House Democrats filed articles of impeachment this morning against Attorney General Marc Dann, charging him with nine counts relating to a sexual harassment scandal that has led to widespread calls for him to resign.
The articles, sponsored by 42 of 45 House Democrats, contend that Dann warrants impeachment for "misconduct in office rising to the level of malfeasance, neglect, nonfeasance, gross neglect of duty, improper exercise of authority and gross immorality."
Politically, what I think is happening is that the Dems want to get this over with so it'll all be (hopefully) forgotten in November, while the Trunks would prefer to time it so the impeachment trial of Democrat Marc Dann (an Obama-supporter) in all its lurid detail coincides with campaign season.
No word on where Governor Strickland (a Hillary! superdelegate) stands on the issue this week.
A kindler, gentler read of this is that the Ohio Democrats are just as appalled and unhappy at Mr. Dann as we are. That would be good.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/13/2008 14:12 ||
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The first U.S. military aid flight to Myanmar landed in Yangon on Monday but emergency supplies remained at a trickle for 1.5 million people facing hunger and disease in the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta.
The C-130 military transport plane left Thailand's U-Tapao air base carrying water, mosquito nets and blankets to the military-ruled country, branded an "outpost of tyranny" by Washington.
The Myanmar junta's navy Commander-in-Chief Soe Thein greeted the U.S. supplies, which were accompanied by Admiral Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, and Henrietta Fore, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made clear his exasperation with the junta and its "unacceptably slow" delivery of aid to the victims of Cyclone Nargis since it struck Myanmar on May 3.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Why do I not believe that the "needy" will be getting any of these supplies?
The army will have spiffy new mosquito nets though.
#2
Graphic should be the money down the drain, not the food sack, IMHO.
waiting for the donks to start shouting about how the Feds ( meaning W) got aid to this rat trap quicker than the post Katrina rat trap...
A earthquake devastated southwestern China on Monday, killing close to 9,000 people and trapping hundreds of others under flattened schools, factories and houses.
The 7.8 magnitude quake, centered in Sichuan province, struck in the middle of the school day and toppled at least eight schools. Factories and at least one hospital were also razed, trapping hundreds more, state media said.
The death toll appeared likely to climb in China's worst earthquake for over three decades.
About 900 teenagers were buried in the rubble of a collapsed three-storey school building in the Sichuan city of Dujiangyan. Villagers helped dozens of students out as cranes excavated the site.
In Shefang city in Sichuan, 6,000 residents were evacuated after two chemical plants were leveled, trapping more than a hundred people and spilling corrosive liquids.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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OLD DREAM/VISION > FOR ME, PORTENDS A TRAGIC POST-QUAKE DAY IN FUTURE GUAM, albeit on a smaller death scale. In these dreams/visions, I'm alot younger [decades] than I am now or sgould be. INTERESTING > tall buildings which will collapse then, in future, ARE ONLY BEING PLANNED = PROPOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION NOW???
#2
Us panda lovers are a little concerned - the Wolong Panda Preserve has gone completely offline, no word on the facilities, numerous keepers and support staff or the 150 bears in their care.
Chengdu Panda Preserve reported they are mostly okay.
/sorry, I know people are the priority but pannas are so dang cute.
#3
Don't know how it could be related, but reports today say that Mt. Etna waaaay over in Italy has erupted. Is it likely that the plates' shifting has caused this, or just a coincidence???
#4
It amazes me to see the difference that building codes can make. I know this was a big quake but I think Japan had a huge one recently and the loss of life was nothing compared to this.
#6
Caliphornia has a pretty good building code. The least stringent building code in America considering the risk of earthquakes is around Salt Lake City.
#7
MUSLIM NEWS > OVER 40% OF MYANMAR DEAD ARE CHILDREN. Also expected to comprise a large number and percentage of survivors.
HMMMMM, add Myanmar kids to CHINESE QUAKE child victims > may explain [in part?] my aforementioned dream where I appear to be young again ala FUTURE GUAM QUAKE???
Afghan farmers hope to capitalise on soaring food costs by growing wheat instead of poppy crops, with the fall in heroin prices further fuelling the switch.
The price of a tonne of wheat in Afghanistan has almost trebled this year, causing acute food shortages. A changeover of crops has begun in key agricultural regions, said Tekeste Tekie, country representative for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. He said a significant increase in wheat crops is expected from next year's harvest. "The high price of commodities has encouraged farmers to switch from poppy cultivation to wheat. In fact, we are already seeing evidence of this happening, for instance in the Bamian region, where some farmers have planted half wheat and half poppy crops," Tekie said.
The growing season runs from November to June in Afghanistan. If wheat prices stay near their current level, supported by regional subsidies, an Afghan farmer can make up to a third more on wheat than poppy by next year's harvest, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Haji Dawood, a farmer who used to cultivate poppy but now farms wheat in the Daman district, near Kandahar in the south, said his family had benefited from the wheat boom. "It's the first time since I planted wheat that I can afford to feed my family ... it's going well because the price of opium has come down, and the price for my wheat has gone up. Each new season we get more money from the crop than from the previous one," he said.
Mir Dad Panjsheri, the chief adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture, said some regions from the south may be off limits because of instability. "We expect a more than 30% increase in wheat crops next year in places like Kunduz, Baghlam and Faryab. But the Taliban stronghold areas remain [key locations] for poppy farming ... most farmers there are afraid to start planting wheat yet," he said. Panjsheri said farmers may be put off by difficulties in getting their crops to market. "Some roads are dangerous, not just because of the Taliban, but there are other problems like bandits, who may try to rob your money on your way back from the market. The Taliban can offer protection if you are selling poppies," he said.
#7
I call Bullshit, Wheat cannot come anywhere near the profit from Opium.
Souns like a "Don't kill us" propaganda release, stalling for time until the crop's harvested, then plant something as "Cover" (In both meanings of the word).
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/13/2008 15:16 Comments ||
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RJ, it's not the farmers that make opium (majority of them don't--some mayhaps do, but it is a risky biz and just harvesting poppies is safer). The price for the crop alone may not be as great as you think, so the wheat may be a resonable alternative.
#9
Wheat is more profitable since you don't have to pay the Taliban tax on it {upwards of 30% of the value of the opium crop}, you can get FREE wheat seed through a couple of the crop conversion programs, and there is a crop conversion program that will help with fertilizer and soil improvement.
#10
If wheat is so great, then why don't the Taliban grow it themselves?
What is to stop the Taliban from collecting a "tax" on any crop, including wheat?
Can poppies be grown in depleted soil? Does growing wheat cost more than growing poppies? Can they alternate wheat and poppies and not have to let the soil regenerate every so often?
#11
Iff one believes that the WOT > WAR FOR MACKINDER'S WORLD ISLAND, + that OWG Free Trade/Econ Zones are being quietly established as we speak, PERHAPS ITS TIME TO CONSIDER LEGALLY TRANSFORMING + INCORPORATING WORLD DRUG PRODUCTION ENCLAVES INTO "LEGAL/OVERT" OWG ZONES FOR THE DEV AND MFG OF PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS = DRUG/MEDICAL RESEARCH???
Afghanistan will need massive amounts of foreign investment in order to suppor any plans or schemas as per POST-WOT? "NATION-BUILDING" + espec "GLOBALISM". IMO, the US Govt. is covertly well-aware of this option [1980's] since the destruction of the these drug crops is not a priority.
#13
Gorb, much of the Taliban today is reconstituted drug gangs that are claiming "Taliban" so that they can operate in certain tribal zones. And no, they don't do a wheat tax for the simple reason that the European drug cartels that are paying their bills, won't put out money for extorting grain farmers. The Euro cartels WANT opium, pure and simple. Anything else, and Abdullah might find himself going feet first into a woodchipper. Also, once the wheat crop comes into an area and the security situation starts to stabilize, the Taliban get turned in more and more often by the locals.
Police stopped the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe on Tuesday and asked him to go with them to a police station after he toured a hospital. Ambassador James McGee and a group of journalists had just toured a hospital that is treating victims of recent post-election violence when the incident happened in the village of Mvurwi, west of the capital of Harare.
Police blocked the gates to the hospital and stopped the group. They wanted to "ask him questions" about photos the group had taken, said Paul Engelstad, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe. The police "never said they were going to arrest him," he said. McGee refused, personally opened the gates and motioned to his convoy to proceed. They left without incident.
