A three day snow event at high elevations in Hawaii (the big island) ended yesterday. It left a snow cover above about the 10k' level. The link goes to a tweet by Scott Bachmeier.The tweet contains the satellite image showing the snow cover as of late daylight yesterday.
#2
I think Al has been in DC the past few days because, later today, the "Climate Reality Project" is broadcasting their annual 24 hour event. Their office is at 750 9th Street, NW just 2 blocks south of K street.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/05/2016 14:59 Comments ||
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#3
Obviously photoshopped! Didn't the warmists tell us we're heating up the earth? I'm not falling for this malarkey.
Where's that Kool-Aid?
Posted by: Big Dark Lord of the Bunions7288 ||
12/05/2016 18:18 Comments ||
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#4
Global warming.
Is there anything it can't do?
Note: Global warming is now doing business as "Climate Change"!
A lawyer for Naked Capitalism accuses WaPo of running a debunked list of “fake news” sites in the “sensational” story compiled by a dubious team of researchers, without substantiating their claims or giving Naked Capitalism a chance to respond to the allegation. The Washington Post’s actions constitute defamation, the lawyer writes in the letter published Monday.
“You did not provide even a single example of ‘fake news’ allegedly distributed or promoted by Naked Capitalism or indeed any of the 200 sites on the PropOrNot blacklist,” James A. Moody writes. “You provided no discussion or assessment of the credentials or backgrounds of these so-called ‘researchers’ (Clint Watts, Andrew Weisburd, and J.M. Berger and the ‘team’ at PropOrNot), and no discussion or analysis of the methodology, protocol or algorithms such ‘researchers’ may or may not have followed.”
Naked Capitalism is a finance and economics blog started in December, 2006, with a stated goal of “shedding light on the dark and seamy corners of finance.”
Venezuela is issuing new higher-value notes to help deal with some of the practical problems of soaring inflation. The central bank said that six new bills ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars would come into circulation on 15 December. Currently the largest note is 100 bolivars and worth about two US cents.
Over the past month, the currency has tumbled by 60% against the dollar on the black market.
"[This] will make the payments system more efficient, facilitate commercial transactions and minimize the costs of production, replacement and transfer ... which will translate into benefits for banking, trade and the general population," the central bank said.
On Friday, Venezuela's credit card and cash machine system froze, leaving businesses unable to process transactions and having to ask for cash or to delay payment.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro blamed the problem on a cyber-attack. He maintains that the economic crisis is being backed by the US.
The government last published figures for inflation in December 2015, putting it at 180%, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that next year's prices will rise by more than 2,000%.
#3
This has gotten ludicrous. Blaming Obama for trying to harm a socialist economy??? Now that's funny right there.
I've read some funny things in the last few days; no one uses a wallet anymore cause you can't put enough money in one to buy anything; merchants weigh money instead of counting it. That's funny right there.
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
......
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
[Downtrend] The Russian-made jeep genericization of a once-proud name Vehicle is a UAZ-469
ferrying the ashes of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro broke down and needed to be pushed on Saturday en route to the late leader’s final resting place.
Castro’s ashes were interred in a private ceremony Sunday morning, ending nine days of official mourning, Fox News is reporting.
The breakdown of the jeep in the midst of adoring crowds chanting "Long live Fidel!" was symbolic of the dual nature of Castro’s Cuba. While his legacy inspires fierce adulation by many of the nation’s citizens, others continue to grumble about Cuba’s autocratic government, inefficient bureaucracy and stagnant economy.
Rural Cubans’ lives have improved with the arrival of doctors and teachers in once-ignored backwaters, however, it has been a struggle to earn a living under the island’s one-party socialist government and its stifling economic rules.
But those realities were seemingly not at the forefront of the minds of the throngs crowding the two-mile route the Russian jeep traveled to Santa Ifigenia cemetery.
Castro’s tomb stands to the side of a memorial to the rebel soldiers killed during a 1953 Castro-led attack on Santiago’s Moncada barracks. Castro’s final resting spot is in front of the mausoleum of Cuban national hero Jose Marti.
