Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Breaking News Tues. May 17, 2011

Hey guys, hope everyone is having better weather and getting your gardens in.
If you missed it, check out Sundays post on starting a seed bank by Spacecase0. Lots to think about. I still think it would be a wonderful thing to have in a neighborhood and I would like to figure out a way to have something like that here to share with my neighbors.
And here's a little something from my neck of the woods! Check out the writing at the top! We're all gonna die! And no, I didn't do it. LOL

Also, if you missed it, I thought Ruppert's Lifeboat Hour program was extra good this week. Here's a link if you'd like to listen to it. Or click the doodad on the left.
Lifeboat Hour with Michael Ruppert 05/15/11
He's still looking for June to be a real game changer when the earnings reports come out from all the companies and it becomes clear how much damage the earthquake and tsunami has done to the economy.
I'm still wondering if TPTB will just 'fix' the numbers to suit themselves, but I honestly don't know much about that sort of thing.
Also, I put us a new section called  Doomsteading, Gardening, urban Farming. I'll try and put interesting gardening or urban farming news, things of interest to us doomers. Like the one yesterday on how to bathe a chicken. LOL Seems like everybody ought to know how to do that!
Oh, and top of the page this morning is the exploding watermelon story coming out of China!
Guardian: Exploding watermelons put spotlight on Chinese farming practices
New food scandal as fields of watermelons are destroyed after farmers mistakenly apply growth accelerator
The flying pips, shattered shells and fleshy shrapnel still haunt farmer Liu Mingsuo after an effort to chemically boost his fruit crop went spectacularly wrong.
Field after field of watermelons exploded when he and other agricultural workers in eastern China mistakenly applied forchlorfenuron, a growth accelerator.
also from BBC with video:  China farmers face 'exploding' watermelon problem
Farmers in eastern China have been left perplexed after their watermelons began to explode one by one.
dang! what about that!
well, hope you guys enjoy today's post, be sure and visit the forums linked at the bottom of the page and also say hello to rj at Global Glass Onion.  He sends some great stories for us and I really appreciate him.


Japan
NewScientist: Quake took out Fukushima cooling system before tsunami

 It wasn't only the massive tsunami that stripped the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant of its essential cooling capability on 11 March: the magnitude-9.0 megaquake had almost immediately caused a failure of the number 1 reactor's primary emergency backup cooling system, which uses the steam generated by the reactor to push coolant around it.
FinancialTimes: Japan quake hits HP full-year forecast
NHK: Fukushima Daiichi plant worker diesA worker at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant fell unconscious at work on Saturday and later died.
VeteransToday: Fukushima: Deadly SilenceMain Stream Press continues to ignore Fukushima but two month catastrophe continues unabated as TEPCO now admits it lied about severity of damage to reactor #1 and a nuclear meltdown has occurred that releases deadly amounts of radiation comparable to Chernobyl

Global Conflict 

Bloomberg: Pakistan Troops, NATO Helicopters Clash at Border
ACLU: House Gets Ready to Vote on New Worldwide War  -- As we blogged last week, a hugely important provision for Congress to authorize a new worldwide war has been tucked away inside the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was marked up by members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) last Wednesday that poured into Thursday morning (2:45 a.m. to be exact).  A couple of minutes past midnight, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) offered an amendment to strike Sec. 1034 — the new authorization for worldwide war provision — from the NDAA. Visibly angry that such a large sweeping provision had not yet had any public hearing whatsoever, he vigorously characterized it as a very broad declaration of war. Rep. Garamendi was very concerned by the limitless geographic boundaries of the provision. Essentially, it would enable the U.S. to use military force anywhere in the world (including within the U.S.) in search of terrorists. (thanks rj for this important story.)
BlackListedNews: Saif Gaddafi: dictator’s son who mingled with British high society
WashingtonPost: Britain’s queen lands in Ireland on 1st-ever trip to celebrate peace; pipe bomb defused on bus
BBC: China rejects North Korea-Iran 'middleman' claims 

BlackListedNews: Chinese, Mexican defense ministers hold talks on military cooperation  
WashingtonPost: Tens of thousands march in Spain to protest against austerity measures, banks, politicians 


BBC: Pakistani PM hails China as his country's 'best friend'
UPI: Abbas pushes for State recognition
"Minutes after the state of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, the United States granted it recognition. Our Palestinian state, however, remains a promise unfulfilled," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrote in an op-ed piece published in The New York Times Monday.

