Nothing Left to Steal

SUBHEAD: Shortly thereafter everyone realizes that the chips they are holding are not all that valuable any more.By Dmitry Orlov on 18 March 2011 in ClubOrlov - (http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/03/nothing-left-to-steal.html)Image above: Ceramic poker chips for sale at 67¢ a piece. From (http://www.pokerchiplounge.com/poker-chips/ceramic-poker-chips.html).Michael Betancourt is an intellectual:

Economy - Energy - War

SUBHEAD: The world is stable in the sense of hanging by your fingernails is stable.By Bas Van Berkel (Ilargi) on 21 March 2011 for The Automatic Earth - (http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-21-2011-stable-in-sense-of.html)Image above: A military tank that will be used to clear rubble from the Fukushima nuclear complex leaves Camp Asaka on a trailer.

Meltdowns In Progress

SUBHEAD: It's better to be a year early than a day late. So get out there and prepare responsibly.By Chris Martenson on 16 March 2011 in Chris Martenson.com - (http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/alert-nuclear-economic-meltdown-in-progress)Image above: A well stocked root cellar in the basement. From (http://blog.siffordsojournal.com/2008/11/root-cellar-update.html).It is with a heavy heart that

Nuclear Nightmare Gets Worse

SUBHEAD: The evacuation of the plant leaves open to question whether the manpower exists to fight the fire and reduce the radiation hazard.By Steve Ludlum on 15 March 2011 in Economic Undertow -(http://economic-undertow.blogspot.com/2011/03/nuclear-nightmare-gets-worse.html)Image above: Stock shot of perator at controls at Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant No. 3. From (http://www.oregonlive.com/today/

Rock Me On The Water

SUBHEAD: So many things are shaking loose now in this world-wrapped-too-tight that it is hard to track where they all overlap.By James Kunstler on 14 March 2011 for Kunstler.com - (http://kunstler.com/blog/2011/03/rock-me-on-the-water.html)Image above: Vessels float on oil spilled water in Fudai, Iwate, northern Japan Monday, March 14, 2011. From (http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2011/

The Race Is On

SUBHEAD: Whether oil soars or China swoons, the race to the bottom is on.By Guy McPherson on 14 March 2011 in Nature Bats Last -(http://guymcpherson.com/2011/03/the-race-is-on)Image above: "Chariot Race" to celebrate the 2762nd birthday of Rome. From (http://eternallycool.net/2009/04/games-in-honor-of-romes-2762nd-birthday).Everywhere I turn, I read and hear about $200 oil in the near future (

Japan's economy in melt-down

SUBHEAD: The cost of recovering after the earthquake, tsunami and failure of several nuclear facilities will be too much for Japan's economy to bear.By Steve Ludlum on 12 March 2011 in Economic Undertow - (http://economic-undertow.blogspot.com/2011/03/death-knell-of-waste-based-economy.html)Image above: Disappearance of #1 nuclear containment building in Fukushima Japan. From (http://

Revolts in the Middle East

SUBHEAD: A handy guide to the revolts in the Middle East—and their likely effects on us.By Gonzalo Lira on 10 March 2011 in Gonzalo Lira - (http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2011/03/handy-guide-to-revolts-in-middle.html)Image above: Map of Middle East and North Africa. Click to enlarge.In 1848, protests and revolutions swept through Europe. The specific causes were different in each country, but

Tsunami could hit economy hard

SUBHEAD: The prognosis doesn't look good. What is clear is that the disaster could not have come at a worst time for Japan.By Richard Tanter on 11 March 2011 in Radio Australia - (http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/201103/s3162124.htm)Image above: Cars and rubble piled up after tsunami in Japan. From (http://www.christianpost.com/news/quake-tsunami-devastate-japan-49376). The full

Impact of Middle East Unrest

SUBHEAD: Energy is not a segment of the economy; it IS the economy.By 6 Energy Experts on 10 March 2011 in Post Carbon Institute -(http://www.postcarbon.org/blog-post/275142-6-energy-experts-address-the-economic)Image above: Dubai lit up at dusk. From (http://thenakedgardner.com/?p=123).With instability in the Middle East driving oil prices higher, huge cracks are widening in the global economy.

