Friday, December 11, 2009

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Human Rights Day Honours Non-discrimination

By Saaleha Bamjee-Mayet


U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay and minister of justice and constitutional development, Jeff Radebe. Credit:Saaleha Bamjee-Mayet/IPS


TSHWANE, Dec 11 (IPS) - While waiting in one of those interminable queues at a South African state hospital, Jullian Nwadu was asked when she was going back to Zimbabwe. "In December," she answered, welcoming what seemed like a stranger’s attempt at making friendly conversation. "When you go, you mustn’t come back."

The sudden acid in the stranger’s tone, and the concurring mutterings of the people waiting around her, pushed her into silence. Nwadu, 51-years-old has been working as a domestic in Johannesburg for four years.

"What could I say? Some like us, some don’t like us," she said. It is a common, and now almost cliché thread, that runs through these recurring stories. "They say we’re taking their jobs."

Malawian, Victor Capanuca’s, observations are the same. The 25-year-old wasn’t directly affected by the xenophobic violence that erupted in South Africa late last year but he does say it is something he can feel is still very much on people’s minds.

"It’s simmering, their feeling. As long as foreigners are here, they are scared," Capanuca said. Neither Nwadu nor Capanuca knew that December 10th marked International Human Rights day.

Celebrating the 61st anniversary of adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nation’s General Assembly, the message put out this December 10th was for all to"Embrace Diversity, End Discrimination".

"The fight against discrimination is a struggle that lies at the very heart of human rights advocacy," said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

Speaking at the Human Rights day celebrations at Freedom Park, Tshwane, Pillay said that new forms of xenophobia are on the rise.

"These are against refugees and migrants. Attacks against non-nationals in South Africa and elsewhere are gravely alarming. In some countries the bigotry that stigmatizes, vilifies and excludes those who are perceived as outsiders is, at times, used for sinister political agenda," she said.

Instead of celebrating International Human Rights day in New York or Geneva, Pillay and her office decided that celebrating it in South Africa would honour Africa.

"While I’m in South Africa, I want to urge the South African government to ratify the United Nations convention on the protection of migrants and their families and to pass appropriate legislation to implement it," she said. "With regard to the immediate violence, I suggest they must re-investigate and the perpetrators brought to justice."

Minister of justice and constitutional development Jeff Radebe acknowledged that the issue of the xenophobic attacks was a matter of shame for South Africans to be involved in "such nefarious activities".

"We have made available dedicated prosecutors and dedicated courts. We can waste no time ensuring they [the perpetrators] are prosecuted and convicted of crimes committed against foreign nationals," the justice minister said.

The chair of the South African Human Rights Commission, advocate Lawrence Mushwana said that it was necessary to take these steps together with government to ensure that xenophobic attacks, especially like that of the flare up in 2008, does not recur.

"It is a challenge for all of us to educate our own people. We need to maintain this social cohesion. We are all living together," Mushwana said. Pillay said that they are countering bigotry by raising awareness among the public and by producing a number of human rights treaties that give effect to anti-discrimination and equality provisions.

"These treaties create a protective web of obligations that states must fulfill. They restore the dignity previously denied to millions of women, men and children. The outcomes of the Durban world conference against racism and its review process are veritable roadmaps along which advances in the struggle against discrimination can be fostered and monitored."

Born and raised in Durban, Pillay was pleased to announce her office’s plan to support the work of the South African Human Rights Commission through a ‘four-pronged’ project aimed at helping to implement the process blueprint outlined at the Durban conference against racism.

The project will begin early next year and Pillay said it would work towards; "strengthening the capacity of the commission and its legal services programmes, shore up its ability to counter racism and other forms of discrimination, as well as bolster its efforts to protect the rights of detainees."

"Progress has been remarkable, but we should not pause. Discrimination does not go away by itself. It must be challenged at every turn," Pillay said. She called on all to: "take the challenge to your communities, to your schools, to your workplace. Do so now".

During her time in South Africa, the High Commissioner presided over a panel of high-level judges, including Justice Pius Langa and Justice Arthur Chaskalson, at the first World Human Rights Moot Court competition, hosted by the University of Pretoria.

Two university teams from each of the five U.N. regions were pitted against each other using a hypothetical scenario that dealt with issues around discrimination, tolerance and the responsibility of the State to protect human rights.

Using fictional states called Livokia and Gallopia, the counsels had to put forward their arguments on whether Livokia was responsible for human rights violations and if Livokia should or shouldn’t allow deported Gallopians to return to Livokia and the contested independent state of Algora, as well as compensating them for looted property. This came after clashes between the Livokian majority in Algora and the native Gallopians.

While sounding whimsical, this wasn’t just a theoretical exercise according to Pillay. "These are issues related to ongoing matters, around state sovereignty and who we hold accountable," Pillay said. "These students have done very well. They’ve put forward strong arguments, using real world examples and precedents. I would love to see them come over to international courts," she said.

Pillay mused that she wished she had had such opportunities during her own studies. "We didn’t even know what international law was. When I left my practice to go overseas and study it, other lawyers wanted to know why and if after having completed it, I could charge higher fees."

(END/2009)
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DOES THE VATICAN HOLD YOUR MORTGAGE?


“Later in the evening, after a few more drinks, talk turned to the extraordinary power exercised by the Vatican.” -Mark Lane, American jurist
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DOES THE VATICAN HOLD YOUR MORTGAGE?
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By William Thomas
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PART I
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THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD
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It was time for another check-in with a well-informed military man who never fails to astonish me with revelations that never seem to appear on Fox or CNN.
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“What's new?” I asked Hank.
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“Oh, dude.”

