Light, electricity, or current is necessary for the growth and development of any economy, especially the poor economies of Africa. Most people in these African countries do not have access to electricity. In 1996, the people of Sub-Saharan African countries had 28.4% access to electricity, and this access increased to 40.6% by 2021. In Liberia, this access increased from 3% in 1996 to 29.8% by 2021 (WB, 2023).
This access to electricity in Liberia is associated with costs, as no choice is without cost in any country or in any decision-making situation. High costs are associated with national decision-making in most African countries, with their respective money-driven decision-making situations. These situations are at once bad and very costly. They are bad because they are in the realm of bad governance. They are very costly because less costly choices could have been made. Less costly choices were not made and are not being made because the bad governance of state management remains corrupt. In the absence of electricity, most persons do not have access to schooling, health, food, and other basic needs.
Liberia is faced with three options in terms of access to electricity: two short to medium-term options and one long-term option. The first set of options come from the United States of America (USA) based company High Power Explanation (HPX) and the Turkish based company Karpowership. The long term option is from the CLSG Group of countries. HPX has a problem of access to the use of the railroad for transporting from ore from the Mifergui Mines from the Liberia-Guinea border to Liberia when the railroad is controlled by Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steel production company. All of the companies are profit-oriented. State management is Liberia is at once money-seeking and corrupt. The situation in Liberia forces State management to engage the first two companies because Liberia is seeking finance, even budgetary assistance. Yet, the State management is Liberia announces its preference for the CLSG option. What an irony!
Hur's testimony was a disaster for Democrats. It produced a litany of viral moments, all showing Biden to be both flagrantly disrespectful of the law and in steep mental decline. It's a news cycle the White House couldn't afford given the current president's already tenuous re-election effort.
Also, the president was not “exonerated” //
During today’s hearing Democrats falsely used the word “exoneration” a number of times. Hur noted that the word “does not appear anywhere in my report, and that is not my conclusion.”
So, the fact remains that there are two ways to look at the Hur report. Either the president lacks the mental acuity to be charged for breaking the law, or he should be charged for breaking the law. Pick one.
Indiana is making deals to sell land to a gravely adversarial threat country, and hiding its actions.
During an appearance on Fox News's “America Reports,” Turley gave a perfect example.
Well, I thought the Republicans did a particularly good job today. Often the Democrats are way ahead in framing of hearings, but at points the Democrats seemed almost a border on the delusional.
When you had Hur say ‘I did not exonerate the president’ and then Democrats would say ‘OK, so you exonerated the president’ and he would say ‘No, I didn’t’ and they would say ‘Thank you for that, with that exoneration.’
So for a lot of people watching, they probably kept on having to sort of reverse and see if they missed something here. //
Turley continued:
The fact is that Hur tried over and over again to distinguish between his findings, which is that he was not confident he could convict if he did bring any charges, and the statement of Democrats that the president was cleared. //
I'm not a prosecutor but it seems to me after listening to multiple legal opinions — including Turley, several times — on this case that it should have been left to a jury to determine whether or not Biden is sufficiently competent to be held accountable.
What am I missing? Other than the reality of the two-tier justice system, I mean. //
anon-cdoc
10 hours ago edited
I am of mixed minds as to whether Hur is going with the incompetency excuse because he doesn't think he can get a conviction in a DC or Delaware jury pool. HOWEVER, Joe Biden broke the law and basically committed espionage. There are people in prison for the same thing, but one or two instances, not 40 freaking years worth. Joe Biden should still be charged as soon as he is no longer a sitting president and at least make the effort. Make him spend some of those millions on defending himself, just like Trump! //
Highlar75
4 hours ago
One of the things that has always struck me in Hur's report, and again during the hearing, was what it didn't say/emphasize: these were crimes committed not NOW...but decades ago when Biden WAS fully functioning and aware of what he did. To me, THAT is the way a prosecutor would handle this case. Hur is trying to place it all NOW, when that's not the case at all. Or am I missing something in Hur's defense of his report? //
Sojourner Hound Dog
2 hours ago
Respectfully disagree. While I would certainly like Biden to be tried/impeached/etc. for what is a lengthy spell of purloining items that he had no right to be in possession of, the reality - for me - is that Hur far exceeded what anyone thought he would be able to do.
His "unsatisfying" conclusion (because we DO want to see actual justice done to the crook) was brilliant: the pro-Biden DoJ couldn't squash the report b/c of the way Hur framed his conclusions. Similarly, it leaves the door open down the road for someone to say, "The heck with that, let's see if a jury will convict him" b/c the report did NOT exonerate Biden. Quite the contrary, it laid out that Biden committed crimes.
