[waterflower]

How about we go back to water powered engines,G.H. Garrett, Stanley Myers. Just to name a few. Wireless electrical engines (ether). Nikola Tesla. The amazing technology that has been buried-literally. Research. Google is not your friend humans.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by La lamy

That is a VERY OLD point of view!!!! Look up the top happiest countries in the world. Socialist countries are at the top, USA is #23.

The top countries are not socialist...............the are or have moved away from socialism.

[Buzman]

Originally Posted by RICH1

The Keystone Pipeline was built to EXPORT Oil...

The Keystone Pipeline was built to transport Canadian oil to Illinois refineries. Look it up.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Buzman

The Keystone Pipeline was built to transport Canadian oil to Illinois refineries. Look it up.

For the first two phases, yes. Then it was expanded to transport the oil to the Gulf of Mexico.

I looked it up in Wikipedia which pointed me to this article which includes:

The KXL Pipeline would have carried Canadian tar sands oil through Montana, nine South Dakota counties, and Nebraska before connecting to the existing Keystone Pipeline, which ends at the Gulf of Mexico.

and

Energy experts say most of the crude would have been processed at American refineries along the Gulf Coast. But there’s debate over whether most of the final product would have been sold in the U.S. or to overseas markets.

So it looks like the Canadian oil would have gone to refineries in the Gulf and likely would have been exported.

[airstreamingypsy]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

The top countries are not socialist...............the are or have moved away from socialism.

They are democratic socialist........

[CoachKandSportsguy]

there is capitalism, corporatism, and socialism

there is autocracy and democracy

please don't confuse the -isms with the -ocracies. .

the suffix moderator. .

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Marine1974

I disagree, when the government moves away from energy independence and buys foreign oil, freight costs go up on all items sold . When oil prices jumped from $30 a barrel to $130 a barrel, Russia, Iran , Syria , Saudi Arabia and other bad actors financed their wars and terrorist groups . Meanwhile our government started pumping billions into the military industrial complex.

Brent Crude petroleum is at this moment selling for $74.49 per barrel. Not $130. $30 a barrel was an aberration, and when it occurred, President Trump sent an emissary to the Saudis to plead with them to pump out less petroleum so the price would go up because the U.S. was closing down wells because the price was too low. Had you forgotten that?

Here’s what was published in Forbes (a very conservative business source on July 1, 2024:
“Establishing Consistent Terminology
“It’s important to understand that the following two statements are each true under a consistent definition of energy independence.
“If the U.S. is not energy independent under Joe Biden, then it was never energy independent under Donald Trump.
“If the U.S. was energy independent under Donald Trump, then energy independence has grown to record levels under Joe Biden.
“ Under no scenario did the U.S. become energy independent under Trump and lose it under Biden.
“ I don’t find this definition very useful, due to the globalized nature of energy markets. The U.S. imports some energy to convert it into products for export. We began importing crude oil in the U.S. before 1950, and we have imported it every year since.
“ Under this definition, the U.S. hasn’t been energy independent in at least 75 years. This definition highlights how interdependent global energy supplies are, emphasizing that this sort of energy independence is neither necessary nor economically desirable.
“ Thus, the notion, “President Trump made us energy independent”, is not true under the Zero Imports Definition. During President Trump’s term, the U.S. imported an average of 9.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and finished products. By the Zero Imports Definition, Statement 1 above holds: We weren’t energy independent under Trump or Biden.
The Energy Surplus Definition is more useful in my view. That defines energy independence as producing more energy than we consume. Based on that definition, even if we import some energy, the fact that we produce more than enough to satisfy our needs would mean the U.S. is energy independent.

“The Energy Surplus Definition is what Trump is using when he said we became energy independent while he was in office. If we consider this definition, in 2019 the U.S. had an energy surplus for the first time since at least the 1940s. This can be seen in the following graphic when the production line barely exceeds the consumption line for the first time in 2019.
“ The Energy Surplus Definition is more useful in my view. That defines energy independence as producing more energy than we consume. Based on that definition, even if we import some energy, the fact that we produce more than enough to satisfy our needs would mean the U.S. is energy independent.
“ Net U.S. energy imports hit a record high in 2005, but since then have steadily declined due to the surge of oil and gas production released by the shale boom. In 2019, net U.S. energy imports became net exports, and that is the measure by which many — including Donald Trump — declared energy independence.
“However, we didn’t lose this status under Joe Biden. To the contrary, U.S. oil and gas production continued to grow, as shown in the next graphic. In 2022 the net energy surplus reached 5.94 quadrillion BTUs (quads), which was the highest level in at least 70 years.”

