Watched (again) The Big Short and this time apparently I was a bit more receptive to the black magic that some call economics – it helped that Boudain and Selena Gomez explained with food and playing cards what CDS was 😶
What did I take away – timing is everything, you can know something and act on it but if the timing isn’t right, you still end up wrong.
And the other thing is how many were willing to sink an entire economy for personal gain, and how many engage in all sorts of things beyond their job description.
Both of these I have experienced myself so apparently I was experienced enough to understand the message 😀
In projects, there are always those who are willing to torpedo an entire project for a relatively small personal gain (in my opinion) or just power.
You never know who you can trust and have to assume that everyone has other loyalties, often it’s the entrepreneur with the money who pays off people in your own organization.
One can then guess that the US financial industry is not a wonder of loyalty and honesty towards the employer, or towards the customers.
I’ve also been caught being too early and late when the air went out but at least could say – I was right. And discovered that no one cares.
It’s quite common that we in the West have a brilliant plan that we act upon and that everything we do is correct, and that Ukraine has full control of the situation.
I’ve faced this an infinite number of times since the start of the war, often with “leave it to the professionals who know their job unlike the amateurs.”
Despite having a thousand examples over three years of the complete opposite and those of us who have followed this for three years have a pretty good idea of the level of incompetence.
Just as they discovered in the Big Short about the financial industry – never underestimate incompetence, greed, cowardice, and stupidity.
We have retreated to our little swimming pool in one of the world’s best-functioning countries.
Northvolt, Stegra, Swedish domestic politics, that the government is at least Nazis, that by 2030 we will train 10,000 conscripts per year – and will address the drone weapon in a few years.
Yes, Ukraine has been forced into more activity but they also started from much worse conditions AND have Russian subversive activities to deal with.
Do you think they are like another planet compared to Sweden which is still considered among the world’s best?
There are some harsh truths unfortunately –
-There are strong forces that believe conflicts are good periods to make money.
-Very few care before it affects oneself and making difficult decisions is rarely attractive for one’s career.
-The West is full of traitors who serve China’s or Russia’s interests and it is still completely risk-free.
-The USA is not our friend.
-A war can become a black swan for economic decline and there is money to be made. Just look at Trump’s “pump-and-dump” of the stock markets. Knowing when different countries will be attacked provides valuable insider information to act upon.
-For most of the 20th century, the USA has been crashing countries in every possible way to suck out their wealth.
-Europe colonized most of the world, and during the 20th century, we behaved terribly in Africa.
-Europe didn’t do very well in WW2, there was an abundance of material and personnel, but there was a lack of morale, leadership (military and political), and political will.
-Ukraine has had timing against them throughout the war, they are too early with everything but they are too early because they are under existential threat and cannot afford to wait.
-Europe still welcomes Fico and Orban into the EU’s inner circle despite Orban now wanting to impose sanctions against Ukraine (😡😡😡).
The Ukraine war has been allowed to continue for too long to believe that the West wants to end it as soon as possible – especially since we had to stop Ukraine several times when things were going too well. We have been through this many times and won’t repeat a scratched record, but I’m a bit extra bitter about VDV in Kherson because it could have potentially ended the war in 2022.
We have now reached the point where the West is opening the coffers (our taxes) and pouring funds into its arms industry, and there is great gratitude to cash in on this. The second half of 2024 – today was probably when the floodgates truly began to open?
Ukraine is a mosaic of power struggles fueled by Russian subversive activities on a scale far beyond what we have to deal with, and no one knows who they can trust even though three years of full war have started to clean up the ranks a bit. Many have suspected Sirsky, for example.
Zelensky has been lucky as GUR has been on his side and if I understand this correctly, Budanov has been a key player.
That hasn’t stopped many attempts to remove Budanov and it seems like the USA always stands by his side in the cockfights.
Do you remember the movie when Zalizhny was removed which they solved with a grand medal ceremony and Zelensky looked terrified when he gave Budanov his medal. It’s not very often that Zelensky’s face completely loses color and he looks terrified, but we saw that then. When he was scolded by Trump and JD Vance, he was just angry for example.
Now the above is a reality we have to deal with and we can also argue that we have no obligations to help Ukraine as a country for example.
I don’t really oppose any of this, especially not after I understood Selena Gomez’s explanation of the Big Short 👍
What I always complain about in my eternal tirades is the following, and then it’s self-preservation and laziness that are driving forces –
We have embarked on the journey towards a global conflict, at some point no sitting head of state can control the development anymore – it becomes like a whirlpool where country after country is sucked in and joins the war without being able to prevent it.
