Politics

[Scott CWO]

M

This is definately the case. U.S. health care facilities hold job fairs up here in Canada and recruit at all of our nursing schools looking to convince our nurses to take on jobs south of the border.

I think the drop off in nursing numbers is very real all across North America. I have many friends in the health care field and they tell me many nurses are just burned out and fed up with being treated like shit by people during the COVID outbreak. Patients have become more and more problematic lately.

Many of them are now slipping off into private care in private homes or nursing homes. They find taking care of very ill people in their own homes, or the elderly in care facilities, much less stressful than traditional clinical care and at least as lucrative.

My daughter worked in nursing homes as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) before getting her Surgical Technologist degree. Many people would be surprised to learn that teams of CNAs do most of the nursing care while supervised by just maybe one or two nurses.

My daughter thinks surgery centers are the best gig for nursing. They are only open Monday through Friday during bankers hours. No ER, no weekends or holidays. No chronically ill patients with attitudes. It’s hard to get hired but once you’re in, it’s great. Once she’s done with clinicals, she will be an RN and her Surgical Technologist salary will double as a surgical nurse. She will be making almost as much as a GP doctor.

 

[Scott CWO]

It all boils down to means. If you have a good job that gives you good insurance in the states, then the private system if going to work swimmingly for you. If you don’t, well you’d best stay healthy.

As a Canadian, part of me supports a two tier public/private healthcare system, but part of me worries how bad the decline of public health would be (I remember being told by our PH’s that you do not go to a public hospital in RSA no matter what). Everyone deserves top notch healthcare regardless of their lot in life.

You would be mistaken to think that people without insurance are not treated in the USA. They can and do walk in to the hospitals and are not turned away. Uninsured women have babies and get prenatal care and it costs them almost nothing if single.

However, heath care is not a right. People who can should have to work for it.

 

[WAB]

I'll defer to the oil refining experts in our community, but pipelines, regardless of terrain, are easier to replace than cracking units and the like often dependent on western technology. Secondly, domestically produced long range drones can reach into the Volga River basin, but not all the way to the Siberian basin. However that production is vulnerable once it reaches the Western Russian refining distribution centers.

Anton Geraschenko is a respected blogger on the Ukraine war (as opposed to many of the propagandists on both sides). He monitors the Russian Telegram channels and accounts. As noted by Geraschenko, the following was posted by a Russian analyst. It provides a surprisingly thorough review of vulnerabilities.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1959207002766221331

For those who do not access X

I've decided to translate for you a post from the Russian Telegram channel "Nezygar" about the current state of Russian refineries and fuel market:

"Tensions in Russia's fuel market are rising: in Primorye, there are kilometer-long queues at gas stations, and wholesale prices for gasoline and diesel have hit record highs. Officially, the reasons are no longer hidden - refineries are shutting down after Ukrainian strikes. During peak summer days, up to 14% of processing capacity was idle.In 2025, the tactics of Ukrainian strikes have changed. Previously, they were one-time: a unit would be damaged, the plant would reduce output, but recover within a few weeks. Now, attacks are carried out in series and repeated on the same facilities - Ryazan, Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Volgograd, Afipsky refineries. This prevents the restoration of primary processing and hydrocracking and catalytic cracking units. For example, after a series of attacks, Ryazan Refinery (5% of Russia's capacity) has half its processing halted, while Novokuibyshevsk Refinery (3%) has its primary processing damaged. The largest refinery in southern Russia, Volgograd's Lukoil, as well as the Samara and Syzran refineries, have stopped receiving crude.Ukraine is widely using drones with a range of 1,000-1,500 km (such as the AQ-400 produced by FirePoint), capable of reaching the Volga region. Simultaneously, drones and maritime drones are targeting export terminals - attacks on Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk have temporarily halted oil product shipments. 'Madyar' reported hitting the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies oil from Russia to its historical homeland....The choice of refineries as targets is explained by their technological vulnerability. Modern Russian refineries were built using equipment from Shell, Axens, UOP, and Haldor Topsoe - hydrocracking, catalytic reforming, isomerization, and Euro-5 component production. After 2022, deliveries of equipment, software, and catalysts ceased. Catalysts are consumables, replaced every 1-3 years; without Western supplies, Russia relies on old stock or Chinese analogs with inferior performance. Hydroprocessing reactors and compressors are manufactured in only a few countries, with delivery times up to a year.China can cover only part of the deficit: pumps, heat exchangers, and simple catalysts. However, for complex processes, its technology lags, and replacing Western components with Chinese ones requires restructuring the entire refinery unit. As a result, every Ukrainian strike on a hydrocracking or reforming unit leads to months of downtime.The map of Russian refineries reveals a key strategic problem: the main processing capacities are concentrated in the European part of the country, while fuel consumption is rising in the Far East. Fuel logistics chains to eastern regions span thousands of kilometers, creating additional costs and risks. Kilometer-long queues in Primorye are a direct consequence of this imbalance between western production and eastern consumption. Large refineries - from Kirishi to Volgograd - are within reach of Ukrainian drones. The Flamingo missile, if its specifications are confirmed, can reach Russia's largest refinery in Omsk.As the range increases, facilities previously considered out of reach are now threatened, creating a scale problem for air defense - protecting all refineries across the territory, from Kaliningrad to the Far East, is practically impossible.Consequently, Russia's oil and gas industry, once a source of economic strength, has become a vulnerable spot."

