The All things Political Topic - The Night never knew that its end was fleet.

[Zoraptor]

You don't, but the idea was to drive up costs for Russian natural gas until imported US gas got competitive. Which was never going to actually happen, and that was obvious to everyone except... I'm not actually sure it wasn't obvious to US politicians and they just did it to get money out of deluded lobbyists. It is of course possible to import US gas, you just need a lot of ships and a couple of massive terminals, neither of which exist and couldn't for years, and both of which would cost more than Nord Stream 2.

1 hour ago, Hurlsnot said:

Have you heard of our lord and savior, Hydrogen Power?  

I most certainly have. Sadly at the moment a comparison to Jesus and the Second Coming is pretty apt, much as with fusion power. Both are The Future™, and both have been The Future™ for multiple decades while being a few years away from mass adoption.

(To put it in perspective I can still remember a lecture 20ish years ago in chemistry materials about some revolutionary lattice product- the hydrogen atoms would fit nicely into the lattice, and if you applied electricity the lattice would deform and expel them- that would make hydrogen practical as it got both more density than liquid hydrogen/ didn't require super cold or super high pressure, and solved the problem with it tending to leach out. It is mentioned for hydrogen storage now, but still only as a potential rather than practical one)

Edited September 27, 2021 by Zoraptor

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Gfted1 said:

I didnt even know we sold Germany NG. How is that even possible?

Uhm, the EU is the third largest buyer of US liquid natural gas, and both Juncker and Trump were working hard on increasing the volume a ways back. There's no landing terminal for cargo ships carrying liquified natural gas in Germany, but there are several close by, so they're used instead.

NS2 is just far more economically feasible since it takes a rather large amount of energy to liquify natural gas and it is not subject to the problem that caused LNG imports to surge as alternative (i.e. the Ukranian/Russian dispute over prices, among other things, like gas being stolen by the Ukraine).

Or was the question about how the gas actually comes to Europe, well, cargo ships. Which explains why US gas prices simply aren't competitive compared to a pipeline.

1 hour ago, Gfted1 said:

But theres no room in the corner with you always being the first one there. Were gonna need a bigger corner. 

Most rooms have more than one corner, there's plenty of space around.

54 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

You don't, but the idea was to drive up costs for Russian natural gas until imported US gas got competitive

Germany had a political initiative to build liquid natural gas landing terminals a while back after the first time tensions between Ukraine and Russia killed their gas deliveries in the middle of the winter. I'm not entirely certain how far along that is, or if it hasn't been benched yet.

A lot was placating Trump until someone with a little more sense becomes president. Not that I doubt that Juncker meant what he said, he was probably drunk out of his mind and high on the money in his pockets, but that's the sad reality of the political landscape these days.

Edited September 27, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

This forum software sucks.

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/24/texas-congressional-redistricting/

Quote

This will be the first round of political mapmaking in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down provisions to protect voters of color from discrimination. Previously, states with long histories of voting discrimination, like Texas, had to receive approval from the federal government before making any changes to election laws or political maps.

But the Supreme Court essentially did away with that requirement in 2013, leaving no buffer for voters of color if lawmakers pass discriminatory maps.

Since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, Texas has not made it through a single decade without a federal court admonishing it for violating federal protections for voters of color.

Lmao.

3 minutes ago, majestic said:

Most rooms have more than one corner, there's plenty of space around.

Not if you live in a bubble.

Edited September 27, 2021 by KP the meanie zucchini

[Hurlshort]

53 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

(To put it in perspective I can still remember a lecture 20ish years ago in chemistry materials about some revolutionary lattice product- the hydrogen atoms would fit nicely into the lattice, and if you applied electricity the lattice would deform and expel them- that would make hydrogen practical as it got both more density than liquid hydrogen/ didn't require super cold or super high pressure, and solved the problem with it tending to leach out. It is mentioned for hydrogen storage now, but still only as a potential rather than practical one)

Hmm, that sounds pretty close to what I think is happening with my fuel cell vehicle. But I'll admit it is all well over my head. I do feel like there is some good progress being made in California and elsewhere, but I'm also super biased. 

[majestic]

11 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

This forum software sucks.

Indeed.

12 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Not if you live in a bubble.

[Gfted1]

Yeah, you definitely dont want our NG in that case.  Herr Merkel better toe the line.

[Gorth]

The UK is feeling various aftereffects of Brexit... besides food shortages and unrest in Northern Ireland, they now also face fuel shortages:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58713770

"If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel."

