Bilderberg founding member David Rockefeller, Honourary Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, 
A coronal mass ejection (CME) is an ejection of material from the solar corona, usually observed with a white-light coronagraph.
The ejected material is a plasma consisting primarily of electrons and protons (in addition to small quantities of heavier elements such as helium, oxygen, and iron), plus the entraining coronal magnetic field.
The first detection of a CME as such was made on December 14, 1971 by R. Tousey (1973) of the Naval Research Laboratory using the 7th Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO-7).[1] The discovery image was transferred from a vidicon tube onto Polaroid print by David Roberts, a technician working for NRL who was in charge of day to day operations. He immediately recognized the image as being unusual and took it to his immediate superior, Dr. Gunther Bruckner, and then to the solar physics branch head, Dr. Tousey. Earlier observations of coronal transients or even phenomena observed visually during solar eclipses are now understood as essentially the same thing.
The largest geomagnetic perturbation, resulting presumably from a "prehistoric" CME, coincided with the first-observed solar flare, in 1859. The flare was observed visually by Richard Christopher Carrington and the geomagnetic storm was observed with the recording magnetograph at Kew Gardens. The same instrument recorded a crotchet, an instantaneous perturbation of the Earth's ionosphere by ionizing soft X-rays. This could not easily be understood at the time because it predated the discovery of X-rays (by Roentgen) and the recognition of the ionosphere (by Kennelly and Heaviside).
When the ejection reaches the Earth as an ICME (Interplanetary CME), it may disrupt the Earth's magnetosphere, compressing it on the day side and extending the night-side tail. When the magnetosphere reconnects on the nightside, it creates trillions of watts of power which is directed back toward the Earth's upper atmosphere. This process can cause particularly strong aurora also known as the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis (in the Northern Hemisphere), and the Southern Lights, or aurora australis (in the Southern Hemisphere). CME events, along with solar flares, can disrupt radio transmissions, cause power outages (blackouts), and cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission lines.
A typical CME has a three part structure consisting of a cavity of low electron density, a dense core (the prominence, which appears as a bright region on coronagraph images) embedded in this cavity, and a bright leading edge. It should be noted, however, that many CMEs are missing one of these elements, or even all three.
Most CMEs originate from active regions (groupings of sunspots associated with frequent flares). These regions have closed magnetic field lines, where the magnetic field strength is large enough to allow the containment of the plasma; the CME must open these field lines at least partially to escape from the sun. However, CMEs can also be initiated in quiet sun regions (although in many cases the quiet region was recently active). During solar minimum, CMEs form primarily in the coronal streamer belt near the solar magnetic equator. During solar maximum, CMEs originate from active regions whose latitudinal distribution is more homogeneous.
Coronal Mass Ejections range in speed from about 20 km/s to 2,700 km/s with an average speed (based on SOHO/LASCO measurements between 1996 and 2003) of 489 km/s. The average mass based on coronagraph images is 1.6 × 1015 g. Due to the two-dimensional nature of the coronagraph measurements, these values are lower limits. The frequency of ejections depends on the phase of the solar cycle: from about one every other day near solar minimum to 5–6 per day near solar maximum. These values are also lower limits because CMEs propagating away from the Earth ("backside CMEs") can usually not be detected by coronagraphs.
Current knowledge of CME kinematics indicates that the CME starts with an initial pre-acceleration phase characterised by a slow rising motion, followed by a period of rapid acceleration away from the Sun until a near-constant velocity is reached. Some "balloon" CMEs (usually the very slowest ones) lack this three-stage evolution, instead accelerating slowly and continuously throughout their flight. Even for CMEs with a well-defined acceleration stage, the pre-acceleration stage is often absent (or perhaps unobservable).
Coronal Mass Ejections are often associated with other forms of solar activity, most notably:
The association of a CME with some of those phenomena is common but not fully understood. For example, CMEs and flares were at first thought to be directly connected, with the flare driving the CME. However, only 60% of flares (M-class and stronger) are associated with CMEs.[2] Similarly, many CMEs are not associated with flares. It is now thought that CMEs and associated flares are caused by a common event (the CME peak acceleration and the flare peak radiation often coincide). In general, all of these events (including the CME) are thought to be the result of a large-scale restructuring of the magnetic field. A CME cannot destroy earth.
At first, it was thought that CMEs might be driven by the heat of an explosive flare. However, it soon became apparent that many CMEs were not associated with flares, and that even those that were often began before the flare did. Because CMEs are initiated in the solar corona (which is dominated by magnetic energy), their energy source must be magnetic. Only flares could provide enough heat energy to drive the CME, and flares get their energy from the magnetic field anyway.
