shlomo

November 23, 2022 Ukraine - Lights Out, No Water And Soon No Heat Earlier today the Russian military shut down the Ukrainian electricity network. Previous attacks had limited the distribution capacity to some 50% of demand. Controlled blackouts over several hours per day allowed to give some electricity for a few hours to most parts of the country. The attack today created a much larger problem. Not only were distribution networks attacked but also so the elements that connect Ukraine's electricity production facilities to the distribution network. All four nuclear power stations of Ukraine with their 15 reactors are now in shutdown mode. Kiev along with most other cities of Ukraine no longer has electricity. Moldavia is likewise effected as it received some 20% of its electricity from Ukraine. When the Ukrainian network shut down the only local thermal power plant shut down too. It is likely that it can be switched on again but that can be a complicate process. Limited electricity imports from the European system into Ukraine may still be possible but that electricity would only be available in Ukraine's western cities. Before today's attack the Washington Post reported of the difficulties in repairing the network. As we ad explained before the Russian attacks are hitting the transformers that connect the national 330 kilovolt backbone network. These are hard to replace: Any attempts to repair the network are useless as long as Russia continues to attack it.

I was only talking about the two warring parties and the NATO supply chain

Since Thursday 10 November there have been countless stories of public entities and pension funds that have lost hundreds of millions after investing eye-watering sums with FTX – most famously, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which invested more than $95m (US). There is some schadenfreude to be enjoyed when celebrities and wealthy crypto investors lose painful amounts of money to a scam they themselves promoted. However, the real losers in FTX’s collapse, and in crypto’s collapse more broadly, will never be those at the top, but the millions of normal people they convinced to board a visibly sinking ship. The rich will bounce back, rising to the top again. The people robbed of their life savings sitting at the bottom won’t be so lucky. https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/ftx-cryptocurrency-crash-lose-money-friends-suicide-1989674

Wrong answer @zugzwang

So if Russia and the West both run out weapons who wins?

“They’re seeing what Ukraine is using, what we can produce and how fast we can ramp up, all of which are factors you would work into, ’OK, how (big) does your pre-war stockpile need to be?” Bush said. “The slower you ramp up, the bigger the pile needs to be at the start.” The military aid packages the U.S. sends either pull inventory from stockpiles or fund contracts with industry to step up production. At least $19 billion in military aid has been committed to date, including 924,000 artillery rounds for 155mm howitzers, more than 8,500 Javelin anti-tank systems, 1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems and hundreds of vehicles and drones. It’s also provided advanced air defense systems and 38 HIMARS, although the Pentagon does not disclose how many rounds of ammunition it sends with the rocket systems. The infusion of weapons is raising questions on Capitol Hill. This month, the administration asked Congress to provide $37 billion more in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the post-election legislative session, and to approve it before Republicans take control of the House in January. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California, who is seeking to become speaker, has warned that Republicans would not support writing a “blank check” for Ukraine. Even with fresh money, stockpiles cannot be quickly replenished. Several of the systems proving most vital in Ukraine had their production lines shut down years ago. Keeping a production line open is expensive, and the Army had other spending priorities. The Pentagon awarded Raytheon a $624 million contract for 1,300 new Stinger missiles in May, but the company said it will not be able to increase production until next year due to parts shortages. “The Stinger line was shut down in 2008,” LaPlante said. “Really, who did that? We all did it. You did it. We did it,” he said, referring to Congress and the Pentagon’s decision not to fund continued production of the Army’s anti-aircraft munition, which can be launched by a soldier or mounted to a platform or truck. Based on an analysis of past Army budget documents, Center for Strategic and International Studies senior adviser Mark Cancian estimates that the 1,600 Stinger systems the U.S. has provided to Ukraine represent about one-quarter of its total arsenal. The HIMARS system, which Ukraine has used so effectively in its counteroffensive, faces some of the same challenges, LaPlante said. “The thing now that is saving Ukraine, and that everybody around the world wants, we stopped production of it,” he said. HIMARS production was shut down by the Army from about 2014 to 2018, LaPlante said. The Army is now trying to ramp up production to build up to eight a month, or 96 a year, Bush said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The intense firefight over Ukraine has the Pentagon rethinking its weapons stockpiles. If another major war broke out today, would the United States have enough ammunition to fight? It’s a question confronting Pentagon planners, not only as they aim to supply Ukraine for a war with Russia that could stretch years longer, but also as they look ahead to a potential conflict with China. Russia is firing as many as 20,000 rounds a day, ranging from bullets for automatic rifles to truck-sized cruise missiles. Ukraine is answering with as many as 7,000 rounds a day, firing 155 mm howitzer rounds, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and now NASAMS air defense munitions, and thousands of rounds of small arms fire. Much of Ukraine’s firepower is being supplied through U.S. government-funded weapons that are pushed almost weekly to the front lines. On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced an additional round of aid that will provide 20 million more rounds of small arms ammunition to Kyiv. We’ve not been in a position where we’ve got only a few days of some critical munition left,” Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told reporters this month. “But we are now supporting a partner who is.” U.S. defense production lines are not scaled to supply a major land war, and some, like for the Stinger, were previously shut down. That’s putting pressure on U.S. reserves and has officials asking whether U.S. weapons stockpiles are big enough. Would the U.S. be ready to respond to a major conflict today, for example if China invaded Taiwan? “What would happen if something blew up in Indo-Pacom? Not five years from now, not 10 years from now, what if it happened next week?” Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, said, referring to the military’s Indo-Pacific Command. He spoke at a defense acquisitions conference this month at George Mason University in Virginia. “What do we have in any degree of quantity? That will actually be effective? Those are the questions we’re asking right this minute,” he said. The Army uses many of the same munitions that have proven most critical in Ukraine, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, Stinger missiles and 155 mm howitzer rounds, and is now reviewing its stockpile requirements, Doug Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, told reporters Monday.

