Chris Martenson Blogs

Daily Digest 2/10 - 10 Things Everyone Should Know About The Fed, Visualizing U.S. Debt, Why Is Gas Consumption Tanking?

DailyDigest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:49:54 +0000

Bill Black on Financial Fraud Investigations
Rick Santelli on Visualizing U.S. Debt; How Many Milky Way Galaxies Do We Owe?
Federal Reserve: Ten Things That Every American Should Know About The Fed
MF Global: Trail Growing Cold - 'No One to Blame'
Postal Service loses $3.3 billion in first quarter
Why Is Gasoline Consumption Tanking?
The Important Roles of Risk and Stealth in the Eagle Ford Shale Discovery
Texas Water District Acts to Slow Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer

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Daily Digest 2/9 - The Tumblin' Default, Denninger And Pollock Discuss Economy, Are There Holes In Pipeline Transparency?

DailyDigest — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:44:17 +0000

Bond Investors: Bonds May Collapse Before Bernanke’s 2014 Target
The Tumblin' Default
The Root Cause of Excess Flab Almost Everyone Ignore
Doomsday Capitalism: Just Getting Started or Going Out of Style?
Karl Denninger - Warren Pollock Open Discussion
Glasgow solar study: 'We could put oil back in ground'
End of the Boom: The True State of the Shale Gas Industry
Are There Holes in Pipeline Transparency?
New Campaign Urges Labeling Of Genetically Modified Foods
Helping Soldiers Trade Their Swords for Plows
Rising temperatures at Fukushima raise questions over stability of nuclear plant

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Daily Digest 2/8 - State Pension Fund Shortfall Grows, Portugal Unions Want Debt Renegotiation, Student Debt Could Be Next Bomb

saxplayer00o1 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:42:20 +0000

Robert B. Reich: The downward mobility of the American middle class
State pension fund shortfall grows
48,000 empty shops blight UK high streets
Pa. universities face steep cuts in gov's proposed budget; student aid also on chopping block
Swiss central banker warns on slowing economy
Portugal union leader wants debt renegotiation
Chinese banks cut exposure to euro zone -paper
Europe’s Banks Reluctant to Lend to Companies in Need of Cash
CBO: Federal Budget Deficit $349 Billion Through First Four Months Of FY12
British pensions face 85 bln pound deficit-study
Detroit squatters may be allowed to keep foreclosed homes
Cleveland: City mistakenly boards up man's home
Company Faces Forgery Charges in Mo. Foreclosures
Average U.S. gas prices hover at record-high levels
U.S. Student Debt Could Be Next ‘Bomb’
Airline industry split widens over EU carbon 'tax' row
Japan’s interest in gold and silver is growing

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Why Our Currency Will Fail

cmartenson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:18:11 +0000

The idea that the very same economic forces that are currently plaguing Greece, et al., are somehow not relevant to the United States' circumstances does not hold water. As goes the rest of the world, so goes the US.

When we back up far enough, it is clear that money and debt are there to reflect and be in service to the production of real things by real people, not the other way around. With too much debt relative to production, it is the debt that will suffer. The same is true of money. Neither are magical substances; they are merely markers for real things. When they get out of balance with reality, they lose value, and sometimes even their entire meaning.

This report lays out the case that the US is irretrievably down the rabbit hole of deficits and debt, and that, even if there were endless natural resources of increasing quality available at this point, servicing the debt loads and liabilities of the nation will require both austerity and a pretty serious fall in living standards for most people. read more »

Daily Digest 2/7 - American Gridlock, Crazy Little Thing Called Greece, Truth, Lies, And Afghanistan

DailyDigest — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:41:07 +0000

The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics
Illusion Of Recovery - Feelings Versus Facts
American Gridlock, Part 2
Crazy Little Thing Called Greece
Saudi Arabia Will Not Let Oil Go Above $100: Prince
Truth, Lies, And Afghanistan
Fukushima Reactors Heating Up Again … Water Fails to Cool Them Down
A Perfect Storm of Planetary Proportions

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Daily Digest 2/6 - States Prepare For Hyperinflation, Shipping Rates Go Negative, What If The Lights Go Out?

DailyDigest — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:59:20 +0000

Markets, Murmurations, and Machines
Greece takes step closer to default
Silver packs a punch as chemotherapy drug
Shipping Rates Go... Negative
U.S. States Prepare For Hyperinflation
What If We're Beyond Mere Policy Tweaks?
What If The Lights Go Out?
In Fuel Oil Country, Cold That Cuts to the Heart
Texas's Electrical Power Predicament

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Daily Digest 2/5 - Beware The Ides Of March, Protestors Pack Freezing Moscow Center, A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

DailyDigest — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:49:38 +0000

Art Cashin: Beware The Ides Of March—Or Maybe A Few Days Later
Syria Assad: Army massacres 'scores' in city of Homs
In Biting Cold, Protesters Pack the Center of Moscow
Homeless Families, Cloaked in Normality
A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded
Egyptian Forces Appear to End Siege of Ministry
Keystone Kops
U.N. Says Somalia Famine Has Ended, but Warns That Crisis Isn’t Over

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Special Offer - Backup / Emergency Heating

jasonw — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:01:50 +0000

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Daily Digest 2/4 - Looking In On The Housing Disaster, The Little Economy That Could, What's More Precious Than Gold?

