This is a very interesting look at OBL's history. Makes you wonder why the Bush family prohibited the investigation of Saudi Arabia in our terrorism investigations.
Maybe the Saudi's figured out we have been misleading them or blackmailed them into having our military there.
On our terms, not his - obl was the money guy
Listen to the video linked below.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Osama Bin Ladin Bankrupted USA and USSR
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
? for John Kerry, Is the CIA now selling drugs from Afghanistan like in the Iran Contra Scandal? #peakoil #obl #war #2012
Not like this is new news to anyone...
Clipped from www.pbs.org
at the same time as we're spending countless dollars in this country to try to
get rid of this problem. It's mind boggling.
Sen John Kerry is Honest, Practical, Brilliant, and Truly Cares about America and the middle Class
Say what you will about him but he has been a consistent and practical force for US foreign relations for many years. Listin to the podcast on this site.
Clipped from www.commonwealthclub.org
Under Senator Kerry’s leadership, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee addresses the key foreign policy and national security issues facing the United States, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, nuclear nonproliferation and global climate change. As nations across the Middle East face unprecedented political upheaval, Kerry will discuss current affairs in that region as well as a variety of domestic issues. A U.S. senator for nearly three decades and a former Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, Kerry has distinguished himself as one of today’s most highly respected and influential leaders. Kerry has been a leading voice on a wide array of issues – from expanding health care to supporting small business – but his most notable work has been in regard to international affairs and national security. Kerry now chairs the very committee he notably testified before in 1971.
Monday, May 9, 2011
#peakoil constraints rearing its head @collapsenet
Clipped from www.chicagotribune.com
Demand, not speculation, cited for rising oil prices
High oil prices are here to stay, and they're caused by surging demand and limited new supply, not Wall Street speculators.
That's the message from Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency.
Birol said growth in worldwide oil demand is outstripping growth in new supplies by 1 million barrels a day per year.
Much of that new demand is coming from China, which is adding 800,000 vehicles to its roads each year, he said, and is responsible for fully half of the world's demand growth. Birol noted the growth in China's oil consumption is equal to all of the new output expected from Iraq over the next few years.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Peak Oil in Perspective - Energy Conference #peakoil #collapse #economy #2012 @npr
This is a good presentation / report to cover the issue for those who like slides.
http://www.aspo9.be/assets/ASPO9_Fri_29_April_Bezdek.pdf
Clipped from www.npr.org
I was recently at a scientific conference on the development of sustainable biofuels, this being my lab's research focus. Much data was presented and much was said of substance. But the one slide I made sure to get a copy of was this one from Steve Mayfield at UCSD, conveying the history and availability of petroleum at current usage rates (more information here):
All Levels of Radiation Confirmed to Cause Cancer #nuclear #peakoil
Clipped from www.nirs.org
Washington, DC July 30, 2005 The National Academies of Science released an over 700-page report yesterday on the risks from ionizing radiation. The BEIR VII or seventh Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation report on "Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation" reconfirmed the previous knowledge that there is no safe level of exposure to radiation—that even very low doses can cause cancer. Risks from low dose radiation are equal or greater than previously thought. The committee reviewed some additional ways that radiation causes damage to cells.
Bernard cohen, please test your nuclear theory at fukushima
Clipped from en.m.wikipedia.org
Bernard Cohen (physicist)
Bernard Leonard Cohen born June 14, 1924 in Pittsburgh,[1] is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Cohen has been a staunch opponent to the so called Linear no-threshold model (LNT) which postulates there exists no safe threshold for radiation exposure. His views, what was in the 1980s and 1990s considered a self-marginalizing posture had become somewhat mainstream some 20 years later.[2]
Friday, May 6, 2011
Where are the worlds nuclear waste dumps? #peakoil
...While making electricity, nuclear power plants produce two types of radioactive waste: low- and high-level waste.
Low-level waste can include contaminated rags, papers, filters, tools, equipment, discarded protective clothing and construction rubble. It is generally buried in shallow trenches at one of three U.S. facilities...
Clipped from www.pplweb.com
Benefits and Byproducts
Nuclear energy is safely used in many beneficial ways, including administering medical treatments, controlling crop-destroying insects and exploring space. The electricity produced by nuclear power plants like Susquehanna allows us to enjoy many everyday lifestyle conveniences.
