Oct 032022
 


Kazimir Malevich Woman torso 1932

 

The Dark Continent: How ‘Green’ Power Insanity Will Black Out Europe (TCW)
Europe: How to Become Poor Peasants Again (Ugo Bardi)
How The US Planned The War And Energy Crisis In Europe (ND)
Nord Stream Pipelines Can Be Restored – Moscow (RT)
Scientists Warn Of Cold Winter In Europe (RT)
The War Has Just Begun (Big Serge)
Russia’s Top Court Rules On Donbass, Kherson, And Zaporozhye Accession (RT)
Putin Introduces Bills On Accession Of New Russian Regions To Parliament (RT)
NATO In The Horns Of A Dilemma (Scott Ritter)
US Promises To Help Ukraine Retake Territory (RT)
Nine Countries Announce Support For Ukraine’s NATO Bid (RT)
Biden Must Know He’s Losing His Mind (Rice)
Italy’s Election Winner Giorgia Meloni States Top Priority (RT)
Snowden Didn’t Flee to Russia: Obama Trapped Him There (McGlinchey)
Germany Spends €2.5 Billion on Bivalent Boosters, Nobody Wants Them (Eugyp)

 

 

 

 

Nurse Ursula Ratched

 

 

Alasdair Macleod: Credit Suisse is not the only major bank whose price-to-book is flashing warning signals. The list is of all G-SIBs with PtBs of under 40%. A failure of one of them is likely to call the survival of the others into question.

 

 

 

 

Erdogan

 

 

Brennan

 

 

 

 

“The European electricity grid, he writes, is a modern miracle [..] Most importantly, ‘it is built on physics, not ideology’.”

“..the European grid is increasingly unable to supply enough power to meet demand.”

Simple: supply must be very close to demand, or the grid fails. “It must be kept within very narrow bounds; a failure to do so would lead to damage to infrastructure or even the complete shutdown of the system.”

The Dark Continent: How ‘Green’ Power Insanity Will Black Out Europe (TCW)

The European electricity grid is hurtling towards disaster, a new paper from the Global Warming Policy Foundation warns. Countries are closing reliable nuclear and fossil-fuelled power stations while hoping interconnectors – cables linking different grids – will make up the deficit. But they won’t, according to the paper’s author, Alexander Stahel, a Swiss-based commodities expert. He explains that the European grid has relied on French and German power surpluses for many years. However, with nuclear power in both countries being wound down and the two likely to soon become net power importers – and with fierce international competition for scarce gas supplies – the whole continent is now left hoping for Scandinavian hydro power and occasional surpluses of UK wind to save it.

According to Stahel, the numbers just don’t add up, and he warns that restrictions on fossil fuel investment are making things dramatically worse. ‘Fossil fuels are currently vital for keeping the lights on, but we are undermining the industry’s viability,’ he says. ‘It needs 300 billion US dollars of re-investment every year, for oil and gas alone, just to maintain current production levels. ‘However, convinced by policymakers that investments in production will become “stranded”, it is not even investing half this amount.’ Stahel says Europe must simply accept that its decarbonisation targets are not achievable. The European electricity grid, he writes, is a modern miracle – the largest synchronous electrical grid (by connected power) in the world. It interconnects 520 million end consumers in 32 countries, including several that are not EU members, such as Morocco and Turkey. Most importantly, ‘it is built on physics, not ideology’.

The generation of alternating current that flows through the grid must match consumption, because electricity largely cannot be stored. This simple fact is critical, says Stahel, for understanding the problem that faces it. ‘In order to ensure that supply meets demand across Europe, electrical load is constantly being forecast, in blocks as short as 15 minutes long, and thousands of generators bid to meet that demand. ‘The network frequency is the key measure of the health of the grid. Measured locally, but of supra-regional significance, it is the first indicator of an imbalance between supply and demand. ‘It must be kept within very narrow bounds; a failure to do so would lead to damage to infrastructure or even the complete shutdown of the system. Frequency deviations – incidents – happen for many reasons, but have become more common as the share of wind and solar on the grid has increased.

‘Renewables are not dispatchable – their output cannot be increased minute to minute to meet a shortage of supply – so from a grid perspective they are unreliable. The impact of their widespread deployment is clear from the fact that frequency incidents have increased from 33 hours in 2020 to over 52 hours in 2021, an increase of more than 50 per cent in just one year. ‘In 2021 alone, the European grid had two major (Scale 2) incidents, for which final explanatory reports had to be prepared by an expert panel at the grid operator, Entso-e (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity). The underlying issue is that the European grid is increasingly unable to supply enough power to meet demand.’

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I have some bones to pick with Ugo here (sorry, man) . He seems to suggest fracking can compete with “traditional” oil. It can’t. It’s far more expensive in terms of EROEI. Never mind the cost in dollars. Same goes for LNG vs pipeline gas.

And also: “..a strong push toward renewable energy may help Europeans a lot.” No. “Renewable energy” is a pipedream, when it comes to replacing oil and gas. You can add some wind and solar, but you can’t run anything on them.

“Renewable energy”, or its even worse misnomer, “clean energy”, is western society’s way to accelerate its own demise.

Europe: How to Become Poor Peasants Again (Ugo Bardi)

During the past 10 years or so, the development of fracking led to a reversal of the static or declining production trend of fossil fuels that had been ongoing in the US for about 40 years. The result was that the American producers could reappear in the global market as exporters of both oil and gas. A potentially lucrative area where to expand was Western Europe. The problem was that the European market was in the hands of Russian producers, who had established a network of pipelines that could export natural gas at low prices to Europe. “Liquefied natural gas” (LNG) from the US just could not be competitive with pipeline gas because of the costs of liquefaction, transport, and regasification.

In the manuals of economics it is said that, in a free market, the cheaper product always wins against the more expensive one. In the real world, though, markets are far from being free. As every mafia boss can tell you, the cocaine market is not just a question of prices: you have to defend your turf if you want to prosper in the business. And not just that: sometimes, you can expand the area you control by friendly (or not-so-friendly) interactions with neighboring competitors. That’s sometimes called “arm-twisting,” but it may involve much more drastic and painful methods than just dislocating a shoulder. Similar considerations hold for fossil fuels, a market in which states normally behave exactly like mafia families.

During the past few months, we saw a case of a not-so-friendly interaction aimed at expelling Russia from the natural gas market in Europe. The war in Ukraine is mostly a sideshow: the real thing is the market of natural gas, and the critical point was the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline. Whoever did it sent a clear message to everybody, not unlike finding the severed head of a horse in one’s bed: the European gas market is now the turf of another mafia family. That does not mean that Russian exports of gas to Europe will immediately cease. Completely replacing the Russian gas would require increasing the exports from the US to Europe by about a factor of 10. Maybe not impossible, and other gas-supplying countries may step in to help. But it is not something that can be done in a short time.

The EU states import some 150 billion m3 of gas from Russia and only about 15 from the US. The US has a total export of more than 100 billion m3, but most of it goes to Canada and Mexico via pipelines. Hopefully, Russia will not stop sending gas to Europe using the existing pipelines. Then, a strong push toward renewable energy may help Europeans a lot. But the market is likely to behave exactly the way they say it should in the textbooks: a situation of scarcity leads to higher prices. In other words, with Europe desperate to get enough gas, producers are going to have a great time. Don’t expect them to be kind to the poor Europeans: why should they be? Mafias are not supposed to be charitable institutions.

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This from Sweden’s Nya Dagbladet is from September 15, commenting on RAND Corp’s Jan. 2022 doc: “Weakening Germany, strengthening the U.S.”. We mentioned it at the time, but it seems appropriate to revisit it 3 weeks later. Note: RAND has denied it’s their doc.

How The US Planned The War And Energy Crisis In Europe (ND)


Germany’s minister for foreign affairs Annalena Baerbock, in a meeting in May with Nato and U.S. officials.

RAND Corporation’s think tank, which has a huge work force of 1,850 employees and a budget of $350 million, has the official aim of “improving policies and decision-making through research and analysis”. It is primarily connected to the United States Department of Defence and is infamous for having been influential in the development of military and other strategies during the Cold War. A document signed RAND, under the opening heading of “Weakening Germany, strengthening the U.S.”, suggests that there is an “urgent need” for an influx of resources from outside to maintain the overall American economy, but “especially the banking system”. “Only European countries bound by EU and NATO commitments can provide us with these without significant military and political costs for us.”

