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Today at a Glance:
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets at 10 a.m. every first Wednesday of the month at City Hall. For agendas, minutes, and audio access to the meetings, go here. For details about the city’s code enforcement regulations, go here.
The Flagler Beach Library Book Club meets at 1 p.m. at the library, 315 South Seventh Street, Flagler Beach.
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library: Do you enjoy Chess, trying out new moves, or even like some friendly competition? Come visit the Flagler County Public Library at the Teen Spot every Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. for Chess Club. Everyone is welcome, for beginners who want to learn how to play all the way to advanced players. For more information contact the Youth Service department 386-446-6763 ext. 3714 or email us at [email protected]
The Flagler Beach Parks Ad Hoc Committee meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 105 S 2nd St, Flagler Beach. The Committee’s six members, appointed by the City Commission, provide recommendations related to the maintenance of existing parks and equipment and recommendations for new or replacement equipment and other duties as assigned by the City Commission.
Separation Chat, Open Discussion: The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion on the topic here in our community, around Florida and throughout the United States, noon to 1 p.m. at Pine Lakes Golf Club Clubhouse Pub & Grillroom (no purchase is necessary), 400 Pine Lakes Pkwy, Palm Coast (0.7 miles from Belle Terre Parkway). Call (386) 445-0852 for best directions. All are welcome! Everyone’s voice is important. For further information email [email protected] or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
The Flagler County Republican Club holds its monthly meeting starting with a social hour at 5 and the business meeting at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast. The club is the social arm of the Republican Party of Flagler County, which represents over 40,000 registered Republicans. Meetings are open to Republicans only.
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center: Nightly from 6 to 9 p.m. at Palm Coast’s Central Park, with 55 lighted displays you can enjoy with a leisurely stroll around the pond in the park. Admission to Fantasy Lights is free, but donations to support Rotary’s service work are gladly accepted. Holiday music will pipe through the speaker system throughout the park, Santa’s Village, which has several elf houses for the kids to explore, will be open, with Santa’s Merry Train Ride nightly (weather permitting), and Santa will be there every Sunday night until Christmas, plus snow on weekends! On certain nights, live musical performances will be held on the stage.
Storytime: Part of Maupassant’s fixation on canotage, or canoeing. In 1873 he’d rented a room with a friend by the Seine near Argenteuil, about seven miles northwest of the center of Paris. He would often canoe from Bezons to Croissy (not to be confused with Flaubert’s Croisset outside of Rouen). The story was first titled “En canot,” and is the first of two by that title (“Sur l’eau”). He wrote another one in the form of a diary in 1888. The narrator is listening to a canotier tell the story of one of his trips down the Seine. He stops to take in the beauty of the surroundings and to have a pipe, throwing in his anchor and reflecting about the water, this “mysterious thing, profound, unknown, a land of mirages and phantasmagoria, where one sees by night things that do not exist, hears sounds that one does not recognize, trembles without knowing why, as in passing through a cemetery—and it is, in fact, the most sinister of cemeteries, one in which one has no tomb.” It is unlike the sea, but the sea shrieks and howls while the Seine is “silent and perfidious.” Done with his pipe, he tries to lift anchor. It won’t give no matter what. He’s stuck. He figures: why not just wait out the night. Someone will come along. But even for this fish in water, the river begins to take on its sinister airs. His frights seize him. The rum he drinks isn’t enough to calm his nerves. The thick mists of the Seine amplify the silence. “I felt horribly uncomfortable, my forehead felt as if it had a tight band round it, my heart beat so that it almost suffocated me, and, almost beside myself.” Swimming to shore isn’t an option: he’d get stuck in weeds and drown. Sleeping is no help. And something is knocks against his boat, almost as loud as his heart. He duels with himself, that duel of fright and reason we all know and never win no matter what we try. We are only stoics up to a point. Maupassant reduces the entire world to that canoe and those frights, to that moment when we see our smallness and fallibility, our nothingness in a mass of indifference. That the indifference is made up of the sublime is the tragedy: we are bit parts in the beauty, its plaything as we self-destruct in fear. Finally, another canotier passes by and helps him unhook the anchor, or at least loosen it enough to bring the weight that had been clamping it down to the surface. It’s “the corpse of an old woman with a big stone round her neck.” The misty uncertainty outlasts the story: suicide? Murder? We cannot know, though the woman’s fate is less relevant (less interesting) than how the weight of her death teased the canotier, and gave him a taste of his own hereafter. (See an English translation here.)
—P.T.
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The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
A Christmas Carol at Athens Theatre
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Palm Coast Democratic Club Meeting
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Flagler Beach City Commission Meeting
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series
A Christmas Carol at Athens Theatre
For the full calendar, go here.
