Archive for the 'Collapse' Category
At Least 11 Cops Shot in 24 Hours
January 25th, 2011There aren’t many national headlines about the nonstop crimes committed by the police around the U.S. But, for our purposes, the number of cops that wind up dead on an annual basis (as a result of shootings and other assaults) is a fairly simple collapse metric to track, and I have been doing that. So […]
The Pathology of Facebook and Twitter
January 23rd, 2011Via: Guardian: The way in which people frantically communicate online via Twitter, Facebook and instant messaging can be seen as a form of modern madness, according to a leading American sociologist. “A behaviour that has become typical may still express the problems that once caused us to see it as pathological,” MIT professor Sherry Turkle […]
Spain Plans Partial Nationalization of Savings Banks
January 22nd, 2011Via: Reuters: Spain plans a partial state takeover of its weakest savings banks as it seeks to reassure investors a rescue will not weigh on its deficit. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday the government would force debt-laden regional savings banks to become conventional banks and seek stock market listings to […]
IRELAND: FIVE MINISTERS QUIT IN TWO DAYS
January 20th, 2011Via: BBC: There has been uproar in the Irish parliament after five ministers quit the cabinet inside two days, with a sixth expected to join them. It was confirmed overnight that four had tendered their resignations, joining Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, who stood down on Tuesday. The enterprise minister is said to be also planning […]
Mom Accused of Playing Game on Facebook While Baby Drowned
January 19th, 2011Via: Reuters: A Colorado mother who told police her 13-month-old son drowned in the bathtub while she was playing a game on Facebook was charged on Friday with child abuse resulting in death. Shannon Johnson, 34, was advised of the charge against her via a video hookup from the jail where she is being held […]
‘Cows Eat Grass’ and Other Inflammatory Statements
January 18th, 2011Via: Utne Reader: Cows eat grass. You wouldn’t think it’s a big deal to state this, but at Iowa State University a highly qualified job applicant who had the temerity to voice this simple biological fact was ejected from consideration for a post leading a sustainable agriculture program, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports: Among […]
Flood Disasters in Sri Lanka and South Africa Driving Food Prices Higher
January 17th, 2011Sri Lanka: Via: AFP: Sri Lanka warned Monday that food prices could shoot up after devastating floods in the north and east of the country destroyed rice and vegetable crops. Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said vegetable prices had already been affected because of the impact on growing areas that were swamped by unusually heavy […]
Detroit May Close Half of Its Public Schools
January 17th, 2011Via: The Detroit News: Detroit Public Schools would close nearly half of its schools in the next two years, and increase high school class sizes to 62 by the following year, under a deficit-reduction plan filed with the state. The plan, part of a monthly update Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb gives the Department of […]
Do I Suggest Opening an Account with the Bank of China?
January 15th, 2011WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. The Bank of China is now allowing Americans to open yuan denominated accounts out of its New York and Los Angeles branches. Over email, several people have asked me what I think about this. I think that keeping some portion of […]
The Chinese Eco-Disaster
January 12th, 2011Via: Slate: When Jonathan Watts was a child, he was warned: “If everyone in China jumps at exactly the same time, it will shake the earth off its axis and kill us all.” Three decades later, he stood in the gray sickly smog of Beijing, wheezing and hacking uncontrollably after a short run, and thought: […]
