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Iran, Russia and the Real World Obama Cannot Change
I have a frequent nightmare: In the year 2011, with the full support and complicity of their shadow ally, Russia, the Islamofascist regime in Tehran announces that they have developed a deliverable nuclear weapon(s). That any attempt by any nation to dismantle their program through military force or draconian economic sanctions will be viewed as an overt act of war. That they will view any such act of war as justification enough to deploy a nuclear weapon against Israel…regardless of what nation is behind the initial response.
They will cite classic anti-Semitic mantra, such as the myth that international Jewry controls the Western powers, etc. as their reasoning for labeling Israel the chief culprit by default. More to the point, when push comes to shove they know that President Obama harbors no love of the Jewish state (as his harsh treatment of Netanyahu shows) and will have no stomach for a war to protect it.
[Meanwhile the Russians let it be known through diplomatic back-channels that relations between Tehran and Moscow have recently thawed and any retaliatory military strike against Iran for its actions against Israel could be viewed as an attack on Russia.]
The West, assuming it is even motivated to respond at all, is now put in a precarious position for a now-nuclear Iran looms over the Strait of Hormuz like a Colussus. This narrow sea lane is by far the world’s most important oil chokepoint due to its daily flow of 16.5-17 million barrels, or roughly 40 percent of all seaborne oils (20 th percent of oil traded worldwide). At its narrowest point the channel is only 21 miles wide.
Now Obama will have a choice to make. Will he commit the US Navy to keep the strait open, call the Russian bluff and risk a world war? Or will he back down and seek a “diplomatic” solution. Regardless, even temporarily closing off the Persian Gulf would cause an economically devastating spike in the price of oil and a sympathy rally in all commodities.
This would be just fine for the commodity-rich Russia. With 79 billion barrels of proven reserves they hover above a vast reservoir of untapped crude oil. And let us not overlook natural gas. In fact, according to the EIA, Russia holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves, with 1,680 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), which is nearly twice the reserves in the next largest country which is, guess who, Iran. In 2006 Russia was not only the world’s largest natural gas producer (23.2 Tcf), but also the world’s largest exporter (6.6 Tcf). Russian government forecasts expect gas production to total 31.1 Tcf by 2030. Europe is highly dependent on Russian natural gas through the state-controlled Transneft pipelines they could close with the turn of a nozzle. The EU imports almost half of its natural gas and 30 percent of its oil from Russia. Eastern Europe consumes even higher percentages of Russian gas.
[As my dream moves along, I envision too that as a precursor to Iran’s announcement we see a sustained rally in oil futures before the eventual spike as Tehran will have given their new friends an ample heads-up allowing the barons of Moscow to go long futures as a hedge against what is coming and even profit from the appreciation should their cash business be temporarily dislocated from supply disruptions.]
The fact is the Russians have a vested interest in a nuclear Iran. It is good for business and certainly will greatly diminish the power and influence of the already hard-pressed USA. So even as Russian president Dmitry Medvedev offers lip-service to “limited” sanctions to an ever more bewildered Obama foreign policy team, the true powers in Russia—Putin and the band of hybrid statist/capitalist billionaire oligarchs—will never support effective economic measures that will hurt Iran enough to curb its nuclear ambitions. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is the old saying. And the Russians certainly do not look to as us partners…at best competitors, at worst impediments to their desires for expansion that date back into the dimmest past of the ancient tsars. Self-interest is the guiding principle among European nation-states. It always has been and always will be—“rock star” president notwithstanding.
[Meanwhile, as my nightmare unfolds, in another sea channel, the Chinese—who already have strong economic ties with Iran—coincidentally decide to launch a repeat of their bellicose 1996 naval exercises in the Formosa Strait almost within sight of the Taiwanese coast. What will the USA do? How will we treat this act of aggression half way across the world committed by the nation whose military might is formidable and even more prickly, holds much of our national debt and the value of our currency in a death grip?]
