An excellent article in Salon on John Kerry going to meet Lavrov and Putin at Sochi and having to admit US failure in the Ukraine. “The Americans were excluded from Minsk—point blank, so far as one can make out. And I love the Times sentence on this in Monday’s paper: “Russia, Germany and France previously made it clear that they did not necessarily welcome the Americans at the negotiating table…” It reminds me of Hirohito announcing the surrender on Japanese radio: “The war has not necessarily proceeded to our advantage.” http://www.salon.com/2015/05/19/john_kerry_admits_defeat_the_ukraine_story_the_media_wont_tell_and_why_u_s_retreat_is_a_good_thing/

Posted by: harry law | May 23 2015 11:15 utc | 3

I believe the Sochi meeting occurred because of the price of oil. The US has realized that with Petrodollars being repatriated to the Middle East and the fracking companies going bankrupt due to their inability to pay the interest on their junk bonds, the US economy was going to go into a nosedive and the “too big to fail” banks holding fracking company paper would be looking for a government bailout repeat in a Tea Party environment. The question then becomes which part of the “Deep State Blob” would be dominant, i.e., who really rules the roost? A question the Deep State Blob does not want a public answer to.

Posted by: Albertde | May 23 2015 13:19 utc | 5

Despite the negative headline, “Finance Minister Fit for a Greek Tragedy?” — which is a long article that appears in this weekend’s The New York Times Magazine –it is actually a complimentary piece on Varoufakis and Syriza in general. The reader comes away with a very clear statement from Varoufakis: He will not cut pensions as the troika demands; if at the end of the day that is the “take it or leave it deal” on the table he will walk away.
What I can’t understand is the huge number of negative reader comments directed at Syriza. Insane stuff like Syriza has destroyed Greece in the last four months. There a lot of zombies out there, the neoliberal walking dead.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | May 23 2015 13:51 utc | 7

Sign here: Private people should not be allowed to build monuments on nationally meaningful ground according to their own bad readings of history and their twisted ideological bent. Not without what would have to be a much more vast memorial to the many many times more victims of capitalism and fascism dwarfing it.
Move the Memorial to the Victims of Communism to a different location, or cancel the project entirely.

The National Capital Commission approved a request to release a 5000 square meter plot of land located between the Supreme Court and Library Archives Canada to the private charity, A Tribute to Liberty, for the purpose of constructing a monument called Memorial to the Victims of Communism. The location is absolutely inappropriate, and the NCC’s recommendations have not been followed. The land which has been given to A Tribute to Liberty is part of Canada’s Judicial Precinct and, as such, is land that belongs to all Canadians. Further, that land has been clearly designated by the Government of Canada as the future site of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Judicial Building, a building that would complete the judicial triad, in balance to the Parliamentary triad. Placing this memorial, which essentially demonizes (either rightly or wrongly) a particular socioeconomic system, next to the Supreme Court of Canada undermines the very foundation of that institution, which is its independence and impartiality, and, as a result, erodes our own democracy.

Posted by: guest77 | May 23 2015 14:58 utc | 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuQ_GjERWbU
“We are the White Rose”
Daniel Sheehan speaking at the UCSC Bioneers conference, May 3rd 2015 about the need for a Constitution Protection Zone in Santa Cruz CA.
2015: The Trajectory of Justice
Daniel Sheehan teaching at University of California – Santa Cruz Spring 2015
http://www.romeroinstitute.org/archives/ucsc-course-archive/2015-the-trajectory-of-justice

Posted by: guest77 | May 23 2015 15:07 utc | 11

The wests propaganda is having a bad day.
http://www.syrianperspective.com/2015/05/how-the-syrian-army-broke-the-siege-of-the-national-hospital-and-rescued-its-defenders.html

Posted by: jo6pac | May 23 2015 16:14 utc | 13

Harry Law #3. That is correct, Kerry’s comments in Sochi are very significant. It does appear that the US is backing down from it’s foolish policy in Ukraine. Not just that but it was accompanied by Kerry’s warning to Poroshenko to forget about trying to retake the Donetsk airport. This has to be a major slap down considering that Kerry made the statement in Russia after meeting with Putin and Lavrov. Ukraine simply cannot continue the civil war without the support of either the EU or the US. This was one of those totally unexpected changes that it has left nearly all analysts in the West mostly speechless and the many of voices sympathetic to Russia unable to accept what happened there. The Saker is an exception to this since he immediately called this out a major retreat by the US. Stephan Cohen also seems to understand it’s significance.
This makes it look like there will be a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis. This is not to say the resolution will be orderly for the Ukrainians will have to find a way to defang the neo-Nazi forces unleashed by the Maidan. I suspect Obama himself will have very little to say until the Iranian negotiations are completed. He certainly should not want to stir up the neocons any more than they are now. All in all there is much to optimistic about.

