Alan Zweibel

Concerning the Chinese HTR-PM, the WNISR says, “Between January and December 2022, the reactors operated for only 27 hours out of a possible maximum of 8,760 hours. In the subsequent three months, they seem to have operated at a load factor of around 10 percent.” The Russian units’ performance has been nearly as dismal. “The operating records of the two KLT-40S reactors have been quite poor. According to the IAEA’s PRIS [Power Reactor Information System] database, the two reactors had load factors of just 26.4 and 30.5 percent respectively in 2022, and lifetime load factors of just 34 and 22.4 percent. The reasons for the mediocre power-generation performance remain unclear,” the report says. Meanwhile, the promises of shortened timelines and lower costs were not borne out by these projects. “The experience so far in constructing these two SMRs as well as estimates for reactor designs like NuScale’s SMR show that these designs are also subject to the historical pattern of cost escalations and time overruns. Those cost escalations do make it even less likely that SMRs will become comhttps://www.powermag.com/a-closer-look-at-two-operational-small-modular-reactor-designs/mercialized, as the collapse of the Carbon Free Power Project involving NuScale reactors in the United States

US to Help Argentina's Milei With $20 Billion Swap Line he US plans to extend a $20 billion swap line to Argentina and is ready to buy the country's foreign bonds, providing financial support to President Javier Milei. The financing is meant to help Milei ahead of a crucial midterm vote next month, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing the aid as a "bridge to the election". The US support may allow Milei to shift his currency policy, with analysts suggesting that the central bank can rebuild its depleted foreign reserves and move towards a more open, market-based mechanism on foreign exchange. https://archive.ph/kYazQ#selection-2299.1-2311.223 With Trump flattery will get you everywhere. Argentina’s Milei doubles down on Trump bromance as the world reels from trade shock https://apnews.com/article/argentina-milei-trump-tariffs-trade-maralago-imf-f32bdc39d79632dfa9fdd3a1e05fb0a3 Argentina First? Make Argentina Great Again?

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration said Monday it will open 13 million acres of federal lands for coal mining and provide $625 million to recommission or modernize coal-fired power plants as President Donald Trump continues his efforts to reverse the years-long decline in the U.S. coal industry. Actions by the Energy and Interior departments and the Environmental Protection Agency follow executive orders Trump issued in April to revive coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that’s long been shrinking amid environmental regulations and competition from cheaper natural gas. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trump-administration-opens-land-coal-mining-offers-625m-126048784

Given your immunity to facts and reason, that may have always been the case.

.Once again, thank you for offering no evidence. And it makes a mockery of your requests from to provide such.

In 2012, the US Department of Energy (DOE) offered up to $452 million to cover “the engineering, design, certification and licensing costs for up to two U.S. SMR designs.” The two SMR designs that were selected by the DOE for funding were NuScale Power and Generation mPower. NuScale recently abandoned its flagship project in Idaho. The company secured subsidies amounting to around $4 billion from the U.S. government comprising a $1.4 billion subsidy from the DOE and an estimated $30 per megawatt-hour (MWh) subsidy in the Inflation Reduction Act. Despite that government largesse, NuScale didn’t come close to securing sufficient funding to get the project off the ground. https://www.climateandcapitalmedia.com/small-modular-nuclear-reactors-a-history-of-failure/ Of course, that's as nothing compared to the massive costs incurred by ratepayers due to massive nuclear power plant overruns. Georgia nuclear rebirth arrives 7 years late, $17B over cost https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nuclear-power-plant-vogtle-rates-costs-75c7a413cda3935dd551be9115e88a64 And the failure of the solar power plant, which depended on concentrated heat, is actually proof of the extraordinary progress made with photovoltiacs both in efficiency and price drops. Concentrated heat just couldn't match it. From the article you cited: "Though it sounds like a bit of a Rube Goldberg contraption — and looks like an art installation — Ivanpah was a cutting-edge idea for a while. But, as the market changed, it couldn’t compete with newer and less expensive forms of creating solar power. “It simply did not scale up,” said Smeloff. “It’s kind of an obsolete technology [that’s] been outpaced by solar photovoltaic technology.” https://nypost.com/2025/09/23/us-news/2-2-billion-ivanpah-solar-facility-in-california-turned-off-after-years-of-wasted-money/

Why do you think Israel will stop. It's mistreatment of the Palestinians on the West Bank predates the existence of Hamas. Do you think that most Israelis feel much, if any sympathy for the Palestinians? Survey Shows ‘Complete Collapse’ of Israeli Left Since Oct. 7 "Nearly nine months after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, the Jewish state’s political divisions have reemerged, with protests criticizing the government for various and often opposing reasons breaking out across the country. But a sweeping new public opinion survey by pollsters affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has revealed how the Oct. 7 attack on Israel solidified a national consensus on what used to be the country’s main political disagreement. When it comes to the Palestinians, the survey found, almost everyone is a right-winger now." https://tjvnews.com/news/israel/survey-shows-complete-collapse-of-israeli-left-since-oct-7/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

As a demonstration of the bubble you live in, you actually advocated for Modular Nuclear Plants. They don't even exist yet and the earliest projection for them to be actual is 2030. And the industry is littered with such predictions that failed. Interestingly enough, batter predictions failed in a way, too. They have consistently been far too pessimistic.

Thank you so much for providing another-evidence free rant. Maybe you're staying in your bubble because you're allergic to evidence?

