“Political Unrest Worldwide Is Fueled by High Prices and Huge Debts.
“Economic turmoil is spreading across the globe, and the response has been protests, attempted coups and elections of far-right politicians… a common thread is clear: rising inequality, diminished purchasing power and growing anxiety that the next generation will be worse off than this one.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/05/business/global-economy-debt-inequality.html
“US-Led Debt Increase Across G-7 Stokes S&P and Scope Concerns.
“The analyses of Group of Seven and equivalent economies intensifies the spotlight on their borrowing in a week when two face elections, and after the Bank for International Settlements cautioned that governments are vulnerable to a precipitous loss of confidence.”
“The Great Oil Shortage: Are We Ready for the Next Crisis?
“…Globally, the competition for crude oil is intensifying, particularly between the U.S. and China. China has been aggressively securing oil imports from key producers such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iraq.”
https://thedeepdive.ca/the-great-oil-shortage-are-we-ready-for-the-next-crisis/
“‘We don’t see a pathway’ to coal phaseout, says US utility…
“The US investor-owned utility sees no pathway to phase out coal amid growing demand for more around-the-clock power fuelled by data centres for artificial intelligence and new manufacturing.”
https://www.ft.com/content/052fc091-3720-4d8d-9493-2a16d100220c
“Australian regulator warns east coast to face gas shortage by 2027…
“The ACCC warning came in two weeks after Australia’s energy market operator said the east was facing an immediate gas shortage following a cold snap that drove up demand for heating. Meanwhile, supply dipped due to an extended outage at the region’s main gas plant.”
“Climate protest trial turns to chaos as defendants defy court rules [UK]…
“There was chaos in the courtroom at a climate protest trial when two defendants stood and made statements defying the authority of the court… Daniel Shaw said: “Climate change represents an existential threat to humanity. The court agrees with that. Why are you not trying the people causing this crisis?”
“The U.K. North Sea Oil Industry Is in Decline…
“In 2023, U.K. North Sea oil output fell to its lowest level since the 1970s, when production first began. The quantity of accessible reserves is rapidly depleting following decades of intensive drilling…”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-UK-North-Sea-Oil-Industry-Is-in-Decline.html
“Councils Locked Out of Funding Signal Crisis for UK After Vote…
“Some of Britain’s most cash-strapped town halls are being locked out of a vital source of short-term funding, foreshadowing a major financial headache awaiting the UK government after the July 4 election.”
“As Europe turns right, why has a center-left party won by a landslide in the UK?
“…Britain suffers from many of the same problems as other European countries. If Starmer falters as prime minister, there is every chance that the popular right could continue to capture the public’s imagination, as it has elsewhere in Europe.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/04/europe/uk-election-europe-populist-surge-intl/index.html
“French election turmoil to have prolonged impact on stock and bond markets…
“No matter which party comes out on top in Sunday’s French parliamentary election, some investors are betting the vote marks the beginning of a more turbulent period for the country’s stock and bond markets.”
“Far-right France risks paralyzing EU’s Green Deal…
“National Rally (RN), which along with its allies bagged one in three votes nationwide in the initial round of the French election last Sunday, has vowed to overhaul the country’s energy and climate policies if given the opportunity to govern.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/far-right-france-risks-paralyzing-eu-green-deal/
“Swiss government will allow financial institutions to self-regulate greenwashing…
“Switzerland’s financial institutions can self-regulate on greenwashing policies, the government said, in a move that was welcomed by industry leaders but lambasted by climate advocates.”
“European central bankers have warned that risks including trade tensions and high government debt are piling up for the region’s economy.
“…most viewed the French elections as the sign of a broader shift in a more populist, protectionist and turbulent direction that is likely to hit Europe harder than most parts of the world.”
https://www.ft.com/content/a1251197-2446-4df6-8c0e-9e33becf0cb2
“Poland seeks border guard help from Germany, Greece, Finland…
“Poland hopes to bring in border guards and police from Finland, Germany and Greece to help patrol its frontier with Belarus, a senior official said on Thursday, amid mounting concerns over migration pressures from the east into Europe.”
