Germany was once the world's most technically proficient country, a culture and economy characterized by systemic order, whose dual training system and mittelstand economy made it the global powerhouse in engineering and manufacturing. That's what makes its insane energy policy of the last 20 years so astonishing. How did such a smart, left-brained country allow Gaia-worshipping Green ideologues to capture energy policy and drive Germany towards economic suicide? - They shut down their nuclear plants, the only zero GHG emitting source of reliable energy; - They refused to develop their own natural gas resources, but became almost completely dependent on Russian conflict gas for baseload power (with former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder ending up on Putin's payroll;) - They spent at least $700 billion euros ($1.1 trillion CAD) on their "Energiewende" energy transition since 2005, reducing GHG emissions by around 330 million tonnes while more than doubling electricity prices; - The 330 million tonne reduction is equal to about 0.5% of current global GHG emissions. In other words, $1 trillion spent, and a doubling of power prices, for virtually zero impact on global emissions; - Over the same time, China doubled its GHG emissions, by about 7.6 BILLION tonnes. So China's increase in GHG emissions was 23 times larger than Germany's reduction in emissions over the last 20 years. - Meanwhile, China built over 2000 new thermal coal power plants since 2005, adding about 580,000 megawatts of installed power to its fleet, about 9 times more than all of Germany's power production; - German power prices now run about 4 to 5 times higher than China's, and German industrial output is now at 2005 levels, following two decades of hemorrhaging manufacturing to China; So here are the results of Germany's $1 trillion Green policy fiasco: - two decades of economic stagnation and de-industrialization - enrichment of Putin's regime - hyper charging the Chinese economy - increasing energy poverty, and consequently fuelling the growth of the hard right AfD as the only party to challenge the elite consensus on energy policy - all while making no measurable impact on global emissions. And here's the kicker: they are still committed to the same energy transition policy, which will cost $ trillions more, while Germany faces "structural decline" and "free fall."👇 Decline is a choice. A choice that German voters and elites have made. What a shame.

I'm nominating David Eby for Alberta Business Booster of the Year! 🥇 If he wins, this👇will give BC the highest marginal tax rates in North America, prompting lots of high income British Columbians to move to Alberta and / or shift their income here. That includes a lot of the doctors he's trying to recruit. (Reminder: the top 1% of income earners in Canada already pay 22% of income taxes.)

Eby is such a jerk. Jimmy Pattison is one of the greatest British Columbians ever. He has likely created more jobs than anyone in BC history, and has been BC’s greatest philanthropist and booster. Eby’s attack on a 98 year old model citizen is a gross appeal to class warfare and the politics of resentment. The NDP at its very worst.

Exactly the kind of practical cooperation we should be pursuing with the EU. To my Conservative friends: instead of cranking the volume to 11 on imaginary EU taxes and open borders, here's an idea: get ahead of the Liberals by specifying all sorts of concrete, practical ways to increase cooperation and commerce with the EU.

Surely scarce enrolment positions weren't being reserved for higher fee paying foreign students, right?