A Fortnight 200


This last couple of weeks have seen the build-up to Julian’s arrest, the event itself, and the coordinated campaign of lies and hate that have ensued. Perhaps not coincidentally, it also saw the publication of the breath-taking exercise in state dishonesty that is the Mueller Report. Simultaneously these events brought me into close contact with other good friends, who in different ways are also right now going through very difficult periods indeed, involving state conspiracy and injustice. Despite the heartening interlude of a dash to Rothesay to speak to a full and inspiring hall, I not only found myself working rather too hard on all these matters, I also contracted bronchitis and ended up in bed wheezing and a nasty blue colour. To add to all of which, my family are rightly not exactly chuffed with the abandonment of cherished plans for the Easter holiday and my subsequent disappearance and lack of support to them.

I considered writing today something about Julian’s arrest and Mueller, and starting something on the other issues, but then decided that an auto-biographical piece on my last couple of weeks close to the centre of these events, incorporating the key arguments, may be more powerful in humanising those arguments, and thus reach a larger audience. To write such a piece will necessarily reveal a lot of confidences, and I am going to need to clear it with those involved. It will therefore be a few days before you can see it – and if the key people concerned are not comfortable, it may not see the light of day, and I may have to return to Plan A.

In the meantime I am working up a piece on my reaction to Extinction Rebellion, which I hope to publish today.

In the 13 years of this blog before I accepted subscriptions, one of the main reasons I did not do so was that I feared feeling guilty when I was not producing articles, and feeling obliged to explain myself. That is indeed now happening. Somewhat oddly, I find the process rather liberating, in showing myself as a real and frail person, not some disembodied intellect.


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200 thoughts on “A Fortnight

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  • Shatnersrug

    You must take better care of yourself craig, dashing round the world is very exiting but the physical effects can be punishing.

    A not on extinction Rebellion, someone shared with me this long and fascinating research on the manufacture of Greta Thunberg and the NGO “green” industry that does little more than greenwash companies and govts. It’s long and very well researched.

    Please have a look

    http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/01/17/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-the-political-economy-of-the-non-profit-industrial-complex/

    • Sharp Ears

      Hope you meant ‘exciting’ and not ‘exiting’! We don’t want to lose Craig, especially not at the present time.

      Have a good rest Craig and feel better soon.

    • craig Post author

      I don’t find much there that’s either surprising or enormously reprehensible. There is always something happening behind the manufacture of child celebrities, cf Malala. And of course people are positioning themselves to make profit out of the switch to greener technologies. I am pretty confident a large majority of environmentalists are anti-imperialist too – there seems a rather strange attempt to set up a false tension there. of course there are some fake environmentalists around, but in general I found the article a great deal less profound than it seems to think it is.

      • DiggerUK

        ” I am pretty confident a large majority of environmentalists are anti-imperialist”
        Then you need to do some research in to the accusations of ‘eco-iimperialism’ of the Diplomatic and Green NGO campaigns that put pressure on poor and developing nations not to buy oil, coal or gas fired power stations. Those power stations are one of the essentials they need to develop and prosper.
        It should be called ‘Greenboat Diplomacy’…_

      • mog

        There is always something happening behind the manufacture of child celebrities

        That reads like hand waving to me. The ‘something’ behind child celebrity is unsettling enough in the context of child actors and singers, but this is political, which I argue makes it far more consequential. I would argue that a closer comparison would be to the use of children in propaganda productions that have come out of the Syrian conflict. If we consider the rise of Greta Thunberg to the position of major representative (mascot) of the climate protest movement in the context of the crtical model of public relations and the media which has developed over the past two decades, then it seems appropriate to conclude that – regardless of her personal integrity and motivations, she has been put where she is by those with power in shaping societal narratives.
        It is the motives of those narrative shapers that is in question here.
        I would agree that a disproportionate share of grassroots environmentalist activists are ‘anti-imperialists’. However, if we zoom out and consider the position of ‘environmental NGOs’ then it becomes much less clear and even counters that case. This is an important distinction at the heart of Morningstar’s work (- and not just this series of articles about Thunberg).
        I don’t agree that there is a ‘false tension’ here.
        Consider that George Monbiot publishes numerous articles warning about the ubiquity of plans to financialise nature (including within the circles of ‘environmental NGOs’), and he also writes (in different but related contexts) about fake ‘astro-turf’ movements precipitated to create social pressure on legislatures, then is he (and are we) not obliged to consider the people around Greta who are shown by these Morningstar articles to be both entwined in plans for a new ‘natural capital’ paradigm and who at the same time promote a teenager to Davos to speak to the global elites? That surely is a tension.
        The argument centres on the assertion that the challenge of climate change is not one of ‘switching to greener technologies’ within a capitalist framework. Rather it is that the reality of climate change fundamentally challenges the capitalist system, which has grown directly as a consequence of fossil fuel exploitation.
        What is highlighted here is arguably the difference between ‘eco-socialism’ and ‘eco-liberalism’.
        Consumer capitalism cannot accomodate a move away from fossil fuels and the inevitable shrinkage in economic activity that will be the result. This has always been the argument from the ‘wing’ of the environmental movement from which people like Morningstar write.
        XR has brought back focus onto the emotional desire for change. But change to what ? Do you trust Mark Carney to bring us a ‘solution’?

        • mog

          Many of us want to believe that Greta has risen to prominance due to the timing of her protest, her eloquent speaking and the straight forward honesty of her character- her innocence and sincerity speaking as a young person untainted by the compromised equivocation of the adult world.
          I wanted to believe.
          I welled up when I saw her speech at COP.
          I now think I was manipulated. And I think, ‘of course, everything in the media is manipulation’, of course the capitalist elite are not going to platform/ promote someone who fundamentally challenges their interests.
          We want to believe, because we are not psychopaths.
          They on the other hand, are.
          We -most of us, never seem to wrap our heads around this.

