Captainant
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Joined
Posts posted by Captainant
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1 minute ago, Anastasis said:
Now give your take if trump did the exact same thing.
How about: when the sanctions were first imposed, they were hamfisted and pissed off our EU allies just as much as our RU adversaries and viewed it as an infringement on their sovereignty (source, BBC), in addition to being ineffective at achieving their desired outcome of stopping RU gas flowing into EU. Biden's recent moves, while marginally benefitting our adversaries - far greater benefitted our allies and is a step towards repairing that partnership.
Shit, the AP article I edited in after you quoted me even clarifies that in the fucking headline so even the DT folks could get the gist. The sanctions were reduced in scope to only target russian-owned entities and not those owned by other sovereign nations that we happen to be allied with.
But yeah, I know what you mean about people trying hard to miss the point.
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Edited by Captainant
22 minutes ago, Anastasis said:Brain.worms.
In May 2021, the Biden administration waived Trump's CAATSA sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its chief executive.[186][187] Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov welcomed the move as "a chance for a gradual transition toward the normalisation of our bilateral ties".[188] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" by Biden's decision.[189]
Also - just to actually cite the relevant information and not just """PeOPlE aRe SaYiNg" with unattributed text (note to WWS: this is an example of sharing factual information for the discussion)
U.S. waives sanctions on Nord Stream 2 as Biden seeks to mend Europe ties
In the Reuters reporting, it states that the Biden admin made this move as a concession towards Germany, but it DOES have the ill effects of further isolating Ukraine and indeed weakening the US posture towards russia. If you'll recall, our relationship with Germany was pretty far on the outs thanks to yaboi trump and his unnecessary antagonism that distanced ourselves from our allies.
Do I think that it's good that we lessened some sanctions against russia and its oligarchs? Fuck no! But I'm also a big boy and able to hold more than one thought at the same time in my head, and I can recognize that there are other factors at play here in terms of destabilizing our international relationships that were so badly mangled by trump.+
Also bears noting - this is the only thing that annie and his merry band of concern trolls can point to as far as biden being soft on russia. And it happened at the hundred day (ish) mark of his presidency, and it wasn't just for the sake of making daddy putin happy.
EDIT: this AP article is good too if you want more than just whatever fox and facebook are telling you what to think:
QuoteREYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — The Biden administration imposed sanctions Wednesday on Russian companies and ships for their work on a European natural gas pipeline adamantly opposed by the U.S., but President Joe Biden angered many Democratic and Republican lawmakers by opting not to punish the German company overseeing the project.
Waiving penalties regarding ally German in the Nord Stream 2 project was “in line with our commitment to strengthen our Transatlantic relationships as a matter of national security,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The U.S. has battled for years to block the pipeline, now 95% complete, though construction has not yet started on its German leg. The pipeline will carry natural gas from Russia to Germany, increasing Russia’s leverage as a vital energy supplier in Europe. The U.S. argues that the pipeline threatens European energy security, heightens Russia’s influence and poses risks to Ukraine and Poland in bypassing both countries.
Critics of the pipeline had hoped to stop it by targeting the German company and its top executive.
Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he opposed Biden’s waiver for Germany. Senior committee member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, said the pipeline “allows Russia to further spread its malign influence.”
“Oh, my God, enable Russia!” Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, exclaimed at the decision. “Joe Biden, thank you so much for allowing Russia to export their goods,” she said, sarcastically.
Blinken said the Biden administration would continue to fight the pipeline. “Our opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is unwavering,” he said.
Biden’s administration has emphasized strengthening alliances internationally to deal with foreign policy challenges. U.S. relations with Germany were unsettled by President Donald Trump’s frequent affronts to Germany and other European allies and Trump’s enthusiasm for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who spoke with Blinken by phone Tuesday, praised the decision regarding the German interests involved.
“We perceive this to be a constructive step that we will gladly continue to discuss with our partners in Washington,” Maas told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday.