Posted by: ToivoS | May 23 2015 16:33 utc | 15

Alexey Mozgovoy was just killed today in DNR. This is second independent field commander (after “Batman”) murdered recently. Demolition of the failed Novorossiya project continues.

Posted by: Dener | May 23 2015 18:12 utc | 17

PS
The last I had heard was, from a link here I think (jfl?), was the theory that the disgruntled pilot flew to a remote pacific area with very deep trenches and executed a perfect water landing, leaving no debris to be spotted, so the plane sunk intact into depths unreachable by modern underwater equipment to be lost forever, well at least into the foreseeable future.

Posted by: juannie | May 23 2015 19:05 utc | 19

@19 and then what? Locked himself in the cabin? The minute food ran low, he’d be first choice for the airplane microwave I think…

Posted by: guest77 | May 23 2015 19:24 utc | 21

@8 jackrabbit.. i agree your viewpoint re the comments @3, 5 and additionally @15..

Posted by: james | May 23 2015 19:40 utc | 23

@19
Since you’re blaming me for the fairytale, I have to say that I tentatively concluded that it was due to some sort of ‘bug’ in Boeing’s aircraft and that the whole affair was hushed up for that reason. I don’t remember exactly the proposed scenario now, but it envolved some sort of setting to the plane’s brain that could only be made on the ground which resulted in the loss of cabin pressure and the captain/cocaptain flipping a switch to autopilot as he passed out that resulted in the plane reversing coursing and flying on ’til its fuel was exhausted. The ‘rescue’ parties were then misdirected to the plane’s supposed crash site to keep it hidden from discovery until the real site of its demise was ‘secured’. I’m sure the plane was located, photographed, perhaps its ‘black boxes’ retrieved by the USN for Boeing.
This ‘Boeing Bug’ scenario is not listed among those ‘unoffocial’ theories as officially extant by wikipedia.

Posted by: jfl | May 23 2015 20:03 utc | 25

juannie at 19 — On a completely different topic, I think I recall an earlier post where you noted your new feline arrival. How’s the little guy/gal doing? Of our three, two are having a big napping throwdown now, the third is out prowling his domain.

Posted by: rufus magister | May 23 2015 20:12 utc | 27

Ukraine. Following on from Dener at 17 and others,
Mozgovoy killed (if true): report:
Russia insider http://tinyurl.com/nn5cn9f
His last piece trans. to Eng. at Slavyangrad (May 6, 2015)
In this war there will be no victory. Worthwhile read.
http://tinyurl.com/ofrfp5v

Posted by: Noirette | May 23 2015 21:46 utc | 29

How Russian Industry is Coping with the Crisis

Keep in mind that the main thing our government is doing is organize access to rubles. The US closed our major enterprises’ access to dollar credits, and it will pay for it by losing the Russian financial market. Credits will now be issued in rubles, with all the massive benefits to our country that the switch entails. It seems that Washington expected our economy will be “torn to shreds” before de-dollarization progresses too far:
http://ruxpert.ru/Дедолларизация
But now it is wholly apparent that Uncle Sam was slightly naive.

As usual, the neo-con brain trust’s lack of a long term prognosis of the effects of its quick fixes results in unintended consequences – which often (always?) are the opposite of their intentions. The split between the ideological clique and the financial clique is responsible for whipsaw effects like ‘John Kerry Admits Defeat on Ukraine’.
I imagine that as times get tougher the neo-cons will be the first to go, followed by the military – once the revenue stream there has been completely diverted to drones, to the NSA, and to ‘security’ from ‘internal’ enemies.

Posted by: jfl | May 23 2015 22:16 utc | 31

@17 – Whats the evidence for blaming this on Russia or others in East Ukraine? Anyone who knows the history of the Phoenix Program knows that these kinds of killings inside enemy territory are the CIA’s stock and trade. Not that we can say that occurred either. But is there any evidence as for who did what at this point? Speculation seems a little dangerous in such circumstances.

Posted by: guest77 | May 23 2015 22:42 utc | 33

32
It would not be hard at all to recreate in simulation this theory to see what the autopilot would do, both mh370 and mh17 turned back, but neither turned back to either their last way-point or their point of origin, … so I call bs on that line. Both Airbus and Boeing have had Uninterruptable Remote Autopilot systems since the 911 event, and a Rothschild is majority owner of the airline, as well as its insurance company. Also we know Israel covertly bought one of these planes, no doubt to reverse engineer the control systems. But that view and this statement is a felony in Europe, like stating the Kiev government are dual-citizen Israeli, as are Kerry and Nuland.. It doesn’t add to viewer suspense over the next episode, and just makes government moral turpitude more obvious, so we’ll go with your aww shucks Act of Gawd Scene 3.

Posted by: Chipnik | May 23 2015 23:16 utc | 35

Chipnik — welcome back!

