Even if a deal is reached at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen next week it will only be the first step towards the far more radical cuts that are needed in global carbon emissions, Al Gore, the former US Vice-President, told The Times last night.
Mr Gore said that to avoid the worst ravages of climate change world leaders would have to come together again to set more drastic reductions than those now planned.
“Even a final treaty will have to set the stage for other tougher reductions at a later date,” he said. “We have already overshot the safe levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.”
He insisted that the present goal set for Copenhagen of stabilising world emissions of carbon dioxide at or below 450 parts per million — enough to prevent a rise in average global temperatures of no more than 2C — was insufficient and a safer target would be 350 parts per million....
READ MORE
We Are Change Colorado attends Al Gore book signing, rips up Gore book in his face
With more and more people changing their minds about man-made global warming as a consequence of the increase in juvenile alarmist propaganda on behalf of the warmists, Al Gore’s lies are increasingly being confronted in the public arena, on this occaision by Jonathan Elinoff and We Are Change Colorado.
SOURCE
SOURCE
Obama Ignores 'Climate-Gate' in Revising Copenhagen Plans
The controversy swirling around the leaked e-mails of climate scientists apparently trying to downplay data and exclude dissenting opinions has led to calls for President Obama to skip this month's climate summit in Denmark until the e-mails can be investigated. Instead, the White House announced Friday that Obama was doubling down on his commitment to the summit's goals and moving his visit later in the month, hoping it will secure a "meaningful" agreement.
The scandal being referred to as "Climate-gate" has rallied global warming skeptics, who say the threat is exaggerated -- let alone caused by humans. In some of the e-mails stolen by hackers and posted online, scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit appear to discuss hiding or deleting data that may contradicts global warming claims. Others discuss ways of keeping competing research out of peer-reviewed journals.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the most prominent figure to call on Obama to boycott the conference in Copenhagen in the wake of the e-mails' release.
"The president's decision to attend the international climate conference in Copenhagen needs to be reconsidered in light of the unfolding Climategate scandal," she said in a posting on her Facebook page. "Boycotting Copenhagen while this scandal is thoroughly investigated would send a strong message that the United States government will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices."
READ MORE
The scandal being referred to as "Climate-gate" has rallied global warming skeptics, who say the threat is exaggerated -- let alone caused by humans. In some of the e-mails stolen by hackers and posted online, scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit appear to discuss hiding or deleting data that may contradicts global warming claims. Others discuss ways of keeping competing research out of peer-reviewed journals.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the most prominent figure to call on Obama to boycott the conference in Copenhagen in the wake of the e-mails' release.
"The president's decision to attend the international climate conference in Copenhagen needs to be reconsidered in light of the unfolding Climategate scandal," she said in a posting on her Facebook page. "Boycotting Copenhagen while this scandal is thoroughly investigated would send a strong message that the United States government will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices."
READ MORE
The Fiction Of Climate Science:Why the climatologists get it wrong
Many of you are too young to remember, but in 1975 our government pushed "the coming ice age."
Random House dutifully printed "THE WEATHER CONSPIRACY … coming of the New Ice Age." This may be the only book ever written by 18 authors. All 18 lived just a short sled ride from Washington, D.C. Newsweek fell in line and did a cover issue warning us of global cooling on April 28, 1975. And The New York Times, Aug. 14, 1976, reported "many signs that Earth may be headed for another ice age."
In 1974, the National Science Board announced: "During the last 20 to 30 years, world temperature has fallen, irregularly at first but more sharply over the last decade. Judging from the record of the past interglacial ages, the present time of high temperatures should be drawing to an end…leading into the next ice age."
READ MORE
Random House dutifully printed "THE WEATHER CONSPIRACY … coming of the New Ice Age." This may be the only book ever written by 18 authors. All 18 lived just a short sled ride from Washington, D.C. Newsweek fell in line and did a cover issue warning us of global cooling on April 28, 1975. And The New York Times, Aug. 14, 1976, reported "many signs that Earth may be headed for another ice age."
In 1974, the National Science Board announced: "During the last 20 to 30 years, world temperature has fallen, irregularly at first but more sharply over the last decade. Judging from the record of the past interglacial ages, the present time of high temperatures should be drawing to an end…leading into the next ice age."
READ MORE
Take back Al Gore's Oscar, 2 Academy members demand in light of Climategate
No, it wouldn't do anything for the environment.
But two Hollywood conservatives (yes, there are some) have called upon the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rescind the prestigious, profitable gold Oscar statuette that it gave ex-Vice President Al Gore et al two years ago for the environmental movie "An Inconvenient Truth."
Roger L. Simon and Lionel Chetwynd, both Academy members, are among a small, meandering pack of known political conservatives still believed to be on the loose in the liberal bastion of movie-making.
In 2007, Hollywood's Academy sanctified Gore's cinematic message of global warming with its famous statue, enriched his earnings by $100,000 per 85-minute appearance and helped elevate the Tennesseean's profile to win the Nobel Peace Prize despite losing the election battle of 2000 to a Texan and living in a large house with lots of energy-driven appliances.
Chetwynd and Simon were prompted to make their hopeless demand this week by the....
...leak two weeks ago of a blizzard of British academic e-mails purporting to show that scientists at the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit systematically falsified data to document the appearance of global warming in recent years.
The university is reportedly investigating the claims, which added dry fuel to the never-ending political debate over whether the Earth really is warming as a result of human activity or if it's just normal natural cycles and the debate is what's heated. The demand to withdraw Gore's award provides yet another opportunity to argue...
But two Hollywood conservatives (yes, there are some) have called upon the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rescind the prestigious, profitable gold Oscar statuette that it gave ex-Vice President Al Gore et al two years ago for the environmental movie "An Inconvenient Truth."
Roger L. Simon and Lionel Chetwynd, both Academy members, are among a small, meandering pack of known political conservatives still believed to be on the loose in the liberal bastion of movie-making.
In 2007, Hollywood's Academy sanctified Gore's cinematic message of global warming with its famous statue, enriched his earnings by $100,000 per 85-minute appearance and helped elevate the Tennesseean's profile to win the Nobel Peace Prize despite losing the election battle of 2000 to a Texan and living in a large house with lots of energy-driven appliances.
Chetwynd and Simon were prompted to make their hopeless demand this week by the....
...leak two weeks ago of a blizzard of British academic e-mails purporting to show that scientists at the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit systematically falsified data to document the appearance of global warming in recent years.
The university is reportedly investigating the claims, which added dry fuel to the never-ending political debate over whether the Earth really is warming as a result of human activity or if it's just normal natural cycles and the debate is what's heated. The demand to withdraw Gore's award provides yet another opportunity to argue...
Tempers Flare In Climate Change Flap
One day after reports that Britain's Met office intends to reexamine 160 years' worth of temperature data, emotions over what's now being dubbed "Climategate" are getting more raw by the day.
During a live television faceoff hosted by the BBC, Marc Morano, a former communications director of the U.S. Senate Environment Committee and now an editor with the Web site Climate Depot squared off against Professor Andrew Watson of the University of East Anglia in eastern England. It didn't take long before the two got in each other's face and Watson became increasingly annoyed with Morano's loud interruptions. He finally lost it by the end when the anchor thanked the participants.
"What an a****," Watson said....
During a live television faceoff hosted by the BBC, Marc Morano, a former communications director of the U.S. Senate Environment Committee and now an editor with the Web site Climate Depot squared off against Professor Andrew Watson of the University of East Anglia in eastern England. It didn't take long before the two got in each other's face and Watson became increasingly annoyed with Morano's loud interruptions. He finally lost it by the end when the anchor thanked the participants.
"What an a****," Watson said....
Arnold Schwarzenegger unveils dramatic climate change map which shows flooded San Francisco of the future
A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in).The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels.The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, was created as part of a plan for the state to adapt to global warming.
'Within a century, Treasure Island, this place where we are right now, could be totally under water,' the governor said. 'It is technology in the end that will save us.'
