A US man has filed a lawsuit claiming false advertising against a herbal penis enlargement pill company because its products did not produce the promised enhanced member. The suit states that Florida-based Alzare LLC claimed in "very, very convincing" advertising featuring doctors and porn stars that its pills would add up to an extra three inches, but failed to deliver hard results, Reuters reports. Words fail
#1
What happened was that he wasn't told that in addition to taking the pills, he was supposed to put his thumb in his mouth and blow really, really HARD.
#3
"The pills contain ginseng, yohimbe bark, L-arginine..."
Bad batch of L-arginine. Or possibly someone f***ed up and pulled the D-arginine lever. Happens all the time, especially if you source from Eastern European labs. The manufacturers could have avoided all this unpleasantness if they'd just given him a fresh batch.
#5
Hey, the spam *specifically* said "penis enarglement". Nothing at all about "enlargement". And, let me tell you, having now seen him waving his penis around, let me assure you all, that that is one enargled penis. And we have LOTS of satisfied customers who are just THRILLED at how enargled their penii have become.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the remainder of the season on Wednesday, after team owners and locked out players were unable to negotiate a new collective agreement. Owners had been seeking to impose a salary cap on players, something their union had steadfastly refused to consider since the lockout began last September until Monday when they said they would be prepared to accept a cap of $52 million per team, which was rejected by the owners. That figure was lowered to $49 million, while the owners upped their proposal from $40 million to $42.5 million, but neither party was willing to budge any further. The NHL is the first North American professional league to lose an entire schedule due to a labor dispute.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 4:32:36 PM ||
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#1
Not all that big a deal. I have my weekend pickup games to keep me happy, and if I need to see a pro game I'll just drive on over to Fresno. :)
Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars
WASHINGTON -- A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here Sunday that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water.
The scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, told the group that they have submitted their findings to the journal Nature for publication in May, and their paper currently is being peer reviewed.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 15:19 Comments ||
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#5
Indeed, Robert.
The cost thrown about for a manned mission to Mars is about 180 Billion. This likely does not include ground operations for the time period, which for the Mars rovers was a bargain at 3 million a month. Assume the cost of operation is much higher because of the nature of the manned mission. Can we estimate that it might be higher than 200 Billion? The Mars rovers cost very roughly 850 Million to date for flight and operation for more than a year on planet. You can't tell me having one group of people there for a few weeks and who might die, will be better or more effective than having more than 200 rovers all over the surface. Also, economies of scale would drive down the cost per rover, versus cost per astronaut.
There doesn't seem to be a mission for people to do that robots cannot do equally effectively, and without those costs and risks. It just isn't quite as glamorous.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/16/2005 15:47 Comments ||
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#6
aaaak-ak-ak.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/16/2005 16:03 Comments ||
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#7
Rex, your babelfish's not working. "We come in peace" is aaaak-ak-ak-aak.
#8
well I, for one, welcome our new monocellular overlords
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 16:10 Comments ||
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#9
Tech Support, here I come.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/16/2005 16:24 Comments ||
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#10
Remember the meteorite report? Subsequently NASA announced the supply of 16 new grants, of an unspecified amount as well as the National Science Foundations input of 7 grants to the total of $US800,000. http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/news11.html
Then, everyone who looked at the rock determined that it had no signs of life. See, e.g.,
http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ecarlkop/marsdeb.html
The NASA budget is up for review. There is an entire section for Mars exploration -- which will be a matter for debate in the Congress:
"The request is expected to focus on plans to reorient NASA's priorities toward President Bush's "Vision for Space Exploration" to the moon and Mars."
Other congressional sources, however, said the decision could reopen discussion of Bush's moon-Mars plan, which was greeted tepidly last year by a Congress worried that other programs and priorities -- such as Hubble -- would be downgraded or abandoned.
"At least we'll have a debate," said one source, who declined to be identified because of lack of firsthand knowledge of the decision to scrap the servicing mission. "It will certainly put in stark relief the tension between [Bush's plan] and other NASA activities."
#13
What sucks is I'm 100% behind space exploration, even of a manned mission to Mars, a base on the Moon, whatever. But NASA's not the people to do it anymore. This kind of crap proves it -- they're too tied to the bureaucratic mindset and hunting for press coverage.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 18:46 Comments ||
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#14
Earthlings,
My name is Sandy Greenbody, and I am the mayor of Olympus Mons. Now that you know we are here, please return our lost prince. He was last reported in the area you call North Korea, and goes by the name of Kim...
Please help. His mother is worried since he was kidnapped by his father many years ago, who then stole a craft that looks like this :
Kim would look like a typical small human beaing in his early 60s. By computer imaging, we figure he looks something like this:
Gort, Klaatu barada nikto,
With kind regards,
Sandy
#15
Mark E. - You're almost there, now follow your logical trail to its unavoidable terminus: Even though $850M seems like a bargain for a rover we don't really benefit from the science performed by the rovers anyway. While the pursuit of knowledge may be a fine and noble thing we have more concrete issues which require our attention and resources right here at home. Further it is unconscionable to spend a single dollar on NASA when there are _ (fill in your favorite LLL tax-dollar-recipient group here).
Personally I'm glad you weren't in a position to influence US space policy in the late 60s.
#17
Leigh, it looks to me like that guy's just spotting more canals. Nothing there but the ability of the human brain to spot patterns.
Seriously, trilobites on Mars? If he just said "this is interesting", he'd be respectable. Spouting off about "sea urchins" and "trilobites" is reading WAY TOO MUCH into the pictures.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/16/2005 20:43 Comments ||
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#2
I wonder is they'll find any concrete connection to Troy which is another tale considered a pure myth. I wonder if that will have any implications for our understanding of how accurately information was transmitted from generation to generation back in the "primitive" days before the tech revolution.
