The Long and Continuous Emergency

This Blog is Under Review...

2009-08-16T00:55:00.002-04:00

...by me. I am in the process of rethinking The Long and Continuous Emergency. Meanwhile, the Headlines at the top of the page will still be updated daily.

We Need to Change the Paradigm

2009-02-10T22:30:00.001-05:00

We can't return to the heyday of Happy Motoring, no matter how many bridges we fix or how many additional ring highways we build around our already-overblown and over-sprawled metroplexes. Mostly, we can't return to the now-complete "growth" cycle of "economic expansion." We're done with all that. History is done with our doing that, for now.

So far -- after two weeks in office -- the Obama team seems bent on a campaign to sustain the unsustainable at all costs, to attempt to do all the impossible things listed above. Mr. Obama is not the only one, of course, who is invoking the quest for renewed "growth." This is a tragic error in collective thinking. What we really face is a comprehensive contraction in our activities, especially the scale of our activities, and the pressing need to readjust the systems of everyday life to a level of decreased complexity. - Kunstler

Perspective

2009-02-08T11:52:00.003-05:00

Bankers

2009-01-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

"A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain." -Mark Twain

A Wonderful Holiday Season to All

2008-12-21T12:41:00.002-05:00

That there is no soft landing. We are not in a recession. We are not even in a depression. We are at the end of an era.
- Robert Paterson

Summarizing 2008 and predictions for 2009

The Northeast

2008-12-17T22:01:00.001-05:00

"I always thought the northeast wasn't given sufficient recognition as the most left-leaning region of the country, which I think it fairly obviously is," from a post about Sen. Lieberman's approval rating by Chris Bowers.

Quote of the Week

2008-12-12T14:24:00.000-05:00

"The way we've been living, I'd rather die, but during the die-off, I plan to live," by the mysterious author of The Bangor Blues

America is Collapsing

2008-11-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA
Tue Nov 25 2008 09:04:22 ET

A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts.

Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected daily IZVESTIA published on Monday: "The dollar is not secured by anything. The country's foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse."

The paper said Panarin's dire predictions for the U.S. economy, initially made at an international conference in Australia 10 years ago at a time when the economy appeared strong, have been given more credence by this year's events.

When asked when the U.S. economy would collapse, Panarin said: "It is already collapsing. Due to the financial crisis, three of the largest and oldest five banks on Wall Street have already ceased to exist, and two are barely surviving. Their losses are the biggest in history. Now what we will see is a change in the regulatory system on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world's financial regulator."

When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: "Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia."

Asked why he expected the U.S. to break up into separate parts, he said: "A whole range of reasons. Firstly, the financial problems in the U.S. will get worse. Millions of citizens there have lost their savings. Prices and unemployment are on the rise. General Motors and Ford are on the verge of collapse, and this means that whole cities will be left without work. Governors are already insistently demanding money from the federal center. Dissatisfaction is growing, and at the moment it is only being held back by the elections and the hope that Obama can work miracles. But by spring, it will be clear that there are no miracles."

He also cited the "vulnerable political setup", "lack of unified national laws", and "divisions among the elite, which have become clear in these crisis conditions."

He predicted that the U.S. will break up into six parts - the Pacific coast, with its growing Chinese population; the South, with its Hispanics; Texas, where independence movements are on the rise; the Atlantic coast, with its distinct and separate mentality; five of the poorer central states with their large Native American populations; and the northern states, where the influence from Canada is strong.

He even suggested that "we could claim Alaska - it was only granted on lease, after all." Panarin, 60, is a professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has authored several books on information warfare.

Developing... (from Matt Drudge)

Public Transit or Bicycle: Which is Greener?

2008-11-20T13:32:00.000-05:00

Does switching from bus to bike really have any effect? After all, cycling isn't completely carbon neutral because I've got to eat to fuel my legs

You are much better off cycling. A 12-kilometre round commute on a bus or subway train is reckoned to generate 164 kilograms of carbon per commuter per year. Somebody cycling that distance would burn about 50,000 calories a year - roughly the amount of energy in 22 kilograms of brown bread. A kilo of brown bread has a carbon footprint of about 1.1 kilograms, so switching from public transport to a bike saves about 140 kilograms of carbon emissions per year. Although this only really works if enough people cycle to allow public transport providers to reduce the number of buses and trains they run.

Quote of the Day

2008-11-10T18:00:00.002-05:00

"Many Americans have already bought their last car, they just don't know it yet." - James Howard Kunstler

I spent the day riding the subway, the LIRR, walking and biking in order to get to all my destinations. It was great.

And now...Back to the Emergency.

2008-11-06T11:00:00.001-05:00

"The number of Americans whose electricity or natural gas has been shut off for nonpayment of their bills is up sharply in many parts of the country as people struggle with higher prices and a shaky economy."

-LA Times

Yes We Did

2008-11-05T11:32:00.003-05:00

The East Village celebrates like it's Berlin in 1989! [via Andrew Sullivan]

And, spontaneous celebrations in Fort Greene, Brooklyn below!

Vote

2008-10-27T19:50:00.001-04:00

Temper Mental During A Depression?

2008-10-09T15:47:00.006-04:00

The McCain/Palin Mob

2008-10-09T09:27:00.000-04:00

Facism on the March in America

2008-10-07T13:01:00.000-04:00

Bush Threatened Marshal Law

2008-10-07T12:18:00.001-04:00

Oh Boy...Here We Go

2008-09-29T18:03:00.005-04:00

When the Stock Market tells you to invest in canned soup (literally), you know the Long and Continuous Emergency just got a lot worse.

The S&P 500 retreated 106.59 points to 1,106.42, as only one company gained, Campbell Soup Co. [Bloomberg via Wonkette]

The Effluent Society

2008-09-20T17:39:00.003-04:00

Interesting take on the current economic crisis. [via Ran Prieur]

Repblicans Are The Party That Wrecked America

2008-09-15T10:26:00.002-04:00

Confused by the news out of Wall Street late last night? James Howard Kunstler sheds a little light on the subject this morning here.

Happy Fascist Christmas

2008-09-11T16:38:00.005-04:00

http://www.pushback.org/2008/09/09/see-demonstration-photos-at-the-rnc/

http://drunkatdnc.blogspot.com/

Acceptance

2008-09-02T22:46:00.002-04:00

The Speech

Quote of the Month

2008-08-19T14:30:00.003-04:00

If you desire to be poor, oppressed, and eventually vaporized in a nuclear war, vote Republican.

Putting the Last 7 Years in Perspective.

2008-08-12T17:31:00.002-04:00

The Onion: A Disastrous Presidency

2008-08-08T19:31:00.002-04:00