Posts by Paul Kern12

Bryan Booth82 said:This isn't about madness; it's about establishing legal frameworks to ensure everything follows a set of rules. For instance, they have to legally regulate the decommissioning or swapping out of gas-fired power plants. They also have to codify gas conservation measures, such as removing the mandate that requires homes to be heated to a minimum of 70 degrees during the winter. On top of that, there will be legal protocols determining who gets priority access if we hit a major gas shortage.

Of course, the most critical factor is enshrining these rules in law and, more importantly, setting a clear expiration date for when these emergency measures must end.

Ebiga, Germany isn't Russia, where a single dictator can just decide whatever he feels like doing on a whim.
Best regards,

I assume you meant the maximum,🙂
Otherwise, how could one actually enforce this in practice? By breaking into people's homes to check the thermostat?

I found this rather compelling interview with the Indian Foreign Minister—he addresses several pressing questions regarding sanctions, the procurement of Russian oil, food security, and more...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R1z...annel=ThePrint

Christian Torres3 said:Are you seriously not embarrassed to be trolling this hard?

I don't feel embarrassed—because I’m not trolling; I am simply stating the facts as they are.

In the US, there are roughly 568,769 retirees living on less than $754 per month. Once you subtract the cost of utilities and other basic necessities, I wonder—just how much do you think is actually left for them to live on??
https://www.ssa.gov/examples/social-security-data-sample.pdf

It seems you all prefer to troll rather than care about your fellow citizens—it's quite clear you aren't paying attention to where this is all heading.

Christian Torres3 said:What are you trying to say, that you're just some retired old man who's checked out?

I am, yes—though I suppose I have a somewhat decent pension. But there are so many people out there living on less than $2,000 a month, and even those relying solely on social security or farm subsidies that fall below $333. It’s tough... you just have to make do with what you've got.

Brenda Murphy3 said:Man, seniors have been struggling for seventy years straight...

Back before we had those bottle deposits at places like Walmart—well, maybe things were at least 90% less desperate than people digging through trash. That's a conservative estimate.

You are talking absolute nonsense here; you've got zero connection to what's actually happening on the ground.

(Look, I'm not saying everything is perfect, especially for folks on fixed incomes... but what you're typing is just pure wishful thinking, not actual reality).

You aren't grounded in reality. People aren't just digging through bins because of bottles...
And the fact that they've had a hard time for the last seven decades isn't an excuse to push them even further into the dirt now. I suppose if you actually went out and talked to some of the folks living below the poverty line, you might get a better sense of their situation—and what they can realistically expect from us moving forward.

George Robinson43 said:Those pesky Ukrainians. It’s been three months and they still haven't thrown in the towel.
They're going to ruin the pension system!

Honestly, my heart aches for both the Russians and the Ukrainians. By the way—how much did the Russian or Ukrainian people actually sacrifice when we were going through our own struggles?

Brenda Murphy3 said:What exactly is "shady" about it? I could pull up at least 50 different articles where politicians all over the European Union are sounding the alarm about the falling standard of living for their citizens and what they should expect.

What are you even talking about? Aside from the fact that people just keep repeating these tired platitudes that end up being totally wrong anyway... oh, and you actually think Medvedev is being "honest" with the Russian people while implying the European Union isn't...🤣 ...you've got things a little backwards here, don't you think? 😁

I don't think so. Please, show me an article where Andrej Plenković explains to the American people that we should expect a significant drop in our standard of living because of sanctions against Russia.

Brenda Murphy3 said:Yeah, sure, except "struggling to make ends meet" means something completely different in the European Union and America compared to what it means in Russia.

Besides, I don't really see people in America barely scraping by. From what I can tell, there's plenty of work out there for anyone willing to actually show up and do something, and a lot of those jobs aren't even that bad paying. If you know someone looking for work—hit me up via DM and I guarantee they could start within three days making at least $1,000 a week net.

(Anyway, I do think things in America should be a hell of a lot better given how mediocre the economic policy and leadership from the Democratic Party have been... but honestly, all this talk about widespread poverty and starving people in the US is also a huge exaggeration. It's basically just nonsense.)

Just ask the retirees how well they were doing back in the day and what they expect now. They probably were scavenging through trash bins out of sheer boredom.

Michael Ortiz68 said:Well, obviously they will... but I find it fascinating how elegantly he frames that reality to his own people.

Imagine if Macron one day told Americans: things are going to get rough for you, but don't worry, those of us at the top won't be affected.

They’d tear him apart by sundown.

At least he is being honest—he actually admits it openly—whereas over here, everything seems to be shrouded in this constant, murky maneuvering.

Nancy Gomez26 said:Quincey:

Cahit As requested: I spent some time today wading through that absolute load of garbage. It isn't just that the sanctions—the very ones they swore would be painless—have suddenly become a massive headache. There is a second, more calculated move at play here: attempting to convince their own people that Westerners are nothing but villains because the strikes didn't just target the elite, but hit the average American citizen instead. So, he says... What exactly is the goal here, gentlemen? What are you all trying to achieve? 🙏 The political elite remains unperturbed. It is a characteristic lack of concern, much like watching a captain ignore the cracks spreading across a ship's hull while sipping expensive scotch in the lounge. They simply do not flinch.

