Category Archives: Business

The Search For The Climate “Leaker”

Eric Holder’s Justice Department has joined forces with the UK authorities:

In the U.S., the academic and political Left have had fits about Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli exercising even more specific, anti-fraud authority to seek further records from University of Virginia in following up on indications from the first Climategate release of possible fraud against the taxpayer.

Apparently, that represented an abuse of the police power. No word yet if they are outraged by DOJ’s current foray or that of the UK raiding team.

The DOJ attorney sending the preservation letters, as it happens in this small world, a graduate of the University of Virginia (UVA). And UVA is also the subject of litigation a group I am associated with, the American Tradition Institute (ATI), that has filed suit on behalf of Virginia taxpayers seeking Climategate-related emails the school holds.

This is a case which has members of the Virginia faculty and establishment beside themselves and demanding an all-out effort to oppose production of the requested documents in an effort to wear us and Cuccinelli down.

So far UVA has spent upwards of $1 million fighting Cuccinelli’s request, and school officials continue to fight us in court every step of the way.

Clearly, this is no small matter in the quarters insisting that this taxpayer-financed information never see the light of day. Even the criminal legal apparatus of the U.S. and UK must be invoked against this threat, apparently.

They’re upset because their fraud has been exposed.

Today’s Paul Allen Announcement

The press conference starts in less than two hours, but I have some reason to believe that it has something to do with this. Whatever it is.

[Update a few minutes later]

Less than an hour before the press conference, Alan Boyle seems to have the scoop. And the web cast is live now. Here’s the low-res version for the bandwidth challenged.

[Update a few minutes before the presser]

They’re playing Elton John’s “Rocket Man” on the webcast, waiting for the event to begin.

[Update during presser]

The wingspan of that aircraft is over three times the distance of the Wright Brothers first flight.

[Update during questions]

An order of magnitude more money than SpaceShipOne. In other words, less than a billion.

[Update a few minutes later]

They’re going to have to certify that aircraft under Part 127. That will triple its cost at least. On the other hand, it might find other markets.

[Update a couple minutes later]

They just asked my question about schedule (though others probably emailed that as well). First aircraft flight 2015, first space flight in the next year. I asked whether they fuel on the ground or in the air, but the question has been asked of the panel yet. It may not be.

[Update a few minutes later]

About an hour into the conference now, and Clark Lindsey has been taking notes.