This will add fuel to the conspiratorialists (is that a word?) fire... It is starting to look like some group IS intentially obstructing justice by leaking information to the press to tip off the targets of the probe.
Plame, the Al Qaeda computer guy, Feith's office, this...and they are related in some way....hmmm.
link LATOC and FTW will pounce on this.

But, I must add, the belief in the idea of some sane, rule-of-law based probe such as this getting to the root of the matter is sadly misplaced.
There will be no cavalry to the rescue. Does one forget history?

One cannot challenge the status quo...the big lie will be maintained until greater external forces compel it to collapse.

The indepedent counsel law has been vaporised, remember, and for those who believe in this greater, darker force compelling recent, and not so recent events in the quest for and sustainment of economic domination, that savation just won't happen, IMHO. Not from a federal prosecutor at least.

Sounds fatalistic I know, but realistic.

The subpoena will be challenged, the probe will bog down. Treasonous plotting will be looked askew. The Times will protect their confidential sources, even if it was in the commision of a alleged crime...

Terrorist Alert: A Butterfly called Ivan (aka Frances; Charlie) $20Bn Insurance Hit!

As Ivan heads into the Gulf of Mexico it's not simply the US coastal populations that are cringeing at the thought of its arrival; oil production is being shut down on platforms right across its potential pathway.

The costs of this event will not only be borne by uninsured property owners and farmers, but also by the insurance industry and, given the resulting >$1/barrel oil price rise, by the society in general. One of its consequences will be the sharp rise of coastal insurance premiums and the further decline of cover in some areas.

Given that Ivan is one of the greatest storms ever recorded, and comes as part of an unprecedented hurricane season (a 200yr event), and reflects the rising sea temperatures that have been killing the corals over the last decade, the outlook in coming decades appears pretty dire for those trying to get a living in the Caribbean and on the Gulf coasts.

It was surely a classic irony that the Bush regime should finally belatedly acknowledge, after Charlie hit and before Frances arrived, that man-made Global Warming and resulting Climate Change began over 50 years ago.

I just watched a piece on New Orleans and hurricane preparedness. The mayor was quite candor that if a "big" hurricane ever hit there, it would kill thousands. Most of the city is below sea level or very near, I think. Only one real corridor out. Sheesh!

Over here they're now saying it will hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.


JackBob

As a resident of Baton Rouge, 60 miles upriver from New Orleans, I can tell you that we are already feeling the effects of the 'voluntary evacuation" of New Orleanes right now.

Borderline panic buying of plywood, water, batteries, propane cannisters, etc.

Traffic volumes on I-10 Westbound increased to the point of stoppage this AM. Had to take a different route to work.

Lines at gas stations and tempers flaring.

This is just a taste of what an energy shortage is going to look like. And honestly its frightening.

We'll know today whether a mandatory evac of N.O. will be ordered.

Wish us luck!

Since we are leading up to the US election and everyone is worried to some extent about terrorist attacks I wonder how the markets would come through it. Israel historically has had a hell of a time with terrorism but they seem to bounce back. My personal feeling is that we have been through it now and to some extent will be more callous toward an event.

I chose the third option.

I think by now, I know how corporations are. The only thing scarier than a terrorist attack, is a loss of profit to these people. Hell, they'll probably think of it as a business opportunity.

Chemical attack? Gas masks. $$$

Nuclear attack? Bomb shelters $$$

Insane, all-out, shoot-em up slash fest? Stylized bullet-proof vests $$$

Bush re-election? Custom made pitchforks and torches $$$

9/11 pt 2? Civilian issue anti-air rocket launchers and parachutes $$$

You know there's an enterprising, greedy pig just waiting for a terrorist attack to happen so they can start their terrorist survival store. (hundreds of feet underground of course, getting damaged in a terrorist attack would hurt business.)

Sounds good on paper, but doesnt quite pan out in the real world my friend

1) Corporations are run by people. Gee, what a thought! Real life, living breathing people. You think the CEO in a suit likes to see inncoent people die anymore then us little guys in the trenches? No.
2) Corporations cant make money if people dont buy it. So really, if you want to blame someone and points fingers you might want to start with all your friends, family and us board members. Why? because WE are the market drivers. If WE all go out and buy gas masks because WE are afraid, then guess what? You've just supported the corporations. Its a very, very simple economic driver. What the PEOPLE buy drives the market.
3) Even more so, blame us survivalists. You think the people who commute 2 hours a day, work 10 in the office then back home to sit and watch TV are buying gas masks? No. Its the survivalsts. Thats right, you and me. People like US are what are the driving factor to survivalist items being sold. Which in turn is what is fueling the market in general, and making corporations money.

I'm not saying corporations are without guilt, but the simple fact is they exist because of the people who buy the product. If people didnt demnad, and buy, the product the corporations would not sell them.

I still won't cut the corporations any slack. In my experience corporations (and the people that run them) are pretty heartless. Even philantrophists donate vast sums of money for tax breaks, they aren't doing it totally out of the goodness of their heart.

