France's Europe minister, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, has said that Europe has enemies in Washington, suggesting that neo-conservatives played a significant role in the Irish rejection of the Lisbon treaty earlier this month. French daily Le Monde reports Mr Jouyet as saying that "Europe has powerful enemies on the other side of the Atlantic, gifted with considerable financial means. The role of American neo-conservatives was very important in the victory of the No."
Hopefully this is just another example of the EU leadership's usual cynical say-what-it-takes, blame-America-for-everything propaganda. No big deal. On the other hand, if Jouyet actually believes this stuff, that would be sort of interesting, at least psychiatrically. For now it might be better not to let him get too close to any sharp implements, clock towers or other temptations.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/27/2008 09:17 ||
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#2
Ah, shucks George, just offer them Irish a chance to join NAFTA instead of the EU. That'll upset the chicken coop in Brussels. Got to have a little fun before you say Adios.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/27/2008 18:04 Comments ||
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#10
Wow - the American Neocons must have also managed to bribe the French to vote 'No' on the constitution in 2005. Right under the nose of JP Jouyet. He might as well just give up now.
#11
TOPIX/IRNA > seems Ahmadinejad is warning he will present evidence of US attempts to kill him.
HMMMMM, truth be told, wid this one I feel like JACK NICHOLSON at the end of a A FEW GOOD MEN, dying to smash TOM CRUISE; or in the altern the character BROCK in VENTURE BROTHERS, struggling so hard to fight/restrain his [deadly]urges BLOOD IS FLOWING DOWN HIS MOUTH!
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year. The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic and worrying examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.
'From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water,' said Mark Serreze of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.
If it happens, it raises the prospect of the Arctic nations being able to exploit the valuable oil and mineral deposits below these a bed which have until now been impossible to extract because of the thick sea ice above.
Continued on Page 49
You have to suffer through the rectangular projection and also realize that
- they use an analysis convention that shows 51% coverage as all ice and 49% coverage as ice free, and
- where the satellites weren't able to get images (typically because of clouds), they use a complicated formula which takes into account climatology and persistance.
However, other than that, its a pretty good product.
As of the latest analysis date (Jun 23), there was plenty of ice around.
#9
All this MMGW crap ignores one import factor; volcanoes. One good Mt. St Helens - or Pinatubo - or Tambora - and the earth's surface goes into a quick chill - and there is bugger all that human infestation of the Earth's crust can do about it.
#10
Given the area of the Arctic ice pack, and the thickness of the ice, how much will the oceans rise worldwide if the ice pack melts completely?
Answer: NOT ONE MILLIMETER.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/27/2008 11:20 Comments ||
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#11
Actually, there's more ice this year than at the same date last year.
That is only true if you assume the only difference is the ice to water phase change (and nothing happens to the baffin and greenland ice sheets). If the whole column of water increases in temperature, the column increases in height (because warm water is less dense).
#15
Not even the first time in recorded human history, Bigjim.
Humans have been around for 70+ thousand years (probably closer to 500 thousand to 1 million) so the statement is blatantly false and demonstrates a typical inability by the mass media to fact check in favor of ringing the GW alarm bell.
#16
#12 - mhw, that is what I was assuming. As for the Baffin and Greenland ice sheets, even the bogus UN climate report admitted that it would take a very long time (hundred of years or more) for the Greenland ice sheet to melt. I realize that ice caps over land would add to sea levels rising if they melted.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/27/2008 14:44 Comments ||
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#17
For the AGW alarmist crowd, human history started when the Goracle started warning people about global warming.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/27/2008 14:45 Comments ||
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#18
Its been widely predicted by AGW experts with high confidence based on models that Arctic ice extent would set a new record low this year. Those predictions are almost certainly wrong as Arctic ice is well above last years level.
Note the article quotes a bunch of anecdotal sources, while ignoring the up to date data available at places like Cryosphere Today.
And of course no one dares mention Antarctic ice which is at record levels.
Also of interest, is that sea levels have stopped rising for the last year or so.
Polls have closed in Zimbabwe, after a presidential runoff widely dismissed as a charade to keep President Robert Mugabe in power. I'm so excited! I just can't wait to find out who won!
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the poll earlier this week, saying violence against his supporters made the election impossible. In an interview Friday with VOA English to Africa, he denounced the runoff as a "one-man race whose outcome is already known."
