Posts by Adam Lee13

Arthur Miller7 said:I’m sick of hearing about prices at God-knows-what grocery store. I was reading today that back in 2001—way before any wars started and when prices were like three times lower than they are now—oil was $5.00... and look, we're still here, aren't we?

Look, that oil you’re talking about was $4.75 until we joined the European Union; sugar used to be every brand imaginable for $2.25, fixed prices and all... cheese never dipped below $23 until maybe 2010, and I remember grabbing Tillamook butter at Walmart for $6.75, which is pretty much what it costs today anyway.

Then there's the tech stuff. A TV I picked up in 2011 cost me $1667, but by 2016, I could get a better model, bigger screen, same brand, for only $1133... and so on.

Back in the summer of 2011, I was paying $3.75 for gas, and now it's $3.75... don't even get me started on car insurance; in 2011, I was looking at about $617, now it's $317... my supplemental coverage in 2010 would have been $23, now I'm shelling out $15. And back then, $33 on a cell phone would have fried my battery in an hour, whereas today I can talk my head off all month for $24.

In 2008, my phone and internet bill was $133, while today my phone and internet (all bundled) comes to $58. For instance, back in 2001, I paid $1133 for a Siemens flagship, and in 2016, an Apple flagship went for $1133.

Sure, some things did go up—like housing, cars, and basically anything with a microchip inside. Electricity too, though my usage actually dropped because modern appliances are way more efficient.

EDIT: A two-liter Coke on Maui back in 1994 was only $27, and I had enough cash to cover the whole trip $50🤣

And you guys really think things are expensive today???

Nancy Gomez26 said:Russia will likely resurface as a supplier eventually. They probably won't reclaim the massive market share they once held, but for the sake of supply diversification, they'll find a way back in. It’s basic economics: you want multiple players competing for market share. If we fall into the trap of relying on a single source again, history will simply repeat itself. The whole game is about maintaining a delicate balance between various interests.

Yeah, probably, but they’ll just be some fleeting little supplier for the European Union. Just look at the numbers—take Germany, for example; back in H1 2022, they rolled out about 3,700 MW of new solar capacity along with roughly 1,000 MW of wind.

And get this, in July, non-gas/diesel cars made up 43% of the market in Germany. Back in 2018, those kinds of vehicles were barely hitting 1.9% of total sales. Can you imagine?

https://cleantechnica.com/files/2022...istrations.png

Even the construction industry is finally catching a second wind:https://learngerman.dw.com/en/german...mes/a-14815730

All of this is basically a slow-motion hit to Russia's interests in the long run.

Ronald Chavez2 said:Does any serious nation truly build its entire foundation on this so-called "green energy," whatever that actually entails?

Oh, really? Is that how it works? The Chinese are out there cranking out nuclear plants, hydro, solar, and wind like they’re running out of time. This year, their hydro output took a hit because of a lack of rain, so having a bit more Russian gas coming in compared to last year actually saved their skin.

Plus, they aren't just sitting on old tech; they're swapping out those ancient coal plants for new, high-efficiency ones, so they get way more juice out of the same amount of coal burned.
They're also working on reversible pumped-storage hydro plants to act as massive energy batteries.

And let's be real, building pipelines from Eastern Siberia all the way to China is basically a technical pipe dream right now—even if they could pull it off, the costs would be insane because you'd have to deal with temperatures hitting -70 degrees Celsius.

China is leading the charge in EV-im, too. They just do it with actual strategy, focusing heavily on electric buses where the cost-benefit ratio is the absolute sweet spot.

urbanotter said:Oh, absolutely, I'm just reciting the headlines for you.

If you're so sure about that, why don't you go find a newspaper that compares the price of lactose-free milk from eight days ago to what it cost yesterday? 🙂🙂

Otherwise, maybe stop jumping to hollow conclusions and playing these little intellectual games.😉

p.s.
Just to make it easier for you, I'm talking about the price at the Walmart in Marinić.

I was just scrolling through various sites a bit ago, which is something you—being the genius you are—should probably figure out on your own...😁

Honestly, it's not even that shameful; like, 90% of the population just adopts whatever opinion the media shoves down their throats about any given situation or event.

urbanotter said:I haven't noticed any tabloid gossip, but I have certainly noticed that sugar was around $2.00/lb less than twenty days ago, oil was $3.25/gal two months back, and lactose-free milk dropped from $7.46 yesterday to just $3.25/
. About two months ago, milk jumped from $1.75/gal to $8-$3.00, and bread hit $6.75/loaf.

