Monday Afternoon Links

by | Oct 5, 2026 | Daily Links | 59 comments

One of them thar days.

Nothing much, just another Monday. All quiet on the Midwest Front. So we can just go to the links…

  • They just want better schools.
  • Sloopy mentioned this in the Morning Links.
  • Euro vs. USD in race to the bottom.
  • Switzerland contemplates war with India.

Music.

Comments are open and yours.

About The Author

Swiss Servator

Swiss Servator

Currently serving at the pleasure of a Swiss multinational. Previously a Soldier, rugby player, lawyer, bouncer, bartender, substitute teacher, risk manager, and cubicle mushroom. Will work for raclette.

59 Comments

  1. Shpip

    Education Minister Edourd Geffray called the movement “legitimate at the outset” but said it has now been “taken hostage by ultra-left groups.”

    Protests escalated with high-school students lighting fires outside of schools across France.

    Give ’em a whiff of the grape.

    • JaimeRoberto feckful & gruntled

      Ultra-left. I think that’s first time I’ve heard that modifier applied to someone on the left, though maybe it doesn’t count since it came from a politician rather than “objective” news source.

    • rhywun

      ultra-left

      “As opposed to the merely far-left government I represent.”

  2. The Late P Brooks

    Madness!

    bueno

  3. rhywun

    tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid and other cities on Saturday demanding action on __________

    This is what you get with cradle-to-grave government coddling. See also France.

    • Pat

      Europe never really moved past feudalism, they just replaced decentralized lords with a central point of control.

      • rhywun

        IIRC Wales’ and Scotland’s “devolution” has increased in recent decades. Not sure how it compares to Spain. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  4. Shpip

    “Europe is taking the spotlight at the start of the week, as fiscal and political concerns hit the bloc. France is the epicenter of the concerns. However, Spain is also set to get ready for an early election, which is adding to investor worries,” XTB research director Kathleen Brooks told The Guardian.

    As retarded as our elections and body politic are, it’s a real challenge to out-‘tard the Euroweenies.

    • Bobarian LMD

      We suck, but not nearly as hard and fast as the Masters in Belgium.

      • juris imprudent

        They don’t compare to the old Dutch Masters.

      • bacon-magic

        I bet they are just salivating over starting WWIII still.

      • Pat

        I bet they are just salivating over starting WWIII still.

        My understanding is that Bad Orange Man has already started WWIII a half dozen or so times.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Why would anyone care? We all dyed from net neutrality.

      • juris imprudent

        started WWIII a half dozen or so times

        Now you understand why AOC was talking about WW eleven.

      • juris imprudent

        We all dyed from net neutrality.

        That only killed white people, not people [already] of color.

    • Pat

      1 looks like fun. 2 looks high maintenance, but still would. I’d caddy for 5.

  5. Pat

    The defeat on Friday was just the latest political setback for Sanchez, one of the few left-leaning government leaders still in power in Europe.

    Yes, the dark night of fascism is truly upon us now 🙄️

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      As I said this AM, Europeasants will not give a shit if they have to go all Fascist to right this ship.

  6. The Late P Brooks

    Refinery capacity matters?

    Modern refineries are enormously complicated systems of distillation towers, catalytic crackers, hydrocrackers, cokers, hydrotreaters, and other processing units. Each was designed around particular crude slates and product markets, and while operators can optimize within those constraints, there are limits to how much the product mix can be changed. That is why a shortage of diesel cannot be solved simply by pointing to record crude production and telling refiners to make more.

    There is also a practical limit to how much additional diesel U.S. refineries can produce when utilization is already high. During the third quarter, U.S. refineries reportedly operated at an average of roughly 96% of capacity as companies responded to very strong refining margins. Diesel crack spreads, which measure the difference between the value of diesel and the crude oil used to produce it, reached extraordinary levels as global product supplies tightened.

    It’s a good thing California has been shutting down refiners.

    • JaimeRoberto feckful & gruntled

      How complicated can they be when every politician seems to think he is qualified to manage one?

  7. Pat

    Euro vs. USD in race to the bottom.

    Literally the only reason the USD is still a reserve currency, and we’re still allowed to carry 125% debt to GDP, is that we’re the tallest dwarf.

      • Nephilium

        “We all want to be Germany Switzerland, but do we really have the strength of will?”

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Meh. The only invention the Swiss have made in 500 years was the cuckoo clock.

      • DEG

        The only invention the Swiss have made in 500 years was the cuckoo clock.

        /cuddles 7.5mm Swiss rounds

        Rubin’s work on that round is the basis for all the .30 caliber class rounds.

      • DEG

        I double checked.

        The French were working on what would become 8mm Lebel at the same time as Rubin did his work.

      • Pat

        The only invention the Swiss have made in 500 years was the cuckoo clock.

        I was going to say the tourbillon, but technically it was conceived by John Arnold, though developed and patented by Breguet.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    Building additional capacity is also very different from drilling another oil well. A major refinery expansion can require billions of dollars, years of engineering and construction, lengthy permitting, and confidence that the investment will remain profitable for decades. That is a difficult commitment to make in an industry where demand growth, environmental policy, electrification, and fuel-efficiency standards all introduce uncertainty about long-term returns.