“As Biden slips toward the edge, NATO holds its collective breath…
“Now, says one senior administration official who had been involved in the planning, the NATO summit will be a moment of trepidation and peril. Every European eye will be on Biden, wondering whether he can recover physically and politically.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/04/biden-nato-anxious-allies-eager-enemies/
“China and Russia highlight ‘tectonic shifts in global politics’…
“The presidents of China and Russia urged allies to resist external influence saying the global centres of power are changing and a multipolar world is on the horizon… Xi called on the countries to “resist external interference” while Putin said “new centres” of political and economic might are on the rise.”
“Russian central bank’s daily yuan swap volume hits record high…
“Russia’s central bank provided banks with a record 19.5 billion yuan ($2.68 billion) on Wednesday under currency swap transactions, data showed, as lenders seek alternative ways to replenish their foreign currency reserves after dollar and euro trading was restricted.”
“Taliban regime is our trusted ally against terrorists, says Putin.
“The Russian president told journalists after meeting regional leaders in Kazakhstan that the ruling regime in Kabul could help the Kremlin fight ISIS-K amid a rise in terrorist attacks in Russia… Moscow has been quietly improving links with the Taliban for years, even supplying weapons secretly through back channels as it fought Nato forces.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/07/04/taliban-trusted-ally-against-terrorists-putin/
“EU brushes aside risk of China trade war over electric vehicle tariffs.
“The EU’s top trade official, Valdis Dombrovskis, has brushed aside concerns of trade-war retaliation from Beijing against European business, after the European Commission imposed duties on Chinese electric vehicles.”
“Why Chinese banks are now vanishing. The state is struggling to deal with troubled institutions…
“Some 3,800 such institutions [small, rural banks] dot the Chinese countryside. They have 55trn yuan ($7.5trn) in assets—13% of the total banking system—and have long been mismanaged, accruing vast amounts of bad loans.”
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/07/04/why-chinese-banks-are-now-vanishing
“Japan finance minister Suzuki says weak yen is pushing up import costs.
“Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday that a weak yen is pushing import costs up and also affecting the economy and prices in the country. The minister also reiterated that he “will closely monitor stock and forex markets with vigilance.””
“‘This is very serious’: Tensions spike in the buffer zone between North and South Korea…
“Stationed in a hut just metres from the North Korean border, Burgener and the NNSC have a frontline view of how the frozen conflict has developed. Since the start of the year, they have noticed a significant remilitarisation on both sides of the DMZ.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/east-asia/north-korea-weapons-dmz-south-seoul-b2573966.html
“New Delhi’s water crisis spotlights threat to India’s booming economy as climate change takes toll…
“A report by international ratings agency Moody’s stated late last month: “India is facing a growing water shortage as water consumption increases amid rapid economic growth and increasingly frequent natural disasters due to climate change.””
“Iraq’s climate vision aims to diversify energy sources and move twards clean alternatives.
“Chairman of the Investment Commission, Haider Makiya pointed out that “the development of new industries is linked to hydrogen production in addition to creating new job opportunities and strengthening the local economy…””
“Hezbollah says it has fired 200 rockets into Israel after killing of commander…
“The militant group said it launched 100 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base in Golan and its Iranian-made Falaq missiles at another base in the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Israel-Lebanon border.”
“Egypt overhauls cabinet as economic pressures, power cuts persist.
“Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi swore in a heavily reshuffled cabinet on Wednesday that includes new finance and foreign ministers in a government facing challenges including the Gaza war on its border, economic woes and daily power cuts.”
“Kenya’s mass protests expose African fury with IMF.
