Monday, June 25, 2012

And... We're Back!! Breaking News Mon. June 25, 2012

Thank you everyone that has been supportive and kind during this extended "vacation" LOL
Finally the doomstead here is far enough along that I can carve out time to get back to work on the blog.
Still have a lot to do but making good progress so far.

I'm sure that many here have already read Guy's latest essay, if not, get a cup of coffee, relax, hug your teddy bear and read it.

As I pointed out in this space a few years ago, I concluded in 2002 that we had set into motion climate-change processes likely to cause our own extinction by 2030. I mourned for months, to the bewilderment of the three people who noticed. And then, shortly thereafter, I was elated to learn about a hail-Mary pass that just might allow our persistence for a few more generations: Peak oil and its economic consequences might bring the industrial economy to an overdue close, just in time. Like Pandora with her vessel, I retained hope.
No more. Stick a fork in us. We’re done, broiled beyond
hope
wishful thinking. It seems we’ve experienced a lethal combination of too much cheap oil and too little wisdom. Yet again, I’ve begun mourning. It’s no easier the second time.
and, to help understand where Guy is coming from, read Kunstler's "Rocky Mountain High"
it will help put it all in perspective.
as will this...
 A lumbering giant Galapagos tortoise known as Lonesome George lifts his head up during a walk in his protected home in the island chain in Puerto Ayora in this February 5, 2001 file photo. Lonesome George, the last remaining tortoise of his kind and a conservation icon, died on June 24, 2012 of unknown causes, the Galapagos National Park said. He was thought to be about 100 years old. (STRINGER/REUTERS)


Much thanks to RJ at the Global Glass Onion and the Ozarker at Conflicted Doomer , and to Doug at 3Es News and David at ETF Daily! These good friends help make this blog what it is, so do, go by and help support their efforts and hard work.



Peak Oil and Energy News
EarlyWarning: Latest Saudi Production 
CalculatedRisk: Gasoline Prices: $3 per gallon? - The roller-coaster ride for gasoline prices continue ... remember when some forecasters were predicting $5 per gallon? Now we are seeing prediction of $3 per gallon.

Good: Japan Announces Huge New Incentives for Solar Power - In an effort to move away from nuclear power, Japan announced big, big plans this week to incentivize solar power. Before the meltdown, atomic energy provided about 30 percent of Japan’s power, but now, post-meltdown, even the prime minister realizes that the country needs to decrease its reliance on nuclear power.

Telegraph: Sliding oil price could herald the beginning of a recovery  - Markets, like men, are not much good at multi-tasking. So while we’ve all been obsessing over every twist and turn in the eurozone saga, something extraordinary has happened to the most important number in the world – the oil price.
ArabNews: A new oil market downturn?

Grist: Hope for the unemployed: Fukushima exec lands new gig 


Global Conflict
CNN: Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi urges 'unity' in first speech as Egypt's president-elect
Guardian: Mexico's 'perfect dictatorship' on brink of comeback – but has it changed?

UPI: Iranian general warns Israel
WashingtonPost: NATO will discuss downing of Turkish plane by Syria in international airspace
CBSNews: Emergency NATO talks set over Syria shoot-down of Turkish jet fighter 

MSNBC: Report: Syrian general, dozens of other soldiers defect to TurkeyCSMonitor: Syria's downing of Turkish jet unlikely to pull NATO into Syrian conflict 

Reuters: Tunisia extradites former Gaddafi PM to Libya
CNN: Morsi declared Egypt's new president
 
NYT: Wave of Violence Swallows More Women in Juárez, Mexico
ABCNews: Border Patrol Agents Set for Corruption Trial
 
Reuters: Jet incident shows Syria's defences capable, jumpy
CNN: Morsi profile 

Reuters: Egypt's Islamist president gets to work
MSNBC: Iraq orders Voice of America, BBC to close
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi regulatory body has ordered the closure of 44 media outlets in the country including the BBC and Voice of America in a dispute over broadcast licenses, sources with knowledge of the order said on Sunday. However, no action was immediately taken.
Other organizations targeted for shutdown include privately-owned local TV channels Sharqiya and Baghdadia as well as U.S.-financed Radio Sawa.
WSJ: Dubai Firm Wins Afghan Contracts - The U.S. military has awarded contracts valued at nearly $10 billion to provide food for troops in Afghanistan, amid a billing dispute with its longstanding supplier.

