Thursday, September 21, 2017

 

News Links, September 22, 2017

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Financialization and The Destruction of the Real Economy
Strip an economy of capital, productive incentives, talent and yes, ethics, and what are we left with? An economy spiraling toward an inevitable collapse.
Caught up in their own self-importance and hubris, the globalists are now debasing the forces of national, religious, and cultural identity as threats to the "world order."
Watchdog: Airfares for many travelers rise due to bag fees
Travelers who check at least one bag when flying domestically are paying more overall than they did before airlines began unbundling fares in 2008 and charging separately for checked baggage, a government watchdog said Wednesday.

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Turkish state media boasts about new missile, ability to shoot down US aircraft
Turkey's state run news agency Anadolu on Wednesday published an infographic showcasing the capabilities of the country's new Russian-acquired S-400 missile defense system — and its ability to shoot down U.S. aircraft.
Macron says Iran nuclear deal no longer enough
France's President Emmanuel Macron declared Wednesday that the Iran nuclear deal is no longer a sufficient safeguard  against the growing power that Tehran wields in its region.
It's unacceptable to France and its buddies that Iran is influential in its own backyard. -- RF
Air Force deploys more F-16s, tankers to Afghanistan
US Inaugurates Its First Military Base in Israel
The new base adds to the U.S. garrison of the world, which accounts for some 800 military bases on soil other than its own.
This is true, but it won't play out the way most people think. At some point power grids and the internet will fail, and that means no cryptocurrencies or social media or email. -- RF
Turkey to deploy troops inside Syria's Idlib - Erdogan
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Turkey will deploy troops in Syria's northern Idlib region as part of a so-called de-escalation agreement brokered by Russia last month.


## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Advanced Communication Crucial to Quashing Protesters
U.S. Shale: Water Is the New Oil
Rising U.S. shale output has led to increased amounts of the water that inadvertently flows out of wells together with oil. For now, drillers use trucks to transport this dirty water—which exceeds the amount of oil produced—to disposal sites, creating heavy traffic on roads.
Nestlé Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For
The company's operation in Michigan reveals how it's dominated the industry by going into economically depressed areas with lax water laws.

Any lice with that salmon? Parasite plagues global industry
A surge of parasitic sea lice is disrupting salmon farms around the world. The tiny lice attach themselves to salmon and feed on them, killing or rendering them unsuitable for dinner tables.
A sea change in Pacific fish wars
In ominous times, the world is already at war over fish, and seafood-loving Japan finds itself pitted against fish-hungry nations and region like China, North Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S.
Too many humans. -- RF

## Environment/health ##
Island of Puerto Rico 'destroyed' by Hurricane Maria, officials say
Uncovered: Monsanto campaign to get Séralini study retracted
Documents released in US cancer litigation show Monsanto's desperate attempts to suppress a study that showed adverse effects of Roundup herbicide – and that the editor of the journal that retracted the study had a contractual relationship with the company.

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Beware – the Equifax Scams Are Coming
Here are some of the scams – and how to protect yourself.
But, predictably, the issue she makes of this is that the US should also have a mechanism to nullify elections, not that Americans were wrongly meddling in another country's election. -- RF
If Americans want to "protect the integrity" of their elections, the first order of business is to dismantle the nation's China-style one-party system and break free of deep state influence. -- RF
Distrustful U.S. allies force spy agency to back down in encryption fight
An international group of cryptography experts has forced the U.S. National Security Agency to back down over two data encryption techniques it wanted set as global industry standards, reflecting deep mistrust among close U.S. allies.

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
With pilots stretched thin, fighting wars in Iraq and Syria and in Afghanistan, the Air Force is working to cut out unnecessary training and lighten their load.
Navy sailor 'sleep deprivation' highlighted at Senate hearing on deadly accidents
GAO finds worsening trends in naval maintenance, readiness and training
A study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on the U.S. Navy has found declining ship conditions and worsening trends in readiness as a result of shortened training periods, increased deployment lengths, and reduced or deferred maintenance for meeting high-operational demands.
The Air Force is working to max out pilot production — but it won't be nearly enough
In the face of an alarming shortfall of pilots, the Air Force is trying to boost how many new pilots it produces each year.

## Japan ##
Fishermen insuring against war, attacks
The Yomiuri ShimbunIn response to North Korea's missile launches and the issue of the Senkaku Islands, a growing number of fishermen are taking out special insurance contracts that cover such damage as loss of life among crew members if they are involved in armed conflicts and attacks.
TEPCO to delay emptying fuel storage pools at Fukushima plant
North Korean missile launches may cost Japanese broadcasters "billions of yen"


## US ##
Mattis: Budget uncertainty leads to questions of whether America 'has the ability to survive'
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis believes that years of budget uncertainty have left the U.S. military in such a precarious position that if it is not solved soon, it will represent an existential threat to American security.
The problem is that the US is trying to maintain its world-girdling empire in an age of declining net energy. Instead, it should go with the flow, which is toward a multi-polar world. Trying to maintain the current base network and deployments will only make the home situation worse. Eventually the US will perforce pull out of the Mideast and Asia, so it makes more sense to begin the process now. Empires are by nature unsustainable. People like Mattis need to wake up and smell the coffee. -- RF
1 Million Ohio Public Employees Face Pension Cuts As Another Ponzi Teeters On The Brink
Loving Our Debt-Serfdom: Our Neofeudal Status Quo
Democracy (i.e. political influence) and ownership of productive assets are the exclusive domains of the New Aristocracy.


