Open Thread 2022-27 (Not Ukraine)
News and views NOT related to Ukraine ...Posted by b on March 16, 2022 at 14:29 UTC | Permalink
I don't know if this has been posted before, but it seems significant, since Saudi Arabia is essential in the Petrodollar system since 5 decades ago.
From RT: Saudi Arabia considers selling oil in yuan – media
Top oil producer distances itself from petrodollar hegemonySaudi Arabia is considering selling some of its oil to China in yuan rather than dollars, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, citing “active talks” between Riyadh and Beijing. Such a move could further marginalize the petrodollar paradigm that has controlled the global financial system for over half a century, placing the dollar’s status as the international reserve currency at risk.
China buys over a quarter of the oil exported by Saudi Arabia, meaning that denominating those deals in yuan would significantly boost the international profile of the Chinese currency. Currently, 80% of global oil sales are transacted in dollars, with the Saudis trading exclusively in the US currency since 1974 – when Washington offered Riyadh security guarantees in exchange for its loyalty to the petrodollar system.
It really looks like the Petrodollar is in terminal decline.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 15:10 utc | 2
Trying again, this post just went "poof" on first and second attempt. I will now remove the link to RT and try again. RT reports:
Saudi Arabia considers selling oil in yuan – media
Top oil producer distances itself from petrodollar hegemonySaudi Arabia is considering selling some of its oil to China in yuan rather than dollars, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, citing “active talks” between Riyadh and Beijing. Such a move could further marginalize the petrodollar paradigm that has controlled the global financial system for over half a century, placing the dollar’s status as the international reserve currency at risk.
China buys over a quarter of the oil exported by Saudi Arabia, meaning that denominating those deals in yuan would significantly boost the international profile of the Chinese currency. Currently, 80% of global oil sales are transacted in dollars, with the Saudis trading exclusively in the US currency since 1974 – when Washington offered Riyadh security guarantees in exchange for its loyalty to the petrodollar system.
It really looks like the Petrodollar is in terminal decline.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 15:15 utc | 3
ok. global warming is real, and is not a plot by a band of evil scientists to oppress helpless gigantic fossil fuel corporations. now back to Ukraine.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Mar 16 2022 15:26 utc | 4
Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 15:15 utc | 2
rt news has an article quoting putin.. your article supports the same.. alternatives are being strongly encouraged and or found in the present tense..
"Speaking on Wednesday, the Russian head of state proclaimed that the “myth of the Western welfare state, of the so-called golden billion, is crumbling.” Moreover, it is the “whole planet that is having to pay the price for the West’s ambitions, and its attempts to retain its vanishing dominance at any cost,” Putin said."
Posted by: james | Mar 16 2022 15:55 utc | 5
Global Times says ditto re Saudi oil, just announced after the insulting Jake 'ratso' Sullivan flew out of Geneva. Nice touch China.
The good news just keeps piling up if you can see it all :)
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 16 2022 16:05 utc | 6
It really looks like the Petrodollar is in terminal decline.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 15:15 utc | 2
Yes and it also looks like the House of Saud's security is in terminal decline. :)
The HTOE is saying that China is trading away its rights to Saudi oil in exchange for Taiwan and Iraq which it received last year. This theater about Saudi selling in yuan is just a pretext for the arranged US regime change, which probably will not happen until Gabbard is prez, because china (and others) can't have that resource flow disrupted yet. Gabbard, though an anti-imperialist, hates Wahabbism more than anything, and her anti-jihadi counter-terror focus will fill the need for the US need to continue to secure Saudi Oil. Saudi Arabia is just an American protectorate after all. Without the elite it would just be a desert.
Posted by: reante | Mar 16 2022 16:10 utc | 7
"It really looks like the Petrodollar is in terminal decline."
It really looks like MoA is in terminal decline. The number of people ranting over being censored is now more than the allowable Stepford/Barbie/Ken white bread posts that are allowed by brooding Jutes with no sense of humor.
Posted by: Bo Robinson | Mar 16 2022 16:36 utc | 8
For those unable to access the Kremlin website, here's today's events. First, "Decree on measures to ensure socio-economic stability and protection of the population in Russia":
"In order to ensure socio-economic stability and protection of the population in the Russian Federation, including in connection with the introduction of political, economic, and other sanctions against the Russian Federation, its citizens or legal entities and (or) the termination of the activities of employers, I resolve:
1. The highest officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, taking into account the geographical features of the respective territories, shall take exhaustive measures to ensure socio-economic stability, including:
a) adoption of additional measures of targeted support for various categories of citizens of the Russian Federation who find themselves in a difficult life situation, as well as, if necessary, decisions on the implementation of one-time cash payments to citizens of the Russian Federation, including the definition of the procedure and conditions for making such payments;
b) maintaining the availability of social services for citizens of the Russian Federation;
c) uninterrupted functioning of life-support facilities, transport, logistics, social infrastructure, education, healthcare, social services, energy, industry and communications;
d) conducting operational monitoring of retail prices for essential goods, medicines, medical devices and their availability in trade organizations;
e) implementation of additional measures aimed at eliminating the increased demand for certain types of goods, works, services;
f) conducting operational monitoring of the situation on the labor market and implementing measures to proactively support employment (including the organization of retraining and advanced training);
g) providing organizations, individual entrepreneurs, self-employed citizens with support measures, including targeted, in the form of providing funds, other property, other benefits and preferences, including establishing the features of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state needs and the needs of individual legal entities, including for the implementation of development projects;
h) adoption of additional measures to support socially-oriented non-profit organizations engaged in social services, social support and protection of citizens of the Russian Federation, assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons, activities in the field of patriotic education of citizens of the Russian Federation, promotion of internal labor migration;
i) taking other measures aimed at ensuring socio-economic stability and protection of the population in the Russian Federation, including those provided for by Federal Law No. 68-FZ of December 21, 1994 "On the Protection of the Population and Territories from Natural and Man-Made Emergencies"."
Second, the following transcript is incomplete, but a video is available at the following link "Meeting on measures of socio-economic support for the regions":
"President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon.
Our meeting is attended by government leaders, presidential plenipotentiary representatives in the federal districts, and heads of Russian regions.
We are meeting at a difficult time, when our Armed Forces are conducting a special military operation in Ukraine and Donbas. Let me remind you that at the very beginning of it, in the early morning of February 24, I publicly and openly named the reasons and the main goal of Russia's actions. This is assistance to our people in the Donbas, who for almost eight years were subjected to real genocide by the most barbaric methods – blockade, large-scale punitive actions, terrorist attacks and constant artillery shelling. And for what? Only for the fact that they sought basic human rights – to live according to the laws and traditions of their ancestors, to speak their native language, to raise their children the way they want.
At the same time, the Kiev authorities not only ignored and sabotaged the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures for the Peaceful Settlement of the Crisis throughout all these years, but at the end of last year they publicly refused to implement it altogether.
They have also begun to put into practice plans to join NATO. Moreover, there were also statements by the Kiev authorities about their intention to create their own nuclear weapons and their means of delivery. It was a real threat. Already in the foreseeable future, with foreign technical assistance, the pro-Nazi regime in Kiev could get its hands on weapons of mass destruction, and the target for it, of course, would be Russia.
In Ukraine, there was also a network of dozens of laboratories where military biological programs were conducted under the leadership and with the financial support of the Pentagon, including experiments with samples of coronavirus, anthrax, cholera, African swine fever and other deadly diseases. Traces of these secret programs are now being intensively tried to cover up. But we have every reason to believe that in the immediate vicinity of Russia, on the territory of Ukraine, in fact, biological weapons components were created.
Our repeated warnings that such a development poses a direct threat to Russia's security have been rejected by Ukraine and its patrons in the United States and NATO, with ostentatious and cynical disdain.
Thus, all diplomatic options were completely exhausted. We were simply left with no options to peacefully solve problems that arise through no fault of our own. And in this regard, we were simply forced to launch a special military operation.
The appearance of Russian troops near Kiev and other cities of Ukraine is not connected with the intention to occupy this country. We do not have such a goal, and I also explicitly stated this in my address on February 24.
As for the tactics of combat operations, which were developed by the Ministry of Defense of Russia and our General Staff, they have fully justified themselves. And our guys – soldiers and officers – show courage and heroism, do everything that depends on them to avoid losses among the civilian population of Ukrainian cities.
I want to say this for the first time: at the very beginning of the operation in the Donbas, the Kiev authorities were asked through various channels, in order to avoid senseless bloodshed, not to enter into hostilities, but simply to withdraw their troops from the Donbass. They didn't want to. Well, that's their decision. Awareness of what is happening in the real world, on the ground, will inevitably come.
The operation is developing successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans.
I would like to note that Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a scenario of force, carnage and ethnic cleansing in Donbass. A massive offensive into the Donbas and then crimea was only a matter of time. And our Armed Forces foiled these plans.
Kiev was not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against Donbass– they were fighting it. Attempts to organize sabotage and terrorist underground in Crimea did not stop. In recent years, hostilities have continued in the Donbas, shelling of peaceful settlements. During this time, almost 14,000 civilians were killed, among them children.
On March 14, as you know, a missile strike was launched on the center of Donetsk. It was an outright bloody terrorist attack that claimed the lives of more than 20 people. And such shelling has been going on in recent days. They beat indiscriminately, in squares, with fanaticism and frenzy of the doomed, like fascists who in the last days of the Third Reich tried to drag with them to the grave as many innocent victims as possible.
But what is striking in its exorbitant cynicism is not only Kiev's shameless lies, statements that it was Russia (they thought of this!) that allegedly launched a missile at Donetsk, but also the fact that the so-called civilized Western world, the European and American press did not even notice the tragedy of Donetsk, as if nothing had happened.
Just as hypocritically, they have averted their eyes for the past eight years, when mothers in the Donbas buried their children. When old people were killed. It's just some kind of moral, moral degradation, complete dehumanization.
The long-term mockery of the residents of Donbass could no longer be tolerated. And in order to put an end to the genocide, Russia recognized the people's republics of Donbass, concluded treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with them. On the basis of these agreements, the republics appealed to our country for military assistance in repelling aggression. And we provided this assistance – we simply could not, we had no right to do otherwise.
But what I want to stress and ask you to pay attention to this is that if our troops had acted only on the territory of the people's republics, helped them to liberate their land, this would not have become a final decision, would not have led to peace and would not have eliminated the threat to our country, already to Russia. On the contrary, a new front line would lie around donbass and along its borders, shelling and provocations would continue. That is, the armed conflict would drag on indefinitely, be fueled by the revanchist hysteria of the Kiev regime, and NATO's military infrastructure in Ukraine would unfold even faster and more aggressively: we would be confronted with the fact that the shock and offensive weapons of the Alliance are already at our borders.
Let me repeat that we had no other option for self-defense, for ensuring Russia's security, except for conducting a special military operation. And all the tasks set, of course, will be solved. We will reliably ensure the security of Russia and our people and will never allow Ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against our country. [My Emphasis]
To be continued....
