Is Europe becoming uninvestable?

[John Hjorth]

42 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

Yes, the problem with wind is, if there is no wind in Germany, there is likely no wind in France, Benelux, Denmark and Poland as well because the weather is correlated . So you quickly run into the issue where the connected power network that balances supply and demand pushes up price elsewhere.

 

One thing is sure, more wind and solar can’t be the solution. Germany needs steady baseload and peaker plants (which would be expensive NG)

 

Yes, @Spekulatius,

 

But it is also about storage of energy [, or should I write 'lack of storage', and how that will evolve over time in future], which complicates things further. In fact, it's damn complicated, there are so many moving parts.

 

Interesting discussion with all involved here, btw., I appreciate it, thank you.

[Dalal.Holdings]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/world/europe/finland-estonia-cables-russia.html

 

Quote

The Finnish authorities seized an oil tanker on Thursday on the suspicion that it was involved in cutting vital undersea cables and said the ship might have been part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” aimed at evading Western sanctions.

 

 

It's great to finally see a European nation standing up for itself. I hope this is the start of a new trend. But then again, the Finns generally go pretty hard for Euro standards

 

Edited December 27, 2024 by Dalal.Holdings

[bizaro86]

7 hours ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/world/europe/finland-estonia-cables-russia.html

 

 

 

It's great to finally see a European nation standing up for itself. I hope this is the start of a new trend. But then again, the Finns generally go pretty hard for Euro standards

 

They're right next to Russia. That'll make you harder.

[Dalal.Holdings]

They should seize these ships/cargo until they have compensation for damaged underwater infrastructure.

 

If this happens to U.S. undersea assets, these ships will meet the U.S. Navy and it won’t end well for whichever states are involved.

[Spekulatius]

The next logical step would be article 4 (consultation) invoked by Finland and Estonia . The tanker in question appears to be a shadow fleet tanker from the fleet moving Russian oil. I cant think (sink) of a better opportunity to whack two birds with one stone and shut down this fleet and also secure the Baltic Sea.

Edited December 27, 2024 by Spekulatius

[Dalal.Holdings]

7 hours ago, bizaro86 said:

 

They're right next to Russia. That'll make you harder.

 

It’s amazing that Putin went into Ukraine “because he didn’t want NATO on Russia’s border” and as a result he got exactly that and a stone’s throw from St. Petersburg.

[SharperDingaan]

3 hours ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

They should seize these ships/cargo until they have compensation for damaged underwater infrastructure.

 

They have a habit of getting 'pirated' on the high seas, their cargo shifted via by ship-to-ship transfer, and scuttled. These are smaller ships, the west can refine Russian crude as well, and when the price is right  A VLCC at 2M bbl/load is the modern day equivalent of a fully laden Spanish Galleon returning to Spain from the Americas 

 

You can produce all you want; but if your pipes keep 'breaking', and your transport keeps getting nicked, your production is mostly staying in the ground. You take my infrastructure, I take yours ... an eye for an eye.

 

SD 

[John Hjorth]

Then  there is also the question, why someting may have become uninvestable, perhaps because of stupid local regulations - the US PFIC thingy makes absolutely no sense to me [I'm likely never going to understand it] - and in the meantime I enjoy the tax advanges by three Swedish investment holding companies : Investor AB, L. E. Lundbergföretagen AB, and Industrivärden AB .

 

 

 

[Dalal.Holdings]

 

Congratulations. High fives all around

 

[Dalal.Holdings]

 

It's really amazing that someone who talks a lot of sense is instantly labeled as "far-right" by the established media across the globe. None of her policies would be deemed extreme 20 years ago...they would have been considered center-right at most. 

[John Hjorth]

I have to say that KAL nailed it with his last cartoon December 19^th - It really cracked me up  :

 

[formthirteen]

The 50-year plan is going according to plan in China the EU:

 

Biggest experiment in virtue signaling ever?

[Baklava]

@Dalal.Holdings Do you actually believe the AfD is not a far right party? 