Not doubt, considering the evidence before i agree

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/23/23474969/mercedes-car-subscription-faster-acceleration-feature-price Mercedes is the latest manufacturer to lock auto features behind a subscription fee, with an upcoming “Acceleration Increase” add-on that lets drivers pay to access motor performance their vehicle is already capable of. The $1,200 yearly subscription improves performance by boosting output from the motors by 20–24 percent, increasing torque, and shaving around 0.8 to 0.9 seconds off 0–60 mph acceleration when in Dynamic drive mode (via The Drive). The subscription doesn’t come with any physical hardware upgrades — instead, it simply unlocks the full capabilities of the vehicle, indicating that Mercedes intentionally limited performance to later sell as an optional extra. Acceleration Increase is only available for the Mercedes-EQ EQE and Mercedes-EQ EQS electric car models. As global sales for new cars have fallen in recent years, car manufacturers have pivoted toward selling software updates and features as subscriptions to generate a continuous revenue stream long after a car has been purchased. While this makes sense for certain software-specific offerings (such as premium navigation features or remote vehicle monitoring), Mercedes paywalling its vehicle performance is part of an emerging, more loathsome trend that sees auto brands restricting the capabilities of hardware that already comes factory-equipped with the vehicle. This comes just months after BMW sparked outrage by similarly charging an $18 monthly subscription in some countries for owners to use the heated seats already installed within its vehicles, just one of many features paywalled by the car manufacturer since 2020. BMW had previously also tried (and failed) to charge its customers $80 a month to access Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — features that other vehicle makers have included for free.