The Cuban military fired a 21-gun salute and crowds at the entrance to the cemetery sang the national anthem as the ashes entered about 40 minutes later. The ceremony lasted more than an hour and took place out of the public eye after Cuban officials made a last-minute cancellation of plans to broadcast the events live on national and international television. International media were also barred from the ceremony.
The decision to hold a private ceremony came the morning after Castro’s brother, President Raul Castro, announced that Cuba would prohibit the naming of streets and monuments after the former leader, and bar the construction of statues of the former leader and revolutionary icon, in keeping with his desire to avoid a cult of personality.
"The leader of the revolution rejected any manifestation of a cult of personality and was consistent in that through the last hours of his life, insisting that, once dead, his name and likeness would never be used on institutions, streets, parks or other public sites, and that busts, statutes or other forms of tribute would never be erected," Raul Castro told a massive crowd gathered in the eastern city of Santiago.
#5
Knowing that Jeep is part of Chrysler and now owned by Fiat, and also knowing that while it isn't really germane, the following acronym comes to mind:
OPEC’s agreement to cut production for the first time in eight years has the potential to balance the oil market, as long as everyone sticks to it, former Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said, Bloomberg reported.
"The only tool they have is to constrain production," al-Naimi said of OPEC at an event in Washington, D.C. "The unfortunate part is we tend to cheat."
OPEC on Wednesday agreed to cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day, while Russia and other oil producers committed to reducing their own output by another 600,000. The deal spearheaded by Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih represents a departure from the pump-at-will policy promoted by al-Naimi when he was oil minister. OPEC adopted that policy in 2014.
Remarking on his approach, al-Naimi said he wasn’t opposed to production cuts in 2014, as long as everyone participated. They wouldn’t, he said. "There’s not much you can do if there is no maximum cooperation between the producers."
He also expressed skepticism that Russia, considered a wildcard during talks, would follow through on its promise to reduce output. "Will Russia cut 300,000?" he said. "I don’t know. In the past, they didn’t."
Saudi Arabia still has production potential, according to al-Naimi. During a panel discussion with Hess Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Hess and former Schlumberger Ltd. CEO Andrew Gould, al-Naimi said his country has untapped shale-oil and gas reserves, and advancing technologies would only bring shale production costs lower.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/05/2016 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] Several migrants sexually molested 18-year-old girls at an annual celebration for young people in Munich after the city’s mayor had reached out and invited the migrants to attend.
Socialist mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter invited 1,300 young people to attend a traditional celebration, inviting several migrants, as well. According to reports, the migrants harassed and sexually assaulted numerous teen girls, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports.
"There is no tolerance for such behaviour at all," Mayor Reiter stated after the allegations came out in the German press. The event, which happens on an annual basis, sees all 18-year-olds in the city invited to the city hall to celebrate and have fun. On the upper level of the building, a dancefloor complete with DJs was set up and was the location where the assaults began.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says he is resigning after a stinging defeat on a constitutional reforms referendum that he staked his premiership on. Wagner actually wrote an opera about this. Rienzi gets killed in the end.
“Good luck to us all,” Renzi told reporters after saying he would tell a Cabinet meeting Monday afternoon he is resigning. Then he will tender his resignation to the Italian president after 2 1/2 years in office.
Renzi conceded defeat after exit polls showed his proposal losing by a margin of about 60 percent to 40 percent in Sunday’s referendum.
Renzi said the reforms would have cut Italy’s bureaucracy and made the country more competitive. His opponents were hoping to tap into the populist sentiment that has been gaining ground in Europe and the U.S.
Almost 70 percent of the electorate turned out to vote, first reports from polling stations indicated, underlining the stakes after Renzi's resignation pledge turned the vote into a de facto referendum on his leadership and record.
The projected result was in line with what opinion polls had been indicating up until November 18, after which the media were banned from publishing survey results.
President Sergio Mattarella will be charged with brokering the appointment of a new government to run Italy until the next general election, which has to take place by the spring of 2018.
