Wednesday - December 19, 2007

News Bits for the Day

A ton of things to write about today.

First off, the congress and, apparently, President Bush, thinks its just fine and dandy that they tell us which lightbulbs we will be able to buy, what vehicles we should drive and what kinds of fuels will be produced.

WASHINGTON (AP)—Congress by a wide margin approved the first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years Tuesday, and President Bush plans to quickly sign the legislation, accepting the mandates on the auto industry.

The energy bill, boosting mileage by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon, passed the House 314-100 and now goes to the White House, following the Senate’s approved last week.

In a statement, the White House said Bush will sign the legislation at the Energy Department on Wednesday.

In a dramatic shift to spur increased demand for nonfossil fuels, the bill also requires a six-fold increase in ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, a boon to farmers. And it requires new energy efficiency standards for an array of appliances, lighting and commercial and government buildings.

“This legislation is a historic turning point in energy policy,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland because it will cut demand for foreign oil and promote nonfossil fuels that will cut greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Nevermind that I want to be able to decide what kind of lightbulbs to buy.  Nevermind that the food industry is suffering from so much corn being diverted to fuel.  nevermind that biofuel will reduce imports by four million barrels per day.  Those same folks are the ones who are rejecting as “very very bad”, the drilling in ANWR to bring us a million barrels per day.

Lastly, they always tote out the line of “...fuels that will cut greenhouse gases linked to global warming” Linked by who, precicely?  Jerks.

Iraqis Include Christmas As Religious Holiday!

The following is a translation from Iraq’s news paper Alamashriq on December 18, 2007 by Iraqi-American Haider Ajina:

Iraqi Government extends Religious Holidays to Include Christmas.

The Iraqi Government announced, yesterday Monday, the extension of the religious holiday (for all Government offices) to celebrate Eid Al-Adha (Three day Muslim Religious Holiday at the end of the Pilgrimage to Mecca) one extra day to Include celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day. The Iraqi national press office released this announcement which declared December 25th a national holiday in Iraq for all government offices (national and provincial). The government in its press release mentions that this allows our citizens to celebrate Eid Al-Adha and the birth of the messiah (peace be upon him).

Haider Ajina comments,

While I was growing up in Iraq, in the sixties and seventies, Christmas (or Celebration of Birth of the Messiah as it’s called by Arab Christians) was acknowledged and celebrated but it was never a national holiday. Christians had the day off with pay and Christian children did not have to come to school on Christmas. Even children from Mixed marriages (Christian and Muslim parents) could stay out of school if they wanted, it was an excused holiday.

I am pleased and surprised to see the government declaring it a national holiday. This way almost all Iraqis can celebrate their religious holidays together. This is another positive change and one of many steps towards national unity. Eid and Christmas celebrations will be held under substantially improved circumstances from last year.

Iraqis have plenty to celebrate as this year comes to an end. Thanks to our men and women who have served and are still serving in Iraq. The future of Iraq is looking very bright and hopeful, with much hard work to rebuild and ground this new democracy and rule of law, still ahead.

Regards,
Haider Ajina

Washington Times Columnist Lists Some Very Inconvenient Truths For The Global Warming Cultists
David Deming’s commentary on global warming in this morning’s edition of the Washington Times is one of the best I’ve ever read.

If he’s right - and I believe he is because he’s obviously done his homework - the global warming bunch will end up with a substantial amount of egg on their face by the end of this winter:

South America this year experienced one of its coldest winters in decades. In Buenos Aires, snow fell for the first time since the year 1918. Dozens of homeless people died from exposure. In Peru, 200 people died from the cold and thousands more became infected with respiratory diseases. Crops failed, livestock perished, and the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency.

Unexpected bitter cold swept the entire Southern Hemisphere in 2007. Johannesburg, South Africa, had the first significant snowfall in 26 years. Australia experienced the coldest June ever. In northeastern Australia, the city of Townsville underwent the longest period of continuously cold weather since 1941. In New Zealand, the weather turned so cold that vineyards were endangered.

Last January, $1.42 billion worth of California produce was lost to a devastating five-day freeze. Thousands of agricultural employees were thrown out of work. At the supermarket, citrus prices soared. In the wake of the freeze, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Bush to issue a disaster declaration for affected counties. A few months earlier, Mr. Schwarzenegger had enthusiastically signed the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, a law designed to cool the climate. California Sen. Barbara Boxer continues to push for similar legislation in the U.S. Senate.

In April, a killing freeze destroyed 95 percent of South Carolina’s peach crop, and 90 percent of North Carolina’s apple harvest. At Charlotte, N.C., a record low temperature of 21 degrees Fahrenheit on April 8 was the coldest ever recorded for April, breaking a record set in 1923. On June 8, Denver recorded a new low of 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Denver’s temperature records extend back to 1872.

Recent weeks have seen the return of unusually cold conditions to the Northern Hemisphere. On Dec. 7, St. Cloud, Minn., set a new record low of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit. On the same date, record low temperatures were also recorded in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Extreme cold weather is occurring worldwide. On Dec. 4, in Seoul, Korea, the temperature was a record minus 5 degrees Celsius. Nov. 24, in Meacham, Ore., the minimum temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the previous record low set in 1952. The Canadian government warns that this winter is likely to be the coldest in 15 years

Of course, the global warmers will answer with this type of psychobabble double-speak:

If you think any of the preceding facts can falsify global warming, you’re hopelessly naive. Nothing creates cognitive dissonance in the mind of a true believer. In 2005, a Canadian Greenpeace representative explained “global warming can mean colder, it can mean drier, it can mean wetter.” In other words, all weather variations are evidence for global warming. I can’t make this stuff up.

We’ll know in afew short months if Gore’s dire end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it predictions are an incovenient truth as he would have us believe, or just convenient for his bank account.

In the meantime, my hat’s off to David Deming for this incovenient article.

Posted by Mr. Christian     on 12/19/2007 at 01:17 PM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • International • Iraq • Politics •  
• Comments (10) • Trackbacks (0) • Permalink •  

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