According to RAND, the main obstacle to this ambition is the growing independence of Germany. Among other things, it points out that Brexit has given Germany greater independence and made it more difficult for the United States to influence the decisions of European governments. A key objective that permeates this cynical strategy is, in particular, to destroy the cooperation between Germany and Russia, as well as France, which is seen as the greatest economic and political threat to the United States. ”If implemented, this scenario will eventually turn Europe into not only an economic, but also a political competitor to the United States.”, it declares. In order to crush this political threat, a strategic plan, primarily focused on destroying the German economy, is presented.

“Stopping Russian deliveries could create a systematic crisis that would be devastating for the German economy and indirectly for the European Union as a whole”, it states, and believes that the key is to draw the European countries into war. “The only possible way to ensure that Germany rejects Russian energy supplies is to draw both sides into the military conflict in Ukraine. Our continued actions in this country will inevitably lead to a military response from Russia. Russia is clearly not going to leave to the massive Ukrainian army’s pressure on the Donetsk People’s Republic without a military response. This would make it possible to portray Russia as the aggressive party and then implement the entire package of sanctions, which has already been drawn up”.

The green parties in Europe are described as being particularly easy to manipulate into running the errands of American imperialism. “The prerequisite for Germany to fall into this trap is the dominant role of green parties and European ideologies. The German environmental movement is a highly dogmatic, if not fanatical, movement, which makes it quite easy to get them to ignore economic arguments”, it writes, citing the current foreign minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, and the climate minister, Robert Habeck, as examples of this type of politician. “Personal characteristics and lack of professionalism make it possible to assume that it is impossible for them to recognise their own mistakes in time. I will therefore be sufficient to rapidly form a media image of Putin’s aggressive war – and make the Greens into ardent and tough supporters of sanctions – a ‘war party’. This will make it possible to impose the sanctions without any obstacles”.

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You don’t build a $10 billion pipeline without an option to repair it.

Nord Stream Pipelines Can Be Restored – Moscow (RT)

Russia may be able to fix the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were damaged earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Sunday. “There are technical possibilities to restore the infrastructure, it requires time and appropriate funds. I am sure that appropriate opportunities will be found,” Novak told Russia 1 TV. According to the official, however, the first step should be to determine who is behind the incident. “As of today, we proceed from the fact that it is necessary, first of all, to figure out who did it, and we are sure that certain countries, which had expressed their positions before, were interested in it. Both the US and Ukraine, as well as Poland at one time said that this infrastructure is not going to work, that they will do everything to make sure of it, so, of course, it is necessary to seriously look into it,” Novak stated.


Citing German security services, Der Tagesspiegel newspaper earlier reported that the damaged routes could be permanently out of use if they are not repaired quickly, as salt water could cause corrosion. The Danish authorities reported leaks on both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Monday after a local pipeline operator noted a loss of pressure following a series of undersea explosions in the area. The Danish Energy Agency reported earlier on Sunday that the pressure on the Nord Stream 1 is stable and the gas leakage is over, while on Saturday, it said the Nord Stream 2 also stopped leaking gas. The incident is widely considered to be the result of sabotage. Russia has called it a terrorist attack. While those behind it have not yet been identified, Moscow has blamed the US.

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Storm. Perfect. Murphy. Law.

Scientists Warn Of Cold Winter In Europe (RT)

European countries may be about to face a colder than usual winter, the head of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predicted on Sunday. This forecast comes as the continent is struggling with an energy crunch spurred by the sanctions the West has slapped on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Speaking to the Financial Times, ECMWF Director-General Florence Rabier said that early data suggest that in November and December Western Europe may face a period of high pressure. This, she noted, may bring in colder weather with less wind and rainfall, which may reduce the amount of power generated by renewable power sources.

“If we have this pattern then for the energy it is quite demanding because not only is it a bit colder but also you have less wind for wind power and less precipitation for hydro power,” Rabier told the outlet. The ECMWF chief went on to say that while in the short term Europe may experience milder weather due to the recent hurricanes in the Atlantic, an atmospheric phenomenon called La Nina may bring in colder weather later on. This usually occurs due to periodic cooling of the Pacific Ocean, which triggers ripple effects on weather across the globe and can change wind and precipitation patterns. Rabier noted that Europe just experienced one of its hottest summers in history. While this proved to be a bonanza for solar power, it also led to a decreased share of wind and hydro power in the EU’s energy mix.

Various Western officials and public figures have warned of the desperate situation the EU may find itself in this winter. On Thursday, Microsoft founder Bill Gates claimed that in a few months the continent may face a “very scary situation” as many people could be unable to heat their homes. In late September, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson also predicted that this winter “will not be easy,” but adding that next winter “will be even more difficult.”

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“..these four oblasts will become part of Russia’s minimum definition of state integrity – non-negotiables, in other words.”

The War Has Just Begun (Big Serge)

The keystone event at the heart of recent escalation was the announcement of referenda in four regions (Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson) to determine the question of entry into the Russian Federation. The implication of course was that if the referenda succeeded (a question that was never in doubt), these regions would be annexed to Russia. While there were some rumors circulating that Russia would delay the annexation, this was never really plausible. To allow these regions to vote in favor of joining Russia only to leave them out in the cold would be monumentally unpopular and raise serious doubts about Russia’s commitment to its people in Ukraine. Formal annexation is a certainty, if not on September 30th as rumored, then within the next week.

All of this is rather predictable, and completes the first layer of annexations which I noted in previous analysis. The reasoning is not particularly complex: clearing the Donbas and securing Crimea were the absolute minimum Russian objectives for the war, and securing Crimea requires both a land bridge with road and rail connections (Zaporizhia oblast) and controlling Crimea’s water sources (Kherson). These minimum objectives have now been formally designated, though of course Ukraine maintains some military activity on these territories and will have to be dislodged. I think, however, that people lost focus as to what the referenda and the ensuing annexation means. Western talking points focused on the illegitimacy of the votes and the illegality of any annexation, but this is really not very interesting or important.


The legitimacy of annexation is derived from whether or not Russian administration can succeed in these regions. Legitimacy, as such, is merely a question of efficacy of state power. Can the state protect, extract, and adjudicate? In any case, what is far more interesting than the technicalities of the referenda is what the decision to annex these regions says about Russian intentions. Once these regions become formally annexed, they will be viewed by the Russian state as sovereign Russian territory, subject to protection with the full range of Russian capabilities, including (in the most dire and unlikely scenario) nuclear weapons. When Medvedev pointed this out, it was bizarrely spun as a “nuclear threat”, but what he was actually trying to communicate is that these four oblasts will become part of Russia’s minimum definition of state integrity – non-negotiables, in other words.

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In accordance with Russian law.

Russia’s Top Court Rules On Donbass, Kherson, And Zaporozhye Accession (RT)

The treaties on the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, to Russia are in full accordance with the constitution, the country’s top court ruled on Sunday. The Russian Constitutional Court separately examined the four treaties after they were signed by President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The next step is for the documents to be ratified by both houses of parliament. The lower house, the State Duma, plans to vote on ratification on Monday.


The DPR and LPR broke off from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions declared independence from Ukraine after they were seized by Russian troops during Moscow’s military operation in the neighboring country, which was launched in February. The four territories voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia in referendums held between September 23 and 27. Kiev along with Western countries consider the accession illegal and have vowed not to recognize it.

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“Lawmakers are expected to vote on the treaties on Monday.”

Putin Introduces Bills On Accession Of New Russian Regions To Parliament (RT)

President Vladimir Putin has sent the treaties on the accession to Russia of four formerly Ukrainian regions to the State Duma for ratification. The residents of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining Russia at referendums in September. Earlier on Sunday, the four treaties were approved by the Russian Constitutional Court. The documents must now be approved by the two chambers of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the treaties on Monday. Putin has also provided Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his deputy Evgeny Ivanov with special powers for the period of accession of the new territories.


The two officials have been designated special presidential envoys to the country’s parliament for this period, according to a new presidential decree. The LPR and DPR declared independence from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev and the civil war in the country’s east that followed it. Kherson Region and most of Zaporozhye have been under the control of the Russian military since March. Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

Peace conference

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“Russia didn’t just change the rules of the game – it changed the game itself.”

