Tag Archives: Gun Confiscation

Jul 29 2022

First Major German City Turns Off Hot Water and Public Building Electricity to Save Gas


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 28, 2022 | Sundance 

Hanover, a city in the northwest of Germany, has become the first major metropolitan area to try and reduce the use of natural gas by removing hot water from public buildings.  The move comes as natural gas supplies from Russia are reduced to 20% of capacity.  Germany is attempting to fill up storage facilities of natural gas in order to survive the winter.

Germany, together with several European countries, are telling their citizens to expect large increases in their electricity bills as energy costs continue to skyrocket.

Germany does not have any LNG terminals to receive shipments of natural gas into ports, they are dependent on pipelines from Russia.  They are urgently trying to reduce the current amount of natural gas being consumed.

(Via Daily Mail) – […] Other desperate gas-saving measures include switching off public fountains and blacking out night-time lights on major buildings such as the town hall and museums. The city’s mayor, Belit Onay, spoke of an ‘imminent gas shortage’ that meant they had to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 15 per cent.

[…] There will also be a ban on portable air conditioners, heaters and radiators among the general populace as the average German begins to pay a price for standing up to the Russian dictator.

[…] Germany, like most of Europe, has been enjoying a hot summer which should soften the blow of the cold showers, but public officials are introducing the measures now in fear of what awaits them when the season turns.

Gazprom, the Russian state energy giant, has been giving European leaders sleepless nights by disrupting the flow of gas via its Nord Stream 1 pipe line.

They cut the flow to 40 per cent in June, citing maintenance issues, and this week they reduced the gas supply through the pipe to just 20 per cent.

These reductions, which EU energy chief Kadri Simson dismissed as ‘politically motivated’, have seen energy bills soar, governments struggle to fill gas storage facilities and energy-intensive heavy industries wondering if they can keep the factories running.

Russia denies that it is deliberately throttling supply to cause pain and instability in Europe, but few doubt that it is a deliberate ploy to punish what it calls ‘unfriendly countries.’

In response, European Union countries agreed to a controversial, bloc-wide 15 per cent reduction in gas usage on Tuesday that is hoped will reduce the pressure on European countries most vulnerable to Russian energy blackmail. (read more)

Jul 29 2022

To Lower Natural Gas Use World’s Largest Chemical Company Announces Making Less Ammonia, Fertilizer Production Will Shrink Further


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 28, 2022 | Sundance 

The energy crisis in Germany is now a confluence of terrible events that will snowball well into next year.

The world’s largest chemical company, BASF, has announced they will cut down the production of ammonia in order to use less natural gas.

In the short term this will help Germany build up natural gas supplies to survive a cold winter with predicted rationing still planned.  However, in the long term the shortage of ammonia means less fertilizer which will mean future shortages and increased costs for farmers; ultimately creating lower yields next year.

FRANKFURT, July 27 (Reuters) – Germany’s BASF (BASFn.DE), the world’s largest chemical company, is cutting ammonia production further due to soaring natural gas prices, it said on Wednesday, with potential ramifications from farming to fizzy drinks.

Germany’s biggest ammonia maker SKW Piesteritz and number four Ineos also said they could not rule out production cuts as the country grapples with disruption to Russian gas supplies.

Ammonia plays a key role in the manufacturing of fertiliser, engineering plastics and diesel exhaust fluid. Its production also yields high-purity carbon dioxide (CO2) as a byproduct, which is needed by the meat and fizzy drinks industries.

“We are reducing production at facilities that require large volumes of natural gas, such as ammonia plants,” BASF Chief Executive said in a media call after the release of quarterly results, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

[…] Unlike many European countries, Germany has no liquefied natural gas (LNG) port terminals to replace Russian pipeline gas. That means companies are under political and commercial pressure to reduce gas intensive activities if gas deliveries are cut further.

[…] Russia resumed pumping gas via its biggest pipeline to Europe, Nord Stream 1, on July 21 after a 10-day maintenance outage, but Gazprom (GAZP.MM) on Monday said supplies to Germany would drop to just 20% of capacity. (read more)

Like I told Olaf, food is so overrated…

Jul 29 2022

Pretending Continues, However El Erian Admits U.S. Economy Weakening Faster Than Expected


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 28, 2022 | Sundance 

The great pretending continues in order to protect the Federal Reserve from sunlight upon them.  Central banks (U.S. Fed Reserve included) are raising interest rates into a recession, which is specifically against their legislative mandate. Therefore, in order to protect the bankers, the pundits and politicians must deny a recession exists.

