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Sun causes global warming
Duke University scientist reports that the sun is a major cause of global
warming, according to report on
Live Science:
Increased output from the Sun might be to blame for 10 to 30 percent of
global warming that has been measured in the past 20 years, according to a
new report.
Increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases still
play a role, the scientists say.
But climate models of global warming should be corrected to better account
for changes in solar activity, according to Nicola Scafetta and Bruce West
of Duke University.
The findings were published online this week by the journal
Geophysical Research
Letters.
Canada’s hypocrisy on Kyoto
CNS News reports on Canada’s government watchdog agency citing its own
government for failing to be green:
Canada's government has been slammed by parliament's top watchdog agency for
not practicing what it preaches on the environment, even though it is one of
the main advocates for implementing the controversial Kyoto protocol on
climate change.
Johanne Gelinas, commissioner of the environment and sustainable development
in the Auditor-General's office, said the government had the habit of making
strong announcements that were forgotten "as soon as the confetti hits the
ground."
It seems the argument that a nation’s financial burden in complying with
unclear science may be correct.
Pelosi broke the law
NewsMax reports that the Federal Election Commission has ruled that Democrat
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi violated the expenditure limits in contributing
to Democrat House candidates in the last election. There is no word on
whether the Democrats will be returning these illegal contributions:
Two political action committees linked to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
have been charged with attempting to circumvent to legal limits on campaign
giving, the Federal Election Commission has ruled.
According to the March 2004 FEC finding, Pelosi appears to have violated the
same kind of arcane campaign finance regulation that spurred the indictment
of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay this week.
The San Francisco Chronicle explained at the time:
"The FEC ruled that two Pelosi political action committees created to help
Democrats in the 2002 elections were related instead of being independent
and therefore violated a rule against giving more than the maximum $5,000
annual contribution."
U.N. takeover of Internet showdown
NewsMax reports that the upcoming global meeting of the World Summit on
the Information Society may not come off:
The European Union insisted Friday that governments and the private sector
must share the responsibility of overseeing the Internet, setting the stage
for a showdown with the United States on the future of Internet governance.
A senior U.S. official reiterated Thursday that the country wants to remain
the Internet's ultimate authority, rejecting calls in a United Nations
meeting in Geneva for a U.N. body to take over.
EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said a new cooperation model was important
"because the Internet is a global resource."
"The EU ... is very firm on this position," he added.
GOP Senators reassigning intelligence
The
Washington Post reports on Republican senators’ desire to have the head
of Homeland Security manage human intelligence activity at the Central
Intelligence Agency:
Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence want to strip
from the CIA its primary role as manager of overseas collection of human
intelligence, suggesting that Director of National Intelligence John D.
Negroponte take over that responsibility.
The CIA's Directorate of Operations, the agency's clandestine arm, which now
coordinates spying overseas by all U.S. intelligence agencies, in the past
"did not effectively exercise the authorities of the national HUMINT [human
intelligence] manager often focusing instead on its own structure and
operations," the committee majority said in its report on the fiscal 2006
intelligence authorization bill released late Thursday.
Feingold aspirations
Sen. Russ Feingold, of the disastrous McCain Feingold Campaign Reform Act,
strolled through downtown Manchester recently saying that a lack of
timetable to pull troops out of Iraq enabled terrorists to recruit more
terrorists. He also said that he would sponsor more legislation to the worst
legislation to try to control campaign spending in history, the McCain
Feingold Campaign Reform Act. This legislation witnessed the largest amount
of individual contributions to 527 campaign accounts in history.
Feingold, who has presidential aspirations, also endorsed Manchester Mayor
Bob Baines, who is running for re-election.
Iran threatens oil supply
The
Jerusalem Post reports that Iran is threatening the oil supply if it is
referred to the U.N. Security Council:
Iran could hold back oil sales if it is referred to the U.N. Security
Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear program, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said in a newspaper interview published Saturday.
Ahmadinejad also told the Khaleej Times that Islam prohibits the use
of nuclear arms and reiterated that Iran's nuclear program was peaceful.
"If Iran's case is sent to the Security Council, we will respond by many
ways, for example by holding back on oil sales," the president told the
Dubai-based Khaleej Times.
Iran pumps about 4 million barrels daily, making it the second-largest
producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi
Arabia.
Crude oil
exports normally account for about 80 percent of Iran's hard currency
income, and an oil official last month projected revenues from oil exports
this year at US$43 billion
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