NATO In The Horns Of A Dilemma (Scott Ritter)

The purpose behind the NATO infusion of weaponry into Ukraine was straightforward – to empower Ukraine to not only lengthen the conflict, but also to undertake offensive military operations designed to evict Russia from what Kiev and its backers consider occupied Ukrainian territory, including the Donbass and Crimea. The counteroffensive in Kharkov in early September underscored the serious consequences of NATO’s actions – even though, given the massive loss of life and material suffered by the attacking Ukrainian forces, made the Kharkov victory Pyrrhic in nature, it was a Ukrainian victory, and one which compelled a Russian retreat. By transforming the Ukrainian army into a NATO army which was manned by Ukrainians, the US-led bloc had, in fact, changed the nature of the game from a straightforward Russia-versus-Ukraine “special military operation” into a“Russia-versus-the collective West” struggle where the military resources originally allocated by Moscow to the fight were now insufficient to the task. Advantage, Ukraine/NATO.

Russia, however, was not taking the game-changing actions of NATO standing still. Responding to the new reality on the ground in Ukraine, Russian President Vadimir Putin opted not to simply up the ante in this new NATO-driven game of increasing military power but change the game altogether. Not only did he order the partial mobilization of some 300,000 Russian reservists to reinforce the troops currently committed to the SMO, Putin also approved referendums in the four territories where Russian forces are presently fighting – Kherson and Zaporozhye (formerly occupied Ukrainian regions), and Donetsk and Lugansk (former regions of Ukraine, de-facto independent since 2014). These referendums asked the citizens of these four territories one simple question—do you wish to become part of Russia?

After five days of voting, the results from all four territories were clear—by an overwhelming majority, the participants in the referendums approved the proposition. Shortly thereafter, they were incorporated into the Russian Federation. What was once Ukraine has now become Mother Russia. Russia didn’t just change the rules of the game – it changed the game itself. Instead of Ukrainian forces fighting Russian forces on the territory of Ukraine, any future combat carried out by Ukraine against Russian forces will represent an attack on the Russian homeland itself.

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“..regain control of its territory”, by force if necessary”.

But we’re not involved…

US Promises To Help Ukraine Retake Territory (RT)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba that Washington would help Ukraine “regain control of its territory”, by force if necessary. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly stated that his goal is to seize all lands claimed by Russia, including Crimea. “The United States will always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and…will continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to regain control of its territory by strengthening its hand militarily and diplomatically,” Blinken told Kuleba on Saturday, according to a readout of the call provided by State Department spokesman Ned Price.

US President Joe Biden issued the same statement verbatim on Friday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed accession agreements to start the process of bringing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the regions of Zaporozhye and Kherson, into the Russian Federation. However, neither Biden nor Blinken has announced any major change in US policy to help Ukraine retake these lands. The latter stated that US arms deliveries – including a $1.1 billion package announced earlier this week – would continue to flow as they have since February.

Zelensky responded to Putin’s move on Friday by declaring that he would never negotiate a peace settlement as long as the Russian president remains in power, and also by signing an application demanding “accelerated” admission to the NATO alliance. Zelensky’s application was rebuffed by NATO and US leaders, however, with the White House declaring that Ukraine’s potential membership in the alliance “should be taken up at a different time.” Zelensky has repeatedly declared that his forces would retake all Russian-held lands, including Crimea, which voted to join Russia in 2014, by “any means that we consider correct.” Still, according to Vladimir Putin, once the Donbass republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson are formally incorporated into Russia, they would be defended with “all means available.”

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No northern Europe, no western. Just former Soviet Union neighbors.

An alternative headline says: “9 NATO countries call to increase military aid to Ukraine”

Nine Countries Announce Support For Ukraine’s NATO Bid (RT)

The presidents of nine NATO countries came together on Sunday to express their support for Ukraine’s membership bid and also to urge all allies to “substantially increase” their military support to Kiev. The statement came two days after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced his country’s intention to apply for fast-track NATO membership. “We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership,” the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia said. At the Bucharest summit, the alliance members welcomed the “aspirations for membership in NATO” of Ukraine and Georgia but didn’t provide any time frame for these countries’ accession.

“We support Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories and encourage all Allies to substantially increase their military aid to Ukraine,” the statement said. Referring to the impending inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation, the leaders said that they would “never” recognize “Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory.” Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, commenting on Zelensky’s NATO bid, emphasized that “any decision on membership has to be taken by consensus” of all thirty members.

Stressing that NATO “has an open door policy,” Stoltenberg said that currently the top priority of the bloc is “to support Ukraine,” both militarily and financially. He believes that this is also“the best way to respond” to Russia’s actions. Stoltenberg’s remarks echoed a statement made earlier by the White House. Speaking on Friday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan claimed that the best way now is to provide Ukraine with “practical” support, while “the process in Brussels should be taken up at a different time.” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna, meanwhile, revealed on Sunday that Kiev’s NATO application “is already on its way to Brussels.”

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“Our President is suffering from dementia” is, in fact, a story..”

Biden Must Know He’s Losing His Mind (Rice)

The conspiracy to ignore Biden’s obvious dementia is almost as large as the conspiracy to conceal the fact the “vaccines” are dangerous and ineffective. Certainly every reporter who covers the president and the White House knows his condition. But just like all the “off-limits” Covid truths, it’s taboo to mention the emperor has no brain. We’ve all probably known a loved one who had dementia. Knowing this, we all know this condition never improves. It gets worse, often in rapid fashion. So at some point, one assumes, one “adult in the room” will take President Biden aside and convince him he has to resign. When this day happens, the press is going to HAVE to report the real reason our president decided to belatedly exit political stage left …. probably after first wandering off toward stage right, which – bad joke or not – has actually happened several times.

I can’t wait for this day if only to see how the press spins the fact it covered up this story for years. (“Our President is suffering from dementia” is, in fact, a story). When this day arrives, I hope more than a few Americans ask our truth-seeking journalists one question: Why didn’t you cover this story? And then an even more important question: What other important stories have you refused to investigate and report? Truth be told, the Biden-has-dementia unreported story ties into all the other unreported stories. The real scandal is that America is “served” by a watchdog press corp that seemingly exists to cover-up real scandals, especially when they involve politicians and leaders on “their team.” The Biden dementia story also probably gives us one reason the press corps will never expose all the Covid scandals and lies.

If the mainstream press did belatedly report this, they’d be admitting they covered up or ignored a massively-important story for years. Not going to happen. It actually strikes me as cruel that so many people who ostensibly care about President Biden won’t do anything to help him. It’s also malfeasance or an abdication of some moral or ethical duty that these people allow a man who could start a nuclear war to remain in office. One day someone will write the White House tell-all of all tell-alls and the public will belatedly learn how severe President Biden’s cognitive condition really was. Until that day, we’ll continue to live in the surreal world depicted in the Peter Sellers’ cult classic “Being There.” In that movie, the simple-minded gardener hadn’t been elected president yet. So America did get there.

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“It does not mean having a negative attitude towards others, but a positive attitude to ourselves.”

Italy’s Election Winner Giorgia Meloni States Top Priority (RT)

Italy will make its own interests a top priority, Giorgia Meloni, who is expected to be the country’s next prime minister, said in her first major speech on Saturday after last week’s election victory. “Italy’s attitude must return to defending its national interests in order to find common solutions. And it is something that will change in the coming months,”Meloni, who leads the conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, said in a speech in Milan. “It does not mean having a negative attitude towards others, but a positive attitude to ourselves.” Meloni stated that tackling soaring energy prices is one of her most pressing goals. “I am in constant contact with the outgoing government, which is engaged in a very complex negotiation to seek solutions at the European level,” she said.

Italy is among the countries pushing for an EU-wide energy price cap, while Germany opposes such a measure. Meloni also said that the Italian economy needs to be less reliant on outside suppliers. “We need a serious approach to the issue of supply chains. We have realized today that we depend on everyone for everything,” she said, adding that Italy and the EU should “rethink” their strategy on the matter. Western media has compared Meloni to Italy’s World War II-era fascist leader Benito Mussolini and highlighted that one of FdI’s predecessors was a party with ties to Mussolini’s government. Meloni, however, called such comparisons “nonsense.”

“The Italian right has handed fascism over to history for decades now, unambiguously condemning the suppression of democracy and the ignominious anti-Jewish laws,” she said in a video address in August. The FdI, which received the most votes on September 25, is expected to form a coalition with the other right-wing parties, Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Forward Italy). The snap election was called after Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s cabinet collapsed due to disagreements over measures to fight inflation and Covid-19 recovery programs.

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“Seemingly tired of the spectacle, Putin granted Snowden asylum, and he’s been in Russia ever since.”

