DEDICATED TO EXPOSING DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA AND TO PROMOTING UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS - WITH SHARP ANALYSIS AND BLUNT COMMENTARY. NO ADS. NO TIP-JAR. JUST THE TRUTH.
The five men from Northern Virginia under arrest in Pakistan had exchanged e-mails written in code for months with a recruiter for the Pakistani Taliban and had a map indicating they were bound for the tribal area where al-Qaeda is thought to be based, Pakistan officials said Friday.But both of the two stories dance around the radicalization from within of American Moslems, in spite of the other of today's stories beginning as follows:
A spike in terrorism cases involving U.S. citizens is challenging long-held assumptions that Muslims in Europe are more susceptible to radicalization than their better-assimilated counterparts in the United States.Both stories mostly ignore the seriousness of the internal threat from the fifth column, and both stories do not mention any of the radical Wahhabist imams preaching at mosques all across America.
...[T]wo major groups -- the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- said this week that they would launch counter-radicalization programs aimed at young people...Half-awakened in the media is not necessarily better that not awakened at all.
Several U.S. and international terrorism analysts say that American Muslims, as a group, remain more prosperous, assimilated and moderate than those in Europe. But the analysts also note that immigration trends, the global spread of a militant Islamism and controversial actions by the United States and its allies since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks increase the chances that U.S. Muslims could carry out a domestic attack.It is beyond the capabilities of liberals to blame the tenets of Islam, and the media continue to dance around those jihadist tenets.
Bruce Hoffman, who studies terrorism at Georgetown University, said the recent cases only confirmed that it was “myopic” to believe “we could insulate ourselves from the currents affecting young Muslims everywhere else.”
Like many other specialists, Mr. Hoffman pointed to the United States’ combat in Muslim lands as the only obvious spur to many of the recent cases, especially those with a Pakistani connection.
“The longer we’ve been in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said, “the more some susceptible young men are coming to believe that it’s their duty to take up arms to defend their fellow Muslims.”
THIS IS THE LEFTIST LINE:
THIS OF COURSE CAN'T EXPLAIN THE MUSLIM TERRORISM IN PHILIPPINES, THAILAND, RUSSIA, ALGERIA, MOROCCO, SPAIN AND SO ON.
AND SO OF COURSE IT IS TOTAL BULLSHIT.
BUT THE NYTIMES "NEWS ANALYSIS" IS ACTUALLY EVEN MORE FEEBLE AND LEFTIST AND DISTORTED, FOR THIS BLINDNESS OCCURS EVEN THOUGH THE PREMISE OF THE ARTICLE IS THAT MUSLIMS IN THE USA ARE NOT IMMUNE FROM RADICALISM AND EXTREMISM.
AND THAT - GET THIS - THE NYXLIMES NOW USES FORT HOOD AS AN EXAMPLE OF BOTH THIS LACK OF IMMUNITY AND THE FACT THAT THE FACT THAT THE USA HAS TROOPS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN IS THE ROOT CAUSE.
IT UNBEFRICKINLIEVABLE THAT THE NYSLIMES WOULD NOW USE FORT HOOD AS AN EXAMPLE OF ISLAMO-TERROR EVEN THOUGH FOR WEEKS AFTER THE EVENT THEY DID THEIR BEST TO DENY IT.
WHAT ALLOWS THEM TO ADMIT THIS NOW?
THE FACT THAT THEY BLAME IT ON THE NEOCONS WHO GOT US INTO WAR IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
THE LEFT HATES AMERICA MORE THAN ISLAMO-TERROR.
SCUM.
THE TRUTH IS THAT ISLAM IS INTRINSICALLY TERROR PRONE BECAUSE THE KORAN AND HADITHS ARE FILLED WITH PRESCRIPTIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MUSLIMS TO COMMIT TERROR, AND THE LIFE OF MOHAMED - WHOSE LIFE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO EMULATE - WAS ONE FILLED WITH TERROR; MOHAMMAD WAS MUSLIM TERRORIST #1.