 

Tl;dr; The UK is running out of truck/lorry drivers to move the fuel from the fuel terminals to the retailers

[Malcador]

I am just going out on a wild limb and guessing that the HGV companies underpay.

[213374U]

4 hours ago, Gorth said:

Tl;dr; The UK is running out of truck/lorry drivers to move the fuel from the fuel terminals to the retailers

Sadly, it's a problem that is neither exclusive to Britain nor a consequence of Brexit -- though obviously HM's Government's lack of foresight and utter lack of interest in managing Brexit has only made it worse. The best example of this incompetence is the 5k visas they are offering where it's estimated that they need 100k drivers.

Money's not terrible either -- ~£30k on average from what I read, for a job with a fairly low entry barrier. Conditions are grueling of course, and there's the risk of the whole thing being automated in the future, rendering drivers obsolete overnight... before 2030.

https://www.politico.eu/article/europes-looming-truck-driver-shortage-trucker-haulier-brexit-hgv/

[BruceVC]

5 hours ago, Gorth said:

The UK is feeling various aftereffects of Brexit... besides food shortages and unrest in Northern Ireland, they now also face fuel shortages:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58713770

"If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel."

 

Tl;dr; The UK is running out of truck/lorry drivers to move the fuel from the fuel terminals to the retailers

Gothfuscious, this current fuel shortage is real but its reasons and long term impact have been exaggerated and in some cases studiously misunderstood 

The best way for me to explain this is from your article at the bottom

Factors including Brexit, the pandemic, pay levels and an aging workforce have all contributed to a shortage of lorry drivers.

After the UK left the European Union, many European drivers went back to their home countries, or decided to work elsewhere because of the additional border bureaucracy and the impact it had on their income.

The pandemic also prompted many foreign drivers to return home and led to a huge backlog in HGV driver exams. Driver shortages have also been seen in EU countries, including Germany and Poland.

 

So its  several factors outside of just BREXIT and the UK has been reviewing visas and other work requirements and this is excatly what is required as part of a UK reality now that its left the EU. And you will expect problems and you cannot predict impact impact from the pandemic 

And I must add I was about  to disagree with 2133  until I read what he was saying and  his article highlights the systemic realities with  aspects of the whole EU and he is correct , to quote 

The EU is grappling with a driver shortage of its own. The problem existed in both the U.K. and the EU even before the pandemic — in 2019 some 24 percent of trucker positions were unfilled in the U.K., while 22 percent were unfilled in Poland, according to the International Road Transport Organisation (IRU). In the Czech Republic, 21 percent were unfilled; in Spain, 20 percent.

The lockdowns caused more chaos, with many drivers initially forced out of work, leaving the industry scrambling to fill jobs as economies reopened.

So this UK driver shortage will be resolved but temporary solutions are already been implemented like deploying military drivers. Parts of the UK and global media are turning this into an unnecessary crisis and blaming it on BREXIT only 

Edited September 28, 2021 by BruceVC

[Gorth]

5 minutes ago, BruceVC said:

So this UK driver shortage will be resolved but temporary solutions are already been implemented like deploying military drivers. Parts of the UK and global media are turning this into an unnecessary crisis and blaming it on BREXIT only 

I would probably disagree that "someone" is turning this into an unnecessary crisis. I would argue, a crisis is never necessary

As for reasons, yeah, I did check The Guardian later, who had a few numbers too...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/24/what-is-causing-the-uk-crisis-in-petrol-supplies

How bad are the lorry driver shortages?

The industry estimates there is a gap of 100,000 lorry drivers partly due to Covid and partly Brexit. About 25,000 HGV drivers from the EU left during 2020 and did not return, and there is a backlog of 40,000 waiting to take their HGV tests. The Road Haulage Association says the government is not taking the problem seriously enough. “The average age of a truck driver in the UK is 57, every day this problem is just getting worse as more and more retire,” said Rod McKenzie, managing director of policy and public affairs at the RHA.

 

Hey, @Keyrock ever fancied moving to Europe???

[BruceVC]

4 minutes ago, Gorth said:

I would probably disagree that "someone" is turning this into an unnecessary crisis. I would argue, a crisis is never necessary

 

You young people are cheeky sometimes, always respect your elders !! 

[Keyrock]

59 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Hey, @Keyrock ever fancied moving to Europe???

It's not out of the question. If nothing else, I could always go back to the motherland.

[Raithe]

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/anonymous-new-epik-leak

God damn.

