Friday, February 14, 2025

Collapse of Our Food Security?

Collapse of Our Food Security
Madge Waggy 



“If only one man dies of hunger, that is a tragedy. If millions die, that’s only statistics.” – Joseph Stalin

If I ask you to imagine 45 million people, you probably can’t.

What does it even look like?

That’s roughly twice the population of Australia, or the whole population of Spain or Argentina, or roughly 14% of the population of the United States.

45 million people of average size standing shoulder to shoulder would take up approximately 3.23 square miles!

It’s almost too enormous for comprehension.

Yet, as recently as 1958-62 (just over 60 years ago), widespread famine ravished China, and, according to historian Frank Dickotter 45 million (approx 7% of the population at the time) Chinese people died unnecessarily as a direct result of the Great Chinese Famine.

But why? How did it get this bad? Why didn’t people stop this from happening? And HOW can we use the lessons from the Great Chinese Famine to prevent this from happening to the American population–if it’s not too late already?

What is Famine?

You might think of famine as an isolated geographic area that has food production low enough to cause great human suffering, malnutrition, and probably some level of starvation.

Wiki has this to add “According to the United Nations World Food Programme, famine is declared when malnutrition is widespread, and when people have started dying of starvation through lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food.” (emphasis added)

With this broader umbrella of famine, one could easily and rightly argue that the United States of America is already experiencing famine. Or, one could say we are on the brink of massive famine, possibly already too far down the slippery slope to right ourselves before catastrophic damage.


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The Putin-Trump call was a true turning point


The Putin-Trump call was a true turning point
RT



Let’s be clear: This is, in and of itself, a positive and badly overdue development. The recent, officially confirmed lengthy and highly productive phone call (Trump’s words) between the two leaders may not yet amount to a breakthrough. Even if Trump’s rhetoric – about a “successful conclusion, hopefully soon!” – already makes it look like one; Trump, it’s true, can be grandiloquent.

Yet the conversation does already serve as a big, heavy slab of a tombstone on America’s absurd and very dangerous policy of decrepitly stubborn non-communication. Moreover, Moscow has now confirmed that a full summit is in the making.

Even better, we also know already that neither Kiev nor the EU-NATO vassals were in the loop: There goes the daft, devious, and very deadly (for Ukrainians, too) mantra of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” And as a bonus: Soon there will be a lot about EU-NATO Europe without Europe. The fact that its leaders are, in the Financial Times’s words, reel[ing]and already clamoring for being heard merely confirms that they have been shunted aside.

Rest assured: whatever cosmetic role the Europeans may be allowed to play (or not), they are delusional if they think they’ll matter. In reality, the Trumpists are brutally frankabout what they have in mind for their underlings: Washington and Moscow make the decisions, the NATO-EU vassals fall in line and, also, pay for the outcome: Reconstructing Ukraine, Trump’s people feel, is for European budgets. And if – a big if, given Moscow’s objections – any Western troops somehow end up stationed in what will be left of Ukraine, then those too will be Europe’s very bad business to take care of as well.

 Both steps look harsh, but they are necessary. In the case of Ukraine, its leadership needs to be deprived of its implied veto power over peace. Because, first, that power is not real anyhow. It has always served as a smokescreen to allow warmongers in the West – recall Boris Johnson, anyone? – to sell their proxy war as the “will of Ukraine,”while Ukrainians have been used up as cannon fodder.

As things seem to be shaping up now, the US has signaled that it is ready to accept crucial Russian war aims: Ukraine will not get into NATO and Moscow will retain territories conquered during the war, as Trump’s secretary of defense Pete Hegseth has made clear. Both points, it is true, require serious elaboration: Moscow has been explicit for years that it will not agree to any settlement that leaves open the possibility of a “sneak”-NATO membership for Ukraine, where the West’s war alliance arms, trains, and equips but without formal membership, as it has already done. If anyone in Washington – or somewhere in Europe, for that matter – still thinks they can cheat, again, Russia will keep fighting. A Russian red line is a red line is a red line. 


Russia and US to hold ‘high-level’ meeting in Munich – Trump


Russia and US to hold ‘high-level’ meeting in Munich – Trump
RT



President Donald Trump has announced that “high-level” US representatives will meet their Russian counterparts at the Munich Security Conference on Friday to discuss a resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart spoke for nearly 90 minutes by phone on Wednesday, marking the first known direct interaction between the Russian and US heads of state since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. On Thursday, Trump said the phone call paved the way for further direct contacts between American and Russian officials.