Personally I think a definitive Troy/Rome connection would be too cool.
#5
I don't know if this REALLY qualifies as "Vast". I mean come on... it's only 3,500 square feet... no bigger than your average American house. Heck... my city lot is 7,500 square feet (50 x 150).
I guess vast is a relative term when it comes to palaces.
#6
Heh, Leigh - good point. In the Eastern Province of SA, where Aramco is located - and far from the heart of the Royal Show where the big stuff is located, there are several palaces, some belonging to the EP Gov, some belonging to the King & CP. The biggest Palace compound (think 20+ ft high walls around the whole shebang) visible from a public road was approx 1 Square Kilometer in size. Yeah, you read that right. And not a big one - for the Magic Kingdom, anyway.
Come on, we've all known "someone" who had a copy of at least one of these! [eds -- I know it's off topic! But, we do, since last night, have a new Top Dog.
NEW YORK — A pair of paintings from the famed series depicting dogs playing poker fetched nearly $600,000 at auction Tuesday. The two works — "A Bold Bluff" and "Waterloo" — were among 16 paintings that artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge was commissioned to create for a Minnesota-based advertising company in 1903. Of the 16, nine are of dogs playing poker. The two works that sold Tuesday for $590,400 capture moments in a poker game played by five dogs, among them a St. Bernard that ends up collecting the pot on a bluff. The winning bid set a new auction record for Coolidge, whose previous top sale was $74,000, said Alan Fausel, director of paintings at Doyle New York, which handled Tuesday's sale. The winning bidder was a private collector from New York. Doyle had estimated that the two paintings would bring in between $30,000 and $50,000. The sale was part of Doyle's annual "Dogs in Art" auction, which coincides with the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
#6
I can't wait for the "art critics" to blow some veins over this.
"Oh, my God! People are idiots! No wonder Bush won! I doubt Piss Christ would fetch that kind of price in this climate of fear and supression of dissent that hangs over this country in these dark, dark days!"
Trust me, it'll happen...
#8
except that most dogs (beside a few yappy breeds) aren't offended by the poker paintings
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 16:46 Comments ||
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#9
Come on, weâve all known "someone" who had a copy of at least one of these! [eds -- I know itâs off topic! But, we do, since last night, have a new Top Dog.
#12
I have that picture collection in my garage, I've got five of them altogether. Mrs. JH won't let them in *her* house. Same w/the 8-pointer I got mounted, that's in the office at work. I learned not to piss off my polish princess too much.
A watery ray of light in Britain's long, dark tunnel of crime. Severely EFL
SmartWater is a clear liquid containing microscopic particles encoded with a unique forensic signature that, when found coated on stolen property, provides a precise trace back to the owner and, when detected on a suspect, can conclusively implicate a felon.
Likened to giving household items and vehicles a DNA of their own, the fluid is credited with helping cut burglary in Britain to a 10-year low, with some cities reporting drops of up to 85 percent.
A decade in the making, SmartWater is the name for a suite of forensic coding products. The first, Instant, is a property-marking fluid that, when brushed on items like office equipment or motorcycles, tags them with millions of tiny fragments, each etched with a unique SIN (SmartWater identification number) that is registered with the owner's details on a national police database and is invisible until illuminated by police officers using ultraviolet light.
A second product, the Tracer, achieves a similar goal by varying the blend of chemical agents used in the liquid to produce one of a claimed 10 billion one-off binary sequences, encoded in fluid combinations themselves.
But more than property can get tagged. In spray form, the fluid marks intruders with a similarly unique code that, when viewed under UV in a police cell, makes a red-faced burglar glow with fluorescent green and yellow blotches. The resemblance to Swamp Thing and the forensic signature found on his body are telltale signs the suspect has been up to no good at a coded property.
"It's practically impossible for a criminal to remove; it stays on skin and clothing for months," Cleary added. "If a villain had stolen a watch, they might try to scrape off the fluid -- but they would have to remove every last speck, which is unlikely.
Law enforcers are confident SmartWater can help improve Britain's mixed fortunes on combating burglary. Nationwide, instances of the crime have fallen by 42 percent since 1997, but the proportion of those resulting in convictions has also halved, from 27 percent to just 13 percent. So, while SmartWater is available commercially with a monthly subscription, many police forces are issuing free kits to vulnerable households in crime hot spots, hoping it can help put away more perps.
The microdot tech could prove invaluable in a courtroom, but it is also an effective deterrent. Most burglaries happen because criminals know there is little chance of being arrested during a break-in, according to U.K. government data. But posters and stickers displayed in SmartWater-coded cities and homes warn off would-be crooks.
"Since we started using it in Croydon, burglaries are down by 27 percent," said Sgt. Phil Webb of the Metropolitan Police, which started testing the product in the region in late 2003 and has given 2,000 packs to citizens.
Other forces using SmartWater have reported burglary reductions of up to 65 percent, while Cleary said England's West Yorkshire force was due to announce a decrease of 85 percent after testing the product in the northern town of Halifax.
#1
..and, when detected on a suspect, can conclusively implicate a felon.
Assuming the suspect, is indeed, the burglar. The question is, what if this person only handled the marked merchandise unwittingly? The marker fluid is great for marking items, but won't tell who the person is that actually burglarized the place where the item was originally kept. Not to mention the possibility that many more individuals came into contact with the item and/or the burglar and some of the particles in the marker fluid could be transferred via casual contact.
#2
While in the U.S., burglars can also be tracked and identified by another fluid. This fluid is cheap, plentiful, and best of all the bugrlars have to bring it with them.