    Just wait ’til the Democrats take the wheel.

    • The Other Kevin

      That’s exactly when the evil oil barons will decide to raise prices and rake in OBSCENE PROFITS.

    • creech

      The only structures more evil than oil refineries are data centers. You wouldn’t want one in your neighborhood, would ya? would ya?

  9. Shpip

    Bigly if True

    With Iran’s economy in free fall, the country’s currency is getting dragged down too and continues to find new depths, with the regime facing a major cash crunch soon.

    The U.S. naval blockade has sent Iran’s oil exports to virtually zero, while its Persian Gulf neighbors have boosted their own shipments under the protection of the U.S. military, which is eroding Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.

    Maybe this is just propaganda or wishcasting, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over the ayatollahs reigning over a barren hellscape.

    Who knew that after all the missiles and bombs, some of the most effective warfare would be at computer terminals in DC, New York, and London?

    • RAHeinlein

      Scott Bessent – that’s who.

    • DEG

      We’re up to, what, 58 victories over Iran?

    • creech

      “shipments under the protection of the U.S. military, which is eroding Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz”
      What’s this? The media keeps telling us “Iran has closed the Strait.” I find it hard to believe (chuckle, chuckle) that the media doesn’t know perfectly well that the Strait is open even if subject to random, largely ineffective, attacks from Iran. This would be like saying the Nazis “closed the Atlantic Ocean” because their subs would sometimes score a few sinkings in merchant convoys.

  10. The Late P Brooks

    Europe is particularly exposed because the continent has steadily reduced refining capacity over the past decade and a half. European and neighboring refining capacity has fallen from roughly 17.5 million barrels per day in 2009 to about 14.4 million barrels per day today, increasing dependence on imported refined products. When several traditional suppliers are simultaneously constrained, buyers compete more aggressively for available barrels, and those prices feed back into the U.S. market.

    The genius which is Brussels. “We’ll just get our fuels from the Russians.”

  11. The Late P Brooks

    CNN headline:

    “Why doesn’t high speed rail work in America?”

    Well, you see, we have these things called airplanes. They are faster, more flexible and don’t have to buy right-of-way on every foot of of their route.

    • Pat

      Tl;dr: Europeans think 200 miles is a long distance, Americans think 200 years is a long time. Choo choos are great if everyone lives stacked like sardines in a handful of cities and don’t need to get anywhere else. If you live 80 miles from the nearest train stop, that’s a long walk.

    • Rat on a train

      Curious Commonwealth asks: Is high-speed rail possible in Virginia?

      But even if that freight is moved, there’s still limited space along many existing tracks — two lanes, one northbound, one southbound. That means any high-speed train running from Richmond to DC, for example, could still be stuck behind commuter rail service and its frequent stops or trains with mechanical issues.
      …
      “[High-speed rail] needs new right of way because most of the right of way we’re on now, it’s got great curvature,” he said.

  12. The Late P Brooks

    By George, I think he’s got it

    “Just to make sure I have a correct understanding. Presumably, if you prevail, the next day a municipality in every single state will file a lawsuit,” he told Boulder’s lawyer, Kevin Russell.

    Although Boulder’s claims are based on consumer deception, Roberts also seemed skeptical that the lawsuit was anything other than what he called “an effort to reduce emissions.”

    The object is complete paralysis in the energy markets, which will bring about a glorious new energy free future.

    • bacon-magic

      The Energy Wars™ should have a cool name like Holodomor.

      • juris imprudent

        Those of us who own horses will be the new nobility when all the rest of you are walking or bicycling.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Yes, having your own poop factory is always a winning deal.

      • Aloysious: Evil Dark Lord of Wonderful Smooches

        “The Dark Times”?

        “Return of the Wood Stoves”?

        “Let’s use candles”?

        There are others, I’m sure.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      We just need that last push into renewables, that will fix everything!

    • rhywun

      consumer deception

      🙄

      If by “effort to reduce emissions” he really means “effort to impoverish the country” he might be on to something.

  13. UnCivilServant

    I’m trying to describe what it is about the flavor of Nashville Hot Chicken that needs fixing. It’s not the heat, it just doesn’t taste very good and I’m unsure of how to fix that.

    Though this is entirely academic. I don’t intend to cook any anytime soon.

    • Nephilium

      Sounds like the taste buds are the problem.

      I miss Hot Chicken Takeover.

      • UnCivilServant

        Incorrect. Taste buds are just fine.

  14. Aloysious: Evil Dark Lord of Wonderful Smooches

    I don’t want any government schools.

    What can I burn down?

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Jews. The answer is always Jews.

    • rhywun

      You’re a state AG. Stay in your lane, asshole.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    I don’t want any government schools.

    What can I burn down?

    A firehouse.

    • Aloysious: Evil Dark Lord of Wonderful Smooches

      Is it a jooishy firehouse?

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