following on from “Glaciergate”, where the IPCC grossly exaggerated the effects of global warming on Himalayan glaciers – backed by a reference to a WWF report – we now have “Amazongate”, where the IPCC has grossly exaggerated the effects of global warming on the Amazon rain forest.
Considering that they’ve basically admitted that they’ve been hyping and falsifying things for political purposes (as Schneider said they had to do years ago), why should the IPCC have any credibility whatsoever at this point? Time to disband it.
There’s a long piece over at Newsweek that, advertently or not, demonstrates the meaninglessness and flexibility of the word. As I’ve often noted, like “fascist,” most people who use it have no idea what it means.
I saw this on Friday, and it’s a good primer for young (and perhaps even old) leftists (or people who think they’re leftists) unfamiliar with their own intellectual history (not to mention why it’s odious to wear a Che teeshirt).
“Ray” over at Vision Restoration has a development approach to expanding human spaceflight beyond LEO that would actually work, and work within NASA’s constrained budget. Paul Spudis likes it, and has further comments.
Of course, it makes far too much sense to be adopted in Washington. But this is the approach that will be taken privately, regardless of what NASA does.
WALLACE: You don’t think when they voted for Brown they were voting against Obama policies?
GIBBS: That’s not what they told pollsters, no. People are angry in the country and angry in Massachusetts we haven’t made more question on the economy. Talk about health care — this is something you said is stopping about health-care reform.
WALLACE: He said he was the 41st vote.
GIBBS: 70% of the voters in Massachusetts want him to work with the Democrats on health-care reform.
So, because they want their new Senator to work with the Democrats on health-care reform, they elected a Republican who said he opposed it and would vote against it. Got it.
Who the gods would destroy, they first make mad. Apparently the gods aren’t done with these people.
The Obama administration had three options: It could charge him in federal court. It could detain him as an enemy belligerent. Or it could hold him for prolonged questioning and later indict him, ensuring that nothing Mr. Abdulmutallab said during questioning was used against him in court.
It is now clear that the administration did not give serious thought to anything but Door No. 1. This was myopic, irresponsible and potentially dangerous.
Whether to charge terrorism suspects or hold and interrogate them is a judgment call. We originally supported the administration’s decision in the Abdulmutallab case, assuming that it had been made after due consideration. But the decision to try Mr. Abdulmutallab turns out to have resulted not from a deliberative process but as a knee-jerk default to a crime-and-punishment model.
…he doesn’t really “charge” at anything. He just talks about things, thinks about things a real long time, defers to others on things, and waits around for things to maybe happen.
…I have never seen a president so utterly lacking in passion. This man literally doesn’t even seem to care about himself, let alone this or that policy issue. He doesn’t seem to have any strong opinions on anything, a sure prescription for presidential failure.
He has therefore let Congress ‘lead’ on nearly every issue, another surefire mistake. Instead of demanding that they pass real stimulus legislation – which would have really stimulated the economy, big-time, and right now – he let those dickheads on the Hill just load up a big pork party blivet of a bill with all the pet projects they could find, designed purely to benefit their personal standing with the voters at home, rather than to actually produce jobs for Americans. And on health care, his signature issue, he did the same thing. “You guys write it, and I’ll sign the check.” Could there possibly be a greater prescription for failure than allowing a bunch of the most venal people on the planet to cobble together a 2,000 page monstrosity that entirely serves their interests and those of the people whose campaign bribes put them in office?
Now perhaps they know how I feel when I’m told how “conservative” George Bush was.