#politics

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1t60uvl/nike_plans_to_support_trumps_ballroom_and_is/

Just look at the comments.

How much of a corporate bootlicker do you have to be to actually join the bank’s PAC? This place would drop you in a second without thinking twice, why waste even a second of your life on it?

UnitedHealthcare fires employee over TikTok comment on Trump shooting | Fox News https://share.google/OJn3zAmT6FLDpbjUK

• Were you the one writing AI first or AI driven in your linkedin profile?
• Did you posted that “ I would like to share that I recently completed blah blah blah AI course” too often in linkedin?
• Are you the one who bluffs in meetings and throw big words all day long but dont do sh-t?
• Did you kissed the bottom really well all these years?

I am geniunely curious. What did you do right?

BD Mebane has a very bad track record of hiring friends of HR and upper management along with management that can’t make decisions and push the blame on lower employees

• Chevron Signs In Contra Costa Blame California Politicians For High Gas Prices
  April 21, 2026 - 8:00 AM

Drivers filling up at Chevron stations across the region are being met with a bold and unmistakable message: “Sacramento policies did this. Now you pay more.”

The large signs, recently installed at multiple locations, feature an eye-catching image of a car wrapped in fuel hoses – a visual meant to symbolize the burden of rising gas prices. Beneath the headline, smaller text claims that California politicians are prioritizing foreign oil over local jobs and lower costs, placing the blame for high fuel prices squarely on state leadership.

The signage campaign appears designed to spark conversation – and controversy – among motorists already feeling the pinch at the pump. With California consistently posting the highest gas prices in the nation, the message taps into a growing frustration among drivers.

Adding to the push, each sign includes a QR code directing viewers to additional information. Chevron branding is visible, indicating the campaign is backed by the oil giant, though it stops short of directly advocating for specific legislation.

The rollout comes amid ongoing discussions in Sacramento over energy policy,
environmental regulations, and the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. Critics of current policies argue that regulations and refinery constraints contribute to higher prices, while supporters maintain those measures are necessary for long-term environmental and public health goals.

For now, the signs are doing exactly what they’re intended to do – getting people’s attention. Whether they shift opinions or policy is another question entirely, but at the pump, they’re hard to ignore

https://www.claycord.com/2026/04/21/chevron-signs-in-contra-costa-blame-california-politicians-for-high-gas-prices/

This is good news for all of us and very bad news for FIS.
Now FIS cannot replace your position even thru COGNIZANT.
They have to pay 200K salary.
Call your senator/congressman and ask to support this bill.

President Donald Trump commended insurance companies for their response to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, while criticizing banks, particularly Wells Fargo & Co. Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to praise insurance companies for “stepping up to the plate” and making “big progress” in treating homeowners affected by the disaster. However, he criticized banks for their inadequate response. He pledged to investigate their actions and urged them to treat the victims fairly. “Wells Fargo, in particular, has been very difficult to deal with,” wrote Trump.

Chevron Signs In Contra Costa Blame California Politicians For High Gas Prices
April 21, 2026 - 8:00 AM

Drivers filling up at Chevron stations across the region are being met with a bold and unmistakable message: “Sacramento policies did this. Now you pay more.”

The large signs, recently installed at multiple locations, feature an eye-catching image of a car wrapped in fuel hoses – a visual meant to symbolize the burden of rising gas prices. Beneath the headline, smaller text claims that California politicians are prioritizing foreign oil over local jobs and lower costs, placing the blame for high fuel prices squarely on state leadership.

The signage campaign appears designed to spark conversation – and controversy – among motorists already feeling the pinch at the pump. With California consistently posting the highest gas prices in the nation, the message taps into a growing frustration among drivers.

Adding to the push, each sign includes a QR code directing viewers to additional information. Chevron branding is visible, indicating the campaign is backed by the oil giant, though it stops short of directly advocating for specific legislation.

The rollout comes amid ongoing discussions in Sacramento over energy policy,
environmental regulations, and the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. Critics of current policies argue that regulations and refinery constraints contribute to higher prices, while supporters maintain those measures are necessary for long-term environmental and public health goals.

