[An Nahar] Failure to end use of fossil fuels will be a "death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... " to millions worldwide, Swedish activist Greta "Pippi" Thunberg ...an autistic sixteen year old Swedish expert on climate change... warned on Tuesday, urging politicians to take more ambitious action.
"It will be impossible for us to stick to the 1.5-degree limit without a rapid, equitable, fossil fuel phase-out," Thunberg told a presser.
She was referring to the 2015 Gay Paree Agreement, at which world leaders pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to prevent the Earth's annual temperature rising by more than 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius, and thus halt runaway global warming.
"If we don't, it will be a death sentence to countless of people," she said on the sidelines of U.N.-led climate talks in Bonn.
"It is already a death sentence to countless of people living on the frontlines of the climate crisis."
Scientists and climate activists are pleading for a more rapid expansion of renewables, and a phase out of oil, coal and gas, given the significant proportion of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions produced by these energy sources.
They want world leaders to agree to phase out fossil fuels at the UN climate negotiations in Dubai (COP28) in late 2023, after failing at their summit in Glasgow in 2021 and again in Sharm-El-Sheikh in 2022.
But major oil and gas exporters are keen to shift the focus further downstream, arguing the world can reduce carbon emissions without ditching the fossil fuels that generate them.
Activists disagree and are equally alarmed at the choice of an oil giant boss to preside over the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Give oil industry own estimates place the world Oil reserves at around 32 to 39 years, a viable economic and safe fuel/energy alternative solution needs to be found for vehicles ASAP.
As I said in an earlier comment, make around 5am not displayed yet. Electrical powered EV 's are s not that solution. Simply, having violated many of the Eco-reasons the LSD's are using to justify it forced use plus MTBF and Charge times for long trips.
#5
oil industry own estimates place the world Oil reserves at around 32 to 39 years
They have had the same estimate since the 70s. But they keep finding new fields and invent technology that allows them to tap fields that before they couldn't (see fracking and deep sea drilling).
That being said, we are using up a resource that can't be regenerated quickly and do need to figure out how to power cars and cities without oil. We will always need it, but it will go into manufacturing products instead.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
06/14/2023 14:51 Comments ||
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#12
We were hearing "peak oil" a good 20 years ago. They may not be as bad as gold bugs and silver bugs and uranium bugs, but it was getting "deep" back then. And then fracking came along (o.k., o.k., a few minor earthquakes and some nasty chemicals to facilitate the process along the way, but...).
[NYPOST] Billionaire "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban said companies embracing "woke" ideology is just "good business," pushing back against those who say it’s adversely affecting their bottom lines.
In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks owner spoke about the ongoing backlash against companies like Anheuser-Busch and the Target Corporation for promoting LGBTQ+ ideologies in their brands.
Since promoting what many consider "woke" agendas, both companies have suffered massive losses worth billions of dollars.
While experts and industry insiders have suggested that invoking politics led to this downturn, Cuban insisted that embracing wokeness is a positive trait.
"There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the US can be considered ’woke.’ It’s good business," he said.
Cuban explained, "Most CEOs have enough experience to know to just wait out the news cycle until they go to the next one."
Bud Light sales sink 24.4% as rival Modelo continues to gain share
[NYPOST] Bud Light sales continued to plunge as the nation’s No. 1 beer brand continues to lose share to runner-up Modelo Especial — but its sister brands are beginning to recover from the disastrous marketing partnership with Dylan Stench of Death Mulvaney ...the transexual influencer who single-handedly trashed a major American beer brand owned by a Belgian company, tainted Maybelline and Condé Nast, and then demanded that anybody who called him/her/it a man be arrested... Sales of Bud Light dropped 24.4% in the week ended June 3 — slightly worse than the 23.9% decline over the previous week which had included steep discounting over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsonIQ.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy's udder had begun to ache... Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra — the nation’s third-biggest brand by sales — turned positive for the first time in weeks with a 0.7% sales increase versus a 0.1% decline the previous week.
Elsewhere, Anheuser-Busch beers continued to drop, although at a slower rate.
The flagship Budweiser brand’s sales were down 7.8% vs. 8.5% while Natural Light’s sales were down 1.0% vs. a 1.5% decline and sales of Busch Light were were down 0.8% vs. a 3.0% decline over the same period.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Yes, Bud Light sales continue to tank while Modelo’s climb. How many of the boycotters are now buying Modelo, not realizing it too is an AB product? So the money still flows in, just by a different route?
Rubes, you’ve been played
#2
In 2013, Constellation Brands purchased Grupo Modelo’s 50 percent stake in their partnership. This gave Constellation Brands full ownership of the Modelo brands in the United States. - cite
#3
Enter the stage when they get into a tuck measuring contest of who lost the most customers.
"There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the US can be considered ’woke.’ It’s good business," he said.
Cuban explained, "Most CEOs have enough experience to know to just wait out the news cycle until they go to the next one."
He should know better than this. There is cheesing some customers and there is brand dropping.
