patrick.net

Capping energy prices is a great way to get hyper inflation of fiat currency.
Shorting the Euro is a great idea right now.

This is good timing for russia to make certain moves - us election season is imminent.

jykiodfgr says

LOL I told you they are all going to freeze to death

Who is they? It's a first world country. Shut the gas off completely. Sure some poor will die, but most people have $300-$2k jackets that can keep them warm at -10ºF. Gear to stay alive if it gets cold. Sleeping bags. Blankets. Fire places. It's not fucking Siberia.

I don't know. It's clear many here are not used to the cold. Or how to deal with it. It's not a big deal. It sucks, but you don't die. It's 35ºF here where I'm at in IL today. I'm walking about in shorts and a long sleeve. No jacket. Cold is easy to deal with outside of pipes and plumbing. Even that isn't a big deal. Warm showers could be impossible, but who cares. Just don't shower or bath. Humans did it far longer than one cold winter.

This freeze to death thing is overblown. Happens all the time in Chicago, NYC, the Northeast. Yes people die from cold. Rarely. Heat is usually the issue. Think about that in the summer during a heat wave when all the nat gas power plants are short. That's when people die.

ad says

Will they try to shut down the border between Ukraine and Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, etc. ?

They can try, but I don't see how they can possibly succeed.

Lol! Cavemen survived out of every winter. This is a good reminder to stop wearing summer clothes in winter unless wants to provide Darwin is right. Does it need a rocket scientist.

jykiodfgr says

Beijing urges Chinese citizens to leave Ukraine

I thought they already left right after day 1 of the Russian invasion.

.

Yeah, I've slept outside with no tent in -10F in a decent (not super elite expensive but not generic brand either) 4-season sleeping bag with long johns under synthetic Patagonia ski pants, heavy flannel shirt.. Also wool socks, gloves, and a jacket. After a few minutes I had to toss out the jacket and eventually the heavy flannel because I was sweating my balls off. I put my camp on the lee side of a rock but there were 20mph icy blasts all night. Layering is key, and as long as you stay dry (including removing layers if you start to sweat) and if you get out of the wind, you'll be fine at temperatures much lower than -10F

I survived.

The real problem might be freezing pipes if people don't empty the lines.

jykiodfgr says

I hate that my taxdollar is being used to pay for these shills. Thank God you guys are all vaxxed and will be dead soon.

I'm proudly pureblood, not one jab.

WookieMan says

Yes people die from cold. Rarely. Heat is usually the issue.

Yes, remember a few years back when France had 10,000 deaths during a heat wave? You never hear about big die offs due to a cold spell.

jykiodfgr says

No wonder China is evacuating out of Ukraine.

Based on what? I see a map with many colors on it. Why should that mean anything to Chinese nationals in the country?

I hate this sort of thing. It reminds me of the unlabeled chart on Zerohedge with nothing more than "the chart speaks for itself", when it DIDN'T.

socal2 says

Imagine trying to extol the virtues and achievements of the Russian military after the last half year of complete and utter embarrassment at the hands of the much smaller and weaker Ukraine that is literally right next door.

Dude, the United States spent 20 years in Afghanistan with no visible gains, and left them with 80 billion dollars of equipment which has been disassembled and studied in China and Russia.

You're comparing a sewage pit with a toxic dump. Neither is very impressive.

Russia is in absolutely no hurry to win this war, and the United States wants to drag this out. Even if Russia used all their resources and military to over-run Ukraine, and I think they could have, they'd have to deal with an insurgency the US and NATO would have funded for years. Instead, they've decide to let Europe starve for lack of energy resources and let the US spend more money on "aid" than all of Russia spends on their own military per year.

This will go on for at least until spring, but I expect I wouldn't be surprised if it went on for years. It costs Russia money and human resources (blood) to continue this, but it's less than what Ukraine pays for in blood, and the US is approaching instability with China as a result of this.

NATO may no longer exist at the end of this, in fact the EU may be gone, and the US may find itself economically isolated. That would be worst case scenario though, but it would put Russia in #2 position, and China in #1.

cisTits says

I am sure that will work just AOK...like all other temporary price controls have.

When O'Hare Airport was built there was a "temporary" toll put on the highway running by it. It's still in place.

jykiodfgr says

HeadSet says

You never hear about big die offs due to a cold spell.

That's because the media don't report it. If you look at total deaths you'll see a huge dieoff every winter.

This winter in Europe is going to be in the history books.

Any links? I've never heard of mass casualty events from cold. My SIL is living in Germany currently. Nobody cares. They're not worried. Pipes/Plumbing are the biggest worry as I and others have said. You don't have to shower, but even a two minute cold shower is actually good for you. People in cold areas have clothing for it. Gear. Even morons. It's why as a dude I have a full ass closet here in IL. Winter and Summer. It's not complicated.

Patrick says

When O'Hare Airport was built there was a "temporary" toll put on the highway running by it. It's still in place.

After they got caught for corruption in the 90's, the tollway that is, the roads are meticulously maintained now besides when under construction. As an adult that makes good wages it's 1,000% worth it. I pay I think $5 one way to O'hare or Midway. I did that daily when I worked in the city. So $10/day roughly. Maybe a touch less, can't remember since I don't go that way often and it's all digital.

