But it does feel like being dragged through a sewer.
And, if accurate, what happens when these ‘individuals’ are released at ends of sentence?
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Click image for an 𝕏 thread of other dismaying statistics from The Network State author Balaji Srinivasan. (You’ll only see the thread if you are logged into 𝕏.)
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The Wall Street Journal reports, here via MSN without a paywall, “To Build Ships That Break Ice, the U.S. Must Relearn to Cut Steel”.
PASCAGOULA, Miss.—A $13.3 billion program to safeguard American interests in the Arctic has run aground on an old industrial challenge: cutting and shaping thick, hardened steel.
U.S. officials are racing to procure new polar icebreakers because one of only two that the Coast Guard now sails has reached the end of its life, and the one assigned to the Arctic is out of service for maintenance every winter. Delivery of the first new icebreaker has slipped to 2028 from 2024 as designers, engineers and welders grapple with something the U.S. hasn’t done in decades: reliably shape hardened steel that is more than an inch thick into a curved, reinforced ship’s hull.
The Coast Guard hasn’t launched a new heavy icebreaker since 1976. Out of practice, U.S. shipbuilders have had to relearn how to design and build the specialized vessel, say officials in the industry and the government.
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The science-focused Healy medium icebreaker, which is normally assigned to the Arctic, has to undergo repairs and refitting annually in California or Washington. The other, the heavy icebreaker Polar Star, is nearing the end of its useful service life.
By comparison, Russia has three dozen national icebreakers suitable for the Arctic, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, and China has four, including two icebreaking research ships that regularly appear at high latitudes. U.S. officials suspect those have strategic purposes. Beijing says science is driving its Arctic ambitions.
Russia and China have also been increasing cooperation in the Bering Sea and the Arctic. One Coast Guard cutter intercepted a joint Russian-Chinese squadron of warships last year in the exclusive economic zone near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Last month, a larger Russian-Chinese group was tracked by U.S. warships and surveillance craft.
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Besides a powerful propulsion system, the key feature of a heavy polar icebreaker is its thick hull, which needs extra strength, framing to reinforce its shape and smooth curves for maneuverability in sea ice, Coast Guard officers say.
The machinery and skills to build the hulls of most oceangoing vessels aren’t sufficient for the specialized icebreakers. The hull plates need a bespoke alloy and specialized heat-treatment, with a process to form and weld massive curved plates.
“Higher-strength steels require very skilled people,” said Jeff Moskaluk, senior vice president at SSAB Americas, a supplier of steel to the icebreaker program. “It’s not like you just treat it the same as any other piece of steel. It takes a beating—that’s exactly what the steel is designed for.”
In addition to the technical challenge, American yards are reckoning with a shortage of shipwrights. Employment in ship and boat building totaled just 154,800 in July after peaking at 1.3 million during World War II, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
“One of the challenges is the workforce—getting qualified welders,” said Bob Merchent, retired former chief executive of VT Halter Marine, since acquired by Bollinger Shipyards.
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You mean there is still polar ice!? I thought…. But “the science?”
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A related reference:
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Probably a little late for this but this is for you John.
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You’ll note that nowhere is Canada mentioned despite the obvious interest they should have in the matter. I love my homeland, but they are crazy.
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My base case is that this is an arm twist for more money for the swamp. Zuck is going to need to come up with more than 450 million for the 2024 election.
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Ukraine war propaganda machine breaks down—“Had a problem with the tranny.”
Meanwhile, Commandante Z is hinting at terrorism by all those military-age men who have fled his paradise for more peaceful parts of Christendom.
Quoting an Economist interview published on 2023-09-10 (paywalled):
Curtailing aid to Ukraine will only prolong the war, Mr Zelensky argues. And it would create risks for the West in its own backyard. There is no way of predicting how the millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries would react to their country being abandoned.
Ukrainians have generally “behaved well” and are “very grateful” to those who sheltered them. They will not forget that generosity. But it would not be a “good story” for Europe if it were to “drive these people into a corner”.
(Emphasis added by ZeroHedge.)
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Here is the Mission Statement, Values, & History of the Utah Population and Environment Council.
Our Values
- Reproductive freedom
- Gender equity
- Diversity and inclusion
- Quality of life for present and future generations
- Thinking globally, acting locally
- Sustainability and ecological integrity
This is a 501 (c) 3 do-badder organisation, not funded (apart from tax exemption) by the state.
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Bwahahahaha! Good one John. Maybe it’s gear box is packed too tight! Hahaha
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Apparently there is an institute … what will they invent next?
The 76-year-old Serbian artist had previously carried out these performances herself.
For this run she has enlisted a 42-strong team of “re-performers”, many of whom are graduates trained in her method at her institute in New York.
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But do members have diplomatic immunity?
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Where do they get off claiming Scott violated labour law? Hold on to your hat…
On Monday September 18, 2023 Tim Scott threatened employees with adverse consequences if they engage in protected, concerted activity by publicly responding to a question about striking workers as follows: ‘You strike, you’re fired.’”
The complaint was filed against Scott in his capacity as a representative for Tim Scott for America. In addition to being a senator representing the state of South Carolina, Scott is running for president, making him an employer as well. The premise of the complaint is that Scott’s comments could be construed as a direct threat against his campaign staffers, whose right to strike is enshrined in federal law.
So, you see, when he threatens UAW workers, he’s actually threatening his campaign workers, for whom he is the employer. (I doubt seriously Scott’s campaign workers are unionised.)
As I used to say after learning about things such as the “quiet period” around an initial public stock offering and the criminal sanctions for discussing financial results before they are filed with the SEC, “If you think you have freedom of speech in the U.S., just try opening your mouth.”
The “CEO trials” in Travis Corcoran’s Aristillus novels don’t seem far fetched at all if you’ve ever been CEO of a U.S. public company.
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