      • Ben

        Exactly, Greta is as genuine as it gets. Knowing her in person will do that to you. Shatnersrug, please find better subjects to smear or put in a bad light. You are wasting your valuable time with this.

    • James Charles

      ‘Many people love to spread rumors saying that I have people ”behind me” or that I’m being ”paid” or ”used” to do what I’m doing. But there is no one ”behind” me except for myself. My parents were as far from climate activists as possible before I made them aware of the situation.
      I am not part of any organization. I sometimes support and cooperate with several NGOs that work with the climate and environment. But I am absolutely independent and I only represent myself. And I do what I do completely for free, I have not received any money or any promise of future payments in any form at all. And nor has anyone linked to me or my family done so.
      And of course it will stay this way. I have not met one single climate activist who is fighting for the climate for money. That idea is completely absurd.
      Furthermore I only travel with permission from my school and my parents pay for tickets and accommodations. . . .

      Ps I was briefly a youth advisor for the board of the non profit foundation “We don’t have time”. It turns out they used my name as part of another branch of their organisation that is a start up business. They have admitted clearly that they did so without the knowledge of me or my family. I no longer have any connection to “We don’t have time”. Nor does anyone in my family. They have deeply apologised for what has happened and I have accepted their apology.’
      https://www.facebook.com/gretathunbergsweden/photos/a.733630957004727/773673599667129/?type=3&theater

      • Bayard

        There are many sceptics who could honestly say the same, myself included, yet it is far more common for such people to be accused of being in the hire of large corporations. “They can dish it out……”

    • Noit a Lever

      Thanks for the link. Looking at the comments above, I guess there must be something in it.

  • Trowbridge H. Ford

    I am writing an autobiographical response too. After President Poroshenko got creamed in the Ukrainian election, I am voting for Bart Simpson in the American 2020 one after all my creative posts got deleted by the mods.

    • Courtenay Barnett

      Trowbridge,

      Sometimes great truth can emerge from a great sense of humour:-

      ” I am voting for Bart Simpson in the American 2020″

      But – the people voted for ‘the Donald’ already – so – soon I await the announcement from the Democrats that ‘Donald Duck’ will be their 20th candidate.

      • Trowbridge H. Ford

        I appreciate your liking my candidate to be the next POTUS, Courteney, but would have liked it more if you wanted to know what was in my deleted posts,

        • Courtenay Barnett

          Trowbridge,

          Well describe what was in your deleted posts ( i.e. the main topic/subject) – in a manner that won’t grant an iota of an excuse to again get deleted.

          Seems to be a smart way around censorship.

          • Trowbridge H. Ford

            Well, I talked in general about how the West has unnecessarily abused Putin for getting Trump elected, Assange unduly for leaking the unredacted Afghan File fir publication, and Gareth Williams er al. for going wild over the ‘false flag’ operation involving the Manhattan 11 American sleeper spies for whom real American spy Skripal et al were traded.

          • Courtenay Barnett

            Trowbridge,

            Can’t see why you would be censored.

            Were you in fact censored – or – merely redirected to discuss at an ‘off-topic’ location on your varied points?

            Subtle difference between one and the other; which was it?

  • Mary Ward

    Think I saw you going around Mount Stewart last week? Was going to speak but thought you may prefer not to be bothered. Wished I could have gone to hear you speak as I always find you inspiring .

  • michael norton

    Hi Craig, I get bronchitis several times a year, last year I had a once in a life time Pneumococcal vaccine,
    not had brinchitis since?

    Extinction Rebellion,
    one of my friends went, she did not get arrested.
    On the radio, they had the last man pushing the sledge on the mud flats in Somerset, catching very little fish, claiming the very few fish were because of Nuclear Power stations, like Hinkley Point.

    Our government claim, nuclear power is Green because it does not use/emit Carbon.

    However, the reason they site most nuclear reactors at the seaside if for the free cooling.
    They take in vast quantities of water to cool the reactor, this warmed water then returns to the sea.

    So, nuclear reactors are warming the seas.

    • Goodwin

      “So, nuclear reactors are warming the seas.” Maybe – but not if the seas are being cooled elsewhere. Who knows?

    • Grhm

      A ridiculous argument.
      You might as well say that planting trees contributes to global warming because the person digging the hole works up a sweat and gets hot!
      There are respectable arguments against using more nuclear power as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but this isn’t one of them.

      • michael norton

        Wrong-Headed, Grhm
        Planting trees or allowing forests to grow, takes in Carbon and stores that taken-in-Carbon for the life of the tree.
        Cutting trees to grow corn beef does not take in Carbon, so allows Carbon to build up in the atmosphere, Agriculture almost certainly allows more Carbon to re-locate to the atmosphere than people burning Carbon.

        • Grhm

          Your point is… what?
          Generating electricity by nuclear fission instead of burning fossil fuels prevents carbon that was stored in tree-trunks millions of years ago being released into the atmosphere now, and fucking up the climate.
          What part of that don’t you understand?

        • Grhm

          The direct heating of the ocean by the power station’s cooling system, like the direct heating of the atmospher by the forestry worker’s exertions, is utterly negligible in the scheme of things.

        • Grhm

          And by “the scheme of things” I mean global warming, in case that wasn’t clear.

    • Mighty Drunken

      “So, nuclear reactors are warming the seas.”

      Any form of energy generation creates heat. Solar and wind take a form of energy that would otherwise go to waste so they don’t directly warm the environment overall. While nuclear is much like a coal plant in that heat would not otherwise be created and about 60% of the heat is lost without creating anything useful. Though the waste heat is sometimes used for heating other premises or industrial processes.