Don’t imagine that Energy Independence means we don’t bring in petroleum from elsewhere. What happens is a bit like this: we have LOTS of M&Ms, but we have more brown ones than we need and not enough red and yellow ones, so we import red and yellow ones and export brown ones. What happened under both Trump and Biden (though neither should be taking the credit, as it doesn’t have much to do with them) is that the U.S. is exporting more M&Ms than it is importing.

If you want to know the truth, don’t turn to campaign ads from either side.
U.S. Energy Independence Set New Record In 2023

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by airstreamingypsy

They are democratic socialist........

Yep, quite different than LL's statement of "Socialist countries are at the top".

[Cuervo]

Originally Posted by La lamy

That is a VERY OLD point of view!!!! Look up the top happiest countries in the world. Socialist countries are at the top, USA is #23.

I agree to a point, but to maintain a Socialist country the citizens of that country have to keep a watchful eye. You see Socialism and Dictatorship are not that far apart. Sweden which many people look at as a Socialist country is a combination of Socialism and Capitalism. On the other hand, China and Cuba are considered complete Socialist.
The question is what type of government you want to live under the Swedish or the U.S. and no matter which you have to participate to make sure your freedom stays in place.

[opinionist]

Our current financial system allows us to use printed money to buy foreign oil.
BRICS is leading the way to trade tangible goods and take power away from financial manipulators.
Our manufacturing was moved out of the country and the dollar will no longer be the reserve currency.
Our financial system is coming to an end and we will be forced to join the BRICS system.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by La lamy

That is a VERY OLD point of view!!!! Look up the top happiest countries in the world. Socialist countries are at the top, USA is #23.

What are these "Socialist" countries that are so happy?

Methinks they are not actually socialist, at all...

[Moderator]

Reminder:

It is intolerable to make any derogatory comments about any person based on religion, race, age, gender, etc.

Please remember this is a large community with many members from all parts of the world, representing all people.

Please refrain from posting messages that contain potential hot topics known as polarizing arguments.

A tone of “kindness” is appreciated for all discussions.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by La lamy

That is a VERY OLD point of view!!!! Look up the top happiest countries in the world. Socialist countries are at the top, USA is #23.

That is a good post! Americans live under the illusion that we are the best at EVERYTHING. So we do NOT try to learn anything from other counties. Just as an example, the US is the only major country that does NOT have socialized medicine. Actually, the V. A. could be expanded to include all people and that would give us National Healthcare like ALL the other major countries. Medical insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are set up to make EXCESSIVE profits.
......The bottom line is that we should look at other countries and be willing to LEARN from them.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Rocksnap

I don’t think they are happy in Cuba right now. Would be nice to just have some clean running water.
Many news articles about the Chinese people very unhappy. Venezuela same thing.
I guess you mean what we are being told here. You will own nothing and be happy.
I for one will stick with Capitalism over Socialism, any day of the week. After actually having visited many socialist countries over the years, socialist countries are pretty depressing.
Not to mention, in socialist countries, the 1% ruling class lives in splendor, while the 99% live in squalor. No thanks! I’d rather live & die a poor free man.

Instead of picking the WORST of socialistic countries which have a multitude of problems that can't be solved by ANY type of government. Instead, look to Sweden and Finland for the benefits of socialism. The problem is that in the US, the word socialism has taken on such a negative meaning. It becomes connected with communism, which then equates to enemies that the US has fought wars with.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

there is capitalism, corporatism, and socialism

there is autocracy and democracy

please don't confuse the -isms with the -ocracies. .

the suffix moderator. .

I prefer the term Dictatorship to autocracy. Autocracy sounds too tame. Not frightening enough like Dictatorship.