slowlyfadingaway: Life at the end of civilization?

Lost cities of the future — It’s sad how close they are to us. And how close we are to the future.

What Rome can teach us about the decline of civilizations — In some ways we have tougher challenges than Rome. We have one key advantage — we can talk about our predicament. Or Twitter about it if you prefer.

The New Energy Order — We have entered a new era in which traditional super powers now face energy super powers. Nothing less than our food and livelihood is at stake.

When the Prime (”Good”) borrowers start handing in their keys

Monetary failure is rewarded only at the highest levels

• IMF Warns of Great Crisis — We keep seeing the “Depression” word come up more and more in the mainstream.  The mainstream media wasn’t even worried about a recession this year. And who is the IMF? Read more here, and be sure to check out the criticisms.
• The Black Death of Financial Collapse — Relentlessly dire view of the global economic situation.
• Financial Collapse Information Foraging and “Uglier than you thought”
• Major banks about to go bye bye? What will happen to all those “subprime” mortgages nobody could really pay off, and as a result, all the more legitimate mortgages nobody will be able to pay off either? Free houses?
• The UN warns of global food fights. — Now might be a good time to stock up on food.
• Shell finally sponsors Peak Oil (PDF) — I wonder if Shell read this part: “The bad news is that no combination of technologies can plug the energy gap if the peakists are correct. There will be a third, and last, global energy crisis. It will dwarf previous crises. Profound economic dislocation will result. The challenge for human civilization will be how we rebuild post-peak.”

• The Federal Express plows forward aiming for your loot. Don’t get on the boxcar.
• Slate tells us why Fed reform won’t work. Duh.
• When the end is so very nigh, which straw breaks the camel’s back?
• When trouble strikes, you’re on your own.
• The Collapse Party becoming the most honest party in government. Doubt anybody would vote for it.

• The conning of America, says Guardian. That’s why it’s called the eCONomy, stoopid!
• This article asks, why does Bush seem happy? Today, by the Smashing Pumpkins, is also happy.
• I’m clearly learning about our impending depression from non-American media outlets today.

Another oddly cheerful rumination of everything coming to the end. You might have heard this one as the soundtrack to CNN’s Primaries coverage recently.

One issue that seems to get conservatives understandably concerned is any threat to America’s economic or political sovereignty. As the dollar weakens, gas prices soar, immigration rages, and concern for our future continues to rise, the ideas of a NAFTA Superhighway, a North American Union, and a replacement currency called the Amero (think the Euro) enter as challenges to what it means to live within the world’s strongest economy and nation and to see that replaced by….something else. One has to wonder, though, how the project of globalization that results in the further centralization of political systems and currencies and governmental oversight can continue while that particular system — pardon the pun — runs out of gas.

The following video from CNN gives you a taste of political battles to come this election season. Whether these battles are televised is another story.

• Stocks make a rebound — Enough articles like this, and one almost believes all is OK in the world. It’s not.
• Are you on a terrorist watch list? — Apparently 1 out of 300 Americans are. Which I guess I can believe, given that 1 out of 100 of us is in jail. Glad someone is keeping track.
• Army Goes Green! Although I’m wondering if climate change will really be a concern to anybody when fuel shortages hit.
• Is Iran imminent? Political Hell Mary?

Finally, creepiest MTV video ever.