      The bottom line is, the CO2 not released by a nuclear power plant but would be released by a fossil fuel plant, warms the Earth many more times over than the direct release of heat. The direct heat would be dissipated by the Earth in a short time, while CO2 lingers for centuries and will warm the Earth during that time.

  • JMF

    Hi Craig, I hope you get well soon. By the way, one of my all time favorite supplements is ‘Cordyceps sinensis’. It’s well documented as being very good for bronchitis.

  • Borncynical

    Craig,
    Please take care not to neglect yourself or your family. If anybody argues that you owe it to others to do just that, they will simply have proved that they are only worthy of contempt. No one should feel obliged to sacrifice their own health and happiness for the benefit of others. If you push yourself too far in terms of health and the impact on your family you also risk failing to produce the compassionate and considered analyses that we have come to expect from you.

    Hope you are fighting fit soon!

  • John2o2o

    I personally feel rather disturbed by the actions of the Extinction Rebellion. I have a science degree, but I am still not 100% sold on the climate change narrative. I’m not a “denier”, I’m just not 100% sold on the concept.

    I question also the point of forcing this country to suffer while China, India and the United States – far bigger polluters than ourselves – completely ignore the alleged problem.

    I think there people would do far better to learn a Chinese and Indian language and push for their governments to change their ways if they feel this strongly about the matter. As for the United States. Is there any hope?

    • sc

      I thought China was acting on climate change? Must check … I’m sure I did read that . They’ve had some awful pollution problems.

      • ecology

        China is pretty advanced
        https://qz.com/1586938/china-will-dominate-the-worlds-electric-cars-market/

        The link posted above
        http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/01/17/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-the-political-economy-of-the-non-profit-industrial-complex/
        I find mostly correct in that the green economy in Europe is marketed and producers position themselves for the next industrial wave.
        I also don’t see how this can be solved by capitalist free markets without government intervention.

      • Vivian O'Blivion

        China was way ahead of us with its single child policy (1979), replacing a two child policy introduced at the start of the 70’s. Single child policy,was abandoned in 2013 but having small families appears to have become the social norm.

        • Michael McNulty

          I read of the unforeseen social costs to China’s one-child policy. The orientals value boys over girls because boys are more productive earlier and earn more money sooner, while girls often need to a dowry just to marry them off. Far more boys were brought into the world (not aborted or killed at birth), leading to a major demographic imbalance where twenty million young men had no hope of finding a female partner. This led to gangs and organised crime and various other social problems because they’d inadvertently messed around with nature’s balance.

          • Stonky

            I read of the unforeseen social costs to China’s one-child policy…etc

            Seriously Michael, this is “man in a pub once told me” level nonsense.

      • John2o2o

        They are, but they are still at or near the top of the list of polluters.

        My fear is that what ever we might do will make no difference as other countries pollute far more than we do. Perhaps China was not the best example. Certainly the United States is an unabashed polluter.

        I should be clear that I am in favour of cleaner energy and less pollution. Though I greatly detest land based wind farms. But with that said I am not entirely sold on the “end of the world is nigh” narrative of the Extinction Rebellion and their ilk and which I think may in any event be counter productive. A lot of people don’t like it.

    • Dom

      I’m assuming your science degree must have involved some specialist, cutting edge research into climate change. What were the findings of your research?

      • John2o2o

        You should never make assumptions, Dom.

        I think you will find that in science people do not work in isolation. Researchers share their findings with their peers. It is dangerous and wrong to accept what you are told by others without question. Always form your own opinions. You are entitled to think for yourself.

      • Bayard

        “I’m assuming your science degree must have involved some specialist, cutting edge research into climate change. What were the findings of your research?”

        Why, do you think climate science uses different physics to the rest of science?

        • pretzelattack

          i think physicists can be ignorant about the subject, as several shills have shown us, including at least one former nobel prize winner in physics.

      • Stonky

        I’m assuming your science degree must have involved some specialist, cutting edge research into climate change. What were the findings of your research?

        I’m assuming the same about your degree. What were the findings of your research?

    • Trowbridge H. Ford

      Don’t see how anyone even the Americans can be a sceptic on climate change with the world experience of all kinds of drastic changes with everyone pumpomg more and more energy into the atmosphere with their billions of lungs and cars, coal and atomic power plants, weapons desinged to cause surprises, wind generators, etc.

    • Bill Thomson

      Perhaps they should protest in Australia who are doing their best to supply china with the coal to burn.
      Then there are those carbon neutral wars going on everywhere.

    • Andyoldlabour

      John2o2o

      “I question also the point of forcing this country to suffer while China, India and the United States – far bigger polluters than ourselves – completely ignore the alleged problem.”

      I have been saying this for some time, it simply does not matter what efforts the UK makes, or even Europe for that matter.
      Just one look at this map which shows coal fired power stations around the World, should convince the naysayers.

      https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-coal-power-plants

      • Grhm

        …And most of that coal is burnt so that we in the west can have cheap consumer goods Made In China.

      • Grhm

        It would be more enlightening, and useful, to have a map showing the locations of the profiteers for whose benefit the coal is burnt.

    • andrew wilson

      I do not know much about India, but China is doing a huge amount to deal with their environmental issues. That’s in part, why they are so heavily into the move to electric vehicles. Of course, they recognize the commercial benefits of being market leaders in relevant technologies and so are now also leaders in solar power generation, land reclamation and some forms of nuclear power generation.

  • Jimmeh

    I’m sorry you’ve been unwell (and turning blue is not a good look).