The America of my dream is thus weak and quite vulnerable. But this premonition need not come to pass. The first step towards thwarting this one potential future is for the Obama administration to do a re-“reset” in foreign relations and get a grip on who are our friends, who are our enemies, and start treating each accordingly. If Obama truly believes his own rhetoric that a nuclear Iran is “unacceptable” then he must see that we have with Israel a common and imperative goal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. If that means that he must give Israel tacit approval for a military strike with a quiet assurance that we will have their back regardless of what inevitable “condemnation” resolution come downs the UN pipeline then so be it. This is real world stuff here and the future of millions could be at stake. Hyperbole? Part of being a leader is having the capacity to imagine the unimaginable. 9/11 gave us a clue what a few hard-core Islamic zealots with box-cutters and no scruples can do. Just imagine this crowd with a nuke. Again, “unacceptable” means just that: we cannot accept it.
What Obama must accept is that our interests and those of much of the world are not aligned on this matter…either economically or politically. And thus must he find in himself the same “courage” that he conjured up to push through an unpopular healthcare bill at home because he, ahem, knew best, and this time do what is best for the world, whether that world knows it or not.
The fact is that the notion of a “global community” is a myth. Nations are what nations are. And a clue as to how they will conduct their affairs can usually be discerned by picking up a history book and thumbing through a page or two.
Iran is the geopolitical illustration of Newton’s first law of motion which offers that an object in motion will stay in motion on the same course until acted upon. It seems that in his desire to turn inward and create an economic utopia within our borders, Barack Obama is unwilling to accept that the world outside remains a very hazardous place. And there are many in that world who view the imminent decline of American power not as a symbol of a newfound global harmony, but rather an opportunity for mischief. If he stays on his relentless course of statism at home and post-American dogma abroad, Mr. Obama will end up irrevocably weakening this nation with unsustainable domestic activism and an utter misapprehension about the rough and tumble neighborhood in which his happy-faced diplomats are trying to navigate. He may very well get a new world order, that “change” of which he spoke so forcefully in his campaign. But I think the reality will not be so pleasant as his fantasy optimism would have him “hope.”
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The only head up any ass is yours my furry lil four legged crotch sniffer!!!!..lol
As I mentioned before you are a clown and its useless to argue with the clown besides somebody can be watching from the distance and wont be able to see the difference. This is my last exchange of thoughts ( and I am showing you my extreme leniency calling you crap "thoughts" ) with you.
So, here we have a Boston Terrier fighting with a Sqworl -- nothing new under the sun! :D
hahahaha...brilliant...
Is the ghostwriter for the “Shafeone” diatribe this morning actually Liz Cheney? This pro-Israel viewpoint is the war party mantra; namely that Iran is a threat to the world and only mobilization for another war will bring the United States into its true patriotic mode. What a travesty that the person who selects contributors for this weekend would have such a war-party bias that he would mar Independence Day with a Likud Party view of America’s subservient role to Israel.
It goes without saying that the article is so full of lies that it seems hardly worth the effort to refute them.
And by the way, the Muslim sympathy stature of Barack Obama, most observers now know, is a campaign contrivance. The Islam heritage, the diplomatic overtures to the Arabs, the public relations “snub” of Netanyahu, even the birthplace rumors, all fit perfectly with the camouflage of the most pro-Israel, the most Jewish-occupied, administration in history. And the contrivance worked, with huge contributions and support from AIPAC-connected banks and corporations and voting blocks. And, of course, Barack Hussein Obama talks one line… but in the end he always delivers.
Please, Zero Hedge, don’t allow this complete sellout to occur again.
Marla.