Because the energy of CMEs is so high, it is unlikely that their energy could be directly driven by emerging magnetic fields in the photosphere (although this is still a possibility). Therefore, most models of CMEs assume that the energy is stored up in the coronal magnetic field over a long period of time and then suddenly released by some instability or a loss of equilibrium in the field. There is still no consensus on which of these release mechanisms is correct, and observations are not currently able to constrain these models very well.
CMEs typically reach Earth one to five days after the eruption from the Sun. During their propagation, CMEs interact with the solar wind and the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). As a consequence, slow CMEs are accelerated toward the speed of the solar wind and fast CMEs are decelerated toward the speed of the solar wind. Fast CMEs (faster than about 500 km s−1) eventually drive a shock. This happens when the speed of the CME in the frame moving with the solar wind is faster than the local fast magnetosonic speed. Such shocks have been observed directly by coronagraphs[3] in the corona and are related to type II radio bursts. They are thought to form sometimes as low as 2 Rs (solar radii). They are also closely linked with the acceleration of Solar Energetic Particles.[4]
On 25 October 2006, NASA launched the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), two near-identical spacecraft which form widely separated points in their orbits will produce the first stereoscopic images of CMEs and other solar activity measurements. The spacecraft will orbit the Sun at distances similar to that of the Earth, with one slightly ahead of Earth and the other trailing. Their separation will gradually increase so that after 4 years they will be almost diametrically opposite each other in orbit.[5] `
Natchimuthukonar Gopalswamy, Richard Mewaldt, Jarmo Torsti, Editors, Solar Eruptions and Energetic Particles, Am. Geophys. Union Geophys. Mongraph Series Vol 165, ISBN 0-87590-430-0, 2006.
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MoD admits use of controversial 'enhanced blast' weapons in Afghanistan --The missile's warhead is made with a mixture of chemicals rather than a simple blast mechanism. 28 May 2009 British pilots in Afghanistan are firing an increasing number of "enhanced blast" thermobaric weapons, designed to kill everyone in buildings they strike, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. Since the start of this year more than 20 of the US-designed [What a surprise!] missiles, which have what is officially described as a "blast fragmentation warhead", have been fired by pilots of British Apache attack helicopters. A total of 20 were also fired last year after they were bought by the MoD from the Americans last May. ['Enhanced blast' -- 'enhanced interrogation.' It's time for 'enhanced social uprising.' --LRP]
US defence secretary Robert Gates warns North Korea 30 May 2009 Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, delivered a stark warning to North Korea on Saturday, declaring that America would not "stand idly by" while the regime threatened to "wreak destruction" with nuclear weapons. Instead, Mr Gates urged "tough sanctions" against North Korea and pledged that Washington would not accept its possession of a nuclear arsenal. Kim Jong-il's regime was, he said, starving its own people in order to develop [US-style] weapons of mass destruction.
Gates calls for tough sanctions on North Korea, Iran --Gates: US 'will respond quickly' to threats by N. Korea 30 May 2009 U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday compared North Korea's nuclear program to Iran's and called for tough sanctions against both countries that bring home real pain for their failure to adhere to international norms. Gates said that Pyongyang's nuclear program is further along than that of Tehran, and insisted that the United States would respond quickly if moves by North Korea's government threatened America or its Asian allies.
U.S. 'Likely' Could Intercept North Korean Missile 29 May 2009 U.S. ground-based interceptor rockets would "likely" knock out a long-range North Korean missile before it could reach the American mainland, the Pentagon’s independent testing official said today. "I believe we have a reasonable chance" of an intercept, Charles McQueary, director of operational test and evaluation, said in an interview as North Korea defied international condemnation of a nuclear test with another short-range missile launch.
N Korea prepares site for launch of ballistic missile 29 May 2009 US officials said that satellite images had detected activity at a site in North Korea that suggested the rogue state could be preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile. Speaking after the country launched another short-range missile off its east coast, the seventh this week, Pentagon officials said that the activity of several vehicles in the photographs echoed the preparations seen before a long-range rocket was launched last month.
'The second part studies its strategy for surviving a nuclear war.' Pakistan enhances second strike N-capability: US report 30 May 2009 Pakistan has addressed issues of survivability in a possible nuclear conflict through second strike capability, says a US congressional report. The first part of the report, published on Friday, deals with Islamabad’s efforts to develop new weapons, while the second part studies its strategy for surviving a nuclear war. According to the report, Pakistan has built hard and deeply buried storage and launch facilities to retain a second strike capability in a nuclear war.
U.S. urges more foreign aid for Afghanistan 30 May 2009 U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates Saturday urged the international community to give more aid to Afghanistan to [re]build infrastructure [that the US/UK destroyed], expand its military and police, and ensure security for elections [sic of the century] this year.
