Europe's heat wave has claimed 1300 lives, so why doesn't Europe embrace air conditioning?

 

People attempt to cool off in Berlin. BBC/Reuters. 

Europe's record breaking heat wave has claimed 1300 lives, according to the World Health Organization. BBC. Temperature records were broken in Poland, Germany and Czechia. France said they had 1000 excess deaths since last week Wednesday. Most of those fatalities were from people over the age of 65. In addition, 74 people have drowned in France as well. The heat wave is being blamed on a "heat dome" effect.

My Comment:

Europe's continuing failure to do anything about heat waves is dominating the discourse on social media and many Americans like me can't believe what we are hearing from our European friends. It's no secret that Europe's general adaptation of air conditioning is extremely low compared to the United States, with only 20% of homes there being equipped with AC while 90% of American homes do. 

But what is shocking is how the European peoples react to this fact and the bizarre reasoning they use to get there. Much of this is due to hysteria over "climate change", indeed, even the BBC was blaming it for it being hot in summer. It's certainly the justification that European governments are using to discourage AC usage, to the point where Germany is releasing statements and the UK is taking down functioning units because they aren't "efficient enough".

The real problem is that the European energy crisis. Demand for energy is already high in Summer and more AC units could cause some serious problems. This was a self inflicted problem for much of Europe as they have moved away from more reliable sources of power, like coal and nuclear, to green energy which is a lot less reliable and often unable to provide during peak times. 

What is even crazier is some of the excuses I have heard from European accounts on social media. Many of them are claiming that AC will make you sick. While there are some cases where that can be true, with poorly maintained HVAC systems, it's extremely rare and the whole thing reminds me of the totally false South Korean belief that sleeping in a bedroom with a fan will kill you dead. It's just a bizarre superstition. 

The sad thing is that this causes so many deaths. Indeed, Europe suffers more deaths from heat than America does from all firearms causes, with Europe suffering between 175,000 and 60,000 deaths each year, depending on how you count it. It's absurd that European countries lecture us on our gun laws when they have a much easier problem to solve but they simply don't. 

As for my personal reaction, it's crazy to me that Europe hasn't figured out heat waves. We are currently suffering our own one here in Wisconsin, and it the heat index was well above 100 degrees today. But I was comfortable all day because I had my AC running. 

The whole thing reminds me of the World Cup. I have zero interest in soccer but it was interesting to see all the Europeans visiting the United States for the first time. The entire thing reminded me of Boris Yeltsin visiting a US grocery store and being shocked at how diverse the food was. A lot of Europeans got a system shock in just how good the United States is and how poor Europe is in comparison. And the lack of air conditioning is a good example of this. 

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says that Haitians and Syrians here under the TPS program can either go home or apply for permanent residency.

 

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The Guardian. 

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that Haitians and Syrians here under the TPS program can either go home or apply for permanent residency after a SCOTUS ruling. The Guardian. The Temporary Protected Status was put into place for Haitians in 2010 after a major earthquake and for Syrians in 2012 after the country descended into civil war. The Supreme Court said that Trump could revoke TPS for these people and they may face deportation as the decision was not based on race. Mullin said that migrants would be encouraged to leave with a free plane ticket and a $2100 check. They could also apply for permanent residency.  

My Comment:

A few numbers to clarify this story. Around 350,000 Haitians and 6000 Syrians are here under the TPS program, with many of those Haitians concentrated in cities like Springfield Ohio. Many of those people have been here for awhile and there is a possibility for many of them to be deported. 

I do agree that these people should not have TPS. The Haitian earthquake was 16 years ago and even as dysfunctional as Haiti is, they have largely recovered from the earthquake itself. The country is still an absolute mess, but it's no longer in crisis because of the natural disaster. They absolutely do have problems with gang activity, a dysfunctional government and high rates of crime, but it's not like it's a death sentence to be sent back there. 

Syria is in even better shape. The war that blew the country apart in 2012 has been done since 2024. There is still limited amounts of violence, ISIS attacks and unrest, but even during the war there were parts of the country that were comparatively safe. There might be a few Syrians that can't go back because they belong to the wrong religion (Alawites especially), but the majority of Sunni Muslims could return and be fairly safe as long as they stayed out of the worst regions. 