During this journey towards full global conflict, one can stamp out the grass fire early and if the West’s arms factories have started to glow red-hot, it is not unlikely that calm will settle again as acts of war are always preceded by a cost-benefit analysis and ten Nagasaki bombs in the capital the next morning seem deterrent.
Since it is Russia we are dealing with, they are actively working to suck in country after country to avoid standing alone in a resounding empty global escalation – they are driving this as a state-prioritized activity and have succeeded well with October 7, 2023, and India-Pakistan.
We are not yet at the turning point, when we get there no living person today knows (except me).
The Baltics are preparing for a war with Russia, and they are actually already at war with Russia, but they are waiting for an invasion war.
Japan has just named China as the biggest threat since World War II, it is not entirely clear if they consider themselves the major threat when it happened in 1941 or if the war in general was the big threat, it wasn’t completely clear 😀
But for Japan to come out with this is absolutely sensational – yes, they obviously have their priorities, so for us in Europe, it is instead Russia that is the biggest threat closely followed by China.
And for Al Jalani, it’s Israel, they got tired of him pretty quickly 😶
There seems to be some kind of consensus that Europe is not ready?
So what would be a smart policy?
Well, to fully utilize the world’s perhaps deadliest viper as a defense force to try to reduce the future Russian threat to Europe so we don’t end up unprepared with old Mausers.
Ukraine has presented this proposal on seashell paper dozens of times since the start of the war, and we never bite on it, to their great disappointment.
By letting Ukraine do what they want, we would also get an extra bonus in that we wouldn’t have to go to war at all. We could send smaller volunteer expeditionary forces instead of forcing the population into mob depots and trenches.
This is the so-called crux of the matter, and now I have tried to explain it with Zelena Gomez and Anthony Boudain, so I hope it can be understood?
Most serious OSINT analysts are not very hopeful about the fronts right now, and UA actual warns of an intensified Russian offensive.
I believe Ukraine has offensive capacity, but it must be combined with full asymmetric warfare to succeed, and I think that’s where the problem lies – after three years 😐
I will entertain myself with some wild scenarios about how Ukraine will win the war in the future, but unfortunately, this is how it looks – we in the West will likely determine this year.
Just as the guys in the Big Short discovered that everything was rigged when they were proven right, this war has been rigged in Russia’s favor.
The West has been holding Putin’s hand and talking him through every step, revealing all UA battle plans they were aware of.
The war has been predictable for Putin, and the times when the West didn’t leak – Vodka Run and Kursk 2024, then he panicked completely and started cascading tears.
Perhaps the clearest example in the whole war that Ukraine is not allowed to fight on equal terms was that they were not allowed to liberate Putin in a small drone strike on May 9, 2025.
After Putin tried to assassinate Zelensky 10 times…
Or when Putin says – we will conquer these oblasts and then we will stop, Trump provides the time, and Ukraine absolutely must not undertake anything devastating during this period, and Ukraine has been building its new defense line outside these oblasts in a wide unnatural arc since last spring.
But just like in the Big Short, Ukraine’s payday is coming soon 👍
The Ukrainians have a very special spirit, and to do this for over three years takes its toll on men, women, non-binary individuals, and other gender identities.
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Russian losses in Ukraine
Good, many dead Russian bastards ✊✊
(do you remember that whole period when you couldn’t rejoice at the losses because you appeared inhuman and unsympathetic, tell that to all castrated Ukrainian prisoners of war. Here you can and should rejoice).
Back in attack mode today, after yesterday’s declining number of attacks. Kramatorsk is rising significantly. Still quiet in Dnipro/Kherson, which had been on the offensive for a week, but suddenly stopped the other day.
N Slobozhansky-Kursk 21💥
S Slobozhansky 10💥
Kupyansk 4
Lyman 30💥💥↗️
Siverskyi 6
Kramatorsk 13💥↗️
Toretsk 9💥
Pokrovsk 61💥💥💥↗️
Novopavlivka 17💥↘️
Huliaypillia 0
Orikhivsk 1
Dnipro/Prydniprovsky 0
Thank you!
Really lively up at Pokrovsk and Lyman.
🇺🇸🇺🇦Zelensky, Trump discuss ‘win-win’ drones-for-weapons ‘mega deal.’ “The people of America need this technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Kyiv would gain access to a swath of weapons from the U.S. in return for providing combat-tested drone technologies to Washington.
https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-trump-discuss-win-win-drone-for-weapons-mega-deal-07-2025
Europe should buy those drones right away – we probably need them before the USA.
Yes, but Zelensky must sacrifice on the Trump altar.
true
Ukrainian drones reportedly attack Moscow for second night in a row
Residents reported the sounds of explosions in multiple parts of the greater Moscow area overnight, according to Russian Telegram channels.
In Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, at least five explosions were reported, with Russian news outlet Shot saying air defenses targeted drones near an industrial zone with munitions production facilities. Additional blasts were heard near Oryol, the channel said.
https://kyivindependent.com/drone-attacks-reportedly-hit-moscow-for-second-night-in-a-row-more-regions-targeted/
Sounds very good 👍👍
205
I have made some changes that I hope will solve the problem, but it’s difficult to know when I can’t recreate it myself. Please let me know if it happens again, so I can look into it further.
By the way, does it only happen when you post a new comment, or have you also had issues when replying or editing?
👍 As I remember it when I post a new comment. It’s the phase where I spend the most time. Edits are more short-lived and maybe the mistake doesn’t have time to occur(?).
Good, I hope it’s for new comments because that’s what I hope I’ve fixed… 😄
Editing is a bit tricky to handle.
Almost like you want to build the plugin yourself from scratch so you have full control.
Technological leap 👍
Finally it became clear!
“The EU has introduced an 18th sanctions package against Russia targeting the country’s banks as well as energy and defense industries. This was announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, according to Reuters.
The package also includes a new price cap for Russian oil at $47.6 per barrel. In addition, a ban on transactions related to Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines has been imposed.
“EU just approved one of the largest sanctions packages against Russia ever,” writes EU’s Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas on X.”
https://omni.se/nytt-stort-sanktionspaket-mot-ryssland/a/OoxxmV
Go for it!👍
Is it implemented now – meaning already in effect?
“Enligt Supernova träffade drönarattacker ett industriområde i Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod-regionen, och riktade sig enligt uppgift mot kemifabriken Korund. Verkstaden för cyanidsalter skadades. Vrakdelar från UAV återfanns. Inga skadade rapporterades.”
Trump is now down to -14%.
41% are satisfied, 55% dissatisfied, and 4% don’t know.
Following that with interest actually.
It’s the voters who decide in the midterm election.
Who says that? Politico or The Guardian or CNN? The media is heavily polarized around Donald Trump.
What’s interesting is that R voters have never liked a Republican president as much as Trump.
The voters are not completely satisfied so far, but he is trying with a little “bread and circus” in the form of lowered taxes in “the big beautiful bill” that D failed to torpedo so we’ll see.
The midterm election is important because that’s where D can get a majority and then none of his attempts to make voters happy in the USA will go through.
The Economist, but the survey is conducted by YouGov.
Before the election, they had a much more extensive database as they weighted perhaps 10-15 different surveys and it was possible to see how each one looked and where they came from.
Now it’s not as precise as back then, so it’s probably off by 2-3%, but to read the trend, it still works and since I started with it, I have continued.
https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker
There is another one that is probably considered more credible and in pure percentage terms, it doesn’t look as bad, but the trend is still downward there too:
“Trump’s net approval rating was -6.9 on July 10th. One week later It’s down to -8.9. That’s only 0.8 points higher than his second term net approval low of -9.7 (on April 29th). But it’s still about 7 points higher than Trump’s approval rating at this point during his first term.”
Then they investigate four different questions: Immigration, economy, trade, and inflation, and then add them together to get the total. So it’s not directly comparable between the surveys.
https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin
The Economist and the pollster Nate Silver are certainly part of the democratic camp.
Economist is definitely against Trump and liberal but is well in other contexts also conservative.
Although they don’t conduct the survey themselves and as you can see in the graph, they have had no problem reporting data even when it looks positive for Trump.
Nate Silver is more focused on data analysis, etc. and is generally politically neutral in terms of party politics, but of course he doesn’t like Trump.
Even there you can see that they report the numbers even when it looks good for Trump.
But feel free to suggest any survey that you think reflects reality better.
Personally, I am most interested in the trends and I believe both have a high enough credibility.
According to my opinion, opinion polls in the USA have no credibility at all. The one who pays for the survey gets the result they want. Yes, it’s corrupt. Nate Silver believed that Hillary Clinton would clearly win over Trump in 2016.
Being dissatisfied does not automatically mean that the opponent gets the votes. In the eyes of the dissatisfied, the alternative may be worse.
Can the Democrats pull themselves together? Musk, does he mean business?
It is of course true, even though it generally seems to be considered that those who are dissatisfied tend to vote for the opponent.
The Democrats seem to have completely missed the chance to pull themselves together, decide on which core issues they want to push, and come up with a presidential candidate.
Instead, they continue as usual and focus on criticizing Trump. Lame.
Musk hasn’t really gotten anywhere either, but he can surely snatch some votes from both sides.