“They’re having a meeting in Munich tomorrow. Russia is going to be there with our people,” Trump told journalists at the White House on Thursday.

Trump added that “Ukraine is also invited, by the way,” but did not specify the format of the meeting or clarify whether it would be a three-way dialogue or a series of bilateral talks.

“Not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country, but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine, and from the United States,” the US leader added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Thursday that the fact that both presidents had expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue was a “very important achievement” that has “set in motion an apparatus of aides, ministries and so on, that will now gradually begin dialogue and prepare the next contacts.”

“Now that the leaders have demonstrated political will and provided their aides with the necessary instructions to initiate communication, we ask for a bit of patience. These discussions need time to gain momentum,” Peskov said.

The Munich Security Conference is taking place from February 14 to 16 in Munich, Germany. US Vice President J.D. Vance will lead the American delegation at the MSC, where he is expected to meet with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the conference is an opportunity for American officials to “lay out a broad path forward” on Ukraine. Meanwhile, US presidential envoy for the Ukraine conflict Keith Kellogg is reportedly expected to make it clear that the US has no intention of deploying troops to protect Ukraine and wants European NATO allies to increase their defense spending.



Thursday, February 13, 2025

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon target Hezbollah sites that posed ‘direct threat’


Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon target Hezbollah sites that posed ‘direct threat’
The Times of Israel 



The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes in southern Lebanon a short while ago, saying it targeted Hezbollah facilities.

The sites hit by fighter jets were used by Hezbollah to store weapons and launchers and had “posed a direct threat to the Israeli home front,” the military says.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah activity at the sites “constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Israeli airstrikes reported in southern Lebanon

Rubio: Arab states never do ‘anything for Gaza,’ they should offer alternatives to Trump plan

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says his country is eager to hear new proposals by Arab states on Gaza, accusing them of not being willing to take any practical steps to help the Palestinians, following US President Donald Trump’s stunning plan to displace the territory’s entire population.

Rubio, who leaves later today on a trip that will take him to the Middle East, says he hopes to discuss ideas during his stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Israel, after talks in Washington with Egypt and Jordan.

“Hopefully they’re going to have a really good plan to present the president,” Rubio says of Arab states, speaking on the radio show of conservative hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. “Right now, the only plan — they don’t like it — but the only plan is the Trump plan. So if they’ve got a better plan, now’s the time to present it.”

“All these countries say how much they care about the Palestinians, but none of them want to take any Palestinians. None of them have a history of doing anything for Gaza,” Rubio charges.

Diplomats say that Egypt is leading efforts to present an alternative to Trump within weeks, which would involve training a new security force in Gaza and identifying local Palestinian leaders who would be in charge.

Hezbollah supporters protest Lebanon’s prevention of Iranian planes landing in Beirut

Hezbollah supporters block the Beirut airport road and burn tires to protest a decision barring two Iranian planes from landing in the Lebanese capital, state media and an airport official say.

It appears the protesters’ ire is directed at the Lebanese government and airport authorities for allegedly capitulating to Israeli pressure to cancel the flight.

Last night, the IDF said that Iran’s Quds Force has, in recent weeks, been using civilian flights to smuggle cash to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon via the Beirut international airport, and that the Israeli military has been regularly updating a US-led committee supervising the ceasefire with information to foil the attempts.

US signals backing for IDF staying in 5 southern Lebanon posts after Feb. 18 deadline


‘No deportations’: Vatican says Palestinians must ‘stay on their land’


From Zelensky to Deep State: Who Could Try to Sabotage Putin-Trump Ukraine Peace Push?


From Zelensky to Deep State: Who Could Try to Sabotage Putin-Trump Ukraine Peace Push?
Sputnik






The Putin-Trump phone call has sparked an outcry on both sides of the Atlantic among officials looking to keep the conflict going forever. What forces could bring their resources to bear to stop peace?

Volodymyr Zelensky

Has the most to lose, facing not only the cutoff of easy-to-embezzleWestern aid, but potential assassination by the neo-Nazi thugs helping keep his regime afloat.
Zelensky could sabotage peace by: a) rejecting Trump’s orders b) making a deal for support from other NATO powers c) staging a false flag provocation to justify keeping the conflict going, something already done successfully in the spring of 2022 to bolster Western support.

