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Thursday, March 3. 2022

Thursday morning links

 “Seniority” by Robert Fulghum


Reagan tells Soviet jokes


 Private healthcare boom adds to fears of two-tier system in UK. Shift could leave millions vulnerable because of ethnicity, postcode or job, warns thinktank


 What If San Francisco Does Not Recover?


 Hillary Clinton Gets Pop Quiz in Self-Awareness and Fails in Spectacular Fashion


 Who knew that King was a white supremacist? 


 Formal Squad SOTU response: You're darned right we should defund the police -- and ban even more domestic oil production


Putin is NOT crazy and the Russian invasion is NOT failing. The West's delusions about this war - and its failure to understand the enemy - will prevent it from saving Ukraine, writes military analyst BILL ROGGIO


 Biden in Retreat

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 09:16 | Comments (38) | Trackbacks (0)

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Private healthcare adds fear of two tier system ... healthcare and education need competition. Otherwise they continue to descend into mediocrity.
#1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-03-03 10:08 (Reply)
The UK socialized medicine system is worse than mediocre, and that's what is driving people to private providers. I have elderly relatives in London. The waiting list for common surgical procedures - like hip/knee replacements, for instance - is so long that, by the time their condition is bad enough to get approval for surgery, the patients become 'too old' or infirm to receive the treatment. It's the ugly practical side of rationing. People are opting for private because it's their only option, not simply a better one.

The problem is age-old and the same everywhere. Promises of government largess inevitably turn into provision-or-service failures precisely because they are separated from market forces, and at the end of the day, the program doesn't give a sh*t whether the customer is happy or not: it's made irrelevant by design.
#1.1 Aggie on 2022-03-03 11:15 (Reply)
"Putin is NOT crazy and the Russian invasion is NOT failing."

Reading his essay it is obvious that he agrees that Putin is a genius (or at least has past and present actions were genius level) and he fooled the United Nations, NATO and Biden. So why is saying "Putin is a genius" out loud such a bad thing? Shouldn't someone at the UN or NATO have said that years ago and exposed Putin's evil plan??? Or maybe the problem is we don't have enough geniuses in positions of power in the West. I think we have replaced all the smart people with people who were selected for equity and diversity and they have never given a thought to anything else in the world but racism and equity. They have never read history, except that faux-history written by the black studies professor. But... diversity is our strength.
#2 OneGuy on 2022-03-03 10:19 (Reply)
Agree. You really didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Putin was going to make a move on Ukraine again like he did when Biden was VP. Only the completely TDS-addled like the Biden Brain Trust(severely overdrawn) believed their own gaslighting about Putin holding back because he was friendly with Trump rather than because Trump was sending Ukraine Javelin ATGMs instead of blankets and oil was $30/barrel instead of $100/barrel. The fig leaf that Ukraine could some day but not today join NATO was the kind of strategic ambiguity that ignited the Korean War.
#2.1 Christopher B on 2022-03-03 11:07 (Reply)
OneGuy: So why is saying "Putin is a genius" out loud such a bad thing?

QUOTE:
I said, ‘This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So, Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’

QUOTE:
I said, 'This is genius.' Hitler declares a big portion of of Poland, Hitler declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So, Hitler is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Poland. I said, ‘How smart is that?’

Putin is no more a genius than was Hitler. He is a thug using military power to attack a weak neighbor. It will lead to devastating consequences for Ukraine and for Russia.

Christopher B: Trump was sending Ukraine Javelin ATGMs instead of blankets

Trump actually threatened to withhold military aid (illegally) if Ukraine didn't publicly announce an investigation into Hunter Biden.

Christopher B: and oil was $30/barrel instead of $100/barrel.

Oil is high because the global economy is quickly rebounding from the recession associated with COVID. It's a supply chain issue. As oil prices rise, wells that were not profitable have started pumping again. It's called the market system.

Christopher B: The fig leaf that Ukraine could some day but not today join NATO was the kind of strategic ambiguity that ignited the Korean War.

It's a fundamental of international law that nations can decide for themselves what alliances they form. Ukraine has the right to join NATO (though Ukraine doesn't come close to meeting the qualifications as yet). Ukraine could have agreed not to join NATO, but you can't expect NATO to say Ukraine can never join.
https://twitter.com/VeraMBergen/status/1498814410911006723
 
#2.2 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 11:47 (Reply)
More of your bullshit.

The economy was rebounding fine and oil prices stayed low. Oil prices shot up b/c the US restricted production with the new (illegitimate) administration.

You know nothing about Hitler or Putin. Hitler was Times Man of the Year for a reason. But those are subjects for tomes, not posts.

