Hi there, !
Today Sat 12/12/2009 Fri 12/11/2009 Thu 12/10/2009 Wed 12/09/2009 Tue 12/08/2009 Mon 12/07/2009 Sun 12/06/2009 Archives
Rantburg
533516 articles and 1861306 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 77 articles and 218 comments as of 1:21.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Baghdad bomb attacks kill 127, wound 450
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 00:00 KBK [3] 
2 00:00 eLarson [6] 
8 00:00 JosephMendiola [3] 
5 00:00 ryuge [1] 
5 00:00 Iblis [5] 
4 00:00 USN, Ret. [2] 
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [1] 
7 00:00 Bright Pebbles [2] 
8 00:00 Scooter McGruder [2] 
0 [] 
5 00:00 European Conservative [3] 
0 [6] 
8 00:00 European Conservative [] 
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [6] 
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [2] 
0 [] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
0 [1]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [8]
11 00:00 Boss Snomotle8280 [3]
0 [2]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
5 00:00 GolfBravoUSMC []
0 [4]
3 00:00 Old Patriot [5]
0 [2]
0 []
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [8]
1 00:00 Frank G [3]
0 [9]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [4]
0 []
8 00:00 JosephMendiola []
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [8]
0 []
3 00:00 USN, Ret. [3]
2 00:00 lotp []
1 00:00 newc [1]
Page 2: WoT Background
7 00:00 JosephMendiola [2]
0 [2]
1 00:00 European Conservative []
3 00:00 Baba Tutu [2]
2 00:00 Lumpy Elmoluck5091 []
2 00:00 Besoeker [1]
2 00:00 Redneck Jim []
0 [4]
5 00:00 European Conservative [2]
1 00:00 Thing From Snowy Mountain []
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
8 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
1 00:00 g(r)omgoru [5]
5 00:00 Rambler in Virginia [2]
5 00:00 Frank G [2]
3 00:00 Redneck Jim [2]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
6 00:00 JosephMendiola [8]
0 [1]
0 []
Page 4: Opinion
0 [3]
3 00:00 Frank G [5]
1 00:00 Angie Schultz []
4 00:00 Anguper Hupomosing9418 [3]
1 00:00 Anguper Hupomosing9418 [2]
1 00:00 lord garth [2]
6 00:00 DMFD [3]
0 [6]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola []
Page 6: Politix
3 00:00 Bright Pebbles [5]
5 00:00 Pappy [4]
0 [3]
2 00:00 tipover [1]
1 00:00 Uncle Phester [2]
3 00:00 Lumpy Elmoluck5091 []
6 00:00 Uncle Phester []
11 00:00 JohnQC []
5 00:00 Procopius2k [2]
3 00:00 Glenmore []
1 00:00 armyguy []
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Today in (Television) History: A Charlie Brown Christmas
What the roomful of executives saw upon the first screening was a shock--a slow and quiet semireligious, jazz-filled 25 minutes, voiced by a cast of inexperienced children, and, perhaps most unforgivably, without a laugh track. "They said, 'We'll play it once and that will be all. Good try,' " remembers Mendelson. "Bill and I thought we had ruined Charlie Brown forever when it was done. We kind of agreed with the network. One of the animators stood up in the back of the room--he had had a couple of drinks--and he said, 'It's going to run for a hundred years,' and then fell down. We all thought he was crazy, but he was more right than we were."

--Brian Heater, "The Lonely Tree: The Story of A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Posted by: Mike || 12/09/2009 16:22 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  still gives me shivers.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2009 20:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Watched it the other day on ABC. The editing they did on it was a travesty. But at least they left this part in.

The full version will be on later, I guess, but without the Dolly Madison commercials, I might as well just watch the DVD. ;)
Posted by: eLarson || 12/09/2009 21:42 Comments || Top||


Tiger Woods' alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel: I'm not a Ho
She's not a ho, for the most part she's a madam, or if you prefer, an 'arranger' ...
Tiger Woods' accused mistress Rachel Uchitel says the entire scandal involving her alleged affair with the married golfer has been nothing short of "horrible."

In a new interview with OK! Magazine, the night club promoter said she was unfairly labeled a villain in the scandal. And as new alleged Woods mistresses - from porn stars to pancake waitresses - continue to surface, night club promoter Uchitel is trying to set herself apart.

SLIDESHOW: Rachel Uchitel's Life Looks Like a Party

"In every story, you need a villain and a hero," Uchitel said. "I've been characterized as a villain. People have called me a homewrecker, gold digger, tramp, whore. I make mistakes, but I'm not those things. I have very good qualities. When you're judged by the nation, it's really difficult. It's horrible."

