The Strange Death of Europe: Douglas Murray Sounds an Alarm

The other night I heard someone reference the writings of Douglas Murray, calling him courageous for being a truth teller. Not being familiar with Mr. Murray I decided to check Amazon to see what kinds of books he's written. Several of these intrigued me, so I next turned to our local library's website to see if they carried his work. Happily I found two volumes which I proceeded to check out. 

The first that I paged through was titled The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam. Murray's book was published in the UK in May 2017, and in June 2017 in the US, and I can understand why it would be controversial. 

The Strange Death of Europe is the internationally bestselling account of a continent and a culture caught in the act of suicide, now updated with new material taking in developments since it was first published to huge acclaim. These include rapid changes in the dynamics of global politics, world leadership and terror attacks across Europe.

...Murray's "tremendous and shattering" book (The Times) addresses the disappointing failures of multiculturalism, Angela Merkel's U-turn on migration, the lack of repatriation and the Western fixation on guilt, uncovering the malaise at the very heart of the European culture. His conclusion is bleak, but the predictions not irrevocable. As Murray argues, this may be our last chance to change the outcome, before it's too late.

Murray contends that European civilization as it has historically existed will not survive. He explores two factors in explaining this: The first is the combination of mass migration of new peoples into Europe together with its low birth rates; the second is what Murray describes as 'the fact that… at the same time Europe lost faith in its beliefs, traditions, and legitimacy.'

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam is a thought-provoking and controversial exploration of Europe's current socio-political landscape. 

Mass immigration, shifting cultural identities, and the challenges posed by the rise of Islam within European societies is a complex stew of issues.. Murray raises compelling arguments and important questions about the future of European civilization and the impact of these profound demographic and cultural shifts. While some may find his perspectives divisive or contentious, his book offers valuable insights, and in looking at Europe today it's quite apparent that his analysis and concerns were on target.

What makes it worse today is the current assault on free speech which, in England, has resulted in people being arrested simply for speaking up about their concerns.

Murray is not one to pull punches. Here's a quote from his 2024 article “Who put the toddlers in charge?” published in The Spectator (UK edition) on 14 March 2024 (in the issue dated 16 March 2024):

Regrettably, we must conclude that our culture is being dictated by two-year-olds. I do not literally mean children of two years of age, some of whom are among my favourite conversationalists. I mean people with the mental age of a two-year-old. That is, people who have never been told ‘no’ and have gone through their adult lives behaving as such.

The rot began with the green lunatics. I’m all for saving the environment. Most people are. But the moment vandalism became an acceptable way to persuade people of your cause was where things went wrong.

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This is a big topic which needs more space to properly unwind, but there are lessons here and issues that need a proper vetting. These are times to be vigilant and aware. As the Proverb states, "The complacency of fools destroys them."

Photo: Gemini-generated version of original painting by the author.

The Problem with Wind Energy

"Thar she blows!"
--Captain Ahab, Moby Dick

The wind power industry is in trouble. For illustration, look no further than the UK. A few days ago, low winds brought the country’s output to less than 1% of total generation. Right now, the UK grid regulator is preparing to start throwing cash at wind turbine operators because the next named storm is coming and it will bring strong winds — likely much stronger than is healthy for grid balance.

Meanwhile, in Germany, total wind capacity additions for last year hit 14 GW or 2,400 turbines but at the same time the country is facing a future of coal for longer, to balance the grid. Reports are using the word “may” but we all know they actually mean “will” because you can’t have an unbalanced grid.

--Irina Slav, "Wind, Wind" 

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One of the many things I learned this past year while researching and writing about energy and the grid has to do with that last highlighted phrase, "because you can't have an unbalanced grid." What does this phrase mean? 

The way the energy grid works is that supply and demand must match. Most people don't understand this. And it is one of the reasons energy is becoming more expensive. When the wind fails to blow and the sun hides its face, the power providers must ramp up the backup generators, which is not free. The cost of electricity would be lower if the natural gas or coal plants were able to run as normal, but this Rube Goldberg complexity is altered by the inconsistent variances in wind and solar. 

The three cornerstones of energy policy are Affordability, Reliability and Safety. The notion that wind and sun are free is a myth. The fears regarding the safety of nuclear power have been blown out of proportion and as nearly all of us have experienced, irrational fears are a challenge to control when we lack facts or understanding. 

Here's a comment on the "Wind, Wind" piece by Irina Slav 

The issue from the very beginning of the push for large-scale wind power was whether wind would be reliable enough to provide continuous input, bearing in mind the ABC of intermittent energy.

A. Supply to the grid must continuously match demand.

B. The continuity of wind and solar input is disrupted by nights with little or no wind.

C. There is no grid-scale storage at present using pumped hydro or batteries or any other known technology.

Therefore intermittent inputs from the sun and wind have no place on the grid.

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Much more can always be said, but this (above) is the basic point for today.

Bob Dylan In Minnesota Now Available at Zenith Bookstore: A Handy Tool for Music-Based Tourists

Music-based tourism is well developed and growing, especially in countries featuring both mature tourism and music industries, such as the USA and the UK. 

So begins an abstract about a paper by David Leaver and Ruth A. Schmidt titled Before they were famous: music-based tourism and a musician's hometown roots.

They go on to say "Mintel estimated destination driven trips as 75 per cent of all music tourism at approximately 55 million annual visits worldwide, including domestic and international travel. It relies on evidence of cultural activities, incidents from the past, and tangible artifacts that can be photographed (Connell and Gibson, 2003). Memphis, with its strapline “Home of the Blues, birthplace of Rock n Roll” has built, post the mid-1980s, a thriving music based tourism industry attracting some million visitors and a spend of $3 billion (Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2007). The popularity of heritage attractions is highest among middle aged and older consumers, [“baby boomers” born between 1944 and 1964] with a bias towards the more affluent ABC1 socio-economic groups, with the third-age group, which makes up 25 per cent of the UK population, classed as very heritage-active (Mintel, 2008b). 

"The search for a contextual understanding is a key driver for these heritage tourists. Sites of music production and of births and deaths which emerged in the latter part of twentieth century are central."

This link will bring you to sources for this document: Before they were famous: music-based tourism and a musician’s hometown roots.

If you do decide you want to see points of interest from the early life of octogenarian Bob Dylan, I can recommend a couple of books to help you catch a few scenes you may not have been aware of before. The first, which is now near impossible to find, is Dave Engel's Just Like Bob Zimmerman' Blues.  You can read my interview with Mr. Engel here. The second might me K.G. Miles' Bob Dylan in Minnesota, of which I was one of several contributors. If you are planning a trip to the Northland, I recommend buying it when you visit us here Up North or in the Twin Cities.

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Thursday night I attended a book-signing by Rick Shefchik and Paul Metsa at Zenith City Books where their newly released Dylan-themed Blood In The Tracks is now available. I noticed that Zenith is also carrying K.G. Miles' fourth book in the Troubador Tales series, Bob Dylan in Minnesota. (Caveat: I saw the last copy pulled from the shelf so hopefully it will be back in stock soon.) Paul Metsa was also a contributor to that book as well, along with three other Minnesotans including myself.

If you're looking for a good read, their knowledgeable staff will help guide you to something worthy of your time. What's more, other than the library, I think Zenith has the most complete selection of works by local authors. There are a lot of excellent writers here, so make time to explore.

Here are a few fotos from Thursday eve.

An attentive crowd for the book signing.

Paul Metsa signs a book for Duluth Dylan Fest chair Zane Bail.

Rick Shefchik adds his signature for Nelson French

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.