivers are reporting that higher prices at the gas pump also means quicker shut offs when credit cards hit their limits.
BusinessInsider: HUGE Miss On The Latest Empire State Manufacturing Index
Forbes: Twenty Ways You're Getting Ripped OffYou know you're overpaying for all sorts of things. We show you just how much--and it's not pretty.
UPI: Some educated women choose prostitution
"The findings suggest that these [educated and affluent] women are not forced into the prostitution market but rather choose to enter it for many of the same reasons that people enter the conventional job market -- money, stability, autonomy and even job satisfaction," Hafer said in a statement.
ZeroHedge: Two Chinese Bond Auctions Fail
MotherJones: How Raising The Retirement Age Screws the Poor
I've never been a fan of raising the Social Security retirement age. It's a blunt instrument mainly favored by journalists and policymakers who don't plan to retire at age 65 anyway and figure that asking people to work a little bit longer than they used to is no big deal.
TheEconomist: Trouble at the IMF
Mr Strauss-Kahn had been planning to meet with Angela Merkel to discuss the crisis in the euro zone. Those duties will now fall to his deputy. But a vacuum at the top of the IMF is inevitable
Peak oil and Energy News
RawStory: Renewable energies could supply 80 percent of world’s demand by 2050: UN report
NYT: Obama Shifts to Speed Oil and Gas Drilling in U.S.WASHINGTON — President Obama, facing voter anger over high gasoline prices and complaints from Republicans and business leaders that his policies are restricting the development of domestic energy resources, announced Saturday that he was taking several steps to speed oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters.
Platts: Europe's biggest ethanol plant to shut up to 4 months end-May
TheOilDrum: Second-Largest U.S. Refinery Threatened as Mississippi Floods In Louisiana
Forbes: ExxonMobil CEO Says Oil Price Should Be $60 To $70 A Barrel
Becker-Posner: Subsidies to Oil and Other Energy Sources-Becker
President Obama and members of Congress are calling for a sharp reduction in the substantial direct subsidies to American oil companies.
Boston.com: Libya: Big company says no more oil til war ends
Environmental News
NewScientist: Coming to a Cornfield Near You: Genetically Induced Drought-ResistanceThe U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing to approve a new strain of corn that has been engineered to thrive in drought
HuffingtonPost: Mississippi Delta Flooding: Dreams Of Bountiful Harvest Wash Away
CircleofBlue: Waiting on High Waters — Louisiana Prepares for the Mississippi Flood
ClimateProgress: National Academy of Sciences slams climate disinformation campaign, flawed media coverage
CNN: Louisiana residents rush to protect homes, escape from looming floods
WashingtonPost: NRC waives fire rule violations at nuclear plants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is routinely waiving fire rule violations at nearly half of the nation’s 104 commercial reactors, even though fire presents one of the chief hazards at nuclear plants.
ClimateProgress: Scientists alarmed by diseased fish in the Gulf
BlackListedNews: Study: cellphones could be contributing to the death of honey bees
CBS: Cajuns told to leave home, but some hold out hopeAs the massive intentional flooding of rural Louisiana to save New Orleans continues, some Cajuns cannot be made to leave
SkepticalScience: Drought in the Amazon: A death spiral? (part 1:seasons)
By and large, the mainstream media has a pretty dismal record in reporting about climate change, and a recent article in the National Post, written by Lawrence Solomon, continues in this vein. In the piece, Solomon makes light of the dire threat global warming poses to the continued existence of the Amazon rainforest. After the IPCC Amazon non-controversy, it's probably time to look at the issue in a bit more depth, and debunk Solomon at the same time.
ExtinctionProtocol: Fourth 6.0+ magnitude earthquake strikes the globe in 48 hours
SOTT: Bed Bug Epidemic May Lead to "Superbug" Epidemic
Reuters: Greenville, Miss. bracing for river's flood crest
UPI: Flood photos.
NewYorkPost: Floodgates of hell
BUTTE LAROSE, La. -- Over the next few days, water spewing through a Mississippi River floodgate will crawl through the swamps of Louisiana's Cajun country, chasing people and animals to higher ground while leaving much of the land under 10 to 20 feet of water.
BigPictureAgriculture: Movie Trailer: Bag It (looks like it's going to be a good documentary, thanks for the heads up BPA!)
EconBrowser: Shale gas environmental concerns
Technological breakthroughs in methods for drilling for natural gas have opened up the possibility of vast new supplies. However, environmental concerns may turn out to be significant. Stuart Staniford has taken a look at a study of the effects of shale-gas extraction on drinking water recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scatter diagram below summarizes 60 drinking water wells in Pennsylvania, with distance from a natural gas well on the horizontal axis and methane concentration in the water on the vertical axis. All of the water wells with concentrations above 28 milligrams of methane per liter of water were within one kilometer of active drilling.
America in Decline
Cryptogon: Not The Onion: Blackwater Alumni Start Corporate Intelligence Firm Called Operation Jellyfish
TheExiled: WN: Osama Porn
Food and Water
EnergyBulletin: Water shortages threaten the American West lifestyle
CircleofBlue: Infographic: World’s Population with Access to Safe Drinking Water
In particular, desert countries are highlighted by their enormous consumption of water—often several times greater than the extent of water in the country. Additionally, many countries where there exists a great degree of struggle over water rights are, in fact, only withdrawing a small portion of their available freshwater, indicating that lack of infrastructure is a greater crisis when compared with water unavailability.
Science and Technology
RawStory: Members of Congress question seizures of alleged pirate domain namesFor the last several months, two Democratic members of Congress have been asking the Department of Homeland Security/ICE to clarify the policy behind its seizures of the domain names of websites that are alleged to be involved in copyright violations. According to TorrentFreak.com, they've finally gotten a response, but it's not one that resolves any of their questions.
Fox: Hunting Antimatter: Space Shuttle Endeavour's Biggest Science Experiment
MSNBC: Shuttle Endeavour lifts off for the last time
Medical and Health
ABCNews: Allergy Season Could Be Worst in Years After Wet Winter
RawStory: Scientists find ‘master switch’ to controlling human fat
VancouverSun: Scientists find 'master switch' for obesity
Other News
Wikihow: How to Bathe a Chicken
UrbanFarm: Goat Breed Profile Nigerian Dwarf
Time: An Eye for an Eye: Iran's Blinding Justice System
BBCNews: Strauss-Kahn IMF chief may face may face new complaint
BusinessInsider: LEAKED? French Blog Publishes Detailed Cables Concerning Strauss-Kahn Allegations
BBC: Witness: The Fall of Berlin (audio)
USArmy: The United States Army Exchange Program with People's Liberation Army of China
Spiegel: 'It Was Clear What Happened'
The Deeper Meaning of the Demjanjuk Verdict
PBS: Gingrich Calls GOP Budget 'Right Wing Social Engineering'
The Forums
TinfoilPalace: Weird! Blackouts from Dandenong to Detroit!
TinfoilPalace: Radiation Spreads Worldwide. The Poisoning of Mother Earth
TheOilAge: IMF chief arrested for sexual assault
TheOilAge: To the last drop
Hubberts-Arms: Did we just Witness an Economic Execution?
Hubberts-Arms: sraeli troops kill unarmed Palestinian protestors on borders
SilentCountry: The future of denistry - coming soon to America?
SilentCountry: OK, who would have bugged out?
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