Posts by silentnomad7

Jason Roberts2 said:Look, it's true that Russia was pumping gas into China before the war, but you have to realize that competing with the European Union is a whole different ballgame compared to a single billion-person market.
Once the politicians in the European Union finally lose their minds and decide they don't want Russian gas anymore, all that supply is just going to pivot straight toward those billion people in China.
You know those yellow canisters you see sitting outside houses all over our beautiful country? Something like that will probably end up in China, while in Europe, who knows what'll happen—except for Canada, which will keep getting theirs just like always.
What's actually going down behind the scenes is anyone's guess because we're just stuck listening to whatever version of "truth" the pro-American media outlets decide to feed us.

It’s going to be tough, I tell you. I'm hearing reports that people are starting to head toward the southern parts of the European Union since they don't need to crank the heat as much there, and plenty of others are moving to non-EU countries that aren't struggling with cheap gas. People aren't going to sit around and get screwed over; they’re going to move to where life is actually better...

Nathan Evans78 said:I honestly think they'll just nationalize whatever scraps are left of those little utility companies and start supplying gas at below-market rates. Of course, we'll all end up footing the bill for those deficits together once things stabilize—I'm guessing somewhere around 2026 or 2027.😁

Yesterday, they were busy bragging about how tourism revenue is up by 40% compared to 2019. Plus, you have all that extra tax revenue rolling in thanks to inflation. They’ve definitely collected at least $80 billion more in sales tax than what was originally projected for this year. So, technically, there’s plenty of cash sitting in the budget from those sales taxes... which means they could really start providing subsidies right this second!

Nathan Evans78 said:One day you're looking at a company needing maybe 7 or 8 billion, then the finance folks start talking about "just a few" billion, and before you know it, step by step, they could somehow balloon those deficits into the trillions by next winter. 🤣

The American energy provider NextEra Energy has requested a multi-billion dollar loan from the government. According to CEO Veli-Matti Reinikkala, the company is facing much higher collateral requirements when purchasing power due to skyrocketing electricity prices across European markets.

It all just points to the fact that the universe seeks equilibrium...

For years, they enjoyed incredibly cheap gas, and now they’re going to be footing the bill at much higher prices for a while.

When you finally sit down to do the math for the long haul, it’ll turn out they paid pretty much the standard average rate all along...

The bottom line? You’ve got to stop letting blackmailers run the show, because sooner or later they’ll screw you over anyway, and in the end, they won't have been worth the trouble...

America has really leaned into natural gas over just the last couple of decades.

Which basically means that back in the day, we managed just fine without it.

And honestly? It proves we can move away from it and should be looking to scale down our usage.

Besides, solar isn't some lonely lone wolf out there; America has a whole mountain of alternatives to gas at its disposal...

Once households ditch gas heating, we’ll have plenty left over for heavy industry and chemical plants. Plus, we still have domestic fields to tap into if things get tight. And even if those run dry, we can always import from whoever needs it.

With all these options on the table, why on earth would we ever choose to be dependent on some aggressive bully?

cosmicskipper39 said:It’s just great to see you jumping on board with the Republican party's latest proposals. 👍

The administration is cooking up some "relief" to soften the blow of skyrocketing energy costs. They're claiming hospitals, schools, and daycare centers should see lower bills by basically being reclassified as residential households so they can tap into lower utility rates.

The government says this whole relief package should be ready by next week. The main goal is supposedly protecting public sector users. According to The New York Times, one of the big ideas is to shift schools, hospitals, daycares, and nursing homes into the household category so they aren't getting crushed by commercial rates.

On top of that, small business owners might get some help too, though nobody knows exactly how it'll work or who actually qualifies—will it just be the little guys or everyone? It’s still a question mark. But one thing is for sure: smaller shops will likely get more support, while the bigger players will probably be nudged toward installing their own solar arrays to generate power.

Just as a reminder: right now, public institutions—we're talking hospitals, schools, daycares, nursing homes, and non-profits—are legally lumped in with corporations. That means they're stuck paying these insane, unpredictable utility rates.

Households, however, enjoy regulated electricity and gas prices because the government subsidizes those bills directly through the budget or via Exelon.

Link.

As for what gas will cost families, here is what the director of Con Edison had to say:
"We have the gas quantities locked in. So, that part is set. Regarding public services, the prices are guaranteed and won't change until April 1st of next year, when the new rates kick in," said Thomas.
Link.

I really think we ought to view this whole crisis as a massive learning opportunity.

Americans voted for the leadership they chose.

And that leadership certainly wasn't busy building out new power plants or drilling for new oil and gas reserves.

Now, that same leadership has to go out and buy expensive electricity, gas, and oil on the open market.

Which means we'll likely be staring at higher bills for years to come...

If even just 5% of Americans can walk away from this with a lesson learned, then maybe, just maybe, we are moving toward a better future as a society...