Permanent Link posted by Rice Farmer @ 6:17 PM

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

 

News Links, September 20, 2017

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Guaranteed Income and Living Wage Schemes Cannot Possibly Work
Pension Storm Warning
Government told to begin online auctions or face a bank bail-in (Greece)
Ford to cut production at five North American vehicle plants
Putin Orders End To US Dollar Trade At Russian Seaports
The World Is Creeping Toward De-Dollarization
Will Low Oil Prices End Saudi Arabia's Gas Subsidies?


## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
US breaks ground for new permanent base in Israel
U.S. and Israeli officers broke ground in Israel on Monday for a permanent U.S. Army base that will house dozens of U.S. soldiers, operating under the American flag, and charged with the mission of defending against rocket and missile attack.  
Defense Contractors on Cloud 9
Trump Falls in Line with Interventionism
Exclusive: President Trump's U.N. speech showed that despite his America First rhetoric, his policies are virtually the same as the neocon strategies of George W. Bush and liberal interventionism of Barack Obama.

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
80 arrests as riots grip St. Louis for 3rd day after ex-cop's acquittal in fatal shooting

## Energy/resources ##
Saudis May Raise Domestic Gasoline Prices by 80%
It'll be good riddance to an industry that's never made any money. -- RF
This is your typical fear mongering from brain-dead growth advocates. The best thing that could happen to any country or region on Earth is a decline in the birth rate and population. -- RF
The hidden social and environmental costs of sand mining
Even more voracious than the consumption of finite reserves of fossil fuel, the mining of sand and gravel represents a looming tragedy of enormous proportions, according to a group of prominent scientists.

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Are Facebook and Google the New Colonial Powers?
What a hoot. The most meddlesome country on the planet is the US. The hutzpah displayed by Americans in this regard is beyond belief. -- RF

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
Banning 'Hate Speech' in America Will Only Make It More Popular

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Reducing inequality: does it still make sense in a world of more than seven billion people?
The high cost of an easy-care, low-maintenance world
To take it a step further, why not challenge the idea that we need to have ironed and creased trousers? And is it really good style to dangle a piece of colored cloth from your neck, or is it just an illusion maintained by those who profit from making and selling neckties? -- RF
People never learn from history. -- RF
Abe may commandeer tax hike proceeds for free schooling
Spreading benefits to Japanese public could undermine point of fiscal reform
Obama Goes Full Clinton Foundation With Series Of $400,000 Wall Street Speeches
For a man who once criticized the Clinton Foundation for taking millions of dollars in 'donations' from Wall Street "Fat Cats," Obama seems to be in a rush to replicate the lucrative Clinton scam via his very own Obama Foundation. As Bloomberg points out this morning, since leaving office in January, Obama has already collected millions in speaking fees from the same Wall Street banks that may have cost Hillary her shot at the White House.


Permanent Link posted by Rice Farmer @ 6:13 PM

Sunday, September 17, 2017

 

News Links, September 18, 2017

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
King's forces arrest prominent Saudis in warning to critics
Haley: Diplomacy efforts with North Korea 'pretty much exhausted'
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday with the United States exhausting diplomatic means against North Korea, "military options" are an alternative.
Afghanistan mulls plan to arm 20,000 civilians to fight insurgents
Trump extends sanction waivers for Iran while imposing new ones
Weaponizing sound: Could sonic devices have injured diplomats in Cuba?
[E]xperts have their doubts this kind of weapon was used in Cuba and believe it is more likely a chemical exposure.

## Migrants/refugees ##
Bangladesh restricts Rohingya refugees, starts immunization

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Protesters pour into St. Louis streets after murder acquittal for ex-cop
Singaporeans hold rare protest over presidential vote

## Energy/resources ##
Is The Sun Setting On The Solar Boom?

## Got food? ##
Global Hunger By Numbers: How Conflict Drives The World To Hunger
The number of undernourished people across the world has increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, which accounts for about 11 percent of total world population, the report says.
Oysters Can Get Herpes And Die
U.N. report links rise in hunger to climate change
Global hunger is on the rise, affecting 11 percent of the world's population, in part because of climate change, an annual report from the United Nations found.
Coastal development destroys natural barriers such as islands and wetlands, promotes erosion and flooding, and positions more buildings and people in the path of future destruction, according to researchers and policy advisers who study hurricanes.
San Diego Washing Streets With Bleach To Combat Hepatitis A Outbreak

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
The NYT's Yellow Journalism on Russia
Reading The New York Times these days is like getting a daily dose of the "Two Minutes Hate" as envisioned in George Orwell's 1984, except applied to America's new/old enemy Russia. Even routine international behavior, such as Russia using fictitious names for potential adversaries during a military drill, is transformed into something weird and evil.
5 Lies Nikki Haley Just Told About The Iran Deal

