The Goat Pen

Posted: **Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:53 pm**

bluetick wrote:... and the report got a lot of attention here and worldwide due to the findings and the accompanying dire forecasts.

You mean "findings" like East Anglia, the IPCC, and most recently, this?

Climate contrarian uncovers scientific error, upends major ocean warming study
November 16, 2018 by Joshua Emerson Smith

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-climate-c ... r.html#jCp

And as for those "dire forecasts," you mean like this?

Experts said Arctic sea ice would melt entirely by September 2016 - they were wrong

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/201 ... ember-201/

Posted: **Wed Nov 28, 2018 10:13 am**

Posted: **Wed Nov 28, 2018 2:44 pm**

[youtube]sAELs42aZt4[/youtube]

Posted: **Wed Nov 28, 2018 2:52 pm**

Donnie: "It's a pleasure being in Pleasure. Great name for a town - Pleasure."
fireman: "It's Paradise, sir."
Donnie: "You bet it is. Just great."

Posted: **Wed Nov 28, 2018 10:53 pm**

Here's advance video of Jeff Manafort - Mueller's star witness - called to testify against Trump:

[youtube]eUjjzwIrebQ[/youtube]

Posted: **Thu Nov 29, 2018 9:54 am**

I can also remember when the elitist/holier than thou pinheads(establishment) told us we were running out of oil....get used to it. They now spout the AGW doomsday cant.

The most important news in world politics this month isn’t about diplomacy. Bigger than Brexit, more consequential than presidential tweetstorms, the American shale revolution is rapidly reshaping the global balance of power as energy prices plummet.

Until recently, observers expected American energy production to reach a plateau. A lack of pipeline capacity was expected to constrain output in the Permian Basin through 2020. Instead, shippers found ways to use existing pipelines more efficiently, and new pipelines were constructed faster than expected. U.S. crude-oil production is expected to average 12.1 million barrels a day in 2019, 28% higher than in 2017. Surging production has roiled world energy markets.

The biggest loser is Iran. Shale has been pummeling Tehran for some time. The economic benefits Iran hoped to gain from President Obama’s nuclear deal were largely offset by the sharp 2016 fall in the price of oil. Now the pesky Permian is blighting Iranian hopes again. Rising American output made it easier for the U.S. to slap tough sanctions on Iran without risking a sharp rise in world energy prices. Low prices also reduce Iran’s income from the oil it still manages to sell.

The next biggest loser is Russia. Oil is a key revenue source for the Kremlin. But the shale boom doesn’t only pick Vladimir Putin’s pocket; it also attacks his foreign-policy strategy.

Russia wants to control the world oil price and use that power to boost its diplomatic weight. Mr. Putin has two ways to influence the price of oil. The first is to increase geopolitical tensions. If threatening Ukraine or bombing Syria spooks traders and jacks up energy prices, Russia has a better hand in negotiations with Europe and the U.S.

Mr. Putin’s second option is to cooperate with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on price fixing. Building a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia over their common interest in inflated oil prices might loosen the kingdom’s U.S. ties and generate lucrative commercial and arms deals for the Kremlin.

Shale disrupts both approaches. With supplies relatively abundant, energy markets can shrug off geopolitical shocks. The surge of American oil and gas also reduces the benefits of OPEC-Russia cooperation for both sides. Russia and OPEC can raise prices by reducing output, but that makes new drilling projects more profitable for American frackers. Cutting prices to starve the competition also doesn’t work. Thanks to past pressure from OPEC and the innovation it forced on the industry, many wells in West Texas now break even at an oil price of $30 a barrel. That’s not a price Russia can accept.

America’s latest shale success is also bad news for the Gulf sheikhdoms. As their incomes fall, their control over the world’s oil price diminishes, as does their ability to fund global Islamic movements. Meanwhile, their importance to the U.S. gradually declines while their military dependence on the U.S. and even Israel grows.

Closer to home, falling energy prices from the shale surge also strengthen America’s hand. The pressure on Venezuela, a major oil producer, increases. The troubled Central American countries sending migrants to the U.S., energy consumers all, get an economic reprieve. Mexico may be pressured to pursue more business-friendly economic policies. More than a sixth of the Mexican government’s revenue comes from energy; falling prices will force the incoming government to find ways to attract more foreign capital.