You are absolutely right and this report is fascinating and spot on regarding the technologies.

Running pipelines across permafrost is well established technology and repairs would be straightforward. Strikes on pumping stations and repair facilities would cause far greater problems if you were forced to go after pipelines.

Strikes on refineries are much more effective, particularly on hydrocrackers, fluid crackers, reformers and
Hydrotreaters.

A huge point in the report is the loss of western catalysts which are required in all of the units listed above. These units simply do not work without catalysts. The absolute longest run I have seen on catalyst in any of them is five years with four being more typical. The fluid crackers consume catalyst continually. Unless things have changed, there are not good supply alternatives for Russia outside the West.

On a side note, my thesis work was in the area of catalysts. It was on the definition of a set of sorbtion isotherms. Russian scientists had previously completed this work but their results were so poor that they were unusable. The revised isotherms produced were able to be used in process unit design. Russian scientific work in this field has historically been pathetic.

 

[WAB]

You would be mistaken to think that people without insurance are not treated in the USA. They can and do walk in to the hospitals and are not turned away. Uninsured women have babies and get prenatal care and it costs them almost nothing if single.

Agreed, our Canadian family are fed a load of crap on US health care. It is fairly common to assume that folks without insurance cannot get treatment. I can only assume that it is spread by the Canadian government and media to cover their own incompetence.

 

[Scott CWO]

Y

Agreed, our Canadian family are fed a load of crap on US health care. It is fairly common to assume that folks without insurance cannot get treatment. I can only assume that it is spread by the Canadian government and media to cover their own incompetence.

Yes and Obamacare was supposed to enact a $2500 fine per person when filling income tax forms if people could not show proof of health insurance. This is to help pay for uninsured patients. Problem is that they can be granted a waiver for cause! Well, the waivers are super easy to get. All you have to say is you can’t afford insurance and then you are also waived from paying the $2500 fine! Stupid scam loophole designed by Democrats!

 

[WAB]

In a "Little Sisters" sense you might be right. I get the argument, but in a taxation sense it is kind of impractical. If I as a taxpayer can pick and choose what I want my taxes to go to, the whole system would collapse under its own weight quite quickly.

But in a larger sense, that is probably wrong. MAID is quite inexpensive compared to what the care for most of these people would otherwise cost the taxpayer. One of the factors in the MAID debate is that many people argued that the reason the government was allowing it was to save money, and that was devaluing human life.

My point is broader than a single issue. If you can get a copy of it, read Bastiat’s treatise ‘The Law’. Bastiat does a very good job of presenting the appropriate role of government in society. Harper had Canada moving back in this direction. One more term and I suspect he would have tackled health care. IMO, Justin Trudeau has done even more damage than his supposed father did. I doubt that I will live to see the day that the ship is righted, if it ever is.