But hey, maybe that’s just more Russian propaganda or some tabloid nonsense, but that logic doesn't hold up at the checkout counter; you either pay the marked price or you don't buy it at all.
Are only the "little guys" to blame? I don't think so, though they are definitely caught up in this daily struggle.
I'm sure the government will fix everything and bump up Social Security by 6.5%, but I have no idea how the rest of that 40% increase in food prices will be covered—especially since low-income seniors spend their entire available income on groceries, and that's before they even tackle the utility bills. We're all just waiting to see what electricity and heating will cost, especially now that firewood has hit $100 per cubic meter.😉

p.s.
Some retirees will breeze through this, though, because suddenly there's $500 million appearing in their accounts. Good for them, I guess—who cares what flour or chicken costs when the taxpayers are the ones footing the bill for their groceries and utilities anyway?😁

You aren't exactly an expert making deep observations here; you're just regurgitating stuff you read in the news.

Oh, look at him, he's such an observant guy...😁😁

Nancy Gomez26 said:At that point, we’ll be forced to operate like they do in Pakistan—where every single factory runs its own diesel generators because the grid is too unreliable to count on. In the winter, you’d just lean on cogeneration to scavenge waste heat from those engines to keep buildings warm. That would be the only practical alternative left, because these current energy prices? They aren't grounded in reality.

Look, they spiked out of nowhere, so you can bet they'll crash just as fast.

rustywalker82 said:Back in 2023, electricity prices in France and Germany hitting that €1,000/MWh mark was basically the same as seeing crude oil trading at $1,600 a barrel.

We’re staring down some massive, brutal decisions now, and honestly, they might just tear the European Union apart. If those energy costs stay where they are, most businesses are toast.

I don't see it going down that way; the cap will likely be set at the European Union level. You're already hearing people call for price regulations because the market is totally inefficient—basically just a playground for certain big players on the exchange to rake in massive profits while everyone else suffers.

steelfox98 said:They don't have them because a huge chunk of those contracts expired. The nations actually listened to that brilliant recommendation from the Green Party and the European Union back in 2015—don't sign long-term deals, just pivot to spot markets. Or, in plain English, deal with the middlemen.
Because obviously, renewable energy will solve every single problem we face. 🤣
To top it all off, you see Poles buying "German" gas, Swabians buying "Canadian" gas, and everyone else grabbing American gas and oil. Given recent history and how America resells Russian energy, one has to wonder how "American" they really are.
The icing on the cake? Take the Estonians, for instance. They flip petroleum products despite not owning a single refinery.

Russia is exporting smaller volumes, but at drastically higher prices. Old term contracts were around $250; now we're looking at $3,500. It doesn't take a genius to figure out if they're in the black or the red.

In short, Russia is raking it in, the resellers are doing fine, and politicians along with media outlets like Index—who orchestrated this whole mess—are busy patting themselves on the back for their "firm stance." That leaves one small rhetorical question:

Who's going to foot the bill?

Russian gas exports to the European Union have dropped by 70%. There isn't enough port capacity to move those kinds of massive volumes onto LNG ships just to flip them again, so that whole theory of yours just falls apart. That $3,500 figure is just the spot price for some symbolic, tiny amounts; everything else is tied up in contracts that have a zero at the end compared to that spot price.

Sure, there's plenty of Small-time hustling going on, but that has nothing to do with the Russians—that's just Westerners acting like Westerners within the West.

dustyowl29 said:The real issue is that no matter how much Russia cuts back on energy supplies and everything else, prices stay absolutely insane—they still make just as much money off them.
How on earth did nobody in the West see this coming?

They aren't actually raking it in because most EU nations have these long-term gas contracts locked in with ExxonMobil. Their revenue has absolutely cratered since gas exports to the EU for July were down like 70% compared to last year.

Jonathan Martinez11 said:France has a ton of their nuclear plants undergoing maintenance right now, so they've gone from being major exporters to importers at the absolute worst time.
The shutdown of several nuclear reactors duo to corrosion issues Has contributed to The French electricity price increase as Power production Has dramatically decreased in The country

Only 24 of the 56 reactors operated by energy giant EDF were online on Thursday.

