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March 27, 2022
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2022-35 (NOT Ukraine)

Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:

(Another week of all out Ukraine. I'd love to write on other stuff, but it is the world moving story of these day.)

Biden:

Michael Tracey @mtracey – 19:46 UTC · Mar 26, 2022

In the span of 24 hours, Biden has declared that US troops are headed to Ukraine, and declared his intention to impose regime change on Russia. Really doing a fantastic job.

—

Scott Ritter @RealScottRitter – 20:33 UTC · Mar 26, 2022

Our President calls for regime change in Russia the same week he promulgates policy that embraces preemptive nuclear strikes in non-nuclear situations. His administration is planning on deploying Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles in Europe later this year. A madman rules America.

More Biden:

Other issues:

911:

Crypto:

Brexit:

Use as open (NOT Ukraine) thread …

Posted by b on March 27, 2022 at 13:23 UTC | Permalink
Comments

Aleph_Null | Mar 28 2022 15:16 utc | 99
That quote also shows how non existent our so called democracy is. Without accurate information, none can make an informed vote. Democracy vs authoritarianism.. so say the current authoritarians – our dear leaders. I guess if people in the so called west were accurately informed there would be no one amongst the current crop of political animals to vote for.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 28 2022 15:44 utc | 101

The main problem with alcohol in fuel is that high levels will corrode the rubber parts – seals and what not.
__________________________________________________
This is another bit of corporate propaganda that is complete bullshit.
Henry ford recommended ethanol blends as the best fuel for his Model T’s when they were first produced in 1908. The story that mass produced vehicles could not handle ethanol has always been a flat-out lie. The fact is what the chemical companies have always used instead of following Ford’s recommendations has done enormous damage to engines and human health. For fifty years lead was added to gasoline which corroded engine and exhaust parts and poisoned any person who lived near any often-travelled road. That was all based on the lie that lead was scientifically proven to be harmless to humans and helped protect engine parts. It was all a lie.
Then for more than 30 years Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether(MTBE) was added as a substitute for lead to upgrade gasoline. MTBE is derived from methanol and is far more corrosive to elastomers and metals than ethanol is, but motorists were again not warned of the damage to their cars and their health. At the time (1980s) of the switchover to MTBE they also started putting labels on gas pumps “may contain up to 10% ethanol” even though at that time very few places had ethanol or state requirements for labeling. As a result engine damage and poor gas mileage caused by MTBE was often attributed to ethanol.
It wasn’t until MTBE was outlawed in many states (because of environmental damage) in the early 2000s that ethanol production expanded to the whole country (before that just a few corn growing states were regularly blending ethanol). When Congress saw the huge increase in ethanol production they passed the The Renewable Fuel Standards(RFS) that mandated ethanol blending even though it was obvious the ethanol production growth was already way ahead of the mandates. The passage of the RFS created an argument against ethanol blending (that it exists only because the govt mandates it). The reality is that if Federal limits on ethanol production were lifted even more ethanol would be mixed with gasoline because motorists would buy value (including cars designed to take advantage of better performance with ethanol blends) and retailers would make it more available.
The main reason car engines last so much longer today than they did 40 years ago is because finally after 120 years Henry Ford’s advice about the best motor fuel is being followed.
c1ue wrote: “If the government is so against ethanol, why exactly is there a 45 cent per gallon of ethanol tax break for blending ethanol into gasoline?”
That is just c1ue promoting the Big Oil lies again. There is no such tax break or any subsidies at all for ethanol. In fact federal corn subsidies have been significantly reduced in the last 10 years. The tax break ended more than 10 years ago. The few years that the 45 cent tax break did exist it was money given to the oil companies for the stated purpose of compensating the oil companies for the new laws prohibiting the blending of MTBE. The poor old oil companies could no longer be allowed to poison us with MTBE so Congress had to step in and help them out.
The reality is that Federal corn subsidies have gone down while corn production has almost doubled in the last 12 years. Fifteen years ago the federal govt was handing out billions of dollars in corn price supports and to compensate farmers for production losses. Then ethanol production expanded and today all that is gone and the subsidies that do remain are mostly crop insurance to cover weather related loses.
https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn

Posted by: Jinn | Mar 28 2022 16:16 utc | 102

Below is a quote from a ZH posting about the purchase of LME in 2012 which I think barflies will find interesting

In December 2012, the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Limited (HKEX) purchased all ordinary shares of LME, the world’s largest base metals exchange, for an “astronomical” nearly $2 billion. Only two of its directors remain on the board and the other 10 resigned.
Mike Sun, a North American private investor, told The Epoch Times the CCP paid a premium price the British could not refuse.
It didn’t matter to the Chinese that the LME purchase price was 180 times larger than its historical price-to-earnings ratio. Nor was it an issue that this purchase had exploded HKEX’s debt ratio from 0 percent to nearly 50 percent.
More important than price to the Chinese regime was the ability to directly influence base metal trading policies and prices on behalf of its domestic enterprises. HKEX’s major shareholders include the Hong Kong SAR government and JPMorgan Chase. But by the end of 2021, the HKSAR government held more than twice as many ordinary shares as JPMorgan Chase. Additionally, HKEX’s board of directors is appointed by the Hong Kong government. So if truth be told, the CCP owns the LME and directs its activities, often to the advantage of its domestic industries.

