July 2010 archive
Jul 23 2010
Open Annoyance
Jul 23 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Special Report: High finance and corporate pot, California style
By Peter Henderson
July 23, 2010
| (Reuters) – Jeff Wilcox, a middle-aged, clean-cut man who dresses in the Bay Area casual business attire of clean jeans, collared shirt and running shoes, may be the face of Marijuana, Inc, the corporatization of cannabis.
He has just persuaded Oakland to legalize industrial-sized marijuana farms, touting a study that promised millions in city taxes and hundreds of high-paying union jobs. The long-struggling city, which has failed spectacularly to capitalize on the high-tech boom, could be the Silicon Valley of pot, Wilcox told the City Council this week before its historic vote to grant four permits for urban, industrial-size marijuana farms. |
Jul 23 2010
Muse in the Morning
 Muse in the Morning |
who are fully aware of the nature of food,
whose dwelling place is an empty and imageless release,
the way of such people is hard to follow,
like the path of birds through the sky.
— The Dhammapada, 92
Phenomena XXII: perceiving
 Window
|
Jul 23 2010
Original v. Cover — #35 in a Series
NOTE: I’ve been invited to a local event kicking off the candidacy of a local politician, so this presents a great opportunity to find out firsthand what her stated positions are on various matters. I doubt that I will be able to return by the time this publishes. If someone could kindly post an opening comment for ponies on my behalf, I would be very appreciative. Thanx.
This week’s selection takes us back to 1975, when a cover version of a number written by Grammy-winning songwriter Skip Scarborough climbed to #11 on the U. S. Black and #39 on the U. S. Pop Singles charts. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.
The album on which this song appeared enjoyed considerably greater success, occupying the #1 position on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart for three consecutive weeks, was the second bestselling R&B album of 1976 and received triple platinum certification. This album was reissued in 2000.
Jul 23 2010
Kerry, Reid, & Browner Kill Climate Bill During Netroots
Time for the “Couldn’t make this up if I tried” part of the daily dosage of dodder.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Climate Bill Would Cut Deficit
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…
WASHINGTON – Congressional budget experts say a climate and energy bill now stalled in the Senate would reduce the federal deficit by about $19 billion over the next decade.The report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was the second positive analysis of the bill by a government agency in a month, but is likely to carry more weight than a similar report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The CBO is the entity responsible for providing Congress with nonpartisan analyses of economic and budget issues, and lawmakers rely on it for guidance.
An analysis by the EPA last month concluded that the Senate bill, dubbed the American Power Act, would cost households an average of $79 to $146 per year. Kerry and Lieberman said they believe Americans are willing to pay less than a dollar a day to curb global warming, reduce oil imports and create energy-related jobs.
Two weeks later.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
let’s have a climate meetup to bitch about the bill. RT@ {xxxxxx} Heading to Las Vegas for #nn10, who’s going to be there ?See you there ! heading out to {xx} for a short flight to LV for #nn10, hope to see lots of impacterinos
Jul 21st via TweetDeck
well known enviroblogger, name redacted
Jul 23 2010
Reid puts Energy Bill on Ice: with a Chilling Effect on Wind and Solar?
The Energy Bill has been shelved for now — another Price exacted by the Do Nothing Party.
Senate Halts Effort to Cap CO2 Emissions
Democrats Forgo Centerpiece of President Obama’s Energy Plan, as Cap-and-Trade Fails to Lure Broad Support in Congress
By Stephen Power, Wall Street Journal — July 23, 2010
Mr. Reid refused to declare the idea dead. But Thursday’s decision called into question when or whether any legislated cap on greenhouse-gas emissions would reach Mr. Obama’s desk.
Now, businesses, such as wind-turbine makers, that had bet on a greenhouse-gas provision to make alternatives to coal and oil more cost-competitive must recalculate how long it might take for that to happen.
[…] the solar industry is growing at the rate of about 40% a year in terms of electrical power installed and is likely to continue to grow, said Ron Kenedi, vice president of Sharp Corp.’s Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group in Huntington Beach, Calif.
We need some new Senators (at least 60), who actually care about Energy Independence — enough to act.
Jul 23 2010
Bad News from Iraq, and More Bad News from Iraq, and…
A rocket attack on Thursday on the Green Zone, the heavily barricaded section of this city that contains the main government buildings and the United States Embassy, killed three foreign contractors who work for the embassy, and wounded 15, including two American citizens.
At least 15 Iraqis were killed Wednesday in a Diyala province car bombing, the third fatal bombing attack this week in the volatile region northeast of Baghdad.
