By James Howard Kunstler
January 19, 2015
A Solemn Pause
Events are moving faster than brains now. Isn’t it marvelous that gasoline at the pump is a buck cheaper than it was a year ago? A lot of short-sighted idiots are celebrating, unaware that the low oil price is destroying the capacity to deliver future oil at any price. The shale oil wells in North Dakota and Texas, the Tar Sand operations of Alberta, and the deep-water rigs here and abroad just don’t pencil-out economically at $45-a-barrel. So the shale oil wells that are up-and-running will produce for a year and there will be no new ones drilled when they peter out — which is at least 50 percent the first year and all gone after four years.
Anyway, the financial structure of the shale play was suicidal from the get-go. You finance the drilling and fracking with high-yield “junk bonds,” that is, money borrowed from “investors.” You drill like mad and you produce a lot of oil, but even at $105-a-barrel you can’t make profit, meaning you can’t really pay back the investors who loaned you all that money, a lot of it obtained via Too Big To Fail bank carry-trades, levered-up on ”margin,” which allowed said investors to pretend they were risking more money than they had. And then all those levered-up investments — i.e. bets — get hedged in a ghostly underworld of unregulated derivatives contracts that pretend to act as insurance against bad bets with funny money, but in reality can never pay out because the money is not there (and never was.) And then come the margin calls. Uh Oh….
In short, enjoy the $2.50-a-gallon fill-ups while you can, grasshoppers, because when the current crop of fast-depleting shale oil wells dries up, that will be all she wrote. When all those bonds held up on their skyhook derivative hedges go south, there will be no more financing available for the entire shale oil project. No more high-yield bonds will be issued because the previous issues defaulted. Very few new wells (if any) will be drilled. American oil production will not return to its secondary highs (after the 1970 all-time high) of 2014-15. The wish of American energy independence will be steaming over the horizon on the garbage barge of broken promises. And all, that, of course, is only one part of the story, because there is the social and political fallout to follow.
The table is set for the banquet of consequences. The next chapter in the oil story is more likely to be scarcity rather than just a boomerang back to higher prices. The tipping point for that will come with the inevitable destabilizing of Saudi Arabia, which I believe will happen this year when King Abdullah ibn Abdilaziz, 91, son of Ibn Saud, departs his intensive care throne for the glorious Jannah of virgins and feasts. Speaking of feasts, just imagine how the Islamic State (or ISIS) must be licking its chops at the prospect of sweeping over an Arabia no longer defined as Saudi! The Saudis are so spooked that they announced plans last week for a kind of super Berlin-type wall to be constructed along the northern border with Iraq. But that brings to mind a laughable Maginot Line scenario in which the masked invaders just make an end run around the darn thing. In any case, Saudi Arabia will already be disintegrating internally as competing clans and princes vie for control. And then, what will the US do? Rush in there shock-and-awe style? Bust up the joint? That’ll make things better, won’t it? (See American Sniper.)
Meanwhile, there will be plenty to contend with state-side. The next time there is a pratfall in the stock and bond markets and the TBTF banks — and there is sure to be — the rescue tricks are liable to be a whole lot more severe than the TARP, ZIRP, and QE hijinks of 2008-2015. Next time around, the federals are going to have to confiscate stuff, break promises, take away things, and rough some people up. The question is how much of this abuse will the public take? I take a certain comfort knowing how heavily armed America is. And not just the lunatic fringe. The thought of Hillary and Jeb out there beating the bushes for big money makes me laugh. They are so not going to happen. Just wait. For now, take this MLK holiday break to reflect on the fragility of our own country, and gird your loins for the week to come