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8 minutes ago, SmokeyTheBear said:
Wait a sec. Is GR Rocko? Did I miss something?
Question @GRHorn, what's the going rate for a Thai hooker?
he didn't say he was
RawdogRaydog -
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Just now, workswithseed said:
Shot off the bow! Next you're going to talk about Twitter links with nothing else added. Also you didn't even disagree but throw shit at the wall anyways.
Lol, posting twitter links of news/information without additional comment is different from sharing punditry and op-eds without additional comment.
The intent of the former is to make sure that the relevant factual information is included in the discussion thread.
The intent of the latter is to echo an argument that you don't have the capacity to internalize and re-synthesize yourself, and shield your own views from criticism as "just posting what $AUTHOR thought".
But yeah you're in the right thread to make fallacious equivalencies and bitch about them. It is where anastasia is currently shitting.
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4 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:
Why does everything have to be measured and benchmarked against Trump? Is it because when benchmarked against “satisfactory”, it doesn’t clear the mark? So then one must resort to “but it’s miles better and different than what the flunkie was doing!”
I saw this a lot with the border stuff too with the detainees.
Is it a thin defense? Is it because GQP is yelling “hypocrite” or “samesies!” every time Biden does something politically mediocre or both?
Well for starters, "trump" IS our baseline state that the country is coming off of. Also, it's pretty common to compare one president's actions against their predecessor. But if you're sensitive about people saying mean things about your electoral preference/GOD EMPORER, I can understand why you'd just be asking questions about it.
The government doesn't turn on a dime. Policy isn't something that you can change whole-cloth and expect consistent results.
In my view, it's very reasonable. Would you prefer we measure Biden's policy stance towards russia with Eisenhauer's? I'm not quite sold on the idea of that being a relevant comparison.
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4 minutes ago, Anastasis said:
Straw man on top of straw man just cause y’all dipshits can’t recognize Biden acquiescing to Putin’s interests cause it breaks your brains.
What's got you so fired up about it, anyways? You didn't give a shit about it when trump was dragging his feet on sanctions, sharing sensitive information with the russians in the fucking oval office without ANY other US officials present, pursuing personal gain and business dealings in exchange for making the US do what russia wanted, or just straight up asking russia to interfere in our electoral process. Why do you care now?
Am I happy with what biden is doing across the board? Fuck to the NO! Is it immeasurably better than what trump was doing? Fucking YES!
Biden isn't my guy - but I trust that he isn't just looking out for himself like trump provably was. But of course:
11 minutes ago, Anastasis said:BOTHSIDES BOTHSIDES BIDEN BAD RAGHRBLBLBLRABHGHTL
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1 minute ago, Anastasis said:
You’d be the first one here squeaking tweets from your dumbfuck echo chamber if trump did what Biden did. Just try to be honest with yourself.
Whatever you say, kiddo. Joe Biden is definitely 100% as bad as trump in every way possible and wants to get cucked by daddy putin just like trump did. I definitely believe that because I'm a completely sane, not trolling, intellectual giant
We're just so lucky to have very fine people like yourself and GRUhorn to keep the record straight
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5 minutes ago, Anastasis said:
Try harder to pay attention guys.