France, which traditionally exports electricity, is now an importer.

Look, things like that don't just randomly "happen" out of nowhere; you have to plan that stuff out years in advance.😁

steelfox98 said:That quoted post was from three days ago, and since then:
Gas 3200->3500 $
Germany electricity: 710 € -> 995 €
France electricity is 801 € -> 1100 €

https://www.france24.com/en/economy/...-begin-to-bite

Everyone who spent months warning about this was labeled a "Russophile." Now even the Czechs, holding the current EU presidency, seem to have joined that camp:

Quote : The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, announced Friday that it would convene an EU Energy crisis summit "at the earliest possible date".

What’s actually driving these insane electricity prices in France??? Besides just pure greed??😁😁😁😁

rustywalker82 said:I’ve been talking about the need for smart sanctions with price caps from the get-go, specifically so Vladimir Putin makes less money. If I haven't missed anything here, it seems like you're just now catching on to that. I'm not calling you out personally, but when people suddenly get "wise" after the fact, you have to remember that Putin has already banked that cash.
And honestly, I still have my doubts about anyone cheering for ExxonMobil when they illegally shut off the valves to cause chaos in Europe. You seemed a bit surprised by my comments regarding those types of supporters, but trust me, I haven't changed my mind one bit.

And since you brought up supply volumes again, I’ll say it one more time.
Smart sanctions could fix the loophole that allowed Putin to earn just as much as before the supply cuts, even while the actual shortages of gas and power remain a real issue.
Conspiracy theories aren't going to help us here.

It's not like I just "realized" anything; the facts are staring us in the face. What I can't wrap my head around is the actual agenda being pushed by the MSM... I mean, look at Cleveland—you've got a power plant there with a 320 MW capacity sitting idle. That thing could burn cheap fuel and churn out roughly 1 TWh of electricity for basically nothing, instead of us bleeding $6 billion on imports to cover that same 1 TWh which would only cost about $1 billion if we actually used local production. Plus, you've got Houston right nearby where you could easily store fuel.

We can make up for the gas shortage by ramping up oil and coal consumption, just like Germany did back in H1 22.

There isn't some massive energy shortage or lack of gas; this chart from Germany in H1 proves it:https://i.postimg.cc/kgKLHMbT/Bez-naslova.png

What you see here is a system being strained specifically because they're forcing nuclear plants offline. Seriously, what is the actual agenda here?

Gas consumption trends in Germany during May and June:

Back in the month of May, gas usage actually dipped by more than a third—down about 34.7% compared to May 2021.

Then you look at June, and things got even more interesting because gas consumption took a massive hit, dropping over 22 percent year-over-year.

Meanwhile, back in Q1 22, gas usage in Finland plummeted by a staggering 55%.

The biggest drops were seen in wood fuels and natural gas, which fell by 27 and 55 percent respectively.

If you ask me, those Russians are going to find themselves in a real tight spot pretty fast...

US renewable energy statistics show that renewables accounted for roughly 49% of total electricity consumption during the first half of 2022—that’s a jump of 6 percentage points over the previous year, mostly because solar and onshore wind were absolutely crushing it.

In that same six-month stretch of 2022, the US pumped out about 139 billion kWh of green energy, up from the 122 billion kWh we saw the year before.

And then you have all these people crying about how we can't survive without natural gas and whatnot... then they go and claim the market price for 1kWh is $2.00, yeah right. Just stop the nonsense.

According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (DEA) on Monday, natural gas consumption in the US dropped by nearly 29.3 percent in H1 2022 compared to the same timeframe last year.

On the flip side, the DEA noted that oil and coal consumption actually climbed by 19.4 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Let's keep hearing those fairy tales about how Europe is doomed without gas. Look at the US—they slashed gas usage by 30% only to ramp up oil and coal instead. And what happened? Absolutely nothing.

Nathan Thomas12 said:There's some high-level maneuvering happening here that most of us just don't get.
History shows no country really makes it big without access to the dollar—the USA is essentially the conductor of the global economy.
If the West hits a recession, it’s a domino effect; China is going down with them, period.
The invasion of Ukraine was the opening act, the sanctions are the plot thickening, and while we haven't seen the finale yet, I'm betting the West knows exactly where this is headed.