I think the Iranian 'bogeyman' isn't contrived only by Israel for the purposes of internal readiness (not that Iran doesn't verbally threated and indirectly supply insurgents bent on pushing Israel into the Med). I'm sure Russia and China both encourage Iran to sabre rattle to keep the region destabilized (good for the price of oil from Russias point of view) and keeps a substantial amount of US power projection (2 of 3 at sea carrier groups) occupied in a very small compact area (good for both Russia and China). Strategially, this makes me nervous.
couldnt agree more JR +1000000
Russia sells missiles to Iran , Iran buys them from Russia , China is flexing her muscles etc. Everything is about the Hegemon ( USA ) and other powers trying to challenge its position. That china sides with Russia or maybe Russia sides with Iran in some political , strategic matters is obvious because the no. 1 problem now is USA encircling Russia and China with military bases and gets needed resources in exchang for paper. Future conflict is inevitable its only when not if whether it comes in 2 or 20 or maybe 50 years is beyond me. Right now America is controlled by neo-con zionist "interst group" and all this IRAN stuff is pure warmongering ,for main business of USA is war by war America expands her sphere of influence.
Its only History repearing itself after all
Boston,
"all this IRAN stuff is pure warmongering"
Scroll back up, and read..never mind.
The poor little Ackmenyakenoff, is the target of neo-con Zionists...
Once more............
WHO's mouth is shouting from the rooftops VOWING for the destruction of Israel, and wiping them off the face of the planet?.
Who, has Israel said the same things about, and made it a PLATFORM, all the while bustin' their collective asses,to build/refine as much weapons grade materials,increse the amount of centrifuges to up the production in order to make good on their plans................not SPOKEN in secret.
Which one is the loose cannon.................and which one would you take apart, before they get the chance........
Face it.........look at who/what your dealing with here....a Religious Fanatic, even many of the Aytollah's are afraid of his 12th Imam shit, rantings and ravings.
WHO's mouth is shouting from the rooftops VOWING for the destruction of Israel, and wiping them off the face of the planet?.
DZ - He was misquoted ... intentionally misquoted to misdirect people like you. He talked about regieme change. Many people talk about regieme change. We do and so do the Zionists.
Iran's President Did Not Say "Israel must be wiped off the map"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16218.htm
[Note - can not disable Bold in rich text for some reason]
This is all so simple.
Pick a fight with Iran, bomb the crap out of their oil shipping facilities.
Voila. Iran loses a lot of money, is set back, and redirects its energy into repairing the damage. Europe and China pay more for oil, and have less money to use for trading with and enriching Iran. Russia is (secretly) happy.
Happy Fourth Bitches!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1J5rEVB-dE
"............classic anti-Semitic mantra, such as the myth that international Jewry controls the Western powers, etc. as their reasoning for labeling Israel the chief culprit by default. More to the point, when push comes to shove they know that President Obama harbors no love of the Jewish state (as his harsh treatment of Netanyahu shows) and will have no stomach for a war to protect it."
I've seen some propaganda on this blog before, but you must think that most of us are asleep, who know in our bones that a highly organized jewish (calling them "bankers" is like calling Jack the Ripper a barber) cabal DOES exercise immense control of the international banking system, for their own exclusive benefit, for their consiglieres, and their race.
What flapddodle. Islamists, fascist or not, are no doubt planning to attack with nukes, but to think that only Israel is targeted just shows you as one more Israel uber alles neo-con. You know, like the so-called republicans who are going to give Elena Kagan, another jew, a pass to appease AIPAC, and Shoshana Kardin.
guess who's the jew:
http://www.henrymakow.com/is_obama_literally_americas_fi.html
tamboo
"guess who's the jew"
Is it a Game show?
It's a recurring bit on the Howard Stern Show.
I think China and Iran are a bigger issue. Though Russia has promised delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft systems...I believe they are still dragging their feet.
Additionally, China is flexing it's muscle and influence in the South China Sea.
WASHINGTON, (Kyodo) -- The Chinese government officially conveyed a new state policy to the United States in March, telling U.S. officials that it considers the South China Sea part of its "core interests" that concern China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20100704p2g00m0bu022000c.html
Though I agree Russia bears watching...it has a huge number of domestic issues to contend with. Most notably their demographics which are collapsing.