READ MORE
Picture Left:California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger puts his hand on the map over San Francisco's Treasure Island to show how it could be submerged in just a century(Reuters)
WATCH THE CALADAPT CLIMATE CHANGE VIDEO HERE:
The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in).The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels.The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, was created as part of a plan for the state to adapt to global warming.
'Within a century, Treasure Island, this place where we are right now, could be totally under water,' the governor said. 'It is technology in the end that will save us.'
READ MORE
Picture Left:California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger puts his hand on the map over San Francisco's Treasure Island to show how it could be submerged in just a century(Reuters)
WATCH THE CALADAPT CLIMATE CHANGE VIDEO HERE:
"Hackers probably paid to help undermine Copenhagen climate summit":UN
UN OFFICIALS have likened the theft of emails from university climate researchers to the Watergate scandal, after claiming computer hackers were probably paid by people intent on undermining the Copenhagen summit.
Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that the theft from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was not the work of amateur climate sceptics, but was a sophisticated and well-funded attempt to destroy public confidence in the science of man-made climate change.He said the fact that the emails were first uploaded to a sceptic website from a computer in Russia was an indication that the culprit was paid.
"It's very common for hackers in Russia to be paid for their services," he said. "If you look at that mass of emails a lot of work was done, not only to download the data, but it's a carefully made selection of emails and documents that's not random at all. This is 13 years of data and it's not a job of amateurs"...
Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that the theft from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was not the work of amateur climate sceptics, but was a sophisticated and well-funded attempt to destroy public confidence in the science of man-made climate change.He said the fact that the emails were first uploaded to a sceptic website from a computer in Russia was an indication that the culprit was paid.
"It's very common for hackers in Russia to be paid for their services," he said. "If you look at that mass of emails a lot of work was done, not only to download the data, but it's a carefully made selection of emails and documents that's not random at all. This is 13 years of data and it's not a job of amateurs"...
Global Warming Controversy reaches NASA climate data:"Researcher Reportedly Threatens to Sue NASA"
The fight over climate science is about to cross the Atlantic with a U.S. researcher poised to sue NASA, demanding the release of the same kind of information that landed a leading British center in hot water over charges that it skewed its data.
Christopher C. Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said NASA has refused for two years to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act that would show how the agency has shaped its climate data and explain why the agency has repeatedly had to correct its data dating as far back as the 1930s.
"I assume that what is there is highly damaging," Mr. Horner said. "These guys are quite clearly bound and determined not to reveal their internal discussions about this"...
Christopher C. Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said NASA has refused for two years to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act that would show how the agency has shaped its climate data and explain why the agency has repeatedly had to correct its data dating as far back as the 1930s.
"I assume that what is there is highly damaging," Mr. Horner said. "These guys are quite clearly bound and determined not to reveal their internal discussions about this"...
Christmas trees banned for climate summit...
Participants in the COP15 climate summit should not be subject to Christmas symbols such as fir trees, says the foreign ministry
Although the COP15 climate conference is set to take place during the Christmas season, the Foreign Ministry believes the holiday and all its symbols should be kept well clear of the summit.
That point was bluntly illustrated when a sponsorship providing numerous Nordmann fir trees for the conference was rejected by the ministry, according to public broadcaster DR.
The trees – the most common species used as Christmas trees in Denmark – were intended to be placed as decorations for the entrance of Bella Center, where the conference is taking place.
But Christmas is a religious holiday that has no place at a United Nations function, according to the Foreign Ministry’s Svend Olling, who is the head of practical planning for the climate summit.
‘We have to remember that this is a UN conference and, as the centre then becomes UN territory, there can be no Christmas trees in the decor, because the UN wishes to maintain neutrality,’ said Olling....
READ MORE
Although the COP15 climate conference is set to take place during the Christmas season, the Foreign Ministry believes the holiday and all its symbols should be kept well clear of the summit.
That point was bluntly illustrated when a sponsorship providing numerous Nordmann fir trees for the conference was rejected by the ministry, according to public broadcaster DR.
The trees – the most common species used as Christmas trees in Denmark – were intended to be placed as decorations for the entrance of Bella Center, where the conference is taking place.
But Christmas is a religious holiday that has no place at a United Nations function, according to the Foreign Ministry’s Svend Olling, who is the head of practical planning for the climate summit.
‘We have to remember that this is a UN conference and, as the centre then becomes UN territory, there can be no Christmas trees in the decor, because the UN wishes to maintain neutrality,’ said Olling....
READ MORE
GROPENHAGEN CONFERENCE:"Prostitus Offer Free Climate Sumit Sex"
Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards to city hotels warning summit guests not to patronize Danish sex workers during the upcoming conference. Now, the prostitutes have struck back, offering free sex to anyone who produces one of the warnings.
Copenhagen's city council in conjunction with Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards out to 160 Copenhagen hotels urging COP15 guests and delegates to 'Be sustainable - don't buy sex'.
"Dear hotel owner, we would like to urge you not to arrange contacts between hotel guests and prostitutes," the approach to hotels says.
Now, Copenhagen prostitutes are up in arms, saying that the council has no business meddling in their affairs. They have now offered free sex to anyone who can produce one of the offending postcards and their COP15 identity card, according to the Web site avisen.dk...
Copenhagen's city council in conjunction with Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards out to 160 Copenhagen hotels urging COP15 guests and delegates to 'Be sustainable - don't buy sex'.
"Dear hotel owner, we would like to urge you not to arrange contacts between hotel guests and prostitutes," the approach to hotels says.
Now, Copenhagen prostitutes are up in arms, saying that the council has no business meddling in their affairs. They have now offered free sex to anyone who can produce one of the offending postcards and their COP15 identity card, according to the Web site avisen.dk...
Copenhagen climate summit:"1,200 limos,140 private planes and caviar wedges..."
Visitors watch a visual display about the environment before the opening of the summit in Copenhagen Photo: REUTERS
On a normal day, Majken Friss Jorgensen, managing director of Copenhagen's biggest limousine company, says her firm has twelve vehicles on the road. During the "summit to save the world", which opens here tomorrow, she will have 200.
"We thought they were not going to have many cars, due to it being a climate convention," she says. "But it seems that somebody last week looked at the weather report."
Ms Jorgensen reckons that between her and her rivals the total number of limos in Copenhagen next week has already broken the 1,200 barrier. The French alone rang up on Thursday and ordered another 42. "We haven't got enough limos in the country to fulfil the demand," she says. "We're having to drive them in hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden."
And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among that number? "Five," says Ms Jorgensen. "The government has some alternative fuel cars but the rest will be petrol or diesel. We don't have any hybrids in Denmark, unfortunately, due to the extreme taxes on those cars. It makes no sense at all, but it's very Danish."
The airport says it is expecting up to 140 extra private jets during the peak period alone, so far over its capacity that the planes will have to fly off to regional airports – or to Sweden – to park, returning to Copenhagen to pick up their VIP passengers....
"We thought they were not going to have many cars, due to it being a climate convention," she says. "But it seems that somebody last week looked at the weather report."
Ms Jorgensen reckons that between her and her rivals the total number of limos in Copenhagen next week has already broken the 1,200 barrier. The French alone rang up on Thursday and ordered another 42. "We haven't got enough limos in the country to fulfil the demand," she says. "We're having to drive them in hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden."
And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among that number? "Five," says Ms Jorgensen. "The government has some alternative fuel cars but the rest will be petrol or diesel. We don't have any hybrids in Denmark, unfortunately, due to the extreme taxes on those cars. It makes no sense at all, but it's very Danish."
The airport says it is expecting up to 140 extra private jets during the peak period alone, so far over its capacity that the planes will have to fly off to regional airports – or to Sweden – to park, returning to Copenhagen to pick up their VIP passengers....
Monckton Says Secretive Copenhagen Treaty Creates Global Government Tax
Lord Christopher Monckton warns that the secretive draft version of the Copenhagen climate change treaty represents a global government power grab on an “unimaginable scale,” and mandates the creation of 700 new bureaucracies as well as a colossal raft of new taxes including 2 percent levies on both GDP and every international financial transaction.