A well run toll road system is great. It's when the fraud and kickbacks come in where shit work is done. Much more oversight here in IL surprisingly. Drive the Indiana or Ohio toll road system... you'll need a new suspension. And you might as well haul a dumpster to pick up all the trash on that highway (I-80) as well. Have to deal with that shit to go to Fort Wayne, IN this winter for a show. Shit, I need to figure out where I'm staying now that I think about it.

With a low enough price cap, the heavy industry will still be able to operate normally with the reserves they have in storage...until suddenly there ain't any more gas cause nobody had to ration it.

cisTits says

Western firms that pulled out and took their technical peeps with them.

Like what western firms? Name a few. I'd be interested.

Maybe they fear the gas theyre currently getting from russia will stop for whatever reason? Like maybe due to a pipeline suddenly exploding again.

But I'd put my money on it being strategic pressure, like maybe russia told them to stop supplying europe w/ gas...

Russia has about 90,000 dead of wounded so far. These were their best guys, and they are retreating.
The Russian military behavior reflects primitive WW1 tactics; they have zero coordination of air, naval and land forces.
Sending new guys to the front will not change the dynamic; Russia needed a military with 500,000 men and western modern military tactics, which they didn't have and won't have.
Hitler made many strategic blunders, but he almost invented modern warfare; "blitzkrieg" was a coordinated attack with air and land forces moving quickly.
Russia has no air superiority over Ukraine today. 200,000 more unwilling guys at the front cannot change this.
Russia has no technological superiority either; the weapons provided to Ukraine are superior. HIMARS, Javelins, Starstreak, etc. are effective. Russia stuff is about 1/2 as effective.
The fancier stuff Russia has is depleted and cannot be replaced; the embargo of some high tech components means Russia cannot resupply its army with some useful stuff.
Russia is now getting restless; the myth of Putin's popularity is bullshit. He's got a rabid base but most Russians either don't like him or tried to not even think about politics; now they're unhappy about being drafted to go to Ukraine for no reason they can understand.
I'm able to remember Vietnam and it was unpopular for a big reason; they were drafting guys.
There were marches "Hell no, we won't go!"
I recall after the draft unpopularity, they had a "lottery"; your birthday was in a lottery, and if you got a "low number" maybe you were going to have to go.
People can't seem to appreciate how unpopular being conscripted is; you're being forced to go somewhere to maybe die and you don't want to.
I'm curious to see how long Putin holds onto power; there is increasing unrest and guys in the Kremlin are probably pissed off but don't have the power or balls to make a move against a former KGB spy turned dictator.
Edit: I'm not sure how bright Putin is, but he is likely skilled at subterfuge and political intrigue.

clambo says

former KGB spy turned dictator.

KGB spy stuff is all Hollywood bullshit. Pumped up to make it seem like they knew what they are doing. Sure there were spies and they were conniving, but you can see with Ukraine they just don't have it. Russia is pussy. Think of the series Mad Men. Putin was likely drinking booze constantly and fine, killing people. That doesn't make him a smart person.

This is by far a worse conflict than the US in Iraq or Afghanistan as far as making sense. Hell Chicago is in a perpetual state of war over drugs and gang territory. Russia did not need to invade Ukraine for anything. They have energy. They have land. They control Crimea. For fucks sake buy a 1 mile swath of land and build a highway to Crimea. Ukraine should just go full ape shit and take out that bridge completely at this point. Russia is weak sauce and it's highly likely their nukes even work or are accurate. And yes, I also give zero shits about Ukraine. This whole thing is dumb.

WookieMan says

This is by far a worse conflict than the US in Iraq or Afghanistan as far as making sense.

Really? Iraq didn't have a weapons of mass destruction program before the war started, and that was the (given) reason for the war. What was the purpose of the Iraq War?

Afghanistan offered first to hand over binLaden provided the US would share evidence of his involvement with 9/11, the US refused, they later just offered to hand over binLaden, still the US refused. What was the purpose of the Afghanistan war?

Tell me how either made sense?

I do know that part of the reason for the Iraq War was to establish US military bases there and to prevent Hussein from moving to the Euro exclusively for oil trade. Afghanistan MAY have been in part for oil pipelines, but that's only rumor.

WookieMan says

Ukraine should just go full ape shit and take out that bridge completely at this point.

It really doesn't matter. I believe Russia already has a land bridge to it at this point. You know how they attacked the bridge? They got some patsy to drive a truck loaded with explosives across it, then they detonated it.

Still waiting for those worthless draftees to overrun Ukraine.

richwicks says

It really doesn't matter. I believe Russia already has a land bridge to it at this point. You know how they attacked the bridge? They got some patsy to drive a truck loaded with explosives across it, then they detonated it.

It does matter. The land is contested borderline land. There's not a free flow of commerce or whatever Russia wants to do with Crimea. Knock the bridge out with full military grade weapons and Russia is fucked. This has always been about Crimea since they annexed it. Russia is landlocked in the winter for the most part. Shipping goods/resources via water is the cheapest way possible. Can't easily do that through ice. Europe won't supposedly "freeze" as has been mentioned. Russia will.