Europe, too, benefits from low energy prices. They are a relief in particular to French President Emmanuel Macron, whose government faced violent protests over the weekend over fuel taxes. Falling prices also offer relief to Italy. They might help Rome and Brussels reach a fiscal compromise.

Ever since the shale boom began, diplomats and politicians have underestimated its importance. The U.S. has regained the position it lost in 1973 as the world’s largest oil producer, which it will likely hold through at least the 2040s. The consequences for energy markets and world politics will be far-reaching. Roughnecks in the American Southwest are doing more than most foreign ministries to change the world.

But the shale revolution isn’t only an energy revolution; it’s a technology revolution, enabled by advanced methods for oil prospecting and extraction. From the transistor to satellites, to the personal computer to the internet and now shale, it is America’s innovation—as much as its hard power and diplomacy—that shapes world politics.

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 9:09 am**

Welp, The World's Most Successful Witch Hunt took a real turn with Cohen's plea agreement yesterday. "No dealings with Russia" has now become "hey, I couldn't stop doing business, could I - what if I didn't win?" Donnie's tortured protestations before he boarded AF1 is already an instant classic.

Tweeting the kind of propaganda seen on the side of the MAGA-bomber's van is not a good look for the president. The daily all-caps pleadings don't inspire much confidence in his claims of innocence. There's a strong sense of desperation buliding - unhinginess if you will. People are saying.

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 1:40 pm**

People are saying

You mean like this?

[youtube]qjUvfZj-Fm0[/youtube]

THIS IS IT!!! This time! No kidding! Seriously! I really mean it this time! Lmao

Newsflash: An American private businessman negotiating deals with Russian businesses before he was elected president is only a crime in the Left's mind. Something about that word "Russia"makes Leftists lose all their marbles.

Take the "treasonous" meeting Donald Jr. scheduled with a couple of Russian lawyers, which lasted about 15 minutes, and where they discussed adoption laws. That is not a crime. Even if it was supposed to be about getting oppo research from them, that is not a crime. Even Hillary did it, according to the MAGA-mouthpiece, the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... 731b916bc1

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 2:40 pm**

If you weren't bothered by the PAH, as a sitting Secretary of State, receiving millions of dollars in bribes to her personal Clinton Foundation from those evil dastardly Russians, while she was making official decisions on US Uranium that were favorable to those same evil dastardly Russians, then we Trump supporters will show the same degree of concern about Trump's pre-POTUS business dealings with Russian businesses that went nowhere.

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:30 pm**

If I ever used the "I" word I don't recall it, but since you like to bring it up....yeah, I think he'll get impeached in 2019. Just the sheer volume of lies coming from him and his team has to mean there's crimes involved. And many thought there was a ready-made obstruction case 15 months ago - long before the many indictments and flips. Yessir, people are saying.

As for granny Hills - if (again) you have a link detailing a sale of US uranium to Russia with her name attached to it, please share it blah blah. And I'm not bothered because she isn't being investigated, don'tcha see? A better whataboutism would've been BENGHAZI!, where 9 separate GOP investigations were aimed at her. Nine misses. heh

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:54 pm**

"The Committee was the chief investigative and oversight committee of the House, and was granted broad jurisdiction. This committee was very active during the Clinton administration. It issued 1,052 subpoenas to probe alleged misconduct by the administration and the Democratic Party between 1997 and 2002. By contrast, by the end of the 2005 session, Davis and the majority had only permitted three subpoenas to be issued to the George W. Bush administration"

I'm sure there are some dems currently serving who were in office back then who remember those 1000+ subpoenas. Tick tock, tick tock...

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:28 pm**

bluetick wrote:So the WH okays the release of the administration's Climate Change Report...on Black Friday, when they thought it'd get lost in mall riot stories. Such was not the case, however, and the report got a lot of attention here and worldwide due to the findings and the accompanying dire forecasts.

So when Donnie was pressed about it, he said he "didn't believe it." And like toe, you can bet he hasn't (and won't) read it. NASA is one of the 16 agencies involved...hey, did'ya see where they stuck that landing on Mars after a 300,000,000 mile trip? Me - I'll take THEIR word over a guy who walks around trailing toilet paper and is sometimes confused about his current location.

It's even money whether nukes or climate will do us in first. It's funny though how the right pushes this idea that technology will save us from the latter. We'll just put some gasses in the atmosphere that will block out the sun or some shit. Sure that'll end well. Almost as funny as the super rich thinking they can build enclaves deep in the ground. Sorry bitches. Mom's comin' round to put it all back the way it oughta be soon.

