Category Archives: Doomsday scenarios

What We Owe the Future: A Million-Year View, or How to Look at the World from the Philosophical High Ground

A critical look at William MacAskill’s new book on how human civilization can make it through the next few hundred years.

Peter Pan Bonds to the Debt Ceiling Rescue?

Yet another way to circumvent debt ceilng restrictions isn’t getting the consideration it warrants.

William Astore: How American Learned to Love, or at Least Not Hate, Its Nuclear Bombs

William Astore recalls his encounters with icons of US nuclear development, and is sad they are still with us.

4 US Banks Crash in 2 Months: Banking Crisis Explained by Economist Michael Hudson

US banks keep falling over but the Fed is curiously indifferent.

Violence in Sudan and the Decline of U.S. Hegemony

The conflict in Sudan is an expression of the changing world order and the intense fight over resources and critical geographies.

Is There Motive Behind the Fed Making Such a Mess of the US Bank Wobbles?

The Fed seems awfully indifferent to the (so far) low level bank crisis it has created.

What is Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, “The Validity of the Public Debt of the United States?”

As the Republicans are digging on raising the debt ceilings, the idea of a constitutional challenge is starting to get traction.

Is This the Beginning of the End for Gasoline?

While the arrival of what is probably peak gasoline is good news, there’s a long way to go in reducing its use.

Big Banks Must Become Globally Resolvable – or Significantly ‘Smaller’

Sadly, coming up with a way to resolve big international banks is a non-starter. The answer is very strict regulation. But that would be work.

When a Storm Dumped Two Feet of Water on My City, I Learned Something Gratifying About My Neighbors

An in-depth account of being caught in a major flood and dealing with becoming a water evacuee.

The Collapse in Operational Capabilities in the West and Some Knock-On Effects

Why does the West seem increasingly unable to get out of its own underwear?

Why Is the US Wiring Ukraine With Radiation Sensors to Detect Nuclear Blasts?

Unnamed US officials tell the NYT the system will be able to determine who was responsible for an attack, but the details are sketchy.

California’s Big Melt Kicks Off, Likely to Cause Floods

This weekend’s hot temperatures will lead to melting of California’s epic snowpack. Flooding and other hazards will loom for weeks to come.