THIS IS THE REAL REASON MUSLIMS EVERYWHERE ARE PRONE TO RADICALIZATION: IT'S THEIR RELIGION.
NOT OUR ACTIONS OR REACTIONS.
BY BLAMING US THE NYSLIMES AND THE LEFT AIDS AND ABETS THE ENEMY.
THEY ARE TRAITORS TO THE USA AND THE WEST.
It [HANUKKAH] commemorates an event in which the good guys did horrible things, the bad guys did good things and in which everybody is flummoxed by insoluble conflicts that remain with us today.
Jerusalem – Israel and Turkey have managed to retain military cooperation despite rising political tension, a report by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs said.I think sooner or later, Israel will have to come to terms with how Islamofascism is on the rise again in Turkey, and that's why continuation of army ties is just not worth it.
The report asserted that the Islamist government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has kept their military partnership with Israel despite their political crisis this year. Still, the Center, in a report by a leading U.S. analyst, warned that Israeli-Turkish relations were threatened by Ankara’s strategic alliance with Syria.
“Israel’s military relationship with Turkey, including ongoing joint air force training, military exchanges, and arms sales, appears to be secure for the time being,” the report, titled “The Islamist Transformation in Turkish Politics,” said. “Should bilateral political tensions continue, and as Ankara and Damascus enhance strategic ties, inevitably Israeli-Turkish military-to-military relations will suffer.”
Mr. Schenker, now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said Ankara’s embrace of Syria over the last three years reflected the decline of Turkey’s military. He said Mr. Erdogan’s party, which has succeeded in marginalizing the military, has been promoting relations with such countries as Qatar, Sudan and Syria while rejecting pro-Western Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia.Are they so sure they're pro-western? Because signs are that even Jordan is slowly cooling from that stance. And one can only wonder how it'll be before Turkey's army becomes more Islamised.
The report said Turkey began weakening its relationship with Israel as early as 2006. This year, however, Ankara sparked a crisis with Israel during its war with Hamas as the Turkish government improved relations with Syria. This included the first Syrian-Turkish military exercise in April.They got that right.
“Clearly, 2009 was a watershed year for the Turkey-Syria bilateral relationship and a year of setbacks for Israeli-Turkish ties,” the report said. “While the long-term implications of these developments remain to be seen, the current trajectory is not cause for optimism.”
Eight men charged with sexual offences. The Star UK:
Adil Hussain, Saeed Hussain, Shaizaad Hussain, Mohsin Khan, Zafran Ramzan, Razwan Razaq, Umar Razaq
For an interesting analysis of this event please see The Opinionator
WHO HAS COVERED THIS EXTENSIVELY:
The despicable muslim Rape Jihad continues in Britain. Once again young, vulnerable white British girls are plundered like war booty by muslim men. For that is just what this girls are = war booty = as muslims continue their invasion and colonisation of Great Britain bringing with them their contempt for the Western world and it's indigenous people, culture and customs - particularly women and girls.
The government and social policies of multiculturalism and appeasement have given muslims a sense of entitlement to all things British - from sponging off taxpayer paid benefits to establishing no-go areas for white British to the rampant raping and beating of British women and children.I (and many other bloggers) have written extensively about the muslim rape of British women and children - and yes - even men.
