Category: News

Some news and afternoon open thread.

1. Climate talks take on added urgency after IPCC report, according to The New York Times. Thousands are gathered in Bali for a new round of climate talks to replace the expiring Kyoto treaty, “but few participants expect this round of talks to produce significant breakthroughs… By far, the biggest obstacle to forging a new accord by 2009 is the United States, analysts say. Senior Bush administration officials say the administration will not agree to a new treaty with binding limits on emissions… In his latest statement on climate change last Wednesday, Mr. Bush said, ‘Our guiding principle is clear: we must lead the world to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and we must do it in a way that does not undermine economic growth or prevent nations from delivering greater prosperity for their people.'” Arghhhh!

2. According to Spiegel, the US seeks alliance with China and India to block climate protection. “In the run-up to the Bali Climate Conference that opened Monday, the administration of US President George W. Bush established contact with representatives of the Chinese and Indian governments in an attempt to curb progress on climate protection initiatives, SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned from a source familiar with the White House’s Bali strategy. According to the source, Washington is hoping that the two greenhouse gas emitters will openly declare during the conference that they are unwilling to accept any binding limits on emissions of greenhouse gases — at least not as long as the US is unwilling to do more or if the Western industrial nations do not provide them with more financial aid for climate protection initiatives. If successful, the US could use the tactic to prevent itself from becoming an isolated scapegoat if negotiations in Bali end in a stalemate.” When will other nations use economic clout, such as sanctions and carbon tariffs, against eco-terrorist nations?

3. The Hill reports Waxman seeks Mukasey’s help in CIA leak probe. “Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is asking new Attorney General Michael Mukasey to help him advance a probe into the leak of the name of a CIA operative to the media. Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, petitioned Mukasey in a letter Monday to side with Congress in a battle with the White House over whether special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald can release ‘key documents’ to the panel… The panel is investigating circumstances surrounding the leak of the name of Valerie Plame Wilson to the media.”

4. The Washington Post reports a Rare, “mummified” dinosaur unearthed in North Dakota. In 1999, “a high school student hunting fossils in the badlands of… North Dakota discovered an extremely rare mummified dinosaur that includes not just bones but also seldom seen fossilized soft tissue such as skin and muscles… The 25-foot-long hadrosaur found by Tyler Lyson in an ancient river flood plain in the dinosaur-rich Hell Creek Formation is apparently the most complete and best preserved of the half-dozen mummified dinosaurs unearthed since early in the last century… Although described as ‘mummified,’ the 65 million-year-old duckbilled dinosaur would be better described as “mineralized”. National Geographic News and Wired has pictures and more!

This is an Open Thread for the Curious

Headlines for Monday December 3: Arab-American paratrooper faces deportation after Afghan service :New Orleans Hurt by Acute Rental Shortage: Obama’s Gains Show Volatility Of Iowa Contest: Chavez Loses Constitutional Vote

USA

Arab-American paratrooper faces deportation after Afghan service

· Highly decorated sergeant ordered to stand trial

· Anti-discrimination committee protests

Ed Pilkington in New York

Monday December 3, 2007

The Guardian

A highly decorated Arab-American sergeant in the US army, who is currently serving as a paratrooper in Afghanistan, faces deportation on his return to the United States because of an irregularity in his immigration papers.

Sgt Hicham Benkabbou has been served with an order to stand trial for deportation as soon as he arrives home, despite the fact that he has been on active service in Afghanistan for almost two years with the 508th parachute infantry regiment, known as the Red Devils.

1 Putin party scores landslide win in Russian election

by Sebastian Smith, AFP

1 hour, 3 minutes ago

This an Open Thread for the curious.

USA

US says it has right to kidnap British citizens

AMERICA has told Britain that it can “kidnap” British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States.

A senior lawyer for the American government has told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it.

The admission will alarm the British business community after the case of the so-called NatWest Three, bankers who were extradited to America on fraud charges. More than a dozen other British executives, including senior managers at British Airways and BAE Systems, are under investigation by the US authorities and could face criminal charges in America.

This is an Open Thread: Chit chat is welcome

Headlines for Saturday December 1: Witness Names to Be Withheld From Detainee : Estimate of AIDS Cases In U.S. Rises: A ‘difficult day’ ends peacefully : In Iraq, U.S. shifts its tone on Iran: Jordan’s Spy Agency: Holding Cell for the CIA

USA

Witness Names to Be Withheld From Detainee

By WILLIAM GLABERSON

Published: December 1, 2007

Defense lawyers preparing for the war crimes trial of a 21-year-old Guantánamo detainee have been ordered by a military judge not to tell their client – or anyone else – the identity of witnesses against him, newly released documents show.