What I see is a sovereign nation standing up to the global private finance cult and this will continue and expand, IMO
We are in a civilization war about public/private finance and social organization structure but few talk about at that level.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 28 2022 16:21 utc | 103

Carbon intensity of corn ethanol produced under the RFS is no less than gasoline and likely at least 24% higherifecylce Emissions of Ethanol
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 28 2022 12:53 utc | 88 is wrong
The study by Lart et al is found here:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2101084119
A commentary on the topic is here:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2200997119
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 28 2022 12:46 utc | 86 is also incorrect.
F1 does not utilize alcohol fuels.
F1 has only this season introduced E10 fuel. Prior to this the fuel was straight gasoline which may have been formulated by the oil company supplier (Esso, Pertrobras, Gulf, etc).

Posted by: Sushi | Mar 28 2022 16:49 utc | 104

@Jinn #102
You are completely without credibility in this subject – so much so that I am starting to wonder about your credibility elsewhere.
There is very much a federal subsidy for ethanol. I laid it out straight: a 45 cent per gallon of ethanol tax credit given to refiners at present.
This is a Congressional appropriation which was originally created in 1978 as part of the Energy Policy Act, and which has been renewed/modified regularly: 1982, 1990, 1998 and finally 2004.
Thoughtco writeup on the Ethanol Subsidy
As for your commentary on alcohol and seals: again you are full of shit.
Even boat dealers note that ethanol blends of regular gasoline can damage boat engines
Ethanol blends cause tremendous damage to small engines

Boatyards and marine engine dealers warn that gas blended with ethanol can cause motors to stop working, ruin rubber components in the engine’s fuel system and damage engine parts. Marine engine manufacturers warn that damage resulting from the use of E15 gas may not be covered by warranty.
The same risks and warnings apply to many engines used far from the water.
“Probably 75 percent of our service work is fuel-related,” Roger MacDowell, service manager at Ellsworth Chainsaw on the Bar Harbor Road, said last week. “We see a tremendous amount of damage.”
MacDowell explained that ethanol — alcohol distilled primarily from corn in the United States — pulls moisture out of the air which condenses in fuel systems and “damages components” in the engine.
The issue isn’t too serious in automobiles with large fuel tanks, but in a lawnmower with a small engine and a tank that holds perhaps a pint or two of gasoline, MacDowell said, “even one teaspoon is not good.”

So E10 is more or less ok for a car engine – but I didn’t say E10 was damaging car engines.
What I said is that pure alcohol would damage a car engine although you can actually run a car on pure alcohol for a short time.
Equally, you can run a car on pure alcohol if you ensure the seals and what not are specifically resistant. As far as I know, none of the cars sold commercially are set up for this resistance.
So much for your nonsense.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 28 2022 16:50 utc | 105

Jinn Also Incorrect
Posted by: Jinn | Mar 28 2022 16:16 utc | 102
See the commentary posted in 104

The paper by Lark et al. (4) provides us with yet more evidence that our corn-based biofuel initiatives run counter to our nation’s and the world’s environmental, economic, and social goals. It is worth questioning the wisdom, logic, and ethics of continuing to use large expanses of our best farmland to produce a small amount of fuel at great environmental cost when better transportation alternatives exist.

My prediction – The RFS2 standard will be modified or redacted and the area devoted to corn ethanol will be replanted to grow human food crops. This cropland is “equivalent to all the land planted to corn in Iowa and Minnesota, the first and fourth largest corn-producing states.”
This alteration in agricultural patterns will be driven primarily by changes in the global food economy resulting from the Ukraine conflict.

Posted by: Sushi | Mar 28 2022 17:00 utc | 106

Major Market Opportunity
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 28 2022 12:41 utc | 85
@Sushi #48
Still wrong.
28 nm is still high end.
Low end is 180 nanometer and larger (0.18 micron).
We’re talking year 2000 or older factories.
—
My post was to the fact that China has domestic capacity to run 28 nm process. They do not require to purchase any sanctioned equipment to do this (ASML).
I was unaware automotive chips are still being run at 180 nm. If this is correct there is a major market opportunity to re-scale these chips for 28 nm and quadruple output and profit.
I doubt China will have any difficulty securing Russian supplies of neon.
I do not think you wrong. I do think you intemperate.