For now, the signs are doing exactly what they’re intended to do – getting people’s attention. Whether they shift opinions or policy is another question entirely, but at the pump, they’re hard to ignore

https://www.claycord.com/2026/04/21/chevron-signs-in-contra-costa-blame-california-politicians-for-high-gas-prices/?fbclid=IwdGRjcARWzZlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeY6fgnW3mI-5zxBIrdEnZcPp2-4MfRUi_bgb4nsvQTGnNs9ElO7ak_AINAjA_aem_jV2hxPnlueVBIYH6lh83EQ

"I used to be a great supporter of Indians in India until I opened my eyes up to what's going on here. White men need not apply to jobs in the state of California. Never mind in high tech. I don't care what your qualifications are. You're not getting a job at High Tech in California. Your chances are nil. You have to be from India or China because almost all the internal mechanisms are set up to be run by Indians and Chinese."

https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/donald-trump-reposts-controversial-birthright-citizenship-post-calling-india-china-hellholes-ws-l-19891897.htm

This place is garbage. The employees are mediocre at best. I don't respect a single person I've worked with here. If you want no growth and endless politics for a decade, this is your spot.

We need legislation that will force companies to pay money into unemployment benefits, equal to their profits if they choose to move the workforce offshore, or replace with AI. Why should 93% of America suffer so the 7% of stockholders can benefit?

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-ceo-jim-farley-chinese-carmakers-entering-us-devastating-2026-4

Can't make this stuff up.

"Tariffs are bad! Oh until they can save us from the Chinese OEMs!"

A joke. Until Farley onshores all manufacturing, design and IT, the government should give him the middle finger.

Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub said the war in the Middle East would be settled more quickly if NATO and European countries backed the US and Israel’s military strikes against Iran.

u need to pay attention to all of this... things that impact decisions... bookmark this somewhere and REMEMBER: personal disputes, retaliation, preserving dominance and status, rivalries, and internal power struggles, often arising from cycles of poor judgment, limited opportunity, trauma, +loyalty

So VZ does an ad with the Heated Rivalry guy and the CMO talks about his butt(?). Can’t imagine the backlash if the former CMO had Sydney Sweeney in an ad and made references to her assets….

But of course we know things like that only go one way….

Is Mr. "Everything's Computer!" really just that much smarter than all the Intel PhD's, MBA's and "Rockstars" combined? These so called businessmen were all scrapping Intel for parts when Trump basically handed them their as--s and said "You are going to make computer chips like you are supposed to or go to jail." Now Intel is at ATH in less than a year. I guess he really is a VERY STABLE GENIUS and everyone one working at Intel owes him a giant debt of gratitude.

"65 is the new 55" as far as being able to retire goes. What's really a shame is that if the billionaire owned media didn't have us working class people at each other's throats over which political team we're on, (divide and conquer) we might have been able to get a handle on it before we reached this point.

Publicly known mo--n John Stankey makes the average AT&T employee’s salary in a day, for the job of deciding which wageslaves to lay off every quarter.

Not only should his job be ridiculed, but the same wageslaves even turn around and applaud him like Samuel L Jackson in Django.

How did we fall so far as a society that we allow this?
Does the corporate propaganda just work that well?
Did the Republican brainwashing of the population from the Reagan era work so well people have conditioned themselves to think it’s normal?

U.S. Iran War -

• Israel struck earlier today.

  This is after the "Ceasefire".

• The U.S. Iran War is (far from over due to the ongoing hostilities between Israel-Iran).

  At 1:00pm CST (today), Iranian drones struck the Saudi Arabian East-West pipeline.

• Reported by oilprice, this (was) the (7-million barrel a day go around) for the Hormuz Strait (which is now essentially closed).

U.S. Economy - LEI - Leading Economic Index (Chart).

Oil Prices are (not) coming down, anytime soon; and it will weigh on the U.S. economy; and consumer spending (70.0% of GDP).

