Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and to P... for the kind gift yesterday too. It is sincerely appreciated.
RJ and the Ozarker are once again life savers! Thank you guys for the links today.
You can visit their excellent blogs at Global Glass Onion where RJ will have his weekly wrap-up this afternoon. Always good reading! And The Ozarker's beautiful writing can be found and appreciated at Conflicted Doomer.
Got a new link for blogs of interest. Check out, La Curee.
For those of you sick of the bad news, or just wanting to sleep a bit longer, there's this.
ScientificAmerican: Lemonade without the Lemons: New Search Engine Looks for Uplifting News
Semantic search technology aimed at a positive slant advances with a system that can spot optimism in news articles
Japan
Cryptogon: ‘Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind’
Nikkei.com: Japan Should Raise Sales Tax To 15%: IMFJapan, struggling with the aftereffects of a devastating earthquake and tsunami on top of decades of stagnation, should raise its consumption tax starting next year to 15% from the current 5% level, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday in a staff discussion note.
AlJazeera: Fukushima: It's much worse than you thinkScientific experts believe Japan's nuclear disaster to be far worse than governments are revealing to the public.
Global Conflict
BBC: US vows to 'capture and kill' Ayman al-ZawahiriThe US will hunt down and kill new al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri as it did Osama Bin Laden, Washington's top military officer has vowed.
Cryptogon: Pentagon in Search of ‘Secret’ Farmers for Afghanistan
The Department of Defense is looking to hire agriculture specialists to send to Afghanistan. That’s nothing especially new — Afghanistan’s economy is heavily agricultural, the health of the country’s economy is directly tied to the mission of rolling back Taliban influence, and the U.S. has been sending farming consultants there for years. But writer (and former civilian contractor in Afghanistan) Joshua Foust noticed something unusual in reading the job listing, which had been posted to recruitmilitary.com by a defense contractor. The job requires “secret” security clearance.
CSMonitor: Could federal budget cuts unravel Afghanistan war?
With Congress looking for ways to cut spending, the Afghanistan war is increasingly in the sights of federal budget cutters. Washington is taking sides on the scheduled drawdown of US troops.
Guardian: Greece general strike: protests in Athens - in pictures
Protesters clashed with riot police over the Greek government's austerity measures
ABCNews: Going Rogue? GOP Candidates Show Shifting Stance on Afghanistan
MSNBC: 'Suspicious device' found in car near Pentagon
'It looks like a bomb,' official says; 1 person held, up to 2 others sought
AlJazeera: Syrian army 'cracking' amid crackdown
Testimonies from defected soldiers give a dramatic insight into the split apparently emerging in the security forces.
Reuters: Analysis: Arab spring likely to leave oil firms unscathed
Western oil firms are unlikely to face widespread asset seizures or contract revisions as a result of Arab uprisings, thanks to deft diplomacy, legal protections and efforts to depict themselves as partners of the local citizenry.
Time: Jordan's King Holds On, Despite Rising Discontent
M&C: Eight killed as thousands protest across Syria
Hack Attacks
Cryptogon: NSA Allies with Internet Carriers to Thwart Cyber Attacks Against Defense Firms
CNN: CIA, Senate hackers gleefully promise more
HuffPostTech: CIA Chief Leon Panetta: Cyberattack Could Be 'Next Pearl Harbor'
Financial News
SHTFPlan: “This Is As Serious As It Gets”
Bloomberg: Rare Earth Prices Double on China, Industrial Minerals Says (1)
Bloomberg: Greenspan Tells Charlie Rose Default by Greece ‘Almost Certain’
NakedCapitalism: Guest Post: America Is Being Raped … Just Like Greece and Other Countries
Reuters: Default by Greece may start the global restructuring process
BusinessInsider: Consumer Spending Growth In China Is Fading And It Is Starting To Look Like Japan
MyBudget360: The systematic financial pillaging of the middle class
Millionaires don’t feel rich unless they have $7.5 million while 45 million Americans live on food stamps. Another 50 percent cannot come up with $2,000 in the next 30 days.
ZeroHedge: The UK Is Preparing To Return To "Glass-Steagall"
NakedCapitalism: Michael Hudson: Free Money Creation to Bail Out Financial Speculators, but not Social Security or Medicare
OffTwoMinds: Why The Wheels Are Falling Off China's BoomDespite their many differences, the economies of China and the U.S. share a number of key traits: both are corrupt, rigged, crony-Capitalist, rely on phony statistics and propaganda and operate with two sets of rules: one for the Elites, and another for the masses.
MineWeb: Big gold weighing down stocks ETF - Physical gold outperformsPhysical gold has outperformed big gold stocks in recent months as majors face among other things, increasingly savvy investors and cost pressures
ZeroHedge: China Discloses "Vital Self Interests" In European Bailout
BusinessInsider: The IMF: Still InsaneThe IMF is out with a new report, warning about an economic slowdown, and the still looming threat of financial disaster. Unfortunately, they're still out to lunch.