I’m not as convinced as you are that one turns to the “dark side” just because they are dissatisfied. In Sweden, with its plethora of different parties, one usually has at least one party that they rank as second best. Americans do not have that option in practice, they must choose between the lesser of two evils.
Musk’s tactic will probably be to try to garner some votes in the upcoming by-elections and midterm elections and become strong enough to be a kingmaker.
Swedish media are focused on ideology and like to present themselves as intellectuals in their analyses, the average American cares less about that and more about their own wallet.
You do mean the bright side of leaving Trump, right? 😉
It might just be a myth, but in the United States, it has often been difficult to win two elections in a row if the economy has been doing poorly and people feel they are worse off?
It may not only apply to being generally dissatisfied (upset that the Epstein files are not being released), but specifically the economy.
Regarding the introduction today.
“The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.”
Said to come from JM Keynes.
Youtube 2011 the house bubble was a guy who posted on youtube and was so convinced of a housing price crash that he settled in a rental apartment and saved everything he could.
2018, if I remember correctly, there was a significant drop, but by then he had long since given up, found a girlfriend, and settled down I don’t know where.
Smart thoughts on management today by Johan. About timing and unclear goals where some just want to enrich themselves. Keep up the good work Johan!
Thank you for the kind words Lasse W 👍
I tried to get MXT to have a step in the login to the page where one had to write a short tribute to me and then one was logged in, but he did not listen to that excellent suggestion.
How are you doing in summer Sweden?
Apparently, it’s rainy season here now 😐
All good, full sun and 30 degrees on the terrace and Nemiroff (40% not 35) chilling 👍
It’s a nuisance with 35-38% alcohol in 35 cl bottles. Systembolaget has made it a habit. But sure, it will be something strong on the balcony around 4 pm. It’s Friday after all!
🍻👍
Fantastic here south of Malmö!
I had 29.5 degrees at 5 o’clock yesterday in the city center of Stockholm. People are staying in the shade on Fleminggatan today.
If you don’t have to travel to Spain for vacation this year, you can get the whole Mediterranean feeling at home in Stockholm and save a lot of money 👍
When I was little, it was Greece, Kos, and Mallorca that counted, but my parents had two mountain weeks instead, one in winter and one in summer 😭
MXT and 205 – now I have to ask about the drones because they are in the thousands in your reports.
Have you started to include all the FPV drones now too?
Almost as many drones as artillery 😶
The report I usually submit, which starts with “AFU:”, has, in addition to KAB etc., also included “kamikaze” drones (which should thus mean FPV drones with explosive payload) since Nov. 2024.
I don’t have the energy to fix the graphics right now, but in Nov. 2024, the seven-day average was about 1500/day, and now a little over a year and a half later, it’s up to 4000/day.
Green parasites
In the end, Harald Mix speaks out in the media about the Northvolt scandal. His answers are slippery and the description of his role appears deceptive. The fact that Mix and his network hold the fate of Boden in their hands is downright frightening, writes Christian Sandström.
https://www.affarsvarlden.se/kronika/sandstrom-mix-om-northvolt-inger-forskrackelse-for-boden
Interesting reading! Regarding profiting from bubbles.
Yes, incredible how some cunning individuals have taken advantage of the green transition and misappropriated public funds. Still, some mainstream media can continue to support these “investments”. The starting point was probably low energy prices and high steel prices, but it has turned out the opposite.
Everything is business.
Green industry wanted to make money and our energy mix and electricity production worked excellently.
If you close six reactors, there was a corresponding electricity production that needed to be built by someone else who then showed gratitude to those who realized the unexpected dream.
A business idea that requires billions of our taxes is not a business idea other than figuring out how to steal our tax money.
Now mechanical carbon dioxide capture is supposed to start being built in Sweden on a large scale with tax money.
Since Stegra is well on its way to bankruptcy, I guess that carbon dioxide capture will go the same way after having washed away additional billions of our tax money.
Yes, Stockholm Vatten is going to store carbon dioxide in the mountain. Extremely expensive of course but politically correct. It seems like there are endless billions in Stockholm for these kinds of projects. Yes, like the new Slussen which turned into a mess with some sewage plant-like pools. The billions are rolling. At the same time, poor pensioners crowd at Lidl and ÖVB for the offers.
Interesting, and yes, scary!
Below is a quote from the former Minister for Financial Markets in an interview in ETC 2019. It is evident from the introduction. I am not even willing to sign up for a free week to read the entire article. However, the statement is quoted in the introduction.
