#Russia fracking

[rabid-dog-steve-horn]

Listen up you ignorant sheep.

He lies about everything is the point of me posting this.

He didn't have the power himself to ban fracking cause the state and federal government have control of the land involved and the laws and the regulations they passed due to democrat climate change agenda which Joe Biden is a democrat and said he agrees with climate change many numerous times himself. Look that up. Strange how only democrat areas banned fracking, eh?

He didn't stop them, he didn't try to find any way to reach any compromises, he left them go ahead and push their agenda forward. Why? That's what democrats do.

Look online, I posted a few things to prove you jerks wrong and nobody said a word cause there's the proof. There's tons of stuff online about it across the country, but I'm from Pennsylvania so I found a few examples close to home. Believe me there's a shitload online. I only picked a few cause I shouldn't have to waste time looking shit up cause nobody else is willing to cause they're too busy posting TikTok videos of silly animals and crying on Facebook they had a bad hair day.

We were energy independent, we weren't relying on other countries for oil or fossil fuels of any kind until Joe Biden came in passing executive orders that reversed every single fucking thing Trump put into effect to better our country. And that's why Trump jokingly said he'd be a dictator on day one cause sleepy Joe did that exact same fucking thing to him & our entire fucking country.

You assholes must like paying more for gas and helping terrorist countries earn money to buy weapons to murder people. Where are we getting our oil from you idiots? Joe depleted our oil reserves and prevented the pipelines on American soil from being completed while letting Russia finish theirs. Then rejoined that Paris Agreement that Trump took us out of to be more energy independent and free from environmental climate regulation nonsense.

You like funding China so they gain power? They can frack & mine for minerals to build your fucking electric car batteries and cell phone batteries which we could be doing ourselves if not for the democrats.

You might wanna look online to learn gas and fossil fuels are used in a lot of everyday products not just to make your cars drivable and heat your homes.

Perhaps if you'd look things up and do some fucking research instead of playing candy crush and gambling online you'd realize how wrong the democrats really are.

[simply-ivanka]

Kamala Harris: Mystery Commander in Chief

How would the Vice President keep America safe in a dangerous world? The voters deserve some answers.

The Editorial Board --- Wall Street Journal

Kamala Harris is all but telling Americans they’ll have to elect her to find out what she really believes, as the Vice President ducks interviews and the media give her a free ride. This is bad enough on domestic issues, but on foreign policy it could be perilous. The world is more dangerous than it’s been in decades, and Americans deserve to know how the woman aiming to be Commander in Chief Harris would confront these threats.

Ms. Harris this week tweeted a photo of her sitting next to President Biden in the White House situation room discussing the Middle East. The point is to suggest she’s a co-pilot on Biden foreign policy.

This isn’t the credential the Harris campaign thinks it is, and the voters should hear directly from her what she thinks about the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, the failure to deter Russia in Ukraine, the Iranian nuclear program, China’s island grabs in the South China Sea, and more. The matter is all the more important because Ms. Harris conspicuously declined to choose a running mate who might lend foreign policy experience to the ticket.

Ms. Harris has given a few hints about her own views on the Middle East, and those aren’t encouraging. Her team spent much of Thursday walking back whether she told an anti-Israel group she’d be willing to ponder an arms embargo against Israel. She skipped Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress when our main Middle East ally is under siege. Did she pass over Josh Shapiro as her running mate because he would have enraged the anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party?

To the extent she has revealed a larger instinct on national security, it’s been wrong. She told the Council on Foreign Relations in 2019 that she’d rejoin the Iran nuclear deal as long as “Iran also returned to verifiable compliance.” But Iran didn’t comply and is now on the brink of a nuclear breakout.

Her 2018 Senate vote to “end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen,” as Ms. Harris put it in a tweet, also hasn’t aged well. The Houthis the Saudis were fighting are now targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea almost daily and putting U.S. naval assets at risk. Does she think this status quo can persist—and what would she do differently?

Ms. Harris will surely argue that she and Mr. Biden reinvigorated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after Vladimir Putin’s invasion in Ukraine. But absent a change in U.S. political will, the war in Ukraine isn’t on track to end on terms favorable to American interests. Her past enthusiasm for banning fracking—which her campaign is trying to walk back—also suggests she isn’t serious about checking Mr. Putin’s main source of war financing.

Ms. Harris would no doubt also tout the diplomatic progress the Biden Administration has made in Asia with Japan, the Philippines and others. Yet she whiffed on one of the single most important diplomatic questions in Asia: She opposed Barack Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that would have excluded China and boosted America as the region’s premiere trading partner.

Most important, will Ms. Harris build up the hard military assets required to deter China’s Xi Jinping and a consolidating axis of U.S. adversaries? “I unequivocally agree with the goal of reducing the defense budget,” Ms. Harris said as a Senator in 2020 after voting against a Bernie Sanders proposal to slash the Pentagon by 10%. That vote needed no explanation, but Ms. Harris wanted to make sure the left knew she was sympathetic. Does she still want to slash the defense budget?

Donald Trump often shoots from the hip on these subjects, and his favorable comments about dictators are witless. But his first-term record, especially on Iran and the Middle East, is far stronger than the Biden-Harris performance.

Americans shouldn’t have to read tea leaves to figure out if Ms. Harris would keep the country safe in a treacherous world.

[anarchywoofwoof]

i'm running low on political takes, but i have one more regarding an important topic.

for everyone who is talking about the climate and dooming regarding the future of a world where we won't stay below 2C, i really need you to understand that was never going to happen anyway.

rather than try to explain it myself, below is a comment from reddit that mirrors my thoughts and expertly breaks down the timeline over the last 4 years with sources and dates. long post below.