Good man, Mr. McGee. Stay strong.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 07:48 ||
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A delegation of exiled Burundian rebel leaders will be in Bujumbura in a week's time to discuss a moribund ceasefire, the rebel National Liberation Forces (FNL) has said. The FNL said on Wednesday it would be sending a delegation to Bujumbura even as the small central African nation experienced some of its worst fighting in years.
Pasteur Habimana, the party's spokesman, told AFP on Thursday: "The Palipehutu-FNL has not lost the war, but it wants peace and this is why our delegation will arrive in Bujumbura as scheduled on May 14 at 12am (10:00 GMT), despite the army's ongoing offensive."
The FNL launched a major offensive on Bujumbura and its outskirts on April 17, sparking intense clashes with the army in which more than 100 have been killed, including many civilians. Habimana could not confirm the loss of 50 fighters in fighting on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Zimbabwe will not invite election observers from Western countries to monitor a presidential run-off unless sanctions are removed, state media said on Monday, rejecting opposition demands.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Zimbabwe would not bow to pressure to let in election monitors from Western countries and the United Nations. "We will not allow them ... We will think favorably of them if they lift sanctions," the state-run Herald newspaper quoted him as saying. "Until they do that, there is no basis to have any relationship with them."
After weeks of equivocation, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said at the weekend he would contest the run-off against Robert Mugabe even though he believes he won outright in the first round and accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of vote-rigging.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said he would return home to deal Mugabe a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power. But Tsvangirai said he would only stand if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is free and fair.
Zimbabwe's government rejected any conditions for the run-off, but has previously allowed election monitors from regional group Southern African Development Community (SADC). Only one European country, Russia, was invited to observe the March 29 poll. Diplomats accredited in Zimbabwe were the only other Western observers allowed to monitor the vote.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Only one European country, Russia, was invited to observe the March 29 poll.
Special invitees and former instructors from the Frunze are always welcome in Zim or South Africa.
(Xinhua) -- Bangladesh will hold the general elections in the third week of December this year to install an elected government, caretaker government Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed announced here Monday. The general elections slated for Jan. 22 last year were canceled following political turmoil over discrepancies on electoral issues between major political parties.
The violent political agitation led to imposition of the state of emergency on Jan. 11 last year that banned all political activities. In an address to the nation over the state-owned radio and television Monday evening, Ahmed said ban on indoor politics across the country will be lifted from Tuesday.
The chief advisor said his government will sit for dialogue with political parties from May 22. "It is important to reach consensus before the elections to make the post-election parliament effective," Ahmed said, adding it needs guarantee that none will reject the election results and boycott next parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt Monday expressed his satisfaction with the results of Serbia's latest elections.
"Ja, sure! Ve båne såtisfied! Yoü betcha!"
Speaking to Swedish Radio, the minister said the pro-European Union (EU) forces have won a clear victory in Serbia and the result is better than expected.
"Mørk mørk mørk!"
He maintained that even if there are tough negotiations ahead, he did not foresee a future Serbian government turning its back on Europe.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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I love stories about Sweden
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/13/2008 8:32 Comments ||
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The stories are usually depressing, but the picture of the Princess compensates.
It was the day before Indiana's primary, and she had just been chased by dogs while canvassing in a Kokomo suburb. But that was not the worst thing to occur since she postponed her sophomore year at Middle Tennessee State University, in part to hopscotch America stumping for Barack Obama.
Here's the worst: In Muncie, a factory town in the east-central part of Indiana, Ross and her cohorts were soliciting support for Obama at malls, on street corners and in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and they ran into "a horrible response," as Ross put it, a level of anti-black sentiment that none of them had anticipated.
"The first person I encountered was like, 'I'll never vote for a black person,' " recalled Ross, who is white and just turned 20. "People just weren't receptive."
For all the hope and excitement Obama's candidacy is generating, some of his field workers, phone-bank volunteers and campaign surrogates are encountering a raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed -- and unreported -- this election season. Doors have been slammed in their faces. They've been called racially derogatory names (including the white volunteers). And they've endured malicious rants and ugly stereotyping from people who can't fathom that the senator from Illinois could become the first African American president.
The contrast between the large, adoring crowds Obama draws at public events and the gritty street-level work to win votes is stark. The candidate is largely insulated from the mean-spiritedness that some of his foot soldiers deal with away from the media spotlight.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/13/2008 06:03 ||
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#1
12% of a certain segment of the population makes up 44% of the Prison population. The Media have already elected Obama but they are ignoring all kinds of obvious facts to do so.
#6
Wright has poisoned the 'moral higher ground' the lefties alway whine about. The clear and unrecoverable demonstration of black racism that the masses have witnessed for decades is 'out of the bag', and all the NYT's horses and all the WAPO's men can't put the guilt game back in front again. The community is now going to have their 'crying wolf' moments. They're also going to find out that most Americans, other than the usual suspects, don't care anymore.
I'd have simply told those students that I'd never vote for a such a lightweight, inexperienced snob and fool. And worse he is a socialist, especially one that comes from a racist background, and is such a rabid abortionist that he considers a pregnancy and baby to be a "punishment".
Someone with that little regard for individual rights, life in general, and such a high place for racists and bigots in his personal life is unqualified to be president.
#10
A few of these are probably real, the vast majority are probably made up to make Obama look like the victim. The libs think victim status makes you a shoe-in. They don't realize that the buzzwords of victimhood just don't resonate with 80% of the country.
#12
Actually, articles like this are intended to blunt the fact that Obama is not doing nearly as well with whites as he did before people knew anything about him. They would like to paint opposition to him as caused by race instead of a thoughtful (all right, sometimes visceral) rejection of his positions and elitist predilections.
#13
bigjim-ky you are probably right about the victim thing, but does anyone really want a Presidential victim? Who gives a sympathy vote for the Presidency?
Don't answer that. We all know who, and it's pathetic.
#14
This is all part of an effort to guilt "White America" back into voting for Obama. This is one of the most cynical ploys yet, and I'm sure they're not done. Once again though, it's a good wiindow into how Camp Obama views the country.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
05/13/2008 12:05 Comments ||
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The same foot soldiers who hang che flags up in their office? Constituants who had a whiff of garlicshot fired their way? People who don't like to be disturbed at home or while shopping by obnoxious political activists? Or overblown/BS stories by people who thrive on catching acts like this on camera or tape but don't have any proof other than "trust me when I tell you this"?
#16
....people who can't fathom that the leftest, communist, wealth and asset transfer democrat senator from Chicago Illinois could become the first African American president.
Americans are gloomier about the direction of the country than they have been at any point in 15 years, and Democrats hold their biggest advantage since early 1993 as the party better able to deal with the nation's main problems, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Poll questions provided by Harry and Nancy. those two have been pretty quiet, lately...
Nope. WaPO polled the folks in the NYT newsroom. That's why everyone is gloomy ...
Despite more than eight in 10 now saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, coupled with growing disaffection with the Republican Party, Sen. John McCain, the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, remains competitive in a hypothetical general-election matchup with Sen. Barack Obama, the favorite for the Democratic nomination, and he runs almost even with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Those findings indicate that McCain continues to elude some of the anger aimed at his party and at President Bush, whose approval ratings dipped to an all-time low in Post-ABC polling. Maintaining a separate identity will be a key to McCain's chances of winning the White House in November. Overall, Democrats hold a 21-percentage-point advantage over Republicans as the party better equipped to handle the nation's problems. Control of Congress isn't enough! We want it all!
More than six in 10 Democrats now say Obama is the one with the better shot at winning in November. Although Clinton retains her wide advantage as the more experienced candidate, for the first time Obama has the edge on being considered the stronger leader.
But there is no groundswell of public pressure for Clinton to quit the race, despite trailing in pledged delegates, the popular vote and now superdelegates. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said she should stay in the race.
One reason is that few Democrats seem concerned that the protracted nomination battle will hurt the party's chances in November. Only 27 percent said they thought it had done the party long-term damage. Most said the drawn-out contest has had no impact on the party's prospects (56 percent) or that it has been helpful (15 percent).
