December 15, 2024
The OIly Bird Catches the Worm
Timothy Birdnow
How can they tell? The thing is it's the BLACK sea!
Major oil spill in Black Sea.
Was this a spill or did it get a little help?
How can they tell? The thing is it's the BLACK sea!
Major oil spill in Black Sea.
Was this a spill or did it get a little help?
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
01:58 PM
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The Eye of Sauron
Timothy Birdnow
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Jersey...
Feds to Deploy New Drone Surveillance System
Mighty speedy work there. So we just happened to have this high-tech system waiting to be deployed?
Why is it that I can't help but think this may have been the point all along?
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Jersey...
Feds to Deploy New Drone Surveillance System
Mighty speedy work there. So we just happened to have this high-tech system waiting to be deployed?
Why is it that I can't help but think this may have been the point all along?
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Kennedy Coming for Your Food
Timothy Birdnow
Here is whatI don't like about Robert Kennedy Jr.; he thinks it's his business what Americans eat and wants to reform our diets.
Last I checked dietary regulations were not an enumerated power of the United States.
It's the tampering with our diet that has led to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. in the first place. They want to war on meat and pushed grain and thus everybody grew enormously fat. People weren't fat when they were eating meat. I would add that Man evolved eating meat and that was the paleo-diet; primitive men ate some nuts and berries but mostly meat. Now we are told meat is terrible and must go, yet our bodies are evolved to sustain on it. Something that has always been with us is not a bad thing.
But grain, especially processed grain, is much newer in our diets. And the production of processed grains i a relatively new thing. Ditto sugar, which wasn't farmed on any scale commercially until 1455 on Madeira. Before sugar cane the only sugars anyone ever enjoyed were sweet wines and honey.
At any rate it's just not government's business how we eat, but sadly Kennedy is going to make it his business. It's why we should never put a Democrat in a position of authority, no matter how reasonable they appear.
Here is whatI don't like about Robert Kennedy Jr.; he thinks it's his business what Americans eat and wants to reform our diets.
Last I checked dietary regulations were not an enumerated power of the United States.
It's the tampering with our diet that has led to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. in the first place. They want to war on meat and pushed grain and thus everybody grew enormously fat. People weren't fat when they were eating meat. I would add that Man evolved eating meat and that was the paleo-diet; primitive men ate some nuts and berries but mostly meat. Now we are told meat is terrible and must go, yet our bodies are evolved to sustain on it. Something that has always been with us is not a bad thing.
But grain, especially processed grain, is much newer in our diets. And the production of processed grains i a relatively new thing. Ditto sugar, which wasn't farmed on any scale commercially until 1455 on Madeira. Before sugar cane the only sugars anyone ever enjoyed were sweet wines and honey.
At any rate it's just not government's business how we eat, but sadly Kennedy is going to make it his business. It's why we should never put a Democrat in a position of authority, no matter how reasonable they appear.
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The Weapon of Oil
Timothy Birdnow
Proof that I missed my calling.
This article from the eggheads at the National Interest argues for more engagement by the U.S. in central Asia and makes the following point:
Who says? The fact is oil is bought and sold on futures and just setting the wheels in motion leads to an immediate drop in prices. We've seen this repeatedly over the years; whenever a person friendly to drilling is elected almost immediately prices drop. That is because investers are now confident in a return and will buy oil futures, thus funding the oil companies. We saw this scenario play out both times with Trump, and also when Geoerge W. Bush was elected. You don't have to wait until you actually draw the oil from the ground and refine it; the prices begin dropping almost immediately in anticipation.
I've been arguing all along that getting oil and gas prices down would end the Ukraine war as surely as it ended the Russian invasion of Georgia.
Russia's oil and gas industry accounts for roughtly 18% of her entire GDP per quarter (it was down to 16.7% last April to June, down a bit, no doubt because of the war). That's nearly a fifth of their total GDP. Since oil is a commodity it has fluctuations, and Russia is subject to the same kinds of boom-and-bust cycles we've seen in many commodity-based economies. Texas used to suffer from that cycle of boom-and-bust as oil prices fluctuated too. But with Russia it's the main backbone of their economy.
According to Oilprice.com Russia lost 21% of her revenue when prices dropped this year. And that was just a fairly minor price drop compared to what the Trump folks are pushing to achieve.
From the article by Charles Kennedy:
Imagine how Russia will fare if we really squeeze them!
Now Russia is able to sell it's oil and gas despite the embargo by simply selling to other countries who then sell to everyone following the boycott. Easy peasy.
Russia is a third world country with first world military hardware. It was that alone that strangled the old Soviet Union; they couldn't provide for the needs of the people, and Reagan understood that and squeezed them out of existence using economic warfare (and our military spending was the tool he used to force them into bankruptcy). Oil saved Russia. But oil, like God, giveth and oil taketh away. A commodities-based economy is a developing nation economy and is subject to the vagaries of market forces beyond that nation's control.
Putin was flush with cash thanks to Biden's war on energy, and he had the security of knowing Joe Biden would not take any sort of decisive action (he'd seen that with the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan). Now a new sheriff is in town, and Putin either settles this thing or winds up losing as he runs out of money.
BTW it was the American efforts to build pipelines from central Asia to the West that bypassed Russian/Iranian territory that precipitated both of these invasions. The first thing Russia did in the Georgian war was attack the BKC pipeline. Georgia was going to be the prime corridor for oil and gas outside of Russian control. The same largely held true of Ukraine which controlled Russian access to the rest of Europe. In both cases American economic pressures forced Putin's hand. Oh, he didn't require much pressure; he wants to rebuild the old Tsarist impirium, but he had a ready-made excuse both times, fighting "American imperialism". All you have to do to win over the average Russian is play to their rather justifiable paranoia. The U.S. has been systematically encircling Russia for two decades now and deploying ABM systems in an iron ring around them. It was very easy to convince any Russia of the foul intentions of the United States, and of our proxies in Ukraine and Georgia.
Anyway, the author of this piece argues for greater investment and involvement in these corrupt central Asian countries, a dubious idea. Russia and China are much closer and dominate this region economically and one wonders about U.S. investment in the area. How much will be money down a rathole? In the end these countries saw what happened to Georgia and Ukraine and have no reason to move towards America, which is at best a fair-weather friend.
Anyway, I say I missed my calling because the author of this piece, while obviously knowledgeable about the region, seems to miss the point on occasion here. I still wonder how it is I wound up working in low-level jobs like bread truck driver or real estate property manager. Success is, to me, a huge mystery.
That's why I bloviate here at The Aviary I guess.
Proof that I missed my calling.