Afghan governor wounded in blast 30 May 2009 The governor of the northern Afghan province of Kunduz was slightly wounded Saturday when his car was struck by a roadside bomb, his spokesman told CNN. Gov. Mohammad Omar was returning from neighboring Takhar Province when the remotely detonated bomb went off, said his spokesman Mahbublah Saydi. The attack, which happened at 8 a.m. (11:30 p.m. ET), damaged his car and also left his driver slightly wounded, Saydi said.
Twin roadside bombings kill 4 Afghan civilians, wound 3 police 30 May 2009 Two roadside bombings rocked Kandahar, the former stronghold of Taliban in south Afghanistan on Saturday, leaving four civilians dead and injuring three police constables, an official said. The first attack, which hit a civilian car in Khakriz district killing four civilians including a woman Saturday morning while the other attack targeted a police van in Dand district wounding three police constables, a police officer Ghulam Hazrat, told Xinhua.
Pakistan: Number of displaced persons exceeds 3 million 30 May 2009 The number of internally displaced persons (IDP) has crossed the three million mark, according to the NWFP government. Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a press conference at the Officers' Mess here on Friday that the number of IDPs now stood at 3.4 million -- 2.8 million of them from Malakand division alone.
Report: Iran hangs three over Zahedan mosque bombing 30 May 2009 Iran hanged in public three men convicted of involvement in a bloody mosque bombing in Zahedan, capital of southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the official IRNA news agency reported Saturday. The three were hanged in public at 6:00 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) near the Amir al-Momenin mosque, where the deadly bombing took place on Thursday, killing 25 people and wounding at least 125 others, IRNA quoted a provincial official as saying.
White House condemns 'terrorist attacks' against Iran 30 may 2009 The White House has denounced the "terrorist attacks" in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan which resulted in the deaths of 25 people. "The United States strongly condemns the recent terrorist attacks inside Iran," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement on Friday.
Iran cleric suspects U.S. and Israel behind mosque bombing 29 May 2009 A leading cleric in Iran has condemned the terrorist attack on a mosque, 1,600 kilometres southeast of the capital Tehran, saying that clues had emerged which indicated it may have been carried out by the United States and Israel. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Friday rejected the accusation.
3 shot at office of President of Iran 29 May 2009 Three people have been wounded after a shooting at a campaign office of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The government-operated IRNA news agency said the shooting took place Friday in the southeastern city of Zahedan, which is located near the border with Pakistan.
Israel to hold massive military exercise 29 May 2009 Surrounded by enemies on every side as well as inside their country, Israel will Sunday launch a massive military exercise to help ready the nation for a full-scale war. Operation 'Turning Point 3' is set to last for five days, and will simulate a simultaneous war against the Hamas in Gaza, the Hizb'allah in Lebanon, the Syrian army, the Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria and Israel's Arab citizens, who are expected to riot and in other ways assist Israel's enemies in the case of such a war.
Germany: West Bank settlement expansion is 'not acceptable' 30 May 2009 German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has demanded that Israel put an end to all settlement building in the Palestinian territories, in a newspaper interview published Saturday. It is "not acceptable" to found new settlements or expand existing ones in East Jerusalem or the West Bank, Steinmeier said in a joint interview with the German Press Agency dpa and German daily Sueddeutsche.
US senator rejects Cheney torture claim as 'lie' 30 May 2009 A US senator says claims by former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney that enhanced interrogation techniques -- torture -- saved countless American lives are wrong. The powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, said an investigation into detainee abuse charges over the use of the tactics "gives the lie to Mr. Cheney's claims," CNN reported.
Levin: Memos don't show what Cheney says they do 29 May 2009 Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney's claims -- that classified CIA memos show enhanced interrogation techniques torture like waterboarding worked -- are wrong. Levin, speaking at the Foreign Policy Association's annual dinner in New York on Wednesday, said an investigation by his committee into detainee abuse charges over the use of the techniques -- now deemed torture by the Obama administration -- "gives the lie to Mr. Cheney's claims."
Censorship we can believe in: Obama to ban PoW photos exposing rape, torture 30 May 2009 The US administration asks an appeals court to stop the release of prisoner abuse images, showing that Obama has fully backtracked on his promise of transparency. In a motion filed Thursday in a New York federal appeals court, the Obama administration said that it did not want the photos to be available to the public, arguing that they could lead to violence against US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and even Pakistan.
Torture photos: US soldiers raped, sodomized Iraqi prisoners By Tom Eley 29 May 2009 In an interview with the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph published Wednesday, former US General Antonio Taguba said that photographs the Obama administration is seeking to suppress show images of US soldiers raping and sodomizing Iraqi prisoners. Taguba, who conducted the military inquiry of prisoner abuse at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 after some photos of US soldiers torturing prisoners became public, said that among the photos are images of soldiers raping a female prisoner, raping a male detainee, and committing "sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and phosphorescent tube," according to the Telegraph. Gen. Taguba said even the description of the photos is explosive.
