New COVID Variant Spikes In U.K., And No One Really Cares

By William Teach April 2, 2022 – 10:30 am

Here we go again

COVID in UK at record levels with almost 5 million infected

The prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.K. has reached record levels, with about 1 in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, latest figures from Britain’s official statistics agency showed.

Some 4.9 million people were estimated to have the coronavirus in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million recorded in the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said Friday, The latest surge is driven by the more transmissible omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the U.K.

Hospitalizations and death rates are again rising, although the number of people dying with COVID-19 is still relatively low compared with earlier this year. Nonetheless, the latest estimates suggest that the steep climb in new infections since late February, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson scrapped all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England, continued well into March.

The figures came on the day the government ended free rapid COVID-19 tests for most people in England, under Johnson’s “living with COVID” plan. People who do not have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus now need to pay for tests to find out if they are infected.

“The government’s ‘living with COVID’ strategy of removing any mitigations, isolation, free testing and a considerable slice of our surveillance amounts to nothing more than ignoring this virus going forwards,” said Stephen Griffin, associate professor at the University of Leeds’ medical school.

Masks didn’t work before, they won’t work now. Quite a few places had mask mandates when Delta and Omicron spiked, worse than the original COVID outbreak. Keeping testing around would certainly be helpful, as people would be more likely to go get one to know if they have COVID. Requiring isolation protocols would also be helpful, so people do not go to work, out in public, spreading it around. Otherwise, for everyone else, government and COVID Cultists need to leave us alone

“Such unchecked prevalence endangers the protection afforded by our vaccines,” he said. “Our vaccines are excellent, but they are not silver bullets and ought not to be left to bear the brunt of COVID in isolation.”

Not silver bullets? Huh. That’s the way they were portrayed. Anyhow, it’s expected that most people in the U.K. will get the BA.2 variant by the summer, and you know that that will probably happen in most 1st World nations, including America.

But, you know who really cares? Not many. The above is an AP article published in a Dayton, Ohio news outlet. Going to UK outlets, you find almost nothing about COVID and this spike. A year ago it would have been top of the page news. Now? BBC News and UK Guardian do not even mention it. Same with several others. The UK Daily Mail mentions, way down the page, that people are learning to live with it. Most are just over it. They do not want restrictions, shut downs, forced masking, being fired for refusing to take the vaccine, or anything else. No more showing your vaccination papers. I doubt many Americans will put up with anything if BA.2 hits the U.S.

Read: New COVID Variant Spikes In U.K., And No One Really Cares »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Europe | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Transforming The Energy Sector Can Strengthen Democracy Or Something

By William Teach April 2, 2022 – 7:15 am

Well, this is a rather new line of cult talking points

Energy transformation can strengthen democracy and help fight climate change

It is impossible to forecast how the war in Ukraine is going to end: current events are fast-moving. Given the inhumanity of it all, it is important to consider the resulting uncertainty and implications for the entire world.

Uncertainty about the global ramifications of the war clearly has driven world prices of liquified natural gas (LNG) dramatically higher over the past several months. These price increases have not hurt Russia: In fact, they have helped to finance its war effort. Rapidly climbing LNG and oil prices, however, have, hurt much of the rest of the world, as supplies of LNG have been gobbled up swiftly by the highest bidders with the largest appetites. Those most hurt by all this live in other developed and developing nations all around the world. And even in many European countries and the United States, those with limited means already are suffering.

So what can be done?  Any first-year student of economics knows that increasing supplies from all non-Russian sources of energy could work over time, especially in concert with efforts to reduce demand. These are good ideas, of course, but the devil is in the details.  There are at least two distinct options:

Can you guess which one they want?

Option 1: Invest in opening untapped supplies of petroleum and natural gas, drill for more of both, operate existing distribution infrastructure at its fullest capacity, and build more as quickly as possible; or

Option 2: Two complementary parts, here: (a) invest in expanding diverse and decentralized non-fossil energy systems; and (b) invest in R&D on new technologies that can smooth the demand-side transition to using electricity, technologies such as electric vehicles.

Unsurprisingly, option 2 is their choice.

Putin’s war has pushed world energy markets to inflection points. It has created a perhaps once in a generation opportunity to reorganize and transform global markets toward renewables and thereby reduce the world’s dependence on fossil energy from countries with leadership antithetical to democracy (not just Russia). Investing aggressively in energy option 2 would reduce the political power of major fossil fuel exporting nations with authoritarian leaders. Why? Because rapid transition to Option 2 undermines the ability of autocrats to maintain their extraordinary market clench over supplies of scarce and essential commodities. Such a transition would undermine their access to money from the rest of the world – money they use to fund inhumane oppression at home and unlawful and immoral extracurricular aggression abroad.

