Dmitry Orlov's Blog, page 2

A new engine for my boat

My boat needs a new engineA Sad Story—but with a Happy End?Late last year, as I was sailing my boat south for the winter, the engine failed. I had only made it as far as the Cape Cod Canal, and was able to get a tow back to Boston. By then it was too late in the season to do anything about the engine, so I let it sit. This year, when I tried to fix it, I discovered extensive internal corrosion. It turns out that the raw water pump had blown its seal and had flooded the engine block with seawater. This is a catastrophic failure: when seawater mixes with engine oil, it forms a corrosive emulsion with the consistency of mayonnaise which inundates every part of the engine. Amazingly, the engine can still be fixed; diesels can be overhauled endlessly. But this engine is a 35-year-old antique, spare parts for it are expensive, it wouldn't be as good as new even after a rebuild, and the repair bill would be close to the price of a new, modern replacement engine that is lighter, quieter, more fuel-efficient and much less polluting.

I normally don't try to make any significant amount of money from my writing/editing/publishing activities—because I don't have to: a combination of frugality and resourcefulness is what keeps us afloat. But once in a great while an unexpected expense, such as this one, pops up, and makes it necessary for me to reach out to my many readers for help. I am happy to continue to do what I do at little or no cost to them, provided I can raise the funds to repower my boat. But if I can't, then I'll have to curtail my writing/editing/publishing in order to concentrate on making money to pay off the engine.

The target amount of this fundraiser is the cost of the replacement engine, delivered, with all the options that are needed to make it work with my boat. It does not include the week or two of labor it will take to install it, since I plan to do all of the work myself.

To date, my blog has been read by 1,813,026 people. If each of my readers donated just one penny, that would more than cover the cost of the new engine. But of course most of them will not donate anything, so it's up to you.

The new engine will increase the value of my boat, a venerable Pearson 365 called Prince Kropotkin, by more than the cost of the engine, and when I sell it (as I eventually will) the money will come back to me, and will enable me to give you more essays and books. So, please don't think of it as an expense: think of it as an investment—in me and in my work.

BETA 35 REPOWER
LIST PRICE: $11,448.65
HIGH RISE STAINLESS EXHAUST ELBOW: $246.50
REAR FACING RAW WATER PUMP: $83.30
REMOTE OIL FILTER KIT: $374.00
VELVET DRIVE MARINE GEAR: $1,997.50
WATER HEATER FITTINGS: $51.00
C-TYPE INSTRUMENT PANEL: $374.00
120-AMP ALTERNATOR: $272.00
FREIGHT TO BOSTON: $309.00

TOTAL: $15,155.95

Crazyland

BanksyA long time ago—almost a quarter of a century—I worked in a research lab, designing measurement and data acquisition electronics for high energy physics experiments. In the interest of providing motivation for what follows, I will say a few words about the job. It was interesting work, and it gave me a chance to rub shoulders (and drink beer) with some of the most intelligent people on the planet (though far too fixated on subatomic particles).

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The Extinction Survey

Tim WhiteThere is a survey currently running on the Doomstead Diner, which asks people to make specific, numerical estimates about the timing of human extinction. It is inspired by the work of Guy McPherson, who has amassed much scientific evidence that points to very major climate disruption occurring over the next 2-3 decades, caused by multiple runaway positive feedback effects, such as Arctic methane release. Guy's conclusion is that these changes will mean that the Earth will no longer provide a habitat for humans, leading to near-term human extinction. His reasoning, as far as I have been able to piece it together, rests on a supposition of time-invariance: the planet will be warmer than it has ever been in human experience; therefore, no humans will survive. This is far short of a proof.
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No, you can't go back to the USSR!

One of the fake stories kept alive by certain American politicians, with the help of western media, is that Vladimir Putin (who, they vacuously claim, is a dictator and a tyrant) wants to reconstitute the USSR, with the annexation of Crimea as the first step.

Instead of listening to their gossip, let's lay out the facts.
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Be afraid. Be very afraid.

A little Friday humor. NATO just held a summit in Turkey, which ended with the assembled foreign ministers drunkenly butchering We Are the World karaoke-style. Enjoy!

America's Achilles' Heel

Heiko MüllerLast Saturday, a massive Victory Parade was held in Moscow commemorating the 70-year anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Red Army and the erection of the Soviet flag atop the Reichstag in Berlin. There were a few unusual aspects to this parade, which I would like to point out, because they conflict with the western official propaganda narrative. First, it wasn't just Russian troops that marched in the parade: the troops of 10 other nations took part in it, including the Chinese honor guard and a contingent of Grenadiers from India. Dignitaries from these nations were present in the stands, and the Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife were seated next to President Vladimir Putin, who, in his speech at the start of the parade, warned against attempts to create a unipolar world—sharp words aimed squarely at the United States and its western allies. Second, a look at the military hardware that rolled through Red Square or flew over it would indicate that, short of an outright nuclear mutual self-annihilation, there isn't much that the US military could throw at Russia that Russia couldn't neutralize.
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First title from Club Orlov Press has been released

I am very happy to announce that our first Club Orlov Press offering is

Now Available for Ordering.
Club Orlov Press is a fledgeling publishing company whose mission is to mitigate some of the drastic changes that are unfolding in the world around us, and that are affecting all of us in some way, by producing transformative books based on the author's personal experience. Unlike the traditional book publishing model, in which everyone at the publishing house draws a nice salary while the author gets paid a pittance, with us the author gets to keep more than half of the cover price. We achieve this by using the latest print-on-demand technology, free software, a streamlined editorial process and zero office space. You can help our venture take off by ordering a copy of this book, and by spreading news of it among your circle of friends.

* * *
This book is a collection of the best essays from Ray Jason's popular "Sea Gypsy Philosopher" blog, which now has readers in over 130 countries. Although he deals with controversial subjects, Ray approaches them in a calm, measured manner and avoids strident rants. His highly readable meditations begin with a poignant vignette from his travels. Some of the volatile topics he addresses include: predatory capitalism, television, American imperialism, religion, the downside of civilization, possible societal collapse and many more.
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The Limits of Propaganda

John BreedAs Paul Craig Roberts has recently reported, the US government is in the process of launching an all-out war on truth. Those who express views contrary to the party line out of Washington will be labeled a threat. Eventually they may find themselves carted to one of the concentration camps which Halliberton (Dick Cheney's old company) has constructed for $385 million. But that may take a while. In the meantime, we can expect lots of other, less dramatic developments. Indeed, some of these are already happening. Here they are, listed in order of severity.
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Notes from a Funeral

Today I received the following report from Club Orlov's special Kiev correspondent, Yu Shan:

Yesterday I was at a funeral. The crowd was well over 500, much more than I originally thought would be possible. It was a deeply emotional event. The man to whom everyone bid farewell was Olesya Buzina, a writer, historian, free thinker, wacky conversationalist, warm friend, a man who identified deeply with both the complex yet incomplete Ukrainian culture and the multifaceted entity of eastern Slavic Orthodox Russian civilization, a man who would not take side easily, and would adhere to his lone stand even when death threats started to arrive at his door step on a weekly basis.

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Club Orlov Press: Editing and Review Process

For the many of you who have submitted proposals already, thank you! We are reviewing your work and will let you know of our decision once we make it. In the meantime, here is what you can expect as your manuscript sails in the general direction of turning into a published book.

When you agree to work with Club Orlov Press, and to use the site and the name as a platform for your book, you're also agreeing to follow our editing and review process. As stated in the initial announcement, "...it's in my interests—and yours—that your ideas find their way to the printed page as clearly, concisely and unassailably as possible." How does this happen?

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