China on the other hand is aggressively spreading it's power and influence as it trys to quickly bring it's domestic economy (due to a slowing western demand) on-line...as it does so, it's energy needs will skyrocket. This is the country to watch.
papaswamp
"Though Russia has promised delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft systems...I believe they are still dragging their feet."
Last I read Russia was using Turkey to deliver those.
As of June 30 they had not been delivered...this deal is going on for several years.
" Iranian sources say a treaty on the delivery of five S-300 missiles worth 800 million dollars signed a few years ago was frozen."
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/30/11127991.html
Never going to get delivered. Russia is playing Iran for a fool just like they played the Egyptians.
I suspect you are quite correct...but it keeps the US off balance which they very much like. Slowly getting back at us for outspending them during Reagan's term. They can now force the US into the same position while spending very little. The Russian gamesmanship is getting better.
The Russians play chess. Excellent training for strategy, tactics & critical thinking.
Hahhaha Really, You think Failure of USSR and bankruptcy in 1998 was like sacrificing a pawn with an ulterior move in mind
Intended more as a comment on the Russian national character than to comment on a specific mistake or victory. They know they screwed up & are now on a realistic comeback plan.
Please explain how the following supports any of the above thinking:
In a nation whose rulers bear grudges and have long memories...there are centuries of Iranian and Russian conflicts...where at best they ignored each other, sometimes used each other (for example to build nuclear plant at Busheir....which the Iranians contend has been delayed by a lot of foot-dragging by the Russians) and at worst fought each other
Please tell us more about how the Russians invaded Iran in WWII
Irans mullahs subverted and were a force driving the Russians out of their Communist Provinces named Gorghan, Khroshan, Mazandaran, Gilan in Northern Iraq
Irans mullahs helped kill off the worlds largest Communist Party after Russia's...the Tudeh Party
More recently, Iran subverts and prevents Russia's version of how to divy up Caspian Basin oil reserves
Iran subverts Russia's proposed joint natural gas and oil pipeline and refinery operations.
The Mullah's are not Father Mulcahey nor Mother Theresa or Billy Graham. The mullahs were assasins (look it up) hit squads, street gang leaders, etc. In the wolf pit that included secularists, the royalists, the criminal gangs, SAVAK, the Army and the Tudeh....the mullahs got to the top of the wolf heap (1920-1979).
They did not do it by praying or studying theology.
They did it by ruthless real politic, internal media manipulation, generational brain washing though history distorting efforts (for example, the mullahs prominent and treacherous role in Mossdeghs failure) and treachery and violence.
Their story is one of the 20th Centuries most interesting.
Their enemies throughout included the Russians even more then the Brit/US axis.
This is also a huge part of any "imagine the world from inside Iran thought experiment"
The Revolutionary Guards are their hand picked, purged and controlled vanguards.
Togther they have exploited the resources and economy of Iran to the detriment of their people so they could maintain control. This includes not cooperating with any non Shite nation...that includes Saudi, Russia, France, China, US, India, etc.
The number of inititatives and attempts by many nations and leaders over time to reduce the isolation, paranoia and short term adverse to their interests thinking of the mullah led regime since 1979 needs to be listed and studied before anyone:
Decides we are 100% at fault
Names any other nation the "ally" of Iran
All the flowery words and charm offensives of Putin have not gained him a penny on a barrel of oil or gas. Same is true of China, India, Germany, France, Saudi, Turkey, US, North Korea, Japan, etc etc.
Yes, they are in closer contact with Russia and China than the US.
No Russia's pattern of actual actions and investments show much more of a connection to and desire to interact with the West
Russia needs capital and technology to exploit their natural resources and markets to buy them. Thats going to come from Iran?
Please explain the following list of Irans (very small trading amounts...Iran trades a chunk less than Finland outside of oil and gas) trading Partners arrayed from high to low:
European Economic Union
UAE
Iraq
Turkey
Japan
China
Russia
(PS: 58.7 of Russian trade is with the EU. Iran is somewhere far down the Russian list...below its ex provinces and the USA and China etc etc).
