US President George “profits first” Bush doesn’t believe that climate change is a threat. His stubborn position has enraged those who are climate change experts.
The talks at the UN climate summit in Bali have continued past their scheduled end despite optimism that a compromise could be reached between the EU and US. The US negotiating team and Canada oppose firm greenhouse gas emissions cuts and neither side shows signs of giving way. I think we know who is calling the shots for the US team.
Among those criticising the US was Nobel laureate and former Vice-President Al Gore, who spoke to a fully packed hall on Thursday. Mr Gore won loud applause from delegates when he said: “My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress in Bali.”
Getting the United States to alter its position on climate change in a meaningful way looks hopeless as long as George Bush remains the US President. Thankfully, unless the little guy stages another coup, this time perhaps not so bloodless, that will only be for another 13 months.
There is a fair likelihood that whatever the nations of the world do now about climate change it is already too late. To see what a true expert has to say about this vital matter visit James Lovelock’s website Take the time to read his articles and speeches.
You may also wish to read an article I wrote featuring Lovelock’s comments a couple of months ago.
I wish King George had been staying in Atlanta, Georgia for the past week or so. The city is in danger of running out of water within the next few months. If Mr Bush had paid a visit in December he would have experienced seven days that set all time high temperatures for the month of December, most of them all in a row, one after the other. The drought is now the worse on record.
Ron Paul gets booed at times but makes sense at the Republican Presidential debate on November 28, 2007. In fact of all of the Presidential candidates Ron Paul is the only one who has the guts to say what some people don’t want to hear. He speaks from his sharp mind, not from notes put together by hot shot overpaid political pollsters.
On Iraq, Ron Paul says it’s time we gave the Iraqis their own country back. How about that? Iraq for the Iraqis, not as an American fortress in the Middle East. Not that we will, as the Bush team has the “Korea Model” stay there forever puppet plan in mind, but that is what we should do.
On infrastructure Paul says it’s time we started to rebuild our own. We are spending billions of dollars every month fighting a losing battle in Iraq yet our own bridges are falling down.
How can we really expect the Iraqis to change their lives and live like Americans? Their culture is thousands of years old and the Iraqi’s love what used to be their way of life just as we love our own American way of doing things. One thing is certain. Without an Iraqi political settlement the war is a losing battle no matter how many “insurgents” we kill or “surges” we undertake.
Do you remember when America had the tallest skyscrapers in the world? Those buildings that are powerful symbols of a nation’s pride and accomplishments? Now Dubai is building the tallest by far building in the world and the other eight out of the top ten skyscrapers are in Asia. We are falling behind in the world race to be and to stay at the top. Ron Paul says we need to take care of business at home and try to not be the world’s unwanted and unloved policeman.
Oprah Winfrey for Vice President the crowd at the Iowa cavernous arena in downtown Des Moines shouts as Oprah Winfrey arrives to make a powerful speech endorsing Barack Obama for President.
Oprah is quite an accomplished speaker and covers a lot of ground as she builds the case for Obama. With the Iowa caucus only three weeks away Obama is gaining momentum and having Oprah speak so forcefully for his cause may well put Obama over the top in what is still a close contest with Hillary Clinton.
Oprah Winfrey has tremendous name recognition as well as a great deal of influence, not only in America, but the world. As the richest women in America she commands a lot of respect. She is obviously a talented businesswomen who has made it on her own through hard smart work. Her TV show is the most widely watched of any of the daytime TV shows with millions of viewers. It will be interesting to see how her support for Obama translates into votes for the Senator.
Should Barack Obama win Iowa I expect that it would place the Clinton camp into a panic. Their carefully constructed campaign of the inevitable would have to be morphed into something else. Obama may take the word “inevitable” and turn it into his own.
Make no mistake Oprah Winfrey has one of the most loyal followings in America. Her endorsement may actually mean something. We will soon know.
And here is part two of Oprah Winfrey’s powerful endorsement speech.
If you want to see how economic forecasting by esteemed economist teams really works you must take a look at this chart. These guys really do keep a sharp eye out for changing economic data and numbers.
While there are many analysis who claim that the US and many governments around the world “cook the books” when it comes to recording and reporting economic data it should be reassuring to all of us that these fellows examine each set of numbers so closely.
For example, if the government reports that the US inflation rate is only 2.8% and you see for yourself that the price of milk is up over 25% in the past year, gasoline is up by 40%, and a good steak at the grocery store is up by 30%, just get these guys to work.
Just move your cursor over the chart and they will give their undivided attention to your concerns. The big question remains, however, as to just who these guys are working for?
Georgia residents are beginning to worry that the State of Georgia has no drought backup plan in place should the state run out of water over the next few months. So far state officials state that they “don’t think” that major cities, like Atlanta, will run out of water unless the drought persists well into 2008.
Interestingly enough the same officials think that there is a good chance that the drought will persist in 2008. So let’s try to get this straight. Officials think that there is a strong likelihood that extreme drought conditions will continue in 2008 but they also think (or should the word be hope) that somehow everything will be OK and that there is no need to plan for the worse.
Michael Greenberger, Director of the Center for health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland, said the looming drought disaster appears to be beyond Georgia’s ability to deal with on its own.
He said the federal government needs to be coordinating a response among Georgia, Florida, Alabama and the corps, which operates Lanier and Lake Allatoona, both sources of drinking water.
“Notice has been given of an impending, serious crisis,” Greenberger said. “If the federal government doesn’t want to find itself in the middle of a Katrina-like situation, it better get going.”
Since the current drought conditions are unprecedented in Georgia it seems to me that no one really knows what to do. However, I admit that it is hard to know how to take care of the water needs of 5,000,000 people in the Atlanta area alone when everyone involved has no experience in a potential disaster of this magnitude.
It’s hard to have an intelligent backup plan when you have no good idea as how to cope for the long term.