The real kicker is that Central and Eastern Europe doesn't have enough LNG terminals—they've got some tiny little setup, but nothing major—so whenever the Russians decide to twist the valve, these guys are left high and dry. They’ve got the money to buy gas, sure, but they physically can't get it to their people because the infrastructure just isn't there.😁

That’s why Viktor Orbán acts like Putin's little errand boy; he’s stuck in one of the absolute worst positions within the European Union.

On top of that, there was this mandate that gas storage has to be filled up to 90% regardless of how much it costs, which is just asking for trouble. Otherwise, the Russians just end up burning the gas they don't send to the European Union since they've got nowhere else to put it, considering how limited exports to third countries actually are.

rustywalker82 said:Look, if the gas runs out, it runs out. Same goes for electricity. You can't just pretend the system is still running perfectly when the supply isn't there.
I’m not saying we should cheer for a shortage; I’m saying we should be rooting for Putin to lose money. That’s really all I was getting at in my previous comment.

The thing is, we actually *do* have gas and power... it’s just a mess. These crazy prices? That’s on the idiots who refused to build out LNG terminals because they were clearly acting like Russian mercenaries, much like Merkel did back in the day. And let's not forget, the biggest gas consumers are all over the European Union.

But honestly, I think governments should be stepping in to cap gas and electricity prices rather than letting these middlemen play games. When a crisis hits, everyone needs to shoulder the burden—including those energy traders. There shouldn't be any room for massive profit margins during a crisis, let alone those insane extra windfalls they're pulling right now.

rustywalker82 said:Look, man, just look at the facts. Electricity prices in France and Germany shot up like ten times what they were when those contracts were signed just a year ago. It was absolutely brutal. Honestly, I don't get how you can root for ExxonMobil keeping those valves shut. They’re literally just following the contracts they signed. Don't you realize that if they actually opened up the supply, market prices would tank? They aren't going to do anything that cuts into their profits.

When I was talking about future headaches and how anti-EU parties might gain momentum, I wasn't talking about people who are obsessed with Russia. Take the UK, for example. They pulled the plug on the EU, and I definitely wouldn't go as far as saying they've become pro-Russian because of it.

Honestly, this is just pure market manipulation, and for some reason, the European Union refuses to step in and slap a price cap on it... I mean, come on, electricity prices spiked ten times over. Especially those folks in France, they’ve got plenty of "excuses" to jack up the rates, haha... And in Germany, renewables supposedly cover 50% of the load, but two-thirds of those renewable setups are locked into fixed-price contracts...

The whole thing feels like a massive shell game played on the common folk, basically forcing households and big industry to scramble for solar installs and obsess over energy efficiency. The European Union actually has the tools to cap prices for electricity and gas, so why allow this kind of shady market gambling and exchange trading to run wild during a crisis and a war? It makes zero sense.

Do you really think OPEC is just going to sit there and watch this unfold calmly? With how Russia is messing with their short-term goals by wrecking the future of fossil fuels. For the major oil and gas exporters, these sky-high prices aren't exactly helping their bottom line—they definitely don't want to accelerate the transition to other energy sources, but this situation is pushing that shift incredibly hard... from what I can gather, converting gas plants to run on fuel oil or something similar is actually pretty straightforward...

Besides, China is paying about $148 for 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas—it’s basically a take-it-or-leave-it deal. So, if China can do it, why can't the European Union dictate terms to Russia? They could, but they won't... it seems like they're actually benefiting from this mess. I refuse to believe our leaders are just total idiots.

And all this nonsense with central heating and gas warming throughout the European Union needs to stop. In the winter, you close the windows. Your apartment doesn't need to be 75 degrees just so you can walk around in a t-shirt in early March, and nobody should be blasting the heat from 11 PM to 6 AM.

rustywalker82 said:Look, we could totally be using nuclear fuel right now—and I don't mean we have to rely on anything coming out of Russia to do it. If we made that shift, we'd finally start cutting down on that massive coal consumption we're seeing across the US. Honestly, the only real headache is the timing. It’s just not the best moment to pull the trigger.

So, I’m seeing all this noise today about Gazprom opening up the gas valves for the Canadians—which, by the way, actually helps drive down those spot prices for gas and electricity across Europe—and everyone is spinning it as some kind of disaster. Honestly? It feels like nothing more than pure British spite directed at the rest of the continent.
Is this all just a massive play to clear the way for an anti-establishment right wing to take over the whole continent? Like, if they can just isolate everyone, maybe there won't be anyone left to support the EU, and then Ukraine's fate is basically sealed. Or... honestly, maybe we're all just dealing with a bunch of idiots. I can't tell which one it is anymore.