Could you expand on who the board think is right and is not?

yep, that would make sense

Based on the number of Bitcoin transactions that took place over a 12 month period, we estimate that the total energy usage to be roughly 123 Terawatt Hours (TWh) or 123 billion kWh. This means that Bitcoin alone uses more energy than 185 countries and is comparable to the annual energy consumption of Norway. https://www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/features/crypto-energy-consumption/#:~:text=Based on the number of,annual energy consumption of Norway. ..are you trying to say moneysupermarket is wrong

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/22/bitcoin-mining-giant-core-scientific-ended-october-with-32m-in-cash/

Core Scientific (CORZ), the world's largest publicly listed miner by computing power, ended October with $32.2 million in cash and 62 BTC ($975,000) and reiterated that it may run out of money before the end of the year. The company first warned of bankruptcy risk about a month ago, sending its shares plummeting about 80% on Nasdaq. The miner had 1,051 BTC and $29.5 million in cash at the end of September. Core Scientific is one of several miners struggling to keep afloat as rising energy prices increase costs, and a stubbornly low bitcoin price slashes revenue. Compute North filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late September, and Iris Energy has received a notice of default on its loans. Argo Blockchain (ARBK) and Greenidge Generation (GREE) have also said they are strapped for cash. "We anticipate that existing cash resources will be depleted by the end of 2022 or sooner," Core Scientific said in its third-quarter earnings report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. "Depending on our assumptions regarding the timing and ability to achieve more normalized levels of operating revenue, the estimates of amounts of required liquidity vary significantly. Similarly, it is very difficult to predict when or if bitcoin prices will recover or energy costs will abate." The mining firm is in talks with creditors to restructure its debt and raise capital. One lender, BlockFi, has been caught in the crossfire of crypto exchange FTX's collapse. The exchange had promised to bail out BlockFi with a $400 million credit facility, and that's now not likely to materialize. Core Scientific had about $54 million outstanding to BlockFi as of Sept. 30. Core Scientific has been affected by the bankruptcy of lender Celsius's mining arm, one of its biggest clients. Celsius Mining filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, and in September sued Core Scientific claiming that it violated automatic stay terms. Core Scientific claims Celsius owes it $5.2 million as of Sept. 30.

Core Scientific (CORZ), the world's largest publicly listed miner by computing power, ended October with $32.2 million in cash and 62 BTC ($975,000) and reiterated that it may run out of money before the end of the year. The company first warned of bankruptcy risk about a month ago, sending its shares plummeting about 80% on Nasdaq. The miner had 1,051 BTC and $29.5 million in cash at the end of September. Core Scientific is one of several miners struggling to keep afloat as rising energy prices increase costs, and a stubbornly low bitcoin price slashes revenue. Compute North filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late September, and Iris Energy has received a notice of default on its loans. Argo Blockchain (ARBK) and Greenidge Generation (GREE) have also said they are strapped for cash.

A lot of houses and flats coming on to the market, being reduced by £5k or £10k so going down but not by much

Because we have lost the Russian oligarchs money

I went to John Lewis on the weekend Fish and Chips and a beer nearly £18

I think it takes time for new normal's to sink in, after about 18 months people will start to accept this, people will wonder how prices went so crazy, and start predicting a new mentality that prices can go down for a long time, and this will be self fulfilling

No, the correction will take about 24 months

I wonder what percentage of behaviour is due to this?

On November 18, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers are heavily utilized on the battlefield, but Ukrainian troops are struggling to maintain and repair the weapons due to a lack of spare components. The report said that the 14 PzH 2000 systems that Germany transferred to Ukraine are experiencing “unexpected problems,” as procurement errors resulted in a shortage of spare parts, endangering the combat effectiveness of the weapons. The German Defense Ministry is thought to have neglected to order enough spare parts to keep the howitzers serviced and properly maintained on time. According to Spiegel, most howitzers now need repairs due to their frequent use. Ukrainian artillery crews fire up to 300 shells per day from each cannon, which results in substantial damage to the weapon system. The lack of spare parts is not unexpected. The report noted that Bundeswehr’s procurement division has frequently advised the German Defense Ministry to order substantial shipments of howitzer and MARS II rocket artillery system parts because it takes time to deliver them

What do you think?

I would agree that most of the associate members of Chatham House are stupid as dipshit, but Timothy Ash seems very inteligent, I would agree with his assesment on the rise of the US and I also agree with you the US has sabotoged the EU, the US elite is a lot more intelligent than other elites.