[Dalal.Holdings]

2 hours ago, Baklava said:

@Dalal.Holdings Do you actually believe the AfD is not a far right party? 

My understanding of her policies is what she stated in that video, she’s worked for Goldman Sachs, speaks Mandarin, and is in a civil union with a woman from Sri Lanka w 2 adopted kids.
 

Please teach me: what makes her “far right”???

[Luke]

2 hours ago, Baklava said:

@Dalal.Holdings Do you actually believe the AfD is not a far right party? 

Alice is not but the problem lies in the lower ranks of the party where legitimate racists are in. But i have to say the media is ultra biased against the AFD which is one reason why they have 20% of votes. I agree with a lot of their policies but dislike the rough tone against non-germans. I also dislike their weak social policies and think regulation is more important than the very liberal agenda they have. I dont think the AFD is unvotable but its problematic in some areas. But so is IMO CDU, Greens, SPD whatever. You have to chose between the lesser evil

[John Hjorth]

9 hours ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

 

It's really amazing that someone who talks a lot of sense is instantly labeled as "far-right" by the established media across the globe. None of her policies would be deemed extreme 20 years ago...they would have been considered center-right at most. 

 

It's actually an amazing interview with Alice Weidel. She is so clear cut, outspoken, honest and direct. That's not well seen and well received in politics [, which is 'bla, bla, bla - wool in mouth, say nothing].

 

In AfD the A is an abbreviation af 'Alternative', so it represents an opposition to the exististing 'old' German polical establishment. A political trend also seen other places in Europe, among them here in Denmark. Personally I won't consider her point of views and stances far right after Danish yardstick.

Edited December 31, 2024 by John Hjorth

[Baklava]

39 minutes ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

My understanding of her policies is what she stated in that video, she’s worked for Goldman Sachs, speaks Mandarin, and is in a civil union with a woman from Sri Lanka w 2 adopted kids.
 

Please teach me: what makes her “far right”???

Are you just quoting Elon Musk while referring to all the positives on Alice Weidel? He said the exact same things about her. Alice Weidel is just a poster child of the AfD.
If you want to learn more about the AfD, start researching more about Björn Höcke, die Junge Alternative etc.   

 
 

[Baklava]

45 minutes ago, Luke said:

Alice is not but the problem lies in the lower ranks of the party where legitimate racists are in. But i have to say the media is ultra biased against the AFD which is one reason why they have 20% of votes. I agree with a lot of their policies but dislike the rough tone against non-germans. I also dislike their weak social policies and think regulation is more important than the very liberal agenda they have. I dont think the AFD is unvotable but its problematic in some areas. But so is IMO CDU, Greens, SPD whatever. You have to chose between the lesser evil

 

It is not just the lower ranks where racism persists in this party. Who of the moderates in the AfD are left? Alice seems to be the only one and makes a great poster child for them. The majority of the policies in their electoral programme is also what the Christian Democrats used to stand for. Just the fact that this party's stronghold lying in the East of Germany and having taken the place of former right wing parties, which have all miraculously disappeared, is already a strong indication where this party's roots lie. Everyone with a 2nd or 3rd generation migration background in Germany understands this. 

Edited December 31, 2024 by Baklava

[Dalal.Holdings]

20 minutes ago, Baklava said:

Are you just quoting Elon Musk while referring to all the positives on Alice Weidel? He said the exact same things about her. Alice Weidel is just a poster child of the AfD.
If you want to learn more about the AfD, start researching more about Björn Höcke, die Junge Alternative etc.   

 
 

 

Please list the policies in English that the party embraces today that you consider “far right”.

 

As far as virulent racists, the Republican party in the U.S. has some of that too. That doesn’t mean you dismiss the entire party as racist, Nazi etc. Same with Democrats who have radical communists in their ranks.

[Dalal.Holdings]

The problem is that I think that what people are calling “far-right” in German politics seems to me to be the following:

 

— Restarting nuclear power plants

— Using some fossil fuels for power

— Having borders where refugees/etc are not automatically accepted into the country

— Challenging the authority of the European Commission, with a bias towards sovereign states (whose leaders are actually democratically chosen)

— Taking a stand for your own nation’s industrial/economic base

— Not endlessly supporting Ukraine

 

These things above I think are sensible and not at all “far-right”.

