Friday 30 August 2019

World headlines - 29 August, 2019




## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
U.S. 10-year TIPS yields fall deeper into negative territory


## Airline death spiral ##
American Airlines is calling travelers to apologize for travel disruptions

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Putin Shows Off Su-57 Stealth Fighter After Turkey Barred from Buying F-35
• War on Iran
With Few Members, US Launches Anti-Iran Maritime Force
A month of recruitment netted three other participants
• War on Venezuela
Ethanol does nothing but support corn farmers and raise the GDP by shoving piles of money around. Remember: The test of any fuel is whether it can run the operation that produces it, and still have plenty of energy left over to run the economy. This also holds for biofuel made from soybeans: The minuscule energy yield would never be enough even to run the machinery and facilities used to produce the fuel, let alone power industrial society. To put this in perspective, fossil fuels build the machinery, trucks, and facilities (pipelines, railways, tankers, drilling rigs, refineries, etc.) needed to run the energy system; they provide the energy to power them all; and still have a huge energy surplus to run a global civilization of unprecedented scale. By comparison, pissant biofuels are junk energy. (P.S. I am not promoting fossil fuels. The comparison is meant to illustrate the difference in energy density between fossil fuels and renewables.) -- RF
All that talk about humanity "needing" to get off a planet that we were literally designed to live on makes it sound as though we could live anywhere. There's only one Earth, baby. -- RF
I don't doubt it. But it just goes to show that the Earth has far too many humans. -- RF
Why the Amazon doesn’t really produce 20% of the world’s oxygen
Of the many important reasons to worry about the thousands of fires raging in the world’s largest rainforest, oxygen supply is not one of them.
No One Knows How Many of the World’s Skin-Lightening Creams Are Tainted With Mercury
Tests keep turning up the toxic element, even in products the manufacturers claim are safe.
Who would have thought? -- RF
More Force Won’t Fix the American Diet

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
The Media’s Russian Radiation Story Implodes Upon Scrutiny (Scott Ritter)
What really happened at Nenoska was less explosive than everyone, including Trump, wanted you to believe.
In Search of a Russiagate Scalp: The Entrapment of Maria Butina
In need of a “collusion” connection, top FBI officials have now been shown  to be behind the false portrayal of an unregistered agent as a spy.
Smart Speakers That Listen When They Shouldn't
Researchers at Northeastern University say the Amazon Echo may respond to dialogue other than its wake word
The Real Big Brother
It’s a billionaire’s world and the biggest of them all is in the thick of it.
If the situation were the other way around, it would be condemned as "meddling in US affairs." -- RF

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Severe overcrowding drives homeless spike (Australia)
U.S. to states: School lunch changes none of your business
As schools begin reopening their doors to children nationwide, the U.S. government has told a federal judge that states have no power to sue over new rules they say make school meals less healthy [sic].

## Japan ##
The Next Recession Will Destroy Millennials
Millennials are already in debt and without savings. After the next downturn, they’ll be in even bigger trouble.
Americans, in general, have come to believe they are "entitled" to a certain type of house, car, and general lifestyle which includes NOT just the basic necessities of living such as food, running water, and electricity, but also the latest mobile phone, computer, and high-speed internet connection.
Why is SpaceX allowed to put the public and their property in such danger? -- RF
The reason? His online friends were critical of the U.S., he was told.

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