Posts by Christian Torres3

Anthony Jones15 said:what about USA 🤦

According to independent analysis by the World Bank, IMF and OECD, 2022 is going to be a rough year for the Russian Economy. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to slide by at least 5.5% in a best-case scenario, potentially hitting a nearly 9% drop in the worst case.

Sanctions work, and they work effectively. That’s exactly why all these various trolls are constantly attacking Western nations and the EU.
They'll freeze, inflation will hit, they won't even have money for soap or eggs—all that nonsense.
Just look over there and stop obsessing over how things are doing in the West!

New lime stock just arrived, prices are actually decent for once...

gentlebadger said:Look, these higher energy costs are really just the growing pains of finally breaking our dependence on Russia. In the long run, once we get those new supply routes sorted out and finish building up more LNG terminals here in the States, prices should stabilize.

The very least we can do to support the Ukrainians is to swallow these extra utility bills. They're paying their price in blood, while we're just paying ours in dollars.

This.

William Cooper11 said:Current estimates suggest that at this rate, we'll run out of oil in maybe 40 or 45 years.

Please. Estimates range anywhere from 50 to 250 years.

wearytrucker22 said:European gas prices have finally dipped below $100 per MWh
https://finbold.com/europes-natural-...nce-june-2022/
I wonder what Russia is going to do now with their stinking gas supplies.

How do you not know? They'll just sell it to China and India through some magic pipeline.

brightheron64 said:I honestly can't wrap my head around this relentless urge people have to downplay China's progress...
Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly sitting here hugging their political system, but facts are facts.

If we’re going to dismiss Chinese patents and scientific research just because someone might focus on the life cycle of silkworms or the mating habits of pandas, then we have to remember that there are plenty of doctors right here in the US who dedicated their entire careers to studying butterflies or the sexual lives of grizzlies...

The whole point of the story is how they are aggressively moving forward, effectively performing a "brain drain" on global knowledge and implementing all of it into their own economy, yet this entire debate seems to hinge solely on whether the Chinese can catch up to the West.

Just 150 years ago, things were looking pretty bleak for them; they were losing countless lives just building the transcontinental railroads, but today, the narrative has shifted quite significantly—if you just look at the development of their rail networks compared to ours in the US...

And while we're talking about steel, even Americans didn't invent modern blast furnaces, let alone the specific Siemens-Martenov method for high-quality steel; they copied that too, and we all know where it came from.

But let's pivot back to the Russians. As my colleague pointed out, 25,000 patents is practically nothing considering the sheer size and potential of a nation like that—it's nearly half of what you'd see in the Netherlands. But the most depressing part of this whole saga isn't the Chinese or the Russians; it's us, the Americans, because per capita, we are falling way below those struggling Russians who have completely botched things by trying to play both a superpower and a group of wealthy sheiks simultaneously... especially since, alongside gas and oil, they actually have decent agriculture and raw materials, which is really just the most basic way to leverage your own resources.

My dear friend, a dictatorship did far more for America than thirty years of our democracy ever could...

Look, if you're truly interested, here's just one minor detail to consider—cartography, specifically maritime mapping...

And I don't know why people are trying to twist my words when it's still obvious what I meant. So fine, the Chinese have tons of patents. Great. My question stands: in which specific field are Chinese patents actually ahead of the West?

Also, I never said they imported tech specifically from Americans—I said they got it from the West.

brightheron64 said:If you want a bit of perspective, this was essentially the vision of progress back in China about sixty years ago:

During that era, "backyard furnaces" were these small, makeshift smelting units used by people across the country during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962). They were set up in fields and residential yards all over the nation to try and hit those ambitious targets of the Great Leap Forward—specifically the goal to make China the world's largest steel producer. In reality, though, most of those little setups could only manage to produce low-grade pig iron...

Modern blast furnaces weren't some sudden invention; they just grabbed the tech from the West. Quantity doesn't equal quality.

brightheron64 said:

hiddeneagle98 As if I haven't heard this one before...
There is only one way to truly catch up...It really seems to boil down to nothing more than blatant copying and the outright theft of technology...And there’s also the matter of simply being outpaced...

Do you seriously still believe in that...? 🤣

Take a look at this breakdown of the top ten nations leading the pack in international patent filings through the end of 2021... It really gives you a sense of where the global innovation race is heading...