Posted by: rufus magister | May 23 2015 23:21 utc | 37

Chipnik #35
Didn’t see you contribution until after I posted. Thanks for jumping in and I second rufus’ #37

Posted by: juannie | May 23 2015 23:56 utc | 39

Secret Pentagon report reveals West saw ISIS as strategic asset.

A declassified secret US government document obtained by the conservative public interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments deliberately allied with al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups to topple Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad.
The document reveals that in coordination with the Gulf states and Turkey, the West intentionally sponsored violent Islamist groups to destabilize Assad, despite anticipating that doing so could lead to the emergence of an ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
According to the newly declassified US document, the Pentagon foresaw the likely rise of the ‘Islamic State’ as a direct consequence of the strategy, but described this outcome as a strategic opportunity to “isolate the Syrian regime.”

Posted by: Nana2007 | May 24 2015 3:14 utc | 41

@41 – I saw “Gulf states and Turkey” as “Gulf of Tonkin”. Funny that.

Posted by: guest77 | May 24 2015 4:41 utc | 43

A Google News search for “Judicial Watch” or “Defense Intelligence Agency” shows that NO mainstream media sources have picked up that story. The few that do, some right wing rags, reference it only in terms of their political interest in Benghazi.
Simply amazing. The US “free press” is as tightly controlled as the Soviet press ever was. What could be a more important story for government accountability that this? These documents are smoking gun material as I have stated before.
All these years after the lessons of Iraq War media fiasco, things have gotten markedly worse under Obama. There is no dissent at all. The days when the press regulated itself are over. Any reporters with independence have, by now, been purged. After the episode we just witnessed with Hersh – watching a dean of US investigative journalism be vilified, squashed, and relegated to the English press over a story that dared to differ from the conventional wisdom – can we now declare the death of the free press?
Amazing how Obama has changed this country. At least when Bush was in power, he was being watched aggressively. He won many of his battles, certainly. He caused a lot of damage. But at least he had to fight battles. President Obama appears to be given a completely free pass on his foreign policy – possibly because it is the Republican’s foreign policy being implemented by a Democratic President.

Posted by: guest77 | May 24 2015 5:13 utc | 45

guest77 #44 But their war with Russia is only beginning.
That could be true but I think it began immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In Ukraine we have seen Russia respond in a significant manner. What has happened in the last year is that US aggression against Russia has resulted in an acceleration of cooperation between Russia and China. I think this is motivating Obama and Kerry to defuse the Ukraine crisis. Last week the US flew military aircraft over Chinese facilities in the Sprately Islands. This is another provocative action by the US. Recall that the pivot to Asia strategy was directed against China. It seemed totally insane at the time for the US to provoke Russia in Ukraine if we were focused on pivoting to Asia.
And I haven’t even mentioned the mideast and US’s efforts to defuse tensions with Iran, figure out how to respond to ISIS in Iraq, manage Yemen not to mention Syria. US foreign policy has been lurching from one crises to another without any coherent overview. I think Russia will succeed with their policy towards Ukraine because it does appear that the US is finally beginning to realize that they are not powerful enough to take a confrontational position against all of these nations. Ukraine is just not important enough.

Posted by: ToivoS | May 24 2015 6:49 utc | 47

daesh in Syria and Iraq = more than 40,000 fighters from more than 100 countries
according to
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/qa-probing-islamic-state-s-sex-atrocities-united-nations-1064004421
and much more to read here,
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/round-up-palmyra-contingency-planning-for-regime-losses-un-response-to-enslavement-crisis/

Posted by: Mina | May 24 2015 11:46 utc | 49

US’ proxy terrorists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NTz8Ed-djhg

Posted by: okie farmer | May 24 2015 15:18 utc | 51

@rufus magister #24
I don’t bother with trying to convince people of anything.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my many years, it is that everyone is stupid in at least one thing.
I don’t excuse myself, hence my complete and utter lack of desire in trying to overcome other people’s idiocy. After all, it might be me.