Any more lies or blatant ignorance you want to get called out on? That's all your posts are good for. What's it like to be wrong?
#2.2.1 DrTorch (Link) on 2022-03-03 12:11 (Reply)
DrTorch: The economy was rebounding fine and oil prices stayed low.

Real GDP bottomed out in 2020 Q2 at $17.25 trillion. Oil bottomed out in April 2020 at $20.67 per barrel. Since then, real GDP has steadily risen to $19.81 trillion in 2021 Q4, while oil rose to $95.72 by February 2022 (before the Russian invasion of Ukraine). Due to the invasion, there will be significant disruptions in oil supply, so oil prices can be expected to spike. There will be a price to pay for opposing Putin.

DrTorch: You know nothing about Hitler or Putin.

We know Hitler invaded Poland claiming he was doing so to protect German ethnics in Poland. We know Putin invaded Ukraine claiming he was doing so to protect Russian ethnics in Ukraine. That's more information than you have yet provided.
#2.2.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 12:29 (Reply)
QUOTE:
Quibble-DickZ: Real GDP bottomed out in 2020 Q2 at $17.25 trillion.
... Since then, real GDP has steadily risen to $19.81 trillion in 2021 Q4...


It's amazing how injecting 2 trillion+ dollars of government fiat money into the economy can increase the GDP by 2 trillion+ dollars.
#2.2.1.1.1 Zachinoff on 2022-03-03 21:32 (Reply)
Christopher B: Trump was sending Ukraine Javelin ATGMs instead of blankets

Nor did those Javelins deter war. Ukraine also manufactures its own ATGM, the Stugna-P. It's much cheaper and easier to use.
#2.3 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 12:01 (Reply)
The wests delusions about the war. Know your enemy. The US military and US politicians have not done well in that category for a few decades.
#3 indyjonesouthere on 2022-03-03 10:21 (Reply)
Re: Hillary Clinton Gets Pop Quiz in Self-Awareness and Fails in Spectacular Fashion

I think it bears reminding that gang of Z considers those examples of Hillary’s and Democratic cozying up to Russia as “what aboutism.”
#4 mudbug on 2022-03-03 10:25 (Reply)
mudbug: Z

And here we thought to leave you the day off in the hopes you might actually take the time to consider your views with a more skeptical eye, and to look more closely at the underlying facts.

mudbug: I think it bears reminding that gang of Z considers those examples of Hillary’s and Democratic cozying up to Russia as “what aboutism.”

Certainly, whatever is purported to be Clinton's activities doesn't justify the fact that Russia interfered with the presidential campaign, and that the Trump campaign welcomed that interference.

As for Durham's indictment, it's a game of "Telephone." Each repetition takes a bit of the story and then "misremembers" it in each retelling. What the indictment documents concerning "PR Executive-1" primarily relates to the reasons for Manafort's resignation, along with unverified rumors about Trump's stay in Moscow. More specifically, the indictment indicates that "individuals affiliated with the Clinton Campaign did not direct, and were not aware of, the aforementioned meetings and activities with DANCHENKO and other Russian nationals."
#4.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 11:22 (Reply)
It's a little more than that, Quibble-DickZ.
Who y’all trying to kid?
#4.1.1 Zachinoff on 2022-03-03 11:32 (Reply)
Hillary just got the ball rolling:
How much oil and gas did Trump end up buying from the Russians?
How much help from the Russians did Trump solicit in a deal with the top terrorist nation?
How many pipelines did Trump waive sanctions on while he shut down US pipelines?
How many Trump kids got money from Russian oligarchs?
How many times did Putin invade Ukraine while Trump was president?
#4.1.2 mudbug on 2022-03-03 12:40 (Reply)
mudbug: Hillary just got the ball rolling

Whataboutism, a fallacy of diversion. Just another way to distract from Trump siding with autocrats.

mudbug: How much oil and gas did Trump end up buying from the Russians?

U.S. Imports from Russia of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products

mudbug: How many Trump kids got money from Russian oligarchs?

All of them. "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
#4.1.2.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 12:54 (Reply)
You still working on answering these?

How many pipelines did Trump waive sanctions on while he shut down US pipelines?

How many times did Putin invade Ukraine while Trump was president?

How much help from the Russians did Trump solicit in a deal with the top terrorist nation?

"We see very little in the way of signal-to-noise out of Zachriel."
#4.1.2.1.1 Bill Carson on 2022-03-03 16:13 (Reply)
Bill Carson: You still working on answering these?

The article is just an extended Whataboutism. What Clinton purportedly did or did not do does not justify Trump siding with autocrats.

Bill Carson: We see very little in the way of signal-to-noise out of Zachriel.'