Posted by: (lowercase) matt ||
02/16/2005 15:17 Comments ||
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#3
Within a few years of the popularization of fingerprinting in England, and the acceptance of its admissability in court, thieves in London were found to be wearing gloves with the fingerprints of a deceased man on the outside tips, twice impressed into rubber, so they would be accurate, and not mirror-image. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
#6
Aris: they wanted to plant exculpatory evidence at the crime scene. Even then, police had developed detailed modus operandi files, which would narrow their search to maybe a half-dozen known offenders. So the expectation was that they would individually be questioned about the crime. Then their solicitor would point out to the police that someone else's fingerprints had been found at the scene. This would protect everybody with that m.o., not just the one criminal. It would also be very difficult evidence to impeach in court. And it was effective, if expensive, to do until the multipoint identification system of fingerprints was developed, which was accurate enough to detect a 'real' vs a 'fake' fingerprint. Ironically, in the US, some criminals tried to burn off their fingerprints with acid, which was not only horribly painful, but didn't work, as even if their fingerprints didn't "come back", their fingers still left distinctively individual smudges.
#7
Ironically, in the US, some criminals tried to burn off their fingerprints with acid, which was not only horribly painful, but didn't work, as even if their fingerprints didn't "come back", their fingers still left distinctively individual smudges.
gave em distinct lisps when doing sign language as well. Embarrassin'
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 19:12 Comments ||
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Ken Livingstone admitted yesterday that telling a Jewish reporter he was behaving like a Nazi concentration camp guard was "offensive". But the London mayor again insisted the remark was not racist and that he was not going to say sorry. With International Olympic Committee inspectors starting their assessment of the capital's bid for the 2012 Games today, there are fears that the row could damage Britain's chances. London faces stiff competition from several cities, notably Paris, and Mr Livingstone suggested that his determination to stand up for what he believes in could impress the IOC.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
02/16/2005 5:26:44 AM ||
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"'I think it is important that the IOC members realise they have a mayor who is not going to panic, change course or get in a great flap but will deliver the games on time.'"
The all-too-subtle irony that it is the crass and obstinate Livingstone himself who is causing this "great flap" seems to be lost on him.
Pre-empting Blair's call for an apology this morning, yesterday:
"He said any demands for an apology from Mr Blair would fall on deaf ears, adding: 'He is not there to manage me. He is not answerable for my mistakes, or successes. We are judged separately.'"
But Blair is the leader of his party - and Ken runs the risk of being booted out yet again. Not that that in itself has ever done him any harm politically (and Labour always comes crawling back to him in the end) - Ken isVictim Man!
#5
The Times has a good general article on the State of Ken and this story, which includes a transcript of the conversation between Livingstone and Finegold. Finegold was there to try to talk to guests outside Livingstone's £4,000 (taxpayer funded) knees-up:
Finegold: âMr Livingstone, Evening Standard â how did tonight go?â
Livingstone: âHow awful for you. Have you thought of having treatment?â
Finegold: âWas it a good party? What does it mean for you?â
Livingstone: âWhat did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?â
Finegold: âNo, Iâm Jewish. I wasnât a German war criminal and Iâm actually quite offended by that. So, how did tonight go?â
Livingstone: âRight, well you might be â but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are doing it just because you are paid to, arenât you?â
Finegold: âGreat, I have you on record for that. So, how was tonight?â
Livingstone: âItâs nothing to do with you because your paper is a load of scumbags and reactionary bigots.â
Finegold: âIâm a journalist and Iâm doing my job. Iâm only asking for a comment.â
Livingstone: âWell, work for a paper that doesnât have a record of supporting fascism.â
"The evaluation commission is led by Moroccan Nawal El Moutawakei, the first Moslem woman to win an Olympic gold medal when she won the 400 metres hurdles at the same 1984 Los Angeles Games where London bid chief Sebastian Coe claimed his second 1500m gold."
Consider Labor's constituents: leftists, working class. Leftists are increasingly anti-Zionist/anti-Israel/anti-Jewish (choose all that apply) and the working class is increasingly muslim.
So, you ask, "How can labor stand by him?" I respond with, "How can they not?"
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Columbian leader Alvaro Uribe have buried their acrimonious differences over a captured Columbian rebel. At a meeting on Tuesday — the first between the two presidents since the December arrest of rebel Rodrigo Granda — the two leaders agreed to boost security cooperation and restart stalled trade deals. "We have turned the page now to settle what was left undone, speed up accords that were delayed or halted and clear up things that were confused," Chavez said at a press conference with Uribe.
Chavez had recalled his Bogota envoy and frozen trade projects after accusing Colombia of violating Venezuelan sovereignty by paying bounty hunters to kidnap Granda from Caracas. Although the two countries had agreed last month to end the dispute, face-to-face meeting between Chavez and Uribe was delayed after the Colombian president got an ear infection. Mending ties The two governments agreed to work on better communication, increase military cooperation and restart commerce agreements, including construction of a cross-border gas pipeline.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2005 11:59:56 PM ||
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Georgia’s new Defense Minister is known for his extremely tough approach to the problem with Abkhazia
The new President of the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, took the office on Saturday. The ceremony, which was held in the republic’s capital, Sukhumi, marked the end of the political opposition that lasted for several months. Now the new president of Abkhazia will have to face numerous social and economic problems. The political problem - Abkhazia’s relations with Georgia - is the most important one of them.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said at the end of January, before his departure to the PACE session, that Georgia would return to Abkhazia. The head of state did not specify, how exactly Georgia was intended to do it. During his speech at the PACE session, Saakashvili presented a plan to regulate relations with South Ossetia by means of granting the status of a wide autonomy to it. The Georgian president did not offer anything similar to Abkhazia - it was simply said that one should resume negotiations on the matter. Abkhazia is ready to talk, although things will most likely be left as they are. The new Georgian administration perceives Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia. The Abkhazian administration, in its turn, agrees to negotiate only if Georgia acknowledges the independence of the republic.