And what would be the point of answering your question? As I showed, the vast majority of new electric power sources being developed today are renewable. You think that they don't work. That what's running through the power lines from these systems is just imaginary electricity? You really need to get reacquainted with reality..

Well, the thing is, he's made his firing of these workers conditional. So, if the shutdown ends before he executes his threat, that means he's going to continue to have the Federal Govt spend money on useless workers?

Another renewable that hold promise is a new kind of geothermal energy that doesn't depend on geographical location. Basically they drill down to where it's hot enough to economically generate electricity.Ironically enough, they use fracking to tap that heat as an energy source. A demonstration project has already shown that this is technologically feasible. Whether it makes financial sense awaits to be seen. Anyway, this system could be located adjacent to a data center. Tidal energy systems have also been tested. Again, while successful, financial feasibility awaits to be determined.

You're the party who professed concern about brown people. I thought you would be delighted and relieved to learn that solar energy is contributing hugely to their welfare. If I didn't know better, I would say that you actually didn't give a damn about those people but were only using it as a rhetorical talking point. And now now that it's been turned against you, you've abandoned it. Of course, as I noted, I would only claim that if I thought your concerns weren't sincere. And once again, I have to repeat to you what I have told my children. If I do your homework for you how do you expect to really learn anything? What's more, why should Daddy devote his time and effort answer questions you should be finding the answers to yourself. I suggest you use AI to start your research. Just be search to ask it to include links so you can doublecheck on the reliability of its answers. I did ask an AI app Is it possible for a modern economy to be solely powered by renewables. The answer it gave me was "yes."

Africa: 20 Countries shatter solar panel records There has been a major pick-up in solar panel imports into Africa over the past 12 months – a shift that is likely to impact almost every country on the continent. The latest data compiled by energy think-tank Ember provides evidence that a solar pick-up is happening at scale in many countries in Africa. The analysis shows that Africa’s solar panel imports set a new record in the 12 months to June 2025, reaching 15,032MW – a 60% increase on the 9,379MW imported in the preceding 12 months. https://www.esi-africa.com/business-and-markets/africa-20-countries-shatter-solar-panel-records/ Pakistan is tapping into solar power at an 'unprecedented' rate. Here's why https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/08/21/g-s1-82369/solar-power-panels-boom-pakistan Small Solar Is Driving Biggest Green Market in Latin America https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/small-solar-is-driving-biggest-green-market-in-latin-america/

"The U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, American officials said, as the Trump administration weighs sending Kyiv powerful weapons that could put in range more targets within Russia. President Trump recently signed off on allowing intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to aid Kyiv with the strikes. U.S. officials are asking North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to provide similar support, these people said. The expanded intelligence-sharing with Kyiv is the latest sign that Trump is deepening support for Ukraine as his efforts to advance peace talks have stalled." https://archive.ph/gLP42#selection-751.0-755.390 Let's hope this actually happens.

I don't think the horrific situation in the West Bank can be blamed on Hamas. That's been ongoing and getting worse since 1967.

There's a thing called google which could actually help you answer the question of "How many of them qualify for financial aid?" The answer is 55% https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/03/harvard-expands-financial-aid/ But thanks for pointing out that I had posted information about that satellite campus. Here is the information about Texas A&M at College Station https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?page=0&search=Texas+A+%26+M+University-College+Station&sort=threshold_earnings:desc

Someday, I am confident, someone, somewhere will invent something called a storage battery. And what that remarkable device will do is release stored energy in the form of electricity when the sun isn't shining. I know...just crazy talk.

What insults? You mean where I accused you of Trump derangement? Wait a minute...that was you accusing me.

The Post’s poll finds significantly more Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown than Democrats, though many say they are not sure. People express moderate concern about the shutdown’s impact at this early stage, with “somewhat concerned” the most common answer. A large majority support Democrats’ call to extend federal health insurance subsidies in general, though just under half support the party demanding this if it extends the government shutdown. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2025/government-shutdown-trump-congress-poll/ 71% say federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act should be extended. If the Democrats are smart, they'll hold out for a week, to make as many Americans as possible know about how the Republicans are knifing health care. And then they'll vote to pass the budget extension.

I'm surprised you don't see the problem. For one thing, Tiktok strictly enforces a rule that equate harsh criticism of Israel with anti-semitism. "Erica Mindel is an American-Israeli Jewish former IDF soldier,[1] currently serving as Public Policy Manager of Hate Speech at TikTok since July 2025[2][3]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erica_Mindel "In 2017, Ellison donated $16.6 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF).[77][78] According to reports in 2019, Ellison has contributed to funding an archaeological excavation project in East Jerusalem that received criticism from Palestinians as well as Israeli peace activists and some archaeologists...] It was also revealed in 2021 that Ellison offered Netanyahu a post at Oracle.[87]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Ellison#Lanai_Controversy

Because it shows how rationality and serious discourse have pretty much shriveled on the right.

Thanks for the correction.

what is it with right wingers and their reliance on videos? Is there some sort of massive case of dyslexia that affects them. I'm sure that Donald Trump sure loves those victims who don't read the fine print. Or don't read to learn at all, for that matter.

This is the guy who negotiated himself several times into bankruptcy by overpaying for assets. He also destroyed the hugely successful real estate business he inherited from his father. So much so that local banks refused to lend to him.