Opposition parties denounced the proposed amendments to the 68-year-old constitution as dangerous for democracy because they would have removed important checks and balances on executive power. Spearheaded by the populist Five Star Movement, the biggest rival to Renzi's Democratic party, the "No" campaign also capitalised on Renzi's declining popularity, a sluggish economy and the problems caused by tens of thousands of migrants arriving in Italy from Africa.
[IsraelTimes] Germany, La Belle France, Greece praise results as far-right party’s huge following on scocial media vents it anger.
Austria’s voters have resoundingly rejected anti-immigration and eurosceptic Norbert Hofer’s bid to become the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s first far-right president, a result greeted with relief from centrist politicians across the continent.
Instead, Greens-backed independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen swept 53.3 percent of Sunday’s vote against 46.7 percent for his rival from the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe), according to public television projections.
"Today it is not an exaggeration if I say that today we see a red-white-red -- the flag of Austria -- as a signal of hope and change. A red-white-red signal from Austria to all the capitals of the European Union," Van der Bellen, 72, said in Vienna.
The official result of what has been an ugly and polarising election in normally peaceable Austria, lasting 11 months, was not expected until Monday. But on Sunday an "incredibly sad" Hofer conceded defeat.
"I congratulate Alexander Van der Bellen on his success and call on all Austrians to stick together and work together," Hofer said on Facebook.
Establishment politicians in Austria and Europe had been nervous about a possible Hofer victory in a year that has seen two monumental political upsets already: Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... winning the US presidential election and Britannia deciding to leave the EU.
It came shortly before exit polls suggested Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had lost a high-stakes constitutional referendum also held Sunday -- following a "No" campaign spearheaded by the populist Five Star Movement -- on which he has staked his job.
Hofer, like Trump and "Brexit" proponents, had stoked concerns about immigration and globalisation, vowing to "get rid of the dusty establishment", seek closer ties with Russia and fight against "Brussels centralising power".
Following the arrival of a record number of migrants colonists last year including many fleeing war in Syria, Hofer had also declared that Islam has "no place in Austria", seeing Moslems as a danger to the country’s values, traditions and security.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/05/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Mehnil Ahmed is expected to arrive in Multan on Monday (today) for a medical examination which will determine his gender. The result will determine whether or not he can stay married to his wife.
The examination was ordered after police submitted a report to court saying that Ahmed was born female but had married Ayesha Sajjad, whose mother has filed a case to retrieve her daughter.
Mehnil Ahmed, a resident of Kot Sultan, Layyah district, had married Ayesha, a resident of Taunsa Sharif, on April 26 in Multan.
On June 25, Najma Sajjad, Ayesha’s mother, filed an abduction case at the Taunsa Sharif city cop shoppe, stating that Ahmed had kidnapped her daughter, who was at most 18 years old, with the help of five others on June 22. She said that Ahmed had previously kidnapped her daughter for three days and returned her to her family on June 10.
Ayesha then filed a petition in the Multan bench of the Lahore High Court, through her counsel Mian Bashir Ahmed Bhatti, on July 2, requesting the court to quash the police case against her husband and his relatives. She said that she was 22 years old and had married Ahmed of her free will. She told the court that her family wanted to marry her off to someone else, which was why they had filed a fabricated and false case with the police. She said that she had not been kidnapped or forced to marry Ahmed, but her mother was now trying to force her to end her marriage and be with someone who was unacceptable to her.
She said that she had discussed the matter with the SHO overseeing the case, but it was obvious that the police were favouring her mother.
Ayesha requested the court to quash the case in the interest of justice.
Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, on July 4, directed the SHO to submit a report on the matter. In a criminal miscellaneous petition, the court granted the accused a week’s protective bail.
In another petition on July 23, Ayesha claimed that police had not followed court directions [to submit a report] and were harassing her and the accused. She requested the court to direct the SHO not to harass and pressurise her or the accused till a final decision on the main petition.
On July 25, Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu directed the police not to harass the couple and to appear before the court with complete case records at the next case hearing. The police submitted its report the next day.