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 9:04 pm**

There's no way things "ought" to be from nature's standpoint. Humans may destroy themselves, but the world will go on and in, oh, 10 million years, some other forms of life will thrive on this planet. Then in another 500 million years the sun will go supernova and Earth will become a piece of charcoal floating in space, if it's not incinerated into absolute ash and blown thru space as dust...

Posted: **Fri Nov 30, 2018 9:43 pm**

Wish that would happen to you by sunrise. Poof.

Posted: **Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:19 am**

It's even money whether nukes or climate will do us in first. It's funny though how the right pushes this idea that technology will save us from the latter.

Incorrect. The right isn’t looking to technology to save us from something that, to the extent it exists at all, is 100% natural. The earth’s climate has been fluctuating wildly for millions of years, and man had nothing to do with it. If it goes up or down by tiny little increments over the next century, then it is not our doing, and it is not a catastrophe.

Posted: **Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:37 am**

Sorry bitches. Mom's comin' round to put it all back the way it oughta be soon

Most religions have an eschatology. The AGW religion has one too. Thanks for sharing your faith in the Second Coming of Gaeia.

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2018 9:34 am**

Written by a NYT Clinton gobbler.

TORONTO — The snow is falling lightly.

My thoughts are racing darkly.

I’m feeling something foreign, something I’ve never felt before. It takes me a moment to identify it.

I’m feeling sorry for the Clintons.

In the 27 years I’ve covered Bill and Hillary, I’ve experienced a range of emotions. They’ve dazzled me and they’ve disgusted me.

But now they’re mystifying me.

I’m looking around Scotiabank Arena, the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s a depressing sight. It’s two-for-the-price-of-one in half the arena. The hockey rink is half curtained off, but even with that, organizers are scrambling at the last minute to cordon off more sections behind thick black curtains, they say due to a lack of sales. I paid $177 weeks in advance. (I passed on the pricey meet-and-greet option.) On the day of the event, some unsold tickets are slashed to single digits.

I get reassigned to another section as the Clintons’ audience space shrinks. But even with all the herding, I’m still looking at large swaths of empty seats — and I cringe at the thought that the Clintons will look out and see that, too. It was only four years ago, after all, that Canadians were clamoring to buy tickets to see the woman who seemed headed for history.

I can’t fathom why the Clintons would make like aging rock stars and go on a tour of Canada and the U.S. at a moment when Democrats are hoping to break the stranglehold of their cloistered, superannuated leadership and exult in a mosaic of exciting new faces.

What is the point? It’s not inspirational. It’s not for charity. They’re not raising awareness about a cause, like Al Gore with global warming. They’re only raising awareness about the Clintons.

It can’t be the money at this point. Have they even spent all the Goldman gold yet? Do they want to swim in their cash like Scrooge McDuck?

The Clintons’ tin cup is worthy of the Smithsonian. They hoovered more than $2 billion in contributions to their campaigns, foundation and philanthropies.

After the White House, the money-grubbing raged on, with the Clintons making over 700 speeches in a 15-year period, blithely unconcerned with any appearance of avarice or of shady special interests and foreign countries buying influence. They stockpiled a whopping $240 million. Even leading up to her 2016 presidential run, Hillary was packing in the speeches, talking to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the American Camp Association, eBay, and there was that infamous trifecta of speeches for Goldman Sachs worth $675,000.

“What scares me the most is Hillary’s smug certainty of her own virtue as she has become greedy and how typical that is of so many chic liberals who seem unaware of their own greed,” Charlie Peters, the legendary liberal former editor of The Washington Monthly, told me. “They don’t really face the complicity of what’s happened to the world, how selfish we’ve become and the horrible damage of screwing the workers and causing this resentment that the Republicans found a way of tapping into.” He ruefully worries about the Obamas in this regard, too.

But watching the Clintons hash over their well-worn tale of falling in love at Yale Law School, I realize that it’s not only about the money.

Some in Clintonworld say Hillary fully intends to be the nominee. Once more, in Toronto, she didn’t rule it out, dodging the question with a lame joke. She carries herself with the air of a president in exile. Her consigliere, Philippe Reines, has prodded reporters on including her name when they write about 2020 candidates.

And Bill has given monologues to old friends about how Hillary knows how she’d have to run in 2020, that she couldn’t have a big staff and would just speak her mind and not focus-group everything. (That already sounds focus-grouped.)