Justin Mendoza16 said:☕Not much to even say here—all that occupied land is Ukrainian territory, Crimea, Donbas, all of it.

So, I guess even the Putin followers are in agreement on this one!

Check out these figures on what everyone was dumping into their military budgets back in 2021—measured in billions of dollars:

1) USA: $801 billion
2) China: $293 billion
3) India: $76 billion
4) England: $68 billion
5) Russia: $66 billion
6) France: $57 billion
7) Germany: $56 billion
8) Saudi Arabia: $56 billion
9) Japan: $54 billion
10) South Korea: $50 billion
11) All others combined: $536 billion

I wonder, what was it they said about how far Putin actually needs to go to reach the Atlantic?...

Looking at these numbers, it turns out the EU was spending at least five times more on defense in 2021 than Russia was! Quite a gap, isn't it?...

It’s been two whole days and not a single soul has weighed in on this...

Erdoğan: Crimea is Ukrainian

I suppose I should probably weigh in on this, given how much everyone seems to be buzzing about it lately! It’s truly fascinating how these economic shifts play out in real-time, isn't it? One moment everything feels perfectly stable, and the next, you're watching the headlines scramble to make sense of a sudden pivot... it's almost like watching a high-stakes drama unfold right before your eyes! I was just sitting here thinking about the sheer scale of these adjustments, and honestly, it makes you wonder what the long-term ripple effects will actually look like once the dust finally settles. There’s so much data flying around, but finding the signal through all that noise can be such a monumental task... though, I do find the challenge quite invigorating in its own way! Anyway, I'll keep observing and see where the wind blows us next... kaže:
I was just reading through some recent reports regarding the economic shifts we’re seeing, and honestly, it’s quite a fascinating puzzle to piece together... There is so much movement happening right now with how global markets are reacting to various pressures. It really makes you think about the long-term implications of these massive financial pivots. You see these sudden drops in value—like that intense plunge we witnessed when sanctions first hit—and suddenly everyone is rushing to the ATM, trying to secure whatever liquidity they can find before things shift again. It's a bit of a whirlwind, isn't it? When you look at the data coming out of places like Germany or France, you start to see how interconnected everything truly is. One small tremor in one sector can send ripples all the way across the Atlantic. I was thinking about how much the American Bankers Association might be weighing these specific variables right now... it’s almost impossible to predict exactly where the floor will settle. But, despite all the volatility and the constant headlines about shifting GDP Quotes, there’s something oddly energizing about watching history unfold in real-time. It’s messy, sure, and definitely a little overwhelming at times, but it keeps you on your toes! I’m curious to see if the current trajectory holds, or if we’re heading toward another unexpected pivot... stay tuned, I suppose!

It looks like those US sanctions are actually doing their job... ☕

And honestly, I think we can afford to poke a little more fun at the situation too... It’s all fine and dandy as long as this winter stays relatively mild. But if things take a turn for the worse in the European Union—I mean, if people actually start freezing in their homes—we might see half the country storming the streets in protest. Here in America? Well, nobody would even blink an eye... ☕

Honestly, you should probably go ask Hrebak why we haven't seen a single major power plant being built here in America over the last thirty years... or why we didn't start tapping into all those existing oil and gas fields that have been sitting right under our feet this whole time. For decades, everyone just seemed to be coasting along, completely unbothered, making their little political choices without a second thought... and now? Well, now they’re stuck footing the massive bill for all that imported energy. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but I suppose they’ll be a bit more careful about who they vote for next time around... if they learn at all...

Nathan Evans78 said:The chief environmentalist over in Germany is out here claiming you don't even need to monitor things daily—says a wet rag will do the trick. Meanwhile, this old lady is driving an EV that probably cost her at least $70k, all while her house is decked out with high-end solar panels everywhere.

Man, it would be a lot simpler if we could just send Putin to the guillotine and call it a day. ☕

Well, doctors have been preaching that exact same thing for decades now.

Joshua Myers432 said:You certainly wouldn't see people camping out on the streets like this in Washington, D.C. during the dead of January.😁

I wouldn't dream of heading to Washington, D.C., that's for sure... but if they offered me a spot out in Alaska? Man, I’d pack my bags in a heartbeat! Especially if the deal included free transit, a place to stay, and all my meals covered for the next fifteen years. Now that sounds like a plan worth considering...

Rachel Barrett8 said:So what, is Tomek just going to cut a check for that $100M from his own personal bank account?

Just like how the late Bandić used to foot the bill for MTA delays, textbooks, childcare, preschools, independent media, veterans, building that church in Canada, Mamić, and Dinamo Deja-vu.🤦

Deja-vu

And now you're suggesting Duke Energy should just absorb the cost so everyone in the US can split the bill for the gas used to heat homes in New York City?

