[I owe Chris an apology as this Post was prepared for publication on the 20th August and somehow got lost in the works. I believe it is still a relevant and important topic and has not lost any impact from this unintentional delay. Ed.]
The swine flu “pandemic” is to me a very interesting phenomenon. Sadly, it seems typical of the sort of combination of marketing hype and hysteria that is all too common.
I am principally interested in seeing beyond all the media lies and spin to know the TRUTH about what is going on. From what I have so far read the following seems to be true, but if anyone is able to correct me on some issues I would be most grateful.
Once again, a piece in Naked Capitalism caught my eye this time courtesy on one of Yves’ readers who came across this:
These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.
To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.
More pictures of this terrible way to treat a magnificent bird are here.
Seems that Congress is hell bent on replacing the best-functioning labor market in the world with their own unique brand of wisdom. Well, I have a better idea. Why don’t we slash in half the pay of all those Congressional leaders who came up with the TARP idea in the first place, since they are spending our money, and I think it is clear that they are spending our money unwisely, which is precisely the logic they use to confiscate the salaries and bonuses of the bail-out executives.
Moral of the story? Government should not be in the business of trying to run a business. The TARP bailout should have never seen the light of day. With no TARP bailout, Congress would not have had it’s latest excuse for grabbing up yet more of the private economy’s resources for trying to put this country back on track toward improved productivity, output, jobs, income, and security.
Thank goodness for two so very different opinions.
The problem for lay persons, such as me, is that it is very difficult to read in the popular media well-reasoned arguments for each side of important issues, such as climate. You can see my confusion being expressed in the opening paragraphs of an earlier Post on Climate Change.
It might not be rhetoric to say that the issue of man-made climate change could be one of the most pressing issues of all for mankind. Thus having two very clearly opposing views is incredibly useful. Learning from Dogs is grateful to both guest authors.
On the 16th October, we published a general Post about the subject that tended to lean towards the view that mankind was not affecting the climate in such a direct way as had previously been thought.
That was then followed by a Post largely consisting of an article by Patrice Ayme arguing, scientifically, that there was a direct link between mankind and global warming.
Then a Post that contained the full article by Alan Carlin arguing, again on scientific grounds, that there was not a direct link.
Patrice commented on the Alan Carlin article. But to give greater visibility to this debate, this Post carries Patrice’s comment. We hope to have a response from Alan Carlin soon.
“Never in the field of financial endeavour has so much money been owed by so few to so many. And, one might add, so far with little real reform.”
Thus spoke Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, on Tuesday night, 20th October, to a group of Scottish
Mervyn King
business people. Echoing one of Churchill’s many famous sayings, Governor King is probably one of the highest ranking people around to state, at last, what everyone on the Clapham Omnibus (a London bus route) knows to be obvious. Whether the forces can build to a point where common sense is applied by Governments before we enter another Great Depression is another matter.
Mention of the Great Depression (the last one) triggers a step back in time.
On June 16th 1933 Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Glass-Steagall Act. In fact that was the second Act signed
Carter Glass
into law, the first Act was passed by Congress in February 1932 and was largely designed to stop deflation. The second Act was, in a sense, much more important because it set out to prevent bank holding companies from owning other financial institutions. It was repealed on November 12th, 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Just a little under 10 years ago. 10 years which have seen the biggest boom-bust probably ever in modern history. And has much of the Western world slipping into another great depression.
US Senator Carter Glass and US Congressman Henry B. Steagall must be turning in their graves
Henry Steagall
But thank goodness for investigative journalism and the role of the Internet in creating a truly open ‘meeting place’.
The following is reproduced in full from the TSF website and is reprinted with the permission of Tavakoli Structured Finance, Inc.
It’s a fascinating tale about Warren Buffet in the midst of all the financial turmoil. And in case you think that Tavakoli Finance is run by the grey suit brigade …
Alan Carlin believes that rising greenhouse gases are not the cause of warming, on scientific grounds.
Yesterday we published a long guest Post from Patrice Ayme who argued that climate warming is a very serious risk to this planet, as we know it.
Alan Carlin has gracefully given Learning from Dogs permission to reproduce his article that argues, on a scientific basis, that man-made greenhouse gases are not the cause of warming.
Again, this is an article that needs to be read. Alan’s Blog is here.
A work trip to Brittany, France and a chance to reflect on the differences.
I’m sat writing this in my hotel room on the outskirts of Quimper in Brittany. Usual overcast and drizzle but considering I’m only a couple of hundred miles south of home, that’s the only similarity with the Devon weather.
Quimper
They simply seem to have no comprehension about the recession. There are small signs of some new office building being empty but more buildings seem to have appeared and business appears to be booming. The super market where I have lunch is even busier than last year and the shops are full of people buying things.
What’s the difference?
I’m sure my friend Chris [Chris Snuggs, another author on this Blog] who I used to work for here will be able to say, but I can’t believe it’s all about the main business of food and agriculture, which predominates in this part of the country.
Back home in Devon, the same set of circumstance ought to hold true as it’s mainly agriculture and tourism, just like in Brittany. However there is a vibrancy in Quimper that I find refreshing. And a lack of charity shops!
What can we learn from this?
I was bought up in an environment that did not trust the French and it wasn’t until I got an opportunity to work here 10 years ago I realised that it wasn’t all that I’d been told.
I really like Brittany and its people who are friendly and very welcoming. There is definitely something to learn from this.
Patrice Ayme believes it is real, on a scientific basis.
On the 16th October, we published a Post called Climate warming?. The sub-heading gave a clue to the content of the Post: What’s the truth about climate warming, e’rr change?
My stance was to express doubt about man causing climate warming. But then, a good friend of this Blog, Patrice Ayme, added this comment:
Lowest ice on record in the Arctic was 2007, then 2008, and now 2009. [More exactly the sea with more than 15% ice reflecting.]
As I pointed out on http://patriceayme.wordpress.com/2009/05/ (May 31, 2009).
The sun has been going down in the last 30 years or so… Watch the nice graph there, extracted from Science Mag…
We are just coming out of a solar minimum so pronounced that cosmic rays, less deflected by the sun’s magnetic field, have become a problem… This explains why greenhouse heating has been less pronounced than some expected in the last few years. Things should pick up in the next 7 years, as the sun heats up. The multiplying factor is 3 or 4…
It seemed appropriate to ask Messrs Ayme and Carlin for permission to reproduce both their Blog articles. Both very kindly agreed – thanks Gents.
These are long articles – but will inform you in a way that the mass media never do.
Learning from Dogs 