3 ms·

Wow. You're a parody of yourself.

vba616 5y ago
I don't know what you think I am. I'm not a free market or libertarian extremist. I'm not a Tesla fan, or an electric car owner, but I do generally accept the existence of AGW. I tend to think people are insincere about stopping it. I have no clue what Musk is thinking, ever. I think there are some disingenuous opinions being amplified right now that are maybe due to energy company interests that nobody should be taking at face value. Also, I mean, nobody should take Musk too seriously at any time. Gasoline prices were way up when I filled up today, and the current US administration is saying they have to limit sanctions on Russia so that...gas prices won't go up. It seems like the ship has sailed and yet CNN reports this uncritically as if it made sense. Other sources that seem more knowledgeable, say there is disruption because people are afraid of uncertainty, so whether there's actual sanctions is moot. I don't know if you read my previous comment as denying that fuel is more expensive right now. It is! I was just saying it should be temporary because Russia must be able to sell most of their output to someone. Public statements by India and China haven't left the impression that they're too good to take it. My main obsession is getting people to explain things that don't make sense to me, that seem incoherent, and they always get angry and refuse to explain. Sometimes, not infrequently, they try to tell me what I think. But I don't think much when I don't understand something. It's a waste of effort.
- TrispusAttucks 5y ago
  > It's a waste of effort. Agreed. Nothing personal but if I need to explain in detail all the benefits of increased oil production on North American soil I have already lost. I don't have the energy to discuss USA consumption of 700,000+ barrels per day of Russian oil. I don't want to dig up references to OPEC denying Bidens requests to increase production. I don't want to defend the disgust of our president banning a US pipeline while simultaneously approving a Russian one. The thought of searching for old articles about how Russia used environmental activist groups to sabotage and delay the pipeline until it's eventual cancellation would be exhausting. Mostly I'm sad of Fifth-generation warfare and the collateral damage it causes to everyone on the battle field who don't even realize they're on a battlefield. Keystone XL was good for America. Full stop. If we can't agree on that there is no point of further discourse.
  - vba616 5y ago
    >if I need to explain in detail all the benefits of increased oil production on North American soil I have already lost It's not that I dispute there are benefits, it's that it's contrary to my sense of proportion. More maple syrup subsidies would have a lot of benefits too, but nobody's saying that's what we need immediately because of current geopolitics. Because the effect would be small, diluted, and will take an eternity relative to the invasion. At the beginning of WWII, it took on the order of a month for Germany and the USSR to subdue Poland. Nobody who had pledged to defend them even got there in time. Doesn't everybody know how Putin got to where he is? Grozny? Anything taking much longer than a month seems academic to me. How can you predict the next five years now? Is Moldova next? >I don't have the energy to discuss USA consumption of 700,000+ barrels per day of Russian oil "Discuss" is too much effort, agreed. I want to try to establish a sense of proportion here. You're talking about 3 or 4% of consumption, and you're also talking about roughly the same amount the US exports to China. So Russia can send the oil to China, and the US can keep the oil it isn't sending to China. Obviously we have temporary shortages, obviously I don't know how bad things will get or anything about exactly how it will be coped with. All I'm saying is that redirecting stuff doesn't change the overall supply in principle. It's a truism that isn't very relevant to gas prices skyrocketing right now, but I think it is relevant to any plans for the next few years. >Keystone XL was good for America. Full stop. "North" America. I mean, who am I to say it isn't. "What's good for General Motors is good for America". It's just a very large benefit for the businesses involved and a minute benefit for the general public.

I don't know what you think I am. I'm not a free market or libertarian extremist. I'm not a Tesla fan, or an electric car owner, but I do generally accept the existence of AGW. I tend to think people are insincere about stopping it. I have no clue what Musk is thinking, ever. I think there are some disingenuous opinions being amplified right now that are maybe due to energy company interests that nobody should be taking at face value. Also, I mean, nobody should take Musk too seriously at any time. Gasoline prices were way up when I filled up today, and the current US administration is saying they have to limit sanctions on Russia so that...gas prices won't go up. It seems like the ship has sailed and yet CNN reports this uncritically as if it made sense. Other sources that seem more knowledgeable, say there is disruption because people are afraid of uncertainty, so whether there's actual sanctions is moot. I don't know if you read my previous comment as denying that fuel is more expensive right now. It is! I was just saying it should be temporary because Russia must be able to sell most of their output to someone. Public statements by India and China haven't left the impression that they're too good to take it. My main obsession is getting people to explain things that don't make sense to me, that seem incoherent, and they always get angry and refuse to explain. Sometimes, not infrequently, they try to tell me what I think. But I don't think much when I don't understand something. It's a waste of effort.

TrispusAttucks 5y ago
> It's a waste of effort. Agreed. Nothing personal but if I need to explain in detail all the benefits of increased oil production on North American soil I have already lost. I don't have the energy to discuss USA consumption of 700,000+ barrels per day of Russian oil. I don't want to dig up references to OPEC denying Bidens requests to increase production. I don't want to defend the disgust of our president banning a US pipeline while simultaneously approving a Russian one. The thought of searching for old articles about how Russia used environmental activist groups to sabotage and delay the pipeline until it's eventual cancellation would be exhausting. Mostly I'm sad of Fifth-generation warfare and the collateral damage it causes to everyone on the battle field who don't even realize they're on a battlefield. Keystone XL was good for America. Full stop. If we can't agree on that there is no point of further discourse.
- vba616 5y ago
  >if I need to explain in detail all the benefits of increased oil production on North American soil I have already lost It's not that I dispute there are benefits, it's that it's contrary to my sense of proportion. More maple syrup subsidies would have a lot of benefits too, but nobody's saying that's what we need immediately because of current geopolitics. Because the effect would be small, diluted, and will take an eternity relative to the invasion. At the beginning of WWII, it took on the order of a month for Germany and the USSR to subdue Poland. Nobody who had pledged to defend them even got there in time. Doesn't everybody know how Putin got to where he is? Grozny? Anything taking much longer than a month seems academic to me. How can you predict the next five years now? Is Moldova next? >I don't have the energy to discuss USA consumption of 700,000+ barrels per day of Russian oil "Discuss" is too much effort, agreed. I want to try to establish a sense of proportion here. You're talking about 3 or 4% of consumption, and you're also talking about roughly the same amount the US exports to China. So Russia can send the oil to China, and the US can keep the oil it isn't sending to China. Obviously we have temporary shortages, obviously I don't know how bad things will get or anything about exactly how it will be coped with. All I'm saying is that redirecting stuff doesn't change the overall supply in principle. It's a truism that isn't very relevant to gas prices skyrocketing right now, but I think it is relevant to any plans for the next few years. >Keystone XL was good for America. Full stop. "North" America. I mean, who am I to say it isn't. "What's good for General Motors is good for America". It's just a very large benefit for the businesses involved and a minute benefit for the general public.