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Authored by Dave Huber via The College Fix,

A recent op-ed in the Princeton University student paper The Daily Princetonian takes issue with criticism of the trendy phrase “OK, boomer.”

The expression is sort of a payback for derision of the Millennial Generation, but especially its successor, the centennials (those born in 1996 and after). It’s intended as a judgment of boomers’ alleged mishandling of everything from the economy to the climate.

(In case you’re unaware, “Boomer” is short for “baby boomer,” those born in the post-World War II years of 1946 to 1964. They’re the progeny of the Greatest Generation, aka those who — literally — saved the free world just scant years prior.)

I’ve been subjected to “OK, boomer” here and there even though I’m actually a member of Generation X (if barely). The remark doesn’t bother me in the least; indeed, it gives me a good chuckle since it typically comes from someone who’s never paid a bill, raised a family, or planned and made sacrifices for retirement.

In my experience, centennials like op-ed author Anna McGee are the worst culprits.

You want boomers and Gen Xers to take you seriously?

You forget yours is the generation…

• Of grade inflation.

• Of minimal discipline, in and out of school.

• Of being carted around to sports and social functions by helicopter parents who cater to your every whim.

• In college, you run and cry to “bias response teams” when the slightest little thing offends you.

• Then you demand “safe spaces” and other measures to make you feel “welcome” and “wanted” …  like therapy animals, etc.

Not to mention, you want to sell us on the fact that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Greta Thunberg, and the Parkland, Florida activists are heroes of the modern age? That so-called “democratic socialism” is the answer to the country’s ills? People like AOC and Thunberg aren’t “discriminated against” because of their youth, as McGee claims; they’re ridiculed — because they’re stupid. There is a reason, after all, why age restrictions exist in society.

Centennials have more available to them than any other generation before. Even the American “poor” are the envy of the world. Try enjoying it, centennials! Cheer up! The world isn’t going to end in a dozen years because of climate change, and Donald Trump isn’t going to throw you in an internment camp.

Now get off my lawn.

After previously finding herself stuck in the wrong place halfway around the world when the United Nations moved its global climate meeting from Chile to Spain, young climate activist Greta Thunberg is running a little late to the Madrid 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25).

Though lacking in creating the same guilt-laced “terror” and panic-laden atmosphere that Greta has proved herself capable of, there was still plenty of climate apocalypse fear mongering during Monday’s opening remarks to kick off the conference sans Greta. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres declared “the point of no return is no longer over the horizon”.

Guterres warned that, “In the crucial 12 months ahead, it is essential that we secure more ambitious national commitments — particularly from the main emitters — to immediately start reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a pace consistent to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.”

“We simply have to stop digging and drilling and take advantage of the vast possibilities offered by renewable energy and nature-based solutions,” he added, though the aging bureaucrat’s words certainly won’t go viral as he can’t work in a tirade or the same level of emotive guff about being forced to miss school.

Speaking of Greta, she’s expected to arrive Tuesday after hitching a boat ride across the Atlantic with an Australian sailing couple. 

I expect a clear demonstration of increased #ClimateAction ambition & commitment out of #COP25. Leaders of all countries need to show accountability & responsibility. Anything less wold be a betrayal of our entire human family and all generations to come. pic.twitter.com/jnKjMRYRmI

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 1, 2019

“Betrayal of our entire human family” is what we’re facing apparently, says Guterres. But oops, there’s this:

A British yacht skipper’s flight to the US to help Greta Thunberg sail to Portugal has produced the same amount of carbon emissions the voyage hoped to save.

Nikki Henderson, 26, flew to the US from Britain to sail 48-foot catamaran the La Vagabonde… The journey was meant to save approximately two or three tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

But Ms Henderson’s flight from Britain to the US likely produced the same amount of emissions the journey hoped to save, countering Ms Thunberg’s mission, The Times reports.

“As #COP25 has officially been moved from Santiago to Madrid I’ll need some help,” Thunberg tweeted last month when it became apparent she was in the wrong place. “Now I need to find a way to cross the Atlantic in November… If anyone could help me find transport I would be so grateful.”

But just like the last few summits the conference involving top officials from 197 countries, which aims to drastically cut emissions through passage of agreed upon targets, will likely be big on hyper sensational “the world is ending!” alarmism and light on agreements to ‘reverse course’ etc. 