SeattlePI: Israeli police arrest 85 after rally turns violent

Rawstory: Jimmy Carter slams U.S. policy on drones, targeted assassinations 
NYT: Iran and Syria Discussed in Putin's Visit to Israel


Domestic Financial News
MyBudget360: Starting life in the negative net worth column. What the Fed does not want you to know about American net worth figures.
S&PIncides: U.S. Recession Risks and the Outlook for Markets in the Second Half of 2012

CalculatedRisk: DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven decreased 0.4% in April 
CNNMoney: Unemployment by state 

YahooFinance: We Are Living in a ‘Modern Day Depression’ -- The Federal Reserve cut its growth forecast for the second half of 2012 and 2013 last week, raising concerns yet again about the potential for a "double-dip" recession.

DailyFinance: Is Your Spouse Cheating On You Financially?
Economist'sView: Fed Watch: A Long Wait to The Next FOMC Meeting - With the outcome of the June FOMC meeting settled, we can set our sights on the August meeting. And at this point, the outcome of that meeting is just as hazy as the last.

CapitalGainsAndGames: Bernanke's Testicles Are Not That Big -- Over at his own blog, Paul Krugman answers the question I asked here three weeks ago. Here are the money quotes: ...what we actually got was action that was pretty obviously calculated to be the absolute least the Fed could do without generating headlines saying “Fed ignores weak economy”.*** I’m sorry, but this looks like pure concession to political intimidation — a Fed refusing to do anything that would let Republicans accuse it of helping Obama. 
YahooFinance: US new-home sales rose at fastest pace in 2 years --- Americans bought new homes in May at the fastest pace in more than two years. The increase suggests a modest recovery in the housing market is continuing, despite weaker job growth.

SoberLook: The US debt to GDP ratio will soon look like the Eurozone periphery - Barclays Capital released the latest forecast of gross government debt-to-GDP ratios for a number of nations. Here is how the US compares to the more leveraged countries in the Eurozone going forward.

Smithsonian: Robots Enter the Job Market
In some cases, they're learning to work with humans. In others, they're taking over the whole plant
TAE: This Is Not America

TheNation: This Week in Poverty: Ms. Vasquez Goes to Washington
Economix: Paycheck Fairness and Market Failure -- Republicans have successfully shoved the Paycheck Fairness Act back into the closet, but it will eventually pop out again, possibly taking some hinges with it. The debate over this proposed legislation reveals serious flaws in reasoning about the impact of public efforts to promote fair pay.  The Paycheck Fairness Act would have required employers to give a “business” reason for paying men and women different wages for equal work. 

FT: Bank chiefs enjoy double-digit pay rises
FDL: A Piece of The Action. The Rise of Gangster Capitalism in the Face of Systemic Collapse. 


Global Financial News
Businessweek: Finance Minister of Greece: World's Worst Job? 
Time: Spain Asks for Bank Rescue

WSJ: BIS Official Warns of Central-Bank Overreach - Jaime Caruana, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements and former governor of the Bank of Spain, warned Sunday that the recent aggressiveness of the world’s central banks may be creating “unrealistic expectations” about their power to “resolve the fundamental problems that hold back sustainable growth” and argued that more central bank action poses unwelcome risks.

SMH: Welcome to Doomsday, warns Wall Street seer 
If you want to be scared, truly terrified, listen to Mark J. Grant. He might be right.
For the past two years, Grant, a managing director at a regional investment bank in Florida, has been predicting the bankruptcy of Greece and a cascade of chaos across the global economy, attracting quite a following on Wall Street in the process.
NYT: Pressure for Action at Brussels Meeting
Guardian: Tony Blair calls on Germany to back 'grand plan' to save eurozone - Future of the euro rests on Germany being prepared to accept the debts of one as the debts of all, former prime minister says

Salon: Bernanke bails out Europe  - The Fed debated domestic policy this week, but its actions in Europe are just as revealing
FiscalTimes: China's Economy Down More Than We Thought
FT: Brussels acts over garlic tax - The European Commission is taking Britain to court in a battle over an unpaid bill of millions of pounds in duty on imports of garlic.
SoberLook: Coal inventory at China's Qinhuangdao Port hits record

Spiegel: Imagining the Unthinkable: The Disastrous Consequences of a Euro Crash 
Time: Fitch Downgrades Cyprus Credit Grade to Junk - Fitch ratings agency says it has downgraded Cyprus’ sovereign credit grade to junk status, citing a rise in the amount of rescue money needed by its banks, which are heavily exposed to Greece.
Mish: Capital Controls Hit Spain: Government Laws Prohibit Cash Transactions Over €2,500; Minimum Fine of €10,000 for Failure to Report Foreign Accounts - If Spain is seeking further instability, a new law on financial transactions is sure to do just that. Via Google Translate, Spain passes a law limiting cash payments to 2,500 euros.