Speaking with The Alex Jones Show, Monckton, who is in Copenhagen attending the UN climate summit, said that when he attempted to obtain a copy of the current draft of the negotiating text agreement, he was initially rebuffed before he threatened an international diplomatic incident unless the document was forthcoming.
“I insisted and it took about 10 minutes and they consulted each other with three or four of them arguing over it – none of them would produce the document….I said I know this treaty exists because this is what the conference is all about,” said Monckton.
Only after Monckton threatened repercussions was he handed the the current draft of the treaty, and the details it contained are perhaps a clue as to why the UN officials were so keen to keep it under wraps.
“Once again they are desperately trying to conceal from everybody here the magnitude of what they’re attempting to do – they really are attempting to set up a world government,” said Monckton, adding that the word “government” was no longer used but the process of further centralization of power into global hands was clearly spelled out in the treaty...
Speaking with The Alex Jones Show, Monckton, who is in Copenhagen attending the UN climate summit, said that when he attempted to obtain a copy of the current draft of the negotiating text agreement, he was initially rebuffed before he threatened an international diplomatic incident unless the document was forthcoming.
“I insisted and it took about 10 minutes and they consulted each other with three or four of them arguing over it – none of them would produce the document….I said I know this treaty exists because this is what the conference is all about,” said Monckton.
Only after Monckton threatened repercussions was he handed the the current draft of the treaty, and the details it contained are perhaps a clue as to why the UN officials were so keen to keep it under wraps.
“Once again they are desperately trying to conceal from everybody here the magnitude of what they’re attempting to do – they really are attempting to set up a world government,” said Monckton, adding that the word “government” was no longer used but the process of further centralization of power into global hands was clearly spelled out in the treaty...
Did Failed Missile Launch Cause Mysterious Blue Light Spiral Over Norway..?
Daily Mail: A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled.
Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave - although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet.
The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate....
Daily Mail: Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway
Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave - although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet.
The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate....
Daily Mail: Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway
Gore Calls ClimateGate Charges "Out of Context"
Gore claims that, "These are private e-mails more than ten years old," is false....
See the related link below for details....
HeraldSun: Climategate: Gore falsifies the record
See the related link below for details....
HeraldSun: Climategate: Gore falsifies the record
Climate change email hacking to be looked into by University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is to launch a review into the theft and online publication of hundreds of emails sent by scientists in its climate research unit.
Selected and unverified extracts from the emails have been used by climate change deniers to claim that the scientists colluded to manipulate climate data, causing a storm on deniers' blogs. The charge is rejected as "despicable" by those involved and as groundless by leading scientific bodies.
With less than two weeks before the crucial UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, climate scientists and campaigners are assessing the damage the incident has caused to the public understanding of global warming. Opinion was split last night over how to deal with the fallout.
Bob Ward, director of policy and communications at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, called for an investigation.
"Once appropriate action has been taken over the hacking, there has to be some process to assess the substance of the email messages as well," he said."The selective disclosure and dissemination of the messages has created the impression of impropriety, and the only way of clearing the air now would be through a rigorous investigation. "
However, others said an investigation would be a mistake, particularly as some climate sceptics were also calling for one....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Climate protesters wearing masks of European leaders in Brussels on Monday. (Photograph: Yves Logghe/AP)
Selected and unverified extracts from the emails have been used by climate change deniers to claim that the scientists colluded to manipulate climate data, causing a storm on deniers' blogs. The charge is rejected as "despicable" by those involved and as groundless by leading scientific bodies.
With less than two weeks before the crucial UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, climate scientists and campaigners are assessing the damage the incident has caused to the public understanding of global warming. Opinion was split last night over how to deal with the fallout.
Bob Ward, director of policy and communications at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, called for an investigation.
"Once appropriate action has been taken over the hacking, there has to be some process to assess the substance of the email messages as well," he said."The selective disclosure and dissemination of the messages has created the impression of impropriety, and the only way of clearing the air now would be through a rigorous investigation. "
However, others said an investigation would be a mistake, particularly as some climate sceptics were also calling for one....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Climate protesters wearing masks of European leaders in Brussels on Monday. (Photograph: Yves Logghe/AP)
North Korea revalues currency...
SEOUL-North Korea has revalued its currency, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday, quoting sources close to North Korean traders in China.The old currency started being exchanged for a new one Monday afternoon, Yonhap said.
Daily NK, an online newspaper on North Korean affairs, said the exchange rate for the new currency is 100 to 1 with old 1,000 won bills being replaced by new 10 won bills.
"It looks like an attempt to control inflation, but it may have the side effect of making consumer reliance on dollars or Yuan rise due to a loss of confidence in the value of the North Korean currency," Daily NK said....
Daily NK, an online newspaper on North Korean affairs, said the exchange rate for the new currency is 100 to 1 with old 1,000 won bills being replaced by new 10 won bills.
"It looks like an attempt to control inflation, but it may have the side effect of making consumer reliance on dollars or Yuan rise due to a loss of confidence in the value of the North Korean currency," Daily NK said....
BOMBSHELL:"Obama Book Ghostwritten by Bill Ayers..."
The founder of Times Books – publisher of President Barack Obama’s autobiography Dreams From My Father — Thomas Lipscomb recently dropped a huge bomb on the Obama White House. Now a senior fellow at the well-regarded Annenberg Center, Lipscomb contends that Obama’s story was actually ghostwritten by former terrorist and cop-killer William Ayers.
During the presidential campaign if asked how close he was with the former bomb-maker for Weathermen, Obama would claim that Bill Ayers was merely ”a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” and “not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis.”
But according to Lipscomb’s Accuracy in Media report: “Obama had to give up on a $150,000 Simon & Schuster contract because he couldn’t complete the manuscript, his sources were telling him Obama finally had to bring in a ghostwriter to put together his highly praised Dreams From My Father for Times Books. He had a million pieces of tape, pictures, memos, notes, and no manuscript.”
Unfortunately for Obama, he was caught at a July 10, 2008, meeting in Fairfax, Virginia proudly saying the following: “I’ve written two books. I actually wrote them myself "....
READ MORE
During the presidential campaign if asked how close he was with the former bomb-maker for Weathermen, Obama would claim that Bill Ayers was merely ”a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” and “not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis.”
But according to Lipscomb’s Accuracy in Media report: “Obama had to give up on a $150,000 Simon & Schuster contract because he couldn’t complete the manuscript, his sources were telling him Obama finally had to bring in a ghostwriter to put together his highly praised Dreams From My Father for Times Books. He had a million pieces of tape, pictures, memos, notes, and no manuscript.”
Unfortunately for Obama, he was caught at a July 10, 2008, meeting in Fairfax, Virginia proudly saying the following: “I’ve written two books. I actually wrote them myself "....
READ MORE
Climategate spells end to the false science of climate change
With the release of over 60 megabytes worth of incriminating emails, and the world getting a glimpse into the world of fanatical pseudo-science, there is little that can be done by the professors who are now on intellectual trial. Whether the emails were leaked or hacked, the people responsible for getting the information out have helped uncover the truth about “climate change” like no news story before it. While there have been piles of evidence to expose the global warming fraud in the past, a written exchange in their very own words is the ultimate proof.
Lord Monckton on the Alex Jones Show, November 27, 2009. Hear the rest of the interview.
With Lord Christopher Monckton making an appearance on the Alex Jones show on Friday to discuss the Climategate story, it is evident that even top political figures are speaking out against phony “climate change”. The very premise that carbon dioxide is bad for the environment goes against the basic fundamentals of science. While it is absurd to think the public would fall for something so outlandish as to say that one of the building blocks of life is a poison, you must remember that many agreed to ban water under it’s scientific name dihydrogen monoxide...
READ MORE
Lord Monckton on the Alex Jones Show, November 27, 2009. Hear the rest of the interview.