This article from the eggheads at the National Interest argues for more engagement by the U.S. in central Asia and makes the following point:
"Just before he was named as President-elect Donald Trump’s national security advisor, Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) called for enforcing the sanctions on Russia to end Moscow’s war against Ukraine. He believes flooding the global market with American oil and gas will bring global energy prices down and weaken Moscow’s war machine.
While such a strategy will take a year or two to bring about the desired result, the Trump administration can take immediate measures to undercut Moscow’s ability to circumvent existing trade sanctions, especially in strategic regions such as Central Asia."
While such a strategy will take a year or two to bring about the desired result, the Trump administration can take immediate measures to undercut Moscow’s ability to circumvent existing trade sanctions, especially in strategic regions such as Central Asia."
Who says? The fact is oil is bought and sold on futures and just setting the wheels in motion leads to an immediate drop in prices. We've seen this repeatedly over the years; whenever a person friendly to drilling is elected almost immediately prices drop. That is because investers are now confident in a return and will buy oil futures, thus funding the oil companies. We saw this scenario play out both times with Trump, and also when Geoerge W. Bush was elected. You don't have to wait until you actually draw the oil from the ground and refine it; the prices begin dropping almost immediately in anticipation.
I've been arguing all along that getting oil and gas prices down would end the Ukraine war as surely as it ended the Russian invasion of Georgia.
Russia's oil and gas industry accounts for roughtly 18% of her entire GDP per quarter (it was down to 16.7% last April to June, down a bit, no doubt because of the war). That's nearly a fifth of their total GDP. Since oil is a commodity it has fluctuations, and Russia is subject to the same kinds of boom-and-bust cycles we've seen in many commodity-based economies. Texas used to suffer from that cycle of boom-and-bust as oil prices fluctuated too. But with Russia it's the main backbone of their economy.
According to Oilprice.com Russia lost 21% of her revenue when prices dropped this year. And that was just a fairly minor price drop compared to what the Trump folks are pushing to achieve.
From the article by Charles Kennedy:
"In November, for a second month in a row, Russia’s oil revenues slumped from the comparable month in 2023, according to Bloomberg’s estimates based on official government data released on Wednesday.
Russia has based its tax levies and calculations for November on an average price of the Urals grade of $64.72 per barrel, which was significantly down from the $81.69 per barrel used to calculate taxes a year ago.
As a result, the Kremlin pocketed last month $5.8 billion (605.2 billion Russian rubles) from oil-related taxes, down by 21% compared to November 2023.
Russia’s total oil and gas revenues also fell last month, by almost 17% on the year to $7.7 billion (801.7 billion rubles), according to Bloomberg’s calculations based on data from the Russian finance ministry.
October also saw a slump in Russian revenues. Lower oil prices and subsidies for domestic refiners resulted in a 29% annual plunge in Russia’s oil revenues in October.
The revenues from oil for the state were also impacted by the government subsidy paid to local refiners. Crude processing companies received in October the so-called damper payments, a form of subsidy to producers to encourage them to sell their refined petroleum products in Russia instead of exporting these for a higher price. Last year in October, Russia didn’t pay such incentives to its refiners.
Russia has based its tax levies and calculations for November on an average price of the Urals grade of $64.72 per barrel, which was significantly down from the $81.69 per barrel used to calculate taxes a year ago.
As a result, the Kremlin pocketed last month $5.8 billion (605.2 billion Russian rubles) from oil-related taxes, down by 21% compared to November 2023.
Russia’s total oil and gas revenues also fell last month, by almost 17% on the year to $7.7 billion (801.7 billion rubles), according to Bloomberg’s calculations based on data from the Russian finance ministry.
October also saw a slump in Russian revenues. Lower oil prices and subsidies for domestic refiners resulted in a 29% annual plunge in Russia’s oil revenues in October.
The revenues from oil for the state were also impacted by the government subsidy paid to local refiners. Crude processing companies received in October the so-called damper payments, a form of subsidy to producers to encourage them to sell their refined petroleum products in Russia instead of exporting these for a higher price. Last year in October, Russia didn’t pay such incentives to its refiners.
Imagine how Russia will fare if we really squeeze them!
Now Russia is able to sell it's oil and gas despite the embargo by simply selling to other countries who then sell to everyone following the boycott. Easy peasy.
Russia is a third world country with first world military hardware. It was that alone that strangled the old Soviet Union; they couldn't provide for the needs of the people, and Reagan understood that and squeezed them out of existence using economic warfare (and our military spending was the tool he used to force them into bankruptcy). Oil saved Russia. But oil, like God, giveth and oil taketh away. A commodities-based economy is a developing nation economy and is subject to the vagaries of market forces beyond that nation's control.
Putin was flush with cash thanks to Biden's war on energy, and he had the security of knowing Joe Biden would not take any sort of decisive action (he'd seen that with the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan). Now a new sheriff is in town, and Putin either settles this thing or winds up losing as he runs out of money.
BTW it was the American efforts to build pipelines from central Asia to the West that bypassed Russian/Iranian territory that precipitated both of these invasions. The first thing Russia did in the Georgian war was attack the BKC pipeline. Georgia was going to be the prime corridor for oil and gas outside of Russian control. The same largely held true of Ukraine which controlled Russian access to the rest of Europe. In both cases American economic pressures forced Putin's hand. Oh, he didn't require much pressure; he wants to rebuild the old Tsarist impirium, but he had a ready-made excuse both times, fighting "American imperialism". All you have to do to win over the average Russian is play to their rather justifiable paranoia. The U.S. has been systematically encircling Russia for two decades now and deploying ABM systems in an iron ring around them. It was very easy to convince any Russia of the foul intentions of the United States, and of our proxies in Ukraine and Georgia.
Anyway, the author of this piece argues for greater investment and involvement in these corrupt central Asian countries, a dubious idea. Russia and China are much closer and dominate this region economically and one wonders about U.S. investment in the area. How much will be money down a rathole? In the end these countries saw what happened to Georgia and Ukraine and have no reason to move towards America, which is at best a fair-weather friend.
Anyway, I say I missed my calling because the author of this piece, while obviously knowledgeable about the region, seems to miss the point on occasion here. I still wonder how it is I wound up working in low-level jobs like bread truck driver or real estate property manager. Success is, to me, a huge mystery.
That's why I bloviate here at The Aviary I guess.
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Post Pardum Depression at USPS
Timothy Birdnow
Trump and the DOGE are looking into kicking the U.S. Postal Service to the curb, fully privatizing it and letting the notoriously incompetent organization sink or swim.