Well, you picked the thieves yourselves, and now the bills are finally coming due... so, please, go ahead and pay up.

Maybe next time, think a little harder about who you're checking the box for at the polls...

Joshua Myers432 said:Tell him to set his thermostat to 65 degrees and call it a day. 🙂

The thing is, plenty of people don't even have a programmable thermostat, so they can't just "set it to 65" if they wanted to...

It’s honestly quite strange how nobody seemed to account for them during all those previous winters.

At the end of the day, they'll likely be shivering through this winter just like they have in the past, regardless of what happens to natural gas prices.

In many ways, those folks with adjustable thermostats have become a sort of privileged class here in America; now, they'll either have to tighten their belts a little, or perhaps they won't if they decide to dip into their savings...

Joshua Myers432 said:And what happens to this buddy when he gets hit with a $400,000 utility bill instead of $67? He'll be left with absolutely nothing. Honestly, who cares about him? 😁

He’ll probably just cast his vote for the exact same crowd as always, and then—poof!—everything will just magically fix itself again...

urbanotter said:It’s staggering to think that every third car produced globally now comes from China.

The Chinese Chery is even talking about setting up production facilities within the Russian Federation.

Now, the Russian market isn't exactly massive,
but if they try to walk this path without accounting for how difficult importing Western cars has become, they might find themselves heading nowhere fast.

But I suppose facts don't matter much when people are determined to ignore them.

Still, even with these shifts, consumers won't exactly run out of options.

https://hr.expertevolux.com/top-samy...lej-iz-kitaja/

Who cares, right? People can drive spaceships for all I care.

You don't let a rabid dog into your house—that's really the only sensible way to handle things...

Amanda Allen4 said:Well, clearly "professional" soldiers signed contracts to kill and be killed for a paycheck—and apparently, every contract must be honored, right?

What about civilians?

Jose Clark2 said:There have certainly been effective dictatorships. Democracy is a relatively recent invention that wouldn't have moved civilization much forward through most of human history. Even in these so-called democracies, elites hold the reins; the idea of democratic choice is largely just a well-crafted farce.

Well, if they actually existed, they certainly aren't around anymore. They must have been *too* good, because they've vanished completely... 😁

Nathan Evans78 said:My friend, let me tell you, Russia and those parts of the world have been economically lagging behind for centuries. It’s like when a waiter tries to charge you five times the price of a meal; it’s just a certain mindset. Honestly, it feels almost epigenetic—it might take dozens of generations of re-education before they align with what we consider "Western" moral principles.

To be honest, Ukrainian partisans and special forces have done more damage to Russia in a few months than those silly sanctions have managed in half a year.

At the end of the day, people are the most precious resource any nation has. If ninety percent of your population is essentially living in a state of poverty, feeling like they're stuck in the Middle Ages, you simply can't expect to progress at the same breakneck speed as the rest of the modern world. Sure, you might move forward eventually, but you'll be left in the dust by the global leaders, and that technological gap just keeps widening...

A nation simply cannot move forward without a solid middle class that actually has an education.

Just look at Japan, for instance. They have almost no natural resources to speak of, yet they became a powerhouse because they poured everything into educating their people...

Or look at the Western nations, which have become incredibly prosperous because they can afford to recruit highly educated professionals who migrate there and contribute to their growth.

On the flip side, just look at those resource-rich countries that somehow still maintain a standard of living more akin to third-world nations.

It seems like Putin has essentially destined Russians to be a largely uneducated population, content with a lifestyle that mirrors developing countries. Of course, plenty of Russians don't agree with that reality, which is why so many are choosing to leave...

Nathan Evans78 As specified by George Robinson43:
Page 2/3 of this thread...

Well, here we are... after six long months of grinding it out over in Ukraine... It seems people really do find a way to make a living after all...Well, you know... they're really just barely hanging on by a thread, mostly because they're relying so heavily on those exports to stay afloat... Part... Energy levels... honestly, I think anyone interested really just needs to scroll back through this entire thread from the very beginning. You’d be shocked at some of the absolute amateurs hanging around here, it’s truly something else... 🤣

That’s coming from the guy who heads over to Canada just to chase a bigger paycheck...

You know, you could easily make enough money back home in the States just to put food on the table and get by... but instead, you made the call to move somewhere where the paycheck actually means something!

It seems like just making a living isn't enough for you, is it? But apparently, the average person living in Russia is perfectly fine with that status quo... and will be for the next several decades while they sit under those sanctions...

I honestly can't wrap my head around how that poor German fellow is going to manage that gas tax hike of 2.4 cents per kWh, especially when you factor in that astronomical 19% sales tax... all on top of a salary that’s somehow three to five times higher than ours! It feels like a cruel twist of fate playing tricks on him... at this rate, they'll probably have to hand over everything he owns plus an extra 20% just to get him a bit of that cheap natural gas...