Second, do you really, really, think that July 1 this will all just go away, or is there so much corporate investment and momentum, including hack articles like this, it will have to go perpetual?
I was flipping from a channel to another and came across a baseball game. Being an ol' sportsballer I had to check who was playing, the score and inning. It took all of 5 seconds for a GROQMER+ flag to show. The team's name, huge sign in outfield.
I get Cuban is so OG that he goes back to slaves making shoes is good for his ticket sales, but damn man, this sales pitch is just ignorant.
#8
Cuban basically hit the lottery when he sold a domain name for billions back in the docom frenzy. He has never really "done anything" that qualifies him as some sort of business guru.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2023 11:40 Comments ||
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#10
"There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the US can be considered ’woke.’ It’s good business," he said.
It’s that the top ten have a history of selling really good products, so there are reserves big enough to cover short term problems with both supply and demand. And yes, historically conservative customers have in a reasonable period come back for the quality, whereas Progressive customers will accept poorer quality goods and services in order to buttress their morality.
Also, the top ten have such a broad array of products, generally brands that show no overt link to the parent company, so in general the bottom lines of those really big companies are not effected by consumer ire. This is less so for the rest of the business world, which is why businesspeople used to be advised to keep their politics to themselves.
#11
Decadence is a luxury of prosperity. When the economic going gets hairy, the decadence will be the first thing to get dropped.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2023 11:56 Comments ||
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#12
Drinkers tend to remember. Most drinkers can tell detailed stories about throwing up or getting arrested going back many decades. The only exception for that is the cases where the drinker was blind or blackout drunk - not that I would have any experience with those conditions. So Mark Cuban is partially correct. I am not sure how Bud Lite could parlay recapturing the blackout drunk sector to reacquire significant market share. Maybe someone will make a convincing Shark Tank proposal in that regard that he can exploit.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/14/2023 12:34 Comments ||
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#13
No such thing as black out drunk on Bud Lite. Black out stupid yes, but not black out drunk.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/14/2023 12:49 Comments ||
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#14
Sounds like Mark Cuban doesn't leave kids alone.
#20
Bud Light sales continue to tank while Modelo’s climb. How many of the boycotters are now buying Modelo, not realizing it too is an AB product?
I think what we are seeing is not so much a boycott of AB, but more a grassroots response to the most instantly successful advertising campaign in human history. Whatshisname is now indelibly associated with Bud Light. Most people don't want any part of that. They do still want to drink a beer of a certain class. Hence, they are "brand-fluid".
#21
"There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the US can be considered ’woke.’ It’s good business," he said.
Big companies do all sorts of silly things because "they are too big to fail" and the board/ big investors want ridiculous things done yesterday. Remember the 'Merger Mania of the 90's'? It made the banks holding the loans happy...
How about the 'Diversify into things we don't know about' mania? US Steel (8th largest steel producer in 2008 and 38th in 2018, but they were diversified into railroads and energy ...Yay!) and Borden (once the largest US dairy producer, founded 1857 and defunct 2001, but they plowed everything into their plastics division...).
#22
So I understand that the large companies the use the large banks for operating capitol are being forced into this with the eSG crap. Not that it matters much at the user level but its the world bank driving this...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/14/2023 22:35 Comments ||
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[GEO.TV] National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik said Tuesday that — in a bid to ensure the safety of those living in the country's coastal belt ahead of the very severe cyclonic system (VSCS) Biparjoy — around 100,000 people will be shifted to safer places by today evening.
The NDMA chairman's remarks came during a presser in the federal capital regarding the arrangement made to protect citizens ahead of June 15 — the day the storm is expected to make its landfall between Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and India's Gujarat ...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... "Measures to control the storm's effects and weather damage are in progress," Malik said.
"The Sindh government along with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and relief camp medical missions in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... have been alerted," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2023 00:00 ||
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[Army] On 14 June 1775, Congress "Resolved, That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia... [and] as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army."
The delegates then prescribed an oath of enlistment that required the soldiers to swear:
"I have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the said. Army."
The next day Congress voted to appoint George Washington "to command all the Continental forces" and began laying the foundation for "the American army."
#4
I put out a flag this morning after sunrise (old school--you do not have the flag out in the dark or in the rain)--and will bring it back in just before sunset.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/14/2023 13:23 Comments ||
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Remember them? Apparently they haven’t all starved.
[Garowe] After several months of animosity and cruelty within Æthiopia, the leadership of Tigray and Amhara have agreed to bury the hatchet for the sake of peace and development in the country, in what could boost efforts by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to reconcile the national and regional leadership.
During the Tigray war, Amhara forces were accused of working closely with the Æthiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] to launch attacks in northern parts of the country, just before a truce was reached in Nairobi and South Africa under the stewardship of former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and Olusegun Obasanjo.
Amhara regional governor Yilkal Kefale and Tigray’s interim leader, Getachew Reda, made the pledge during talks in Amhara's capital, Bahir Dar while observing the need to engage in state-building. The Tigray War ended in November after the signing of the historic agreement in Pretoria.