When you take a look at the global landscape of innovation, specifically when tracking the sheer volume of patent applications filed by various nations, the data tells such a fascinating story about where the future is being built... It really makes you step back and consider how much momentum is shifting between the major players on the world stage...
The sheer volume coming out of China China is staggering—we’re looking at roughly 695,400...
The United States reaches a staggering 595,700...
Japan - 502,600
South Korea - 206,780
Germany - 173,220
France - 72,800
The United Kingdom reached a total of 58,410...
Switzerland - 53,860
Sweden - 44,530 Netherlands
Sweden - 44,530 Netherlands

It’s honestly quite fascinating to look at how the landscape of global innovation is shifting right before our eyes, especially when you dive into the sheer volume of patent filings coming out of China China these days... It really makes you stop and think about where the next big technological breakthroughs will actually originate, given how rapidly their intellectual property engine seems to be accelerating...
It seems like there’s been a major shift in policy over in China, as they’ve just officially authorized... It’s truly remarkable to see that there have been over 2.53 million patents filed within just the last five years, especially when you consider they’ve maintained a steady average annual growth rate of about 13.4%....
I was just browsing through some recent population data on World Population Review, specifically looking at how different nations are trending, and it really makes you stop and think about the sheer scale of everything happening globally... It’s fascinating to see how these numbers shift over time, especially when you consider the underlying factors like birth rates and migration patterns that drive such massive changes in a country's demographic makeup... There’s something almost overwhelming about seeing it all laid out in those charts, isn't there? It paints such a vivid picture of our changing world...

It’s truly fascinating to watch how the global landscape is shifting, especially when you look at the sheer scale of innovation happening right now... It seems that China has overtaken the US as the world leader in both scientific research output and "high impact" studies, which really puts things into perspective regarding where the center of gravity for discovery might be moving... One can't help but wonder what this means for the future of American leadership in tech and medicine, as the pace of publication becomes so incredibly intense...
It is truly remarkable to consider how much the landscape of global innovation has shifted in such a short window... between 2018 and 2020 alone, China published 23.4% of all scientific papers worldwide, actually overtaking the US in that specific metric... it really makes you stop and think about where the center of gravity for discovery is moving...

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the global landscape of innovation is shifting, especially since US China Has overtaken The US as The World leader in both scientific research output and “high impact” Studies... It really makes you stop and think about where the center of gravity for discovery is moving, doesn't it? Based on a recent report released by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Japan....
According to a report released this past Tuesday by Japan’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the landscape of global innovation is shifting quite rapidly, as it turns out that China now publishes The highest number of scientific research papers yearly , followed by The US and Germany...

It’s worth noting that this article is already over two months old, so some of the details might feel a little dated by now...
It’s honestly a bit staggering when you sit down to look at the sheer scale of what’s happening in the global scientific community lately... I was just reading through some data regarding how much research is being pumped out worldwide, and the shift is nothing short of massive. It turns out that China has overtaken the US as the world leader in both scientific research output and "high impact" studies, which is a monumental pivot from where things stood just a few years ago. Specifically, between 2018 and 2020, China published 23.4% of the world's scientific papers, an incredible surge that really changes the landscape of global innovation... When you look at the current hierarchy, the numbers tell a very clear story: China now publishes the highest number of scientific research papers yearly, followed by the US and Germany. It makes you wonder about the long-term implications for technological sovereignty and how this concentration of intellectual capital might reshape international relations over the next decade... It’s one of those shifts that feels quiet on the surface, but underneath, the entire foundation of global progress is being recalibrated...

Can they even handle 3nm or 5nm lithography? In what specific sector are Chinese patents actually beating the West?

boldotter2 said:I mean, as the leader of the country, he really should realize it's way cheaper to train Ukrainian soldiers than to deal with refugees, let alone training our own US Army troops.

PS: It's pretty funny how he acts like he's against sending equipment, even though half the US Army inventory was sent to Syria during his time as Prime Minister. 😵

Sold. And for a damn good price, too.

vividbear12 said:First it was the corporate lobbyists, then the church, then the local mayors, and now even Joe Biden is playing the sympathy card for Boras:

"This University is the heart and soul of America. And so, regardless of any controversies or personal drama, I want to thank the outgoing rector, Boras, because I’m certain he was guided by one primary instinct: the betterment of our nation."

I guess he could have clarified what he actually means by "national betterment"... Like trivializing sexual assault or handing out honorary degrees to corrupt politicians....

I swear, at some point Joe Biden must have taken a massive hit to the head or something... first it was Russia, and now it's Boras. 🤦

rustywalker82 said:Trade balances for China (who isn't dealing with energy sanctions) vs. the Eurozone (which just hit a record-breaking deficit):
https://d3fy651gv2fhd3.cloudfront.ne...12&d1=20171019
https://d3fy651gv2fhd3.cloudfront.ne...12&d1=20171019

China


Eurozone

So what’s the point? Sanctions on the EU? Sanctions on China? Or sanctions on Russia?
I don't know, maybe I got my wires crossed...

rustywalker82 said:The official one. And look, when you're dealing with the official rate, that's what you use to buy everything from Russia—energy, raw materials, fertilizers, grain, all that stuff—and vice versa for imports. You can't just grab black market currency and then try to play it straight with the goods. If there's a different rate floating around on the street, it definitely isn't because of energy sanctions. From what I've seen, the Russians have been pulling in just as much cash from energy sales as they were before any sanctions even hit.