”If the funds do not understand the government’s signals, we may need to recruit new boards”
https://www.etc.se/klimat-miljo/bolund-ryter-till-mot-ap-fondernas-fossilinvesteringar
The AP funds were just doing what they were told. Now there are probably many who have been involved and shared the costs, but they seem to be on the same scale as the closure of a number of nuclear reactors.
One may also wonder why the public is pouring in so much money for so little in return. At best, getting the money back. Kind of. Why not demand full transparency regarding ownership and convertible loans. Kind of.
Then one may wonder if those management consultants contribute anything more of value to society than documents.
– What is Stegra’s business plan – do they have buyers for the more expensive steel of the same quality that is only carbon dioxide-free, or will China succeed in selling its steel of the same quality that is 25% cheaper instead?
– How could Northvolt burn 500 million SEK per month for 4-5 years without managing to build A SINGLE BATTERY.
– What is the business plan with mechanical carbon dioxide capture, how do you make money from it?
– Wind power companies are bleeding from all holes right now – when prices are high, they produce nothing and when prices are negative so they have to pay to sell the electricity then they produce. They seem to have been dependent on state aid to survive so was the business idea to tank tax money?
Selling emission rights is probably the only way to make real profit when it comes to carbon capture, but it will probably take time before it yields any results, and the rules are still a bit unclear.
The same goes for companies that can keep their emissions down, for example by purchasing fossil-free steel.
Although I understand that you tin foil hats who believe that humans do not affect the climate think it’s a waste of money.
China, by the way, is starting to make quite some progress in terms of more fossil-free energy production, even though I don’t think their steel industry has quite caught up.
But fossil-free steel is actually something they (so far) cannot deliver, and that’s exactly what we need to develop if we are to compete. Trying to compete with the lowest price is pointless. That ship has sailed a long time ago.
Wind power means that Vattenfall (Swedish energy company) doesn’t need to empty its reservoirs when it’s windy and can use hydropower when it’s not windy, and then the electricity is expensive at the same time.
We avoid sky-high prices just because it hasn’t rained for a while, as it used to be, but in reality, Vattenfall should be the one subsidizing wind power. They do that too, in a way, because they generate quite a lot of taxes.
Sometimes I wonder if deregulating energy production was a smart move.
The issue of financing nuclear power, where the state seems to be forced to contribute, also points to that.
The new nuclear power deal – I would have included that too.
Another fraud and job order from the other side of the business sector.
But…
I believe that electricity companies and some municipalities have started looking at small portable reactors costing 10 billion SEK, are like a container and solve the energy needs for 1-2 municipalities for all future.
Imagine if the guys behind the job order are TERRIFIED that municipalities can suddenly solve their own energy production for small money.
Off-the-shelf purchase and thus has a fixed price unlike reactors that become 10 times more expensive.
Is it hydropower’s fault that wind power works like this?
I might as well do like Greta and trust the scientists since I don’t understand it myself. Although I have experience in an area that I myself master, where you can’t always rely on them.
Then there is the question of at what pace we in Sweden and the EU should impose on ourselves on the path towards net zero. Especially since the EU’s share of global emissions has gradually become smaller. Now about 6 percent. While China and also India are increasing significantly. There is a lot of talk about China heading towards a decrease. But we haven’t seen that yet. Here are figures for 2024 where they continue to increase in the old good style.
https://www.energyinst.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1658077/Statistical-Review-of-World-Energy.pdf
Reminiscent of the tulip bulb hysteria in Holland. A disaster for individuals and society. But certainly, a number of wealthy individuals became even richer. Difficult to understand how the left wholeheartedly supports it.
Long spaces between the lines – nice 👍
Westley is innocent, it’s the damn IT’s fault as usual!
I worked a bit on handling line and paragraph breaks, worked well during testing.
Then it turned out that when editing, it went wrong (in some cases) and if you edited again, it just got even worse. 🤷🏻♂️
(That’s what happens when you drink corn syrup sweetened soda! 😄)
What happens if Ukraine completely ignores all “do nots”, and just goes for it???
What will TACO do then? “tariffs” on everyone who even mentions UA??
Because, if Ukraine goes All In, there won’t be much left of Russia… and then the war (more or less) ends….
Then the big question is, how much is China playing Russia and Ukraine against each other??? Or? Because China plays cunningly and long-term… and slowly (they heat up the frog before it starts to simmer…).
If it’s the case that Taco plans to go for a black swan a la war, then he must also play with China under the table… because there haven’t been such crazy high tones against them – even though China would be a big enemy… so… they seem to be playing Russian with China too…?
Then we’re really in deep trouble, because the axes of Evil are: UZA – Russia – China – North Korea and possibly Iran….
It’s not a black swan, it’s a black hole.
Just some thoughts to ruin the Friday….