The USPS is a "quasi private" organization. Originally a cabinet-level government post, the Postmaster General was actually in line to become President (down the list at #8,behind the Attorney General) and it was run like an actual government agency. In 1971 it was "privatized" mainly because it made enough money on it's own to fund itself (although it can still draw from general revenue in the event of a shortfall) and to take the PM out of the chain of succession. But it wasn't a privatization at all; you still have to pass a civil service exam to get a job there, and employees enjoy the much better government pension over social security, and their own healthcare system, etc. Also, mail trucks remain one of the vehicles that can cut a funeral procession legally, and they can have you arrested if you use their mailboxes for personal correspondence without a stamp. It's run by a a board of directors who appoint the Postmaster General but the board is appointed by the President of the United States, not by any shareholders as only the U.S. government owns any shares. It is wholly owned by the Feds.
True privatization would mean a complete severing of the organization from government, and would require the sale of shares to investors and that means offering a return. It would be for profit.
It's a move that long ago should have happened. We now have multiple delivery organizations like Fedex or UPS that could do the job more cheaply and more efficiently.
Of course postal workers have long been a solid Democratic block because their jobs depend on government. That will change if the massive, unwieldy organization is privatized. And incompetent or crooked employees will not be protected by government rules any longer.
And that will have a profound impact on America's electoral prospects. In 2023 there were 525,469 career employees and another 115,000 in seasonal workers. If just a quarter of them stop voting Democrat that's a sizable pickup for the GOOP.
But that's not the primary reason to do it; the main reason is because it is an antiquated institution that no longer serves the public interest and can be cut lose. In 2023 the USPS had a net loss of $6.5 billion dollars. That was trumped this year with a loss of $9.5 billion. Guess where the money to cover that deficit came from? It wasn't from budget cuts.
The times have passed the Post Office by, and it's time to acknowledge this change.
Trump and the DOGE are looking into kicking the U.S. Postal Service to the curb, fully privatizing it and letting the notoriously incompetent organization sink or swim.
The USPS is a "quasi private" organization. Originally a cabinet-level government post, the Postmaster General was actually in line to become President (down the list at #8,behind the Attorney General) and it was run like an actual government agency. In 1971 it was "privatized" mainly because it made enough money on it's own to fund itself (although it can still draw from general revenue in the event of a shortfall) and to take the PM out of the chain of succession. But it wasn't a privatization at all; you still have to pass a civil service exam to get a job there, and employees enjoy the much better government pension over social security, and their own healthcare system, etc. Also, mail trucks remain one of the vehicles that can cut a funeral procession legally, and they can have you arrested if you use their mailboxes for personal correspondence without a stamp. It's run by a a board of directors who appoint the Postmaster General but the board is appointed by the President of the United States, not by any shareholders as only the U.S. government owns any shares. It is wholly owned by the Feds.
True privatization would mean a complete severing of the organization from government, and would require the sale of shares to investors and that means offering a return. It would be for profit.
It's a move that long ago should have happened. We now have multiple delivery organizations like Fedex or UPS that could do the job more cheaply and more efficiently.
Of course postal workers have long been a solid Democratic block because their jobs depend on government. That will change if the massive, unwieldy organization is privatized. And incompetent or crooked employees will not be protected by government rules any longer.
And that will have a profound impact on America's electoral prospects. In 2023 there were 525,469 career employees and another 115,000 in seasonal workers. If just a quarter of them stop voting Democrat that's a sizable pickup for the GOOP.
But that's not the primary reason to do it; the main reason is because it is an antiquated institution that no longer serves the public interest and can be cut lose. In 2023 the USPS had a net loss of $6.5 billion dollars. That was trumped this year with a loss of $9.5 billion. Guess where the money to cover that deficit came from? It wasn't from budget cuts.
The times have passed the Post Office by, and it's time to acknowledge this change.
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ABC Admits Libel, Pays Trump
Timothy Birdnow
Suck on this ABC!
abc news settles defamation lawsuit by Trump for $15 million
Maybe now they will rethink letting Bill Clinton's hatchet man run their news division? George Stephanopoulis has turned ABC News into nothing more than a Democrat propaganda arm.
While the money is inadequate (Trump should have held out for way more) at least Trump can now prove he was slandered by them and other media outlets.
The shareholders at ABC need to demand a change in network leadership as a result of this.
Suck on this ABC!
abc news settles defamation lawsuit by Trump for $15 million
Maybe now they will rethink letting Bill Clinton's hatchet man run their news division? George Stephanopoulis has turned ABC News into nothing more than a Democrat propaganda arm.
While the money is inadequate (Trump should have held out for way more) at least Trump can now prove he was slandered by them and other media outlets.
The shareholders at ABC need to demand a change in network leadership as a result of this.
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The Mystery of J6 Deepens
Timothy Birdnow
Revolver has been at the forefront on all things J6 related, and they ask many disturbing questions about the Horowitz report and why all of the 26 agent provocateurs informants escaped prosecution even though three are known for a fact to have entered the Capitol building in violation of the law (and as informants they are as bound by that law as any civilian).
Read the whole article.
Revolver has been at the forefront on all things J6 related, and they ask many disturbing questions about the Horowitz report and why all of the 26 agent provocateurs informants escaped prosecution even though three are known for a fact to have entered the Capitol building in violation of the law (and as informants they are as bound by that law as any civilian).
Read the whole article.
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Moans and Drones
Timothy Birdnow
I caught Fox News Sunday this morning and they interviewed Democratic Rep. Jim Hines about the drone situation. His rather pathetic effort to dismiss the whole matter made it clear to me something rotten is putrifying in the state of Demmark. (Yes, I meant to spell it that way.)
I swear; if that guy had been Pinnocchio his nose would have poked through the Fox cameras.
Over and over he kept comparing the drones people have been seeing with "Walmart drones flown by kids" which is total B.S.; eyewitnesses say these drones are big, sometimes as large as a school bus. Granted, it's hard to tell size without something to judge it against - and in the sky that is a real problem - but most of the eyewitnesses insist they could judge the size and say they were large.
Which means they are not hobby drones but military - ours or someone else's.
He also said there was no reason to fly these drones over secure areas because they could do the same thing with satellites. Hogwash! The chinese sent those spy balloons over the U.S. and they had plenty of satellites to use too.
The presupposition of that argument is that they are solely there for photography, something not at all certain. Big drones can carry missiles, or worse bioweapons. It may be they are seeding biological weapons over the regions visited by these things.
He kept asserting there was no danger from them. How does he know? He claims all is quiet in Iran and China and Russia. Ri-ight! These morons were caught by surprise when Russia invaded Ukraine too. They were shocked when the Chinese sent those balloons over the U.S. (and took no action until they were about to leave U.S. airspace and then only because there was so much public outcry.) Frankly I think a Democratic Congresscritter would be the last to know.