I see that it is once again time to remind partisans, apologists, and deniers in this subreddit that they should not blame leftists, immigrants, young folks, disengaged folks, migrants, or whatever outgroup. Place the blame solely on the party that was supposed to run Joe as a one-timer in the name of stability before ponying up a progressive leader. Instead they spent four years jerking off fossil fuel companies. By laser focusing your attention of identity politics - intersectionality without critical analysis esp class struggle - they accomplish ghoulish feats such as drastically expanding fossil fuel extraction and juicing the military industrial complex. No, the democrats aren't better or even less bad with respect to the environment.

Somehow, absurdly, this timeline has produced a political party that denies climate change, but through their own ineptitude is less accomplished at greasing the wheels of business. On the other hand, the party that softly acknowledges climate change has produced outcomes that are significantly, horrifically, catastrophically worse for the environment. Biden's presidency saw massive fossil fuel expansion despite his explicit promise not to. Harris promised to continue that and expand fracking. Please read below links carefully and ask yourself what job you're going to do in very near future economy: soldier or field laborer

2020

Aug 6 - While campaigning for the presidency, Joe Biden promises to ban the expansion of fossil fuel exploitation on federal lands as part of his $1.7 trillion climate plan. "This plan will commit money towards renewable infrastructure development and tax incentives for individuals and industry while establishing governmental agencies tasked with battling climate change."

2021

Jan 20 - Biden takes office

May 11 - At Cop 26, Biden promises to transition out of fossil fuels, calls climate change an existential threat to humanity.

Aug 30 - Biden admin to resume drilling auctions, immediately reversing campaign promises and dealing a huge setback for climate activists.

2022

Jan - Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year

Feb - Russia invades Ukraine

April 27 - US Energy Dept approves increased LNG shipments from terminals in Texas and Louisiana.

March 22 WH Nat Sec Advisor Jake Sullivan announces plans to boost and redirect LNG to Europe in response to Russian invasion

US energy Sec J Granhol announces significant increase in domestic oil and gas extraction.

Aug 16 - Biden Signs IRA $18bn over ~10y which includes preventing leasing any federal waters offshore to wind until first making 60 million acres available for oil and gas. WHAT.

Aug 16 Federal government resurrected two previously canceled sales to meet this requirement. Go IRA?

Oct 1 - Biden admin & US Army Corps of Eng approves repair & restart of CA pipeline which caused disastrous Huntington Beach incident.

Dec 14 - US Energy Dept changes carbon capture budget to now be inclusive of fossil fuel ‘enhanced oil recovery’ at request of Manchin, Sinema

2023

Jan 24 - Biden admin approves 6,430 permits for oil and gas drilling

Mar 29 - Biden admin auctions 1.6 million acres of gulf lease to fossil fuel companies

May 12 - Biden breaks G7 promise, approves $100m financing for Indonesian oil refinery

Mar 13 - Biden admin approves controversial Willow drilling project. The project (extraction period) will span 30 years , pump 600 million barrels of oil, and produce 258 million mm/t CO2 into the atmosphere. Equiv of ~57mm cars, this damage outpaces all our other climate promises and actions twice over

April 14 - Biden admin approves exports of LNG from Alaska LNG pipeline. It is being framed as a competitive move against Russian LNG due to the war in Ukraine (Europe’s dependence on Russian LNG)

May 24 - BLM land auction in New Mex, Okla, Kansas. (still researching details, cannot find PR)

May 25 - SCOTUS rules against EPA regarding definition of ‘wetlands’, limiting EPA authority in key locations

Jun 26 - BLM oil and gas lease in NoDak nets $2.4m (19 parcels ~8061 acres)

Jun 29 - Biden admin leases over 100k acres of federal land in Wyoming for fossil fuel exploitation

Jul 27 - US DoI issues rejection of calls to phase out fossil fuel use on public lands

Jul 27 - SCOTUS rules in favor of Mountain Valley Pipeline. Project moves forward

History of MVP issue:

Apr 21 - Biden Sec Energy sends letter to court in favor of MVP

May 16 - Biden admin grants key permit for MVP

May 30 - WH officials frame the MVP deal as inevitable, washing their hands of blame despite vigorous efforts moving the project forward.

June 2 - Senate passes debt ceiling deal, inc MVP approval

Jul 21 - US Solicitor Gen (DoJ) files amicus brief in support of MVP

(End of MVP)

Sept 20 - Biden launches Climate Corps

Sept - Biden to skip UN climate summit

To be continued ...

Hot take / Summary

Using the war in Ukraine as an excuse, Biden WH does a complete 180 on environmental campaign promises, becoming an extremelly pro-oil admin

A conservative scotus came in hot with TWO wins for a liberal administration contending with leftists activists and lawers.

A dysfunctional and gridlocked congress was unable to pass meaningful legislation, watering down key portions of the IRA

The emissions from ONE single project (2023 willow pipe, above) will outpace ALL of our other climate pledges by 200%, rendering them pointless/performative.

The items outlined also present a disturbing example of the executive abusing congress and the judiciary, resulting in three branches that collude together rather than operate as checks and balances.

[rjzimmerman]

Trump’s Oil and Gas Donors Don’t Really Want to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’. (Wall Street Journal)

Excerpt from this Wall Street Journal story:

Donald Trump wants oil companies to “drill, baby, drill” on the first day of his presidency, but his fossil-fuel benefactors have a different agenda.

Many of the tycoons who backed the Republican’s victorious campaign say what they need help with is shoring up demand for their products—not pumping more fossil fuels, which they have little incentive to do.

They are pushing for policies that would lock in fossil-fuel use, such as easier permitting for pipelines and terminals to shuttle fossil fuels to new markets. They also favor eliminating Biden administration policies meant to put more electric vehicles on the road. 