Posted by: ǝn⇂ɔ | May 24 2015 15:28 utc | 53

http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2015/05/23/afghan-communists-dont-fade-away/
Afghan communists don’t fade away
The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s fascination for army generals who served during the communist regime, is intriguing. One never associates brilliant World Bank officials with such a thing. In early April, Ghani nominated General Mohammad Afzal Ludin to the vacant post of Defence Minister in his cabinet. Ludin was a trusted right-hand man of President Najibullah during the PDPA regime.
Gen. Ludin held the key post of Kabul garrison commander under Najib when the Soviet troop withdrawal took place in February 1989. Five days after the last Soviet soldier left Afghan soil on February 5, when Najib declared national emergency and reconstituted the 20-member supreme military council (“Supreme Military Council for the Defence of the Homeland”) and tightened the control of the communist party over government, Gen Ludin was one of only three trusted top serving military officers he handpicked for induction into the powerful apex body.
Unsurprisingly, the old “Muj” folks in Kabul (including Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah) found Ludin’s nomination too much to accept and went ballistic. They probably used the issue as an alibi to pick a row with Ghani. When Ludin saw the writing on the wall, he promptly announced his decision to drop out, pleading that “some may use my candidacy as an excuse to create problems for my country.”
Thereupon, Ghani mulled over things carefully over the next 6 weeks and on last Thursday announced his newest nomination for the jinxed post of Defence Minister. Again, it turns out to be an ex-communist general – Masoum Stanikzai who served in the PDPA regime.
~~~

Posted by: okie farmer | May 24 2015 16:27 utc | 55

Iraq’s former national security advisor says most US fighter jets deployed to bomb terrorists in the Arab country return to their bases without engaging terrorist positions, Press TV reports. Rubaie also demanded the United States to speed up the process of supplying Iraq with weapons Iraqi forces require, saying Washington must immediately deliver the weapons and military hardware that Baghdad has paid for in the past.There are weapons that the Iraqi government has paid for in the past but has not received yet, Rubaie noted.http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/05/24/412628/US-ISIL-Iraq-Mowaffak-alRubaie
Iraq is still waiting for those F16, again all paid for. I wonder why?

Posted by: harry law | May 24 2015 16:57 utc | 57

@52 rufus… i agree with jackrabbit @50 once again, lol… us foreign policy creates one disaster after another.. they don’t seem to give a fuck.. actually it seems intentional.. they are intent on making a mess where-ever they go.. that is what i draw from watching what unfolds on the ground.. sorry to sound boring, but all of it appears meant to support a military and financial industry complex that appears to run the country.. it has nothing to do with the people, or only in so far as amerikans are working in one of theose areas, or experiencing a reagan trickle down effect!

Posted by: james | May 24 2015 17:12 utc | 59

The loss of Mozgovoy is very sad news. I venture a few comments here without knowing any of the details on Mozgovoy’s murder. However, there are a few facts that should not really be in dispute.
The rebellion in Novorussiaya was one that was based on identification with their Russian cultural heritage. Those who joined included communists, monarchists (e.g. Strelkov), bourgeois elements, workers, farmers and, we should not deny it, some very rich Russian oligarchs along with some of their Ukrainian oligarch associates. This is similar to the classic united front against fascism that was seen in the 1930s.
I read somewhere that Mozgovoy was a communist. I do not know if that is correct, but from some of the things that he is reported to have said it did sound like he was no advocate of a capitalist state. He presented some notion of community, of people working together without any obeisance to the sanctity of private ownership of property (large land holdings and industrial production). His most recent statement that “there will no victor from this civil war” seemed to give that impression.
Coming back to the united front concept. This was someone who was poised to restrict the large capitalist owners from re-asserting control over the Donbass industries. It has been clear from the first month of the uprising in Eastern Ukraine that the rebels were receiving significant financial support from within Russia. Much of this support was very likely coming from Russian oligarchs. These guys are seeing the obvious that the Kiev government has lost control over Lughansk and Donetsk and they are positioning themselves to inherit that control. They had to see Mozgovoy as a threat to their long term goals.
Anyway, farewell comrade Mozgovoy. Your heart was in the right place but it seems you played the local politics poorly.

Posted by: ToivoS | May 24 2015 18:49 utc | 61

“I read somewhere that Mozgovoy was a communist.”
Which means he was nationalist, probably hard core one, the Russian one at that. However, his murderers could be find (if ever) in the rebel’s political establishment who are themselves attached to Moscow’s strings. So, yes Moscow executed him. Boris Nemtsov anyone? People like him doesn’t know for compromise, they are warriors, thus at some point (aka, “political process”) they become a problem. Hence, “each revolution is eating its own children” statement.

Posted by: neretva’43` | May 24 2015 19:26 utc | 63

Great thread, all. Thanks!
Some ‘pot luck’ related to previous posts::