READ Full Article:
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If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed



6I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

10For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:6-10.
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Thursday, December 10, 2009

101 mph wind hits Smokies; bitter cold weather arrives


AP, staff reports
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009 10:42 pm

From AP, staff reports


Severe storms that spawned a 101 mph wind gust in the Smoky Mountains lashed out at much of Tennessee Wednesday, washing out roads around Chattanooga and toppling the state Capitol Christmas tree in Nashville ahead of a dry, cold air system.

In northwest Tennessee, temperatures overnight dipped to 17 degrees, according to a spokesman at the National Weather Service in Memphis.

“It’s going to stay mostly clear skies and temperatures tonight are going to be the coldest — 15 degrees,” said meteorologist Marlene Mickelson. “Today’s high up there is not going to make it to much higher than 35 and there’ll be a low of 15 tonight. Friday it’ll start to moderate. Temps will reach the lower 40s.”

But at least there’s no rain in the forecast — until Saturday, anyway. Nothing major, at that.
“Then finally, it’ll get more toward normal temperatures Saturday and Sunday with highs in the mid-40s to around 50,” she said.

High winds
National Park Service spokesman Nancy Gray said the wind averaged 70 mph at the Cove Mountain Air Quality Station on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and included a 101 mph gust in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, downing trees and closing some roads. The station’s elevation is 4,150 feet.

She said such a strong gust was not unprecedented but “pretty unusual.”

In Nashville, Capitol facilities supervisor Kenny Crowson said an employee reported the Christmas tree in front of the Capitol had fallen about 4 a.m. Wednesday, with the top part apparently broken and the lights still burning.

“There was a lot of hard work putting it up,” Crowson said.

Officials were looking for another tree and said it would be better secured.

Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher moved practice indoors Wednesday afternoon in Nashville because it was so gusty.

“The wind was extreme. We wouldn’t have gotten anything done,” he said.
Gusts gone
In Nashville, National Weather Service forecaster John Cohen said Wednesday that the gusts were easing, but likely not enough to avoid a nighttime wind chill as low as 17. Cohen said Thursday’s high temperature in Nashville would be about 36, dipping to the low 20s Thursday night and rebounding to the low 40s on Friday.

Cohen said Nashville’s normal low temperature this time of year is 30 and the normal high is 50.
More lows
In Memphis, NWS forecaster Douglas Vogelsang said the air was not the coldest of the season. He said nighttime lows were expected to remain in the 20s, with a daytime high Thursday in the upper 30s before a Friday warmup.

The storms early Wednesday caused flash flooding and blocked some roads with downed trees, mud and rocks around Chattanooga. Some brief evacuations were reported in low-lying areas. On Signal Mountain, a Chattanooga suburb, the storm washed out all but one lane of the main route used by commuters.

A rock slide temporarily blocked State Route 27 at Suck Creek Mountain and some flash flooding from more than 3.5 inches of rain washed out other roads and closed numerous schools across East Tennessee. The rock slide is at least the fourth in East Tennessee and western North Carolina to block traffic in recent months.

Weather Service forecaster Tim Doyle said in Morristown that the wind gusts in East Tennessee, western North Carolina, northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama would ease by Thursday. He said low temperatures Thursday night would range from near freezing in low elevations to possible single digits in the Smokies, with dry conditions continuing until a possibility of rain or snow after midnight Friday, followed by warming on Saturday.
The arrival of cold air in West Tennessee had temperatures across the state ranging from 31 at Union City to 61 in Chattanooga on Wednesday morning.

Published in The Messenger 12.10.09


Source: http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=34837
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Supreme Court Considers Federal Corruption Law


Supreme Court Considers Federal Corruption Law

Posted:

12/7/09


This week the Supreme Court will consider three challenges to a federal corruption law that has been used to prosecute a number of fraud cases, including those of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Illinois governor George Ryan and some Enron executives.

Critics claim the language of the law is too vague, but many prosecutors say they depend on it when going after crooked politicians and business executives, The Washington Post reported. The government is currently using the provision in its case against Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor accused of trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat.

The controversy focuses on a phrase that says it is illegal for public or private employees to "deprive another of the intangible right of honest services." That ambiguous language has recently caused cases to get caught up in lower courts, bringing criticism from federal judges.

Justice Antonin Scalia has pushed for a review of the law, according to the Post. Scalia wrote it "invites abuse by headline-grabbing prosecutors in pursuit of local officials, state legislators and corporate C.E.O.'s who engage in any manner of unappealing or ethically questionable conduct."

After refusing to consider the law last term, the court has now agreed to review it starting Tuesday.

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Source: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/07/supreme-court-considers-federal-corruption-law/

NYC Cop Kills Times Square Panhandler





Nation

Updated: 1 hour 24 minutes ago


NEW YORK (Dec. 10) -- A plainclothes cop chased a scam artist through sidewalks crowded with holiday shoppers and tourists Thursday in the heart of Times Square, killing the suspect near a landmark Broadway hotel after a gunfight that shattered box office and gift shop windows, police said.

No one else was injured.

The 25-year-old suspect, Raymond Martinez of the Bronx, and his brother were trying to dupe tourists into buying CDs near Broadway and 44th Street just before noon when he was recognized by a sergeant who runs a task force that monitors aggressive panhandling, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The officer, Sgt. Christopher Newsom, asked them for their tax identification, which allows peddlers to sell on the streets. But Martinez took off running, through to the Marriott Marquis hotel's passenger drop-off area.

Newsom pursued, and Martinez turned and fired with a Mac-10 9mm machine pistol that held 30 rounds; he got off two shots before it jammed, police said. The officer fired four times, striking the suspect in the chest and arms and killing him, Kelly said.

Martinez's brother Oliver returned to the family's Bronx home Thursday evening after hours in police custody, pushing past two uniformed officers inside, crying out that he hates police: "They shot my brother!" he said.

The commissioner said the shooting preliminarily appeared to be within department guidelines, which allow for deadly force when an officer's life is threatened.