Danny Caliendo

1 hr ·

True Union Organizing & The Dow @ 26,000 -
The strong correlation between the rich getting richer and the decline of Organized Labor has been evident across all sectors for the past 30 plus years. In our capitalist society, the balance between labor, management and government is needed to ensure that all have a seat at the table. Management serves a mindless piece of paper called a corporate charter whose religion is profits – pure and simple.
Government regulations and taxes are needed and the debate about the form and reach of those regulations and taxes is healthy. However, government oversight, once agreed to, is tantamount to a door locked to keep an honest person honest. Money interests buy every loophole!
One of the critical components of a free capitalistic society is organized labor. But, Organized Labor, and especially the Building Trades, have been an oxymoron for the better part of 35 years. In the Trades, it is clear that we have decided to co-operate with our own demise, working with the strategy of Value on Display; collaborating with the very institutions that seek to put us out of existence. Every number “NET” regarding growth of the trades - clearly and overwhelmingly demonstrates this for the last 3 decades! Everyone!
Complaining about big money is useless without concerted activity to FORCE management to share the profits. Our strategy for the past approx. 30 years has been 2-fold. An over reliance on politicians to advance labor’s rights; and by appeasing and cooperating with big business. The “let’s not make waves” approach in dealing with these “junk yard dogs” is exactly why we are drowning in the water.
Now, either the current and immediate former International Presidents for the past 30 years are afraid of big business or they are complicit with them! Neither is good! After 3 decades of continuous losses of market share, wages, benefits and conditions – what else can one conclude? None of the current IP’s have jettison the Value Centric model. And the losing “NET” continues, even with 3 years of record construction spending. The Trades are losing market share even with a massive wind of construction spending to their collective backs!
A CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) was once the vehicle that provided labor peace on a job. Brothers & Sisters, no one signs a CBA willingly. Management signs for one of two reasons: either they are forced to do so, or they must in order to gain entry into a CBA controlled market. Since we have very little control over any market, the second is dead on arrival.
A PLA is NO CBA!
Only a strong and pro-active labor movement will keep the American/Canadian middle class in the game. Our approach in dealing with management should be the 21st century version of concerted activity, which would include large doses of labor unrest and civil disobedience all channeling workers’ outrage into action! A “leader” does that! A politician talks about it in meeting after meeting.
If concerned about what impact concerted activity will have on our image, ask most normal independent minded Americans how they feel about organized labor. Yes, those polled say they want a union in the US, however, they certainly don’t want the existing Trades Unions presented to them. Numbers across the board demonstrate that! The response will not bode well for labor. At the end of the day, Americans/Canadians like winners and respect those workers with the integrity to advance all workers’ lives lawfully!
If we, as Organized Labor, continue down the path of being victims, we will not advance labor’s rights and will continue to get less and less.
The Middle Class is becoming the Working Poor over the last 35 years of trades leadership!
“if you see a good fight – get in it”
Danny L Caliendo
Organizer
Labor Rising

https://imgur.com/gallery/Y7Zpt

In the current political paradigm, the common political ground exists only where its good for the mega corporations.  It may be fair to say that a manifestation of that paradigm are the Senate rules that prima facie, appear to be convoluted. The Senate currently requires 60 votes to open and close debate.  I would propose a 51 vote rule to open and close debate. And then an up and down vote of 60  to pass. A simple 50-50 majority should not be enough.   A consensus that requires more than a simple majority would have to be reached. The new Senate rules would make it so issues are more likely to be publicly debated and likely every Senator would be forced to make a vote when something reaches the floor. They could not hide behind the filibuster. There would be more transparency. Politicians would be more accountable. They would have a clearer voting record. There would be more accountability. Presently, the 60 vote filibuster rule serves both parties. They can campaign one way or another without going on the record firmly with a vote. The Senate debates would be more volatile, more often and more public. The Senators, these days, manage to get together to pass things only when it is fully vetted with their corporate masters who want the elite rich to control everything. There job now is to sell it to the unwitting gullible public while they further clamp the vise on them. Some people are starting to wise up, but it takes more than some people, and we may be past the tipping point.
M Acree

During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children aged 10 to 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Still 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers. Many people today avoid calling the Irish slaves called what they really were: Slaves. They use words such as "indentured servants" to describe what happened to the Irish. However, in most cases from the 17th and 18th centuries, Irish slaves were nothing more than human cattle.

The Irish Slave Trade – The Forgotten “White” Slaves The Slaves That Time Forgot.

They came as slaves; vast human cargo transported on tall British ships bound for the Americas. They were shipped by the hundreds of thousands and included men, women, and even the youngest of children. Whenever they rebelled or even disobeyed an order, they were punished in the harshest ways. Slave owners would hang their human property by their hands and set their hands or feet on fire as one form of punishment.