EU and UK

Arguably more heavily invested in the Ukraine project than the US, and the main beneficiaries of the 2014 Maidan coup, EU countries and the UK could take over US commitments. This would cost Europe $3.1 trln over 10 years, per a new assessment by Bloomberg Economics.

US Congress

Without Congressional support, Trump won’t be able to lift Russia sanctions, nor fully halt money and arms being sent to Ukraine.
Only Congress can approve or block new aid packages. If Democrats and even a handful of hawkish Republicans (of whom there are plenty) teamed up, Trump’s plans to bring pressure to bear on Kiev could be frustrated. The president does have veto power over Congressional funding, which would require a two-thirds majority to overcome -something unlikely in a Congress now filled with more MAGA Republicans than ever.

Deep State

After Trump’s election in 2016, elements of the deep state, ranging from the intelligence community and State Department to top officials like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton successfully sabotaged his agenda, including Trump’s desire to improve relations with Russia.
In his first term, Trump 1.0 ended up not only ramping up anti-Russian sanctions and joined the diplomatic expulsion wars, but approved arms aid for Ukraine in 2017.
The deep state has its own ideas about the ‘right’ trajectory for US foreign policy.
In 2020, Trump Syria envoy Jim Jeffrey offered interesting insights into how the Washington apparatus works, boasting about how he and his staff obfuscated and covered up the true size of the US military footprint in Syria, and straight up ignored the president’s demands to withdraw troops.
In Ukraine, where the strategic, military and economic stakes are far higher, it’s guaranteed the deep state will try to sabotage Trump.

Just In: Jeffrey Epstein’s Infamous Client List Slated For Release


Just In: Jeffrey Epstein’s Infamous Client List Slated For Release



In yet more good news of just the sort that many MAGA voters were hoping for out of the Trump Administration, it was announced that the Trump Administration-created task force tasked with declassifying reams upon reams of federal classified secrets will be releasing the client list of notorious financier and child abuser Jeffrey Epstein.


As background, that task force was initially reported to be releasing those troves of classified documents related to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Now, however, it has been announced that tit will also release the infamous Epstein client list.


Such is what was announced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) during a press conference on Tuesday, February 11. She was appointed to lead the task force by President Trump and will be managing it as it starts to release the treasure troves of to-be declassified documents related to the assassinations, client list, and more.


Announcing the matter during a Tuesday press conference, the member of Congress said, “With the stroke of a pen, [President Trump] committed to declassifying the files concerning the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A decision not just monumental, but pivotal.”


She further said, commenting on the vast amount of material to be released, including the Epstein client list, “The federal government has been hiding information from Americans for decades. We have spent years seeking information on the assassinations of President Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Reverend King, and other government secrets without success. It is time to give Americans the answers they deserve, which is why I am honored to lead this bipartisan task force that seeks truth and transparency. We will also investigate UAPs/USOs, the Epstein client list, COVID-19 origins, and the 9/11 files. We will work alongside President Trump and his cabinet members to deliver truth to the American people. From this moment forward, we will restore trust through transparency.”


Describing when that will happen, she went on to say that the release is being coordinated with other agencies and the release will come soon, “The date will be announced soon. And we’ve already initiated close to a dozen communications with various agencies, to include Pam Bondi at the Department of Justice and the Secretary of State.”




She then vowed to actually release the material rather than stonewall with it, saying, “This will no longer be a task force that makes bold promises only to fade into irrelevance or send strongly worded letters. This will be a relentless pursuit of truth and transparency, and we will not stop until the American people have the answers they deserve.”


Describing how she will do so, Rep. Luna vowed to take a wrecking ball to the deep state bureaucracy if it tries to hold up the release, saying, “We will cut through the bureaucracy, challenge the stonewalling, and ensure that the American people finally get the truth that they have been denied for too long.” Watch her here:


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Putin-Trump summit on the way – Kremlin


Putin-Trump summit on the way – Kremlin
RT


It is hard to overestimate the significance of the recent phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He also noted that the presidents have instructed their teams to lay the groundwork for the summit.

The call on Wednesday marked the first known conversation between the US and Russian leaders since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Trump has since signaled that he is “okay” with keeping Ukraine out of NATO and suggested that it is “unlikely” that Kiev could regain all of the territory it has lost to Russia over the past decade. Trump also noted that the presidents had exchanged invitations to visit each other’s countries.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Peskov described the phone call as “a very important conversation.” “Against the backdrop of what has been happening for several years, there have been no contacts at the highest level between Moscow and Washington,” he said, noting that this landscape did not contribute to solving the Ukraine crisis.

