Author Archives: energyskeptic

Civil Asset Forfeiture: across the nation authorities confiscate cash & homes of innocent people

Source: Ironside AM (2016) New report finds civil asset forfeiture most heavily burdens minorities and low-income communities. Civil Rights Law & Policy Blog. Preface. Basically if you’re poor, your cash, car, home, and other property can be confiscated for no … Continue reading →

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The repo market was a key reason the meltdown happened

NY Fed’s Dudley Warns that “Firesales” Could Trigger Another Financial Crisis.  Still Broken Five Years Later by Mike Whitney. Feb 21-23, 2014. Counterpunch. “The repo market wasn’t just a part of the meltdown. It was the meltdown.”  – David Weidner, … Continue reading →

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Nuclear Winter in China: Chinese Smog will lower food supplies

Scientists liken Chinese smog to ‘nuclear winter’ February 27, 2014.  by Kim Kyung-Hoon. Reuters. Air pollution in parts of China is now so extreme it could lead to conditions similar to a “nuclear winter,” scientists say. The smog that covers … Continue reading →

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Science: A Drier Future. Global Warming is likely to lead to overall drying of land surfaces.

A Drier Future. Global Warming is likely to lead to overall drying of land surfaces. Sherwood, S & Fu, Q. Science. 14 Feb 2014. Vol 343. pp 737-739 Global temperature increases affect the water cycle over land, but the nature … Continue reading →

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PNAS: Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises

Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises. 2013. sponsored by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Intelligence community. This was the best summary of the 223 page National Academy of Sciences publication I could … Continue reading →

Posted in CO2 and Methane | 1 Comment

Pity Brazil’s Military Police. FEB. 19, 2014. Vanessa Barbara. New York Times.

Pity Brazil’s Military Police. FEB. 19, 2014.  Vanessa Barbara. New York Times. In 2012, 1,890 Brazilians were killed by the police. 351 occurred in São Paulo — 20% of all homicides. Organized crime retaliated by killing 11 police officers and … Continue reading →

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Gail Tverberg advice on what to do

Below are 2 columns of advice from Gail Tverberg. Feb 17, 2014. Reaching Limits to Growth: What Should our Response Be? Oil limits seem to be pushing us toward a permanent downturn, including a crash in credit availability, loss of … Continue reading →

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Colombia’s Warning for Mexico

Preface. This is a pattern you see over and over again in civil wars and collapsing bits of nations no longer under government control Abadfeb’s editorial reminds me of feudalism. Until the rise of state-level armies in the 17th century, … Continue reading →

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Eduardo Porter : Next Crisis from Rising Interest Rates? (New York Times)

A World Unprepared, Again, for Rising Interest Rates. Feb 11, 2014. Eduardo Porter. New York Times. I was living in São Paulo in 1997 when, out of the blue, an investment banker I knew called to ask about Brazilian cocktails. … Continue reading →

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Banks get around Bonus Rules = less money to take back after risky bets go bad

February 13, 2014. Banks in London Devise Way Around Europe’s Bonus Rules. Jenny Anderson. New York Times. Since the 2008 crisis, regulators around the world have tried to rein in bonuses, worried that big payouts encourage excessive risk-taking by bankers … Continue reading →

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