A small sampling:
THE MUSLIM RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE OF BRITISH GIRLS
WORSE than a "pack of animals" - 3 Muslim Men Jailed for Rape of 16 yr old British girl
Muslim Millionaire Pedophiles Buying British Little Girls for Sex
MUSLIM MEN RAPE FOUR BRITISH SCHOOLGIRLS AT AMUSEMENT PARK
UK EPIDEMIC - MUSLIM TAXI DRIVERS RAPING BRITISH GIRLS & WOMEN
MUSLIM MAN KIDNAPS 14 YR OLD BRITISH GIRL FOR SEX
THE BEAT GOES ON ----- MUSLIM ATTACKS ON BRITISH WOMEN
JAILED PEDOPHILE CONVERTS TO ISLAM
MUSLIM PEDOPHILES RAPE UK TAXPAYERS
Once again:
While dhimmi judges act the role of apologists for muslim criminals
MUSLIM MEN ARE RAPING OUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Whilst dhimmi police play hijab dress-up and coddle muslim
MUSLIM MEN ARE RAPING OUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Whilst politicians are cajoling and paying for muslim votes
MUSLIM MEN ARE RAPING OUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Whilst the media continues to hide muslim crime/criminals (see below)
MUSLIM MEN ARE RAPING OUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Whilst church leaders embrace the muslim invasion and exploitation of the British people
THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR IS CENTRAL TO ISLAM. ALWAYS HAS BEEN. IT'S THE LITERAL RAPE OF THE WEST BY ISLAM. THE LEFT'S ADVICE TO US IS THAT WE SHOULD CLOSE OUR EYES AND ENJOY IT.
THE RIGHT'S ADVICE IS FOR US TO ARM AND FIGHT BACK - DEFEND OURSELVES.
IF YOU'RE OKAY WITH THE CONTINUED RAPE OF OUR CULTURE, THEN KEEP VOTING DEMOCRAT/LABOUR/SOCIALIST/LIBERAL.
UPDATE: JDAMN ADDS:
It's so much worse, dude.
And those three stories are just from the top third of TROP today.
To say nothing of Sweden. OMG.
It's official: The 2009 blizzard of Dec. 7-9 was the snowiest storm in 38 years, almost 39.IF YOU STUDY THAT LIST SOMETHING STICKS OUT: NO BIG STORMS DURING THE WARM BLIP WE HAD FROM 1997-2006. BUT ALREADY A COUPLE SINCE THEN.
It dropped some 10.2 inches of snow across Iowa on average, according to State Climatologist Harry Hillaker.
This week's storm ranks third in snowfall statewide since 1950.
"The storm we had this week was incredibly well forecast," said Hillaker. "Then it actually did what it was expected to do. It started slowly and didn't cause a lot of surprises."
A few reports from some areas of the state still haven't been received, but they are not expected to change the order of things, Hillaker said.
Here are the top snowfalls statewide since 1950:
1. March 10-14, 1951 -- 14.3 inches
2. Jan. 2-4, 1971 -- 10.4 inches
3. Dec. 7-9, 2009 -- 10.2 inches
4. March 4-6, 1959 -- 9.5 inches
5. Jan. 11-13, 1979 -- 8.6 inches
6. (tie) April 8-9, 1973; Jan. 4-6, 2005 -- 8.5 inches
7. Feb. 17-18, 1962 -- 7.8 inches
8. Jan. 26, 1996 -- 7.7 inches
9. March 1-3, 2007 -- 6.7 inches
MILLIONS of Americans were braced for another deadly blast of wintry weather last night, as the death toll from the first storms of the season climbed to at least 17.AGW IS BS.
Forecasters said a massive belt of snow and ice stretching thousands of miles, from the Midwest to New England, would leave freezing temperatures and treacherous conditions in its wake, heaping more misery on those caught out by the unexpected severity of winter's opening salvo.
Entire towns lost power, colleges and hospitals were closed in several states and thousands of air passengers were left stranded by the big chill, which prompted the governor of Wisconsin to declare a state of emergency
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation decided Tuesday to give the government's backing to a bill proposed by MK Yariv Levin (Likud) requiring that a national referendum be held if the government ever intends to cede land under Israeli sovereignty.Glad to see that terrible politician's been put in his place too. This referendum is important for safeguarding the country, and people like Meridor cannot be permitted to sabotage it. Extra news on this here.
[...]