With Lord Christopher Monckton making an appearance on the Alex Jones show on Friday to discuss the Climategate story, it is evident that even top political figures are speaking out against phony “climate change”. The very premise that carbon dioxide is bad for the environment goes against the basic fundamentals of science. While it is absurd to think the public would fall for something so outlandish as to say that one of the building blocks of life is a poison, you must remember that many agreed to ban water under it’s scientific name dihydrogen monoxide...
READ MORE
Document Reveals U.N.'s Goal of Becoming Rule-Maker in Global Environmental Talks
Environmentalism should be regarded on the same level with religion "as the only compelling, value-based narrative available to humanity," according to a paper written two years ago to influence the future strategy of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the world's would-be environmental watchdog.
The purpose of the paper, put together after an unpublicized day-long session in Switzerland by some of the world's top environmental bureaucrats: to argue for a new and unprecedented effort to move environmental concerns to "the center of political and economic decision-making" around the world — and perhaps not coincidentally, expand the influence and reach of UNEP at the tables of world power, as a rule-maker and potential supervisor of the New Environmental Order....
The purpose of the paper, put together after an unpublicized day-long session in Switzerland by some of the world's top environmental bureaucrats: to argue for a new and unprecedented effort to move environmental concerns to "the center of political and economic decision-making" around the world — and perhaps not coincidentally, expand the influence and reach of UNEP at the tables of world power, as a rule-maker and potential supervisor of the New Environmental Order....
NATO commanders wore Nazi regalia in Afghanistan
It has just been discovered that two commanders of the Czech military working under NATO command used Nazi symbols on their helmets during their deployment in Afghanistan.
The story was made public after Czech police serving in Afghanistan reported the case, the Russia Today website reported on Tuesday
According to the daily Mlada fronta Dnes, the soldiers, identified as Hynek Matonoha and Jan Cermak, wore the symbols of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen and the SS Dirlewanger brigade respectively, which were probably the most infamous SS combat units of World War II.
Unaware of their sordid actions, Czech Defense Minister Martin Bartak decorated the soldiers for bravery on Friday after their return from Afghanistan
Later, the minister said that at the time, he had not yet learned about the helmet controversy, which has caused quite a stir among the country’s armed forces...
The story was made public after Czech police serving in Afghanistan reported the case, the Russia Today website reported on Tuesday
According to the daily Mlada fronta Dnes, the soldiers, identified as Hynek Matonoha and Jan Cermak, wore the symbols of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen and the SS Dirlewanger brigade respectively, which were probably the most infamous SS combat units of World War II.
Unaware of their sordid actions, Czech Defense Minister Martin Bartak decorated the soldiers for bravery on Friday after their return from Afghanistan
Later, the minister said that at the time, he had not yet learned about the helmet controversy, which has caused quite a stir among the country’s armed forces...
Key Anti-Taliban Figure Assassinated in Pakistan
KHAR, Pakistan-A key anti-Taliban tribal leader was assassinated Friday in a roadside bombing, the latest in a series of attacks against pro-government militias in the Afghan border area of northwestern Pakistan.
Elsewhere, authorities found the bullet-riddled body of another tribal elder who was seized from his home late Thursday in an attack that also left his son dead.
Violence has increased in Bajur and other northwestern tribal regions since the army launched an offensive in South Waziristan in mid-October. Fifteen Taliban fighters were killed in operations over the past 24 hours in South Waziristan, a military statement said Friday.
Pakistani troops took control of three important militant strongholds in the Bara area of Khyber tribal region, killing another 15 insurgents...
Elsewhere, authorities found the bullet-riddled body of another tribal elder who was seized from his home late Thursday in an attack that also left his son dead.
Violence has increased in Bajur and other northwestern tribal regions since the army launched an offensive in South Waziristan in mid-October. Fifteen Taliban fighters were killed in operations over the past 24 hours in South Waziristan, a military statement said Friday.
Pakistani troops took control of three important militant strongholds in the Bara area of Khyber tribal region, killing another 15 insurgents...
HHS would become federal giant under Senate plan
A quick search of the Senate health bill will bring up "secretary" 2,500 times.
That's because Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be awarded unprecedented new powers under the proposal, including the authority to decide what medical care should be covered by insurers as well as the terms and conditions of coverage and who should receive it.
"The legislation lists 1,697 times where the secretary of health and humans services is given the authority to create, determine or define things in the bill," said Devon Herrick, a health care expert at the National Center for Policy Analysis.
For instance, on Page 122 of the 2,079-page bill, the secretary is given the power to establish "the basic per enrollee, per month cost, determined on average actuarial basis, for including coverage under a qualified health care plan."
The HHS secretary would also have the power to decide where abortion is allowed under a government-run plan, which has drawn opposition from Republicans and some moderate Democrats.
And the bill even empowers the department to establish a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation that would have the authority to make cost-saving cuts without having to get the approval of Congress first....
That's because Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be awarded unprecedented new powers under the proposal, including the authority to decide what medical care should be covered by insurers as well as the terms and conditions of coverage and who should receive it.
"The legislation lists 1,697 times where the secretary of health and humans services is given the authority to create, determine or define things in the bill," said Devon Herrick, a health care expert at the National Center for Policy Analysis.
For instance, on Page 122 of the 2,079-page bill, the secretary is given the power to establish "the basic per enrollee, per month cost, determined on average actuarial basis, for including coverage under a qualified health care plan."
The HHS secretary would also have the power to decide where abortion is allowed under a government-run plan, which has drawn opposition from Republicans and some moderate Democrats.
And the bill even empowers the department to establish a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation that would have the authority to make cost-saving cuts without having to get the approval of Congress first....
PS:Giving all these powers to Bilderberg eugenist Sebelius is not accident...it's by design...Beware of these gov puppets power grabs....!!!!
As in the days of Noah....
Poland Imposes Strict Ban on Communist Symbols
WARSAW, Poland-Poland's president has approved legislation that allows for people to be fined or even imprisoned for possessing or buying communist symbols, two decades after communist rule ended.The new law says that people who posses, purchase or spread items or recordings containing communist symbols could be fined or be imprisoned for up two years.
The new law has drawn criticism from left-wing lawmakers and other observers who say it is ill-defined and will be hard to implement. The law does not list the banned symbols and it also exempts from punishment their use for artistic, educational or collectors' purposes.
The legislation was initiated by Law and Justice, a right-wing opposition party that President Lech Kaczynski helped found and which has sought to purge Poland of the legacy of four decades of communist rule. The law was also supported by the governing Civic Platform party....
The new law has drawn criticism from left-wing lawmakers and other observers who say it is ill-defined and will be hard to implement. The law does not list the banned symbols and it also exempts from punishment their use for artistic, educational or collectors' purposes.
The legislation was initiated by Law and Justice, a right-wing opposition party that President Lech Kaczynski helped found and which has sought to purge Poland of the legacy of four decades of communist rule. The law was also supported by the governing Civic Platform party....
ISLAMIC WATCH:Switzerland Defends Ban on Mosque Minarets
GENEVA — Switzerland says the country's new ban on the building of minarets is not aimed at Muslims but at Islamic fundamentalism.
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says her country supports religious freedoms.
She says Sunday's referendum, during which voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets, was not "a referendum against Islam ... but a vote directed against fundamentalist developments."
Widmer-Schlumpf spoke on arrival Monday at a meeting with EU justice ministers. Switzerland is not an EU member but has close and regular contacts with the EU...
READ MORE
Picture Left:Nov. 29, 2009: Exterior view of the illuminated minaret of the Mahmud Mosque in Zurich, Switzerland.(AP)
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says her country supports religious freedoms.
She says Sunday's referendum, during which voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets, was not "a referendum against Islam ... but a vote directed against fundamentalist developments."
Widmer-Schlumpf spoke on arrival Monday at a meeting with EU justice ministers. Switzerland is not an EU member but has close and regular contacts with the EU...