This is why the supply chain is fucked up right now with China and Covid. It takes a while via water, but you can ship massive quantities of stuff. That's all Russia wants. They could have just negotiated that and bought the land. We see with their war machine they're inept. They didn't have the money. We're witnessing the downfall of Russia. They're not a global super power. They have gas and oil, that's it.

richwicks says

Really? Iraq didn't have a weapons of mass destruction program before the war started, and that was the (given) reason for the war. What was the purpose of the Iraq War?

I don't care about the reasons for those wars. Were they dumb? Yes. We can agree there. We also didn't take 7-8 months to grab contested land that's maybe the size of Indiana. Sure we didn't control 100% and lost troops along the way, but Russia is getting their asses handed to them by their next door neighbor. We controlled 2 countries at the same time across the globe. I've said I don't care the outcome, but ultimately Russia looks like it's failing. Not much dispute there. Long game maybe they prevail, not certain of that though either.

zzyzzx says

Still waiting for those worthless draftees to overrun Ukraine.

Drunk draftees.

They need to innovate LNG offloading in Europe to lessen the hardships of Russia cutting off natural gas supply.

Provide for security of the LNG infrastructure also, which means deploy retired SEALs, security technology, etc.

*********************

Dozens of LNG-laden ships queue off Europe's coasts unable to unload

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/dozens-lng-laden-ships-queue-off-europes-coasts-unable-unload-2022-10-17/

WookieMan says

It does matter. The land is contested borderline land. There's not a free flow of commerce or whatever Russia wants to do with Crimea.

There's a massive military base in Crimea. That's the extent of Russia's interest with it and it's a major military objective to take it away from Russia for the United States. This is why the US has been lying for 8 years that "Russia invaded Crimea", they were already there when the coup happened.

WookieMan says

Really? Iraq didn't have a weapons of mass destruction program before the war started, and that was the (given) reason for the war. What was the purpose of the Iraq War?
richwicks says

I don't care about the reasons for those wars.

Then you'-re just another massive hypocrite that applies principles and logic only when it suits some programmed condition.

I am tired of this shit. Russia hasn't done ANYTHING United States hasn't done, and if you haven't complained about what the US has done for 20 FUCKING years, who cares about "your" opinion on Russia?

Do you really have one? If you have no consistent set of principles but instead have just a bunch of exceptions, are you positive you're not one of these?



WookieMan says

I've said I don't care the outcome, but ultimately Russia looks like it's failing.

You, and I, have no idea what the objectives are. None. For all I know this war for the United States is exclusively to launder money and to prop up the MIC, and NOTHING else. For Russia, it might be an excuse to first let Europe fail economically though energy starvation, and then take it over in the next 10 years.

You don't know, I don't know.

We are always lied to about the wars, every fucking time. You know this, you must at least suspect at this point.

Lol!

An emboldened cast of anonymous trolls spewed racist slurs and Nazi memes onto Twitter in the hours after billionaire industrialist Elon Musk took over the social network

I bet most of the racism posted came from bitter leftists. Just like fake noose and all the other fake hate crimes.

The soys are so het up from this.

Agree, the majority of any racist posts are leftists/twitter employees

But, but, but, they have to prove that without their tree-hugging, soy-chomping censorship that uber MAGA racism will propagate like Covid-19!!!!!!!I

I must confess that since Musk took over, I'm feeling more racist, just because . . .

https://twitter.com/DalKhalsaUK/status/1585837492825096193

https://youtu.be/pgSULpGnwPg

https://twitter.com/MannySinder/status/1345125864762204161

I would fight any Sikh Grooming Gang (If they existed) a billion times harder than I fight Muslim Grooming Gangs because my community is my problem and I’m no p*y - I do not support evil. I am very vocal about Indian rape crimes by Hindu men including in Kashmir and India

https://mobile.twitter.com/G_PANNUN/status/1586440625121099778

NATO is clear that Hindoo occupants must get out of Khalistan .. Otherwise would be hard for them.

https://mobile.twitter.com/GurFATE84/status/1586517024305401857

Would Sikh genocide remembrance be suppressed by NATO's Musk?
https://twitter.com/JagdeepSingh_NY/status/1586440325496975360
#1984SikhGenocide Remembrance Car Rally with Khalistan Flags in Toronto Causing Delay on 427.

https://twitter.com/GurFATE84/status/1586517024305401857
#sikh #Genocide remembrance rally locked the Hwy 427 today in #Toronto With the trucks and cars in thousands. #khalistan #Referendum Phase:2 voting on Nov 6 in Mississauga. #india #canada #punjab #punjabi #diljitdosanjh #apdhillon

More they do it to Sikhs, More Sikhs want to stick it to these modern mughals.
they want Sikhs to be 800+ years slaves like them.

https://twitter.com/deepeshbatra22/status/1586627058796744704
@MEAIndia
@VohraManpreet
@HCICanberra
@DrSJaishankar

Saw these people waiving Khalistan flags in the match #INDvsPAK2022 at the MCG.
I hope right action will b taken agnst them so that it never happens again on foreign soil or back home.