And most Democrats said they are confident that the party would rally around Obama should he become the nominee, although fewer than half said they are very confident. African Americans are somewhat more confident than whites, and nearly a quarter of Clinton supporters expressed doubt that the party would find unity once the nomination is settled.
In a hypothetical general-election head-to-head, Obama leads McCain by a slim 51-to-44-percent margin, with the public split 49 percent for Clinton to 46 percent for McCain. Against McCain, Obama does better than Clinton among voters who are African American, college-educated and younger. Clinton draws more support than Obama does against McCain among white voters who are older or female and those whose family incomes are less than $50,000 a year. So the typical miliary person supports Clinton?
The economy remains the biggest issue on Americans' minds, although its importance dipped for the first time since last fall. In the new survey, 36 percent cited the economy and jobs as their top voting issue; 21 percent consisting of old hippies, commies, and other lefty liberal losers named the Iraq war. All other issues remained in single digits, including health care and the price of oil and gasoline. So we won the war, for everybody but the lefty tools. And Obama. But I repeat myself.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/13/2008 05:52 ||
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Wee duh - the dominant leftists media has only been pounding away at how bad the economy is for several years now, ho bad the war is going for several years now, and trying to create a recession out of lower growth.
Of course people are going to be negative if al lthey get is spin and bad news, and never the whole truth, being that inflation has been historically low, economic growth and employment historically high, unemployment controlled well below where it was in the Clinton "Boom" years, home ownership (even factoring in the current problems) at an all time high, especially amongst minorities, and even in the middle of a press-declared recession, unemployment went DOWN and remains far under recessionary levels and growth continues to be positive, not negative, and we are still creating jobs.
DO YOUR DAMNED JOB PRESS! Tell ***ALL*** the nes, the whole of the truth, and stop trying to spin things your way politically. You are supposedly the 4th part of our Demcarcy, and you are FAILING us.
If you cause our republican democracy to collapse via your malfeasance and craven political behavior of misinforming the people, I and others like me guarantee your kind will be the first to dance on the end of a bayonet.
#2
The economy is indeed very gloomy for journalists. Few Americans take anything they write at face value anymore.
But let's face it, skyrocketing gas and food prices are affecting the average Joe and Jane. They are reminded of it every time they stop at the grocery store or gas station.
Posted by: ed ||
05/13/2008 9:24 Comments ||
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Gloomy?
Just because the manufacturing, steel, mining, and electronics industries have been sold out to our most rabid competitors?
Just because REAL wages are lower than they were in the 70's?
Just because the Oil Sheiks have us by the nutsack?
Just because we spend trillions of $$ to kill arab assholes that our grandfathers could have killed for 1/10 the price?
Just because our dollar is worth half what it was 2 years ago?
Just because both parties running for office of president have hairbrain schemes to make things worse not better?
#4
"the dominant leftists media has only been pounding away at how bad the economy is for several years now"
Only since 2001. The economy will miraculously improve as soon as a Democrat is elected.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/13/2008 11:25 Comments ||
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#5
Look, let's be honest here. The Country is heading in the wrong direction. The Earth's rotation sends us around from West to East and it's time for a change.
#6
Obewan isn't a leader; he is a follower of the reparations rhetoric that African American leaders have been spewing since the sixties. He will alienate white Americans. Give him time.
#8
Despite more than eight in 10 now saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, coupled with growing disaffection with the Republican Party, Sen. John McCain, the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, remains competitive in a hypothetical general-election matchup with Sen. Barack Obama, the favorite for the Democratic nomination, and he runs almost even with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Those findings indicate that McCain continues to elude some of the anger aimed at his party and at President Bush...
They jumped to the wrong conclusion here, IMHO. McCain matches up well against Obama and Hildebeast because the donks have failed to offer a viable alternative. They're not an opposition party, they're a motley collection of moonbats, misfits, and crooked morons. Yes, we're pissed off at Republicans but we're pissed off at donks too. Now that's gloomy.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/13/2008 13:30 Comments ||
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You know things are bad when you are even considering Ron Paul as a last ditch effort to get out from under the three toads we have to choose from now.
#10
"Obewan isn't a leader; .... He will alienate white Americans. Give him time."
So he can alienate MORE; he has already lost just about all the white votes in my neck of the woods......( there are still a few, mostly women that think he's cute, that will vote for him. now that is a real key characteristic for the job: CUTE!)
#11
now that is a real key characteristic for the job: CUTE!)
USN, don't knock it. That's one of the things that got JFK elected.
Oh, and the Chicago Democratic machine.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/13/2008 15:47 Comments ||
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now that is a real key characteristic for the job: CUTE!
Gee, I would have thought so, given how many snide comments have been made about Hillary's appearace .....
#16
Children! Let's play nice, now....Hilly's appearance doen't matter any more the Big O's skin color or John-Boy's age.
Now, the fact that that O is cute (like JFK) and from Chicago worries me when I think how Chicago helped put JFK over the top in 1960. remember the Chicago Machine is run by King Richard the Second (son and heir to King Richard the First, of 1968 Demo convention fame).
But some of the nasty snark is also pretty funny...
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/13/2008 18:36 Comments ||
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Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are talking more about "clean coal" and less about global warming as they woo voters in West Virginia and Kentucky -- two states that sit at the heart of the nation's coal economy.
In a bid to draw voters ahead of Democratic primaries in West Virginia on Tuesday and Kentucky on May 20, both candidates are playing up the ascendant role of commercially untested and so far economically nonviable ways of converting America's plentiful coal supplies into electricity without spewing massive quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. "We need some big investments right now in figuring out how to capture and store carbon dioxide from coal," Clinton told a rally in the rural town of Clear Fork on Monday.
To get there, she took a windy road through the Appalachian Mountains that passed at least four big coal mines cut into the mountainside.
Not to be outdone, Obama's campaign has distributed flyers in Kentucky stating that "Barack Obama believes in clean Kentucky coal." The flyers show a picture of giant barges carrying coal down the Ohio River.
Coal-fired power plants generate about half of U.S. electricity supplies, and account for about 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions -- the biggest single industrial source.
Clinton has a plan to require U.S. industry to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, but she hasn't brought that up in numerous appearances in West Virginia and Kentucky in recent days. But America has 250 years worth of coal, and will likely remain the backbone of its power generation system for decades. "I know how important coal is to West Virginia," Clinton said last week in the state's capitol rotunda in Charleston. "Coal is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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That the US hasn't had a comprehensive energy plan for the last 8 yrs speaks volumes. A pox on both their houses.
#2
And pay 5 times the cost of a contemproary coal plant. Futuregen (CO2 capture coal pilot plant) was recently canceled at $1.8B for 275MW. No Thanks.
Elect me Prez and I will pass laws to charge every environut 5 times the going rate for rent, food, gas, electricty, etc.
Posted by: ed ||
05/13/2008 7:52 Comments ||
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#3
A pox on ALL the bastards in D.C.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them shut down our coal mines and start importing it from china.
#4
The US Govt and Con-gress has NOT had a COMPREHENSIVE energy policy since the Saudi oil embargo in 1973. It is just the same pork barrel politics.
I say, F*CK them all, and let's do as much as we can ourselves. The biggest job we have in this country is to clean up the con-gress. This is bigger than the Iraq war.
We in Alaska are faced with very high prices for gasoline and fuel oil. In the villages we are talking $6.00 per gallon now. There is a lot of effort going now into wood heat for boilers. I was at a school in SE Alaska last week where they have a new central heating system run on sawmill chips. It heats the school buildings, aquatic center, etc.
I see the states making the efforts in alternative energy. All the congress critters do is to pander to whomever will give them votes. If we cannot vote out these parasites, then we must isolate and bypass them like we did the Imperial Japanese forces at Truk and Rabaul.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/13/2008 14:39 Comments ||
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#5
Alaska Paul, I would say we realized we had no policy in 1973 but I don't think there was a comprehensive energy policy EVER. It became inexcusable in 1973 but there was no plan previously.
Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr said on Monday that he will run for president as a Libertarian, a development that could pull some votes from Republican candidate John McCain.
Barr said neither McCain nor Barack Obama, the Democratic frontrunner, would rein in a government that he said has grown too powerful after the September 11 attacks. "A vote for the status quo ... is really and truly a wasted vote, because it is not going to do anything," Barr said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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He's still alive?