So in short, the Abkhazian administration is willing to talk with Georgia about anything but what Georgia wants to talk about. Let me guess, someone’s going to write an Abkhazia Is From Mars, Georgia is from Venus book?
Seriously, I find myself wondering if perhaps Georgia would be better off letting Abkhazia gain independence and concentrate instead on real security issues, such as preventing another occurance of the Beslan tragedy? Might this also be good advice for Russia and Abkhazia as well? I suspect that Russia and Abkhazia’s main problem at the moment is neither Georgia, Ukraine, nor (as some say) the United States, but rather non-indigenous terrorist movements?
It is not ruled out that Georgia may try and use a military way of solving the problem. Georgia’s new Defense Minister, Irakli Okruashvili, is known for his extremely tough approach to the problem with South Ossetia and Abkhazia - a conflict is more than just possible. It was Okruashvili, who incited armed clashes in South Ossetia last summer. The official was not dismissed from the position for those actions afterwards - he chaired the Georgian Department of Defense instead. Okruashvili believes that his prime goal of the post is to run a profound army reform. The events in South Ossetia proved that Georgia was not ready for the conflict despite the ongoing army reform with the USA’s active participation in it.
The new administration of the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia is ready to face any development of events, according to President Sergei Bagapsh. The president obviously hopes that Russia will come to help the republic in the event a military conflict with Georgia occurs. "Do not forget that 80 percent of our people are citizens of the Russian Federation. Like any other superpower, Russia must defend its citizens, if their lives are engendered," Sergei Bagapsh said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/16/2005 12:56:20 AM ||
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#1
Seriously, I find myself wondering if perhaps Georgia would be better off letting Abkhazia gain independence and concentrate instead on real security issues, such as preventing another occurance of the Beslan tragedy?
The Beslan tragedy happened in Russia. What in the world could Georgia do about it? Georgia's main security problem is that huge giant in the North that has grabbed two pieces of its territory and won't let go.
I suspect that Russia and Abkhaziaâs main problem at the moment is neither Georgia, Ukraine, nor (as some say) the United States, but rather non-indigenous terrorist movements?
When Abkhazia had elections and Russia didn't like the result it wasn't the "non-indigenous terrorist movement" that breathed heavily down Abkhazia's throat until they changed it, it was the Kremlin.
So I'd say that Abkhazia's problem is Russia. The Abkhazians were foolish enough to try to seek independence by going into the arms of the bear which proceeded to bite their foolish little heads off even as it claimed to be protecting them.
More than a month after Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS, requested the resignations of three top journalists at the network who helped oversee a flawed report on the National Guard service of President Bush, they have yet to step down, two CBS officials said yesterday.
The journalists - Betsy West, a senior vice president for CBS News; Josh Howard, executive producer of the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes"; and Mary Murphy, Mr. Howard's deputy - were asked by Mr. Moonves to resign on Jan. 10, the day he released the findings of an independent panel engaged by CBS to investigate the flawed report. The panel found that CBS News had rushed the report on to the air on Sept. 8 in a frantic bid to beat its competitors and had not worked aggressively enough to verify the documents on which the report was based.
#1
I wonder if they deleted all the email files that were talked about in the story? I have a prediction that the MSM is about to get another big black eye (pun intended). I am pretty sure the only people watching CBS news are pundits looking for ammo against them.
#2
Cyber Sarge, I think that such files are kept on the mainframe, with tapes backed up at least once a day ... or whatever the modern equivalent is. At any rate, there would have to be a serious effort to erase all trace of every email, and then Management better hope that nobody copied anyone outside the building.
Two investors have sued a filmmaker for allegedly misleading them about plans for a documentary on the life of presidential candidate John Kerry.
The federal lawsuit filed Monday says brothers Marc Abrams and Russell Abrams were misled into thinking that George Butler, a longtime Kerry friend, and the film's producers were trying to make a commercially successful film.
Instead, the brothers allege that "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" was intended primarily to influence the 2004 presidential election in favor of the Democratic senator from Massachusetts. snip. Boring details about suit.
TYLER v. CARTER, 151 F.R.D. 537 (S.D.N.Y. 1993).
(Persecuted cyborg-woman sues Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Ross Perot, IBM, BCCI, NASA and the Rockefellers for conspiring to re-institute slavery through the "Iron Mountain" plan, and for perpetrating "the American Holocaust" against black women in concentration camps. She also seeks justice for conspiratorially-inflicted whispering campaigns, loud rock music and having her dorm room strafed by planes and helicopters. Perhaps 5.6 billion is too little.
http://members.aol.com/schwenkler/wcc/tyler.htm
#2
Great series of photos. I love the fact that our president is a sportsman-it must just eat the international community's a** that we have a physically fit president.
My favorite, though, is the one of him with the rifle. He looks at ease, focused, capable. It reminds me so much of the image of a frontiersman (which, in terms of vision for a better 21st century, he is).
#3
The images with other people tell the tale. He's a genuinely likable and open guy. He only gets uptight when there are MSM jackoffs trying to stab him in the back. Gee, wonder why he'd find that less than thrilling... Isn't he supposed to be whatever they say he is? Heh. Fug'em, I like the man.
I kinda like this really old Yale clip image... he took it seriously and no staging was involved, unlike the campaign crap.
#1
If global warming were a real problem then there is a remarkably simple solution, which I just have to step outside my house to see. My house like many in Oz has a galvanized metal roof. It reflects sunlight and helps keep the house cool. I don't know how much of that sunlight goes back out into space but I suspect a significant proportion. I did a quick calculation based on the known warming/cooling effect of variations in solar radiation and covering roofs of buildings seems to scale and we could use it to cool (or warm) the climate more or less at will. BTW, if this sounds like a joke, its not.
#2
Hell, sounds good to me. We could gather up a wing or two of C-17s and load 'em with saltpeter and then disperse the stuff over Eurasia. That would lower the Earth's labido.