After Waterboarding: How to Make Terrorists Talk? 29 May 2009 The most successful interrogation of an Al-Qaeda operative by U.S. officials required no sleep deprivation, no slapping or "walling" and no waterboarding. All it took to soften up Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugar-free cookies... "There is nothing intelligent about torture," says Army staff sergeant Eric Maddox. "If you have to inflict pain, then you've lost control of the situation, the subject and yourself."
Do-It-Yourself Waterboarding 29 May 2009 Demonstrators protest the use of water torture by creating frighteningly realistic simulations (Photos)
Speaking of terrorists: KBR faults media in coverage of electrocution issue 30 May 2009 Former [Cheney] Halliburton subsidiary KBR Inc. on Friday accused media outlets of using electrocution death statistics to fuel a "politically-driven campaign" against the company. A statement released by KBR's interim president of government and infrastructure, William Bodie [Bill.Bodie@KBR.com], objected to "false reports and innuendo" in a New York-based newspaper and other media outlets concerning electrical issues in Iraq, where the Houston-based firm holds more than $16 billion in government contracts for services at thousands of U.S.-controlled facilities.
'Fleeing' ex-Iraq minister arrested 30 May 2009 Abdel Falah al-Sudani, Iraq's former trade minister who resigned last week amid a corruption scandal, has been arrested at Baghdad airport while trying to flee the country, a senior Iraqi official has said. Al-Sudani and his wife were on board a flight to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when the plane was turned back after takeoff so that he could be arrested, Sabah al-Saedi, the chairman of the parliamentary integrity committee, said on Friday.
US soldier killed in northern Iraq 29 May 2009 An American soldier was killed when a grenade exploded near his patrol in Nineveh province in northern Iraq on Friday, the US army said in a statement. The death took the number of US troops killed in the nation in May to 22, the highest monthly toll since last September.
US Army base shuts down after rise in suicides 29 May 2009 The commander of Fort Campbell army base in Kentucky has ordered a three-day suspension of regular duties to focus on a spike in suicides among his troops amid concern over a wider trend across the armed services. The "stand-down" on Friday entered its third day at Fort Campbell, which is home to the famed 101st Airborne Division and has recorded the highest rate of suicide in the army, with at least 11 confirmed or suspected suicides.
Richard Gage on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, CA Posted by fresnofreedom 28 May 2009 More info at Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. (Video)
CIA Announces Push to Improve Agency's Language Proficiency 30 May 2009 Five years after it was faulted by the 9/11 Commission for inadequate language skills among its employees, the CIA yesterday launched an ambitious program to double the number of analysts proficient in languages deemed critical in the fight against America's [so many] enemies. The new initiative, announced by CIA Director Leon Panetta, was an acknowledgment of the agency's slow progress in adding employees fluent in languages such as Arabic, Farsi and Urdu.
Apologise for terror arrests Labour MP tells Govt 29 May 2009 Labour MP for Glasgow Central, Mohammad Sarwar, has asked the Government to apologise for its part in the recent high-profile arrests of innocent Muslim students under anti-terror laws on April 8. The case against 12 men involved in what Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, called a "major terrorist plot" amounted to no more than an email and a few telephone conversations, it emerged; all the men were subsequently released without charge on April 22.
Darpa's Simple Plan to Track Targets Everywhere By Nathan Hodge 21 May 2009 Most confusing briefing ever? Not just. It’s also a sketch of Pentagon far-out research arm Darpa’s plan to track down and tag "elusive targets" --adversaries who can move, hide and blend in with cluttered environments. And that means more than just next-generation sensors that can penetrate foliage or peer inside "urban canyons." It means stitching together information collected by different sensors to track a moving object. Darpa’s 2009 strategic plan offers a fascinating overview of the different approaches the agency is taking to better track and identify these elusive targets.
US plans to press FBI into counter-terror ops 28 May 2009 The US plans to push the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Justice Department into global counter-terrorism operations in a shift away from the Bush administration's policy that relied largely on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a media report said Thursday... Under the 'global justice' initiative, FBI agents will have a central role in overseas counter-terrorism cases.
Swine flu infects US official in France for Obama trip 29 May 2009 An American official sent to France to help prepare President Barack Obama's visit to D-Day landing beaches next week has been hospitalised for swine flu but is doing well, officials said on Friday. "Eleven people who were in close contact with her were given preventive treatment last night and confined to their hotel rooms for 24 hours," said Christian Leyrit, the state representative in the northern Normandy region.
Ariz. halts use of uncovered outdoor prison holding cells 30 May 2009 The Arizona Department of Corrections has halted the practice of holding Arizona state prison inmates in outdoor cages so workers can retrofit the cages to provide shade and water. Charles L. Ryan, the department's director, ordered the temporary suspension last week after the death of Marcia Powell at Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville. Powell, 48, died of heat-related causes after spending four hours in temperatures that reached 107.5 degrees.