He and the Fox host (not sure who it was; didn;'t look that much like Shannon Bream but the Fox chicks are all stepford wives and pretty much look alike to me) showed a photo of one of them and said "see - this is clearly an airplane" because it had wings rather than copter gyros. Here is a whole page of airplane-style drones. Many of them, especially long-range military drones, have aircraft wings rather than gyros. Granted, Occham's Razor would suggest these are actually airplanes, but as we know they are blowing smoke up our collective posteiors (and have a history of so doing) I am loathe to apply said principle here, especially since so many are seeing these things as drones with their own lying eyes. Yes, some may be airplanes coming in to land, but many of those sightings are by people who live in the area and see airplanes landing all the time.
If our government doesn't know what they are and they are entering secure airspace why not shoot one down and find out what it is? A stinger missile would take it out easily. Or scramble a fighter jet.
It's rather like Nancy Pelosi said of Obamacare "you have to shoot it down to know what's in it".
And the Biden FAA claims to not know what they are, yet says they pose no threat. How do they know that? That iceberg posed no threat too until it sunk the Titanic. Like anything posing a threat it's not always immediately evident. We didn't know the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor either until they did.
If nothing else these things may just be a test run to see if a foreign power can get these over targets and if we'll respond. Thus far we have not.
And if it is NOT a foreign power? This many and with the size of these things that would mean the U.S. government is flying them. Why? Is it to test out a way to spy on every American? Or worse? Maybe Joe's parting gift to us will be some new pandemic created in Wuhan with funding from Dr. Fauci...
I don't think we'll like any of the answers.
Oh, by the by, this is leading to calls for the FAA to increase regulation and control of drones across America, as if private dronership is somehow the problem and not the failure of the Administration to deal with this decisively.
At any rate this Congressman insulted our collective intelligence, and the host did little to hold his feet to the fire. It seemed like a setup. If they are going to calm our fears they first have to give us some actual facts. Assurances from the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight (or at all) is cold comfort.
I caught Fox News Sunday this morning and they interviewed Democratic Rep. Jim Hines about the drone situation. His rather pathetic effort to dismiss the whole matter made it clear to me something rotten is putrifying in the state of Demmark. (Yes, I meant to spell it that way.)
I swear; if that guy had been Pinnocchio his nose would have poked through the Fox cameras.
Over and over he kept comparing the drones people have been seeing with "Walmart drones flown by kids" which is total B.S.; eyewitnesses say these drones are big, sometimes as large as a school bus. Granted, it's hard to tell size without something to judge it against - and in the sky that is a real problem - but most of the eyewitnesses insist they could judge the size and say they were large.
Which means they are not hobby drones but military - ours or someone else's.
He also said there was no reason to fly these drones over secure areas because they could do the same thing with satellites. Hogwash! The chinese sent those spy balloons over the U.S. and they had plenty of satellites to use too.
The presupposition of that argument is that they are solely there for photography, something not at all certain. Big drones can carry missiles, or worse bioweapons. It may be they are seeding biological weapons over the regions visited by these things.
He kept asserting there was no danger from them. How does he know? He claims all is quiet in Iran and China and Russia. Ri-ight! These morons were caught by surprise when Russia invaded Ukraine too. They were shocked when the Chinese sent those balloons over the U.S. (and took no action until they were about to leave U.S. airspace and then only because there was so much public outcry.) Frankly I think a Democratic Congresscritter would be the last to know.
He and the Fox host (not sure who it was; didn;'t look that much like Shannon Bream but the Fox chicks are all stepford wives and pretty much look alike to me) showed a photo of one of them and said "see - this is clearly an airplane" because it had wings rather than copter gyros. Here is a whole page of airplane-style drones. Many of them, especially long-range military drones, have aircraft wings rather than gyros. Granted, Occham's Razor would suggest these are actually airplanes, but as we know they are blowing smoke up our collective posteiors (and have a history of so doing) I am loathe to apply said principle here, especially since so many are seeing these things as drones with their own lying eyes. Yes, some may be airplanes coming in to land, but many of those sightings are by people who live in the area and see airplanes landing all the time.
If our government doesn't know what they are and they are entering secure airspace why not shoot one down and find out what it is? A stinger missile would take it out easily. Or scramble a fighter jet.
It's rather like Nancy Pelosi said of Obamacare "you have to shoot it down to know what's in it".
And the Biden FAA claims to not know what they are, yet says they pose no threat. How do they know that? That iceberg posed no threat too until it sunk the Titanic. Like anything posing a threat it's not always immediately evident. We didn't know the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor either until they did.
If nothing else these things may just be a test run to see if a foreign power can get these over targets and if we'll respond. Thus far we have not.
And if it is NOT a foreign power? This many and with the size of these things that would mean the U.S. government is flying them. Why? Is it to test out a way to spy on every American? Or worse? Maybe Joe's parting gift to us will be some new pandemic created in Wuhan with funding from Dr. Fauci...
I don't think we'll like any of the answers.
Oh, by the by, this is leading to calls for the FAA to increase regulation and control of drones across America, as if private dronership is somehow the problem and not the failure of the Administration to deal with this decisively.
At any rate this Congressman insulted our collective intelligence, and the host did little to hold his feet to the fire. It seemed like a setup. If they are going to calm our fears they first have to give us some actual facts. Assurances from the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight (or at all) is cold comfort.
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Mangione Not United Customer
Timothy Birdnow
Looks like Luigi Mangione wasn't even a United Healthcare client.
So he either just wanted to murder any healthcare executive or his real motivation is yet to reveal itself.
I continue to believe there is more to this than meets the eye.
Mangione said:
America has such a low life expectancy because of the massive number of third world immigrants here (60 million, or if one includes children of foreign born 87.7 million., as well as the serious problems of drug abuse and obesity and violence in black and Hispanic communities. How is that any fault of insurance?
He also fails to understand that we have the BEST healthcare system in the world and that people come as tourists solely to take advantage of care that is superior to any they can get in their more "affordable" countries. Canada or Britain is fine for simple things like an infected toenail, but if you come down with a rare and life-threatening illness you will either go to the U.S. or die.
The U.S. medical tourism market size was worth $4.58 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a rate of 21.0%.
Yes, we also send Americans out to get treatment in other countries, but that is mostly to get treatments not yet approved by the FDA.
And like a good Democrat he lays the blame for every problem at the feet of capitalism and "greed" when in fact much of our problem is the inverse; not enough capitalism or greed. Greed would actually make these companies more responsive to attract more members. Now there are just a handful of health insurance companies thanks to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and decades of government regulations.
Shooting a health insurance executive is like shooting the shift manager at McDonald's because the price of a filet-o-fish went up.