READ MORE
Picture Left:Nov. 29, 2009: Exterior view of the illuminated minaret of the Mahmud Mosque in Zurich, Switzerland.(AP)
Climate Change Scientists Admit Dumping Data....
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based.
It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years.
The UEA’s Climatic Research Unit CRU was forced to reveal the loss following requests for the data under Freedom of Information legislation.
The data were gathered from weather stations around the world and then adjusted to take account of variables in the way they were collected. The revised figures were kept, but the originals — stored on paper and magnetic tape — were dumped to save space when the CRU moved to a new building...
It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years.
The UEA’s Climatic Research Unit CRU was forced to reveal the loss following requests for the data under Freedom of Information legislation.
The data were gathered from weather stations around the world and then adjusted to take account of variables in the way they were collected. The revised figures were kept, but the originals — stored on paper and magnetic tape — were dumped to save space when the CRU moved to a new building...
NATO Teams Play Vital Role on Afghan Front Lines
NAGHLU, Afghanistan — By day, French soldiers fight side by side with Afghans during Taliban attacks. By night, their officers share meals, the French trying to muster haute cuisine from military rations, the Afghans offering steaming piles of mutton stew and rice.
As President Barack Obama prepares to pour up to 35,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, a much smaller contingent of NATO trainers — many of them European — form a crucial part of the strategy to win the war and get foreign troops home.
The 1,500 trainers from 20 countries live with Afghan forces on the front lines. Their goal: to improve the skills of soldiers in the field, part of the effort to build up the army and police so they can control the country on their own...
As President Barack Obama prepares to pour up to 35,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, a much smaller contingent of NATO trainers — many of them European — form a crucial part of the strategy to win the war and get foreign troops home.
The 1,500 trainers from 20 countries live with Afghan forces on the front lines. Their goal: to improve the skills of soldiers in the field, part of the effort to build up the army and police so they can control the country on their own...
German Minister Quits Over Afghan Strike Believed to Have Killed Civilians
BERLIN-Germany's labor minister resigned Friday after conceding that a military report on a deadly September airstrike in northern Afghanistan failed to reach him while he held the government's defense portfolio.
Labor Minister Franz Josef Jung made the announcement a day after the head of Germany's armed forces, Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan, and deputy Defense Minister Peter Wichert also stepped down.
Jung said he was taking responsibility for the fact that the German military report on the Sept. 4 airstrike didn't reach him, despite his being defense minister at the time....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Nov. 27: German Labour Minister Franz Josef Jung .(AP)
Labor Minister Franz Josef Jung made the announcement a day after the head of Germany's armed forces, Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan, and deputy Defense Minister Peter Wichert also stepped down.
Jung said he was taking responsibility for the fact that the German military report on the Sept. 4 airstrike didn't reach him, despite his being defense minister at the time....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Nov. 27: German Labour Minister Franz Josef Jung .(AP)
Anti-WTO protest in Geneva turns violent
Violence erupted in the Swiss city of Geneva Saturday as a scheduled peaceful protest of a World Trade Organization conference turned violent and police had to use tear gas and rubber bullets.
Thirty-three arrests have been made and police were on the streets working to maintain order, authorities said. There was one minor injury reported: An 80-year-old woman in a walker suffered a head bruise when she fell during the tumult of the demonstrations...
Thirty-three arrests have been made and police were on the streets working to maintain order, authorities said. There was one minor injury reported: An 80-year-old woman in a walker suffered a head bruise when she fell during the tumult of the demonstrations...
Anti-Obama billboard stirs controversy
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. - Call it Freedom of Speech. A billboard recently erected in Wheat Ridge compares President Barack Obama to a terrorist and questions his U.S. citizenship.
The billboard, located at 4855 Miller Road, shows two cartoonish images of Obama wearing a Muslim turban and reads "PRESIDENT or JIHAD?"
It also says "BIRTH CERTIFICATE - PROVE IT!" alluding to the conspiracy theory which claims Barack Obama was born in Kenya rather than Hawaii, which would disqualify him for the office of President.
The words "WAKE UP AMERICA! REMEMBER FT. HOOD!" appear on the bottom of the billboard.
The sign belongs to a car dealership.
"Since Fort Hood, I've had it," owner Phil Wolf told FOX 31 News Friday. "You can't suggest things. You can't profile. You gotta call a spade a spade."
"Everything I have read about Mr. Obama points right to the fact that he is a Muslim. And that is the agenda of what Muslim is all about. It's about anti-American, it's about anti-Christianity," Wolf said....
READ MORE
The billboard, located at 4855 Miller Road, shows two cartoonish images of Obama wearing a Muslim turban and reads "PRESIDENT or JIHAD?"
It also says "BIRTH CERTIFICATE - PROVE IT!" alluding to the conspiracy theory which claims Barack Obama was born in Kenya rather than Hawaii, which would disqualify him for the office of President.
The words "WAKE UP AMERICA! REMEMBER FT. HOOD!" appear on the bottom of the billboard.
The sign belongs to a car dealership.
"Since Fort Hood, I've had it," owner Phil Wolf told FOX 31 News Friday. "You can't suggest things. You can't profile. You gotta call a spade a spade."
"Everything I have read about Mr. Obama points right to the fact that he is a Muslim. And that is the agenda of what Muslim is all about. It's about anti-American, it's about anti-Christianity," Wolf said....
READ MORE
ISLAMIC WATCH:Swiss vote on anti-Islam move to ban new minarets
GENEVA-Swiss voters are deciding in a referendum Sunday whether to accept a ban on the construction of minarets, which right-wing parties regard as symbols of militant Islam.
The move—led by the Swiss People's Party, which has campaigned in previous years against immigrants—has stirred fears of boycotts and violent reactions from Muslim countries.
Polls indicate growing support for the proposal, but doubt remains about whether it will pass. The seven-member Cabinet that heads the Swiss government has spoken out strongly against the initiative...
READ MORE
Picture Left:In this Nov. 4, 2009 file photo a man passes by a poster of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) which shows a woman wearing a burqa against a background of a Swiss flag upon which several minarets resemble missiles at the central station in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi, File)
The move—led by the Swiss People's Party, which has campaigned in previous years against immigrants—has stirred fears of boycotts and violent reactions from Muslim countries.
Polls indicate growing support for the proposal, but doubt remains about whether it will pass. The seven-member Cabinet that heads the Swiss government has spoken out strongly against the initiative...
READ MORE
Picture Left:In this Nov. 4, 2009 file photo a man passes by a poster of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) which shows a woman wearing a burqa against a background of a Swiss flag upon which several minarets resemble missiles at the central station in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi, File)
Marietta, Ga., Lawmakers to Review 'So Help Me God' Police Oath
City council members in Marietta, Ga., will consider changing the oath of office that the city's police officers take so that recruits can swear to uphold the law without saying the phrase "so help me God."
But a police spokeswoman says that to her knowledge, nobody has ever objected to saying those words, and the city's mayor promises he'll veto any change to the oath that removes them.
Det. Gwen Lewis, a police spokeswoman, said no complaints have been received recently regarding the five-sentence oath the Marietta Police Department last adopted in August 2001. To her knowledge, she said, no would-be officer has ever objected to saying "so help me God" as part of the oath....
But a police spokeswoman says that to her knowledge, nobody has ever objected to saying those words, and the city's mayor promises he'll veto any change to the oath that removes them.
Det. Gwen Lewis, a police spokeswoman, said no complaints have been received recently regarding the five-sentence oath the Marietta Police Department last adopted in August 2001. To her knowledge, she said, no would-be officer has ever objected to saying "so help me God" as part of the oath....
Obey's Afghan War Surtax: The real liberal objection to the war on terror is that it takes away from domestic spending priorities like ObamaCare...
The White House says domestic politics is irrelevant to its pending Afghanistan decision, but domestic politicians beg to differ. "There ain't going to be no money for nothing if we pour it all into Afghanistan," the liberal warhorse David Obey told ABC's Jonathan Karl, before threatening a "war surtax" if President Obama does end up granting General Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,000 more troops...