California now faces budget cuts "beyond draconian" --One of the first targets is 200 state parks, already causing a public outcry as summer approaches. 30 May 2009 Before this state’s May 19 vote on five initiatives intended to solve the state’s chronic fiscal difficulties, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- in person on the stump and via TV ad blitzes up and down the state -- told voters that if the measures did not pass, the resulting budget cuts would be "draconian." In the days after the measures went down in flames, the announcements have come rapid fire, and various constituencies are reeling -- calling the cuts "beyond draconian."
Mega barf alert! Retail giant Wal-Mart opens in India 31 May 2009 The world's number one retailer Wal-Mart opened its first sales venture in India on Saturday as part of an ambitious plan to establish a foothold in the country's vast consumer market. The US discount chain corpora-terrorist has teamed up with Bharti Enterprises, parent of India's biggest mobile firm Bharti Airtel, in a wholesale joint venture to be called Best Price Modern Wholesale.
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Previous lead stories: Pentagon Plans New Arm to Wage Cyberspace Wars --Obama expected to sign classified order in coming weeks that will create the military cybercommand 29 May 2009 The Pentagon plans to create a new military command for cyberspace, administration officials said Thursday, stepping up preparations by the armed forces to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare. The military command would complement a civilian effort to be announced by President Obama on Friday that would overhaul the way the United States safeguards its computer networks. The main dispute has been over whether the Pentagon or the National Security Agency should take the lead in preparing for and fighting cyberbattles. Under one proposal still being debated, parts of the N.S.A. would be integrated into the military command so they could operate jointly.
Casey: Army would have to 'shift gears' for N. Korea battle 30 May 2009 It would take the Army time to "shift gears" if it needed to fight against North Korea, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Thursday. Right now, the Army is focused on the counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but North Korea’s recent [and perpetual US] saber rattling has raised the prospect that the Army might be called upon to fight a conventional war. "I have said publicly for some time that if we had to shift gears, it would probably take us about 90 days or so to shift our gears and to train the folks up that were preparing to go to Iraq and Afghanistan to go someplace else," Casey said after a speech at a Washington think tank. [How many wars -- on how many fronts -- would the US then be fighting?]
Be warned, the people of the planet are getting sick and tired of your criminally insane behavior.
May 28, 2009
By Douglas McIntosh
One of the nice things about being a pessimist, a certified, card carrying Doomer is times like this don't make you break down. Being a Doomer, for as long as I have been a doomer, with a doomer pedigree, papers, documents and certificates to prove it, makes one relatively immune to the wave of chaos, anarchy and lunacy sweeping the planet. As the bard said "there is a tide that lifts." I say we missed that tide. We are now flopping around in the mud flats like fish who didn't quite catch the tide. The tide flows; the tide ebbs and then it comes in again. In our case it comes back in like a Tsunami.
I have been commissioned to write an overview of the current global situation. No problem. We are road kill. A brief yet pithy description of the current global situation.
That which is, is failing. That which is to come, has not arrived. We are twirling in the wind like one of those twirly things on a stick I used to get at the carnival when I was a kid. Blow on it and it will circle, round and round and round. Stop blowing and it will just sit there. Our economic policy, such as it is, is merely the Federal Reserve or whoever blowing on the stock market twirly thing to make it spin. When the Plunge Protection Team stops blowing, or dumping money into the system, the system stops. When you are watching shillovision about the economy, or the stock market or whatever, just think about blowing on one of those twirly things. As long as you blow, it moves. When you don't, it stops. The stimulus program is merely blowing on the twirly thing. Of course, given the vast resources of hot air in that Sodom on the Potomac called Washington D. C., endless breath is available. Unfortunately, endless money is not. Even Obama is now admitting that borrowing 46 cents out of every dollar you spend is not a good idea. I am not impressed.
Having written about the kinds of things that are now daily happenings for over 10 years, please excuse me if I am not in hysterics, or freaking out, or overly upset. There are worse things than death. There is a life without honor, or truth, or justice. There is a life without freedom, or hope or spiritual values. There is the death of the Spirit and the death of the human body. The choice for us is not death. The choice is what dies: our bodies or our spirit. Robert Heinlein said "you can kill a free man, but you cannot enslave him." The choice for us in the days ahead is not whether we die, but how we die and what we die for. After all, in the kind of social collapse we are undergoing, it is delusional to think death can be avoided. I neither seek death, nor do I avoid it. It will come for me in its own time. I will tell you quite honestly I have become more spiritual these last few months. Some of that is probably the drowning rat looking for any piece of floating debris from the shipwreck he can find; some of it is probably age. Turning 55 teaches you wisdom whether you like it or not, if only because you try not to make the same mistakes three or four times. At any rate, there is a spiritual dimension to all this chaos going on today and if you don't see that you will be handicapped in trying to discern what is really happening.