 

[steve white]

It all boils down to means. If you have a good job that gives you good insurance in the states, then the private system if going to work swimmingly for you. If you don’t, well you’d best stay healthy.

As a Canadian, part of me supports a two tier public/private healthcare system, but part of me worries how bad the decline of public health would be (I remember being told by our PH’s that you do not go to a public hospital in RSA no matter what). Everyone deserves top notch healthcare regardless of their lot in life.

Poor people not only get treated well in the county hospitals, but they get around the rules to get treated in the private hospitals. A nurse told me she regularly saw women sit in their cars in the parking lot of Methodist Hospital, Dallas until they had dilated so much they couldn't be turned down and sent to county. Nobody is turning to the wall and dying without help just because they're poor.

 

[Aaron N]

You would be mistaken to think that people without insurance are not treated in the USA. They can and do walk in to the hospitals and are not turned away. Uninsured women have babies and get prenatal care and it costs them almost nothing if single.

However, heath care is not a right. People who can should have to work for it.

Healthcare is not a right?! Carrying a gun is a god given right, but access to competent medical care isn’t?

 

[Scott CWO]

Healthcare is not a right?! Carrying a gun is a god given right, but access to competent medical care isn’t?

No it’s not and your argument is a poor Democrat Party argument and talking point.

 

[Aaron N]

Poor people not only get treated well in the county hospitals, but they get around the rules to get treated in the private hospitals. A nurse told me she regularly saw women sit in their cars in the parking lot of Methodist Hospital, Dallas until they had dilated so much they couldn't be turned down and sent to county. Nobody is turning to the wall and dying without help just because they're poor.

Then why bother having insurance if you’ll get treated regardless?

 

[deewayne2003]

Poor people not only get treated well in the county hospitals, but they get around the rules to get treated in the private hospitals. A nurse told me she regularly saw women sit in their cars in the parking lot of Methodist Hospital, Dallas until they had dilated so much they couldn't be turned down and sent to county. Nobody is turning to the wall and dying without help just because they're poor.

Correct, and FYI Parkland Hospital in Dallas is a county facility but it is extremely competent and further FYI it's the busiest birthing center in the USA and 50% of the children born there are to parents illegally in the country.

Healthcare is not a right?! Carrying a gun is a god given right, but access to competent medical care isn’t?

Yes carrying a gun is a god given right to self defense; however saying that healthcare is a right means you have the "right" to use someone else's skills/training without compensation - This is the lynch pin in socialist mantra ...... "It's a right, so we can infringe on your rights in order to give to someone else"

Then why bother having insurance if you’ll get treated regardless?

We have that very problem - This is why illegals working in the USA under stolen/fraudulent documents will always decline healthcare offered by the employer - because they can just take their pregnant girlfriend to the hospital when her water breaks.

Also: check out Shiner's children's hospitals - the best care you can get for a child with anything from physical development to severe burns; sure the hospital takes insurance and cash payments but no child is ever turned away for their families inability to pay and Shiners have never nor will ever refer someone to a collection agency.

 

[Aaron N]

No it’s not and your argument is a poor Democrat Party argument and talking point.

But if you were guiding in the mountains, and came across a hiker with a broken arm, you’d help splint or sling it wouldn’t you? Because A. You’re an honourable gentleman (and I do mean that) and B. It’s the, wait for it, RIGHT thing to do. So if it’s the right thing to do on an individual level, why does that not scale up to a societal level?

 

[Aaron N]

Correct, and FYI Parkland Hospital in Dallas is a county facility but it is extremely competent and further FYI it's the busiest birthing center in the USA and 50% of the children born there are to parents illegally in the country.


Yes carrying a gun is a god given right to self defense; however saying that healthcare is a right means you have the "right" to use someone else's skills/training without compensation - This is the lynch pin in socialist mantra ...... "It's a right, so we can infringe on your rights in order to give to someone else"

We have that very problem - This is why illegals working in the USA under stolen/fraudulent documents will always decline healthcare offered by the employer - because they can just take their pregnant girlfriend to the hospital when her water breaks.

Also: check out Shiner's children's hospitals - the best care you can get for a child with anything from physical development to severe burns; sure the hospital takes insurance and cash payments but no child is ever turned away for their families inability to pay and Shiners have never nor will ever refer someone to a collection agency.