Police say the Martinez brothers were working a scam in which they would approach tourists, ask them their names, then write the names on the CDs and demand payment of $10. They claim the CDs are original work they've created, but it's unclear if that's true. They had already been given a summons by officers this year for not having identification.

Martinez's cousin Nailean Arzu said the slain man had been selling CDs in the area for years.

"He was my cousin. He was loved. Everybody loved him. It's a great loss to the family," she said.

The hotel is located in the Broadway theater district in the heart of Times Square. The Marquis Theatre, where "White Christmas" is now playing, is in the hotel. Bullets from the gunfight shattered the window of the Broadway Baby gift shop and a side window of the box office on the street, police said.

Dave Kinahan, a tourist from Boston, was parking his car in a spot below street level at the hotel when he saw one man shooting another.

"I was 20 yards away," Kinahan said. He said he thought, "Is this real or this a movie?"

Raymond Martinez had been wanted for assault in the Bronx. The gun he used in the shooting was reported stolen in Richmond, Va., on Oct. 28, police said.

He also had with him several business cards from gun dealers there, but it's not clear if he was also selling weapons, police said.

One of the cards had a handwritten message on the back: "I just finished watching 'The Last Dragon.' I feel sorry for a cop if he think I'm getting into his paddy wagon," according to police. It's unclear who wrote the message, which apparently references the 1985 martial arts movie.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said officers pay special attention to scams and panhandling during the holidays. Specialized units are set up in areas, including Times Square and Canal Street, where stolen goods, knockoffs and scams are prevalent.

"We focus on them this time of the year, because they're preying on tourists during the Christmas holidays," Browne said.

NYPD Capt. Edward Winski of the Midtown precinct, where the shooting occurred, said arrests involving sellers on the streets have increased in the past few years. So far this year, there have been more than 400 arrests involving illegal and licensed peddlers around Times Square.

But some say peddlers get a bad rap.

"I think they get treated tougher than they actually are," said Zach McCabe, a comedian who has been passing out fliers for his shows for nearly a year on the strip of Broadway where the CD peddlers often stop tourists.

He said he didn't think the vendors harass people. "I don't see it. I see them talking to people."

A few hours after the shooting, the area had returned to the normal holiday bustle, even as dozens of police officers surrounded the hotel.

Donna Anderson of Murray, Utah, was staying at the Marquis. She was intrigued by what happened - not scared.

"I wanted to get a picture of the crime scene," she said.


Associated Press writers Sara Kugler, Colleen Long, Adam Goldman and Chad Roedemeier contributed to this report.


NOT EVIL JUST WRONG - PHELIM McALEER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o0JbnsDtuE&feature=player_embeddedhttp://


Related:

Phelim Mcaleer Answers Question On Carbon...
1 min 10 sec - Dec 4, 2009YouTube

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2009 AOL HOT SEARCHES



  1. Swine Flu......................................................................................................................................... In April, the first H1N1 outbreak was identified in Mexico. New outbreaks in the US and elsewhere raised concerns about travel and food safety. In June, the World Health Organization declared the first pandemic since 1968.

  2. Lupus

  3. Diabetes

  4. Pregnancy

  5. Depression

  6. Herpes

  7. Fibromyalgia

  8. Autism

  9. HPV

  10. Breast Cancer

AOL Hot Searches Blog

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Source: http://about-search.aol.com/hotsearches2009/health.html?ncid=aolsea00020000000119

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Bill Hughes on Inquisition Update with Tom Friess




Inqusition Update

with Tom Friess

Featured guest:........... Pastor Bill Hughes


Author of books:........ "The Secret Terrorists" and "The Enemy Unmasked".


An audio re-broadcast of a Bible Study with Bill Hughes earlier this morning.

Tonight 12/10/09:
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7:00 pm ET - 4:00 pm PT
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Listen on line on LibertyRadioLive @
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Click on link above to listen to the program tonight.
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NASA's Project blue beam - NWO - (PART 1 of 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkpT-gSSS54http://

galaxydreams
May 24, 2008

N.A.S.A's project blue beam was revealed to the public in the early 90's by a man named Serge Monast. He and the other reporter working on this subject were both killed. Serge's daughter was also kidnapped and has never been seen since.

Don't take my word for it. Look this up for yourself.

Music by http://www.youtube.com/user/ronaldjen...

Jordan Maxwell video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc83dz...

Other: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ8OY6...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ0pEU...

Blue beam document: http://www.rumormillnews.com/images/b...

Real or not folks, this should be known about just incase.

Please spread the word.


********** Disclaimer ******************
All information and video used in this film are used under the 'Fair use' act for educational purposes and do not violate any copyright laws.
************************************************
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All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me


1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.


Matthew 4:1-11.
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Wednesday, December 09, 2009

G. Edward Griffin the Federal Reserve and who controls money


On Coast to Coast AM
In the second half of the program, writer and documentary film producer G. Edward Griffin talked about the Federal Reserve and who controls money. The Federal Reserve is an "old con game" or Ponzi scheme that creates money out of thin air, he declared. It acts like a cartel, he continued, and though its actions can seem obscure, US citizens should be concerned about it because decisions made by the Reserve can affect the value of their savings and retirement funds.
A recent call spearheaded by Congressman Ron Paul to audit the Federal Reserve is a step in the right direction, as it calls attention to the system, said Griffin. Yet powerful forces could readily act to subvert an honest audit, and ultimately we need to get rid of the Federal Reserve rather than just audit it, he added. Griffin recommended people get out of debt, consider real estate if priced right, and invest 10-25% of their assets in gold and silver, as it holds value more than currency.
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12/10/09
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Tonight: An encore broadcast of Last Night's show
@11 pm ET for the two hour segment.
*Listen online MP3 or Windows Media:
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Click on link above at 11 pm ET for radio broadcast.