    I am not a subscriber, but I do own two of your books. I can see why you might feel you owe it to people (subscribers in particular) to keep grinding out articles. I doubt any of your readers, subscribers or not, expect you to provide them with political sustenance at the cost of your health and your family.

    Please take care.

  • Pete

    Craig, the fact that you write as a real human being and not some robotic transmitter of a party line is one of the main reasons I follow your blog. I’m an active member of a political party but don’t read anything of their output, as it’s entirely predictable. Whereas your output is not predictable. I can’t for instance predict what you’re going to say about Extinction Rebellion, only that your opinions will I’m sure be based on practical experience and good moral sense. Enjoy the holiday what’s left of it.

  • N_

    @Craig – I look forward to reading your take on the “prepared to die” “last chance before the 6th mass extinction” followers of the sideways Dagaz rune, who say there are “12 years left” and who were allowed to block key points in central London including Waterloo Bridge for five or more days without getting kettled.

    Triodos Bank is a Steinerite bank and has many tentacles.

    Here‘s a letter the Times written in support of Extinction Rebellion by some business leaders, including at Triodos.

    James Webb, born in Edinburgh, wrote some good (albeit wordy) books before they got him.

    Meanwhile Helen Saunders mysteriously “died on a railway crossing” in December 2017. The coroner said she didn’t know the reason she died but that she’d write down “suicide” in the verdict anyway.

    Here is something that Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, is up to in November.

    I despair of those who don’t realise the obvious fake nature of “Extinction Rebellion”, an organisation which is basically demanding that the government hands over national economic strategy to it (a “citizens’ assembly”! what do you reckon, Zac Goldsmith?) and which…come the ascent of the mad crown prince to the throne…???

    We are likely to hear more of these scumbags.

    • Ian

      What a heap of incoherent nonsense, complete with your personal obsession about Steinerism. Yes, it’s a all giant hoax perpetrated by bankers. eyeroll.

      • N_

        You insult, but are you clear on what “nonsense” means? This is nonsense: w-ecim aep vn pwevWV BBV aspodc o ndfh osfn. My post contained facts, links, and some suggestions too, full of meaning, doubtless including facts and suggestions you hadn’t previously encountered – and no attitudinising Twitteroid references to emoticons. If you had paid the slightest critical attention to green and alternative culture and politics, you would already have come across Triodos Bank. I am telling you for a fact that Triodos Bank is a Steinerite organisation.

        • Goodwin

          This reminded me of those great Dilbert cartoons about gibberish. I can’t think why …

        • Notluff

          Hi N_
          I very often agree with your posts and you one of my favourite posters on here. Being interested in green and alternative politics and culture I do know the Tridos bank is associated with Steiner – but what is contentious in that? Could you point me to any further details?

        • Andrew Ingram

          What’s wrong with a bank applying Steinerite principles to it’s day to day operation? Where’s the harm in investing in environmentally friendly ventures and profiting from it?

    • Pete

      @N_ What is your actual evidence that Helen Saunders was murdered (as you’re presumably implying)? Pushing somebody in front of a train seems like an especially risky method of murdering someone. Even people who do deliberately jump in front of trains often survive, some with minor injuries if they jump too late and just bounce off the side, others with catastrophic injuries if some of them goes under.

      Same goes for James Webb (I suspect that you and I may be the only readers of Craig’s blog who remember him). Tony Roberts hinted to me that he was murdered, but again where is the evidence?

      If I was organising a worldwide conspiracy I would not reply on Anthroposophists to make it happen.

      • N_

        @Pete – With Helen Saunders, only circumstantial. Can’t discuss it here. Have you looked at her website, “Stop Steiner in Stroud”? At least some of it is still accessible through archive.org I think. She was in contact with a number of researchers. There was no prior indication that she was suicidal. I’ve come across other cases too where the coroner has returned a verdict of accidental death or suicide while at the same time making clear there’s little or no evidence suggesting such a cause of death and that an honest verdict would be an open one. Murdering a person by train while making it look like suicide is not necessarily a big gamble.

        With James Webb, I used the words “got him” to keep it open as to how his end was brought about. It’s clear he suffered from mental illness including hallucinations. At the time of his death he was working on a book about Rudolf Steiner. “The Occult Webb” is a fascinating collection of texts, gathered by John Colombo, including material by Colin Wilson (who got the Steiner contract after Webb died) and by Joyce Collin-Smith (crazed upper-class British Gurdjieff-Ouspensky figure who practically boasts of how she influenced Webb’s mind). I thought both Wilson and Collin-Smith were very cruel (fanatically narcissistically don’t-know-right-from-wrong cruel) to James Webb’s widow.

        Steiner connections run high and deep, or the “Austrian philosopher” as the mad crown prince calls him when he’s not going on about “Doctor Dee”.

        • Socrates

          I’ve only just seen this comment and although it is rather late I feel I have to reply. I knew Helen and helped with her work on the Stop Steiner in Stroud website. I had a long text exchange with her the evening before her death and we had met for coffee about a week before. Though I had no idea what would happen I was extremely concerned for her mental state. She was clearly depressed and ‘paranoid’ if I may use that term non technically. She felt that she was being spied on, betrayed and attacked from all round. During the text exchange she repeatedly tried to antagonise me as if to prove that I too was against her.
          Although it was a terrible shock I have no reason to doubt that she took her own life and with hindsight I can see just how disturbed she was. I learned later that she even believed I had been secretly recording her.
          I share your obvious loathing for the Steiner cult. Behind its cuddly alternative front it is deeply pernicious. And Helen was an outspoken and effective critic of it. But you do her memory no favours by spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about her death. The reality is tragic enough.