The case of the detainee, Omar Ahmed Khadr, is being closely watched because it may be the first Guantánamo prosecution to go to trial, perhaps as soon as May.

Defense lawyers say military prosecutors have sought similar orders to keep the names of witnesses secret in other military commission cases, which have been a centerpiece of the Bush administration’s policies for detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Some news and the Friday afternoon open thread.

1. A new international ranking of the science ability of 15 year olds has been conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The study found the United States is below average and ranks a dismal 29th of the 57 countries evaluated. Finland, Hong Kong, and Canada were rated the top three countries on the science scale. (Hat tip The Great Beyond – the Nature blog.)

2. The Guardian reports Russia pulls out of NATO arms pact. “President Vladimir Putin has withdrawn Russia from a key post-cold war international arms treaty, paving the way for the deployment of Russian forces closer to Europe. The withdrawal of Russian participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty was signed into law today. The United States, the European Union and Nato had urged Putin not to suspend the treaty, seen as a cornerstone of European security.”

3. The Globe and Mail reports Taser firms picked up coroner’s lecture tab. “Taser International and another company closely linked to the manufacturer have paid the way for Ontario’s deputy chief coroner to lecture at their conferences on the phenomenon of ‘excited delirium,’ a medically unrecognized term that the company often cites as a reason people die after being tasered. James Cairns… publicly advocates the use of the stun gun, has become one of the top Canadian experts Taser officials turn to for help shoring up public support for their products in times of crisis.”

4. Spiegel has an in depth examination of the impact of the U.S. dollars decline in Why America’s currency is the world’s problem. “The world depends on the dollar. It is the most important currency in global trade. Aircraft, oil, steel and most natural resources are priced in the US currency. Central banks around the world invest a substantial share of their currency reserves in dollars. The competitiveness of entire continents depends on changes in the value of the world’s reserve currency. For these reasons, the dollar’s decline has the potential to send the world economy into a crisis. Americans have been living beyond their means for years. That includes both consumers, who often buy their houses, cars and other consumer items on credit, and the government, which is adding billions to the national debt to pay for its programs, especially to fight terrorism and wage the war in Iraq.”

           

Headlines for Friday November 30: Citing Statistics, Giuliani Misses Time and Again: Immigrants’ children grow fluent in English, study says :Sanctuary Was a Lovely Word. Then the G.O.P. Got Hold of It.: Musharraf Sets Date for End of Emergency Rule: Iran Holocaust drama is a big hit

USA

Citing Statistics, Giuliani Misses Time and Again

In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.

Discussing his crime-fighting success as mayor, Mr. Giuliani told a television interviewer that New York was “the only city in America that has reduced crime every single year since 1994.” In New Hampshire this week, he told a public forum that when he became mayor in 1994, New York “had been averaging like 1,800, 1,900 murders for almost 30 years.” When a recent Republican debate turned to the question of fiscal responsibility, he boasted that “under me, spending went down by 7 percent.”

Some news and the afternoon open thread.

1. 

   The New York Times reports U.N. warns of climate-related setbacks. “A new United Nations report warns that progress toward prosperity in the world’s poorest regions will be reversed unless rich countries promptly begin curbing emissions linked to global warming while also helping poorer ones leapfrog to energy sources that pollute less than coal and oil…

   “Prompt investment in emissions curbs is a bargain compared with the long-term costs of inaction. The authors, led by Kevin Watkins of the United Nations, said anything less would be a moral and political failure without precedent. ‘The bottom line is that the global energy system is out of alignment with the ecological systems that sustain our planet,’ said Mr. Watkins… ‘Realignment will take a fundamental shift in regulation, market incentives and international cooperation.'”

2. The Indepedent reports Why Venus, the Earth’s twin, became a wasteland.

   It is a world stripped of water and scarred by searing temperatures hot enough to melt lead. Yet Venus may once have been a planet much like Earth, where vast oceans of water could have supported life.

   The first detailed analysis of data gathered by a European space probe has revealed tantalising evidence that Venus – often considered Earth’s twin planet – became so inhospitable for life because of a series of chance events.