SLIDESHOW: Tiger Woods' alleged other women now include two porn stars.

And while Uchitel was talking to one tabloid, another reported that Woods paid for the plastic surgery of alleged Woods paramour Jamie Jungers. Life and Style magazine said the billionaire golfer "lavished big bucks" on the reality contestant, which she opted to put toward plastic surgery.

"Tiger gave Jamie thousands of dollars. She took that money to get liposuction on her thighs," a source told Life & Style.

Jungers is reported to have carried on her affair with Woods for more than a year, during which time she was also engaged.

But Jungers and Uchitel are not Woods' latest alleged other women. Tuesday, the growing list of linked ladies grew to 11 when sports Web site Deadspin.com added porn star Joslyn James.

Meanwhile, sources tell FoxNews.com's Pop Tarts that Woods and wife Elin Nordegren are planning to leave the country "very soon" to escape the public scrutiny. And despite reports of Elin moving out, a source close to Nordegren's family said they are hoping the marriage can be saved.

"Elin's family couldn't be more devastated," the insider said. "But they want [Tiger and Elin] together for the kids' sake."
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/09/2009 12:08 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Considering the number and quality of women he seems to have chosen I would recommend that Elin get an AIDS test.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/09/2009 12:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Breaking news:

Pittsburgh Pirates Expect To Fill PNC Park on “Tiger Woods’ Mistress Day”

The Pittsburgh Pirates released its promotional schedule for the 2010 baseball season, and the roster of giveaways features an exciting first-time event. On May 9 when the Bucs play the St. Louis Cardinals, the first 20,000 of Tiger Woods’ bedmates will be admitted free of charge on ”Tiger Woods Mistress Day.”...
Posted by: Mike || 12/09/2009 12:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Thanks for the great news, Mike! Now if only the Bucs would do the same for Wilt Chamberlain, Gene Simmons, and maybe some other celebs (Hugh Grant?), they'll have enough payroll to put a winning team together!
Posted by: Dar || 12/09/2009 12:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Likes em skanky doesnt he
Posted by: 746 || 12/09/2009 13:40 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm not a Ho!
Posted by: armyguy || 12/09/2009 15:26 Comments || Top||

#6  FREEREPUBLIC + FOXNEWS AM > wehell, seems the number of TIGER's alleged femme fatales' is now ELEVEN???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 18:47 Comments || Top||

#7  Mike, will Monica be there?
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 12/09/2009 21:07 Comments || Top||

#8  OTOH TIMES OF INDIA/INDIA TIMES > BOLLYWOOD WIVES ARE SUCKERS FOR PAIN!? Noted Bollyw Celeb spouses proclaim that they were raised to take marriage as a serious commitment, which is socio-culturally/morally interpreted as inclusive or despite [routine?]infidelities.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 21:34 Comments || Top||


Bubblegum blows students jaw off
A chemistry student in the Ukraine was found dead with his jaw blown off by what is believed to be exploding chewing gum, according to reports. The 25-year-old's disfigured remains were discovered at his parent's home in the northern Ukrainian city of Konotop, reports in the Eastern European country said.

The young man, who studied at Kiev Polytechnic Institute, was working at a computer late on Saturday when the alleged explosion happened.

"A loud pop was heard from the student's room," the ukranews.com Web site said, citing an aide to the city's police chief. "When his relatives entered the room, they saw that the lower part of the young man's face had been blown off."

A forensic examination established that the chewing gum was covered with an unidentified chemical substance, thought to be some type of explosive material.

The student apparently had a bizarre habit of chewing gum after dipping it into citric acid, Russian news agency Ria Novosti said. Officers found both citric acid packets and a similar-looking unidentified substance, believed to be some kind of explosive material, on a table near the body, the agency continued.

Investigators suspect that the student simply confused the packets and put gum covered with explosive material into his mouth. Forensic experts were to travel from Kiev to investigate the substance, as local authorities feared it may explode if transported.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/09/2009 12:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can we modify the qat production with this stuff?
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/09/2009 12:31 Comments || Top||

#2  KGB no longer uses polonium?
Posted by: Steve White || 12/09/2009 14:12 Comments || Top||

#3  That's what I call a jawbreaker.

