Europe has lost the global scramble for reliable energy supplies and faces a long-term squeeze as Siberian gas is diverted to the fast-growing markets of Asia, Russia's gas chief has warned in scathing comments aimed at EU political leaders.
Alexey Miller, chairman of the state giant Gazprom, said Russia's $400bn deal this week to supply gas to China for 30 years is a black moment for Europe and will change the geo-strategic balance in the world. "The global competition for Russian gas resources started yesterday. Let there be no mistake about that. We have untapped the Asian market and this is going to have an impact on European gas prices," he said.
Mr Miller said the 38bn cubic metres (BCM) contract from 2018 is larger than the entire volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) sold in the world. "You don't find that sort of contract on the side of the road in Europe," he told the St Petersburg Economic Forum.
Relishing his theme, he said China's gas demand is growing exponentially and would surge past Europe's total consumption to reach 400 BCM in "the very near future" as the Politburo tries to wean its polluted mega-cities off coal-powered plants. A large proportion of this will come from the vast Siberian fields, crowding out supplies for buyers in Europe deemed "less reliable".
Describing Europe's energy shortage as "scary", he ridiculed the EU's push for wind and solar power as a shambles, and said its LNG venture had gone nowhere with capacity use collapsing to 22pc. “ Europe has lost the competition global for LNG, and in a single day it has just lost the competition for the world's pipeline gas as well," he said.
The comments reflect the fury in Russia over a string of hostile measures by Brussels following the Ukraine crisis, including a de facto freeze on the South Stream gas pipeline through the Black Sea and plans being developed by a team at the European Commission to slash reliance on Russian gas as quickly as possible.
The China prize has given Russia a dramatic means of fighting back, though it is far from clear what the Memorandum of Understanding between the two sides actually means. Most analysts say it is highly unlikely that China would wish to become too dependent on Russian supplies after witnessing the skirmishes in Europe.
The reason why Europe's imports of LNG have fallen so low is because Japanese demand since the Fukushima nuclear disaster has pushed up the price. Germany, Spain and the UK have been turning to coal instead to produce electricity.
Mr Miller's words were echoed by the Russian energy minister, Alexander Novak, who predicted that China would need to import a further 110 to 130 BCM from Siberia beyond the original deal, a four-fold increase.
Mr Novak was slightly more cautious, saying that China's total gas use would double over the next decade to 300 BCM and then flatten at European levels. By then India would be entering the fray as the next big market.
Michael Stoppard, chief gas strategist for IHS Energy, said the volumes may be huge but the price is being held down by "brutal competition" from coal. Gas currently trades at a price equivalent to $30 a barrel in the US and $60 in Europe, far below the spot price for oil.
It is no longer a remote prospect that the "sleeping giant" of Iran could burst on the global scene with colossal levels of supply as sanctions are lifted. Gas may rise from 21pc to 25pc of global energy use by 2030, he said, but that does not mean that Russian gas producers will automatically make much money from it.
Wake up!
ReplyDeleteThis Russian gas deal should end the Neocon crusade against Iran. Here is why:
ReplyDeleteThe Russian-Ukrainian crisis is gaining a long-term character, posing new questions to the international community and making the old ones sharper. One of them is gas supplies to Europe. Gunther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy, explained the position of the Old World on the matter. “In September a session of the member states of the EU will be held, and we will develop suggestions on changes in our energy policy in future decades. We are counting on an increased number of providers,” he said. According to him, the EU is interested in cooperation with Russia, but it will strive to import energy resources from different countries. The reason is the growth of tension between the EU and Moscow over Ukraine. “We wish Russia remained our partner. However, there are Norway, Algeria, the South Corridor Project which will enable us to import gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey, Greece to Albania, Italy, Bulgaria, and European markets in five years. Moreover, we plan to boost imports of liquefied gas from Qatar,” Gunther Oettinger said.
Several players are interested in changes in the energy supply of Europe. One of them is Iran. Considering the sanctions against it, it is uninvolved in global projects. The country has the second highest volume of natural gas in the world, and it is ready to launch exports immediately. The only obstacle is the sanctions. All comments by Iranian officials contain only the idea of canceling sanctions and we will fill your pipelines with gas.
{...}
ReplyDelete{..}
However, Gunther Oettinger didn’t mention Iran in his speech. Probably he not only didn’t want to touch on the acute Iranian problem, but also considers gas imports from the country a problem, as there is no demanded pipeline infrastructure with significant capacity. However, Tehran doesn’t think it is a problem. Iran's deputy Minister of Oil for international and trade affairs, Ali Majedi, thinks that the country is able to export gas to Europe through a pipeline in Turkey. The volume of exports could be 50 million cubic meters daily. Speaking about gas exports, Ali Majedi suggested several promising projects of pipelines: through Armenia, Georgia, and along the bottom of the Black Sea; and the second project is Iraq-Syria-Lebanon. There is demand for Iranian gas in other directions as well – Pakistan, Oman, and Iraq. The main problem of Iran is not only sanctions, but gas production, i.e. out-of-date technologies and equipment. Tehran needs about $300 billion of investments to modernize its infrastructure. Iran has no such an amount of money.
Vladimir Yevseyev, the head of the Caucasus Department in the CIS Countries Institute, told Vestnik Kavkaza that the Iranian suggestion about gas supplies to Europe is simple: cancel sanctions, build a pipeline, and we will agree with Russia on gas exports to Europe. But this is unrealistic. “Today Iran cannot export natural gas to Europe. All the sanctions cannot be cancelled; while Europe won’t invest in Iranian gas production and infrastructure. Moreover, Tehran makes it clear that without Russian approval it won’t take steps in the sphere. So construction of an Iranian pipeline to Europe is not acute today.”
According to the expert, it is more important for Tehran to construct a gas pipeline in Pakistan; the project was scrapped by Islamabad under Washington’s pressure. Iran is waiting for December 1st, when Pakistan will begin to pay the punitive sanctions required by the signed contract. Yevseyev thinks that the Iraqi and Syrian directions are only theoretical. “In fact there is only one export pipeline – to Turkey. However, there are problems as well,” the expert said. The current capacity of the pipeline is 30 billion cubic meters annually.
Yevseyev believes that Iran shouldn’t hope for cancellation of sanctions. First of all, if it happens, the USA will lose influence over Iran; so all sanctions cannot be eliminated. Secondly, they won’t be cancelled due to the firm position of Saudi Arabia and Israel. Washington doesn’t let Iran build a pipeline to Pakistan. What can be said about Europe?