The bottom line is this: with the money Europeans basically threw away to the cartel this year because they didn't know better, we could've bought missile defense systems for the entire world, not just for Ukraine.
And my point is, people have been saying this since day one. It’s not some "hindsight is 20/20" thing being shouted by generals after the battle is already over.

Nuff' said ☕

And officially, everything is being bought from Russia,...

Not really. For example, China pays for oil and gas 50% in yuan, and you probably forgot to factor in the discount they get on Ural vs Brent. Anyway, it’d be nice if Russian citizens actually understood how their standard of living is being propped up.

rustywalker82 said:Before the pandemic hit, the three-year average for Brentwood crude was sitting at about $60 a barrel. Back then, everyone was super bullish on the global economy, too. But look at what happened once those oil sanctions started rolling in during the start of the Russian invasion—the average price for Brentwood shot up to $110, even though all the economic forecasts were looking grim. It’s wild when you think about it; the average Russian salary in dollars basically caught up to the average American wage, and they were already right there with Mexico.
We all saw this coming from a mile away, but it didn't matter. People just had to keep droning on about the cartel and Putin just to prove how much they actually didn't know anything.

Are we talking official exchange rates for the ruble and dollar here, or the actual street value?

analogmarlin4 said:If a conflict wasn't actually in their interest, they wouldn't be playing such a neutral hand when it comes to decisions regarding Russia. It's just much easier for them if Europe stays weak.

I shouldn't even have to say this. Just look at their biggest markets. If China wants to grow, they need massive sales, plain and simple.

hollowdriver13 said:View on twitter

There's an Urucen proposal headed to Congress to pull the US military umbrella away from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Looks like Iran is already revving their engines. ☕

Exactly how it should be.

hollowdriver13 said:Whoa, and they're putting an article like this out in The Wall Street Journal—basically a state mouthpiece.

They’re just throwing out feelers to see how the West reacts.

The Chinese economy is teetering on the edge—war and the resulting recession would be like a finger in both their eyes.

Nick Fallin said:Solid read;
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-718541

I’m betting Xi and Modi have already made it clear to Putin that if he touches a nuke, their support is gone. It’s not because they actually care about Ukraine—it's because the global economy would tank so hard that their own leadership wouldn't survive the fallout.

Exactly.

Michael Davis9 said:But wait, what exactly does it mean for the USA or Ukraine to achieve "conventional leveling" of Alaska?
From my perspective, that would essentially amount to one nuclear superpower launching a direct assault on another, which just doesn't seem to align with American interests at all—especially when things are already moving along quite smoothly for them just the way they are...

Just a proportional response to what Russia did.

Michael Davis9 said:Honestly, none of that is even strictly necessary given the current trajectory—Russia is already sliding toward losing this war in Ukraine.

On one hand, you have to look at the massive leap in capability; the Ukrainian military in 2022 is a completely different beast compared to back in 2014.

On the other hand, Americans have never been more efficient at converting taxpayer dollars into direct damage against the Russian forces.
It reminds me a bit of what the Soviets were doing during the Vietnam War—even though they had direct involvement with their own pilots and air defense crews, I’d argue that the efficiency of resource conversion we're seeing in Ukraine right now is exceptionally high.

And regarding the whole nuclear question—it's not realistic to expect the US to trigger a nuclear holocaust just because of a few tactical nukes being used in eastern Ukraine. Of course, using them is basically Russia's only way to avoid a total loss, but the fallout from such a move would be incredibly difficult to predict. In my view, it would likely result in Russia facing absolute global isolation and some sort of forced ceasefire along a wasteland buffer zone.

The US response would be conventional. There were probably two Arleigh Burke class destroyers near Alaska—maybe they're still there—with enough Tomahawks to level that Russian base. I doubt Putin would ever dare touch US soil.

Andrew Booth29 said:You're underestimating how likely a nuclear strike actually is. If Russia pulls the trigger, they won't back down afterward—especially not now, after they've already seized those territories and claimed them as their own. In his speech, he made it very clear: he believes a precedent for using nuclear weapons has already been set.

Yeah, right. In his head, the USA never annexed Japan.

Rachel Richardson said:It feels like a lost war—likely just a pretext for establishing a dictatorship here at home.

Exactly. Even among those who watched him, there are people ready to follow him blindly, and he knows it.