Posted by: Sushi | Mar 28 2022 17:12 utc | 107

There is very much a federal subsidy for ethanol. I laid it out straight: a 45 cent per gallon of ethanol tax credit given to refiners at present.
___________________________________________________
Stop lying. The 45 cent federal subsidy (veetc) which went to the oil companies ended Dec 31 2011.
As for damage to small engines: I have been using gasohol in the same chainsaw and push mower and roto-tiller for forty years and never once had a problem with water in the gas tank.
Where I live, they started selling gasohol back in the 70’s. Back then that was a really good fuel because the local farm coop where I bought gas mixed regular gasoline with ethanol. That made a really high octane fuel.
Today if the supplier forgets to add the ethanol to the blendstock it likely damage your engine and reduce fuel economy because the fuel that they mix the ethanol with today is really crappy fuel. And that is the whole reason ethanol is in almost every gas tank in the US, because without it the oil refiners would have to make millions of gallons a day of better quality fuel at a significantly higher cost to produce.

Posted by: jinn | Mar 28 2022 17:34 utc | 108

c1ue | Mar 28 2022 12:49 utc | 87
whatever. smell the wildfire smoke or not. the solidus is less and less…solid as empire collapses. but, hey, you’ve got the midas touch. keep smoking what’s coming out of your tailpipe.
speaking of whining about shit that doesn’t matter, yeah, it’s from my limousine that i noticed how many locks are on the garbage cans everywhere. fences going up along w/the real estate prices. what a huge blow it is to people’s egos to have to use public transportation.
hey you know one way germans can beat the price of gas and the cold?
they can rub their bodies against each other.
but they’d have to stop fingering their wallets and eyeing their crypto. and stop worrying that “the rooskies are coming!”

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 28 2022 17:47 utc | 109

MOA where new experts come to argue and insult and treat us to their ‘eloquence and intellect’ ad nauseum
Welcome to the devolution

Posted by: ld | Mar 28 2022 17:52 utc | 110

I was talking to a student, now 15, in Hangzhou, China about current measures against the latest variant. Trying to be encouraging about a subject we’ve now spent over 2 years talking about, every week. I always suggest to him, that if China continues its measures against the virus, they’ll be all right. whatever happens with the vaccines, the other public health measures will save China from the utter waste going on in most of the rest of the world.
one time recently, having this same conversation in which we skirted around the subject of nuclear war, he brought up
population decline. sigh, i didn’t have an answer ready to hand.
now just what are people in isolation supposed to do? nothing wrong with xbox. or booze for that matter.
what the hell does Stevie Wonder know? he’s lucky not to be in prison.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 28 2022 18:20 utc | 111

Canada’s Defence Minister announced today that the government is entering into negotiations with the US government to work out a contract to purchase F-35 fighter jets.
https://twitter.com/AnitaAnandMP/status/1508555415734427648
If they can’t come to an agreement, then impartial Canadian law dictates that whoever is the government in Canada can approach the second choice, which is Sweden’s Saab Gripen.
This may (*may*) turn into a several-billions-dollars payout to Lockheed Martin so that they don’t sue… or sanction Canadian fighter jets in some other creative way. We’ll see. Nonetheless, an interesting choice of timing to start Canada-US negotiations!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f-35-negotiations-1.6399978

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 28 2022 22:49 utc | 112

@Sushi #104
You’re right – I was thinking of Indy Cars. They use methanol.
In any case, certainly racing cars 🙂

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 0:39 utc | 113

@jinn #108
You are so full of shit it isn’t even funny.
As I clearly outlined – federal subsidies for ethanol have existed since 1978.
The only difference is that the specific federal subsidy used was changed recently to pay a different entity in the chain – the refiners – but subsidy money still flows to the ethanol industry.
You can’t seem to understand that there are many different ways to subsidize ethanol besides paying producers.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 0:44 utc | 114