Therefore, Iran wouldn’t take a constructive position in the talks on the nuclear matters; the next round will take place on July 20th. Russia remains a reliable partner of Iran in the context. Probably Iran will express interest toward the Eurasian Economic Union. According to Yevseyev, “Moscow offers certain projects; and if it weren’t for a part of the Iranian elite which looks to the West, Russian-Iranian relations would develop more rapidly.”
(Source: Vestnik Kavkaza)
The only party served by continued Iranian sanctions are the right wing crusaders and religious fanatics in Israel and the Israeli Firsters in the US Congress and the Israeli Lobby. The sanctions do not serve the interests of Europe or the vast majority of ordinary US citizens.
ReplyDeleteIt goes back to the A supply-side nightmare scenario - BY Daniel Alpert
ReplyDeleteThe "West" won the "Cold War" and all those millions / billions of people entered the marketplace.
The "West" was not prepared for victory. Indeed had never even contemplated what 'victory' would entail.
Reagan's "Plan", that we win, they lose, has been turned on it head.
The US is even now militarizing its cartel allies in Mexico and the local police within the United States.
The iconic patrol car used in 'Adam-12' has been transformed into an armored personnel carrier.
Policemen now wear Ghillie Suits and carry assault rifles.
OOrah!
Our friends at Forbes ell us ...
ReplyDeleteMexico Reverses History And Allows Private Capital Into Lucrative Oil Industry
While a low level insurgency / Civil War rages, there.
With the US providing support to all sides of the conflict, promoting anarchy and civil discord, south of the border.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX), Brazil’s Petrobras, Spain’s Repsol and U.K.’s Petrofac, among others, have shown strong interest on returning to Mexico. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú is expected to take advantage of the oil opening since he is already involved in the energy sector with presence not only in Mexico but also in Colombia, Argentina and the U.S.
DeleteUnder the bill, the world’s tenth largest oil producer will permit profit-sharing contracts, production-sharing contracts and licenses (a euphemism for concessions). In profit-sharing contracts, oil firms will be paid in cash; in production-sharing contracts, oil barrels will be divided in a percentage yet-to-be determined between the government and the companies; and in the case of the licenses, major oil companies will take control of oil at the well head, paying royalties and taxes to a newly-created oil holding trust to be run by Mexico’s Central Bank.
Although concessions will continue to be formally forbidden, a last minute move by the sponsors of the bill added the words “among others” after a description of the types of contracts allowed, leaving the door open for offering concessions. The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Wood said that the concept of the “’license’ will operate in a very similar way to a concession.”
Carlos Slim, also a major stake holder in the NY Times.
DeleteWith 20 yr. PPA (power purchase agreements) for Solar running $0.05 per kilowatt/hr, and half that much for wind,
ReplyDeletenat. gas is sooo last century.
To my way of thinking, the Sun is waaaay more reliable than Vladimir Putin.
DeleteA fusion reactor, ready and waiting to be utilized.
DeleteBut it does not "play" into the plans. Too decentralized, not easily controlled or regulated...
The life span of the panels, too long.
Just to complicated for US.
The Germans saw it coming. When your Teutonic brothers, living on approx. the same latitude as Montreal, decide to invest huge subsidies in Solar, it's time to take a look.
DeleteAnd, when the greatest engineers in the world decide that nuclear is just too damned dangerous to operate, it's also time to pay attention.
DeleteRufus, other than your time in the military, have you ever been out of the State of Mississippi? Out of your own county?
DeleteThe greatest climate engineers in the world say all we have to do is wait and things will warm up.
DeleteWhy worry?
All Europe has to do is build a bunch of nuclear reactors.
ReplyDeleteYour ignorance of reality is legend ...
DeleteYou ignore reality, the track record of over thirty years
1979 Energy secretary David Howell announces 10 new pressurised water reactors (PWR) to be built, calling nuclear power "a cheaper form of electricity generation than any known to man".
1983 Planning inquiry for the first PWR at Sizewell in Suffolk starts, lasting two years.
Government forced to abandon dumping of low and intermediate-level nuclear waste in the Atlantic following pressure from environmental groups.
1986 The world's worst nuclear accident occurs at Chernobyl in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.
1987 Plans for Sizewell B approved.
1988 Construction begins on Sizewell B, the first of a family of four PWRs that are planned but later abandoned.
The government decides to privatise electricity production and a "nuclear tax" is proposed.
1989 Magnox reactors are withdrawn from electricity privatisation. The city refuses to buy the older stations because of decommissioning costs and the taxpayer is left with the bill.
AGRs and Sizewell B are withdrawn from privatisation because city investors discover that the cost of generating nuclear power is far greater than that of coal.
1990 Nuclear levy is introduced to cover the difference between the cost of generating nuclear energy and coal, adding 11% to electricity bills.
The cost of building Sizewell B increases from £1.69bn to £2.03bn.
1991 Government announces plans for a nuclear waste repository costing between £2.5bn and £3.5bn that would be completed by 2005.
1992 International Atomic Agency says the building up of vast stocks of plutonium at reprocessing plants poses "a major political and security risk".
1993 It is revealed that the 11% nuclear levy on electricity bills has not been put aside for dealing with decommissioning costs and waste, but spent on building Sizewell B. Economists estimate that the projected income from the levy between 1990-98 will represent a £9.1bn subsidy for the nuclear industry.
1994 Government announces nuclear reviews, one into whether new nuclear stations can be built and the seond into whether the industry can be privatised.
1995 Government decides to make a second attempt to privatise AGRs and the still-to-be-completed Sizewell B.
1996 Sell-off of the newer nuclear stations goes ahead. Despite calls for its cancellation because of delays and cost overruns, Sizewell B opens.
1997 Two nuclear waste stores are to be built at Sellafield, to take intermediate-level waste for the next 50 years. Another 10 are planned for the future.
...
Delete1998 Deputy prime minister John Prescott signs agreement to progressively reduce concentrations of radioactive substances in the marine environment as a result of emissions from Sellafield.
2000 In February, the British Nuclear Fuels chief executive, John Taylor, resigns over a scandal relating to faked safety records at the Sellafield plant in Cumbria.
2002 Bradwell power station is shut down after 40 years of operation.
2003 The government's 2003 energy white paper highlights the lack of planned new nuclear plants to replace decommissioned ones, but rejects the technology, saying "its current economics make it an unattractive option for new, carbon-free generating capacity".