Posted by: Mike ||
05/13/2008 9:01 Comments ||
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Republican John McCain pledged to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of President George W. Bush.
In remarks he prepared to give at a wind technology firm in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, the Arizona senator said he would seek international accords to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would offer an incentive system to make businesses in the United States cleaner. "The facts of global warming demand our urgent attention, especially in Washington," McCain said in remarks he planned to give at the Vestas Wind Technology plant. "Good stewardship, prudence, and simple common sense demand that we act to meet the challenge, and act quickly," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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I want to vote for you but keep this up and I cannot in good conscience do so.
Personally I hope the Democrats win in a landslide. The country has forgotten the consequences of letting them run the show so I suppose we'll have to suffer through four years of it before normalcy can return.
#5
I think McVain is tossing out a red herring here to differentiate himself from Bush.
Personally I hope the Democrats win in a landslide.
Yep, nothing like the pain that 4 years Obamalamdingdong and a filibuster proof donk House and Senate to destroy the Democrap Party. But, could the Nation survive it? Ihave my doubts when almost 50% of the country seems to be gibbering feces fling Chimpanzees.
#6
It took the labour party 10 years to ruin the U.K. and for the public to wake up (the media were complicit with the cover-up). be careful what you wish for.
#7
The rest of the world cannot afford four years of President Hussein. Though with DC likely to be a smoking crater thanks to al Qaeda and the rest of his friends I doubt his administration would make it through a full term.
#9
grom, its because he gives ANY weight at all to the hoax that is anthropogenic global warming.
And its not that he advocates nukes, he also is stupid enough to advocate cap-and-trade systems, and begin the largest, most wide reaching buraecracy that will have economic regulation powers - a disaster for the US economy, and for individual freedom.
I suggest you read up a bit more on McVain and his idiotic policies.
#10
The nation survived 4 years of Jimmah Carter.
These bastards in D.C. are selling our country away to the rest of the world. They a filling their pockets and we are losing what little wealth the middle class had to begin with. So someone please tell me which of these three assholes will do the least damage to us in the next 4 years.
#12
Basically I think we need to go nuclear for foreign policy reasons. If McCain believes climate change is the reason or the excuse to sell the nation on nuclear power so be it.
#13
Living in NJ is finally going to pay off. Not voting for McCain won't make any difference in this Democrat hellhole. I get to indulge my "I ain't votin for this jackass" belief without any risk of effecting the outcome of my state's vote.
#14
Need to ditch the other crap he wants to do with it. Giving the EPA control over economic growht is a recipe for socialist top-down economic disaster.
Its Watermelon Environmentalism at its wors (green outside, red inside), whcih is why McCain being for it puzzles me: either he is incredibly dishonest, or else incredibly stupid. Neither of which speak well for him as President.
#15
OldSpook is right on. Only an idiot or a polished turd would believe global warming.
Does anybody really think that McCain is a better man than Bob Barr ? Seriously ?
Bob Barr didn't give us campaign reform which allows George Soros to donate millions while citizens can only donate thousands. Bob Barr didn't write the McAmnesty bill with Fat Teddy to reward illegals with our Social Security dollars. And, the cap-and-trade plan would lead to Great Depression II. This jerk is way over his head. But, he is a useful fool, so the media and the CFR have annointed him. If more serious American patriots had the morals of OldSpook and me, then we would toss this nitwit out no matter which party he belonged to. Let's not forget his efforts to undermine the president's choices for SCOTUS judges. He is nothing but an egocentric jerk, who, like all the rest of them, thinks he is important. When I saw that video of him singing 'People', I couldn't help thinking of McCain fiddling while America slides into the Notre American Union. Maybe he'll sing 'We Are The World'.
#16
even the oil companies are accepting the scientific consensus about anthropogenic global warming. McCains statements are reasonable, and increase the likelihood that I will vote for him.
#17
Bob Barr isn't going to be president. Vote for him if you like, but be under no illusion that you change anything.
McCain has to play the game that has been given him, folks. Yes, I would appreciate it if he stated publicly that 'climate change' was a complete con from start to finish. But he can't do that and survive as a viable candidate.
He's in the business of winning elections, and to win he has to say nice things about climate change, and even have a plan to 'deal' with it. So he proposes "good stewardship, prudence and simple common sense". Given the alternatives, that's not such a bad plan.
Anyone in a democracy that thinks it better to let the opposition win so as to 'teach the country a lesson' will find himself, one day, not living in a democracy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2008 14:55 Comments ||
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#18
lib, they are accepting it because they profit more in a fully regulated market, since they can buy influence instead of having to compete. And please do not confuse "global warming" with ATHROPOGENIC global warming.
CONSENSUS is *not* proof. Its has been warmer and cooler long before this time, and none of that was correlated with human influenced CO2 levels. Not to mention we are encountering cooling, in spite of slightly elevated CO2 levels. The more accurate temperature measues have show little if any "global warming" in the past decade, and are starting to indicate a cooling trend. The effects of CO2 are minuscule (espcially compared to water vapor), and only correlative at best, and certainly not proven as causative.
Based on the accurate evidence, and not on faulty models, its becoming obvious that the Global Climate is not that susceptible to human activity, and it is folly to accept a politically driven "consensus" as proof. Plus that consensus is now dissolving, due to lack of *proof*, and the facts are beginning to point to solar activity and ocean current cycles as far larger influences that swamp any influences we have.
AGW is junk science, and responding to it politically is flat out stupid - its treating a problem that doesnt exist, and using governmental and collectivist methods to do so, all based on what amounts to shamanism instead of science.
#19
bringing this back to McCain, this and his open borders proclivities trace back to his well known stubbornness and temper.
He is well known in DC to not like being challenged on something he has made up his mind on. Present him with facts contrary, and he gets angry. Its almost as if he is saying "I know what the truth is for ME, and all the other facts can be damned". He is arrogant, opinionated and stubborn. Unfortunately he is also quite irrational and ignorant on these vital matters.
That is a bad combination of things to have as a President. The other unfortunate thing is we realistically have no other choice, given how bad Hillary and Obama are - they are as bad as McCain on the AGW and Illegals/Border issues, but are even worse on geopolitical issues and the war. And its arguable that Hillary has an equally bad temper and definitely is prone to revenge, and Obama is the flip side - terribly ignorant coupled with being naieve.
Its sad that we the people are left with this pumpkin-headed McCain as the best of a bad lot.
As far as Bob Barr and the LP (and Mike Gravel whio is also seekign the LP nomination) go, they are simply bad jokes for the tinfoil hat groupies (plus Overnight AM conspiracy morons and Lew Rockwell's Sturm Abtielung).
I know because I was behind Harry Browne and Ron Paul back in the late 70's and 80's when I was a Libertarian (i.e. clueless idealist and nearly a Randinista), back before I grew up and saw the world as it is.
My contact with the YAFfers in the '70's was enough exposure to libertarians that I feel I will ever need. Stone Age political traditions, with Ook and Mork.
However, the Republican candidate for President has several marks--or left several--against him. You know what they are, from speech issues to border issues. If you do a little digging, you'll also notice that there are industries out there that he has an antipathy toward (read hardon).
But this Cap and Trade nonsense simply serves to underscore his lack of training or savvy in the unintended consequences of government policy. Want growth? You'll need to balance that with glacial restrictions on land use to offset your growth proposal. And these glaciers won't melt.
A little time looking at what the Cap and Trade people propose will open your eyes. Want to end private property rights? Vote for Cap and Trade.
#23
"lib, they are accepting it because they profit more in a fully regulated market, since they can buy influence instead of having to compete."
Then why did they oppose it for so long?
Anyway, a Carbon trading system would NOT be a fully regulated market, not by a long shot.
"And please do not confuse "global warming" with ATHROPOGENIC global warming."
I dont.
"CONSENSUS is *not* proof."
Absolute proof we dont have. When the probabilities pile up, how much of a gamble will we take?
" Its has been warmer and cooler long before this time, and none of that was correlated with human influenced CO2 levels."
Because humans didnt influence CO2 levels so massively before the industrial revolution.
