UK Parliament Cold, Damp, and Mice-Infested – Politico
Politicians and aides alike “dread” coming to work at Westminster Palace, Politico reported on Tuesday, describing how the crumbling Victorian building is driving them to work elsewhere in order to avoid the cold, the mold, and the rodents.
British lawmakers returned to work at the House of Commons on Monday, as the Met Office warned that freezing temperatures will linger for the next week.
Westminster Palace offers little respite from the winter weather, multiple staffers told Politico, citing persistent heating failures, power cuts, and moldy bathrooms. A report compiled by the GMB trade union – which represents parliamentary aides – in 2022 also noted crumbling masonry and falling glass even in one of the more modern buildings of the complex, as well as an outbreak of the legionella bacteria in showers on the estate.
“If it wasn’t a protected heritage site, there would be absolutely no way – with the current health and safety regulations – that we would be allowed to even set foot in a building this broken and damaged,” a Conservative Party staffer told Politico.
“I would never go in again [if I could],” a Labour Party staffer said. “I think there is a sense that parliament is a very important building, you’re very lucky to be here – but there are basic standards, actually.”
Much of Westminster Palace was built in the 19th Century and has not been renovated since before World War II. Some politicians have been demanding restoration works for years, but a vote authorizing this work will not be held until at least 2025. In the meantime, temporarily fixing problems as they appear is costing the British taxpayer £2 million ($2.54 million) per week, an anonymous official told Politico last September.
“This building is falling down and becoming a hazard to all those who work here,” Scottish National Party MP Pete Wishart said in an address in 2019. “It is so overrun with vermin that even the mice in this place now wear overalls.”
Earlier this year, the Public Accounts Committee warned in a report that there is a “real and rising danger” that the building could be destroyed by a “catastrophic incident” before repairs take place.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has almost completely eschewed working in the palace, multiple officials told the news site. Instead, he chooses to work up to three days per week at the party’s newly-built headquarters in Southwark, around a mile away. “It doesn’t feel as imposing, it’s not freezing cold, and it’s much more modern,” a Labour staffer said of the new building, describing it as “good for morale.”
Despite the litany of complaints, politicians are unlikely to advocate too loudly for renovations these days, a GMP representative told Politico. “I don’t think that the general public have a lot of sympathy for politicians and their staff complaining about being cold at work… when there’s a lot worse things going on in other workplaces,” she said.
Your Vehicle Is Spying On You, And Now They Are Going To Start Installing ChatGPT In New Volkswagen Models
Be careful what you say while you are driving your vehicle, because you are being watched. Today, we live in a giant surveillance prison in which virtually everything that we do is being monitored, tracked, recorded and analyzed. In this day and age, you should just assume that nothing that you do is ever private. When I was much younger, if I really wanted to have a private conversation with someone I thought that taking a long drive with that person was a great way to do that. But those days are long gone. Unless you have a vehicle that was manufactured quite some time ago, it is spying on you. In fact, a report that has been released by the Mozilla Foundation actually states that vehicles are “the official worst category of products for privacy” that Mozilla has ever reviewed…
If you’re wondering which gadgets have the worst user privacy practices, it turns out the answer may be parked outside. According to a report published by the Mozilla Foundation on Wednesday, cars are “the official worst category of products for privacy” that it’s ever reviewed. The global nonprofit found that 92 percent of the reviewed automakers provide drivers with little (if any) control over their personal data, with 84 percent sharing user data with outside parties.
I was stunned when I read that.
Could that possibly be true?
According to Mozilla, automakers are gathering all sorts of data about all of us…
Carmakers have a long list of personal information they say they may track, including employment and purchasing history, education, internet browsing history, location data, music and podcast listening habits, immigration status, religious and philosophical beliefs and health information.
I’m sorry, but there is no way that I want a giant corporation tracking my religious beliefs or my health information.
And I am sure that you feel the same.
But if you plan to purchase a new vehicle, you literally have no choice.
Mozilla examined 25 different vehicle brands, and every single one of them “failed to meet the nonprofit organization’s minimum privacy standards”…
All 25 of the car brands that were researched for the report — including Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, and Tesla — failed to meet the nonprofit organization’s minimum privacy standards and were found to collect more personal data from customers than necessary. The kind of information collected varies from personal information like medical data to how drivers are using the vehicle itself — such as how fast they drive, where they drive, and even the music they listen to. Both Nissan and Kia are noted to allow the collection of information regarding a user’s sex life. By contrast, Mozilla claims that 37 percent of mental health apps (which also have a poor reputation for data privacy) had better practices for collecting and using personal data.