Pundit Steve Liesman spins the data, says we need to wait longer, and circles the wagons to protect the policy makers, specifically the White House.  Mohamed El-Erian tries to split the baby (02:00 video); while not admitting directly that the economy is in a recession, he states the “economy is weakening much faster than expected.”  WATCH:

At a certain point all of this pretending and denial is going to come crashing down.  The “economic transition” to a new “green future” they are all pretending not to see as the root cause of the economic collapse, has unavoidable consequences.

The dam is breaking around them and they are running out of fingers and toes to stop the inevitable collapse.  Meanwhile the Davos crowd has purchased all the scuba gear and awaits the final outcome.

By claiming there is not a recession, the Federal Reserve can continue taking action that lowers economic activity.  The lowering of economic activity drops the use of energy inside the economy.  They are managing the economic transition inside the Build Back Better or Green New Deal agenda.  They are managing a purposeful decline in economic activity in order to support the energy transition.

The only way the Federal Reserve and central banks can raise interest rates into a recession, is if they deny a recession exists.

That is why they are denying a recession exists.

Jul 29 2022

FUBAR, Second Quarter GDP Contracts 0.9%, The U.S. Economy is Officially in Recession


Posted Originally in the conservative tree house on July 28, 2022 | Sundance 

Jumpin’ ju-ju-bones, CTH did not expect the BEA to admit the U.S. economy was in recession.  CTH originally predicted the BEA would use lower import data as the primary tool to modify the GDP result.

Factually, in this report, import data -in combination with lower consumer spending- was the primary sector that led to the result.  However, even with drops in the valuation of imports which lift GDP calculations, the economy still contracted.

Things must be much worse than officially admitted (details below), if the BEA is going to admit things are bad.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the economy, minus the dollar value of goods and services we import. The percentages discussed are percentages of change over time.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released their first estimate of the second quarter GDP [Data Here] reflecting a 0.9% drop in U.S. economic activity. The second quarter contraction follows a 1.6% drop in the first quarter, which means we now have two consecutive quarters of declining economic activity, the technical definition of a recession.

The two primary data points which show the economic contraction are: (1) Lowered consumer spending; and (2) much lower imports as a result of lower consumer spending on durable goods and non-essential items.  High Q1 inventories of goods were also flushed out by companies and not replaced.  Starting with the consumer spending, here’s the data [Table-2, BEA report]:

Consumer spending, also called “personal consumption expenditures” declined 1.08% for goods overall in the second quarter.

Consumer spending represents two-thirds of all GDP in the United States.  Americans buy lots of stuff, and when Americans stop spending on goods the economy stalls.  As you can see in Table-2, consumer spending on goods dropped 1.08% and spending on services increased 1.78%.  The net difference is 0.70%, a massive drop in consumer spending compared to prior quarters/years.

The next component with major impact is the result of the drop in spending.

Jul 29 2022

Pretending Continues, However El Erian Admits U.S. Economy Weakening Faster Than Expected


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 28, 2022 | Sundance

The great pretending continues in order to protect the Federal Reserve from sunlight upon them.  Central banks (U.S. Fed Reserve included) are raising interest rates into a recession, which is specifically against their legislative mandate. Therefore, in order to protect the bankers, the pundits and politicians must deny a recession exists.

Pundit Steve Liesman spins the data, says we need to wait longer, and circles the wagons to protect the policy makers, specifically the White House.  Mohamed El-Erian tries to split the baby (02:00 video); while not admitting directly that the economy is in a recession, he states the “economy is weakening much faster than expected.”  WATCH:

At a certain point all of this pretending and denial is going to come crashing down.  The “economic transition” to a new “green future” they are all pretending not to see as the root cause of the economic collapse, has unavoidable consequences.

The dam is breaking around them and they are running out of fingers and toes to stop the inevitable collapse.  Meanwhile the Davos crowd has purchased all the scuba gear and awaits the final outcome.

By claiming there is not a recession, the Federal Reserve can continue taking action that lowers economic activity.  The lowering of economic activity drops the use of energy inside the economy.  They are managing the economic transition inside the Build Back Better or Green New Deal agenda.  They are managing a purposeful decline in economic activity in order to support the energy transition.

The only way the Federal Reserve and central banks can raise interest rates into a recession, is if they deny a recession exists.

That is why they are denying a recession exists.

