Risky business

Life on Earth is a function of geology. The rocks shaped life, and continue to shape us. Importantly, they shape modern technology. Everything, from the pain on the walls to the keyboard I type with started with someone extracting specific coalitions of atoms from out of the Earth.

So the British Geological Society's "Risk List" makes for fascinating reading. It ranks the worlds elemental resources according to scarcity and risk of supply (including political governance).

Shock news - China accounts for 97% of all rare Earth metals - you know, those pesky ones we need for high technology (and probably the odd medicine). China is the chief source for 27 minerals - well over half.

As demand for metals and minerals increases, driven by relentless growth in the emerging economies in Asia and South America, competition for resources is growing. Human factors such as geopolitics , resource nationalism, along with events such as strikes and accidents are the most likely to disrupt supply. Policy-makers, industry and consumers should be concerned about supply risk and the need to diversify supply from Earth resources, from recycling more and doing more with less, and also about the environmental implications of burgeoning consumption.

It's hateful to think that war could result over access to these minerals -- and in the case of China, unthinkably horrible. What this illustrates is how we are dependent upon the same Earth, and can only succeed by full global, human co-operation, instead of trying to screw each other based on a capacity to deny access to patches of territory. The report, as it makes clear on the BBC is partly intended to promote policy makers to open up new deposits and diversify supply. Especially as demand for these minerals continues to rise:

Mobile phones embrace the use of these technology metals, with lithium batteries, indium in the screen, and REEs [Rare Earth Elements] in the circuitry.

With over 50 million new phones being made every year, the "volume of technology metals required is astonishing and the pace of demand is not letting up", said Alan McLelland of the National Metals Technology Centre.

Just a final note, The Democratic Republic of Congo is the chief source of Cobalt - that was a contributing factor of the War that saw 11 million die there.

Round up on a crisis

It's been hard to know what to write over the last few months - so much has been happening, yet so little - I just couldn't bring myself to comment on the ins and outs of George Bush becoming the biggest failure in history (I mean, a pretty rabid right Republican president carrying out one of the most swinging nationalisations in history, he should get an order of Lenin award).

I'll just pip in with a small observation - in the 1930's international competition for finance, particularly the US cornering the market in gold - lead to a deepening of the crisis and war. This time round, the liberal democracies of the world have co-operated, and the various national capitalist classes have fallen in with the establishment in taking action to secure their future.

That is all. A blip. Let's move on and talk about socialising the economy so we won't have to go through this again.

p.s. Unemployment is >begining to rise at the time of the Great Depression unemployment of 1 million was seen as a national calamity - today that is the base line, they reckon we'll hit two - lets hope not more, I remember what 20% unemployment on Teesside looked like in the 80's - let's no go back, eh? This is something to worry about - lets hunker behind our unions while we organise a political fight back.

Luke the Nuke rides again.

Cold warriors never die, they just hibernate, and wait for the moment to begin their deluded blood thirsty cries of antagonism, opposition and rearmament.

Luke the Nuke is back

Well, it seems that the Russian stakes are rising:

According to the BBC :

Two new RAF Typhoon jets shadowed a Russian bomber heading for Britain, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The jets were scrambled on Friday 17 August to identify the Russian aircraft, which turned back before it reached UK skies.

and:

The old firm say

Last Thursday a Russian mini-submarine descended to the seabed two-and-a-half miles under the North Pole. But this was not just a scientific expedition and achievement. The main aim was to plant a Russia flag there. In other words, to claim the sovereignty of the Russian State over the area.

Other recent stories include the Czechs discovering that their pipeline to Norway is actually pumping them Russian oil (so they are totally dependent on Russia), and of course the recent spate of murder campaigns by Russia in cutting off oil during the middle fo winters.

Cold warriors are wetting themselves about a return to the good old days, and the continuing justification it gives to massive military budgets. Of course, the fact taht NATO has continued to harrass and encircle Russia - the clear intent is to have Western military domination over former Rsussian spheres of influence.

What with the recent Radio 4 series about China's military build up: Shadow of the Dragon it does seem that the so-called peace dividend is coming to an end - that is, if we listen to, and let the cold war dingbat hawks get their way. Now is the time to start talking serious disarmament in order to put a stop to a nasty cycle - after all, if the stock market correction continues, we'll all be hearing how the Great Depression led to WWII...

It's warrrrrrrrrrr!! And we're all gonna die! pt. 2

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!! Chinese space commies have shot down an old satellite. Not sending any messages to the US there then, are they "We can knock out your satellite systems, gner gner gneh gner gner!"

"But China stresses that it has consistently advocated the peaceful development of outer space and it opposes the arming of space and military competition in space," he told a news conference.

"China has never, and will never, participate in any form of space arms race."

I'm so glad they would never publicly and ostentatiously develop weapons to challenge their political and strategic rvals - that would make me feel worried if they did.

So, that's the news today - Queer Chinese Commies from Space are going to steal your babies and send them into orbit with the help of Bushitler Bliar.

Sleep well, don't have nightmares.