Unlike the administration of ex-US President Joe Biden, which believed that “everything must be done to ensure that the war continues,” the Trump team apparently “holds the view that everything must be done to stop the war and for peace to prevail,” Peskov said.

“We are much more impressed by the position of the current administration, and we are open to dialogue,” the spokesman stressed.

Peskov added that the leaders would remain in touch regarding a summit. “They will focus on a separate meeting; they also agreed that instructions would be immediately given to the relevant assistants so that they would begin the relevant work.”

At the same time, Peskov declined to reveal which side had initiated the engagement, while clarifying that there has been no agreement on whether Trump will come to Moscow to attend the Victory parade to celebrate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.

“Exchanging mutual invitations is one thing, but focusing on a separate bilateral meeting is a different process,” the spokesman noted.

Regarding a potential territory swap with Ukraine, Peskov cautioned against “getting ahead of ourselves.” “There is political will… to conduct a dialogue to reach a settlement… We need to wait for... at least the first results of the joint work.”


At the same time, Peskov would not confirm or deny Trump’s remarks that Saudi Arabia would host a summit between the two leaders. He also did not provide any timeline for a potential Trump-Putin meeting, or when Russian and American work groups could get down to negotiations. 

“There is definitely a need for such a [Trump-Putin] meeting to be held promptly. The heads of state have a lot to talk about... It is also impossible to speculate on any deadlines at this point, because the work will only begin these days.”



Turkey’s Erdogan calls Trump’s Gaza plan a ‘major threat’ to world peace


Turkey’s Erdogan calls Trump’s Gaza plan a ‘major threat’ to world peace



Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza poses a major threat to world peace.

Speaking on Indonesian television broadcaster Narasi, Erdogan addresses Trump’s plan to remove the more than 2 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claim US control of it and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

“I view Trump’s decision to make such an agreement with a murderer like [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his threats as a major threat to world peace,” Erdogan says.

“At the moment, nobody can take Gaza away from Palestinians, from Gazans. Daring to do something like is, firstly, a very different threat to world peace.”

Erdogan also says he doesn’t find Trump’s statements, amounting to what he calls “challenges to many countries in the world,” to be correct.

“My hope is that such mistakes are reversed as soon as possible, and for a global giant like the United States to rapidly turn back from these errors so that global peace can find a way to come out,” he says.

More from today’s Liveblog:






Netanyahu: Ceasefire ends unless hostages are freed on Saturday


Netanyahu: Ceasefire ends unless hostages are freed on Saturday
JNS



Unless Hamas returns Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday, Feb. 15, the ceasefire will expire and the Israel Defense Forces will resume fighting until it defeats Hamas totally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

The statement by Netanyahu announcing the ultimatum followed remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, who also named Saturday, Feb. 15 at noon as the time after which “all hell will break loose” unless Hamas frees all hostages.

Netanyahu addressed Trump’s demand and credited him for his “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza, which we all welcomed,” he said, referencing the security cabinet. Netanyahu’s ultimatum followed an “in-depth, four-hour discussion” by the cabinet, he wrote.

“We all expressed outrage at the shocking state of our three hostages who were freed last Saturday. We all also welcomed President Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by noon on Saturday,” the prime minister wrote.

He has ordered the IDF to amass forces in and around the Gaza Strip “in light of Hamas’s statement about its decision to violate the [ceasefire] agreement,” Netanyahu said.

This action is being carried out and would be completed shortly, he added.     

“Unless Hamas returns our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume intensive fighting until Hamas is totally defeated,” his statement concluded.





Israel Katz warns Hamas: If we restart Gaza war, it will be different


Israel Katz warns Hamas: If we restart Gaza war, it will be different



If Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages by Saturday, all hell will break loose, exactly as US President Donald Trump promised, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

Katz also threatened Hamas terrorists, stating that "if they stop releasing the hostages, then there is no agreement, and there is war."

"The new Gaza war will be different in intensity from the one before the ceasefire – and it will not end without Hamas’ defeat and the release of all the hostages," Katz said.


"Every ceasefire agreement with Hamas terrorists was meant to secure the swift release of the Israeli hostages, who are being held under the harshest conditions in Gaza," Katz stated.


Israel "agreed to pay a heavy price in return," he added.


Katz also referenced President Trump's plans for the Gaza Strip, including mass relocation of Palestinians and developing the territory into a riviera, stating that the resumption of war between Israel and Hamas terrorists would "enable the realization of Trump's vision for Gaza."