The two leaders said they would work towards re-opening road transport between Tigray and Amhara, which offers the shortest route between Tigray and Addis Ababa. Reda, a former minister in the government of Æthiopia, was the spokesperson of the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] before being picked as the interim leader.
Ahmed, who has been integral in pushing for economic prosperity, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 following his intervention to solve the standoff between Addis Ababa and Asmara which was several decades old. Since then, he has been struggling to fix internal issues necessitated by monumental changes.
Before assuming powers, Æthiopia was more of an authoritarian regime, which cut off several people from democratic space. Despite the internal challenges, Abiy Ahmed has been lauded for embracing democracy and inclusivity in his administration, leading to economic success.
Across the region, Æthiopia has been making headlines in the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam along the Blue Nile, rattling Sudan and Egypt in the process. When the dam is fully functional, it is anticipated that it will be the main supplier of hydroelectric power across the Horn of Africa.
[GEO.TV] A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Lahore, Islamabad, Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire... , and other cities on Tuesday afternoon, prompting people to rush out of their offices and homes. No loss of life has been reported.
In Punjab, the tremors were felt in Shakar Garh, Chichawatni, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Hafizabad, Zafarwal and Murree. The quake also hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... , Swabi, and Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... areas.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?... in Azad Jammu and Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... , the tremors were felt in Bagh, DhirKot, and Muzaffarabad areas.
Sarah Batool Haider, an Islamabad-based journalist, said the tremors were felt for a short time, resulting in people rushing out of their offices.
"It was horrifying as this was the second time a quake hit the capital within a short gap," Haider added.
According to Pakistain Meteorological Department, the earthquake originated at 1:04pm, with its depth at 10 kilometres.
The quake's epicenter was Eastern Kashmir, the PMD said, with its longitude at 75.97 E and latitude at 33.32 N.
No loss of life has been reported so far from the quake.
The quake was felt in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK) and other parts of India, including New Delhi.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2023 00:00 ||
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Sources in Nineveh have revealed allegations of fund manipulation by UNESCO about expanding the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... . According to these sources, UNESCO has been diverting funds for the mosque's expansion to other projects within Mosul.
The people of Mosul have eagerly awaited the completion of the al-Nuri Mosque and its renowned al-Hadba Minaret since their destruction during the battles against ISIS in June 2017. The reconstruction efforts have been under the supervision of UNESCO, which secured a $50.4 million grant from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Local sources have expressed surprise at the limited focus on completing the minaret and the mosque without incorporating the planned expansion outlined in the original architectural designs. These designs included the establishment of an institute for Islamic architectural studies, an event hall, and other facilities intended to enhance the overall site.
In 2018, Iraq and the UAE reached an agreement to rebuild the al-Nuri Mosque and al-Hadba Minaret, with the UAE committing $50.4 million for the construction work. During a ceremony at the National Museum in Baghdad, the UAE's Minister of Culture, Noura al-Kaabi, announced the funding commitment.
The accusations of fund manipulation by UNESCO in the Great Mosque of al-Nuri project have sparked extensive debate and scrutiny. The people of Mosul and other stakeholders call for transparent and responsible management of the allocated funds to ensure the successful reconstruction of this iconic symbol of their heritage.
[PJ] Brandon Jackson recently found himself in the midst of a problem. On May 25, he discovered that his smart home, which is tied to Amazon, was no longer doing that which he was paying for it to do. In a piece on Medium, Jackson noted that his primary way of interfacing with all of this wondrous technology is through Amazon Echo via Alexa. And lo and behold, suddenly nothing would respond to his requests or commands.
At first, Jackson thought he had possibly been hacked. But he goes to great lengths to keep his passwords secure. So with security issues off the table, what could it have been? The answer is stranger than you think. Or maybe it is part and parcel of 21st century America, and should serve as a lesson for those who are so enamored of having a "House of the Future."
On May 24, a package was delivered to Jackson’s home. His doorbell camera was programmed to say, "Excuse me, can I help you?" For one reason or another the driver who was walking away from the door and wearing headphones decided that the doorbell camera had somehow uttered a racial slur. The driver filed a complaint and...lights out, so to speak.
#1
People willingly (and even pay for the "privlege") give their personal data away with the Internet, smart phone/apps, or just providing PII without questioning why an entity "demands" it.
#2
Using your voice to turn on the lights does not make you Capt. Picard.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2023 8:05 Comments ||
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#3
One of the key features of the IOT (internet of things) is to make sure that you keep giving them money. For whatever reason.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/14/2023 9:42 Comments ||
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#4
I avoid any item that has an unnecessary "internet back end." Most such gear ends up orphaned when the web services behind it are shut down. Some of those items are mighty expensive bricks when the support dries up.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2023 10:43 Comments ||
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#5
Won't have any of that shite. It's hard to buy an appliance that isn't connected these days.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
[NYPOST] Billionaire "Shark Tank" star 
...the transexual 
[Army] On 14 June 1775, Congress "Resolved, That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia... [and] as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army."
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