Bill and Farley are reduced to begging…

Ford Motor and other U.S. automakers have asked for relief from aluminum tariffs after fires at a major American factory created supply bottlenecks for vehicles, though the Trump administration so far has rejected the requests, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Ford petitioned the Trump administration for assistance, citing people with knowledge of the conversations.

The government has so far not budged, the report said, adding that the discussions are part of ongoing talks about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Trump officials told the companies they had already received some relief from national security tariffs last year, when major automakers were allowed to recoup part of the 25% duties on auto parts, the report said.

They just asked us to fund their political agenda. With our own money. 🚨

Leadership held a call with Senior Directors and above asking employees to personally donate to one of the Political Action Committee that Altice USA recommends — that fund lobbying politicians and shape policy to benefit the company.

No reimbursement. Not a single cent back.
What do we get? A virtual badge. And “bragging rights” for the department that donates the most.

They claimed whether we donate or not has no influence on our employment, but I highly doubt that.

So let’s be clear: the company wants US to dig into OUR paychecks to fund THEIR political influence — and the reward is a digital sticker.

A New Hampshire Senate committee heard a bill proposing executive pay freezes. The bill targets Coos County hospitals, specifically North County Healthcare (NCH). It would freeze executive pay and bonuses for 18 months after significant layoffs. Proponents argue for accountability of public Medicaid funds. Opponents claim the bill removes local control and could harm healthcare.

Concord, New Hampshire

https://indepthnh.org/2026/02/18/coos-county-hospital-execs-would-see-pay-frozen-in-some-layoffs-if-bill-passes/

A new Georgia bill, SB 33, seeks to lower homeowner property taxes. This legislation restricts the growth of residential property values for tax calculations. School officials warn this could significantly reduce school district budgets. Many districts are already near their constitutional 20-mill tax rate cap. This could lead to teacher layoffs in some districts within a few years.

Atlanta, Georgia

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/education/2026/04/07/georgia-property-tax-bill-may-impact-schools/89496729007/

Sound familiar?

Despite their bluster, these tech bros aren’t America First.

Neither end of the political spectrum are protecting American jobs.

Stop voting based on emotion and start voting for practical solutions.

Title says it all. Some areas are far worse than others.

Remember when oil execs gave DT $1B… was that in exchange for this war?

Oil booming again following that weird rambling, low energy, slurred speech last night.

I have just met with various Political Representatives of the tragedy that took place in California concerning the burning of thousands of once beautiful homes. It was brought to my attention that the Insurance Companies, in particular, State Farm, have been absolutely horrible to people that have been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help! I have asked the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, to give me a list of the Companies who acted swiftly, courageously, and bravely in order to make their clients happy and, even more importantly, in order to fulfill their Legal obligations. Likewise, I have asked to see those Companies that were particularly bad. The names of some surprise me, but in the World in which we live, nothing really surprises me! State Farm, and others, should get their act together, and treat people fairly. The Government is looking into this matter as we speak! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Mar 31, 2026, 1:29 PM

Got it.

Great article in Politico today on Frank continuing his work style and Brooklyn bully boy tactics at the IRS.

If you had to guess how the negotiations went down, you might imagine something like this: BNY Mellon strolling into town with the confidence of a Fortune 500 landlord who knows exactly how many jobs, leases, and tax dollars the state would prefer not to lose. And poor Gov. Shapiro — or rather, the Office of the Governor — suddenly finding itself in the awkward position of “strategically cooperating” while BNY casually unrolls a PowerPoint titled “Incentives We Expect, In the Spirit of Partnership.”

Because let’s be honest:
BNY Mellon didn’t walk into that meeting hoping for tax credits.
They walked in expecting them — the way a cat expects you to move when it wants your chair.
So yes, it’s entirely plausible that the conversation included a polite but unmistakable corporate nudge along the lines of:

“It would be a shame if all these jobs… relocated themselves to Pune.”

And voilà — multi‑year tax credits, workforce incentives, and a fresh coat of paint for Ross Street magically appear.

BNY wasn’t negotiating.
They were playing political hardball with home‑field advantage, a loaded bench, and the scoreboard operator already on their payroll.

