friday news dump

16 Comments

1. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:35 am

   BushCo™ just refuses to get it…one can only assume that RATpugs are exempt from the effects…but the UN, would beg to differ:

   Humans failing the sustainability audit

   With its Geo-4 report, the United Nations tells us that most aspects of the Earth’s natural environment are in decline; and that the decline will affect us, the planet’s human inhabitants, in some pretty important ways/.

   Feel like you have heard it before? Of course you have, not least from the UN.

   So what, you might ask, is special about this report? Why is it worth any more than a cursory headline glance before returning to the party?

   Well, first there is the sheer scale. Hundreds of researchers from a huge variety of disciplines have compiled, written and analysed its 572 pages; thousands more have reviewed the various chapters.

   Second, Geo-4 covers the whole range of environmental issues, and the links between them.

   In these climate-obsessed times, it is often forgotten that issues like forestry, fresh water supplies, agriculture, biodiversity, and the spread of desert land all connect to each other and to climate change.

   In the language of James Lovelock’s Gaia theory, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that have punctuated 2007 allowed us to take the planet’s temperature; Geo-4 shows us what is going on in the blood supply, the lymph system, the intestines and the immune defences.

   Third, it explores the links between social trends and environmental decline in a way that is not often done. Which other body, for example, asks whether the divergence we are seeing in the wealth of the richest and the poorest is good or bad for the environment?
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   Geo-4 shows us that if 20 post-Brundtland years have upped the rhetoric, they have done little to change the reality; despite a plethora of good intentions, global society is less sustainable than ever.

   Without major changes in direction, we had better hope that the people who believe that human ingenuity, technology and economic growth will always solve our future problems turn out to be right.

   read more, and follow the links: BBC

   lTMF’sA

   

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     ask on October 26, 2007 at 10:49 am

     Oh shoot, dada!
     I wrote an entry while you posted the dump, and did’nt check what had come up in the meantime before posting mine.

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       dada on October 26, 2007 at 11:00 am

       ha!…gmta, eh.

       it’s cool, you linked to the guardian article, l used the bbc..this report on the issue deserves as much exposure as it can get.

       lTMF’sA

       

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         cruz del sur on October 26, 2007 at 6:55 pm

         Now, this is a change of climate

2. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:37 am

   this one doesn’t need comment, other than to say:

   Tell Harry Reid: No Immunity for Lawbreaking Companies

   The Senate is considering a bill that would grant immunity to any telecom company that assisted in the administration’s illegal wiretapping. Chris Dodd promised to put a hold on any such bill, and Joe Biden and Barack Obama pledged to uphold it. We believe that any bill coming before the Senate that includes provisions for so-called ‘amnesty’ for large companies involved in illegally spying on Americans should be opposed, and have authored a letter to this effect addressed to Majority Leader Reid. You can co-sign it below. The letter will also be sent to Senate Democratic leadership and the Senate Judiciary Committee members. You can read the full text of the letter here

    JUST DO IT!

   lTMF’sA

   [http://www.dra

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     cruz del sur on October 26, 2007 at 6:52 pm

     You can only leave a recorded message to that spineless coward. I tried so many times to speak to someone, but it was impossible!

3. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:40 am

   no…not the omnipotent noodly one revered by pastafarians…the reichwing front, family security matters…has released their latest blockbuster hit:

   The conservative front group Family Security Matters (FSM) today released its list of “The Ten Most Dangerous Organizations in America.” ThinkProgress earned the 10th spot in the rankings. FSM writes that these 10 “hate” organizations are “growing powerful in the world of politics” and share a common “unwillingness to bend in their strictly biased view of the world.” FSM’s board of advisers includes Frank Gaffney, Barbara Comstock, and Laura Ingraham.

       1) Media Matters for America
       2) Universities and Colleges
       3) MoveOn.org
       4) League of the South
       5) Center for American Progress
       6) Family Research Council ???
       7) American Civil Liberties Union, National
       8) CodePINK
       9) Muslim Student Association
       ThinkProgress

   kudos! thinkprogress

   we need to make sure BT’s on this list next year…eh.

   lTMF’sA

   

   • 

     hens teeth on October 26, 2007 at 12:05 pm

     Universities and Colleges,
     Does this include Regent University?

4. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:41 am

   from the can’t can’t make this shit up department; john ‘pander bear’ mccain:

   “In case you missed it, a few days ago, Senator Clinton tried to spend $1 million on the Woodstock Concert Museum. Now, my friends, I wasn’t there. I’m sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was tied up at the time.