You know, Gary Yohe, the article writer, sorta has a point. Conservatives have for decades stated that the U.S. needs to wean itself from oil from those types of countries and develop our own fossil fueled sources, which are in abundance. Nothing says we can’t do that while also looking towards non-fossil fuels, including nuclear, doing the R&D to make sources like solar, wind, and hydro more effective and reduce costs, along with deploying it. An all of the above agenda.

Shrinking such gains derived from formidable market power would strengthen the hand of democracy – not by making democracy work better (it will always be messy), but by diminishing the use of fossil fuel energy to bankroll wars and hold energy-needy countries hostage. Constraining dictators’ and autocrats’ power over energy issues can help both to forward democratic principles and to help propel progress toward a cleaner and more healthy global environment.

Kumbaya, baby! The funny part here is that these same people yammering about Democracy! want to force their agenda on everyone else, with government mandating it, regardless of what the citizens want. There’s a name for that type of governmental agenda.

Read: Transforming The Energy Sector Can Strengthen Democracy Or Something »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Russians Switching To Support Of Putin, Ukraine War

By William Teach April 2, 2022 – 7:00 am

Well, this is not a good thing for the West

Shaken at First, Many Russians Now Rally Behind Putin’s Invasion

Biden Brain SlugThe stream of anti-war letters to a lawmaker in St. Petersburg, Russia, has dried up. Some Russians who had criticized the Kremlin have turned into cheerleaders for the war. Those who publicly oppose it have found the word “traitor” scrawled on their apartment door.

Five weeks into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, there are signs that the Russian public’s initial shock has given way to a mix of support for their troops and anger at the West. On television, entertainment shows have been replaced by extra helpings of propaganda, resulting in a round-the-clock barrage of falsehoods about the “Nazis” who run Ukraine and American-funded Ukrainian bioweapons laboratories.

Polls and interviews show that many Russians now accept Putin’s contention that their country is under siege from the West and had no choice but to attack. The war’s opponents are leaving the country or keeping quiet. (snip)

The public’s endorsement of the war lacks the patriotic groundswell that greeted the annexation of Crimea in 2014. But polls released this week by Russia’s most respected independent pollster, Levada, showed Putin’s approval rating hitting 83%, up from 69% in January. Eighty-one percent said they supported the war, describing the need to protect Russian speakers as its primary justification.

Can this continue?

Analysts cautioned that as the economic pain wrought by sanctions deepens in the coming months, the public mood could shift yet again. Some also argued that polls in wartime have limited significance, with many Russians fearful of voicing dissent, or even their true opinion, to a stranger at a time when new censorship laws are punishing any deviation from the Kremlin narrative with as much as 15 years in prison.

But even accounting for that effect, Denis Volkov, Levada’s director, said his group’s surveys showed that many Russians had adopted the belief that a besieged Russia had to rally around its leader.

Could all the sanctions by Brandon and other 1st World nations have the opposite affect in getting Russians to rally around Putin and the war? Perhaps Biden and a few others shouldn’t have been pushing Russia to invade Ukraine

Now, while the government has tried to popularize the letter “Z” as an endorsement of the war, Shalygin said it’s rare to see a car sporting it; the symbol is mainly popping up on public transit and government-sponsored billboards. The “Z” first appeared painted on Russian military vehicles taking part in the Ukraine invasion.

“Enthusiasm — I don’t see it,” said Sergei Belanovsky, a prominent Russian sociologist. “What I rather see is apathy.”

So, pretty much “something’s happening down over there and the West is hurting the average Russian. Mr. Vast Foreign Experience should have been more careful beforehand. He’s pretty much in La La Land now.

Read: Russians Switching To Support Of Putin, Ukraine War »

Posted in Current Affairs, Joe Biden | 21 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: 45% Of Millennials And Gen Z Not Saving For Retirement Because Of ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach April 1, 2022 – 3:00 pm

It’s all about the doom, you know. Too bad it would be extremely difficult to sue the ever-loving-crap out of the people who scared these young folks

45% of Millennials and Gen Z Cite Climate Change As A Reason They’re Not Saving for Retirement

Nearly half of Millennials and Gen-Z say they’re not planning for retirement as issues like climate change threaten their future, according to a new study from Fidelity Investments.

Forty-five percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 say they no longer see the point in saving for their retirement until things “return to normal.” That’s according to recent data from the Fidelity Investments 2022 State of Retirement Planning study.

Fidelity says it doesn’t have a definition for “normal,” but it’s likely to imply post-pandemic, drops in inflation and housing costs, as well as more concrete climate action.