“William Ruto is latest president of developing country caught between multilateral lenders and angry population… As live rounds crackled and police deployed tear gas in Nairobi’s streets, 25-year-old protester Job Muremi said: “The IMF is involved in bringing this chaos upon Kenya.””
https://www.ft.com/content/0e1be993-90e1-4477-9c29-41400c0d1c98
“US intervened in Congo mine sale to Chinese arms group…
“The US has intervened in the sale of a Congolese copper mine to a Chinese arms manufacturer in an effort to prevent Beijing from further increasing its control of critical minerals, according to people familiar with the matter.”
https://www.ft.com/content/4c5faaa4-d041-4f58-b9ef-ca84f074009d
“Congo fears escalation as M23 seizes key towns…
“This ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and throughout the region has intensified – leading to widespread displacement and raising serious concerns about the humanitarian situation in North Kivu Province in particular.”
https://www.dw.com/en/congo-fears-escalation-as-m23-seizes-key-towns/a-69549332
“Climate change is exacerbating security challenges in central Africa…
“There are massive and dynamic climate variations being experienced across the region. At the same time as there is crop flooding in northern Cameroon there are rising temperatures and drought in much of Chad…”
“Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is grappling with a severe food crisis exacerbated by two formidable challenges: rampant insecurity and devastating floods.
“These twin threats have not only disrupted agricultural production but also intensified the country’s struggle to achieve food security…”
“West Africa: Terrorists attacks kill 7,000 in five months…
“The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar… emphasised the need for collective action against terrorism and violent extremism, which threaten the stability and development of West Africa.”
https://www.asaaseradio.com/west-africa-terrorists-attacks-kill-7000-in-five-months/
“The jihadis are stalking Benin…
“Bandits from the Northern Nigerian hotspots of Zamfara and Katsina states are crossing over into northern Benin, buying up property and recruiting young men. Is this the moment that the Lake Chad Basin crisis merges with the wider Sahelian one?”
https://africanarguments.org/2024/07/the-jihadis-are-stalking-benin/
“At least 89 migrants dead after boat capsizes off Mauritania, state news agency says…
“More than 5,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of this year, or the equivalent of 33 deaths per day, according to Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish charity.”
“Global tax war is looming; it could hit big tech hard…
“If no global agreement goes into effect, some countries will begin to compete for revenue from large multinationals by lowering taxes in what is sometimes called a “tax war.” It will also mean that large tech companies will have to contend with inconsistent tax codes around the globe…”
https://businesspostbd.com/global-economy/global-tax-war-is-looming-it-could-hit-big-tech-hard
“Seabed mining: a new geopolitical divide?
“Coastal states have rights over resources located in their exclusive economic zones; beyond that, the sea is a common zone where the status of mining remains to be defined. Yet it is a zone rich in resources…”
You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
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hello Pan
I did some more researched on the expected energy demand by the so-called ‘self-learning artificial intteligence and cryptocurrency’….. Surely those are impressive figures that make you wonder how long that will prove sustainable.
The projected increase in energy consumption by data centres is significant.
Data centres’ electricity consumption is expected to double by 2026, driven by energy-intensive workloads such as AI and cryptocurrency mining. In 2022, data centres worldwide consumed about 460 terawatt hours (TWh) and this figure could rise to 650 TWh to 1,050 TWh by 2026. This increase is equivalent to adding the entire power consumption of a country like Sweden or Germany to the lowest and highest estimates, respectively.
Specifically, in the United States, data centre power consumption is expected to increase from 17 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to 35 GW in 2030.
This growth is mainly fuelled by demand for AI and machine learning-ready racks, which require significantly more power and cooling than traditional data centre equipment
That will then be about 40% of France’s total energy consumption… They may well hurry up with that construction of all those nuclear power plants…. 🙂
It’s an interesting paradox of self-feeding energy turbo because no one can be left behind. Let’s see where this ship will run aground. If you ask the sector itself they come up with all sorts of bla bla talk about efficiency and greening etc etc…. all nonsense of course. Because here too, Jevons’ law will continue to apply unabated, I think.
‘Forest fires in Russia alone emit the CO2 equivalence of the industrial nation of Germany, the world’s fourth largest economy;
The amount of bunker fuel burned by container ships plying the world’s sea lanes release more CO2 than the country of Japan, the world’s third largest economy;
And we already know that crypto-miners add more CO2 than the country of Chile;
The US military in and of itself burns more fossil fuel than the country of Sweden;
The State of Texas flares every day more natural gas than would be burned to supply its entire electricity demand;
Ditto for the State of North Dakota;
None of these countries’ worth of CO2 are addressed in any of the climate conferences, the uselessness of which. Is made apparent by AI & Crypto adding the CO2 of entire industrialized nations overnight for the sole purpose of enabling the haves to have more.
