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Crisis Government

eugyppius |  August 20, 2022

To reduce energy consumption in the face of the looming German gas crisis, Economics Minister Robert Habeck has proposed a bizarre set of indoor temperature ordinances that continue the pattern of direct state interventions in the everyday life first established by mass containment.

Workspaces where hard physical labour is performed are not to be heated above 12 C, under the new rules. Those involving moderate labour while standing will have their temperatures capped at 16 C, and moderate labour while sitting at 17 C. Places where light labour is performed standing, will be permitted temperatures as high as 18 C, while white-collar office spaces where everybody sits and types will be permitted nothing warmer than 19 C. The heating of hallways and other common spaces will be outlawed, as will certain kinds of restroom water heaters. There will be a general ban on using electricity or gas to heat private pools, and shops will be ordered to keep external doors closed at all times. Political pressure is growing for similar ordinances limiting gas consumption in residences.

While some doubt that these rules can be enforced, German police have already proven effective at enforcing pandemic-era contact limits in private homes. And even if indoor temperatures are never systematically checked by authorities, I’m pretty sure that the simple prospect of unannounced inspections and fines will be enough for most employers to declare a third season of home office, with the added prospect of offloading higher gas prices onto their employees.

It is most curious, how this totally new catastrophe should call forth some of very same measures demanded by the Corona pandemic. Not only will home office return, but municipal pools will close again and cities will be kept dark at night, a de facto limitation on evening mobility that might well encourage some places to reimpose the curfews last seen in the winter of 2020/21. Meanwhile, some of the very same spaces recently commandeered for excess hospital capacity and mass vaccination will be repurposed as heated shelters for the old, the sick and the poor.

Not any unified plan, but rather a long series of contingencies, have caused the German gas crisis. Yet the steadfast refusal of the Scholz government to consider any course of action that might ameliorate the shortage, always with a new excuse, grows every day more unsettling.

There’s the obvious explanation, that the Greens in government are merely taking advantage of this opportunity to achieve their higher goal of restricting fossil fuel consumption, as they’ve always wished. But I think there might be another, deeper way to understand this too. I suggest that we’re seeing here the emergence of a new political style, which you might call Crisis Governance—or, as a friend put it, “the continuation of Corona policy by other means.” One of my core themes here has been the deepening demobilisation of western states, as power is diffused downwards from the political apex into the bureaucratic institutions, the press and major corporate enterprises. The great advantage of this power-sharing is a near-total uniformity of political views that it has inspired across the socio-cultural elite, but it comes at the cost of initiative, coordination and strategy. Crises seem to be one of the only ways our new, demobilised states can overcome their paralysis and act to further any kind of positive political programme.

More at A Plague Chronicle.

August 20, 2022 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , | Leave a comment

German Electricity Prices Spiraling Out Of Control… Tripling Since 2000… Blackouts, Unrest Loom

By P Gosselin | No Tricks Zone | August 19, 2022

Sun and wind don’t send any electric bills, the green energy swindlers used to tell us.

Changing over to sun and wind energy would cost only one euro a month more, Germany’s former Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin once promised. All we had to do was accept their master plan.

Today the swindle is uncovering, and it may be too late to avert the massive damage that’s coming our way.

At Facebook, Helmut Bauer posted the most recent chart depicting Germany’s electricity rates for end-consumers. It’s a blood bath:

Electricity prices for German end-consumers, in eurocents per kilowatt-hour. Source: BDEW, Verivox.

What a mess; they’ve reached 41 cents a kilowatt-hour and it’s about to get much worse – especially for the people who can least afford it. Expect social unrest to boil over the months ahead as prices and shortages inflict pain on the poor. We’re in uncharted territory.

Hey, not to worry: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that police will not open fire on demonstrators.

August 20, 2022 Posted by | Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , | Leave a comment

German Official Trashes Cost of Living Protesters as “Enemies of the State”

Says they’re extremists who want to overthrow the government

Getty Images
By Paul Joseph Watson | Summit News | August 17, 2022

A top German official has trashed people who may be planning to protest against energy blackouts as “enemies of the state” and “extremists” who want to overthrow the government.