Many residents of the capital, Harare, said ruling party militia threatened them with harm if they did not vote. Witnesses say turnout was strong at two Harare polling stations, Mbare and Harare South, but that other stations saw only a trickle of voters.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2008 15:18 ||
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#1
He could potentially surpass Saddam Hussein's record percentage.
Robert Mugabe has vowed to go ahead with Friday's presidential run-off despite opponent Morgan Tsvangirai withdrawing from the race. The regime has chosen to ignore regional and international pleas to postpone the election to a later date because of the state sponsored violence against MDC supporters.
Zimbabwe's Air Vice-Marshall, Henry Muchena, told a meeting of Zanu-PF supporters at Ruvimbo primary school in Mbizvo, KweKwe on Wednesday that he would personally send the army to deal with 'sellouts' who do not vote on Friday.
Sounds like Bob's going to get 100% of the vote ...
The MDC MP for Mbizvo, Settlement Chikwinya, told us that Muchena told the gathering that soldiers would be checking for traces of the red indelible ink on everyone's fingers, to see who voted. 'He promised to unleash his thugs on MDC supporters who intend to boycott the elections. But our supporters are saying they will simply go there and spoil the papers,' Chikwinya said.
International rejection of Friday's run-off is mounting each day, with the United States and almost all European countries saying they will not recognise the result. Former South African President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday broke his silence on the crisis to castigate the 'tragic failure of leadership' in the country. US President George W. Bush last night called the run-off a 'sham'. South Africa's ruling ANC which, in contrast to President Thabo Mbeki has been severely critical of Mugabe, said it was not too late to call off the vote.
Their spokeswoman Jesse Duarte said the ANC is convinced that it is not too late for Mugabe to cancel the election and lead the country in dialogue that will be for the good of all Zimbabweans.
SADC's organ on Defence and Security, the Troika, also called for a postponement of the poll, saying the outcome will not be credible. But divisions in the region were laid bare when Mbeki declined to attend their meeting. Nonetheless, a growing number of African leaders, including Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, have criticised the state-orchestrated violence against Zanu-PF opponents. The European Union on Thursday also backed the SADC Troika's call to postpone the run-off, saying the results of the poll would not reflect the will of the people. In a statement, EU president Slovenia also expressed concern about violence that has dogged campaigning for Friday's election, which the SADC wants delayed.
The statement said harassment of the opposition and the campaign of violence in the country have led to Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to withdraw from the second round of the presidential elections. 'These circumstances cannot credibly lead to a result that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people. Therefore, the presidency expresses its full support to the SADC call for the postponement of the second round of the elections,' the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"One voice , one vote , I win "
Mugabe, 1924-2008
#4
The dye thing on the fingers has been long used in those parts in order to ensure everyone voted once only, now Bob uses it to make sure everyone votes at least once and give out thrashings to those who didn't. He has learnt well from his Chinese masters whose interests are the only ones that matter, there's that war he still has to pay for.
I did suggest a couple of Tommahawks from a Sub in the Mocambique Channel about 4 years ago, it's not too late, but expect the usual hand-wringing.
The U.S. has removed its nuclear arsenal in Britain, ending its half-century deployment there and reducing its European nuclear deployment to six locations in five countries, a report said. The withdrawal follows the removal of nuclear weapons from the Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in 2005 and Greece in 2001, according to the The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Strategic Security Blog, citing unidentified sources.
The U.S. now has an estimated 150 to 240 B61 nuclear bombs scattered in Europe - at Aviano Air Base, Italy, and Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and at four European bases in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and a second Italian post, the blog said.
In November 2000, then-President Clinton authorized the Pentagon to deploy 110 nuclear bombs to RAF Lakenheath. There were 480 atomic bombs in Europe at the time.
President George W. Bush updated the authorization in May 2004, with an apparent order to remove the nuclear weapons from Ramstein, the blog said. The directive might have also authorized the pullout from Lakenheath, it said.
Asked by reporters June 26 if the reported withdrawal was true, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: 'I haven't gotten that question since I've been secretary of defense, but I think I'm not supposed to talk about that.'
#3
CHINESE MIL FORUM > YOUTUBE VIDEO = US NEOCONS STOLE THE IRISH EU VOTE/ELECTION.