DailyDigest — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:45:56 +0000

On the 70th Anniversary of the Munich Students Movement - The War is Lost - The Future of Europe
Counterfeit Value Derivatives: Follow the Bouncing Ball
What Lies In Store For The "Cradle That Rocks The World" - A History Lesson In Crisis
What's More Precious Than Gold?
Real Estate: Looking In On The Housing Disaster
The Little Economy That Could
It Is Safe to Resume Ignoring the Prophets of Doom ... Right?
In a Focus on Gold, History Repeats Itself
San Onofre Nuclear Plant Radiation Leak, Worn Tubes Raise Concerns

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James Dines: Owning 'Wealth In The Ground' Is Your Best Bet to Surviving the Coming 'Supernova of Inflations'

Adam — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:52:35 +0000

James Dines has been in the business of making bold calls for over 50 years. In this deep-diving interview, he minces no words about the dire risks the US economy - and the world at large - faces at this juncture.

Simply put, he sees the excessive credit in the financial system as having placed the global economy on a collision-course with hyperinflation.

Unlike past periods of turmoil, there are no truly 'safe' places for investment capital to hide. Geographic markets and almost all asset classes are positively correlated these days. They share many of the same risks and if a systemic crash occurs, they will crash together. read more »

Daily Digest 2/3 - In Gold We Trust, Efford To Rebrand Arab Spring Backfires In Iran, China's Tight Grip On Rare Earths

DailyDigest — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:45:51 +0000

Fiat Currency Failure Means: ‘In Gold We Trust’
Senate Approves Ban on Insider Trading by Congress
Effort to Rebrand Arab Spring Backfires in Iran
S.E.C. Is Avoiding Tough Sanctions for Large Banks
An Abundant Supply of Cheap Oil is the Most Important Resource for Our Future
Nepal and Bangladesh to Establish Joint Venture 3,000 Megawatt Power Plant
Trading China’s Tight Grip On Rare Earths
Pet Rescuers Venture Into Japan's Exclusion Zone

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Food Storage Packing: Facts and Myths

DenisKorn — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:39:54 +0000

Know the facts about do-it-yourself packing

The purpose of this article is to present specific details and recommendations for packing your own shelf-stable foods for food storage. We will cover what works and what doesn’t in creating an oxygen-free atmosphere for long term food storage, and common misconceptions about how to do your own packing. While there are many different types of dried foods that can be stored for extended periods of time, most folks are interested in how best to store grain and bean products.

While I could write a book on every specific detail of every packing option and all of the technical specifications of all available packing containers, that is not the purpose of this article. I will cover important highlights, facts, insights, and information gained from over 37 years in the preparedness and outdoor recreation industry. It is important to keep in mind that I have not only been a retailer of preparedness and outdoor foods, I have also been a manufacturer, developer of hundreds of recipes, packaging and product innovator, and researcher of shelf-stable foods.

Some of the material presented here will contradict and challenge information available on the Web or in some do-it-yourself circles. Many people assume preparedness information to be accurate without careful consideration of the source's expertise or the validity of the facts. I encourage you to research on your own any of the information presented in this article – or in any article, for that matter – and to use basic critical thinking skills to evaluate the evidence and data you are offered. A little common sense goes a long way in assessing many of the claims being made about shelf life and do-it-yourself issues. read more »

Daily Digest 2/2 - Counterfeit Money And Policy, Global Lending Standards Tighten, Food Crisis And Drought In Mexico

DailyDigest — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:48:23 +0000

MF Global Customer Funds Were Not "Vaporized" - Stanley Haar Takes WSJ to Task
MF Global: Oops, They DID Find the Money After All As We Had Said, But...
Holder & Obama’s Propaganda is “Belied by a Troublesome Little Thing Called Facts”
Vicious Cycles Persist As Global Lending Standards Tighten
Counterfeit Money, Counterfeit Policy
International Pipelines - Peacemakers or Hostages to Fortune?
Industry Experts Say Iranian Oil Sanctions Will Not Affect Supply
Oil Rich Venezuela's Electricity Shortfalls Lose Economy $80 Billion
Food Crisis as Drought and Cold Hit Mexico
Increasing ocean acidity due to humans’ CO2