I will say those who think things can go on like this, in the economic sphere, the military and political sphere are quite insane. Let's take economics first. What is really going on in the economic sphere is the collapse of the ability to issue debt by all types of economic entities. Whether it is state, city or county government, corporations, non profits, individuals or whoever the capacity to borrow money has ceased. Even after the greatest economic rape and pillage in history, the multi trillion bailout, stimulus blob, there is still no liquidity in the system. And the reason for that is simple, even now risk has not been probably priced into the equation. The reason for that is even more simple: there is no faith in the system and no trust in the system. And the reason for that is even more simple: there has been no accountability for the open criminal activity involved in the economic travails. The reason for the collapse is corruption and criminal fraud. Nothing more and nothing less. And until that fraud and corruption is cut out of the economic system, just like the Aztecs used to rip the still beating heart out of their victims, there will be, nor can there ever be, an economic "recovery."
Of course, under the current NWO regime there will be no accountability. That vile beast the Federal Reserve is even refusing to admit where the multi trillion bailout money went. The current economic system will not be reformed. It will not be saved. It will not be fixed. It will collapse-it will be allowed to collapse by the New World Order- and then it will be replaced. The collapse is ongoing, about to get worse as planned and then in a crescendo of chaos will be replaced just as the NWO has long planned, plotted and now executed. The NWO is scum, but I will give them their technical due.
As to what the immediate economic future holds, I will close with this. You ain't seen nothing yet. And the reason you ain't seen nothing yet is because it is not July 1st yet. At many state, city and county entities the fiscal year begins July 1, 2009. It is usually a two year cycle. The cycle for fiscal year 2010, 7-1-2009 to 7-1-2010 and 2011, 7-2010 to 7-1-2011. A long listing of the woes of state, city and county finances would be endless really. The essays involved in listing them would be legion. Suffice it to say, the fiscal collapse has not really started. Oh the shadow of it, the first faint glimmer of the red dawn of economic doom is visible, but the scorching, 150 F sun hasn't risen to scald the economy like a pot of milk. No, that is still to come. It comes quickly, as in about 30 days or so.
What is going to happen in July of 2009 is relatively simple. The states, cities and counties of the United States are going to go broke. Not all of them of course, but many of them, maybe even most of them. Certainly enough to trigger a Tsunami of economic chaos unseen in modern history. The Great Depression is nothing. As the social order financed by debt, funded by local spending implodes, we will see levels of social anarchy which usually follow the ends of wars or the collapse of great civilizations. And that is only if we are dealing with economic issues. There are other military issues on the plate that dwarf even economic collapse.
Just as the local collapse gathers steam, we will deal with a federal collapse, followed by open dictatorship. As the local governmental entities drown, they will reach out to the federal government, that debt soaked lush, to save them. We can be sure Obama the First will try. And then on October 1st 2009, the Federal government will crash and burn like the Hindenburg did in 1937. In the Hindenburg's case it was hydrogen; in ours it will be debt. Obama has/will borrow nearly 2 TRILLION in fiscal year 2009. And he will need to borrow another 2 TRILLION and then another and another. And it ain't gonna happen. No way and no how.
The times are certainly interesting. They will get even more interesting in July. And then by October 1st they will get beyond interesting, as in terrifying. Assuming North Korea doesn't nuke us.
Psst! Want a Car Negotiator?I didn't mean to start of what should be happy friday as a grouch, so if surly, sour, and real bothers you, go hit some infotainment site. I'm in a grouchy mood. Why? You wanna know why? I'll tell you why...
The headlines are pretty grim around the GM story. "GM suppliers face new threat as bankruptcy looms for Automaker" reports Bloomberg this morning. And it looks like it could be filed as early as Monday.
Now, I'll tell you what stumps me - and it has bothered me about the AIG deal, too. When the public puts in piles of dough - and in GM's case, you and me put up the dough - and in any other kind of company I've ever read about, that would buy us (taxpayers) control of the Board of Directors who in turn call the shots in concert with the CEO, right?.
I usually won't go name-calling. I usually try to stay above such trivialities and leave that to the overly rabid right. But just between you and me, if a company's board of directors oversees a decline of stock price from over $38 a share to just over a buck at the close yesterday, should they...you know...be replaced?
Oh sure, I know what the excusifications will be - "Oh these guys all know the car industry" might be proposed. Oh? How many billions have they lost again? They don't know jack.
"Oh, we want to preserve stability" might be another. Yeah, like tell that to the millions impacted by their wisdom and who are taking gunpoint vacation time this summer because the company has been run into the ground.
