Suspicious damage to Nord Stream’s two gas pipelines is already being used as a pretext to justify increased escalation over Russia’s invasion and destruction of Ukraine.

Two explosions along the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run between Russia and Germany, were detected in the Baltic Sea. Further leaks have been found on both pipelines, although it’s not clear if these are new explosions or a result of the original incident.

Sure, accidents happen, but the current belief held by both Nato and Russia is that large explosive devices were detonated in an act of sabotage, with aftershocks widely felt by nearby cities.

There were no submarines detected in the shallow waters so there are three prevailing theories. Either explosives were placed during construction, they were dropped by citizen vessels in recent weeks, or there is a fleet of invisible subs running around capable of avoiding detection in less than 100 metres of water. To be fair, there’s probably an option four in there along the lines of, ‘everyone screwed up and didn’t see what happened’.

Fears that the pipeline could explode were raised by environmental groups before its construction when it became clear that the route would take it through one of the most heavily mined (as in, explosives) areas in the world.

85,000 sea mines were dropped in the area during the two world wars and at least half of them remain undisturbed. A 2008 report added that the pipeline was crossing through the Gulf of Finland, an area riddled with 100,000 sea mines. During construction, Nord Stream detonated any mines that it came across. There are also large deposits of chemicals buried on the sea floor by various nations which cause problems for controlled detonations. Added to this is the graveyard of sunken ships and who-knows-what left over from hundreds of years of conflict.

Despite Nord Stream being strung across a minefield, Nato has officially blamed sabotage with the Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issuing the following tweet:

‘The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines is of deep concern. #Nato is committed to deter and defend against hybrid attacks. Any deliberate attack against Allies’ critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response.’

Since the incident occurred, millions of cubic metres of gas (mostly methane) has been bubbling up to the surface like an undersea volcano. The leak on Nord Stream 2 has caused a 900 metre-wide pool of bubbles while Nord Stream 1 has a smaller pool of 200 metres. Both look like tiny cyclones in the water.

If we’re talking about climate criminals, this is a real doozy. Not only is the methane leak making a mockery of the carbon credit scheme, but with the pipeline in ruins, one might ask what was the point of this colossal waste?

With proper operation, Nord Stream 1 was expected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The two million tonnes of steel for Nord Stream 2 created over 3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions – let alone the coatings, other materials, installation, transport, concrete, and billionaire executives flying around on private jets for all the related meetings etc… This would be fine, except we’re talking about Germany being the main beneficiary – the nation responsible for punishing its EU bedfellows for breathing the wrong way when it comes to CO2.

None of that appears to matter. Instead, a spy novel of sorts is playing out in the aftermath as leaders blame each other.

Nord Stream has long been criticised as an escalation of Russian influence over Central and Eastern Europe, significantly weakening any response to Russian expansionism. Over the past year, Nord Stream 1 has been the subject of controversy when Russia deliberately severed gas supplies to put pressure on Europe. In July, Russia blamed Canada for delaying parts which was contradicted by the manufacturer who said they were not required for operation. Then the pipeline was shut for maintenance at suspicious intervals. It was turned off indefinitely on August 31 under what is widely considered to be false pretences to leverage Russia’s political position over Germany.

It’s also not the first time that explosives have been around the pipeline. In 2015, a remote-controlled mine disposal drone (used to deal with all those sea mines) was found near Öland by Nord Stream during a maintenance check. It was armed with explosives but deemed ‘harmless’ by the Swedish armed forces.

The Swedish Minister for Defence Mikael Odenberg has long-held reservations about Nord Stream due to its presence enabling Russian Navy ships to enter Sweden’s economic zone – fears that were not helped by Putin pulling the ‘climate card’ by insisting that the pipeline’s ecological safety would be maintained by the Russian Navy.

‘Some objections [to Nord Stream] put forward are laughable – political, military, or linked to spying. That is really surprising because in the modern world … it is laughable to say a gas pipeline is a weapon in a spy-war,’ said Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Gazprom (owners of Nord Stream).

As history routinely teaches, there is no such thing as the safety of the modern world when it comes to spy games. Today, the Nord Stream really is ground zero for political mind games in a very real war.