DeclineoftheEmpire: The Economy? You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!
ZeroHedge: Forget "Blood Diamonds", Here Comes "Conflict Gold"
MSNBC: Consumers, business owners turning gloomyWith recovery limping along, pessimism could begin weighing on growth
WashingtonPost: Dog-walking collective strolls thin line between anarchist principles, profits
CNN: War on Drugs: 40 years, $1 trillion
MSNBC: 10 cities hit hard by lost government jobsNew Orleans, Detroit among cities suffering from budget cuts
WSJ: The Danger Isn’t Greece, It’s Everyone Else
UPI: U.S. industry still shaken by earthquake
BusinessInsider: Consumer Sentiment Slides To A 71.8
TruthOut: Seven Things You Should Know About the National Debt
ForeignPolicy: Faith in the marketThese facts come from a fascinating new paper by economists Gordon Hanson of U.C. San Diego and Chong Xiang of Purdue University, titled, "Exporting Christianity: Governance and Doctrine in the Globalization of U.S. Denominations." The paper takes the novel approach of looking at religious sects as types of multinational enterprises, whose success or failure is determined by how well their "product" responds to local market conditions.
Guardian: Germany climbs down over Greece bailout demandsAngela Merkel admits defeat in struggle to extract money from private sector towards European Union rescue package
BusinessInsider: Bad News In Spain As Late Payments On Debts Surge
BusinessInsider: Biden Group Sets July 1st Deadline For Budget AgreementThe group of six legislators huddling with Vice President Joe Biden have given themselves a July 1st deadline to come to a a budget agreement, National Journal reports.
MSNBC: Consumers, business owners turning gloomy
With recovery limping along, pessimism could begin weighing on growth
NewDeal120: America for Sale…and Goldman Sachs is Buying
MarketWatch: How to fix crumbling U.S. roads, rails and airwaysFalling tax revenue is hurting U.S. shipping and prosperity
CNN: Made in USA: Overseas jobs come home
TruthOut: The Euro Zone, Edging Ever Closer to Complete Meltdown
SmartMoney: Runaway Debt in Europe!
Reuters: Wealthy less bullish than their advisersMillionaires are less optimistic about the U.S. economy than their financial advisers and are taking a more cautious approach in their investments, Fidelity Investments said on Thursday.
DETNews: Consumer expectations in U.S. drop to lowest level in two years
BusinessInsider: MAP OF THE DAY: Foreign Buyers Are Swooping In To Buy Homes In These Hotspots
BusinessInsider: Here's Why We Need The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Phil'sFavorites: Yucky Euro and the Oil Slick
Peak oil and Energy News
EnergyBulletin: The Shrinking Pie: Post-Growth Geopolitics by Richard Heinberg
CNN: Big oil stocks slide on Greece unrest
Guardian: UK ministers ignored 'peak oil' warnings, report shows
Report reveals threat of civil unrest from energy shortages, which has been played down as 'alarmist' by ministers
WSJ: Ethanol Suffers Rare Loss in Senate
Tax Breaks of $6 Billion a Year Now at Risk as Lawmakers Look for Ways to Reduce Budget Deficits
NYT: In Rebuilding Iraq’s Oil Industry, U.S. Subcontractors Hold Sway
UPI: Energy Resources
Oil markets are fine, OPEC says
CNNFortune: Crude oil whiplash? Blame the banks
NYT: I.E.A. Says World Will Increasingly Turn to Americas for Oil
CNNMoney: Demand for oil will outpace supply
BusinessWeek: Water Is the New Texas Liquid Gold
Oil companies that need water for "fracking" wells compete for H2O
Environmental News
ZeroHedge: Nebraska Nuclear Reactor Flooded
M&C: Vietnam clears bombs ahead of US-funded Agent Orange clean-up
Reuters: China raises flood alert to top level, 555,000 evacuatedChina has mobilized troops to help with flood relief and raised its disaster alert to the highest level after days of downpours forced the evacuation of more than half a million people in central and southern provinces.
OrganicConnectMag: Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking
HuffPost: Gulf 'Dead Zone' This Year Predicted To Be Largest In History
MotherJones: Joplin Postcard: "It's Like a Warzone Out Here"
High-mountain wildflower season reduced, affecting pollinators like bees, hummingbirds
SunHerald: NOAA predicts biggest dead zone yet for areas of Gulf
Telegraph: IPCC 'considering sending mirrors to space to tackle climate change'
Reflective aerosols would be sent into space under a series of radical “geo-engineering” measures being considered by the UN climate science body to tackle climate change, leaked documents disclose.