/got nothin'
Posted by: Mizzou Mafia || 12/09/2009 15:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Darwin award winner?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/09/2009 15:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Is this the same material that the CIA were supposed to put on Castro's cigar? If so, it's a shame they failed to do it.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/09/2009 19:38 Comments || Top||


Life imitates A Christmas Story
It's become an annual winter tale: A young boy gets his tongue stuck to a metal pole, perhaps as the result of a dare.
It would have to be a triple-dog dare.
This year, the scene straight out of the movie A Christmas Story unfolded Tuesday morning in Boise with a boy of about 10. Boise firefighters used a glass of warm water to free the unidentified boy from the metal fence pole.

Fire Capt. Bill Tinsley says the boy's tongue was bleeding a little, but he was OK and allowed to continue walking to school. Firefighters estimate the boy was 10 years old. Rescue workers responded after a woman driving by saw the boy and called 911.

Last year, the unlucky boy was a 10-year-old from Hammond, Ind., especially apt, since the 1983 movie is set in a fictional city based on Hammond.
So when mom says you can't have an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle With A Compass In The Stock because you'll shoot your eye out, believe her!
Posted by: Mike || 12/09/2009 11:02 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When I was a kid we used to do this all the time, although it is hard for me to talk about it.....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 12/09/2009 16:36 Comments || Top||

#2  I call shennigans - in late 1960's - early '70's Guam, telephone poles were made of wood + soaked in tar. DIDN'T TASTE GOOD AT ALL, D *** NG IT!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 19:02 Comments || Top||

#3  I had an unfortunate incident with a frigid woman....
Posted by: Frank G || 12/09/2009 20:26 Comments || Top||

#4  Orbusmax ( local Seatle website) claims this one as well as another a 13 yr old from Spokane.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 12/09/2009 23:40 Comments || Top||


Alleged 'Naked Photos' of Tiger Woods Shopped to Playgirl
It looks as though things are going from bad to worse for Tiger Woods.

A rep from online adult magazine Playgirl (which features men baring it all) confirmed to FoxNews.com that they did indeed receive an offer to purchase naked male photos, purported to be of the controversial sports star.

“We were approached by a third party who wanted to know our ‘interest level’. Our lawyers are currently going over them, the source, the entire package,” Playgirl rep Daniel Nardicio said, adding that they would only purchase the alleged pics if they can successfully confirm them to be Woods.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/09/2009 06:03 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, his Gillette Fusion looks just like mine.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2009 8:06 Comments || Top||

#2  maybe Levi Johnston could be his new caddy?
Posted by: Mike || 12/09/2009 11:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Is it just me, or does anyone else get the feeling this may end up like MICHAEL JACKSON'S newly discovered "art" [MJ surrounded = served by young boys]???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 19:05 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Norway wormhole is First Contact, claim UFO watchers as 'wormhole' opens
Posted by: tipper || 12/09/2009 19:57 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  D *** NG IT, PPPPffffttttt, WE HAVEN'T BEEN WATCHING THE NIGHT = MIDNITE SKIES OER GUAM'S AGANA BAY = WESTPAC [again]SINCE THE LHC RECENT TESTS [again], HAVE WE???

FYI the above doesn't even count the space rocks = Geminids.

FYI PART II > NOTE TO US ARMY DARPA + NASA-JPL + LHC BOYZ > CALL HIM WEIRD, BUT THAT MADONNA FAN/GUY FROM GUAM SAYS EARTH IS [ideally]SUPPOS TO BE AT THE WIDE = INITIAL PART OF THE WORMHOLE, NOT THE NEEDLE EYE-LOOKING TAIL [inverse or upside down Cone -Triangle].
YoAlso, at least oer GUAM-WESTPAC, your WORMHOLES are VERTICAL such that the future OWG USS ENTERPRISE, etc. would need to turn itself NINETY DEGREES-OR-SO JUST TO KISS/ENTER [try to] THE CLOSED TAIL OF THE WORMHOLE.

CALL ME WEIRD II > we want CAPT KIRK + CREW, MOM + GRANDMA + KIDDIES + LASSIE + TOURISTS, to go thru the wide part, + NOT DESTROY STARSHIP+ THEMSELVES TRYING TO ENTER A HOLE THAT ISN'T THERE OR FORMED BECUZ THE FAT PART IS AT THE OTHER END OF THE UNIVERSE, NOW DO WE!

Its gonna look funny + drive up your SPACE INSURANCE RATES!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 21:10 Comments || Top||

#2  The ORION SPACE BABES, + SPACE LEIAS, etc are not going to be impressed iff Earth Guys keep building OWG-expensive Starships only to crash 'em trying to enter the 'Hole.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 21:16 Comments || Top||

#3  One of the most popular conspiracy theories links the phenomenon to the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and rumours of a "Blackhole Project" under way at the giant underground atom-smasher.