The leak would uncover everything from right-wing domains targeted with subpoenas and attempts by conservative Ali Alexander to hide his ties to election fraud conspiracy websites in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The second leak of Epik data comes just days after the Oath Keepers militia, a group who began using Epik’s services in January, was allegedly hacked as well. The paramilitary group’s emails, internal chats and data on members and donors, including those who work for the U.S. government and military, would be exposed as a result.

Edited September 29, 2021 by KP the meanie zucchini

[Raithe]

[Raithe]

Also, for another economic / semi-political issue for discussion...

Edited September 29, 2021 by Raithe

[ComradeYellow]

Communists stage Moscow protest against vote-rigging in Russia election (msn.com)

Eh, always remember peeps, Russians will always seem to have it far worse than we do.

We managed to get rid of Trump with a little scuffle but in Russia, the ruling government literally does seem to have rigged the elections, as there is no way in Hell all those young tech savvy people voted unanimously for Putin with online voting, as the results suggest.

Why have I turned my guns on Putin?  Because I like the CPRF better than I do UR and the era of cooperation appears to be over and Putin supporters are now invoking crass right wing rhetoric against CPRF supporters.

All it takes is gaining big traction in elections then people show their true colors.  "Sure I like you, as long as you remain small and not a threat of course!"

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Edited September 30, 2021 by ComradeYellow

[Raithe]

For the social media snark...

[Gromnir]

20 hours ago, Raithe said:

Also, for another economic / semi-political issue for discussion...

image

is just not a meme worthy topic.

musk is not cheating on his taxes or taking advantage o' some kinda rich person loophole, at least not at the fed level which is what the meme is addressing. and the bigger issue is that the vast majority americans support the current scheme which allows musk to pay at a relative low tax rate.

even after the great recession, americans is overinvested in their homes and small business owners is understandably even more dangerous tethered to the financial success o' their business. too many americans got a retirement plan which is large dependent on the sale o' their home or business, and while home ownership is becoming more difficult, most americans still foresee themselves as future homeowners. 

capital gains. have mentioned previous, so is kinda a broken record thing, but where the us tax scheme is most obvious in need o' a fix, other than hedge fund exception which wouldn't apply to musk anyways, is the exceeding low capital gains tax rate we got in the us. 0/15/20. depending on your income, you pay either 0%, 15% or 20% when you sell a long-term investment and that investment makes money. if you make over ~$445k per year, then on your capital gains you pay 20% (with a possible 3.8% increase), which is considerable less than 37%, no? 'course most americans face capital gains tax as a relative small % o' their yearly tax burden, unless they sell a house or business. many americans depend on capital gains being low as is part o' their retirement plan to sell house and/or business. 

fed income tax bracket for musk is 37%, but chances are for the majority o' the money he makes in a year, the rate he pays is gonna be in the 20% range. add in fact that the ultra rich has business and foundation resources which means they as often as not they ain't personal paying for travel or even housing expenses. is not sneaky. americans is always reluctant to pay taxes. no doubt you has heard the wails ' o the taxation is theft persons, yes? so when is explained that rich people in california and ny, 'tween state and fed, is already paying more than 50% on income tax and that those rich people is paying more than the vast majority o' americans for capital gains, americans end up finding themselves defending the musks, bezos, buffets and gates from the dirty scoundrels in washington trying to steal the money they earned. 

tax the rich plans from Presidential candidates is rare practical. such plans is meant to appeal to people in same way as slogans such as make america great again. is puffery. however, there is solutions to taxation inequity but such requires a bit o' education and patience and those qualities is in short supply on both sides o' the aisle these days. a good start would be overhauling capital gains, which is actual part o' the biden plan that would raise the capital gains rate substantial, but only for those making $1million per year or more. 

unfortunate, capital gains is not meme worthy, so is likely doa. 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited September 30, 2021 by Gromnir
spelled musk as "mush" a couple times. we believe such were an accident and not some kinda subconscious thing

[Raithe]

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, Raithe said:

 

If there is one good thing social media has done, it's dispelling the myth of meritocracy. 

[Gromnir]

3 hours ago, Raithe said:

image

by now is obvious Gromnir is not a meme guy, and am also old. nevertheless, our first thought after viewing your linked tweet were as follows:

HA! Good Fun!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-entertainment-europe-arts-and-entertainment-royalty-25b7dbdaaafd46a5e95df14c7d2f3b39

As funny as all these coming tell-all books are, I get the feeling that maybe some of this stuff shouldn't have been held back before a book deal. It would have been nice to know that Trump didn't like his lawyers telling him that something he wanted to do was illegal when he was still in the position to send in the troops.

[rjshae]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:54 AM, Raithe said:

 

I wonder if they ever trolled him with Yakety Sax?