Basically, Vid infers USA desires to formally overtly take over UK, Ireland, + EU.
Recall OSAMA-RADICAL ISLAM + PAN-ISLAMIST NUCLEARIZATION + STRATWEAPNZ [Iran + Militants-Terr] > SAVING THE JIHAD = "THERE CAN ONLY BE TWO" [US-Allies + Islamist Central Asia/Asia], NOT VLADVEDEV's = RUSSIA's DESIRED "MULTIPOLAR" WORLD???
D *** NG IT, ET TU NATALIE PORTMAN = QUEEN AMIDALA???
#4
See also IRAN-DAILY > BRITAIN CANNOT FIGHT TWO WARS [AT ONCE]. Brit's national establishment + econ sectors are not structured to support simul multiple conflicts.
Gazprom set out a vaulting vision of its future status as the worlds most powerful energy company on Thursday as it belittled Opec, saying the oil producers cartel had in effect lost control of the market.
Alexey Miller told the Financial Times that the world was undergoing a great surge in oil and gas prices . . . which will end with prices at a radically new level. He added that even Opec had no real influence on prices. Not a single decision has been passed of late that would really influence the global oil market.
Mr Miller continued: In the coming years Gazprom will be not just a major company in the world, but the most influential in the energy business, adding that its target was to reach a market capitalisation of $1,000bn.
He also said international energy companies should invest in Russia only alongside state-controlled companies, such as Gazprom, if they wanted to succeed. He stressed that the Russian market was increasingly attractive to Gazprom as domestic gas prices rose, but also talked of plans for expansion in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa. We see North America as a region of our strategic interests, he said, arguing that Gazprom was creating a new configuration of gas supplies to the US and Canada.
Gazprom hopes to serve the North American market from 2014 with liquefied natural gas from its proposed Shtokman project off Russias north coast.
More at the link, including about a pending Nigeria deal.
#2
They want to see $250 a bbl. for oil next year?
At that point you will really need to sit down and ask yourself whether or not that barrel of oil is WORTH $250. I'd say there are people doing that right now at $140. Can you make $250 worth of products out of that barrel, and then can you sell them at a profit? Eventually the answer will be no, if it isn't already.
(CNN) John McCain directed his trademark straight talk toward a former president, flatly calling Jimmy Carter a 'lousy' commander in chief.
The Arizona senator has long attempted to portray Barack Obama's policies as in the mold of Carter's, though the Republican has previously held back criticizing Carter so directly. But in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun published Friday, McCain was decidedly more blunt than he has been in the past. McCain, who is a proponent of nuclear reprocessing, was asked why he thought Carter abandoned the process when he was president.
'Yes, because Carter was a lousy president,' McCain quipped. 'This is the same guy who kissed Brezhnev.'
McCain's comments are in reference to the now famous moment after Carter and then Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev kissed after signing the SALT II treaty in 1979. Both the agreement and the kiss were widely panned by Republicans.
Carter himself largely stayed on the sidelines during the prolonged Democratic primary race, refusing to publicly back a candidate. Though he had long dropped several hints that he was a supporter of Barack Obama and he formally endorsed the Illinois senator shortly after he tied up the nomination.
On January 31 of this year, Keith Olbermann donned his most serious face and most indignant voice tone to rail against George Bush for supporting telecom immunity and revisions to FISA. In a 10-minute "Special Comment," the MSNBC star condemned Bush for wanting to "retroactively immunize corporate criminals," and said that telecom immnity is "an ex post facto law, which would clear the phone giants from responsibility for their systematic, aggressive and blatant collaboration with [Bush's] illegal and unjustified spying on Americans under this flimsy guise of looking for any terrorists who are stupid enough to make a collect call or send a mass email."
Olbermann added that telecom amnesty was a "shameless, breathless, literally textbook example of Fascism -- the merged efforts of government and corporations that answer to no government." Noting the numerous telecom lobbyists connected to the Bush administration, Olbermann said:
This is no longer just a farce in which protecting telecoms is dressed up as protecting us from terrorists conference cells. Now it begins to look like the bureaucrats of the Third Reich, trying to protect the Krupp family, the industrial giants, re-writing the laws of Germany for their benefit.
. . .