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Daily Digest 2/1 - Euro Zone Jobless Rate Hits High, Nat'l Debt Nears $15.3 Trillion, 'Metal Rush' Thefts Of Trains and Bridges

saxplayer00o1 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:35:44 +0000

France faces 79-bn-euro charge for nuclear power: auditor
Federal pension-insurance agency pressures American Airlines to save retirement plans
Greek debt accord requires c.bank involvement - sources
Euro zone jobless rate hits euro-era high
If unions won't budge, Detroit may have to take drastic budget measures
Government Health Care Spending To Reach $1.8T by 2022, CBO Predicts
(CBO) The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022
Plaque, statue theft on rise across Palm Springs area
Czech 'metal rush' sees theft of trains, bridges and statues
Ga. college students: Without food stamps we wouldn't be able to eat
National debt nears $15.3 trillion
Many Californians have no emergency savings
Public tells Quinn to halt speed-enforcement cameras
New red light cameras target busy intersections
U.S. Highway Trust Fund Faces Insolvency Next Year, CBO Says

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Daily Digest 1/31 - The Despicable MF Global, Entering The Debt Dimension, Rare Earth Shortage Could Threaten Innovation

DailyDigest — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:36:04 +0000

3 Months After The MF Global Bankruptcy, We Find That $1.2 Billion (Or More) In Client Money Has "Vaporized"
Exposing Silver Mythology – Part III
MF Global - A Despicable State Of Affairs
MF Global 4-1-9
Entering The Debt Dimension
Countrywide Protected Fraudsters By Silencing Whistleblowers, Say Former Employees
In 2011, Global Spending on Renewable Energy Rose 40 Percent
Has Petroleum Production Peaked, Ending the Era of Easy Oil?
Shortage of Rare Metals Could Threaten High-Tech Innovation
Is a Reduction in Population Numbers the only Sustainable Solution?

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The Price of Growth

Gregor Macdonald — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:38:25 +0000

Growth. It's what every economist and politician wants. If we get 'back to growth,' servicing debts both private and sovereign becomes much easier. And life will return to normal (for a few more years).

There is growing evidence that a major US policy shift is underway to boost growth. Growth that will create millions of new jobs and raise real GDP.

While that's welcome news to just about everyone, the story is much less appealing when one understands the cost that come with such growth. Are we better off if a near-term recovery comes at the expense of our future security? The prudent among us would disagree.

Resurrecting American Export Strength

It’s easy to be skeptical that America could once again be a titan of global exports.

For a very long time, that role has mostly been relegated to countries in the developing world. America as an export economy? Somewhere along the 50-year transition from industrial manufacturer to voracious consumer, Americans have lost touch with such a remote possibility. Indeed, this phase of America's economic history is now quite settled. read more »

Daily Digest 1/30 - Greece Plans Orderly Eurozone Exit, Between Iran And A Hard Place, TX's Electrical Predicament

DailyDigest — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:45:07 +0000

Greece plans orderly exit of the Eurozone
Anxiety Mounts Over Maturing Real Estate Loans
With Focus on Income Inequality, Albany Bill Will Seek $8.50 Minimum Wage
U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe’s Debt Maelstrom
Greece - Between Iran and a Hard Place
Transmission Line Under the Mediterranean to Supply Italy with Clean Power
Texas's Electrical Power Predicament - Part 1
Monsanto & Cancer Milk: Fox News Kills Story And Fires Reporters

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Daily Digest 1/29 - 150 Arrested In Oakland Protest, PA Town Blames Water Quality On Fracking, When Will Housing Hit Bottom?

DailyDigest — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:53:38 +0000

150 Arrested in Daylong Occupy Oakland Protests
Elite Wall Street Donations Jumped 700% in the Last 20 Years
When Will Housing Hit Bottom?
Ex-Congressman Retreats on Energy Project
New Report by Agency Lowers Estimates of Natural Gas in U.S.
FirstEnergy closing 6 coal-fired power plants
Penn. town blames contaminated water on fracking
North Dakota Oil Boom Strains Roads, Schools

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Special Offer - GoalZero Solar Power Kits

jasonw — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:06:26 +0000

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Daily Digest 1/28 - Davos OWS Style, Greece Inches Toward Credit Deal, Endangered Wolf Makes Comeback

DailyDigest — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:40:32 +0000

17 Questions To Ask Next Time Someone Tells You The Economy Is Getting Better
Davos, in the Style of Occupy Wall Street
Latin America Looks at West’s Fiscal Crises, and Sees Its Own Past
Don't Be A Wall Street Patsy
Greece Inches Toward Deal in Talks With Its Creditors
Everything You Know About Peak Oil Is Wrong
Energy Tax Breaks Proposed, Despite Waning Support for Subsidies
Lone Wolf Commands a Following

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