Commodities/Metals
Mineweb: Gold surprisingly strong for all the negative headlines
Minyanville: Silver's Silver Lining to Friday's New Low 

ETFDaily: VIX Futures Experience Most-Active Trading Week Ever (VXX, CVOL, TVIX)


Environmental
USGS
M 4.6, 7km S of Pasaco, Guatemala
M 3.2, western Montana

CNN: She shoots wildfire photos amid the flames
CSMonitor: Too many wildfires caused by gun owners, says Utah governor (+video) 
DesdemonaDespair: Graph of the Day: Natural Catastrophes Worldwide, 1980-2010 

LAT: Fire flares in Colorado as most evacuations are lifted in Utah
ABCNews: Wildfires Spread to Colo. Tourist Centers

CounterPunch: Failure in Rio 
Cryptogon: Hybrid Grass Produces Cyanide Gas, Kills Herd of Cattle 

DeclineOfTheEmpire: Global Warming And The Pine Beetle Scourge 
DesdemonaDespair: Duluth ‘mega flood’ sets new records 

Good: A Canopy of Man-Made Solar-Powered Supertrees Flourishes in Singapore
NYT: Cost of Minnesota Flood Estimated at $100 Million - In St. Louis County alone, 670 miles of paved highway and 760 miles of gravel roads have been affected by the floods, Ms. Graning said; much of the water from the flood drained into nearby Lake Superior, but some has entered rivers and streams headed south, so additional flooding is occurring, she said.

CNN: Stalled Debby soaking Florida
USAToday: Toll from Colorado wildfire raised to 248 homes

Rodale: The Surprising Reason Lyme Disease is Out of Control
CNN: Tropical Storm Debby spawns fatal tornado in Florida, drenches coast
Aljazeera: Are we sustainable? - Features - Al Jazeera English: Hopeful rhetoric had preceded the Rio+20 UN Conference on sustainability. World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, NGOs, the private sector and other groups met in an attempt to find ways to reduce poverty and increase social equity while ensuring environmental protection. But they have their work cut out for them. Resource wars, global warming-driven extreme weather events, poverty, and the disparity between poor and rich are at all time highs and escalating. Researchers told Al Jazeera they believe the solution lies in localising food production, transportation, and water issues. But can this be accomplished on a global level?

ClimateCentral: The Heat is On: U.S. Temperature Trends
SkepticalScience: Mercury rising: Greater L.A. to heat up an average 4 to 5 degrees by mid-century

Smithsonian: Bats Lose Out to Historic Trees in Sydney - Flying foxes can defoliate trees, but should the Royal Botanic Garden shoo this vulnerable species from its grounds?
Rawstory: UK government plan to kill 100,000 badgers to protect cows heads to court


America in Decline
ABCNews: Critics Blast Tennessee's 'No Holding-Hands Bill' - Spurred by a classroom demonstration involving a sex toy, Tennessee recently enacted a pro-abstinence sex education law that is among the strictest in the nation.

WashingtonPost: Homeless families who turn to D.C. for help find no room, risk child welfare inquiry
When Shakieta Smith, a homeless mother of two, called the District’s shelter hotline in March, she was told the city’s shelters were full — and then the intake worker added a chilling warning:

If she and her kids had nowhere safe to sleep, she’d be reported to the city’s Child and Family Services Agency for a possible investigation into abuse and neglect.

LAT: Supreme Court strengthens Citizens United decision with Montana ruling
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday reaffirmed the right of corporations to make independent political expenditures, summarily overturning a 100-year-old Montana state law that barred corporations from such political activity.
Salon: Collapsing U.S. credibility
TheSmokingGun: Four Charged In Drive-By Water Gun Shooting 

Zerohedge: Guest Post: Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why? - I have to say that this event, which is being labeled a "training exercise", makes very little sense to me. U.S. Army troops all the way from Maryland running open exercises in armored personnel carriers on the busy streets of St. Louis? I know Maryland is a small state, but is there really not enough room at Ft. Detrick to accommodate a tank column and some troops?