Jul 28 2022

The Power of Siberia


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Jul 28, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Sanctions strengthened Putin and caused “unfriendly nations” to form a closer alliance against the West. As the West suffers from an energy crisis with no solution in sight, Russia is benefitting from this in more ways than one. You may have heard of the China–Russia East-Route Natural Gas pipeline or the Yakutia–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline. Construction was approved in 2007, and in 2012, Putin ordered Gazprom to begin construction and renamed the project “Power of Siberia.” China and Russia signed a 30-year deal for $400 billion in 2014, and by December 2019, the pipeline was functional.

The mainstream media focuses on the failure of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline at the hands of German politicians but forgets that Russia has alternative options for exporting fuel. Deliveries through the Power of Siberia have only reached $3.81 billion since December 2019, but China and Russia have plans to ramp up distribution. China received 16.5 billion cubic meters of gas from the pipeline in 2021. The deal has become so lucrative that Beijing and Moscow created a second pipeline – the Power of Siberia 2. This could double exports from Russia to China with a pipeline that would pass through Mongolia as well.

In the first six months of 2022, Gazprom exported 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas to China, marking a 63.4% uptick in volume. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine in early February, China and Russia agreed to ramp up distribution by 10 billion cubic meters. Reuters believes this could increase sales by $37.5 billion in the next 25 years, but this could increase given the high demand and low availability.

The West, namely Europe, needed Russian energy; Russia did not need Europe. President Biden admitted long ago that sanctions do not work, but in this instance, they completely backfired and have left the West with no leverage over Russian energy.

Jul 28 2022

Domestic Exodus from US Cities


Armstrong Economics Blog/Real Estate Re-Posted Jul 28, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The US Census Bureau reported that 8.4% of Americans moved in 2021, beneath the 9.3% who moved at the height of the pandemic panic in 2020. Numbers for 2022 may show an uptick in migration to the suburbs or rural areas. Our models indicate that overheating in the housing market will be less prevalent in less populated areas as we are not merely dealing with housing inflation but also mass domestic migration.

Housing may be cheaper in rural areas, but there are additional costs associated with living in the country. There is no public transportation, and people must travel longer distances for work, groceries, shopping, health care, and more. Energy prices are sky-high, and simple trips cost significantly more. Iowa State University professor Dave Peters, as reported by the AP, has been studying the impact inflation has had on rural America. Peters estimates that rural households pay $2,500 more per year for gas alone compared to those living in cities.

Still, prices for housing in the country v the city more than makeup for increased energy costs. Remote work has made rural living a prospect for many Americans. The National Association of Realtors found that rural areas saw a 54.6% uptick in inbound moves in 2021, followed by micropolitan areas (i.e., small towns) at 53.8%.

In January, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) said that certain remote workers were enticed by rural life after pandemic burnout. They found that people were seeking to abandon the hustle and bustle of city living, citing lower living costs, safer environments, fewer people, no traffic, lower housing prices, different cultures, and politics.

Gone are the days of people flocking to the cities for opportunities. As long as there is an internet connection, the modern American can work from anywhere. As the average potential buyer is priced out from their hometown, the prospect of rural or small town life is increasingly enticing.

Jul 28 2022

Tucker Carlson Outlines Dueling Insurrections and Two Tiers of Justice


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 27, 2022 | Sundance 

Tucker Carlson used his opening monologue to compare and contrast the different responses from the DOJ to Donald Trump vs Joe Biden.  Carlson outlined the different response from the DOJ/FBI toward the pro-violence statements by various democrat politicians to the DOJ/FBI response currently underway to target Donald Trump.

Essentially, what this boils down to is a system of two-tiered banana republic style justice.  All efforts are exhausted to avoid targeting democrat politicians, and all DOJ/FBI efforts are exhausted to manipulate the targeting of republicans.  The same selective targeting and investigating holds true based on the geographic venue for criminal conduct. WATCH: 

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Jul 28 2022

Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer Strike a Deal, $370 Billion for Green New Deal Energy Transition, Tax Increases to Pay for it and More IRS Agents


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 27, 2022 | Sundance

Two weeks ago, CTH warned everyone that Joe Manchin’s torpedoing of the $500 billion Green New Deal senate spending program was a head fake; he was always going to sign up to expand the control of the federal government over energy use.  Today Manchin and Chuck Schumer made it official.