We pointed out the basic fallacy underlying the article. That's called signal. We also provided specific information concerning two of the questions, even though they were based on the same fallacy.
#4.1.2.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 16:21 (Reply)
"The article is just an extended ..."

You misspelled "no".

The Ukrainians are standing up a new anti-whataboutism battalion - you gonna enlist?
#4.1.2.1.1.1.1 Bill Carson on 2022-03-03 16:28 (Reply)
I was born during WW II and many of my family fought in that war. discussion of the war was a normal dinner table event. I can remember my parents telling me that American companies sold raw materials to Japan that were used to build weapons that were than used against us. That seemed stupid to me even as a child. But now it appears that we will go into WW III with Russia using uranium that the Clintons sold to them to destroy our cities and kill our people. Shouldn't the Clintons be dead and hanging upside down from light poles or something??? Asking for a friend.
#4.1.2.1.2 JustMe on 2022-03-04 16:15 (Reply)
JustMe: But now it appears that we will go into WW III with Russia using uranium that the Clintons sold to them to destroy our cities and kill our people.

Russia exports uranium to the U.S.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/images/2019.07.22/main.svg
#4.1.2.1.2.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-05 09:56 (Reply)
Claims are merely instrumental to Hillary, with no interest one way or the other if they are true. She says what she believes will have the desired political effect. This worked quite well when it was not necessary that most people believed her, but only that most liberals believed her. Shore up the base. Let Bill charm the Independents. It fell apart when she needed more than that. It almost worked, but ultimately not enough people hated Trump more than her.
#5 Assistant Village Idiot on 2022-03-03 10:40 (Reply)
Price of gas and wheat

Another 20 cent jump in gas today. That's up 49 cents so far this week. $4.09 for no alcohol gas.

I would describe the oil market now as in a panic.

Wheat is in the same boat, up about 50% since the 2nd of February.

Ho Lee Shit.

On the charts it's gone parabolic and that can't last, but how much higher will it go?

$5/gallon? $6 gallon? $8.00/gallon?

You talk about stoking inflation. Energy is used in everything we buy.
#6 feeblemind on 2022-03-03 11:14 (Reply)
Keep track of the countries that begin banning exports of food (there are a few now). A one-month supply in your pantry doesn't take up much room, nor is it cost-prohibitive.
#6.1 Aggie on 2022-03-03 11:18 (Reply)
re Putin is NOT crazy and the Russian invasion is NOT failing.

Good piece. I have been worried that we are watching the Ukraine war with rose colored glasses. Ultimately, we'll see, and th opinions of the handicappers and prognosticators won't matter.

Well, there is this:

Shipping Isn't Waiting For Sanctions. It's Already Refusing To Move Russian Cargo

QUOTE:
The world’s largest container lines are dropping Russia “to manage sanctions risk but also perhaps manage reputational risk,” said Michelle Linderman, partner of law firm Crowell & Moring, during a panel presented by shipping association BIMCO on Tuesday. “Do they want to be seen as supporting Russia? Or are they going to say at this moment, while this is going on, we don’t want to go anywhere near there.”

The tanker sector is seeing the same pattern of behavior among shipowners and operators. Many are refusing to load Russian oil cargoes even though sanctions don’t bar them from doing so.

“Few owners are now willing to transport Russian oil, resulting in an undersupply of ships [at Russian export terminals],” said Clarksons Platou Securities.

I don't know how to quantify it, but if Russian oil isn't leaving Russia it has to affect Putin's pocketbook.

Question:

When the war ends do the sanctions immediately get lifted?
#7 feeblemind on 2022-03-03 11:44 (Reply)
feeblemind: When the war ends do the sanctions immediately get lifted?

It would depend on the conditions. If Russia continues to engage in brutal tactics, then almost certainly not. Even if they had pulled off a decapitation attack, still probably not. It's a fundamental that wars of conquest are a violation of international law.

The situation in Ukraine is dire.
#7.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 11:53 (Reply)
Do not ignore the elephant in the room. The FED should have begun to slowly raise interest rates in 2009. They didn't. The reason that they didn't was the situation was dire and really couldn't be fixed with normal/honest/legal economic measures so the government in collusion with the FED choose to keep printing money and buying up debt and mortgage loans in an attempt to prop up the economy and of course Wall Street. "IF" they did this ONLY hoping to buy time and eventually get out of the mess we were in in 2009 THAN it was an honest attempt to prevent The Great Depression 2.0. BUT that possibility has long since flown the coup because they had doubled down over the years since 2009 and we are living in a fake rainbow and unicorn world where as long as we keep printing money and giving away free stuff that the elite can become richer and more powerful and the peasants won't revolt. But it cannot go one forever.