Snowden Didn’t Flee to Russia: Obama Trapped Him There (McGlinchey)

When Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden on Monday, the news revived a long-simmering debate about the propriety of his revelations of U.S. government secrets. At the same time, it prompted reiterations of a widely-embraced falsehood: that Snowden “fled to Russia.” That disinformation-trafficking wasn’t limited to random people on social media. Among others, The New York Times, The Guardian, ABC, Christian Science Monitor and Canada’s CBC all asserted in the past week that Snowden “fled to Russia” in 2013 after revealing that the United States government had created a mass surveillance regime targeting its own citizens, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

What many people don’t realize — and what some people both inside the government and out of it purposefully ignore — is that Snowden wasn’t traveling to Russia, but merely through it. When he left Hong Kong after meeting with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras and turning over hundreds of thousands of stolen files, Snowden’s ultimate destination was Quito, Ecuador. It’s important to note that Snowden says that, before leaving, he destroyed his cryptographic keys that provided him access to the files, and didn’t bring any copies of the files with him. At the time, the Ecuadoran government was providing political asylum to Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange at the country’s London consulate, and Snowden hoped Ecuador would provide him asylum as well.

Snowden’s itinerary was arranged such that he wouldn’t land in countries that would extradite him to the United States. Nor would he cross U.S. airspace along the way. He was to make four flights in all, taking him from Hong Kong to Moscow, then Havana, Cuba; Caracas, Venezuela and finally Quito. However, upon arriving in Moscow, Snowden was escorted by Russian security officials to an airport conference room, where they informed him that, while he was flying to Moscow, the Obama administration had invalidated his passport. He’d spend the next 40 days at the Sheremetyevo airport, during which he applied to 27 countries for political asylum.

“Not a single one of them was willing to stand up to American pressure,” Snowden wrote in his memoir, Permanent Record, “with some countries refusing outright, and others declaring they were unable to even consider my request until I arrived in their territory — a feat that was impossible.” Seemingly tired of the spectacle, Putin granted Snowden asylum, and he’s been in Russia ever since. The essential point, however, is that Snowden is in Russia because the Obama administration deliberately trapped him there.

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“Only 85 people had themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 on Thursday in Fürth in Middle Franconia, a district with 120,000 inhabitants.”

Germany Spends €2.5 Billion on Bivalent Boosters, Nobody Wants Them (Eugyp)

The German government has ordered 100 million doses of BA.1 and BA.4/5 bivalent vaccines at a cost of 2.5 billion Euros, and almost nobody wants them. An amusing Welt article chronicles the scenes unfolding at our deserted regional vaccination centres, which for some reason are still open: “Michael Hubmann did not expect that so few would come. Only 85 people had themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 on Thursday in Fürth in Middle Franconia, a district with 120,000 inhabitants. “We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for people,” says Hubmann, a paediatrician who is coordinating the vaccination campaign. He explains that vaccinations were offered simultaneously in two shopping centres, a bus, a home for the elderly and in a former shop in the pedestrian zone. “Yet hardly anyone wanted to have the fourth dose.”

The medical bureaucrats are baffled, just baffled: “Unfortunately, interest in the fourth dose has been pretty low so far,” says Markus Beier, Chairman of the German Association of General Practitioners. At the same time, he says it’s important that people over 60 and those with previous illnesses in particular protect themselves with a further dose. “There is uncertainty among the population as to what further vaccinations will achieve. But they still strengthen protection against severe outcome.” Meanwhile, vast quantities of vaccine are expiring. At the end of August alone, 3.9 million doses of Moderna and another 700,000 doses of Novavax had to be binned.


The chart above tells the whole sordid story of our recent experiment with mass vaccination. Demand for this snake oil was highest in the beginning, before anybody had any direct experience with it; and in the Fall, when the government tied vaccination to specific social privileges. As overt vaccinator coercion has faded and millions of people have tried these doubtful elixirs for themselves, interest has all but entirely evaporated. This is the ultimate vindication for all those who have been saying that the vaccines are lousy overhyped pharmaceuticals with a bad side-effect profile. A safe and effective product would only gain momentum with the population. It took less than two years for these to wear out their welcome.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

Struggle against reality

 

 


Energy projection mix of the German government in 1974

 

 

Octopus

 

 


The telescopefish has large-lensed forward-pointing eyes—which are adapted for optimal binocular light collection and help them to better judge the distance of prey

 

 

Woody

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle October 3 2022

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 48 total)
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  • #117555

    Kazimir Malevich Woman torso 1932   • The Dark Continent: How ‘Green’ Power Insanity Will Black Out Europe (TCW) • Europe: How to Become Poor Pea
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle October 3 2022]

    #117556
    Germ
    Participant
    #117559
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    ‘Hopefully, Russia will not stop sending gas to Europe using the existing pipelines. Then, a strong push toward renewable energy may help Europeans a lot.’

    I agree RIM. It rather looks as though Ugo Bardi has lost the plot. or has sold out to the almighty dollar.

    Renewables? Is he talking about burning trees? Or maybe burning dried human dung once the electricity-dependent sewage system stops functioning.

    Everyone reaches a physical peak and a mental peak. Usually the physical peak occurs long before the mental peak. But in the dumbed-down society created by politicians and corporations, some (many) people reach their mental peak at around age 15, and then go into decline.

    Come to think of it, a lot of children reach their physical peak around 6 and go into decline as a consequence of inactivity and ingestion of junk food.

    Maybe Ugo Bardi has been jabbed a few times -pretty sure he would have been- and the toxins in the jabs are starting to take effect.

    Here’s a fellow whose intelligence is usually significantly underestimated.

    (I hate the stupid title but had the link saved before RIM posted a portion.)

    #117560
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    The fog of war is getting foggier. Canadian Prepper continues to provide good information.

    #117561
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Although from nearly 80 years ago, this is very pertinent to the current situation.

    #117562
    Dr. D
    Participant

    That Canadian article, Screenshot: “The Bottom Line: The risk of Armageddon has risen dramatically. Stay bullish on stocks over a 12-month period.”

    This should be framed and put on our tombstone.

    StyxHex, running the numbers on NordStream. Someone wants a significant escalation. Why? Notes It’s meant to prevent any withdrawal from Ukraine and “If anyone other than Germany or Russia blew the pipeline we’d be a few seconds closer to Armageddon.” So okay, it’s “Germany” in quotes, because some faction thereof wants to prevent their own people from protesting for peace. The same people who cannot “Build Back Better” if there is a remaining German middle class. A class whom they have declared worldwide need to “Own nothing.” How else can the EU be fully realized? And, if it’s “Germany” then they’re throwing their weight around as a colonial power, f’ing with the gas of all Europe. Which again, an area and 36 ethnic peoples Germany feels they bought, own, and deserve to control in the 4th Reich.

    Just imagine it was…Portugal. And Germany would stand for this? Italy? Belgium? No. Again, suppose it was London, with the bad blood running between them: you think Germany wouldn’t go ballistic on England’s recklessness, an act of open war on the EU they just rejected? No? They just say, “Thank you sir, may I have another”? “Here take your fishing grounds too”? That leaves only the U.S., which is fine, but not all that very different. NATO’s largest member just attacked Nato’s seventh largest, and perhaps most strategic member? Nobody bats an eye. Really? They blew up German property and stole German money. No interest? Tell me how this could possibly be other than with “German” permission and approval. Because “Germany” is not the people, of course. It’s hardly the government. It’s a group installed over them, interwoven into the EU and NATO.

    How about the UN? As far as I know, the UN isn’t bothered in the slightest, although infrastructure worldwide is at risk that could kill…well…nearly all humans on earth. That shows the UN – that is the people we commonly admit run and direct the UN – heartily approve. They are getting something from it, know who did it, and therefore aren’t worried at all. Commonly speaking, who runs the UN? Davos and like globalists. Not China. Not Russia. Not India. Not the Global south. Not the Deplorables worldwide. Not the Capitalists, i.e. the Industrialists who believe in making things. Heck not even Wall Street. A different sort in Davos/Globalists.

    Odd quote: “[John] Kerry also proposed “repairing it as fast as possible, which is an underwater operation but that’s going to have to happen.” Kerry is currently the Biden Administration’s special envoy for climate policy.”

    Well that’s some whiplash. Especially as next sentence points out that Kerry fabricated evidence for MH17 in order to fabricate a (U.S.) war on Russia. Who gains from the capture and end of Russia? Kansas? Or Belgium?

