Wednesday 18 November 2009

Fox - no Bush-News



Well, I think it was called: Propaganda!

Carpe diem!!


Tuesday 17 November 2009

and what...?

telegraph:Global warming will bring killer heat, floods and storms to Britain


1972: our biology prof introduces a new book to us: "This is going to be part of your life, read it!". We read it, we discussed it and read it to others, we were heavily impressed; it made sense and set the goals; ever since then I wait to see and live the consequences of "The Limits to Growth". The Club of Rome started the discussion - but nothing happened except we came up with different names for basically the same problem: "climate catastrophe" or "climate change", "global warming" and "green house gases", "peak-oil" or "carbon society".

The effects of the temperature rise would also be seen in food shortages in the short term in many areas of Europe, especially the south. Droughts in East Anglia would make wheat more difficult to produce, although it would be possible to grow more Mediterranean fruits and vegetables in the south of England.

Although climate change has in the past been seen as potentially positive for northern Europe, because more crops could be grown in cooler areas, the new predictions found this would be balanced out by significant losses in commercial forestry and livestock because of the threat of pests and plant disease.

John Mitchell, director of climate science at the Met Office, said that the research highlighted the importance of a global deal on climate change. “This latest research emphasises the necessity to make drastic cuts in emissions as quickly as possible if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. It highlights the importance of the negotiations that will take place in Copenhagen in December,” he said.

Is this part of our lives ever going to be addressed like it should? With common sense and human intelligence?

Carpe diem!



in-de-flation

telegraph: Train operators in spin row over fair rises

Obviously we will be going through deflationary times with inflationary exceptions; but lets face it, items that are available in abundance and not really "essential" when it comes to making a living are becoming really cheap where items, fees and taxes that are necessary and unavoidable will drive inflation.

Some fares will rise sharply, with First Great Western imposing a 15 per cent increase on its "super saver single" between Swindon and London, which will go up from £20 to £23.

Meanwhile Southeastern trains is pushing up the cost of all its off-peak return fares by 7.3 per cent, while passengers on Arriva Trains Wales will see increases approaching 10 per cent on some journeys.

I am sure the guardians of any official statistic will try to calm us down by mixing in- and deflation notwithstanding life per se becoming more expensive!

Carpe diem!

Monday 16 November 2009

one Axle: two mill stones

At some point, American workers will rebel. US unemployment is already 17.5pc under the broad "U6" gauge followed by Barack Obama. Realty Track said that 332,000 properties were foreclosed in October alone. More Americans have lost their homes this year than during the entire decade of the Great Depression. A backlog of 7m homes is awaiting likely seizure by lenders. If you are not paying attention to this political time-bomb, perhaps you should.

It is fashionable to talk of America as the supplicant. That misreads the strategic balance. Washington can bring China to its knees at any time by shutting markets. There is no symmetry here. Any move by Beijing to liquidate its holdings of US Treasuries could be neutralized – in extremis – by capital controls. Well-armed sovereign states can do whatever they want.

If provoked, the US has the economic depth to retreat into near autarky (with NAFTA) and retool its industries behind tariff walls – as Britain did in the 1930s under Imperial Preference. In such circumstances, China would collapse. Mao statues would be toppled by street riots.

The rest of the world watching that development will be forced between those two mill stones and for sure loose its texture.

Carpe diem!


Sunday 15 November 2009

bull... (not ...dog!)

Daily Mail: 'You can eat an extra cheeseburger a day' - say diet experts

I wonder, which Lobby or Lobby-Club has initiated that article? What a generalising b...s...!

Official guidance on how much we can eat each day has been underestimated for the last two decades, scientists have revealed.

The daily intake of calories - currently 2,000 for woman and 2,500 for men - could be increased by up to 16 per cent, the equivalent of cheeseburger or two packets of crisps.

An average adult could happily squeeze in an extra 400 calories a day and not pile on the pounds, Britain's leading nutritionists have admitted.

Who takes responsibility for that "Official Guidance", is it MacD or the Potato Farmers? May be Gordon!?

Carpe diem!


Thursday 12 November 2009

Golden Sachsens everywhere!

Matt Taibbi, American journalist, on the "Great American Bubble Machine".

I am aware of the fact that is is a lot to read and listen to, to digest and understand: at the same time it is very
likely that the big players are aware of just that fact as well and therefore get away with what the get away with.



and part two:


Please also see:
Do you believe in miracles?
Max Keiser, part 1
Max Keiser, part 2

Carpe diem!

Tuesday 10 November 2009

the nuclear countdown

telegraph: "Ten nuclear power plants get the go-ahead despite safety fears"

The article appears to me like a confession of failure and sums up pipe dreams of 10 new nuclear power stations supplying up to 25% of the UK's electricity latest from 2025 onwards with the first to go onto the grid as early as 2018: nine years from now!

If you miss the explanation why this should work now and has not for the last 20 years: I do too.

May be the mixture of a Government ready to override all objections, to sweep away the toxic waste problem while mixing in dark and cold power-cut-scenarios and the need for some pseudo-green coal power plants and the ever-so-alleged leadership in new technologies such as CCS shall act as the smoke screen.

Is that what sustainability stands for?

Carpe diem!