#4
Do the maths out, phil, and you'll have a gorgeous journal publication ready to go. Just make sure you have a couple of reeeealy reputable co-authors (say a mathematician, a theoretical physicist, and... my imagination fails at this point).
The seven-year-old Kyoto Protocol comes into force today, binding 35 nations and the European Union to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases in an effort to combat global warming. Is it just an effort or will it combat global warming? Sounds like they aren't sure
Under the protocol, developed countries agreed to cut by about 5 percent from 1990 levels emissions of six gases that scientists say cause the Earth's climate to warm. Non-developed countries can pollute till their heart's content.
So can we. Bwa-ha-ha.
Kyoto comes into force 90 days after Russia's approval, ensuring the required threshold was met for ratification by countries accounting for 55 percent of emissions. The U.S., the world's largest producer of the gases, hasn't accepted the pact.
And God Gaia willing, we never will.
``This shows that the majority of the world can work together to tackle one of the biggest global challenges, climate change, said WWF European Director of Climate and Energy Stephan Singer in a telephone interview yesterday from Brussels. ``We need to see increased and strengthened caps for industrialized nations and we need to broaden the participation of developing countries such as China. Does the European Director of Climate issue the weather reports too? I'll bet they're really accurate in Europe.
Global warming caused by human action is the root of all evil rising sea levels, melting ice caps and more erratic weather patterns, scientists at a conference in Exeter, southwest England, said earlier this month. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has made dealing with climate change a priority of the U.K.'s presidency of the Group of Eight industrialized countries this year. Why doesn't he just make everybody in England walk. It's a lot smaller country. Perhaps he should make only the English walk since they're the rich ones. Scots and Welsh can still drive.
So can Barbra Streisand.
Japan today will host an event in Kyoto to mark the entry into force of the treaty. Speakers at the occasion, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Japanese time, will include Wangari Maathai, winner of last year's Nobel Peace prize and Kenya's deputy environment minister, and Joke That's his name!
Waller-Hunter, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should have a joke for a Director, because the whole thing is one.
Euros and the Japanese want to run their economies into the ground, well okay, but we're not going with 'em.
Posted by: Jack Bauer ||
02/16/2005 9:22:15 PM ||
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Article: ``This shows that the majority of the world can work together to tackle one of the biggest global challenges, climate change, said WWF European Director of Climate and Energy Stephan Singer in a telephone interview yesterday from Brussels.
The World Wrestling Federation has a Director of Climate and Energy?
#2
This is a brief summary of Kyoto. What I don't understand is that most of the signatories have absolutely no chance of meeting their Kyoto obligations. While data on actual emissions is difficult to find (suprise, surprise) most/all the signatories except Russia and Ukraine are already way over their CO2 targets (Spain by 40%, Canada by 25%) and the only way they will reach their targets is by a massive economic contraction (which may happen). So why sign up to a treaty they can possibly conform to?
#4
Here is a good graphic that shows compliance with Kyoto (2002 data). Of the developed economies only the UK and Swden are under their Kyoto targets, but it makes it clearer where the fudge is coming from. Eastern Europe is mostly far below their targets (becuase cheap energy from the Soviet Union stopped), so they will trade carbon credits and claim Kyoto worked to reduce CO2 emissions. Which of course is complete nonsense.
I've found out that countries measure Kyoto compliance by measuring the amount of energy they consume. If Kyoto were working, demand for oil and coal would be falling and consequently the price. In a separate development the world's largest coal producer said it would more than double the price of coal.
#5
I found this interesting article on CO2 over geological timescales. The money quote is - The Carboniferous Period and the Ordovician Period were the only geological periods during the Paleozoic Era when global temperatures were as low as they are today. To the consternation of global warming proponents, the Late Ordovician Period was also an Ice Age while at the same time CO2 concentrations then were nearly 12 times higher than today-- 4400 ppm. According to greenhouse theory, Earth should have been exceedingly hot. Instead, global temperatures were no warmer than today. Clearly, other factors besides atmospheric carbon influence earth temperatures and global warming. BTW the also an ice age refers to the fact we are currently in an ice age.
#6
Are you sure we're in an ice age, phil? I thought this was an interglacial period. I mean, wasn't the point supposed to be that the situation could tilt either way, depending on who could talk faster -- either a new ice age or catastrophic global warming?
#7
"...after 2 years everyone will be dismissing it as unreachable...."
...But only after saying that it's because of the US.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/16/2005 7:36 Comments ||
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#8
TW, that depends on the geological time scale. If you take quarternary as a whole, thus far you can call it an ice age.
As you see here, we're approximately in the second half of an interglacial peak. There may still be a few warmer spikes, but there is a likelihood that the cold period is around the corner (2-4K years).
#9
WWF European Director of Climate and Energy Stephan Singer: "We need to see increased and strengthened caps for industrialized nations..."
The game is just starting and already he's raising the stakes. Typical enviro-lobbyist. Lobbying is his career -- he'll never be satisfied. At best, he'll just drone on until he either gets an EU job or retires. At worst, he'll find a brand new tree-hugger cause to promote.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/16/2005 8:44 Comments ||
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#10
Didn't the Senate take a preliminary vote on the treaty, sort of to see what would happen if Bill had sent it to be ratified? And if so, notice how that never seems to turn up in the coverage.
#11
The Senate has never voted on ratification because it would have made Clinton/Gore look like fools to the international community. In 1999 the Senate voted 95-0 to pass a resolution which stated that the Senate would not ratify unless developing countries such as China and India were included in the program.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/16/2005 9:34 Comments ||
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#12
Kyoto Accord Comes Into Force; Countries Must Cut Gas Emissions
#13
TW, we have been in a Ice Age for the last million years or so. The term Interglacial refers to a relatively short term retreat of the ice within the Ice Age. I.e. we are in an Interglacial and in an Ice Age.