   Scientists have confirmed that the similarities between Venus and Earth were overshadowed by a shift in the former’s history that led to the loss of the Venusian oceans, an atmosphere clogged with carbon dioxide and a runaway greenhouse effect that gave rise to severe global warming.

3. According to The Hill, Democrats switch tack, seize on economic woes. “Congressional Democrats will focus on the economy next week in an effort to win political advantage from public fears about an approaching recession. This underscores the party leadership’s concern to avoid getting bogged down in more debate about Iraq and to make sure it is President Bush and Republicans who are blamed in the 2008 election for voter anxieties about the economy.” In related news, The Hill reports “Bush’s top economic advisor Al Hubbard will resign at the end of the year and be replaced by his deputy,” Keith Hennessey, a former staffer for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS).

4. The Washington Post reports that Old allies abandon Chávez as constitution vote nears. Ramón Martínez, the governor of the Venezuelan coastal state of Sucre, and a “handful of others who once were prominent pillars in the Chávez machine, have defected, saying approval of 69 constitutional changes would effectively turn Venezuela into a dictatorship run at the whim of one man. They have been derided by Chávez as traitors, but their unimpeachable leftist credentials have given momentum to a movement that pollsters say may deliver Chávez his first electoral defeat. ‘The proposal would signify a coup d’etat,’ said Martínez, 58, whose dapper appearance belies his history as a guerrilla and Communist Party member. ‘Here the power is going to be concentrated in one person. That’s very grave.'”

This is an Open Thread: All voices are welcome.

Headlines for Thursday November 29:Manila rebel soldiers surrender :GOP Debate :Foes Use Obama’s Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him: Public questions inspire combative GOP debate: Amid affair, Giuliani billed city for security: 6,000 Sunnis join pact with US in Iraq: Arabs return from summit uneasy and skeptical

Manila rebel soldiers surrender

Military rebels who were barricaded in a luxury hotel in Manila have surrendered, following an assault on the building by Philippine troops.

The rebels, some with their hands in the air, were led out of the Peninsula hotel onto a bus by police.

Earlier the rebel leader, Sen Antonio Trillanes, said they were ending their siege to save the lives of civilians and journalists inside the hotel.

Many of the rebels are currently on trial over a failed mutiny in 2003.

USA

Public questions inspire combative GOP debate

Romney and Giuliani quickly set the tone at the CNN-YouTube forum, trading barbs on illegal immigration.

By Peter Nicholas and Joe Mathews, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

November 29, 2007

WASHINGTON — In an animated, fast-paced debate marked by personal attacks between the candidates, Republican presidential hopefuls Wednesday night sparred over illegal immigration, torture, gun control, abortion — and even whether the Bible should be taken literally.

The unconventional debate sponsored by CNN and YouTube featured often raw and emotional questions from the public, in the form of 33 videos. Questions came from a gay general from Northern California, a black father and son from Atlanta worried about crime, and a young white Texan asking the candidates for their views on flying the Confederate flag.

Some news and open thread for Wednesday afternoon.

1. 

   The Independent reports Mexico spends millions to welcome insect migrants. “A warmer welcome should soon be awaiting the millions of orange-and-black monarch butterflies which each year make their astonishing migration from the eastern United States and Canada to the fir-clad mountains of central Mexico. The tourist hordes that come to view them should see the change too. The government of President Felipe Calderon is to boost spending at the nature reserve where the butterflies gather for winter by $4.6m (£2.2m) a year both to improve conditions for the insects – and their human admirers – and to step up efforts to combat rampant illegal logging.”

2. According to the Los Angeles Times, Seven federal wildlife decisions to be revised. “Federal wildlife regulators will revise seven controversial decisions on endangered species and critical habitat made by an Interior Department political appointee who quit in the spring amid charges of improper meddling in scientific decisions… Former Deputy Assistant Interior Secretary Julie MacDonald, a civil engineer from California with no formal training in natural sciences, routinely questioned and sometimes overruled recommendations by biologists and other field staffers, according to documents, interviews and a review by the department’s inspector general. The review outlined instances in which MacDonald advocated altering scientific conclusions in ways that led to reduced protection for imperiled species and that favored developers and agricultural businesses. And she was rebuked for providing internal documents to lobbyists.”