The interior minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Herbert Reul (CDU), says that anti-mandatory vaxx and anti-lockdown demonstrators have found a new cause – the energy crisis.

In an interview with German news outlet NT, Reul revealed that German security services were keeping an eye on “extremists” who plan to infiltrate the protests and stage violence, with the unrest being planned via the Telegram messenger app, which German authorities have previously tried to ban.

“You can already tell from those who are out there,” said Reul. “The protesters no longer talk about coronavirus or vaccination. But they are now misusing people’s worries and fears in other fields. (…) It’s almost something like new enemies of the state that are establishing themselves.”

Despite the very real threat of potential blackouts, power grid failures and gas shortages, Reul claimed such issues were feeding “conspiracy theory narratives.”

However, it’s no “conspiracy theory” that Germans across the country have been panic buying stoves, firewood and electric heaters as the government tells them thermostats will be limited to 19C in public buildings and that sports arenas and exhibition halls will be used as ‘warm up spaces’ this winter to help freezing citizens who are unable to afford skyrocketing energy bills.

As Remix News reports, blaming right-wing conspiracy theorists for a crisis caused by Germany’s sanctions on Russia and its suicidal dependence on green energy is pretty rich.

“Reul, like the country’s federal interior minister, Nancy Faeser, is attempting to tie right-wing ideology and protests against Covid-19 policies to any potential protests in the winter.”

“While some on the right, such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD), have stressed that the government’s sanctions against Russia are the primary factor driving the current energy crisis, they have not advocated an “overthrow” of the government. Instead, they have stressed the need to restart the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, end energy sanctions against Russia, and push for a peaceful solution to end the war.”

Indeed, energy shortages and the cost of living crisis are issues that are of major concern to everyone, no matter where they are on the political spectrum.

To claim that people worried about heating their homes and putting food on the table this winter are all “enemies of the state” is an utter outrage.

As we highlighted last week, the president of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, said energy crisis riots would make anti-lockdown unrest look like a “children’s birthday party.”

“Mass protests and riots are just as conceivable as concrete acts of violence against things and people, as well as classic terrorism to overthrow it,” Kramer told ZDF.

August 18, 2022 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity, Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

EU gas prices are seven times higher than in US

Samizdat | August 18, 2022

European natural gas prices are trading at levels equivalent to about $70 per million British Thermal Unit (BTUs), which is roughly seven times higher than prices in the United States, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing Lipow Oil Associates.

Analysts told the outlet that Europe’s natural gas crisis is contributing to higher prices in America, noting however that it’s not the main driver. US natural gas prices have surged to levels unseen since 2008, closing at $9.33 per million BTU on Tuesday.

“Higher global prices are trickling down to the US. Natural gas has become a global commodity with the emergence of LNG,” said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors.

The United States has stepped up its exports of LNG to Europe in an effort to mitigate the impact of declining flows from the continent’s major natural gas supplier, Russia.

“Every spare molecule we can find, we are shipping to the Eurozone,” Robert Yawger, vice president of energy futures at Mizuho Securities, said.

European gas prices have quadrupled since the start of the year on thinning Russian flows. This week, the cost of gas futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands exceeded $2,600 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since March. Prices are forecast to spike 60% this winter, exceeding $4,000 per thousand cubic meters.

August 18, 2022 Posted by | Economics, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , | Leave a comment

CARBON EMISSIONS SCORES & THE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING

Computing Forever | August 17, 2022

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Sources: https://computingforever.com/2022/08/17/carbon-emissions-scores-the-control-of-everything/

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August 18, 2022 Posted by | Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity, Timeless or most popular, Video | Leave a comment

EU electricity costs more than double since June

Samizdat – August 16, 2022

Power prices across the EU jumped to a fresh record high on Tuesday, as natural gas costs climbed further on falling supply from Russia, data from the European Energy Exchange AG shows.

Benchmark day-ahead prices in Germany advanced to €490.79 ($497) per megawatt-hour, from June’s average of €218.03, according to market data provider Nord Pool.