Financial News
ZeroHedge: Zimbabwe Says Days Of The US Dollar Are Numbered, Pushes For Gold-Backed Local Currency

CSMonitor: Getting 'tough' with China won't help the US economyDonald Trump and other Americans see America's pile of debt and point fingers at China. But is the accusation fair?
abcNews: IMF Chief's Arrest Leaves French Angry, Dismayed and Defensive 
YahooFinance: Construction of new homes plummeted in April
Builders broke ground on fewer homes in April; apartment construction plunged 
AmericanDream: America Is Rapidly Bleeding Wealth And Jobs: 28 Statistics About The Gutting Of The U.S. Economy That Will Blow Your Mind
MyBudget360: Scorching the desert housing markets
Arizona and Nevada real estate blossomed with cheap fuel and easy access to debt. For last two years 40 percent of buyers came from all cash purchases. What happens when the well runs dry in the financial desert?
ZeroHedge: The Quadruple Dip: Housing Starts, Permits Drop, Miss Expectations; Houses Under Construction At New Record Low
YahooFinance: The Great Recession's lost generation 
CBSMoneyWatch: Investors Lose $113 Billion on Complex Investments
Bloomberg: U.S. April Industrial Production Stalls on Autos 
BeforeItsNews: SS Trust Fund – “We Lost $1.1 Trillion Last Year!” 
Economix: The World Economic Order, Circa 2025
With China overtaking Japan as the world’s second-largest economy last year, there can be no doubt that emerging markets are becoming increasingly powerful. A new report from the World Bank predicts that by 2025, China, along with five other emerging economies — Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia — will account for more than half of all global growth, up from one-third now.The report, “Global Development Horizons 2011 — Multipolarity: The New Global Economy,” also anticipates that the dollar will be joined by the euro and the renminbi as dominant international currencies. The Chinese government is already easing currency controls and has taken other steps to help the renminbi become a fully convertible reserve currency, which would make it easier for foreign companies to finance projects in China.  
BusinessInsider: Maybe Americans Just Aren't Dumb Enough To Keep Buying Houses
"The housing market remains soft, so we’re told, and the best minds of central economic planning are struggling to understand why and what new government gimmicks can be applied. I’m wondering if former homeowner sentiment has been factored in.

Peak oil and Energy News
TheOilDrum: Looking in the Rear View Mirror

TheOilDrum: Will Natural Gas Fuel America in the 21st Century? 
UPI: Six in 10 Americans plan summer travel
More than six in 10 Americans say high gas prices won't force them to spend their summer vacation at home this year, a Gallup poll revealed Tuesday.
YahooFinance: Oil prices fall on disappointing economic data
Oil prices fall as disappointing housing, industrial data prompts questions about demand

Environmental News

Washington Post: 120 photos from the floods  

BlackListedNews: New, federally-mandated light bulbs will cost $50 -- each... 
DesdemonaDespair: Drought expands dramatically in Texas, losses mount
ExtinctionProtocol: Underwater earthquakes off the coast of Massachusetts are a geological puzzle
NationalGeographic: Nobel Laureates and Global Leaders Gather to Discuss Great Transformation
Stockholm–Changing human society to insure we all, animals and plants included, survive well on a healthy planet is no small undertaking.  But uniting the best and brightest, Nobel Laureates and global leaders, to improve our roadmap for change should help.  I certainly hope so.
ExtinctionProtocol: An unprecedented century of natural disasters is upon us…
May 17, 2011 – This will be the century of disasters. In the same way that the 20th century was the century of world wars, genocide, and grinding ideological conflict, the 21st will be the century of natural disasters and technological crises and unholy combinations of the two. It’ll be the century when the things that we count on to go right will, for whatever reason, go wrong.
WashingtonPost: Evacuees of Mississippi River flooding move into enclave built for those displaced by Katrina
USATodayPhotos: Major flooding across the Midwest, South 
ClimateChangePsychology: Jeff Masters: 300-year flood in Canada; wildfires destroy large portions of Slave Lake, Alberta - In Manitoba, Canada, heavy spring snow melt in combination with heavy rains have combined to create record flooding on the Assiniboine River. Authorities intentionally breached a levee over the weekend to save hundreds of homes, but inundated huge areas of farmland as a result. The flood is being called a 300-year flood, and damages are already in excess of $1 billion. In Alberta, Canada, reverse extreme is causing havoc: severe drought and strong spring winds have made ideal conditions for wildfires, which swept into the community of Slave Lake (population 6,700) yesterday. The fires destroyed hundreds of buildings, burning down the town hall and at least 30% of the town, according to preliminary media reports.
CNN: 10 natural wonders to see before they disappear