Recently commenter Julianna posted a link to a Naked Capitalism post:
The must read part is really at the bottom of the post, a text called "The death of a nation". It deals with the collapse of the Russian economy in the 90ies following the neoliberal shock therapy.
For those of us in the West, the question is: is it our turn now? For the US it is certainly a possibility with the demise of the dollar as the world reserve currency.
Posted by: Robert Macaire | Mar 16 2022 16:49 utc | 10
@karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 16:45 utc | 8
Thanks a lot for posting, even if it is about Ukraine... Interesting regarding the request to simply withdraw from Donbass without hostilities. I agree with the description of the wests shocking moral degradation, complete dehumanization. Also, the reason for going beyond Donbass is clear.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 17:03 utc | 11
Zero Hedge: Water Pumps At Fukushima's Nuke Plant Halted; Bullet Train Derails After Powerful Japan Quake
Reports indicate a magnitude 7.3 earthquake has struck off Fukushima, Japan, as a tsunami advisory has been issued, according to NHK World-Japan.
--
What did Japan do this time?
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 17:19 utc | 12
@pretzelattack #3
Good news for you: we get to, as a society, learn just how much (or little) fossil fuels actually matter.
As Europeans are learning now...
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 16 2022 17:32 utc | 13
Saw something the other day that Victoria Nuland had found time in her busy schedule to make a visit to Colombia. Any news or rumors regarding that?
Posted by: c | Mar 16 2022 17:34 utc | 14
The transcript @8 continues. All emphasis is mine:
It was the fundamental issues for Russia, for our future – the neutral status of Ukraine, demilitarization and denazification – that we were ready and are now ready to discuss during the talks. Our country has done everything to organize and conduct these negotiations, realizing that it is necessary to use every opportunity to save people and their lives.
But we are convinced again and again that the Kiev regime, to which its Western masters have set the task of creating an aggressive "anti-Russia", does not care about the fate of the people of Ukraine itself. The fact that people are dying, the fact that hundreds of thousands, millions have become refugees, the fact that in the cities held by neo-Nazis and their armed criminals released from prisons, there is a real humanitarian catastrophe – everything does not matter.
It is also obvious to us that Western patrons are simply pushing the Kiev authorities to continue the bloodshed. They are being supplied with new shipments of weapons, intelligence, and other assistance, including the dispatch of military advisers and mercenaries.
As a weapon, they have chosen economic, financial, trade and other sanctions against Russia, which are now hitting the Europeans and Americans themselves, by the way, through the rising prices of gasoline, energy, food, through the loss of jobs associated with the Russian market. And there is no need here, as they say, to shift from a sick head to a healthy one, blaming our country for everything.
I want ordinary citizens of Western countries to hear me: they are now persistently trying to convince you that all your difficulties are the result of some hostile actions of Russia, that from your own wallet you need to pay for the fight against the mythical Russian threat. It's all a lie.
The truth is that the current problems faced by millions of people in the West are the result of years of actions by the ruling elites of their states, their mistakes, short-sightedness and ambition. These elites are not thinking about how to improve the lives of their citizens in countries. They are obsessed with their vested interests and super-profits.
Evidence of this is the data of international organizations that directly say that social problems, even in the leading Western countries, have only worsened in recent years, that inequality, the gap between the rich and poor are growing, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of a Western welfare society, of the so-called golden billion, is crumbling.
Let me repeat that today the entire planet has to pay precisely for the ambitions of the West, for its attempts by any means to maintain its elusive dominance.
The imposition of sanctions is a logical continuation, a concentrated expression of the irresponsible, short-sighted policies of the governments and central banks of the United States and the EU countries. In recent years, it has been they who have dispersed the spiral of global inflation with their own hands, led to the growth of global poverty and increased inequality, to new flows of refugees around the world. And this begs the question: Who will now be responsible for the millions of starvation deaths in the world's poorest countries due to growing food shortages?
I repeat, a serious blow has been dealt to the entire global economy and trade, to confidence in the US dollar as the main reserve currency.
Thus, illegitimate actions to freeze part of the Bank of Russia's foreign exchange reserves draw a line under the reliability of so-called first-class assets. In fact, both the United States and the EU have declared a real default on their obligations to Russia. Now everyone knows that financial reserves can simply be stolen. And seeing this, many countries in the near future can begin – I am sure that this will happen – to convert their paper and digital savings into real reserves in the form of commodities, land, food, gold, and other real assets, which will only increase the deficit in these markets.
I would like to add that the seizure of foreign assets, accounts of Russian companies and individuals is a lesson for national business, that there is nothing more reliable than investing in your own country. I've said this personally many times.
We appreciate the position of those foreign companies that, despite the shameless pressure from the United States and its vassals, continue to work in our country. In the future, they will certainly receive additional opportunities for development.
We also know those who cowardly betrayed their partners, forgot about their responsibility to employees and customers in Russia, hurried to earn ghostly dividends by participating in the anti-Russian campaign. At the same time, unlike Western countries, we will respect property rights.
What do I want to emphasize? We must clearly understand that a new package of sanctions and restrictions against us would have followed in any development of events. I want to emphasize this. Our military operation in Ukraine for the West is only a pretext for the next sanctions. Yes, of course, they are now concentrated. But in the same way, the referendum in Crimea, which took place on March 16, 2014, exactly eight years ago, during which Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their free choice to be together with their historical Motherland, became the same [occasion] for them, for Westerners.
I repeat: we are talking only about the reasons. But the policy of containment, weakening of Russia, including through economic isolation, blockade, is a conscious, long-term strategy. The leaders of the West themselves no longer hide the fact that the sanctions are not directed against individuals or companies, their goal is to strike at our entire domestic economy, at our social and humanitarian sphere, at every family, every citizen of Russia.
In fact, such steps aimed at worsening the lives of millions of people have all the signs of aggression and war by economic, political and information means. It is total, undisguised, and, I repeat, the so-called Western political beau monde does not even hesitate to talk about it in direct text.
All the verbal tinsel about political correctness, the inviolability of private property, freedom of speech – all this flew away overnight. Even the Olympic principles were trampled upon. They did not hesitate to settle scores with the Paralympians – this is such a "sport beyond politics".
In many Western countries, people are subjected to real harassment today just because they come from Russia: they refuse medical care, expel children from schools, deprive their parents of their jobs, ban Russian music, culture, literature. Trying to "abolish" Russia, the West tore off all the masks of decency, began to act in a boorish way, demonstrated its true nature. There are just direct analogies with the anti-Semitic pogroms that the Nazis staged in Germany in the 30s of the last century, and then their henchmen from many European countries who joined Hitler's aggression against our country during the Great Patriotic War.
A massive attack has also been launched against Russia in cyberspace. An unprecedented information campaign has been unleashed, in which global social networks and all Western media are involved, the objectivity and independence of which turned out to be simply a myth. Access to information is limited, people are stuffed with a huge number of fakes, propaganda fakes, in other words, "fake". It came to the point that one of the American social networks directly stated the possibility of publications calling for the murder of Russian citizens.
We understand the resource of this empire of lies, but it is still powerless against truth and justice. Russia will consistently convey its position to the whole world. And our position is honest and open, and more and more people hear it, understand it and share it.
I want to say very frankly: behind the hypocritical conversations and today's actions of the so-called collective West there are hostile geopolitical goals. They do not need, they simply do not need a strong and sovereign Russia, they will not forgive us either for our independent course or for defending our national interests.
We remember how they supported separatism, terrorism, encouraging terrorists and bandits in the North Caucasus. As in the 1990s and early 2000s, they want to repeat the attempt to squeeze us, to put pressure, as they say, to drive after Mozhai, as they say, to turn us into a weak, dependent country, to violate territorial integrity, to dismember Russia in the best possible way for them. It didn't work out for them then, and it won't work out now.
Yes, of course, they will try to rely on the so-called fifth column, on national traitors, on those who earn money here, here, but live there, and "live" not even in the geographical sense of the word, but according to their thoughts, according to their slave consciousness.
I am not at all judging those who have a villa in Miami or on the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms. This is absolutely not the problem, but, I repeat, the fact that many of these people are inherently mentally located there, and not here, not with our people, not with Russia. That's what they think it is– in their opinion! - A sign of belonging to the upper caste, to the higher race. Such people are ready to sell their mother, if only they were allowed to sit in the hallway at this highest caste. They want to be like her, imitating her in every possible way. But they forget or do not understand at all that this so-called upper caste needs them, if at all, as expendable material to use them to inflict maximum damage on our people.
The collective West is trying to split our society, speculating on combat losses, on the socio-economic consequences of sanctions, to provoke a civil confrontation in Russia and, using its "fifth column", seeks to achieve its goal. And the only goal, as I have already said, is the destruction of Russia.
But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out, like a midge accidentally flew into their mouths, spit them out on the panel. I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges.
The so-called collective West and its "fifth column" are accustomed to measuring everything and everyone by themselves. They believe that everything is sold and everything is bought, and therefore they think that we will break down, retreat. But they don't know our history and our people well.
Yes, many countries in the world have long resigned themselves to living with their backs bent and obsequiously accepting all the decisions of their sovereign, looking subserviently into his eyes. This is how many countries live. Unfortunately, in Europe as well.
But Russia will never be in such a miserable and humiliated state, and the struggle we are waging is a struggle for our sovereignty, for the future of our country and our children. We will fight for the right to be and remain Russia. An example to us is the courage and perseverance of our soldiers and officers, faithful defenders of the Fatherland.
Dear colleagues!
It is obvious that the events taking place draw a line under the global dominance of Western countries both in politics and in the economy. Moreover, they question the economic model that has been imposed on developing countries and indeed on the world in recent decades.
I emphasize that the sanctions obsession of the United States and its supporters is not shared by countries where more than half of the world's population lives. It is these states that represent the rapidly growing, most promising part of the global economy. Among them is Russia.
Yes, it's not easy for us now. Russian financial companies, large enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses are facing unprecedented pressure.
The banking system was the first to be hit by sanctions, but Russian banks coped with this challenge. Working literally around the clock, they continue to make payments and settlements of citizens, to ensure the activities of enterprises.
The second wave of sanctions was designed to provoke panic in the trade sphere. It is estimated that over the past three weeks, the additional demand for goods has exceeded a trillion rubles. But domestic manufacturers, suppliers, transport and logistics companies have done everything to avoid a large-scale shortage in retail chains.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian business community, the labor collectives of companies, banks and organizations that not only provide an effective response to sanctions challenges, but also lay the foundation for the further sustainable development of our economy. I would like to note separately the Government, the Bank of Russia, the heads of the regions, and regional and municipal teams. In the current difficult conditions, you responsibly solve the tasks facing you.
Obviously, it was not possible to organize an economic blitzkrieg against Russia, to demoralize our society, to take us by snoring, so we will certainly see attempts to increase pressure on our country. But we will overcome these difficulties. The Russian economy is necessarily adapting to new realities. We will strengthen our technological and scientific sovereignty, allocate additional resources to support agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and housing construction, and continue to develop foreign trade relations with the expectation of fast-growing, dynamic international markets.
