I keep hearing that this winter will be bad for manufacturing in Europe.

[michiganbuck]

What, are they saying that it was Trump's balloon..shoulda had known.

 

[Freedommachine]

kushner actually got loans.
Companies who pay trump to use his name got loans.
it trickled down.

Trump Associates and Members of His Administration Received Millions in Loans From Coronavirus Bailout

Loan recipients included a law firm run by one of Trump’s key defenders in the Russia probe, a Kushner family real estate project and the publisher of the National Enquirer

time.com

$14M in relief funds find members of Congress and family - Roll Call

At least $13.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds have gone directly to companies where members of Congress or their families are owners or employees.

rollcall.com

Yeah, so did quite a few businesses with ties to members of Congress as well as state and local politicians.

I don't care if people want to share their disdain for politicians, I do it all the time. What I don't understand is; why is it always the same politician?

Many people always seem to conveniently ignore the complete fraud and fuckery committed by the rest of them - particularly those on the blue team; yet they will grasp at anything to denounce the one true "enemy".

Remember this?

Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Team Among Top Political Donors Before Bankruptcy

Sam Bankman-Fried of the collapsed crypto exchange focused on contributing to Democrats, while a fellow executive largely backed Republicans.

www.wsj.com

"FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and members of his team rose from relative obscurity in Washington to be among the biggest donors in U.S. politics, contributing more than $70 million to election campaigns in less than 18 months."

"Mr. Bankman-Fried personally gave $40 million to politicians and political-action committees ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, mostly to Democrats and liberal-leaning groups, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign donations. Ryan Salame, another top FTX executive, donated more than $23 million, mainly to Republicans and conservative groups."



Today...right now...One of the shadiest family's in American political history heads our executive branch and Congress is full of corporate shills and old money oligarchs.

(If right now you're thinking; "yeah, but trump was worse" - then you're missing the point entirely.)

I don't care what color tie someone wears; Truth and accountability are the only things that matter and we do not have it.

If someone does not publicly chastise the crooks who represent their interests with the same genuine disdain they feel toward those whom they oppose - it comes off as a cult-like bias; wherein being right is more important than what is right.

What is more important; objective truth? Or being right at any cost in support of tribalism?

 

[standardparts]

kushner actually got loans.
Companies who pay trump to use his name got loans.
it trickled down.

Trump Associates and Members of His Administration Received Millions in Loans From Coronavirus Bailout

Loan recipients included a law firm run by one of Trump’s key defenders in the Russia probe, a Kushner family real estate project and the publisher of the National Enquirer

time.com

Lots of people got "loans" which most knew were going to morph into no pay back money.
So you would have to be pretty stupid not to take the money.
Did everyone use the PPP money to keep their company afloat and make sure employees never lost a dime in wages during Covid? Yeah, sure.
Anyway---for those who are so inclined:

--11.5M
Loans Approved
--968,532
Organizations approved for loans between $150,000 and $10 million
--$793B
Amount Approved
--$742B
Amount Forgiven
Includes any accrued interest

Tracking PPP: Search Every Company Approved for Federal Loans - ProPublica

As part of the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal government has provided hundreds of billions in financial support to banks to make low-interest loans to companies and nonprofit organizations in response to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Search more than 11...

projects.propublica.org

 

[jim rozen]

" yet they will grasp at anything to denounce the one true "enemy".

What, you mean like Dog Killer Santos? Or was it Dog Killer Devolder? Can't keep those scumbags straight.....

 

[Freedommachine]

" yet they will grasp at anything to denounce the one true "enemy".

What, you mean like Dog Killer Santos? Or was it Dog Killer Devolder? Can't keep those scumbags straight.....

No, the current Chief dog killer is a fella named Steven Dettelbach.

Anthony Fauci is a close second.

 

[michiganbuck]

Most of the political conversation here are like two children claiming my dog is smarter than yours.
Who cares who you like, when it comes to voting time you get your chance to express yourself.

 

[jaguar36]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mod Note ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Folks, The political posts are getting out of hand here. Remeber to keep your posts at least loosely related to manufacturing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[SeymourDumore]

I have read that in addition to compressed air storage

Me thinks you've got your threads crossed....

 

[michiganbuck]

If the Ukraine situation would end, along with the threat of an all-out war the stock market would go up 30%+
and if the situation does not end ..the stock market won't even matter.

