The Generals Have No Clothes
By Carlton Meyer
2008-11-25

In 1919, historian Joseph Schumpeter’s book, Imperialism and Social Classes, described ancient Rome in a way that sounds eerily like the United States in 2008:

"There was no corner of the known world where some interest was not alleged to be in danger or under actual attack. If the interests were not Roman, they were those of Rome's allies; and if Rome had no allies, the allies would be invented. When it was utterly impossible to contrive such an interest -- why, then it was the national honor that had been insulted. The fight was always invested with an aura of legality. Rome was always being attacked by evil-minded neighbors. The whole world was pervaded by a host of enemies; it was manifestly Rome's duty to guard against their indubitably aggressive designs."

American political and military leaders fear that President-elect Obama lacks “foreign policy experience.” He has no track record of supporting the American empire and its array of thousands of overseas bases and installations. As the nation faces bankruptcy and an economic depression, they fear he may question the need to spend over a $100 billion a year to maintain all these foreign bases against a vague host of enemies. Moreover, Obama may ask embarrassing questions about the rational for specific military bases, and thus threaten billions of dollars in annual spending flowing to powerful corporations.

Cloud Computing Part 4 : The Rise and Fall
By Railton Frith
2008-11-20

In a perfect world, cloud computing could be the ideal means of providing software applications to the mass market.  Simplicity of use to allow rapid expansion of the cloud computing market is achieved by obscuring many of the technical issues.  Complexity is consigned to remote internet servers housed in data centres managed by others within the cloud.  Users and businesses need only concern themselves with a basic interface that can be as simple as a web browser or remote desktop.  Freed from constraints, cloud computing is now able to grow exponentially.  However, the looming peak energy crisis will impact the availability of energy and most probably provoke a profound change in the nature of cloud computing.

Cloud Computing Part 3: Peak Energy
By Railton Frith
2008-11-13

Cloud computing seductively offers the chance for fast efficient centralised computing for the masses reputedly with an eco-friendly footprint. Rather than being environmentally sound, these huge data centre behemoths ─ housing server farms with literally tens of thousands of high performance servers ─ consume vast amounts of energy. An unforeseen consequence of centralising cloud computing is it’s continuously growing electrical load which cannot easily be shed and could even become a tipping point with a peak load that takes the electrical grid past the point of catastrophic failure.

The Carbon Racket
By Carlton Meyer
2008-11-11

The United States is the major opponent to a global carbon “emissions” trading scheme. Most people blame this on ignorance in the Bush administration and expect President-elect Obama to endorse the “cap-and-trade” scheme of the 1998 Kyoto Accords. This would be a mistake. Cap-and-trade schemes push polluters and their jobs to poorer nations, while enriching bankers with trading commissions and rewarding established polluters with valuable credits.The reason carbon trading is popular is because existing polluters are exempted by providing them with free emissions credits. In many cases, they are provided with extra credits to allow future growth. Amazingly, they can sell these free credits for a hefty profit. Meanwhile, carbon trading provides the financial community with a new line of business where they earn commissions, while the cost of carbon trading falls upon consumers as prices rise.

On theoretical, scientific or ideological grounds …
By John Busby
2008-11-10

Christof Rühl is chief economist of oil major BP and has given an interview to Euractiv an independent multi-lingual website published in Brussels and circulated widely in the EC Commission and Directorates. His main purpose was to de-bunk the peak oil philosophy (if that is what it is!) for which he has "no reason to accept either on theoretical, scientific or ideological grounds".

However, he ran into a bit of trouble...