“To this group, retirement seems like it’s a very long way away, and they have more immediate concerns,” Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement at Fidelity Investments, said in a statement. “It’s important to look at the big picture, and realize one of the most important things you can do [for financial health] is start saving for retirement.”

The study surveyed more than 2,500 Americans with at least one investment account. While 79 percent were optimistic about retiring on their own terms, the younger age group cited issues including housing prices, inflations, civil unrest, and climate change as roadblocks.

If they all gave up their big carbon footprints they could make a big difference, right?

“It’s really hard to look at the newspaper and not feel pessimistic sometimes,” one participant said. “For me, though, it’s important to keep in mind that every generation has had concerns and threats to their sense of security. But the world keeps spinning.”

Sixty-nine percent of Gen Z and 59 percent of Millennial social media users say it made them feel “anxious about the future the last time they saw content on social media about addressing climate change.” For older generations, Gen X and Baby Boomers, it’s about 41 percent.

Perhaps they should all take a step back and do some research to ascertain if the information, especially the headlines, are scientifically correct.

Meanwhile, via Watts Up With That?

“Terrify children with imminent doom.”

Read: Bummer: 45% Of Millennials And Gen Z Not Saving For Retirement Because Of ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach April 1, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…are over mitts, used to take things out of fossil fuels powered ovens, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is neo-neocon, with a post on federal oversight of local police.

Read: If All You See… »

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Sen Warren Wants US Government To Have It’s Own Digital Currency

By William Teach April 1, 2022 – 10:30 am

Who’s surprised that Warren wants to move the power into the hands of the Central Government?

Elizabeth Warren Calls for US to Create a CBDC

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) says it’s time for the U.S. to create its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). Warren spoke with NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press Reports,” scheduled to air at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. NBCUniversal shared a partial transcript of the conversation with CoinDesk.

“So a lot that banks do wrong, if you think, ‘We could improve that in a digital world,’ the answer is, ‘Sure you could.’ But in that case, let’s do a central bank digital currency,” Warren told Todd. “Yes, I think it’s time for us to move in that direction.”

Responding to Todd’s question on whether Bitcoin will face at minimum being regulated like a commodity, Warren responded, “I think it’s going to end up getting regulated,” using the subprime mortgage financial crisis that started in 2007 as of an example why it’s needed. She didn’t say what form regulations might take.

Of course she’s upset with banks for doing what they do, which is mostly correct, with a few bad things. She’s always been a complainer about banks, probably because they hold a lot of money that she, as a government official, cannot simply take and use on a whim. You know what she’s proposing is that the bank be run by the federal government, and creating a digital currency controlled by the federal government is mostly a bad idea

(Crunchbase) The ugly aspect of CBDCs is that they centralize money even more and preserve the oligopoly power of financial institutions. Unlike cryptocurrencies that aim to democratize and decentralize finance, CBDCs grant near-complete control to central banks.

Now, replace a few words

The ugly aspect of CBDCs is that they centralize money even more and preserve the oligopoly power of government entities. Unlike cryptocurrencies that aim to democratize and decentralize finance, CBDCs grant near-complete control to the central government.

Different viewpoint, right?

It would also enhance control over an ordinary citizen’s level of access to a financial system, especially if a citizen is engaging in behavior that central banks governments may deem threatening, for whatever reason.

In China, social credit scores prevented 23 million people from buying plane and train tickets in 2018 for so-called “behavior crimes.” Now imagine that central banks governments, with a newfound ability to oversee accounts thanks to their CBDC rollout, can build similar systems to punish businesses or consumers for behaviors they deem as untoward.

Huh. CBDBs are also a massive threat to regular cryptocurrencies, which is also the point of creating CBDBs, especially in the hands of government.

Read: Sen Warren Wants US Government To Have It’s Own Digital Currency »

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UN Chief Names Group To Investigate Companies On Climate Crisis (scam) Response

By William Teach April 1, 2022 – 7:00 am

Oh, good, a not so secret police group, unelected with absolutely zero accountability to anyone. The Climate Stasi without the power to drag people away and beat them. Yet

UN chief names panel to probe companies’ climate efforts

The head of the United Nations announced the appointment Thursday of an expert panel led by Canada’s former environment minister to scrutinize whether companies’ efforts to curb climate change are credible or mere “ greenwashing.”

Recent years have seen an explosion of pledges by businesses — including oil companies — to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” amid consumer expectations that corporations bear part of the burden of cutting pollution. But environmental campaigners say many such plans are at best unclear, at worst designed to make companies look good when they are actually fueling global warming. (snip)

The 16-member panel will make recommendations before the end of the year on the standards and definitions for setting net-zero targets, how to measure and verify progress, and ways to translate that into international and national regulations.