Under President Biden, shale companies produced record amounts of oil and natural gas as crude prices rebounded from the pandemic’s depths and then soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the industry is also confronting the early stages of a long-term shift away from fossil fuels, as well as concerns that gasoline consumption has peaked in the U.S.

Trump handed shale donors their first big return on investment by nominating Liberty Energy Chief Executive Chris Wright, a fracking booster and fossil-fuels champion, to lead the president-elect’s Energy Department. 

When Dan Eberhart, the CEO of oil-field services firm Canary, met with Trump during a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida this summer, Eberhart had a unique request. He asked Trump to push back on the International Energy Agency, the influential, Paris-based energy forecaster. The agency has predicted global oil demand will peak by the end of the decade, earning scorn from GOP lawmakers who dubbed the group an “energy transition cheerleader.” 

“You need to stop acting like fossil fuels are the devil,” Eberhart said in an interview, referring to the IEA’s stance. 

A spokesperson for the IEA said it remains “focused on its key missions of energy security and energy transitions, based on the mandates from our member governments.”

Many of Trump’s oil and natural-gas supporters favor easing regulations that govern drilling. The changes would include scrapping rules targeting methane emissions, getting new permits to frack on federal land and eliminating climate disclosure rules.  

But some donors grimace when they hear Trump promise that under his watch, crude-oil producers would open the floodgates. He has also promised to cut Americans’ energy costs by 50% or more. 

Oil backers’ skepticism stems from the fact that Wall Street has successfully pressured chronically indebted frackers to stop burning through cash, and return it to shareholders via buybacks and dividends instead of reinvesting it to frack more wells.  

[alienpossession]

The Pagon Prologue: Brick by Brick

Read the first part here

Not stopping at the military operatives, Pagon asked for more manpower to be utilized to infiltrate Russian criminal society in order to fund the establishment of New Skrullos in a way that is less track-able by the government in Moscow. It's a process of starting to build their ideal temporary home brick by brick, and after the groundwork with the military, they need to stretch out their control a bit further

Posing as the decorated General, Pagon strut his way to meet an old friend of the General that went rogue and eventually worked for a criminal oligarch.

The friend would never expect that it was all just a ruse by the manipulative Skrull as he got hauled and then locked away in the Fracking Pod where a Skrull operative named Zirksu took his likeness and absorbed his memories to infiltrate deeper amongst the criminal underworld

Just like wildfires, the Skrull moved swiftly and decisively, targeting oligarch from various background that they found necessary to support the success of their operation. Starting from the commander's best friend boss who owned sprawling construction empire and illicit drug trafficking mixed with it named Wassily Kirilenko. He was in the middle of his workout in his private gym when his very own right hand man who spotted his bench press suddenly shape shifted right in front of his eyes and pressed the heavy weight to crush his body. After telling fellow Skrulls he brought along that already infiltrated the innermost security detail of the oligarch to dispose the real body, he checked himself in the mirror and flexed his newfound affinity for big tattooed muscle and the insane thirst for power and control

Skrull love to toy around with their target and taunted them to the maximum pain before locking them away in the Fracking Pods or outright killing them. Just like how Nuro taunted Maxim Yagudin, a former KGB spy turned telco oligarch, on how Yagudin is not that smart after all for being easily tricked by a shapeshifting alien half his size.

"Let's see later how you got so rich, bro. I have theory in my mind that it's all about nepotism and being an eye-candy for an influential widow with wide connection from what I read about you, but I'll know every single thing about you without you even saying a single word anyway.....so.....keep your mouth shut," he said before choking him close to his death to make him unconscious

But all in all, the infiltration of the criminal oligarch can be qualified as a successful operation. Not only they raised so much more capital to support the cause, now they have wide range of services they can use and manipulate to further wreck havoc among human. For example, he might look young, but Gennady Tatishvili is a real danger with his 10,000 well-armed militia that he inherited from his father

The Skrull operative that is directed to pose as him cornered him to the en-suite bathroom in his own sprawling mansion where he met his demise after a heart attack for being so goddamn terrified when he witnessed the Skrull shapeshifted from a woman he's about to fuck to a perfect replica of himself. A portable fracking devices he brought along proven to be handy as he copied all Gennady's memory before leaving the real body unattended in his own pool of pee and sweat, a tragic end to an up and coming oligarch overlord. The plan on his militia is to basically do Gravik's dirty work without sacrificing Skrull operatives in the process

Then, there's this trio of gun manufacturer and also owner of various exclusive restaurant, clubs and gyms across Russia and its former Soviet area. Gravik simply want to have endless gun supply to support his causes to wage war among humans and what better way other than seizing the control in its production to do just that. The high-end chain of entertainment spots can also work wonder for the Skrulls as it will ease transportation process of goods to remain illicit and untraceable. Plus, the spots are well-known among the 1% so it's a perfect breeding ground to get more shells if necessary. The 3 man are related because the first two (Aleksander Samsonov and Boris Samsonov) are step-brother from the same father while the last one (Jurij Alimov) is an in-law that entered the family through marriage with the eldest child and only daughter of the Samsonov family. They were kidnapped as their dinner already spiked with sedatives that can knock an elephant within minutes, and they all fell flat to their plates of privately-catered food in the confine of their own home not even a minute after their first bite. They never wake up during the transfer of their body to the continously-developing Skrulls operation base and once they lined up to the fracking pods, Skrull operatives already await to replicate them and returned right away to their estate in order to not raise any suspicion

Usually, before these operatives went out of their way to live life as humans for God knows how long, Pagon as the Acting General of New Skrullos will test the operatives loyalty and dedication to the cause. Ibragim Musayev is a high-ranked Chechen officials that the Skrulls decided to target since he has close connection with some scientist that would be beneficial for the Skrulls cause, and obviously, Chechen militia (do we need to spell this out?). As the Skrull operatives finished changing into Musayev, Pagon asked him to stand straight and interrogate him

"What's your name?"