However, I don't think all of these people will end up being deported. Many of them have spouses, children, or family members that are citizens and I am guessing the majority of these people will get their green cards, unfortunately. This is especially true for the Haitians that have been here for a long time. Many others will likely get work visas if they are employed, with Haitians in healthcare having an advantage. 

Asylum is a lot less likely, as if these folks could prove they were under threat in their home countries they would have already applied. The Syrians have a much better chance, as I mentioned before, if they are members of the Alawite community, which isn't very popular under Syria's new Sunni Muslim regime. 

Still, getting rid of any proportion of these people is a win. Returning people to their home countries that were only here because of a long expired crisis will lead to cheaper costs in terms of benefits. Removing them could lower housing costs and open up more jobs for citizens, and even increase wages. I know that there are companies, and the politicians they buy, that are upset by this, but oh well. 

Venezuela hit by two major earthquakes, dealing severe damage to Caracas.

 

Rescue workers save a person in Caracas. The Guardian/AFP/Getty. 

Venezuela has been hit by two major earthquakes that dealt severe damage to the country, including the capitol, Caracas. The Guardian.  The US Geological society said the country was hit by a 7.2 magnitude foreshock and a 7.5 "mainshock" seconds later. The epicenter hit the town of Moron, roughly 100 miles to the west of Caracas. Massive damage was reported, with many buildings collapsing and people being trapped. Venezuela is a tectonically active country, but earthquakes are comparatively rare compared to places like California and Japan.   

Reuters has live updates for this disaster.

My Comment:

This is a fairly extreme natural disaster which will likely result in casualties in the five to six digit range. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake is a fairly large one and having the epicenter be in a populated area near a major city is a major reason why casualties are expected to be very bad. 

Par of this is due to the relative rarity of earthquakes in the area. Earthquakes, even severe ones, are not unheard of in the country, but they are also not unknown. Indeed, they have had several large earthquakes, most notably in 1812 and 1967. 

Venezuela does indeed have regulations to protect from earthquakes but enforcement is a joke due to corruption. And many buildings are older than the regulations to. This means that many buildings collapsed. Given my X feed is full of collapsed buildings it's pretty clear that was extremely common in Caracas, and other cities. Indeed, in one clip I saw, it seemed like almost every building was damaged or collapsed.

🔴 #URGENTE | El terremoto de Venezuela destruyó la ciudad de La Guaira. pic.twitter.com/IeqBCHmKuo

— Mundo en Conflicto 🌎 (@MundoEConflicto) June 25, 2026

The disaster comes at a transitional time for Venezuela. Keep in mind, we removed and arrested Nicolas Maduro earlier this year. The country is essentially now a vassal state of the United States after that raid. The country seems to be fairly stable but this is going to be a huge blow to the country. 

I fully expect that the United States will be helping Venezuela out. America usually does provide disaster aid for countries regardless of the situation, but it's extremely likely to happen in this situation. Though the United States is under no obligation to help, given that they are a de facto, though not de jure, vassal, help will almost certainly be giving. Doing so would strengthen our relationship with Venezuela while not doing anything would probably completely destroy the relationship. 

The good news for Venezuela is that the United States still has major forces in the region. Right now we have a large fleet blockading Cuba and some of those forces could easily be rerouted to Venezuela. Most notably, our Amphibious Assault Ships are well suited for this role. We also are close enough to Venezuela that we should be able to send direct aid flights to them as well. Other countries are likely to send aid as well, with Columbia already committing to doing so. 

Eight Antifa members convicted of terrorism and receive long sentences.

 

The eight people convicted. Fox News/police release. 

Eight members of Antifa were convicted on multiple charges and received long sentences for their role in a 2025 attack on an immigration center in Texas. Fox News. The attackers had several firearms, fireworks, and body armor and conducted sabotage of ICE vehicles (slashing tires). Benjamin Song got the longest sentence at 100 years because he opened fire against a police officer, injuring him, leading to successful attempted murder charges. The rest were convicted on charges ranging from giving support to a terrorist organization, possession of explosives, and rioting. Supporters of the North Texas Antifa cell say the incident was a protest, not an attack and that Song was only using "suppressive fire", even though that would not be a defense for attempted homicide. 