Yes, you read about those who do not have trade deals, we in the west 😀
He’s not completely stupid so he goes hard against everyone but then you have to look at the results.
I’m waiting for when Ukraine does it and we will either join them or they will throw in the towel. Europe was supposed to support them to do it but we have backed down.
I have thought the same thought, China would be the big nut he would have to crack, but there is not much sign of that.
But I also don’t believe in any axis of evil where he teams up with China and Russia.
I think he’s just trying to get the most out of it economically.
When it comes to China, there have probably been a whole bunch of economists explaining to him that while harsh tariffs will indeed cost China a lot, it would also do too much damage to the USA.
China is like Russia, the people might complain but not be able to do much more.
The US population will choose to get rid of Trump as soon as they realize that they have become much worse off economically because everything has become expensive and if unemployment rises.
The unemployment rate has decreased, and if I understood that “big beautiful bill” correctly, he has gone all in to lower taxes for large voter groups – I think he is trying to win over the voters.
Then he is not a god, and the way he sticks out his chin, this could go in any direction, but we are in the middle of July and by now, according to many, the USA should have already collapsed.
Epstein is somewhat epic, he backed out of a promise, and now D wants to release everything without exception. The same D he accused of being Epstein’s biggest clients.
The unemployment rate is quite stable between 4.1-4.2%.
However, an unusually high number of new jobs have been created (which seems to be more common to report on).
The fact that the unemployment rate remains unchanged is due to the measurement of the number of active job seekers and the understanding that many also lose their jobs, resign, or retire.
Tax cuts primarily benefit businesses and the very wealthiest.
Low-income earners, who make up the largest group (about 45% of the population), received almost no tax cuts at all.
Lower middle-income earners (about 30%) received about 5-10% tax relief.
On the other hand, upper middle and high-income earners received around 15-35%, while the small group of the richest 20-25%.
In terms of the total value of the tax cuts, the richest 1% received 20% of the money.
But of course, everyone received a reduction, so it can be said that the majority received tax cuts!
Sir – don’t we have 10% unemployment?
And don’t we aim for 4-5% to have “a labor force pool”?
Yes – unfortunately, Trump implemented tax cuts following the Swedish model.
They should have done like in the UK where the first 15,000 – 25,000 USD were tax-exempt, that would be best.
I remember reading about something like that too, but economics is like black magic to me and I don’t have the energy to search.
Well, we have higher unemployment but maybe we shouldn’t compare ourselves?
The unemployment rate was about the same even during Biden’s time. (In January it was 4%).
Since the cuts that were made at the same time (to finance the tax cuts) affected healthcare, it will probably hit many hard.
It is low-income earners who do not receive health insurance through their employers and they are also the ones who cannot afford to get private insurance.
By the way, saw a video on YT about insurance, can cost 450-750 USD per month per person and 1500-2500 for a family.
Low-income earners earn 10-50,000 USD per year.
The USA and healthcare are quite special.
Visiting the general practitioner for a half-hour consultation can cost around twenty thousand bucks, and giving birth to a child a million or two.
So it’s not the doctor’s hourly rate for half an hour + rent of premises that you pay for, but a price that is set to what?
The prices have simply weighed anchor, and I don’t understand what it is in the free market in the USA that causes such prices?
Is it the insurances?
In Europe, it is subsidized by taxes, but the cost is not nearly as high, right?
Epstein may actually be undone by what he did. He will probably never release any evidence against himself, but it seems that many MAGA supporters are seriously upset.
That is really damn exciting.
I don’t think it’s him himself who is incriminated but that those who would be outed have paid him enormous sums to keep quiet – that’s what I think.
Sounds like typical Trump, but of course he’s in it himself as well, but he probably enjoys making a buck or uses it for blackmail.
Well, since he has edited in that damn surveillance video, he had of course removed everything about himself.
Margin Call is also a good movie about the financial crisis of 2008.
Have to check it 👍
Welcome, Namaste, Willkommen, Spasiba and WELCOME to the legendary Friday intoxication.
MXT is currently, according to his own statement, sitting in his underwear on the balcony waiting for a bottle of vodka to get cold enough so he can start partying, he seems to be having fun.
Hope the rest of you are also drinking – we might not have a designated driver today so I sent the wife to buy food yesterday, and beer…
Then he showed up today mostly because his colleague is back from vacation and it looks bad if you’re absent right away.
The driver’s grandmother has apparently passed away but there is another theory as well – he just got his paycheck and wanted to take a long weekend. I’m starting to learn how things work down here…
Anyway, I started sipping on beers yesterday but fell asleep in front of the TV after three bottles, two Stellas and a Presidente – life comes at you fast, as they say 😶
Partying until 4:00 has been replaced by being able to party until 16:00.