This is especially given the political and economic situation marked by ongoing mass protests and upheavals in some dozen countries from Chile to Peru to Catalonia to Paris (Yellow Vests) to Lebanon to Hong Kong to Iraq and more. Given that in terms of the long view the West has in reality barely recovered from the crash of 2008, now is a worse and more fragile time than ever for politicians to attempt to shove down radical green initiatives on their populations. 

Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean pressure won’t continue to build for the US to stay the course on dubious and politically costly efforts like the Paris Agreement. On Monday it was announced that:

Google has joined with 70 other companies and union leaders to call on the US to stay in the Paris Agreement. The letter was signed by the CEOs of Google, Mastercard, Salesforce, Aon, Tata Sons, Disney, Bank of America, Tesla, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Verizon and Corning, among many others, and marks the start of the 25th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference.

But as one environmental journalist and author observes, this will likely not get far beyond virtue signaling and moralistic threats and condemnation for those not on board, like the Trump White House.

“There were two main problems with the Paris Agreement,” writes Rob Lyons. “First, there is no international mechanism to enforce the targets that countries declare. Beyond domestic laws and ‘peer pressure’ from other countries, there is no penalty for failure.”

Indeed Guterres admitted as much in his opening remarks: “What is still lacking is political will. Political will to put a price on carbon. Political will to stop subsidies on fossil fuels,” the UN chief said.

Hence the importance of adding the fixture of an emotionally manipulative autistic child’s voice which can induce the appropriate level of fear, dread and ‘panic’ over the ‘climate emergency’ that will imminently usher in The End. 

Good news, world! Global manufacturing – according to JPMorgan  – is back in expansion in November, rising to 50.3, a seven-month high.

Output and new orders saw marginal gains, while the trend in employment stabilised after job cuts in the prior six months.

International trade remained a drag on the sector, however, as new export business decreased for the fifteenth successive month.

Eleven of the nations for which November PMI data were available registered expansions, with the strongest growth signalled for Greece, Colombia and Brazil. The USA, China and France were also among the nations seeing an improvement. Germany and the Czech Republic remained at the bottom of the growth rankings.

Business optimism stayed relatively subdued in November, continuing the recent trend of lacklustre confidence. The lowest readings for the Future Output Index (which was first compiled in July 2012) have all been recorded during the past seven months.

Finally, we note that global stocks have perhaps front-run this modest rebound just a little too much on the heels of a year of printing money dangerously…

Source: Bloomberg

Sell the news?

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky says in a new interview that he and President Trump never discussed a “quid pro quo” – though he was unhappy to have learned that US security aid had been blocked.

“I never talked to the president from the position of a quid pro quo. That’s not my thing,” Zelensky told TIME in an interview published Monday.

“I don’t want us to look like beggars. But you have to understand. We’re at war,” he continued. “If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness. It’s not about a quid pro quo. It just goes without saying.“

Allegations that President Trump abused his office are at the heart of impeachment proceedings in the House, as Democrats claim he ‘pressured’ Zelensky to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, as well as a claim that the hacked DNC server was located within Ukraine.

Unbeknownst to Zelensky, nearly $400 million in US military aid had been paused – with Democrats claiming it was used as leverage for the Biden investigation, and the Trump administration claiming that they were concerned about how the money would be used in the notoriously corrupt country.

In 2014, Hunter Biden was hired to sit on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma – allegedly to protect its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, who was under investigation for money laundering, bribery, granting himself drilling permits while he was the Minister of Ecology, and other crimes.

Zlochevsky’s investment in Hunter Biden appeared to pay off, after Joe Biden notoriously threatened to withhold $1 billion in US aid to Ukraine if they didn’t fire the country’s head prosecutor who was leading the investigation.

In short, total malarkey.

Tackling Corruption

Zelensky told Time that he wants to improve Ukraine’s image on the world stage after people – including President Trump, keep referring to it as corrupt.

“When America says, for instance, that Ukraine is a corrupt country, that is the hardest of signals,” said Zelensky. “It might seem like an easy thing to say, that combination of words: Ukraine is a corrupt country. Just to say it and that’s it. But it doesn’t end there. Everyone hears that signal. Investments, banks, stakeholders, companies, American, European, companies that have international capital in Ukraine, it’s a signal to them that says, ‘Be careful, don’t invest.’ Or, ‘Get out of there.’”

Read the rest of the interview here.