Eighty-four percent of the reviewed car brands share personal user data with service providers, data brokers, and potentially sketchy businesses, according to the report, with 76 percent claiming the right to sell that personal data. Fifty-six percent are willing to share user information with the government and / or law enforcement if requested.
Did you know that you are agreeing to all of this when you buy a new vehicle?
Most purchasers of new vehicles just quickly sign whatever forms are put in front of them because they are eager to get the process over with.
Unfortunately, these big corporations simply cannot be trusted.
They are taking advantage of us, and it needs to stop.
Of course I wouldn’t count on that happening any time soon.
Instead, I fully expect various forms of highly intrusive technology to become even more integrated into our vehicles.
For example, Volkswagen just announced that it will be installing ChatGPT in new vehicles later this year…
Volkswagen is jumping on the generative AI bandwagon by announcing plans to install OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its vehicles starting in the second quarter of 2024.
The chatbot will be available across VW’s lineup, including in Tiguan, Passat, and Golf as well as the automaker’s ID family of electric vehicles.
No thank you.
I certainly don’t want super intelligent AI technology interacting with me and gathering information about me while I drive.
To me, what they have planned sounds incredibly creepy…
Volkswagen unveiled its first vehicles with a voice assistant that uses the artificial intelligence (AI) technology behind ChatGPT at the CES electronics trade show in Las Vegas on Monday.
The new feature will enable drivers to have researched content read to them while they’re driving Volkswagen models that are equipped with the “IDA” voice assistant, which the automaker says can answer general knowledge questions while also having the ability to control the car’s infotainment, navigation and air conditioning systems.
The company says that in the future, AI will provide additional information in response to questions that go beyond those functions as its capabilities continue to expand. This could include receiving vehicle-specific information as well as interacting in intuitive language, clearing up questions and helping enrich conversations.
A lot of consumers will eagerly embrace this “cool new feature”, but where is all of this ultimately leading?
In the not too distant future, artificial intelligence could literally be all around us every moment of every day.
How will we have any privacy at all once that day arrives?
I have repeatedly warned my readers of the coming “AI invasion”, but the truth is that it is already here.
Given enough time, artificial intelligence really would turn our society completely upside down, and right now only a very small portion of the population is concerned about this looming threat.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
Pfizer Attempts To Dismiss Texas Lawsuit That Accused It of Working To Censor Vaccine Criticism
It is no exaggeration to say that one of Big Pharma’s biggest players, Pfizer, has had an excellent pandemic – over $100 billion in revenue in 2022 alone.
The rate at which this growth has been declining since Covid apparently made a disappearing act and the number of people willing to be vaccinated against it decreased dramatically, speaks clearly to how important the jab it produced in record time has been to Pfizer.
It logically follows that the giant would plausibly have done a lot of marketing “cackling” to protect this “golden goose.” And that is what a lawsuit brought by Texan authorities pretty much alleges – that Pfizer went as far as to use false and deceptive marketing to sell its vaccine and pushed for online censorship of criticism.
The lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and now Pfizer is engaging in maneuvering to deal with the accusations – evidently hoping it has a better chance before a federal court than it does before the 99th Judicial District Court for Lubbock County.
Just days before the end of 2023, Pfizer’s attorneys asserted that the Lubbock-based court had no jurisdiction in the case, and asked that it be moved to the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
And while at it, they naturally want the whole lawsuit dismissed, citing things like shielded liability thanks to the PREP (Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness) Act – but also invoking speech protections that are supposed to be guaranteed by the First Amendment.
This last curious bit of legal gymnastics has to do with Pfizer acting on behalf of the federal government to produce the vaccine, adding that the corporation therefore seeks “immunity” – i.e., lack of liability – from the accusations listed in the filing.
“Pfizer is not liable because Pfizer did not make any statement nor take any action that had the capacity or tendency to deceive consumers,” is specifically how the US multinational phrased it in the motion to move, and dismiss the case.
Pfizer reacted fairly swiftly to the Texas AG lawsuit filed on the last day of November, which claims that false, misleading or deceptive claims had been made by the company concerning its Covid vaccine.
