Monthly Archives: March 2014

Saudi Arabia vs. Russia: Impact of a $75 bbl Oil Price

Posted on 31 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Over the next five years, the effects of the global oil-and-gas boom should prove a grim object lesson for the Russian economy on the downside of the “resource curse.” Russia’s economy “largely depends on energy exports,” according to a study … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Russia, Russian Oil Curse | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Massive New Hydrocarbon Discovery

Posted on 30 March, 2014 by alfin2101

The nether worlds of planet Earth have barely been explored for their rich deposits of hydrocarbons and other minerals. Another recent discovery of “centuries worth of coal” under the North Sea, accents the potential of future discoveries around the globe. … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Artificial Intelligence: Does It Still Stink?

Posted on 29 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Despite nearly 65 years of failed promises, interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is once again picking up in the venture/startup world. One of the most talked about VC deals in March, for example, was a $40 million round for Vicarious … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Brain, Machine Intelligence, Technology | Tagged | 3 Comments

Some Basic Reading via Nick Land

Posted on 28 March, 2014 by alfin2101

If a person doesn’t understand the background and historical parallels that help clarify current events, he cannot make sense of what is happening or where things are likely to go. Most of the important data is concealed, so that one … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Enlightenment, Dysgenics, Philosophy | Tagged | 4 Comments

Is Russia Getting Its Money’s Worth from Putin?

Posted on 27 March, 2014 by alfin2101

It has been suggested by some bloggers that no matter how corrupt or ruthlessly ambitious Putin may be, at least he is loyal to the Russian people, so that Russia is getting its money’s worth from the former KGB functionary. … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Putin, Russia | Tagged | 8 Comments

Vladimir Putin: Richest Man On Earth @ $75 bill?

Posted on 26 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Vladimir Putin is president of a nation with the world’s largest land area, a country loaded with rich natural resources that are worth a lot of money on the global market. For many years it has been claimed that Putin … Continue reading →

Posted in Putin, Russia | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Potemkin Putin’s Grand, Desperate Ukrainian Crusade

Posted on 24 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Is Russia’s Lopsided Export Economy in Trouble? Russia’s economic growth rate has plummeted from the 7% average annual pace of the last decade to 1.3% last year. Now the brokerage arm of the country’s largest state bank, Sberbank, SBER.MZ -0.23% … Continue reading →

Posted in Putin, Russia | Tagged | 4 Comments

Geopolitics 101: What Comes After Pax Americana?

Posted on 22 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Image: Zerohedge.com The USA is quickly using up most of its allotted 250 years of empire. Consistent with an empire-in-decay, current US leadership is accelerating the decline of US defence forces and economic competitiveness, while increasing entitlement and social spending … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Empire, Russia | Tagged | 4 Comments

Human Brains Caught Wearing New Genes

Posted on 21 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Whether a person succeeds or not in a competitive modern world, is largely up to the quality of his brain and nervous systems. And that is largely up to his genes — 50% to 80% heritability of IQ, perhaps 90%+ … Continue reading →

Posted in Genetics and Gene Expression, Human Brain, IQ | Tagged , | Comments Off on Human Brains Caught Wearing New Genes

Potemkin Putin: A Slowly Collapsing Empire’s Defiant Face

Posted on 20 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Russia’s Multiple Epidemics: HIV, TB, Suicide, Alcoholism, Tobacco, Violent Crime, A Fascist Return to Totalitarianism … Among the top 20 global economies, only India, with a population almost nine times bigger than Russia’s 143 million, has more people living with … Continue reading →

Posted in Empire, Putin, Russia | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Missing Heat, Missing Water, Missing Carbon: One Place to Look

Posted on 19 March, 2014 by alfin2101

A great deal of money and time is being devoted to solving the mystery of Earth’s missing heat. But perhaps climate boffins are looking in the wrong place? Perhaps the missing heat is hiding along with missing water and missing … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Science | Tagged | 4 Comments

Malaise: NASA Abandons Space, Embraces Global Collapse

Posted on 18 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Update: NASA is rapidly backstepping away from the study discussed below. NASA officials claim that although they helped fund the study, that they are not to be held responsible for its conclusions, should they prove unpopular with anyone who matters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Doom | Tagged | 6 Comments

