Green Gazette
India and China don’t want to cut carbon, but do object
to “doublespeak” -
a little shindig for the last couple of days with like minded developing
countries (called LMDCs), like China, and announced they did not want any
obligatory stuff from the UN about cutting carbon emissions. I quite like the
Indian environment minister’s way of phrasing it:“All countries have decided to
take action, but that action is voluntary and nationally determined, not
internationally determined,” India’s environment and forests minister Prakash
Javadekar said addressing the negotiators this afternoon.“Paris can become a
festival if the world accepts this...
Proof-positive that AGW is not science… “World court
should rule on climate science to quash sceptics, says Philippe Sands…” This needs to be quashed… with extreme
prejudice… World court should rule on climate science to quash sceptics, says
Philippe Sands International Court of Justice ruling would settle the
scientific dispute and pave the way for future legal cases on climate change,
says high-profile lawyer False claims from climate sceptics…
Magical Thinking in Indian Agriculture -India’s agriculture minister had some eyebrow-raising
advice for the more than 600 million people in his country that depend on
agriculture for a living. According to the minister, sending seeds good
vibrations and the right feelings will help produce higher yields.
Peter Wadhams was wrong – Arctic sea ice still there, no
record low this year
- Last week on September 11th I was the first to call the Arctic Sea Ice minimum.
It seems both NSIDC and NASA Goddard agree with my initial claim. Dr. Peter
Wadhams had famously claimed that Arctic Sea Ice would be completely gone this
year, even Gavin said it was ridiculous: Clearly he’s been proven wrong
Climate Scientists give up on science, talk tobacco, want
to jail skeptics - Poor climate scientists
know they can’t win the science debate against the engineers, geologists,
chemists and physicists who are better scientists, better informed, mostly
unfunded and unleashed all over the Internet. To avoid coughing up
the“overwhelming evidence” the climate experts say they have, but can’t seem to
find, they are pulling out the Panzers, resorting to pleas for RICO
investigations. Treat the skeptical scientists like Racketeers, they say! And
what’s their evidence for this conspiracy of corruption… oh lordy, these people
are scientists, they must have emails,......
My Take - Stalin
and his junk science lackey Lysenko would have been proud!
Claim: Global warming will unleash Deadly Swarms of Giant
Arctic Mosquitoes -
The Royal Society has published a study which claims that global warming will
unleash deadly swarms of giant arctic mosquitoes. According to the Royal
Society; Abstract Climate change is altering environmental temperature, a
factor that influences ectothermic organisms by controlling rates of
physiological processes. Demographic effects of warming, however, are…
My Take - Hooey!
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is mapped in major U.S.
cities - UGA study
ranks US cities based on the urban heat island effect on temperatures From the
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA Highlights Urban heat island (UHI) intensities were
estimated for the fifty most populous cities in the USA using PRISM climate
data. The urban morphologies of the cities were quantified using spatial
metrics and the NLCD 2006…
NAO and Then - Anthony recently highlighted a new study which purports to find that
the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is synchronized to the fluctuations in
solar activity. The study is entitled“Solar forcing synchronizes decadal North
Atlantic climate variability”. The“North Atlantic Oscillation” (NAO) refers to
the phenomenon that the temperatures (and hence…
Africa
Life on the Congo River - In a country with crumbling infrastructure,
cargo barges are vital for ferrying goods and unofficial passengers along the
Democratic Republic of Congo’s aquatic superhighway.
Australia
Australia Knows: Better to Ditch a Bad
Leader Quick - A.
Coyne, Nat'l Post No system is perfect. But between dumping leaders
prematurely, and being saddled with them eternally, I know which one is the
lesser evil.
Where Do Australia's Liberals Go Now?-Considering
that Tony Abbott became leader of the Liberal Party of Australia almost by
accident, he proved surprisingly difficult to dislodge. Abbott, who was toppled
as prime minister on 14 September, won the support of a bare majority of a
divided party room six years ago, defeating Malcolm Turnbull, the man who has
now usurped him. In four years as opposition leader, Abbott’s ruthless
negativity brought down two Labor prime ministers but damaged his own standing;
as prime minister, his relentless search for enemies alienated a swath of
voters.