The goal, according to AG Paxton? An attempt to “intimidate and censor critics of the vaccine” which “violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act in marketing claims the company made about the efficacy, duration of protection and ability of its Covid-19 vaccine to prevent transmission.”
On censorship, the lawsuit states:
“One of the persons Pfizer sought to intimidate and silence was journalist Alex Berenson. Throughout early 2021, Berenson maintained a highly active Twitter page with hundreds of thousands of followers where he explained his findings and views concerning COVID-19, Pfizer’s vaccine, and other related issues. Many of Berenson’s claims were true at the time he made them and have been corroborated by subsequent data and analyses. Indeed, it recently has been revealed that Pfizer had reason to know of the veracity of Berenson’s claims when he made them and that the company nonetheless plotted to silence Berenson and eliminate his speech from public discourse.”
The lawsuit states how Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb flagged journalist and Covid vaccine critic Alex Berenson’s tweet to Twitter.
Is Vivek Ramaswamy the Top Pick for VP in 2024?
Owen Shroyer breaks down the latest clip of Vivek Ramaswamy calling out the lying mainstream media, and goes down the list of top potential Donald Trump vice presidential running mates for 2024.
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Will The Texas Power Grid Survive Next Week’s Polar Vortex?
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts extreme cold weather “across the heart of the country this weekend and is expected to continue into next week.” We previewed this cold blast in a note titled “Gobsmackingly Bananas”: Weather Models Predict Polar Vortex Invasion Into US.
Frigid Arctic air will begin to spread southward across the heart of the country this weekend and is expected to continue into next week. Much below normal temperatures along with gusty winds will lead to wind chills well below zero for many locations. pic.twitter.com/doT2gkDqoi
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 9, 2024
Whenever cold air spills south from Canada into the Heartland, attention usually shifts to Texas.
NWS forecast low temperature [in 7-days] for Texas (statewide average) is 14.8°F for Tuesday.
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) January 10, 2024
Last time this cold in January?
Jan 9, 2010: 13.8°F
Jan 21, 1985: 14.1°F
Jan 19, 1984: 14.4°F
Overall:
Dec 23-24, 2022 Christmas Eve cold snap 12.2° | 13.0°F
Feb 15-17, 2021… pic.twitter.com/MSRtVEj56q
Next, power demand forecasts from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the power grid operator for Texas, are analyzed to see if demand forecasts exceed supply. Current forecasts show ERCOT faces the first major test of grid stability for the new year.
The latest ERCOT 7-day outlook is a bit concerning with next weeks cold… #natgas #ongt pic.twitter.com/B98RcJkwtg
— Criterion Research (@PipelineFlows) January 9, 2024
And this:
#ERCOT now showing an 80 gigawatt peak Monday morning. All time Jan. record is <66GW. For now, ERCOT forecasts plenty of spare capacity. I don’t currently anticipate problems but I’d feel a lot better if we had increased energy efficiency the last few years. #txlege #txenergy pic.twitter.com/kbpMcX39JV
— Doug Lewin (@douglewinenergy) January 10, 2024
ERCOT has warned its 26 million Texas customers about the upcoming cold blast this weekend into next week. The grid operator assures customers, “Grid conditions are expected to be normal, and ERCOT expects to have sufficient supply to meet demand.”
ERCOT is closely monitoring the weather conditions moving across Texas this week. Grid conditions are expected to be normal, and ERCOT expects to have sufficient supply to meet demand. Any outages are local in nature. Please contact your local electric provider for information if…
— ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) January 8, 2024
Energy-focused research firmCriterion Research told clients in a note Wednesday that ERCOT will likely survive the big cold shot:
ERCOT has issued an Operating Condition Notice (OCN) for the upcoming cold weather event forecast from January 15-17, 2024. The OCN is the first of four levels of communication provided by the agency ahead of a possible Emergency Condition – the following three levels would be Energy Emergency Levels 1 through 3.
ERCOT’s current forecast run shows extreme demand conditions starting on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. That includes a projected peak load of 85,587 MW at 7 AM that morning. However, renewable generation from wind and solar are expected to help out as demand pushes to a seasonal record, with early morning wind + solar contribution 14,137 MW.
ERCOT issues a Monthly Outlook for Resource Adequacy (MORA) every month to provide a look at expectations for both peak load and available generation. The January 2024 MORA gives us a look at how much power the agency plans to have at its disposal during severe events. According to ERCOT, the grid should have approximately 71 GW of dispatchable generation this month. That total does not include projected renewables output as they classify that as “non-dispatchable” load as it can’t be called upon at-will. The guidance range for non-dispatchable load ranges from 18-24 GW for a typical January day.
