In a handbasket, part I

Respected readers,

Due to the plethora of near-apocalyptic news being circulated on a daily basis, we could cover this kind of story in every single posting here, and still not come close to total coverage.

However, despite the ongoing chaos and upheaval of current world power structures, for most of us, life continues more or less as usual. I do firmly expect the madness at the higher levels of our government and other world governments to trickle down and cause problems for us in the near future, which is one of the reasons that I urge you all to find ways to let your voices be heard and push back against Washington's encroachment into every sector of public life.

But, this kind of thing can be exhausting to read. I know it's exhausting to write about.
So, I have decided that I will start a once-or-twice weekly article series called "In a handbasket".

In these articles, I will link to and briefly describe several stories that describe how idiots in positions of leadership are bringing about the apocalypse. Thus, I can bring these stories to your attention, but not focus on them to the point that this becomes one of those blogs you feel you need to be wearing tinfoil on your head to read.

That being said, we will move on to today's stories:

1. Environmental Apocalypse: Obama looks into climate engineering.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.

John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.

"It's got to be looked at," he said. "We don't have the luxury of taking any approach off the table."

Aka, screwing with a system we don't understand, to the point that we might actually succeed in damaging it beyond repair, unlike previous paltry contributions such as anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays would be a stupid idea almost to the level of trying to change our orbit around the sun.

2. Economic Apocalypse
(aka, John Galt-ian Apocalypse): The French want to lock up their bosses.

"Sarkozy's government is worried that locking up bosses could presage greater violence as the sense of injustice grows with rising unemployment. François Fillon, the Prime Minister, says that he will not tolerate more "hostage taking".

But in France, there is violence and violence, as all students of history know. Two years ago exactly, a certain presidential candidate took the side of angry fishermen who had smashed up their port. "When you resort to violence it is because you are desperate, because you feel condemned to economic death," he told them. "I will never put the anger of fishermen who do not want to die on the same level as the gratuitous violence of thugs." That was N. Sarkozy" [emphasis as in the original article]

In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand has the world grinding to a halt as those who consume begin to turn on those who produce, first via social and legislative persecution, then finally with organized violence. (Meanwhile, the last producers begin to purposefully withdraw themselves as an act of moral principle) Amusingly, she underestimated how long it would take for the violence to begin, a la G20.

3. Apocalypse by using "Death Star lasers" to recreate a miniature sun

The National Ignition Facility has already test-fired all 192 giant lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California as part of this effort. The lasers will eventually focus their power on compressing and heating a single, pea-sized fuel capsule to more than 180 million degrees Fahrenheit in order to trigger thermonuclear fusion.

Ironically, it appears this last one is by far the safest... though somehow it seems like it will take a while for said fusion to provide enough low cost energy to reimburse the cost of 192 giant lasers and assembly of a special massive test chamber.
But hey, nearly free energy would fix the economy, massively reduce world poverty, and provide the opportunity for an unprecedented expansion in personal freedom.
Which is why it will never, ever be allowed to happen.

So, there's your apocalyptic stories for today, tune in next time to see if Al Gore has invented Skynet.


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