          • mods-cm-org

            Thank you for your testimony, which seems entirely credible.

            You might like to know that ‘N_’ – the commenter who suggested Helen’s death could be attributed to sinister Steinerite forces – recently vowed not to post on this site again, in protest at being moderated for promoting far-fetched conspiracy theories concerning Covid-19.

    • Republicofscotland

      N.

      The planet does go through periods of heating up and cooling down over long periods. However human activities appear to be speeding this process up. You may not want to believe that, or you do, and you may find Extinction Rebellion an odious group, however, even if at the last hour its proven that there’s no climate change, isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?

      Afterall there’s no Planet B that we can jumped to.

      • Ascot2

        Indeed these warming and cooling cycles do occur, based on the tilt of the earth relative to the sun. We are at the end of one of those warming periods and should be cooling off again over the next few thousand years. The massive release of greenhouse gases by mankind is overpowering the cooling effect and we are heading towards a whole new era that is similar to a warming period that happened about 50 million years ago, caused then by geological factors.
        The present change to our climate has been irrefutably proven to be happening, and to be caused by humans. This has been done through extensive lab experiments and field observations, backed up by models.
        The last time CO2 levels were as high as they are today there was no ice in the arctic and trees were growing in Antarctica. We are well on our way for a new mass extinction and it could include humans.
        James Hansen’s book “Storms of My Grandchildren” explains it all in some detail.

        • Michael McNulty

          I became convinced by a meteorologist on the radio who explained the gas-stove effect. When you put a pan of water on a gas stove it doesn’t boil immediately, it takes time. Likewise when you take it off the stove it isn’t cold immediately, it takes time. But it’s been over two centuries since the industrial revolution where we burned coal and coke in everything from steam engines to trains to boats to home fires; for over a century the internal combustion engine has been blasting out exhaust gases, as has the jet engine for about eighty years. It has taken time because we’re heating a planet but we’re coming to the boiling point now.

          To say warming is natural so we can’t be affecting it is like saying we all die so there’s no such thing as suicide or murder.

          • Bayard

            “To say warming is natural so we can’t be affecting it is like saying we all die so there’s no such thing as suicide or murder.”

            Not in the English language that I learned it doesn’t.

        • Bayard

          “The present change to our climate has been irrefutably proven to be happening, and to be caused by humans.”

          Please provide a link to this irrefutable proof, I’ve been looking for one for years without success.

          • pretzelattack

            check out the major science sites, then. or climate.org. you haven’t been looking hard.

    • nevermind

      Any ideas what the differences are between Triodos and HSBC’s practises,N_, cause just saying that their environmental ethos, which was part of Triodos business ethics since its inception, is rather flat earth.

      • Bill Boggia

        Try applying for a Triodos account – you will find that compared to other banks they are ethically far more rigerous. As well – they only lend money that they actually have in reserves – rather than the over reaching 10; 1 ratio that the shartks are legally encouraged to do to create money out of lending. So as well that makes them a safe bet.

  • Mist001

    I think Extinction Rebellion is a scam for a couple of reasons, 1, they seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and 2, they’re requesting negotiations with the government. The government will accede to their requests and promise everything but do nothing as usual.

    The environmentalists must know this, so why are they doing it?

    • Trowbridge H. Ford

      Pretty feeble denials. I know of real people who have joined the movement out of nowhere, and it probably won’t get anywhere, but all serious change has to start somewhere.

    • Republicofscotland

      “The government will accede to their requests and promise everything but do nothing as usual.”

      Well in that case the governments must be held to account. Getting governments to listen and act before we reach the precipice is crucial.

      Extinction Rebellion are at the very least drawing attention to what needs to be done.

    • Sc

      It’s because nothing is done usually, apart from empty words from the government, that people are now trying to get more publicity for environmental issues.

      What do you think they should have done instead? Making a real change does need government action.

      • glenn_nl

        That’s just it – there is no suggestion from the likes of Mist001 on what to do. Far easier to sit back and scoff, than to actually come up with anything more useful.

        • Mist001

          “The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke to crowds at the site on Sunday, saying that nothing was being done to stop an ecological crisis “despite all the beautiful words and promises”.

          Right. So they already know what the result of negotiating with the government will be, so why do they want to negotiate with them? Who’s paying for all the banners, the red robes and all the rest? Someone is.

          I don’t fault their aims and ambitions but I do think there’s an ulterior motive behind this. I’ll tell you something else too, today is the first time in years that I’ve heard hardly a peep about Brexit. It’s almost as if it wasn’t happening. Maybe people are being distracted by something else?

          • glenn_nl

            You think this is all a big plot, just to distract from an endless multi-year dialogue about Brexit which goes absolutely nowhere? Seriously – there hasn’t been enough Brexit speculation for you lately? All the MPs have gone on holiday, and the supposed leave date pushed back 6 months. There will be plenty more said on the subject, don’t you worry.

            A cynic might almost start to wonder if _this_ isn’t just your method of distracting from the global warming issue.

            Anyway, back to the subject of climate change – what do you reckon ought to be done then?

          • Mist001

            Do what I do, try not to buy certain packaging. Recycle as much as you can, essentially doing my miniscule bit to hit them in the pocket because that’s the only thing that governments and multinationals take notice of. How many of protestors are wearing trainers? Probably at least 90% of them. All those rubber and plastic soles will end up somewhere. You can’t stop wearing plastic and rubber but you can stop buying brands which if a large enough number of people do it, the companies will take notice and will be forced to change. There’s one example. Bragging about having the largest number of arrests of any protest ever, probably isn’t a good example.

            I don’t know what the answers are but that doesn’t change my feeling that there’s something not quite right about Extinction Rebellion. BTW, I’m not looking for an argument or interested in justifying myself, I don’t really care if you agree with me or not.

