AROUND THE WEB

1. Another thing we cannot necessarily count on is the remarkable geopolitical stability that the world experienced for two long stretches during the fossil fuel age. The first one lasted from the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 to the beginning of World War I in 1914 (interrupted only by the brief Franco-Prussian War). The second lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 until now.
http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2014/08/bubble-time-friends-and-relatives-act.html

2. In his announcement to the world of the latest round of US sanctions against Russia, President Barack Obama attempted to sooth business fears by stating categorically that the spill-over on U.S. companies and those of its allies would be “limited.”
http://wolfstreet.com/2014/08/07/the-old-continents-road-to-ruin-through-moscow/

3. Barack Obama has authorised military airstrikes over northern Iraq in order to “prevent genocide” carried out by Islamist extremists against Christians and other minorities.
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Barack_Obama_approves_airstrikes_in_Iraq/

4. The only thing that can stop it is oil prices,” according to the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources referring to what he called would be “a tremendous turndown” or collapse in prices.

Speaking at a meeting this week in Denver, Scott Sheffield, told the conference the real peak owing to technological advancements could be around 14 million barrels a day. That's a significant difference from the 9.5 million barrels a day that government forecasters have suggested about U.S. oil production in 2016.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/08/06/pioneer-ceo-us-oil-production-could-hit-14-million-barrelsday/

5. A new study from the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, argues that using solar and wind energy may be the most expensive alternatives to carbon-based electricity generation, even though they require no expenditures for fuel.

The paper, by economist Charles Frank, compares the benefits and costs of renewable energy. The benefits range from the lack of emissions to the savings in expenditures for fuels. The costs include the construction and maintenance of these plants, and the drop in power generated when winds are calm or the Sun doesn’t shine. http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Solar-And-Wind-Power-More-Expensive-Than-Thought.html

6. Steve Forbes: One is the economics profession knows less about money than it did a hundred years ago. And they and others have a vested interest in currency instability. Currency trading, now the volume on a daily basis, is over three trillion dollars.

BGG: Currency trading?

Steve Forbes: Currency trading.

BGG: Wow. Just people changing money back and forth trying to get an edge. It’s a huge, huge business. But it’s not really a business.

Steve Forbes: No, gold would put it out of business. They could do something useful, like medical research.
http://www.mining.com/web/sinning-federal-reserve-undermining-the-dollar-steve-forbes/