Archive for the 'Collapse' Category
U.S. Home Prices Drop 11.4% in January
March 25th, 2008Via: AP: A widely-watched index of U.S. home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, its steepest drop since data for the indicator was first collected in 1987. The decline reported Tuesday in the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index means prices have been growing more slowly or dropping for 19 consecutive months. The index tracks the prices […]
China Urged to Shift Urban Growth to Supercities
March 24th, 2008Via: Reuters: Shifting China’s model of urbanization to favor huge supercities could boost per capita output, improve energy efficiency and help contain the loss of arable land, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) said on Monday. Rapid urbanization has been a major driver of Chinese growth over the past two decades and will become more so […]
Food Supplies
March 19th, 2008As you know, Becky and I maintain an emergency stockpile of food as a matter of routine. From my personal experience with our food supply preparations, and upon consulting with some close Cryptogon readers (in private) about this matter, it is clear that we are now in a phase where food shortages are present in […]
Wheat Killing Fungus Now in Iran
March 18th, 2008I lost track of how many people submitted this. At least five. Via: UN: A dangerous new fungus with the ability to destroy entire wheat fields has been detected in Iran, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. The wheat stem rust, whose spores are carried by wind across continents, was previously […]
Dollars Tough to Sell on Streets of Amsterdam
March 18th, 2008“…when your cash is not convertible into foreign currencies or maybe even worthless…” —Waiting for Clarity on the Brink of Oblivion It’s important to keep an eye on the little things that start to actually affect Joe and Jane Six Pack. When the herd finally understands what’s happening, you will want to be long gone. […]
Bread Lines in Egypt
March 17th, 2008Via: BBC: Egypt’s president has ordered the army to increase the production and distribution of bread, in an attempt to cope with serious shortages. Rising prices and alleged corruption have sparked recent clashes at bakeries in poorer neighbourhoods, leading to several deaths. Hosni Mubarak said eradicating bread queues was “imperative”. The army and interior ministry […]
Chaos in Tibet Capital as Protests Spread
March 14th, 2008Via: Reuters: Protesters in Tibet’s capital Lhasa burnt shops and vehicles and yelled for independence on Friday as the region was hit by protests, prompting its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to urge Beijing to stop “brute force”. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest demonstrations the […]
Pakistan: Millions Without Electricity in Karachi Over Unpaid Bill
March 6th, 2008Unpaid power bill of half a billion dollars. Via: AFP: A row over unpaid bills sparked a huge power blackout in Pakistan’s biggest city that left most of Karachi’s 12 million residents without electricity, officials said Thursday. The outage came after Pakistan’s main power utility accused the electricity company supplying the southern port of refusing […]
High Food Prices May Force Aid Rationing
February 25th, 2008Full text again. Via: Financial Times: The United Nation’s agency responsible for relieving hunger is drawing up plans to ration food aid in response to the spiralling cost of agricultural commodities. The World Food Programme is holding crisis talks to decide what aid to halt if new donations do not arrive in the short term. […]
Shoppers Warned Bigger Bills On Way
February 25th, 2008Full text follows. Via: Financial Times: When William Lapp, of US-based consultancy Advanced Economic Solutions, took the podium at the annual US Department of Agriculture conference, the sentiment was already bullish for agricultural commodities boosted by demand from the biofuels industry and emerging countries. He added a twist – that rising agricultural raw material prices […]