China
The U.S. Will Get Tough With China... Eventually
- Xi Jinping and Barack Obama
will have a lot to talk about when the Chinese president makes his first state
visit to Washington next week, which will take place between Xi’s tech-focused
swing through Seattle and an appearance at the U.N. General Assembly in New
York. Possible issues on the table for the two leaders include, but aren’t
limited to, growing tensions over China’s claims in the South China Sea,
growing animosity between China and U.S.-ally Japan, the nuclear truculence of
China’s troublesome ally North Korea, U.S. accusations of Chinese
cyber-espionage...
How Will a
Wounded China Lash Out?- Some
observers perceive a silver lining in China's difficulties, believing that a
country preoccupied with internal problems will be less aggressive and require
fewer diplomatic, economic and military resources to hold it in check. That is
wishful thinking rooted in a radical misreading of China's domestic political
dynamics.
European Union
Europe Discovers a New Geography - The EU’s creation and evolution represents the ultimate fruit of the
U.S.-led victory in World War II. It should not give way to the dementia of
nationalist ideologies.
Hungary's Orban 'Wins' the Refugee
Crisis - In many
respects, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn has emerged as the political
victor in the refugee crisis. Voters support his hardline stance and other
Eastern European countries are following his suit.
Serbia Needs the European Union
- The experience with the two
last enlargement rounds has shown how important it is that EU accession
candidates are given sufficient time and support to establish true rule of law.
We are still coping with the consequences of badly enforced legal reforms.
The Conservative Case for the European Union - D. Rohac, Foreign Policy The rejection of
the EU has placed some sincere conservative defenders of free markets and
democracy into the company of the most unsavory undercurrents of European
politics. Lest conservatives are to become “useful idiots” of enemies of free
society, they have to rethink their opposition to the EU — and, in fact, come
to its defense.
My Take - In an
attempt to find some overwhelming evidence of the value of the EU this author
seems to base his whole argument on this statement -
"But being critical of various elements of the European project
should not stop conservatives from appreciating its successes. For almost 70
years, Europe’s great powers have been at peace. By historical standards, the
era of European integration is the closest that European nations have come to a
limited, constitutional, democratic government. For all its
“socialist”excesses, the degree of economic openness in the EU is without
precedent. The EU has helped post-communist countries establish democratic
institutions, liberalize their markets, and offer a safeguard against Russian
expansionism."
That's a lie of
omission. Every one of these reasons had nothing to do with the creation of the
EU. Every bit of this stability - including the very creation of the EU - was a
direct result of the Bretton Woods agreement between the United States and its
allies at the end of WWII. Allies who have been a stunningly ungrateful lot
ever since, especially the French who - in spite of Charles De Gaulle’s really
were Nazi collaborators. Why else would they have tried Marshall Petain for
treason? As for the EU's "socialist" excesses - multiculturalism is
one of those excesses and it's going to destroy Europe. Europe, much like
Russia, is breeding itself out of existance. By allowing all these Muslim
immigrants into Europe they're truly speeding up their demise. At some point if
Europeans which to remain European they will be forced to resort to civil war.
European nations are headed into a period of civil war that will shock the
world.
Of course war
can be avoided. They can surrender and submit to Sharia. But if anyone believes
that will stop the violence they're delusional. Muslims hate other Muslims as
badly - if not more so - than they do everyone else. They consider other
Muslims of other sects to be heretics deserving death, and the Koran requires
jihad against them. That's the Middle East - Midievil tribal societies filled with hateful Muslims killing each other - for centuries - only now they
have modern transportation and weapons. Changing the location of that hate
won't change anything except the location.
Germany
Germany's Real Refugee Crisis- Germany is in crisis mode. Every day trains
packed with refugees arrive from the south, and despite tightened border controls,
as many as a million are expected by the end of the year. For all the warm and
open talk coming from Chancellor Angela Merkel, everyone knows that the
financial and social costs of absorbing so many people will be considerable.
Germany and its less-welcoming European partners are treating the wave of
refugees, many of whom come from Syria or other parts of the Middle East,
primarily as a humanitarian crisis. But it is also a sec...
