Between the Front & Back: Grundle’s Book Club
Comments
-
-
@Doog_de_Jour vetoed it. She was concerned if some of learned this, the wives of HH might be less susceptible to her powers.DerekJohnson said:I'm on board for sure. But what happened to that Female Orgasms for Dummies that was being kicked around?
-
Pressure testing?1to392831weretaken said:
Biden has only been President for two months, so kind of weird to suggest we're more energy independent now than when Trump was President, but whatever. Either way, that's been going on for some time. EIA's most recent data (and the most recent data that isn't COVID affected anyway) is from 2019. In that year, the U.S. produced 19% of the world's crude oil and consumed 20%. Saudi Arabia is next, just edging out Russia, with a hair shy of 12%. Half of the United States' oil imports come from Canada. (Sure is what we run a hell of a lot of.) This has been going on for years.pawz said:So far so good. Read the free 8 chapters online, bought the book.
Very interesting. Seems to be written factually, apolitically - which is refreshing tbh. After GRUNDLe saying so, I wish I took notes. Some real gems. Certainly creating a new understanding of the geopolitics in play.
(TTTTT - after seeing that Saudi Arabia only sends us a low single-digit percentage of our actual fossil fuel use as a country, it's a head-scratcher that Trump and Biden gave MBS a free pass for the Khashoggi assassination. Slightly more understandable under Trump since we weren't quite yet energy independent though certainly trending that way, but still ...)
Really hope @HoustonHusky partakes in this book report. I would love to hear his take as he is likely familiar with all of subject matter.
Thing is, oil is fungible. Just because we only get 6% of our oil from Saudi Arabia doesn't mean that a country that produces 12% of the world's supply can't have a major impact in global pricing by increasing or decreasing production. The problem isn't the threat of the Saudis cutting us off from their delicious oil, it's the threat of the Saudis opening up the faucet (yet again) and disrupting pricing in a way that costs domestic producers and creates instability in that industry. My brother in law had to sell off his profitable pressure testing business and move home from North Dakota the last time they pulled it. -
Haven’t read this but it’s on my list but I can give some commentary on this chapter.GrundleStiltzkin said:3. Iran
Seriously, fuck those guys. I've read a ton of books in the last several years that have some touch point in the Middle East, mostly from a "war on terror" perspective. Iran comes up a lot in those, natch. However, this book for me really crystalized that amount of malarkey the Iranian government drops across the region. Directly or through proxies, Iran seems to responsible for at least 81% of the troubles in the region. Weº know they hate usº, this is understood, but let's not loose sight of how much Iran seems to hate every other ME government.
Aside 1: Who knew that Houthi isn't an ethnic minority group, but an Islamist rebel group named after their former leader who was vaporized by the Saudis? I did not. Just from snips and headlines covering SA's actions against them, I had the impression that Houthis vs. Saudis was something akin to Shiite vs. Sunni. Nope, Iranian backed guerrillas.
Aside 2: What a clusterfuck de-Baathification was in Iraq. Terrible decision.
1. I was told by a long-tim CENTCOM analyst that Iran is responsible for more American deaths that Al-Qaeda could ever dream of. Iran is sneaky good at using proxies to maintain deniability. Iran is also the main power broker in Iraq.
2. That brings up aside number 2. De-Ba’athifaction is the reason the Iraq war turned so badly so early after the invasion. We? took a barely functioning but still functioning infrastructure and turned it into a non-functioning infrastructure overnight while turning loose thousands of military aged males to wreak havoc.
3. Here’s how poorly planned the post invasion occupation was. I read CENTCOM planning docs that covered deployment, pre-invasion, invasion and post-invasion. The first 3 phases were beautifully detailed and down into the weeds, i.e., 4th Infantry Division will unload its last tank at 0517 on Feb 2 from the cargo ship and be ready to attack at 0602. Jump ahead to the post-invasion plans and it literally said “TBD”.
We can fight 2 wars at a time like we did in Iraq and Afghanistan but we can’t do it well. -
You can’t see my head but these people are laying on top of me.DerekJohnson said:
Ah yes, scenes from the most recent Hardcore Husky get togetherSwaye said:Is this the thread where I post Dubai Porta Potties?
-
Live footage of my reaction:GrundleStiltzkin said:
@CFetters_Nacho_Lover will take great umbrage at the shots at #NachosGreta.Doog_de_Jour said:
That doesn’t surprise me in the least. I included it as I always like reading counter arguments.HoustonHusky said:
Hadn’t read the book but from what I read of the article/review I’d argue otherwise...should be noted that the author of this review isn't a WP staff writer or book reviewer...he’s an environmental activist (and a bit nuts IMHO) from a quick Google search of him.Doog_de_Jour said:OK, back to the book...
Before I launch into what I thought of it and respond to other’s observations, here’s a book review by WaPo that picks apart some of the author’s points:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-global-energy-study-that-misses-some-climate-change-realities/2020/09/24/1addeb3e-f2b3-11ea-bc45-e5d48ab44b9f_story.html
A much better/fairer review is here in the Wall Street Journal:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-map-review-tapping-the-untappable-11601333350
-
@CFetters_Nacho_Lover thank you for your services
-
My services are timly as ever.GrundleStiltzkin said:@CFetters_Nacho_Lover thank you for your services
-
CFetters_Nacho_Lover said:
My services are timly as ever.GrundleStiltzkin said:@CFetters_Nacho_Lover thank you for your services
-
Roof gets it.GrundleStiltzkin said:CFetters_Nacho_Lover said:
My services are timly as ever.GrundleStiltzkin said:@CFetters_Nacho_Lover thank you for your services