America in Decline
RawStory: Supreme Court upholds warrantless search of apartment based on marijuana smell

BlackListedNews: 10 Indications The United States Is A Dictatorship 
WashingtonPost: Inhofe’s claim that ‘obesity’ is the biggest problem at Guantanamo Bay
“Let's keep in mind: These detainees, they've had things they've never had before. Do you know what the biggest problem in Gitmo is right now? It's obesity. They're eating better than they've ever eaten before and they have better medical care, they have better — they have legal counsel. I mean, you know, you've got to draw the line somewhere. Let's draw it here.”
Cryptogon: Police Can Now Knock On Your Door, Listen for Sounds Suggesting Evidence Is Being Destroyed (Whatever That Means), and Then Break In—No Warrant Necessary

Food and Water
BigPictureAgriculture: A Map Showing Government Payments to Farmers

Grist: Big Ag doesn’t want you to care about pesticides
The produce lobby is livid that consumers might be concerned about pesticides. They are taking their fury out on the USDA for its annual report on pesticide use 

Science and Technology
RawStory: White House unveils global ‘open and secure’ cyberspace policies

NewScientist: Seven technologies to disrupt the next decade 
PCMag: Five Ways to Break the Internet
The Royal Wedding strained the Internet’s backbone but failed to break it. So what could actually bring the world’s global information network to its knees? We looked at everything from EMPs to militarized computer viruses to bring you the answers.
DiscoveryNews: Recalculating...Don't Trust Your GPSDon't let your GPS lead you along. It might not know where you're going either.

Medical and Health
WashingtonPost: Autopsies, which can reveal medical secrets, are now rare in U.S. hospitals

Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming

CSMonitor: How to grow and serve lettuce

A gardener and a chef team up with advice on growing and serving lettuce.
I ran across this fascinating site. If you are interested in old stoves, this site is a gold mine of information.
Stove Hospital
FarmWars: You might be a Roundup Ready terrorist if…. 
ModernSurvivalOnline: New generator bought – Briggs & Stratton 5500 Watt
OrganicConsumersAssociation: How to Bring Down Monsanto: The California GMO Labeling Ballot Initiative 
CSMonitor: Simple beef phoPho is Vietnamese soup flavored with meat and fresh herbs. 

Other News
WashingtonPost: Schwarzenegger acknowledges fathering child with longtime member of household staff

BlackListedNews: Ouch: Russia weighs chemical castration of pedophiles
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called on lawmakers to consider "chemical castration" for pedophiles — a response to what officials have called an unprecedented wave of sexual crimes against minors.
MotherJones: Michele Bachmann’s Head-Banging, Gay-Bashing BFF
How the Minnesota lawmaker fell in with a controversial hair-metal evangelist.
WashingtonPost: Jon Stewart to Bill O'Reilly: Fox is 'selective outrage machine' (Video)
Reuters: Strauss-Kahn denied bail, prompting shock in France 
Wasn't sure what to think about this next story so I put it down here.
BeforeItsNews: Russian Speaker Threatens Entire World with Secret "Tsunami" WMD
UPI: Heavy-set women almost barred from flightA New York woman said Southwest Airlines unreasonably tried to bar her and two other women from their flight because they were overweight.

The Forums

TinfoilPalace: New sinkholes sprouting up in VA 
TinfoilPalace: NASA UFO photos. 
TheOilAge: Debunking the 'shale gale'
TheOilAge: Buddha Full Moon May 17 2011
Hubberts-Arms: What it REALLY Means to Be an American These Days
Hubberts-Arms: Speaker of the House Threatens to Destroy the World
SilentCountry: Jim Rogers: Oil price to rise 'beyond expectations'
SilentCountry: Guy McPherson: Blessings of a dying paradigm

3 comments:

  1. the modern survival guy bought a 5500 watt generator; anyone who does so should be sure they have adequate gasoline stored to take them thru an outage, because during a power outage the gas station pumps dont work either...

    my experience with a 5000 B&S generator is that it runs about an hour & a half on a gallon; i have a 55 gallon gas drum; for winter you should add a stabilizer...

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  2. wow, that's a lot of gas for that much time isn't it?
    I don't have anything for power yet. We've thought about micro hydro because of the creek out back but they cost a lot to get started and we don't have the money. Guess we'll just have to figure out ways to make do without power if it comes to that.
    thanks for the info rj. I never thought about how much gas it takes to run one of those things.

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  3. if you buy one, get one with a five gallon tank on it; you dont want to have to wake up every couple hours during a blizzard to go outside to refill it...

    ReplyDelete