Nothing makes the entire scenario of green energy and a net zero economy more absurd than this one fact.
https://robertlowrey.blogspot.com/2021/08/countries-climate-accords-ignore.html
The spurious argument made by Bill Gates and his ilk is that AI will amplify our human brilliance and thus enable us to solve climate change, justifying the increased energy-expenditure along the way.
I guess it’s a similar school of thought to the pronatalists’, who believe that if we just keep churning out enough children, some of them will be brilliant enough to solve our problems.
Of course, children and technology both are basically energy sinks and planet-eaters, no matter how clever they are. I don’t mean to sound pejorative there, as I have two of the former – and very nice they are, too, even if I do say so myself. 😆
It’s JULY 5 today, not JUNE.
Thanks, Garry. I’ve amended accordingly.
Pan had a psychotic break? I need the company.
Tough talk from the XR fantasists in court, demanding instant conversion to hunter/ gatherer ways from UK judge-careerists and the jury of working stiffs.
“Why aren’t you putting on trial the people causing climate change?”
Because that’s not the way the world works. And why didn’t you, the Don Quixote brigade, target the people causing the climate change?
Why are megacriminal AI and crypto terrorists allowed to access planetary life-killing fossil fueled data centers?
Instead, you inconvenience the hoi polloi to “create awareness,” linguistically attack the lowest rungs of power, and then get bashed over the head by prison guards feeding you slop.
Brilliant.
And the two dementia victims vying for the leadership of the free world think they are going to have to kill people trying to take away their car keys, and yet somebody reading the actual news of the world here is aggravated by an incorrect month.
“…the Don Quixote brigade.” 😆
I fear they are indeed tilting at windows, Martin.
It must be nice to have such moral conviction and clarity of purpose. Meanwhile, I am lost and rudderless on an ocean of not really knowing what the f*ck to do about all this. Try to be kind to people and practise growing potatoes is about as close as I can get to a mission statement.
Yes, you are right, cannot claim to be doing much more than the random kindness and the potato growing – which by the way I have found impossible – and, oh –
RUNNING, SINGLE-HANDEDLY, WITH EXPERT EDITORIAL GUIDANCE, AND INDEFATIGABLY , DAY AFTER DAY, THE WORLD’S CLEAREST, MOST ENGAGING NEWS COMPENDIUM.
I do think, however, you are going to have to come up with some Bidenesque excuse for why your brain put down “tilting at windows.” Jet lag?
“THE WORLD’S CLEAREST, MOST ENGAGING NEWS COMPENDIUM.”
That is a very kind compliment – thank you!
Re my verbal misstep, perhaps my comment about Bill Gates above caused my subconscious to accidentally dredge up the word Windows, as in Microsoft, rather than the required “windmills”. Well, it’s a theory. 😆
I once had a fanciful notion that nanotechnology would make for a really interesting twist on the Frankenstein trope.
The idea being that nanobots would become malevolent and not only start replicating like crazy, but collectively their much feared “emergent” behavior would start deliberately targeting humans for destruction. Sort of like the “sandman” in the Spider Man movies, the nanobots could swarm together to form any size and shape of terror then just as quickly evaporate into thin air.
The worlds only hope? The nanobots need electricity and they can’t make it themselves. In a last desperate gasp for survival humanity shuts off the juice. Electricity is banned forever on Earth. The last surviving humans huddle in the cold and dark, constantly fearing the next lightning storm.
How Ironic that our new AI overlords are suffering the same fate. Just when you think they are taking over the world, Bam! No more juice and the data centers go dark.
Congratulations to our friends in the UK on Labour’s big win. Cheers Keir!
Not that it’s going to change anything, of course…
Take it from a jaded American, Biden is indistinguishable from the-president-in-the-red-hat, just as Obama was indistinguishable from Dubya. They all serve the same corporate masters.
Jerry, it was the lowest turnout in twenty years, and I must confess I was one of the apathetic non-participants.