RE: modern airliner design and construction – lithium batteries are right up there with carbon fiber wingboxes in terms of ‘really bad idea’. I recall reading an in-depth technical analysis of the Air France disaster (can’t find the original doc…sorry) that discussed the distinct possibility that improper use of cleaning solvents lead to delamination of the carbon fiber layers in the wingbox. This is an attempt to save money by using a wingbox that is significantly lighter than old-school aluminum. Here’s a Google Search for ‘carbon fiber wingbox delamination’.
RE: unintended consequences – rarely (and only by chance) are the unintended consequences exactly opposite of the intention. Rather, results will shoot off in any direction on the ‘3d compass’ of probability.
RE: nuclear power safety – this is the big one. It is quite possible for a civilization to value it’s utility enough to do what it takes to maintain safety (ironically, I think Iran has the right mindset for this), but the problems are so long-term that the care and feeding of the systems need to be maintained across civilizational lifespans. What civilization has lasted 5,000 years? 10,000 years? 50,000 years? Even if a given civilization can last for such a timespan, what about it’s social evolution? What about it’s technical capabilities? What about the resources needed to maintain the technical capabilities? Yes, I suppose it is possible for nuke to be used safely. The problem is that the human brain is not correctly wired to think and plan in the timespans necessary. And then, to step outside the human-centric view, what happens when we’re gone? What have we done to future life forms on this planet?
Perhaps a good solution (something I thought of 25 yrs ago!!!) is to build a Really Fucking Big Rail Gun and sling the waste toward the sun. It would be vaporized and blown outward on the solar wind. Space is already a ‘hot’ environment, but we’re shielded (for now) by the Van Allen belt. In the event we decide we can’t or don’t want to maintain the plants anymore, we can simply package all the remaining fuel and shoot it toward the sun along with any ‘hot’ apparatus that remains. But this project would take far more resource and resolve than we currently have available.

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | May 24 2015 20:50 utc | 65

@65 okie:
Probably very big. As with any, there are technical problems with this solution too. Send stuff in small packages, but it has to be big enough to survive the heat of high escape velocity. I was thinking this 25 yrs ago, but since then many more interesting possibilities have arisen, but again all with steep technical challenges. The Space Elevator, though it sounds kooky, is one, where you can do a conveyor to a smaller, sub-orbital rail gun. Dirigible to sub-orbital rail gun is another.
Or, go the other direction and try to drill into a magma chamber?
Sorry. I tend to become somewhat bitter when the topic of energy production comes up. My feeling is that we had a narrow window in which fossil fuels could be used to tool up for newer, better energy sources. That chance has been squandered, and all the possible sources of significant scale are now receding, beyond our grasp for the foreseeable future. We’re left with winding down our usage and relying on wind/solar/hydro/thermo for the critical stuff.

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | May 24 2015 21:38 utc | 67

Jackrabbit @ 8
” nix the delivery of S-300/S-400 to Iran”
Iran and Syria have a mutual defense treaty with Russia …
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-russia-iran-syria-mutual-defense-treaties-the-western-media-missed
Did you happen to notice that Kerry went to Sochi to meet the Russians? One in a dominant strategic position does not do the kneeling now do they?

Posted by: Alberto | May 24 2015 21:46 utc | 69

Dr. Y. at 64, 66 —
We’ve already created those 10K yr. wastes, we have to adapt our thinking and action. How this could be done, well, that’s beyond my pay grade, as they say.
Up until recently, human evolution has been driven entirely by nature. Thanks to the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, we have, I think, in principle enough knowledge to decide our future direction.
I can see you’ve thought deeply about the technical problems. I don’t care if it works or not, I’m quite taken by just the phrase, “Really F’ing Big Rail Gun.” FWIW, I think the Space Elevator has potential as a launch system generally.

Posted by: rufus magister | May 24 2015 22:09 utc | 71

@willy2 – The Ukraine is being run under a terror regime, there’s no doubt of this. Average people who disagree with the war, or with the direction of the country are hiding in basements fearing for their lives. There are some extremely brave folks, who are coming out to protest, but they fall victim to being arrest, torture or death. Paramilitaries are disappearing people. It is a real fascist environment such as anything seen since the darkest days of the Latin American dictatorships.
A state run by oligarchs, using indoctrinated, violent young men to enforce their unpopular policies. The Ukraine is experiencing fascism 101, and no one in the US says a thing.

Posted by: guest77 | May 24 2015 23:05 utc | 73

70
Rail Gun? Have you seen a rail gun fire? It generates plasma heat that would disintegrate the nuclear waste payload, and starting from escape velocity at launch into the most dense water vapor filled portion of the atmosphere would generate Krakatoa-like shock waves heard around the world, signaling another ionized nuclear waste black rain event.
Space Elevator? Did you not take orbital mechanics in college? There is no payload capacity to launch a python thick super Kevlar cable 170 miles long into space and no way to splice subunits, but imagine there were, as you ‘lower’ the weighted cable end, of course, it goes sideways, you’re in orbit, so you have to fire retros, it starts down, now your center of mass is holding two halves of a 170 miles cable whipping apart with 17000 MPH centripetal force on it, even before you add an ounce of payload.
