The Archdruid Report - Archive

Degringolade said...

Have an excellent vacation.

9/6/12, 4:27 AM

Bob Sonnenberg said...

Have a nice break. I am looking forward to your return to blogging.

9/6/12, 6:12 AM

Bill Price said...

Be well, JMG!

9/6/12, 10:44 AM

Zach said...

Have a good break.

I am resisting the temptation to follow the party conventions closely, but this headline caught my eye and made me immediately think of The Archdruid Report:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-america-problems-solved-032217826--election.html

"Know this, America: Our problems can be solved." -- President Barak Obama

Clearly, the President is not reading you and understanding the difference between a problem and a predicament. :)

peace,
Zach

9/7/12, 9:58 AM

willow said...

I will surely miss your posts, but hope your freed-up time is productive for you.

interesting that i read of an incredibly complicated exoskeleton currently being developed by the U.S. Army:

http://www.army-technology.com/features/featuremilitary-exoskeletons-uncovered-ironman-suits-a-concrete-possibility/

here is a small description of the device's capabilities from the article:

"Enhancing or boosting the capabilities of soldiers using a powered exoskeleton poses many advantages, particularly in the logistical field.

Current programmes, such as Raytheon's XOS exoskeleton and Lockheed Martin's human universal load carrier (HULC) have demonstrated greatly improved strength, allowing soldier to carry loads of up to 200lbs for extended periods of time.

This could allow soldiers to undertake tasks such as loading ammunition onto an array of military vehicles without the need of heavy-lift machinery, as well as moving obstacles on the battlefield with ease.

Soldiers would also be capable of running greater distances with reduced fatigue, courtesy of transferring weight to the ground through powered titanium legs."

I thought to myself, soldiers already have a solar powered device that allows them to carry 200 pounds with ease, and also to run great distances--it is called a horse. . . . .

9/7/12, 3:46 PM

Cherokee Organics said...

Hey JMG and everyone,

Hope you are enjoying your holiday and that the writing is pouring forth!

This is a shameless plug to all readers of the ADR for my latest article on the developing food forest here. This article is light on text and heavy on video which makes it easy for everyone.

I hope you can all take the time to check it out (plus the traffic really helps my future writing endeavours too).

Fernglade Farm - Early Spring Update

Thanks and regards to all

Chris

9/14/12, 2:56 AM

Tessa Blue Jones said...

I'm already going through withdrawal. And it's not pretty. ;)

Enjoy!



9/14/12, 3:07 AM

Castus said...

Willow - being a serving military member myself, these pipe dreams of exoskeleton powered soldiers taking over the battlefield are, in my opinion, just that. They might be used in a support position away from the front line but like many pieces of high tech kit, I can see them breaking all the time and requiring an ever more massive logistical train to support them. A waste of time when better training for soldiers accomplishes more.

As for horses - I know that CANSOFCOM (Canadian Special Operations Forces Command) runs 'pack animal courses' so that operators can use the most efficient means of transporting heavy kit, when they're bereft of petroleum powered vehicles. I can see this kind of thing spreading as time goes on, and I'm sure that our allies have similar skillsets. Today these might be confined to small groups of soldiers, but tomorrow they might be mainstay.

9/16/12, 2:36 PM

Sooper said...

A theme that may be dealt after october 3 is the eventual withdrawing of
SPYS. Seriously. Nowadays, industrializednations, specially USA and China, have their eyes everywhere. Considering what they
do (essentially state-sponsored banditism) and what they know
of the underside of government, how
are they going to be withdrawn, and to where? Are thy going to be re-deployed inside to spy on their
own fellow citzens? I think these questions merit eventual debate....
Let me know if you agree.

9/17/12, 5:21 AM

dltrammel said...

While JMG is taking a well deserved vacation from posting, let me invite everyone to stop by Green Wizards.org.

We are discussing a variety of subjects and would love to hear from the readers here.

Some recent topics include:

"Vandwelling - The New Nomad?"

"Guerrila Grafters - Urban Fruit Trees"

"In-the-ground composting"

"Ordered a 2kw solar electric system"

"Vehicular Emergency Equipment"

"USDA Organic Roots Collection - Copies of pre-1940 publications online"

----

You may view topics without registering but to comment you need to.

If you have any trouble registering, please contact me at lapropdoc at sbcglobal dot net.

David

9/18/12, 8:10 AM

dltrammel said...

BTW, I've posted a new thread for people to share the websites, forums and blogs they are reading while the ADR is on vacation over on the Green Wizards forum.

"What Are You Reading While JMG Takes A Break"

Please post your favorites, and if you have a personal blog in the GW field or about the Collapse coming, feel free "pimp your blog",

9/18/12, 2:35 PM

Jess G. Totten said...