Quote: “I drank some more rum and stretched myself out at the bottom of the boat. I remained there about an hour, perhaps two, not sleeping, my eyes wide open, with nightmares all about me. I did not dare to rise, and yet I intensely longed to do so. I delayed it from moment to moment. I said to myself : “Come, get up !” and I was afraid to move. At last I raised myself with infinite caution as though my life depended on the slightest sound that I might make ; and looked over the edge of the boat. I was dazzled by the most marvellous, the most astonishing sight that it is possible to see. It was one of those phantasmagoria of fairyland, one of those sights described by travellers on their return from distant lands, whom we listen to without believing. The fog which, two hours before, had floated on the water, had gradually cleared off and massed on the banks, leaving the river absolutely clear ; while it formed on either bank an uninterrupted wall six or seven metres high, which shone in the moonlight with the dazzling brilliance of snow. One saw nothing but the river gleaming with light between these two white mountains ; and high above my head sailed the great full moon, in the midst of a bluish, milky sky.”
–From Maupassant’s “Sur l’eau” (“On the Water”), Le Bulletin français, 10 mars 1876 .
Pogo says
@Starting with today’s cartoon
Bitter, bitter.
And the rest — bonjour:
See France before it’s gone
https://www.google.com/search?q=le+pen+party
Satire, irony become goddamn near impossible when they’re everything, e g.:
Secretary of Defense — Ron DeSantis. What could possibly go wrong…
Ray W, says
Volkswagen’s CEO addressed the company’s workers today after they offered to cut their labor costs by $1.6 billion.
He said:
“We, the management, are not operating in a world of make-believe. We are making decisions in a rapidly changing environment. We are concerned about the future of our company.”
VW previously announced plans to cut worker pay by 10% across the board and to do something the company has never done, i.e., close not one, but three factories.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
A Nissan executive recently stated that his company has 12-14 months left, unless cash flow turns around.
BMW recently told shareholders to expect a negative profit report.
Mercedes-Benz recently told shareholders to expect a negative profit report.
Stellantis (Chrysler-Fiat-Peugeot) just forced out its CEO after two straight years of falling sales.
Ford’s CEO says the American auto industry is years behind the Chinese EV industry. He compares the emergence of inexpensive quality Chinese EVs to the impact of the Model T on the American automobile industry. If legacy carmakers do not adapt to Chinese EV manufacturing practices, they will soon be gone.
The gullible among us claim that EVs can’t work. BYD started making EVs in 2008. Now, the company just passed Ford to become the world’s sixth biggest automaker. The Chinese car industry is on pace to build 30 million units this year. 15 million of these are EV’s of one form or another. Their domestic market absorbed a total of 25 million units from all manufacturers, American, Japanese, European, etc. The excess Chinese production is being exported. The American marketplace will not reach 15 million this year.
Ford’s CEO has been driving a Chinese EV for the past six months. He says he doesn’t want to give it back. He says that Chinese EVs are bringing back the “joy of driving.”
When Ford’s CEO says that Chinese EVs are today’s Model T, he means that the American car industry is at an inflection point. Either the industry looks forward to the future, meaning EVs, or the industry continues to look backwards, meaning internal combustion engines. Those who continue to look backwards are not likely to survive as major car manufacturers, just as most of the then-existing American car industry failed after the Model T was introduced.
The Model T was an inexpensive well-designed car that was easy to repair and cheap to drive. At the time, there were dozens of American carmakers. In a few years, many of them were gone. Ford’s CEO clearly sees what will happen if Ford cannot shift focus quickly enough. He formed a special top-secret R & D unit, comparable to the aviation industry’s skunk works that built the best fighter planes in the world during the Cold War.
Ray W, says
Moody Analytics’ chief economist, Mark Zandi, talked to a Markets Insider reporter of two of the incoming administration’s policies that could pose a “serious risk” to stocks:
First, Mr. Zandi addressed tariffs.
The reporter wrote:
“Trump has proposed steep tariffs on US imports from China, Mexico, Canada, and BRICS nations. Economists have said tariffs could lead to higher prices as businesses pass the cost of the duty on to consumers, potentially raising inflation and causing interest rates to trend higher.
“Trump has pushed back against the idea that his policies are inflationary. He levied tariffs during his first term as president without significant price increases, but economists say his tariff plan this time around is far more wide-reaching, explaining the difference in inflation forecasts.
“‘I’m no fan of broad-based tariffs,’ Zandi said. ‘If it’s on the margin, no big deal. But if it’s truly broad-based, that’s a big deal.”
Second, Mr. Zandi addressed mass deportations.
The reporter wrote:
“Trump has also promised to deport millions of immigrants from the US, which, if enforced to the fullest extent, could remove nearly 12 million migrants living in the US, according to the Center for Migration Studies.