I don't know why the government doesn't just come in and sweep it clean. Down here in East Texas, $70-billion confers serious ass-kicking rights. But not so, apparently, in 'politically correct land' inside the Beltway. Are you kidding?
For the roughly $70 billion plus this steaming lump is going to cost us all (roughly $228.76 for every man, woman, and child in America, by the way), can we please - pretty please with sugar on it - find a new group of Deciders in the board room; people with vision. Ever hear of a concept called 'getting ahead of the curve' instead of being run over by it?
Because the folks who build the cars aren't to blame for GM's failure. It's an outmoded, heavy into denial decision-making process and upper management style that has failed and I want no part of my $228.76 that I've got as skin in this game going in any form - options, stock, travel, or cash - to the people who didn't see it coming and haven't 'gotten it' since the rice burners came to America 40 years ago and kicked our ass.
Like I said: I won't name call here, but look up the Greek word "idios" in the dictionary and read on a ways from there. You following me?
At current prices, I figure I own 200-shares of GM - and do everyone in America.
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As I've said before, the fact that GM isn't looking at a whole inside-out change to something like Harley-Davidson's org chart and ethics, dims my faith in the country's future, not to mention what democracy puts in office in terms of 'best and brightest' may not be that.
I may be a small-time consultant, but look at the motivation and strategy guys like Evan Carmichael come up with as building blocks for success at Harley:
Innovation
Exhibition
Dedication
Passion
and Branding
Think more focus could have helped GM if they'd gotten massively proactive? Until recently you know, reports are the GM Board was meeting once a month. Now at least, they are meeting several times a week. Better late than never? I won't touch that bet.
May I make a modest suggestion to the Obama car trouble team and the GM board? Find the "designated smart guy" inside of Harley Davidson and get his butt on the next plane to Motown. Is he there yet? Then resign.
Oh, and tell those people in Washington I want my share certificates for both AIG and GM. Don't like holding things in 'street' name. I know how that works., LOL.
Sound far out? Not as far out as this "Germany calls on Clinton to resolve GM fight. "
Selling Green
I see where Nancy Pelosi has time to be in China talking to kids about the need to go green.
WTH? Don't we have a few more pressing issues that demand action here in the USA? I mean GM's about to go toes up, we're a couple of months out from the commercial real estate meltdown and she's talking global warming on what sounds like a Gore-Lite tour in a country which is already not very trusting of us since our dollar's tanking sooner than later (which is why gold is up today, BTW).
Glad I don't live in her district, for damn sure. No, instead I live in the district of a poster-boy for the credit card industry, but that's another rant for another day.
Might I ask that Ms Pelosi come back to America and get to work on headlines like "Leap in U.S. debt hits taxpayers with 12% more read ink"?
USA Today figures the US federal government debt is $546,668 per household. Oh? Does $211,068 per person feel any better?
I'm ticked and I want the 'old ways' gone NOW. But I ain't your problem Madam Speaker. Nope. Your problem is that you ain't 'getting it' about how mad the average American is and since the Bush administration drove the country into the front of this Depression, 5.7 million people have lost their jobs and there are right now - today - nearly 14 million people unemployed. That's your problem right there. That and pitchforks.
So let me ask again more politely: Madam Speaker: What the hell are you talking to school kids in China for? Who bought your plane ticket, anyway?
NK's Newest
Another day, another missile - and this one with enough range to get to most of South Korea from the North. The West has raised its alert status to Defcon 2 in the region - just short of going into butt-kick mode.
Iran's Troubles
Iranian media are reporting 19 people killed in an apparent suicide bombing at a Shi'ite mosque in Iran today. No, Israel is not their only problem.
That "New Russia"
Turns out, figures Amnesty International that its still a place where dissent is still stifled, there are racist attacks, and substandard justice. Come on! With an old KGB boss still pulling the strings behind the nominal president, what were you expecting? Marin County?
Army Recruiting
Rebecca Price, cartoonist extraordinaire over at www.toon-republic.com has been eyeing increased military recruiting in public schools lately with more than a bit of suspicion:
Yeah, forget my motto "What this country needs is a good 5-cent high..." No way! What we really need is another war - yeah, that'll fix everything. Puff up the market, print up some more debt. you bet'cha.
Hey! Where's my GM & AIG shares?
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Coping: A World Software Preview!
Before I turn you loose on the English language first release of new software here, you need to go to 'cookie school'. So put on your thinking cap (or pour another cuppa bean and let me fill you in...
I went to 'cookie school' on Thursday morning - in the form of a conference call with the CEO and CTO of www.maxa-tools.com - makers of the German cookie-catching software that I've spoken so highly of because they are one of the few groups in the whole world that really 'get it' when it comes to cookies.