Of course, the new realities will require profound structural changes in our economy, and I will not hide the fact that they will not be easy, will lead to a temporary increase in inflation and unemployment.
In this situation, our task is to minimize such risks. Not only to strictly fulfill all social obligations of the state, but also to launch new, more effective mechanisms to support citizens and their incomes.
The focus is on the protection of motherhood, childhood, support for families with children. A decision has already been made – as you know this – to introduce payments for children aged 8 to 16 inclusive, who grow up in families with low incomes, from April 1. The amount of payment will be from half to one subsistence minimum for each child of this age. Now the national average is up to 12300 rubles. Thus, we will build a single support system from the moment when the expectant mother is still waiting for the birth of a child, and until the child reaches the age of 17.
I instruct the Government to ensure the work of this system in such a way that it promptly takes into account changes in the financial situation of families. That is, if parents are faced with the loss of work, other difficult life circumstances, the family should begin to receive assistance from the state as quickly as possible.
To be continued....
no c1ue we get to learn how much energy matters. fossil fuels cause climate change. giant corporations have lots of money and power. these 2 facts will not be changed by the coming privation.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Mar 16 2022 18:03 utc | 16
@c1ue | Mar 16 2022 17:32 utc | 12
Good news for you: we get to, as a society, learn just how much (or little) fossil fuels actually matter.
As Europeans are learning now...
Indeed we do, but some fools never learn.
Btw. they are not "fossil".
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 18:10 utc | 17
@pretzelattack | Mar 16 2022 18:03 utc | 15
fossil fuels cause climate change.
Highly compressed ideological nonsense. The stated relationship is unscientific.
Hydrocarbons are not "fossil", or shall we say it is a provable fact that some hydrocarbons are not "fossil". There is no evidence whatsoever that "fossil fuel" (that isn't fossil) is changing our climate in any way. To insist that the climate is supposed to be constant and not ever changing is foolish ('climate denier' anyone?) when we know that the Earths climate has always been changing far more than the last 1000 years and the variations the last 150 years is miniscule and not even properly measurable.
It is just fear mongering loved by the people in power who want more of it.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 18:20 utc | 18
[email protected] 8-14-?
Thanks for the postings. Relevant as hell brother, kudos..
Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 16 2022 18:30 utc | 19
I have received an email from GiveSendGo stating that they will refund donations to the Freedom Convoy, as they have been blocked from delivering the money at every turn by the Turdeau regime.
Posted by: rockstar | Mar 16 2022 18:33 utc | 20
Posted by: Robert Macaire | Mar 16 2022 16:49 utc | 9
Thank you very much, Robert for posting the nc link! I was thinking myself of repeating that post here as even for those of us who know of Russia's economic collapse during those years, I don't think we realized the extent had been far worse than any sanction regime can possibly impose. They were unprepared; they trusted the west to help them. The west did not.
Comments are important in that link also. Some will indicate the lack of perception, but others indicate that many know what our government is leading us into.
Thanks also to karlof1 for Putin's speech -- true to form, is all I need to say, true to form! And as I said when I posted the link- I am going right out to begin planting potatoes (my snow peas, planted in December under glass, are doing great.)
For any thinking potatoes are something they can't afford - do as I do. You must buy organic ones to be safe, but this time of year the ones you buy always start sprouting (they know). So cut the sprouts with a bit of flesh, dry them on a shelf a day or two so they won't rot, and plant under thick mulch(any old leaves, grass, straw, compost. I use foam coffee cups to start my other seeds, save them year to year. Into a box that gets sun outside with an old window on top. Screen your own dirt through a plastic mesh bag for seedling mixture. Plant thickly, then separate to individual containers after four leaves have come, with unscreened dirt. Keep under glass till all freeze departs, then plant.
You CAN do it!
Posted by: juliania | Mar 16 2022 18:36 utc | 21
Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 18:20 utc | 17
"the Earths climate has always been changing"
I thought I'd heard the last of that one. If you have not yet heard of paleoclimatology, there is probably no point in trying to explain.
Posted by: Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 18:38 utc | 22
Just read post 14, all I can say is WOW. Revolutionary..
Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 16 2022 18:44 utc | 23
@Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 18:38 utc | 21
"Paleoclimatology (British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoclimatology
In other words models. By the way, why study "climates" that were not changing? How many different climates existed that were not changing?
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 18:47 utc | 24
Yahoo Finance interview of Mohammed El-Erian on the Fed and economy
1) Fed is very late
2) Chance of the Fed acting correctly (i.e. not too much or to little, not too fast or too slow) is very low
3) The concern is the changeover: from very accomodative interest rates plus active intervention (buying) in the markets to tightening rates AND reducing its balance sheet (selling).
4) Stocks keep going up? - 2 factors: Stable Fed policy and general economic performance. The first is gone, the 2nd, we will see
5) 1% rate increase could send the US into recession
6) The issue is the supply side - prior to 2020, it was demand that drove everything.
El-Erian was the primary mover behind Pimco - big bond outfit. I've always considered him worth listening to even if I don't necessarily agree.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 16 2022 18:56 utc | 25
@14 Cont'd--The transcript for the speech portion of the meeting is finished and now concludes at the beginning of the agenda. Again, all emphasis mine:
I instruct the Government to ensure the work of this system in such a way that it promptly takes into account changes in the financial situation of families. That is, if parents are faced with the loss of work, other difficult life circumstances, the family should begin to receive assistance from the state as quickly as possible.
I also ask the Government to assess the effectiveness of measures to support people who have lost their jobs as soon as possible. Obviously, such measures should be expanded, including through the mechanism of the social contract.
I understand that rising prices are seriously hurting people's incomes, so in the near future we will make a decision to increase all social payments, including benefits and pensions, increase the minimum wage and the subsistence minimum, and increase salaries in the public sector. I ask the Government to calculate the exact parameters of such an increase.
I would like to emphasise that even in the current difficult situation, we need to reduce poverty and inequality by the end of the year. This is a feasible task even today. I ask the Government and the regions to focus on this task. And I will add that it is not only economic in nature, we all understand, but it is also a matter of social justice.
A lot now depends on the initiative of the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation, on their readiness to take responsibility. Today I have signed a decree on additional powers for the heads of the regions – they will be able to make flexible and prompt decisions to support our citizens, the economy and the social sphere based on the real situation on the ground. Let me remind you that it is in this logic, which allows us to take into account the situation in each region, in the city, in the village – and it is different everywhere – that is how we built measures to combat the coronavirus.
I instruct all units of federal authorities in the constituent entities of the Federation to coordinate their work with regional authorities in the next six months, and the governors to create operational headquarters to ensure economic development and personally lead this work.
What should be the priority here?
A key role in overcoming the current problems should be played by private business, which is able to rebuild logistics in a short time, find new suppliers, and increase the production of popular products. How quickly private business will find the necessary decisions, make them, depends on the preservation of employment, incomes and salaries of citizens, in general, ensuring the stable, rhythmic work of the economy. Therefore, we must respond to external pressure with maximum entrepreneurial freedom and support for business initiative.
I ask the Government, law enforcement agencies and supervisory bodies to continue working to remove unjustified administrative and regulatory barriers. Moreover, it is impossible to distract business and regional authorities from solving the most acute, urgent tasks, loading them with various kinds of inspections and control measures.
One of the key problems for enterprises now is the shortage of working capital, inaccessibility and high cost of loans, but the Central Bank was forced to take appropriate measures. In this regard, I instruct to implement the following steps.
First. Enterprises that fulfill the orders of government bodies and companies with state participation should receive money for the goods and services supplied as soon as possible, put them back into business. In this regard, I propose increasing the volume of advance payments for state contracts. The advance payment should be at least half of the total amount of the contract, and the payment period for the goods and services supplied should be reduced to seven working days. A similar decision should also be made at the level of the constituent entities of the Federation, municipalities and companies with state participation.
Second. It is necessary to expand the ability of entrepreneurs to attract additional resources from development institutions. We are talking about expanding the work of the Project Finance Factory (it works in our country, and it works well, practice has shown demand), the provision of resources for business investment plans through the Industrial Development Fund (one of the really well-working tools), the Bank of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses as well, and in addition, through regional support institutions, including guarantee funds. I instruct the Government to allocate additional funds to the regions for such regional instruments.
I would like to draw the attention of the Government and my colleagues in the regions to the fact that the most important task is to ensure the availability of goods on the consumer market, primarily essential goods, medicines and medical devices. It is necessary to promptly solve logistical and other objective problems that lead to price spikes. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude manual interference in price regulation. It is the increase in supply that should lead to a decrease and stabilization of prices.
Separately, I would like to address our exporters. In a situation where there are difficulties with supplies to foreign markets, it is necessary not to reduce production, but, on the contrary, to send additional volumes of goods to the domestic market. Objectively, this should lead to a decrease in prices within the country, including for gasoline, diesel, bitumen, metals, and other export goods. I ask the Government, the FAS and the regional authorities to constantly monitor the situation in these markets.
Further. Taking into account the new challenges facing Russia, we must preserve and expand our long-term development agenda, including continuing the implementation of all planned projects, both at the federal and regional levels. We must make full use of the potential of our budget system as a stimulus tool.
Federal financing of projects and construction projects will be carried out, as agreed, in full. Moreover, back in December, it was decided to allocate additional funds if the cost of construction objectively increased.
What I think is important to note: in the current situation, there will be no problems with financing from the federal budget. Our economy generates a sufficient, good amount of income today, which means that we will not need to resort to emission. Simply put, the central bank will not need to print money. We have revenues – marketable, healthy incomes. The problem now is not money. We have the resources, I repeat. Key difficulties are associated with the supply of components, equipment, building materials, with the organization of the work of contractors. Therefore, the timing and methods of implementing specific projects, their stages may change, and this will require coordinated work of authorities and business representatives, accelerated implementation of import substitution projects – this is what is important.
At the same time, it is important to simplify the procedure for interaction between the regions and federal authorities, to give the regions more freedom in maneuvering resources, as well as opportunities to launch new construction projects and programmes.
Thus, the regions have already been allocated additional funds for road construction. I would like to ask the Government to work on increasing funding for other infrastructure facilities that can be put into operation this year, as well as on increasing purchases from Russian enterprises, including the renewal of public transport, for example.
It is clear that the budgets of the regions of the Russian Federation now bear a serious additional burden, therefore, as agreed, we will additionally index subsidies to equalize budget capacity. We also use other measures to support regional finance, namely, all payments on budget loans planned for the current year will be deferred, transferred, as they say, to the right, and payments on commercial loans, where necessary, will be replaced by budget loans. I ask the Government to study this issue in detail and look into each specific case. Only such individual work will lead to the desired result.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance will additionally provide an unconditional credit line to each constituent entity of the Russian Federation. It will be ten percent of the total income with a maturity not earlier than the end of this year.