          • glenn_nl

            ok, while you’re figuring out what’s “not quite right” about Extinction Rebellion, you’d do well to continue to work on the actually rather practical solutions you came up with here. I have a few too.

            That sounds better than a knee-jerk reaction of knocking a group (which has worldwide momentum now, which makes your theory that it’s all about distracting from Brexit a bit silly) based on vague suspicion and nothing else.

    • Noit a Lever

      I’ve no idea where the ER is going or what the government will do about it. However, it feels off as a grass roots movement and I wouldn’t be surprised if it weren’t staged. If Craig does write about it, I imagine he will support them and swear blind they couldn’t be anything other than genuine.

    • Dave Lawton

      Mist001
      April 22, 2019 at 13:35

      “I think Extinction Rebellion is a scam for a couple of reasons.”
      You are spot on if you investigate who the leaders are involved and their connections..Say`s it all including Greenpeace who I caught out when they were pushing CFL`s on everyone when in fact they are energy wasting lamps and full of nasty pcb`s and other contaminants.They also put dirty em energy.

      • Mighty Drunken

        CFL are one of the reasons why the UK’s electric usage has stayed static over the last few decades, they are vastly more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs.

        I don’t know why you associate PCBs with CFLs, are you confusing the chemical with printed circuit boards? CFLs do contain mercury but only small amounts and so does coal ash. Therefore CFLs have paradoxically reduced the amount of mercury released into the environment.
        Luckily now we have LEDs which are even better. No idea what dirty EM energy is.

  • Antiwar7

    I know I speak for many when I say: Definitely take care of yourself, Craig. We all need downtime. It’s the only way to be productive in our times of strength. No need to feel guilty: anyone who gives it any thought will know this.

  • Jade Webster

    Keep up the excellent work Craig – you are in my thoughts. On your Facebook you mentioned about the injustices people are having.
    In the early hours of this morning, I was lying in bed when I heard a man outside saying softly, “Come on… come on baby… I love you”.
    I thought maybe he was talking to a girlfriend or a dog but he kept repeating it. I kept the lights off and walked to the bedroom window, and opened the curtains slightly. He was well built and wore a white t-shirt. He had his hand on my stepdad’s car but he didn’t look up directly at my window. Then he made the motion of keying my stepdad’s car and tried to open the car door but it was locked. He then walked off as if it had never happened. It left me a teeny shaken but I did not tell anyone in the house because I didn’t want to involve the police as I am a Julian Assange & WikiLeaks supporter and wrote to Julian in the Ecuadorian embassy as well as donating at least £3,000 to WikiLeaks over the years.

    • Paul Barbara

      @ Jade Webster April 22, 2019 at 14:50
      It was probably blowback from the PTB for your staunch support for Assange, trying to freak you out.
      Keep a careful note of odd occurrences,, and possibly keep a camera handy for possible further freaky incidents.
      Sounds like the spooks’ MO.

  • DiggerUK

    “In the meantime I am working up a piece on my reaction to Extinction Rebellion, which I hope to publish today”
    I hope you include a comparison between the tearful breakdowns in the news images of distraught Hillary Clinton supporters, and the equally ridiculous tears of Extinction Rebels saying they will not be having babies because they are the last ever generation of human beings…_

    • glenn_nl

      You forgot to mention anything useful which might be done to ameleroate the disaster of climate change (unless you’re simply a denialist yourself).

      • DiggerUK

        “A denialist” is exactly what? It’s a meaningless insult.
        The climate, the weather, the planet, the universe is always changing, and…_

        • James Charles

          “For climate change, there are many scientific organizations that study the climate. These alphabet soup of organizations include NASA, NOAA, JMA, WMO, NSIDC, IPCC, UK Met Office, and others. Click on the names for links to their climate-related sites. There are also climate research organizations associated with universities. These are all legitimate scientific sources.
          If you have to dismiss all of these scientific organizations to reach your opinion, then you are by definition denying the science. If you have to believe that all of these organizations, and all of the climate scientists around the world, and all of the hundred thousand published research papers, and physics, are all somehow part of a global, multigenerational conspiracy to defraud the people, then you are, again, a denier by definition. 

          So if you deny all the above scientific organizations there are a lot of un-scientific web sites out there that pretend to be science. Many of these are run by lobbyists (e.g.., Climate Depot, run by a libertarian political lobbyist, CFACT), or supported by lobbyists (e.g., JoannaNova, WUWT, both of whom have received funding and otherwise substantial support by lobbying organizations like the Heartland Institute), or are actually paid by lobbyists to write Op-Eds and other blog posts that intentionally misrepresent the science.”
          https://thedakepage.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/how-to-assess-climate-change.html

          • DiggerUK

            You are deceitfully wrong, I do not deny the scientific method. The examination of facts by ration and reason is that method I support. It has, and will continue to do so, served humanity very nicely.
            It’s the conclusions of a world about to be engulfed by the Four Horsemen that I don’t buy into. Contrary to the power point presentations put out by supporters of such organisms as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) I am with those who know the science is very much disputed…_

          • Bayard

            “For climate change, there are many scientific organizations that study the climate. These alphabet soup of organizations include NASA, NOAA, JMA, WMO, NSIDC, IPCC, UK Met Office, and others. Click on the names for links to their climate-related sites. There are also climate research organizations associated with universities. These are all legitimate scientific sources.”

            These are all organisations that are publicly funded. Therefore they will be carrying out research on matters that their funders, i.e. the government, want them to carry out. Do you deny this? Are you claiming that organisations who support AGW are academically independent of their funders, but those that don’t, aren’t.