At any rate I still suspect he was a fall guy. Yes, he did it, but I wonder if he wasn't set up to do it. He was claiming this was a travesty of justice, yet we haven't heard any statements from him (or at least I haven't) but rather are just reading online stuff from before. Is it even his writing? Is the manifesto his? Who knows; all I know is we live in an era of massive gaslighting and lies and I see no reason to believe very much of what the authorities tell me anymore.
Looks like Luigi Mangione wasn't even a United Healthcare client.
So he either just wanted to murder any healthcare executive or his real motivation is yet to reveal itself.
I continue to believe there is more to this than meets the eye.
Mangione said:
"A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy?”
America has such a low life expectancy because of the massive number of third world immigrants here (60 million, or if one includes children of foreign born 87.7 million., as well as the serious problems of drug abuse and obesity and violence in black and Hispanic communities. How is that any fault of insurance?
He also fails to understand that we have the BEST healthcare system in the world and that people come as tourists solely to take advantage of care that is superior to any they can get in their more "affordable" countries. Canada or Britain is fine for simple things like an infected toenail, but if you come down with a rare and life-threatening illness you will either go to the U.S. or die.
The U.S. medical tourism market size was worth $4.58 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a rate of 21.0%.
Yes, we also send Americans out to get treatment in other countries, but that is mostly to get treatments not yet approved by the FDA.
And like a good Democrat he lays the blame for every problem at the feet of capitalism and "greed" when in fact much of our problem is the inverse; not enough capitalism or greed. Greed would actually make these companies more responsive to attract more members. Now there are just a handful of health insurance companies thanks to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and decades of government regulations.
Shooting a health insurance executive is like shooting the shift manager at McDonald's because the price of a filet-o-fish went up.
At any rate I still suspect he was a fall guy. Yes, he did it, but I wonder if he wasn't set up to do it. He was claiming this was a travesty of justice, yet we haven't heard any statements from him (or at least I haven't) but rather are just reading online stuff from before. Is it even his writing? Is the manifesto his? Who knows; all I know is we live in an era of massive gaslighting and lies and I see no reason to believe very much of what the authorities tell me anymore.
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December 14, 2024
Why Keynesianism Won't Go Away
From Patrick Barron at the Von Misses Institute:
Most economic analysts predict that the US is about to enter into a cyclical recession. Even Austrian School economists (like me) agree. The big question is, "What will government do?” Will it finally stop its fruitless interventions, such as trying to drive down the interest rate via inflation in the face of unprecedented budget deficits?
Look to Past Actions
Tom Fitton, CEO of Judicial Watch, answered this question (regarding another matter) during a Q&A session at the annual banquet of the Conservative Caucus of Delaware. His answer was simplicity itself and should have been obvious to us all. He said that if we want to predict what a person will do, just look at what he did previously under similar circumstances. People really don’t change much. In fact, regarding economic philosophy, my experience has been that it is very, very difficult to entice someone even to consider an alternative.
That is why the Fed has been itching to find any reason whatsoever to lower interest rates. A few weeks ago, the Fed convinced itself and its Keynesian admirers that price inflation had moderated to below its arbitrary target of two percent, which it felt justified lowering the Fed Funds rate by a half a percentage point. Of course, attempting to goose the economy before an election had nothing to do with it. Oh, no. And if you believe this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell you…cheap!
Why Don’t People Change?
A bigger question arises: why continue to do the same thing that caused all the trouble in the first place? Don’t people learn? Don’t they take a good hard look at the never-ending booms and busts and ask themselves why this keeps happening? That answer is more difficult, but I believe it has to do with human nature. No one ever wants to admit that he might be wrong.
All the governments of the Western bloc are wedded to Keynesian economics that itself is rooted in the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Against all evidence and completely ignoring Say’s Law of Markets, in his magnum opus The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, John Maynard Keynes posited that overproduction had caused an unstoppable deflationary price spiral and that the solution was to increase aggregate demand through government spending. This was a godsend to free-spending politicians, who previously had been encouraged—correctly, by the way—to cut government spending in the face of a recession in order to free capital to revive the wealth-generating private sector. The evidence of the rightness of this policy, in addition to its logical correctness, was the post-World War I Wilson-Harding depression that was over in about a year and a half. The government actually cut spending in order to wash out capital-consuming parasites that always emerge during war economies. Mark Thornton has this statement in his 2018 book The Skyscraper Curse: And How Austrian Economists Predicted Every Major Economic Crises of the Last Century:
The alternative approach to business cycle contractions is espoused by the classical economists, the Austrian-school economists, and the real business cycle theorists. This "do nothing” approach involves shrinking government and balancing the budget, expanding resources in the private sector, and a non-expansionary monetary policy. This was employed by Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding during the fifteen-month-long depression of 1920–21. This period was one of the most severely deflationary in US history, and yet it is hardly mentioned in history textbooks.
But no one, especially those in government and their politically-connected cronies, will entertain the idea of sound money and reduced government spending today. Oh, no! We are living in the age of "countercyclical spending” in which the cart goes before the horse. In fact, our economic system is full of mandatory spending in the face of recession. All manner of welfare programs have been passed to protect workers and businesses from being forced to adjust to the realities of the market. For example, politicians are lauded for extending unemployment benefits beyond previously-established maximums. But here’s the rub—the economy cannot recover unless people and businesses are willing to change. Working in industries that the market desires at a price the market is willing to pay is the only path to economic recovery. Not working at all and refusing to change business models perpetuates and deepens the recession.
Conclusion
So, what is the answer? It is obvious. The people who have been given the power to enact Keynesian policy must be removed from positions of power. They are not going to change. They and their Keynesian policies must be sent to the dustbin of history. It will not be easy. But it’s either adapt to new market realities or suffer an economic collapse unprecedented in US history.
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Defund Israel
Timothy Birdnow
Remember this Jewish voters!
Democrats call for the destruction of Israel!
40% of House Democrats Call For Arms Embargo to Israel
Remember this Jewish voters!
Democrats call for the destruction of Israel!
40% of House Democrats Call For Arms Embargo to Israel
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Syrian Druze Seek Annexation by Israel
Timothy Birdnow
Druze in southern Syria want to be annexed by Israel to avoid being oppressed by Islamists who are taking over the country.
Druze are a minority religious sect in southern Syria and northern Israel that is something of a hodge-podge of religious beliefs, including the "oneness" of God, reincarnation, etc. Also known as the "Muwahideen” or "declarers of oneness,” the Druze largely identify as Arab and the religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam. They have adopted many oriental religious beliefs from Hindus and Buddhists in addition to their Islamic faith. They live in Syria, Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and in Jordan and even in Gaza.