September 2004 The European commission launches legal action against the government over "unacceptable" failings in dealing with nuclear waste at Sellafield.
May 2005 A leak of highly radioactive nuclear fuel forces the closure of Sellafield's Thorp reprocessing plant.
October 2005 The government's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, voices his support for a nuclear power revival, saying there are economic as well as environmental reasons for a new generation of reactors.
November 2005 The then prime minister, Tony Blair, commissions a second white paper on energy policy and confirms that a new generation of nuclear power station's is to be considered. He says nuclear power is once again a serious option because "the facts have changed over the last couple of years".
March 2006 The Sustainable Development Commission warns Tony Blair that there is "no justification" for a new nuclear programme.
April 2006 The government's environment audit committee warns that a new generation of nuclear power stations would not be able to avert a serious energy crisis. The government has become "too focused" on nuclear energy, it says.
May 2006 Tony Blair endorses a new generation of nuclear power stations in a speech to business leaders. He says the issue of a new generation of stations is back on the agenda "with avengeance". He is backed up again by King.
July 2006 The new white paper confirms that nuclear power is back on the agenda. It says a mix of energy supplies is essential and that new nuclear power stations could make a significant contribution. The review says it will be up to the private sector to cover the costs of investment, decommissioning and storage of nuclear waste.
Major power generators such as E.ON and EDF welcome what they call an "important milestone".
October 2006 Greenpeace launched a court action claiming that the government's consultation was "legally flawed".
February 2007 Greenpeace wins its case and governmen launches a new consultation, which includes plans to treble the amount of electricity from renewable sources and signals a return to the government's nuclear agenda.
A Guardian/ICM poll shows opponents of nuclear energy narrowly outnumber supporters, by 49% to 44%.
November 2007 New prime minister, Gordon Brown, calls for an acceleration of nuclear power in a speech to business leaders.
January 2008 The government announces its nuclear plans. It backs a new generation of nuclear power stations.
...
Rufus must be posting as Anon here.
DeleteMarch 2008 Britain and France announce a deal to construct a new generation of nuclear power stations and to export the technology around the world. The deal will allow Britain to take advantage of French expertise in building new reactors.
DeleteMay 2008 Half a million people in the UK hit by power cuts as seven power stations, including Sizewell B, unexpectedly stop working.
June 2008 Government inspectors warn that plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations may be delayed because of a shortage of skilled engineers.
July 2008 In a speech to EU states, Gordon Brown calls for eight new nuclear plants to be built in as part of a 'nuclear renaissance' in the UK.
September 2008 Business secretary John Hutton calls for a 'renaissance in nuclear power' in a speech to parliament.
French energy giant EDF finalises a £12.4bn deal to buy British Energy, which runs eight nuclear sites with land on which new reactors could be built.
January 2009 Gordon Brown backs plans for a new nuclear power station at Sellafield, after the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority agrees to provide land for the building of two new stations adjacent to the old site.
February 2009 Magnox Electric Ltd, the operator of the Bradwell-on-Sea nuclear plant, is found guilty of allowing a radioactive leak to continue at the site for 14 years between 1990 and 2004.
April 2009 The government publishes a list of potential sites for a new generation of nuclear plants.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority raises almost £400m after a seven-week online auction between energy companies wanting to buy three sites for new plants.
May 2009 Centrica, which owns British Gas, announces a deal with EDF that will involve it in building new nuclear power stations in the UK.
June 2009 A secret report by the government's chief nuclear inspector, Mike Weightman, shows more than 1,750 leaks, breakdowns or other "events" at UK nuclear plants over the past seven years.
July 2009 Rolls-Royce announces it will open a new factory in the UK to build and test parts for new nuclear power stations.
September 2009 State-owned Russian group Atomenergoprom unveils ambitions to break into the British nuclear market, raising fears about the Kremlin's use of energy as a political weapon.
UKAEA, the body responsible for decommissioning and cleaning up Britain's fleet of nuclear power stations, has been bought by Babcock International Group for £50m.
October 2009 The Guardian learns of secret government plans to tax electricity consumers to subsidise the construction of the UK's new nuclear reactors, contradicting repeated promises by ministers that the nuclear industry would no longer benefit from public subsidies.
November 2009 The Health and Safety Executive says French and American designs for new nuclear reactors are significantly flawed.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband outlines government plans for a new fleet of nuclear power stations at 10 proposed sites. An 11th site at Dungeness was turned down because of the "adverse effect" it could have on the local ecosystem.
December 2009 The operator of Sellafield, Britain's biggest nuclear complex, is fined £75,000 following safety lapses which led to the radioactive contamination of staff in July 2007.
March 2010 The government announces a £170m funding package for the British nuclear manufacturer Sheffield Forgemasters, who will build a 15,000-tonne press to make large forgings used in modern reactors.
May 2010 The Liberal Democrats abandon opposition to the development of new nuclear plants, with new energy secretary Chris Huhne saying a construction programme would be acceptable "without new public subsidy".
The Health and Safety Executive is cracking down on Sellafield's operators, Nuclear Management Partners, after a series of radioactive leaks and safety blunders.
June 2010 Huhne reveals Britain is facing a £4bn black hole in unavoidable nuclear decommissioning and waste costs.
DeleteThe government cancels a proposed loan of £80m to Sheffield Forgemasters approved by the previous government.
August 2010 The Health and Safety Executive says the schedule for the UK's nuclear reactor building programme has slipped behind, as the two proposed designs await approval.
October 2010 The government gives the green light to eight new nuclear reactors.
(Construction not yet begun)
A report prepared for the government by the British Geological Survey identifies the Lake District as the area of Cumbria most geologically suitable for nuclear waste disposal.
January 2011 Huhne announces plans to raise the amount nuclear operators will have to pay towards the cost of any accident in the UK to £1bn.
March 2011 In an Observer interview, Huhne says Britain may back away from the use of nuclear energy because of safety fears and a potential rise in costs after the Fukushima disaster.
Sir David King, the former government chief scientist, says the UK's nuclear industry is in no shape to cope with a large-scale reactor building programme and must be overhauled if the coalition wants to push ahead with its nuclear expansion plans.
April 2011 Government plans to build a new programme of nuclear power stations in England will be delayed by at least three months while a report into what the UK can learn from Fukushima is published.
May 2011 The UK government's advisory committee COMARE clears nuclear power plants of causing childhood cancers.