TheEnergyCollective: Spiking Conspiracy Theories About Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant
The Omaha Public Power District has been prepared for the floods and the plant is safe. It has been in a cold shutdown since April because of a planned refueling. Although water from the Missouri is higher than the plant now; the vital area of the plant is surrounded by a 2,000-foot long berm that takes the protective level up about six feet -- to 1,010 feet or five feet above the river level. As of J10 AM June 16, the water is at 1,005 feet.
America in Decline
FarmWars: Selling America to China: Treason by any other name…
RawStory: Man files suit after ‘terrifying’ FBI raid on wrong houseA Bellevue, Pennsylvania man is suing a dozen FBI agents for allegedly violating his and his family's constitutional rights when their home was wrongfully raided by agents wielding assault rifles.
CNBC: Foreigners Make Run on US Housing Market
NakedCapitalism: “A Security and Finance State that Dominates the American People”
Food and Water
TechnologyReview: Record Food Prices Linked to Biofuels
Reports from the WTO and USDA show that corn supplies are influenced by biofuel subsidies and mandates.
BigPictureAgriculture: Top Reasons for Rising Energy Use in the Food Industry
About half of the growth in food-related energy use between 1997 and 2002 is explained by a shift from human labor toward a greater reliance on energy-intensive technologies. High labor costs in the foodservices and food processing industries, combined with household outsourcing of manual food preparation and cleanup efforts through increased consumption of prepared foods and more eating out, appear to be driving this result.
NYT: A Look at How Many Calories $1 Will Buy
Bloomberg: Food Prices to Stay High This Decade on Demand, Slowing Output
Food prices will remain higher in the next decade than in the past 10 years as agricultural production slows and demand increases, the OECD and the United Nations said in a joint report today.
Science and Technology
ActivistPost: Apple wants to turn off iPhone cameras
Editor's Note: Also could be used as a way to stop people from filming police brutality?
Medical and Health
ExtinctionProtocol: Cambodia’s mortality rate for bird flu outbreak reaches 88%
M&C: Seven French children ill with E coli after burgers
Bloomberg: India’s Diabetes Epidemic Cuts Down Millions Who Escape Poverty
TheIndependent: Death wish: Routine use of vital antibiotics on farms threatens human healthAs Europe and the US face up to the menace of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, UK farmers have dramatically increased their use of the drugs most likely to cause these lethal strains
Eurekalert: How many US deaths are caused by poverty, low levels of education and other social factors?
PBSNewsHour: Certain Antibiotics Spur Widening Reports of Severe Side Effects
Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
Antique Pattern Library
antique crochet, knitting, tatting an other patterns in pdf format free. A fantastic collection for people interested in these crafts.
TomatoLand: The Indignity of Industrial Tomatoes
Other News
FarmWars: German E-Coli Outbreak: Accident or Planned “Genocide” for Organics?
ExtinctionProtocol: Strange Sun, Red moon, Burning sky: conditions on planet Earth deteriorating
CNN: Saggy pants lead to passenger's arrest
A passenger's refusal to pull up his saggy pants led to his arrest Wednesday aboard a US Airways flight at San Francisco International Airport, according to police.
The passenger, Deshon Marman, was charged with trespassing, battery and interfering with the duties of a police officer following an incident that started at the gate, when agents asked Marman to pull up his pants to cover his underwear, said San Francisco Police Sergeant Michael Rodriguez.
TheAtlantic: Iran's Bestial Behavior Knows No Limits
CNN: Driving campaign for Saudi women challenges custom
RawStory: Blind China activist reportedly beaten unconscious
Telegraph: Father locks son in wooden box for two months
A Canadian man who kept his son locked in a box no bigger than a portaloo for eight weeks has been forced to release him by police.
BusinessInsider: CHINA'S MOST AUDACIOUS RIP-OFF: An Entire Austrian Town Is Being Reproduced
BusinessInsider: Ed Shultz Goes OFF After Glenn Beck Calls Him "Trash"
TheAustralian: Mistakenly-released report reveals embarrassing extent of Chinese corruption
Guardian: Guardian Books podcast: Do books have a future?
Publishers, academics, digital pioneers and writers assembled in Milan at the Book Tomorrow conference. Claire Armitstead went along to find out what the future holds for the printed word.
The Forums
TinfoilPalace:THIS IS MY PLANE! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!
TinfoilPalace:Killing yourself on Facebook?
TheOilAge:Jim Sinclair - 6/16 Interview Must Listen
TheOilAge:Chilean volcano fills lake with ash
Hubberts-Arms:Dr. Steven Leeb: "We are stuck in a world of resource scarcity....."
Hubberts-Arms:Eric Sprott Says Gold Is Now The World's Reserve Currency
SilentCountry:sen. graham wants u.s. to intervene in syria
SilentCountry:Sun may be entering a quiet period, researchers say Read more:
pam, thanks for all you do. i read everyday. the best collection of the real news that's around to be read. better than the original. :)
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