The report claimed that Ahmed’s gender had changed and that he had been living at Ayesha’s house for a year. It stated that a copy of the protective bail was received on July 5 but neither the petitioner nor the accused had joined police investigations.
The report said that the matter of the marriage was complicated because Ahmed was born female and was named Nazia Ahmed Hassan. It said a medical examination regarding the gender change was required.
On September 6, Ms Najma filed a civil miscellaneous petition through her counsel Sajjad Hussain Khan Malazai, stating that Ahmed and his family had pressured her daughter to file a plea seeking quashment of the FIR.
She claimed that the nikahnama, provided by the accused, and the contract of marriage were illegal. "It is necessary in these circumstances and also a requirement of law to separate the chaff from the grain regarding the gender change," she stated.
She demanded a complete medical examination of Ahmed, terming it crucial for conclusion of the matter.
On November 30, Justice Ali Baqir Najafi ordered that Ahmed be medically examined on December 5 to ascertain his biological sex. The next hearing of the case will be held on Dec 8.
Ayesha’s counsel Usman Bhatti said the case should have been concluded after the allegedly kidnapped person had confirmed that she was not kidnapped. "Ahmed’s signs of a gender change are clear and the results of a medical examination will confirm that he is a male," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2016 00:00 ||
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[11123 views]
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[DAWN] Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... i Prince Hamad Bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani along with members of the royal family arrived here on Saturday. They're gonna help eliminate the last of those pesky bustards.
Hasan Nawaz, son of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , received the guests at the Lahore airport and took them to the Sharifs’ Jati Umra residence at Raiwind where the premier hosted a luncheon for them.
The arrival of the Qatari prince is being seen in the context of a letter he submitted to the Supreme Court here in the Panama leaks case.
Al-Thani had stated in the letter that his father had longstanding business relations with Mian Mohammad Sharif, the father of PM Sharif, which were coordinated through the prince’s eldest brother.
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... has left for The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... to meet the Turkish president.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2016 00:00 ||
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[Epoch] American Airlines flight attendants are seeking a full recall of new uniforms, claiming the clothes have given them headaches, rashes, eye irritation, burning skin, as well as respiratory issues. Due to so many of advanced age, it could be the shingles.
According to a CNN Money report on Friday, Dec. 2, more than 1,600 health complaints have been lodged by flight attendants.
The airline said that it has hired an independent lab to test the outfits for fit, wear and allergic reactions. It also offered uniforms made of alternate materials.
#1
China possibly. I can find no information on who manufactured these clothes. I know that Vietnam has had issues with clothing made in China. Red marks left on skin after wearing bras and underwear. Something like a burn as I was told by a Vietnamese friend.
#7
Nothing wrong with wool but what did they use to clean it and dye it? Formaldehyde?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/05/2016 12:01 Comments ||
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#8
It's the melamine.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2016 15:08 Comments ||
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#9
Buffeted by the storm and tearfully repenting of my misspent youth, I put the plane down in a little bay -- and very neatly, too, if I say so myself. A quick reconaissance of the the jungle behind the beach has revealed an abundance of fruit trees and promising game trails, at finding which I promptly gave most poignant, humble thanks to the Almighty for His providence. So here I sit, stranded but safe enough for now, upon a desert isle with none to keep me company but a planeload of British schoolboys trainee flight attendants in itchy woolen uniforms.
Defensive weapons that can intercept and destroy enemy missiles before they can harm the United States or its allies have been a key part of military strategy for decades, but the rules of the game are changing.
More countries have or are developing long-range missile technology, including systems that can carry multiple warheads, known as Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) and/or decoys.
"Both China and Russia possess the MIRV capability for their ballistic missiles. In 2014, reports confirmed that Iran too had developed Multiple Re-entry Vehicles (MRVs) for their ballistic missiles. Cold War literature suggests that MIRVs are first strike weapons and could be strategically destabilizing," independent consultant Debalina Ghoshal wrote in a June 2016 report for the Federation of American Scientists.
"The United States realizes these threats and is working towards a robust missile defense system," she said.