FWIW
A low power factor causes poor system efficiency. The total apparent power must be supplied by the electric utility. With a low power factor, or a high-kilovar component, additional generating losses occur throughout the system. //
The application of capacitor kilovars up to the no-load kilowatt-amperes results in a lagging power factor for all load conditions.
Look at the power triangle, kW kVA kVAR formula can be written as below,
kVA2 = kW2 + kVAR2
kVA = √ (kW2 + kVAR2)
Look at the above formula, the kVA is equal to the square root of the sum of the square of the kW and KVAR. //
kVAR is equal to the sin of power angle times of kVA.
kVAR = kVA * sin(φ)
or
Reactive power = apparent power * sin of power angle.
The power angle φ can be calculated by the cosine inverse of power factor //
kVAR is equal to the tan of kW. Hence the formula can be
kVAR = kW * tan (φ)
Reactive power in kilo volt-ampere reactive = kW * tan (power angle)
Interestingly, no eco-activists are blockading the roads into Reinhardswald (site of Sleeping Beauty Castle), or tying themselves to trees to protect the “old growth forests” //
The energy suicide of Germany is rapidly becoming legendary.
Legal Insurrection readers will recall that the nation shuttered its last nuclear power plant in 2023. The German government decided to double down on net-zero dreams and renewable energy promises.
Germany is already big on wind: with nearly 30,000 onshore wind turbines, the country trails only the US and China.
But it’s not enough to meet the country’s climate goals. Today, only 0.8% of Germany’s land area is approved for onshore wind energy. By 2032, the government wants to have 2% of land area allocated for onshore wind power. This means installing between 1,000 and 1,500 new turbines a year, or four to five a day by 2030, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently said.
Germany needs wind energy to meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2045, a target it’s currently in danger of missing, according to multiple studies. The country also missed its emissions reduction targets the last two years in a row, according to think tank Agora Energiewende. //
A large area of Reinhardswald, an ancient German forest featured in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, is being partially cut down in favour of 241-metre tall wind turbines.
Following a months-long construction freeze, administrative courts have allowed heavy machinery to raze parts of the forest, including some trees that are more than 200 years old.
Around 120,000 trees in the 200km² mountainous woodland in the Weser Uplands in the district of Kassel, Hesse, are said to have been condemned to the axe. //
Germany passed legislation in 2019 to shut down all its coal plants by 2038, and last year the country shuttered the last three plants in its once-formidable nuclear fleet (in 1990 nuclear provided a quarter of Germany’s electricity).
As a result, the country has been forced to import electricity and natural gas at substantially higher prices. Germany has recently been delaying planned closures of coal plants and is now also planning new gas plants as well, but the damage has been done. Germany now has some of the highest prices for electricity in the world.
As a result, the entire German economy is in the doldrums. Growth forecasts for this year were recently slashed to just 0.2%, and as inflation is forecast to come in at about 2%, that implies actual economic contraction. Other indicators are also dire, with orders at German engineering firms and overall foreign investment dropping dramatically. //
The study found that the older a tree is, the better it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. In fact, the research suggests that almost 70 per cent of all the carbon stored in trees is accumulated in the last half of their lives. //
smooth | March 12, 2024 at 8:51 am
But the climate extremists always say plant more trees to remove CO2 from the air? //
smooth | March 12, 2024 at 9:40 am
France has 56 nuclear power sites. All EU countries combined have over 160 active nuke power sites. Germany going to boycott them all?
The Gentle Grizzly in reply to smooth. | March 12, 2024 at 9:57 am
Yes. Because the master race knows better. Why do things simply with existing technology when one can do it the German way: needless complexity for the sake of it, and then call it “precision engineering”. //
Apparently, normalcy has been restored to NYC to the point that Mayor Eric Adams has approved controversial rules regulating the amount of delicious, smokey aroma generated from the area’s pizzerias.
Democrat Mayor Eric Adams has approved a new green plan that requires facilities using wood- and coal-fired stoves to cut their smoke by 75 percent.
More than 130 businesses will be impacted by the law, including many famed pizza joints. Businesses can apply for an exemption from the mandate – which goes into effect on April 27 – but they must prove they can not financially meet the requirements.
Still, business must then cut their emissions by 25 percent. //
The costs of the ventilation control systems are enormous, and they are likely to force many pizzerias to close. //
To cook pizza in the traditional way, ovens need to reach 1,200 degrees. Only coal-fired ovens can reach such high temperatures. //
From April 2020 to July 2022, Gotham’s population fell by nearly a half million people, or 5.3% — wiping out almost three-quarters of the gains over the previous decade, DiNapoli reports, citing Census figures.