            It is perfectly possible to know what is wrong without knowing what is right. The detective can know it wasn’t the butler that did it without solving the crime. Just because someone can’t say why the climate is changing doen’t mean to say they can’t say it’s not because of human activity. It is also perfectly possible for climate “science” to be wrong without it being “all somehow part of a global, multigenerational conspiracy to defraud the people”.

          • pretzelattack

            some of them are publicly funded, others aren’t. scientists don’t profit, by and large from telling governments something they don’t want to hear. why do you think they consistently say the same thing about global warming (again, with the exceptions of a small number of shills and contrarians who have no expertise in the subject.

        • glenn_nl

          DiggerUK: ” The climate, the weather, the planet, the universe is always changing, and…_

          Shame you ran out of steam, there, DiggerUK. I thought you had the answer to the whole issue and were about to reveal it to us!

          The climate and everything else is always changing? Gosh dang, you are a genuis! Problem solved. Now why don’t you write that up in a paper, get it peer reviewed, and get the Nobel Prize for your staggering insight?

  • Headache

    When you have a look at the webpage of Extinction Rebellion under Act Now – Resources, you will see the typical branded fist of the color revolution crowd of Canvas Belgrade (formerly Otpor!) which means that the whole thing is organised by the NED and the OSF (Soros).

    • Paul Barbara

      @ Headache April 22, 2019 at 16:44
      I haven’t looked into them yet, but I sure know about Canvas, and I know that there is serious question about who is behind the organisation.
      But there is very real reason to welcome such a movement, because despite what the ostriches and lemmings may say, we are on the way to Armageddon. It is not just Climate Change, it is WWIII, GMO’s, where have all the bees/butterflies/flies/ladybirds/birds (so there are still plenty of seagulls, terns and pigeons, but robins, sparrows?), hedgehogs. It is Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering (denied by the PTB, which is a pretty good sign in itself that it is true); genocidal Glyphosate (luckily the truth is coming out on that now) and Neonicocides, factory farms, plastic pollution, and so forth.
      And the government agencies which are supposed to keep us safe from the predatory Corporations are instead in tandem with them, via bribes and revolving doors,
      Could well be that the Extinction Rebellion needs infiltrating and redirecting by the majority of good-thinking folk, but we sure as heck need some action on these issues.
      Off the top of my head, I’d say it is run by the PTB, who know something is brewing, and want to get in early and take control.
      ‘We shall control every revolution against us’.

      • SA

        Paul
        This is a real risk and a good example of this is the so called Arab spring. In my opinion this may have started as genuine grass root activism especially in Tunisia and Egypt but then used for the purposes of the west to topple Gaddafi, which has now converted Libya into a lawless failed state, and the so called Syrian civil war, which has to all intents and purposes, failed its primary aim, but nevertheless has diverted resources and Syria even if victorious is very much a destroyed country. This appears to be a very carefully crafted strategy by the neoliberals, if you can’t put your chisen people in a country destroy it as an example for others not to try. At present the grassroots movements in Sudan and Algeria have not received much attention but I am very much afraid that they may yet be highjacked.
        As to the climate change debate, it is a no brainier to question that man made climate change is a fact and it surprises me that there are a number of people who write here seem to question this, thus siding with big corporations.

    • Noit a Lever

      I’m not surprised, someone or something is behind them, but who? Cui bono? Nowadays if there is someone shouting in the street against the government, when you do a bit of digging you often find the people behind these revolutions are none other than… yes, you’ve guessed it, the government themselves!

      • glenn_nl

        Really. Could you name some anti-Establishment examples of this phenomenon – with actual facts to back it up – or is this yet another tiresome, fact and evidence free slur against climate protestors, which are so boringly common and predictable these days?

    • glenn_nl

      @Headache : I suppose you think the name “Soros” automatically means it’s fake/ false/ discredited / easily dismissable? That probably works well in far-right circles, but you might benefit your credibility by justifying a tad more quite why everything even remotely tainted by his name should be instantly rejected.

  • Steviemac

    ‘The Government must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels’.(Extinction Rebelllion).
    How in practical terms can this can be achieved? The whole of the fossil-fuelled energy sector would need to be eliminated – :coal, oil, gas, fracking, etc. All heating and transport would need to be moved from carbon based fuels onto clean electricity.
    The changes required would include a complete new electrical grid network, a complete transformation of how we work, move goods and people. We would require stringent energy rationing at every level and an eyewatering price increase on energy which would make it unaffordable to all but the richest. To attempt this in such a short space of time would lead to widespread pauperisation and a breakdown of society.
    The claim of ’12 years to save the world’ in the latest IPCC report is, quite frankly, ludicrous, and risks placing the organisation into disrepute.
    Discussion of the many issues in such simplistic and extreme terms on the BBC and the MSM risks alienating the average person trying to get on with life, providing for family, etc.
    Climate Change has become overtly politicised and is discussed with quasi-religious undertones. The current manipulation of children to sway public opinion is deeply cynical, funded by vested interests for their own ends (probably to reorder society to their advantage in ways which we cannot currently forsee).
    Tackling Climate Change, Overpopulation, Polution of the oceans and land by plastics and other waste products are the defining issues of our age.
    The public will only become engaged and buy into change through calm and considered discussion of the issues that are before us, aligned to realistic timescales for implementation.

    • Grhm

      “The public will only become engaged and buy into change through calm and considered discussion of the issues that are before us, aligned to realistic timescales for implementation.”

      Imagine if Churchill had said that, instead of “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”.

