ameer

I don't exactly know what the Paris climate agreement entails for all parties but from what I've been told it's a bit like this: So basically countries can set their own quotas, nothing is actually enforceable. All they need to do is set a quota for themselves and in 5 years time report on their progress towards achieving the set goal in emissions reduction. It's a bit of an honor system. Also in regards to investing in clean energy, I know that at the moment it is nearly impossible to rely on solar/wind entirely. Hydropower is reliable from the array of green power generation techs available, but not all countries are fortunate enough to be able to cover their needs solely on hydro. So considering developing countries needs for growing their power generation output to cope with development the more advanced countries would invest in helping them out to cover their needs as much as possible through renewables. Coal/oil/gas is easy and cheap but it also comes with a high cost in terms of pollution so it seems rather reasonable to me for more advanced countries to help them out, considering that more advanced countries got to develop at lower costs decades ago, using more unfriendly to the environment tech, but are now making a huge fuss about others polluting. That seems rather unfair to those countries. The compromise imo is fair, considering the goal of reducing the impact on the environment, but only strictly from that point of view, otherwise developed countries should STFU about developing countries polluting, because they got to do it too in order to achieve the development they are at today but are now moralising others for doing the same. So either developed countries pay up to sustain eco friendly policies in developing countries or stfu about them polluting, because no one chastised them when they were doing it, sure it's easy for them today to point fingers, but it's unreasonable to expect development to the same level without causing damage to the environment on at least the same scale. Being friendly to the planet costs a LOT of money! The development of China over the past 30 years has come with a massive cost to their environment, they literally sell tubes of compressed clean air in China, I understand their need for development but imo a 15 year grace period for them is way too much, they are already the largest polluter on the planet while undermining western industry through it. China may not be as rich in terms of GDP/capita but it sure as hell isn't an innocent developing country trying to get ahead. That's bullshit. Because they don't give a shit about the environment they are more competitive than western industries on which environment regulations weigh heavily in terms of costs. I recently read an analysis on China's vs Eastern Europe's competitiveness in industry, considering transport, taxes etc, they are on average about 20% below. That gap would be closed if they had to bare the same costs related to respecting pollution standards. So I'm guessing for them those 15 years are a pretty big deal. Oh and they're competitive in our market not theirs where we wouldn't really stand a chance because they only like globalisation when it works in their favor. It's a lot harder to sell them stuff than it is for them to sell their shit to us. Paris climate accords are imo ineffective, and won't achieve much, not sure about the reasons Trump pulled the US out of it, I'm guessing it's because of the costs? If that's the only reason it's kind of shitty considering the US is the second largest polluter as a whole, and the no.1 moralist on this issue. If this accord was actually binding in some way it would have been a disaster, as the US would have had great clout over China on this matter, but as things stand... not much will change with or without the US in it, I don't get all the fuss about it. I'm guessing it's just another opportunity to sling mud at Trump. This is now the no.1 occupation of every fcuking journalist on the planet. It's getting awfully tiresome. Trump this, trump that, I just wish they ignored him, they'd probably annoy him more that way, than making a headline of everyone of his silly tweets.

I wonder how many of the German cars sold in the US are actually imported. Anyone have any data on this? I know Audi has a big plant in Mexico but other than that I think most are actually built in the US.

Ooh the garage pic is gold! Congratulations, Murci SV looks lovely!

That was a great story Cap, thanks for posting it. RIP Roger Moore.

That's a great way to spend the day, however we've had this conversation before some pages back. Man up, start your own business, then come tell us how you're sharing profits with employees because the business is growing, not how you think you're not paid enough, because you should be, just for trying your best.

I don't really mind his antics anymore, it's all good, I don't live in the US, and frankly I'm tired of hearing about him, everyone seems obsessed with how many ice cream scoops he gets, but when him speaking is costing me money half way across the world I start minding. I just want the USD back to normal, it's been nice and stable since election. Actually his plan for the economy (infrastructure investments etc) boosted the dollar a bit.

I don't really care what he wants in the long term, any strategy is fine, I can adjust to a weak dollar, but this drop was very sudden, it happened since this new scandal broke out. USD has gone from 1.07x to the EUR to 1.12, and it happened in a span of 2 days strictly because all of the fuss the press is making and his big mouth. I was surprised when I looked up the exchange rates.

First world problems are really mind boggling... Guy making six figures a year, Diablo owner, whining about inequality and unfairness. Half the fcuking world lives on 2 dollars a day, what some people take for granted others can only dream of. People like you really need a good sobering up to appreciate what you have and the opportunities afforded to you simply by being born in the right place. And on topic, Trump and his big stupid mouth caused the USD to take a dive, I need it back at 1.08 to the EUR. Hoping it recovers in the next few weeks or he's costing me money. Now I really have a reason to hate him!

Haven't seen this one yet, but I sometimes like mindless entertainment, not every movie has to be realistic, OTT is fun once in a while.

I understand Suntek came out with a new film that has ceramic coating on it.