A report by the energy and climate change select committee criticises the government for planning to award covert subsidies to nuclear power, betraying the coalition promise that the taxpayer would not foot the bill for a new generation of reactors.
In an interim report following Fukushima, Mike Weightman, the nuclear chief inspector, says the UK is not at risk of similar disaster, and there is no need to alter plans for new nuclear plants.
The government approves a controversial scheme to dump 250,000 tonnes a year of nuclear waste at King's Cliffe, a traditional landfill site near Peterborough.
June 2011 Huhne confirms the list of eight new sites for the next generation of nuclear power stations.
The government publishes a consultation on how to select potential storage sites for nuclear waste.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jan/10/nuclearpower.energy
Bob, he never lets mere facts deter him.
Spain's giving up on solar, and France still exports nuclear produced energy to Germany. Rufus still drinks Budweiser for his power.
ReplyDeleteAll the same as last year.
And, Germany Exports Solar Energy to France during peak hours. You're a total fucking moron.
DeleteYou throw articles aimed at the lowest of the low-information at some of the highest-information readers in the world. Idiot.
You are a total fucking moron idiot fool and nitwit. The Budweiser rewired your circuitry long long ago.
DeleteSo there.
"highest information readers in the world"
DeleteHere?
You got to be joking.
bwabwabwahahahahaha
Just like you saved uncounted lives by selling life insurance.
DeleteUKIP SURGES IN BRITAIN
ReplyDeleteRight-Wing Populist Party Makes Sweeping Gains in Local Elections
Labour Badly Bruised by UKIP
Ukip's Success Is No False Dawn – It's Time to Stop Sneering
Real Clear Politics
About time.
The Dutch have a very nice electric rail system (and, for the numbnuts that asked if I had ever been outside of my county - Yes, I have ridden on it.) They are trying to be 100% Renewable by 2018.
ReplyDelete100% Renewable Trains
A dumbfuck that posts shit from the Am Stupid, and then asked others if they've ever been outside their county. I guess the great thing about being a moron is that you don't know that you're a moron.
ReplyDeleteThe fellow that thought going to Hawaii was foreign traveling ...
DeleteBecause it was the furthest he'd ever been from home.
The same fellow that denies San Diego, San Francisco or Los Angeles, let alone Santa Fe were ever Mexican settlements.
The same one that says the United States is not a continental empire.
And readily admits he is not a high information reader.
Bob, the reader that never had an opinion swayed by a fact.
I am among the highest intellects in the world and one of the best informed on all things and I read The Elephant Bar for those magical moments when Rufus solicits sex.
ReplyDeleteI too am of the higher IQ set and I read The Elephant Bar simply for the relaxation the stupidity brings to me. Being really smart is harder than you might think and I need a break once in a while.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your positive input into my life.
, , , , ,
ReplyDeleteAneiro notes that in Barclays’s view, the US electric sector has not yet priced in the challenges posed by the emerging solar market, resulting in a downgrade to “underweight.”
Here’s part of the Barclays reasoning cited by Aneiro:
Over the next few years…we believe that a confluence of declining cost trends in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and residential-scale power storage is likely to disrupt the status quo.
…We believe that solar + storage could reconfigure the organization and regulation of the electric power business over the coming decade.
So, the kernel of the disruption is not solar energy alone. It’s the killer combination of distributed solar energy with advanced storage solutions.
To pile on, let’s also add the emergence of multiple clean energy options for a single site (say, for example, biogas + solar + fuel cells), new energy efficiency technologies, “smart” microgrids, advanced energy management systems, and mobile energy storage units (aka EV batteries) that enable individual owners to stock up on additional supplies of stored electricity while they’re at work or elsewhere.
Put it all together and you have a rapidly growing number of electricity consumers, large and small, who can get off grid clean energy service 24/7, rain or shine, just like a full scale utility, but without the burden of freighting the bill for peaking plants and long transmission lines.
As for cost competitiveness with grid electricity, that could happen sooner than you think. By Barclays’s analysis, Hawaii is already a competitive market in the residential solar + storage sector. California could be next, by 2017 (possibly with a little help from Ford, speaking of the BEV/solar market).
Barclays also sees New York and Arizona turning over in 2018, with a number of other states following close on their heels.
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/24/electric-utility-industry-gets-stinkeye-from-barclays/#JTJAeYagx42uSZdc.99
DeleteUS Military And Clean Energy
The anti-clean tech rhetoric from the Republican side of the aisle has toned down recently (remember the light bulb wars?), but early on in President Obama’s first term, when the mudslinging was much more intense, the US military was already stepping up to use its facilities for clean energy generation and storage.
Some recent examples now include a massive $1 billion distributed rooftop solar program for military housing and the Army’s Energy Initiatives Task Force for streamlining utility-scale renewable energy projects.
Military facilities have also been pushing the renewable energy storage angle, including solar energy storage and electric vehicle-to-grid systems incorporating solar power.
As for that aforementioned Navy research project, that’s a new clean tech partnership with Purdue University aimed at ensuring that half of the total energy requirement of the Navy and Marine Corps comes from alternative sources by 2020.
All this activity is by way of transitioning our national defense out of a potentially crippling dependency on petroleum, so before we sign off for the Memorial Day weekend here’s a tip: keep your eyes peeled for a new documentary on the consequences of petroleum dependency called The Burden.
We first heard about The Burden, which is under the umbrella of The Truman Project and Operation Free, during the 2012 election cycle. Back then there was an awful lot of whining from the Republican side of the aisle about the role of the federal government in picking “energy winners and losers,” which missed the obvious point that one key factor in national defense is exactly that: picking out the energy winners and discarding the losers.
The Burden has just achieved . . . . . . .
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/24/electric-utility-industry-gets-stinkeye-from-barclays/#JTJAeYagx42uSZdc.99
Clickable
As for that aforementioned Navy research project, that’s a new clean tech partnership with Purdue University aimed at ensuring that half of the total energy requirement of the Navy and Marine Corps comes from alternative sources by 2020.
DeleteThat's GOTTA tell ya something.
I am doing a study on mental deterioration in old men and I read The Elephant Bar for the pure uncontaminated material it provides my research.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your help. It has been a 'god-send'.
I suggest you use 'habu' in the 2006 & 2007 threads as your 'baseline' norm
DeleteI would also recommend the November 2008 threads, where the 'Bob' character went into a maelstrom of racial animus when Barack Obama was elected President. The vulgar hate filled epitaphs were comical in their simplistic structures and constructions. The English Lit major's meltdown was a tad meddlesome, but impossible to misconstrue.
