humanspiral

is 68% a normal dropoff for 2nd week?

Surpassing Trump's 2nd last year in office.

was commenting on possible tax reforms.

I strongly prefer UBI to conditional programs that have overhead. I get that politics needs to keep us miserable and promise conditional bandaids to a constituency to maximize their power, and the crab mentality that something is promised "just for them" as politics as its always been, but that doesn't seem to be winning, and oligarchist policies are much better funded and mediasplained.

No tax on income below $100K and no tax on wealth, property and inheritance below $1M.

With UBI, it is possible to have a flat tax where corporate and lowest personal tax rates are the same. Without payroll taxes. That means that employment can be tax free as long as business doesn't get a tax deduction, though they still can if they lose money in a year.

There can be surtaxes on incomes above $100k, but they would appear to be very small, when personal income taxes are hidden this way.

record low Arctic sea ice extent, but the extreme is in sea ice volume. https://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icethickness/thk.uk.php

7000km^3 lower than just 2004-2013 average. Just a normal summer will set big record low next fall, potentially with blue ocean at north pole, and likely further record lows next winter.

Low ice extent is driven primarily by hot summer arctic ocean that is fed by early springs of last year. Air temperatures are not of extreme record warmth.

They do make wind turbine towers out of wood in many places. Transportation advantages to it. Weight is non issue.

20% cheaper is probably not good enough for more than 20% less performance output. A heavy blade can stand up, but be less responsive to wind force. They can still be recyclable by melting the glue/veneering, or just made into particle/OSB board.

Leornado DiCaprio says you got 1 more year!

The European "ultra right" parties tend to be NATO/Ukraine "skeptics". European leaders that Trump has praised (Hungary, Turkey) were the most independent from US. Slovakia is independent without being "ultra right". The only nations with good economic growth since Ukraine are the independent ones.

Trump/US behaviour is creating unity among the world against the US. But understand the most sycophantic colonial servitude has come from the moderate governments in Europe. Canadian political heads are all CIA agents, but there too, resistance is forced, and centrist parties have gained huge polling jumps.

The US empire's control over allies is only possible through the subterfuge of "freely chosen love" for their masters. Rulerships defiant of NATO and EU is equivalent to defiant of US, though balkanization of Europe and wars in Europe, is much easier than the wet dream of balkanizing Russia. It is a vector for massive US weapon sales, and similar reconstruction deals as Ukraine for eventually picking a side.

The worst possible decision from EU main 3 is to choose supporting Ukraine in continued war against Russia. Suicidal, and will serve balkanization of Europe objectives. Union with world for independence (not war) from US is the right path.

Drug prohibition is awesome for governments because it means permission to bypass the laws. CIA has definitely funded operations through drugs, and have significant responsibility in crack epidemic. I'm unaware of direct links to Mexican cartels though.

. So, what happens if a Mexican politician was accepting bribes from Narcos and passing legislation favourable to them? When does that become the state sponsoring terrorism?

US has a shaddy history, and near past. Nicaragua contras (freedom fighters???) funded through Columbia/Panama cocaine. Venezuela last election meddling funding Narco gangs to burn things, and previous election, declaring legitimate president to be the main drug lord of the country.

If US declares a group in a country to be terrorists US entitles itself to bomb them, and do whatever else seems entitleable.