Sorry to hear you are jaded. You can always join my Mad as Hell Club. Sometimes I think I’m the only member. 😉
Let’s always remember that any problem that an elected official causes is never the fault of the “It’s not my fault!” voters that placed that official in office. This is the same for all countries. I know my enemy & he out numbers me by 8 billion.
330 million Americans & this is the best we can do?
I have been reading alot more of this hydrogen non sense. We are going to have record highs in the Pacific Northwest this weekend they have heat advisory’s out. Fun times
I do not think we can vote our way out of these problems now. Voting makes no difference when both parties are for censorship, stealing money and scams and overall corruption. Welcome to scam nation.
Heather, I was interested to read in my article about Iraq above that they are jumping on the hydrogen bandwagon.
If your economy is so reliant on oil that it constitutes 99% of your exports and 85% of your government’s funding, I feel like you should in effect just shrug sheepishly and own it. But then I suppose there is pressure from the populace to do something about climate change and from the international community to do, er, green stuff, so hydrogen it is.
Temp prediction for the next five days in Roseburg, Or.
106,109,106,107,103
“You’d think it was 120 degrees,can’t be more than 114.” – Blazing Saddles
Whenever I see extreme weather anywhere in the U.S., I check to see how that area voted, Right or Left. How’s that AGW misery working out with one’s political delusions? 😉
On immigrants:
There are many reasons that monkey minds decide to leave their countries. Whatever the reason, politics, religion, terrorist gangs, their overpopulation’s destruction of their habitat or global corporations’ theft of their resources, these baboon brain failures don’t give a damn about their country. They won’t fight to protect their fellow countrymen or land. Their only concern is their self-absorbed specialness. How do people in other countries accept any immigrants when the immigrant is only interested in his own welfare? If things get tough where they are, they will leave. One can bet that they will try to get all the benefits a country will give them but leave when things get unpleasant.
To be crude & rude, fuck Europeans that brought their Old World stupidity to the Native Americans. Europeans killed, stole, enslaved, & religiously brainwashed the New World. “You Native Americans get your asses onto the reservation.”
Now for the sad part, there is no place to escape to where one can avoid what this species has done to the planet. So much fun suffering the deserved consequences.
Right you are TR….,no respect at all…
The California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) is urging other winegrowers to be on high alert for spotted lanternflies that are sharing egg masses, as some have been found that may produce adult bugs in the coming weeks — with peak populations expected in late summer or early fall.
“It’s terrifying to know that a small pest has the potential to devastate the livelihood of our growers and ravage an industry that is so vital to the California economy,” a CAWG representative told Fox News Digital this week.
California winemakers produce 80% of America’s wine. The state is also the fourth-largest wine producer in the world, according to the Wine Institute, a public policy advocacy organization located in California.
the spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive species that threatens fruit crops and trees. Native to China, Vietnam, and Taiwan, the SLF first appeared in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 15 states. The SLF is a planthopper with red underwings and polka-dotted forewings that eats a wide variety of plants, including grapes, hops, stone fruits, and hardwood trees. When feeding, the SLF excretes a sticky, sugary fluid that can cause sooty mold, which can further damage plants
I agree… these immigrants ruin it for us all natives… Geronimo
Bet that will piss-off the winos. 😉
A point many miss: Alcohol is toxic to the vertebrate mammal.
I quit alcohol cold turkey, same with tobacco. I just realized that I don’t have a life.
When I was a lad in school had an instructor from Spain. Now, please do not take what he said as true, but he recalled as children this parents had them drink wine with their main meal as a supplemental…
Yes, wine can provide some nutritional value. White wine contains vitamins B2 and B6, magnesium, niacin, and riboflavin, as well as trace amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. Red wine contains antioxidants, flavonoids, polyphenols, and resveratrol.
He said it was a valuable source keeping people alive
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/07/05/rapidan-dam-partial-failure-sent-more-than-a-centurys-worth-of-sediment-pollution-downstream
Dam failure and sediment
Well Damn! I hadn’t thought about all the pollution in sediments.
My Thermo-meter read maximum 103.3.