DeleteYeah, that was the low point of the blog.
DeleteMy God, Anon, you have wasted your life here, and without even a research paper published to show for it !
DeleteYou need to get a life.
“What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.” ― Martha Graham
DeleteAnd I would add, of even less concern.
The more pertinent question you should concern yourself with, PR, is how would you know what has been published as the result of the work that has been done here?
My research is showing that Rufus is demented more like a Don Quixote, while Jack Hawkins is demented more like a juvenile delinquent, for what that insight is worth.
ReplyDelete
DeleteI guess the definition of a lunatic is a man surrounded by them.
ReplyDeleteWhen scoring in the high 20's is considered a surge, a dramatic showing, it just is an illustration of how weak the group is.
When only one in four support the program, it is a loser.
Obama won his last election with over 60% of the Electoral College vote.
Mr Romney received 37% of the vote, and no one on his side celebrated.
He was SQUASHED.
In England the extremists garner 20% of the vote and Bob claims it a righteous victory, but what he failed to report, being a low information reader that did not get beyond the headlines ...
In results in so far from 150 of the 161 councils being contested in England, UKIP had won 157 seats, having previously held just two, although it still does not actually control any city halls.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/35539781.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
The UKIP did not win control of a single city hall, they are losers.
I have no idea who the UKIP is, or what they would like to do, but I do know that you can get 30% of the population to sign onto almost any crazy, nutjob idea.
DeleteTrue. Look at all the nutjob, crazy shit you've signed onto :)
DeleteWe agree, Rufus.
Most people believe Ukip contains racists, poll finds
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/04/most-believe-ukip-contains-racists-poll
For the 2015 contest, Labour has a three-point lead of 36% over the Conservatives, on 33%,
with Ukip on 15% and the Lib Dems on 10%.
...
34% believe Cameron is best suited to be prime minister, 19 points ahead of Miliband on 15%,
with Farage on 5% and Nick Clegg on 3%.
Nigel Farague is the UKIP leader
5% support to lead England, Bob celebrates this as a god-send...
DeleteLike he said, he is a low information reader and glories in it.
Strange, but true.
You don't read good, ratto.
Delete"I am doing a study on mental deterioration in old men and I read The Elephant Bar for the pure uncontaminated material it provides my research.
Thank you all for your help. It has been a 'god-send'."
It was Psychological Researcher at 4:19 that celebrates folk like you as a god-send to shrinks everywhere.
;)
Reply
'Rufus IISat May 24, 07:52:00 PM EDT
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who the UKIP is, or what they would like to do'
Rufus himself is one of those world class highest of all information readers that read The Elephant Bar all over the planet that he has often mentioned.
:):):)
Deuce knows of the man, having posted about him once or twice.
ReplyDeleteBut Rufus has dun fergit.
Naw, I remember Farage. Entertaining speechifier, for sure. But, I decided pretty early on that he was a crank.
DeleteThe Independence Party has already proved itself to be an alternative to the status quo, being to the right of the Conservatives but trying to avoid, or repress, the racism of far-right parties like the British National Party. It has touched a nerve with Britons who believe that jobs are being taken away by immigrants from countries like Romania, Bulgaria and Poland who have the right to travel and work freely within the European Union but are willing to work for lower salaries.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/24/world/europe/britain-elections.html
He backs drinking stout British beer, Rufus, not watery Budweiser.
That's why you don't like him.
Fess up.
I don't "dislike" the man. He's a British politician. He's so far off my radar . . . . . . .
DeleteDeuce posted a couple of his speeches, and I googled a few more. I couldn't think any more of him if we was a saint, or any less if he was Lucifer, himself. He's a brit politician, thus he's the brits' problem, not mine. nothing more.
BLAME BUSH...
ReplyDeleteVA turns to private hospitals for help...
FLASHBACK Obama '08: VA to be 'leader of national health-care reform'...
Employees caught falsifying records...
Dozens Of Vets' Bodies Never Buried, Left at Morgue For Over Year..........drudge
Guess their families didn't claim 'em, aye.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference, the morgue or a potter's field?
Dead and forgotten in either case.
We should all bemoan the reality that Federal employees misfile paperwork, forge documents and game the system ...
DeleteYou find this to be, what?
Shocking, a revelation, surprising, news worthy?
Just another example of Federal incompetence, nothing new, nothing different.
Same old story, same old song.
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DeleteWe should all bemoan the reality that Federal employees misfile paperwork, forge documents and game the system ...
Just another example of Federal incompetence, nothing new, nothing different.
My, my, rat, while it might be true that we should by now have come to expect this type of behavior, let's at least be careful to call it what it is. You're a budding author now. A successful one should be able to define his terms. You might want to use the online dictionaries to learn the difference between the words 'incompetent' and 'corrupt'.
If, as has been reported, files were purposely falsified at the VA to game the system, it speaks more to corruption than to incompetence.
.
Really Bob, you have sunk to new lows.
ReplyDeleteNow you are in denial of the gifts that god has sent you and England.
Nigel will be SO upset ... He and the 5% of the country that supports him will find your lack of reverence to be disconcerting.
Now I have to admit that no one else here gives a rat's ass about England, the Queen or Nigel
When the grandest scandal of the Obama Administration are that General Betrayous did a poor job in Benghazi, that there are bodies in the morgue and some illegal immigrants managed to fall through the cracks ...
ReplyDeleteNothing like 4,000 dead US troops bleeding out in the sand, to support the Wahhabi dreams or the Iranian proxies in Iraq.
Nothing like Two Trillion dollars pissed away ...
Instead the US's most dreaded long term enemy in North Africa, Colonel Q, was deposed, without the loss of a single Sailor, Airman, Soldier or Marine. George W Bush lost Georgia, Obama gained the Ukraine.
Funny stuff, what you dredge up and think is important enough to warrant a complaint.
Call your boy, John "Boner" Boehner, get him to file Articles of Impeachment against the President, for all the alleged High Crimes and Misdemeanors. He won't.
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DeleteInstead the US's most dreaded long term enemy in North Africa, Colonel Q, was deposed,
Most dreaded?
Funny stuff.
.
"Obama gained the Ukraine"
ReplyDeleteYep, they're in NATO as I type.
And the Black Sea is an American lake now.
heh
You never make any sense, so there's nothing new here.
Might as well move along.....
And Boehner is worthless.
ReplyDeleteI've always said that.