"Not to mention we are encountering cooling, in spite of slightly elevated CO2 levels. The more accurate temperature measues have show little if any "global warming" in the past decade, and are starting to indicate a cooling trend. The effects of CO2 are minuscule (espcially compared to water vapor), and only correlative at best, and certainly not proven as causative. "
Not every short change represents a new trend. And anyway, the GHG levels are still increasing, at an increasing pace. One wouldnt necessarily expect what we've seen so far to be indicative of whats coming. Thats why you NEED the models, and cant go only on observed trends.
"Based on the accurate evidence, and not on faulty models"
The models are regularly revisited and improved, and are the best indicators we have. Again, its not possible to determine the future based on whats happened already, given increasing concentrations of GHGS (not just CO2, BTW)
" its becoming obvious that the Global Climate is not that susceptible to human activity, and it is folly to accept a politically driven "consensus" as proof."
Its not at all obvious, and the consensus has much wider support than the skeptics, who really are a narrow politically driven group.
" Plus that consensus is now dissolving, due to lack of *proof*,"
I see no evidence of that.
" and the facts are beginning to point to solar activity and ocean current cycles as far larger influences that swamp any influences we have."
The "faulty climate models" incorpate solar activity (including the effect of changing reflectivity) and ocean current cycles, exploring for offsetting and reinforcing effects.
"AGW is junk science, and responding to it politically is flat out stupid - its treating a problem that doesnt exist, and using governmental and collectivist methods to do so, all based on what amounts to shamanism instead of science."
Except the scientists mainly dont think so, and the methods arent particularly collectivist. In this case the skeptics are doing the junk science.
#24
My very rational wife works in the environmental science realm. The issue is not climate change in itself as it is evident that the earth's climate has cooled/warmed cyclically throughout history. The issue she & her non moonbat scientific colleagues see is the "zero to sixty type" of change that has occurred recently. So it is not that is has warmed recently but how quickly it warmed in a short duration of time that they are concerned & perplexed by. Even her community are mixed on what they think the causes are. They take into consideration possibility of sunspots & the sun's heating period, earth's distance during it's rotation in space (farther/closer variances), CO2 emissions, oceanic properties, glaciers melting up north but south pole ice getting thicker, etc. She seems to think man has some influence but is not the prime mover of what we see today. She's not on board w/the goracle but doesn't believe that man has absolutely no part in the speed in which things warmed up. Obviously it will still take years to cyphyer through all the facts and info then match it to historical evidence to get a compelte picture.
BTW - I am a libertarian but still support the war, believe in free-trade while actually enforcing the borders & our national sovereignty, reducing the size of gov't, slashing taxes/spending on entitlement programs & actually supporting/defending & adhering to that great document called the constitution and the founders. Just a hopeless utopian I guess.
#25
Living in NJ is finally going to pay off. Not voting for McCain won't make any difference in this Democrat hellhole. I get to indulge my "I ain't votin for this jackass" belief without any risk of effecting the outcome of my state's vote.
Same thing in Kaliphornia. Republicans have written off this state. They still ask me for money (they won't get any this year). But they know my vote won't count. This year it won't count because I won't vote.
I have long contended that the right Republican could turn it red again. McCain is not that right Republican. My impression is that he wants to turn the US into a third world country by importing vast numbers of illegal immigrants and then outsourcing the better jobs to China and India.
Personally, I'd rather have Obama and the donks take the blame for all the $hit that's gonna happen in the next four years so we can have a chance for a real conservative in 2012.
McCain might end up in the White House but only because Obama is so far out on the looney fringe. Don't be surprised though, if Obama moves toward the center before November and makes a real race of it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/13/2008 16:22 Comments ||
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#26
OldSpook (#10), rjschwarz (#12) already answered for me. IMO, the only way (barring genocide) to stop Islamic World conquest is nuclear power.
Less than 5% of tropospheric warming (Note: that is to say retention of warmth, not permanent temperature increase) is due to CO2.
3.4% of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere annually is human based.
CO2 that has gone from 0.028% to 0.038% since the industrial revolution.
Thats a gain of approximately one onehundredth of one percent and we emit less than 3.4% of what is already a small component.
The major atmospheric warming components are water vapor and clouds. In excess of 95%.
Pretty slim reed you rest YOUR junk science on LH.
There is little if any PROOF there, on,ly conjecture and inadequate facts. Given that, its is WRONG to act in such a precipitous manner, and to pontificate as if this is already proven.
It is NOT.
Regional and global variance is far larger than the projected warming numbers, and indeed draw doubt as to the very existenece of warming, versus simply being noise in the data.
Add to that fundamental errors in the basic number of previous things presented as "proof", and the its basis in documented flawed models like ModelE of 2006 vintage, and there is very little scientific confidence in your sources.
Basically, since humans have been keepign accurate records around 1880, there has been +0.6 °C ± 0.2 °C change on average globally. Thats stright from the COADS SST data. So thats an increase of 0.04C per DECADE.
So globally speaking, global warming may not exist.
And globally speaking, there simply is no *proof* that anthropogenic warming exists.
Locally? Sure. Look at the heat traps and wind changes a modern western city brings, and the effects the huge amounts of pollutants in China.
But those can and should be addressed locally.
Until you can PROVE it, stop meddling with using the government to force others to go along with what is essentially a quasi-religious belief at this point.
Forcing questionable collectivist solutions onto people based on questionable science and half-baked theories, by using an oppressive and comprehensive government bureaucracy is the mark of a totalitarian, a fascist or other elitist/collectivists. So watch where you tread, you may be keeping company you'd rather not be associated with.
YOU are making the extraordinary claim, demanding extraordinary measures be taken, advocating governmental force and fiat if necessary.
That demands that you in turn provide extraordinary PROOF, proof that will survive the criticism of skeptics, and critical examination of your conjecture against verifiable empirical data.
The current pro-AGW litany of flawed models, incorrect numbers, inaccurate data, incomplete theories (inviting deus ex machina), inconsistent conclusion, guesstimates and other hallmarks of junk science are not acceptable.
When you can prove it to me with irrefutable sources and accurate data and a demonstrably accurate theory, then I'll be willing to accept.
But until then, in the words of Heinlein:
What are the facts? Again and again and againwhat are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell," avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"; what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!
And, as shown plenty of places, and by others far more expert and distinguished than I, your side does not have sufficient facts to sufficiently prove your case.
So stay the hell out of other people's business with your extraordinary demands for extraordinary measures until you provide extraordinary proof that there truly exists a need to do so.
Screw all three candidates - I'm considering Cthulhu 08' or possibly the independent ticket of Cobra Commander/Destro - I want the "weather dominator" dammit (& delicious milkshakes made from distilled senior citizens of course).
#32
Further, there are calls by scientists for the IPCC (the major nexus of AGW advocacy) to be disbanded for being overtly political and incompetent scientifically.
And as far as alack of consensus goes, how abotu this: the AGW consensus docuemnt was signed by 154. Furthermore, several of these scientists have asked to have their names removed from the IPCC report, but have had their requests denied. Several have actually sued the panel to have their names removed, but few have been successful.
At this site, you will find a petition, signed by over 17,200 scientists who say that the currently available scientific data do not support the conclusion that global warming is anything other than a naturally occurring cyclic phenomenon. The site also contains a peer reviewed scientific paper that gives an overview of the existing climate science. This peer reviewed paper demonstrates that the positive feedback model is not valid and that therefor, the entire hypothesis of man-made global warming is also not validated.
So there you go. If you want to use consensus, then what if there isn't one? Or that the consensus is the other way?
How you respond to that will be very informative to the heart of the matter: are you are being truthful and rational about the reasons for your advocacy of extraordinary government actions?
#33
And if you are swayed by scientific letters at the UN, here is a letter from 100 to the UN Secretary General in opposition to IPCC and its conclusion and treatment of AGW.
How's that for a LACK of consensus?
McCain is Ignorant, Stubborn, and on this, WRONG!
Dear Mr. Secretary-General,
Re: UN climate conference taking the World in entirely the wrong direction
It is not possible to stop climate change, a natural phenomenon that has affected humanity through the ages. Geological, archaeological, oral and written histories all attest to the dramatic challenges posed to past societies from unanticipated changes in temperature, precipitation, winds and other climatic variables. We therefore need to equip nations to become resilient to the full range of these natural phenomena by promoting economic growth and wealth generation.
.