Yesterday it was sugar in Coca-Cola and today there’s a heated debate about Trump’s popularity ratings in the thread, important topics to discuss and we will all learn something 👍
On Monday, there will be a post that I think you will like, lots of history and tribute to Ukraine – don’t miss it at your own risk – when I say it’s good, I mean really good, satisfied with it.
So, I can’t seem to post pictures in posts here, only links, gave up… I know it’s supposed to be possible but it’s impossible.
Funny birds, so much fun 🤣🤣🤣
https://x.com/amazlngnature/status/1944080738376204494?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
And this one is not bad at all, having lived in Scotland for seven years, I can relate 😂😂
https://x.com/dirtyfootbaiier/status/1943761461131571411?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
Yesterday, 205 wrote something about growing up in East Africa, I think it was with the Maasai and he had to hunt his own food?
I’ve made it a bit of a thing to incorporate life into the posts – when I’m accused of being too colonialist, I remind them of my international family and the average salary I pay every month so children can have food in Angola.
That rarely stops those who don’t lift a finger themselves from having strong opinions and tearing everything down in discussions – you make the world a better place by simply arguing with others like a modern Robin Hood with a violent keyboard.
Otherwise, I try to show that I have something to compare with in my wild theories, but often I just want to complain in my miserable existence where life spins faster and faster – laziness is underrated.
Wesley wrote something about coaching a minor football team, but what he didn’t mention was that they haven’t won a match since 2017 🧐
Do you think Fridays would be a good day for exciting insights that could be fun to convey, or is it going too far – will it be like a party in eighth grade where all the girls just sit and cry until their mascara runs, if there’s a risk of that, I can’t handle it?
I thought MXT in his underwear was a bit on the edge but if that’s the standard, then there’s quite a lot to talk about, I thought?
I had a relative who was a missionary’s child in Tanzania or Kenya and had pictures all over the wall with shot rhinos and elephants where he stood on top with a high-caliber rifle and a broad smile. He called the Tanzanians, or Kenyans, “lazy bastards” and had some dishes he brought with him that he gave derogatory names that are not politically correct at all today.
I went there for work as a pure capitalist and brought back many other experiences from my years on the continent but you also become a realist unlike those who sit in front of our media and shape their worldview based on it.
Thinking right also seems to have become increasingly important and those who have actually experienced something and know how it really is are dismissed if it doesn’t fit within what the media reports.
I have the distinct feeling that many of those who read here or on Substack have a lot of life experience and that their opinions are shaped by what they have experienced themselves and thus something worth listening to.
Or maybe I’m completely wrong 😶
Those are not underwear, they are actually shorts! 🤬
Oops, when my comment stands alone, I must admit it felt a bit awkward.
You also had a serious point.
Personal experiences are extremely valuable and priceless, and they are what will shape you as a person.
At the same time, one must also be humble in realizing that they are just one of, today, 10 billion people.
Therefore, listening to and learning from others’ experiences is also necessary if the goal is to gain some form of a comprehensive view of the world.
Having the right opinion is completely subjective but is of course shaped by everything you experience. What the media reports is also part of your experiences, just like propaganda, etc. Filtered, colored, etc. but still something that influences.
Saying that having the right opinion is the same as agreeing with the media may be true for many who allow themselves to be influenced, but today there is media for virtually all perspectives, so I wonder what experiences you have where you believe you know the truth and that it is not represented in the media anywhere?
Is truth subjective?
Isn’t a person with direct experience of something more likely to be right in the matter than someone who doesn’t have it?
If someone only reads something – how does that person know if what is written is correct or not?
We have researchers, specialists, and subject matter experts for a reason, right?
In times of AI, I think it is becoming even more interesting who has knowledge or not because one must interpret AI correctly.
Are you already into deep conversations? Don’t they usually happen first at 5 o’clock in the cockpit of a yacht on the way home after a proper drinking session?
🤣🤣
I agree regarding AI. One must not only interpret, but also check the answers.
The truth is more or less subjective even when it comes to an even higher degree of morality.
But of course, there is a plethora of scientific “absolute” truths, but I assumed that we were not discussing the speed of light or how much it hurts to drop a ton on your foot here on Earth compared to on the moon.
If there are only two people and one has no experience in the subject, experience usually wins (but not always).
But if one party has listened to three thousand others’ experiences and your experience tells you that Håkan Hellström is the best and most pitch-perfect singer there is?
How do you know if your experiences are true or not? There are plenty of people who are convinced that they have spoken with God or seen ghosts.