The ministerial committee also struck down an appeal against a similar decision it had made in the past. The appeal was filed by Minister Dan Meridor, who is a proponent of a Golan retreat in return for a peace deal with Syria.
Low support for collective church bell tolling to greet world leaders arriving in CopenhagenRELIAPUNDIT: THERE IS A GOD.
Almost 70 percent of churches have decided not to participate in the collective clanging of church bells arranged by Grøn Kirke (Green Church), a climate group attached to the National Council of Churches in Denmark.
Grøn Kirke has encouraged the country’s churches to toll their bells 350 times on Sunday at their 3pm services in connection with the COP15 conference.
Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, hosted by WC and Always On Watch. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.
Egyptian earth-moving machinery was at work on the Gaza Strip border on Wednesday and an Israeli newspaper said the project under way was a subterranean metal wall to block Palestinian smuggling tunnels.
... Israeli daily Haaretz reported Egypt was installing an underground metal wall about 20 to 30 metres deep along the short border strip where Palestinians have dug a warren of tunnels to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
... Haaretz said the wall would be nearly 10 km long and “impossible to cut or melt”.
Around Madison, Wisc., snow and wind are part of winter’s backdrop, like frosty breath and ice fishing; students rarely expect a seasonal reprieve. But the storm that whipped through the upper Midwest on Wednesday was no ordinary blizzard.UPDATE: COLDEST FOOTBALL GAME EVER IN CLEVELAND
For the first time in nearly 45 years, officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison canceled all Wednesday classes — the night before — and directed all non-essential employees to stay home, affecting about 15,000 faculty and staff. By morning, roads were impassible, conditions dangerous.
“It is a rare event because people are used to dealing with snowy conditions,” said John Lucas, a university spokesman.
According to the National Weather Service in Sullivan, Wisc., more than 19 inches of snow fell in Madison, the area hardest hit by a huge winter storm that blanketed the Midwest, upstate New York and parts of New England. Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin closed all state government offices.
On this record day in Madison, the famous “On Wisconsin” fight song might have sounded more like “Off Wisconsin.” (Only the Milwaukee and Superior campuses of the university were open.)
Records kept by the main campus date to a storm on St. Patrick’s Day in 1965, when classes were canceled the entire day. On that day, snow piled only 6.9 inches — but on top of freezing rain.
But Wednesday was the first time that classes were canceled since 1990, when Donna Shalala, who was chancellor at the time, shut them down at 10:30 a.m. because 17 inches of snow had fallen over a 16-hour period.
Thursday night's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns has the makings of being the coldest game ever in Cleveland for the rivalry.GEE, ER UM... IT SURE DON'T SEEM LIKE IT'S REALLY GETTING WARMER AND WARMER DOES IT!?The latest National Weather Service forecast calls for it to be 18 degrees with a 54 percent chance of snow at 8 p.m., just before kickoff.
By 11 p.m., the temperature is predicted to drop to 17 degrees, with a wind chill of 3 degrees below zero.
It has never been that cold for a Browns-Steelers game in Cleveland, National Weather Service records show.
The coldest date for a Browns-Steelers game was Dec. 18, 1983, when the low for the day was 14 degrees. However, that low was achieved at 4 a.m.
The 1983 game began at 1 p.m. The temperature ranged from 20 to 21 degrees during the game.
Did any of us think that the timing of the EPA’s announcement to regulate carbon dioxide had anything to do with the conference on CO2 emissions in Copenhagen — which the President plans to attend? Heaven forfend, says Lisa Jackson, the EPA’s administrator, who says it’s just all one big coincidence. And she assure us of that from … where?COPENHAGEN— Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson insisted Wednesday that her agency did not time the release of its global-warming endangerment finding to jump-start climate talks here.
“The endangerment finding and the work here are separate,” she told a packed room at the Bella Center. “Certainly, I was glad we were able to complete the finding and make that statement just before, but that wasn’t the impetus for our work.”