We will preserve the volume of infrastructure budget loans. I instruct the Government to organise flexible management of this programme and take into account all the difficulties associated with the implementation of projects – I have already mentioned them just above. The regions should be able to quickly make decisions on changing the portfolio and content of projects, to concentrate on those of them that in the current conditions can be implemented with maximum efficiency. If necessary, we will consider a possible increase in the volume of infrastructure loans. It's possible, it can be done. In general, we will closely monitor the situation with regional finances, make additional decisions to support them, if necessary.
I would like to emphasise that direct communications between all levels of government and a clear algorithm of actions are now fundamentally important. And here the State Council and its relevant commissions have already proved their effectiveness. I ask the State Administration Commission, which is headed by Sergei Sobyanin, together with his colleagues from the Government, to work out the problematic issues on the regional agenda, develop optimal solutions and scale them to all Russian regions. We had good experience in the fight against the epidemic.
Dear colleagues!
Our economy, the state budget, and private business have all the necessary resources to solve long-term problems. All the strategic and national goals that we have set for the period up to 2030 must be achieved. The current challenges and the opportunities that they open up should only mobilize us – this is what we must set ourselves up for, aim at achieving tangible results in the interests of citizens.
Obviously, it will be necessary to fine-tune our programmes, and the initiatives of business circles, scientists and public associations are in demand here. In this regard, I ask the regions to actively join the organization of the Forum of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives "Strong Ideas for a New Time", within the framework of which every citizen of Russia will be able to submit their proposals, specific projects aimed at the development of their city, region and country as a whole.
Let me repeat once again: the current situation is certainly a test for all of us. I am sure that we will pass it with dignity, through hard work, joint work and mutual support, we will overcome all the difficulties and become even stronger, as it has always been in the history of thousand-year-old Russia. That's what I want to set you up for.
Let's move on to discussing the agenda.
I give the floor to Sergei Sobyanin.
Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 17:19 utc | 11
don't worry, it's fake.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 18:57 utc | 27
@karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 17:35 utc | 14
Wow, that is one for the history books! Many thanks again.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 18:59 utc | 28
To read Putin's speech without the breaks, but with my emphasis and initial commentary not provided here, it's here.
Thanks for the initial replies. As I wrote at VK, Putin is calling all of Russia to War, although he doesn't specifically say so, all the proper words are used. And he declares it's existential juts as Lavrov did at the Antalya presser. There's no fear, only mission. And Russia has the resources it requires, contrary to the Empire of Lies. No such resolve is present anywhere in the West--nowhere. Contrast Putin's speech with the drivel Biden puked out in his State of the Union.
There's a Free World, and it's led by Russia and its President.
psychohistorian noted in an earlier post Rand Paul's proposal to split Darth Fauci's evil into 3 separate posts, to eliminate evil thru division and multiplication. cuz there is nothing more evil in this world than a gov't mandate, though i'm sure Apostle Rand is happy to take cash to check people's eyes before they are licensed to drive. I'm 100% certain that when gov't mandates benefit his stupid lying ass, he's all for them.
Now Rand Paul claims to be an eye doctor. he also claims to be "libertarian"-ish, whatever that means. Fauci's role is advisory, w/zero executive authority over national policy.
but the answer to Darth Fauci is to triple the size of the bureaucracy. and thereby to disempower the gov't, by making it so cumbersome that it cannot respond, cannot even provide a unified answer on a public health threat. again, all in response to a person w/o any authority, a bugbear. I'm not defending Fauci, but Dr Rand takes on Fauci as a stunt and because Rand is a coward, a liar and a grifting fool.
Here's another episode in why Russia is gonna kick our ass cuz of how unbelievably stupid we are, addicted to staged NASCAR crashes. Gov Desantis of Florida fails to recognize that his admin's position on LGBTQXYZ++ rights is basically the same as the CCP's. Yet because Disney, in its parks not in its media products, chooses to go along with US national policy and what kids today actually want when Disney presents a very superficial "diversity friendly" facade, Disney is in the pocket of the Chinese Communist Party! (The same Disney that blames Russia when its horrible movies fail in the US).
i'm not sure Desantis is quite that stupid, not to recognize that Disney is 1st in the business of making money, but plenty of people in the US are that dumb. they really think Disney is the vanguard of the degeneration of US values, rather than a completely conservative capitalist business. Desantis likes to stir the culture wars pot, makes him look like he's doing something, when he's annoying, insulting or oppressing people. Disney gets to defend its virtue and what money is lost? that Disney is a deep state operation cannot be unknown to Desantis, nor how much cheese the mouse brings into the state house. Communism and China get to be slandered, but will that change China's media consumption habits? not in itself, not in the slightest. as far as Desantis is concerned, China steals all its stuff from the US anyway.
so much energy is spent on perception management. the coronavirus doesn't care how many bureaucrats there are, nor does routine gov't operation change in any way because more positions are created. it's busy work, so much of it, to make people think their politicians are doing something, when those politicians spend so much time and effort to ensure that nothing happens, that the wheels keep turning, that the *momentum of the system is not interrupted*.
but nothing changes until people come to a place of grief. we just find ways and excuses to keep doing the same shit.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 19:30 utc | 31
rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 19:30 utc | 30
hey smoke another doob before posting...
Rand knows less than a dog turd about Fauci's area(s) of expertise. don't let that stop you Rand! don't let the gov't interrupt your profiteering and swindling, no matter what crisis is happening. you have lots and lots of support. so many experts out there on virology and epidemiology, veterinary science too.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 19:34 utc | 32
it's so fun to be in this country where the adults look at masks as a form of punishment. and now they've all been let out of prison and are just so happy that they can back to no longer giving a second thought about how what they do affects their neighbors.
bravo covid fantasists! well done, you good and faithful servants of the capitalist war state. no one is gonna be fooled by those idiotic tyrannical public health measures ever again.
Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 19:37 utc | 33
Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 18:47 utc | 23
Are geology and cosmology also unknowable "models". Do you scoff when they say something is a lava flow or a supernova remnant?
By the way, why study "climates" that were not changing? How many different climates existed that were not changing?
??? Climate changes due to volcanic, orbital and other effects. Do you also deny that?
I have not run into an out and out denialist for a long time. Is there some place where your science is written down (not just youtubes, and in your head)?
BTW, Mr. Feynman was joking about the "guessing". The students who qualified for that class would understand that your theory should not describe one thing right, but get everything else wrong.
Posted by: Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 19:45 utc | 34
there is no comparison between our traitorous leeches and a real life leader with the interests of his country at heart
apparently we will soon have the pleasure of hosting an extra 2200 american troops near darwin... because china
i remember reading a while ago that china was going to utilise something along the lines of 5g satellites to deliver free internet to the world by 2025? any chance they could speed that up a bit? pretty please
paradoxes are real!
covid is a scam; covid is a virus.
climate change is a scam; we aredestroying our environment.
Posted by: Rae | Mar 16 2022 19:45 utc | 35
@Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 19:45 utc | 33
??? Climate changes due to volcanic, orbital and other effects. Do you also deny that?
You are utterly confused. I am saying no such thing, I am saying the climate is changing due to all kinds of natural effects, including those you mention. It is people like you who believe "climate change" is some kind of catastrophic problem. You contradict yourself. If you have any kind of understanding of logic, the implication is that you want to stop "climate change" and make it constant and no longer changing. You are being disingenuous.
No, Feynman was not joking. He said "Don't laugh, it is really true". Stop denying facts.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 19:57 utc | 36
Tulsi Gabbard, Warrior Queen, Peace Maker says: Stop the war, there is serious danger for *everyone* in the world that needs to be taken care of - be love, be aloha, be peace, God's love and compassion is inside you, let it out.
American Establishment and their useful idiots say in return:...
Posted by: Samie | Mar 16 2022 19:58 utc | 37
Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 19:57 utc | 35
No, Feynman was not joking. He said "Don't laugh, it is really true". Stop denying facts.
Your theory has to explain some effect, while not disagreeing with other established stuff (unless you provide a good explanation). Feynman would include basic physics in "other established stuff".
In any case, there is no place where your thinking is written down, right? If so, that is the end of discussion for me. I don't want to play word games with people who have personal theories inside their heads.
Posted by: Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 20:25 utc | 38
Australia is preparing for the blowback from planned economic sanctions on China. It has become an imperative of the corporate state to halt the BRI and cripple China.
From today's AFR:
The federal government’s splashing of a further $243 million across the vast critical minerals universe has lit a fire under the junior companies’ share prices, as investors bet new supply will not flood markets overnight and demand for products like electric vehicles will hold strong.
Australian Vanadium – which previously secured a $3.9 million grant – was awarded a further $49 million for its $367 million project at Meekatharra, while fellow listed player Alpha HPA received $45 million for its alumina production facility in Queensland.
Arafura Resources also got $30 million to further its Nolans rare earth separation plant in the Northern Territory.
It came as the government added high-purity alumina and silicon – which are used in lithium-ion batteries and semiconductors – to its list of 26 “priority critical minerals”.
With the world becoming a “more uncertain place” and China being a major player in critical minerals production, the government is seeking to shore up Australia’s supply and expand export opportunities amid ongoing demand for smartphones, computers, solar panels, electric cars, and defence and other technologies.
It is also proving a boon for shareholders as the government becomes a more notable source of funding in a hot part of the market benefiting from high commodity prices and tight supply across the likes of lithium, rare earths and copper.
Similarly, shares in several critical minerals companies soared in early February after winning loans from the federal government. One was Hastings Technology Metals, which secured a $140 million loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to develop what would be one of WA’s next major rare earths projects.
On the same day, the first loans under the government’s Critical Minerals Facility worth $239 million were doled out to graphite hopefuls EcoGraf and Renascor Resources, sending their shares soaring.
Warren Pearce, the chief of the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, said the government’s latest $243 million in grants would leverage nearly $1 billion in private investment and help develop new mines, processing facilities and jobs...
Posted by: Paul | Mar 16 2022 20:53 utc | 39
Juliania,
my apologies for misspelling your name in my earlier post.
I remember the 90ies. Back then I had no interest in politics or economics. It was still a time of "insouciance" for me. However, I did watch the news occasionally. I cannot remember anything about the hardship the Russian people went through. All I can remember is Yeltsin being celebrated as some kinda hero of democracy. I was stunned reading "The death of a nation". And I had some preparation having read stuff by Ames&Taibbi (well liked at NC as you know).
I have a question for you about the Karamazov bros. What is the difference between bringing heaven down to earth and elevating man up to heaven?
Posted by: Robert Macaire | Mar 16 2022 21:03 utc | 40
Norwegian #11
"What did Japan do this time?"
Pumped deadly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. That would a criminal SS state in full arrogance mode imo.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 16 2022 21:23 utc | 41
@karlof1,
What a speech by President Putin. Thanks of posting the full text.
There's a Free World, and it's led by Russia and its President.
Well said.
Posted by: cirsium | Mar 16 2022 21:35 utc | 42
@reante
It just dawned on me that I was my mother’s first born.