I've done a quick calculation on my HP-45. The LHC beam dump tunnel when projected crosses above Norway at 50,000 feet. Dodged a bullet that time.
Posted by: KBK || 12/09/2009 23:27 Comments || Top||


H1N1 Crests - Could Be Mildest Pandemic
With the second wave of H1N1 infections having crested in the United States, leading epidemiologists are predicting that the pandemic could end up ranking as the mildest since modern medicine began documenting influenza outbreaks.
Y2K, global warming, and killer influenza aren't living up to expectations.
Experts warn that the flu is notoriously unpredictable, but several recent analyses, including one released late Monday, indicate that the death toll is likely to be far lower than the number of fatalities caused by past pandemics.
But don't worry, there is still plenty to sell newspapers worry about.
The predictions are being met with a mix of skepticism, relief and trepidation: Public health officials worry that people may become complacent about getting vaccinated, which could prove disastrous if a third wave of infections swells later this winter or the virus mutates into a more dangerous form.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/09/2009 05:38 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Someone wanted to use the rapidly ageing stock of (expensive, state bought) Tamiflu.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2009 8:00 Comments || Top||

#2  H1N1 was always just a useful "dry run", for all the national and international preparations for the Avian flu, the real threat.

Right now, the obstacle for H5N1 to become H2H is that
H5 viruses can only infect the ciliated ("having a margin or fringe of hairlike projections") cells in the mouth and nose, and a human-to-human transmission would need it to bind with non-ciliated type of cell as well.

It would be highly unlikely to make this adaptive double mutation by itself, so will likely get it by sharing gene segments with another variety of influenza already able to do this. Such recombination happens with considerable frequency in nature.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/09/2009 8:33 Comments || Top||

#3  I've started seeing a few articles expressing concern about a third wave of infections, with the third wave possibly containing the nasty mutations seen in the Ukraine, Norway and elsewhere. Recall, it hit so hard in the Ukraine that they locked down the country. The Wife family will be getting inoculated against H1N1 next week, when all are home for the winter break, even if it gives us only partial immunity to the evolving virus.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/09/2009 9:30 Comments || Top||

#4  With pandemics this widespread, there are likely to be 4 waves, with possible mutations between each wave. But as 'moose points out, the huge risk is that during one of those waves, avian flu picks up human-human transmissibility from repeated interactions with swine flu.
Posted by: lotp || 12/09/2009 19:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Tamiflu may not even be effective at all:

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/dec07_2/b5106
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/09/2009 19:57 Comments || Top||

#6  ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > GLOBAL TIMES.cn > EIGHTY PERCENT OF H1N1 DEATHS IN CHINA ARE PREGNANT WOMEN [200 "official" swine flu deaths times 0.80 = 160 preggers]. Rest are mostly ELderly or Chin already in poor health.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 20:46 Comments || Top||

#7  The Ukraine Bird flu was a politically motivated fake.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/09/2009 22:35 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Algeria rejects Copenhagen summit call for new energy tax
[Maghrebia] Algeria will not support the new taxes on hydrocarbons proposed by the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tout sur l'Algerie quoted Algerian Environment Minister Cherif Rahmani as saying on Monday (December 7th). "It is inconceivable that the South agree to new taxes," Rahmani said on national radio Chaine 3. "Much has changed but we have not achieved our objectives. We will continue... for the voice of Africa to be heard," the minister added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION TOPIX > THE HINDU - INDIA LIKELY TO ACCESS THE VAST [oil-Energy] RESOURCES IN EASTERN SIBERIA AND RUSSIA'S FAR EAST.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 0:51 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Dubai fund gives Nakheel $2.45 bln: finance chief
[Al Arabiya Latest] A Dubai fund designed to help state-linked firms had given Dubai World's property unit Nakheel $2.45 billion to meet obligations, Dubai's finance chief said on Tuesday, but it was unclear when the money was disbursed.

"The fund ... has given about 9 billion dirhams ($2.45 billion) to Nakheel to meet its obligations," Abdul Rahman al-Saleh told Al Arabiya.

Saleh said the money had been injected since "the crisis," but did not specify if he was referring to the global financial crisis which hit the emirate's real estate sector late in 2008 or the Dubai World debt issue.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
A plan to unlock prosperity
Ten years ago this month Panama took possession of the canal that bears its name. It has high hopes for a $5.25 billion expansion of the waterway
Long piece in the Economist about the expansion of the Panama Canal. Worth the read. Hat tip Fausta.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Chavez: Venezuela acquires thousands of missiles
President Hugo Chavez said Monday that Venezuela has received thousands of Russian-made missiles and rocket launchers as part of his government's military preparations for a possible armed conflict with neighboring Colombia.