Last year, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded contracts to Raytheon, Lockheed-Martin and Boeing to begin designing what is known as a "Multi-Object Kill Vehicle" or MOKV, which could destroy several objects in space with a single launch.
"Ten years ago, we had a single kill vehicle on a single interceptor. Kill vehicles today are the size of a toaster ... This MOKV program is the latest iteration," John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, told Seeker.
Raytheon's plan, which is scheduled for a concept review in December, is to load multiple MOKVs onto a single missile for launch. Each MOKV would be outfitted with sensors, a steering and propulsion system and communications equipment that will allow them to zero in on an individual target and hit it, destroying the object by sheer kinetic forces.
The impacts would take place beyond Earth's atmosphere, but on a trajectory that would send the resulting cloud of debris back into the atmosphere, where it burn up, Pike said.
A major technological challenge is figuring out how to differentiate between bombs and decoys, such as balloons that look like they might have a hydrogen bomb aboard.
The military hopes to begin proof-of-concept demonstrations late next year and a non-intercept flight test in 2018. If successful, the Missile Defense Agency would conduct an intercept test in 2019.
#3
Leftists like to say "It's like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet - it's just not possible." But it has been done repeatedly. Leftists then say "Your missile defense system won't do anything to stop a smuggled in nuke!" This is about like saying "Your cancer cure does nothing for the common cold, and therefore is useless." Lefty pretzel logic over and over. No wonder they ran a candidate that a wild-card like Trump could beat...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/05/2016 11:01 Comments ||
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#4
"Your missile defense system won't do anything to stop a smuggled in nuke!"
Then we beef up the border security... They'll so want that won't they?
[DailyMail] Dakota Access Pipeline protesters cheered as the news emerged and cried 'Mni Wiconi', or 'water is life'
Corps of Engineers said they would not be granting an easement for the DAPL to cross Lake Oahe
Federal agency said they would explore alternate routes for the pipeline on Sunday afternoon
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council Chairman Harold Frazier told DailyMail.com that he was 'shocked'
Thousands of veterans arrived this weekend to support the protests as temperatures hovered at 30F
Protests were thought to intensify after evacuation was ordered and area was to be shut down on Dec 5
'Instead, the Corps will be undertaking an environmental impact statement to look at possible alternate routes.'
'We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and do the right thing.'
'The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will forever be grateful to the Obama administration for this historic decision.'
#2
'The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will forever be grateful to the Obama administration for this historic decision.'
I seem to remember the Native Americans being grateful for historical administration 'decisions', until they became mugged by reality.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/05/2016 10:49 Comments ||
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#3
A big lefty dream has always been to check off on their tax returns what they don't want their tax money to be spent on. Time to make that a reality. Blue regions that don't like energy development or defense spending should get their wishes, with all the ramifications that follow from those choices.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/05/2016 11:10 Comments ||
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#4
Obama is given credit but there may more to it as he also called in the Feds in the first place. Trump has already done more than O in 8 years before he is even inaugurated. He advocates energy independence, has shares in DAPL, AND called in the North Dakota governor....he is open to outside ideas and at least listens to legitimate concerns over the Ogalala Aquifer. What about other solutions, like maybe a refinery built outside the sacred area near the drilling site? He also plans infrastructure improvements that can generate even more blue-collar jobs plus the shortage of housing can be addressed by a builder. It is an art to get the restless Natives to make a deal with the government and O has done nothing constructive, imho.
Posted by: One Eyed Speaking for Boskone7919 ||
12/05/2016 12:35 Comments ||
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#5
Fucking Bourgeois Assholes always keeping the Proletariat down.
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.
Venezuela is issuing new higher-value notes to help deal with some of the practical problems of soaring inflation. The central bank said that six new bills ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars would come into circulation on 15 December. Currently the largest note is 100 bolivars and worth about two US cents.
[Downtrend] The Russian-made jeep 
[DAWN] 
Defensive weapons that can intercept and destroy enemy missiles before they can harm the United States or its allies have been a key part of military strategy for decades, but the rules of the game are changing.