    Here’s another thought: okay, major nuclear-ready escalation in dropping NS2. BUT. But NS2 only hurts Europe! Really? Think again: the last nuclear-ready escalation ONLY LAST WEEK was 1) non-stop shelling of the next Chernobyl with 2) a Boris-created active attack on BOTH the reactor AND the Inspectors. Did we forget a 400-man special forces false flag attack?

    That is to say: If Europe cares so much about themselves, about Europe, why are they hell-bent for leather to irradiate all of Europe with a dirty bomb out of Zap? They were actively at it for weeks, and again, Europe: nothing. Found out Boris staged it all in England: nothing, total (German) approval. Embarrassment, could have caused the greatest nuclear holocaust in 40 years? Nuttin’. Already memory-holed, total consent.

    It’s only when they couldn’t succeed in BLOWING UP EUROPE with Zap because Russia secured it that “they” moved on to NS2. So, what kind of person are we talking about here? 1) Blows up civilians. 2) Blows up warships 3) Blows up Nuclear plants 4) Blows up civilian infrastructure Europe needs to survive. 5) Isn’t embarrassed an approves, joining the UN, EU, Germany, England, and U.S. in thinking it’s not only ok, it’s FABULOUS.

    So EUROPE likes radiation releases. EUROPE likes to sink battleships that will put 300,000 Russian troops in Berlin. I can understand the United States, what I’m not getting is why EUROPE likes and approves so much. Doesn’t that seem worth looking at? And if they like it so much — and I don’t understand their liking it so much — maybe they like it enough to CAUSE it? I mean, they just did in Zap and Moskva, why not?

    P.S. Boy that sure was psychic of Siemens to know not to repair it. Do they have a Vice President of Prophesy?

    Sorry to harp on this, I think we learn a lot by disassembling it.

    Brennan says Russia dun it? That’s it! Cast-iron proof they’re innocent. As even John Oliver said, but that was before 2016 before the Trump changed the laws of physics and War = Peace, Ignorance = Strength.

    “Renewables are not dispatchable – their output cannot be increased minute to minute to meet a shortage of supply – so from a grid perspective they are unreliable.”

    BESIDES that they have a 1.1:1 energy ratio. We told them this at the time and every day since. Yet they built it all – at a loss – knowing this. WHY? No really: why? It’s not for the “money”; they’d make more money doing something that worked.

    “Europe: How to Become Poor Peasants Again (Ugo Bardi)”

    Who has written billion-dollar papers that if only Europe becomes peasants again, they’ll be happy? Need to be run by a Noble Class that “knows better” what’s good for them.

    And you can do an awful lot more with renewable power: BUT that means you only work when the sun shines and the wind blows, a VERY different culture and practice. You strand bank-breaking infrastructure as useless maybe half the time like the old English windmills did. (Dutch could be said to be “reliable”) Like using canals to move goods, you have to be “Patient”. Wait for the thaw, have grain elevators that store through the canal draining, etc. Maybe that’s good. But it’s different, and resiliency (as they have) is the enemy of efficiency. In the short run, max production will win wars and bury your competitors. Until they reach the red line of efficiency and collapse themselves, taking you with them.

    Can’t we just move slower and with more thought? Roughly speaking, it’s free money that allows these bad ideas to be built too quickly, leaving the old behind before adequate testing, and when they could have gotten more use.

    I see on his chart a motive for killing NS2. The only country that doesn’t have to worry about Russian gas imports is? …Britain.

    RAND: As we many here said we suspected this doc as 50/50 or less from Rand. Also note Rand writes A LOT of docs, not all of which they mean to enact. The idea isn’t false, but let’s float Luongo’s theory that lo! What a coincidence that a (claimed) fake paper blaming the U.S. appears just one week before NS2 commits the crime. Keep it in mind.

    If I can get Jimmy-Bob to visit some bank, then two weeks later, I tell him we’re all robbing that bank, guess who’s now on camera “casing the joint”?

    Against this idea, lambasting the Greens as idiotic, war-mongering patsies would undercut Davos’ continuing use of them.

    1,800 RAND employees? Isn’t that more than Twitter and Instagram combined?

    Big Serge was a good article, not overblown at all. Someone said yesterday the West is ignoring what is a “Completely Practical” war. That is, not one made of drama or PR, but merely doing what must be done in the most efficient way. The map is a listing of UKRAINE, not Russia. Once Ukraine Provoked the “unprovoked” war, they were going to take all in red to make it worth their time. If Ukraine keeps it up, as they probably already have, they will take orange too. If they make it more costly yet, they finally take red and hand blue to Poland.

    That is “Practical”, but it remains to be enacted on the ground. Perhaps they won’t get there, but I don’t see any major blocks yet, including up-ending all geopolitical rules since Westphalia with blowing NS2. Russia remains the “Good Cop” but then battered wives of the Global South still need to stand up and take a frying pan to the “Global West”.

    “Putin has Left no Option but Regime Change.”

    Well, David Rothkopf, I guess you’re joining up to parachute into Moscow? No? You blue-blood types are “too valuable” to leave your latte cups? STFU then. This is why men of no action are a disgrace.

    Oct 25th peace conference? I guess we know when the next “false flag” will happen. …If you can even call it that. We’re at the point where a “false flag” is me punching you in the face, in an empty room, and blaming John Rambo: a fictional character that isn’t there and never existed. Like, mental patient, children under the age of five wouldn’t believe this stuff territory.

    And – will the Western markets have collapsed by then? They’re already down 10,000 points. Europe needed war NOW to hide their voluntary insolvency due to malfeasance and theft. To re-set the global financial structure and BBB.

    Let’s take a guess: “They” of NS2 want a world war. “They” of NS2 want all the world in poverty, hunger, and despair. Outside guess: “They” won’t want to blow and impoverish the U.S. where we might be P.O.d enough to investigate honestly for it. Like what? Attack assets of Exxon, the size of some European countries? Who will be very mad at you? Nope. Next strike is on energy again, and in Europe. They have better control in their own zone.

    “the results from all four territories were clear—by an overwhelming majority [approved]”

    Noting objections to this, these areas voted 80% for Russian candidates through all Ukraine’s history. I would expect the equal and opposite vote in the far West that voted 80% Ukrainian for 30 years. That is, there’s nothing particularly suspect about the referendum. They had “referendum” votes since Ukraine was born, and they all matched the same.

    What you have is two different cultures forced into one nation – a western specialty. That we want to alter borders to their cultural reality and therefore stop the trampling and even murder of 14,000 people a year is considered a bad thing, to the West. Looking at Iraq, Kurdistan, or Michigan.

    “We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership,”

    Great! Did you stand behind the three treaties upholding the present conflict? The 1989 USSR dissolution that prohibited NATO, the Ukrainian independence = non-nuclear neutrality treaty, and the 2014 Minsk Treaty?

    No? Tell me all about how you support “Peace”, and “Treaties” then.

    “Stressing that NATO “has an open door policy,” Stoltenberg said”

    No they very adamantly and specifically do NOT. It’s written right in their charter. They do not have solid borders, and they are in an active war, so they are not eligible. Door closed. …Among other issues.

    “Biden Must Know He’s Losing His Mind (Rice)”

    That’s what makes him the perfect President. Like George Bush, and the late Reagan. We need to realize Presidents haven’t been in charge of anything since Nixon. That’s what Nixon was in trouble for. Look at Trump: gave orders, zero orders were executed. They more or less entirely sidelined and ignored him. So if the elected leader has no effect whatsoever, obviously and publicly, how are we in any way a “Democracy”?

    We’re not, as the College study showed 20 years ago: the will of the people has zero effect on policy. We are run by a hereditary government, doing whatever the like, that is the express enemy of the people. Too strong? Follow the FBI overreach and railroading cases for the last 20 years and tell me what you think. If they didn’t falsely imprison a couple (political) people a month for all of 20 years I’m very much mistaken. Protecting Epstein and Whitey Bulger, and fabricating the most preposterous nonsense against Armstrong and Hatfill. (He created anthrax at home, underwater in a dirty, shallow pond wearing scuba gear??) When exposed, nothing happened. Ever. From then to now. Fabricating evidence is cause for active promotion. Thus Mueller.

    Germany Spends €2.5 Billion on Bivalent Boosters, Nobody Wants Them (Eugyp)”

    “Bivalent” Cool word bro’. It means “The Covid that no longer exists” + “the Covid that is past-tense but won’t hurt you”. I wonder why they can’t get buyers? Because if you have an inoculation against smallpox, the vapours, and bubonic plague I don’t need that either? Again, what do they care? The merger of corporation and state forced my money into Pfizer’s hands, and they got paid 50x their honest value. Late-stage ‘capitalism’ VIOLENCE and extortion is the only profit center left. Like Obamacare.