"They are preparing a war against us," Chavez said during a televised address, repeating a charge he has been making for months. "Preparing is one of the best ways to neutralize it."

Both Colombia and Washington deny having any plans to attack Venezuela, but Chavez argues they are plotting together a military offensive against Venezuela. Chavez says his government is acquiring more weapons as a precaution.

"Thousands of missiles are arriving," Chavez said. The former paratrooper-turned-president did not specify what type of missiles, but said Venezuela's growing arsenal includes Russian-made Igla-1S surface-to-air missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Chavez, who has been feuding with Colombia for months, claims an agreement between Bogota and Washington allowing the U.S. military to increase its presence at seven Colombian military bases poses a threat to his country. Colombia says the deal is only to help it fight the war on drugs and insurgents inside its territory.

Chavez also said Monday that Russian tanks, including T-72s, will be arriving "to strengthen our armored divisions."

Venezuela has bought more than $4 billion worth of Russian arms since 2005, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, dozens of attack helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. In September, Russia opened a $2.2 billion line of credit for Venezuela to purchase more weapons.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When is he going to stage his phony incident to justify his attack?
Posted by: AlanC || 12/09/2009 7:31 Comments || Top||

#2  What will Barry's response be when he learns Chavez has overun a Colombian compound and captured US soldiers and civilians?
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/09/2009 7:52 Comments || Top||

#3  'Present', Beso.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/09/2009 8:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Besoeker
It's much more likely that the Zero will only have to respond to the Colombian round-up of fleeing Chavistas when the Venezuelan cross border operation ends in disaster. Regular Venezuelan forces will be a no-show, leaving the Chavez equivalent of the Waffen SS to face the Colombians alone. Thousands of Chavez party goons will go into the bag, with much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and backtracking from the pro-Chavez international media.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 12/09/2009 12:15 Comments || Top||

#5  "What will Barry's response be when he learns Chavez has overun a Colombian compound and captured US soldiers and civilians?"

He'll demand that the Colombian army in Caracas must reinstate Chavez as president.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/09/2009 19:48 Comments || Top||


Chavez prepares Venezuela for 'US-provoked war'
President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela must be ready to defend itself against what he called the US and Colombia's gearing up for initiating a military conflict.

Chavez who accused Washington and Bogota of planning to stage war against his country announced that thousands of Russian missiles and rocket launchers were being received by Venezuela as the country is preparing for a possible military conflict.

"They are preparing a war against us," Chavez was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "Preparing is one of the best ways to neutralize it."

"Thousands of missiles are arriving," Chavez said, adding Caracas's growing arsenal includes Russian-made Igla-1S surface-to-air missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Chavez added that Russian tanks, including T-72s, will be arriving to strengthen the country's armored divisions.

The Venezuelan leftist leader's charges came after a deal between the United States and Colombia that would let Washington increase its presence at seven Colombian military bases.

The Colombian government, however, says the agreement is to help it fight the war on drugs and militants inside its territory.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I could be wrong but I suspect the tanks are only going to be good for keeping his people down. The jungles historically have not been good tank country so they'll be useless invading Colombia.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 12/09/2009 16:30 Comments || Top||

#2  ION WMF > CCTV COMMENTATOR [National Defense University Prof-Colonel]: RAISING TROOPS TO WITHDRAW TROOPS - OBAMA'S TROOPS SURGE COVERTLY INTENDED TO SUPPORT, FOSTER IMPERIALIST MILITANT-LED INSURGENCIES IN BANGLADESH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA IN FAVOR THE US.

IIUC ARTIC > POTUS BAMMER = USA intends to induce Radical Islamist-Ethnic Militancy + consequent SEAsian destabilz 2013-2017 under the cover of defeating the Taliban + AQ, etc in AFPAK???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/09/2009 21:50 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
US says carbon shift is boost to Copenhagen
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States said it had seized the climate initiative with a regulatory shift that labels greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant, as a landmark conference entered a second day Tuesday.

The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency was announced on the opening day of a 192-nation meeting in Copenhagen aimed at drawing up a global pact to tackle climate change amid warnings of environmental catastrophe.

The U.S. move "means that we arrive at the climate talks in Copenhagen with a clear demonstration of our commitment to facing this global challenge," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said.