In other words, if you don't do what we tell you to do, we will resort to force.The Obama administration is warning Congress that if it doesn't move to regulate greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency will take a "command-and-control" role over the process in a way that could hurt business.
The warning, from a top White House economic official who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity, came on the eve of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's address to the international conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jackson, however, tried to strike a tone of cooperation in her address Wednesday, explaining that the EPA's new powers to regulate greenhouse gases will be used to complement legislation pending in Congress, not replace it.
"This is not an 'either-or' moment. It's a 'both-and' moment," she said.
But while administration officials have long said they prefer Congress take action on climate change, the economic official who spoke with reporters Tuesday night made clear that the EPA will not wait and is prepared to act on its own.
And it won't be pretty.
"If you don't pass this legislation, then ... the EPA is going to have to regulate in this area," the official said. "And it is not going to be able to regulate on a market-based way, so it's going to have to regulate in a command-and-control way, which will probably generate even more uncertainty."
a huge increase in foreign aid with an 18 percent cut to a program that helps states with the cost of incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants.REPEAT:
... The bill reflects Democrats' control of Congress and the White House.
... There's $2.5 billion for high-speed rail programs, which comes on top of $8 billion approved earlier this year as part of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program. A program that subsidizes flights to and from rural airports -- sometimes at thousands of dollars per ticket -- would receive $200 million, a 47 percent increase.
a huge increase in foreign aid with an 18 percent cut to a program that helps states with the cost of incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants.
Brown, one of just five Republicans in the 40-member state Senate, faces significant challenges: he is less well-known than the Democratic nominee, Attorney General Martha Coakley; he is a Republican in an overwhelmingly liberal state; and the six weeks until the final election include the Christmas and New Year's season when it will be difficult to get voters' attention.
Just 11 percent of the state's registered voters are Republicans. But Democrats are taking nothing for granted.
"He’s an attractive, articulate, moderate Republican who could tap into some of the unrest among voters,'' said Philip W. Johnston, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party.
"It would be a terrible mistake for Democrats to assume that this election is in the bag on Jan. 19. These are not normal times. There are treacherous winds blowing and Democratic candidates have to be aware of that."
I HAVE A SUGGESTION FOR BROWN:
HOLD A TEA PARTY IN BOSTON HARBOR!
Nearly 25% of all births in England and Wales in 2008 were to foreign-born women - another record.
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said the figures did not account for those immigrants who were returning home.
The births to foreign-born women made up 170,834 out of the total of 708,711.
Immigrants from Eastern Europe, for example, had 25,000 children.
AT THIS RATE, THERE ISN'T ALWAYS GOING TO BE A BRITAIN. NOT A BRITISH ONE.
THE BRITS OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO FIGHT BACK AT LEAST AS HARD AS THE SWISS, DON'T YOU THINK?
President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 47 percent in the latest Gallup poll, the lowest ever recorded for any president at this point in his term.
... When Gallup began taking presidential approval polls 71 years ago, Franklin Roosevelt had been president for more than five years. During his remaining time in office, his job approval rating never fell below 48 percent.The next 11 presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, all had higher job approval ratings than Obama at this stage of their tenure. Their ratings were:
-- George W. Bush, 86 percent
-- Bill Clinton, 52 percent
-- George H.W. Bush, 71 percent
-- Ronald Reagan, 49 percent
-- Jimmy Carter, 57 percent
-- Gerald Ford, 52 percent
-- Richard Nixon, 59 percent
-- Lyndon Johnson, 74 percent
-- John Kennedy, 77 percent
-- Dwight Eisenhower, 69 percent
-- Harry Truman, 49 percent
YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME.
RTWT.The following commentary is by Atmospheric Scientist and Hurricane forecasting specialist Dr. William Gray. Gray is the renowned hurricane forecaster and Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU).