Nowhere have I once stated that doctors aren’t to be paid for their services. Try again

And also I’ve never advocated for illegals

 

[RLD]

My point is broader than a single issue. If you can get a copy of it, read Bastiat’s treatise ‘The Law’. Bastiat does a very good job of presenting the appropriate role of government in society. Harper had Canada moving back in this direction. One more term and I suspect he would have tackled health care. IMO, Justin Trudeau has done even more damage than his supposed father did. I doubt that I will live to see the day that the ship is righted, if it ever is.

I'll eagerly add it to my reading list.

I don't think Harper would have gotten around to changing health care in any real way. It's a political third rail up here. Touch it and your career is instantly over.

And far as I can tell anything Justin touched turned to shit.

 

[WAB]

But if you were guiding in the mountains, and came across a hiker with a broken arm, you’d help splint or sling it wouldn’t you? Because A. You’re an honourable gentleman (and I do mean that) and B. It’s the, wait for it, RIGHT thing to do. So if it’s the right thing to do on an individual level, why does that not scale up to a societal level?

A right and the right thing to do are two totally different things. You are conflating the discussion.

I have lived a significant time on both sides of the border. I can assure you that the quality and accessibility of healthcare is far better in the US. It is Canada’s approach to health care that reduces the incentive to innovate and improve, and results in the rationing of what is left. Anything that becomes a government budgetary line item is rationed by definition

 

[SaintPanzer]

Healthcare is not a right?! Carrying a gun is a god given right, but access to competent medical care isn’t?

"Carrying a gun" is a "God given right" because the right is actually the ability to protect yourself.

If "Healthcare" is a right, then every doctor and nurse is a slave.

 

[Aaron N]

"Carrying a gun" is a "God given right" because the right is actually the ability to protect yourself.

If "Healthcare" is a right, then every doctor and nurse is a slave.

How are people getting paid wages slaves?

 

[SaintPanzer]

But if you were guiding in the mountains, and came across a hiker with a broken arm, you’d help splint or sling it wouldn’t you? Because A. You’re an honourable gentleman (and I do mean that) and B. It’s the, wait for it, RIGHT thing to do. So if it’s the right thing to do on an individual level, why does that not scale up to a societal level?

Treating a fellow human being is the right thing to do. "Do unto others..."

Scaling up to a societal level? is there a difference between a societal good and a government mandate? Do we no longer donate to charities because the government will fund them?

I have a right to bear arms... because I have the right to defend myself from those who do me harm. I still have to pay for the arm (it's not free), but carrying it is not something I for which I should pay.

But when you say healthcare is a right, that means if I'm feeling under the weather, I should be able to rouse my doctor at midnight and insist he treat me. Not "go to the hospital open 24 hours), I have a RIGHT to treatment. At any time, at no price. That's what a right means. Not "give me the opportunity for something", but there on demand.

When you consider it that way... it's easy to see the difference.

 

[mdwest]

It all boils down to means. If you have a good job that gives you good insurance in the states, then the private system if going to work swimmingly for you. If you don’t, well you’d best stay healthy.

Obamacare (ACA) was supposed to "fix" this problem... all it did was make things substantially worse..

A good job may indeed provide good insurance options in the US.. but comparatively to what was available just 10 years ago.. what we have now is crap..

Coverage is substantially less now on most policies.. and there has been a 52% increase in insurance costs in the 10 years since ACA came into effect (2014-2024) while total inflation in the US was only 36% during the same time period..

So now we pay significantly more.. for less actual coverage, higher deductibles, higher co-pays, etc..

in 2013 (the year before ACA began), 14.5% of the US population was uninsured.. in 2025 11% remain uninsured, and the 3% that picked up insurance coverage are actually paying substantially more than they would have been had ACA never been passed..

The same people that couldnt afford good coverage a decade ago.. still cant afford good coverage now.. and the other 85% of the population is now paying substantially more, for less coverage..

 

[Aaron N]

Treating a fellow human being is the right thing to do. "Do unto others..."

Exactly, society could use a whole lot more do unto others