Katz had just held a meeting in the IDF Operations Directorate command bunker, accompanied by IDF Operations Directorate Chief Major General Oded Basiuk, and Head of the Operations Division Brigadier General Israel Shomer.


Katz clarified he came to the command bunker to meet the senior IDF figures in order to "ensure that the IDF is properly prepared for the resumption of the war in Gaza."






Rumors Of War: Is Israel Planing Attack On Iranian Nuclear Sites?


Israel plotting attack on Iranian nuclear sites?



Israel is considering a substantial strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities now that President Trump is in officeand Joe Biden is out, according to a report citing US intelligence agencies.

A strike could come sometime this year, with Israeli leaders feeling Trump is far more likely to back an attack on Iran than Biden ever was, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The intelligence came from an assessment compiled by the Biden administration in the final days of its existence. 

The report explained that the balance of military risks had shifted in the Middle East after Iran’s defenses had weakened following a year of war and proxy wars in the region — leaving it vulnerable.

Israel has been talking for months about the need to hit Iran’s nuclear sites — but Biden categorically ruled the option out while he was in office.

Such attacks would likely require American munitions to be viable, and now that Trump is in office Israeli leaders believe they are far more likely to get that support, the report concluded.

A follow-up report conducted in the early days of Trump’s presidency reiterated that Israel’s plans to conduct strikes stood, sources familiar with it told the Journal.

The Trump administration entertained a joint bombing operation with Israel against Iran’s nuclear sites during the presidential transition, but Trump has largely opted to pursue diplomacy for now — and has been outspoken about playing down rhetoric towards Tehran.

“Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” Trump wrote last week on his social media platform, Truth Social.

In addition to feeling they’ll have Trump in their corner, the Jewish nation reportedly also believes the window of opportunity to hit Iran is closing.

Israel has been increasingly keen to take out Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which the country’s minister of defense, Israel Katz, called “the threat of annihilation hanging over the State of Israel.”

“Iran, today, is more exposed than ever to damage to its nuclear facilities,” Katz said in November.

After Iran launched a missile strike on Israel in October, retaliatory strikes left its missile defense system all but destroyed.

Iran has also spent more than a year since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel supporting the terror group and others in the region in their wars against the Jewish nation, which has left its resources and ability to defend itself depleted.


Jan Markell: A Godless One-World System: The Agenda Behind Globalism Is Far From Innocent


Pursuing A Godless One-World System: The Agenda Behind Globalism Is Far From Innocent




Humanly speaking, man has always tried to achieve true and lasting peace and prosperity. Those are the goals that have long been touted by leaders, politicians, and governments. Mankind has also searched for relief from pain. But these pursuits have always been in vain and will continue to be. Yet they explain why there are people who are always looking for ways to make peace and prosperity happen. They set up programs and organizations in the hopes of reaching those goals. They want war and poverty and inequality to go away, but no matter what mankind tries to do, it fails. Satan has convinced people that if they only try harder, they will succeed. If only they can get everyone on board with the agenda, they can make things happen.


This is the kind of thinking that is behind all efforts made toward globalism, or a one-world system. But what many don’t realize is they will never be successful because, at heart, mankind is evil. Only God can bring about the success man so desperately wants, because only He has the answer to mankind’s problem of sin.

In recent decades in American politics, we have seen a growing number of clashes between nationalists and globalists. There are those who believe a country should function autonomously and make a priority of caring for the needs and concerns of its own people. And there are others who want America to submit to the globalist agenda.

This battle of agendas continues through today on many different fronts. And it’s one of the reasons the globalist community is so critical of those who don’t agree with them. In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has held to a nationalist position for the Jewish state, which has put him at odds with globalists. More recently, we’ve seen that with President Javier Milei of Argentina, whose policies run contrary to the globalist agenda.

At first glance, globalism seems innocent enough. We’re told that it’s all about cultures learning how to live together, appreciate one another, and make sacrifices for the common good. Globalist causes plead for people to give money and support that will make it possible to solve problems that will make the world a better place. What could possibly be wrong with that?

But in reality, globalism is about powerful leaders and organizations making decisions about how they believe the world should be run. They use their authority and resources to implement ideas and programs that supposedly are for the good of all, but ultimately, call for forced compliance or undermine human autonomy and freedom. And whether these power brokers know it or not, ultimately, they are paving the way for the future antichrist.