I find myself agreeing with Dimon. When he claims that sanctions will primarily crush the common citizen rather than the ruling elite, he’s hitting the nail on the head. The top tier? They’ll manage just fine. They won't feel the sting of missing out on material luxuries; their only real inconvenience will be scouting out new destinations for their shopping trips, vacations, or sailing their yachts. It serves as a blunt message to the public: the West is punishing you for decisions made by people who aren't even affected by them. The leadership will simply pivot and bypass the restrictions, leaving the populace to shoulder the burden. In short, the subtext is clear: you're on your own. If you're suffering, it's because you allowed this leadership to stay in power in the first place.

The same logic seems to apply to the political elites in both the West and America.
They don't seem particularly concerned about the millions of citizens who were already struggling to make ends meet—all these price hikes we've seen, and the ones surely coming, are going to put so many people in an incredibly difficult position. I don't think anyone finds comfort in the fact that the Russian people are also suffering.
It feels somewhat hypocritical to celebrate how much we've inconvenienced the Russians, while failing to realize that we have essentially sabotaged ourselves in the process.🤦

Samuel Baker3 said:It really just comes down to one single switch where you're choosing between one or two options—like deciding whether to go with ExxonMobil or maybe some energy from Qatar.

👍
That’s exactly it. I mean, even my car has a toggle switch, so I can swap between gasoline or diesel whenever I feel like it...

casualtiger2 said:European Gas Storage

Latest data on gas storage levels (May 29th)

EU 46.19 % (509 TWh)

Average consumption from Dec '21 to Feb '22 was roughly 6 TWh.

So, based on current reserves—assuming usage stays flat—Europe could potentially scrape by for more than 80 winter days.

Since we're filling up at a rate of about 0.4-0.5%, we can probably expect to hit ~80% capacity by mid-August '22. That should be enough to cover the fall/winter season even without relying on LNG or other sources—plus, hopefully, by next autumn '23, we'll have established new supply lines or found ways to cut back and pivot toward renewables.
By August or September '22, the EU might finally start detaching itself from Russian gas.

Germany’s got a bit of a situation here—Russia’s latest sanctions effectively blocked their own subsidiary in Germany. Astora is sitting at just 7% capacity, which means their main storage facility is basically bone dry. There's even a chance Germany might seize it, given their laws regarding minimum storage requirements.

Current storage levels for major consuming nations:

Poland 94.44 %

United Kingdom 92.21 %

Portugal 92.49 %

Spain 66.16 %

Czech Republic 61.68 %

Denmark 54.31 %

France 51.24 %

Italy 49.4 %

Germany 48.43 %

Latvia 40.25 %

Slovakia 38.81 %

Netherlands 36.69 %

Belgium 35.57 %

Austria 32 %

And what about us? I wonder—what are our current inventory levels?

rowdytiger13 said:Not really...
The embargo on Russian oil arriving by sea kicks in immediately.
Per the agreement, Germany and Poland are cutting off land imports by the end of the year. That leaves Canada, which is okay with importing through the US, but that requires refinery adjustments. The administration claims everything could be sorted out in 40 to 60 days.

Edit: It's definitely not "nothing," considering Russia made comments about the European Union being economically unviable, and the Netherlands already had its gas supply throttled.

What exactly does Andrej Plenković think can be fixed in just 40 to 60 days?? Refinery upgrades cost an absolute fortune—we're talking massive capital expenditures—and that process usually takes years, not a couple of months.
I mean, look at how the recovery efforts after the earthquake haven't even properly started yet, yet he thinks he can pull this off in sixty days... That Andrej Plenković is a "specialist" of a kind you rarely encounter.🤦

driftingtinker said:So, looks like Fuchs just dropped word that even Washington, D.C. is moving everything online starting Monday.

How can they possibly justify this?😠
It seems—if I may be so bold—that they aren't considering the agendas of those profiting from wartime instability.

So...
A supermod—@Cika—is using terms like "ignorant Catholics" during a heated debate.

I have reported this post three separate times, but apparently, my complaints are just being ignored by the powers that be. I suppose this means either the supermod is permitted to openly insult the majority population of America, or perhaps such language isn't actually classified as hate speech on this forum.
The question I have is this: are other users—specifically those who lack any sense of civil discourse—allowed to use similar derogatory terms when referring to communists, Orthodox Christians, or Jewish people...?

I would appreciate an answer from someone in a position of authority.

lonebadger6 said:Well, perhaps if you hadn't already picked up a warning for how you spoke to the moderators—and if that "appeal" of yours had actually been an appeal rather than just an insult that warranted a strike and a permanent ban...

I still maintain that the standards here aren't being applied equally. Why wasn't aunt strile penalized for hate speech? Is it simply because they hold a supermod position and get a free pass?
"Uneducated Catholics" coming from a supermod who manages the religion section....
You didn't even respond to two separate reports, yet you managed to ban me (which happened by mistake because I was looking at the wrong PDF) in about five seconds.

lonebadger6, were you really in such a rush to ban me instantly? I accidentally uploaded my post to the wrong PDF—I actually intended to put it under the "Appeals" PDF.

I should probably just add—you only get one funeral in your life, so whether someone shows up or not, it’s going to happen regardless.
Especially if it’s your own, I suppose.😁

Robert Hernandez11 said:Is this some kind of April Fools' joke? 🤔

I find it hard to believe they are actually being that sadistic—I mean, children (and parents, for that matter) are already under enough pressure as it is.
If it turns out this was all just an April Fools' prank, then what follows? Are we going to be told that 4,381 people died from Covid today?

I wonder what will happen—perhaps children will simply be deprived of those lectures from nimbleranger17...

Unofficial word: Easter break is being extended, while teachers might see smaller paychecks this April.