Cookies, if you are not a whiz at computing, are little snips of computer code that allow a web site to 'remember' who you are. Normally, when you come to UrbanSurvival.com you won't have a cookie 'set'. However, on occasion, as when I put a link to an Amazon book that I recommend, the code that points you to a particular book Amazon sells will include a code that says "Aha! This book purchase was referred to us by George Ure's web site, so we will pay him a commission of 8¢ (or whatever, depending on book price) as an advertising referral fee.
This is standard practice on the 'net - and probably 99% of the ads that you see around the margins of this website, or that, contains a cookie. OK? Simple enough so far.
But there are many different kinds of cookies. For example, if you hit the Maxa-Tools page yesterday, you may have noticed that what kind of browser you were using was noted - along with your IP address and an approximate physical location.
A lot of people just hit the 'delete cookies" when browsing, say in Explorer 8.0 and think that when they fire off Foxfire - or some other browser - that they are then able to have a little more anonymous surfing experience. Well, hate to tell you this, but....
No.
There are two broad classes of cookies: Those that are browser dependent, and those which are not. And the latest in the 'cookie wars' is the increasingly widespread use of browser-independent cookies are the ones to be ultra-aware of because if you think you have a clean machine - you're probably very wrong..
Maxa-Tools has provided us with a free demo which you're welcome to try - and even though the free demo version won't remove all the browser-independent cookies (they need to be compensated for their development work, after all) even the free version of their Cookie Manager is usually an eye-opener for people who (wrongly in most cases) think that a combination of pop-up blockers and fire walls software plus regular updates from an antivirus program will result in 'safe' computing. Nope, sorry, world don't work that way.
So here's the download link for the free demo:
www.urbansurvival.com/setupMCMstdGU.exe
When the program pops up, save the executable file on your computer, then run it, and that installs the free/demo version of their Cookie Manager. If you want to buy the full-up Pro version (which I use), you'll see a link in the upper right corner where you can upgrade - it's only $30 and in the interest of disclosure, yes I get some compensation if you buy it. Web sites don't operate free, as you should already have figured out.
In the interest of really knowing about cookies - even if you don't want to take Cookie Manager for a spin (why you'd pass up being the first on the block to have the program since the demo version is free is beyond me, but let's just suppose you're an idiot) at least click here to read the 21-page white paper on cookies and how they're used (and abused) on the web.
Why am I a fanatic about cookie control? Lots of reasons, including hard drive space. From the Maxa-Tools white paper:
"The well-known Macromedia/Adobe Flash-player present on most PCs controls these "Local Shared Objects". The files produced per website can take up to 100kb of disk space. In addition they can store the pre-requisites required to run multimedia applications."
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"Silverlight is Microsoft's counterpart to Flash. Here too, each Silverlight application can save and read up to 1 MB of data on the hard disk..."
OK, that's one part of it: Overhead in terms of disk space and potential for speed loss of my machines which I keep in Formula one racing condition as best I can.
The second part has to do with the kind of tracking information about me. There is so much value to 'consumer research' outfits that they will sometimes go so far as to provide free hosting to a high traffic site - or at least pay pretty good - so they can harvest consumer information like where you've been on the net, and maybe infer (based on your cookies) something about you.
One tip: Before you go to a new site, clear all your unwanted cookies. Then go to a new site - then hit the refresh button in Cookie Manager - that will show you what was set on the way in - then put in the IP of some known clean site and hit refresh again to see if cookies were set as you left.
So there you have it. Cookie School and a tool to fight back with, unless you like wandering around the net with your cookies showing. -- Enjoy!
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Update: Oh, someone asked about compatibility: Yes, of course, Cookie Manager works with MS Internet exploder, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. Just for good measure, Windows 7, too.
Come on - if you hadn't figured it out from my hanging with a guy who turned the internet into a rickety time machine, this oughta be a major clue that I don't hang with folks who don't know their stuff, 'K?
F-35 Recheck
Remember yesterday I was talking about that F-35 video which some in the conspiracy crowd were touting as 'evidence' that the US already has anti-gravity technology?
Laughs on them because one reader got it as "...it is a scenery from a game named Battlefield 2. on the screen are parts of the HUD visible..."
But wait! Is the laugh really on them? Remember the predictive linguistics are talking about UFO's and secrets revealed along this Spring and over summer into fall. And what's this? "Roswell Debris Confirmed as Extraterrestrial: Lab located, Scientists named" says UFO Digest. Maybe wanna hold that laugh for a while.
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Now that swine fluage has disbanded the Tea Parties (fear of public assembly - and it turned out to have short-term taken some of the air out of the Tea Party sails, I'm waiting for the next republicorp move. How about an ebook like "Hillary and the Greys"? That oughta harmonize with someone...
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Send lunatic fringe rants, ufo reports, thousand dollar bills, and huckleberry pies to george@ure.net
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