If they secede from Syria and join Israel this could cause a lot of trouble in the region, but what else is new?
It makes me wonder; the Bible predicts future Israel will extend all the way between the Euphrates and the sea. If Israel annexes Druzylvania (to coin a term) will it have access to the Euphrates?
We live in interesting times.
Druze in southern Syria want to be annexed by Israel to avoid being oppressed by Islamists who are taking over the country.
Druze are a minority religious sect in southern Syria and northern Israel that is something of a hodge-podge of religious beliefs, including the "oneness" of God, reincarnation, etc. Also known as the "Muwahideen” or "declarers of oneness,” the Druze largely identify as Arab and the religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam. They have adopted many oriental religious beliefs from Hindus and Buddhists in addition to their Islamic faith. They live in Syria, Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and in Jordan and even in Gaza.
If they secede from Syria and join Israel this could cause a lot of trouble in the region, but what else is new?
It makes me wonder; the Bible predicts future Israel will extend all the way between the Euphrates and the sea. If Israel annexes Druzylvania (to coin a term) will it have access to the Euphrates?
We live in interesting times.
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Ontario Head Calls for Energy Embargo on U.S.
Timothy Birdnow
The mouse that roared!
Ontario premier says US energy exports will be cut off if Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on Canada
Well, actually it just squeeked a bit.
I hate to tell this jerky boss hog of Ontario but we have plenty of energy in the u.S. itself. And his province, and indeed all of Canada, needs to sell us their oil and gas more than we need to buy it.
And we can cut off a whole lot of things to Canada if they want to get into that. Like refined petroleum which they import to the tune of $1.43 billion Canadian bucks. They also import $1.15 billion in crude from us. Cars and auto parts at $1.41 billion. In fact Canada's imports from the U.S. In fact we exported $427.7 billion to them last year.
So what about electricity? The U.S. imported 33.2 million megawatt hours of electricity from Canada last year - $3.2 billion dollars worth in 2023, nearly 30% less than in 2022.. Yes, that is a lot. But in 2023, the United States exported 18.09 terawatt-hours of electricity to Canada. (1 terawatts = 1000000 megawatts so we are talking about 1,809,000 megawatts. Yes, far less than we get from Canada, but it still will hurt them if we keep it when they need it. We have other sources to draw from and then largely do not.
Canada has a GDP of a GDP of $2.14 trillion in USD in 2023. The U.S. enjoys a staggering 27.36 trillion USD. Who wins in a pissing contest?
So put that in your bong and smoke it hippie backbacon eating maplehead!
The mouse that roared!
Ontario premier says US energy exports will be cut off if Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on Canada
Well, actually it just squeeked a bit.
I hate to tell this jerky boss hog of Ontario but we have plenty of energy in the u.S. itself. And his province, and indeed all of Canada, needs to sell us their oil and gas more than we need to buy it.
And we can cut off a whole lot of things to Canada if they want to get into that. Like refined petroleum which they import to the tune of $1.43 billion Canadian bucks. They also import $1.15 billion in crude from us. Cars and auto parts at $1.41 billion. In fact Canada's imports from the U.S. In fact we exported $427.7 billion to them last year.
So what about electricity? The U.S. imported 33.2 million megawatt hours of electricity from Canada last year - $3.2 billion dollars worth in 2023, nearly 30% less than in 2022.. Yes, that is a lot. But in 2023, the United States exported 18.09 terawatt-hours of electricity to Canada. (1 terawatts = 1000000 megawatts so we are talking about 1,809,000 megawatts. Yes, far less than we get from Canada, but it still will hurt them if we keep it when they need it. We have other sources to draw from and then largely do not.
Canada has a GDP of a GDP of $2.14 trillion in USD in 2023. The U.S. enjoys a staggering 27.36 trillion USD. Who wins in a pissing contest?
So put that in your bong and smoke it hippie backbacon eating maplehead!
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Timothy Birdnow
The Biden Administration, unable to stop Mr. Trump himself, is now targeting his nominees by targeting the places they work.
In this particular instance the Biden Security and Exchange commission (SEC) is going after Cantor Fitzgerald, which is run by Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick to head up the Department of Commerce.
Why? Allegedly "make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs)" as the SEC claims happened.
FTA:
The timing is suspect; just as Mr. Trump is about to take office and his Treasury Secretary nominee faces Senate confirmation hearings.
Watch for more such tactics in upcoming weeks as the Biden junta does it's best to tie the hands of the incoming Trump Administration.
The Biden Administration, unable to stop Mr. Trump himself, is now targeting his nominees by targeting the places they work.
In this particular instance the Biden Security and Exchange commission (SEC) is going after Cantor Fitzgerald, which is run by Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick to head up the Department of Commerce.
Why? Allegedly "make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs)" as the SEC claims happened.
FTA:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday charged Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., a global financial services firm headed by one of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, with violating federal securities laws.
The SEC charged the finance firm for allegedly causing two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it controlled to "make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs),” according to a Thursday press release. Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $6.75 million civil penalty.
[...]
"Cantor Fitzgerald misled investors about a critical investment consideration by repeatedly stating in public filings that it had not identified or approached any potential merger targets, despite having had substantive discussions with several private companies regarding a potential merger, including with the companies with which its SPACs eventually merged,” Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Sanjay Wadhwa said in the press release. "This enforcement action reflects the straightforward proposition that any disclosures about substantive discussions with potential targets must be materially accurate.”
Cantor Fitzgerald did not admit or deny the order’s findings, according to the press release. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda published a dissenting statement about the charges Thursday, arguing that the alleged misstatements and omissions were not material.
The SEC charged the finance firm for allegedly causing two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that it controlled to "make misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs),” according to a Thursday press release. Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $6.75 million civil penalty.
[...]
"Cantor Fitzgerald misled investors about a critical investment consideration by repeatedly stating in public filings that it had not identified or approached any potential merger targets, despite having had substantive discussions with several private companies regarding a potential merger, including with the companies with which its SPACs eventually merged,” Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Sanjay Wadhwa said in the press release. "This enforcement action reflects the straightforward proposition that any disclosures about substantive discussions with potential targets must be materially accurate.”
Cantor Fitzgerald did not admit or deny the order’s findings, according to the press release. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda published a dissenting statement about the charges Thursday, arguing that the alleged misstatements and omissions were not material.
The timing is suspect; just as Mr. Trump is about to take office and his Treasury Secretary nominee faces Senate confirmation hearings.
Watch for more such tactics in upcoming weeks as the Biden junta does it's best to tie the hands of the incoming Trump Administration.
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Republicans Want to EXPAND the Judiciary!