 

Edited December 31, 2024 by Dalal.Holdings

[Luke]

31 minutes ago, Baklava said:

 

It is not just the lower ranks where racism persists in this party. Who of the moderates in the AfD are left? Alice seems to be the only one and makes a great poster child for them. The majority of the policies in their electoral programme is also what the Christian Democrats used to stand for. Just the fact that this party's stronghold lying in the East of Germany and having taken the place of former right wing parties, which have all miraculously disappeared, is already a strong indication where this party's roots lie. Everyone with a 2nd or 3rd generation migration background in Germany understands this. 

You have a lot of good politicians in the AFD on the federal level. Weidel, Chrupalla, Brandner, Curio, Baumann, Gauland etc. One might not agree with their policies but those types are just very conservative, well educated politicians. Those are also the "moderates" that are left. I think its not that black and white that when "moderates" leave its because of the extemists/racists. Meuthen for example just lost his backing and then IMO used the "extremism" card to safe face. Still, i agree that there are racists wings in the AFD that are large and thats problematic to me too. PS: Not a AFD voter!

[Luke]

16 minutes ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

The problem is that I think that what people are calling “far-right” in German politics seems to me to be the following:

 

— Restarting nuclear power plants

— Using some fossil fuels for power

— Having borders where refugees/etc are not automatically accepted into the country

— Challenging the authority of the European Commission, with a bias towards sovereign states (whose leaders are actually democratically chosen)

— Taking a stand for your own nation’s industrial/economic base

— Not endlessly supporting Ukraine

 

These things above I think are sensible and not at all “far-right”.

 

Yeah, i agree. But @Baklava points out rightfully so that there are real extremists that are not the front face of the party. And those are problematic and deserve plenty criticism.

[Dalal.Holdings]

 

42 minutes ago, Luke said:

Yeah, i agree. But @Baklava points out rightfully so that there are real extremists that are not the front face of the party. And those are problematic and deserve plenty criticism.

 

There are real extremists in both the Republican and Democratic parties in the U.S. It doesn't mean either party should be labeled far-right or far-left. Nor should the past really matter.

 

What should matter is what is the party's platform today. There are certainly times when the part moves too far to the left or right (as many would say U.S. democrats have) and they get punished accordingly.

[Baklava]

20 minutes ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

 

 

 

There are real extremists in both the Republican and Democratic parties in the U.S. It doesn't mean either party should be labeled far-right or far-left. Nor should the past really matter.

 

What should matter is what is the party's platform today. There are certainly times when the part moves too far to the left or right (as many would say U.S. democrats have) and they get punished accordingly.

The difference with the US is that you only have two parties and of course the whole spectrum of either side will be reflected in both parties. But in Germany we have multiple parties. Two on the conservative end (CDU and AfD), One in the middle (FDP) and three more socially/leftist oriented (SPD, Grüne, Linke and BSW). Basically, every party has its audience it is catering to. And with the AfD it is no secret that a good chunk of their voters are simply right wing voters that used to vote for parties such as NPD, which simply vanished from the landscape.   

[Baklava]

1 hour ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

The problem is that I think that what people are calling “far-right” in German politics seems to me to be the following:

 

— Restarting nuclear power plants

— Using some fossil fuels for power

— Having borders where refugees/etc are not automatically accepted into the country

— Challenging the authority of the European Commission, with a bias towards sovereign states (whose leaders are actually democratically chosen)

— Taking a stand for your own nation’s industrial/economic base

— Not endlessly supporting Ukraine

 

These things above I think are sensible and not at all “far-right”.

 

 

No, I wouldn't call these far-right policies. The majority of your points are simply conservative policies which should be covered by the Christian Democrats (CDU) and also were before Angela Merkel sleepwalked us out of nuclear energy and welcomed 1m Syrian refugees into the country.