The Ratio

Or, what if the information analysts are using to predict the future of the oil-based economy is as faulty as the intelligence the Bush Administration used to take us to war? From Analyst fears global oil crisis in three years

"This is a new era," Mr Simmons told a conference of oil industry analysts, government officials and academics in Edinburgh. "There is a big chance that Saudi Arabia actually peaked production in 1981. We have no reliable data. Our data collection system for oil is rubbish. I suspect that if we had, we would find that we are over-producing in most of our major fields and that we should be throttling back. We may have passed that point."

Tags: Peak Oil

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Bill Moyers says Welcome to Doomsday
James Howard Kunstler warns of The Long Emergency
Mike Whitney warns of The Economic Tsunami
Paul Craig Roberts warns of The Coming End of the American Superpower
Legal Fiction warns of ugly times ahead in THE FATE OF NATIONALISM - Genetics and Cultural Lag

Some of my friends sit around every evening
and they worry about the times ahead
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
and the promise of an early bed

Tags: Chicken Little

As the Christian Right continues it determined efforts to drag the US into medieval depravity and brutality, the Pentagon is trying to keep up with the "Joint Publication 3-63: Joint Doctrine for Detainee Operations". According to Human Rights Watch:

The guidelines also specify that humane treatment of all detainees can be limited by "military necessity," a position that is both contrary to international and domestic law and opens the door to mistreatment and even torture of detainees.

"Instead of correcting current violations of the Geneva Conventions, these guidelines would shred the conventions further," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "The policies set out in this document could even require personnel to commit war crimes."

Tags: Joint Doctrine for Detainee Operations

Berlusconi’s coalition crushed in regional elections, looks like Berlusconi will be the next stooge of the Coalition to be rejected by the governed:

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, suffered a resounding defeat in regional elections that saw his centre-right coalition apparently losing to opposition parties in 11 of 13 regions in regional polls that were overshadowed by Pope John Paul II's death.

No mention is made of the effect of Italy's involvement in the Iraq war on this result, but the Italian people are vastly against the war, and outraged over the Sgrena incident. It's hard to imagine this didn't play a significant role in the outcome.

Tags: Berlusconi

Go Here to voice your concerns to Congress. Most of whom are, admittedly, bought and sold by the corporate bosses who are pushing this thing for reasons of pure, unadulterated greed. So buyer beware.

Tags: Bankruptcy Bill

I scanned the media this morning and was inundated with images of hair-pulling despair over the death of Terri Schiavo. Indisputably a tragic situation.

Meanwhile back in Iraq... the children are starving and the carnage continues (not to mention the torture). Where is the outrage? Where are the scenes of despair (from Americans)? Apparently when they speak of the Culture of Life there are certain lives that aren't quite cultured enough.