Oil and shipping markets remain on edge as Hormuz disruptions increasingly look structural rather than temporary, with insurers, shipowners, and traders losing confidence in U.S. security guarantees. The world is entering a fragmented new trade order where maritime access and energy flows are becoming tied to geopolitical alignment instead of open global markets.

It's about time someone in the MSM said out loud what EVERYBODY KNOWS, which is that oil shipping is NEVER going back to the status quo antebellum.  Hormuz is just the tip of the iceberg, there are numerous places on shipping routes where  tankers can be threatened with Piracy or interdiction.  China certainly will not accept the FSoA blockading Iranian Oil from heading to Chinese ports over the long term.  On the other side, as long as Iran can sell its Oil to China, Trumpolini's blockade doesn't fulfill the intended purpose of starving Iran of funds.  Who gets the oil produced anywhere but inside their own borders is now subject to the political vicissitudes of who is aligned with who.  The possibility of wars escalating past the Proxy War level has increased by orders of magnitude.  Xi made that clear in his statement about the Taiwan situation.

It's hard to figure how the new reality will be priced in to the cost of shipping insurance and then further to the price of oil.  A single market price for delivery is no longer possible, since each route has a different level of risk associated, and each transaction depends on who the buyer & seller are & where the vessel is flagged.  Needless to say, that makes for a very confusing market situation, and even without overt hostilities in play energy movement  around the globe will be seriously impacted.

It's a whole different world now, and there is no going back.

RE

DuM-DUM  DUM-DUM...

50% Lethality Rate.  That's impressive

Quote from: TDoS on May 16, 2026, 06:32 PMAs far as what was "renditioned", it was the usual population growth stats circa 2026 showing population still going up, as expected.

No, in the states mentioned such as China, Japan, Russia, Greece etc with low immigration, their populations are already decreasing.  The only ones such as the FSoA, Canada etc where it's still going up slightly is from immigration.  India hasn't had a proper census in over a decade, it's currently underway and likely going down.  Africa is basically a big black hole with no reliable numbers, but with war, disease and famine all over the continent, it's not looking good.

AI is handy for saving time on responding to trolls.

RE

Quote from: K-Dog on May 16, 2026, 11:05 AMThen the bot posts can die for his sins as they take his posts along with them on their ride into oblivion.

ARE THE MIB NOW TAkING OUT NORMAL PEOPLE POSTINGS INSTEAD OF THE MAKE BELEIVE STUFF!!!! HOW DARE THEY!

QuoteAI Overview       
RE

So....you can't even be bothered to do your own thinking nowadays? AI is interesting, but pretending it knows stuff without doing some basic checking can be dicey.

As far as what was "renditioned", it was the usual population growth stats circa 2026 showing population still going up, as expected.

Quote from: RE on May 16, 2026, 09:59 AM

Quote from: K-Dog on May 16, 2026, 08:15 AMWhen a bot creates a post that starts a thread in Russian advertising some online gambling link or some IT bullshit service, it goes to the great bit bucket in the sky. 

At least the bot posts might have some valuable information for gambling addicts.  That's more than I can say for TDoS contributions.

RE

Then the bot posts can die for his sins as they take his posts along with them on their ride into oblivion.

Quote from: K-Dog on May 16, 2026, 08:15 AMWhen a bot creates a post that starts a thread in Russian advertising some online gambling link or some IT bullshit service, it goes to the great bit bucket in the sky. 

At least the bot posts might have some valuable information for gambling addicts.  That's more than I can say for TDoS contributions.

RE

QuoteJust a thought, but you wouldn't have to erase posts if you didn't claim things that were so easily dispatched with facts.

OMFG is he complaining about loosing his snarky posts that he made to the 'Russian' bots?  (no way are they actually Russian) When a bot creates a post that starts a thread in Russian advertising some online gambling link or some IT bullshit service, it goes to the great bit bucket in the sky. 

And any idiot actually replying to a 'Russian' bot started thread is deleted when the thread is destroyed as it should be.

There is no bigger 'tell' that gives a troll away more directly than this kind of complaint.

Most likely the men in black but TDoS could be masturbating.

I haven't erased any posts except the Ruskie spam in at least a month.

QuoteAI Overview         Over 40 countries and territories currently experience negative population growth. This trend is driven by low fertility rates, aging populations, and outward migration. The most severely affected regions are Eastern Europe, East Asia, and several island territories.Eastern and Southeastern EuropeThis region contains the highest concentration of shrinking populations due to sustained low birth rates combined with decades of working-age emigration.Ukraine: Experienced drastic population loss due to both the war and significant emigration.Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.Balkans: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, and Greece.Other European Nations: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Moldova, Hungary, and Belarus.East and Southeast AsiaDeclines in these countries are largely driven by record-low fertility rates, high life expectancies, and very little immigration.China: The world's most populous country until recently, now experiencing overall population contraction due to the lasting impacts of the one-child policy and rapidly aging demographics.Japan: Japan's population has been declining for years due to a shrinking workforce and one of the oldest median ages in the world.South Korea: Faces the world's lowest fertility rates, resulting in a significant natural population decrease.Taiwan: Also shows a negative population growth rate.Major Western European EconomiesWhile some Western European nations maintain stable populations or slight growth due to immigration, a few large economies are actively shrinking naturally.Germany and Italy.Other Nations and TerritoriesRussiaCubaTerritories: Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Saint Martin.

RE

Quote from: RE on May 13, 2026, 08:33 PMWell, I'd rather be a year early than a day late. 😀  Given that we see population declines in so many countries now though, I think it's fair to say the dieoff is underway.

RE

Just a thought, but you wouldn't have to erase posts if you didn't claim things that were so easily dispatched with facts. Too much reliance on praticing against dementia patients IRL is my bet....not enough practice against the real deal. Go find a janitor to test out bad facts on first, then you wouldn't be so embarassed that you needed to erase the evidence of how easily your claim was to dismiss.