#15
Ok, you all, I am now much more educated than I was before (and I was anyway already anti-Kyoto... so there!). I've saved all the sites you gave me, and this thread, too, for future reference. Well taught, all!
Previously I warned that bloggers had better prepare themselves for 2005: the year the media establishment fights back.
It's time to sound the alarm louder than ever, now that the Pajama Team has scored its biggest victory yet: ousting Eason Jordan from CNN after his strange comments about US troops in Iraq, targeting journalists for extinction.
There's just no way without the efforts of dozens of bloggers such as Michelle Malkin and many others that Jordan would have left the network. Yes, his duties had been sharply reduced over a year ago and he no longer had day-to-day newsroom oversight.
And it wasn't the first strange outburst from Jordan. I have him to thank for three hours of loaded radio call-in lines one day, after he admitted CNN gave Saddam a free pass from criticism, in exchange for access to Iraq.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board yesterday strangely took the old media's side, essentially contending that bloggers had become rather a bit carried away on the Jordan story. They claimed it was really just an inappropriate off-handed comment that didn't warrant termination or resignation.
When even the WSJ is getting nervous, after several years of championing bloggers at OpinionJournal.com, it's clear the medium has arrived.
And with that, I will warn again, it will get ugly this year. Get ready, bloggers, you've had fast success and this will be your true test.
How do I know? Because I've been there, done that and seen what happens when they fight back.
Talk radio really began to be taken seriously by the news media several years after catching on with large numbers of listeners. November 1994 was the turning point when the old guard woke up from their long slumber and took notice.
I'll never forget how fast things changed after that election: suddenly we were the hot-heads, Rush-clones, gun-nuts, every name in the book. The news media focused on a few extreme comments made by a handful of hosts and attached them to all of us.
At the station I was with at the time, KSCO in Monterey Bay, California, we had a low-rated late night host named Dave Alan who frequently went into raving conspiracy mode. After the Oklahoma City bombing, he claimed on- air that black helicopters had been seen near the building just before the attack, along with other similar rantings.
Almost instantly, San Francisco TV stations (two hours away) began to cover his comments extensively in their newscasts. Never mind that the Monterey Bay was not part of their market area so they didn't normally cover stories there.
From there, the story went national, and Alan was seen on a number of programs. Always, the story angle was on the extreme rhetoric coming from that scary new medium, talk radio.
In addition, on-ar comments made by G. Gordon Liddy about self-defense were warped and twisted into an assertion he said federal agents should be assassinated.
We didn't know what was hitting us at the time because we were too new at the game. Many hosts had little or no previous media experience. We were all made to be guilty by association.
This is exactly the situation bloggers are in now. Some have journalism or talk radio backgrounds, most do not. The media establishment may have overlooked the Dan Rather success, partly because Rather still anchors the nightly news at CBS, but with Eason Jordan a line has been crossed.
And there's no turning back now, get ready for your trial-by-fire. Hat tap to The Radio Equalizer.
#1
But what the radio stations didn't have in 1994 was back-up. The MSM can go after the bloggers if they want, but they better have their story perfectly right. The distributed nature of this new format means that there will always be somebody with specialized knowledge who can call BS if they don't, as proven by font-geek Charles Johnson.
#3
Agreed. If I were a student at the Columbia School of Journalism, I'd be seriously questioning both my career options and the value I was getting for my tuition.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/16/2005 22:03 Comments ||
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#4
He's right, of course. But the Internet is different. The Internet is a global and it's unstoppable. We are witnessing a true revolution in terms of how news is disseminated. They simply can't compete with the brain power and instantaneous nature of the Internet. Smart investors will dump their stock in the major networks and magazines like Time Magazine, US News, etc. For two long, they've had crappy writers who pedal little more than a point of view. Now these chosen few will compete with the expertise of true experts, and people who write because the love to and who are often far more skilled than the "professionals", despite the lack of credentials.
If the want to succeed, they will provide quality reporting and information. Hiring on the best bloggers, etc. There is a need for accurate reporting - but the ability to control the flow..ie: distribution of that information is already beyond their control.
Good writers, will survive through paying blogs and whatever form the future "newspaper" will take. But it won't be like the New York Times, or Time Magazine, or USA Today, formats who try to be all things to all people. Those days have passed.
Rantburg is probably a good indication of things to come.
#5
Excellent points, 2b. Currently, the RB Editors who monitor, add in-line commentary, keep the peace... Someday, they'll beep their list of topical columnists - to see how many want to work on a breaking event - the added value analysis and perspective - beyond the facts which are posted as they come out in the central thread. And that hard data may be free - or bid for, in lex's News eBay, if you're trying to lead the story - i.e. be the source of a scoop, as they used to say. These columnists have access to databases of interlinked / pre-searched topical info - previous articles, facts, who's, when's, what's, why's, how's. Kinda like what Dan, Paul, et al, do now, heh. They make the connections for us, flesh them out, create sidebars, the whole nine yards. Of course, the Editors take everything generated, all the connectivity discovered, and update the DB's...
#6
Perhaps the shape of things to come was the recent sale of crikey.com.au to a mainstream media company reputably for a $1M. Forward looking established media coopt (buy into?) the best blogs and create a hybrid.
#7
Murdock's top mgmt is meeting tomorrow, I think (decided not to post the article since it was only one paragraph with nothing more than the announcement), to determine the shape of Fox and the rest of Murdoch's empire, print - TV - radio, in light of the Internet, blogs, etc.
They might have been the purchasers, lol!
Should be a very interesting next few years. Much writing on the wall, heh.
The Bush administration has not outlawed the terms gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
The feds say it's just a big misunderstanding.