   MacDonald “should never have been allowed near the endangered species program,” [House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV)] said in a statement Tuesday. “This announcement is the latest illustration of the depth of incompetence at the highest levels of management within the Interior Department and breadth of this administration’s penchant for torpedoing science.”

3. The New York Times reports Oil producers see the world and buy it up. “Flush with petrodollars, oil-producing countries have embarked on a global shopping spree… Experts estimate that oil-rich nations have a $4 trillion cache of petrodollar investments around the world. And with oil prices likely to remain in the stratosphere, that number could increase rapidly. In 2000, OPEC countries earned $243 billion from oil exports, according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates. For all of 2007 the estimate was more than $688 billion, but that did not include the last two months of price spikes.”

4. The Los Angeles Times reports Ethanol a sticking point in energy bill. “A plan to dramatically increase ethanol production has become a major sticking point in congressional negotiations to complete work on the bill. And it has created a challenge for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose Democratic caucus has split over the issue… At the heart of this year’s dispute on Capitol Hill is the Senate bill’s renewable fuel standard, which would mandate 36 billion gallons of alternative fuels by 2022 — up to 15 billion from corn-based ethanol… Environmental groups, which support alternative fuels, want to ensure that stepped-up production does not damage the environment. They worry about more pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, and the conversion of grasslands and wildlife habitats to farmland.”

Another passing of note below the fold.

1 Witnesses testify in Blackwater lawsuit

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer

44 minutes ago

Some afternoon news and Open Thread.

1. The Los Angeles Times reports Defense War Secretary Robert Gates urges more funds for State Department. “Gates compared the yearly defense appropriation — at nearly $500 billion, not counting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — with an annual State Department budget of $36 billion. He noted that even with new hires, there are 6,600 career U.S. diplomats, or ‘less than the manning for one aircraft carrier strike group.'” In his lecture at Kansas State University, Gates said:

   We must focus our energies beyond the guns and steel of the military, beyond just our brave soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen. We must also focus our energies on the other elements of national power that will be so crucial in the coming years… Having robust civilian capabilities available could make it less likely that military force will have to be used in the first place, as local problems might be dealt with before they become crises.

   Despite the importance Gates placed on U.S. diplomacy, he promised that he will be asking for even more money for the defense war department next year.

2. The Guardian reports Australia’s Prime Minister-elect, Kevin Rudd talks climate change with Al Gore. Rudd already plans to have Australia ratify Kyoto, isolating the United States, but he also plans to take a leadership role by personally attending the UN climate summit in Bali and help shape the successor treaty to Kyoto. Rudd said that he and Gore “talked a lot about climate change and some of the important things which need to be done globally. We will resume that conversation… in Bali over a strong cup of tea – or something stronger.”

   In related news, The Guardian reports Less than 10 years to change our ways, warns UN report. “The stark warning from the UN’s Human Development report… said climate change would hit the least-developed countries the hardest… Developed countries, the UN said, should cut emissions by at least 30% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. Developing nations should cut emissions by 20% by the year 2050. The UN said the world must spend 1.6% of global economic output each year until 2030 to stabilise carbon levels and to limit a rise in global temperature to 2C [3.6F] to avoid the catastrophic impact of climate change.”

3. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Around S.F. Bay, oiled birds still found nearly 3 weeks after spill. “About 2,150 birds have been found dead or have died at the bird rescue center since Nov. 7, the day the Cosco Busan crashed into the Bay Bridge and spilled 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel oil. Bird experts figure that for every bird found dead or alive, about five to 10 others go unreported because they sink at sea, get eaten by predators or fly elsewhere. That would put the fatality number at up to 21,500 birds.”

4. The Oregonian reports Oregon’s Coos Bay coal beds bubbling with gas. “The project is in the early exploration stage, and nothing is certain. Recovering the gas is a scientifically complex prospect made less certain by potentially deal-killing environmental concerns… A byproduct of drilling into the coal seams is underground water that is laced with copper, salts and other minerals. Before moving ahead on a large scale, Methane Energy will have to figure out what to do with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water without damaging drinking water supplies, the surrounding forest or sensitive salmon habitat of Coos Bay’s estuary… Last week, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality approved a five-year permit allowing 100,000 gallons to be dumped each day, which would cover water from as many as two dozen wells. The approval came despite concerns from local residents and environmental groups about the water’s effects on soil, plants and fish.”

Six more stories lurk below the fold.