Strong and righteous words indeed. But that was five whole months ago, when George Bush was urging enactment of a law with retroactive immunity and a lessening of FISA protections. Now that Barack Obama supports a law that does the same thing -- and now that Obama justifies that support by claiming that this bill is necessary to keep us Safe from the Terrorists -- everything has changed.
Last night, Olbermann invited Newsweek's Jonathan Alter onto his show to discuss Obama's support for the FISA and telecom amnesty bill (video of the segment is here). There wasn't a syllable uttered about "immunizing corporate criminals" or "textbook examples of Fascism" or the Third Reich. There wasn't a word of rational criticism of the bill either. Instead, the two media stars jointly hailed Obama's bravery and strength -- as evidenced by his "standing up to the left" in order to support this important centrist FISA compromise . . .
Leave aside the fact that Jonathan Alter, desperate to defend Obama, doesn't have the slightest idea of what he's talking about. How can a bill which increases the President's authority to eavesdrop with no warrants over the current FISA law possibly be described as a restoration of the Fourth Amendment? That would be like describing a new law banning anti-war speech as a restoration of the First Amendment. . . .
What's much more notable is Olbermann's full-scale reversal on how he talks about these measures now that Obama -- rather than George Bush -- supports them. On an almost nightly basis, Olbermann mocks Congressional Democrats as being weak and complicit for failing to stand up to Bush lawbreaking; now that Obama does it, it's proof that Obama won't "cower." Grave warning on Olbermann's show that telecom amnesty and FISA revisions were hallmarks of Bush Fascism instantaneously transformed into a celebration that Obama, by supporting the same things, was leading a courageous, centrist crusade in defense of our Constitution.
Is that really what anyone wants -- transferring blind devotion from George Bush to Barack Obama? Are we hoping for a Fox News for Obama, that glorifies everything he says and whitewashes everything he does? . . . Just another day in the MSM.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/27/2008 06:58 ||
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#1
Olbermann is playing the old "It isn't fascism when we do it" trick.
#3
Hate to admit it but i feel the SAME way about McCain. Just when I have calmed down enough to go to hsi website and contribute money he spouts off some glaobal warming or emulating europe and I just can't do it.
#4
For all those who are reluctant to support McCain, remember that the next President will appoint two SCOTUS Justices. If you want more Stephens and Suter and Ginsberg then don't send money to McCain and think how happy you will be with a twenty year rule of Liberal-dominated Supreme Court. Just sayin.
#7
I am a patient and tolerant man, but my patience and tolerance is exhausted when it comes to KO. I can't stand the comparison to Bill O'Reilly, either. This whole "Keith Olbermann is the Bill O'Reilly of the Left" talk is pure nonsense.
Comparing BO to KO is like comparing a toddler farting in public with a pool of raw sewage that has been sitting untouched for several months.
Neither of them smell good, in fact one smells far worse by an order of magnitude, but while one makes you chuckle a bit and shake your head at times, the other makes you recoil in visceral disgust.
#8
Whirling Dervish Olbermann will have to spin like a top to cover Obama's flipflops and try to get him elected. Olbermann is such an idiot that I wonder who watches or listens to him.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O.s leaders voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to endorse Barack Obama for president, saying the federation would spend more than $50 million and deploy more than 250,000 volunteers in this falls campaign. John J. Sweeney, the federations president, said, Barack Obamas record demonstrates he is a champion for working families and his proposals will improve life for generations of working people and our children.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2008 00:00 ||
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OWG Global Free Trade = Special Econ Zones.
I have to wonder whether the AFL-CIO Boyz realize any concept of a "GLOBAL AFL-CIO" etal. org 'LUNAR/SPACE AFL-CIO?]becomes archaic and can completely fly out the window iff no side [read, USA-Allies] wins this WOT 2008-2012 ala US-ISLAMIST STALEMATE???
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
06/27/2008 0:30 Comments ||
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#3
Barack Obamas record demonstrates he is a champion for working families and his proposals will improve life for generations of working people and our children."
Translation: Barack Obama will be favorable to the use of government force and other types of thuggery to transfer wealth from the more productive and wealthy to others, at gunpoint, if necessary.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
06/27/2008 5:51 Comments ||
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#4
"Change We Can Deceive In!®"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/27/2008 8:07 Comments ||
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#5
Barack Obamas record demonstrates he is a champion for union hacks working families and his proposals will improve life for generations of union hacks working people and our children."