@Sushi #107
Computer chips have a wide range of functions and environment – minimum feature size only really matters for computers and cell phones.
The vast majority of semiconductor chips in a car are emission control sensors and similar types of engine control, tire pressure, etc etc – size is not the issue there but durability is.
Secondly, every digital chip has an analog link to the outside world. It could be as little as an A/D or D/A modulating inputs to/from the chip, plus a clock or as complex as the RF + analog processing in a cell phone – this is ignoring the even more complex stuff like radar systems, generally military or aviation.
The analog parts – there is no benefit to having a “28nm” or “10nm” process; in fact, generally the more difficult/complex analog are completely separate chips.
Long and short of it:
28 nm is still a very, very expensive process.
To give an idea: you can tape out a chip for $5000 in a 0.18 um process.
45 nm tapeouts would be in the $1M+ range, and a sub 20nm tapeout is probably at least $10M+. So 28nm tapeout is certainly double digit millions.
Why on earth would anyone want to produce a $1 chip that requires $3-4M to produce a single physical copy? And another $3-$4M to produce a single revision?
These types of economic issues are widespread throughout the semiconductor industry – which is why the vast, vast majority of chips used are almost literally a handful of designs plus a wide range of peripherals.
This graph shows that, as of 2020, 23.7% of all chips produced by area are 0.18um are greater in size. Another 19.8% are between 0.18um and 40nm.
In reality, the shares are much more 0.18um than the above shows because a huge percentage of the 40nm –> <10nm is memory: RAM and Flash memory.
RAM and flash memories are extremely custom and aren't exactly even digital and are all produced in vertically integrated companies like Samsung and Toshiba - they are semiconductors but are a completely ring fenced portion of the market. DRAMs - 3 companies produce >90% of all the DRAM in the entire world: Samsung, Hynix and Micron. Flash memory: 6 companies control 90%+ of the entire world market: the above 3 plus Kioxia, Intel and Western Digital.
The above memory categories are 25% of the entire market and pretty much exclusively at the bleeding edge. Remove those from the “real” chip market and that’s where I get the >50% of the market being um (trailing edge) vs. nm (leading edge) which is to say, 90nm and above.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 1:06 utc | 115

c1ue the oilco shill wrote:
As I clearly outlined – federal subsidies for ethanol have existed since 1978.
Outlined???
Ha Ha Ha you become hysterical when you get caught tangled up in your lies.
What you “outlined” was that the corn ethanol industry could not survive without a 45 cent/gal subsidy from the govt.
However, your “outline” failed to notice that the subsidy ended more than ten years ago and that when it did exist that tax credit was given directly to the oilcos. Your “outline” also failed to include that neither the price of gasoline at the pump or the price that oilcos paid to ethanol producers changed as a result of the expiration of the 45 cent tax credit given to the oil companies. In other words, the oilcos had been just pocketing the entire subsidy and none of it was passed on to either the consumers or the suppliers. And why should they? The oilcos already had a financial incentive to mix as much ethanol as the market would accept and the law would allow because blending with ethanol allowed their refineries to produce cheaper low grade gasoline that was upgraded by adding ethanol.
What is clear that the ethanol industry not only survived the end of the subsidy but has grown larger. And ethanol consumption by US motorists would likely more than double current usage if federal law was changed to allow increased consumption.

Posted by: jinn | Mar 29 2022 3:16 utc | 116

Jinn, you dumbshit, they can’t even sell ethanol in Iowa. no body wants it. It’s so corrosive it can’t be added to our pipelines, so has to be trucked around, and “splash blended” Ethanol destroys small engines, I’m a landscaper by profession and no, it will eat a small engine in 2 years. This is the guy that runs that http://www.insideautomotive,com website and the Saturday radio show I’ve been encouraging you to listen to
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-04-27/ethanol-a-tragedy-in-3-actsbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

Posted by: ScottinDallas | Mar 29 2022 11:57 utc | 117

@jinn #116
You are a moron.
I never wrote that the ethanol industry could or could not exist without the subsidy – I merely noted that it existed.
Your refusal to admit reality is your own problem.
There is a federal subsidy for ethanol. Period.
Nor did I ever make any form of value or other judgment on E10 – I merely noted that pure alcohol will damage normal engines even if it could be used as fuel.
I don’t know if you are an ethanol corn farmer or just plain fixated on the subject, but your idiocy in this matter is 100% clear.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 13:44 utc | 118

This is interesting: an overview of California oil consumption and sources going back many years

Year CA___ AK___ Foreign_ Total (units in 1000 barrels)
2021 151,326 078,104 294,349 523,779
2020 169,211 085,662 230,581 485,454
2019 183,158 073,252 359,712 616,122
2018 199,658 072,945 369,386 641,989
2017 197,008 077,740 355,150 629,898
2016 204,005 067,843 329,934 601,782
2015 225,435 073,182 323,336 621,953
2014 240,095 067,702 328,245 636,042
2013 230,357 074,382 319,677 624,416
2012 227,626 077,150 313,530 618,306
2011 229,556 071,138 300,016 600,710
2010 231,339 086,382 289,797 607,518
2009 239,070 091,148 274,883 605,101
2008 248,490 088,362 317,136 653,988
2007 252,125 100,899 286,849 639,873
2006 254,498 105,684 295,306 655,488
2005 265,050 136,237 272,187 673,474
2004 274,396 141,967 238,484 654,847
2003 292,899 154,524 230,041 677,464
2002 317,573 143,463 199,964 661,000
2001 324,723 138,693 191,843 655,259
2000 325,816 163,789 169,105 658,710
1999 301,966 193,327 140,905 636,198
1998 317,816 221,984 104,650 644,450
1997 322,242 244,623 077,628 644,493
1996 316,201 268,806 063,996 649,003
1995 320,372 264,530 056,864 641,766
1994 320,369 296,508 049,192 666,069
1993 342,762 285,565 043,359 671,686
1992 331,638 299,652 033,056 664,346