Date:
12-09-09
Host:
George Noory
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Last Hour: Writer and documentary film producer G. Edward Griffin talks about money and terrorism.
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Book(s):
Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
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"National Suicide: How Washington Is Destroying the American Dream from A to Z"






Martin L. Gross
Author



"National Suicide: How Washington Is Destroying the American Dream from A to Z"



November 28, 2009
Select an Audio Format Real Player WinAmp Windows Media Mp3


The government of the United States is a juggernaut of mismanagement, malfeasance and incompetence. Despite the strong foundation laid down by the founding fathers, it is headed to extinction.

From the Alternative Minimum Tax to Zip Codes, New York Times bestselling author Martin L. Gross outlines the programs that have exploded financially, the laws that had completely unintended consequences, and the scams perpetrated by legislators intent upon remaining in office no matter what the cost to the nation—and its citizens.

Martin L. Gross is an educator, investigative reporter, and author of a dozen books on subjects from government to medicine, national culture to psychology. His New York Times bestseller The Government Racket opened up a still raging bipartisan debate on the failings of the federal government in Washington. He has testified before congress six times and has received praise from both sides of the aisle on his expertise into government waste. He lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.
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Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway

Anyone for some Arctic roll? Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:53 AM on 10th December 2009

What's blue and white, squiggly and suddenly appears in the sky?

If you know the answer, pop it on a postcard and send it to the people of Norway, where this mysterious light display baffled residents yesterday.

Curiously, it appears to be unconnected with the aurora borealis, or northern lights, the natural magnetic phenomena that can often be viewed in that part of the world.


Strange spiral: Residents in northern Norway were left stunned after the lightshow, which almost looked computer-generated, appeared in the skies above them

Curious: A blue-green beam of light was reported to have come shooting out the centre of the spiral

The mystery began when a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain in the north of the country. It stopped mid-air, then began to move in circles. Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky. Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre - lasting for ten to 12 minutes before disappearing completely.

Onlookers describing it as 'like a big fireball that went around, with a great light around it' and 'a shooting star that spun around and around'.

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute was flooded with telephone calls after the light storm.

Confusion: The Norwegian Meteorological Institute was flooded with calls after the light storm
Totto Eriksen, from Tromsø, told VG Nett: 'It spun and exploded in the sky,'

He spotted the lights as he walked his daughter Amalie to school.

He said: 'We saw it from the Inner Harbor in Tromsø. It was absolutely fantastic.

'It almost looked like a rocket that spun around and around and then went diagonally down the heavens.

'It looked like the moon was coming over the mountain, but then came something completely different.'

Celebrity astronomer Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard said he had never seen anything like the lights.

He said: 'My first thought was that it was a fireball meteor, but it has lasted far too long.
'It may have been a missile in Russia, but I can not guarantee that it is the answer.'

What could it be? Astronomers say the spectacle did not appear to be connected to the Northern Lights

Air traffic control in Tromsō claimed the light show lasted 'far too long to be an astronomical phenomenon'.

Norwegian defence spokesman Jon Espen Lien also said the lights were probably from a Russian missile test claiming it was normal for Russia to use the White Sea and the Barents Sea as a testing ground.

Tromsō Geophysical Observatory researcher Truls Lynne Hansen agreed, saying the missile had likely veered out of control and exploded, and the spiral was light reflecting on the leaking fuel.

But the mystery deepened last night as Russia denied it had been conducting missile tests in the area.
A Moscow news outlet quoted the Russian Navy as denying any rocket launches from the White Sea area.

Norway should be informed of such launches under international agreements, it was stressed.

The Russian Defence Ministry was unavailable for comment.

See video showing part of the light here, and below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYvM68AtlbAhttp://




Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1234430/Mystery-spiral-blue-light-display-hovers-Norway.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0ZCOomAQa
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Hurricane Expert Rips Climate Fears


By: Dr. William Gray


The following commentary is from Atmospheric Scientist and Hurricane forecasting specialist Dr. William Gray. Gray is the renowned hurricane forecaster and Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU) and originally published this article on ClimateDepot.com.

Had I not devoted my entire career of more than half a century to the study and forecasting of meteorological and climate events, I would have likely been concerned over the possibility of humans causing serious global climate degradation.

There has been an unrelenting quarter century of one-sided indoctrination of the Western world by the media and by various scientists and governments concerning a coming carbon dioxide (CO2) induced global warming disaster. These warming scenarios have been orchestrated by a combination of environmentalists, vested interest scientists wanting larger federal grants and publicity, the media which profits from doomsday scenario reporting, governmental bureaucrats who want more power over our lives, and socialists who want to level-out global living standards. These many alarmist groups appear to have little concern over whether their global warming prognostications are accurate, however. And they most certainly are not. The alarmists believe they will be able to scare enough of our citizens into believing their propaganda that the public will be willing to follow their advice on future energy usage and agree to a lowering of their standard of living in the name of climate salvation.

Rising levels of CO2 are not near the threat these alarmists have portrayed them to be. There has yet to be a honest and broad scientific debate on the basic science of CO2's influence on global temperature. The global climate models predicting large amounts of global warming for a doubling of CO2 are badly flawed. They should never have been used to establish government climate policy.

The last century's global warming of about 1 degree Fahrenheit is not a consequence of human activities. This warming is primarily the result of a multi-century changes in the globe's deep ocean circulation. These ocean current changes have lead to a small and gradual increase in the globe's temperature. We are coming out of the Little Ice Age and into a generally warmer climate state. This is akin to the warmer global climate of the Medieval Period. We can do nothing but adapt to such long period natural temperature changes.