Three weeks without an Archdruid post? Will to live - fading. Historical perspective - narrowing. Enjoy your break, JMG.

9/20/12, 10:37 AM

Sue said...

I've found the cure for "Archdruid-Report-Withdrawl" and it is to go back and read this blog from the beginning. (been a regular reader for only a couple of years...)

Wow, it is so rich in nourishing brain food. Also, it is amazing to see how right on your posts turned out to be 4, 5 and 6 years later. I'm only halfway through reading and have to read some of the essays more than once to get more of the nuances.

Thank you for this body of work, John Michael. You and I are the same age. How did you acquire so much wisdom so young? ;)

Sue

9/21/12, 5:41 AM

Christophe said...

I hope you are enjoying your time off. Yet I am missing your insightful commentary on the rolling protests in the muslim world, which the American empire is too weak to stop. The catalyst being a home-brewed/self-inflicted hateful rant, fully protected by our first amendment, highlights the inevitability of empire's decline.

Morris Berman has a wonderful posting at counterpunch all about empiric decay and the paradigm shift accompanying it. May we live in interesting times.... If you haven't seen it yet, it's at
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/20/the-waning-of-the-modern-ages/

Enjoy the rest of your break and the autumnal splendors that arrived right on time with the equinox here in Pittsburgh.

9/22/12, 12:07 PM

Frank Hilliard said...

I'm a latecomer to this game, but I'll join in anyway. The basic point (that war is an evolutionary catalyst) is perfectly true. Everyone is familiar with how WWII brought us jet engines, space rockets and the atomic bomb.

However, I think it's wrong to suggest that the American way of war is partly obsolete due to guerrilla insurgencies.

The key reason for success by insurgencies is that modern wars are being waged at cross purposes. On the one hand we want to beat the enemy; but on the other, we want to reeducate him (as in Afghanistan). The mistake is in thinking you can do these two things at the same time. To educate an enemy one must first visit such devastation upon him that life as he knew it is impossible. America did this to Japan but not to Iraq. Israel has not done it to anyone.

Another way to put this is to say that we have accepted a 'gentlemanly' way of war for our own propaganda reasons, but not for strictly military one.

If, for example, a Western country was to first cut all communication from one country, seal the borders and then begin to wage war; then the scenario I suggested would be possible. It's a lot easier to do this (by artillery bombardment, say) than to look for IED's.

So, I wouldn't count out Western warfare just yet.

9/24/12, 3:13 PM

Bilbo said...

I've missed your blogs and I've wondered what you are up to these days. Then it hit me when I watched a football game recently. John Michael Greer has trimmed his hair a little and become the new spokesman for the NFL.

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/does-odd-man-make-you-want-watch-football-142393

9/28/12, 11:00 AM

messianicdruid said...

"To educate an enemy one must first visit such devastation upon him that life as he knew it is impossible. America did this to Japan but not to Iraq. Israel has not done it to anyone."

Western Civilization seems to be approaching "devastation". Who is doing the educating?

9/28/12, 2:45 PM

William T said...

An interesting commentary up at EnergyBulletin about living with the imperfections in politics - especially for progressives, it can be easy to get negative about all the compromises that end up meaning that the politics of the left is "less than perfect"


http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2012-09-28/rain-our-parade

9/28/12, 10:11 PM

Jim R said...

'Western Civilization seems to be approaching "devastation". Who is doing the educating?'

Josiah Wedgewood. Thomas Malthus. William Thomson. Charles Darwin. Alfred J Lotka. Vito Volterra.

I'm sure JMG has some others to add to that list.

9/30/12, 8:20 AM

Mike said...

John,

Looking forward to your return.

10/1/12, 6:52 AM

messianicdruid said...

"I'm sure JMG has some others to add to that list."

'Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?'

I wouldn't have thought these would be considered enemies.





10/1/12, 8:02 AM

Fabrice said...

Hi JMG,

You say we can extract an infinite quantity of oil with limited resources and you are right but we can build an infinite number of wind turbines. At least in principle.

I have calculated that without Oil and Nuclear, France will need 1 Billion wind turbine with the actual consumption of Energy. At the moment, they are 4000 producing energy.

http://fabricemorisseau.blogspot.hk/2012/08/sea-level-rises-40-cm.html

10/3/12, 1:29 AM

Sooper said...

The truth is not inimical,
but it is the foe of all who deny it.

10/3/12, 5:23 AM

Jim R said...

I see these truth-tellers as enemies of the dominant meme. A lot of effort has gone into discrediting and denying their truths.

10/3/12, 7:41 AM