Jackson signed orders declaring six greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, including carbon dioxide, to be pollutants that are subject to government regulation.

The decision sidestepped a divided Congress and was greeted with outrage by Republicans and some U.S. business leaders. But delegates to the talks in Copenhagen said it would lend momentum to the 12-day conference.

"It will only help to persuade delegates and observers from other countries that the U.S. is seriously using all the tools it has," said David Doniger, policy director of the National Resources Defense Council's climate center.

"The administration has the task of persuading other countries that it is seriously tackling this issue at a time when the legislation is still working its way through Congress," he said in the Danish capital.

France's climate ambassador Brice Lalonde said: "This gives additional credibility to the U.S. commitment."

The impact on humanity of man-made drought, flood, storms and rising seas was spelt out Monday at the start of the meeting, which will climax with a summit attended by more than 110 leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama.

"For the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen," Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said. "By the end, we must be able to deliver back to the world what was granted us here today: hope for a better future," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So in other words the EPA labeled CO2 (aka Plant Food) a 'dangerous pollutant' purely due to POLITICAL reasons and not scientific reasons.

Why am I not suprised?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/09/2009 0:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, CF, it's easier for them to pass this regulation than it is for them to stop emitting it.

I'm waiting for them to go after dihydrogen minoxide next. That crap's in everything!!
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie || 12/09/2009 0:48 Comments || Top||

#3  The impact on humanity of man-made drought, flood,

Which of course will happen everywhere simultaneously.

Trash peddled to morons.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/09/2009 4:03 Comments || Top||

#4  Crazyfool is right, CO2 is a fertilizer. CO2 gas enrichment is a common strategy for supercharging growth in your "closet garden". Plants BREATHE the stuff! They take in CO2 and release pure Oxygen. It's part of the circle of life.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 12/09/2009 5:17 Comments || Top||

#5  All of us exhale CO2 when we breathe. So is the EPA going to regulate the breathing by animals? What a bunch of morons. Plant a tree and get over this tree-hugger B.S. In the end it the administration fall back position if cap and trade doesn't pass-just have the EPA regulate the environoment. BO promised the most transparent administration; it does seem that most people are on to this administrations slight of hand.
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/09/2009 8:23 Comments || Top||

#6  All of us exhale CO2 when we breathe. So is the EPA going to regulate the breathing by animals?

In fact there is a movement for voluntary extinction of mankind. Notice that doesn't necessarily mean that individual deaths are voluntary.
Posted by: JFM || 12/09/2009 11:42 Comments || Top||

#7  JFM: Do the people signing up for this movement volunteer to go first? Or is it one of those "Everyone else needs to do this while we don't" movements, as usual?
Posted by: Charles || 12/09/2009 16:42 Comments || Top||

#8  "All of us exhale CO2 when we breathe."

Don't worry: Inhaling is still ok, only exhaling is not.

Water vapor has a much bigger influence on climate.

Stand by
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/09/2009 19:54 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
CO2 tax by 2014 in Indonesia
[Straits Times] INDONESIA will likely introduce a carbon tax on polluting industries before the government's tenure ends in 2014, the head of its delegation to climate talks in Copenhagen said on Tuesday.

Indonesia, where deforestation and forest fires led to the World Bank naming it the planet's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is seen as an important player in the fight against climate change.

Indonesia's Finance Ministry is considering a green paper that recommends a carbon tax of 80,000 rupiah (S$11.82) per tonne of CO2, and increasing the levy by 5 per cent per year to 2020.

The head of Indonesia's delegation, Rachmat Witoelar, said he was confident the government would implement such a tax before 2014.

'I think this is a great idea but we have to be careful because imposing a burden on the general population is not wise at this moment,' he told Reuters in an interview. 'It should be done eventually, certainly within the tenure of this administration, by 2014.'

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Copenhagen for the Dec 7-18 talks to hammer out a deal aimed at slowing global warming. Steps by big developing nations to rein in the growth of their planet-warming emissions are a key part of any new pact, the United Nations says.
Posted by: Fred || 12/09/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Science
Global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Copenhagen climate summit
As the world gathered in the Danish capital for the UN Climate Change Conference, more than 50 scientists, businessmen and lobby groups met to discuss the arguments against man made global warming.

Although the meeting was considerably smaller than the official gathering of 15,000 people meeting down the road, the organisers claimed it could change the course of negotiations.

Sceptics 'may resort to illegal acts to stop climate deal' Professor Henrik Svensmark, a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen, said the recent warming period was caused by solar activity.

