Tuesday, March 13, 2018

 

News Links, March 14, 2018

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Synchronized Global Growth is Ending: Shocks Come Next
Economic pleasant surprises are in the past, as is the buildup of the balance sheet. The future is deleveraging.
Toxic Debt Still Plagues Spanish Banks (and Taxpayers Will End Up Paying for It)
There is No "Free Trade"--There Is Only the Darwinian Game of Trade
Rising income and wealth inequality is causally linked to globalization and the expansion of Darwinian trade and capital flows.
Why are Investors in China so Eager to Buy US Homes?
A whole industry has sprung up on both sides of the Pacific to dodge the rules on both sides of the Pacific.

Radiation Risk Rises with Polar Air Routes and Ultra-Long-Hauls
Super-reliable aircraft are free to brave the planet's most extreme airspace, saving time and fuel. But there's a price to pay.
South African Airways to Scale Back in Three-Year Break-Even Bid
How consumer protections for air travelers could change under Trump administration
Flying is a headache for many Americans — and it could soon get worse. Consumer advocates warn that the Trump administration is poised to repeal regulations that protect travelers, potentially making flying more costly and more dangerous.
Iraq got trashed because of its non-existent WMDs. It's been chaos ever since. -- RF
Nearly half of US arms exports go to the Middle East
Saudi Arabia is world's second biggest importer, with global US sales up by 25% in past five years
Senators consider putting AFRICOM headquarters, staff in Africa
A key defense lawmaker wants to know why, after more than 10 years of operations in Africa, the U.S. combatant command for the continent still isn't located there.
Perhaps because nobody wants it. -- RF

## Energy/resources ##
Permian Investments Represent $2 Of Every $10 In Global OFS Spend
However, signs have started to emerge that the relentless intensification of drilling leads to diminishing returns, Simon Flowers, Chairman and Chief Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said in an article late last year. Pumping twice as much sand as usual into Permian wells and drilling longer laterals doesn't deliver commensurate volumes of oil, Flowers notes.
Running on renewables: how sure can we be about the future?
A variety of models predict the role renewables will play in 2050, but some may be over-optimistic, and should be used with caution, say researchers.
Petro-Plunder Rages in Mexico, Costs Surge
Just as the gasoline market is opened to competition, Mexico becomes one of the worst places in the world for fuel theft. 
Pumped hydro energy storage in Australia – Snowy 2.0 vs. sea water
To support a 100% renewable electricity sector Australia will need approximately 10 terawatt-hours of long-term energy storage. The multi-billion-dollar Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project will supply only 0.35 terawatt-hours, a small fraction of this, and conventional pumped hydro potential elsewhere in Australia, including Tasmania, will not fill the gap.
It's hard to beat the highly concentrated energy of diesel fuel. -- RF
Investing in renewables helps blunt U.S. influence.
Krill fishing poses serious threat to Antarctic ecosystem, report warns
Greenpeace finds industrial fishing taking place in the feeding grounds of whales and penguins, with vessels involved in oil spills and accidents

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Gang of Four: Senators Call for Tillerson to Enter into Arms Control Talks with the Kremlin
Four United States senators are urging a new approach to U.S.-Russian relations based on renewed arms control efforts, but you probably haven't heard about it from the mainstream media.
Russian to Judgement
The same people who assured you that Saddam Hussein had WMD's now assure you Russian "novochok" nerve agents are being wielded by Vladimir Putin to attack people on British soil.
Another perspective from Craig Murray that you will not find in the UK or US mainstream media. -- RF
The Strange Case of the Russian Spy Poisoning
Applying the principle of cui bono – who benefits? – to the case of Sergei Skripal might lead investigators away from the Kremlin as the prime suspect and towards Western intelligence agencies.
Russia Meddling? Think Israel! Where's the Outrage?
The idea that a handful of bots, or even thousands of them stole the election for Trump is preposterous yet the howls and witch hunt continues. Right under our noses is something much worse. Trump taking advice from one of the most corrupt warmongers in the world: Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Putting too much personal information out on social media is the most egregious example" of how consumers set themselves up, according to Jeff Faulkner, acting president and CEO of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC.
U.N. investigators cite Facebook role in Myanmar crisis
U.N. human rights experts investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said on Monday that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech there.
U.S. Supreme Court: GPS Trackers Are a Form of Search and Seizure
When the government places a location monitor on you or your stuff, it could be violating the Fourth Amendment.
EU experts' fake news report draws false conclusions: consumer group
A consumer group on Monday said experts appointed by the European Commission to advise on tackling fake news had ignored the business model that gave the likes of Google (GOOGL.O) and Facebook (FB.O) a motive for disseminating it.
America's Troll Farm Media
A recent Gallup poll found that while 84% of Americans see media as "critical" or "very important" to democracy, only 28% see the corporatist mainstream news media (MSM) as actually supporting democracy.
Will they also "curb" wacko government conspiracy theories? -- RF

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
After a life's career of looking at the world through the lens of EROEI, Hall is very concerned that, as a global society, we are hurtling towards an energy crisis that will forcefully (and likely painfully) downshift our standard of living within the lifetime of the current generation.
Our reliance on space tech means we should prepare for the worst
The potential for cascading failures across the myriad systems reliant on space mean that the effects of any disruption could manifest themselves in unexpected places. When a single U.S. communications satellite broke down in 1998, it was not only television and messaging systems that failed. Credit card systems stopped processing payments, weather radars went blind and frustrated drivers found themselves unable to fuel their vehicles as automatic petrol station pumps seized up.
US-backed culture centres under pressure in China
Numerous cultural initiatives, from salsa concerts and film nights to visiting scholar programmes have been disrupted, state department says
China slashes ministries in sweeping changes to reduce bureaucracy, end turf wars
More than two dozen ministries, agencies affected in major overhaul designed to give Communist Party greater control

## UK ##

## US ##
New secretary of state? It's another symptom of America's demise. Pompeo is the type of person who runs his own country into the ground to feed his own sick delusions. -- RF


Permanent Link posted by Rice Farmer @ 6:11 PM


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