Category Archives: Society

Energy and resources limits what humans can do. So do their own systems. Financial systems fail, corruption, wars, religion, politics and more all play a role in how successful societies are and how wealthy their citizens are. As the distribution of wealth grows more unfair, the population is so immiserated at some point that collapse and a new society emerge

Inside North Korea’s environmental collapse

Posted on March 15, 2014 by

The reddish hue of this soil in North Korea comes from lack of organic matter, vital for farming. Related Posts: North Korea collapse posts How different nations have coped with oil shortages Dmitry Orlov: How Russians survived the collapse of … Continue reading →

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The congressional report on “The Financial Crisis” and what happened

Posted on March 11, 2014 by

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report. Final Report of the national Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States 2011. Phil Angelides Chairman, Brooksley Born Commissioner, Senator Bob Graham Commissioner, etc. This is the best … Continue reading →

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Republicans have righteous minds? Really? Book review of the “Righteous Mind”

Posted on March 9, 2014 by

Preface. Although I liked this book, I found other books on far better and more profound. Garcia and Shermer deal with humanity as a species (Tomasello too, but he is hard to read and repetitious, find a book review), and … Continue reading →

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A financial crash would stop new oil production, sending us over the net energy cliff with a 10% decline rate per year

Posted on March 5, 2014 by

Gail Tverberg’s March 4, 2014 “Reasons for our Energy Predicament – an overview” gave me this sudden insight: There is the potential for a sudden drop of 10 to 30% in oil production.  That magnitude of world-wide oil shocks would … Continue reading →

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Credit Rating Agencies gave bad debt AAA ratings

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

How banks gamed the rating system from biz.yahoo.com April 2008 Triple-A Failure Nothing sent the [credit ratings] agencies into high gear as much as the development of structured finance. As Wall Street bankers designed ever more securitized products — using … Continue reading →

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Bernie Madoff

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

The Day the Earth Went Broke. 2008. Byron King   whiskeyandgunpowder.com What if you woke up one day and there was a flying saucer sitting in the middle of Central Park? It would change your view of the world, if not … Continue reading →

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Experts who aren’t worried about Inflation

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

Paul Krugman: The Inflation Obsession. March 2, 2014. New York Times. [modified: both paraphrased and cut] Recently the Federal Reserve released transcripts of its monetary policy meetings during the fateful year of 2008. And, boy, are they discouraging reading because … Continue reading →

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New York Times : 401K, mutual fund, brokerage fees have cost you tens of thousands of dollars

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

Give Fees an Inch, and They’ll Take a Mile March 1, 2014. Jeff Sommer. New York Times. [I’ve shortened and paraphrased much of the article, go to the link above to see the full article. My comments are in brackets] … Continue reading →

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New York Times: Global Bond Frenzy Raises Concerns

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

Global Bond Frenzy Raises Concerns Feb 19, 2014. Landon Thomas. New York Times Global bond investors have financed some of the most enormous projects ever taken on by emerging economies the past few years. Now growth is faltering in many … Continue reading →

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Mass Destruction from Derivatives HuffingtonPost

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

The Armageddon Looting Machine: The Looming Mass Destruction From Derivatives Sep 18, 2013. Ellen Brown. Increased regulation and low interest rates are driving lending from the regulated commercial banking system into the unregulated shadow banking system. The shadow banks, although … Continue reading →

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