NASA has the supercomputers, let’s quit fracking around with this Space Elevator’ gibberish, write the damn simulation over one weekend, determine the unresistable forces and unimaginable launch payloads needed, then all have a good laugh about the tom foolery boingoboingo pure unicorn fantasy of ‘space colonization’.
Oh, wait, let’s loot Mom’nPop’s 401k with an Asteroid Mining Wildcat Investment Fund available through Goldman Sachs.

Posted by: Chipnik | May 24 2015 23:45 utc | 75

Chipnik at 74 —
No, not terribly well-acquainted with the technology. I did say I just liked the sound of it. Does sound like the plasma could be a problem.
Uh, no, Orbital Mechanics was only an elective for us history majors. Like I said in the tar sands discussion, I rely on the experts. I always thought the big problem would have been stuff hitting the cable and breakage generally.
Your idea of dropping it into the muck sounds feasible. Again, a Vertical Torpedo just sounds cool. Wonder what the good Dr. Y. might think.
g77 at 71 —
Glad you said that LaRouche thing with a smile. You never know where fans of the Greatest Living Economist will turn up.
I’m just a humanities major who likes gadgets. I think nukes are the best of a number of bad options. A huge reduction in existing nuclear stockpiles is a no-brainer, as is non-proliferation. We in the US let Pakistan build the bomb — we were shocked, shocked to find out about it, of course.
I hope that fusion is a long-term option. The problems of launching dangerous crap into space is pretty obvious, even to me. I think Dr. Y at 66 is right, we have a narrow time window and don’t seem to be using it wisely. Applies to global warming, too. Reducing carbon and mitigating rising seas and temps. is a good idea on a no. of levels.

Posted by: rufus magister | May 25 2015 0:52 utc | 77

@74 Chipnikh:
Well…my post was thoroughly plastered with disclaimers. My main point is, any solution has a myriad of other problems bundled in. But leaving the waste in a ‘storage facility’ is a guaranteed disaster. The radiation tends to degrade any material you can (economically) use as a container. Also, the stuff starts to do unpredictable things over time. That’s what happened in New Mexico recently. The ooze started to bubble and broke containment.
I do NOT advocate use of nuke power plants (quite the contary, I’d rather they were all decomm’d now), but if someone with more power than me and my 300,000,000 fellow citizens insists on doing it, I’d like to see them at least put some thought into disposal issues.
As for the space elevator…you would not use kevlar (nor spectra or dyneema). As you state, to damn heavy. This is a job for carbon nanotubes, etc. Even then, payload capacity is minimal. And, yes, not yet a proven technology. Stuff needs to be invented before we can move forward. It has always been thus.
Rail gun generates plasma? No. Exotic forms of rail guns use plasma. Normal rail guns are strictly EM. Either way, not enough energy to melt whatever objects they normally put in them. I think a container like the plutonium battery cases they use in spacecraft would do just fine.

Posted by: Dr. Wellington Yueh | May 25 2015 2:15 utc | 79

Presumably, you know. In some sort of magic blender.

Posted by: guest77 | May 25 2015 3:07 utc | 81

Alberto @68 says: Did you happen to notice that Kerry went to Sochi to meet the Russians? One in a dominant strategic position does not do the kneeling now do they?
Kneeling? LOL. Did you happen to notice that all we’ve seen from the talks is … talk (and speculation)? It is doubtful that Sochi represents a fundamental change in policy (it is very unlikely to deter the strengthening Russian-Chinese alliance) – only a tactical maneuver or pause.
=
Did you happen to notice how the “kneeling” was turned into hype about Great Leader’s inherent goodness – now presented in the form of “legacy”? Really? He didn’t care much about his legacy when he lied about Obamacare, broke campaign promises; helped increase inequality (most Bush tax cuts made permanent and imposed austerity via the ‘fiscal cliff’ kabuki – no tax on ‘carried interest’ – TBTF regulatory failures – etc.); droned weddings; made lame excuses for spying; ordered a Presidential plane to be grounded; began Cold War II, and so much more. Obama is an elitist and his oligarch cronys care about RESULTS much more than his legacy.
The only reason for the meeting, as far as I can fathom, is to convince the Russians to take certain specific actions, most prominent among these being: 1) not to deliver S-300/S-400; and 2) to continue to pipe gas via Ukraine. As I wrote above, I am skeptical that the Russians will cooperate with US wishes that would disadvantage allies and strengthen adversaries.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 25 2015 3:36 utc | 83

Let me get back to something I actually know something about.
Even as the excoriable Alexei Bayer (I’ve read his crap before, I’ve not inflicted it upon my fellow Barflies, even I have my limits) is casually labeling Mozgovoy “the latest prominent victim of Putin’s ‘peace process'” over at the Kyiv Post, TASS, The Telegraph, and other outlets are reporting that the Banderists are claiming credit for it.
TASS reports that Alexander Gladky, commander of the Teni (“Shadows”) commando unit is claiming credit on Facebook. Wonder how long that will stay up? What kind of special forces commander brags about a just-completed operation? That’s usually the prerogative of the political leadership. Especially one that they wants to pin on someone else.
So let the spin begin.
The Telegraph headlines its piece Ukrainian separatist warlord assassinated by land-mine with the subtitle “Separatists claim Alexei Mozgovoy was killed by Ukraine government commandos but he had rowed with other rebel leaders.”