Right now, with real inflation in excess of 15% the FED should have it's hair on fire and raise interest rates by half a dozen percent or more at a minimum this year. Arguably we need interest rates at about 12% just to stop the inflation never mind reverse it. But they aren't doing it... Why? I think it is because they know it is over, we are toast, it's just a matter of time until it all comes crashing down. So why rush it, grab what you can even if this will make it all worse for the peasants when it crashes and then fly away to your beach front home in another country where your millions and billions are safe.

But we peasants need to wake up and smell the bullshit. The world is about to crash down around our heads and the ONLY bright spot in this pending disaster is that right now your stores have food and other necessities and your dollars are still good. All bets are off on how much longer this will be true. One day soon your morning news is going to take on a darker view of the economy and report some unsettling things. You will be worried and on the way to work stop at the ATM for some cash and the machine will be off, not work, or seem to work but not accept your card. What then???
#8 Anon on 2022-03-03 12:49 (Reply)
The Javelin anti-tank missiles are devastating https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17816255/incredible-photos-russian-convoy-wreckage-bucha-kyiv/ and will force Putin to change tactics. I'm not saying this means Ukraine will win I'm saying that Russia will lose a lot of soldiers and this war will have to get a lot dirtier if Russia ever hopes to take Ukraine.
#9 JustMe on 2022-03-03 13:04 (Reply)
JustMe: The Javelin anti-tank missiles are devastating https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17816255/incredible-photos-russian-convoy-wreckage-bucha-kyiv/

The article says, "Military experts said the Russians were likely wiped out by Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes." However, Javelins are certainly an important weapon in the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces.

US small arms and ammo arrive in Ukraine as Pentagon details troops to train country's military: "President Joe Biden approved the package on September 1 as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House. The assistance included lethal elements, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as nonlethal elements".
#9.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-03 13:11 (Reply)
Re San Francisco spinning the drain;

Watched the TV news today, and it is still spouting the fantasy that the homeless problem is solved by getting the homeless services; services they would never buy with their own money.
When the mantra changes from services or housing to individual responsibility; SF will stop spinning the drain.
#10 SF jeff on 2022-03-03 13:24 (Reply)
We will find out, years from now, that the mayors and the governor of California misspent (stole) billions of dollars under the guise of "fixing" homelessness. There will be kickbacks from contractors who built "affordable" housing at $550,000 per unit. There will be uncles or brothers who owned companies that got massive amounts of taxpayer money to "help" the homeless. The worst part is that right now the MSM knows this crap but won't print it because "Democrat!".
#10.1 OneGuy on 2022-03-03 13:38 (Reply)
No disagreement here, only it won't take too long.
Reminds me of Jay Powell; and transitory inflation.
#10.1.1 SF jeff on 2022-03-03 21:10 (Reply)
How embarrassing! The CDC gave you bad advice. If you want to survive COVID, you should use the drug they said to avoid, and avoid the drug they said to use. https://ninetymilesfromtyranny.blogspot.com/2022/03/new-jama-paper-show-ivermectin-blows_01610741591.html The CDC knowingly killed people with covid rather than make Trump look like he was right.
#11 JustMe on 2022-03-03 19:35 (Reply)
JustMe: If you want to survive COVID, you should use the drug they said to avoid

From the study: "oral ivermectin administered during the first week of illness did not reduce the risk of developing severe disease compared with standard of care alone."
#11.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-04 08:08 (Reply)
And just like that! Zach proves my point that it was politics and TDS that caused the government to spread disinformation about these two drugs which ultimately caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans, I think we need a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the CDC and the various politicians involved in this travesty.
#11.1.1 JustMe on 2022-03-04 10:04 (Reply)
JustMe: it was politics and TDS that caused the government to spread disinformation about these two drugs which ultimately caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans

Huh? The study found that ivermectin did not work against COVID.
#11.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-04 10:28 (Reply)
And again! Thank you Zach! You are like the toddler with chocolate all over his face and holding a melting candy behind his back declaring that he didn't take any candy. You seem unaware how transparent your motives are.
#11.1.1.1.1 JustMe on 2022-03-04 11:06 (Reply)
JustMe: You seem unaware how transparent your motives are.

Let us know if you decide to engage concerning the evidence.
#11.1.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-03-04 12:17 (Reply)
Are you that slow? I am only allowing you to expose your bias and your feeble attempt to earn your pay for trolling conservative websites. So far that seems to be your strong point.

P.S. Who do I talk to to get the same gig? I mean do you go straight to Obama or Soros or is there a middleman? Do you have to be stupid and a Democrat or can you simply be naturally duplicities.
#11.1.1.1.1.1.1 JustMe on 2022-03-04 16:20 (Reply)

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