The big empty

There are a number of observable trends in oil supplies and by extension prices, presently. I am going to discuss one of them in this article. A lack of capital investment in finding new supplies of oil and gas. A favorite analogy of mine comes to mind, the ship is nearing the dock. In nautical parlance that means the time for course corrections is at an end. So we shall see if that is the case for oil. The massive “ship” that is world oil demand is on an unalterable collision with supplies that will have profound implications for consumers

It’s Too Late To Avoid A Major Oil Supply Crisis | OilPrice.com
The level of capital investment in oil exploration and production in the last few years has been far too low, and now it is likely too late to avoid a supply crisis

A ‘ghost armada’ of tankers carrying black-market oil to China is bankrolling Iran’s secret nuclear program

The rogue state has almost doubled its fleet sailing under other countries’ flags to 123 in the past year, letting China smuggle in up to a million barrels of oil per day – or two-thirds of the UK’s daily use.

A ‘ghost armada’ of sanctions-busting tankers carrying black-market oil to China is bankrolling Iran’s secret nuclear programme, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The rogue state has almost doubled its fleet sailing under other countries’ flags to 123 in the past year, letting China smuggle in up to a million barrels of oil per day – or two-thirds of the UK’s daily use.

Iran’s ‘ghost armada’ of tankers selling black market oil to China
Iran has almost doubled its fleet sailing under other countries’ flags to 123 in the past year, letting China smuggle in up to a million barrels of oil per day – or two-thirds of the UK’s daily use.

Soviets Once Denied a Deadly Anthrax Lab Leak. U.S. Scientists Backed the Story

“It took more than a decade for the truth to come out.”

The accident and a subsequent cover-up have renewed relevance as scientists search for the origins of Covid-19. …

In April and May 1979, at least 66 people died after airborne anthrax bacteria emerged from a military lab in the Soviet Union. But leading American scientists voiced confidence in the Soviets’ claim that the pathogen had jumped from animals to humans. Only after a full-fledged investigation in the 1990s did one of those scientists confirm the earlier suspicions: The accident in what is now the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg was a lab leak, one of the deadliest ever documented.

Soviets Once Denied a Deadly Anthrax Lab Leak. U.S. Scientists Backed the Story.
The accident and a subsequent cover-up have renewed relevance as scientists search for the origins of Covid-19.
Continue reading “Soviets Once Denied a Deadly Anthrax Lab Leak. U.S. Scientists Backed the Story”

Questions raised about Biden the Catholic

US Roman Catholic bishops agreed on Friday to draft a statement on the meaning of holy communion which could potentially be used to deny the sacred rite to President Joe Biden because of his position on abortion.

US bishops to draft statement on holy communion, Biden in sights – France 24
US bishops to draft statement on holy communion, Biden in sights
Continue reading “Questions raised about Biden the Catholic”

Air raid sirens over Israel

The truce is over. Raise your hands, everyone who knew it wouldn’t last.

Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas fires incendiary balloons
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip late Thursday for a second time since a shaky cease-fire ended last month’s 11-day war. The strikes came after activists mobilized by Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers launched incendiary balloons into Israel for a third straight day.
Continue reading “Air raid sirens over Israel”

The last illusions vanish

According to local media, Hong Kong police on Thursday conducted a raid on the office of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, where they seized reporting materials. Five executives have been arrested, including editor-in-chief Ryan Law, for alleged collusion and suspected contravention of the national security law in relation to articles published allegedly calling for sanctions to be imposed against Hong Kong and China.

Hong Kong police raid Apple Daily newspaper and arrest five executives / Twitter

How leftist politics became religion

If religion gives meaning to the lives of the faithful, there are a lot more Americans now who lack that meaning than there used to be, and they’re concentrated on the left side of the political spectrum. It’s not difficult to imagine these people seeking the kind of meaning that religion would otherwise have provided them.

Fanatics
Politics has become a religion.

Bad luck

Sometimes a Coincidence isn’t a Coincidence
Coincidences are interesting things. They’re considered remarkable because their combined occurrence seems improbable. But sometimes, improbable occurrences really happen. Lightning really has struck the same location twice –…

Just suppose

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday how he would feel if someone carried out a ransomware attack on Russian oil pipelines …

While saying he had not made any threats to Putin in their talks, which a senior U.S. official said had lasted about three hours, Biden said he had posed a theoretical question to his Russian counterpart about the dangers of cyberattacks.

Biden pointedly asks Putin about cyberattacks at summit
U.S. President Joe Biden asked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday how he would feel if someone carried out a ransomware attack on Russian oil pipelines, a pointed question during their summit that illustrated the breadth of their disagreements.

“Would you rather that your children were literate, numerate, or curious?” Pick one, and why?

Literate, Numerate or Curious? – Modern Learners
Here’s an interesting question for your next workshop, faculty meeting, or maybe even a dinner party? “Would you rather that your children were literate, numerate, or curious?” Pick one, and why? For many, it’s a tough choice; for most, you want all three. But if you had to choose one, which one wou…