The recent "Climategate" revelations coming out of the University of East Anglia are but the tip of a giant iceberg of a well organized international climate warming conspiracy that has been gathering momentum for the last 25 years. This conspiracy would become much more manifest if all the e-mails of the publically funded climate research groups of the US and of foreign governments were ever made public.

The disastrous economic consequences of restricting CO2 emissions from the present by as much as 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050 (as being proposed in Copenhagen) have yet to be digested by the general public. Such CO2 output decreases would cause very large increases in our energy costs, a lowering of our standard of living, and do nothing of significance to improve our climate.

The cap-and-trade bill presently before Congress, the likely climate agreements coming out of the Copenhagen Conference, and the EPA's just announced decision to treat CO2 as a pollutant represents a grave threat to the industrial world's continued economic development. We should not allow these proposals to restrict our economic growth. Any United Nations climate bill our country might sign would act as an infringement on our country's sovereignty.

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2009 the Year of the Summits


Cop15
FAO
WTO
G8 L'Aquila
G20 Pittsburg
Summit of the Americas
Kuwaiti Economic Summit
Arab League Summit Doha , Qatar
ASEAN Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit


Summit overload?
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Enough already! We don't want what they're brewing.

Champagne hotel suite - jet set idealists get a real job!

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Sarkozy and Brown call for global market changes

Page last updated at 01:13 GMT, Thursday, 10 December 2009

The leaders say only global change will restore confidence in banking


British PM Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have issued a joint call for urgent global reform of financial markets.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, they say a one-off tax on bank bonuses should be "considered a priority".

The two leaders say it is "simply not acceptable" for taxpayers to cover the cost of bank failures but not benefit from their successes.

The article comes as EU leaders prepare to meet for a summit in Brussels.

It also follows the announcement in a pre-Budget report by UK finance minister Alistair Darling of a one-off supertax on banker bonuses.

'Proper regulation'

The BBC's Jonny Dymond, in the Belgian capital, says the joint article at times reads like a call to arms.

People rightly want a post-crisis banking system which puts their needs first

Sarkozy/Brown joint article


In it, Mr Sarkozy and Mr Brown say the financial crisis has made them "recognise that we are now in an economy which is no longer national but global, so financial standards must also be global".

"We must ensure that through proper regulation, the financial sector operates on a level playing field globally."

They say there is an "urgent need for a new compact between global banks and the society they serve".

"A compact that ensures the benefits of good economic times flow not just to bankers but to the people they serve; that makes sure that the financial sector fosters economic growth."

Various proposals to reform the sector "deserve examination", they said, but a one-off tax on high bonuses paid to bankers "should be considered a priority".

"People rightly want a post-crisis banking system which puts their needs first. To achieve that, nothing less than a global change is required," the leaders wrote.

France and the UK have been at odds recently over European banking.

Mr Sarkozy appeared to boast that the appointment of Frenchman Michel Barnier to oversee European banking reform was a defeat for Britain.

Mr Sarkozy and Mr Brown cancelled a meeting last week but are set to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the EU summit.

On Wednesday, Mr Darling announced plans for a one-off supertax of 50% on banker bonuses, to be applied to payments over £25,000.

The new tax - which would be paid by banks and not individuals - is designed to discourage institutions from paying large bonuses to employees in the wake of the major taxpayer support they have received in the financial crisis.


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8405125.stm

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Protests in Copenhagen climate talks over leaked text

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiIfVeDppfshttp://


NTVKenya
December 09, 2009

http://www.ntv.co.ke A draft 9-page Danish text threatened to derail climate talks in Copenhagen. Representatives from African non-governmental organisations are demanding that a binding agreement must be reached by the end of the two-week summit, accusing developed nations of blocking a deal


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Avaaz.org: MoveOn Goes International

Avaaz.org: MoveOn Goes International
Micah L. Sifry
January 16, 2007 - 8:12pm


I've been collecting string about Avaaz.org for a while now, but after I queried founders Ricken Patel and Tom Perriello (of ResPublica) and Paul Hilder, and they begged off on a pre-launch interview, I figured there was no hurry. But their site is now live (thanks Ruby for pinging me on that), so here's a first take.

Avaaz.org is using "The World in Action" as its tagline, and the first clue that this aims to be something different is the site, which comes in English, French, Korean, Chinese, Spanish and Portugese. The English version, however, is clearly NOT aimed at us Americans: it's got a photo of Tony Blair that reads "Even he is pulling out/Block the escalation in Iraq," and starts with this text: "George W Bush wants to pour more petrol on the fires burning in Iraq. But the new US Congress has the mandate to douse the flames. If they hear from all of us, they might find the guts to do it!" (Petrol is gasoline in British, by the way; and douse is to put out.)

At first glance this looks pretty cool and ambitious, a continuation of the "second superpower" movement that first reared its head in the global antiwar protests of early 2003. But I fear this well-intentioned effort could be just a horizontal move in online organizing, instead of a real step forward.

Though the name "MoveOn" appears nowhere on the Avaaz site, the giant online activist group's fingerprints are not hard to discern. For one, it's got the same model: build a big list, send them alerts to take action. Nothing net-centric, alas. No connecting members to each other or giving them a platform with tools for self-organizing. Here's how Avaaz's team describes their approach:

Using the latest technology, Avaaz.org empowers ordinary people from every corner of the globe to directly contact key global decision-makers, corporations and the media. By signing up to receive updates from Avaaz.org, members receive emails and text messages alerting them to new campaigns and opportunities to act online and offline, and to make a real difference on pressing global issues.

Does that really sound like the "latest technology"? (Actually, they are collecting cellphone/mobile numbers, which is an advance of sorts.) The site lists the Service Employees International Union as a founding partner along with GetUp.org.au, a MoveOn-style site that has had a big impact on Australian politics. Jeremy Heimans, founder of GetUp.org.au, is listed as a co-founder, along with Eli Pariser of MoveOn.