More than 100 nuclear power plants provide about 20 percent of America's electricity, second only to coal. Worldwide, 30 countries operate more than 430 nuclear plants for electricity generation, currently providing about 16 percent of the world's energy production.
Of all energy sources, nuclear energy has perhaps the lowest impact on the environment, including water, land, habitat, species and air resources. Because it does not emit harmful air pollutants, the use of nuclear energy helps to keep the air clean, preserve the Earth's climate, avoid ground-level ozone formation and prevent acid rain.
A nuclear fuel pellet contains a lot of energy. One uranium nuclear fuel pellet the size of the tip of your little finger is equivalent to the energy provided by 1,000 pounds of coal, or 100 gallons of gasoline.
Nuclear energy also is efficient and cost-effective. Unlike some other energy sources, nuclear energy is not subject to weather or climate conditions, unpredictable cost fluctuations or dependence on foreign suppliers.
While making electricity, nuclear power plants produce two types of radioactive waste: low- and high-level waste.
Low-level waste can include contaminated rags, papers, filters, tools, equipment, discarded protective clothing and construction rubble. It is generally buried in shallow trenches at one of three U.S. facilities.
High-level waste, also called used nuclear fuel, is uranium that is too weak to power a nuclear reactor economically, but it is more radioactive than new fuel. Used nuclear fuel looks the same as when it was new, and as with new fuel, it cannot explode and does not burn. All the used fuel produced to date by the U.S. nuclear energy industry would cover an area the size of a football field to a depth of about five yards.
Used fuel is being stored at nuclear power plants in water-filled pools or in above-ground concrete-and-steel containers until the federal government opens a permanent repository. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers both methods of onsite storage to be safe. The United States does not reprocess and recycle used nuclear fuel, although other countries do.
The nuclear energy industry is the only industry established since the industrial revolution that has managed and accounted for all of its waste, preventing adverse impacts to the environment.
Electric cars #peakoil & #renewableenergy
Clipped from sufiy.blogspot.com
Federal Taxes Lowest Since 1950 #2012
Does this explain why cities and states and the federal government are suffering so much in terms of their budget? Or is it overspending? Or both.
Taxes as a percentage are lower. The number of taxpayers are fewer (with greater unemployment) but expenditures are greater with significant defense and military spending (WAR), poor performance of state pension funds (invested in AAA rated mortgage backed securities), union contracts (which support seniority rather than performanced based pay), the financial bailout (TARP - which has been paid back to a great degree), and skyrocketing healthcare costs affecting Medicare and Medicaid. Social Security is in good shape.
So why the all out class warfare by the right on planned parenthood, and public pension plans?
Why the ignorant defense of unions by the left?
We need to come together and solve the country's problems. Not distract from the real issues with partisan politics.
#Peakoil is real and we will need to DRAMATICALLY change the way we live. SOON.
Our pursuit for any oil and gas and minerals (WAR in Iraq and Afghanistan) to fund our continuous plan for growth is NOT SUSTAINABLE with depleting natural resources. Our current economic model cannot run without energy.
Clipped from www.usatoday.com
By one measure, federal taxes lowest since 1950
WASHINGTON — Think your taxes are too high? As a share of the nation's economy, Uncle Sam's tax take this year will be the lowest since 1950.
And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under President George W. Bush, thanks to a weak economy and a growing number of tax breaks for the wealthy and the poor.
Chinese national bank in terror financing
Is the Cold War part 2 the endless war on terror financed by chinese and russian banks as well as by Iran and OPEC nations that gain from the sale of oil to the USA?
Clipped from www.southasiaanalysis.org
Chinese Bank in terror
Financing
By Bhaskar Roy
In a startling
development, one hundred plaintiffs filed a
case last week with a Los Angeles Circuit
Court that a Chinese state-owned bank was
acting as a financial conduit for terrorist
groups Islamic Jihad (IJ) and Hamas. The
Bank of China Ltd. China’s third largest
bank, has expectedly denied the charge
saying it would contest the suit.
The law suit alleged
that the bank was aware of these illegal
transactions but did nothing to stop them.
It claimed, through certain supportive
documents, that millions of dollars were
sent through the Bank of China to finance
attacks by the two terrorist outfits,
resulting in death and injuries to innocent
people.