    Maybe we can just pay them NOT to make the vaccine, save themselves the energy and trouble, and we’ll just pay them for doing NOTHING? It’s more ecological and efficient that way. 100% profit for 0% product. Same thing, why waste valuable natural gas?

    From the funny pages, Joy Reid from MSNBC says Florida looters are all Black. That’s why you’re not allowed to stop them. Uhhh, whut? Racism much?

    Also from MSNBC: “No matter who wins Brazil’s presidential election, Brazilians will be the biggest losers”

    Yeah, Brazilian people: You’re Losers!

    Red, that is a very thorough, accurate rundown of “Theory”. The one thing to add is that the higher, firmer definition of “Theory” is functionally identical to a “Paradigm”. Or roughly equal to “Religion”. That is, a system of thought that provides a hardened structure by which to interpret other facts. Such that you can’t think openly and so easily consider other hypotheses or theories. You know: a Religion.

    It’s fine, short of enlightenment there’s no alternative to it, just should be noted. A religion is just a belief system, a paradigm; all minds must have one or they don’t function. I don’t know why this is so resisted. As in: your atheism is your religion.

    #117563
    aspnaz
    Participant

    CIA Director John Brennan announces“Russia is the most likely suspect” in the Nord Stream pipeline attacks, says Russia will attack the other Russian pipelines to Europe soon

    The Indian pipeline will be next … their mission is to strangle Russia and steal all their goodies, the carbon based goodies that they pretend, for the moment, to hate.

    #117564
    aspnaz
    Participant

    No northern Europe, no western. Just former Soviet Union neighbors.

    Russia is well rid of them.

    #117565
    Dora
    Participant

    Gonzalo Lira Roundtable #20 on Rumble with Dr. Peter M and Brian Berletic.

    https://rumble.com/v1lgm41-the-roundtable-20-brian-berletic-dr.-peter-mccullough.html

    #117566
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Movie: The Sum of All Fears

    Plot: “An Austrian Neo-Nazi plans to trigger a nuclear war between the United States and Russia so that he can establish a fascist superstate in Europe. After the Neo-Nazi’s scientists build a secret nuclear weapon that destroys Baltimore, and a rogue Russian officer paid off by the Neo-Nazi attacks a U.S. aircraft carrier, the world’s superpowers are pushed close to the brink of war. CIA analyst Jack Ryan is the only person who realizes that the Baltimore bomb was a black market weapon, not Russian. With the clock ticking, Ryan has to find a way to stop the impending nuclear war.”

    Replace “Austrian” with “German” Schwab. Replace “Carrier” with “NordStream”. Replace “Chechnya” with “Ukraine.” You have today’s news.

    Why? The movie in one quote:

    “You don’t fight Russia *and* America. You get Russia and America to fight each other… and destroy each other.”

    Dressler: “Most people believe that the 20th century was a death struggle between Communism and Capitalism, and that Fascism was but a hiccup. But today we know better. Communism was a fool’s errand. The followers of Marx gone from this earth, but the followers of Hitler abound and thrive.

    Hitler, however, had one great disadvantage. He lived in a time when Fascism, like a virus… like the AIDS virus… needed a strong host in order to spread. Germany was that host. But Germany did not prevail. The world was too big. Fortunately, the world has changed. Global communications, cable TV, the internet. Today the world is smaller and a virus does not need a strong host in order to spread. The virus… is airborne. One more thing. Let no man call us crazy. They called Hitler crazy. But Hitler was not crazy. He was stupid.”

    You don’t fight Russia *and* America. [Germany] gets Russia and America to fight each other… and destroy each other.”

    …Reducing Russia and America so much that Europe their equal again, and controlling Russian resources, preventing — or rather swapping — their collapse. All they have to do is play victim.

    #117567
    anticlimactic
    Participant

    Are Green Parties ‘Green’?

    Green policies don’t seem to make sense.

    Spending hundreds of billions on fossil fuel to create ‘renewable’ energy. These energy sources have to be replaced every 10 to 30 years and are difficult to recycle, so mostly aren’t. This means using more fossil fuel to provide a constant source of new materials. The only thing ‘renewable’ is the power source : sunlight and wind.

    The current ‘green’ push is for fully electric cars at the same time as they are trying to close down every reliable source of electricity! The German Green Party is still insisting on closing the last remaining nuclear plants this winter. Lithium batteries only last 10 to 20 years and are difficult to recycle, so mostly aren’t. This means using more fossil fuel to provide a constant source of new materials. The higher cost of fossil fuels increases the cost of these raw materials – lithium has tripled in price over the past year.

    The European power grid was built as a stable source of electricity with built in redundancy. Like Jenga you can remove several pieces and it will still be stable, BUT at some point it will completely collapse. We appear to very close to that point.

    Some years ago India banned green parties when they realised their influence was being used to prevent Indian industries from competing with US companies. Are Europe’s Green Parties similar trojan horses?

    #117568
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    The Big Man fetish is alive in most of us, and all of us were taught to believe in and worship the Big Man, but virtually all Big Men on the global stage have proven tiny except in terms of greed, lust, and general depravity.

    Putin doesn’t. His actions walk a different course than every Big Man I know of including Xi and his other allies.

    But he’s allowing Russians to be killed off en masse by kovid vakzinazions.

    Being a Big Man fetishist myself (hey, I believe in Jesus! Hard to have a bigger hard-on for Fearless Leader than that, eh?) I revere Putin, warts and all, including what I see is some degree of psychopathic affect. His maneuvers on the global stage are consistently brilliant to my eye, especially the ones that often appear weak and foolish at first. (He’s good at appearing weak when he’s strong et vice-versa.)
    But he’s killing off his fellow Rus, knowingly or unknowingly, both alternatives equally bad.

    I don’t want to lose my Big Man comfort blanket teddy bear. An ardent Putin apologist, I’ve wrangled a scenario I can believe in and live with: Russia will obviously prevail and become the epicenter of the new multipolar reality that will emerge (even if only from nuclear rubble). If it prevails well enough (no nuclear rubble), it will be the new King of the World. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. USA post-WWII turned into the nicest little buncha Nazified “good Germans” you’d ever want to see.

    Putin has set it up, sez my wet dream vision of Putin’s ruthlessly moral 10-D chess, so that only not just the strongest (Russia today) prevails but that the smartest, wisest, most honest and mutually nurturing people predominate overwhelmingly against the mainstream poshlosti.

    Russia would, by this scenario, absorb the best and brightest of the rest of the world while culling the worst of its own.

    I can live with this vision. Call me loony and I’ll love it, seeing as we’re all stuck in an insane asylum called post-modern culture. But maybe it will make sense to some of you if I add that I believe that the reason Jeebus let His Own Bad Self be crucified by a mere Roman sock puppet is because He knew that He was beginning to experience spiritual narcissism: “The belief that your spiritual wisdom makes you more special than others is also known as spiritual narcissism. It can be used to shield yourself from criticism, to impress others, or to enhance your-self-esteem and feel good about yourself.”

    Since we perceive the historical Jesus as KNOWING He was “more special than others” (and I’m sure He often felt like a mutant freak growing up, which trauma would fuel adult-onset spiritual narcissism), He had no choice but to feel superior. This way madness lies in all of us. It is also very lonely if it’s true that One is enlightened beyond all one’s peers.

    And so, I believe, He let Himself be offed before he went down the road that Mohammed did, legitimizing divinity by the sword, shedding His Own Blood rather than leading His followers to shed blood in His Name (a very bad sin indeed).

    Putin is no Jesus but he’s the best I got. And, fwiw, if there is something to the antichrist prophecies, I’m sure that we’ll leave it up to USA to produce one come the next election or torchlit pitchforking. A Bill Graham hologram-from-the-grave, maybe…

    Putin and His Body Double

    Putin as Ascetic

    Putin as Jesus:

    Like Lennon sang, “Whatever gets you through the night.” After all, whether what one believes is true or not is not as important as what you do with your perception of reality. Looking oblivion in the face as I and many among us have done for many decades (since ’74 for me), we need something to believe in, something to keep our hearts turning over:

    The Trick is to Walk in Backwards

    #117569
    anticlimactic
    Participant

    While the UK directly uses only a tiny amount of Russian gas it is still indirectly dependent on Russian gas. It has gas interconnects to Norway and Belgium and the currents situation means these supplies are limited and expensive.