Saw this baby on my trip to Venice for new year's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carinthia_VII

Applies in part to other nouveau riche regions too, especially Russia. European wealth is generally more low key but there are exceptions. True aristocracy/old money mostly keep to themselves and among themselves, no amount of money will get you accepted in their circles, you need a pedigree. I guess it's a cultural thing as well, some cultures have a very strange relationship with money, it's almost as if it is shameful, and it is unthinkable to flaunt or display it. Les francais par example.... Speaking of weird wealthy people, a friend of mine who works in the finance industry once met with a very wealthy aristocratic family living in Monaco, they explained to him how they were descended from Egyptian pharaohs and how their bloodline is bound to inherit the Earth at some point in the future... He's not even sure if it was them BS him for fun or they were that crazy.

That is so cool!

Any other 'axioms' you care to enlighten me with?

Was just comparing sizes not performance, of course they are very different cars.

That seems a little narrow at 200 cm. Range Rover Sport is 207,3 with mirrors folded. Ranger rover is 499 cm long and 183 in height. Seems to have a similar footprint as a range rover but it's a lot lower at 165 cm in height.

Not much, RR has some added optional offroading stuff.

As I said most of that comes from questionable sources, the more serious ones don't necessarily point to anything unusual, plenty of others urging western governments to aid Ukraine, plenty of others donate to their preferred political causes. Why would he admit to doing all sorts of bad stuff to ruin his own image? Could you just look at this crap from a logical and critical point of view? Migrant crisis was caused by the cretinous foreign policies of western gvts including yours (don't tell me the old fart is behind all of them). Don't trust everything you read, or pehaps you are in the segment I mentioned that believes anything as long as it isn't 'mainstream' or comes from their own echo chambers. And while I agree BLM itself is a questionable movement, as long as it is legal to finance them, I don't see an issue. Perhaps he agrees with their viewpoints, and so do a ton of your favourite movie stars. They're all in his pocket I guess? As long as we live in a free society I don't see a problem with people contributing to various causes if they don't break any laws. But from this to portraying him as some sort of super villain its a really tall order... No mention of Soros in the 'handbook' piece of news, you just added it for drama. Can you please not insult my intelligence? Thank you.

Skip, it's a shit movie, and I'm a big SciFi buff.

Yeah that and he's quite possibly the head honcho among the reptilians who plan on taking over... Soros is the real life Emmanuel Goldstein it seems. The elusive super villain all must fight against for reasons unknown, unexplained and most of all unproven. It's been said Soros is a bad guy so many times that it has become the de facto stance among a certain segment but I've yet to understand why. If I were him I'd be flattered by all the conspiracy theories and by knowing I pissed off so many powerful people. I'm sure he's done his fair share of bad things (including the famous bank of england incident) but this persona created around him is just utter BS. All I see is unproven rhetoric from questionable sources, to say the least. I'd have thought LP was a bit above that level.

Drivetribe is a car enthusiast social network, and that;s their youtube channel. They've gathered quite a few good journalists to write/review on some pages, but most content is lacking, because of the way the site works not because people wouldn't create it.

It's the rule in every non democratic country. Obviously everyone who gets a little bit of wealth wants to safeguard it. When you have governments that can deprive you of your wealth and property on a whim, it's the logical thing to do. Chinese do it more than Russians or any others put together, and I understand the reasons. Russia is no different to any other country with a similar system. You piss off the wrong people you can find yourself in a number of really bad situations. You can lose your wealth and business, you can end up in jail on bogus charges, or worse you can disappear altogether. It's also the same in countries with a generally weak rule of law.

I sometimes really envy my employees, they work 9-5, go home, or go out with their friends, paycheck comes in, they pay their dues and have enough left over to be comfortable, whilst I get up at 6:30 get home at 10-11, exhausted, and the cycle repeats over and over. They ask me if they can leave early on Fridays to avoid rush hour because they're going away for the weekend whilst I simply use the weekends to catch up on sleep. Sure I earn more than them, but I also sacrifice a lot more than they do. They don't have to worry like I do, they simply show up do their job and get their paychecks, while I have to bring in business, deal with contractors, banks, authorities, and whole lot of other crap I won't list here. All in all I wonder sometimes if being an employee does come with a rather higher quality of life. Life isn't all about money. No point having money if you can't really enjoy it. If any of my employees told me they deserved more because the business is growing, I'd be furious, and I'd rightfully show them the door. The only circumstance I see, when an employee would deserve more than average is when they take more responsibilities than average, so I can buy more time for myself, otherwise reasonably comfortable middle class wages for them and not a cent more despite the business growing. The overwhelming majority are unwilling or incapable to do more than it takes to earn their pay, so that's that.

Just lost two hours of my life watching this... It starts off quite well (the premise seems interesting) but by the time you get halfway through, you're going to want it to end asap. Won't spoil the ending but I'll just say that their attempt at a shocking twist at the end is utterly unsatisfying and poorly done imo.

Very cool color combo! Hope he enjoys it responsibly for many many miles!