Telling me they are run by people won't help your argument. I'm not a people fan.

Secondly, I am not a survivalist. I'm kind of hoping on being in the blast radius of a nuke someday, because I know I will never survive the crash.

Lastly, its true corporations exist because consumers exist, but we can't help that. We're victims of capitalism, we're practically trapped and forced to spend money.

Before you all react with anger and flames allow me to explain myself.

A few days ago I was trying to picture life in a PO world. One of the aspects of this world that tends to reguarly crop up for debate is the fact that western governments will resort to some form of a police state. If this were to happen then I can only imagine that the reaction of the mass public to these draconian measures would be to respond with rebellion. If that were the case then the reaction of the governments would be extremely heavy handed and result in the formation of underground movements, kinda like the anti-capitalists today.

As these movements grow and rebellion against the police state grows then they will resort to terrorist attacks in order to fulfill their objectives. They will no doubt look to other terrorist groups for inspiration on tactics to take out the army. Although I doubt that beheadings and murdering aid workers will be part of the agenda.

Does make me wonder what sort of cause they will be fighting for though. Will it be a collection of environmentalists, anarchists, socialists etc.

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.



How about unemployed whitey?

The West can't wade through an economic depression with the surreal cultural, ethnic and social tension it has created for itself in the past twenty years. It cannot tread water until the sun shines again, if ever.

During the height of the dotcom multicult globocon fantasy fiasco, the US was close to flying apart at the seams. The only thing holding the lid on it was the illusion that everybody was going to be rich soon.

As the energy supply tightens, millions will run out of their savings and be looking at the street, their families included. The current elites are completely unready for the chaos that they nurtured and created. If only 5% of the population misbehave (and they will) they will turn the West into a towering inferno of horror that will be worse than any apocalyptic film you've ever seen in your life.

The middle class is about to vanish from the West. Hundreds of millions of happy serene fat white people will turn into sullen, lean, angry crazy people who will conduct lynch-at-large.

Everybody knows what it is like when minorities go crazy ... they are always raising hell. But nobody has seen whitey totally lose it in over a hundred years.

A person with nothing to lose is a person with nothing to lose. The difference between whitey and a suicide bomber in the Middle East is that a single white guy will be capable of doing almost unbelievable damage. Witness in Korea where a guy with a 99 cent bottle of sterno destroyed a subway system and killed several hundred people. Now imagine whitey that crazy except about fifty times angrier and sane enough to think of lots worse.

I can imagine the first protests and riots will be about how high food and energy is. That of course depends on whether or not the economy has collapsed yet.

Economic crash or effects of PO. which will be first? Some people seem to paint a picture of the economy staggering along until the effects of PO kick in and the people start rioting.

Whiteys on the loose? I might consider moving to another Galaxy ...

Well, I think the way of fuckage may differ for each georaphical region. But I think that the most two likely things that will happen everywhere is violence and disease.

Disease can manifest itself in several different ways, but I think the most common cause is due to the exposure of an unsanitary environment. The only thing that is preventing disease caused by insects and other carriers is the modern garbage disposal system, where its fleet of heavy, clumsy collectors relies directly or indirectly on cheap energy to operate. With a simultaneous severe reduction of its efficiency and the growing pollution associated with more apes, disease could very well increase due to the higher accumulation of garbage and all of the wonderful things assosiated with it. Of ocurse, people could very well burn their garbage, but then they'll just end up breathing whatever it is they burn. Besides, I think chances are excellent that not everyone will be able to afford the sanitation supplies that they cannot create themselves, which may intensify the likelihood for an increase in disease.

Then there is the violence associated with the fall of an unprepared society. Some people may want to believe that this country might start working toward being prepared, but current actions of the US government and citizens indicate that they are drawing themselves further away from such a goal. I don't think it's a good idea to expect that we'll end up in a poisition we are not headed for.

Scapegoats are quite popular when things get shitty, because it not only gives a herd of apes the ability to avoid being responsible, but also allows them to vent their frustrations toward particular groups of people, which just means emotional relief. Of course, scapegoating doesn't mean just saying "fuck you" to a bunch of unacquainted people; it often means beating the shit out of them and killing them. If it is an organized entity that is being blamed, so too will it feel the wrath of its enemies. Things are a bit more fragmented in this country, so there probably won't be a uniform scapegoat. Of course, since white people make up the majority of the American population, their blame targets are going to have to brace themselves with a giant shit barrage. In my opinion, Arabs, gay people, dark skinned immigrants, and certain corporate and government workers are going to have to watch out for fuming herds of crazy, white motherfuckers.

Of course, given that we are in a position unlike any other time in history, it will be difficult to see how the web of shit-slinging unfolds. I'd worry most about the able-bodied white people; if the fat fuck white people are losing weight due to caloric deficit, then they're fucked anyway. Still...white people -- watch the fuck out.