The Biblical Warnings About The Future World System

In Revelation chapter 13, God reveals to us some important details about this coming one-world system. In connection with the beast, or the antichrist, we read this: “He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him” (verses 6-8).

People all over the planet will worship the beast. He will have complete power over the entire globe. And he will persecute the saints—those who become Christians during the tribulation. All of this reveals to us the enormous extent of his power. He will oversee a truly global government and will war against those who aren’t in agreement with him

Daniel 11:36 gives us another glimpse of the antichrist’s power: “The king shall do according to his own will; he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods.” In Revelation 17, we read that those who initially rule alongside the beast will become “of one mind, and…give their kingdom to the beast” (verse 17).

That is where the world will end up. That is the direction we are headed as Satan uses the many means at his disposal for advancing his globalist agenda.












Fossil Fuels Save New England From Freezing in the Dark… Again


Fossil Fuels Save New England From Freezing in the Dark… Again



The grid required running older thermal generating plants that burn oil and coal. Between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. eastern time on January 20, 2025, and between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on January 21, 2025, thermal plants that burn oil provided more electricity to the ISO-NE electricity grid than plants that burn natural gas, which is relatively uncommon. On January 21, 2025, the same group of thermal plants in ISO-NE provided more than 4,000 MW of electricity per hour to the grid between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. At the same time, one of the two remaining coal-fired plants that burns coal in the region, the Merrimack facility in New Hampshire, supplied close to 300 MW to the grid from the evening of January 19 to the morning of January 25.

Oil and coal offset curtailed generation from natural gas-fired power plants from January 18 to January 22. Prices for natural gas were high, and supplies were short during this period because of more demand for natural gas from other consumers, such as homes and businesses. Later in the week, more natural gas was made available, including supply received from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. This supply helped boost generation from natural gas-fired power plants beginning on January 22.

Two other major sources of electricity in New England were steady suppliers during the cold snap. The region’s three nuclear reactors steadily provided 3,350 MW of power throughout the period, joined by consistent imports of power from Canada. At 11:00 p.m. on January 18, imports of electricity from Canada surpassed 4,200 MW and averaged 2,886 MW per hour between midnight on January 18 and midnight on January 26.

Irony #1

The first irony is the fact that New England had to import foreign liquified natural gas (LNG) because they steadfastly resist the construction of natural gas pipelines.


Irony #3

During the recent cold snap, peak demand occurred at 0800 on January 22.

Fossil fuels and nuclear power provided 83% of the power generation. Hydroelectric and pumped storage covered 13%. Wind accounted for 1%, Solar and battery storage delivered zero-point-zero percent of the generation.


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The Devastating Ecological Carnage Wrought by Wind Turbines

Chris Morrison


Evidence continues to grow that onshore wind turbines are causing heavy ecological carnage, with increasing concern focused on the removal of a vast tonnage of insect life. For obvious political, Net Zero reasons, insect decimation is not a well-funded research area, but work in Germany in 2016 put the loss across the country at 1,200 tonnes a year. Recently, the Heartland Institute extrapolated the individual annual insect loss worldwide at 13,640,000,000,000 (13.64 quadrillion) insects, and of course it can be noted that the figures are nearly a decade out of date. Other scientific work has reported that flying insects destroyed include bees, flying beetles and butterflies. Curiously, the many institutions apparently concerned with wildlife stay silent on the slaughter. For its part, the UK Natural History Museum (NHM) offers a Build Your Own Wind Turbine kit. Fun for all the family and if the kiddies are lucky they might get to whack a passing fly or a couple of moths.

The German work estimated insect losses at 40 million per turbine during the plant-growing season. Commenting on the findings, the mathematician and evolutionary ecologist Professor Christian Voigt felt it was necessary to evaluate if these fatalities added to the decline of insect populations, “and potentially the extinction of species”. In a 2022 paper, Voigt reported that turbines can change the nearby microclimate, while vibrational noise may reduce earthworm abundance with likely cascading effects on soil quality and vegetation. In addition, he noted findings that wind turbine facilities led to displacement of nesting and wintering birds.


Recent work from researchers at the University of Wyoming suggests that moths, butterflies, beetles, flies and true bugs may be the most vulnerable to the giant revolving blades. Wind turbines create vortices, sucking in wildlife and causing problems for both bats and large birds such as eagles. “The vast amount of avian and insect deaths at the hands of wind turbines is disastrous in and of itself, from a conservation and ecological standpoint,” states Heartland.

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