Ohfergawdsake. Nobody pays attention to Ralph anymore. Now that I bring it up, does anybody pay attention to Reverend Al?
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2008 00:00 ||
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It warms the cockles of my heart to imagine Nader and Sharpton with their fingers firmly wrapped around each others necks and choking the living shit out of each other.
Remind me: how did the Gay Pride parade in Riyadh go?
JERUSALEM - About 2,000 people gathered in Jerusalem on Thursday for the annual Gay Pride parade which in the past had been the focus of violent controversy in the Holy City. Surrounded by about the same number of police, the marchers set off for kilometer-long (0.6-mile) parade in central Jerusalem, holding aloft rainbow banners.
"We want this parade to go ahead without violence," said Yonathan Leibowicz, of the Jerusalem Open House organisation that organised the event. "We reached an agreement with religious authorities to have a low-key demonstration so as not to shock people," he said.
Israel's Supreme Court earlier this week rejected a petition by a group of hardline Jewish activists who wanted the parade banned saying it was a "provocation" to hold it in this deeply religious city.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Saudi Marriage Officiant: It Is Permitted to Marry a Girl Aged One Year, If Sex is Postponed; The Prophet Muhammad, Whose Model We Follow, Married 'Aisha When She Was Six and Had Sex with Her When She Was Nine
Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi marriage officiant Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu'bi. The interview aired on LBC TV on June 19, 2008:
"There Is No Minimal Age For Entering Marriage...The Prophet Muhammad is the Model We Follow"
Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu'bi: "Marriage is actually two things: First we are talking about the marriage contract itself. This is one thing, while consummating the marriage - having sex with the wife for the first time - is another thing.
"There is no minimal age for entering marriage. You can have a marriage contract even with a one-year-old girl, not to mention a girl of nine, seven, or eight. This is merely a contract [indicating] consent. The guardian in such a case must be the father, because the father's opinion is obligatory. Thus, the girl becomes a wife...
"But is the girl ready for sex or not? What is the appropriate age for having sex for the first time? This varies according to environment and traditions. In Yemen, girls are married off at nine, ten, 11, eight, or 13, while in other countries, they are married off at 16. Some countries have legislated laws forbidding having sex before the girl is 18.
[...]
"The Prophet Muhammad is the model we follow. He took 'Aisha to be his wife when she was six, but he had sex with her only when she was nine."
Interviewer: "When she was six..."
"If The Guardian is The Father, And He Marries His Daughter Off To a Man of Appropriate Standing, The Marriage is Obviously Valid"
Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu'bi: "He married her [when she was] age six, and he consummated the marriage, by having sex with her for the first time, when she was nine. We consider the Prophet Muhammad to be our model."
Interviewer: "My question to you is whether the marriage of a 12-year-old boy to an 11-year-old girl is a logical marriage permitted by Islamic law."
Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu'bi: "If the guardian is the father... There are two different types of guardianship. If the guardian is the father, and he marries his daughter off to a man of appropriate standing, the marriage is obviously valid.
[...]
"People find themselves in all kinds of circumstances. Take, for example, a man who has two, three, or four daughters. He does not have any wives, but he needs to go on a trip. Isn't it better to marry his daughter to a man who will protect and sustain her, and when she reaches the proper age, he will have sex with her? Who says all men are ferocious wolves?"
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
06/27/2008 11:58 ||
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#1
Shows the true intellect of the Arab mind. Desert dogs now and into perpetuity.
KAPAA, Hawaii The U.S. militarys ground-based missile defense system destroyed a missile launched from an airplane Wednesday in the first successful test of the systems ability to destroy a separating target. The interceptor missile launched off Kauai had to differentiate between the warhead and the body of the missile before destroying it above the Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
This was the fifth successful intercept in five attempts since 2005 for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, the agency said. Another test in September 2006 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., was not completed due to a malfunction of the target missile, and no intercept was attempted.
The system used a mobile launcher at Kauais Pacific Missile Range Facility to shoot down a target representing a threat ballistic missile, said Lt. Gen. Henry Trey Obering. The threat missile was launched from an Air Force C-17 flying over the Pacific Ocean. The interceptor missile was fired six minutes later.
