tree-fancier123

found an example to illustrate the point In 2010, a U.K. hedge fund manager spent around $1 billion to acquire the legal rights to about seven percent of the world’s annual production of cocoa – enough beans to make over 5 billion bars of chocolate. This cocoa trader, dubbed “Chocolate Finger” as a nod to the Bond villain Goldfinger, never intended to actually use his hoard of cocoa for anything. He was a financial speculator, an investor who made millions of dollars when the world cocoa supply did not meet the demands of chocolate makers, the price of cocoa went up, and the chocolate companies came to Chocolate Finger for desperately needed cocoa. The condemnation of Chocolate Finger was universal, with the loudest objections coming from European chocolate companies and transnational cocoa suppliers. The London Exchange investigated Chocolate Finger’s purchases but found “no evidence of abusive behavior”. By the standards of commodity trading, that is probably true. But when the real-world impacts of cocoa commodity trading are investigated, the evidence shows that traders such as Chocolate Finger are hurting the farmers, who risk everything to grow cocoa, in two major ways. First, they take money from the total revenue generated by cocoa products despite not adding any value to the cocoa economy. Second, the commodity market amalgamates the world’s cocoa supply into one giant pool of identical goods, with no differentiations between high-quality, sustainable, ethically produced beans and the low-quality beans grown by trafficked children.

of course there is an underlying cause of disruption to the supply - but the markets are still used as instruments of speculation - not sure about cocoa, but sometimes with oil there are far more paper contracts than there is oil to deliver on them - you probably remember during covid the crazy moment in march 2020 when for a few hours oil was at minus $40 a barrel (because there was no storage to take physical delivery) I reckon that cocoa chart has been bid up by financial buyers as well as Cadburys

it's still winter, I don't get it, I know bulb flowers are associated with spring, but you need a separate thread surely ' flowers in winter'

commodities markets are the new bitcoin -

me - I'm a gardener who does a bit of tree work. They failed me first time on CS39 - cutting too close to my legs the main reason. I suspect poverty is your main problem - and why you are lashing out at anything to do with authority

oh well White supremacist and members of neo-fascist group among ‘January 6 patriots’ pardoned by Trump WWW.THEJC.COM Another rioter who had their conviction quashed wore an antisemitic sweatshirt to the Capitol, while clemency was also extended...

Trump probably will get some sort of deal to end the killing in Ukraine done, but what he was saying during the election was just bluster. Trump Vowed to End the Ukraine War Before Taking Office. The War Rages On. - The New York Times WWW.NYTIMES.COM Donald J. Trump’s promise to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours, “before I even become president,” proved to be untrue.

in terms of noxious fumes though I'd be interested in a proper academic study alkylate fuels v 2t supermarket unleaded, not some 'research' funded by suppliers it's all combustion - there may be harmful fumes from combustion of the dear stuff that don't give off a whiff.

I'm not planing on entering politics, so my answer will have no bearing on anything. I just think that the state is part of evolution and part of nature, it's not some evil controlling thing. If a person gets cancer - that's nature being evil and controlling - a state educated radiographer may help find the lump so it can be zapped or removed, but a privately educated radiographer would do just as good a job without ripping off hard working tax payers?

It seems the Stainless Steel Association came into being after a discovery made during state funded warfare - that doesn't mean that unbridled free marketeers (not necessarily anarchists) couldn't have made the same discovery under different circumstances In 1913, Harry Brearley of Sheffield, UK discovered ‘rustless’ steel. Although there had been many prior attempts, Brearley has been credited with inventing the first true stainless steel, which had a 12.8% chromium content. He had added chromium to molten iron to produce a metal that did not rust. Chromium is a key ingredient, as it provides the resistance to corrosion. After this discovery, Sheffield itself became synonymous with steel and metallurgy. Brearley stumbled upon this discovery while trying to solve the problem of erosion of the internal surfaces of gun barrels for the British army during the onset of the First World War.

So with a state, there is at least a chance some kids from poor backgrounds can get an education, but without a state only those kids whose parents can make enough down the liberated mines can go to private Uni

you've said you went to Uni - so how does that happen without a state? - Who pays for it if we can't starve illegal miners to protect tax revenues?

my first step would be trying to suss out how to best kill a mature plant with chemicals, maybe eco plugs drilled in near the base? Would it not be quicker to leave them standing until dead and go through and poison as many as funds permit, so they don't set anymore seed? Edit - always best to google before posting a question, seems it's not the silver bullet I was imagining Efficacy of Ecoplugs on RhododendronControl is likely to be as good as, but no better than, conventional sprays of liquid glyphosate, and in both cases, repeat visits to control regrowth will almost certainly still be required.

at least it's not a triffid UK’s first glyphosate-resistant weed found on Kent farm | Herbicides | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Scientist says case is warning for farmers to reduce reliance on controversial and common herbicide

I was joking of course, but like this

if there is no restriction on height on the trailer it would be feasible (although not necessarily plausible to drive the loader on top of the chipper on ramps like on a car transporter

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has taken a subtle yet sharp swipe at Tesla CEO Elon Musk over his call for more uplifting content on X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk, who owns the platform, tweeted on Sunday: “Please post a bit more positive, beautiful or informative content on this platform.” In response, Cuban retorted with a succinct “You first,” leaving users chuckling at the pointed jab.

hopefully when the cash bungs reach a critical mass, Reform can set up a naval blockade and buy up some Kent farmland to build a new airport - straight out of the water and onto the plane, no processing required. But what about those who deliberately throw their passports away? Maybe a roullette wheel divided into a few suitable holding territories. The second coming of Christ may never happen, but Nigel is real and already here. He can lead us out of the darkness, for the bargain price of £25

there's only one person who can stop them - it's no coincidence the initials of Nigel Farage and National Front are the same

that's what I thought if you could find one cheap enough and do away with tracks, or if possible look at one and see how they made hopper removable, would mean making up electrical connectors etc

the old TW150VTR tracked machines had a removable hopper, for narrow access, an arrangement like that would make it shorter in the trailer

^ quite a funny clip, agro going on and misidentification x.com X.COM

that one on streetview looks like a series of crown lifts over the years too - to keep it growing in too small a spot, making it top heavy

pure speculation - but the one in the photo above with its bottom wide low branches intact - they are the widest part of the canopy and could act as a counterweight in gales

no idea about the effects of thinning on windthrow, but I wanted to find a picture of a nice mature specimen for comparison with the one above that had been worked on, maybe the one in my picture has had work over the years, but it is the right tree in the right place - i.e. had room to achieve its natural shape