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California has taken a major step toward creating a broad-based trading system to limit emissions of pollutants blamed for harmful climate change. The California Air Resources Board, often a trailblazer in environmental regulation, released a draft rule on Tuesday establishing a cap-and-trade program that sets a declining ceiling on emissions of greenhouse gases and allows companies to buy and sell permits to meet it. California’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The proposed system would begin in 2012 with 600 major sources of global warming pollutants, including power plants, refineries and concrete factories. Similar...

Some employers are continuing to lay off workers. Struggling Internet company AOL last week said it plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs, more than a third of its work force, once it is spun off from the media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. And Hartford, Conn.-based health insurer Aetna Inc. said it will cut 625 jobs, or nearly 2 percent of its staff, and will make similar job cuts in the first quarter of 2010 due to the lagging economy and the potential impact of health care reform. Federal Reserve policymakers said at their November meeting that the unfolding recovery...

Mumbai: D. Sivanandan, Mumbai's police commissioner, was appointed to his position in June after his predecessor came under fire for mishandling the November attacks in which 173 people were killed. Sivanandan, who is credited with wiping out Mumbai's notorious underworld as head of the city's crime branch in the early 90s, taught economics for several years. Known for his iron hand, he was even depicted in a Bollywood movie on gang wars. At a recent interaction on security with business executives, Sivanandan spoke about measures taken to secure the city, the possibility of a new attack, and the need to...

Defence Minister John Faulkner has announced the Government has approved buying the first batch of Joint Strike Fighters. Senator Faulkner says the Government will buy 14 of the next generation aircraft at a cost of about $3 billion, to be delivered from 2014. He says the fighters are expected to be ready for testing in five years and in operation from 2018. The Government plans to buy 100 of the fighters, which would be Australia's biggest defence purchase. Senator Faulkner says the Joint Strike Fighters will make sure Australia maintains its strategic capability. "This decision was underpinned by an unprecedented...

The Japanese ministry of defence has selected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning-II as its next mainstay fighter jet but will sign a contract for 40 of these 'high-tech' fighters only in 2011, in order to ensure that the much-talked about stealth jet actually delivers on its performance parameters. Japanese agency reports say the defence ministry will seek fiscal allocation only in the 2011 budget for the purchase of 40 of these advanced 'stealth' fighter jets. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth, multirole fighter that, currently, is estimated to cost 9 yen billion ($101 million)...

Venomous redback spiders are on the march in Japan, where they are believed to have arrived years ago as stowaways on cargo ships, a wildlife expert has warned. The creepy-crawlies, named after their fiery markings, have infested the Osaka region and are drawing closer to the capital Tokyo, said Japan Wildlife Research Centre official Toshio Kishimoto. A dozen people have reportedly been bitten in Osaka prefecture alone, media reports say, including a six-year-old boy who was treated with antivenom in June, the first time the medication had been used in the country. "Their poison is strong and they are particularly...

A year ago tomorrow, as no one in India needs reminding, Urban Jihad set sail from hostile shores, came aground in Mumbai, flickered live on our TV screens, and purveyed death across the city. Recovering from the monstrous invasion, a wounded and incensed India that had had enough of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism seriously contemplated letting rip against terrorist targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But following entreaties to hold back in the interests of not diverting attention and military resources away from the larger goal of targeting jihadi forces in Afghanistan, it exercised tremendous restraint. A year later, look at where Pakistan stands....

"White House Defends Stimulus Act Despite Government Audit Questioning the Job Numbers" SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - The White House defended the effectiveness of the economic stimulus act on Monday after a government audit last week called many of the reported job numbers into question. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that $173 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package had been paid out by the federal government as of Sept. 30. That’s about 22 percent of the total, and it indicates that 78 percent of the stimulus funds have not been paid out – at a time when unemployment was rising."