Weimar and Contemporary Germany- Berlin the “Golden Twenties” have long been
remembered, nostalgically, as a time of cultural and political regeneration.
But today Germany's capital dreams the dreams of that decade particularly
vividly. The city's current reputation for creativity, diversity and nightlife
mean that the comparisons are as endless as they are inevitable. People are
drawn to Berlin now just as W.H. Auden, Bertolt Brecht, and George Grosz were
then. “Dancing on the Volcano”, an absorbing exhibition inspired by a 1938 film
of the same name, further extends the flattering parallels. Both
Why Merkel Changed Her Mind - Politico EU Angela Merkel’s abrupt decision
to reinstate controls on Germany’s border with Austria followed a hectic
weekend during which the chancellor faced intense pressure from state and local
officials expected to house and feed the growing wave of asylum seekers heading
to the country.
The Imam's Curse - At dawn on May 14, 2011, more than two dozen
federal agents and local police officers converged on a working-class
neighborhood near the Miami airport and surrounded a small green-and-white
stucco building—Masjid Miami, one of the city’s oldest mosques. Police sealed
off a two-block radius, and F.B.I. agents, some armed with AR-15 rifles,
assembled outside the door. Inside, eight men were kneeling for the first
prayer of the day. When agents called for them to open up, one of the
worshippers, a former police officer, went out and asked them to wait until ...
India
Smuggling India's Antiquities - The Diplomat Indian Tourism and Culture
Minister Mahesh Sharma’s recent admission in parliament that eight cases of
antiquities theft were reported from State-protected monuments and museums
across three states over the last year, has yet again brought to the fore the
fraught issue of pilferage and smuggling of art treasures from Indian shores.
According to Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based advocacy group, illegal
trade in paintings, sculptures, and other artifacts is one of the world’s most
lucrative criminal enterprises, estimated at $6 billion a year. And I...
Middle East
Beirut Chokes on Its Own Filth - Since the time of antiquity, almost every
place in the Middle East has suffered from way too much government, but Lebanon
is an intriguing exception. It’s the one country in the region that doesn’t have
nearly enough.
Why the Low Expectations for Iran Deal? - Instead of viewing the agreement as an
opportunity to at least explore the possibility of ending thirty-five years of
rivalry and rancor, advocates of a new hard line are guaranteeing the agreement
achieves the absolute minimum. Even worse, their counsel could even jeopardize
the success of the JCPOA itself
Present a United Front on Iran Deal - As Republican presidential candidates bicker
over who would tear up the Iran nuclear agreement fastest -- a spectacle which
will be on full display at tonight's debate at the Reagan Library -- events
last week in Congress made it all but certain that the deal will be a defining
feature of global politics for the next decade.
A Brief History of Syrian War - To understand the Syrian refugee crisis —
the moral horror that has captured the attention of the world— you really need
to understand what caused it. These 4 million Syrian refugees are a direct
result of their country's civil war, which is perhaps the most destructive
conflict on Earth today, and which has displaced several million more Syrians
within Syria.
Pick Your Poison, Erdogan - The American Interest In their early days
Erdogan and his party made great strides. The Turkish columnist Metin Munir
summed up the public’s frustration best when he wrote, “Erdogan helped get rid
of the military. Who will help now to get rid of him?”
Trouble Brews in Tajikistan - Recent deadly attacks and instability in
Tajikistan, which have left 27 people dead, have prompted worries in
neighboring countries, which share similar vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
Egypt Redefines Its Sense of Regional Purpose - In recent years, Egypt has paid a high price
for two developments. The first was the uprising against Hosni Mubarak in 2011,
which set dynamics in motion that transformed the country and created ongoing
instability. The second was the transformation of Egypt’s regional role thanks
to the Obama administration's pivot away from the Middle East. Today the
country is facing major challenges: a burgeoning terrorist threat, particularly
in the Sinai; a vulnerable economy, thanks in part to the decline in tourism
amid a perception that the country is unsafe..