“It’s unclear how mass deportations will play out. If the US were to deport a significant number of immigrants, economists have speculated that deportations could hit job sectors with a high proportion of immigrant workers, like construction and agriculture.
“‘If it’s 50,000 immigrants, undocumented immigrants that are deported, maybe that’s not great, but that’s not a big deal. If it’s 500,000, that’s a deal. That’s a big deal. That could create all kinds of dislocation,’ Zandi said.
Fewer workers in some industries could also pressure employers to raise wages to attract talent, which has the potential to fuel inflation.
“The US relies, like Canada, very heavily on immigrant labor. If you’re asking people to leave the country — and others are self-deporting, because of the pressures they’re under and employers are under … that means labor markets are going to get red-hot again, wage growth is going to accelerate, inflationary pressures are going to develop, and the Fed can’t cut interest rates,’ he added.”
Make of this what you will.
Me? Lots of election season promises are made. We don’t yet know what will happen in either the tariff or deportation arenas.
Ray W, says
In an October 29, 2024, Business Insider article, GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, spoke of GM’s future in the Chinese marketplace.
Here are some bullet points:
– Counting international brands competing for market share in the Chinese car market, more that 120 brands sold vehicles in China in 2023, leading to what Ms. Barra says is an “oversaturated” market.
– The EV market is “shifting dramatically.” She said that competition is forcing prices “lower and lower” to the point that prices should become untenable.
– GM’s 3rd quarter Chinese market sales rose 14% from the second quarter, and its EV sector sales surpassed ICE model sales for the first time. On the other hand, Mercedes just reported a 31% EV sales drop in China year over year.
– “‘From a China perspective, EV adoption has been heavily regulatory-driven,’ Barra said, referring to the Chinese government’s push for EV adoption. ‘But what also has occurred is there are over a hundred Chinese OEMs right now, primarily focused on EVs,’ she added. OEMs are original equipment manufacturers that create parts for other businesses to use in their products.”
– “‘You have to look at what the sustainable business is because the situation that is there right now is not sustainable,’ Barra said. ‘Of the hundred or so companies, only less than a handful are profitable,’ she said.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
America went through a huge growth state, with over a hundred carmakers building cars, right up to the entry of the Model T into the car market. The market became unsustainable for many and most of the companies eventually went out of business.
After WWII, Japan’s motorcycle industry had over a hundred manufacturers competing in a small personal transport market. In that case, the Japanese government staged races throughout the countryside. The five best performing makes received government support and the rest of the manufacturers were allowed to die off. Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Bridgestone were the winners. They all are now international manufacturing heavyweights.
China, too, will see a trimming of the vine. But the survivors will be well-positioned to take on the world’s much larger car market and they haven’t even attempted to enter the U.S. market. There is a reason that the Biden administration just erected a 102.5% trade barrier on Chinese EVs. The American 3 aren’t ready.
Ray W, says
Less than five weeks after GM’ CEO, Mary Barra, spoke of the “unsustainable” market competition in the Chinese car marketplace, GM has announced a $5 billion loss to it China operations.
Business Insider reports that GM will “write down the value of its joint venture with SAIC Motor by as much as $2.9 billion and incur a further $2.7 billion in charges as it looks to restructure the China business.”
Here are more bullet points:
– More than one factory will be closed.
– GM’s Chinese operations lost $347 million in the first nine months of the year.
– GM says: “We expect our results in China in 2025 to show year-over-year improvement as a result of the actions our SGM joint venture is taking to make the business sustainable and profitable.”
– While sales for BYD are booming due to affordable EV and hybrid models, European manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz recently reported slumping sales.
– Toyota and Nissan struggle to maintain market share, with analysts telling the BI reporter that their struggle is due to “an underwhelming lineup of EVs.”
Make of this what you will.
Ray W, says
Interesting Engineering reports that a Honda-Sony collaboration will debut their new BEV Afeela sedan this coming January at the Las Vegas-based Consumer Technology Show.
Few specifications are available, but the sedan is expected to be 4WD, with one 241 HP motor on each axle. The battery pack will store 91.0-kWh. Range is not yet announced. Suspension is “air-spring”.
Ray W, says
More on VW’s situation, this culled from the Wall Street Journal.
VW’s CEO told workers “[t]he current situation is serious. New competitors are entering the market with unprecedented force. The price pressure is immense.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
The Chinese are coming to the EU car market. VW is nervous. Its CEO knows that the company has been looking backwards for far too long.
The future is one of electric cars that are less expensive to build, less expensive to buy, well-designed, well-built, less expensive to repair, less expensive to drive, and likely less expensive to insure.
VW has no answer to the coming storm other than to lay off thousands of workers, close three factories and cut pay for the remaining workers by 10%. That is just VW’s first step.
