Blogworthy, September 7th, 2007
Here's the latest edition of our occasional review feature touching on news and developments that we couldn't get around to writing about earlier, as well as items we have accidentally overlooked.
A new report says observations match computer predictions about a massive loss of Arctic ice before the year 2050, according to NOAA scientists in Seattle. They compared computer models predicting the ice loss with reliable sea ice observations made between 1979 and 1999 and reached the same disturbing finding: several areas of the Arctic Ocean (including the East Siberian-Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea) will have lost more than 40 percent of their winter and summer ice by the middle of this century. Another bit of gloomy news that shows we need to get serious about tackling the climate crisis.
Larry Craig supporters at the Battle Ground based "American Land Rights Association" (who have made it their longstanding mission to fight against the creation of national parks, conservation efforts, and other environmental protection laws) have announced a boycott of the airport where the (soon to be former) senator was arrested:
(Naturally, the General has offered his congratulations to the group and its leader for their defense strategy).
The New York Times reports that Fred Dalton Thompson is aiming to convince the Republican base that he is the heir apparent to GOP idol Ronald Reagan. Thompson, who finally admitted that he is officially running for the Republican nomination, has been greeted with jeers and jokes from the already declared candidates, and his campaign's fundraising has lagged badly.
Still, he will likely be a force, given his popularity in the right wing, which loves to scream about "the liberal Hollywood elite" while eagerly embracing any conservative who comes out of Hollywood.
Surprise, surprise - the Bush Justice Department (if you can call it that) has come out against Net Neutrality, assuring the administration's corporate con allies that they won't block their attempt to create a tiered Internet. Because what could be better than stifling innovation, squeezing consumers, and ensuring inequality? It's the free market - let Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast do whatever they want. Forget about the common wealth and the common good.
As Harold Feld says:
A new report says observations match computer predictions about a massive loss of Arctic ice before the year 2050, according to NOAA scientists in Seattle. They compared computer models predicting the ice loss with reliable sea ice observations made between 1979 and 1999 and reached the same disturbing finding: several areas of the Arctic Ocean (including the East Siberian-Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea) will have lost more than 40 percent of their winter and summer ice by the middle of this century. Another bit of gloomy news that shows we need to get serious about tackling the climate crisis.
Larry Craig supporters at the Battle Ground based "American Land Rights Association" (who have made it their longstanding mission to fight against the creation of national parks, conservation efforts, and other environmental protection laws) have announced a boycott of the airport where the (soon to be former) senator was arrested:
"By ambushing Senator Larry Craig, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport police have effectively declared war on the West," the association said this week in a broadside.Ah yes, poor Larry Craig. If that guilty plea doesn't prove his innocence, I don't know what does. Shame on those no-good airport cops for enforcing the law - it's just despicable! Do they know what they've done? How dare they treat a United States Senator like any other American citizen!
"They are primarily responsible for greatly weakening private property rights and federal land use advocates in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and in Congress."
(Naturally, the General has offered his congratulations to the group and its leader for their defense strategy).
The New York Times reports that Fred Dalton Thompson is aiming to convince the Republican base that he is the heir apparent to GOP idol Ronald Reagan. Thompson, who finally admitted that he is officially running for the Republican nomination, has been greeted with jeers and jokes from the already declared candidates, and his campaign's fundraising has lagged badly.
Still, he will likely be a force, given his popularity in the right wing, which loves to scream about "the liberal Hollywood elite" while eagerly embracing any conservative who comes out of Hollywood.
Surprise, surprise - the Bush Justice Department (if you can call it that) has come out against Net Neutrality, assuring the administration's corporate con allies that they won't block their attempt to create a tiered Internet. Because what could be better than stifling innovation, squeezing consumers, and ensuring inequality? It's the free market - let Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast do whatever they want. Forget about the common wealth and the common good.
As Harold Feld says:
"It would seem that the President and the Justice Department cannot do enough for AT&T and the other companies that agreed to spy on the American people. Without network neutrality, companies are free to turn over user information without a warrant or block users from desired content as AT&T recently did 'accidentally' by blocking Pearl Jam's criticism of the President during a concert performance carried on AT&T's broadband service."He's got more in this PDF.