During the upcoming cold shot, with ERCOT’s projected ‘peak demand’ of 85,587 MW and expected renewables of 14,137 MW, they will need 71,450 MW of dispatchable generation to make up the difference. Fortunately, that demand lines up with their available capacity for January. Should the electricity supply & demand balance tighten, ERCOT also has >5,280 GW in emergency resources at its disposal.
One critical difference between the upcoming cold shot and Winter Storm Uri in 2021 is the massive growth in ERCOT solar capacity. In 2021, Texas solar only accounted for 2-3 GW of peak generation during the day, whereas the agency shows solar at >15 GW during next week’s cold.
But not everyone trusts the grid operator following the devastating blackout three years ago:
“Definitely a lot of people have PTSD from those blackouts that we had in February 2021. Then we had a storm that not as many people remember, Winter Storm Elliott, December 2022. This storm coming up next Monday and Tuesday is looking about as severe as that 2022 storm,” Rice University Professor of Environmental Engineering Daniel Cohan told local news Fox 26.
Cohan noted that ERCOT has made some winterization improvements:
“There have been improvements. They’ve inspected all of the power plants in the state. They’ve made sure the gas grid functions better, so we don’t have the compressors go out when the power goes down.”
The major question is whether the grid operator has enough excess power generation if extremely low wind conditions are seen during the cold blast. Also, if winterization efforts of the grid were properly completed after the cold blast three years ago, which caused billions of dollars in damage.
Meanwhile, the 2023-24 Winter Reliability Assessment report by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. warned late last year that “insufficient energy supply” could emerge during extreme cold blasts.
Here are the most at-risk power grids in the US that might experience blackouts in a cold blast.
It may be time for a reliable full-house petrol-burning generator as the federal government has created more instabilities in the nation’s grid by ramming through unreliable wind and solar to decarbonize grids.
But-but-but what about global warming?
Watch: High-Speed Chase Ensues as Bus Full of Illegal Migrants Tries to Evade Journalists
O’Keefe Media Group found themselves in a high-speed chase with a bus carrying illegal aliens that was attempting to avoid them covering the mass transport of migrants from major airports to destinations across the nation.
In a follow-up of his exposé of secret migrant facilities, OMG founder James O’Keefe documented how his effort to report on the transport operation of migrants from those facilities was met with fierce resistance from the bus drivers that resulted in Phoenix police intervening.
“Border Patrol insiders and citizen journalists both helped O’Keefe Media trace the origin of the buses to the Nogales Processing Center and secret ‘Law Enforcement Center’ (LEC) right along the Mexican border,” O’Keefe wrote on X.
He reported that buses arrive at the Phoenix migrant facility every hour on the hour and decided to follow one back to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
VIDEO: HIGH-SPEED MIGRANT BUS CHASE
A bus full of asylum seekers nearly runs @okeefemedia team off the road, swerving violently and attempting to reverse into the front of vehicle.
Once again, the Phoenix police were called on us.
Border Patrol insiders and citizen journalists… pic.twitter.com/RQ7qzUxmbL— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 10, 2024
“The first thing that happened to us was the bus stopped on the side of the road, the driver got out and started taking video of us,” he reported.
The bus driver later tried backing into them in a show of intimidation and swerving out of and onto off-ramps in an attempt to lose the OMG journalists.
“This bus driver is currently driving recklessly trying to evade our ability to report on him dropping off the migrants at the airport,” O’Keefe said as they were tailing the bus.
The bus driver later refused to open the doors to let the migrants out while the OMG journalists were waiting outside, and even tried blocking their camera with his hand before eventually calling the police.
The police took their information without incident.
“You know, there is some irony with the bus filled with migrants shipping people via airports, and they’re calling the police on an American journalist for reporting on it,” O’Keefe remarked.
Watch Part 1 of OMG’s Secret Migrant Exposé:
SECRET MIGRANT CENTER EXPOSED PART 1: “I’LL PAY YOU GUYS.” Phoenix Migrant ‘Refugee’ Facility worker caught on tape trying to bribe journalist.
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 3, 2024
Video shows facility run by International Rescue Committee @RESCUEorg bussing thousands of migrant “refugees” every hour on the hour… pic.twitter.com/BdIecQemhl