He isn't "my boy".
He is better than Nancy Pelosi though.
CA Cabbie Stiffed After 1,500 Mile Fare To NDakota.........drudge
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering what happened to Quirk.
Pretty obvious now he's on the lam again.
No, Bob, the Ukraine is not in NATO. But they do not have to be, to have been garnered by US interests.
ReplyDeleteLoss to the Russians and now in orbit around Brussels, instead of Moscow.
I think I detected sarcasm, in your missive, but you are not bright enough to pull it off.
And yes, John "Boner" is YOUR boy. You are the Republican that is so ashamed of it, he wears a Obama button. You are in the same camp as Boehner, both of you speak poorly of the President, but wear an Obama button on your chests.
That is what you you wrote, just a day or two ago. You wear an Obama button, to confuse everyone, yourself included.
You have publicly announced that you have embraced deceit as a way of life, so sad, but typical of the weak minded that are so easily confused by reality.
You're an idiot and often hallucinate.
ReplyDeleteWhat else can one say?
Nothing, really.
Ad hominem arguments are a preferred tool for people who ran out of real arguments (or are unable to understand someone else's opinion in the first place).
DeleteIt's so much easier to just attack another person instead of attacking his arguments (especially if the other person is right.)
Astonishingly, Netanyahu recently offered up some limited praise to Obama, of all people. He said the deal struck to remove the chemical weapons in Syria was working better than he (Netanyahu) had expected and that some 80% or so of the stockpile seemed to be gone. This is a big deal to Israel who has, reasonably enough, always feared those weapons.
ReplyDeleteWhy Bob would be astonished that Netanyahu would recognize reality is the only question, here.
DeletePresident Obama has always been a "Friend" of Israel. His primary supporter in his political career, Lester Crown and his family. Financial aid to Israel has certainly expanded during the Obama tenure.
Mr Obama has held onto the organized Jewish political within the US for his entire career. That support continues today.
Only Bob, who projects his own feelings of inadequacy and insecurity upon politicians of foreign lands is astonished when they acknowledge reality and support the United States
A doctor being interviewed on Fox News, who has worked both in the VA system and the Texas prison system, just said the Texas prison system medical care is often better than some of the VA facilities with which he is familiar.
ReplyDeleteHe added that the medical care in the Texas prison system is really pretty good. "We treat our prisoners well."
Federal ruling: Texas prisons violating rights of Muslims
DeleteBy Dane Schiller
May 1, 2014 | Updated: May 1, 2014 10:19pm
The Texas prison system is violating the rights of Muslim inmates with rules that make it all but impossible for them to freely practice their religion, a federal judge has ruled.
In the ruling made public Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, said there are not enough Muslims in Texas, especially in rural areas, to meet the prison system's criteria for Muslim inmates to hold services and conduct related activities.
By contrast, he said, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice illegally favors Christian inmates because there are ample civilians and chaplains of that faith in the state to conduct services in prisons.
"The TDCJ knowingly adopted a policy it knew would impose requirements on Muslim inmates' religious services that could not be satisfied by volunteers or overcome by Muslim inmates," Hoyt said.
People Are Dying From The Heat In Texas Prisons: Report
DeleteThe heat in Texas prisons isn't just intense, it's deadly, according to a new report.
The University of Texas School of Law Human Rights Clinic's new findings show that, since 2007, at least 14 inmates in Texas have been killed by heat inside the state's prisons, according to a press release on the report.
"Because the [Texas Department of Criminal Justice] exercises complete control over prisoners in its facilities, it also bears the responsibility for guaranteeing the lives and health of all inmates,” Ariel Dulitzky, the director of the Clinic, said in the release.
Dulitzky said the TDCJ has known that inmates have died from extreme heat since 1998. The department was even hit with a wrongful death lawsuit two years ago when, according to the suit, an inmate died of organ failure spurred on by heat exposure.
"More lawsuits are pending, not only for wrongful death, but for the ongoing risks that these extreme temperatures pose to inmates,” Dulitzky said.
The release also noted that "TDCJ has cooling procedures for the swine stables it owns, but it does not have adequate cooling procedures for prisoners’ cells."
Texas Won’t Comply With Federal Prison Rape Law
DeleteHOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Texas will not comply with parts of a federal law designed to eliminate prison rape, Governor Rick Perry said in a letter to the U.S. Attorney General...
Delete"Texas Department of Criminal Justice has cooling procedures for the swine stables it owns,
but it does not have adequate cooling procedures for prisoners’ cells."
They treat prisoners worse than pigs, in Texas
It is not astonishing - that's the reality.
All the above goes to show you how bad things are at the VA.
Delete????
Delete’13 Benghazis That Happened Under Bush’
ReplyDelete“January 22, 2002. Calcutta, India. Gunmen associated with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami attack the U.S. Consulate. Five people are killed.”
“June 14, 2002. Karachi, Pakistan. Suicide bomber connected with al Qaeda attacks the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 51.”
“October 12, 2002. Denpasar, Indonesia. U.S. diplomatic offices bombed as part of a string of ‘Bali Bombings.’ No fatalities.”
“February 28, 2003. Islamabad, Pakistan. Several gunmen fire upon the U.S. Embassy. Two people are killed.”
“May 12, 2003. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armed al Qaeda terrorists storm the diplomatic compound, killing 36 people including nine Americans. The assailants committed suicide by detonating a truck bomb.”
“July 30, 2004. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. A suicide bomber from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan attacks the U.S. Embassy, killing two people.”
“December 6, 2004. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda terrorists storm the U.S. Consulate and occupy the perimeter wall. Nine people are killed.”
“March 2, 2006. Karachi, Pakistan again. Suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Consulate killing four people, including U.S. diplomat David Foy who was directly targeted by the attackers. (I wonder if Lindsey Graham or Fox News would even recognize the name ‘David Foy.’ This is the third Karachi terrorist attack in four years on what’s considered American soil.)”
“September 12, 2006. Damascus, Syria. Four armed gunmen shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ storm the U.S. Embassy using grenades, automatic weapons, a car bomb and a truck bomb. Four people are killed, 13 are wounded.”
“January 12, 2007. Athens, Greece. Members of a Greek terrorist group called the Revolutionary Struggle fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Embassy. No fatalities.”
“March 18, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad of Yemen fire a mortar at the U.S. Embassy. The shot misses the embassy, but hits nearby school killing two.”
“July 9, 2008. Istanbul, Turkey. Four armed terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate. Six people are killed.”