    • Bayard

      “Climate Change has become overtly politicised and is discussed with quasi-religious undertones.”
      thus bearing out G.K.Chesterton’s contention “When men stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing, they believe in anything” AGW fits the bill nicely with its clash of good versus evil, David versus Goliath, its promise that you, too can help to save the world if you spread the Truth and preach it unto others, its excoriation of heretics, sorry, deniers and unbelievers to reinforce the sense of community amongst those of the True Faith and its insistence that they are all in league with the Devil, sorry, large corporations and are not to be trusted, etc.etc.

      • pretzelattack

        this is gibberish. it’s not a “good versus evil” narrative, it’s just basic science, recognized as such by scientists all over the world, of all ideologies. newsflash, you can’t trust large tobacco companies to tell you the truth about the link between cancer and smoking cigarettes, and you can’t trust large fossil fuel corporations to tell the truth about climate change. they sometimes say they support the science in public, while funding politicians to block any meaningful action.

      • glenn_nl

        @Bayard : I have to stand in awe at people like you, who are willing to go through the most baffling contortions, in order to pretend at some diagnosis of the mental conditions of climate protestors, instead of going near discussing the subject sensibly, let alone (and God forbid!) being willing to do a damned thing about it.

      • Rowan Berkeley

        G.K.Chesterton’s contention “When men stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing, they believe in anything” certainly was true of his brother, the card-carrying Mosley Party copywriter A.K. Chesterton.

  • Republicofscotland

    If we put Extinction Rebellions to one side for a moment, haven’t scientists been telling us for years that this was in the pipeline, yet we’ve not taken heed.

    Our seas and oceans are full of plastics, and chemicals such as fire retardants, acidic and warming oceans are killing off corals and the aquatic life that depends on them. Our fish contain minute pieces of plastics and mercury.

    On land we use the likes glysophates, from Monsanto who are attempting to appear innocent by their incorporation into Bayer.

    We still mainly depend on fossil fuels, when we all know fine well they not only damage our environment but also our health, diesel fumes in town are a major concern.

    However the real threat is the rising temperatures, which could unleash huge amounts of methane trapped in the Arctic tundra, and in the oceans floors.

    Governments need to be forced to listen and if that means taking drastic action, then so be it. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

    • BrianFujisan

      RoS

      Re Plastics / Micro Plastics –

      ” Yet, there are some things we do know. Microplastics smaller than 25 microns can enter the human body through the nose or mouth and those less than five microns can end up in lung tissue. And, we know that microplastics tend to be sticky and accumulate heavy metals like mercury and persistent organic pollutants, including materials with known health impacts, according to National Geographic.

      To make matters worse, the researchers say that atmospheric plastic pollution is nearly impossible to clean up, so the only solution is to produce less plastic, according to Science.

      Windborne Microplastics Are Everywhere –

      https://www.ecowatch.com/microplastics-wind-health-2634780390.html

      • Paul Barbara

        @ BrianFujisan April 22, 2019 at 19:24
        And the evil Corporations are creating plastic microbeads to put in soaps etc.! It is evil, not just stupid.
        And we mustn’t forget the mega-tsunami of millimetre-band electrosmog we shall shortly be bombarded with when they roll out the fabulous(ly cretinous) 5G communications system, which will impact all living systems, including plants and trees, and not for the better.

    • Andrew Ingram

      Spot on RoS.
      The problem is made worse by the fact that the producers of the pollutants have captured the governments.

    • Bayard

      RoS, how do you know that the rising temperatures are not a threat, but simply made out to be so, to distract us from the very real threats that you list previous to it?

      • glenn_nl

        Bayard: Do you really expect the most basic parts of climate science to be taught to you right here and now, by correspondents on this board? Are you so unwilling and so completely lazy to do the least bit of research yourself?

        Your sort can be found all over this issue. Pretending to be honestly puzzled, not quite convinced, and wanting to sow doubt and waste time. The exact same points will be discussed again and again, yet you never tire of pretending they are new and unanswered.

        Tell me about the research you’ve done so far. Name the books you have read on the subject, and the sources examined, but which have still left a supposedly honest truth-seeker in the dark?

      • Mighty Drunken

        Here is a simple reason why warming will be bad. Have you noticed how many ports are by the sea near sea level? That ice melts when it warms and water expands?
        The warming we have already created will slowly warm the ice caps and therefore over the coming centuries the sea level will rise by many metres. This will flood most coastal cities.
        Now we can rebuilt but it does put an unnecessary extra burden on us. This is just one reason why a warming planet is a bad idea, there are plenty of other reasons.

  • BrianFujisan

    It was good see you in Rothesay Craig, Great talk, and yes a packed hall.. And good Bright weather to let you see how pretty the place is.
    I thought you looked a wee bit tired.. Take it easy for a while

    Re XR ( Extinction Rebellion )

    The Blog’s Very own Clark, has been in the thick of the protests All week.. with some meet ups with Phil ( The ex Frog )

    Well done Clark, Phil and all.

  • Sal Newton

    Hope your feeling better now Craig?
    Your posts are usually well worth the wait so don’t worry about a few delays whilst life happens to you.
    Keep up your good work relating the truth behind events, as the MSM is getting more biased and outrageous by the day.

  • michael norton

    Australia has initiated the largest open cast coal mine in the World, it has ripped a hole in the Great Barrier Reef, to get the coal out to deep sea, this coal is destined for India and China, they are doing this at break-neck speed as they see the coal window closing, China has been building a new coal fired power station every two and a half days.
    India and China are the two upcoming super powers based on coal.

    Britain has broken its record for the longest continuous period without generating electricity from coal.

    National Grid said that the coal-free period lasted more than 90 hours before coming to an end on Monday afternoon.

    It is the longest period since the industrial revolution.

    We are like saints in the U.K. compared to India, China, Australia, Russia, America and Canada.

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