Biolite stove. Burns wood efficiently

The Biolite Stove uses a thermoelectic fan powered by waste heat from the fire to provide more oxygen. No batteries needed. No need to backpack in fuel. It works off wood and separates the burning gas from wood for a better, more efficient fire.

Tip: Big Gav

Forgotten heroes. Rob Williams. Armed resistance in the civil rights movement

Documentary on his life, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida.

Rob Williams lived in North Carolina in the 50’s, and headed a local chapter of the NAACP. The Klan would often drive into the black part of town, opening fire on homes. The police did nothing to stop it. Williams trained other [...]

The garbage that is Goldman Sachs

After a fun day swindling widows and orphans, the Fab One enjoys sky diving, hoping maybe he could land atop an cripple or two.

Fabrice Tourre, the central figure in the unfolding Goldman Sachs fraud story, bragged about selling Abacus bonds he knew to be garbage to “orphans and widows” seemingly chuckling to himself [...]

Using Dutch dikes to generate power from the tides

Not only would this proposed plan use the tides to create electricity, it would also re-introduce sea water to estuaries and tidal areas that have been cut off for decades, restoring the areas.

The Arizona immigration law

The law targets the wrong people, will solve nothing, and probably lead to increased violence from all sides. But this is more than just racism or xenophobia. In my view, people there are getting scared.

The murder of rancher Robert Krentz on his border ranch, almost certainly by drug smugglers, was the precipitating event [...]

Kleptocrats happy when left and right attack each other

DJ, in comments here, refers to a TruthOut article

Someone forwarded me this link: American Kleptocracy: How Fears of Socialism and Fascism Hide Naked Theft. It suggests that the fascism/socialism hysteria are red herrings to keep us busy while corporations loot the treasury. Funny, I said the same thing a few weeks back. And kleptocracy [...]

House “flipping”, meet house “flopping”

The property is sold as a short sale for an unreasonably low amount, then quickly resold for its true value.

60% say capitalism better than socialism. Rasmussen poll

I’m surprised the number is that low in this nationwide Rasmussen poll. But the results do get muddled, with people seeing a big difference between a free market economy (which they favored more) and capitalism. Um, you can’t have one without the other.

But the difference is because they saw capitalism as implying bailouts [...]

Will toe-to-heel air injection extend the oil age?

Apparently this new technique can extract heavy, viscous oil when no other technique can. But gosh, what could possibly go wrong with setting oil on fire underground to burn off some so as to extract the rest?

Tip: Big Gav, who is a bit leery about the whole process too.

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Goldman Sachs launches charm offensive to protect reputation

Top Goldman officials in London have embarked on a desperate charm offensive following a series of allegations that threaten to do irreparable damage to the reputation of the Wall Street firm.

Good luck with that.