“September 17, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Terrorists dressed as military officials attack the U.S. Embassy with an arsenal of weapons including RPGs and detonate two car bombs. Sixteen people are killed, including an American student and her husband (they had been married for three weeks when the attack occurred). This is the second attack on this embassy in seven months.”
All these attacks were caused by videos posted on UTube coming out of California.
Delete????
DeleteOur Criminal Justice System is Batshit Crazy.
ReplyDeleteTexas has a teenager charged with an indictment that could give him Life in Prison for baking a pan of marijuana-laced brownies.
All categories of crime are down in Colorado since the legalization of pot.
DeleteThey are going to save a fortune, just on the costs of incarceration.
DeleteAnd think of all the tax money they are going to be raking in !
DeleteWho care about SAT scores ?
Some kid ate 5 times the safe amount of brownies and jumped off a roof to his death. Think of the unemployment payments saved in his case.
We need to legalize heroin and crack next.
It's the people that drink that cause most of the mayhem in the USA.
DeleteIf we are going to outlaw anything it ought to be Budweiser.
Let the Bud drinkers blog from prison, keeping the rest of us safe.
Yeah, we certainly wouldn't want any more Steve Jobs, or Watson and Cricks.
Delete#Bring Back
DeleteBud Ban
Michael Fred Phelps II is an American swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals.
DeletePhelps goes bong
May 25, 2014
ReplyDeleteObamaCare numbers no longer being released
Thomas Lifson
It’s a deafening silence as far as ObamaCare enrollment numbers are concerned. Erika Johnsen points out at Hot Air:
During the initial open enrollment period, the Obama administration released monthly enrollment reports that — even if they were exasperatingly incomplete and/or doctored in what data they chose to reveal — gave us at least some sort of idea of what was going on with the president’s crowning legislative achievement. Now that the Obama administration has that alleged 8 million sing-ups number to tout, however, they evidently no longer feel the need to even keep up the pretense of releasing regular reports on the law’s progress. As Politico reports (paywall):
The Obama administration has quietly decided to halt its monthly updates on Obamacare enrollment, which were a major pipeline of information about the impact of the health law heading into the 2014 campaign season. ‘HHS issued monthly enrollment reports during the first marketplace open enrollment period in order to provide the best understanding of enrollment activities as it was taking place,’ an HHS spokeswoman emailed. ‘Now that this time period has ended, we will look at future opportunities to share information about the marketplace that is reliable and accurate over time as further analysis can be done but we do not anticipate monthly reports.’ The agency offered no information about the timing or level of detail in any future updates.
Yes, the initial open enrollment period is over, but people can still sign up for health insurance through the exchanges if they experience a qualifying “life event” (job loss, new baby, etc.). That means that the number of the ObamaCare-insured could continue to rise throughout the year, but people can also still drop their newfound health insurance at any time for any number of reasons — meaning that the number could fall, too.
Silence, in this case, is not golden. ObamaCare is in a hole and keeps digging.
Hat tip: Ed Lasky
Bob's boy, "Boner" Boehner could change all that, but he refuses to.
DeleteRufus, I want to wish you and yours a good Memorial Day weekend.
ReplyDeleteSupport an end to Foreign Adventurism.
ReplyDeleteSomeone tell Bush: Wars aren't "Adventures."
cc: Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and all the rest of the neo-con assholes - Democrat, as well as Republican.
DeleteThe top 3 picks of the polled Republican Mega-Donors were Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Hillary Clinton.
DeleteAllen West speaks on Benghazi, a CIA op gone 'bad'.
ReplyDeleteHe also said that those with knowledge of the event have been threatened with pension cuts if they speak up, and that there was a covert weapons scheme happening under the radar in Benghazi.
“We had been supplying radical Islamists with weapons against Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi, effectively supplying the enemy and destabilizing that country. And it seems that there was a CIA weapons buy-back program, the aim of which was to ship the retrieved weapons out of Libya through Turkey, and to the Islamist forces in Syria.”
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/24/allen-west-source-told-me-ground-truth-benghazi-op/#ixzz32l2HbEeA
General Betrayous was the man large and in charge, in Benghazi. Which is why he is long gone ...
But supports Hillary in 2016.
The normally politically taciturn Patraeus states: “Like a lot of great leaders, her most impressive qualities were most visible during tough times” - http://www.nydailynews.com/ex-gen-david-petraeus-hillary-clinton-tremendous-president-article-1.1607801
And now ...
Apr 21, 2014 - Bill Kristol Floats Hillary Clinton–David Petraeus Ticket in 2016
If the Republicans could actually find a "Sane" person to run - a person with reasonable ideas on renewable fuels, and healthcare - I could be a persuadable voter in 2016.
DeleteThe odds of that presently seem pretty remote, though.
Getting the left field chills, Rufus?
DeleteOnly stupid people think that there should be only one party. The country doesn't work that way.
DeleteAt present, the republican party has gone totally stupid. It's not the first time. The Democrats, however, have been taken over by their fringe in the past, also.
DeleteOur job, as Americans, is to ascertain certain commonsense policies, and support the party that, at that given time, is most likely to stumble in the general direction needed.
He's slowly waking up, beginning to see the errors of his ways....
DeleteNah, Bob is a lost cause.
DeleteHe is beyond the pale, a hater, a bigot and a closed mind.
There is no hope he ever see the error of his ways.
I suspect the "error of his ways" comment was directed at me. :)
DeleteBut, irregardless, I'm afraid you're right. Bob is a hopeless, old, scared racist.
DeleteA hater; he will not/could not change.
DeleteNothing Sadder Than A Withered Heart
You might consider embracing Dr. Ben Carson, Rufus, as I have done.
DeleteHe's the guy that can fix the MESS your team has made out of our health care system via ObamaCare.
#Ben Carson
For President
#Bring Back
DeleteRat-free Blogging
DeleteNothing Sadder Than A Withered Heart
Anon, it looks like many Demo-rats are, like Rufus, beginning to look for ways to escape the sinking ship -
ReplyDeleteMay 25, 2014
Democrats turning on Obama in (semi) private
Thomas Lifson
Wow, it’s finally happening. Democrats are catching on and turning on President Obama, at the moment off-the-record, but that won’t last for long if another midterm “shellacking” takes place in early November. Daniel Halper reports in The Weekly Standard.
CNN's John King reports that Democrats are privately calling President Obama "detached," "flat footed," and "incompetent."