Puncturing the Climate Balloon
By Dr. Bill Gray
There has been an unrelenting quarter century of one-sided indoctrination of the western world by the media and by various scientists and governments concerning a coming carbon dioxide (CO2) induced global warming disaster.
These warming scenarios have been orchestrated by a combination of environmentalists, vested interest scientists wanting larger federal grants and publicity, the media which profits from doomsday scenario reporting, governmental bureaucrats who want more power over our lives, and socialists who want to level-out global living standards.
These many alarmist groups appear to have little concern over whether their global warming prognostications are accurate, however.
And they most certainly are not.
The alarmists believe they will be able to scare enough of our citizens into believing their propaganda that the public will be willing to follow their advice on future energy usage and agree to a lowering of their standard of living in the name of climate salvation.
Rising levels of CO2 are not near the threat these alarmists have portrayed them to be.
... The Cap-and-Trade bill presently before Congress, the likely climate agreements coming out of the Copenhagen Conference, and the EPA's just announced decision to treat CO2 as a pollutant represents a grave threat to the industrial world's continued economic development.
We should not allow these proposals to restrict our economic growth.
Any United Nations climate bill our country might sign would act as an infringement on our country's sovereignty.
FOLLOWING THE SWISS LEAD, SARKOZY IS MAKING NOISES ABOUT IT, SAYS HE WANTS IT STOPPED:Some Paris neighbourhoods have been taken over Fridays with large numbers of Muslims clearly establishing Islamic primacy by taking over huge sections of streets by ‘praying’ in them in such a manner that no other traffic is possible. (videos below) thanks to Tundra and Gaia, we have a translation of a newspaper article on a proposed referendum to end this hostile and predatory practice.
Once again, we see that this is not a religious thing, but a political practice of primacy and total dominance. Below the videos please find the English translation of the letter to President Sarkozi. Remember, this can, will, and is happening now in Canada. It is only a matter of degree and time. The more time, the greater the degree.
THIS IS A GOOD START. AND ABOUT FUCKING TIME.Nicolas Sarkozy stoked the debate over immigration today with a warning to Muslims to practise their religion discreetly or face rejection by moderate Islam in France.
The President voiced sympathy for Swiss voters who opted last week to ban minarets as he tried to reassert himself in a debate over national identity which he launched last month but that has since spiralled out of his control.
Over the past week, Mr Sarkozy had appeared to retreat from his original comments following a backlash over the way that they were being used against immigrants, particularly Muslims.
But in a column for Le Monde, Mr Sarkozy returned to his theme and said that the result of the Swiss referendum showed how important it was for France to define its identity.
"Instead of condemning the Swiss out of hand, we should try to understand what they meant to express and what so many people in Europe feel, including people in France," he wrote. "Nothing would be worse than denial."
Mr Sarkozy called for tolerance and underlined France's respect for all faiths, but his message was intended primarily to reassure those who are unhappy about what they see as a threatening Muslim presence in the country.
"Christians, Jews, Muslims, all believers regardless of their faith, must refrain from ostentation and provocation and ... practice their religion in humble discretion," Mr Sarkozy wrote.
Obama’s move to send in 30,000 troops to Afghanistan by the summer of 2010 has clearly disappointed Conyers.
He said he intends to press his case in writing soon.
“I want something so serious that he has to respond in writing, like I am responding in writing to him,” he said.
“Calling in generals and admirals to discuss troop strength is like me taking my youngest to McDonald’s to ask if he likes french fries,” Conyers said.
Many on the left have argued that military leaders routinely respond to crises by calling for more troops.
Back in February of 2009, when the EPA first announced its intention to look into whether to regulate CO2 and other "Greenhouse Gases", the New York Times predicted EPA findings would have an effect on Copenhagen:Who needs tanks on the lawn when you have the Environmental Protection Agency? Barack Obama’s use of the EPA to pressurise the Senate to pass his climate change Nuremberg Decrees shows his dictatorial mentality. He wants to override Congress, which is hostile to his climate gobbledegook because it is representative of the American electorate, and sideline the nation’s elected Senators by ruling by decree, courtesy of the EPA. This is a coup d’état.