List of signatories:
Don Aitkin, PhD, Professor, social scientist, retired vice-chancellor and president, University of Canberra, Australia
William J.R. Alexander, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Civil and Biosystems Engineering, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Member, UN Scientific and Technical Committee on Natural Disasters, 1994-2000
Bjarne Andresen, PhD, physicist, Professor, The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Geoff L. Austin, PhD, FNZIP, FRSNZ, Professor, Dept. of Physics, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Timothy F. Ball, PhD, environmental consultant, former climatology professor, University of Winnipeg
Sonja A. Boehmer-Christiansen, PhD, Reader, Dept. of Geography, Hull University, U.K.; Editor, Energy & Environment journal
Chris C. Borel, PhD, remote sensing scientist, U.S.
Reid A. Bryson, PhD, DSc, DEngr, UNE P. Global 500 Laureate; Senior Scientist, Center for Climatic Research; Emeritus Professor of Meteorology, of Geography, and of Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin
Dan Carruthers, M.Sc., wildlife biology consultant specializing in animal ecology in Arctic and Subarctic regions, Alberta
R.M. Carter, PhD, Professor, Marine Geophysical Laboratory, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Ian D. Clark, PhD, Professor, isotope hydrogeology and paleoclimatology, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa
Richard S. Courtney, PhD, climate and atmospheric science consultant, IPCC expert reviewer, U.K.
Willem de Lange, PhD, Dept. of Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Science and Engineering, Waikato University, New Zealand
David Deming, PhD (Geophysics), Associate Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Oklahoma
Freeman J. Dyson, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, N.J.
Don J. Easterbrook, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Geology, Western Washington University
Lance Endersbee, Emeritus Professor, former dean of Engineering and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Monasy University, Australia
Hans Erren, Doctorandus, geophysicist and climate specialist, Sittard, The Netherlands
Robert H. Essenhigh, PhD, E.G. Bailey Professor of Energy Conversion, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University
Christopher Essex, PhD, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Associate Director of the Program in Theoretical Physics, University of Western Ontario
David Evans, PhD, mathematician, carbon accountant, computer and electrical engineer and head of Science Speak, Australia
William Evans, PhD, editor, American Midland Naturalist; Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame
Stewart Franks, PhD, Professor, Hydroclimatologist, University of Newcastle, Australia
R. W. Gauldie, PhD, Research Professor, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean Earth Sciences and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Lee C. Gerhard, PhD, Senior Scientist Emeritus, University of Kansas; former director and state geologist, Kansas Geological Survey
Gerhard Gerlich, Professor for Mathematical and Theoretical Physics, Institut für Mathematische Physik der TU Braunschweig, Germany
Albrecht Glatzle, PhD, sc.agr., Agro-Biologist and Gerente ejecutivo, INTTAS, Paraguay
Fred Goldberg, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Royal Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Stockholm, Sweden
Vincent Gray, PhD, expert reviewer for the IPCC and author of The Greenhouse Delusion: A Critique of Climate Change 2001, Wellington, New Zealand
William M. Gray, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University and Head of the Tropical Meteorology Project
Howard Hayden, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Connecticut
Louis Hissink MSc, M.A.I.G., editor, AIG News, and consulting geologist, Perth, Western Australia
Craig D. Idso, PhD, Chairman, Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, Arizona
Sherwood B. Idso, PhD, President, Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, AZ, USA
Andrei Illarionov, PhD, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity; founder and director of the Institute of Economic Analysis
Zbigniew Jaworowski, PhD, physicist, Chairman - Scientific Council of Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection, Warsaw, Poland
Jon Jenkins, PhD, MD, computer modelling - virology, NSW, Australia
Wibjorn Karlen, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden
Olavi Kärner, Ph.D., Research Associate, Dept. of Atmospheric Physics, Institute of Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics, Toravere, Estonia
Joel M. Kauffman, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
David Kear, PhD, FRSNZ, CMG, geologist, former Director-General of NZ Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Zealand
Madhav Khandekar, PhD, former research scientist, Environment Canada; editor, Climate Research (2003-05); editorial board member, Natural Hazards; IPCC expert reviewer 2007
William Kininmonth M.Sc., M.Admin., former head of Australias National Climate Centre and a consultant to the World Meteorological organizations Commission for Climatology Jan J.H. Kop, MSc Ceng FICE (Civil Engineer Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers), Emeritus Prof. of Public Health Engineering, Technical University Delft, The Netherlands
Prof. R.W.J. Kouffeld, Emeritus Professor, Energy Conversion, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Salomon Kroonenberg, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Geotechnology, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Hans H.J. Labohm, PhD, economist, former advisor to the executive board, Clingendael Institute (The Netherlands Institute of International Relations), The Netherlands
The Rt. Hon. Lord Lawson of Blaby, economist; Chairman of the Central Europe Trust; former Chancellor of the Exchequer, U.K.
Douglas Leahey, PhD, meteorologist and air-quality consultant, Calgary
David R. Legates, PhD, Director, Center for Climatic Research, University of Delaware
Marcel Leroux, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Climatology, University of Lyon, France; former director of Laboratory of Climatology, Risks and Environment, CNRS
Bryan Leyland, International Climate Science Coalition, consultant and power engineer, Auckland, New Zealand
William Lindqvist, PhD, independent consulting geologist, Calif.
Richard S. Lindzen, PhD, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A.J. Tom van Loon, PhD, Professor of Geology (Quaternary Geology), Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland; former President of the European Association of Science Editors
Anthony R. Lupo, PhD, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science, Dept. of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Science, University of Missouri-Columbia
Richard Mackey, PhD, Statistician, Australia
Horst Malberg, PhD, Professor for Meteorology and Climatology, Institut für Meteorologie, Berlin, Germany
John Maunder, PhD, Climatologist, former President of the Commission for Climatology of the World Meteorological Organization (89-97), New Zealand
Alister McFarquhar, PhD, international economy, Downing College, Cambridge, U.K.
Ross McKitrick, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Economics, University of Guelph
John McLean, PhD, climate data analyst, computer scientist, Australia
Owen McShane, PhD, economist, head of the International Climate Science Coalition; Director, Centre for Resource Management Studies, New Zealand
Fred Michel, PhD, Director, Institute of Environmental Sciences and Associate Professor of Earth Sciences, Carleton University
Frank Milne, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Economics, Queens University
Asmunn Moene, PhD, former head of the Forecasting Centre, Meteorological Institute, Norway
Alan Moran, PhD, Energy Economist, Director of the IPAs Deregulation Unit, Australia
Nils-Axel Morner, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Paleogeophysics & Geodynamics, Stockholm University, Sweden
Lubos Motl, PhD, Physicist, former Harvard string theorist, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
John Nicol, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Physics, James Cook University, Australia
David Nowell, M.Sc., Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, former chairman of the NATO Meteorological Group, Ottawa
James J. OBrien, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Meteorology and Oceanography, Florida State University
Cliff Ollier, PhD, Professor Emeritus (Geology), Research Fellow, University of Western Australia
Garth W. Paltridge, PhD, atmospheric physicist, Emeritus Professor and former Director of the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia
R. Timothy Patterson, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences (paleoclimatology), Carleton University
Al Pekarek, PhD, Associate Professor of Geology, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Dept., St. Cloud State University, Minnesota
Ian Plimer, PhD, Professor of Geology, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide and Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
Brian Pratt, PhD, Professor of Geology, Sedimentology, University of Saskatchewan
Harry N.A. Priem, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Planetary Geology and Isotope Geophysics, Utrecht University; former director of the Netherlands Institute for Isotope Geosciences
Alex Robson, PhD, Economics, Australian National University Colonel F.P.M. Rombouts, Branch Chief - Safety, Quality and Environment, Royal Netherland Air Force
R.G. Roper, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Arthur Rorsch, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Molecular Genetics, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Rob Scagel, M.Sc., forest microclimate specialist, principal consultant, Pacific Phytometric Consultants, B.C.