Mom survived tuberculosis, breast cancer, and colon cancer, before succumbing to lung cancer.
I wonder what will be the cause of my death?
I since I live in the US, odds are it will be a bullet.
Probably distributed by law enforcement.
Posted by: $outhpaw | Mar 16 2022 10:13 utc | 225
What a trooper!
Hopefully she had you on the young side. :)
Since you're in your sixties your mom's birthing detox function occured in a generally less toxic environment than what kids are facing today. The mother's history of antibiotics use, and caesarean births also play a big role because the baby traveling through the birth canal is what gives it it's starting microbiome. The starting microbiome can determine dietary preferences for life. GAPS babies and children are notoriously fussy eaters, gravitating towards sugars and starches, partly because the mother, due to her antibiotics history, had candida overgrowth, which are the "weeds" of the gut that agressively reestablish colonies first, in your gut, after you've nuked it with antibiotics. Commercial infant formulas and premature weaning compound the problem.
Sounds like you're planning on standing your ground. Me too.
Posted by: reante | Mar 16 2022 21:38 utc | 43
@Keith McClary #33
Geology and cosmology - a lot of it has been validated (or disproven) by experiment and real world data
The same cannot be said for climate.
In particular, the climate models assume asymmetric increase in temperature "any day now" i.e. in the future - which keeps receding.
Will there be more warming? Yes. But the amount matters.
ECS = estimate climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2.
"Pure" physics of CO2 doubling yields an ECS of 1 degree C.
The ECS used by "the consensus" is 2 to 5 degrees C - the extra is the "magic" of the models.
That ECS can be over 1 is reasonable - that ECS can be 5 is the crazy part.
And yet the most often hyperventilated scenarios call for 8.5 degrees C.
Last note: climate science is so "good" that the very wide range of ECS estimates have remained basically unchanged for 30 years.
A whole lot of not knowing for a "settled science".
There's a good reason why the panicmongers focus on ad hominem attacks...
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 16 2022 21:40 utc | 44
# karlof1
Thank you for posting Putin's speech.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 16 2022 22:02 utc | 45
China reports progress on WS-15 military jet engine
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202203/1254846.shtml?id=11
Posted by: ptb | Mar 16 2022 22:14 utc | 46
karlof1 @14
Thanks for the speech Karl.
[emphasis mine] You could have emphasized the whole speech and you'd still be in the right. Thanks again.
Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Mar 16 2022 22:16 utc | 47
Thanks for the replies. Hard for me to avoid posting a historic speech! And the transcript continues into the meeting revealing more "attitude". There's nothing like War to focus the mind on what needs to be done. Soon after given the floor by Putin, Sobyanin says the following:
"On your instructions, I have held several working groups of the State Council. We have involved all the commissions of the State Council, and to date we have received hundreds of proposals from the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which, in turn, were collected in the territories from business, from the population.
"We have built an almost seamless system of interaction with the Government of the Russian Federation, the system of the Ministry of Economic Development, an operational headquarters and a commission headed by Mikhail Vladimirovich.
"Literally in a matter of days, two serious packages of amendments to the current legislation and a resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation were adopted, which made it possible to solve a huge range of problems. Some of these decisions have previously been discussed and debated for months, if not years. Today, these decisions are being made, I repeat, in a matter of days. This is a great merit of our colleagues from the Government and Parliament. We will continue to work in the same way. A working group was also held today, and a whole package of proposals was assembled. We will implement it through the relevant laws, by-laws and decisions of ministries and departments." [My Emphasis]
And there's much more that follows. You'll have noted Putin's exhortation for everyone to get involved, for the public to make suggestions atop those already made. And Russia's derided as an Authoritarian state with Putin as Dictator. What utter bullshit!!! Everyone contributes to pulling up everyone's boots. And woe-be-it to the 5th Columnists!
So no matter what climate change or not. I think human can force any thing on nature. There's no such that force.
Posted by: طراحی سایت | Mar 16 2022 22:54 utc | 49
It is really funny what is happening in France. A French website was always very critical on Ukraine and the Ukronazis.
And since the beginning of the Russian cleaning operation, the site main topic became "global warming".
The operation was strongly condemned by the owner of the site. And now the site is censoring even references to its own previous contributions and analyses.
Look here:
And do a search with "Ukraine". Several very interesting article (in French).
Posted by: Olivier | Mar 16 2022 23:21 utc | 50
@ reante
Mom gave birth to me later in in life. (In the TB San for 18 months, early in her marriage)
Her and my father actually practiced family planning, via condoms.
I was a formula child.
Exposed to many cleaning chemicals.
My mother was a clean fanatic.
Lost her mom to TB when she was 12.
She was the youngest child, only girl.
Dad liked to use Roundup to control the weeds in the yard.
She lost two of her three brothers to TB, when she was still a child.
When she got TB, it must have scared the hell out of her.
TB killed her dad, the only grampa I ever met, when I was 7 months old.
What does any of this have to do with Cheri’s cancer?
Who knows?
Just rambling to a willing set of ears, attached to a lovely spirit.
And the band played on.
The great Titanic is about to go under.
I’m not happy to be aboard.
But, it’s time.
Thank you Russian Leaders.
Posted by: $outhpaw | Mar 17 2022 0:00 utc | 51
This entire conversation began with an inquiry that I made about Covid-19.
I am very cognizant of contagion.
I studied the Spanish (Kansas) Flu in prison.
My family history also tends me towards this subject.
Uncle Tungsten was helpful to me in my initial exploration of the recent coronavirus.
His input is what has spurred my verbal diarrhea.
( not your fault uncle)
I’m a perpetual motion machine all on my own.
I/we am/are very appreciative of the resources that we have received as a result of my endeavor here at the bar.
Posted by: $outhpaw | Mar 17 2022 0:45 utc | 52
@ Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 17:35 utc | 14
Did Putin really use the word 'scum'? - Incredible! - Did he lose his sense?
If so, - That definitly does NOT fit as role model and it remembers of an very ugly german one. (Some calling him 'Putler' and he gives them the reason for?! - WTF.)
The whole paragraph is just reactionary, nationalistic, authoritarian bull, missing any empathy.
What a lacking in dignity, what a shame, what a damage!
Revealing, very disappoiting and sad; very sad. :(
p.s.: I understand many of Russias POVs and share quite a few of them, but here Putin loses my respect.
Posted by: G-man | Mar 17 2022 1:09 utc | 53
as an organic gardener/native plant focused; the focus on CO2 results in absurd conclusions. Forests are at best carbon neutral, we should, according to a hyper CO2 focus; fell them so they can re-grow, the wood would best be sent into space or used as building material. Composting is another thing to avoid if CO2 is our principal bugaboo; so, organic matter should probably be mixed with lime or ash to dry it out and keep it from composting. I watch the weather closer than most; generally hyperbole wins out, but what I've seen is that we just left a hot period of 12 years of so, and have been in a cooler phase for a few years now. In Texas our Winters are effected by the El Nino/La Nina weather effect, so that does work against the 12(?) year cycle. The hottest/dryest it's ever been was indeed a few years in the 30's a few years in the 50's (which spurred Texas, at least, to build most of it's lakes, all but about 5 hence) and a few years in 80's. I remember the 80's we had our hottest, dryest summer; except the last few, except not is you look at the data.
The effect of heat islands is real, one can regularly see a 10 degree difference between the low temperature in Dallas, vs the hinterlands. But, when I was a boy, DFW (where our official measurements are taken) was in the hinterlands, it's not anymore. All that concrete has a big effect, it's certainly added to floods, but one would he hard pressed to blame floods on weather events, but paving up-stream is a massive factor. So that is two examples of significant climate change that have nothing to do with CO2. Another cause of our heating, is our skies are much cleaner than they used to be, yep, the particulate matter used to be far higher, which meant that cities were smoggy, cloudy, cooler in the mid 80's and before; though ozone levels may not have been as high. It's really funny, there's a hell of a devil in all these details.
Climate change is real, we're changing our environment a lot. But, focusing on CO2 leads to illogical "solutions" it's a theory that is not really suitable to "trial and error" this is a one off planet and we're moving in Glacial time. Like Covid, we don't get a do over if we get it wrong, we should err on the side of caution; but... There is a LOT of low hanging fruit which we can get for little cost. If farmers stopped using glyphosphate prophylactically and rather used it as needed, they'd save money, experience little effects no loss of production. We could do more still; my point is that one can pretty easily get 66-90% increased efficiency in most any system with little more than intention and care; to get that last bit out of the system costs a fortune. I could go on and on, but, we've certainly made the perfect, the enemy of the good. CO2 climate change is still a contentious issues, but I think we most all agree that we can and should do better. At this point climate models are limited by what we think we know affects everything and to what degree, and in what time-scale; that's a lot of detail that we don't honestly have entirely charted out. Trees were recently factored into climate models, I don't know which species, as different forests would likely act differently depending on species, seasons and other factors the guy inputting the data in the model needs to know; I understand they've just begun to consider the oceans and algae and that vast store; so, to say we "know" how the climate works is pretty hasty; science, particularly in areas that aren't repeatable, but one off realms that move in glacial time; science may not tell us what we need to know in time. Don't let that earnest dispute stop us from getting the low hanging fruit, from doing better.
ps, it's certainly not established that an EV is 'greener' than a Honda Accura. So, with out knowing the alternatives again, we don't even know how to weigh the trade offs. I care about the environment; it's what I do. I also have to wade through a bunch of snake oil and green washing.
Posted by: ScottinDallas | Mar 17 2022 1:34 utc | 54
Below is another example of projection, this time from Soros as show in the ZH posting quote below
"
“It is far from certain that Putin will accede to Xi’s wishes. We can only hope that Putin and Xi will be removed from power before they can destroy our civilization,” Soros concluded.
Earlier this year, Soros articulated his view that the year 2022 would be a “turning point” during which the world would pivot decisively either in the direction of openness and freedom or of dictatorship and repression. He pointed particularly to the Chinese Communist Party’s growing aggression on the world stage, coupled with domestic problems faced by the regime.
"
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 17 2022 1:35 utc | 55
It is climate change in particular that shows how frighteningly delusional and careless in attitude about life the West is.
No threat of climate change - which might flood Florida or Manhattan in 20 or 100 years - even begins to compare with the threat of ending civilization in a couple hours from nuclear war. You can't even get climate advocates to think deeply about it, in my experience. Somehow a fraction of a degree is everything and nuclear missiles are nothing.
God help us all with this sort of mindset. And Godspeed to Russia and China in getting serious about this.
Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 17 2022 1:51 utc | 56
karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 22:26 utc | 47
Its like watching Russia and China converge. each with starting points that were 180 degrees apart. China pre 80s, Russia pre Putin 2000 taking down the oligarchs - non long back china took down those that were starting to feel above the government. Xi, his focus on pulling people out of poverty, Putin very much people centric.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 17 2022 2:13 utc | 57
ScottinDallas | Mar 17 2022 1:34 utc | 53
My thoughts on timber and co2 is similar. If CO2 coming out of the ground is affecting the atmosphere to the extent it will change the climate to nth degree, then that carbon has to go back into the ground or be stored. Chopping down carbon neutral forests so a new forest can grow and using the wood for something, turning it into bio char or compost and putting it back in the ground seems the way to go. But then then ten thousand years ago nobody was drilling oil wells or digging wopping great coal mines, but sea levels rose 120 meters.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 17 2022 2:34 utc | 58
Robert Macaire | Mar 16 2022 21:03 utc | 39, when I read The Shock Doctrine it was just after the time of Bush's invasion of Iraq, so I was surprised to see it mentioned in comments to the NC article. I haven't gone back to see what Naomi Klein has to say about Russia as yet. What I've learned about that period comes from reading here so only in the last eight years did I realize a part of what they went through.
You ask:
"I have a question for you about the Karamazov bros. What is the difference between bringing heaven down to earth and elevating man up to heaven?"
I don't remember anything in "The Brothers K" that deals with elevating man up to heaven, not even in Dmitri's speech to his brother Alyosha early in the novel. If one were making such an attempt, it would resemble building a tower of Babel, but even Ivan does not do that. (That's speaking in Orthodox Christian terms, which I do think Dostoievski is doing in that novel.)
The singular segment of the book which relates to bringing heaven down to earth occurs almost midway through, when 'our hero' Alyosha comes out of the hermitage at night - I'll give the Pevear translation:
...suddenly [he] turned abruptly and walked out of the cell.
He did not stop on the porch either, but went quickly down the steps. Filled with rapture, his soul yearned for freedom, space, vastness. Over him the heavenly dome, full of quiet, shining stars, hung boundlessly. From the zenith to the horizon the still dim Milky Way stretched its double strand. Night, fresh and quiet, almost unstirring, enveloped the earth. The white towers and golden domes of the church gleamed in the sapphire sky. The luxuriant autumn flowers in the flowerbeds near the house had fallen asleep until morning. The silence of the earth seemed to merge with the silence of the heavens; the mystery of the earth touched the mystery of the stars.. . .
Alyosha stood gazing and suddenly, as if he had been cut down, threw himself to the earth.
He did not know why he was embracing it; he did not try to understand why he longed so irresistibly to kiss it, to kiss all of it, but he was kissing it, weeping, sobbing, and watering it with his tears, and he vowed heartfully to love it, to love it unto ages of ages. . .
If one fails to comprehend this passage, one really needs to read the novel. My humble opinion is that at this moment in Alyosha's life he experiences heaven touching earth and is overwhelmed by the experience. (I did change one of Pevear's words from 'ecstatically' to 'heartfully'.)
I hope that helps.
Posted by: juliania | Mar 17 2022 4:02 utc | 59
@ karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 18:56 utc | 25
... and here it comes:
"... is certainly a test for all of us. I am sure that we will pass it with dignity, [...]
as it has always been in the history of thousand-year-old Russia.
That's what I want to set you up for." - USSR (Stalin, Gulags) anyone?
"Das Tausendjährige [4th] Reich". - Has the Kremlin been hacked or poisoned?
Why do they mindless shoot their own feet?
Uncle Sam will have a good laugh and pop a Krimskoye for that Vorlage:
'Just look, they have it stated themselves.'
I should get a datcha, grow potatoes - and destil them........Good night all together.
Posted by: G-man | Mar 17 2022 4:26 utc | 60
My view of the economic war today sees
... that the LME nickel market opened and closed immediately because the limits it had programmed into managing trades was not working so they stopped trading again
... that the US fed decide to add 25 basis points to the cost of money to "curb inflation" and all pundits are saying it will cause recession or worse...just not sure when
... that Saudi Arabia is in talks to sell oil to China in Chinese currency
What I am not seeing anything of is the potential alternative to the US reserve Currency that is out there somewhere....
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 17 2022 5:48 utc | 61
Two good videos appeared in the last few days. One is from Dr John, regarding how natural immunity is far superior to vaccines. The other is DrBeen Medical lectures, Spike Protein Gets In The Blood of Vaccinated Individuals (Firm Data From A Stanford Study). It is in the blood stream of 96% of vaccinees. From the blood it goes to the heart, brain, you know the rest.
That is what real experts warned of since the start of the mass ‘vaccinations’.
Posted by: Peter Schmidt | Mar 17 2022 6:00 utc | 62
@psychohistorian #60
"The pilot testing of e-CNY will be an important move for Hong Kong to strengthen its role as an international offshore yuan trading centre," Eddie Yue Wai-man, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city's de facto central bank, said on Monday in a regular monthly financial affairs panel meeting of the Legislative Council.He did not give the exact launch date but said: "It will launch soon after the Spring Festival." According to Chinese tradition, this period ends on the 15th day of Lunar New Year, which falls on February 15 this year.
As I noted in the CBDC seminar writeup - this launch is the first test of e-CNY "international": rent a hotel room, buy a meal, buy a T-shirt in Hong Kong as a mainland Chinese possessor of e-CNY via credit card etc, have the conversion happen automatically, instantly and seamlessly.
e-CNY allows China to retain its capital controls while still being able to make e-CNY (but not all existing CNY capital in China) freely convertible. And yes, full PBoC direct access to mainland Chinese users' spending details; full control over accessibility and usage in China, etc etc.
This plus the announced EAEU+China proposal, plus the union of CIPS and SPFS, plus Russian bank issuance of Unionpay cards - that's how a 2 generation old dollar dominance starts to get eroded.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 7:53 utc | 63
In other news:
Fed raises rates only 0.25%, signals 6 more hikes
0.25% raise means we're at 0.5% Fed funds rate. Inflation is 7.9% - so another 6-0.25% increases still leaves an enormous negative real interest rate.
Also: Fed balance sheet to shrink (in future) but not when or how much.
Or in other words: the Fed won't do squat to address inflation this year. Between food price increases due to interdicted Russian/Ukrainian wheat and fertilizer; between increased energy prices post 2/24 - I'll be shocked if we don't go over 8.0% inflation next report.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 8:11 utc | 64
These arseholes are never going to leave us alone...
Climate lockdowns coming soon.
What about the 13,000 GPS tags fitted to a variety of animals that took part in this research - all those corroding batteries leaking into the countryside - fuck it at least they got their funding..
Conveniently not a word about the billions of masks polluting the planet.
Posted by: ted001 | Mar 17 2022 8:21 utc | 65
A bit of a Canada news round-up… topic? Sharing the wealth, maybe?
Noticed on Reuters that a UAE cargo ship had some kind of accident, on a side note.
26 outstanding issues between CP Rail and Teamsters as possible strike looms
https://globalnews.ca/news/8688908/cp-rail-72-hour-lockout-notice/
Crude by rail key for Canada, reports BNN Bloomberg
http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/drilling-their-brains-out-why-crude-by-rail-is-key-for-canada-as-oil-booms-1.1736449
Province of Quebec 500 million richer than expected
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/2022-03-17/une-surprise-de-500-millions-dans-les-coffres-de-quebec.php
Cutting Canadian sugar consumption could have saved economy up to $5 billion, says University of Alberta professor (whoosh, Big Sugar is not going to like that one.)
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/taming-canadas-sweet-tooth-could-have-saved-the-economy-up-to-5-billion-u-of-a-study
And Xinhua reports on Canada’s freshly launched fund to stop gun and fake violence
https://english.news.cn/20220317/ca7c178fbbd8412eb056f41849aed1a3/c.html
National Post report for a local view
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/canada-launches-190-mln-fund-to-tackle-gun-violence
Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 17 2022 11:22 utc | 66
Li Jinjin, well-known Chinese dissident and one of the leaders of the student movement in Tiananmen Square, was killed in the USA. He was stabbed to death by a woman in his office in Flushing, New York.
The post-vax surge in working age death - has legs
What Is Killing The Millenials?
If you head online to US Mortality web site link, prepare to have some fun. You can select ‘Filter’ and then pick the United States and a particular age group. If you select the age group from 25-44 years old you get the chart below. As you can see, this plot confirms what Edward said: there is, in fact, an 80% increase in excess mortality in this young age group in late summer/early fall 2021....
What on earth could have caused this incredible increase? Was it COVID with its Infection Fatality Rate for this age demographic of virtually 0 (“The IFR was zero among people aged 18 to 39 years”)1? Probably not. The timing is off with regard to Delta. Was it opioids? Maybe, but according to CDC, the deaths due to opioids is not sufficient to account for such an excess.2 Was it suicides? Maybe, but according to CDC, the deaths due to suicides is not sufficient to account for such an excess either.3
Here’s some VAERS data. I plotted the data in VAERS reported for 25-44 year olds and extracted their death data. Of all of the Domestic deaths reported in VAERS, this age group represents 9.3% of the deaths (Total deaths: N = 12,136; Deaths individuals aged 25-44: N = 1,132). For the combined Domestic and Foreign data sets, the total number of deaths is double that of Domestic alone (Total deaths: N = 25,301; Deaths individuals aged 25-44: N = 1,828) where the 25-44 age group represents 7.2% of the deaths. The following plot includes the data for the combined data sets.
...
From what I can see so far, the suicides and overdoses, even though they have been on the rise for the past 2 years, comprise only a small percentage of the deaths in this age group.4
Surprisingly, malignant neoplasms outrank all other death causes in this age group and have done so for many years. I am also surprised not to see the overdoses and suicides listed in the select cause of death list as plotted below even though, percentage-wise, neither comprise even 1% of the total death count for this age group.
The graphs in the article should be viewed directly.
Key points: VAERS is showing an 80% increase in 25-44 age demographic death rates in late summer/fall 2021.
This was NOT due to COVID.
The percent of deaths in this age group seems to be far higher in proportion to overall deaths than "typically" - so it wasn't a surge in overall death rates. Nor are overdose, suicide a factor.
This doesn't guarantee that vaxxing was the cause - but what is?
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 14:25 utc | 68
Twitter thread on impact of sanctions on Russia
A decent overview from a very high level, but it still does not answer any substantive questions.
These include:
1) How badly will a cutoff in bilateral trade hurt Europe vs. Russia?
2) How much of Russian imports from Europe are "critical" - i.e. basic food stuffs, necessary industrial machinery, core medical equipment/treatments etc as opposed to Louis Vuitton bags, iPhones, Mercedes/BMW/Audi, French wines, Italian pasta, McDonald's and Coca cola royalties and that kind of thing?
There are areas which problems are very likely: apparently 75% of beet sugar seeds are imported. Ditto potatoes: Russian farmers are growing wheat these days instead of potatoes, so potatoes are imported.
How much of Russian oil/gas operations and/or exploration is dependent on Western gear and/or knowhow?
Having been to Russia many, many times, there is definitely a premium paid for foreign "stuff" in most areas.
But is this stuff critical?