Food and Water
CivilEats: The Prince of Pickles: Sandor Katz on The Art of Fermentation 
NYT: With Wild West Spirit, Tombstone Fights for Its Water

BusinessInsider: A Cool Graph To Tell You When Fruits And Vegetables Are In Season

MotherJones: Poisoning Workers at the Bottom of the Food Chain
Grist: Have sledgehammer, will farm



Science and Technology
TheAtlantic: The Turing Test's Blind Spot
Time: How Smart Phones Change How We Bank, Drive, and Go to the Bathroom


Forbes: iPhone 5: Every iPhone Accessory You Own Just Became Obsolete
Super Physics Smackdown: Relativity v Quantum Mechanics...In Space 

MSNBC: Beyond primates: What do dolphins and dogs know?
Intelligence isn't restricted to our branch of the tree of life
TPM: Voyager At Solar System’s Edge Is ‘Crowning Achievement,’ Creator Says

MSNBC: Scientists say parts of Mars interior are as wet as Earth's
Previous studies suggested Red Planet's internal water stores were scanty at best
The interior of Mars holds vast reservoirs of water, with some spots apparently as wet as Earth's innards, scientists say.
The finding upends previous studies, which had estimated that the Red Planet's internal water stores were scanty at best — something of a surprise, given that liquid water apparently flowed on the Martian surface long ago.
Smithsonian: Man or Computer? Can You Tell the Difference?


Medical and Health
ChicagoTribune: Most Americans oppose health law but like provisions
Weaponized Bird Flu Research Published as Virus ‘Just Mutations’ Away from Pandemic

SFGate: What to Look for in High Court's Historic Health-Care Ruling 
WashingtonPost: Will we love the health-care law if it dies? 


Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
CanadianDoomer: Hungry Strangers 
NoTechMagazine: The Poor Man's Refrigerator 

SabreDancing: This off cycle is a bust…


Other News
(Thanks to Veronica at TFP for the following story)
Bradenton.com: UPDATE: Naked man bites grandfather; Manatee deputies use Tasers to arrest cursing suspect in Palmetto

CBSNews: Video: "Vampire" graves unearthed in Bulgaria 
TheAtlantic: It's Real Work: In Defense of Stay-at-Home Moms 

CSMonitor: The 100 best books of all time
Reuters: At least 22 hurt when Canada mall's roof collapses 

LAT: Fontana teacher, 4 students arrested in possible hazing incident
CNN: 25 killed in Mexico bus crash 

NYDaily: Inmates taunt Jerry Sandusky with Pink Floyd lyrics
ABCNews: Why Did Jerry Sandusky's Wife Stay?

Guardian: Bradley Manning lawyers accuse prosecutors of misleading judge - In a motion ahead of Monday's pre-trial hearing, civilian lawyer says prosecutors are still denying defence access to documents
TheTeemingBrain: Is the spiritual counterculture doomed?

CNN: Live blog: Supreme Court strikes down most of Arizona immigration law, upholds one part
 
WSJ: Supreme Court Allows Immigration Checks - WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court struck down much of Arizona's effort to crack down on illegal immigrants but left one key part intact in a ruling that gave both sides of the debate something to cheer.
NYT: Justices Bar Mandatory Life Terms for Juveniles
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that states may not impose mandatory life sentences without parole on juveniles, even if they have been convicted of taking part in a murder.
CBC.ca: Search underway for survivors in mall collapse
Rawstory: Loophole lets cruse ship rapes go unreported 

TeemingBrain: Writers: Inhabit your delusions, embrace your freakishness


Politics
LAT: Restive Iowa could be a presidential decider
WashingtonPost: Romney's top donors descend on Utah resort for weekend retreat

MSNBC: GOP lawmakers targeted for gay marriage support
LAT: Issa: No evidence White House covered up 'Fast and Furious' fallout

VideoMSNBC: How Romney plans to handle immigration
 


Forums
TinfoilPalace: Naked Man Bites Granfather Severely
TinfoilPalace: Meteor reports briefly ground aerial assault on CO wildfire

TheOilAge: shutting production at four US Gulf platforms on storm threat
TheOilAge: Templar's Card Game

HubbertsArms: The hand of the empire in South America
HubbertsArms: GM grass linked to Texas cattle deaths

 
SilentCountry: Weird
SilentCountry: Contagion - not long before humans become bird flu carriers.

DestinyCalls: Farsight Remote viewing of 2013
DestinyCalls: EVP spirit chat with predictions, from a letter off Urban Survival

4 comments:

  1. You're baaaaccckkk! I'm so glad!

    ReplyDelete
  2. helo there! and thank you!
    I'm glad to be back at the news again. I really missed it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad you have things in hand on the homestead. Wish I could say the same, as we're burning up here.

    Thoughts, re: McPherson... didn't the Mayan culture burn up too? Maybe, like the phoenix, we are intended to go up in flames in order to be 'resurrected.'

    ReplyDelete
  4. hey Annon, thanks for commenting and yes, on days like today, when it's so awful hot, and after the freaky warm and storm late winter we had, I think maybe that's what it meant by the world ending in fire.
    hope you get some cooler weather soon. I'm thankful we have a creek to get some water from for our small garden. We'd be in a mess if it weren't for that.

    ReplyDelete