Urtica Ferox

Germany Should be Ashamed Hundreds of people who have gathered in Munich to attend a conference held by the European Institute of Climate and Energy have been forced to meet at a secret location after German authorities allowed their conference to be disrupted, and then cancelled, as the result of the activities of a group called Offenes Antikapitalistisches Klimatreffen München , a climate activist group.  Read more .

The Corpse of Multiculturalism from Kate Flinders In October 2010 Chancellor Angela Merkel was  quoted as saying  that Germany’s attempt to build a multicultural society “and to live side-by-side and then enjoy each other … has failed, utterly failed.” In 2015, at her a party convention,  she said,  " "Multiculturalism leads to parallel societies and therefore remains a ‘life lie,’ ” or a sham. Then in October 2019, while speaking at a meeting of young members of her Christian Democratic Union in Potsdam,  she said , " “This (multicultural) approach has failed, utterly failed.” So this observation about the failure of multiculturalism was not simply an ill-advised throw-away line, blurted out in the heat of the moment. It is a well-considered view, expressed over almost ten years, from someone who has been at the heart of Germany's immigration policies. So what now? What should be done in countries where multiculturalism is failing, given that this is s

Just When You Thought Greta Thunberg Ruled the World, a Voice of Reason Joe Nalven, a former associate director of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias at San Diego State University, writing in the Times of San Diego , takes a careful, measured look at the climate change debate, and argues for the unpopular idea that both sides need to continue to be heard if we are to take effective action. Read more.

A New Connection: Rising CO 2 Levels Cause a Rise in Lunacy James Delingpoole, writing for the Spectator , describes how he broke the story of Climategate 10 years ago, but bemoans the fact that as the evidence gets thinner, the anti-scientific, lunatic hysteria only gets greater. Read more .

Self-loathing as a cultural norm I am allowed to criticise my own culture but I'm not allowed to criticise other cultures. In fact, if I'm from a Western country I have an obligation to criticise my own culture, to feel disgust at my own culture, to refuse to have babies, to wish there were far fewer of us, perhaps even none. Where did this bizarre cultural self-loathing among people in many western countries come from? Read more from Quillette.

Topical brief comment: Greta As parents we guide our children because they are new to the world and don't know how to live in it safely, or make decisions that will be in their best interests. What age does this process stop? At what age do we decide that our children have full moral responsibility to have sex, drink alcohol, vote, drive a car, leave home? In most countries these ages would range from 18 to 21. So why would anyone think that children in their early and mid teens have the ability and responsibility to make decisions about environmental and economic policy? Why do adults listen in rapt awe to Greta Thunberg, and encourage their children to take part in climate change protests when they want them home before 10 pm? If you think your child is old enough to determine national policy, then they are old enough to take part in all other adult activities. Otherwise they are just being used and manipulated as emotive puppets.  Harry