We’re taking the planet with us

SUBHEAD: Elites turn citizens into serfs and the natural world into a wasteland for profit.By Chris Hedges on 7 March 2011 in Truthdig - (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/this_time_were_taking_the_whole_planet_with_us_20110307)Image above: "The Ruins of Kom Ombo" by David Roberts (1838). From (http://www.travellersinegypt.org/archives/2005/02/david_roberts.html).I have walked through the

The Sound of Distant Hoofbeats

SUBHEAD: Get used to listening for the cracks and judderings of an overburdened system as it lurches down the slope of its own decline and fall.By John Michael Greer on 2 March 2011 in The Archdruid Report - (http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2011/03/sound-of-distant-hoofbeats.html)Image above: Houses made out of money. FRom (http://www.allwelike.com/2010/12/household-wealth-climbs-to-1-2-

Richard Heinberg Interview

SUBHEAD: Unless we create parallel economic structures there’s no way that we can get out from under the more repressive political aspects of the federal government.By Lindsay Curren on 1 March 2011 in Transition Voice -(http://transitionvoice.com/2011/03/interview-richard-heinberg)Image above: Detail of photo portrait of Richard Heinberg. From (http://www.lyceumagency.com/richard+heinberg.aspx)

In Soil We Trust

SUBHEAD: Building pool of investment capital that is permanently dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the soil.By Woody Tasch on 24 February 2011 in Reality Sandwich - (http://www.realitysandwich.com/soil_we_trust)Image above: Money in the ground. From (http://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/2010/07/treasure_hunting.php)."The innate value of this kind of investing is so obvious to me,"

No Modern "Steady State"

SUBHEAD: A system without fossil fuels and without debt is the world of 1750 with fewer than one billion people.By Gail Tverberg on 21 February 2011 in Our Infinite World - (http://ourfiniteworld.com/2011/02/21/there-is-no-steady-state-economy-except-at-a-very-basic-level/#more-1301)Image above: Home economy crafts in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia circa 1750. From (http://

From the bottom of the pyramid

SUBHEAD: The wealthy may have deliberately chosen to buy themselves out of the need for 'messy' human entanglements and interdependencies.By Nicole M. Foss on 22 February 2011 for the Automatic Earth - (http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2011/02/february-22-2011-view-from-bottom-of.html)Image above: Jane Darwell as Ma Joad in 1940 film "The Grapes pf Wrath". From (http://www.examiner.com/

Wisconsin's Tunisia Moment

SUBHEAD: At long last, resentment against the economic crisis is beginning to find its natural home, the financial elites and their Republican allies.By Robert Kuttner on 20 February 2011 for Huffington Post -(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/wisconsins-tunisia-moment_b_825738.html)Image above: Wisconsin protests continue. Many scheduled for tomorrow. From (http://

Chinese Draught Consequences

SUBHEAD: Lowest rainfall for 60 years in the North China Plain threatens wheat harvest, food prices and the global economy.By Peter Foster on 14 February 2011 for The Telegraph - (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/china-business/8321368/Chinas-drought-could-have-devastating-consequences.html)Image above: A Chinese farmer shows the dried vegetable seeds at his drought-striken fields in Zhouping,

Oil / Economy like Flour / Bakery

SUBHEAD: How is an Oil Shortage Like a Missing Cup of Flour? The economy cannot afford high-priced oil.By Gail Tverberg on 2 February 2011 in Our Finite World - (http://ourfiniteworld.com/2011/02/02/how-is-an-oil-shortage-like-a-missing-cup-of-flou/#more-945)Image above: Ingredients for gooey butter cake. From (http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2011/01/step-by-step-gooey-butter-cake).

The Great Global Debt Prison

SUBHEAD: The banking elites haven’t just erected a prison, they’ve tossed us in Alcatraz!By Giordano Bruno on 4 February 2011 in Neithercorp Press - (http://neithercorp.us/npress/2011/02/the-great-global-debt-prison/)Image above: Sign at historic debtors prison in Accomack County, Virginia. From (http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2010/06/amnesty-for-banksters-debtors-prison.html).Tense and