Links for the Week – May 6/06

Global Politics & Economics:

A Real Solution to Terrorism: For a cost of what Bush is spending every hour in Iraq, we could buy and distribute enough anti-insect bed nets to struggling nations to protect 40 million vulnerable children and save about 200,000 lives a year. Bush won’t pay for it, but we can. Thanks to the NYT for the link to Jeffrey Sachs’ Millennium Promise campaign.

US Dollar Collapse May Be Imminent: There is growing evidence that the value of the US dollar will soon plummet, setting off a collapse of stock, housing and other markets denominated in the dollar. Currency values are fluctuating wildly as speculators are taking positions and seeking hedges. The US debt and trade debt continues to worsen. The US dollar has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter century against the Canadian dollar, and looks weak vulnerable (see chart above) against the international ‘bucket’ of currencies. Gold has reached record levels. Silver and copper prices are whipsawing. More countries are moving currency reserves from the dollar to other currencies, and support for the Euro to replace the dollar as the currency for international oil trading is growing. You need to be very skeptical of advice from people who make their money hawking commodity futures, but this article makes a lot of sense. As I have said before, if your assets are all tied up in investments that depend on a strong dollar, you’re taking a big risk.

Peer to Peer and the Gift Economy: If you’re looking for more details on how a grassroots, P2P, Internet-enable peer production ‘gift’ economy could work, replacing the current dysfunctional pseudo-‘market’ economy, here’s a great article by Michael Bauwens.

US Politics:

Exit of the Exit Polls: The mainstream media were embarrassed in 2004 when their exit polls incorrectly (?) predicted a sizeable victory for Kerry over Bush. So what are they doing in 2006? Improving the exit polls so they are more reliable and representative? No, they’re scrapping them. Don’t let it happen! Thanks to deconsumption for the heads up.

Canadian Politics:

Mini-Bush Stephen Harper Does Everything Wrong: Canadian minority PM Harper has made two secret deals — one with Bush on ‘continental missile defence’, that he refuses to divulge details of until he’s ready to present it to Parliament, and one with the Quebec Separatist Bloc, which has cynically promised to support Harper’s minority for two years provided Harper agrees to essentially dismantle federalism, shift money and power to the provinces, and make it easier for Quebec to separate. So this week’s budget, which gutted $10 billion of environmental and social programs to fund increases in spending on defence and prisons, will be supported by the Bloc which ran on a strong environmental and social platform. Meanwhile, as Harper’s hawkish statements in Afghanistan threaten Canadian security and neutrality, the majority of Canadians, who want us out of the failed Afghanistan war now, are being ignored. Disgraceful, anti-democratic behaviour by both Harper and Bloc leader Duceppe. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Canadian Immigration Department is now harassing and abusing people at the borders.

Environment:

Hornby Bald Eagle Eggs Infertile: You’ve probably heard of the Eagle Cam that has been watching a bald eagle nest night and day for the last month. The photos were absolutely extraordinary. Unfortunately, the eggs were infertile. A second cam has been set up beside another nest, so if you missed it last time, now’s your chance. Thanks to Wild Ginger for the link.

26,000 Species Added to Endangered List: With half the species on the planet headed for extinction in this century, it’s about time.

Climate Science Blog: A group of real climate scientists have an excellent blog. Instead of allowing global warming skeptics to waste your time in debate, justsend them here.

Just for Fun:

Jon Katz Has One Smart Cow: The delightful story of Elvis, the world’s most sociable cow. Thanks to Amar Ashar for the link.

Where I’m Going to Be: I’ll be speaking at Mesh Toronto on How Web 2.0 Can Save the World on Monday May 15, and at the SLA Annual Convention in Baltimore on Environmental Scanning and Knowledge Harvesting on Tuesday June 13. Maybe I’ll see you there.