"Warrior,"

"What's your fight?"

"Skrullos,"

"What's your dream?"

"Home.....in my own skin,"

"Your enemy is?"

"Humans, of all kind, sir,"

"Can you assure me your utmost dedication to the cause and will not let any humane distraction swerved you from the goal?"

"Yes I can, sir,"

"Well, let the time talk on that. Remember warrior, no spot, no flaw. You're Ibragim Musayev now and there's no going back unless I or Gravik tell you to,"

And just like that, the 260 lbs 6'5" mass monster of a military commander just walk right out to the next room to pick up his clothings, ready to straighten up some unruly Chechen fighters under his command and see how beneficial the scientific community he has close ties with can be leveraged and utilized for the cause of his people

[solarbird]

What America – mostly White America and Latino men – voted for last night in handing power to the American fundamentalist movement’s authoritarian leaders, scoping out from the most personal to the most global:

a rapist

making me and mine illegal again as people (via overturning Lawrence v. Texas (2003) via a now-assured long-term MAGA Supreme Court supermajority; see also Trump’s Agenda 47)

making talking about me and mine illegal (via the fundamentalists’ revived plan of banning LGBT people by making us illegal to be seen or discussed in public; this is also how Russia made LGBT people illegal under Putin; see also Project 2025 under “pornography”)

making my marriage illegal again (via overturning Obergfell v. Hodges (2015) via a now-assured long-term MAGA Supreme Court supermajority)

making most forms of hormonal birth control unobtainable (via reviving the Comstock Act), and illegal (by banning travel for abortion); this will mostly be Vance’s hobbyhorse

a mass ethnic purge in the form of Trump’s promised mass expulsion of “illegals,” which includes a whole fleet of kinds of very legal immigrants and refugees (via Trump and the Alien Enemies Act, last used to put people of Japanese descent into concentration camps, repeated constantly throughout his campaign)

an economic dickpunch caused by Trump’s planned policies if implemented as promised (according to Elon Musk, who supports this implosion and sees it as a good thing, saying Americans will have to “embrace the pain”)

throwing yet another ally – Ukraine – to its enemies, the fascist Russian Empire (via a fleet of Trump’s promises), and possibly the exit of the US from NATO (via many Trump statements)

authoritarian misogyny and racism, arguably revised into a new kind of casteism not that it really matters (via basically everything he’s ever done or said)

persecution of the press and political opponents (via repeated statements and promises; here’s a list of some of his top-level targets)

“illiberal” democracy, in the form of a “republic” where there are still elections, but the ruling party always wins

over time, the same kind of economic irrelevance as Britain (via swinging back to fossil fuels en masse, thus clinging to an obsolete economic driver in the same way that Britain clung to coal)

over time, the return of several kinds of plague (via making vaccination difficult to impossible, via RFK, Jr.’s stated pre-election intent to go after vaccines and Trump’s promises to let him “go wild.”) [I must note that today, he’s claiming he won’t ban vaccines, just end vaccination requirements (though not using that exact word, that was the meaning). Even if true, though, you’re still talking plagues. He’s also going after fluoride, saying he’ll be “advising” water agencies and companies of their “liability.”]

over time, 5.4°F/3°C of global warming or so (via Trump’s promises to “frack frack frack drill drill drill” on Day 1 and his many promises against zero-carbon/renewable energy.) We had ’til 2030 to cut carbon emissions by half; Trump’s second term ends in January 2029, assuming he lives that long. It’s literally an existential threat to civilisation, and how bad it’s going to get in the next 10 years will depend upon whether the Atlantic Current shuts down. Because it fucking well might.

If you voted for Trump, then you voted for all this, and I don’t know you, and clearly, I never really have, and you’ve never known me either, or, apparently, wanted to. If you think of me in the future, no, you didn’t. We’re strangers to each other. Let us never meet.

Everybody else… I’ve seen this year coming my entire adult life. Longer, really. I even had the years right. I gave half my life to trying to change this outcome, and I scored a lot of wins – some rather surprising – along the way, and yet, here we are, at the end of the Third American Republic…

…and I have no idea at all what to do now.

[mariacallous]

Why Russia’s Z-patriots are increasingly claiming the war is ‘rigged’

A new article from iStories explores the idea popular among Russian war supporters that the war in Ukraine is — or will be — “rigged” to prevent Russia from winning a maximalist victory. The authors divide the various versions of this idea into two categories: those that hold that the Russian army is not “really” fighting in Ukraine (at least not at its full strength), and those surrounding future peace negotiations, which some Russian bloggers believe would constitute a betrayal by their government of the Russia people in favor of the West.

Proponents of theories in the first category cite Russia’s failure to bomb all of the bridges over the Dnipro River, its failure to destroy all of Ukraine’s “decision-making centers,” and even its lack of attempts to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden as “evidence” that it’s holding back. They also point to the fact that Russia has continued supplying gas to Europe through Ukraine throughout the conflict, with some bloggers even claiming that the war is part of a plan by Washington to destroy the gas pipeline flowing through Ukraine so that it can later start fracking in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions and sell the shale gas pumped there to Europe. They sometimes attribute Russia’s battlefield failures, like its retreat from Kherson in late 2022, to a supposed secret agreement between Russia and NATO countries.

Advocates of theories in the second category warn of a future “backdoor deal” (i.e. a peace agreement) that would prevent Russia from fully achieving its objectives in Ukraine. The objectives they list range from the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions to the capture of Ukraine in its entirety. The main platform for these arguments is Russia’s pro-war Telegram channels, though the sentiment is often muted when coming from authors with ties to the Kremlin, according to journalist Ivan Filippov: “[For example, they might write,] ‘It would be a real shame if we had negotiations. Better to hold off…’”

Ideas about the war being “rigged” are most often espoused by people with an “active pro-war stance” — a category that, according to political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, is relatively small. Researchers from the Khroniki project define this group as containing people who 1) have expressed support for the war, 2) say they wouldn’t support the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine before Russia achieves the goals of the “special military operation” (the Kremlin’s term for the full-scale invasion), and 3) believe military spending should be a federal budget priority. A January 2024 survey by Khroniki found that about 17 percent of respondents met all three of these criteria.