Timothy Birdnow
The Republican-led House of Representatives has gone mad and wants to greatly expand the size of the Federal judiciary at a time when it is already bloated and intto every aspect of life.
Amazingly Joe Biden is expected to veto the bill.
From the Epoch Times article:
"The bill, known as the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024, would add 66 district court judgeships nationwide.
Under the bill, the additions would occur incrementally, with the last wave of judgeships being authorized in 2035.
The 236–173 vote comes shortly before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office in January.
Trump’s recent electoral win allows him to continue reshaping the judiciary after adding a substantial number of judges during his first term of office."
end
So the motivation is to give Trump a bunch of new judges. But this is a double-edged sword and there will be nothing to stop the Democrats from doing the same thing when they inevitably take power again.
Our problem isn't too few judges but too many of them - and too many laws on the books. Doesn't the House have better things to do, like repealing oldlaws?
This proves the Republicans are qualitatively no different by and large than the Democrats. They haven't learned that big government is the enemy.
If they do this then they greenlight the Democrats' scheme to pack the Supreme Court. There is no other logical end to it.
The Republican-led House of Representatives has gone mad and wants to greatly expand the size of the Federal judiciary at a time when it is already bloated and intto every aspect of life.
Amazingly Joe Biden is expected to veto the bill.
From the Epoch Times article:
"The bill, known as the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024, would add 66 district court judgeships nationwide.
Under the bill, the additions would occur incrementally, with the last wave of judgeships being authorized in 2035.
The 236–173 vote comes shortly before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office in January.
Trump’s recent electoral win allows him to continue reshaping the judiciary after adding a substantial number of judges during his first term of office."
end
So the motivation is to give Trump a bunch of new judges. But this is a double-edged sword and there will be nothing to stop the Democrats from doing the same thing when they inevitably take power again.
Our problem isn't too few judges but too many of them - and too many laws on the books. Doesn't the House have better things to do, like repealing oldlaws?
This proves the Republicans are qualitatively no different by and large than the Democrats. They haven't learned that big government is the enemy.
If they do this then they greenlight the Democrats' scheme to pack the Supreme Court. There is no other logical end to it.
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December 13, 2024
Mad Scramble to Avoid Government Shutdown
Timothy Birdnow
Why?
A December government shutdown looms: Where negotiations stand
At this point I suspect the Democrats will get the blame, and the election is over so why not shut it down?
May as well just let the thing shut down until after the inauguration.
Why?
A December government shutdown looms: Where negotiations stand
At this point I suspect the Democrats will get the blame, and the election is over so why not shut it down?
May as well just let the thing shut down until after the inauguration.
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Hope to Die, Stick a Needle in My Eye
Timothy Birdnow
Check this out; scientists at Stanford have turned skin bacteria into a vaccine thus eliminating the need for needles!
That would make vaccinations far less onerous to children.
As a child I was deathly afraid of needles and fought hard against getting any shots. It was a pathological fear. I still don't like needles much but decades of insulin and other shots have made me largely immune to these fears. Largely. I still grow fearful when I'm in the chair awaiting an eyeball shot for my eye condition, mind you.
In fact, I once had to go in for a vaccination and the doctor - a true sadist although he had a great reputation as a pediatrician - used to love pulling out big needles to scare me, and once actually climbed on top of me and held me down on the floor while he gave me the shot - while my mother tried to stop this creep! It must be what a rape feels like; I remember the horror of it.
My mother found me a new pediatrician right away, naturally. But in those days you didn't go to the authories over every little thing, and so this sadist got away with it. He should have lost his medical license over that little assault (which is what it was).
So I've always had a healthy fear of needles, and a simple skin solution would have been the answer to all my prayers!
I hope there is a way for them to work this out for my eyeball shots; just some drops instead of that horrible needle in the eye.
I don't see how it would work though; the medication needs to get to the back of the interior of the eye.
At any rate this is a wonderful development. Let's hope it translates into common practice sooner rather than later.
Check this out; scientists at Stanford have turned skin bacteria into a vaccine thus eliminating the need for needles!
That would make vaccinations far less onerous to children.
As a child I was deathly afraid of needles and fought hard against getting any shots. It was a pathological fear. I still don't like needles much but decades of insulin and other shots have made me largely immune to these fears. Largely. I still grow fearful when I'm in the chair awaiting an eyeball shot for my eye condition, mind you.
In fact, I once had to go in for a vaccination and the doctor - a true sadist although he had a great reputation as a pediatrician - used to love pulling out big needles to scare me, and once actually climbed on top of me and held me down on the floor while he gave me the shot - while my mother tried to stop this creep! It must be what a rape feels like; I remember the horror of it.
My mother found me a new pediatrician right away, naturally. But in those days you didn't go to the authories over every little thing, and so this sadist got away with it. He should have lost his medical license over that little assault (which is what it was).
So I've always had a healthy fear of needles, and a simple skin solution would have been the answer to all my prayers!
I hope there is a way for them to work this out for my eyeball shots; just some drops instead of that horrible needle in the eye.
I don't see how it would work though; the medication needs to get to the back of the interior of the eye.
At any rate this is a wonderful development. Let's hope it translates into common practice sooner rather than later.
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Should Trump Pardon Biden?
Timothy Birdnow
Should Donald Trump offer Joe Biden a pardon?
Upon reflection I wonder if this wouldn't be a politically astute thing for Trump to do. Biden's not going to jail, especially since the Supreme Court ruling exempting official acts by any President from prosecution makes it almost impossible to go after Captain Peachfuzz. The only way around this is to either get him for actions that occurred before he became President or to impeach him and thus his actions are no longer exempt (and that would be a whole other SCOTUS case). But if Trump pardons him, and he accepts the pardon, it will be obvious to everyone that he was guilty of crimes, and at the same time shows Trump to be magnanimous.
Then everyone who supported Biden can be held up to the American public for corruption and abuse of power. That includes most potential Democrat candidates for President in four years.
Granted, I would like to see Biden investigated heavily by Congress and the DOJ to expose his corruption and lawbreaking. That's another benefit of a post-presidential impeachment (and it is legal to impeach an ex-president, if for no other reason than to expose lawbreaking and to make it impossible for him to hide behind executive privilege as well as to hold his pension.) But that is unlikely; too many RINO's and too close a Senate. So a pardon may be the best approach in this instance.
Actually, Trump should offer a limited pardon so Biden can still be pursued over other things.
Again, if Biden accepts it's an admission of guilt and can be hung around the necks of the Democrats. If he refuses he can be investigated further and charges for any crime that is not an official act.
I trust Mr. Trump will understand the benefits and dettriments of this.
Should Donald Trump offer Joe Biden a pardon?