    The UK also has electrical interconnects with Europe, especially France. Again supplies will be reduced and expensive.

    #117570
    aspnaz
    Participant

    Dr D. said

    “Bivalent” Cool word bro’. It means “The Covid that no longer exists” + “the Covid that is past-tense but won’t hurt you”. I wonder why they can’t get buyers? Because if you have an inoculation against smallpox, the vapours, and bubonic plague I don’t need that either? Again, what do they care? The merger of corporation and state forced my money into Pfizer’s hands, and they got paid 50x their honest value. Late-stage ‘capitalism’ VIOLENCE and extortion is the only profit center left. Like Obamacare.

    Talking of Covid, Hong Kong still lives in 2020, they have not received the memo that Covid is over, they are still enforcing masks and implementing a vaccine pass in order to push people into getting what is a deadly vaccine. Hong Kong university is still preaching the lies that even Fauci has withdrawn, telling us all about how the vaccine will save us, while the vaccine injured die around us. They still give daily case counts and try to scare the people, using fear to control.

    I don’t know what it is about Hong Kong, they seem like rational people but they are not. Taiwan and China never had any government vaccine mandates, although a few private companies tried to mandate the vaccine to kiss their stupid customers’ asses. Hong Kong also appears to be mirroring Taiwan’s immigration policy. They copied the last policy then, when Taiwan updated it, HK again copied the update. Very strange for an SAR that is part of mainland China.

    Hong Kong government strikes me as a bunch of super stupid people who will still be reading fake PCR test results in 10 years time. The one thing they have succeeded in doing is driving out any talent that is fed up with their rather sad antics. I wonder how long they can remain in the past and whether there is any driving force to make them inprove their thinking and move into the future. Alter all, Xi has pinned his badge to the super-stupid Zero Covid policy, another turd of government think.

    #117571
    aspnaz
    Participant

    boscohorowitz said

    The Big Man fetish is alive in most of us

    Your teddy bear fetish is confusing you. Big men have to make big, hard decisions, teddy bears can avoid those by looking cute.

    #117572
    John Day
    Participant

    Bishko said: “Plant potatoes”, and also explained the broader meaning. I say “grow vegetables” and I mean the same thing. Traditionally, armies steal grain, but not potatoes-in-the-ground.
    Armies don’t dig potatoes. Sweet-potatoes and Taro would be about the same. I doubt that they’d steal okra. They’d take dry beans, but not necessarily green ones.

    Thanks also for the atmospheric photochemistry review!

    #117573
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    Consummate, taut, hilarious, and absolutely convincing (imo):

    M’Kay Ultra Maga

    #117574
    chooch
    Participant

    Things are pretty fluid, seems the need for regrouping of Russian forces is building or maybe Ukrainian forces are moving into “Russian” territory too far and too fast.

    On his telegram channel, Ramzan Kadyrov absolutely accused General Lapin, the General Staff of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for losing Lyman. He also revealed the location of headquarters and General Lapin (Starobilsk). Ukrainian general staff probably new that anyway. Careless nonetheless.

    Russian commentators are blaming a variety of issues or commanders for the fall of Lyman, but the primary problem is that they simply don’t have the forces [and equipment] required to hold the current front lines and Putin is telling his military leaders they can’t retreat.

    #117575
    chooch
    Participant

    More on Sablin.

    The general director of Rota Real Estate is Alla Sablina (maiden name: Nalcha), who is the niece of former Moscow Oblast Governor and General Boris Gromov and the wife of Dmitry Sablin, the founder of the pro-Kremlin propaganda organization Antimaidan.
    Sablin is the first deputy chairman of the national public veterans organization Fighting Fraternity (Boyevoye bratstvo), of which Gromov is chairman.
    Sablin is also a deputy in the Russian State Duma from the ruling United Russia party.

    He is also the official owner or co-owner of several assets of the Rota Group, including the firm Rota-Krym, which owns real estate on Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. The independent Dozhd TV identified Sablin as the owner of the entire Rota holding company.
    Dozhd also said that, in terms of family assets, Sablin is among the five richest deputies in the Duma.

    Another member of the board of directors of Rota Real Estate is Ivan Ageyenko, the former head of the Border Service of the FSB in Kabardino-Balkaria and Daghestan. He is also a deputy chairman of the Fighting Fraternity.

    #117577
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Notice that the countries who voted to let Ukraine into NATO are the MOST dependent on importing Russian natural gas (ranging from 59% to 99% !). Makes perfect sense, then, from a purely financial and utterly EVIL standpoint. Stealing Russia , lock , stock and barrel, would pay pretty well.

    #117580
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    US military struggling with recruitment The US Army fell 25% short of its recruitment targets this year, officials admitted

    “Military leaders tried a number of methods to build up their ranks this year, such as increasing enlistment bonuses, dropping high school diploma requirements, and lowering physical standards. However the AP noted that many potential recruits are drawn to private industry in what is a tight labor market.

    “Corporations such as McDonald’s have also begun introducing perks such as tuition benefits, similar to those used by the military to attract recruits for years.

    “The issue is exacerbated by the fact that only 23% of young people meet the military’s requirements, with many ineligible due to medical issues including obesity, drug use and criminal records.”

    They just don’t make cannon fodder like they used to.

    #117581
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @Boscohorowitz

    “They just don’t make cannon fodder like they used to.”

    That is a one liner suitable for the Ages. It belongs in some kind of Hall of Fame and is now an official part of The English Language.

    #117582
    zerosum
    Participant

    The Hokey Pokey Song

    Credit Swisse Let’s do it, all over again
    —————–
    52-card pickup

    Both the US and Ukraine, as well as Poland at one time said that this infrastructure is not going to work, that they will do everything to make sure of it, so, of course, it is necessary to seriously look into it,” Novak stated.

    ————
    • Scientists Warn Of Cold Winter In Europe (RT)

    African All- inclusive resorts should Prepare for immigration/vacation surge

    ———
    “..regain control of its territory”, by force if necessary”.

    Russia/NATO “War” – Card Game Rules

    • US Promises To Help Ukraine Retake Territory (RT)
    ——-
    What is another word for Multitask? juggle

    a watchdog press corp that seemingly exists to cover-up real scandals,

    • Biden Must Know He’s Losing His Mind (Rice)
    ——–
    Laughing out loud

    “When travelling back in time, Why don’t we get Younger?”

    OPEC+ considering cutting 1 million barrel per day

    USA considering imposing more sanctions
    ——-
    Radiation false flag

    Who has used dirty bombs.
    Who has an inventory of unused dirty bombs
    ——-
    Pick Up Sticks Rules – How Do You Play It

    The European power grid was built as a stable source of electricity with built in redundancy. Like Jenga you can remove several pieces and it will still be stable, BUT at some point it will completely collapse. We appear to very close to that point.

    ———-
    Why some Russian elites use the hospital windows instead of the elevator?
    @ chooch

    See new Tweets
    Conversation
    Julia Davis
    @JuliaDavisNews
    Tonight on Russian state TV: the mood is grim, look at their faces. Dmitry Sablin, Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee, admits that Russia desperately needs “to stop and regroup” and is experiencing all sorts of shortages, compared to Ukraine that has it all —and then some.
    ———

    @boscohorowitz

    A new survival tactic
    “The issue is exacerbated by the fact that only 23% of young people meet the military’s requirements, with many ineligible due to medical issues including obesity, drug use and criminal records.”

    They just don’t make cannon fodder like they used to.
    ———-

    #117585
    Noirette
    Participant

    from article at top, quote:

    Meloni stated that tackling soaring energy prices is one of her most pressing goals. “I am in constant contact with the outgoing government, which is engaged in a very complex negotiation to seek solutions at the European level,” she said. (…)

    Italy is among the countries pushing for an EU-wide energy price cap, while Germany opposes such a measure.

    The MSM is conflicted about Meloni, as they can’t come out and say “Don’t worry she is one of us.” They need to demonise her as a Fascist Bitch (even the article up top mentions Mussolini) to keep fakelorum divisions operating. So, the MSM jitters between the two spins and gets lost. For ex. YouTube banned all Meloni videos but then suddenly ‘re-instated’ them, no doubt as ordered from above.

    Heh, price-caps are just delusional talk. Meloni also spouts the ‘we need to be less reliant on Russia’ line. She seems to be in competition with Baerbock to be the most pro-US and anti-Russian gal on the stage .. While vociferating very convincingly about family values etc. Impressive!