They were burned alive and had their heads placed on pikes in the marketplace as a warning to other captives. We don’t really need to go through all of the gory details, do we? We know all too well the atrocities of the African slave trade. But, are we talking about African slavery? King James II and Charles I also led a continued effort to enslave the Irish. Britain’s famed Oliver Cromwell furthered this practice of dehumanizing one’s next door neighbor. The Irish slave trade began when James II sold 30,000 Irish prisoners as slaves to the New World. His Proclamation of 1625 required Irish political prisoners be sent overseas and sold to English settlers in the West Indies.

By the mid 1600s, the Irish were the main slaves sold to Antigua and Montserrat. At that time, 70% of the total population of Montserrat were Irish slaves. Ireland quickly became the biggest source of human livestock for English merchants. The majority of the early slaves to the New World were actually white. From 1641 to 1652, over 500,000 Irish were killed by the English and another 300,000 were sold as slaves. Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in one single decade. Families were ripped apart as the British did not allow Irish dads to take their wives and children with them across the Atlantic. This led to a helpless population of homeless women and children. Britain’s solution was to auction them off as well. During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Another 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers. Many people today will avoid calling the Irish slaves what they truly were: Slaves. They’ll come up with terms like “Indentured Servants” to describe what occurred to the Irish.

However, in most cases from the 17th and 18th centuries, Irish slaves were nothing more than human cattle. As an example, the African slave trade was just beginning during this same period. It is well recorded that African slaves, not tainted with the stain of the hated Catholic theology and more expensive to purchase, were often treated far better than their Irish counterparts. African slaves were very expensive during the late 1600s (50 Sterling). Irish slaves came cheap (no more than 5 Sterling). If a planter whipped or branded or beat an Irish slave to death, it was never a crime. A death was a monetary setback, but far cheaper than killing a more expensive African.

The English masters quickly began breeding the Irish women for both their own personal pleasure and for greater profit. Children of slaves were themselves slaves, which increased the size of the master’s free workforce. Even if an Irish woman somehow obtained her freedom, her kids would remain slaves of her master. Thus, Irish moms, even with this new found emancipation, would seldom abandon their kids and would remain in servitude. In time, the English thought of a better way to use these women (in many cases, girls as young as 12) to increase their market share: The settlers began to breed Irish women and girls with African men to produce slaves with a distinct complexion.

These new “mulatto” slaves brought a higher price than Irish livestock and, likewise, enabled the settlers to save money rather than purchase new African slaves. This practice of interbreeding Irish females with African men went on for several decades and was so widespread that, in 1681, legislation was passed “forbidding the practice of mating Irish slave women to African slave men for the purpose of producing slaves for sale.” In short, it was stopped only because it interfered with the profits of a large slave transport company. England continued to ship tens of thousands of Irish slaves for more than a century. Records state that, after the 1798 Irish Rebellion, thousands of Irish slaves were sold to both America and Australia.

There were horrible abuses of both African and Irish captives. One British ship even dumped 1,302 slaves into the Atlantic Ocean so that the crew would have plenty of food to eat. There is little question that the Irish experienced the horrors of slavery as much (if not more in the 17th Century) as the Africans did. There is, also, very little question that those brown, tanned faces you witness in your travels to the West Indies are very likely a combination of African and Irish ancestry. In 1839, Britain finally decided on it’s own to end it’s participation in Satan’s highway to hell and stopped transporting slaves. While their decision did not stop pirates from doing what they desired, the new law slowly concluded THIS chapter of nightmarish Irish misery.

But, if anyone, black or white, believes that slavery was only an African experience, then they’ve got it completely wrong. Irish slavery is a subject worth remembering, not erasing from our memories. But, where has this ever been taught in our public (and PRIVATE) schools???? Where are stories of Irish Slavery in the history books? Why is it so seldom discussed? Do the memories of hundreds of thousands of Irish victims merit more than a mention from an unknown writer? Or is their story to be one that their English pirates intended: have the Irish story utterly and completely disappear as if it never happened. None of the Irish victims ever made it back to their homeland to describe their ordeal.

These are the lost slaves; the ones that time and biased history books-conveniently forgot-By John Martin