The charges add that
the illegal transfers emanated from the
Middle East, sent to the banks’ branches in
the USA, and were then transferred to
accounts at the Bank of China branch in
Guangzhou in Southern China, and finally
wire-transferred to Hamas and IJ leaders in
Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
This money helped terrorist attacks between
2004 and 2007.
Israeli officials in
2005, brought these activities of the bank
to the notice of officials of China’s
Central Bank but the practice continued, the
law suit said.
Following the war on
terror led by the USA from 2001, US
intelligence and federal justice department
officials started working with a large
number of countries including China to block
the routes of terror financing. For example,
US Justice Department officials have trained
Bangladesh central bank officials on
tracking illegal money transactions. This
happened following the 2005 country-wide
terrorist bombings in Bangladesh and it was
discovered that a number of Gulf NGOs like
the Al Hamrain trust and the Revival of
Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) of Kuwait
were funding Islamic terrorist groups in the
country.
According to the Bank
of China’s website, it reported by 2006 more
than one thousand cases of suspicious
transactions amounting to $ 56.5 billion to
the Chinese police, but there is no official
report on how these cases were dealt with.
Illegal monetary
transactions are also hidden in Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) in China. Money sent
out illegally by some companies about which
not much is known, return as FDI.
Information on such financial flows is
rarely sought by the government agencies.
One partner involved in illegality will
surely need an unscrupulous partner outside
China. Money laundering is a murky world
where all the undesirable people – gun
runners, narco traders, terrorists and black
marketers are partners – with no questions
asked.
It is well known that
China assisted the Taliban during the war
against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
But it was not China alone who supported the
Taliban – the USA was the main culprit along
with king pin Pakistan. While the western
countries withdrew from Afghanistan after
the Soviet Union left to gradually implode,
China, with assistance from Pakistan, stayed
with the new rulers of Afghanistan, the
Al-Qaeda indoctrinated Taliban.
China’s commitment to
counter terrorism has always been suspect,
although it has its own problems with the
Muslim Uighur separatists in the western
region of Xinjiang. This problem is not
receding.
At a particular period
of the cold war, China maximized its gains
from most sides. The experience may have
encouraged the Beijing leaders to sit in the
middle and fish in troubled waters.
China was very much
aware that its Uighur militants were being
trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan by
Pakistani Jehadis of ISI creation, the
Taliban and even the Al Qaeda. Some of these
training camps were common to both Uighurs
and Kashmiri militants.It hoped that with
good relations with Pakistan and the Taliban
in Afghanistan, the Uighur separatist menace
would be resolved or, at least, kept within
manageable limits.
It may be recalled that
even after the US missile attacks on Taliban
post 9/11, China maintained for some time
that there was no evidence that the Taliban
was involved in terrorism. Chinese companies
were entering Taliban controlled Afghanistan
in a big way in telecommunication, military
informatics, and oil and gas survey.
Further, Afghanistan was seen as a strategic
gateway to Central Asia.
Pakistan was, and
remains, China’s gateway to the Gulf and
West Asia or as the Chinese prefer to call
it these days, the “Golden Gate” out of US
encirclement. The route from western China
to Pakistan extending to Afghanistan into
Central Asia was also very important to
consolidate its multi-pronged surge in that
ex-Soviet region.
Simultaneously, growing
militancy in countries perceived to be
potential competitors or adversaries was
apparently seen as a bonus by the Chinese
security establishment. China’s larger
regional strategy seemed to have given some
cover to Islamic terrorism and militancy, at
least by omission. This strategy has also
enabled terrorists to sneak into southern
China from Hong Kong and near by areas in
the cover of petty businessmen. Terrorist
money laundering from Guangdong province
bordering Hong Kong was reported as early as
2002.
The Bank of China case
raises the question whether there is
disconnect between the hard line
intelligence and security establishment and
the top section of the Central leadership
group led by President Hu Jintao? If that is
so, this is a dangerous call for the rest of
the world, especially neighbouring regions
troubled by Islamic militancy and terrorism.
The West, of course, would be a major
target.
Otherwise, it is
difficult to find an answer how such huge
illegal transfers through the Bank of China
in Guangzhou has remained unaddressed for so
long when evidence was staring the Chinese
security in the face. The related question
is whether the Bank of China case is the tip
of the iceberg, given the fact that
terrorists in UK, Europe and India appear
financially well-supported.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
America’s Electoral College is Krony Democracy
Clipped from rt.com
America’s Electoral College: Time for it to go?