    Italy is far more heavily occupied by US bases, etc. than Germany, because, imho, of its geo. location. (One other important point is the control and corruption of pols.)

    Italy is dependent on Nat. Gaz. 40 % or so for its basic energy… see MSM charts etc. All such rough stats, as quoted here, are shoddy, as the qus., where does the E come from, imported from where, at what cost, how is it used, how transformed into other forms (> electricity, not a primary energy source), the wastage? are not detailed.

    Italy, afaik, is the per capita top user of wood pellets! I have seen this myself, the pellets are considered Green, plant a tree or two and yup you are carbon neutral, throw then into your super stove..Italians love them pellets.

    Pellet prices have tripled / quadrupled or more in the past 10 months. Wood pellets are made with nat gaz, to dry the wood.

    #117586
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    “A new survival tactic”

    It is impossible not to love zerosum. It is often impossible for me to understand much of his contributions, but that’s fine. What I do understand provides ample nuggets of online nourishment.

    Not only lol, but I’m reminded of why slacker culture evolved: to improve its members chances of surviving or at least living lives worth enduring.

    My 26 year old son tells me that one reason most 30-unders stay buried in their handroids is cuz they know they’re fucked even though they might not be sure why. Think of ‘quiet-quitting’ as 21st century’s version of the 60s ‘turn on-tune in-drop out’. Think of it also as a way of hearing these old lyrics: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”

    30-year-old slacker evicted from parents’ basement could prove doubters wrong, lead the millennials By John Kass Chicago Tribune • May 26, 2018

    Prophecy!

    #117587
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    “What is another word for Multitask? juggle”

    Driving Miss Daisy, Being John Malkovich, Juggling Joe Biden (screenplay by Trump’s combover which is obviously an alien “rider”)

    #117588
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    You just have to love the way Kunstler writes!

    “Secretary Blinken pretends that Europe’s deadly predicament will segue crisply into a new “green renewable” disposition of things as well as a stable-and-balanced new cold war between US-led NATO and Russia, like the 1950s.”

    How is that as an example?

    Anyway, Jim today: Developing Developments

    Developing Developments

    F.S.

    #117589
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    Helmer with jokes galore today!

    WAITING FOR NUCLEAR WAR IN WASHINGTON, COCKAHOOP IN WARSAW, THE GERMANS RUN FOR THE BUNKER, AGAIN — GORILLA RADIO REVEALS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

    WAITING FOR NUCLEAR WAR IN WASHINGTON, COCKAHOOP IN WARSAW, THE GERMANS RUN FOR THE BUNKER, AGAIN — GORILLA RADIO REVEALS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

    F.S.

    #117590
    oldandtired
    Participant

    Nobody taking credit for the pipeline damage? Just pointing fingers at other countries? Here is a book to read:

    Blind Man’s Bluff by Sontag and Drew. The submarine Seawolf was in play back then, during Reagan’s presidency.

    #117591
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Has anyone else put this up yet? I grabbed it from Kunstler, but it has to be going hyper-viral as we speak. A U.S. patriot air traffic YouTuber going by the handle of “MonkeyWerx” lays out the irrefutable evidence that it was the US who blew up Nordtsream, and even draws nicely illustrated diagram of HOW.

    It is a “must see”. Here’s the link : https://www.monkeywerxus.com/blog/the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-sabotage .

    I have more to say about this event, but will put it in a fresh comment.

    #117592
    zerosum
    Participant

    Thanks!
    “…. ample nuggets of online nourishment.” …..
    Hummmm …… writer’s de-blocker for all the fine/great opinion writers/contributors onTAE …..

    #117593
    zerosum
    Participant

    It’s not only the cops on the street who ignore/forget that everybody has a camera and can see/record/report your lies.
    “It is a “must see”. Here’s the link : https://www.monkeywerxus.com/blog/the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-sabotage .”

    This is evidence that is much better than what the 6/1 committee is presenting. It’s on par with Hunter’s laptop.

    #117597
    zerosum
    Participant

    They know how to repair the pipes
    https://www.wermac.org/nordstream/nordstream_part9.html
    Tie-In Process

    Once a section of the parallel pipelines was finished, a lay down head was welded to the end of the pipeline before the pipelay vessel laid it down. This head provides an air- and water-tight seal.

    At tie-in locations, the ends of the two pipeline sections overlapped. For hyperbaric welding they were aligned using large H-frames and then cut back.

    An underwater habitat or “hyperbaric chamber” was placed over the pipeline ends and the pipelines were welded together inside the habitat; the entire operation was remotely controlled from a vessel and assisted by divers.

    Once the tie-ins were finished, the habitat was removed and a survey confirmed the correct position of the pipeline.

    The Norwegian Offshore Contractor Technip Norge AS has been contracted to conduct the tie-ins. Norwegian Statoil supplied the welding habitat and the H-frames. Tie-in equipment used for Nord Stream has been specially adapted for the large diameter pipeline.

    #117598
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    @ zerosum – https://www.monkeywerxus.com/blog/the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-sabotage
    ____________________

    My only comment to above: This kind of terrorist act – terror by state actors – normally involves a strategy for evasion of accountability – none in it – unless, of course, it was an open act designed to trigger a decisive response outright, … which is not out of question. We shall see soon, …

    F.S.

    Plausible deniability

    #117599
    zerosum
    Participant

    Try this blog to get war news.
    https://southfront.org/ukrainian-offensive-in-kharkov-region-retreating-russian-forces-prepare-new-lines-of-defence-in-lpr/
    UKRAINIAN OFFENSIVE IN KHARKOV REGION: RETREATING RUSSIAN FORCES PREPARE NEW LINES OF DEFENCE IN LPR

    #117600
    zerosum
    Participant

    Plausible deniability
    NOT me … It was him.

    #117603
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant
    #117604
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    The future is bright, … for cockroaches!

    https://logosconcarne.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/larson-9.png

    #117605
    citizenx
    Participant

    Ursula von der Leyen –

    I’m no gynecologist, but I know a rotten cunt when I see one

    – regular bar patron friend, triple vaxd, just diagnosed with a pancreas and spleen that are no longer working

    – 2 other vaxd employees both out with cvd

    – 20 something employee with strep throat out sick, vaxd

    – another employee, vaxd, out sick

    – guest newly boosted with the 8 mice vax “headache like i’ve never had before, slept 18 hours, no energy, cried for hours after waking up”

    ..

    Biden must know he’s losing his mind

    Would you know that your mind is gone ? Would you know that you are IN a cult ?
    Would you know and realize that you’ve been brainwashed ?

    I don’t think people realize they are in a cult, brainwashed or that their dementia has taken over.

    Brainwashed in our childhood
    Brainwashed by the school
    Brainwashed by our teachers
    And brainwashed by all their rules
    Brainwashed by our leaders
    By our Kings and Queens
    Brainwashed in the open
    And brainwashed behind the scenes

    God God God
    A voice cries in the wilderness
    It was on the longest night
    An eternity of darkness
    Someone turned out the spiritual light

    Brainwashed us from Brussels
    Brainwashed us in Bonn
    Brainwashed us in Washington
    Westminster in London

    They brainwashed my great uncle
    Brainwashed my cousin Bob
    They even got my grandma
    When she was working for the mob
    Brainwash you while you’re sleeping
    While in your traffic jam
    Brainwash you while you’re weeping
    While still a baby in your pram
    Brainwashed by the military
    Brainwashed under duress
    Brainwashed by the media
    You’re brainwashed by the press
    Brainwashed by computer
    Brainwashed by mobile phones
    Brainwashed by the satellite
    Brainwashed to the bone

    “The most terrifying force of death, comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love.

    They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely
    play-acting at politics and terror. TRUE TERROR will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left alone.”

    I also believe that these vaxs are psychologically fucking people up- making them psychotic.

    #117610
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS: Thanks for the MonkeyWerx analysis of American P-8 Poseiden specialized oceanic bomber, which flew from the US, got refueled in the air from an American base in Germany, loitered over the pipelines at reduced altitude at the exact time they had explosions, showed flight characteristics typical of payload release, and can carry special torpedoes which can be dropped at altitude, slowed before water-contact, then released into the water as “fish”, with precision guidance to targets.
    https://www.monkeywerxus.com/blog/the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-sabotage
    It then returned to the US and flight log was scrubbed; cannot be found…

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