But what I'm hearing is that Avaaz is mainly a spawn of MoveOn. This makes some sense, when you consider that the American group has something like 600,000 email addresses of non-Americans in its list. This job description for the group's Chief Operating Officer makes clear the connection:

Global public opinion has been called the world’s “Second Superpower,” but a yawning gap persists between the views and values of the world’s peoples and the policies that govern them. Avaaz.org is a new activist community that will be launched in January 2007. As a joint venture with MoveOn.org, Avaaz.org will aim to fill this gap using the proven organizing techniques of online activism. The intention is to bring together millions of people around the world who favor a more progressive globalization -- building a well-organized public constituency around key global issues like poverty, climate change, human rights, global governance and major conflict. The organization is pursuing an ambitious growth path. It will ultimately be staffed with 20 full-time staff located in more than 8 countries, along with many volunteers. It is beginning with 700,000 members spread across 148 countries. It also has an Advisory Board that comprises politicians, diplomats, activists and celebrities from around the world. [Emphasis added.]
I also hear that in addition to getting support from MoveOn, Avaaz is also getting help from Aryeh Neier of the Open Society Institute and from Herb and Marion Sandler. However those are just unconfirmed rumors at this point. Cute-looking group, by the way. I'll add updates to this post as I get them.

UPDATE: I have learned that Open Society Institute indeed made a one-year grant of $150,000 to Res Publica last summer to help them get Avaaz off the ground.

UPDATE2: MoveOn's relationship to Avaaz.org is described this way by Eli Pariser: "We’re co-founders of Avaaz with Res Publica – nothing to hide there. We’ll be encouraging our international members to be a part, and raising some money for them. We think this model – which in the U.S. has brought 3 million folks into the political process, developed a new small-donor base for Democratic candidates, and helped win a number of key elections, can have an exciting impact worldwide."

UPDATE3: And Ricken Patel of Res Publica chimes in with this: "Each organization [MoveOn and ResPublica] has roughly equal international memberships that will be invited to join Avaaz (Res Publica has built a list of almost 400,000 at http://www.ceasefirecampaign.org/) and we also have had a campaign on Darfur since early 2004 at http://www.darfurgenocide.org/). I think it’s fair that we’re starting with a MoveOn model plus sms. (look for sms campaigns very soon). But we’re looking to innovate in all kinds of ways. We do want to try and get the right synergy between alerts and some kind of social networking model. We also want to try to get more creative about what online communities can support offline."


Source: http://personaldemocracy.com/node/1160


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Avaaz


Paul Hilder is campaign director of Avaaz.org, the global web movement launched in 2007 which has since grown to 3.5 million members worldwide. Avaaz members take action together globally, regionally and nationally on issues including climate change, conflict in the Middle East, human rights and the economic crisis, and often campaign at the Europe-wide level. Previously, Paul co-founded the international affairs website openDemocracy.net and served on its board of directors. In the UK, he initiated and ran several campaigns and initiatives, including a consortium programme on citizen empowerment and local governance at the Young Foundation. He has worked on private diplomacy and conflict resolution in the Middle East, and in the European context. He is the author most recently of Contentious Citizens: civil society campaigning for progressive social change (Carnegie, 2007).**




CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The idea was pretty simple: Rep. Tom Perriello, a freshman Democrat who won an upset victory over his conservative predecessor last fall, would show up at the local high school auditorium on Tuesday night, take a few questions, and then meet one-on-one with some constituents. In and out in two hours, no problem.
...
Though Perriello has the kind of résumé that makes progressives swoon -- special advisor to the prosecution on war crimes trials in Sierra Leone, co-founder of DarfurGenocide.org and of Res Publica, a group that promotes social justice and civil society -- he represents a district that even the most optimistic Virginia Democrats had a hard time imagining turning blue before he won it. *




Ricken Patel is the co-founder of the web movement Avaaz.org, and he has a grand ambition: to make worldwide public opinion a decisive factor on key global issues from climate, to security, to human rights. ***



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Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag

Protesters dressed as aliens in Copenhagen on Tuesday demanded action on climate change, as more than 190 nations gathered for the second day of the climate talks. The delegates heard appeals for urgent action from the United Nations and from officials of countries endangered by warmer temperatures, rising sea levels and other damage such as melting glaciers.
Photo: Johan Spanner for The New York Times



Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag

By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: December 8, 2009

WASHINGTON — If negotiators reach an accord at the climate talks in Copenhagen it will entail profound shifts in energy production, dislocations in how and where people live, sweeping changes in agriculture and forestry and the creation of complex new markets in global warming pollution credits.

Recent developments on the politics of global warming with background, analysis, timelines and earlier events from NYTimes.com and Google.


Multimedia

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Times Topics: Copenhagen Climate Talks (UNFCCC)
More From the Blogs: Dot Earth Green Inc.


So what is all this going to cost?

The short answer is trillions of dollars over the next few decades. It is a significant sum but a relatively small fraction of the world’s total economic output. In energy infrastructure alone, the transformational ambitions that delegates to the United Nations climate change conference are expected to set in the coming days will cost more than $10 trillion in additional investment from 2010 to 2030, according to a new estimate from the International Energy Agency.

As scary as that number sounds, the agency said that the costs would ramp up relatively slowly and be largely offset by economic benefits in new jobs, improved lives, more secure energy supplies and a reduced danger of climate catastrophe. Most of the investment will come from private rather than public funds, the agency contends.

“People often ask about the costs,” said Kevin Parker, the global head of Deutsche Bank Asset Management, who tracks climate policy for the bank. “But the figures people tend to cite don’t take into account conservation and efficiency measures that are easily available. And they don’t look at the cost of inaction, which is the extinction of the human race. Period.”

Whatever global warming’s effects — and most scientific projections are less dire — there are also varying estimates of the economic costs of failing to act to address the problem soon, some of them very high.