 

[michiganbuck]

Likely the China balloon was checking what USA military bases are still active for Russia so they could conserve using too many intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Too many nukes going off in the USA all at once might contribute to global warming..and then a nuclear winter so averting global warming... I guess it is a coin toss as to what might be better.
If the USA got blowed-up that might stop the drugs coming across our southern border,

 

[Scottl]

Likely the China balloon was checking what USA military bases are still active for Russia so they could conserve using too many intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Too many nukes going off in the USA all at once might contribute to global warming..and then a nuclear winter so averting global warming... I guess it is a coin toss as to what might be better.
If the USA got blowed-up that might stop the drugs coming across our southern border,

The Chinese government said they were weather balloons. While that might be partly true the weather they might have been studying could be wind patterns upstream of military installations and critical infrastructure. There would be no need to release enough "dirty dust" to disable or kill the entire population if key personnel or facilities could be taken out by much more selective releases or small-scale EMP events. Slow moving balloons would be ideal for such missions in either case.

It has been known for some time that China considers us to be "Enemy Number One" and has been studying us for weaknesses on several fronts over the past few decades.

PS: I wonder how far a US balloon would get in China? I suspect it would be destroyed ASAP after being detected.

 

[michiganbuck]

When the stock market takes a 10% slump I look out the window to see if anything is still there.

 

[Scottl]

I've been wondering how the situation in Europe is at this time. The information provided by Straightedge re electricity in France is alarming. Could some of our European members tell us what the situation is in their countries? Hopefully there is some good news.

 

[michiganbuck]

I've been wondering how the situation in Europe is at this time. The information provided by Straightedge re electricity in France is alarming. Could some of our European members tell us what the situation is in their countries? Hopefully there is some good news.

My niece Heather lives in France, for working people I think the country is a basket case

 

[Scottl]

My niece Heather lives in France, for working people I think the country is a basket case

But how are the other countries doing?

 

[SeymourDumore]

But how are the other countries doing?

Hungary seems to be OK as far as energy ( oil, gas and electricity ).
Otherwise it is running ( accelerating actually ) towards a very tall cliff, mostly by the doings of it's government over the last 12 years.
I am a right-leaning individual who has not paid much attention to the politics in recent past, but I must admit, these assholes fucked up so many things during their reign that a very painful reckoning is inevitable in a very near future.
All that came to light when Vladimir RasPutin started his shenanigans in Ukraine, blowing up Orban's hopes and plans en masse in the process.

 

[slnielsen]

Denmark is also doing ok, energy wise. We actually saved close to 30% last year, compared to previous years. We have had a mild winter here, that was a big help on top. The current price of electricity is between 2 to 4 DKK / kWh. Gasoline (95) is around 14 DKK, Diesel 13 DKK / liter.
There are still a lot of people( all of us, actually) , who have fewer money in their pockets than a year ago. But it could have been much worse..
We have had a few blackouts but none nationwide. Worst one was on Christmas Eve, where a few thousands in Copenhagen was without electricity.

Energy crisis

Denmark is currently facing the possibility of a serious energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine. There is an elevated risk of power shortages and Danes are being encouraged to conserve energy.

en.kriseinformation.dk

We are though seeing a lot of hacking attempts, mostly from Russia right now. Must be important for Putin's trolls to stop us in reading our paychecks.

 

[john.k]

I cant comment on the lektrickery,due to having recieved a notice to the effect my meter will not be read until the jungle is cleared away .....there has been too many newsgrabs of giant snakes eating small dogs (and owners) lately...........global warming is obviously to blame ,my grass has never grown like this before .....and the damn trees have gone wild.

 

[SeymourDumore]

The current price of electricity is between 2 to 4 DKK / kWh. Gasoline (95) is around 14 DKK, Diesel 13 DKK / liter.

Soren, could you post the average prices from 4 years ago ( 2019, pre covid ) of the same items?

 

[slnielsen]

Soren, could you post the average prices from 4 years ago ( 2019, pre covid ) of the same items?

Sure thing.

Gasoline and diesel, was in a previous post in this thread.

Denmark: monthly electricity prices 2024 | Statista

The average wholesale electricity price in Denmark stood at around 57 euros per megawatt-hour in February 2024, the lowest electricity prices in the country since July 2021. In 2021 and 2022, electricity prices in Europe soared, the result of a number of factors, including increased heating...

www.statista.com

Natural gas, which much electricity is produced via, and the heating surplus, then sold in the district heating network, has gone up accordingly.