Potential Sale of French Warship to Russia Raises Concerns for Neighboring Countries
France is negotiating to sell a high-tech warship to Russia, which would mark the first time that a NATO nation — and a founding member at that — sold arms to the country since the fall of the Soviet Union, which the treaty organization was created to oppose.
The Russians are anxiously looking to buy one of France’s Mistral class helicopter carriers, a rapid-deployment attack ship that some fear could be used against countries like Georgia and Ukraine.
"I confirm that we are currently examining an official request from the Russian government for the purchase of a ship of this class," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Friday at news conference following a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Nov. 25, 2009: People line up to visit the Mistral French amphibious assault ship docked on the Neva River in St. Petersburg,Russia.(AP)
The Russians are anxiously looking to buy one of France’s Mistral class helicopter carriers, a rapid-deployment attack ship that some fear could be used against countries like Georgia and Ukraine.
"I confirm that we are currently examining an official request from the Russian government for the purchase of a ship of this class," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Friday at news conference following a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Nov. 25, 2009: People line up to visit the Mistral French amphibious assault ship docked on the Neva River in St. Petersburg,Russia.(AP)
Lawmakers Propose 'War Surtax' to Pay for Troop Increase in Afghanistan
Two top Democrats say they want to impose a new tax on the wealthy to finance any increase in U.S. troops for the Afghanistan war.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the purse string-controlling House Appropriations Committee, is calling the idea a "war surtax." He said that just as the federal government is expected to pay for its proposed intervention in the health care sector with new taxes, any escalated involvement in Afghanistan should come with a payment plan.
"If we have to pay for the health care bill, we should pay for the war as well...by having a war surtax," Obey told ABC News in an interview that aired Monday. "The problem in this country with this issue is that the only people that has to sacrifice are military families and they've had to go to the well again and again and again and again, and everybody else is blithely unaffected by the war."
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is making a similar demand...
READ MORE
Picture Left:Saturday: Gen. Stanley McChrystal arrives at a ceremony in Kabul. (Reuters Photo)
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the purse string-controlling House Appropriations Committee, is calling the idea a "war surtax." He said that just as the federal government is expected to pay for its proposed intervention in the health care sector with new taxes, any escalated involvement in Afghanistan should come with a payment plan.
"If we have to pay for the health care bill, we should pay for the war as well...by having a war surtax," Obey told ABC News in an interview that aired Monday. "The problem in this country with this issue is that the only people that has to sacrifice are military families and they've had to go to the well again and again and again and again, and everybody else is blithely unaffected by the war."
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is making a similar demand...
READ MORE
Picture Left:Saturday: Gen. Stanley McChrystal arrives at a ceremony in Kabul. (Reuters Photo)
Alex Runs Down Man-made Climate Change Hoax Exposed in CRU Emails
Globalist minion Al Gore and the United Nations climate change shysters led by Phil Jones are in trouble. Last week hackers uncovered a pile of email and documents revealing what many of us already knew — the climate change agenda is based not only on easily debunked junk science, but outright lies and deception.
In the wake of the damning revelations exposed by these anonymous hackers, the climate change snake oil salesmen Gore and his complaisant entourage of now discredited scientists are in full retreat. Even the corporate media — guilty of peddling the fabrication of man-made climate change for years with the best propaganda money can buy — are desperately scrambling to put the best spin possible on the emerging travesty.
In the above video, Alex Jones examines the startling revelations of the CRU files and spells out what it means for the global elite who have planned to use the ruse to impose crippling carbon taxes and put the finishing touches on their global totalitarian super-state and its accompanying control and slave grid...
READ MORE
In the wake of the damning revelations exposed by these anonymous hackers, the climate change snake oil salesmen Gore and his complaisant entourage of now discredited scientists are in full retreat. Even the corporate media — guilty of peddling the fabrication of man-made climate change for years with the best propaganda money can buy — are desperately scrambling to put the best spin possible on the emerging travesty.
In the above video, Alex Jones examines the startling revelations of the CRU files and spells out what it means for the global elite who have planned to use the ruse to impose crippling carbon taxes and put the finishing touches on their global totalitarian super-state and its accompanying control and slave grid...
READ MORE
WND threatens U.N. with suit over Copenhagen coverage:Global climate-change convention refuses to issue press credentials to news agency
NEW YORK-Attorneys for WND today threatened the United Nations with a lawsuit for its refusal, thus far, to issue press credentials for coverage of the global climate-change convention next month in Copenhagen.WND's senior staff writer Jerome Corsi has been seeking the credentials from the U.N. Framework Convention for Climate Change for weeks – providing all of the documentation requested and establishing his bona fides as a full-time reporter for the largest independent English-language Internet news organization in the world.Until today, despite repeated requests, the UNFCCC had refused to acknowledge whether Corsi, a two-time No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, will be permitted to attend the meetings that have been hailed by organizers as a major step forward in "global governance."
The UNFCCC press office sent an e-mail to Corsi today insisting the agency had not responded because it is dealing with more than 4,000 applications and must "examine each on a case-by-case basis."
"We regret that you have had to wait so long; however, it is not for any political reason. We would be happy to refer your application to New York for further consideration," the e-mail said.
"It takes time to make arrangements to travel to Copenhagen for an extended period, and I began to believe the U.N. was stalling," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND. "So we are formally putting the U.N. on notice that we will not accept its nondecision lying down."
The conference begins Dec. 7...
READ MORE
The UNFCCC press office sent an e-mail to Corsi today insisting the agency had not responded because it is dealing with more than 4,000 applications and must "examine each on a case-by-case basis."
"We regret that you have had to wait so long; however, it is not for any political reason. We would be happy to refer your application to New York for further consideration," the e-mail said.
"It takes time to make arrangements to travel to Copenhagen for an extended period, and I began to believe the U.N. was stalling," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND. "So we are formally putting the U.N. on notice that we will not accept its nondecision lying down."
The conference begins Dec. 7...
READ MORE
Philippines' deadliest massacre tests government
AMPATUAN, Philippines – A few miles off the main highway, on a remote hilltop covered with waist-high grass, bodies lay with twisted hands reaching in the air. They had been shot point-blank.Nearby, bodies were being laid out under banana leaves Tuesday as police-their faces covered against the stench-unearthed a mass grave containing 22 victims from Monday's ambush on an election caravan. The discovery brought the death toll to 46-an unprecedented act of violence at the outset of the country's election season.As many as five people remained unaccounted for.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and a neighboring southern province, sending extra troops and police to try to impose the rule of law.
"No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law," she said....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Police investigators tag a body found in a shallow grave at the massacre site of a political clan that included several journalists in the outskirts of Ampatuan, Maguindanao in southern Philippines November 25, 2009. The latest death toll in the massacre is 52, police said on Wednesday.(REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and a neighboring southern province, sending extra troops and police to try to impose the rule of law.
"No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law," she said....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Police investigators tag a body found in a shallow grave at the massacre site of a political clan that included several journalists in the outskirts of Ampatuan, Maguindanao in southern Philippines November 25, 2009. The latest death toll in the massacre is 52, police said on Wednesday.(REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
Climate email hackers had access for more than a month
Computer hackers who broke into the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) server at the University of East Anglia had access to its systems for more than a month.
The full data – covering 1,000 emails and 3,000 documents in which the most recent document and email is dated 12 November – came to wider notice when a copy was posted on a web server in Russia on 19 November.But a month earlier a BBC weatherman who had expressed doubts about climate change on his blog was sent a sample of the email exchanges, suggesting the hackers already had access to the private system.The university declined to answer questions about the setup and security of the computers used by CRU scientists, but security experts say there are only three tenable explanations for how the server was hacked: a determined break-in by an external hacker; that one of the CRU or university systems was accidentally "compromised" by a computer virus or other "malware"; or it was an "inside job" by a disaffected member of university staff. The latter is viewed as the least likely...