In the end, the state got to announce “investment in local jobs,” BNY got its incentives, and everyone pretended this was a balanced partnership rather than a masterclass in corporate leverage. RV's smile says it all! #Life@BNY

A rare but rapidly spreading condition triggered when Michael Dell logs on, drops a “Go American” post, and starts sounding like he just got off a call with Donald Trump.

Symptoms include:

Immediate emotional spiral on internal boards

Writing a 9-paragraph manifesto no one asked for on the layoff site

Saying “this isn’t political” while being extremely political

Refreshing comments like it’s the stock ticker during earnings

Advanced stages:

Convincing yourself every product launch is now a campaign rally

Interpreting supply chain updates as coded political messaging

Believing your PowerEdge server has a voting preference

Diagnosis:
A corporate variant of Trump Derangement Syndrome but with more acronyms, fewer facts, and way worse comment sections.

Treatment:
Log off
Touch grass
Stay off layoff sites until mild sedation sets in

• technical commentary about satellite images of damage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex after the March 2026 Iranian strike.

• Trains 4 and 6 are jointly owned with the Qataris by ExxonMobil.

• The writer thinks Iran may have chosen those targets deliberately to pressure both Qatar and ExxonMobil.

https://x.com/lngfrankie/status/2037769080900378883

Wow, those are some very interesting images. The highest quality I have seen to date, with some valuable information. Thank you for sharing.

If you are asking what I see, well, first understand a couple things. I am not a military person, or familiar with bo-b damage assessment. Nor am I a political person, or economist. I just build and operate the hardware. So I’ll tell you what this looks like from a hardware perspective, and label things that are objectively facts vs. things I am guessing at or if I put any opinions in.

With those caveats, here are some facts and my analysis of the Train 6 strike. I’ve attached two pictures. The first is the undamaged facility from happier days. I’ve labelled the north end of the train with some color coded boxes, and a couple dimensions on Train 7 to give a sense of scale.

Train 6 used an Air Products (now Honeywell) AP-X process, which has three refrigeration loops in series, each driven by a Frame 9 mechanical drive turbine – a propane (C3) loop, a mixed refrigerant (MR) loop, and a nitrogen expansion (N2) loop. Propane precools the feed gas and the refrigerant, the MR liquefies it, and the N2 subcools it all the way to -160 C.

At the southern most portion of the photo, in blue, there is the propane refrigerant system. Process equipment is to the west of the main spine rack, and the driver is to the east. Drivers include both the turbine and the compressors on a single shaft for each loop, and they are located under the 220 m long turbine building with the tan roof. Exhaust stack is immediately to the east turbine building, with the VFD components just south of the stack.

The red boxes in the middle are the primary liquefaction section, with two machines on the east in the turbine building, and the main cryogenic heat exchangers (MCHEs) on the west side of the rack. I’ve labelled the MCHE’s. The larger is the MR MCHE, which is about 50 m tall, and has a two inch thick aluminum shell. The N2 MCHE for gas subcooling is a little further to the west. It is shorter and has a stronger stainless steel shell; it is a substantially stouter piece of equipment. These two MCHEs combined are in the range of $50-100MM capital cost with a two year lead time.

The yellow box at the top is the helium extraction unit. The machinery is electrically driven compander, inside the small building, and the primary separation column is just to the east of the building.

With the basics out of the way, take a look at the second picture. I’ve marked where the missile impacted, and the visible area of damage; the shadows disguise some of the blast and make it a bit harder to see. But from my view, it is quite bad, having hit immediately north of the MR MCHE, doing a fine job of messing up the equipment in the liquefaction section. Compare to Train 7 next door. I’ve marked the approximate circle of visible damage, which indicates an immediate blast radius on order of 50 meters. While I’m not military, it is pretty easy to calculate the energies involved, which indicates to me that we are talking about something on order of ~100 kg HE warhead. Sizable enough to do some real damage, but not a catastrophic hit from 500 kg or more. I am a bit surprised I could not see more damage from the subsequent fires. Qatari emergency crews responded to the fires, and it appears to me they did quite well at extinguishing them quickly before significant escalation.