In Copenhagen, some of the most intense and difficult discussions for negotiators center on any potential agreement’s near-term financial arrangements. Some of the poorest and most vulnerable nations are calling for a gigantic transfer of wealth from the industrialized world to island nations and countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that are most likely to feel the ravages of a changing climate.

Many poor nations are insisting that wealthier nations make deeper cuts in their emissions and contribute more money to help the poorer countries, a split that widened in Copenhagen on Tuesday as competing documents of a potential agreement circulated.

Over time, some of the hundreds of billions of dollars the poorer countries are demanding will begin to flow, as global carbon markets become established and governments in rich countries begin to open the spigot of public spending.

But in the meantime, the industrialized countries have proposed a relatively modest fund of about $10 billion a year for each of the next three or four years to help poorer countries adapt. Even that effort remains the subject of conflict over which countries should contribute how much, what body should oversee the spending and how to determine which projects qualify for finance.

President Obama’s spokesman said last week that the president supported a short-term fund to aid developing nations and that the United States would pay “its fair share.” In many multilateral efforts, the United States picks up a quarter to a third of the tab.

“Providing this assistance,” the White House statement said, “is not only a humanitarian imperative — it’s an investment in our common security, as no climate change accord can succeed if it does not help all countries reduce their emissions.”

The money would be used to help developing nations reduce emissions by switching to renewable energy sources like wind and solar and by compensating landowners for not cutting down or burning forests, a major source of carbon dioxide emissions. Other funds might be used to adjust to effects of a changing climate, like rising sea levels, by building flood walls or relocating settlements to higher ground.

Mr. Obama will travel to Copenhagen on Dec. 18 to attend the final day of the meeting, a sign that the White House believes that a far-reaching accord, including deals on some of the sticky financial issues, is possible.

“This is the question that is being posed in Copenhagen,” said Robert N. Stavins, director of the environmental economics program at Harvard University. “How much money do the developed countries have to put on the table to bring developing countries into the conversation?”

Mr. Stavins said that the bulk of the money would have to come from private investment because, he said, it was “inconceivable” that the governments of the wealthy countries would come up with adequate financing and also because private entities spent money much more efficiently.

The climate and energy legislation passed by the House in June sets aside roughly $8 billion a year for assistance to developing countries by 2030, Mr. Stavins said. That figure, he suggested, represents the upper limit of public financial support from the United States.

The perspective from the developing world is, not surprisingly, somewhat different.

Álvaro Umaña Quesada, the leader of Costa Rica’s climate delegation, said that it was important to the developing world to have early resources and a predictable flow of long-term financing. He said that the $10 billion in so-called quick start financing that was now on the table was adequate but that such spending had to rise to roughly $80 billion and as much as $150 billion a year by 2020.

“That is not very much compared to the size of the world economy or the financial crisis bailouts,” he said. “There are great needs for adaptation, where the small island nations are really at risk. Some of them are one severe weather event away from disappearing.”

The European Union has endorsed a fund of that size; the United States remains noncommittal. The Obama administration has asked for $1.2 billion in climate-related financing in the 2010 budget, far below the needs being discussed at Copenhagen. But administration officials said they would seek more money for international climate programs in future years.

Perhaps the most detailed analysis of the financing needs of any climate change agreement comes from Project Catalyst, an initiative of the European Union and ClimateWorks, a foundation-supported policy group based in San Francisco. The group’s work has helped shape the negotiations in Copenhagen.

The group estimates that roughly $100 billion will be needed by 2020 to finance climate-change programs in the developing world. About half could come from the growing global market in carbon emissions credits under a cap-and-trade system, which would be worth an estimated $2 trillion a year by 2020.

A cap-and-trade system is already operating in Europe and is under consideration by Congress. Such a system sets a ceiling on the carbon emissions of a given country or industry and allows trading of pollution permits within the cap. As the overall limit on emissions grows tighter, the price of pollution permits rises, creating a sizable market in carbon credits.

Countries would grant some of the carbon market allowances directly to energy and environmental programs in the developing world, with other funds coming from a relatively small fee on each transaction.

An additional $10 billion to $20 billion would come from taxes on fuels used in aviation and shipping. The rest, perhaps $25 billion to $35 billion, would be loans and grants from industrialized nations to poorer countries, split roughly three ways among the United States, the European Union and Canada, Japan and Australia.

“The good news is that everybody now is supporting our proposal for financing,” said Dr. Umaña, the Costa Rican delegate. “The bad news is that it’s happening 15 years too late. Without real money on the table, this will be a disaster.”


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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Fierce winter storm hits Midwest with snow, wind


Students brave the snow on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, as a winter storm travels through the region. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)


By MELANIE S. WELTE, AP

posted: 16 MINUTES AGO


DES MOINES, Iowa -A fierce winter storm hammered more than a dozen states Tuesday with dangerous ice, heavy snow and vicious winds that threatened to create 15-foot drifts in parts of the Upper Midwest.

As much as two-thirds of the country will be affected by the storm by the time it moves off the Maine coast Thursday night, said Jim Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines.

"It's a monster of a storm," Lee said.

After drenching California with rain and blanketing the mountain West, the storm was expected to bring significant snowfall and blizzard conditions from Utah to the Great Lakes. Wind advisories and warnings were in effect from New Mexico to the Mid-Atlantic states with flooding in the south. Winter storm warnings were likely to be issued in New England by Wednesday.
A foot or more of snow was expected in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, meteorologists said. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph could create snow drifts of 8 to 15 feet.

"It's beautiful — it feels like we moved into the next season," said Ann Marks, a mother of four in Whitefish Bay, Wis., who was buying gloves, hats and scarves. She paused, then added with a smile, "Of course, ask me in a month and it might be a new story."