Note how the total amount of oil California uses has not actually changed that much since 1992 – 664,346×1000 barrels vs. 616,122×1000 barrels in 2019 (pre COVID).
Now, California population was 30.88M in 1992 vs. 39.51M in 2019, so the usage per person has dropped around 25% (27.5%).
But then again, California has the strictest car emission requirements in the US. It has the CARB, which has imposed the strictest overall emissions requirements for businesses in the state. It has the most percentage EV penetration. It has installed enormous amounts of solar and wind power, which produce 15.43% and 7.18% of its electricity, on top of the 11.34% hydro and 9.38% nuclear.
Despite all this – California overall oil consumption has only dropped 7.3%.
And we are supposed to get to net zero by 2030 – all of 8 years from now?
Not gonna happen.
Note also that California now imports 56.2% of its oil from abroad – previously including Russia. California imported only 5% of its oil from foreigners in 1992.
This change is entirely due to the decline of both California and Alaska oil production. The movie “There Will Be Blood” is actually set in the Bakersfield/Central California region where there is oil, for example.
So not only is California still heavily dependent on oil, this oil is now imported because there are no pipelines or other means to get oil from oil-producing states except by ship – and Alaska production has declined a lot presumably, given the above numbers.
I note this only because California oil production behavior seems like it might be a good proxy for the effects of ESG on US oil production, overall.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 14:00 utc | 119

Forgot the source data: California Energy.gov data source

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 14:01 utc | 120

Wolfstreet published an overview on US LNG exports
Here are the top 20 US LNG exports in 2021 in bcf (billion cubic feet):

South Korea 453
China 450
Japan 355
Brazil 308
Spain 215
India 196
United Kingdom 195
Turkey 189
Netherlands 174
France 171
Chile 122
Taiwan 99
Argentina 83
Portugal 66
Poland 56
Dominican Republic 53
Pakistan 46
Greece 40
Bangladesh 38
Croatia 36
Kuwait 34
Italy 34
Lithuania 31
Jamaica 25
Singapore 25
Total 3494
in BCM 98.98

Note that the US exports less than 100 bcm via LNG per year at present. Europe needs at least 350 bcm to replace Russian natural gas.
Not gonna happen.
The Wolfstreet article also notes that Mexico is actually the largest recipient of US natural gas. The US exports about 6.65 tcf = ~188 bcm of natural gas. Subtracting the above – roughly 90 bcm go to Mexico and Canada, but Canada also exports natural gas to the US while Mexico does not. Wolfstreet says 30% of pipeline exports go to Canada (with more coming back), so that implies ~60bcm exports to Mexico.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 14:18 utc | 121

Regular gas prices vacillating, but diesel continues to increase: getting close to record high previously set on 3/12/22 @$5.135
However, I still expect a jump in prices soon. The federal mandate to switch from winter to summer formulation must be completed by May 1, so sometime in April – the switchover should start at which point it is frequently the case that the supply of incoming summer formulation doesn’t match the remaining supply of winter formulation.
regular gasoline

Current Avg. $4.244
Yesterday Avg. $4.246
Week Ago Avg. $4.242
Month Ago Avg. $3.610
Year Ago Avg. $2.863

diesel

Current Avg. $5.127
Yesterday Avg. $5.123
Week Ago Avg. $5.040
Month Ago Avg. $4.006
Year Ago Avg. $3.098

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 15:39 utc | 122

c1ue, who continues to shill for Big Oil, wrote:
“I never wrote that the ethanol industry could or could not exist without the subsidy – I merely noted that it existed.”
You lied and you are now trying to hide your lies. You asked this question: “if ethanol is a profitable product – emissions, performance, and saleable byproduct – why is this subsidy necessary?”
Your question is based on a lie. There is no subsidy. You have repeatedly lied by claiming the subsidy still exists.
The $.45/gal subsidy ended more that 10 years ago and when it did exist there is no evidence that the ethanol producers in anyway benefited from this tax break that Congress gave to the Oil Companies.
If the ethanol producers were the ones benefiting from the subsidy, then you would expect that after the subsidy ended, the price of ethanol would increase by $.45/gal. and the volume of ethanol sales to the oil companies would go down. But the exact opposite is what happened. After the subsidy (that was paid to the oil companies) ended the price those oil companies paid for ethanol declined steadily while the volume sold to the oil companies steadily increased. In other words there is zero evidence that there ever was a subsidy that benefited the ethanol producers.