Like the Patriot anti-missile defenses, THAAD is designed to knock out ballistic missiles in their final minute of flight. Unlike the Patriot system, however, it is designed to intercept targets at higher altitudes, which enables it to defend a larger area.
This was the 35th successful test in 43 attempts in the atmosphere and in space since 2001, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. Since September 2005, the military has successfully completed 29 of 30 attempts. THAAD is one of two missile defense systems being tested at the Navys Hawaii missile range. The sea-based Aegis system completed its own successful test June 5.
From July 08 edition of Biodieselmagazine (a relatively new pub)
-------
Green Star and its consortium partner Biotech Research Inc. announced they will move their existing microalgae laboratory at the UABC University in Ensenada, Mexico, to Utah [near a coal fired power plant] in preparation for the development of a commercial-scale algae production facility [I'm not sure how many gallons/day] in that state....The Ensenada algae biotechnology team will be moving to the new expanded facilities in Utah to support the commercial algae production facility scheduled to go into operation sometime in 2008 or 2009....will also be supported by other universities, consortium partners and industrial technology companies.
#2
There are some pilot waste water projects to do that.
Posted by: ed ||
06/27/2008 13:56 Comments ||
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#3
Just one more arrow in the quiver of technologies that will free us from the Saudi nuthouse. If this lets us use our coal cleanly while providing fuel for vehicles that would be win/win.
DENVER -- Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years. The Bureau of Land Management says an extensive environmental study is needed to determine how large solar plants might affect millions of acres it oversees in six Western states Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
But the decision to freeze new solar proposals temporarily, reached late last month, has caused widespread concern in the alternative-energy industry, as fledgling solar companies must wait to see if they can realize their hopes of harnessing power from swaths of sun-baked public land, just as the demand for viable alternative energy is accelerating.
'It doesn't make any sense,' said Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a solar thermal energy company in Palo Alto, Calif. 'The Bureau of Land Management land has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry.'
Continued on Page 49
#2
Solar probably makes a great deal of sense, on an individual home basis. The solar farm thingy sounds dubious at best. If they can't make it on market capital I have serious doubts about it as even a peaking station. On a single house basis, it can make 2-5kW no problem, trying to generate MegaWatts is another story though.
#5
OS, the enviros created the system and now they have to live by the same rules the rest of us have had to for the last decade or so. In addition, a million acres plus is a huge chunk of land and where these solar farms are located DOES make a difference. Since the developments would be on non-wilderness or roaded lands and would have restricted access for the public, the public should have a say in the matter since they would probably lose access to those lands.
Environmental considerations include public access, grazing, mining, tourism, water, roads, public safety, costs to the local community and economy, how many birds will be fried by the directed solar array, endangered species, ect, ect.
This will hopefully minimize the boondoggle factor on this type of project.
#6
We can downplay solar all we want, but it is another way to get power that does not come from our enemies. I absolutely agree that we should have distributed solar on homes and businesses. If there was a justification for government subsidy, this is one IMO. But I think some of the focused solar plants make sense too. But typical of the bureacrats to focus on all the reasons why we shouldn't so something. Pretty clear why nothing significant can get done in this country.
#8
'It doesn't make any sense,' said Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a solar thermal energy company in Palo Alto, Calif. 'The Bureau of Land Management land has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry.'
After the solar plants are up, the Gila monster will no longer want to mate thus endangering the fragile desert bio-diversity and the blight of massive solar panels will lead to the destruction of the pristine desert environment.
Two homosexual advocacy groups are criticizing the decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired General Peter Pace. He'll be honored on Thursday.
'Honoring General Pace with the country's highest civilian award is outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops currently serving on active duty in the armed forces,' said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), in a news release on Wednesday. 'Our men and women in uniform are making tremendous sacrifices for our country and are looking for the president to recognize leaders who offer them praise and vision, not condemnation and scorn,' Sarvis stated.
'What do you get for calling LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Americans immoral and supporting the continued firing of gay Americans?' asked Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays (PFLAG) in the group's online blog last Thursday. 'If you're retired General Peter Pace, you get a Presidential Medal of Freedom,' the organization said.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Wow, you mean gays are being total assholes in public again? Surprise, surprise. Come on, if you hate the military and the people who serve, just come out of the closet and say so.