Can one mistake it for underwear?
Do you think your neighbor interpreted it that way when he reported you this afternoon, or did I completely misunderstand this?
Absolutely, both my shorts and my underwear have a large back flap that is buttoned up.
A wild Friday night to say the least ✊✊
Here the cranes are honking and the kids are sleeping. The thermometer shows 25 C. Now we uncork the Chablis Chablé.
That sounds like a pretty good Friday night out there 👍
Are you a new Friday night reveler?
(sorry if I’ve been away for a month and missed it).
Yes, I am usually an evening-tired person, but if you fortify yourself with something in your stomach in time, you can make it until 10 pm despite a full day of swimming, crab fishing, and sun-drenched kids.
🌞👍
Now one feels a bit like the guy who started with bear brew 2.8s at home, only to discover that the only company at the bar is a Roxette hairstyle in front of the slot machine.
Sometimes it’s a good vibe and I tried to lead with something fun but it’s a tough crowd today to say the least.
MXT was probably arrested because the neighbor called the police on him while he was lying in the garden.
I’m a bit behind schedule but have two six-packs of beer chilling at home waiting for me 😍😍
It’s calm, when the neighbor saw the tailgate with a latch, he became nostalgic and started telling military service memories from I 20.
Then we talked about Ukraine and he knew exactly how to handle the tailgate bridge.
I think we should connect him with Budanov.
“Putin and Erdogan discussed new peace talks”
Two stable old men to confide in when the wind is blowing strong.
Erdogan has really transitioned into becoming a pure UA supporter, he’s an interesting guy.
Trump supporters are burning their caps. Soon a new storming?
Do it 😶
Now damn he will get a blow from a direction he least expected 🤣🤣🤣
I’m burning my Lidl cap here, they have raised the price of German budget ice cream.
a crime committed by Lidl😶
Jumping on the AI bandwagon a bit, the 9-year-old has been attending online school since last winter and I brought along the math books from school in Sweden, or rather, stole them.
He has to calculate everything in his head, and if that doesn’t work, he resorts to paper calculations. If he cheats by checking the answers on his phone, his iPad is taken away for a couple of days.
Today, everything is instantly available on Google, and with AI it becomes even worse, but you still have to learn before using it.
Because if you don’t learn, you have no idea whether the answer is correct or not, and can be manipulated in any way.
About being able to sell any measurement results to the project manager just by saying that you have used a laser.
Sounds like the project managers I crossed paths with in municipal operations in Stockholm 😀
Has the trend of agile working methods reached the municipal level yet?
Isn’t that what they’ve always been doing?
We’ll try this again, it didn’t go so well last time or the time before, the previous time, but this time it will surely be good. We have conducted several surveys that have given us lots of insights.
Thankfully, the eldest son’s teacher is made of old timber and is considered strict by the children, which I think is good 🙂
A calculator should also be banned before mastering the slide rule, not to mention such a simple thing as using a caliper with a tenth of a millimeter!
Indian warship heading towards the Bay of Bothnia? Far from home.
https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000011373103.html
Some Russian low-quality oil that they sell back to the EU refined made in India?
It’s a warship, right?
Although sanctioned against the Russians’ gray fleet, maybe that makes them use everything they can get their hands on?
Soon there will probably be a few thousand rubber boats trying to pass through the Baltic Sea as well.
Good engagement on Friday’s binge drinking and we reached 2500 comments today 👍👍
Next post will be on Monday
Ah, great, so I don’t need to post anything tomorrow?
WTF??!!! Is FredagsFyllan ™ already over???
Well, a late contribution…
The dog and I have been swimming, late in the evening. Came home at 22:50…
And childish as I am, I even brought along some bath toys!!
I got one of those floating mattresses, had the dog float around on it, he found it a bit tense but it worked.
Now towels and swimwear are hanging on the garden furniture, didn’t have the energy to hang them on the line….
A little report on Friday night!
Sounds lovely!
Here we are still on the terrace, just enjoyed a very late espresso in the darkness, the cats are relaxing and the mosquitoes are few!
😭🤬
“In Odessa, a residential building is on fire after a drone strike, according to local channels.
“Despite the active work of our air defense forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure. In particular, multi-apartment housing”
https://bsky.app/profile/babayagafella.bsky.social/post/3lublbh6ilc23
Iran is making new attempts to arm its allied groups in other parts of the region, reports the Wall Street Journal. Israeli and American attacks have hit both Iran and its allies hard, and several seizures recently suggest that Tehran wants to supply proxy groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, with new weapons.
https://omni.se/a/63O20r
The mullahs are as annoying as wasps, you have to take the whole nest so they don’t come back.