He said the last time the world experienced such high temperatures, during the medieval warming period, the Sun and the Earth were in a similar cycle.

Professor Nils-Axel Morner, a geologist from Stockholm University, said sea level rise has also been exaggerated by the “climate alarmists” using computer models.

He said observational data from lake sediments, coast lines and trees show sea levels have remained stable.

Professor Cliff Ollier, another geologist from the University of Western Australia, also said the environmental lobby have got it wrong on ice caps. He said the melting of ice sheets is caused by geothermal activity rather than global surface temperatures.

Professor Ian Plimer, from the University of Adelaide, claimed carbon dioxide from volcanoes rather than humans is driving warming as part of a natural process.

The meeting was organised by Danish group Climate Sense and the lobby group Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT).

Craig Rucker, Executive Director of CFACT, admitted the organisation have taken funding from Exxon Mobil in the past but pointed out that many environmental groups are also receiving funding from major corporations.

Graham Capper of Climate Sense said manmade global warming was a myth and scientists who said otherwise were lying. :

"There are people who know they are lying and do it simply for money and others who think they are doing good," he said. "But they not good scientists."

Lord Monckton, a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, said he was speaking to delegations from the US and Canada about question marks over the science.

He said a recent poll by the Telegraph, that shows only one in two people accept man made climate change, show people are questioning the consensus being pushed by the UN summit.

“As anybody knows who follows the opinion polls in Britain and Australia and the US, in the last few weeks and months there has been a rapid collapse in the global warming chimera so while we still have our freedom, let us speak out.”
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/09/2009 11:16 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Global warming 'caused by sun's radiation'

No shit Sherlock.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/09/2009 11:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Global warming 'caused by sun's radiation'

No shit Sherlock.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/09/2009 11:55 Comments || Top||

#3  No sure Shitlock. :)
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/09/2009 12:15 Comments || Top||

#4  After the oil for food scandal, the child molestation scandal, the abject refusal to reform, and the general shiftlessness of the UN, the question should not be, "Should they be given more power?"; but, "Should they be stripped of any and all power they currently have?"
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/09/2009 12:59 Comments || Top||

#5  Warming caused by the sun????!? Now you're talking crazy.
Posted by: Iblis || 12/09/2009 22:16 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Detroit students score record low on national math test
Detroit Public Schools students posted the worst math results ever recorded in the 40-year history of a prestigious nationwide test, according to scores released today.

Sixty-nine percent of fourth-graders and 77 percent of eighth-graders scored below basic skill levels in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a standardized test that serves as a nationwide yardstick in measuring student learning.

"These numbers are only slightly better than what one would expect by chance as if the kids had never gone to school and simply guessed at the answers," said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Washington-based Council of the Great City Schools, which represents large urban school districts. "These numbers ... are shocking and appalling and should not be allowed to stand."

The test results are so concerning to the welfare of Detroit that Casserly flew to the city to brief the media, along with DPS Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, ahead of their release. Unless the community takes action to fix these urgent academic problems, "this city has no future," he said.

"Only a complete overhaul of this school system and how students are taught should be permitted at this point, because the results ... signal a complete failure of the grown-ups who have been in charge of the schools in the past," Casserly said during an interview with The Detroit News.

The test scores, Bobb said during a press conference Tuesday morning, further demonstrates the district faces an "an academic emergency" and needs an overhaul of its academic plan. And while Bobb indicated the scores were an indication of a systemwide failure, it was clear he placed much of the responsibility at the feet of the Detroit School Board.

Two action plans, including the 2006 Governor's Transition Team Report, have largely been ignored by the school board, he said.

"If we had implemented 60 percent, 70 percent or 80 percent of what's in those plans, there wouldn't be a need right now for an emergency financial manager," Bobb said.

At another point Tuesday, Bobb said: "If these results were produced by the members of a corporate board of directors, I can tell you that board would be removed."

He blamed school principals and a failing curriculum that doesn't prepare students for the national test.

Bobb was appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in March to fix the district's finances, but has been lobbying for academic control over the district as well.

However, the elected school board believes it has power over academics and sued Bobb this year for violating their authority. Bobb countersued, saying the board violated his orders when it appointed Teresa Gueyser as general superintendent. Both sides are scheduled to appear in Wayne Circuit Court on Wednesday for a hearing on the case, which should clear up who has the power over curriculum.

Gueyser introduced her own detailed academic plan for the district this year and the 11-member school board embraced it. However, it awaits funding from Bobb.