Posted by: jinn | Mar 29 2022 17:03 utc | 123

@jinn
You are a moron and an idiot.
There is very much a subsidy, paid by the federal government, to refiners who incorporate ethanol into gasoline. This subsidy underwrite ethanol production.
Repeating shit over and over isn’t going to change reality.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 29 2022 22:03 utc | 124

don’t underestimate the youth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EK0XjDunfI

Posted by: Rae | Mar 29 2022 22:51 utc | 125

C1ue continues to double down on his lie:
“There is very much a subsidy, paid by the federal government, to refiners who incorporate ethanol into gasoline. This subsidy underwrite ethanol production.”
All you have to do is produce the law or regulation that supports your claim. But instead, all you do is lie and repeat lies as if anybody would take your word for anything.
Here is the complete compilation of the federal codes:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text
I can provide a link to the law that has not been in force for more than ten years but what is the point in doing that? You will just claim that some other fictional law does exist. If the law exists you should prove it, but I know you won’t you will just keep lying and lying. And you and everybody else knows you are lying.

Posted by: Jinn | Mar 29 2022 23:34 utc | 126

Through an obscure and random news story, I arrived in Indonesia. Some interesting events happening there with regional and global implications:
First, as the current chair of the G20, Indonesia is under pressure to exclude Russia from the upcoming summit.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/putin-plans-attend-g20-summit-indonesia-russian-ambassador-2581071
“Indonesia’s deputy central bank governor, Dody Budi Waluyo, said on Monday Indonesia’s position was one of neutrality and it would use its G20 leadership to try to resolve problems but Russia had a “strong commitment” to attend and other members could not forbid it from doing so.”
Secondly, as one of the top producers of crude palm oil (Indonesia and Malaysia account for 85 percent of global production), Indonesia is under pressure from both the commodity markets for cooking oil and from the EU regulation to address deforestation.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-cooking-oil-shortage-price-increase-palm-oil-2579036
Finally, Indonesia has an outbreak of lumpy skin disease to contend with, a disease that effects cattle and buffalo.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-04/lumpy-skin-disease-detected-in-indonesia/100881842

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 29 2022 23:34 utc | 127

Below is a Xinhuanet posting about policy and values related to their social credit “system”. There is a lot of attention here to very specific things in their society….show me another country, other than Russia, that is this organized and focused on its governance for the people….it isn’t perfect but they keep addressing things that are important and, perhaps, they know that change is the only constant.

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) — The general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council have issued a guideline on underpinning the development of the social credit system.
It called for strengthening the integrity of scientific research and protecting intellectual property rights, cracking down on thesis trading, and optimizing the protection and application system for intellectual property rights.
Quality control of products and services will be enhanced, and the supply of quality products and services in the domestic market will be expanded, the guideline said, noting that China will also cultivate model enterprises of integrity management.
Meanwhile, China will foster an environment for honest consumption and investment, such as cracking down on the production and sale of counterfeit goods, illegal advertising, and false publicity.
China will also improve the credit system for ecological and environmental protection, according to the document.
The document also called for building the credit system for the capital market, developing inclusive finance, expanding the scale of credit loans, and solving the financing problems of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and individual businesses.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2022 5:46 utc | 128

Below is a link to a Xinhuanet video that I encourage barflies to watch. China seems clear about the opportunities it is providing to some of its lower income population.
Their Community Factories look like factory labor conditions to many of us but, as a spoiled American, I am mostly ignorant about the countries all over the world full of factories building consumer crap that gives them employment where they wouldn’t have such otherwise. In another posting about China I report that they are very active in trying to manage their society to meet social goals and values which hopefully will evolve these Community Factories to meets more regional and local needs, IMO, more than for international “overconsumption” (my belief, which I want to see end the BS consumption for consumption sake)
Community factories help lift residents out of poverty in China’s remote village

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2022 6:07 utc | 129

We seem to be witnessing a cultural shift, here in Oz, such that the official religion to hate (for the au courant) is no long Islam, but Orthodox Christianity — especially Russian Orthodox Christianity.

Today’s Russian Orthodoxy, as well as Putin, see the main challenge to the church in the values of Western liberalism and the corrupting ideas of the Enlightenment, especially notions of equality that extend to the defense of LGBTQ+ people, the right to abortion and related causes.