Political aspectsEdit
In January 2018, United States Secretary of StateRex Tillerson said that the U.S. and Poland oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They see it as undermining Europe's energy security and stability.[167] The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was also opposed by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, former U.S. President Donald Trump, the European Council President Donald Tusk and British foreign minister Boris Johnson.[168][169] The president of the European Council Donald Tusk has said that Nord Stream 2 is not in the EU's interests.[170] Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have questioned the different treatment of Nord Stream 2 and South Stream projects.[170][171] Some claim that the project violates the long-term declared strategy of the EU to diversify its gas supplies.[172] A letter, signed by the leaders of nine EU countries, was sent to the EC in March 2016, warning that the Nord Stream 2 project contradicts the European energy policy requirements that suppliers to the EU should not control the energy transmission assets, and that access to the energy infrastructure must be secured for non-consortium companies.[173][174] A letter by American lawmakers John McCain and Marco Rubioto the EU also criticized the project in July 2016.[175]Isabelle Kocher, chief executive officer of Engie, criticised American sanctions targeting the projects, and said they were an attempt to promote American gas in Europe.[176]
German Chancellor Angela Merkelwith Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, 18 May 2018
In June 2017, Germany and Austria criticized the United States Senate over new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany,[177][178] stating that the United States was threatening Europe's energy supplies.[179] In a joint statement Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern and Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that "Europe's energy supply is a matter for Europe, and not for the United States of America."[180] They also said: "To threaten companies from Germany, Austria and other European states with penalties on the U.S. market if they participate in natural gas projects such as Nord Stream 2 with Russia or finance them introduces a completely new and very negative quality into European-American relations."[181]
On January 1, 2021, an annual defense policy bill passed by the U.S. Congress included sanctions for companies who worked on or insured the pipeline. On January 26, the White House said that newly sworn-in President Joe Biden "continues to believe that Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal for Europe" and that his administration "will be reviewing" the new sanctions. (Biden had previously opposed the pipeline as Vice President.) According to congressional aides cited in a February report by NBC News, the sanctions enjoy "strong bipartisan support" on Capitol Hill.[182][183][184]
On 28 April 2021 the European Parliament passed a resolution that urges all EU institutions and EU Member States to stop the completion of Nord Stream 2.[185]
In May 2021, the Biden administration waived Trump's CAATSA sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its chief executive.[186][187] Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov welcomed the move as "a chance for a gradual transition toward the normalisation of our bilateral ties".[188] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" by Biden's decision.[189]
nonono you're supposed to post a 10-15 minute youtube video without any other context or analysis from yourself. Not just copy/pasta a wiki article. Man, your concern troll skills have been slipping
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4 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:
We went cheap in a lot of places, or were restricted in some manner, with things like leaving our power lines above ground on poles. Good windstorm, ice storm, etc., and we get fires, or power outages, etc.
Bastrop Fire - 1,600 homes wiped out, over $325 million in damages, because 30mph winds knocked some trees down on power lines, causing lots and lots of sparks.
That's just one example.
Wasn't PG&E's reluctance/feet dragging on maintaining their above-ground lines what touched off the last few rounds of California wildfires? Seems like above-ground lines are super cost-effective relative to buried cables, but carry a significantly higher risk with use in some biomes
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Just now, Satchel said:
People don’t like hearing that, but it’s true. Some were never able to come to grips with the idea of Obama as POTUS.
in 2015 I went with a buddy to go hunt dove on his family land in Arkansas and his dad, who is a capillary/vascular specialist MD, a military officer vet, and generally intelligent person, would only refer to Obama as "the Kenyan".
Racism runs deep in this country and is a constant reason to believe the disinformation coming from fox and oann.
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Edited by Captainant
29 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:Guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a generator. Anybody got goods recs on something that could run a couple refrigerators and maybe a portable AC unit? I don’t know shit about them or how to determine what size I’d need
TL:DR from the other conversations is: a ~10KW genny will run most of a house in a pinch, look for one that runs on natural gas so you can connect it directly to your home's natural gas line, and hire an electrician to install a transfer switch so you won't kill some poor linesman while powering your house
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1 minute ago, Anastasis said:
Just treat Biden consistently in the same way you did Trump when it comes to Russia. Not hard.
Lol, I didn't realize that Biden was meeting with russian dignitaries on solo fights with sealed doors in the oval fucking office. Or that he was trading polling data with them to get an in-kind campaign contribution through advertising and disinformation campaigns.
Try harder man, or at least change your avatar to a big-brain meme like GRHorn did to let everyone know that you're not a serious person - it was a nice bat-signal for you on TOS
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1 minute ago, GRHorn said:
You spoke as though you were informed on this and could quickly communicate the immense value of gain of function research. I was just hoping to tap into your vast reservoir of knowledge on the subject.