The current prices are almost six times higher than in August 2021.

The EU’s energy market is rattled by fears over whether power plants will be able to provide enough electricity this winter amid the tightening gas supply.

Gas prices in the region have quadrupled this year, driven by the drop in deliveries from Russia due to Ukraine-related sanctions and technical setbacks. EU countries have been trying to diversify imports by buying more liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as increasing supplies of pipeline gas from Norway, Algeria and Azerbaijan. However, according to the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, the bloc is “approaching the limits of what extra gas” it can buy from “non-Russian sources.” Meanwhile, France has increasingly turned to nuclear power to generate additional electricity, while other EU states have been reviving coal-fired plants.

Nevertheless, according to Rystad Energy analyst Fabian Ronningen, there are no signs of the “extreme” price rally abating, as the additional nuclear, hydropower and coal capacities aren’t enough to offset the effects of diminishing Russian gas supplies.

“Prices will continue to increase towards the winter, on the condition that the supply situation from Russia is not improved. That is still the big joker and will continue to be a price driver in the power market,” he told Bloomberg.

August 16, 2022 Posted by | Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | | Leave a comment

Cost of keeping Britons out of energy poverty revealed

Samizdat | August 15, 2022

The UK government will need to spend a further £12 billion ($14.5 billion) on a support package for households to keep pace with higher-than-expected energy prices, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said in a report on Monday.

According to the research, the money is required if the government still wants to provide the same level of aid it set out this spring.

In May, former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the government’s aim was to make up for half of the cost of energy price increases to households. The effect of that support has shrunk as energy costs continue to soar. In May, energy prices were expected to rise by 95% in 2022-23, but are now expected to rise by 141%, according to the report.

The IFS said the cost of living is now expected to be 11.3% higher this financial year than last, with inflation peaking in the last quarter of 2022 at 13.1%.

The think tank warned that the poorest households will experience inflation of an “eye-watering” 18% in October due to energy price growth, compared to 11% for the richest households.

“The government is still playing catch up as inflation and the cost of energy continue to spiral upwards,” IFS Director Paul Johnson said. “Just achieving what they wanted to achieve back in May will cost an additional £12 billion, and a package on that scale will still leave many households much worse off.”

August 15, 2022 Posted by | Economics, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | | Leave a comment

THE “COST OF LIVING CRISIS” = THE GREAT RESET

BY DAVE CULLEN | AUGUST 13, 2022

Sources:

  1. Prime time https://www.facebook.com/RTEPrimeTime/videos/an-indulgence-we-cannot-afford-george-monbiot/1461409290948934/
  1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/02/spain-puts-limits-on-air-conditioning-and-heating-to-save-energy
  2. https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/20600866.irish-dairy-report-recommends-paying-dairy-farmers-eur5000-cull-cows/
  1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/02/spain-puts-limits-on-air-conditioning-and-heating-to-save-energy
  2. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/08/09/eirgrid-issues-system-alert-as-electricity-squeeze-edges-ireland-closer-to-power-cuts/
  3. Follow Mark Collett on Telegram: https://web.telegram.org/k/#@markacollett

August 15, 2022 Posted by | Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity, Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular, Video | Leave a comment

The BBC’s “Big Oil vs The World” documentary failed to provide any evidence to support its alarmist claims

The Daily Sceptic | August 7, 2022

The BBC recently broadcast a three part series entitled “Big Oil vs The World“.

The theme of the three hour documentary was that the oil and gas industry discovered over forty years ago that their product produced large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane and that the increase in these greenhouse gases would lead to climate change.

The documentary alleges that the oil and gas industry deliberately disseminated misinformation in order to prevent or slow down any legislation that would hurt its profit margins.

Many interviews are shown of former employees of the oil and gas industry that have had damascene conversions and now see that they were part of a huge crime against humanity or at least humanity yet to come.

I watched all three hours of this documentary on BBC iPlayer. It was very well done with many clips of hurricane damage, floods, wildfires and industry pumping out pollution.