Note the precision of the hit. If I were responsible for targeting this facility, … well, I couldn’t do it, because I love these facilities and the machines in them too much. But if a hypothetical person who knew about the facilities and wanted to harm them was planning it, this is just about where they would place a strike to cause maximum damage. Possibly a little further to the southeast to strike right on top of the MR turbine, but certainly within about 50 meters of the actual strike point. That will give a feel for the CEP of these missiles. It is quite good, which I understand is not at all a given for nations building missiles. Remember the notorious inaccuracy of the Iraqi Scuds during the 1991 Gulf War. The Iranians don’t suffer from the same problem – they can hit what they aim at with considerable precision despite American and Gulf nation efforts at interception at one of the most heavily defended areas in the Gulf. In fact, in Qatar, this site is probably the most heavily defended site, only excepting Al Udeid air base and Doha itself.

What was damaged? The resolution is not adequate to fully identify everything – you’d really need a walk through to be sure. But it is clear the MR MCHE is destroyed, along with some of the smaller pieces of equipment around there. The N2 MCHE is still standing, but there is some visible damage. I’d guess that, even with the shell standing, a missile strike this close would complete destroy soft items – insulation, instruments, cabling, platforms – and likely perforate the shell with fragments such that it would be unusable as a pressure vessel. My best guess is the N2 MCHE will require replacement.

To the east, the turbine housing roof appears undamaged, but I think this is deceptive. The roof is about 40 meters high, and the missile blast wave will initiate below it and propagate sideways under the pipe rack and through the building. Both the N2 and MR machines are close to the blast point and likely received a significant overpressure, along with heat from the subsequent fire. I have no doubt they are damaged. Frame 9's are robust and reliable industrial machines, but they are not designed for missiles. Whether they can be repaired or will need to be replaced is an open question.

North of the impact point, I suspect the helium machine was protected from significant damage by the intervening piperack. However, the column protrudes above the piperack and probably caught an overpressure and significant fragmentation. My guess here is the helium column was likely perforated and will require major repair or replacement.

To the south, the MCHE’s and piperack absorbed most of the damage and my best guess is the propane system is likely undamaged, or only suffered minor damage.

Qatar has said the train will require 3 – 5 years to be back in operation. In my mind that seems a little conservative. If they can get to work immediately, and expedite procurement, I would guess about three years is a reasonable timeline. Five years I think is longer than will be required, absent another attack causing further damage.

Analysis? This is speculation on my part, and anyone might well disagree. But it appears to me that Iran was sending a message more than simply just trying to destroy. They used a precise missile, but with a somewhat smaller warhead, one that is large enough to cause heavy damage, but not so large as to cause catastrophic irreparable damage to the entire train or even to multiple trains. They also targeted two trains that are jointly owned with the Qataris by ExxonMobil. (Puzzle question – why did the second missile strike Train 4 instead of the larger Qatar-XOM Train 7? Or maybe they did try to hit Train 7, but that missile was intercepted? Don’t know…). But they conspicuously avoided hitting the trains that are co-owned by Japanese or Korean partners, trying to keep them onside or neutral in the war. To me, this strike seems to say, “Look Qatar and XOM – we can hurt you. But we didn’t hurt you as much as we could, and we want you to use your influence to get the US to stop and restore the status quo ante.” Whether that will work is for the political people to say. I do know the Qataris are royally ticked off at this attack.

Anyway, that is my read on it. It is definitely a very bad attack, one that caused substantial damage and will impact Qatari production for years. I am not trying to play down the impact in any way. But it is simultaneously true that it could have been worse.

I’ll look at the Train 4 strike when I can. Looks like the miss was a bit more there – it struck southwest of the turbine house, looks like it affected the propane equipment. These reviews take a bit of time, and I am chronically short of that commodity. But thank you again for sharing these photos.

Is ELT paying attention? Too much id--ts at leadership. Politics and favor is all their game torturing technically IC.

So he could be part of Trumps AI board. First, he took the knee, which is embarrassing for him and his company.
Second, he just reaffirmed he’d do anything for a buck
Finally, he showed what a greedy, money grubbing wh--e he is.