Tom V. Segalstad, PhD, (Geology/Geochemistry), Head of the Geological Museum and Associate Professor of Resource and Environmental Geology, University of Oslo, Norway
Gary D. Sharp, PhD, Center for Climate/Ocean Resources Study, Salinas, CA
S. Fred Singer, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia and former director Weather Satellite Service
L. Graham Smith, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography, University of Western Ontario
Roy W. Spencer, PhD, climatologist, Principal Research Scientist, Earth System Science Center, The University of Alabama, Huntsville
Peter Stilbs, TeknD, Professor of Physical Chemistry, Research Leader, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden
Hendrik Tennekes, PhD, former director of research, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
Dick Thoenes, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Brian G Valentine, PhD, PE (Chem.), Technology Manager - Industrial Energy Efficiency, Adjunct Associate Professor of Engineering Science, University of Maryland at College Park; Dept of Energy, Washington, DC
Gerrit J. van der Lingen, PhD, geologist and paleoclimatologist, climate change consultant, Geoscience Research and Investigations, New Zealand
Len Walker, PhD, Power Engineering, Australia
Edward J. Wegman, PhD, Department of Computational and Data Sciences, George Mason University, Virginia
Stephan Wilksch, PhD, Professor for Innovation and Technology Management, Production Management and Logistics, University of Technolgy and Economics Berlin, Germany
Boris Winterhalter, PhD, senior marine researcher (retired), Geological Survey of Finland, former professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, Finland
David E. Wojick, PhD, P.Eng., energy consultant, Virginia
Raphael Wust, PhD, Lecturer, Marine Geology/Sedimentology, James Cook University, Australia
A. Zichichi, PhD, President of the World Federation of Scientists, Geneva, Switzerland; Emeritus Professor of Advanced Physics, University of Bologna, Italy
Approximately 19,000 signers of this petition. Qualification to be a signatory requires that the individual have a university degree in physical science, either BS, MS, or PhD. Those with PhD degrees are so designated. Those with BS and MS degrees are undesignated or sometimes designated as MD if appropriate.
The signatures and the text of the petition stand alone and speak for themselves. These scientists have signed this specific document. They are not associated with any particular organization. Their signatures represent a strong statement about this important issue by many of the best scientific minds in the United States.
#35
Much of the doom/gloom about global warming is based on mathematical models of how the climate works. Unfortunately, we DON'T REALLY KNOW how it works. People who make up and run these models make simplifying assumptions so that the models are tractable and can be run at all during a reasonable period of time. Also unfortunately, making simplifying assumptions about a model of something as complex as climate can completely invalidate the model. The climate is a chaotic system, which means that a small change in the initial conditions can have a huge effect on the outcome.
To make matters worse, we have been collecting worldwide, 24/7 temperature and other data via satellite for a few years. We don't know in detail for sure what the weather was before that. To make changes to our lives and economies based on such incomplete data is effing stupid in my opinion.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/13/2008 17:53 Comments ||
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#42
bigjim-ky, I think the Jury is still out on whether we survived 4 years of Jimmy Carter.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/13/2008 20:40 Comments ||
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#43
lotp normally I would link (as I did with the 19,000) but the 100 was for visual impact.
And bobby, please note the blurb posted about the 19,000 signatories - I beleive there is checking done to verify the proper degree and major, especially with the PhD's.
Its very significant that so many are willing to sign a document that concludes that AGW does NOT exist.
#44
Ether way the very fact that McCain did this at a wind technology firm is kind of cool. It's not the answer but any energy generated from any non-middle east is a good idea.
Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI) and India's Tata group have inked a framework agreement for cooperation in the development, manufacturing, marketing and support of defence products in India.
IAI president and CEO Itzhak Nissan and Tata group chairperson Ratan N. Tata signed the agreement in Tel Aviv, an IAI statement said Tuesday. This follows a memorandum of agreement that was signed Feb 17 in New Delhi during the Defexpo defence show.
"The cooperation agreement between IAI and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) covers a wide range of defence and aerospace products, including missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), radars, electronic warfare (EW) systems and homeland security (HLS) systems," the statement said.
The two parties will soon sign an agreement for establishing a joint venture company in India that will serve as the main vehicle for establishing indigenous capabilities.
TASL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata group and focuses on providing integrated solutions for the defence and aerospace sectors.
"This agreement reflects IAI's evolving relationship with India and with the Indian industries. India is a leading market for IAI, and partnerships with Indian industries are part of our long-term strategy," Nissan said.
"The JV will further improve IAI's capability to best serve our Indian customers, and will serve as a platform to develop new business opportunities," he added.
A TASL spokesperson described the agreement as "a significant part of our strategy to build capabilities in the defence sphere".
"We look forward to the JV becoming a leading Indian defence company in the future, supporting the needs of our nation's armed forces and defence laboratories," the spokesperson said.
"It is also gives both companies great pleasure that the establishment of this cooperative relationship coincides with the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the state of Israel," the spokesperson added.
IAI, formerly known as Israel Aircraft Industries, is the largest aerospace and defence company in Israel. It is Israel's largest industrial exporter and a globally recognised leader in the defence and aerospace markets.
IAI provides unique solutions for a broad spectrum of needs in the space, air, land, sea and homeland defence segments. It is also a leader in the maintenance and conversion of commercial aircraft, as well as design, development and production of business jets and many other core technologies, products and services.
The Tata group is one of India's largest and most respected business conglomerates, with revenues in 2006-07 of $28.8 billion - 3.2 percent of the country's GDP - and a market capitalisation of $65 billion. Tata companies together employ over 300,000 people
Posted by: john frum ||
05/13/2008 10:31 ||
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#1
Israel has to collaborate with and sell to someone to survive. I'm glad it's India, not NKor or China. Should be a very good collaboration from both sides. And, has to cause some urine leakage from the diapers in Bejing.
#2
Maybe now the Indians will be able to bring a decent version of the Arjun MBT online. Strategy Page has a good article about all the problems that the Indians have had with building an in-country MBT, but with Israeli parts and expertise, that should no longer be a problem. Of course, that assumes that this deal will cover armored vehicles and that the Indians don't pull a NIMBY on the Israelis about upgrades to a variety of equipment.
#3
Sorry, wrong acronym - Not Invented Here {NIH} was what I meant. Too many times in the past couple of decades, the Indians have tried to push their defense industries too far too quickly and the results have been junk.
(Xinhua) -- The Commonwealth re-admitted Pakistan as a full member on Monday after a six-month suspension triggered by imposition of emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007, local newspaper The News reported. The suspension was lifted after a meeting of key ministers of the 53-nation Commonwealth in London, said the report.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) agreed that since November "the government of Pakistan has taken positive steps to fulfill its obligations in accordance with Commonwealth fundamental values and principles."
The Commonwealth also urged Pakistan to "reinforce the independence of the judiciary and resolve current issues through the parliamentary process as soon as possible so that it contributes to democratic political stability in Pakistan."
"There (is) need for reform. In this regard it welcomes the new government's state intention to reform the election commission and enhance its independence," the statement added.
The Commonwealth suspended Pakistan's membership and its right to participate in meetings of the organization Nov. 22 last year when Pakistan failed to lift the state of emergency before the deadline given by the Commonwealth.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Why not? Large parts of England are already part of the umma.
Nepal's Government says its new constitution-drafting body will meet for the first time on May 28, when it is due to formally abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic. The Maoists, who scored a surprise victory in landmark elections last month, have vowed that the monarchy would be scrapped during the first sitting of the assembly.
The ex-rebels overturned all predictions in the April polls, winning 220 of the 601 seats in the constitutional assembly - more than twice the number of their nearest rivals and pre-election favourites, the Nepali Congress. "The prime minister has sent letters to all the participating political parties calling for the first meeting of the constituent assembly on May 28," Aditya Baral, adviser to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, told AFP.
King Gyanendra's fall from power will mark the end of the world's only Hindu monarchy, which has been on the throne for 240 years.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pulled his party out of Pakistan's six-week-old coalition government on Monday, plunging the volatile Muslim nation back into political uncertainty.
Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) was the second-largest member of a four-party alliance, made the announcement after failing to break a deadlock with its main coalition partner over the reinstatement of dismissed judges.
Sharif made the restoration of 60 judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf in November the main condition for joining the coalition led by the party of Asif Ali Zardari, the widower and political successor of the late Benazir Bhutto.
Three days of talks in London between Sharif and Zardari, whose Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leads the coalition, ended on Sunday without any breakthrough.
"Our ministers will meet the prime minister tomorrow and will submit their resignations," Sharif told a news conference.