It does report a “Ghost” Battalion commander as saying, “The main [line of enquiry] is that this was an attack by enemy saboteurs. If anyone saw anything please come to the LNR, the DNR, or us at the Brigade….” And it also reports Gladky “appeared to take responsibility for the killing, describing it in detail in Facebook posts with details implying his men had carried out of the attack.”
But The Telegraph asserts unspecified “contradictions in his accounts” and then moves breezily on to stress the tensions between “Ghost” and the central authorities, and speculates “that he was the victim of an inside quarrel.” It then retails “Unconfirmed reports… [that the] Prizrak Brigade had been disarmed….”
I had to check the datelines to make sure on this bit — According to Novorossiya’s Southfront website, “Shadows” claimed credit in March for the earlier attack. So either Gladky is a serial liar (a common enough trait in junta circles) or is a serial violator of military discipline and protocol (again, common enough in junta commanders).
I’m going with the latter for now. I guess my recollection about the junta stating its plans for sabotage is correct, though I’d still like to find confirmation.
Hey, I just thought about another problem with the Really Freaking Huge Plasma Gun — what if a projectile hits some Space Junk?.
Still, it sounds cool anyway, can I get it and a Vertical Torpedo, too? I wanna be the first on my block.

Posted by: rufus magister | May 25 2015 4:19 utc | 85

India’s reaction to the China-Pakistan $45 billion gas and oil, road and communications development news shows that Narendra Modi is playing for the U.S., anti-economic-development side. He’s trumping up disagreements over matters long settled (c’mon, Kashmir’s line of control hasn’t changed in decades). Very petty of him and Indian nationalists. China is trying to buy him onto its side ($22 billion in aid and projects). I recommend it try a lot harder.

New Delhi, under Narendra Modi, has adopted an aggressive stance towards Pakistan. That was expected but there was also the hope that with the Hindu nationalist BJP firmly under his control, Modi could take the “Nixon in China” step with reference to relations with Pakistan. … Pakistan has already begun to respond to what it perceives as an increased threat to its security from India. Unfortunately, under Modi, India-Pakistan relations are not likely to improve.

For India, close ties with China are also the key to loosening China’s strategic partnership with Pakistan, which Delhi sees as a major obstacle to its ambition to establish domination over South Asia and which is a leading Indian policy goal. The planned China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and especially the development of the Gwadar Port have greatly heightened India’s concerns on this score. According to a report by a well-informed Indian newspaper correspondent, the economic corridor is regarded by India as one of the “core concerns” inhibiting the development of closer China-India ties.
Besides its objections to the CPEC, India also has strong misgiving at China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, especially the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) project which India sees as Chinese intrusion in its geopolitical space. To India’s chagrin, the Chinese project has largely eclipsed the Indo-Pacific corridor plan launched by the US in which India is to have a pivotal role …
Despite the bonhomie and the friendly atmosphere during Modi’s [China] visit, there was little progress on the divisive issues. An op-ed article which appeared in [China’s] state-owned Global Times two days before the visit sought to explain why. “Due to the Indian elites’ blind arrogance and confidence in their democracy, and the inferiority of its ordinary people, very few Indians are able to treat Sino-Indian relations accurately, objectively and rationally,” wrote Hu Zhiyong of the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. The article accused Modi of “playing little tricks over border disputes and security issues.” In a phone interview Hu said, “We can’t have any hopes or expectations that Modi will make even the slightest concessions in negotiations with Chinese leaders on political and security matters.”

Posted by: fairleft | May 25 2015 7:07 utc | 87

We proletarian aktiv now have our own Dale Carnegie to promote the power of positive thinking. Courtesy of TruthOut, A HREF=”http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30859-feeling-trapped-in-a-dead-end-system-cartoonist-stephanie-mcmillan-s-affirmations-encourage-resistance”>Feeling Trapped in a Dead-End System? Cartoonist’s Affirmations Encourage Resistance.

Cartoonist, writer and organizer Stephanie McMillan saw the depression, feelings of hopelessness and other difficulties faced by her fellow activists and she wanted to do something to help people overcome these. So she started writing uplifting messages to empower individuals to continue working for a better world. She calls her inspirational messages “Daily Affirmations for the Revolutionary Proletarian Militant.”

She explains it as follows:
All kinds of support is available if we strive to make money, worship a god, lose weight, find romance.
But there is a huge lack of inspirational literature to encourage and uplift people whose lives are dedicated to social transformation. Most writing on the left is theoretical and political – these are obviously crucial, but there isn’t much that addresses us on the ideological level; on helping us change our ways of thinking so we stay strong, on track and motivated; that helps us establish standards of behavior that serve our goals….
