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Recent Posts
- Rare Earth updates: recent research on why complex & intelligent life are rare in the Universe
- Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips
- The tremendous material and energy toll of the digital economy
- Nuclear attack on U.S. could kill 90% of Americans
- What percent of Americans are rational?
- Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath
- Off-Road vehicles & equipment need diesel fuel
- Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”
- Mental Health. Coping with the future: notes from Jackson & Jensen’s “An Inconvenient Apocalypse”
- Tesla Semi trucks hauling corn chips
- What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?
- Where to be? Links to Superfund, hazardous waste and other toxic sites in U.S.
- Why methanol cannot replace petroleum in shipping
- Why is everyone afraid of AI taking over? It makes stuff up!
- Do you want to eat, drink, or fly?
Category Archives: Corruption & Finance
The staggering level of corruption & kleptocracy in the world
Preface. This is a book review of Frank Vogl’s 2021 book “The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption – Endangering Our Democracy” (well, mostly kindle notes). They couldn’t get away with it if there weren’t so many places … Continue reading
Posted in Banking, Bond Market, Corporate Welfare, Corruption, Crime, Gangs, Corrupt police, Private security, Debt, No Jail for Bankers & Wall St execs, Politics, Scams
Tagged autocrat, corruption, democracy, kleptocracy, kleptocrat
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Venezuela – when will it collapse?
Preface. This is a book review of Newman’s 2022 “Things are never so bad that they can’t get worse”. He lived in Venezuela from 2012 to 2016 as a correspondent for The New York Times. Venezuela and Canada have the … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption & Finance, Crime, Gangs, Corrupt police, Private security, Venezuela
Tagged Chavez, collapse, corruption, gangs, refugees, Trump, Venezuela
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The Vory. Russia’s Super Mafia
Preface. After reading this book about the history of organized crime in Russia, I thought surely Russia must be the most corrupt nation in the world. But amazingly there are 47 countries that are ranked even lower of the 180 … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption & Finance, Crime, Gangs, Corrupt police, Private security, War Books
Tagged corruption, criminal, mafia, Russia, Stalin, totalitarian, vory
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Peak Oil is Here! World oil production peaked in 2018
Preface. Peak oil is here! Well, OK, we need to officially wait 5 years. But it’s been true for four years, as you can see from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in late 2018 (EIA 2022). It is also likely … Continue reading
Book review of “Halfway Home”. What happens after jail
Preface. This book is about what happens to released prisoners. Many of the homeless you see on the street were prisoners who are on the street because landlords won’t rent to them, and their family won’t let them move in … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Gangs, Corrupt police, Private security, Drug wars and the prison system
Tagged corruption, drugs, jail, prison system
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How corporations used conservative religion to gain wealth & power & undo the New Deal
Source: Republican Jesus Preface. This is a book review of One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America by Kevin Kruse (2016), followed by excerpts from the book. Much of this introduction is my take on what this … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption, Corruption & Finance, Distribution of Wealth, Religion
Tagged corporations, corruption, evangelical, free enterprise, fundamentalist, Jesus, religion, Republican
1 Comment
A Relentless Growth of Disparity in Wealth
Preface. I write a lot about why electric vehicles won’t be widely adopted. One reason is that the bottom 95% can’t afford them. This tremendous unfairness will likely make peak oil decline more violent and chaotic than it would have … Continue reading
Posted in Distribution of Wealth
3 Comments
Kurt Andersen: “Evil Geniuses” & wealth
Preface. This is a well-written book with original insights into the economic, cultural, and politics behind how we got to a right-wing wannabe fascist incredibly unfair distribution of wealth. But Andersen is unaware that energy, not money, is the basis … Continue reading
Maddow’s “Blowout”, Russian peak oil, corruption, fake news
Preface. Since this blog focuses on peak resources, I drastically rearranged my notes from this book in the order I found most interesting. I’m also interested in corruption, Putin, fake news, and more, as you’ll see below. Since the book … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption, Corruption & Finance, Oil shock collapse, Peak Oil
Tagged corruption, fake news, peak oil, Russia, Ukraine
2 Comments
The rich live longer than the poor. At least 14% of wealth is hidden in tax havens
Preface. No surprises here. With peak oil close at hand, I can’t see universal healthcare and other safety nets enacted, just more and more taken away. It is so shameful the U.S. doesn’t take care of its people, it is … Continue reading
Posted in Distribution of Wealth
Tagged corruption, tax haven
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