After losing to an orange puffer clown fish who will go down as one of the most destructive forces in American history and flushing the Obama legacy down the drain, that’s delusional. Some Obama associates say the former president has some regrets about throwing his support solely behind Hillary and knows he misread the anger and frustration of voters.

Bill was radioactive in the midterms and Hillary was the Ghost of Christmas Past. Her approval rating is at a record low of 36 percent. The only American who seems truly interested in her these days is President Donald Trump, who can’t stop tweeting about her. She’s still money in his book.

The Clintons refuse to be discarded. It has been their joint project for half a century to be at the center of the public scene and debate. The way that the whole thing came crashing down in 2016 is too hard for them to bear. They would like to rewrite the ending, but there is no way to do that.

Nothing they have done lately suggests that they have learned anything, including their obtuse post-#MeToo comments about Monica Lewinsky, who has been far more candid and sympathetic in the 20th anniversary retellings of the impeachment saga. The Clintons are still unable to hold themselves accountable. The formerly golden couple who dominated their party for nearly three decades is traveling North America in a bubble, shockingly un-self-aware.

Their pathological need to be relevant in America is belied by a Canadian arena, where stretches of empty seats bear witness to the passing of their relevance.

It’s a pity.

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:13 am**

Looks like Cohen's "blockbuster" and "bombshell" and "explosive" and "turning point" and "beginning of the end" testimony against Trump is going the same way as all the other "THIS IS IT" duds.

From the Neo-Nazi Real Clear Investigations:

For Trump, Cohen Plea Deal's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Exoneration
December 03, 2018

On page 7 of the statement of criminal information filed against Cohen, which is separate from but related to the plea agreement, Mueller mentions that Cohen tried to email Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office on Jan. 14, 2016, and again on Jan. 16, 2016. But Mueller, who personally signed the document, omitted the fact that Cohen did not have any direct points of contact at the Kremlin, and had resorted to sending the emails to a general press mailbox. Sources who have seen these additional emails point out that this omitted information undercuts the idea of a “back channel” and thus the special counsel's collusion case.

Page 2 of the same criminal information document holds additional exculpatory evidence for Trump, sources say. It quotes an August 2017 letter from Cohen to the Senate intelligence committee in which he states that Trump “was never in contact with anyone about this [Moscow Project] proposal other than me.” This section of Cohen’s written testimony, unlike other parts, is not disputed as false by Mueller, which sources say means prosecutors have tested its veracity through corroborating sources and found it to be accurate.

“So as far as collusion goes,” the source added, "the project is actually more exculpatory than incriminating for Trump and his campaign.”

Mueller’s office declined comment to RealClearInvestigations.

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com ... trump.html

Wiley Coyote is doing his warmup stretching exercises....

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:47 am**

Professor Tiger wrote:
Mueller’s office declined comment to RealClearInvestigations.

LOL - you'd think Mueller would clear his schedule for every crackpot rwnj article that comes out.

Posted: **Mon Dec 03, 2018 11:56 am**

To be fair - other articles in the last few hours that Mueller hasn't had a chance to comment on:

Cohen's guilty plea suggests Russia has 'leverage' over Trump, top ...Washington Post-20 hours ago

AP fact check: Trump's claims on Russia probe, Michael Cohen CBS NewsHour-1 hour ago

Mueller is building a conspiracy case that's likely to ensnare Trump ...Opinion-USA TODAY-7 hours ago

House Democrats Shift Their Focus From Collusion to LeverageIn-Depth-The Atlantic-2 hours ago

Michael Cohen Just Undermined One of Donald Trump's Key Russia ...TIME-Nov 29, 2018

For two years, Donald Trump has repeated a simple defense when faced with questions about Russia: He has no personal business with it. Michael Cohen's plea deal shows that Russia did have something on ...Vox-Nov 30, 2018

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump and Russia: Prosecutors document ...USA TODAY-Nov 29, 2018

The smoke around Donald Trump and Russia is choking his presidency In-Depth-CNN-Nov 29, 2018

3 takeaways about Trump's role in Cohen's lies, from Cohen's new filing Opinion-Washington Post-Dec 1, 2018

Cohen's Account Of Russia Talks Raises Questions About Trump Jr ...In-Depth-NPR-Nov 30, 2018

What Happens If ...Opinion-New York Times-15 hours ago

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