A car bomb parked in the main marketplace in the small town of Qara Teppa, Khanaqeen district, 100 km to the east of Baquba, detonated Tuesday morning, targeting civilians, killing two including a little girl, and injuring 17, some of who were women and children. Toll may rise, said security authorities, because some of the injuries were serious.
A car bomb parked in the car park in front of a roadside diner in Jdaidat al Shat area, 20 km to the southwest of Baquba, exploded targeting Iranian pilgrims on their way to the sacred shrines, killing four pilgrims and injuring another four.
A car bomb parked near a car dealership and a much frequented cafe in New Baquba, central Baquba, detonated, at 9.30 p.m. Monday, killing at least nine civilians and injuring 27 more. Toll may rise, said security authorities, for the severity of some of the injuries.
A suicide bomber has killed at least 43 people and injured 40 more southwest of Baghdad, Iraqi police say.
Two people were killed and three injured in a car bomb blast in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Saturday, police said. The bomb was attached to the car of a Kurdish family, according to a police source told the German Press Agency dpa.
A car bomb parked near an ice-cream parlour in Arbaeen Street, downtown Tikrit, detonated, Thursday, killing six people including three police officers and injuring 11 others, many of whom where women and children.
A roadside bomb targeted civilians in Adil neighbourhood, west Baghdad, at noon, Wednesday, killing two civilians and injuring two others. A roadside bomb targeted the car of Judge Hasen Aziz Abdurahman, of the Investigations’ Court, in Yarmouk neighbourhood, Tuesday, killing the judge.
Gunmen stormed the house of a Sufi Muslim cleric killing four people and wounding at least six others, in a town near Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and four others were wounded when attackers blew up a house used as a headquarters for the army in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, police said.
Gunmen using weapons equipped with silencers shot dead a university professor, Adnan Makki, at his home in al-Qadissiya district of southwestern Baghdad, police said.
Insurgents wearing military uniforms stormed Iraq’s central bank Sunday during an apparent robbery attempt, battling security forces in a three-hour standoff after bombs exploded nearby in a coordinated daylight attack that left as many as 26 people dead.
And so on.
Jul 23 2010
BP Oil Well to be CAPPED during Weather Evacuation
For the past several days, everyone has been speculating on what would be done with the unfinished relief wells and new but ever so slightly oozing sealing cap and 3 ram stack assembly, should the relatively calm Gulf coast weather turn on them. Today’s the one week anniversary of the BP oil well successfully being turned off.
Previously no decision had been made, with hints that the well might have to be opened up again, if they had to abandon the Macondo Canyon 252 site because of a hurricane or tropical cyclone.
Per Admiral Thad Allen’s latest press briefing this afternoon, ongoing, they are planning to leave the broken BP oil well capped if they have to evacuate the area because of an oncoming weather system.
http://twitter.com/BP_America/…
The relief well that is farther along, and only about 4 feet horizontally from intersecting the old Deepwater Horizon wellbore, with just a bit of casing to put in at the very end for the last 100 feet they still have to drill, has received a temporary plug, called a “storm packer ” which they stuff down it 300 feet below the sea floor.
Picture of the storm packer plug here: http://www.theoildrum.com/node…
Tropical Depression #3, not looking real organized yet.
Here’s the storm that will be named “Bonnie” if it gets organized. Right now, Bonnie is still Tropical Depression #3 with a “high” aka 50% or greater, probability of going to cyclone status within 48 hours, and a projected storm track to head possibly for the Louisiana Delta. T.D. #3 is over land right now, which is keeping it milder. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo_a…
Here’s a live, updating, easy to load satellite link to watch “Bonnie to Be” which is currently the leading edges on the very right hand side of this image, Thurs, July 22, at 1:35 pm PDT. ( pic was taken 2:45 pm local )
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/e…
Here’s that NOAA cafeteria page of every possible weather graphic you’d ever want to see for New Orleans/Baton Rouge, loads more slowly http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/?n…
Jul 22 2010
News at Noon
| From Reuters |
Jobless claims rise more than expected last week
By Reuters
July 22, 2010
| (Reuters) – New claims for jobless benefits climbed more steeply than anticipated last week, the latest sign that the moribund labor market is struggling to recover.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 464,000 in the week ended July 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday, more than erasing a decline in the prior week. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 445,000 from the previously reported 429,000 in the July 10 week, which was revised slightly down to 427,000 in Thursday’s report. |
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