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Archive | June, 2010

Making other arrangements: I’d like to help you

28. June 2010

48 Comments

Now that my own living arrangements are in order — to the extent that’s possible in light of ongoing, accelerating global climate change, decline of American Empire, and demise of the living planet — I would like to help other people more directly than I am able via the blogosphere, email, and telephone. My ability [...]

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Mac and Jack: Roughing it in the Sandwich Islands

26. June 2010

14 Comments

I’m just back at the mud hut after a too-short trip to the big island of Hawaii, where I visited a former student from the University of Arizona honors program. James was visiting Zimbabwe when the economy there headed south in a hurry, as I described here and here. We discussed his interest in ramping [...]

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The agenda revisited

19. June 2010

35 Comments

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. (Arthur Schopenhauer, one of my philosophical heroes) ______________________ Based on recent comments in this space, and also in my email in-box, I am compelled to provide an updated overview of my proposed agenda [...]

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The power of television in Asphaltistan

14. June 2010

28 Comments

I’m just back from a quick vacation in the vicinity of Morro Bay, California. Most importantly and enjoyably, I communed with sea otters, pelicans, herons, and egrets while kayaking on the calm waters of the bay. But I also spent a little time reading and writing, and I watched more television than I’ve seen in [...]

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Teetering

10. June 2010

29 Comments

The industrial economy, that is. On the brink, yet again. The real economy — not the born-again exuberance in the world’s stock markets — is stalling as the effects of easy money wear off. Indeed, investor fund flows haven’t been this bad since Lehmann Brothers collapsed in the autumn of 2008. The IMF says risks [...]

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Dispatches from Central Absurdistan

7. June 2010

27 Comments

1. In yet another reason to keep those shows on the air, reality TV breeds new body ideals. 2. It’ll take a lot of rats to clothe plus-size models in the latest fashion accessory. 3. Encouraging us to keep the weight on, the American Heart Association endorses Nintendo’s Wii. Please put aside your shovel and [...]

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We didn’t start the fire

1. June 2010

13 Comments

Actually, to counter singer/songwriter Billy Joel, we did start this FIRE. Not you and me, of course, but our culture. The U.S. industrial economy is all about Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate. The FIRE is about to run its course, extinguished by the absence of fuel in each of those interconnected sectors. The financial sector [...]

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