“These people are [usually] in opposition to the government by nature, but when the war started, they suddenly found themselves in the mainstream; they were suddenly one of very few groups who were allowed to speak out publicly,” Schulmann said. By the end of summer 2022, she explained, the euphoria had begun to wear off as Russia failed to achieve quick success on the battlefield. “The warmongers were perplexed: why do we seem to be just going through the motions? Why are we still selling gas to Europe? [...] Why is there talk of negotiations?” Many war supporters concluded that Russia’s failures at the front are due to “Westernists and liberals” in the government who “want everything to go back to how it was,” according to Schulmann: “What’s there to say? These are very naive people from a sociopolitical standpoint.”

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Taylor Lorenz at Substack:

We need to know who is funding the creator economy

Yesterday, a federal indictment revealed that a Tennessee media company working with right-wing influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern, was receiving significant funding from the Russian state-sponsored network RT to push Russian disinformation. The indictment is absolutely wild and WIRED has a great rundown on the details, including how the propaganda efforts worked. The case serves as the latest high profile example of how “independent media” on the right is anything but independent, and underscores the need for more transparency around funding models in the creator economy. It also shows how disinformation efforts have increasingly focused on penetrating U.S. media through content creators, and how lucrative being a pawn in these schemes can be. While right wing content creators position themselves as scrappy upstarts, leaning into anti-establishment and populist brand positioning, they frequently accept money from far right interest groups, extremist billionaires, and even foreign actors.  Tenet Media received nearly $10 million, distributed out across a network of YouTubers and podcasters. As part of the disinformation campaign, Tenet Media influencers published hundreds of videos on social media that promoted Kremlin talking points. The videos were shared across platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok, reaching tens of millions of viewers.

[...] The far right recognized the opportunities in personality-driven media decades ago. After boosting talk radio stars in the 80s and 90s, when social media proliferated, they began to invest heavily in news influencers who seamlessly blend entertainment, news commentary, and far right political messaging into YouTube videos, Instagram memes, podcasts and more. 

[...]

Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire has been heavily funded by wealthy Republican donors, including the Wilks brothers, Texas-based billionaires known for their oil and fracking fortune. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, has benefited from significant funding from conservative mega donors including the Koch network.  When right wing creators began getting deplatformed more frequently on mainstream social media apps in the second half of the 2010s, an entire ecosystem of alternative platforms aimed at helping extremist influencers monetize and amass audiences, cropped up. Rumble, a video sharing platform similar to YouTube backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, began paying far right influencers and anti vaxx content creators hundreds of thousands of dollars to create content on its platform in 2021. Locals, a newsletter platform owned by Rumble, allows influencers to monetize through newsletters in a similar way to Substack. DLive, a right wing Twitch competitor, allowed influencers storming the Capitol building on January 6th, to make thousands of dollars off their live streams. Kick and Cozy.tv, two other right wing live streaming platforms, permit nearly any far right extremist the ability to create content and start earning money. And X, under Musk, has paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to right wing influencer accounts.

The robust financial backing the right wing content creator ecosystem enjoys, allows extremists the ability to fund professional production teams, social media ad buys, and marketing initiatives that give them a competitive advantage online. In contrast, progressive creators are left to rely on meager donations and crowdfunding efforts to sustain their work. This financial imbalance has made it nearly impossible for left-wing content creators to match the reach or production quality of their right-wing counterparts. Already, several Russia-backed Tenet Media influencers, including Benny Johnson and Tim Pool, have been doing damage control. They've publicly stated that they had no idea about the origins of the money and claimed that they were merely unwitting victims who were misled by the company. 

Right-wing media influencers like Nick Sortor (even though he wasn’t named in the indictment), Benny Johnson, and Tim Pool aren’t “independent media” in any way.

[mightyflamethrower]

As Vice President Kamala Harris slips in the polls, the Democratic National Committee/Harris Campaign/mainstream media fusion talking points become even more absurd.

Claiming that J.D. Vance and Donald Trump were “weird” did not work—especially given the genuinely odd behavior of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and would-be First Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Nor was the next Harris meme convincing that the frenetic and non-stop Trump was somehow “exhausted,” “senile,” and “confused.” Voters know the workdays of the younger Harris are usually far shorter—or sometimes not workdays at all.

But Harris also falsely claimed the physically and mentally challenged Biden was, in her words, “absolutely authoritative” and “very bold and vibrant.”

Now Harris asserts that Trump is a “fascist,” a “dictator,” and “unfit” for office. But this new talking point will also not stop the Harris campaign’s hemorrhaging—and for a variety of reasons.

First, voters see the election as a conflict of two absolutely antithetical visions.

On the one hand, is the prior Trump 2017-20 concrete record: border security, no major wars abroad, calm in the Middle East, a deterred Russia, Iran, and China, low inflation, low interest rates, lower crime, lower taxes, strong deterrent military—and opposition to mandatory electric vehicle mandates, biological males competing in women’s sports, and the woke/DEI agenda.

On the other hand, is the Biden-Harris 2021-2024 record: the unchecked entry of 12-20 million illegal aliens and a destroyed border. People still struggle under Biden-Harris’s earlier hyperinflation and high interest rates. The horrific regional wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue. Biden-Harris embraces the unpopular DEI/Woke agenda.