The full data – covering 1,000 emails and 3,000 documents in which the most recent document and email is dated 12 November – came to wider notice when a copy was posted on a web server in Russia on 19 November.But a month earlier a BBC weatherman who had expressed doubts about climate change on his blog was sent a sample of the email exchanges, suggesting the hackers already had access to the private system.The university declined to answer questions about the setup and security of the computers used by CRU scientists, but security experts say there are only three tenable explanations for how the server was hacked: a determined break-in by an external hacker; that one of the CRU or university systems was accidentally "compromised" by a computer virus or other "malware"; or it was an "inside job" by a disaffected member of university staff. The latter is viewed as the least likely...
Pretending the climate email leak isn't a crisis won't make it go away...
Climate sceptics have lied, obscured and cheated for years. That's why we climate rationalists must uphold the highest standards of science
I have seldom felt so alone. Confronted with crisis, most of the environmentalists I know have gone into denial. The emails hacked from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, they say, are a storm in a tea cup, no big deal, exaggerated out of all recognition. It is true that climate change deniers have made wild claims which the material can't possibly support (the end of global warming, the death of climate science). But it is also true that the emails are very damaging.
The response of the greens and most of the scientists I know is profoundly ironic, as we spend so much of our time confronting other people's denial. Pretending that this isn't a real crisis isn't going to make it go away. Nor is an attempt to justify the emails with technicalities. We'll be able to get past this only by grasping reality, apologising where appropriate and demonstrating that it cannot happen again....
Picture Left:Research and rationalism: ice core drilling on the summit of Quelccaya ice cap, Peru. (Photograph: Peter Essick/Getty)
I have seldom felt so alone. Confronted with crisis, most of the environmentalists I know have gone into denial. The emails hacked from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, they say, are a storm in a tea cup, no big deal, exaggerated out of all recognition. It is true that climate change deniers have made wild claims which the material can't possibly support (the end of global warming, the death of climate science). But it is also true that the emails are very damaging.
The response of the greens and most of the scientists I know is profoundly ironic, as we spend so much of our time confronting other people's denial. Pretending that this isn't a real crisis isn't going to make it go away. Nor is an attempt to justify the emails with technicalities. We'll be able to get past this only by grasping reality, apologising where appropriate and demonstrating that it cannot happen again....
Picture Left:Research and rationalism: ice core drilling on the summit of Quelccaya ice cap, Peru. (Photograph: Peter Essick/Getty)
Denmark approves new police powers ahead of Copenhagen
The Danish parliament today passed legislation which will give police sweeping powers of "pre-emptive" arrest and extend custodial sentences for acts of civil disobedience. The "deeply worrying" law comes ahead of the UN climate talks which start on 7 December and are expected to attract thousands of activists from next week.
Under the new powers, Danish police will be able to detain people for up to 12 hours whom they suspect might break the law in the near future. Protesters could also be jailed for 40 days under the hurriedly drafted legislation dubbed by activists as the "turmoil and riot" law. The law was first announced on 18 October.
The Danish ministry of justice said that the new powers of "pre-emptive" detention would increase from 6 to 12 hours and apply to international activists. If protesters are charged with hindering the police, the penalty will increase from a fine to 40 days in prison. Protesters can also be fined an increased amount of 5,000 krona (671 Euros) for breach of the peace, disorderly behaviour and remaining after the police have broken up a demonstration.
The Danish police also separately issued a statement in August (pdf) applying new rules and regulations for protests at the climate conference, warning that "gatherings that may disturb the public order must not take place"...
READ MORE
Picture Left:AVAAZ activists during the Meeting on Climate Change in Barcelona, earlier this month.(Photograph: Toni Albir/EPA)
Under the new powers, Danish police will be able to detain people for up to 12 hours whom they suspect might break the law in the near future. Protesters could also be jailed for 40 days under the hurriedly drafted legislation dubbed by activists as the "turmoil and riot" law. The law was first announced on 18 October.
The Danish ministry of justice said that the new powers of "pre-emptive" detention would increase from 6 to 12 hours and apply to international activists. If protesters are charged with hindering the police, the penalty will increase from a fine to 40 days in prison. Protesters can also be fined an increased amount of 5,000 krona (671 Euros) for breach of the peace, disorderly behaviour and remaining after the police have broken up a demonstration.
The Danish police also separately issued a statement in August (pdf) applying new rules and regulations for protests at the climate conference, warning that "gatherings that may disturb the public order must not take place"...
READ MORE
Picture Left:AVAAZ activists during the Meeting on Climate Change in Barcelona, earlier this month.(Photograph: Toni Albir/EPA)
Canadian man with Lego gun has SWAT Team called on him....
A Toronto man learned a hard lesson this week about the real danger of fake guns. Jeremy Bell found himself staring down the barrel of a police assault rifle after a neighbour spotted Bell in his office handling what looked like a genuine semi-automatic pistol.
It turns out Bell was putting the finishing touches on a handgun made entirely of black Lego bricks.
After showing his creation to a co-worker, Bell put the toy away. But the neighbour had already sounded the alarm, and a short time later the Emergency Task Force arrived with weapons drawn.
Bell was thrown up against the wall and slapped with handcuffs. After a quick investigation, police set him free....
It turns out Bell was putting the finishing touches on a handgun made entirely of black Lego bricks.
After showing his creation to a co-worker, Bell put the toy away. But the neighbour had already sounded the alarm, and a short time later the Emergency Task Force arrived with weapons drawn.
Bell was thrown up against the wall and slapped with handcuffs. After a quick investigation, police set him free....
Gates:"No Good U.S. Intel on Bin Laden for ‘Years’"
PS:I don't believe one word this man says....He wants me to believe that they have no idea of OBL whereabouts....?PLEASEEEEEE...We are not THAT stupid...!!!!You don't fool us anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!
As in the days of Noah...
Chinese man still jailed 1 year after reform call
BEIJING-Police took Liu Xiaobo away one year ago, a day before the publication of a document he co-authored that called for more civil rights in China and an end to the Communist Party's political dominance. The former professor has been held without charge ever since and allowed just two visits from his wife.
Other Chinese bold enough to put their names to "Charter 08"—an unusually direct call for a new constitution guaranteeing human rights, the open election of public officials, and freedom of religion and expression—have been interrogated or tailed by police as part of a government drive to quash the effort....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Liu Xia, wife of detained Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, ties her scarf after an interview with AP in Beijing, China, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. The wife of the outspoken Chinese dissident who has been jailed for a year without being formally charged said Monday she wishes if it won't release him the government would put him on trial so she could visit him regularly. (AP Photo)
Other Chinese bold enough to put their names to "Charter 08"—an unusually direct call for a new constitution guaranteeing human rights, the open election of public officials, and freedom of religion and expression—have been interrogated or tailed by police as part of a government drive to quash the effort....
READ MORE
Picture Left:Liu Xia, wife of detained Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, ties her scarf after an interview with AP in Beijing, China, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. The wife of the outspoken Chinese dissident who has been jailed for a year without being formally charged said Monday she wishes if it won't release him the government would put him on trial so she could visit him regularly. (AP Photo)
Pakistan amnesty case stirs tension,bombs kill 10
ISLAMABAD-Pakistan's top court began hearing challenges on Monday to an amnesty order that could deepen political tension in a nuclear-armed country already facing pressure to fight Taliban militants on several fronts. An attack by a suicide bomber killed nine people outside a court in Peshawar and another blast was reported in Lahore, highlighting relentless security troubles in Pakistan, an ally that Washington needs to help fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Doubts are growing that President Asif Ali Zardari can survive politically in the long term, let alone lead the charge against Islamist fighters who have shown they can penetrate security near the headquarters of the all-powerful military...
Doubts are growing that President Asif Ali Zardari can survive politically in the long term, let alone lead the charge against Islamist fighters who have shown they can penetrate security near the headquarters of the all-powerful military...
"Obama Must Make Ambitious Climate Goals",UN Says
U.S. President Barack Obama should come to the climate-change talks this month in Denmark with strong goals for cutting greenhouse gases in the biggest economy, United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer said.