I understand how a mysterious, isolated, deliberately unclear and paranoid nation can be the subject of speculation and concern (especially considering Irans long and stronger than other nations cultural habit of blaming outsiders (remember they are surrounded by Sunni's) to divert domestic attention.
imho, our obligation is to do more netural research and less biased fear based speculation.
The biggest fact armchair speculators (including myself) have to wrap their heads around is that Iran posses neither the military or economic ability nor the history of invading others...but does think (and its leaders use that fear as a means of domestic control) it is surrounded (it is) by treacherous Sunni and anti Islamic nations...and is millenium long culturally comfortable being a pariah and in isolation.
imho...and hopefully these persepctives challenge and add to the discussion
This article insults all the knowledgeble people attending this site , its pure propaganda maybe Tyler decided that it would be useful to post idiocy like this even ZH has to bend sometimes I only hope we wont see more STUFF like this in the future :) thank god it originated fro contributors section
TD it goes to you : errare humanum est perseverare diabolicum
The Zionist jackboot has weighed so heavily on the face of Western governments, that we may now have reached the inflection point where their depleted political capital may not be restored anymore.
A good indicator of this turning point is that the broad public is increasingly unresponsive, or downright hostile to even insidiously mild warmongering propaganda like this piece. The Zionist albatross will inevitably be jettisoned at the moment overt support for Israel will mean career suicide for politicians all over the Empire.
Already now, all Zionists have left is pushing their paranoia and self-serving lies for those who already are members of the death cult. The world is a lonely place for obsessive dominators, Shafeone, so spare us the whining.
This week's winner of the Tavistock Propaganda Award.
Any intelligent person without a hidden agenda can easily prove the above statements being wrong. The Russians have screwed the Iranians time and time again. The Russian economy is almost entirely dependant on commodities primary being oil and gas. The price of oil goes up when supply is taken off the market. The Russians have allowed votes in the UN to go unchallenged knowing it would cripple the output of Iranian oil and gas fields. The Russians and Iranians have never agreed to the routes of oil and gas pipelines emanating from each other’s borders. This has enraged the Russians who want to be the king maker in the area. The Iranians want to run pipelines via direct routes to China and India. The Russians want all Iranian pipelines to traverse Russian controlled territory. The Russians have slow rolled Iran’s nuclear reactor in an attempt to gain concessions from them. Russia is also one of the few suppliers of nuclear fuel. They are pissed the Iranians want to make their own. The Russians have also refused to sell Iran effective defensive military weapon systems.
Israel has close to 2 million ethnic Russians living in the country. Russian and Israeli defense contractors are jointly developing hundreds of products. A number of these products cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There are multiple daily flights between Israel and Russia. Russians living in Israel send millions of dollars in remittances each year to family in Russia.
So tell me again how Russia and Iran are close buddies when the Russians have F’d them time and time again. Iran is looking east to China and India. Russia is nothing but a hindrance to Iran’s future development. The Russians are doing everything they can to stall Iran’s independence and development.
There you go again, Anarchist, bringing facts into the matter.....
No, you've got it exactly wrong. They're not ethnic Russian (anyway, not supposed to be) they're ethnic jews who used to live in what once was USSR. Yes, some jewish families include ethnic russians, but i don't think the real ethnic russians have a lot of leverage in israel. After all, they've voluntarily elected to leave their own land.
Funny every genetic test has shown the falsity of such blather. So how is it that Sephardic (Biblical Jews) and Ashekenazi Jews (German. Polish, Russian...etc) don't have the identical genetic markers? Now if you want to claim that Ashekenazi Jews are really the decendants of a Turkic tribe from the Steppes of Russia I might believe you. Problem with that is the Kharzars nevr set foot in the Mideast.
I read of a recent test showing the majority of ashkenazi jews had markers from that region of the ME.
Yes and so does everyone else who hails from a region out-of-Africa have Y-chromosome and mitocondrial markers traceable to the ME. Think of the ME as a land bridge and you get the idea.