This from Carl Davidson and Bill Fletcher Jr., at Truthout (from their essay “Putin Is Attempting to Center Russia as a Hub of the Global Right Wing”).
The pattern is mind-boggling, but ever more ubiquitous. We lump in arbitrary cultural standards with today’s apocalyptic extension of the Russiagate fiasco. Regardless of whether the hate we spread incites hate crimes. Carelessly hateful words are hate crimes, Mr Davidson, Mr Fletcher.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Mar 30 2022 8:49 utc | 130

Sushi
jinn
c1ue
Thank you all for your fascinating presentations on the ethanol industry. I am pleased that no human was injured in the production of those posts ;))
The Lart review was interesting but I still can’t help thinking if all that cornland was actually forested with a carefully chosen tree species we might get decent local lumber, cleaner waterways, more fish, less algal blooms and CO2 reduction.
With the new fertiliser challenge from Belarus and Russia it may well be that USA cultivation of corn for ethanol may be way too expensive and a much lower priority crop.
I have never come across any damage to small portable IC engines from using ethanol blend petrol but I am outside the USA. I will ask around on that one to see what others experience.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 30 2022 9:30 utc | 131

https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/malcolm-roberts-drops-bombshells-in-senate-after-covid-under-question-inquiry/
These are the matters I sought today to refer to the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 without success.

Posted by: Rae | Mar 30 2022 9:56 utc | 132

Meanwhile, in another ongoing American TRIUMPH!1!! (source: online Vientiane Times) —

Huawei released its 2021 Annual Report on Monday, revealing that the company had maintained solid operations throughout the past year.
As per the report, Huawei achieved 636.8 billion yuan in revenue in 2021, and 113.7 billion yuan in net profits, an increase of 75.9 percent year-on-year.
The company’s R&D expenditure reached 142.7 billion yuan in 2021, representing 22.4 percent of its total revenue, and bringing its total R&D expenditure over the past 10 years to over 845 billion yuan. Moving forward, the company also plans to continuously increase investment in R&D. [ . . . ]
Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s CFO, also spoke at the event, saying “Despite a revenue decline in 2021, our ability to make a profit and generate cash flows is increasing, and we are more capable of dealing with uncertainty.” [ . . . ]
Third-party test results have found that 5G networks built by Huawei for customers in 13 countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, provide the best user experience. [ . . . ]
All financial statements in the 2021 Annual Report were independently audited by KPMG, an international Big Four accounting firm.

Posted by: malenkov | Mar 30 2022 12:58 utc | 133

@Jinn #126
Idiot and moron. Ongoing bullshit.
Here is the Federal government’s Department of Energy, ITSELF, listing subsidies (called incentives) for ethanol

Ethanol Laws and Incentives in Federal
The list below contains summaries of all Federal laws and incentives related to ethanol.

Most of these are small, but this one is not:

Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit
A second generation biofuel producer that is registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may be eligible for a tax incentive in the amount of up to $1.01 per gallon of second generation biofuel that is: sold and used by the purchaser in the purchaser’s trade or business to produce a second generation biofuel mixture; sold and used by the purchaser as a fuel in a trade or business; sold at retail for use as a motor vehicle fuel; used by the producer in a trade or business to produce a second generation biofuel mixture; or used by the producer as a fuel in a trade or business. If the second generation biofuel also qualifies for alcohol fuel tax credits, the credit amount is reduced to $0.46 per gallon for biofuel that is ethanol and $0.41 per gallon if the biofuel is not ethanol. Second generation biofuel is defined as liquid fuel produced from any lignocellulosic or hemicellulosic matter that is available on a renewable basis or any cultivated algae, cyanobacteria, or lemna. To qualify, fuel must also meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel and fuel additive registration requirements. Alcohol with a proof of less than 150, fuel with a water or sediment content of more than 4%, and fuel with an ash content of more than 1% are not considered second generation biofuels. The incentive is allowed as a credit against the producer’s income tax liability. Under current law, only qualified fuel produced in the United States for use in the United States may be eligible. For more information about claiming the credit, see IRS Forms 637 and 6478, which are available on the IRS Forms and Publications website. (Reference Public Law 116-260, Public Law 116-94, Public Law 115-123, Public Law 114-113, and 26 U.S. Code 40)
Point of Contact
Excise Tax Branch
U.S. Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel
Phone: (202) 317-6855
“>http://www.irs.gov/

There are 20 different “incentives” listed, plus another 10 laws and 2 programs. The laws include requirements for the federal government to buy “alternative fuel vehicles” and “alternative fuels”.
The Jinn stupid, it burns …

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 30 2022 13:42 utc | 134

There’s increasing talk of hydrogen: clean burning, no carbon emissions etc.
From a road transport perspective, hydrogen is the least difficult transition compared to hybrid or EV – it is relatively easy to convert ICE engines to burn hydrogen and there aren’t big heavy batteries to lug around, charge and replace.
However, hydrogen is problematic in many other ways.
Here’s an overview