If King is hearing about it, then it isn’t completely private. Maybe “off the record” and “not for attribution,” but not private when a journalist gets wind of it.
"Forget for a moment that Republican outrage," said King on his CNN show this morning. "More and more Democrats in key 2014 races are calling for the president to get a spine, they say, and fire his Veterans Affairs secretary. And what more and more Democrats are saying privately is scathing, calling the president and his team detached, flat footed, even incompetent.
"Maggie Haberman," said King turning to a panelist, "that's what strikes me, what democrats are saying privately in the wakes of the healthcare.gov problems, they see a president who doesn't want to take command, doesn't want to act fast. Raising the competence question. Some Democrats, who believe in government, [are saying] this White House doesn't appear to have its hand on the lever."
You can watch the entire segment here:
This is going to get very tricky for Democrats, since their black voter base, which accounts for roughly a quarter of their national vote, remains loyal to Obama. They may well see Democrats as stabbing the First Black President in the back if they criticize him too loudly. But with Obama dragging down the party with the rest of the electorate, failure to distance themselves also has a great cost.
Nothing Sadder Than A Withered Heart
DeleteFantasies do not reality make, no matter how many videos are made to represent that fantasy.
Star Wars is still make-believe. Luke Skywalker never was, never will be.
President Obama Job Approval
Rasmussen Reports 5/22 - 5/24 - 1500 LV - Disapprove = 49 - Approve = 50 / Net -1
And Obama is not running for re-election.
Also, you might consider sending a few bucks to Mia Love in Utah, as I have done.
ReplyDeleteNah, I would never finance a 'Carpet Bagger'
DeleteVote for people born and bred in the Districts they want to represent.
Look at all the damage that the carpet bagging John McCain has done.
If she wants to be a Congressman, she should be campaigning in Brooklyn, NY.
Boy, you can't fix stupid.
ReplyDeleteHere's his sign ...
DeleteMia Love - Love graduated from the University of Hartford with a degree in the performing arts. ...
ReplyDeleteShe is a trained actress, playing a part, Bob has bought it, hook, line & sinker.
You can't fix stupid.
DeleteRufus, being a breed, you are the one perfectly positioned to instruct us all on the ethics of the name Washington Redskins.
ReplyDeleteYou straddle the races, like your boy Obama.
This is said to give you 'insight'.
Is it demeaning, the term Redskins?
Remember, you are talking to a VANDAL
And remember too, the Federation of American Indian Tribes originally approved the name, and actually created the logo.
And remember also that polls show most Native Americans don't give a shit one way or the other.
What say you, O Judge of All Things Racist, descendant of slavers, as you are?
And should the derogatory term VANDALS be dropped or retained?
The racist in Bob rears its ugly head, again
DeleteNothing Sadder Than A Withered Heart
You can't fix stupid
Dems Privately Calling President 'Detached,' 'Flat Footed,' 'Incompetent'.........drudge
ReplyDeleteExactly what I've been saying all along.
For instance, I recall saying one time:
ReplyDelete"Obama doesn't have a clue as to what the fuck he is doing."
Obama is President -
DeleteBob is stupid
You can't fix stupid.
In 2017, Obama will not be President.
DeleteIf Bob is alive, in 2017, he will still be stupid.
:) :) :)
ReplyDeleteI'm watching Andy Griffith in "No Time for Sergeants."
Might be one of the funniest movies of all time. :)
DeleteI haven't laughed this hard in years. :)
DeleteWas Kenya mall massacre 'mastermind' backed by CIA cash? Disturbing claims by 'double agent who worked with terror suspect for years'
ReplyDeleteMorten Storm was an informant for intelligence agencies for five years
Met Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, or Ikirma, in Nairobi in 2008
At the time, the Somali terrorist was only a messenger in Al-Shabab
Storm believes CIA gave him the resources to become a mastermind
Ikrima is also believed to have lived in London for six to 12 months
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487246/Was-Kenya-mall-massacre-mastermind-backed-CIA-cash-Disturbing-claims-double-agent-worked-terror-suspect-years.html
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ReplyDeletePresidential Approval
RCP Ave
Disapprove: 52.0
Approve: 43.7
Fairly constant over the past few months. Of course, Obama won't be running in 2016 but then neither was Bush in 2008.
Obama is currently a lame duck. It will be interesting to see which rats bail the sinking ship going into the 2014 election.
.
On the other hand, "Likely Voters" are basically running 50 - 50.
DeleteThat said, all Democratic candidates will do what they have to do.
BTW, the timing of this VA deal totally sucks for the Republicans. Several of the key Senate campaigns involve Republican members of the House that, unanimously, voted against the $26 Billion for VA funding in February.
Deletescratch that; it was the Senate Republicans that voted 54 - 2 Against the VA Funding.
DeleteI'm putting the Senate Republican pick-up at 3.5 Seats.
DeleteI can't see'em getting to 6.
.
ReplyDelete50/50 but only if you go by Rasmussan. I would think the RCP average would be more accurate given Rasmussan's methodology.
As for the timing sucking for the GOP on the VA...
:)
I'm sure they are shaking in their boots over it. Fiscal year 2009 through 2015, funding for the VA has increased by 68%. Obama says there is no funding problem, in fact, he brags about the progress made in funding. The usual suspects brought up the issue early on but I doubt they are even running with it now. The current problem isn't a funding problem its a corruption problem, falsifying records and lying.
Unfortunately, no one in government seems to get fired for incompetence, well, no one that is a political appointee. The low-level minions do get scapegoated some times. But lying seems to be the mortal sin that snares at least a few polls.
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DeleteAs far as the Senate, I don't know. A lot of mixed signals out there, one minute going one way and the next minute the next.
As I've said before, I hope the GOP doesn't pull it off. Things are bad enough right now with split government. One party government? No thanks.
.
Well, they've already spent in the tens of millions, and the best they've been able to do is get Hagen down to a push, and Landrieu down to a slight lead. Udall has about a two point lead, Prior's running away with it, and Peters, and Begich look pretty comfortable.
DeleteNow, on top of all that, Nunn has an increasing lead in Ga, and even McConnell is looking shaky.
.
ReplyDeleteYou've been watching it closer than me.
As for Peters, I think most are calling the race a toss up here at the moment. Peters started off here running on Obamacare until some of the talking points started to prove untrue. Now he has swung over to pushing on environmental issues, cap-and-trade (favors), Keystone (opposed), and others. Not sure how that will play in the cities (his base) when unemployment remains high.
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