The Pope has as much of an ancestral connection to the ME as the Ashkanaz. There is a lot of arm waving and cover-up to make you think otherwise.
Wiki has a bit about don't say this truth because you're aiding anti-semites. [Ironic given the Ashkanaz lack of a Semetic origin.] Translated - this amounts to 'maintain the lie to help continue to disposess the Palestinians.'
Shattering a 'national mythology' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
This article is garbage. Get it off the above-fold headline articles list.
What you are describing is the Biblical battle of Magog, found in Ezekiel 38 and 39.
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog [Russia], the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia [Iran], Cush and Put [Turkey, and other middle east countries] will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
7 " 'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages [the western powers] will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" [weak, diplomatic response from the west] '
14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
17 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'
Hey that 'Sovereign Lord' sounds just like me,Hahaha
Funny gods, will have to put on a show to prove us that they are gods
' I will pour down torrents ,burning sulfur[only]Then they willl know I am the Lord'
ROFL Can't help guys Sorry if it hurts sentiments but that IS Funny
So God basically stirs up and meddles in wars to prove his power? Something dosent seem quite right there.
Yeah. But if you're God, you kind of get to make up the rules, regardless of whether they make any sense to the humans you've created. Unfortunately.
Can ZHs potential as a viable cutting edge financial blog be possibly undermined by half assed ww3 scenarios just a little bit more?
Is it not "fringe" enough? About the only way to get a little further down tin-foil hat avenue is to sneak a laptop into a closed mental facility and let the pateints blog away on ZH.
"I have a recurring nightmare", sets an apt tone for this peice and encourages the reader to don the tinfoil hat and grab some popcorn for the apocalyptic bipolar wankfest sure to be laid out in terms these types like the best; that is where the likelihood of the scenario ever happening is subjugated exponentially whenever it might threaten a juicy detail of the firey end "vision". "Recurring nightmare", wtf?? I have recurring nitemares too, they are bizzarre and scary, but irrrational.
Now I know a holiday weekend is slow and maybe ZH just opens the doors to anyone who has read too may Tom Clancy novels and went to Barnes and Noble and actally bought the bulky "Janes" guide to military hardware, in order to stir up hits, but damn.
Critics of the site typically ignore the many articles beating the MSMs track record all to hell on the truth of capital markets and focus on crap like this. Short term hits vs long term reputation....Just sayin.
Ooops. My bad. I'll see if I can get the laptop back soon.
I don't mind the weekend discussion of possible black swan events....just perhaps a little more realistic one would be better suited. Frankly I wish there was more depression, post collapse discussion on weekends. Being better prepared is always a good thing.
Full disclosure..I live in Hurricane land so I am extra paranoid.
Papaswamp,
I would be interested in a weekend story/discussion on what people at ZH have done or are doing to prepare for potential collapse. How much of the posting is just people venting, vs. how many are taking concrete action. What have people done, and what are they doing to prepare.
I'm from the city, but live in the country now. I'm reading up on survival skills, storing some food, learning about water purification, have some cash and silver stashed at home, and just trying to learn what one has to do if the grid goes down. Without electricity, it's 1880.
THe most modern forms of survivalism involve acquiring medical, back country & military skills & networking & linking up (lone wolfs are out). More like a privatized civil defense than the old bunker mentality. You are in the country now good first step. Link up, join the posse or something, become a paramedic. Good luck.
The single simplest thing you can do for self sufficiency is buy chickens. 10 chickens will produce 8-9 eggs a day. That is a very good start on feeding yourself.
My idea of concrete action is a good solid bunker.
Fazzie
"Can ZHs potential as a viable cutting edge financial blog be possibly undermined by half assed ww3 scenarios just a little bit more?"
Actually it has evolved into a source of free speech. When people start getting banned for speaking their minds then ZH destroys itself.
People are smart enough to separate the intellectual pearls from the chafe of lunacy.
Exactly! And I could only mark this post as poor, because they don't have a category for "Heritage Foundation wet dream drivel."