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In response to a question on how the sanctions environment would affect the energy market, bin Salman told an industry conference in Riyadh: "All of those so-called sanctions, embargoes, lack of investments, they will convolute into one thing and one thing only, a lack of energy supplies of all kinds when they are most needed".

Reuters
Saudi minister warns sanctions, underinvestment may cause energy shortages

Europe was forced to abandon [cheap] long-term contracts and make the transition to [expensive] spot-based pricing/

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Fact: Boethius wrote in modern English, with rhymes,

Today's News:

Video and transcript. The video is from  4 days ago. The transcript takes a couple of days to prepare.

Naked Capitalism
The Economics of the Ukraine Proxy War with Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai

Not bloody likely If you need proof that the Republican Party is fully in the hands of far-right extremists, look no further than the case of Congressman Jim Jordan. The Ohio Republican,  first elected in 2006, is the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Jordan has been a right-wing bomb thrower and ruthless partisan street fighter from the start. An early endorser of the Tea Party and a founder of the hardcore austerity crusaders the Freedom Caucus, Jordan was always at the center of the obstructionist tactics during the Obama years. He then ran interference for Donald Trump during his many scandals. From Tea Party to Freedom Caucus to MAGA, for the last 16 years, Jim Jordan has been the quintessential far-right Republican, in whatever permutation that is at a given time.  Jordan was involved in the efforts to oust former GOP Speaker John Boehner as a member of the Freedom Caucus, causing Boehner to dub him a “legislative terrorist” which is a very accurate description of his tactics. And he led unsuccessful efforts to do the same to his successor Paul Ryan.

Forecasting recession for the end of year unless construction data reverses. Single variable thinking based on one key factor only, or is he onto something?

“Prices at the grocery store have risen for many foods, but the cost of eggs climbed the most in the last year and consumers have scrambled to keep up.” – PBS

Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Big Shot eating an egg for breakfast. You do understand people are suffering, right? They can’t pay their rent. They can’t afford their medications. And yet here you are, eating an egg for breakfast.

Look at Mr. Money Bags over here eating his egg-white omelet. Imagine having so much cash you can just let the most nutrient-rich part of the egg slip down the drain. Hold your breath, Scrooge McDuck, because you must be drowning in liquid assets. You are the 1 percent.

What are you, the heir to a chicken farm?

General Mike Minahan, head of the United States Air Force’s Air Mobility Command has sent a message to the world. It is blunt, threatening and sinister. ‘My gut tells me we will fight in 2025.’ The General sent his message as a memorandum to the leadership of the 110,000 strong USAF, with the unambiguous title, Continue reading »

The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers’, recent essay in The Monthly explores the relationship between the state and the private sector, and how that matters for the problems of our time. Chalmers’ thesis The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has published in The Monthly a very thoughtful essay calling for “a new values-based capitalism for Australia.” Chalmers starting point Continue reading »

Under the shelter of the ‘shared values’ mantra the leaders of America and its vassal states like Australia find justification for militarisation and hegemony. Secretary of State Blinken’s comments in Jerusalem, while sharing a podium with the Israeli Prime Minister, have exposed the utter meaningless and hypocrisy of this formula. Sloganeering about shared values and Continue reading »

NSW goes to the polls at the end of next month, and Labor must be regarded as a very clear favourite. Recent polls have put Labor 12 points ahead — 56 to 44 –of the coalition. Even allowing that the Opposition leader, Chris Minns must win back seats before he builds a majority, it suggests Continue reading »

The recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce released last week, like almost any serious health reform in Australia, require joint Commonwealth and state action. Unfortunately, going into last Friday’s National Cabinet meeting state responses were at the juvenile end of the spectrum – the Commonwealth should give them and doctors more money – with no Continue reading »

As we start a new year, it is a good time to reflect on the lessons of 2022 – not just from the Covid pandemic but also the floods that wreaked havoc on communities all down the east coast of Australia. That Australia needs to be better prepared for the next crisis is a key Continue reading »

It seems the Pentagon has floated another one. The net result of this incident thus far is that the secretary of state has called off a scheduled summit to Beijing intended to reduce tensions. Let us think some early thoughts about the Pentagon’s announcement, reported in this morning’s dailies, that it has detected an intelligence-gathering Continue reading »

ChatGPT is all the rage. It even drives some people into a rage. It does...

I have lived through some tiresome news cycles in my life but this Chinese balloon cycle was one of the worst. The hysteria was completely inane, particularly on the right but among the media as well. But it is a story and it’s bizarre enough that a little calm expertise is called for. James Fallows is not only a great journalist but also an aviator and a China hand so his analysis is particularly astute: I. The Chinese Balloon Q: Do we believe the Chinese government statement that this was just a science-oriented weather mission? A: No. Q: Then what could the people who launched it conceivably have been thinking? A: Who knows. At the moment I can imagine three possibilities, all bad. -First, this could have been a screwup in the most basic sense. Whoever launched it thought the jet-stream winds would keep it over Canada, rather than dipping into the U.S. Of course that would still mean traversing airspace of a NATO member, and of course it would mean crossing Alaska before that. This possibility is conceivable but not likely. -Second, this could have been a screwup within the Chinese leadership.

Musk disclosed that the sensation the Chinese spy balloon has created is making him consider becoming a balloon himself.

On the passing away of Victoria Chick

We are greatly saddened to note the passing of Victoria (Vicky) Chick on January 15, 2023. Victoria was a vital force in many ways - intellectual, personal, and as an activist member of the academic community. She was an inspiration, mentor, and dear friend to many. She will be sorely missed while leaving behind a powerful legacy. We send our heartfelt condolences to her family.

Google gave the Shweeb $1,000,000.

“Statistically speaking, of course, it’s still the safest way to travel.” — Superman in Superman (1978) Fly enough times and you’ll experience an aborted landing. I’ve experienced two or three. The first, in Minneapolis (1989?) in low-visibility conditions, resembled one this weekend. Those who follow James Fallows’s newsletter know the veteran pilot follows aviation news closely. He reported recently on a Jan. 13 “runway incursion” at Kennedy Airport in New York. But over the weekend, two aircraft had an even closer call in Austin, Texas: The short version of what happened is: “For perspective,” writes Fallows, “around the world some 100,000 airline flights take off and land safely every day.” So there’s that. A graphical recreation follows: A friend just earned her multi-engine rating, so I hear aviation chatter from her as well. What strikes me about this Austin incident was how much it resembled my experience in Minneapolis years ago. Our aircraft was arriving from Seattle early that morning.

Documentos do processo de falência da FTX mostram como a empresa de criptomoedas despejou dinheiro em consultores, think tanks e grupos de lobby.

The post Gigante cripto FTX operou esquema de tráfico de influência, revelam documentos appeared first on The Intercept.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's recent visit to Palestine offered a paltry aid package to Palestinians and a gift to Israel's far-right in the form of the removal of the Jewish Defense League from the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.

The post The US is Legitimizing Jewish Terrorism Against Palestinians appeared first on MintPress News.