The music reinforced the sense of doom and horror that these oil and gas company executives put profit ahead of saving the planet.

The trouble is that even though so many people consider the subject of climate change ‘settled science’ not one shred of evidence was put forward in the whole three hours.

One of the climate change experts was asked what his reaction to his predictions coming true was. He said he was angry, yet his predictions were not offered and subsequently it was not demonstrated how they were true.

Graphs and documents with certain phrases highlighted were flashed up but there was no time to evaluate them.

A ‘methane hunter’ declared that she had provided overwhelming evidence to the U.S. regulators but to no avail. During this segment images from thermal cameras were shown which looked very scary but there was no explanation as to what to look for to determine that methane was present.

The Attorney General of Massachusetts was interviewed and it was detailed how Exxon Mobile was going to have to answer in court to the allegations. It was detailed exactly what they were going to accuse the company of and footage of the team discussing the wrongdoings was shown.

That segment finished with the fact that the New York State Attorney General had tried the same thing but Exxon Mobil had won that case. Nothing further was said, no reference to the court documents, nothing to suggest that the company had pulled the wool over the court’s eyes. Nothing.

I would imagine that if I had bothered to complain to the BBC I would receive a response along the lines of them not having to provide evidence because the science is settled, but you have to ask the question, why?

If there is so much evidence and they know that the oil and gas giants have had evidence for four decades, why, in a three hour documentary, can they not produce one single piece of evidence?

How many more decades will we have to live with this constant barrage of doom-mongering before they finally see that the climate changes and there isn’t much we can do about it but continue to adapt and mitigate as we have been?

August 8, 2022 Posted by | Deception, Film Review, Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity, Science and Pseudo-Science | | Leave a comment

Protests Erupt in Bangladesh as Government Raises Fuel Prices While Seeking IMF Loans

Samizdat – 07.08.2022

Bangladesh has approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a multibillion-dollar loan, making it the third South Asian country – after Sri Lanka and Pakistan – to have sought financial help from the multi-lateral lender in the past two months.

Sporadic protests erupted in several of Bangladesh’s cities on Saturday in response to a significant rise in oil and gas prices. After the price rise, public transport fares also rocketed up to 35 percent. Several organizations related to transportation have suspended their operations for 24 hours and declared their sales would resume on Monday.

The Bangladesh Tank-Lorry Owners’ Association and the Petrol Pump Owners’ Association staged a 24-hr strike on Sunday. They stopped collecting fuel from the Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna depots – major oil repositories for the country in the Khulna division.

“The strike started at 8am and will continue until 8am on Monday,” Md Farhad Hossain, an official of Bangladesh Tank-Lorry Owners’

The association has been demanding 7.5 percent commission on the present fuel price.

The Sheikh Hasina government on Friday raised the diesel price by 34 Taka ($0.36) to 114 Taka ($1.20) per liter, and the octane price by 46 Taka (0.49 USD) to 135 Taka ($1.42) per liter.

Protesters alleged that instead of lowering fuel prices as the rest of the world was, the government had raised costs to “appease the IMF”, which “is unacceptable and anti-people.”

“We urge the government to return fuel prices to their previous rates immediately,” said Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a group working for the welfare of commuters, in a statement.

Bangladesh is reportedly seeking $4.5Bln in loans from the IMF as the country’s forex reserves plummeted below $40Bln.

On 3 August, the US-led lender said it would work with Dhaka to design an IMF-supported reform program that would be required for the loan.

“As part of the policy response, Bangladesh’s request for a Resilience and Sustainability Trust and an accompanying IMF-supported program will provide safeguards in the event of further deterioration of external conditions,” the Fund added.

Bangladesh reported a fall in export earnings because of dwindling consumer demand in the west. European Union registered a 3 percent fall in consumer demand this week.

Bangladesh’s appeal to the IMF comes as Sri Lanka and Pakistan have also been negotiating financial aid. The economic slowdown and inflation has also hit these south Asian economies.

August 7, 2022 Posted by | Economics, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | | Leave a comment