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 14:46 utc | 69
c1ue | Mar 17 2022 14:25 utc | 68
I lookup death rates in australia a couple of weeks back to see if vax or virus showed up there.
was higher than at anytime over the last five years. that seemed to start just before large scale vaxing commenced and dropped back into the average death rate when we started getting large numbers testing positive and people were getting boosters.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 17 2022 14:52 utc | 70
@Peter AU1 #70
What is the web site? I'm curious as well - particularly the working age demographic.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 16:07 utc | 72
paradoxes are real!
covid is a scam; covid is a virus.
climate change is a scam; we aredestroying our environment.
Posted by: Rae | Mar 16 2022 19:45 utc | 35
You talkin a me? :)
Paradoxes do not exist in reality but they do 'exist' in metaconsciousness political binaries. Like I said paradoxes are abstract mental constructs only, just like 2+2=5 is a mental construct. Theyre purpose is to reference the potential for absurdity of the wayward human mind.
Speaking of which, Norwegian here is saying that the industrial fuel reserves can't be proven to have come from anaerobically decayed and compressed plant and plankton ecosystems. I assume he favors the abiotic oil theory for which there's no commercially viable 'example.'
I'm curious what Norwegian makes of peat bogs. Are those also not from compressed, anaerobic decomposition of biological life?
I understand that the word 'fossil' in fossil fuel isn't technically correct, but norwegian let's not make a red herring out of it ok?
As to industrial CO2 emissions as a greenhouse gas, this has of course been very easily proven with the scientific method (unlike both the existence and purported function of the 'novel coronavirus - talking to you rjb1.5), as is the CO2 amplification getting partly absorbed in the oceans and lowering the pH.
Posted by: reante | Mar 17 2022 17:06 utc | 73
In any case, there is no place where your thinking is written down, right? If so, that is the end of discussion for me. I don't want to play word games with people who have personal theories inside their heads.
Posted by: Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 20:25 utc | 38
I agree with you on this topic. norwegian is just displaying a political form of oppositional defiant disorder, so to speak, but you are also saying something here that is extremely corrosive to truth-telling. Insight -- true personal 'theories' IN ACTION -- is where ALL human cultural improvements come from. You have no cause to require pre-printed dissertations from norwegian. If you want to take responsibility for proving him wrong then simply ask him a relevant, fundamental question regarding the scientific method as it relates to climate change.
Here's a fundamental question for you: can you show me evidence, in accordance with the scientific method, that the 'novel coronavirus' both exists independently and does hijack a cells autonomous functions; again, using the scientific method.
I know you didn't say anything about the plandemic, but what you wrote to norwegian does imply that you care about evidence, and I assume you believe the plandemic propaganda like 99pc of people do.
Posted by: reante | Mar 17 2022 17:25 utc | 74
c1ue 44
"Whole lot of not knowing for a "settled science."'
That's a horseshit thing to say. The science of the anthropogenic climate change dynamic that is nested within the naturally always-changing climate IS settled, because CO2 (and methane) as a 'greenhouse gas' is provable by the scientific method but MODELING is not provable with the scientific method, thus the "not knowing."
Also your focus on atmospheric warming is a red herring. 90pc of the atmospheric heat has been absorbed by the ocean. The warming (and acidifying) ocean is part of climate change, because the oceans are a huge driver of climate.
Posted by: reante | Mar 17 2022 17:49 utc | 75
I was not aware that the Petroyuan is already a 'thing'. If nations do currency swaps with China and export oil to them, then a Petroyuan must exist already.
Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 17 2022 17:53 utc | 76
Eighthman
Petroyuan is a misnomer. It doesn't exist as such.
The petro- in petrodollar doesn't simply mean that most of the world's oil gets traded in dollars. It means that ALL oil is VALUED in dollars. With oil being the standardized collateral of industrial civilization -- the black gold standard -- and the dollar being the global currency pegged to the black gold standard.
In a global economy the participants need a global currency exchange, which is the dollar's function. This benefits the US because dollars that want to be invested conservatively, or dollars during a flight to safety, can purchase US securities which means the US can run up astronomical debts in service of it's hegemony.
The yuan itself is still pegged to the dollar. And China has further increased it's dollar reserves since the plandemic started, which is a sign of relative petrodollar strength and not weakness, as far as the relative status of the dollar goes compared to all other currencies; this is the proof in the pudding. The dollar is still the best of a bad bunch of world currencies all in a world of hurt due to nearing four years post- Limits to Growth. And it will remain so.
The yuan is a satellite currency of the dollar. The more dollars China stockpiles, the more they can control the value of the yuan for exporting purposes. If a competitor such as Vietnam makes a push to outcompete China in some sector, then China can leverage it's stockpile of dollars to decrease the value of the yuan, make its exports cheaper, and outcompete Vietnam.
Posted by: reante | Mar 17 2022 18:42 utc | 77
@reante #various
You have zero credibility, and the above posts only reinforce the lack of any scientific, technical or other informed understanding.
Among the more egregious errors:
correlation does not equal causation.
Unless and until you demonstrate an iota of understanding even what the catastrophists say (your own side), your useless blathering on this subject - as with all others I've seen so far, is simply idiotic.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 19:12 utc | 78
c1ue
I dare you to leave the kiddie pool and quote me directly and provide a substantive counterargument.
Posted by: reante | Mar 17 2022 19:43 utc | 79
I think the critical difference here is that African nations are using the yuan and accumulating it - whereas they used to do that with dollars. Then, they would spend those yuan in China somehow - and that avoids the petrodollar system. China gets the benefit and the US doesn't. And eventually, the dollar system declines thereby.
Leaders in China must realize by now that their accumulation of US debt is foolish. The US can cancel or freeze those reserves on a whim. In addition, inflation is now eroding those reserves. China will have to make big changes to avoid loss of that money. I don't think they want to gain Taiwan and lose a trillion dollars.
Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 17 2022 21:19 utc | 80
Just sayin'
"Flows in the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which sends natural gas to Germany via Poland, were recorded going eastward away from Europe on Tuesday morning, data from the European firm Gascade showed, Reuters reported, citing data from German network operator Gascade. Flows leaving Germany were moving at a whopping 4.3 million kilowatt-hours per hour at one section of the pipeline."
Go long on woolly underwear?
Posted by: Stonebird | Mar 17 2022 21:41 utc | 81
Juliania,
thanks for the reply.
I was referring to a sentence at the beginning of the Karamazov bros (Book I, V). The sentence is actually between parentheses, so probably of little importance to Dostoevsky. D describes Aliosha’s beliefs saying that if he had been an atheist he would have become a socialist.
My translation from the French translation:
“… socialism is not only the question of the working class or of the 4th estate, it is above all the question of atheism, of its current incarnation, the question of the Babel Tower, being built without God, not to reach heaven from earth, but to lower heaven down to earth.”
That’s a pretty laconic and metaphorical critique of socialism. The connection between socialism and atheism seems evident to D, but it’s not trivial to me. Surely Chris Hedges would disagree. I was hoping for some more explicit argumentation. I looked up D in wikipedia. It says D was skeptical of socialism because he viewed it as an extension of Roman Catholicism. That doesn’t help much.
Posted by: Robert Macaire | Mar 17 2022 22:23 utc | 82
@reante
I have put up all manner of substantive posts - you are welcome to address.
I have zero interest in engaging with you given your complete lack of intellectual depth - and especially so since you failed to even address the points I put above with anything except rehashed yakety.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 22:58 utc | 83
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 17 2022 16:07 utc | 72
What is the web site?
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Provisional mortality statistics, Jan 2020 - Nov 2021 - Data download
Not sure if this was where Peter was referring to.
There are some decent excel spreadsheets here, if somewhat lagging.
Posted by: ted001 | Mar 17 2022 23:27 utc | 84
Eighthman 80
You're absolutely right it's a sea change were seeing here, a global restructuring.
I don't see china's US securities as foolish. That's how you play the game of globalization, which is the game of maximalism. The mountain of trade surpluses are a means to an end, a byproduct of China's maximalism which is itself the goal.
The nations of the world aren't going to be able to take their financial assets with them during collapse. That's the nature of financial collapse, all the debt that hasn't been repaid doesn't get repaid. It's been a long time, if ever, since China thought it would get repaid in full for its US securities.
Posted by: reante | Mar 18 2022 0:19 utc | 85
ted001 | Mar 17 2022 23:27 utc | 84
That will be the site Ted. I'm tired and have been drinking a bit so wont try and find it again at the moment, but the links in that page and perhaps links within the links will take you to a graph that shows the previous five year average as a wide shaded line and the 2020/2021 mortality rate as a normal line.
c1ue if you dig into ted001's link @84 you might be able to come up with something a bit more detailed. I mostly just tried to see how the graph matched up with vaccine rollout and and the later surge of covid positive cases
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 18 2022 0:35 utc | 86
reply to 85
It appears that China has steadily reduced the % of dollars in their reserves - from 70 some % to 50 and now around 30% (??). Looks like they're planning something. Still, a trillion is a lot of $ to risk subject to US whims. Not that the euro is much better.
I also think there's a lot of foolishness out there as to refusing to think the yuan can replace the dollar. Currently, I think it's 3.7% of reserves but if 3 percent, why not 6 or 16 or 50? Where's the roadblock that forbids it going much higher?
Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 18 2022 0:59 utc | 87
Posted by: Robert Macaire | Mar 17 2022 22:23 utc | 82
“… socialism is not only the question of the working class or of the 4th estate, it is above all the question of atheism, of its current incarnation, the question of the Babel Tower, being built without God, not to reach heaven from earth, but to lower heaven down to earth.”That’s a pretty laconic and metaphorical critique of socialism. The connection between socialism and atheism seems evident to D, but it’s not trivial to me. Surely Chris Hedges would disagree. I was hoping for some more explicit argumentation. I looked up D in wikipedia. It says D was skeptical of socialism because he viewed it as an extension of Roman Catholicism. That doesn’t help much.
My apologies, Robert; I had forgotten that text. I don't think I can unravel your dilemma except to say that Dostoievski's views on socialism and on atheism are more complex than just to call socialism an extension of Roman Catholicism.
I think, however that in the segment you quote here, Alyosha is being described as more closely 'affiliated' to Ivan than either are to their older brother Dmitri, so this is not a laconic description. It is important to how each brother relates to the other two. Both are what D. calls realists, and each has made a choice, as it were between two paths. Ivan, for all his faults, is not a villain - he and Alyosha have the same mother, and matriarchal ties are deeper than the patriarchal ones - at least in this novel they are presented that way. And in the passage I previously quoted, Alyosha has passed through an Ivanlike metamorphosis, emerging back into his own 'reality' fortified by that experience, which, though it seems a minor event, is by no means trivial.
But I don't want to spoil the novel for you if you are just beginning it - do read on!
Posted by: juliania | Mar 18 2022 0:59 utc | 88
I am sorry, Robert - I had cut down my post at 88 and I thought had saved the final version - my computer gave the lengthy first draft, darn it. I wanted to say that Dostoievski means every description to be consequential - his own first draft pages are massively corrected and pared down to the essentials. And you, the reader, are meant to have lots of questions!