Harris herself knows that the Biden-Harris years were a failure. That is why she has shed almost all of their hard left-wing agendas—policies she has embraced for much of her adult life.

So suddenly, in the last 90 or so days, Harris has completely flipped and flopped.

Now she is for more of, not defunding, the police. She pivots for a secure border, not 20 million illegal aliens pouring across it. Harris brags about fossil fuel energy, not banning fracking, and for increasing, not cutting, defense.

In fact, several endangered incumbent Democrat senators in swing states are claiming more allegiance to Trump’s issues than identifying with Harris and her unpopular record as vice president.

Voters likely conclude that if Trump doubles down on his record, while even Harris and many senators temporarily piggyback on it, then it must be more effective and popular than Harris’s own.

Second, Harris now claims Trump is a fascist and insurrectionist.

But mouthing ad nauseam “January 6th” no longer persuades voters that Trump is a danger to anyone. They recall that Harris bragged of the far more violent demonstrations of 2020—35 killed, $2 billion in damage, 1,500 law enforcement officers injured, 14,000 arrested—that the unrest would not and “should not” stop, while drumming up support to bail out jailed violent protestors.

Nor does the slur that Trump is a fascist resonate. The Obama and Biden-Harris administrations weaponized the CIA and FBI to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 elections by peddling the fake Steele dossier and suppressing all the embarrassing news about Hunter Biden’s incriminating laptop.

Trump certainly did not coordinate, as Biden did, with local, state, and federal prosecutors to wage lawfare prosecutions to destroy his political opponents. He did not use the FBI to partner with social media to suppress the news.

Neither Trump nor his supporters tried to remove Biden from state ballots.

The Republican House majority did not impeach Biden twice despite the Biden family’s corruption and Joe Biden’s unlawful, decades-long removal of classified papers to several insecure private residences.

Trump and the Republicans never coercively removed the party’s primary-winning nominee. They did not nullify the will of 14 million primary voters. And in backroom fashion, they did not anoint a candidate who had never entered a single primary in her life.

Nor did Trump support packing the Supreme Court. He does not seek unconstitutional means of destroying the Electoral College. He is not demanding an end to the Senate filibuster or the creation of two new states to obtain four partisan senate seats.

Third, as for Trump being “unfit” and lacking “decorum,” it depends on what were the Biden-Harris standards?

Having a trans activist reveal his breasts on camera at a White House “pride party?”

Biden’s reportedly calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a f—ing idiot” and “son of a b—ch?” Bragging about locking Trump up, while waging lawfare against him?

Unleashing son Hunter Biden with impunity to shake down foreign governments?

The election will not be decided on these empty talking points or fake media-generated narratives.

Instead, only two criteria matter: Which candidate’s past record and current agenda best appeal to voters? And which candidate seems the most authentic and genuine?

[hunter1976xbox]

Presidential Debate 2024

Trump: She's a communist. She's literally a Marxist.

Harris: Actually Goldman Sachs loves me.

Trump: I saw her eat a cat. It was on the TV.

Harris: Dick Cheney loves me too.

Trump: She won't kill any Palestinians at all.

Harris: I'll kill way more Palestinians than he'll kill.

Trump: I will kill the most Palestinians. I'll kill more Palestinians than anyone.

Harris: You couldn't kill even one Palestinian. You are weak.

Trump: I am not weak I am strong. I am the strongest.

Harris: You're a weak little girl and you'll let China win.

Trump: She's gonna start a nuclear war with Russia.

Harris: I will invade Russia myself and I will kill Putin with my bare hands. I am the strongest and you are the weakest.

Trump: It's not true. It's not true.

Harris: I will also do the most fracking and drill the most oil. Many Republicans have said I'm the strongest.

Trump: No. No. She's weak on immigration.

Harris: I kick immigrants in the balls for fun.

*commercial break*

[ssaalexblake]

I rather liked you comparing Jo Patterson to Liz Truss, even though she was meant as a caricature of the Maybot she now looks kind of like the Iceberg Lady! Another amusing note, the last ep had the villains trying to do a fracking plot, just around the time there was a fracking vote in the House that was the lettuce that broke the camel's back for the Truss Ministry! I think it was more alluding to The Dalek Invasion of Earth but still! Also, villains associated with Russia!

I honestly thought they had bad luck with the May joke, tbh? Like, when they made the episode it was a culturally obvious poke at her, but by the time the episode aired on Jan 1st 2021 it had been goddamn boris for a fair amount of time, and not only was it boris, it was boris Through Covid, which kind of made any joke about her fall a bit flat. I mean, it was still obvious who they were making a dig at, but by that point it had lost pretty much all of its Umph for all the worst reasons.

So I choose to repurpose it for Truss. For funsies.

They did, however, hit coincidental gold with the fracking thing I guess so it wasn't all losses. It was definitely a dalek invasion of earth reference, but i'd bet they were Thrilled when they realised how well that'd line up with what they'd filmed for the episode.

I guess they win some they lose some.

But 'the master was the prime minister' is the best politics joke in the show because it has infinite shelf life. At literally any point somebody can drop that the master was prime minister and the companion can go 'oh is That why *insert random actual real life prime minister here* was so evil???' and you can do it over and over and over with whoever you want. I mean, they'd never namedrop a real prime minister on the show whose ass they weren't trying to climb up at the time, but i can dream.

... Though i have to admit, the joke rtd made in the doctor who lockdown stories book that heavily implied that boris was part of the nestine consciousness after being infected back in 2005 had me laughing for weeks. But like, he probably wrote that within a month of publishing so he just benefitted from having up to date news. Was still funny though.

[darkmaga-returns]

By Ronald Beaty

With the election is over and Trump heading to the White House, energy returns to the fore as a vital issue for decisions.

The United States can continue its dependency on foreign oil, or harness its own abundant resources to achieve energy independence.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a formidable tool for achieving energy independence, aligning with conservative values of self-reliance, national security, and economic prosperity.