And you're seriously calling them idiots?!😁 Most of the pro-Russian sentiment in Europe comes from the left (mostly lingering nostalgia for the USSR), whereas on the right, it's usually just extreme fringe groups acting out of pure spite toward the establishment rather than any actual belief.

The best way to kill off that pro-Russian influence is to cut those countries loose from Russian oil and gas. As long as they're running on Russian fuel, Russia is going to have leverage to mess things up.

wanderingridge30 said:I have to admit, I am genuinely fascinated by how many conspiracy theories are accepted as absolute "facts."

And this persists even in our modern era, where it takes mere seconds to search for actual, relevant data.

For instance, one of those supposed "facts" is that arms manufacturers drive wars and hold ultimate power because they reap massive profits during conflicts.

Let’s actually look at the numbers rather than relying on what "everyone knows" to be true.

Lockheed Martin's total revenue for 2021: $6.315B

Google's total revenue for 2021: $257.63B

Essentially, Google earns roughly 40 TIMES more in a single year than the largest defense contractor in the world.

And what about Microsoft?

Microsoft's total revenue for 2021: $168.088B

Even Tesla had a 2021 revenue significantly higher than Lockheed Martin: $53.823B

In reality, Lockheed Martin, as the world's leading arms manufacturer, is a mere dwarf compared to

the IT giants.

So, what do these figures tell us?

Are arms manufacturers truly the wealthiest and most influential players, as "common knowledge" suggests, or are they actually tiny compared to the tech sector and other industries—perhaps not nearly as dominant as people generally believe?

It’s no wonder that Putin found it so easy to peddle "objective reasons" for invading Ukraine, such as NATO expansion or similar nonsense.

Much of what Putin has claimed can be debunked instantly in this day and age, but what does that matter when a group of people operates on the logic of "well, everyone knows it's true"?

One thing is certain: hard facts don't seem to matter anymore.

Nobody bothers to read them, and frankly, nobody cares.

That is why you see debates arguing that the occupation of Ukraine is logical and justified, simply because Putko was backed into a corner.

P.S. I don't think this is Off-Topic, because it highlights how we had to reach the 21st century and harness the power of the internet just to facilitate an invasion of a sovereign nation.

In this conflict, Russia is winning much more effectively on social media than they are on the battlefield.

They are winning the information war quite successfully, because so much of their rhetoric will become "common knowledge" after this war ends, regardless of the truth or the actual outcome of the fighting.

The West fell asleep at the wheel and has already lost the war. And the consequences are going to be huuuuge.

☕

Oh, please, try using your brain—are we talking about "revenue" or "earnings"??? And why on earth would you quote a third of my sentence just to dump a pile of unrelated nonsense on me? Actually, don't answer that; it was a rhetorical question.

What I said was perfectly clear: it isn't about the Americans caring about oil profits; it's about making sure production happens within their sphere of influence, which is always the goal. The money those oil producers make—which effectively offsets the trade deficit with the US—gets cycled right back through massive arms purchases and/or hundreds of billions of dollars from state sovereign wealth funds being poured into Western stocks, bonds, or banks.

So, spare me that "triggering wars" nonsense you're trying so hard to sound smart about, you little blowhard...

On May 20, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of letters of intent for The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to purchase arms from the United States totaling US$110 billion immediately, and $350 billion over 10 years.

They are looking to buy $350 billion in weaponry over a decade, which is exactly how the US recaptures the trade deficit from the KSA and captures those oil profits.

EDIT: Since this little genius decided to google things, maybe he should have bothered to google that Lockheed Martin pulls $20 billion a year just from the F-35 alone. Totally irrelevant to the point, but I figured I'd say it before some other idiot jumps in to nitpick.

Nathan Thomas12 said:The US doesn't care who owns the oil or how much they have, as long as it’s sold in US Dollars. Libya and Iraq tried moving away from the greenback, but it didn't last. Then came Iran and Venezuela, and they got hit with embargos.

Man, this whole argument is just one of those things that's been totally debunked a hundred times over. I mean, if you look at the actual numbers, non-Western currencies only made up about 5.8% of reserve currency back in 2021, and in 2011, they were sitting at a measly 5.5%...