There are plenty of reasons for both Russia and America to fuss around with Nord Stream.

Is this about ensuring that Europe has a dark, cold winter with impossible gas prices intended to destabilise society and spark civil unrest, or is someone laying the groundwork for an extended conflict? Is Putin trying to justify his conscription demand while Russian men flee across the border to escape the Kremlin’s war of aggression, or is America ripping Germany off the Russian teat and forcing the European Union to grow a spine and find new energy partners before the real war kicks off…

Adding to the conspiracy theories, Russian navy support ships were seen in the area of the explosions shortly beforehand while Biden has previously made public threats against the safety of the pipeline. There is also the interesting geopolitical problem where Russia cannot target Nato-owned assets without provoking an immediate response, but attacks on Russian assets require no action from America – other than dialogue.

It has been pointed out that with Nord Stream 1 closed indefinitely for repairs and Nord Stream 2 not yet open, the immediate repercussions have a lot more to do with posturing and gas prices than supply.

No one knows what happened, only that something has happened.

The Germans say this damage may be enough to permanently destroy both pipelines. If the gas stops leaking, the pipes will fill with water leading to extensive corrosion. The only thing that anyone can say for sure is that neither pipeline is going to be operational any time soon.

Despite the eye of the gas storm erupting in Danish and Swedish waters, there’s no sign of famous climate warrior Greta Thunberg or Green groups kayaking out to take selfies with the end times. Nor are there any super yachts belonging to movie stars parked around the gas leak.

According to Denmark, the leak could take up a third of its allowable climate emissions. Remember, the European Union wants to kill everyone’s cows to curb methane, meanwhile it is pouring out of the water in a complete waste of resources.

For anyone watching the holistic political conversation, there is an extraordinary disconnect between the Climate Change rhetoric and the behaviour of world leaders.

One might go so far as to call the whole climate pitch a political con, as it has become impossible to pretend that anyone in power takes the apocalypse seriously. If, as claimed, there is genuine intelligence that the Earth was about to end – the likes of Russia and America wouldn’t be trading blows.

I used to be slightly generous and err toward mass idiocy when it comes to political leadership. Those days are gone.

How can the United Nations and all of its members complain about ‘climate food shortages’ when those same member states have either set fire to – or allowed – Ukraine’s food bowl to burn? What about Canada, the Netherlands, America, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, and other EU states who are voluntarily destroying the largest agricultural producers with artificial ‘climate taxes’ and bans on fertiliser?

Their mates in Agri Tech stand to make a fortune on chemical food replacements and lab-grown meat, but surely that’s not worth risking mass starvation and the largest reduction in food quality in three centuries?

Or is it? I don’t know. What’s the going rate for presidents and prime ministers to starve their people?

It is doubtful any of our small fry politicians – particularly in the backwaters of Australian politics inhabited by Labor fingerlings – understand that there is a bigger game being played. While the West acts in a paternalistic manner toward the third world, their regimes are led by ruthless dictators that are more than happy to collaborate, lie, and cheat to come out on top.

Maybe they are hoping that by destroying the success of the West, the developing world and all its tin-pot dictators will have an open field to replace our agricultural industries, free from the carbon shackles because of their special ‘developing’ status… It’s all starting to look like a coup organised by third world leaders sitting on the UN to destroy Western prosperity so that they can make the West dependent on their regimes. They are, after all, the main beneficiaries of the endless Climate Change cash cow.

This brings us back to the question of gas pipelines.

The exact same collection of eurocrats and bureaucrats who tell ordinary, working-class people that they have to give up their cars, move into tiny apartments, stop eating meat, replace thousands of years of agriculture with lab-grown 3D-printed insects, lock thermostats just above freezing, replace capitalist democracies with eco-fascist dictatorships, and ‘get used to’ living under a digital tyranny – are quite happy to pour billions into warfare.

We will sit here and watch Russia try its hand at violent expansionism while European nations gradually realise that they have no choice but to arm themselves with self-sufficient energy and by doing so, force Russia to replace their business with China, India, and the ‘stans’.

The only way the West gets out of this alive is if its leaders ditch their fake religion of Climate Change and once again focus on being ideological and physical powerhouses. As for Nord Stream, it will end up another rusted casualty of war at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.