#2
No mention that the man was following the law as passed by Congress per their authority under Article I of the Constitution. BTW, it is a Donk Congress, how come your bed buddies haven't brought a revision to that law to the House floor? Does it feel warm under that bus?
#5
What are they getting their trans-undies in a bunch over? If Donna Shalala and George Tenet can get one, who is not "entitled" to one?
General Pace's extraordinary contributions aside, IMHO, the ceremony is far more gratifing for the presenter and the media than the American public or interest.
Countries with overheating economies are contributing to inflation around the world by pushing up commodity prices, Don Kohn, the vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve, said on Thursday. His comments came in a speech in which he appeared to call on fast-growing emerging markets to drop their exchange rate pegs to the dollar and adopt independent monetary policies so they no longer import Fed monetary policy.
Mr Kohn said in those countries where strong commodity demands are associated with rapid growth in aggregate demand that outstrips potential supply, actions to contain inflation by restraining aggregate demand would contribute to global price stability. The Fed vice-chairman did not specify what steps he thought should be taken to restrain demand in these overheating countries.
However, he said economies benefit from having independent monetary policies that provide room to respond flexibly to different economic shocks. He added these benefits could be increased if exchange rate flexibility were to become more widespread.
These remarks reflect Fed frustration at the way in which fixed exchange rate regimes transmit low interest rates meant to address US economic weakness to rapidly growing emerging economies fuelling demand for commodities.
The Fed has never named any such regimes, although many economists point to rapidly growing economies in Asia, notably China, and some to the Middle East.
Mr Kohns speech suggests that the Fed believes that the global economic system would function better if these emerging economies had a greater degree of monetary independence, allowing them to set the interest rates appropriate for their own economies.
The reference to global price stability is striking because Mr Kohn has long championed the traditional view that inflation is still determined in separate monetary areas. While there is nothing to suggest that the Fed vice-chairman has abandoned this view, his speech highlights the potential for spillovers via commodity prices from countries within in effect the same monetary area and from countries in other monetary areas.
The Fed is thinking about whether the transmission of foreign overheating through commodity prices means that it needs to pay increased attention to measures of global capacity use. Traditionally a central bank focuses on domestic capacity utilisation the balance between supply and demand in the economy as a key determinant of inflation.
#1
For once I'm in agreement with the Brits and EUros. Greenspan's last 10 years were a disaster and Bernanke has done nothing to repair the damage. Inflation occurs because too many dollars are chasing too few goods. The Fed is in charge of the supply of dollars. They are producing too many.
The Fed should quit being a crybaby. If the Chinese want to pursue policies that are detrimental to Chinese consumers that's their business. It gives the Fed no excuse to pursue policies that are detrimental to US consumers. If the Fed still doesn't like what China's doping, it should recommend to the executive and legislature that we impose tariffs on Chinese imports.
#2
If the Chinese want to pursue policies that are detrimental to Chinese consumers that's their business.
The Chinese pursue policies that keep the good o'boys in power. All else falls out from that. Not being capitalists, that means they're willing to eat billions of dollars if that means that Ma and Pa Lee are happy little peasants.
#3
The Fed is in charge of the supply of dollars. They are producing too many. That isn't the only issue & may not even be the main one. Creation of loans contributes to the supply of dollars. The Housing Bubble was only possible due to a credit mania, where a huge amount of loans was made largely to deadbeats & scam artists. The Fed's contribution was holding interest rates too low for too long. Other elements of the government contributed by lax or non-enforcement of existing financial regulations.
Now that real estate is massively deflating, those with money to invest are pouring it into commodities in a last ditch effort for profits. There is no way that the demand for petro imports has increased 100% in 12 months to match the rise in oil prices. Oil being an essential element in world trade and in national economies, its price spike has affected almost all other commodities.
#4
Exactly - the run-up in oil isn't due to "speculation," it's due to investment dollars needing somewhere to go. When the paper Wall Street pushed in the credit bubble zeroed out, the money went into hard assets like gold, oil, grain...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/27/2008 9:56 Comments ||
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#5
The Fed's contribution was holding interest rates too low for too long.