Is it time for America to scrap the Electoral College system. Critics argue the system prevents Presidents from being elected by a true majority and that changes are needed.
The Electoral College system is a process by which the US President is currently elected. Unlike other US election, a popular majority is not the final verdict in presidential vote counts.
Under the Electoral College each state is awarded, based on their population size, a number of electoral votes. These electoral votes are cast by a state’s congressional representatives. Each representative votes for president based on how their state voted in the popular election.
Large Banks Guilty of Racketeering #rico
Clipped from definitions.uslegal.com
Racketeering is the federal crime of conspiring to organize to commit
crimes, especially on an ongoing basis as part of an organized crime operation.The Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is
a federal law allowing the federal government to place in trusteeship organizations
which are convicted of being dominated by racketeers or organized crime.
John Paulson buys Gold Production Capabilities
One of the hedge fund managers that foresaw the 2008 global economic collapse is buying gold mining and gold bullion and diversifying away from USD and treasuries
#peakoil is catching up with the us economy
Clipped from seekingalpha.com
Bank of America Is John Paulson's Second Largest Holding after Gold
Pimco selling us treasuries b4 china can
#peakoil is catching up with the us govt. Qe3 will not be sustainable because No One wants to buy the USD as BRICS are pushing to trade oil and other energy with a mixed basket of currencies, rather than USD.
So what are US banks doing?
Clipped from www.investingdaily.com
PIMCO's Bill Gross Says to Sell U.S. Treasuries Now
Second, he recently released his market commentary for March where he makes another market call that is probably also worth following. To wit, he predicts that when the Fed’s QE2 bond-buying binge ends at the end of June, there will be nobody to take the Fed’s place as last-resort buyer of U.S. Treasuries at artificially low rates. Treasury yields will need to ramp up sharply by 1.5 percentage points to attract private buyers. Given that the ten-year U.S. Treasury is currently yielding only 3.5%, a 1.5 percentage point jump would equal a 43% increase in interest rates (1.5/3.5). That’s a big move in interest-rate land and would have a significantly negative effect on bond prices.
The Chinese own more than $1 trillion worth of U.S. Treasury bonds. That's a lot of moola at risk for a price decline. I don't envy China at this point in the interest-rate cycle!
Carlos Slim sells silver, Mexican Central Bank Buys Gold
The Mexican central bank, which employs a few individuals who are somewhat familiar with carlos Slim since he is tje wealthiest man in mexico and the world according to forbes, has recently bought $100b in gold, mimicking BRICS in advance of a probable shift to a mixed basket of currency by 2018 or sooner.
The precious metals are climbing in value while the dollar sinks. Central banks and investors are selling their dollars and buying other currencies and or gold, and silver to secure thier wealth for fear of an American economic collapse
Clipped from blogs.barrons.com
Pressure Builds: CME To Hike Silver Rates 4th Time; Carlos Slim Selling
Separately, billionaire Carlos Slim has been selling silver futures to hedge the production of his silver mine, CNBC is reporting this afternoon.
The report comes after today’s WSJ story detailing how several big hedge fund managers such as George Soros have been moving out of silver and gold.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Bin Laden Down, #tbtf banks are next
US banks have the world hostage to their gambling and greed. They must be broken up and federal policy should stimulate localized community banks to support small business and individuals
Clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk
Wind farms excess power @reworld
Hmm. Seems like a more effective use of those funds could be devised.
Clipped from breakingnews.heraldscotland.com
Row after wind farms 'turned off'
Bin Laden Death Reflection on #peakoil
Clipped from www.energybulletin.net
The death of Osama bin Laden and the threat of peak oil
With the death of Osama bin Laden, can America now face threats to our future more dangerous than Al Qaeda -- peak oil and climate change?
If you can get past the civics class platitudes, this would make a fine speech on the national security challenge that the US faces from peak oil and climate change too.
But if there's any greatness left in Americans at all, we must apply the inspiration of Obama's words to preparing our communities for a lower energy future and cutting carbon emissions in our own lifestyles so that we can stop being the main cause of the problem and instead become part of the solution.
Obama Tactics for a Balanced Budget
Nice move. Will it work?
Clipped from www.reuters.com
Factbox: Five facts about CIA director Leon Panetta
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