The Oregon mental health community protested loudly this week after a federally funded suicide-prevention workshop, scheduled for Feb. 28, had its title and description changed to remove references to gays, lesbians, and bisexual and transgender people.
The workshop's original title, "Suicide Prevention Among Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Individuals," is now "Suicide Prevention in Vulnerable Populations."
"The discriminatory and intimidating actions of SAMHSA (the federal agency funding the workshop) and the Bush Administration should not go unchallenged and should be of concern to all Americans," the three workshop presenters said in a statement posted to their colleagues via the Internet.
The issue is a sensitive one in Portland, where more than 70 percent of voters went with John Kerry and voted, unsuccessfully, against a ban on same-sex marriage.
The brouhaha prompted a flood of e-mails to the offices of Charles Curie, the administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is paying for the conference. "Charlie is getting e-mails calling him a Nazi," said Mark Weber, the federal agency's communications director. "It is disgraceful the hate that these people have sent to him."
Weber said an agency project manager had suggested that the phrase "sexual orientation" would be more inclusive than the words gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. The project manager passed the suggestions along to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, a Newton, Mass., nonprofit organization that contracts with the agency to stage the conferences.
The next thing they knew, the workshop presenters -- Ron Bloodworth, Joyce Liljeholm and Reid Vanderburgh, all of Portland -- said they were asked by the resource center to remove the offending words from the workshop title. The description of the workshop does include the phrase "sexual orientation."
Vanderburgh said he and his colleagues were not asked to change the content of the workshop. But he's worried about the vague title.
"Our concern is the invisibility and marginalizing of a population of people," said Vanderburgh, a psychologist who treats transgender men and women. "We're going to have to explain to people at the conference why the name has changed. . . . This has become a political football." "We're not like everybody else. We demand to be recognized as being 'special'."
Nigerian Somehow Involved
A fraud ring infiltrated one of the nation's largest collectors of consumer information and obtained credit reports, Social Security numbers and other information about tens of thousands of people in a massive case of identity theft. ChoicePoint Inc. said Tuesday that it had begun sending letters to about 35,000 California residents to tell them that their personal information may have been compromised. The Georgia company urged them to check their credit reports for new accounts or suspicious activity. The scope of the scam is likely to widen because California is the only state that requires companies to notify people when the security of their personal information is jeopardized.
A ChoicePoint spokesman said the number of victims nationwide could total 100,000, but the company could not be sure of the extent of the fraud and had no plans to contact people outside California. "This is the worst in our seven years," said the spokesman, James Lee. "This is extraordinarily serious."
Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators said they had identified 750 people whose personal data had been used to buy jewelry, consumer electronics and computers. A North Hollywood man has been arrested, and investigators are searching for other suspects. Fewer than 10,000 credit reports were obtained in the yearlong scam, Lee said. He refused to explain how the scammers circumvented rules that require permission from the subject of a credit report to release the data to a third party. "Financial fraud is a pervasive part of our economy," Lee said. "The bad guys are very bright, very smart and very committed."
Although not a household name, ChoicePoint maintains what it claims is the largest collection of court records, addresses and other public data on people in the country — some 19 billion records in all. Insurance companies, banks, law enforcement agencies and many arms of the federal government use ChoicePoint's data. Landlords rely on ChoicePoint's databases to make decisions about prospective renters and insurance companies use them to assess the risk of potential customers. Last year, the company earned $148 million on revenue of $919 million.
Spun off from credit bureau Equifax Inc. in 1997, ChoicePoint has been criticized by privacy advocates for not maintaining tighter control over the data it compiles and sells. "Our basic problem is that they circulate information that is even more detailed than a credit report," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. snip
Lee said ChoicePoint maintained strict security standards, adding that the flaws exploited by the scammers had been corrected. He provided few details, except to say that ChoicePoint no longer accepted faxed copies of business licenses. ChoicePoint refused to detail the infiltration, which was detected in October. A ChoicePoint employee noticed a suspicious application to open a customer account, which enables users to search for background information about people and to request credit reports from one of the three major credit bureaus.
After the company compared notes with Los Angeles County sheriff's fraud investigators, they determined that the problem was much bigger: At least 50 suspicious accounts had been opened in the name of nonexistent debt collectors, insurance agencies and other companies, said sheriff's Det. Duane Decker.
According to ChoicePoint, the scam artists were a ring of serial identity thieves. They used other people's information to invent plausible businesses that withstood investigation.
Lee said he didn't know how names targeted by the ring were selected; they had nothing obvious in common, such as high net worth or recent transactions.snip
The investigation is focused in California, but Decker said the FBI and U.S. postal inspectors also were working on the case. Federal spokesmen didn't return a call seeking comment.
A break in the case came shortly after Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives joined the investigation. After another suspicious application for a ChoicePoint account came in by fax from a Southern California Kinko's, investigators set up a sting operation. They sent a responding fax asking for a new signature. Olatunji Oluwatosin, 41, was arrested when he arrived to pick it up, said sheriff's Lt. Robert Costa. Originally from Nigeria but living in North Hollywood, Oluwatosin was charged with six felony identity-theft counts. He was being held at the North County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2-million bail. Oluwatosin told investigators that he was the victim of mistaken identity — he was picking up the fax for someone else.
#4
Xbalanke - I worked the World Cup ventures back in 1994. Take a wild guess at which countriy's members were the overwhelming generators of fake $100 bills.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota and 30 other schools have been asked by the NCAA to explain their use of American Indian nicknames and logos.
The schools have until May first to submit their reply to an NCAA panel. The agency says it's not certain what actions, if any, it will take at this point.
The 31 schools were identified as those that drew complaints in 2002 for their use of Indian nicknames and mascots. They were asked to respond to a ten-question survey. In UND's case, it asked about the origin of the Fighting Sioux nickname and its use.