When I start to fall into a “fuck-it-this-is-hopeless mood” – those thoughts are rare for me but they do occasionally arise – then I think about all the people all over the world who are fighting for emancipation, for an end to class divisions, and all those who have suffered and sacrificed for it, and the fact that we are all connected. We are comrades across time and space, even though we will never know each other personally. I think about the irrepressible spirit of human beings to not submit to domination.
I’m a little bit iffy on the New Age pop psychology, but what she says about continuity with the past and a connection in the present is spot on. And I especially like what she says about the irrepressible spirit of humanity.
If I might paraphrase Stuart Smalley, “Because I’m red enoungh, and smart enough, and doggonit, class-conscious workers follow me!”

Posted by: rufus magister | May 25 2015 14:26 utc | 89

@rufus magister #56
You said: “Well, we agree on two important facts. Everyone is stupid in at least one way, and to each their own. One of my own is perhaps to believe in the power of truth and esp. my own ability to detect and convey it.”
That may be – all I’ve done is point out that you’ve not done your homework in the area of climate change. All of your references to date have been relying on the reputation of others – individuals who both reputationally and financially benefit from alarmism.
This is why I chose to look deeper into the subject, and why I now no longer share the consensus view.

Posted by: ǝn⇂ɔ | May 25 2015 16:19 utc | 91

@92
It should be Church Rock NM above.
Pulse power EM launchers are interesting high tech systems that we also have here in NM and I studied that technology in the ’90s. It could have many uses but it is not infallible and will occasionally fail to launch its payload into orbit which means that if it is a nuke payload it will be spread over the planet when it burns up on reentry just as the first plutonium powered satellite did when it’s rocket failed.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | May 25 2015 17:31 utc | 93

With Iran and Japan or any ‘Nuke’+Uranium issues, why not just use Thorium reactors?

Posted by: kjs | May 25 2015 22:42 utc | 95

in re 91, 92
One cannot solve a problem one does not think exists. We got problems, Barflies.
As I have repeatedly said, my expertise is in the humanities. I read and evaluate texts. As I am not a physicist, climatologist, or chemist, I of necessity must rely upon the knowledge, experience, and judgement of others. I am rather like my fellow citizens in this regard.
It’s like when I have car trouble – I just spent $650 on emission control work. I lack the training, equipment, and facilities to do the work myself. Do I go with certified mechanics with a lot full of happy customers’ work? Or to the untrained dabbler, who rails against Car Care Conspiracy? He and his customers are committed, but nothing seems to run very well.
They will of course be nowhere to be found when I’m broken down on the side of the road.
I have evaluated the credibility and credentials of those involved, and I have made my choices. I have found the “experts” on the denial side wanting. Like Dyson, for example, whom I quote above to the effect of “I don’t know the science, really, I just dislike their atty-tood (as we say here in the DelVal).”
What are you relying upon if not the credibility and credentials of those few sources you have been kind enough to provide? Surely you are not expert in all the relevant scientific disciplines?
If I might borrow a rule of thumb from another humanistic discipline, the law. If you have the facts, argue the facts. If not, argue the law. If you don’t have the law, pound the table. For science, a suitable restatement might be “If you have the data, argue it; if not, the modeling. Lacking that, pound the table.” It seems to me that the denialists are pounding the table. Well, a little bit of the modeling, too, to be fair.
What planet I am on? Well, that would seem to be one that is slowly roasting itself. And those cooking it seem to think only of their continued profits in supplying the fuel. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
All technologies involve risks. Which do you want to take?
Mass extinction, rising sea levels, reduced food production due to shifting precipitation patterns, water shortages, increased conflict over resources — these are all quite clear, highly likely, and globalized risks. Problems regarding the control of radioactive materials, while involving notable risks, are more speculative, are localized, and it seems to me, more easily manageable. We already need to solve the problem of spent fuel and waste.
I don’t recall who said it, (and dinner is nearly ready — BBQ leftovers, mmmm….) but someone above stated there are materials that could work, but are not considered cost effective. If they solve the problem of storage over millenia, I would think they would be affordable. Raising costs would more effectively price the risk.
In our present system, the risks of climate change are what the economists refer to as “externalized.” The carbon corporations impose the costs of their environment as a hidden charge upon society, present and future.
BTW, didn’t you leave TMI, Fukushima, and Chernobyl off the list? And a couple of lost nuclear subs, Russian and American, too.
I am unwilling to exclude any available technological means. We need to begin by reducing energy consumption, increasing the efficiency of usage, and valuing sustainability over raw growth. That will doubtlessly cause changes in the lifestyles of the overly comfortable in the developed world, and alter the structures of political and economic power.
And off to feast on the products yesterday’s seasonally appropriate carbon emissions. Real men use charcoal, you know, Barflies. If you use gas, no offense, but you ain’t BBQ’ing, you’re just cooking outside.

Posted by: rufus magister | May 26 2015 0:36 utc | 97

ps to 97 — And how many Superfund sites? Let’s quit making chemicals, metal, etc., right?

Posted by: rufus magister | May 26 2015 0:41 utc | 99