Posted by: juliania | Mar 18 2022 1:12 utc | 89
thanks to c1ue for the post | Mar 17 2022 14:25 utc | 68
How Many People Died from the Covid-19 Inoculation? An Estimate Based on a Survey of the United States Population Working Paper
Report prepared by Dr. Mark Skidmore of the University of Michigan
This paper examines potential fatalities and injuries from the Covid-19 inoculation using an online “Covid-19 Health Experiences Survey” administered to a representative sample of the US population. The sample is composed of 3,000 respondents balanced on age, gender, and income to the extent possible. The survey was administered in December 2021, collecting information regarding respondents’ experiences with the Covid-19 illness and the Covid-19 inoculations as well as Covid-19 health experiences within respondents’ social circles. The survey also collected respondent economic and demographic information. Using these data, I find the following:
Covid-19 inoculation-related fatalities:
Assuming that all the respondents who know somebody who they believe died from the inoculation actually died from the inoculation, estimated fatalities are about 308,000.
Subtracting out those who may have died regardless of inoculation yields an estimated 294,000 inoculation-induced fatalities. This is an initial first pass estimate—more evaluation is needed.
Factors associated with being inoculated:
The likelihood of being inoculated is significantly less for those who identify themselves as African American, Hispanic, and Asian, and Republican or Independent. Democrats, Caucasians, and more the highly educated are more likely to be inoculated.
Those who indicated that they obtain information about Covid-19 from alternative news sources were less likely to be inoculated. Those who obtain information from mainstream news and official government source are more likely to be inoculated.
Knowing someone who experienced a significant health problem from the Covid-19 illness increased the likelihood of being inoculated.
Knowing someone who had been injured by the Covid-19 inoculation substantially reduced the likelihood of being inoculated.
The official position of the US government is that the Covid-19 inoculations have resulted in nine fatalities (CDC, 2022). The experiences shared by hundreds of respondents in this survey suggests that many people died or were injured following inoculation. Which data are more believable—nine fatalities or as many as 300,000 fatalities? Surveys have limitations in assessing the impacts of health interventions. However, this type of evaluation offers an important point of triangulation. The experiences of people captured in surveys generally should be consistent with official government data. In the case of Covid-19 inoculations, there is a tremendous divergence which should be cause for further inquiry. My hope is that this research will motivate a full and transparent examination by independent health and medical scholars to ascertain the degree of harm being caused by the Covid-19 inoculations.
Also watch an interview with Dr. Skidmore as he discusses this report.
Posted by: Perimetr | Mar 18 2022 4:15 utc | 90
@ Eighthman | Mar 18 2022 0:59 utc | 87 who is wondering what China can do with 1 trillion US dollars.
How about when the music stops they pay off a bunch of countries debts to the IMF/World Bank?.....its all just numbers and think of the good will.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 18 2022 4:37 utc | 91
@Eighthman #87
I ignore reante because he is both stupid and biased.
This latest screed is yet another in a long line of examples.
The primary reason why China has such a low % in international trade is because the renminbi is not convertible/open. Long story short: if you're not Chinese or a government, it is really hard to do anything with large amounts of RMB.
The reason the renminbi is not convertible/open is because the leadership in China does not want to let its domestic oligarchs (and their 5% direct servants) send their wealth outside of China - hence outside of Chinese government control and Chinese capability to redirect this wealth as needed.
This isn't a theory. China opened the door a crack in 2015 to see what would happen - $1 trillion left in country that year. This flood was a significant reason why the peak in bullshit internet companies was that year - investing in foreign startups was one of the channels.
The renminbi convertibility/oligarch wealth escape issue is also why China is the first country to create a widespread CBDC (central bank digital currency). The inherent capability for incredibly detailed behavioral information extraction and exertion of control is probably the best way China can have its cake and eat it too (convertible e-yuan, currency controls on wealth inside China).
It seems highly likely that the e-yuan will be a significant basis on which the EAEU/SCO will build a new system to compete with the Washington Consensus - a competition which the Washington Consensus is already losing in key aspects. One of the facts noted in the CBDC seminar I attended at Stanford was the China was the largest lender to 51 of the 72 poorest countries - mostly in Africa.
Consider a not-so-distant future where the majority of the Eurasian landmass, the majority of the South and Central American population and the majority of the Middle East and Africa are primarily oriented to a Russia/China/Iran/Brazil/South Africa/India/Pakistan/Indonesia anchored international system.
Now consider what $1 trillion of USD Treasuries means in this context? Not a lot. It would be stupid for China to pay off 3rd world debts "as a gesture of good will", but it would not be stupid at all for China to buy those debts and use that to cement its growing economic ties...
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 18 2022 14:42 utc | 92
Ray Dalio has come out with a nice cartoon summarizing his views
Ray Dalio on changing world orders - youtube
I don't agree with roughly half of the later bits - it is too bankster focused in my view, but the beginning/core is extremely solid.
For example: Dalio focuses on 4 empires: Dutch, British, American and Chinese. He believes all 4 rose and fell due to financial things.
My view on the Dutch vs. British switchover is that the change was a function of both population and energy. The Dutch rose because they were to first to employ fossil fuels: peat. If you've ever been to the Netherlands and driven around, you can still find many areas where the land is literally underwater - not due to sea level rise but because peat mining had literally carved away and burned the land. I've noted in past posts how the "peak peat" curve yielded new technologies like harvesting and drying sub-water-surface peat (think the peat equivalent of deep sea oil drilling or fracking).
Britain's rise coincided with the opening of coal mines and proliferation of coal for industry and home use. The Dutch burned peat to refine sugar (the cocaine of the era) and salt; bake porcelain and any number of a wide range of activities which outcompeted legacy makers using wood and human/animal energy - and the British in turn outcompeted the Dutch in these industries using coal (as peat declined in abundance and rose in cost) and a larger population, later on expanding this by the creation and proliferation of coal-energy technologies like the steam engine.
The rise of the US over the UK, in turn, can be at least partly ascribed to the rise of oil over coal. The US was the first to commercially drill for oil (in Pennsylvania); the internal combustion engine was the driver in the next stage of the industrial revolution. The US had a larger population than the UK around 1860...
Note the UK had to bring its oil from SE Asia in this period; the tech to exploit the North Sea was 60 years in the future.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 18 2022 14:53 utc | 93
Why Russia matters
Ukraine Russia and luxury brands - jingdaily.com
While sales of luxury goods inside Russia only represent around five percent of purchases globally, store closures still represent a loss: years of investment in Russia-based operations, and the chance of working in what could have been a strong emerging market.
5 percent may not seem like much, but consider this: the Russian economy (PPP GDP) is 3.11% of world GDP. Russia consumes far above its weight in luxury goods.
This is why I really wonder who gets hurt worse by sanctions: Europe (seller of most luxury goods) or Russia (outsize consumer of luxury goods).
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 18 2022 14:59 utc | 94
Eighthman
"Still, a trillion is a lot of $ to risk subject to US whims."
US sanctioning/confiscating Russian assets wasn't done on a whim. If China breaks ranks with the Western Hegemon in an untenable way any sanctioning also won't be done on a whim.
The dollar and the treasuries market are the preeminent safe haven. China will have the opportunity to sell these assets soon, when the great flight to safety happens. Demand will be so high that selling into the buying frenzy won't make a dent in the demand, and will be profitable
"I also think there's a lot of foolishness out there as to refusing to think the yuan can replace the dollar. Currently, I think it's 3.7% of reserves but if 3 percent, why not 6 or 16 or 50? Where's the roadblock that forbids it going much higher?"
International reserve currencies are the crown jewels of global finance capitalism. If you're not satisfied or well versed with the systems theory behind the ongoing, obvious collapse of these complex, industrial societies that constitutes the fundamental roadblock, or the brick wall, then you might look at the political culture of the Chinese government as to whether it meets the definition of global finance capitalism.
A globalist economy can't be centered on a country that doesn't believe in globalism and is only using it opportunistically.
Posted by: reante | Mar 18 2022 15:00 utc | 95
More data on time lag for new oil production:
The World Could See A Record Breaking Oil Supply Shock
The global oil market could lose 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of supply from Russia starting in April, as sanctions on banks and buyers’ reluctance to purchase Russian oil could result in the biggest oil supply crisis in decades, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its Oil Market Reportfor this month....
However, OPEC’s Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – the only two producers believed to have enough spare capacity to ramp up production in the short term – have not stepped forward to fill in the widening gap that buyers’ “self-sanctioning” of Russian oil is leaving. The UAE confused the oil market last week with somewhat contradictory messages that it backs additional increases in OPEC+, but energy minister Suhail al Mazrouei later reaffirmed that the UAE would stick to the plan of gradual production increases.
“The OPEC+ alliance agreed on 2 March to stick with a modest, scheduled output rise of 400 kb/d for April, insisting no supply shortage exists. Saudi Arabia and the UAE – the only producers with substantial spare capacity – are, so far, showing no willingness to tap into their reserves,” the IEA said in its report.
...
Producers have said why for months: there is a time lag between drilling and first oil, also because of years of underinvestment, capital discipline, discouraging federal policies toward the oil industry, and supply chain bottlenecks.
For example, even if ConocoPhillips decided to pump more oil today, the first drop of new oil would come within eight to 12 months, CEO Ryan Lance told CNBC last week.
“Even if shale production responds to the price signal, it cannot grow by more than 1.4 mbd this year given labor and infrastructure constraints,” J.P. Morgan said this week.
Note that public company budgets to expand oil/other fossil fuel exploration and development have risen, but risen at half the rate of private companies. Whether this is ESG or "return value to shareholders" or peak whatever is irrelevant in the short term.
Now consider this in light of what Poszar talked about regarding "good" and "bad" commodities i.e. "non-Russian" and "Russian".
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 18 2022 15:03 utc | 96
Thanks karlof1 for translating Putin's speech. It was a rousing national socialist speech. It reminded me of Gabbard's CPAC speech, which reminded me of Hitler speeches. 5th Column is code for jews, right, or more broadly, cultural semitism?
Posted by: reante | Mar 18 2022 15:06 utc | 97
US gas prices: falling a bit but far, far slow than rise
And the fall is likely over.
regular gasoline
Current Avg. $4.27Yesterday Avg. $4.29
Week Ago Avg. $4.33
Month Ago Avg. $3.53
Year Ago Avg. $2.88
Note the fall of prices from $4.33 to $4.27 in one week even as oil prices fell from $120+ to $95. They're back to over $100 now.
diesel
Current Avg. $5.07Yesterday Avg. $5.08
Week Ago Avg. $5.13
Month Ago Avg. $3.94
Year Ago Avg. $3.10
Diesel fell slightly faster than regular gasoline, but still under $0.01/day.
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 18 2022 15:10 utc | 98
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there is something other then ukraine?? that is not what the msm is telling me!
Posted by: james | Mar 16 2022 15:09 utc | 1