The NCAA's Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee wants the schools to do a follow-up analysis that includes a dialogue with students, community members and Indian tribes.
UND vice president Phil Harmeson says the school set up a commission in 2000 to study the issue, so it already has a head start.
It's occurred to me that the University of Colorado mascot, the Buffalo, exploits animals and reminds Native Americans of painful chapters in their history. In honor of Professor Ward Churchill and so many other faculty members, I recommend that it be changed to either the "L'il Eichmanns" or perhaps the "Quislings."
#2
The PC cops try to get UMASS to change the Minuteman every few years. It's scary to them to have a heterosexual white man carrying a gun as a mascot. Maybe they should change it back to the Redmen. Or tell them he's gay.
There are no advocates for petrified dinosaur poop. However, someone will complain that either A)Dinosaurs are extinct, and this is a mockery of the Endangered Species List, or B) anyone who has had a colonostomy will be able to complain that they donât poop normally, thus they are offended.
THE PHOTOCOPIERS - :
What a perfect way to honor the hard work of the now exiled News team at Sicty Minutes II. However, the radical socialism of most college campusus will have a hard time honoring a product produced by big business
THE GRASS- :
Grass is green. Grass is good. Football and Baseball teams play on grass. However the NCAA will be concerned that grass is also slang for marijuana, and donât want to be seen as causing funds from alumni to dry up even more by permitting such a name.
THE KETCHUP â
This might be a good one. Look at the brand name. Harken back to the glory days of the 2004 campaign. However, Some students are diabetic, and they will feel left out if ketchup is being promoted, and they canât have any... Plus the fact that Ketchup is used to mimic blood will offend the pacifists, even if they are football fans...
THE CLOUDS â
Clouds â Fresh air. Gentle rain. But wait! This is just a way of getting around the no Indian name ruling! Remember all the Indian Chiefs with names such as Red Cloud, White Cloud, etc? This is totally unacceptable!
Well at least there are NUMBERS?
But we have to be careful here â 13,7,11, and 69 are taboo for various reasons, plus there are bad numbers in other cultures as well e.g. 4, and 6 are unlucky in Japan.
The NCAA has to go into a classified meeting and decide what we can use as names. Otherwise we will never her the end of it.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/16/2005 15:29 Comments ||
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#12
My alma mater, MTSU, kept its name the Raiders (as in confederate cav) but changed the mascot from a uniformed cavalry man to a generic horse with a lightning-bolt mane. Being a red state (Tenn.) I guess they had to compromise and not get rid of the name altogether.
#15
My suggestion is "Evil White Europeans Who Conquerored Everyone." After all, isn't that what they're claiming already? Besides, reminding them of the fact they were conquered is a good thing. Apoplexy is good for the arteries.
#17
Silentbrick: As an evil white European who conquered everyone, I'm quite offended by your hurtful suggestion that my likeness should be used as a team mascot.
#20
As an Evil White European, it's okay to hurt your feelings. It's allowed by Leftist PC rules. So be quiet and feel guilty! Or we might have to put you in involuntary therapy for your own good.
#23
let's discuss the anti-trust aspects of the NCAA? Ooops! No name problems any more TYVM
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/16/2005 21:00 Comments ||
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#24
Xbalanke - I don't believe this has affected my high school, at least not yet. Can't say that about other 'Crusaders', though. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.
#27
More pc mumbo jumbo. Waste of time and money. Heck, all 30 schools could change their mascots to the Fighting Irish or Fucking Irish for all I care. Wouldn't offend my Irish ass one bit.
Hat tip Drudge.
THE NEW YORK OBSERVER will report tomorrow: 'Former 60 Minutes Wednesday executive editor Josh Howard has told colleagues that before he resigns, the 23-year CBS News veteran will demand that the network retract remarks by CBS president Leslie Moonves, correct its official story line and ultimately clear his name'...
In the event of a lawsuit, Mr. Howard has told associates that he would like to see Moonves put under oath to talk about his own roles in the network's stubborn, hapless defense of the flawed segment on President Bush's National Guard service. Howard has also indicated to colleagues that he would subpoena specific CBS documents, including the e-mails of top executives.
#1
Nah...it'll never happen. For one, it's being reported on Drudge. Rathergate has mostly died down now, and to have a court battle would keep it in the news for months/years. This would be a joyous occasion, and it's just too much to expect.
But hey, everything's been going our way lately (strange feeling, isn't it?). Why not a knock-down, drag-out fight between the disgraced executives and the company that scapegoated them? I'd LOVE to see top-level CBS internal emails published as evidence.
#4
My guess is that this story has legs depending on what the other networks decide is news. If Tom and Peter decide that this is something to report, it wouldn't hurt ratings in the future to be sure.
#5
"Josh, in the best interest of CBS News, we are asking you to resign."
"No, here's my lawyers number"
It's the classic rock meets hard place. If they don't leave, the smell of a coverup grows and grows. If CBS fires them, they get taken to court for wrongful dismisal. MSM won't want to cover it, but bloggers are keeping it alive.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/16/2005 8:50 Comments ||
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#6
And does CBS have the guts to counter sue the little ones for destroying the value of the brand name of their property by the individuals' reckless and wanton behavior? Or stockholder for that matter.
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.
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.
Owners had been seeking to impose a salary cap on players, something their union had steadfastly refused to consider since the lockout began last September until Monday when they said they would be prepared to accept a cap of $52 million per team, which was rejected by the owners. That figure was lowered to $49 million, while the owners upped their proposal from $40 million to $42.5 million, but neither party was willing to budge any further. The NHL is the first North American professional league to lose an entire schedule due to a labor dispute.
Hat Tip DRUDGE!
Venezuela's President 
The seven-year-old Kyoto Protocol comes into force today, binding 35 nations and the European Union to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases in an effort to combat global warming. 