In addition to examining net-zero pledges by the private sector, it will also scrutinize commitments made by local and regional governments that don’t report directly to the U.N. However it will not “name and shame” individual companies, U.N. climate envoy Selwin Hart said.

What’s the over/under that the names get released? What else is the point of doing this? Hopefully a lot of companies will tell the panel members and their staffs to just piss off, not even letting them in the door?

The panel includes prominent Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, South Africa-based sustainable finance expert Malango Mughogho and the former long-time governor of the People’s Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan.

It will be chaired by Catherine McKenna, who was Canada’s minister of environment and climate change from 2015 to 2019.

Oh, good, China. And Climate Barbie (McKenna). Who’s going to monitor their massive carbon footprints as the drive and fly all over the world? How about all the climate cult members of the UN who fly all over on private jets?

Read: UN Chief Names Group To Investigate Companies On Climate Crisis (scam) Response »

Posted in Climate Cult, Global Warming, UN | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Florida Anti-Grooming Law

By William Teach April 1, 2022 – 6:45 am

Democrats are already facing a massive uphill battle for the mid-terms, and they learned absolutely nothing from the loss in Virginia for the governorship, and a close call in New Jersey, all because of what the schools were doing with kids. The Democrat politicians and pundits are barking up the wrong tree if they think opposing Florida’s parental rights bill will help them

Americans support ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, poll shows

Anew poll found that Americans overwhelmingly support the language of the Parental Rights in Education bill signed into law by Florida governor Ron DeSantis this week.

Celebrities at the Oscars on Sunday night shrieked about the alleged attack on LGBT rights and Disney executives were caught on tape promising to create more queer content for children in response to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

A poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies indicates that these woke institutions are wholly out of step with the concerns of normal Americans. When registered voters were shown the actual language of the bill, which prohibits age or developmentally inappropriate sexual education in pre-K through third grade, they supported it by more than a two-to-one margin.

Yeah, it doesn’t look good for Democrats

So, yeah, Democrats, run on teaching young children about adult sexual issues, which leads to grooming children to be all sorts of crazy sexual identity that wouldn’t even be a consideration for them at that age. Not something they would think about or talk about. Things that could mess them up badly as they grow up. Things that teachers have no right to be talking to kids about. Just teach the subjects they were hired to teach, and damned sure don’t try and hide what’s going on from parents.

Oh, and then there’s Disney

Read: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Florida Anti-Grooming Law »

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Canada Joins The Bandwagon Of Banning Fossil Fueled Vehicles By 2035

By William Teach March 31, 2022 – 3:00 pm

What’s the over/under that this exempts politicians like Justin Trudeau?

Canada will ban sales of combustion engine passenger cars by 2035

Canada is joining the ranks of countries and states planning to ban sales of combustion engine cars. Canada has outlined an Emissions Reduction Plan that will require all new passenger car sales to be zero-emissions models by 2035. The government will gradually ramp up pressure on automakers, requiring “at least” 20 percent zero-emissions sales by 2026 and 60 percent by 2030.

Officials didn’t say whether this applied to a make’s product mix or simply the volume of cars sold. The strategy is more forgiving for the workplace — the Canadian government wanted 35 percent of total medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emissions by 2035, and 100 percent of a “subset” of those machines by 2040.

The country is also offering $1.7 billion CAD (about $1.36 billion US) to extend incentives for buying electric cars and other zero-emissions vehicles. The current federal program offers up to a $5,000 CAD ($4,010 US) rebate for EVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars that meet varying price, seat and battery requirements. Some provinces, such as British Columbia and Nova Scotia, offer their own incentives.

Will limos and such that politicians drive around in be exempt? How well will these EVs work in the Canadian winter?

Canada’s car market is small compared to the US. Passenger vehicle sales in Canada reached 1.64 million in 2021, according to estimates, versus an estimated 15 million for the country’s southern neighbor. However, the de facto ban on combustion engine cars could further motivate car brands already transitioning to EVs — that’s still a lot of potentially lost sales, particularly for a country known for its auto manufacturing plants.

There’s actually a pretty big manufacturing business in Canada. Toyota and American manufacturers make a lot of vehicles in Canada.

Now, when do Justin Trudeau and his Comrades give up their own use of fossil fuels?

Read: Canada Joins The Bandwagon Of Banning Fossil Fueled Vehicles By 2035 »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach March 31, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful big city with like minded people concerned about ‘climate change’, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on Disney embracing evil.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 24 Comments | Trackback URL
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