Nine of the 24 ministers in Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's cabinet belong to the PML-N, including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who was due to present the annual budget in weeks with the country sliding deeper into economic problems.
Sharif, who submitted his nomination papers to contest a by-election due in late June, said his party would continue to support the PPP government despite quitting the cabinet. "For the time being, we'll not sit in opposition."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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A majority of Israelis want Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign as they have doubts about his proclaimed innocence in a new corruption scandal, according to an opinion poll published on Monday.
At least 59 percent of those surveyed said they want Olmert to quit, while 33 percent said he should stay on through his expected term to November 2010, according to the survey in the top-selling newspaper Yediot Aharonot. At the same time, 60 percent of Israelis said they did not believe Olmerts denial of any wrongdoing, compared with 22 percent who said they believed him.
According to the justice ministry, Olmert is suspected of having received large sums of money unlawfully from American-Jewish businessman Morris Talansky during his time as mayor of Jerusalem and as industry minister. Yediots poll found that 60 percent did not think Olmert could carry out his functions as prime minister, especially in foreign relations, because of the probe, while about 38 percent felt he could still handle the job.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
He should have been kicked out years ago for posing as a man.
A raid by federal immigration officials at the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant may have resulted in as many as 700 arrests, immigration officials said Monday. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered the Agriprocessors Inc. complex in northeast Iowa Monday morning to execute a criminal search warrant for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, said Tim Counts, a Midwest ICE spokesman.
Agents are also executing a civil search warrant for people illegally in the United States, he said.
Immigration officials told aides to Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, that they expect 600 to 700 arrests. About 1,000 to 1,050 people work at the plant, according to Iowa Workforce Development, the state's employment services agency.
Chuck Larson, a truck driver for Agriprocessing, was in the plant when the agents arrived. "There has to be 100 of them," he said of the agents.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Must be a vast right wing conspiracy--Donks are losing voters in droves! There may be not enough dead voters to cover the hemorrage.
#5
The company is going to lose money hand over fist until 700 or so legal replacement workers can be found... in northeast Iowa ... which the board and the shareholders will not be excited about. The punishment is built in to the situation. They may even have to send to New York City.
#7
Unfortunately the state government of Iowa, in the person of the Governor, has been actively supporting the influx of illegals. Changes in agriculture have removed the farm families that used to take these jobs to supplement income and left the industries with the Hobson's choice of hiking wages to the point where someone will actually want these dirty, dangerous, dead-end jobs or bringing in illegals. It is not just the big industries. I have a nephew in Iowa City who was made shift manager at Wendy's because he was the only employee who could speak both English and Spanish.
#8
Thats 700 jobs for American workers that just became available. At the current unemployment rate, those jobs should be able to be filled.
They may have to bump it up a couple dollars an hour, but I don't remember anyone ever saying that you can get as many people as you want, for whatever you want to pay.
At least that's the way it used to work before we were flooded with illegals. Now you can get unlimited labor at whatever you decide to pay.
#9
I just want to know if the head of the plant and the HR department were among the 700.
I am staunchly anti-illegal immigration but I want to see the facilitators nailed too. Not just the poor buggers trying to make a living.
And yes, I can have compassion for people that risked a lot to get here to work, but, still think it's wrong. We should be presuring Mexico to clean up their act so these folks don't need to come here.
#10
Compassion is not a sin, AlanC. You meet some of these Mexicans and you can't help but like 'em. I do . But I still want the illegals outta here and, yes, their employers in jail.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/13/2008 15:59 Comments ||
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#11
Abu, would that the gang bangers et al in the inner cities had the real courage and moxy to try and make a better life for themselves that most of the illegals show.
#12
Concur w/all comments here....build the wall and at the same time take away the carrot...put a few employers into the clink for 5-10 yrs & it will clean itself up. I'll pay a couple extra bucks for hotdogs.
#13
Arrest the HR department, managers and ENTIRE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Slavery is illegal in this country and these assholes are making their living from, what is essentually, slave labor.
I'm wondering if the Slaveowners of the old south may have spent more on the food, clothing, housing and other essentuals for their slaves they these bastards probably paid their illegal aliens.
#14
They did, CF. Read Kenneth Stumpp's "The Peculiar Institution" for a very good overview of why slavery was going to go away relatively soon even if there was no War Between the States.
Bottom line: free men will outwork slaves every day of the week. Don't be surprised, though, to see a far different view of slavery than the one promulgated by the far left. Stampp examines slavery from a very objective viewpoint and manages to avoid "presentism" extremely well. He was from UC Berkeley, BTW. He'd never be allowed on the faculty now.
Liu Keli couldn't tell you much about South Carolina, not even where it is in the United States. It's as obscure to him as his home region, Shanxi province, is to most Americans.
But Liu is investing $10 million in the Palmetto State, building a printing-plate factory that will open this fall and hire 120 workers. His main aim is to tap the large American market, but when his finance staff penciled out the costs, he was stunned to learn how they compared with those in China.
Liu spent about $500,000 for seven acres in Spartanburg -- less than one-fourth what it would cost to buy the same amount of land in Dongguan, a city in southeast China where he runs three plants. U.S. electricity rates are about 75% lower, and in South Carolina, Liu doesn't have to put up with frequent blackouts.
About the only major thing that's more expensive in Spartanburg is labor. Liu is looking to offer $12 to $13 an hour there, versus about $2 an hour in Dongguan, not including room and board. But Liu expects to offset some of the higher labor costs with a payroll tax credit of $1,500 per employee from South Carolina.
"I was surprised," said the 63-year-old president of Shanxi Yuncheng Plate-Making Group. "The gap's not as large as I thought."
Liu is part of a growing wave of Chinese entrepreneurs expanding into the U.S. From Spartanburg to Los Angeles they are building factories, buying companies and investing in business and real estate.
#3
It should be interesting when they run head-on into labour and quality control laws. Especially because it will be the workers who insist on their enforcement.
#4
This is interesting with an article I read yesterday about the ChiComs having more money than economy and inflation is becoming a big problem. The average city dweller could survive, but the poorer farmers and country dwellers are really feeling the pinch. The article predicted the city ChiComs to start buying overseas while the situation at home deteriorated.
#5
Is the American Spirit Muscular enough to survive the onslaught of rich Chi-Com Goons, rich OPEC Islamist, rich Russian Mafia thugs, rich Narco-terrorist murders, and every other World Class Robber Baron and flood of illegal immigrants.
It'll be interesting to see if they can cope with the 'multi-cultural' demographic issues in South Carolina.
I remember back in the 80's in business school getting lectured on how to 'fit in', 'respect', just plain not be the ugly american, or whatever you want to call it, when dealing with Asian cultures. Looks like the shoe is on the other foot now....
#7
When the ChiComs bought textile and clothing plants in Italy, the first thing they did was to import very low wage Chinese workers. The locals were totally frozen out of the industry.
You're kidding? Selling H1Bs has been right up there with copyright extension in the gold flow of our Congressmen. I remember when H1Bs were restricted to 20,000 in total. Now they get 10 times as much annually. I'm sure for enough indirect contributions to election funds and hiring of family members, our esteemed representatives can sell us out very easily.
#11
I don't doubt that there are abuses of immigration laws by legislators as well as thier contributors, but I do doubt that it is widespread and that Mr. Liu will be successful or his enterprise profitable if he tries to do it for $12.00 jobs
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.
The first U.S. military aid flight to Myanmar landed in Yangon on Monday but emergency supplies remained at a trickle for 1.5 million people facing hunger and disease in the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta.
Police stopped the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe on Tuesday and asked him to go with them to a police station after he toured a hospital. Ambassador James McGee and a group of journalists had just toured a hospital that is treating victims of recent post-election violence when the incident happened in the village of Mvurwi, west of the capital of Harare.
Zimbabwe will not invite election observers from Western countries to monitor a presidential run-off unless sanctions are removed, state media said on Monday, rejecting opposition demands.
Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt Monday expressed his satisfaction with the results of Serbia's latest elections. 
Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are talking more about "clean coal" and less about global warming as they woo voters in West Virginia and Kentucky -- two states that sit at the heart of the nation's coal economy.
Republican John McCain pledged to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of President George W. Bush.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pulled his party out of Pakistan's six-week-old coalition government on Monday, plunging the volatile Muslim nation back into political uncertainty.