Upon reflection I wonder if this wouldn't be a politically astute thing for Trump to do. Biden's not going to jail, especially since the Supreme Court ruling exempting official acts by any President from prosecution makes it almost impossible to go after Captain Peachfuzz. The only way around this is to either get him for actions that occurred before he became President or to impeach him and thus his actions are no longer exempt (and that would be a whole other SCOTUS case). But if Trump pardons him, and he accepts the pardon, it will be obvious to everyone that he was guilty of crimes, and at the same time shows Trump to be magnanimous.
Then everyone who supported Biden can be held up to the American public for corruption and abuse of power. That includes most potential Democrat candidates for President in four years.
Granted, I would like to see Biden investigated heavily by Congress and the DOJ to expose his corruption and lawbreaking. That's another benefit of a post-presidential impeachment (and it is legal to impeach an ex-president, if for no other reason than to expose lawbreaking and to make it impossible for him to hide behind executive privilege as well as to hold his pension.) But that is unlikely; too many RINO's and too close a Senate. So a pardon may be the best approach in this instance.
Actually, Trump should offer a limited pardon so Biden can still be pursued over other things.
Again, if Biden accepts it's an admission of guilt and can be hung around the necks of the Democrats. If he refuses he can be investigated further and charges for any crime that is not an official act.
I trust Mr. Trump will understand the benefits and dettriments of this.
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French Roll
Timothy Birdnow
Is the problem perhaps Mr. Macron himself?
Macron Appoints fourth prime minister in 12 months
None of this would be happening if Marine La Penn had been put in power in the first place.
France needs a color revolution.
Is the problem perhaps Mr. Macron himself?
Macron Appoints fourth prime minister in 12 months
None of this would be happening if Marine La Penn had been put in power in the first place.
France needs a color revolution.
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"Climate Change" or Oil?
Timothy Birdnow
Any wonder why America can't win wars, with such imbeciles running our military?
Pentagon Official Frets Climate Change Is Driving Africans To Join Jihadist Groups
I hate to tell this moron but most of these Jihadist groups aren't taking willing recruits, but rather shanghai them.
Yes, southern Africa has suffered from a severe drought but that is easily explained by the El Nino conditions we experienced.
Certainly Climatologist Judith Curry doesn't blame the drought on "climate change".
And this dimwit doesn't know the difference between north and south Africa; according to the Africa Center:
Of these theaters only Mozambique is in the south; the rest are central to north. The major drought conditions are in the southern parts of the continent.
Duh.
Yet this guy holds a high post in our military.
According to the Daily Caller article:
"The New York Times reported in June that the expensive effort to stamp out jihadist influence in West Africa "has largely failed” after a decade of work, and a September analysis by Reuters found that the number of violent incidents involving terrorists in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has almost doubled in the time since 2021."
What else has been happening since 2021? I believe it's called the Biden Administration.
Could it be that poor foreign policy has freed the Jihadists to run wild there? Could it be that high fuel prices and economic malaise are more responsible than "climate change"? Energy usage is a coefficient of prosperity and it takes energy to move goods and serviced even in dirt poor countries with limited modern technology. In fact the very poor nations are more vulnerable to spikes in energy prices as that spikes all prices and they can ill-afford to pay the inflated prices for stuff.
If Jihadists are gaining ground in Africa isn't it likely caused by Bidenflation? Anybody?
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart certainly blames Biden for impoverishing Africans even more by his energy policy. Biden has been pushing African nations to "go green" when so-called green energy is not capable of supporting a developing economy, and he's used all sorts of pressure and sanctions to force these nations into line.
Isn't a rise in Jihadi recruitment a coefficient of THAT?
The Sahel relies heavily on imported oil and gas. So too does Somalia, which has a good sized oil reserve (at least 30 billion barrels)but cannot produce any of it. Ditto Mozambique which produces no oil of it's own. Chad produces some oil while North Africa produces much, but these are places that have always been crawling with Muslims, and were in fact colonies of the Islamic world before the Europeans came in. It doesn't take much to recruit jihadists in either of these last two.
If this Bidenbot wants to point a finger over the rise of Jihad in Africa he needs to first look in the mirror.
Any wonder why America can't win wars, with such imbeciles running our military?
Pentagon Official Frets Climate Change Is Driving Africans To Join Jihadist Groups
I hate to tell this moron but most of these Jihadist groups aren't taking willing recruits, but rather shanghai them.
Yes, southern Africa has suffered from a severe drought but that is easily explained by the El Nino conditions we experienced.
Certainly Climatologist Judith Curry doesn't blame the drought on "climate change".
And this dimwit doesn't know the difference between north and south Africa; according to the Africa Center:
"Militant Islamist violence in Africa is largely concentrated in five theaters, each comprising distinct, locally based actors and context-specific challenges: the Sahel, Somalia, the Lake Chad Basin, North Africa, and Mozambique."
Of these theaters only Mozambique is in the south; the rest are central to north. The major drought conditions are in the southern parts of the continent.
Duh.
Yet this guy holds a high post in our military.
According to the Daily Caller article:
"The New York Times reported in June that the expensive effort to stamp out jihadist influence in West Africa "has largely failed” after a decade of work, and a September analysis by Reuters found that the number of violent incidents involving terrorists in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has almost doubled in the time since 2021."
What else has been happening since 2021? I believe it's called the Biden Administration.
Could it be that poor foreign policy has freed the Jihadists to run wild there? Could it be that high fuel prices and economic malaise are more responsible than "climate change"? Energy usage is a coefficient of prosperity and it takes energy to move goods and serviced even in dirt poor countries with limited modern technology. In fact the very poor nations are more vulnerable to spikes in energy prices as that spikes all prices and they can ill-afford to pay the inflated prices for stuff.
If Jihadists are gaining ground in Africa isn't it likely caused by Bidenflation? Anybody?
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart certainly blames Biden for impoverishing Africans even more by his energy policy. Biden has been pushing African nations to "go green" when so-called green energy is not capable of supporting a developing economy, and he's used all sorts of pressure and sanctions to force these nations into line.
Isn't a rise in Jihadi recruitment a coefficient of THAT?
The Sahel relies heavily on imported oil and gas. So too does Somalia, which has a good sized oil reserve (at least 30 billion barrels)but cannot produce any of it. Ditto Mozambique which produces no oil of it's own. Chad produces some oil while North Africa produces much, but these are places that have always been crawling with Muslims, and were in fact colonies of the Islamic world before the Europeans came in. It doesn't take much to recruit jihadists in either of these last two.
If this Bidenbot wants to point a finger over the rise of Jihad in Africa he needs to first look in the mirror.
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