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The Way Nature Works: How Common is the Seneca Curve?
[T]remendous continual increases in research and development will be needed to sustain even today's low rate of economic growth.
McCain Laments 'Accident After Accident' After Military Cuts

## Japan ##

China rejects letting South Korea, Japan have nuclear arms
Wider use of nuclear weapons to counter threat from North Korea will only make the region more unstable, says Chinese ambassador to the US

Trump Extends Post-9/11 State of Emergency
'Temporary' State of Emergency Seems Increasingly Permanent


Permanent Link posted by Rice Farmer @ 4:18 PM

Thursday, September 14, 2017

 

News Links, September 15, 2017

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
US dollar index: The Most Important Chart in the World Is Getting Uglier By the Day
Venezuela Suspends Trade In U.S. Dollars
Yes, This Time It Is Different: But Not in Good Ways
Yes, this time it's different: all the foundations of a healthy economy are crumbling into quicksand.
U.S. Virgin Islands governor: Recovery will take years
Dear Jamie Dimon: Predict the Crash that Takes Down Your Produces-Nothing, Parasitic Bank and We'll Listen to your Bitcoin "Prediction"
This is the begging-for-the-overthrow-of-a-corrupt-status-quo economy we have thanks to the Federal Reserve giving the J.P. Morgans and Jamie Dimons of the world the means to skim and scam the bottom 95%.

## War on cash/cashless society ##

## Airline death spiral ##
Massive storms hit airlines where it hurts: Their hubs

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Is Russia Pushing Saudi Arabia Out Of Asia?
Rights group blasts Israeli banks for settlement expansion
Israeli banks are contributing to the proliferation of West Bank settlements by providing loans and mortgages for construction there, violating their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday.
How North Korea Outmaneuvered U.S.
Don't look now, but North Korea has just won its latest diplomatic tussle with the United States. No matter how often Donald Trump promises to rain down "fire and fury" on the Democratic People's Republic "the likes of which the world has never seen before," it's increasing clear that Kim Jong Un's nuclear-deterrence policy is working and that there's little the U.S. can do in response.

## Migrants/refugees ##
Romania seizes new migrant boat in Black Sea
Romanian authorities said Wednesday they had rescued more than 150 migrants in the Black Sea, the fifth such incident since August amid rising fears that a new migrant route to Europe is opening up.
Trafficked North Korean 'bride' reveals her desperate flight from China
China has made life dangerous for North Korean refugees living in the country amid the escalating nuclear weapons crisis, NGO's leader says
Nearly 3 weeks into Rohingya crisis, aid remains scarce

## Energy/resources ##

## Environment/health ##
For many of us, it is a surprise to discover that, today, 97% of the vertebrate biomass on land is composed of humans and of domesticated animals, leaving only 3% for wildlife.
Too many humans. And did I mention that there are too many humans? -- RF

This history is relevant again now amid the hysteria over alleged Russian "meddling" in last year's U.S. presidential elections. If those allegations are true – and the U.S. government has still not presented any real proof  – the Russian motive would have been, in part, payback for Washington's long history of playing games with the internal politics of Russia and other countries all across the planet.

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
History of Syria's war at risk as YouTube reins in content
Nothing surprising about this.  It's the usual elitist claptrap. -- RF

Navy's nuclear fleet shipyards in bad shape, report finds
Despite the Navy's plans to improve its public shipyards, the four facilities and their equipment remain in "poor condition," featuring drydocks that are more than 100 years old and other shortcomings that will take decades to fix, according to a government watchdog report released Tuesday.
America's Fragile Future
The U.S. mainstream's flailing about over alleged Russian "meddling" in American politics reflects a nation that is rapidly losing its global dominance and fearful of even the slightest challenge.

## Japan ##
Japan to begin supervision of cryptocurrency exchanges
Hesitant consumer spending spurs price cuts on daily goods
Supermarkets and convenience stores are cutting prices on processed food products and daily necessities, as concern over the future course of the economy and sluggish growth in disposable income leave customers reluctant to loosen their purse strings.
Japan's Push to Cut Drug Costs Risks Trade Friction With U.S.
While the U.S. Commerce Department sees Japan's drug market, the world's third largest, as the top near-term growth opportunity for its pharmaceutical exporters, the view from Tokyo is of crippling medical bills as the ranks of the elderly swell and the working-age population declines.
N Korea fires missile from Pyongyang over Japan
Paltry yields sap corporate debt's appeal amid North Korean tensions
If the FTC really wanted to help, it should be pushing for a complete overhaul of how tax filing works, such that merely knowing your Social Security Number and address isn't enough to file tax returns in your name.
Here's how much money Americans have in their savings accounts
And it's a welcome change. But while the observation of the phenomenon is correct, the analysis is lacking. It's important to see that what America actually has is a China-style one-party system. We could celebrate the demise of the Democrats and Republicans, but still end up with the same old system in a different guise, and still operating under the guiding hand of the deep state. To effect real change, the US political system has to break free of the deep state and its agenda of empire, global domination, perpetual war, and corporate rule. -- RF

And finally...


Permanent Link posted by Rice Farmer @ 6:10 PM

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