My Comment:

This was as close to an open and shut case as you can get, so it's shocking to me that the media is still defending these people. To review, this was not a protest. It was an effort to try and break out detainees that were being held for deportation at this immigration center. Antifa showed up with weapons, armor, explosives and even med kits and they had a specific plan to break people out. The plan failed and it was only Song's poor marksmanship that prevented any deaths in this case.  

But the media? Even the wire services were framing this as a "protest" and not a riot or terror attack, which is was. They also go with the old standby lie that Antifa does not exist as an organization. This case directly disproves this because group was organized as a terror cell. The entire point of cells is to protect wider organizations and that's what happened in this case. 

I also think the sentences were appropriate. If this was a right wing attack, or even an Islamic terrorism attack, I don't think there would be anyone complaining about a 100 year sentence for the attempted murder of a police officer. But because these attackers were left wing, the left wing media is defending them. It shouldn't be controversial to say that a government should not tolerate people trying to break people out of prison via violence. 

With that being said, I do think this is a major victory against Antifa. These sentences are long and are sending a clear message that if you participate in an attack like this you will go to prison for many years, perhaps even the rest of your life. It is a huge difference to the 2020 peak of Antifa where rioters were given slaps on the wrists at best and got away Scott free at worst. 

There is evidence that the crackdown on Antifa under Trump is working. The last major action the organization was involved in was Minneapolis and even now they are still facing the justice system for that. Indeed, 12 members of Direct Action Minnesota, which has ties to Antifa, were arrested just last week for their actions in Minnesota. 

But we haven't seen the kind of widespread activity we saw back in 2020. Indeed, it seems a lot of these folks have gone underground or even abandoned the movement entirely. The absolutely can tell the tides have shifted and that they no longer have the level of political support they once had and very few of them are willing to risk long prison sentences for their actions.  That doesn't mean that the threat isn't still there, it absolutely is, but it's clear that they are on the defensive. 

British Prime Minster Kier Starmer resigns.

 

Prime Minster Kier Starmer announcing his resignation. AP. 

Embattled British Prime Minster Kier Starmer has announced his resignation. AP. Starmer announced his resignation, but will still serve until a replacement is found. Starmer made his announcement after his rival, former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, won an election, giving Labor a path to remove him if he didn't stand down. Brunham is considered the frontrunner to replace him. Starmer lead Labor to a landslide victory over the Tories but quickly lost faith with both his party and the British people. Starmer was rocked by scandals, including the Peter Mandelson/Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and was unable to turn the economy around. President Donald Trump scooped Starmer on his own resignation this weekend. 

My Comment:

What is shocking to me is the fact that Starmer isn't resigning because of any of the massive problems the UK has right now, like the military being a joke. He's not resigning because immigration is causing the country to be unstable. And he's not resigning because of the Pakistani grooming gang scandals. He's resigning because his party lost faith in him. And not because of any of those issues! 

So why did Starmer quit? His party lost the local elections last month. There doesn't seem to be any introspection from Labor as to why they did, they are just making Starmer the scapegoat. I think they blame him for their own issues but I do have to say that Starmer has zero in the way of charisma. 

Hilariously, President Trump announced the resignation over the weekend. I think that shows that their relationship has been greatly damaged and I don't think Trump is sad to see him go. Starmer famously did not help with the Iran conflict. Though his supporters say it was a moral stand, the fact was that the UK simply wasn't able to help because their military is just in that sorry of a state. They could have deployed a carrier but they had no destroyers available to escort the ship! The relationship never recovered. 

The problem with this resignation is that I don't think it will change anything. Andy Burnham is even further to the left than Starmer and I doubt that he is going to deal with any of the severe problems that the UK is facing. Indeed, I think he will double down on horrible things like forcing internet ID's, not deporting immigrants and not spending money on their military. 

Given that there isn't a mandatory election until 2029, it's no likely that there is going to be any change until then. Nigel Farage is set to win that election with his Reform Party, but everyone on the right expects him to betray the people that may put him into power and refuse to stop immigration and start deportations. That's the mood of the country from what I can understand, the country has very little in the way of hope. 

As for Starmer, how bad was he compared to other Prime Minsters? I'd say only the fact that he was a leftist made him worse than the ones that proceeded him. None of the Tory Prime Minsters were worth anything at all. I am glad to see him go, but I have zero faith that Andy Burnham is going to be any better?