“I hope that as part of the negotiating process he comes with an ambitious American target” to cut heat-trapping emissions and “strong financial support to reach out to developing countries,” de Boer told reporters in Copenhagen today on the eve of the two-week negotiations.
Obama, facing pressure from countries to prove the U.S. is moving toward a low-emissions economy, said on Dec. 4 that he would push forward his scheduled visit to the final day of the climate talks. That coincides with when most world leaders will attend. De Boer welcomed the change in schedule...
“I hope that as part of the negotiating process he comes with an ambitious American target” to cut heat-trapping emissions and “strong financial support to reach out to developing countries,” de Boer told reporters in Copenhagen today on the eve of the two-week negotiations.
Obama, facing pressure from countries to prove the U.S. is moving toward a low-emissions economy, said on Dec. 4 that he would push forward his scheduled visit to the final day of the climate talks. That coincides with when most world leaders will attend. De Boer welcomed the change in schedule...
India,Russia sign deals on nuclear energy,defence
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, as the two countries signed deals on nuclear energy and arms sales.
India and Russia signed a raft of agreements, including one on cooperation in civilian atomic energy and another on the arms trade, after the two leaders held talks at the Kremlin, Russian news agencies reported.
"We welcome Russia's participation in the broadening of our nuclear energy programme," Singh said at the televised signing ceremony, according to remarks translated into Russian....
India and Russia signed a raft of agreements, including one on cooperation in civilian atomic energy and another on the arms trade, after the two leaders held talks at the Kremlin, Russian news agencies reported.
"We welcome Russia's participation in the broadening of our nuclear energy programme," Singh said at the televised signing ceremony, according to remarks translated into Russian....
Gordon Brown Calls Climate Skeptics “Flat Earthers”
The Prime Minister launched an outspoken attack on climate-change sceptics amid growing signs of public doubts about the scientific and political consensus on the environment.
World leaders meet in Copenhagen next week seeking a global deal on cutting carbon emissions. But the debate has been clouded by a row over accusations that British scientists manipulated data on global temperatures.
The United Nations yesterday announced an investigation into the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. Critics of the scientific consensus on climate change claim emails from the unit’s servers show researchers manipulated evidence to support their theory...
World leaders meet in Copenhagen next week seeking a global deal on cutting carbon emissions. But the debate has been clouded by a row over accusations that British scientists manipulated data on global temperatures.
The United Nations yesterday announced an investigation into the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. Critics of the scientific consensus on climate change claim emails from the unit’s servers show researchers manipulated evidence to support their theory...
Pentagon orders 16,000 troops to start surge
WASHINGTON-The first wave of President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan surge will add about 16,000 U.S. troops who got their orders over the past few days, the Pentagon announced Monday.
About 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina will leave for Afghanistan later this month, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. He would not be precise about when those troops arrive, but military sources have said the first forces are expected on the ground by Christmas.
After the first of the year, the Marines begin sending another 6,200 from Lejeune, Whitman said, and 800 from Camp Pendleton in California.
The Army will also begin sending in the first of its forces—a training brigade from Fort Drum, N.Y. Whitman said about 4,100 support forces from various places will also deploy early next year...
About 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina will leave for Afghanistan later this month, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. He would not be precise about when those troops arrive, but military sources have said the first forces are expected on the ground by Christmas.
After the first of the year, the Marines begin sending another 6,200 from Lejeune, Whitman said, and 800 from Camp Pendleton in California.
The Army will also begin sending in the first of its forces—a training brigade from Fort Drum, N.Y. Whitman said about 4,100 support forces from various places will also deploy early next year...
California outlaws large,power-hungry TVs
In a move that could spell the end of the plasma TV industry as we know it, the state of California agreed today to enact strict regulations on the amount of power televisions can consume, effectively outlawing most large plasma TVs as of January 1, 2011, with many more televisions set to be banned beginning January 1, 2013.The state had been concerned that 10 percent of a home’s energy use is typically devoted to the TV and its related equipment, and that percentage has been increasing as consumers gain access to larger and larger (and cheaper and cheaper) televisions, which command an ever-increasing hunger for power.
The new rules go into effect a little more than a year from now: On January 1, 2011, televisions will be required to reduce energy consumption by an average of 33 percent. In 2013, a second tier of restrictions will go into effect, with average energy consumption required to be reduced by 49 percent vs. today’s levels...
The new rules go into effect a little more than a year from now: On January 1, 2011, televisions will be required to reduce energy consumption by an average of 33 percent. In 2013, a second tier of restrictions will go into effect, with average energy consumption required to be reduced by 49 percent vs. today’s levels...
"Leaked emails won't harm UN climate body",says chairman
There is "virtually no possibility" of a few scientists biasing the advice given to governments by the UN's top global warming body, its chair said today.
Rajendra Pachauri defended the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the wake of apparent suggestions in emails between climate scientists at the University of East Anglia that they had prevented work they did not agree with from being included in the panel's fourth assessment report, which was published in 2007.
The emails were made public this month after a hacker illegally obtained them from servers at the university.
Pachauri said the large number of contributors and rigorous peer review mechanism adopted by the IPCC meant that any bias would be rapidly uncovered.
"The processes in the IPCC are so robust, so inclusive, that even if an author or two has a particular bias it is completely unlikely that bias will find its way into the IPCC report," he said.
"Every single comment that an expert reviewer provides has to be answered either by acceptance of the comment, or if it is not accepted, the reasons have to be clearly specified. So I think it is a very transparent, a very comprehensive process which insures that even if someone wants to leave out a piece of peer reviewed literature there is virtually no possibility of that happening."
READ MORE
Picture Left: Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images)
Rajendra Pachauri defended the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the wake of apparent suggestions in emails between climate scientists at the University of East Anglia that they had prevented work they did not agree with from being included in the panel's fourth assessment report, which was published in 2007.
The emails were made public this month after a hacker illegally obtained them from servers at the university.
Pachauri said the large number of contributors and rigorous peer review mechanism adopted by the IPCC meant that any bias would be rapidly uncovered.
"The processes in the IPCC are so robust, so inclusive, that even if an author or two has a particular bias it is completely unlikely that bias will find its way into the IPCC report," he said.
"Every single comment that an expert reviewer provides has to be answered either by acceptance of the comment, or if it is not accepted, the reasons have to be clearly specified. So I think it is a very transparent, a very comprehensive process which insures that even if someone wants to leave out a piece of peer reviewed literature there is virtually no possibility of that happening."
READ MORE
Picture Left: Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images)
Judge Napolitano and Steve Milloy On Climategate
Judge Andrew Napolitano sits in on the Gleen Beck Show and interviews Steve Milloy of Junk Science on climategate.
SOURCE
SOURCE
India challenges Western data linking climate change, Himalayan melt
NEW DELHI — As countries around the world prepare to flex their negotiating muscles at next month’s climate-change summit in Copenhagen, India has begun to question the Western model of computing global warming statistics.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh released a report last week that says there is no conclusive evidence that climate change has caused the melting of the Himalayan glaciers. The report says that not all of the glaciers are receding at alarming rates and that a few are even advancing.
The report, an analysis of data from the past four decades, is part of India’s efforts to produce a body of indigenous research assessments on the subject.
“So far, we have been depending on research conducted by the West on what is happening to our glaciers and environment,” he said after releasing the report, which was prepared by a former scientist with the Geological Survey of India and included a disclaimer that it did not necessarily reflect the government’s view...
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh released a report last week that says there is no conclusive evidence that climate change has caused the melting of the Himalayan glaciers. The report says that not all of the glaciers are receding at alarming rates and that a few are even advancing.
The report, an analysis of data from the past four decades, is part of India’s efforts to produce a body of indigenous research assessments on the subject.
“So far, we have been depending on research conducted by the West on what is happening to our glaciers and environment,” he said after releasing the report, which was prepared by a former scientist with the Geological Survey of India and included a disclaimer that it did not necessarily reflect the government’s view...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)