The Shady Family Behind America's Iran Lobby - When the world’s major powers struck a deal
over Iran’s nuclear program in Vienna in July, it represented a victory not
just for the Islamic Republic, which has now been granted international
legitimacy as a nuclear threshold state, but also for a small but increasingly
influential lobby in America, one which has long sought rapprochement between Washington
and Tehran and now seeks to leverage a successfully concluded nuclear deal as a
means to that end. This Iran lobby, publicly represented by the National
Iranian American Council (NIAC), has become a staun......
Can Obama and Bibi Help Each Other Out?- After seven years of soap opera-style
dramatics, Netanyahu and Obama won't change their dysfunctional relationship
easily, or perhaps at all. But as counterintuitive as it may seem, particularly
after the bitter battle over the Iran deal, the U.S.-Israeli relationship may
actually improve in the months remaining on the president's clock. Obama wants
to make nice - not because he likes Netanyahu or his policies; but because it
serves Obama's interests in his final year. Here's why.
How Pakistan Protects Itself From Sectarian War - Arif Rafiq, TNI An Iraq-style sectarian war
has always been unlikely in Pakistan.
The Exodus of Iraq's Minorities-Large waves of emigration are dramatically
depleting Iraq’s minority populations, especially Christians, with dire
consequences for the country's future diversity.
The Rubble of Obama's Syria Policy-I kept asking why the administration wasn’t doing more to help my
people. Then the Iran deal came through, and I knew.
Obama Gets It Right and Wrong on Iran-Chance to engage beyond nuclear deal will be
lost if US reverts to strategy of coercive containment…..
Refugees Overwhelm Obama's Plan- The Obama administration is preparing to
announce a plan to admit more refugees over the next two years, but at this
point the numbers being proposed are too small to relieve the crisis streaming
out of Syria.
Russia
Russians Don't Want Another War- Moscow’s admitting there are a few of its
soldiers in Syria, but it’s wary of a public that doesn’t want them there.
Putin Stumps Obama...Again - Once again, President Obama and his foreign
policy team are stumped. Why is Vladimir Putin pouring troops and weaponry into
Syria? After all, as Secretary of State John Kerry has thrice told his Russian
counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, it is only making things worse.
United Kingdom
Corbyn Brings Hatred Into British
Mainstream -
Jonathan Tobin, Commentary Even if Corbyn never gets closer to the prime
minister’s seat on the government’s front bench in Westminster than his current
perch as leader of the opposition of parliament, the elevation of a person who
holds the views that he has embraced sends a chilling message for the future of
British Jewry and that of Europe as a whole at a time of increasing
anti-Semitism. What the Corbyn Effect Means for UK
Military.
5 Things Corbyn Has Right - Some of the criticisms that have been
levelled at Corbyn in the past couple of days are unfair. He is neither a
Communist nor a “threat to national security.” He is a self-described
socialist. In his republicanism, his anti-colonialism, his borderline pacifism,
and his suspicion of big business, he represents an old and honorable, if
occasionally misguided, strand of British radicalism, which extends back to
Bertrand Russell, Keir Hardie, and beyond...
Cameron's Silence and the Fallout of Brexit - The British government is leading the
country inexorably out of the EU. That would have serious geostrategic
consequences for Britain, Europe, and Ireland.
Corbyn and Trump: Politics of Parallel Realities - The election this past weekend of Jeremy
Corbyn to lead the British Labour Party is a huge political development in the
United Kingdom. Mr. Corbyn is not just liberal; he’s hard left, having
expressed his support for (among other things) unilateral nuclear disarmament,
the nationalization of some of Britain’s biggest industries, and talks with
Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as opposing bombing ISIS. He may well be the most
left-wing leader in the history of the Labour Party, which is saying something.
Labour Tips It All Over - Shortly before the last election a group of
Labour MPs approached Ed Miliband to ask him what he would do if he lost. They
suggested he could provide stability by staying on as leader for a while, as
Michael Howard had done, and that his last duty should be to oversee an inquiry
into what went wrong at the general election. Miliband, still convinced he
would win, did not entertain the idea, to the dismay of his policy chief, Jon
Cruddas. After the election, Cruddas decided to go ahead and do an inquiry
anyway
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