Well not all of us have degrees in giving massages so I guess we should just defer to your medical expertise and insight
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Edited by Captainant
25 minutes ago, Armybrat said:And here I thought I was being eco-woke by having a 16 seer Trane unit installed 8 years ago and 15” more attic insulation blown in two years ago.
You can realize some pretty solid savings on energy spending with improved insulation and A/C unit efficiency. When I lived in a janky Midtown 1000sqft apartment with single pane windows and daylight shining in the doorframe, I was easily paying $175 and as much as $275 in August to keep the A/C at 74 at night, and 78 during the day. I just passed my first year in a new-ish 3 story 2200sqft house with double paned and U/V tinted windows I've never paid more than $160 while keeping the A/C at 71 at night and 75 in the day - and there's a lot more shit to power in a house than an apartment lol.
"Eco-woke" is just another word for willing to pay up-front costs for long-term benefit.
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The thing that really grinds my gears is that residential power use isn't the biggest strain on the grid, it's commercial use. But we don't request businesses to conserve in their usage - shit when I got my car serviced today they had the office cranked down cold with a door to the garage propped open.
That's gonna suck a ton more power than moving a home from 77 to 74 degrees.
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7 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:
Lmao, that conversation with the Alabama rep reads just like the bullshit being propagated here by PHLAggy and Donkey and the like.
from the article:
Quote“It basically teaches that certain children are inherently bad people because of the color of their skin, period,” Pringle said.
That sounded very serious, indeed. Nazi-like, even. So I asked Pringle if there were any critical race theorists he could point to who have been spreading such toxic garbage?
“Yeah, uh, well — I can assure you — I’ll have to read a lot more,” he said.
I began to get the feeling that Pringle didn’t know as much about critical race theory as I had hoped. Were there other examples he could give me where critical race theory was being put into practice?
“These people, when they were doing the training programs — and the government — if you didn’t buy into what they taught you a hundred percent, they sent you away to a reeducation camp,” Pringle said.
Pringle was a little difficult to follow but this sounded serious. These people — whoever they were— sounded terrifying, and if there were reeducation camps operating in America, that would be big news someone like me should get to the bottom of. I asked Pringle, who were these people?
...
“Here’s an — it doesn’t say who it was, it just says a government that held these — these training sessions …”
Pringle trailed off and I told him that, if he liked, he could send me a link to the article, but then he began to speak again.
“The white male executives are sent to a three-day re-education camp, where they were told that their white male culture wasn’t their —” he trailed off again.
I was worried that we’d lost our connection. These sorts of conversations sometimes end abruptly, but Pringle was still on the line and after a little more hemming and hawing he retreated to a common safe-space of politicians who’ve crawled too far out on a limb: He just wanted to start a conversation, he said.
“I introduced a very brief version of the bill to start the conversation, but it’s very difficult in this cancel society to have a frank discussion about racism in this country and this country’s history,” he said. “I mean, history is being rewritten and I’m not exactly sure of the accuracy of what’s there now and what they’re trying to change it into.”
He's "just asking questions" and "just wants to start a conversation" about a topic that he has no fucking idea what he's actually mad about past his narrow worldview and white supremacy talking points
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50 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:
I mean, considering we've had multiple high profile ransomware events recently and it's been escalating for years now, I don't think questioning this qualifies as a conspiracy theory. We should be asking that question every time something like this happens now.
It bears reminding though, none of the ransomware attacks have impacted operational technology. They've all been attacks against the information technology surrounding it that impacted the business's profits but not the stability of the infrastructure itself
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24 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:
ERCOT is like insurance - you keep paying for it until you really need it then they cut you off
All while holding critical infrastructure hostage behind their control with the threat of crippling debt if you don't pay the piper. And completely unaccountable to their own failure and profit seeking



Joe Biden 2021
in Cloak Room