Start with its economic impact:

The shale revolution has transformed regions like North Dakota and Texas into economic powerhouses. The industry has directly created over 2.5 million jobs as of 2021, with each job in the fracking sector generating 2.8 indirect jobs in the community. These aren't just jobs; they're high-paying careers, with the average salary significantly above the national average, providing robust income streams for families and substantial tax revenues for local governments. This economic infusion supports schools, infrastructure, and public services, creating a ripple effect of prosperity.

Energy security is also synonymous with national security. By reducing our dependency on oil from politically unstable regions, fracking fortifies America's geopolitical stance. The U.S. transition from being one of the world's largest oil importers to a net exporter has not only bolstered our national defense capabilities, it has shifted global energy dynamics, giving the U.S. a stronger hand in international negotiations and alliances. This independence from foreign oil reduces the leverage of nations like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela over U.S. policy.

[political-explorer]

Trump vs Harris Debate 9/10/24 notes

These are my notes on the main topics talked about, not everything from the debate is included in this, these are just the key points I retained.

Color Key:

Donald Trump

Kamala Harris

Taxes

Impose more tariffs - up to/more than 20% - the people pay these tariffs, Trump said they don't but they do (whoever is doing the purchasing is paying the tariffs)

Tax deduction of 6,000$ for young families during the first year of their child’s life

50,000$ aid for small businesses

25,000$ down payment assistance for first time homeowners

Abortion:

Rejects abortion

Supports abortion

Immigration:

“They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats” in reference to immigrants from other countries and those who are coming from prisons, mental institutes, “insane asylums” etc.

Deportation

Rejected stance to add more border security to aid those already there

Policies:

Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) - if it costs the people and population less money & is better than ACA currently, then the policies would change

Has no actual plan but “has concepts”

Fracking - won’t ban it, new leases - reduce reliance on foreign oil

ACA - negotiable prices - insulin 35$/mo, prescription drugs for seniors 2,000$/yr (approx. 166$/mo), supports private insurance

Israel/Hamas War:

“If I were president, it would’ve never started. Russia would’ve never invaded Ukraine” - had sanctions on Iran regarding weaponry

Ceasefire deal, “Israel has a right to defend itself, but how it defends itself matters” - 2-state solution

War in Ukraine:

Question I thought of: how is it negotiating if Putin is building up soldiers?

Believes Trump would give up war and that’s why it’d be over so quick if he were to become president (he kept saying that the war would be over before he even entered office if he was elected)

Afghanistan:

If the withdrawal had been made while he was president, he says he wouldn’t have lost soldiers or left them and 85 B$  worth of brand new military equipment behind

Agreed with Biden’s withdrawal 

Race in Politics:

He (about Trump) attempted to use race to divide the country 

Talked about the Central Park 5 in reference to Trump Link to BBC Article on Central Park 5

Climate Change:

Didn’t answer question

Invested in clean energy, bringing oil production to the U.S. and creating manufacturing jobs

Closing Statements:

“She says she’ll do these things (in reference to Harris) why hasn’t she done them” “you believe in things the people don’t believe in (again in reference to Harris)” “we’re a failing nation, we’re a nation in decline”

“We’re not going back” intend to create an opportunity economy - bringing down the cost of living, sustaining standing in the world, being a president that will protect rights, intend to be president for the people

Notes on the speakers themselves: Trump interrupted the spokespeople a lot (Harris did too, but not nearly to the degree that Trump did). Neither of them would really give straight answers, which I understand is a lot of politics, but it got to a point where it was very annoying. If you're asked a yes/no question, give a simple yes/no answer, don't go off on BS tangents my dudes.

That's all!

[fabian-narvaez]

Harnessing the Future: Pivotal Trends Reshaping the Oil Industry

The oil industry, a cornerstone of the global economy, faces a period of unprecedented transformation. Driven by technological advancements, environmental pressures, and shifting geopolitical landscapes, this sector is adjusting to new realities that will define its role in the energy mix of tomorrow. This article explores the key trends that are reshaping the oil industry, highlighting how companies are navigating these challenges and opportunities to secure their place in an increasingly complex market.

Navigating Regulatory and Environmental Challenges

The push for environmental sustainability is the most significant driver of change in the oil industry today. With climate change concerns dictating policy and consumer preferences worldwide, oil companies are under intense pressure to reduce their carbon footprints and embrace cleaner energy practices.

Emissions Reduction: Governments worldwide are implementing stringent regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The oil sector, traditionally one of the largest emitters, is investing heavily in technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide, improve the efficiency of its operations, and reduce flaring and venting practices.

Renewable Energy Investments: Many leading oil giants are diversifying their portfolios to include renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biofuels. This shift not only helps mitigate the environmental impact but also aligns with the evolving regulatory landscape and secures its market position in a future dominated by sustainable energy solutions.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Techniques: EOR techniques, which allow for the extraction of more oil from declining fields, are also becoming more environmentally friendly. Techniques such as CO2 injection not only improve oil recovery rates but also help in carbon sequestration efforts.

Technological Innovations Driving Efficiency

The oil industry is leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance exploration, production, and distribution efficiencies. These innovations are crucial in maintaining profitability amid fluctuating oil prices and increasing production costs.

Digital Transformation: Digital tools and data analytics are revolutionizing the oil sector. Through the use of sensors, big data, and artificial intelligence, companies can predict equipment failures, optimize drilling operations, and enhance the safety of their operations. Real-time data analysis helps in making informed decisions that maximize production and minimize downtime.

Automation and Robotics: Automation in drilling and production processes reduces the need for human intervention, especially in hazardous environments, thereby increasing safety and efficiency. Robotics, especially in offshore platforms, can perform underwater inspections and maintenance, reducing the risk and cost associated with human divers.