That was more than double the state’s 2.6% drop, and it came while the nation overall was expanding by 0.6%.
Doing something that fast for the benefit of the people isn't something Congress is known for.
That means something fishy is going on.
Sure enough, a poison pill was found, and leave it to Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie to find it. As he pointed out on Tuesday, the TikTok ban is actually a "trojan horse" that would effectively give the executive branch power to ban pretty much anything on the internet he doesn't like.
The so-called TikTok ban is a trojan horse. The President will be given the power to ban WEB SITES, not just Apps. The person breaking the new law is deemed to be the U.S. (or offshore) INTERNET HOSTING SERVICE or App Store, not the “foreign adversary.”
Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie
·
The so-called TikTok ban is a trojan horse.
The President will be given the power to ban WEB SITES, not just Apps.
The person breaking the new law is deemed to be the U.S. (or offshore) INTERNET HOSTING SERVICE or App Store, not the “foreign adversary.”
https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240311/HR%207521%20Updated.pdf
8:17 AM · Mar 12, 2024
In other words, this bill would give the government, namely the executive branch, broad powers of censorship over the internet. Websites like Telegram and VPN programs would take a hit for starters. What's also worrisome is that "foreign adversary" is not a clearly defined idea, which means this could be something left up to the opinion of the President.
It should be noted that Massie also posted a follow-up tweet pointing out who is completely untouchable in this bill. See if you can't figure out who it is just by the language.
Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie
·
Replying to @RepThomasMassie
If you think this isn’t a Trojan horse and will only apply to TikTok and foreign-adversary social media companies, then contemplate why someone thought it was important to get a very specific exclusion for their internet based business written into the bill:
9:19 AM · Mar 12, 2024
[Amazon.com] //
Rand Paul @RandPaul
·
🧵‼️ The lengths some in Congress will go to for more authority and control over Americans’ freedom of speech never ceases to amaze me. The TikTok bill recently advanced by the House would endanger the 1st amendment and empower the federal govt to ban social media platforms…
3:45 PM · Mar 9, 2024 //
In a fiery and revealing exchange during Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) grilled former special counsel Robert Hur about President Joe Biden’s motivation for keeping classified documents after his term as vice president had concluded.
At the heart of the matter was an $8 million book deal Biden had been offered at the time. Jordan’s questioning centered on why the president would have taken classified documents in violation of the law after leaving the White House.
Hur, who had been tasked with investigating Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, indicated that his final report on the matter did not directly address the president’s motivations. However, Jordan debunked this statement.
"Page 231, you said this: 'President Biden had strong motivations'—that's a key word. We're getting a motive now: 'President Biden had strong motivations to ignore the proper procedures for safeguarding the classified information in his notebook.' Why did he have strong motivations? 'Because he decided months before leaving office to write a book.'" //
Townhall.com @townhallcom
·
Chairman Jordan:
"Joe Biden knew the rules, you know he knew the rules, and Joe Biden told us he knew the rules. So Mr. Hur, why did he break them?"
11:20 AM · Mar 12, 2024
Legal scholar, writer, and political commentator Jonathan Turley weighed in on the unprecedented issue in a Monday column. //
It all comes down to the following, as Turley wrote.
The Trump trials are troubling precisely because they are being handled differently because of who the defendant is. No one can seriously suggest that Judge Chutkan would be moving other cases or canceling trips in order to shoehorn them into the calendar this year, if it were not for the election and the name of the defendant. Such cases are, after all, notorious for taking years to work out complicated pre-trial matters. //
Dieter Schultz
14 hours ago edited
I like Jonathon Turley but, because his perspective is that of a law professor and not of a former US Attorney, I love ShipWreckedCrew's analyses of what's going on here. I think the legal 'battlespace', legalspace?, is not disposed to support the Dems' lawfare in this. He had this to say about the DC case.
...
Just as the DC case was going to occupy nearly the entirety of the period January to May for pretrial matters and the trial itself, the Florida case is likely to tie up the entirety of May to September — at least. Nothing in the DC case can be done while all the attorneys and Trump are occupied working on the Florida case.
THAT is the landscape for SCHEDULING the DC case whenever the Mandate is sent back to the District Court.
You can see all the moving pieces that are now almost beyond control in the lawfare that the Democrat establishment has put in place. Who decided to indict Trump in two different district courts on unrelated charges less than two months apart? Amateurish and idiotic.
Source: https://shipwreckedcrew.sub... //
Avatar
GBenton Dieter Schultz
14 hours ago
I see desperation. Sloppy execution and sequential slow motion train wreck that will do far more damage to the Dems when all of these cases either lose or get overturned, setting precedent that hampers their ability to do this in the future.