In rural New York near the Great Lakes where more than 3 feet of snow was expected by the week's end, meteorologists urged residents to deflate blow-up Santas so gusty winds didn't sweep them away.

The storm also brought 100 mph winds to New Mexico, where powerful gusts ripped away the roof of the White Sands Missile Range's police station.

At least four deaths were blamed on the weather, including a hunter in northern Arizona who was killed Monday night when the top of a large pine tree snapped off and crushed him as he slept in a tent.

In two Utah counties alone, there were 155 vehicle accidents involving property damage in 14 hours, the Utah Highway Patrol said. Heavy ice forced road closures in Oklahoma and Arizona.
With travel likely to get worse, officials were warning residents in parts of the west and Midwest to stay close to home. Blizzard warnings were issued for most of Iowa as well as eastern Nebraska, southern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin.

Some schools closed before the worst of the storm was expected to hit so that buses wouldn't slip on slick roads.

"Anybody traveling tomorrow morning is really taking a huge risk I would say — a risk of being stranded and not having anybody be able to help you for 6 or 12 hours, probably," said Karl Jungbluth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Johnston, Iowa.

Flights were snarled in the Midwest and West. Hundreds of flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago; all departures were canceled out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and only a few were scheduled at Des Moines International Airport. Several flights into and out of Reno-Tahoe International Airport were delayed or canceled.

Subzero temperatures caused a scene out of the movie "A Christmas Story," when a boy got his tongue stuck to a metal fence pole. Firefighters in Boise, Idaho, used a glass of warm water to free the boy, who they said was about 10 years old. Fire Capt. Bill Tinsley says the boy's tongue was bleeding a little, but he was allowed to continue walking to school.

Heavy rain pounded some parts of the South. More than 4 inches were reported in spots in New Orleans, and flooded traffic slowed morning commutes. The storm also produced high winds and a possible tornado near Lake Pontchartrain, the National Weather Service said.

The storm had hit much of the West on Monday with subzero wind chills in Washington state and heavy snow that closed schools and government offices in Reno, Nev. In the Phoenix area, fierce wind brought down power lines, leaving four hospitals temporarily without power and creating wide outages.

Big rigs were left jackknifed across highways in several states.

Officials in northern Arizona closed stretches of Interstate 17 and I-40 for part of the day, saying some areas were snow-packed and visibility levels were near zero. The storm dumped more than 20 inches of snow over Flagstaff, more than four times the record of 5 inches set in 1956.

Cold temperatures also were threatening California crops, where only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the navel and mandarin orange crops have been harvested, said Bob Blakely, director of industrial relations for the California Citrus Mutual.

"We've got a lot on the line," Blakely said. "Both of them combined you're probably looking at over a billion dollars in fruit hanging out there on the trees."
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In the War on Intelligence C02 is Global Enenemy Number One


Here's a CO2 Google search:


US takes action on CO2
Gulf Times - ‎1 hour ago‎
The US government said on Monday it would start to regulate carbon dioxide as a dangerous pollutant, sidestepping a divided Congress to give momentum to ...

Video: EPA: Greenhouse Gases Harmful CBS
EPA Determines CO2, Other ghgs Endanger Society Domestic Fuel
EPA, not CO2, Is the Danger Mackinac Center for Public Policy
AHN - OneNewsNow
all 1,813 news articles »

Op-Ed Contributor The Earth Is Crying Out for Help
New York Times - Thomas Lovejoy - ‎8 hours ago‎
The oceans, so important to us for seafood, have become 30 percent more acid because of higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. ...



Weak Economy Puts US Halfway to Obama's CO2 Cut
Bloomberg - Simon Lomax - ‎1 hour ago‎
After falling 6.1 percent this year, energy-related CO2 emissions should increase 1.5 percent next year on “projected improvements in the economy,” EIA said ...
The world's 10 biggest polluters Rediff
all 7 news articles »

DEQ to Set Rules to Implement Federal CO2 Limits
Flathead Beacon - ‎2 hours ago‎
... that the board adopt the EPA's recommendation that facilities that emit more than 25000 tons of CO2 per year be regulated under state air quality laws. ...
DEQ will propose CO2 emission limits Great Falls Tribune
all 4 news articles »

Key dates in unfolding story of warming planet
The Associated Press - ‎Dec 7, 2009‎
1750 — Before Industrial Revolution, atmosphere holds 280 parts per million of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2). 1898 — Swedish scientist Svante Ahrrenius ...
Climate Data A Fool's Mission! Freeman Dyson on Global Warming Gather.com
all 196 news articles »

Is CO2 a health threat or threat to state?
Indianapolis Star - Maureen Groppe, Star Washington - ‎14 hours ago‎
"Rather than submitting to this bureaucratic usurpation, Congress should clarify that CO2 is not covered by the Clean Air Act and should remind this ...
EPA Declares CO2 a Pollutant Newser
all 35 news articles »

INTERVIEW-Indonesia top climate negotiator sees CO2 tax by 2014
Forbes - Sunanda Creagh, David Fogarty - ‎7 hours ago‎
Indonesia's Finance Ministry is considering a green paper that recommends a carbon tax of 80000 rupiah ($8.48) per tonne of CO2, and increasing the levy by ...


LA architect Christophe Cornubert's carbon-dioxide cube debuts in Copenhagen
Los Angeles Times - ‎2 hours ago‎
In Copenhagen, where the United Nations' summit on global warming is currently underway, artists unveiled on Monday what they are calling "The CO2 Cube," a ...

Letter: CO2, EPA Administrators and Freedom
Rockbridge Weekly - ‎7 hours ago‎
This legislation is necessary, we have been told, because manmade CO2 is causing the earth to warm dangerously. But Ms. Jackson may feel the need to move ...
Useless Breathers John Birch Society


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