Advanced Drilling Techniques: Techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have unlocked new reserves in previously inaccessible or non-viable areas. These methods, while controversial due to their environmental impact, have significantly increased domestic oil production in countries like the United States.

Geopolitical Factors and Market Dynamics

The global nature of the oil market means that geopolitical events can have immediate and profound impacts on oil prices and industry stability. Navigating these dynamics is crucial for oil companies.

OPEC's Role: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continues to play a pivotal role in stabilizing global oil prices through production quotas. How OPEC and non-OPEC members like Russia collaborate to manage supply influences global oil prices significantly.

Trade Agreements and Tariffs: Trade negotiations and tariffs can also impact the oil industry by altering the flow of crude oil and refined products. For instance, changes in U.S.-China trade policies can affect oil demand projections, influencing global prices and investment strategies.

Energy Independence Movements: Many nations are seeking energy independence, which affects global oil dynamics. This shift impacts demand patterns and can lead to significant investments in domestic energy infrastructure and capabilities.

The Road Ahead: Strategic Adaptations for Future Success

As the world gradually transitions towards a more sustainable and diversified energy future, the oil industry must continue to adapt. This includes not only investing in new technologies and renewable energy sources but also improving corporate governance and stakeholder relations to better align with modern environmental and social governance standards.

Sustainability Initiatives: Oil companies are increasingly promoting their efforts in sustainability to improve their public image and comply with global standards. This includes initiatives to reduce water usage, lower emissions, and engage more transparently with communities affected by drilling activities.

Strategic Alliances: Forming alliances with technology companies and renewable energy firms can provide oil companies with the necessary expertise and capabilities to transition their operations toward a more sustainable model.

Risk Management: Developing robust risk management frameworks is crucial to address the physical and transitional risks associated with climate change and the evolving energy landscape.

The oil industry is at a crossroads, facing both challenges and opportunities as it navigates through a period of significant change. By embracing innovation, enhancing efficiency, and committing to environmental stewardship, the sector can secure a resilient and profitable future, even as the world shifts towards more sustainable energy solutions. The industry's ability to adapt and evolve will not only shape its future but also play a crucial role in the global transition to a more diversified and sustainable energy paradigm.

[aspiringbelle]

It started a while back. Remember when various Democrats blamed the BLM protests on Russia? Remember how they blamed anti-fracking protests on Russia?

Know your real friends.

Literally the dude is pulling a Bond villain and explaining the evil plan beforehand.

And the press will still fall for it.

[alienpossession]

The Pagon Prologue: Laying Out the Groundwork

Both men wanted to achieve what their elders too weak to push for, which is to force human, specifically Fury, to take action on the fate of the Skrulls on Earth. So while Gravik focused on establishing their various operatives across the globe, Pagon specifically tasked by him to ensure that they have base of operation. Russia is selected both for its near-frozen temperature in the Arctic Circle and also the remote radioactive-heavy nuclear power plant and disposal areas scattered across its sprawling 17 million kilometres of land mass. The directive was clear, Pagon should be the one setting up the plan in motion for New Skrullos while Gravik negotiated with sympathetic councilmember and also restless young Skrulls wanting to live freely away from the shadow

All the experience working under Fury proven to be very effective for the Skrulls Young Brigade like Pagon. The rather young yet wildly experienced master manipulator and infiltration specialist easily outmanuevered several local drunk teen in the early morning and with that, he dragged those bodies into the makeshift fracking pod. He took the likeness of one of them and then started his rendezvous around town when the sun already came out.

So, posing as a local teenager in the city his boss already directed him to be, his luck turned out to be founded quickly. Heading to what he assumed to be a morning shift is a Russian soldier that clearly lost in his own thoughts.

He followed the private when he walked out from the bus and right next to an alley, he pushed the private to get inside the alley. The private didn't see his assailant at first and when he turned around, he's surprised beyond belief to see himself smirking with fist already mid-way pummeled and would land square to his face. He summoned his boys to take care of the private's body and then headed to the base while directing the boys to remain alert of any possible notification or escalation directive from him.

Just like a domino effect, once an alien like Skrull already blended in, it's just too hard to detect without any physical evidence and Pagon utilized it to his advantage to gain more shells for his people. He's aware that he need an upgrade to make the infiltration process easier so he aimed at the private's own Sergeant for it.

From there, it was a breeze work for Pagon as he simply called for a one-on-one session with the soldiers he targeted that ranked under him. Unable to resist a Sergeant order, they fell victim to the ambush that Pagon already set with the fellow Skrulls that already awaited them, and within no time, these soldiers already replaced by their Skrull impostor

These impostor soldiers, in turn, started to terrorize the rest of their own comrade and even the cadet in the academy located within the same military complex. Several soldiers missing temporarily during odd hours, cadets went out beyond their curfew only to return as if nothing happened.

As the time goes by, the heavy military activity in the complex turned into a more intensive laborious work to set the Skrulls latest base while also conducting research on the proper locations. Also, with more Skrulls populating the base rather than actual human, even a broad daylight takeover happened as the Skrulls posing as soldiers realized that only a handful of them are still human.

They choked, they pinned, they do whatever possible to just simply take these soldiers out and put them in the fracking pod to be used by other Skrulls.

Not even a week and the entire base minus its General already wiped clean from humanity, and it's only a matter of time before the Skrull can fully move back and forth between the base and the rejuvenated town that they already set to change as New Skrullos.

When the General returned from Moscow, as expected, line of soldiers already waited from the gate to the main office entrance in very straight posture to welcome his arrival. What the General failed to notice is the smirk plastered on each of the soldier's faces as the welcoming banquet for the General would be the end of the journey for General Mikhailov and his entourage, and nothing he can do to stop that