[ROCKMAN]

P - Exactly. Of course burning fossil fuels has changed the ciimate. I wrote such a paper when I was an undergrad geologist in the early 70's. But the US and global economies demanded it. Just as they still do today. Which is why most politicians push of real change to politicians IN THE FUTURE. They dare not disrupt the "machine" today.

[evilgenius]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', 'P') - Exactly. Of course burning fossil fuels has changed the ciimate. I wrote such a paper when I was an undergrad geologist in the early 70's. But the US and global economies demanded it. Just as they still do today. Which is why most politicians push of real change to politicians IN THE FUTURE. They dare not disrupt the "machine" today.

[theluckycountry]

People looked up the United Nations when it was formed, they believed it would be a source of great good in the world. Today it is composed of 193 member countries, the vast majority of which are totalitarian dictatorships basically. It is an Oligarchs club, an institution that gives legitimacy to some of the most evil scum on the planet. But that is how human affairs always works. The altruistic people are driven out long before they get near the pinnacles of power, the same as in large corporations. At the top they put on a good show of being human beings but their deeds speak otherwise.

You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time. It is the latter group that are the most dangerous to my mind.

[Pops]

Democracy seems to be holding on but freedom not so much

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')Washington - March 3, 2021 — Authoritarian actors grew bolder during 2020 as major democracies turned inward, contributing to the 15th consecutive year of decline in global freedom, according to Freedom in the World 2021, the annual country-by-country assessment of political rights and civil liberties released today by Freedom House.

The report found that the share of countries designated Not Free has reached its highest level since the deterioration of democracy began in 2006, and that countries with declines in political rights and civil liberties outnumbered those with gains by the largest margin recorded during the 15-year period. The report downgraded the freedom scores of 73 countries, representing 75 percent of the global population. Those affected include not just authoritarian states like China, Belarus, and Venezuela, but also troubled democracies like the United States and India.

While still considered Free, the United States experienced further democratic decline during the final year of the Trump presidency. The US score in Freedom in the World has dropped by 11 points over the past decade, and fell by three points in 2020 alone. The changes have moved the country out of a cohort that included other leading democracies, such as France and Germany, and brought it into the company of states with weaker democratic institutions, such as Romania and Panama.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'D')emocracy seems to be holding on but freedom not so much.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')U.S. Demand for Gasoline Faces Long-Term Structural Problem: Plunging Per-Capita Consumption
by Wolf Richter • Mar 4, 2025 • 140 Comments
Even as miles driven inched to a record and the population surged, gasoline consumption in 2024 was where it had been 20 years ago.

[mousepad]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')
PeakOil is a multifaceted beast, far too complex for the average Cheeto munching TV watcher to get their head around

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mousepad', ' ')I think it's quite simple. Price increases - demand decreases. I don't know why you make it so complicated.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his paper shows how flaws in Keynes's General Theory render it irrelevant and inapplicable to real world. First of all, Keynes's macro model is an incomplete and imprecise. Second, Keynes's definitions of full employment, voluntary unemployment and involuntary unemployment are extremely vague and unfinished

[mousepad]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hy Is the Invisible Hand Controversial? Critics argue that the idea that actions of self-interested, profit-driven actors will converge on some social optimum is clearly false. Instead, they naturally lead to negative externalities, economic and social inequalities, greed, and exploitation.

[mousepad]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'a')nd when the music stops you'll need to be dancing past a chair. I am.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mousepad', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', 'a')nd when the music stops you'll need to be dancing past a chair. I am.

[theluckycountry]

We have had old industrial areas too, they don't last long though, we redevelop them into places of value.

South Brisbane 1965



2000



The bronx, in your major city. Unbelievable squalor...



Is it any wonder we look askance at you? Looks like a poor African township

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')When all else fails, when you can't think critically about a statement, grasp the Nazi Straw and try to portray the one confusing you as Hitler.

[theluckycountry]

Putting wishful thinking and delusions aside, let's look at some facts.

Until Debt Tear Us Apart
Debt, the rise of oligarchs and the decline of capitalism


Don't bother trying to read this adam, just some something toxic about Australia or whatever.

Synopsis
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')Let’s start things off with where we are at the moment. As of today 37% of the US GDP comes from real estate, finance, insurance and professional business services (law, consulting, brokerage etc.). Activities, which produce very little tangible value, yet cost exorbitant amounts of money. Yes, these professions are a vital part to a functioning economy, but when more than a third of a nation’s GDP is spent on them, then there is something seriously and badly amiss. For comparison manufacturing, mining, agriculture and construction together represents a mere 28% of the US economy… A thing to ponder on. Based on these simple facts I believe its not far fetched to call the US and most Western economies rentier economies. But why is that a problem, besides the bad taste these words leave in one’s mouth? The answer is simple: such an arrangement strangles the economy, and will lead to its eventual collapse — even without resource depletion, climate change or wars.

Besides their outsized share of economic transactions, profit rates in the FIRE (finance, insurance and real estate) sector grew from 20% in the 1980’s (vs ~8% in manufacturing) to 35% in the 2010’s — and can be expected to rise further still. Combined with their already large (and still growing) share of GDP we are talking about trillions with a T being sucked out of the economy in form of profits every year and spent on… What exactly…? Stocks…? Bonds…? Investments in other people’s and nation’s assets only to crank up rents…? Perhaps on political campaigns…? Well, not on creating a viable productive economy, for sure. To make matters worse all this immense “value” generated by the FIRE sector, IT services and the stock market has ended up in the hands of the wealthy 1% owning 50% of all stocks and bonds. Hence the idea to measure everything in terms of GDP and market valuation, not metric tons and kilowatts produced, let alone the well being of citizens. Who cares about that, when we can charge 35% on “services” running on computers and sold to you by people in a suit and tie?

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '
')Don't bother trying to read this adam, just some something toxic about Australia or whatever.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')onventional crude oil production in the Permian Basin peaked in 1973, after having reached 2 million barrels of daily petroleum output, then began to decline steadily just as all other fields in the lower 48 states did. Since 2011, however, Permian crude oil production was on the rise again. Last year it has reached an impressive output just shy of 6.5 million barrels per day, making the Permian responsible for half of the US output, which is quite a feat.

[AdamB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('theluckycountry', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')onventional crude oil production in the Permian Basin peaked in 1973, after having reached 2 million barrels of daily petroleum output, then began to decline steadily just as all other fields in the lower 48 states did. Since 2011, however, Permian crude oil production was on the rise again. Last year it has reached an impressive output just shy of 6.5 million barrels per day, making the Permian responsible for half of the US output, which is quite a feat.

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AdamB', '
')Give me a price for "conventional" oil and we can talk.

[theluckycountry]

Peak Oil Demand

What's that? It's a meaningless attempt to try and convince people that we don't need oil, that electricity (electric cars basically) will supplant it. It's obfuscation, a serious attempt to ignore the fact that the world as we know it simply cannot function without a steady supply of oil and coal. Coal? Yes, that stuff that's burnt every day all across the planet to generate electricity. Your home is no doubt full of Chinese product and the bulk of it was made in factories powered by coal burning plants.

Why Japan is struggling to kick its coal dependency
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ay 10, 2024
If a wealthy, advanced economy is having a hard time getting off coal, what does it mean for the rest of the world?