The NAEP test started in 1969. Former Superintendent Connie Calloway's team signed Detroit up for the test that's often considered the gold standard of student assessment. A sample of DPS fourth- and eighth-graders participated for the first time this year in the test administered in January and March.

Bobb pledged Friday to move aggressively to implement his own academic plan that will "throw out" the current system, he said.

He won't release a copy of the draft plan because he said it's not complete, but said it's a "robust" plan that's funded through federal stimulus grants, including an application for $80 million in federal Race to the Top program funds. It would include working with outside private firms, something board members and community activists have balked at as a ploy to turn public schools to charters.

"We are going to continue to fight for the academic controls," Bobb said.

The average composite score for fourth-graders was 200 (on a scale of 0-500), and the national average was 239. The results show DPS students had trouble with basic skills. Just 33 percent of fourth-graders could subtract 75 from 301, whereas 67 percent of kids nationwide correctly computed the answer.

The average composite score for eighth-graders was 238 (not comparable to the fourth-graders' scale), whereas the nationwide average was 282. Students had trouble on questions ranging from geometry to estimation.

Students, however, aren't to blame for the poor scores, Bobb said.

"The real fault lies squarely with leadership," he said. "It's not the kids' fault. There's nothing wrong with these kids' minds."
Posted by: Beavis || 12/09/2009 05:13 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Woo Woo! We're Number One. Deetroit! Deetroit!
Posted by: SteveS || 12/09/2009 10:57 Comments || Top||

#2  First Chicago loses the Olympic bid to Rio and now the Academic Excellence title to Detroit? Something is wrong here...
Posted by: Waldemar Gleamp1150 || 12/09/2009 11:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Nice job NEA.

Let's throw more tax dollars at it.
Posted by: Hellfish || 12/09/2009 12:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Must be something wrong with the test. Normalize the scores upward so nobody gets their self esteem damaged.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/09/2009 12:36 Comments || Top||

#5  "The real fault lies squarely with leadership," he said. "It's not the kids' fault. There's nothing wrong with these kids' minds."

That fallacy is why the scores are so poor. You cannot teach kids unprepared to learn. A 12 year old from the ghetto, born to a young gang-banger, cannot see the need to know math beyond the street value of a kilo. Substitute Kandahar for Detroit and see if the approach would be different than throwing money at the problem as usual.
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 12/09/2009 12:59 Comments || Top||

#6  If the leadership's hands are bound by Union Contracts which prevent firing of incompetant teachers, merit based pay, etc... then there isn't much that can be done and this will just throw money at the unions (in the form of smaller class size (read: more union membership fees)).

And of course having the kids (and their parents) unprepared to learn has a lot to do with it as well.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/09/2009 14:50 Comments || Top||

#7  It probably doesn't help the test scores when al the kids who actually care about Education moved away with their job-seeking parents.
Posted by: Charles || 12/09/2009 16:40 Comments || Top||

#8  I'd be curious to know the lottery ticket sales rate in the area, in relation to math test scores.

I've always suspected that the lottery is simply a tax on people who are bad at math.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 12/09/2009 18:10 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
53[untagged]
4Govt of Iran
3al-Qaeda in Pakistan
2Hamas
1al-Shabaab
1CAIR
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Sudan
1al-Qaeda
1Hezbollah
1Iraqi Insurgency
1Islamic Jihad
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1Jundullah
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Palestinian Authority
1PFLP
1Taliban

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2009-12-09
  Baghdad bomb attacks kill 127, wound 450
Tue 2009-12-08
  Peshawar blast kills 10, injures 45
Mon 2009-12-07
  Explosions rock market in Lahore
Sun 2009-12-06
  Little resistance on day 2 of US-Afghan offensive
Sat 2009-12-05
  Attack temporarily shuts Herat airport
Fri 2009-12-04
  Russian Police find car packed with explosives near train station
Thu 2009-12-03
  14 dead in suicide bomber attack in Somalia
Wed 2009-12-02
  Obama: 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan by summer
Tue 2009-12-01
  At least 61 militants killed in Khyber tribal region
Mon 2009-11-30
  Air strike kills 30 Taliban in Khost
Sun 2009-11-29
  Russia train disaster was terrorist attack
Sat 2009-11-28
  IAEA votes to censure Iran
Fri 2009-11-27
  Lebanon gives Hezbollah right to use arms against Israel
Thu 2009-11-26
  Afghan police commander jailed for having 40 tonnes of hashish
Wed 2009-11-25
  Belgian pleads guilty in US jet parts sale to Iran


Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
3.133.144.217
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (21)    WoT Background (20)    Opinion (9)    (0)    Politix (11)