And what is the justification for this undemocratic action? The allegedly imminent threat from “Anthropogenic Global Warming”. There is always a supposed threat, when tyrants take the stage. The President of the United States has just reduced his moral authority to the level of any Third World dictator heading a “Government of National Emergency”. Fortunately, the world’s leading democracy, which he is trying to subvert, has guarantees of liberty so deeply embedded in its Constitution that US citizens are well placed to fight back.
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials.
The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power. It could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress and form a basis for the United States’ negotiating position at United Nations climate talks set for December in Copenhagen.
Obama, in Shift, Expects Climate Deal at SummitWASHINGTON -- The White House said late Friday that President Barack Obama now expects a "meaningful" climate deal at a United Nations summit in Copenhagen, possibly involving a commitment for rich nations to provide $10 billion a year by 2012 to help developing countries fight climate change.
The White House said the U.S. is prepared to pay its "fair share" of the $10 billion.
Copenhagen
Developing countries react furiously to leaked draft agreement that would hand more power to rich nations, sideline the UN's negotiating role and abandon the Kyoto protocol
The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today after developing countries reacted furiously to leaked documents that show world leaders will next week be asked to sign an agreement that hands more power to rich countries and sidelines the UN's role in all future climate change negotiations.The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today after developing countries reacted furiously to leaked documents.
The document also sets unequal limits on per capita carbon emissions for developed and developing countries in 2050; meaning that people in rich countries would be permitted to emit nearly twice as much under the proposals.
The so-called Danish text, a secret draft agreement worked on by a group of individuals known as "the circle of commitment" – but understood to include the UK, US and Denmark – has only been shown to a handful of countries since it was finalised this week.
The agreement, leaked to the Guardian, is a departure from the Kyoto protocol's principle that rich nations, which have emitted the bulk of the CO2, should take on firm and binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, while poorer nations were not compelled to act.
The draft hands effective control of climate change finance to the World Bank; would abandon the Kyoto protocol – the only legally binding treaty that the world has on emissions reductions; and would make any money to help poor countries adapt to climate change dependent on them taking a range of actions.
The document was described last night by one senior diplomat as "a very dangerous document for developing countries. It is a fundamental reworking of the UN balance of obligations. It is to be superimposed without discussion on the talks".
A confidential analysis of the text by developing countries also seen by the Guardian shows deep unease over details of the text. In particular, it is understood to:
• Force developing countries to agree to specific emission cuts and measures that were not part of the original UN agreement;
• Divide poor countries further by creating a new category of developing countries called "the most vulnerable";
• Weaken the UN's role in handling climate finance;
• Not allow poor countries to emit more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050, while allowing rich countries to emit 2.67 tonnes.
Developing countries that have seen the text are understood to be furious that it is being promoted by rich countries without their knowledge and without discussion in the negotiations.
"It is being done in secret. Clearly the intention is to get [Barack] Obama and the leaders of other rich countries to muscle it through when they arrive next week. It effectively is the end of the UN process," said one diplomat, who asked to remain nameless.
The text was intended by Denmark and rich countries to be a working framework, which would be adapted by countries over the next week. It is particularly inflammatory because it sidelines the UN negotiating process and suggests that rich countries are desperate for world leaders to have a text to work from when they arrive next week.
Few numbers or figures are included in the text because these would be filled in later by world leaders. However, it seeks to hold temperature rises to 2C and mentions the sum of $10bn a year to help poor countries adapt to climate change from 2012-15.
SHE'S EQUATING VIAGARA WITH AN ABORTION.Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Boxer's message to men who support abortion riders: How would you like it if we singled out Viagara? — Today, the Senate began debate on Sen. Ben Nelson's (D-NE) amendment to prohibit federal funds from being used for abortions or for plans that include abortion services.