Of the 3 million miles of pipelines in the U.S.(!!!), just 1,600 miles are dedicated hydrogen-ready ones. To safely transport hydrogen around would require a huge overhaul of the system.
…
The report found that the cleanest hydrogen — that is, hydrogen made using renewables, known as green hydrogen — is currently the most expensive. And using it would double or even quadruple the price of methane gas.
Not all utilities are planning to use green hydrogen, of course. But for those that do, it could leave ratepayers coughing up two to four times more on their energy bills, according to the report.

source report for above

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 30 2022 14:39 utc | 135

@ Rae | Mar 30 2022 9:56 utc | 132 with the Covid link from AU
Thanks for that. It is nice to know the uncovering of the Covid lies continues because Western humanity needs to understand the cancer in its form of social organization….global private finance

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2022 14:44 utc | 136

Very blatant statement of Middle Eastern power shift due to JCPOA
Saudi editor opinion published by Jerusalem Post

A more realistic discussion should focus on one word: “Divorce.” When President Barack Obama negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, we Saudis understood him to be seeking the breakup of a 70-year marriage. [Don’t know about 70 years, but certainly 40 years since the Iran revolution…]
How could we not? After all, the flaws in the deal are well known. It paves a path for Iran to a nuclear bomb. It fills the war chest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has spread militias across the Arab world armed with precision-guided munitions to maim and kill people who formerly looked to America to help guarantee their safety.
…
Sold disingenuously to the American public as an arms control agreement, the deal is an assault on the regional order that the United States established in the aftermath of World War II. Explicitly hostile to Saudi Arabia, to say nothing of America’s other greatest ally in the region, Israel, the deal replaces the former American-led regional security structure with a concert system in which Iran, backed by Russia and China, becomes America’s new subcontractor while America’s former allies—the Gulf States and Israel— are demoted to second-tier status.
Most importantly, to its authors, the deal takes the United States out of the business of containing Iran, which in response has further ramped up its attacks on regional peace and stability.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 30 2022 14:49 utc | 137

More detail on why cooking oil seems to be in shortage
Rising Food Prices Could Spell Social Unrest and Demand Destruction

Cooking oil shortages have been worsening since last year. In Malaysia—the world’s number two palm oil producer—output fell drastically due to a chronic labor shortage. Then drought decimated the canola crop in Canada and slashed the soybean harvests in Brazil and Argentina. Buyers were counting on filling in with sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia, which together make up about 75% of the world of the world’s exports. The invasion ended that possibility.
…
The war is also exacerbating a record surge in fertilizer prices, which will only make food more expensive. Brazilian farmer Zilto Donadello plans to cut fertilizer applications 30% to 50% in the next soybean crop, likely resulting in lower yields on his 400-hectare-farm in northern Mato Grosso in the agriculture heartland of the world’s biggest soybean producer.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 30 2022 14:55 utc | 138

A group of American experts concluded that the calculations of the Russian defense concern Almaz-Antey in the case of the crash of MH-17 are most consistent with the nature of the damage found on the wreckage of the aircraft, said the lawyer of the accused Russian.
A sudden “insight” after 8 years. Of course, it has nothing to do with what is happening in Ukraine now, heh.

Posted by: alaff | Mar 30 2022 14:57 utc | 139

Then drought decimated the canola crop in Canada and slashed the soybean harvests in Brazil and Argentina.

Hmm, that would explain why the price of a 48-ounce bottle of store brand canola oil has risen 50% in just a year. (Actually more than that: used to be $2/19; now $3.49.) And that’s in the Rocky Mountain foothills.
Europe is sooooooo screwed and I feel really bad about the effects on the developing world.

Posted by: malenkov | Mar 30 2022 15:09 utc | 140

C1ue wrote: “The list below contains summaries of all Federal laws and incentives related to ethanol.”
I guess you did not read the link you posted( or maybe your handlers did not read it).
“Advanced biofuel is defined as fuel derived from renewable biomass other than corn kernel starch”
“Through the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels (Section 9005), eligible producers of advanced biofuels, or fuels derived from renewable biomass other than corn kernel starch, may receive payments to support expanded production of advanced biofuels.”
“…advanced biofuel, which includes fuels derived from approved renewable biomass, excluding corn starch-based ethanol.”
Even the part you quoted makes it clear that there is no subsidy for ethanol made from corn kernel starch:
“Second generation biofuel is defined as liquid fuel produced from any lignocellulosic or hemicellulosic matter that is available on a renewable basis or any cultivated algae, cyanobacteria, or lemna.”
That means you can get the subsidy if you make ethanol from cornstalks but no subsidy for ethanol made from the corn kernel starch.
The subsidies listed on that page are irrelevant (in the real world). Nobody is producing advanced and second generation ethanol biofuels because even with the various incentives it is not economically viable.

Posted by: jinn | Mar 30 2022 16:01 utc | 141

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