Ford’s CEO says the Detroit 3 never had a plan for the coming EV wave.
Ford decided in 2018 to build EVs and then ignored the competition for four years. During those four years, Ford designed and built versions of EVs that are uncompetitive and overly expensive to build. He says that Ford’s EV products are “upside down” in price by $20k to $30k per vehicle.
In 2022, Ford realized its mistake and is redesigning its entire EV line.
Ford simply misjudged what was coming and now we have a 102.5% tariff on all imported Chinese EVs to protect our bloated and antiquated auto industry.
I am going to write this over and over again.
We threw away the initial opportunity to learn how to build first-generation (liquid-state lithium-ion-powered) EVs. In 2008, the Chinese EV industry was in its infancy. Our Detroit 3 was far ahead of them.
Why the gullible among us listened to the professional lying class of one of our two parties and held back our auto industry is inexplicable.
We lost the first-generation battery war from neglect and stupidity.
Now, the world’s car market consists of 90 million units per year and growing, but China’s capacity to build units is at 30 million per year and growing faster than is the overall demand for cars and light trucks.
Meanwhile, our own car-building market share is shrinking. The Chinese carmakers are taking market share away from all of the legacy automakers and the legacy automakers are scrambling to figure out what to do. For some, the transition is going to be too little, too late.
The second-generation (solid state battery) EV price war is about to begin.
We can win it. We have always held an edge over Chinese car makers in automotive manufacturing expertise and our research teams still lead the world in battery innovation. The initial breakthrough in preventing shorts that have long held back solid-state battery production came out of a CalTech lab, with an assist from the Jet Propulsion Lab about two years ago. Six months later, Nio was selling a solid-state lithium-ion battery in China.
We are years away from selling our first such battery. The Detroit 3 haven’t invested enough in solid-state battery factories. American research team breakthroughs and discoveries are being adopted by the Chinese car industry, not yet by our own.
Ray W, says
Per Benzinga Finance, Fed Chairman Powell today said the following:
“The U.S. economy is in very good shape right now. It’s in remarkably good shape, we are sort of the envy of other large economies around the world, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep it there during the rest of my term, and I feel very good about where the economy is and where monetary policy is.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
President-elect Trump’s response to the pandemic (pumping $2.9 trillion in unfunded stimulus money into the flailing economy) seems in retrospect to have been the correct economic decision. So, too, in retrospect seems President Biden’s response to the pandemic (pumping another $3 trillion or so in unfunded stimulus money into the recovering economy). And Chairman Powell’s decision to inject another $3 trillion into the credit markets and to lower lending rates to zero seems in retrospect to have been the correct act.
Initially, almost every economist predicted a “hard landing” (recession). Now, Chairman Powell is celebrating the fact that our economy never even landed, it just kept sailing along. No one expected this to happen.
Our economy is the envy of the world. The Biden administration destroyed nothing. President-elect Trump is inheriting an economy stronger than any other large economy in the world.
Ray W, says
Mazda CEO Masahiro Moto told a Car Buzz reporter that a twin-rotor Wankel engine will spin a generator in a next-generation extended range electric vehicle (EREV) that is coming soon to the American market.
Like other EREVs coming to market, Mazda’s effort will operate solely on rechargeable battery power until the battery depletes to a predetermined level, at which point the internal combustion engine starts to generate enough electricity to keep powering the electric motors. There is no transmission in an EREV, so the ICE will not directly drive the wheels.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
I see EREVs as the best of the several possible transition technologies from ICE to BEV, giving time for the American 3 to develop the necessary solid-state battery technology that will power second-generation all-electric vehicles.
Ed P says
Ray,
I am in agreement with your assessment that we don’t know what the proposed tariffs or deportation policies will bring.
Trade imbalance for the United States has been a chronic problem and Covid brought our Chinese dependency to the public forum.
The 2 primary purposes of any tariff is to raise revenue for the government by taxing imported goods, and to protect domestic industries from unfair/subsidized foreign competitors.
But Trump brings a 3rd purpose. One of negotiations. Fact is every foreign competitor needs us much more than we need them and he is using that simple fact to gain results with the open border and illegal drug trade and human trafficking currently taking place. He is well aware of his actions and has some very good economic advisors.
The deportation policies should not negatively impact the economy if it focuses on deporting the gangs, convicted criminals or anyone not contributing to the economy. I would think it would take many more years to deport anywhere near the majority of illegal immigrants even if they do not attend their hearings as long as they are hard working and law abiding. The level of “welfare” required for ongoing housing, food, and basic living necessities will far out spend any costs to regain control of our borders. Once again, I believe there are latent issues of open borders that have yet to reveal themselves. Let’s hope a terror strike doesn’t happen. Something has to be done. A sovereign nation must have secure borders.