The people operating the “energy transition” levers will get $370 billion to spend on bigger windmills, more solar panels and new energy programs to eliminate coal, oil and natural gas.  They will pay for it by raising taxes and hiring a new army of IRS enforcement officials.  In exchange for his vote, the federal government will pay increased health insurance subsidies for West Virginians and pass out lower priced medications.

There you go. Exactly as predicted.  Energy inflation will continue as the energy transition becomes a permanent feature.  Ironically, Joe Manchin made them change the name to “The Inflation Reduction Act,” and pushed the effective dates for all renewals past the 2024 election (where he plans to be a candidate against Gavin Newsom).

WASHINGTON – Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday reached a deal on a bill that includes energy and tax policy, a turnaround after the two deadlocked earlier this month in talks on Democrats’ marquee party-line agenda. In a joint statement, the two Democrats said the legislation will be on the Senate floor next week. It includes roughly $370 billion in energy and climate spending.

[…] The duo said their bill, dubbed “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” would “fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030.” Moreover, as part of the agreement announced Wednesday, Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed to pass legislation governing energy permits.

[…] Democrats will raise revenues for the legislation by imposing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax, increasing IRS enforcement, reducing drug prices and closing the so-called carried interest loophole. Notably, the legislation also extends the Affordable Care Act subsidies through the 2024 election and the first term of Joe Biden’s presidency, taking a big political headache off the table for Democrats. (more)

Look deeper into the people in Joe Manchin’s life that are tied to the healthcare industry.  There you will find the familial beneficiaries of the deal. “Besides being Joe Manchin’s daughter, Heather Manchin Bresch, born 1969, spent several years as the CEO of Netherlands-based pharmaceutical company Mylan. She held the post from 2012, but stood down in November 2020, as a result of the company’s merging with Pfizer’s Upjohn outfit. Upon assuming the role, Heather Mamchin became the first woman to run a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company.” LINK

The scheming strategery of Joe Manchin is as predictable as the scheming strategery of Mitch McConnell.

The two wings of the UniParty duck seem still on the surface.  This type of ploy is exactly how DC is able to operate, paddling forward furiously, just below the surface; and almost no one can see what is happening.

Once you see the strings on the political marionettes, you can never return to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.  However, because too few people see them, almost everyone congregates in the lobby during the mid-term intermission asking, “hey, when did Texas become dependent on windmills?”

Jul 28 2022

Fed Chair Announces Addition 0.75% Increase in Interest Rates and There will be More, After They Assess How Much Damage This Creates


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 27, 2022 | Sundance

While admitting that consumer spending had dropped; and while admitting that production of goods and services had “slowed significantly”; and while admitting that consumers have “lower real disposable incomes and tighter financial conditions; and while stating that “activity in the housing sector had weakened”, housing purchases have fallen; and while accepting that “business fixed investment seems to have declined in the second quarter,” Fed Chairman Powell announces his intention to continue targeting excessive demand.

If we accept that monetary policy can only impact the demand side of the economy (regulatory policy impacting the supply side); and if we accept all off the currently existing realities of a declining demand side, as outlined by Powell; then you might wonder what excessive demand is it that he’s targeting?   The answer to that question is the secret sauce.  They want less energy demand.   WATCH (2 mins):

The federal reserve, just like all the central banks around the collective western alliance, is trying to reduce the economy in order to reduce energy use.   This is the monetary policy side supporting the Build Back Better, Climate Change, regulatory policy side. {Go Deep}

They cannot admit openly what they are doing, but the bankers are trying to help the globalist politicians by shrinking their economy.  Raising interest rates into preexisting economic contraction is against their legislative mandate, because it only leads to unemployment and a smaller economy.

Powell is using the pretense of demand side inflation as a justification to raise interest rates.  It’s not demand driving inflation, it’s the energy policy.

Powell is managing the monetary side of the transition to a New Green Deal economy.

Powell is managing the economy into a recession to support the “energy transition”.

This is all being done on purpose.

[…] Mr. Powell said in his news conference following the Fed’s decision to raise rates by by 75 basis points that future rate decisions will be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis now that the federal funds rate target range is between 2.25% and 2.5%, which he deemed roughly neutral in terms of its impact on economic activity.

Mr. Powell said the 75-basis-point moves in June and July were unusually large and something similar at the September FOMC “could be appropriate.” But he said that the Fed can no longer provide “clear guidance” and will let the data determine what happens next. He said he still believes monetary policy will need to move to a restrictive stance and will likely be between 3% and 3.5% by year end. (LINK)