Brave New World: Running Out of Other People’s Money

Posted on 16 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Image via Brian Wang at Nextbigfuture Looking at a world map of Total Fertility Rate by nation: We see that most of the world’s population growth over the next 40 or 50 years will take place in some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Blacks and crime, Demographics, Dysgenics, Maintenance | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Brief, Exhilarating Eroticism of Youth

Posted on 14 March, 2014 by alfin2101

“With girls, Nature has had in view what is called in a dramatic sense a ‘striking effect’, for she endows them for a few years with a richness of beauty and a fullness of charm at the expense of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Prostitution, Sex | Tagged | 7 Comments

Idiocracy: When the Lights Go Out

Posted on 13 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Would you survive an electrical power shutdown lasting several weeks or months? Millions of people across North America wouldn’t. … we believe it is more a question of “when” than “if.” A targeted cyber attack — either alone or combined … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Demographics, Doom, Energy, Idiocracy, Survival Prepping | 7 Comments

Rejecting Privacy; Embracing the Panopticon

Posted on 12 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Why Should You Care if You Are Being Watched? The Panopticon is a type of institutional building designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow … Continue reading →

Posted in Knowledge, Privacy, Technology | 1 Comment

Improvising Alongside the Gods of Chaos

Posted on 12 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Learn the Rules Like a Pro So You Can Break them Like an Artist __ Guess Who We are sent to school to learn the rules so that we can succeed. So why are so many well-educated people driving taxis … Continue reading →

Posted in Pram | Comments Off on Improvising Alongside the Gods of Chaos

Taking Control Over the Violent Felon

Posted on 10 March, 2014 by alfin2101

The desire to assert control is one of the reasons why men become violent in the first place. If he achieves his objective violently, the violence is apt to become habitual. Sometimes violence is necessary — as in civilian self-defence … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Human Brain, Martial Arts and Fight Training | 4 Comments

Humane Punishments for Murder and Rape

Posted on 9 March, 2014 by alfin2101

In historical times it was not uncommon for a person to be put to death for theft, speaking out against governing authorities, or heretical speech or activity against the official state religion. These days, the death penalty is quite rare … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 6 Comments

Shale Boom Heard ‘Round the World

Posted on 8 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Image: Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries — USEIA From China to Russia to Argentina to the Ukraine and beyond, shale oil & gas reserves are being discovered, tested out, and recovered. North America is better placed for … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Shale Oil & Gas Revolution | 2 Comments

Russia’s Oil Curse, Militant Aggressiveness, and Worsening Prognosis Under Putin

Posted on 7 March, 2014 by alfin2101

More: A dissident Russian view of Putin’s aggressive weakness in the Ukraine The Russian military’s move into parts of the Ukraine, including Crimea, has international news media and diplomatic channels buzzing. But no one who has been paying attention is … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Russia, Russian Oil Curse | Tagged | 5 Comments

Joel Kotkin: The Green Energy Strangulation of California

Posted on 6 March, 2014 by alfin2101

The guest article excerpted below was written by Joel Kotkin in the Orange County Register and re-published in enhanced form at TheGWPF.org climate and energy website. It describes how California — like many nations in Europe — has chosen green … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Green Quagmire | Tagged , | 2 Comments

If Things Can’t Keep On This Way, They Won’t

Posted on 5 March, 2014 by alfin2101

When national debt levels rise into the tens of trillions of dollars, ordinary people have difficulty understanding the likely consequences. Government officials want to keep growing the size and power of government indefinitely — and are not likely to point … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Comments Off on If Things Can’t Keep On This Way, They Won’t

In Contrast to The Tiger Mom: A Slitty Eye Approach to Child Raising

Posted on 4 March, 2014 by alfin2101

Many elements of The Dangerous Child approach to child-raising also pop up unexpectedly in other places, times, and cultures. Consider this approach, from The Slitty Eye blog: All the tiger mom talk we see, I felt that what is missing … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child | 4 Comments

Send Your Child to Prison Instead of College

Posted on 2 March, 2014 by alfin2101

College is becoming more and more expensive. But the advantages of going to college are diminishing by the year. After TEOTWAWKI — The End of The World As We Know It — your kids will need an entirely different skill … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Economics, Education, satire, Survival Prepping, University | Comments Off on Send Your Child to Prison Instead of College