When someone behaves in a desperate and stupid manner with reckless disregard, it doesn't signal competence or 5D Chess (Silly Billy's wet dreams notwithstanding).
The walls have been closing in on Trump with nothing but failure save the 2020 election Steal for 7 years.
If the Dems were good at any of this, that wouldn't be the case.
They just have institutional power and broad corruption, but we have the Supreme court and 300+ Trump judges and a majority of red states, so their stupid schemes keep disintigrating on impact with reality.
I know that makes Never Trump eunuchs sad, but that's just a bonus. //
Dieter Schultz GBenton
14 hours ago
I don't see it.
My belief is that far, far, ... far too many people see chaos as the equivalent of a brilliant strategic and tactical mind but it isn't anything close to that.
In fact, it seems to me that both those that sow chaos and those that are captivated by it are easy targets for those people that can play... not 5D chess but... regular chess.
“The food shortage and use of the word ‘hunger’ have been exaggerated,” a senior Israeli defense official told me on Thursday during a briefing. “There is no hunger in Gaza,” he said, explaining that most of the food that Israel has been sending into the Strip has “immediately been taken by Hamas terrorists, who then sell some of the supplies for ten times more than what it’s worth.”
The official further noted that “Every family has enough food to survive…We have been supplying them with aid as well as the US, but unfortunately, it wasn’t distributed to the citizens themselves.”
A former senior Israeli defense official who I spoke to on condition of anonymity has also said that “there is no food shortage in Gaza; there are those who are hungry since Hamas has taken all of the food and they don’t have enough money to pay Hamas on the black market.”
According to this former official, the food does not reach those who need it most since Hamas controls approximately 70-80% of the area. What happens is that Israel and foreign countries bring food and aid into Gaza. Then gangs take the supplies at gunpoint, and a significant portion of the population is left unable to afford necessities.
Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog
·
Irony overload here. RuPaul starts an online bookstore whose primary mission is to stand against so-called 'book bans.' Within a week, my books, and books from @libsoftiktok and others, are banned from the anti-book banning site. Tremendous work all around.
National Review @NRO
A founder of the "all-inclusive" online bookstore Allstora, which launched last week with the promise to “carry all books,” admitted to removing titles and apologized for previously selling “harmful books.” | @abigailandwords
https://trib.al/haiJXVM
11:25 PM · Mar 10, 2024
THE HISTORY OF
THE STANDARD
OIL COMPANY
BY
IDA M. TARBELL
AUTHOR OF
THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE,
AND MADAME ROLAND: A BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY
ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS
PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS
A lady asked Dr. Franklin, “Well Doctor what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
After President Joe Biden said Saturday that Israel invading the Gazan city of Rafah, where many refugees from northern Gaza have relocated, would be a "red line" regarding America's support, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replied that Israel will indeed invade Rafah because his own red line is "that October 7th doesn't happen again, never happens again." //
A few minutes later Netanyahu was specifically asked about Biden's "red line" comments, and replied:
My red line is very simple. We're not going to leave Hamas with the capability of pursuing, of perpetrating another Hamas massacre as they did on October 7th. And the only way we can do that is, we cannot leave -- we cannot leave the Hamas terrorist battalions intact. It means that, in fact, we lose the war.
People often ask: why did Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli, not speak out more forcefully against Hitler? Historian Fr Dermot Fenlon of the Birmingham Oratory looks at the facts and sets the record straight. //
"Those rescued by Pius are today living all over the world. There went to Israel alone from Romania 360,000 to the year 1965."
The vindication of Pius XII has been established principally by Jewish writers and from Israeli archives. It is now established that the Pope supervised a rescue network which saved 860,000 Jewish lives - more than all the international agencies put together.
After the war the Chief Rabbi of Israel thanked Pius XII for what he had done. The Chief Rabbi of Rome went one step further. He became a Catholic. He took the name Eugenio.
Former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who was elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee Friday, took to “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the aggressive strategies the RNC will use to protect voting integrity in the 2024 presidential elections. //
We have 3 pillars that we need to focus on at the RNC to ensure victory on November 5th. Turn out the vote, protect the vote, and raise money -- but I would argue that maybe the most important of those three is protecting the vote. Election integrity. //
So I'll tell you right now what is already underway at the RNC. We have for the first time ever, an Election Integrity division. This means vast resources dedicated solely to this cause. //
I can guarantee you that over the next eight months, you are going to see things happened at the Republican National Committee unlike you have ever seen before, because this is a must win election.
If Donald Trump is not elected on November 5th of this year, I do not believe we have the same country on the other side.