The Fed does that by supplying too many dollars. I will not disagree that bad loans were made and the Fed allowed that to happen. But that was done at the behest, nay, the demand, of the legislature. Creating too much money supply is the responsibility of the fed. And the problem did not start with housing, it started as far back as the Asian debt crisis of 1997 and hasn't stopped since as we have had bubble after bubble created with the Fed responding when it bursts by pumping in more liquidity to keep the markets afloat and ignite the next bubble. Time for the new Volker.
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty expressed disappointment today with the Supreme Court's decision striking down the city's gun law, warning that, "More handguns will lead to more handgun violence."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2008 00:00 ||
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[11123 views]
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#1
"More handguns will lead to more handgun violence."
Lessee...Lemme try it:
More forks available will lead to more eating and obesity...
More pens and paper will lead to more novels being written...
More tools sold will lead to more cars being repaired...
More violins being made will lead to more concerts being offered...
How about: More aggressive policing leading to more arrests and prosecution of those perpetrating gun violence.
#2
How about - More guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens means fewer thugs willing to take their lives in their own hands by accosting said law-abiding citizens leading to much reduced crime rates?
This has been shown to be true in many other states and areas which have "carry" laws permitting virtually any non-felon to pack heat if they want to.
When every thug out there knows that his next victim is potentially going to pull a gun and use it to protect himself from the thug it's much less likely the thug is going to choose to attack anyone and thus jeopardize his own life. Thugs are cowards at heart.
#3
I don't know if I agree with that...criminals are notoriously bad at estimating risk. They think they'll never get caught. They aren't rational, otherwise there wouldn't be any criminals.
#4
And yet there are several studies indicating that professional criminals considering burglary/home invasion do in fact take into account the possibility that the homeowner may be armed.
Yes criminals are largely stupid. Not entirely, though.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
06/27/2008 5:47 Comments ||
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#5
There was a good quote from a thief that finally got caught about his methods. When asked how he chose the house he was going to hit, he replied, "I look for the houses with the (US) flag hanging outside. Then hit the house two doors down. I never tried robbing the houses with a flag, since most likely they own a gun."
#6
Criminals don't go to the gun store, fill out the paperwork, wait a week and get their gun. They never have. They steal one, or buy one in the alley behind the liquor store, or trade for one. This wont do anything to affect the net sum of handguns in DC. It may actually reduce the number of guns stolen if they get paranoid about every homeowner having a gun on their night stand.
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.
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year. The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic and worrying examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer. 
Robert Mugabe has vowed to go ahead with Friday's presidential run-off despite opponent Morgan Tsvangirai withdrawing from the race. The regime has chosen to ignore regional and international pleas to postpone the election to a later date because of the state sponsored violence against MDC supporters.
Gazprom set out a vaulting vision of its future status as the worlds most powerful energy company on Thursday as it belittled Opec, saying the oil producers cartel had in effect lost control of the market.
(CNN) John McCain directed his trademark straight talk toward a former president, flatly calling Jimmy Carter a 'lousy' commander in chief.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O.s leaders voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to endorse Barack Obama for president, saying the federation would spend more than $50 million and deploy more than 250,000 volunteers in this falls campaign. John J. Sweeney, the federations president, said, Barack Obamas record demonstrates he is a champion for working families and his proposals will improve life for generations of working people and our children.
Saudi Marriage Officiant: It Is Permitted to Marry a Girl Aged One Year, If Sex is Postponed; The Prophet Muhammad, Whose Model We Follow, Married 'Aisha When She Was Six and Had Sex with Her When She Was Nine
KAPAA, Hawaii The U.S. militarys ground-based missile defense system destroyed a missile launched from an airplane Wednesday in the first successful test of the systems ability to destroy a separating target. The interceptor missile launched off Kauai had to differentiate between the warhead and the body of the missile before destroying it above the Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Two homosexual advocacy groups are criticizing the decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired General Peter Pace. He'll be honored on Thursday.
Countries with overheating economies are contributing to inflation around the world by pushing up commodity prices, Don Kohn, the vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve, said on Thursday. His comments came in a speech in which he appeared to call on fast-growing emerging markets to drop their exchange rate pegs to the dollar and adopt independent monetary policies so they no longer import Fed monetary policy.
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty expressed disappointment today with the Supreme Court's decision striking down the city's gun law, warning that, "More handguns will lead to more handgun violence."