   “But the fact is, my friends, no one can be president of the United States that supports projects such as these

   .”

   h/t the carpetbagger w/ link to campaign video.

   now, l would not deny mccains well deserved due for getting through his stay in the hanoi hilton relatively intact, but the dude’s lost it.

   pathetic.

   lTMF’sA

   

5. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:43 am

   when chimpy looked into putin’s eyes… “I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul” …putin, much like the abyss, looked back, and l wonder how he kept from laughing. you can bet dimson isn’t the one laughing now:

   Attack Iran and you attack Russia

   The barely reported highlight of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran for the Caspian Sea summit last week was a key face-to-face meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

   A high-level diplomatic source in Tehran tells Asia Times Online that essentially Putin and the Supreme Leader have agreed on a plan to nullify the George W Bush administration’s relentless drive towards launching a preemptive attack, perhaps a tactical nuclear strike, against Iran. An American attack on Iran will be viewed by Moscow as an attack on Russia.
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   In itself, the Putin-Khamenei meeting was extraordinary, because the Supreme Leader rarely receives foreign statesmen for closed talks, even one as crucial as Putin. The Russian president, according to the diplomatic source, told the Supreme Leader he may hold the ultimate solution regarding the endlessly controversial Iranian nuclear dossier. According to IRNA, the Supreme Leader, after stressing that the Iranian civilian nuclear program will continue unabated, said. “We will ponder your words and proposal.”
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   US Vice President Dick Cheney – who even Senator Hillary Clinton now refers to as Darth Vader – must be foaming at the mouth; but the fact is that after the Caspian summit, Iran and Russia are officially entangled in a strategic partnership. World War III, for them, is definitely not on the cards.
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   complete article at asia times

   l don’t think the msm got this memo…l certainly hop CONdi did.

   lTMF’sA

   

6. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:48 am

   pull!

   herr cheney will begoing out in the country to catch a little colour and get in some target practice…be careful you don’t catch a load of shot with your face.  dick ‘shooter’ cheney’s out with his guns again.

   

   it’s probably another canned hunt, but just to be safe, all you new york progressives, wear orange and watch out.

   lTMF’sA

   

7. 

   dada on October 26, 2007 at 10:54 am

   with a bit of luck, we may find out just how good a hand 24%er’s * holding…assuming madame speaker doesn’t slap conyers down first:

   Bolten, Miers in Dems’ contempt crosshairs [?]

   House Democratic leaders have begun privately surveying their members to determine their support for a criminal contempt resolution against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers for shunning congressional subpoenas in the U.S. attorney investigation.

   House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) said the contempt motion could be brought to the House floor “as early as next week,” but Democratic leadership aides cautioned that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has not yet made any final decision on a vote. And one House aide close to the situaton said a vote was “more likely” in two weeks.
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   Democratic leadership aides said Pelosi would be able to round up the 218 votes needed to push through the resolution from Democrats alone, and assumed that no Republicans would cross the aisle and buck the White House.
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   “We have to do something,” insisted Conyers, pointing out that his House panel had issued a valid subpoena that should be enforced. Otherwise, he said, the Congress would be severely hampered in its ability to conduct effective oversight over the executive branch.
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   politico

   and maybe mukasey could clarify this statement while he’s pondering his answer to the torture question and contemplating his chances for confirmation:

   But Michael Mukasey, the former federal judge nominated by Bush to replace Gonzales, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would only allow a court challenge to go forward if he believed the executive privilege claim were “unreasonable.”

   Mukasey also signaled that a legal battle between the executive and legislative branches wasn’t a fight he was eager to wade into.

   “I hope and pray for a lot of things,” he said, “and one of them is that I won’t have to make that decision.”

   we shall see.

   *bush’s job rating is the lowest for u.s. presidents since nixon received support from only 24 percent of voters in august 1974, the same month Nixon resigned from office amid the Watergate scandal, and carter polled at 22% in july 1980.

   lTMF’sA

   

8. 

   Oui on October 26, 2007 at 1:17 pm

   .

   War with Taliban ‘could last for years’ warns defence chief

   LONDON – British troops could remain in Afghanistan for “decades”, the head of the Armed Forces warned yesterday. Even then the conflict will only be resolved by a political deal – after talks with Taliban leaders, said Sir Jock Stirrup.

   In an interview, the Chief of Defence Staff said: ‘In terms of bringing Afghanistan into its rightful place in the 21st century, that is an enormous project, that will engage the international community, frankly, for decades.

   “There is a common misperception that the issues in Afghanistan, and indeed elsewhere around the world, can be dealt with by military means. That’s a false perception. The military is a key, an essential element in dealing with those problems, but by and large these problems can only be resolved politically.”

   Ministers discuss NATO’s operation in Afghanistan

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

9. 

   infidelpig on October 26, 2007 at 6:21 pm

   always good to hear your news “dump”  dada…LMAO..puts new meaning into the word dump ; )

   I think sometimes I’ll just follow the words in the music of John Prine, “blow up the tv, throw away the paper, move to the country, build me a home”…just can’t figure out which country that should be ; )

   LMAO….peace bro

   • 

     dada on October 26, 2007 at 6:34 pm

     or im peach, whatever turns yer crank

     peace bro

     lTMF’sA

     

     • 

       infidelpig on October 26, 2007 at 6:39 pm

       as long as the “im-peach” is followed with “im-prison” ; )