As the evidence of climate fraud at the University of East Anglia’s prestigious Climactic Research Unit (CRU) continues to mount, those who’ve been caught green-handed continue to parry their due opprobrium and comeuppance, thanks primarily to a dead-silent mainstream media.  But should the hubris and duplicity evident in the emails of those whose millennial temperature charts literally fuel the warming alarmism movement somehow fail to convince the world of the scam that’s been perpetrated upon it, certainly these revelations of the fraud cooked into the computer programs that create such charts will. First -- Let’s briefly review a few pertinent...

By now, millions of Americans are familiar with Anita Dunn, who recently resigned her post as Barack Obama’s White House Communications Director after it was learned that she had previously cited Mao Zedong, the late Communist dictator and mass murderer, as one of her “favorite political philosophers.” By contrast, few people know anything substantive about Dunn’s husband, Robert Bauer, who has replaced Gregory Craig as President Obama’s White House Counsel. Craig resigned abruptly on November 13, after having repeatedly denied, for weeks, that he had any plans of stepping down. A 1976 graduate of the University of Virginia School of...

Does Adam Lambert creep you out? He seems to be front page news these days, primarily due to a racy performace at Sunday's American Music Awards where he kissed a member of his band - a male member of his band - most likely as a publicity stunt in order to garner attention and provide an additional platform from which to speak. Since then, Adam Lambert's face and a still photo of that taboo moment have been plastered on headlines all over the internet. As a result, no one surfing the internet is safe from his Tammy Faye features and...

Mike Huckabee, like Sarah Palin, is pitching his books and persona to potential voters. Romney and Pawlenty take a more traditional tack, focusing on strengthening ties with the GOP establishment. Reporting from Grand Rapids, Mich. - Team Huck rolls into the bookstore like a NASCAR pit crew, red shirts adorned with the corporate logos of Mike Huckabee's website, his speaker's bureau and his publisher. "Huck" is emblazoned on their epaulets. They strip the protective wrapping off the large lectern that they install at all such appearances. Huckabee doesn't sit at tables. He stands, as a president would, even to sign...

Glenn Beck tells his nephew not to reenlist because he doesn't trust Obama's commitment to the military! http://www.therightscoop.com/beck-doesnt-trust-obama-tells-his-newphew-not-to-reenlist/

In looking through the Hadley CRU emails, I remembered that there was a Mr. Revkin of the New York Times who reported on climate events. So I decided to run *his* name through the search engine. I came up with a dozen emails, which I reproduce here in their entirety, with maybe a couple of comments at the end. ************************* 1096382684.txt From: Andy Revkin To: Tim Osborn Subject: Re: mann's thoughts Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 10:44:44 -0400 that is a useful way to look at it. again, takeaway msg is that mann method can only work if past variability...

Vietnam veteran robbed, killed on his way to deposit VFW money William Burtner had helped raise money for WWII vets' trip to Washington Army veteran William Burtner survived Vietnam and dedicated his life to helping other veterans. On Monday, Burtner was about to enter a bank in Midlothian to deposit money that the south suburb's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2580 had raised during a benefit. He never made it inside. Burtner, 65, was assaulted and robbed outside the bank. He died Wednesday night in Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. An autopsy Thursday concluded Burtner died of hypertensive...

Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has blamed Barack Obama and the United States for the decline in British public support for the war in Afghanistan. The Defence Secretary's blunt remarks about the US threaten to strain further a transatlantic relationship Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban. A “period of hiatus” in Washington - and a lack of clear direction - had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the...

Oversight: After an unjust firing and campaign of character assassination, the former AmeriCorps inspector general has been cleared of acting improperly. Now where does he go to get his job and reputation back? On June 10, Gerald Walpin was fired with one hour's notice as the watchdog of AmeriCorps in violation of a federal law requiring Congress to be given a heads-up 30 days in advance. He then fell victim to a campaign of character assassination. When pressed for a reason for the sudden and improper dismissal of a federal watchdog, the White House responded with a letter to Sens....

China executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman Tuesday, the only two people sentenced to death in a scheme to water down infant formula with an industrial chemical that left at least six children dead and sickened more than 300,000. The contamination of the milk power with melamine was one of China's worst-ever food safety scandals, and Beijing is eager to prove it has responded swiftly and comprehensively to eliminate the problem - one in a string of food safety scares. When the scandal came to light in September 2008, there were accusations that the government had prevented the...

BRASILIA (Agencies) – Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has offered his backing for Tehran’s nuclear program. Speaking at a joint news conference in the capital Brasilia on Monday after holding talks with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his visiting Iranian counterpart, Lula said Brazil backed Iran’s quest for “peaceful nuclear energy in full respect of international accords”. According to Al-Jazeera, Lula urged Ahmadinejad to “continue contacts with interested countries for a just and balanced solution on the nuclear issue in Iran”. In his weekly radio address earlier, Lula said engaging Iran instead of isolating it was the way to push for...

The FBI says a Centerville man is charged with buying and shipping about 7,000 stolen cell phones in connection with an international ring trafficking weapons and stolen goods. According to the FBI, Hussein Ali Asfour of Centerville is charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property and faces up to five years in prison. A criminal complaint in the case listed his address as 100 Cross Link Trail. USA Today reports that Asfour was charged along with four other men, including three accused of trying to buy Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and machine guns destined for Syria or Iran. USA Today describes...

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) is now urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to propose a revision to the Senate's cloture rules so that only 55 votes, instead of 60, would be required to end floor debate. His effort -- spearheaded with the help of an online campaign at StopSenateStalling.com -- takes special aim at the healthcare debate, which Grayson said has fallen victim to countless overused and unfair filibuster threats over the past few months. "Why should launching wars and cutting taxes for the rich require only 50 votes while saving lives requires 60?" asked Grayson, who listed a...

Obama Shatters Spending Record for First-Year Presidents The federal government spent $3.5 trillion during President Obama's first year in office. This far exceeds the spending for any other first-year president. President Obama has shattered the budget record for first-year presidents -- spending nearly double what his predecessor did when he came into office and far exceeding the first-year tabs for any other U.S. president in history. In fiscal 2009 the federal government spent $3.52 trillion -- $2.8 trillion in 2000 dollars, which sets a benchmark for comparison. That fiscal year covered the last three-and-a-half months of George W. Bush's term...

Today, on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I filed three Notices of Intent to File Suit against NASA and its Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), for those bodies' refusal - for nearly three years - to provide documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act. The information sought is directly relevant to the exploding "ClimateGate" scandal revealing document destruction, coordinated efforts in the U.S. and UK to avoid complying with both countries' freedom of information laws, and apparent and widespread intent to defraud at the highest levels of international climate science bodies. Numerous informed commenters had alleged such...

Republican candidates have extended their lead over Democrats to seven points, their biggest lead since early September, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for the Republican party held steady from last week, while support for Democrats dropped slightly. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate. Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily...

Sixty-three percent (63%) of U.S. voters say political correctness prevented the military from responding to warning signs from Major Nidal Malik Hasan that could have prevented the Fort Hood shootings from taking place. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 16% disagree and do not believe political correctness kept military authorities from possibly stopping the killing of 13 people and the wounding of many others in the November 5 incident. Twenty-one percent (21%) are not sure. Voters also have very mixed feelings about how President Obama and the Army responded to the Fort Hood incident. Older Americans...

The Defence Secretary voiced in public today the frustrations he and his military commanders in Afghanistan were feeling over President Obama’s protracted discussions in Washington about the next stage in the campaign. However, Bob Ainsworth’s remark to MPs on the Defence Committee brought an immediate slapdown from Downing Street which put a different interpretation on his words. Within hours of Mr Ainsworth’s complaint about the US President’s delay in deciding whether to authorise a surge in American troops to Afghanistan, Mr Obama declared that he would be making an announcement within days. Mr Ainsworth told the committee that the delay...

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And for their trouble, three of the SEALs, members of the Navy's elite commando unit, are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com. The three have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and requested a trial by court-martial. Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it....

Is a Jackson revival under way? I'm referring not to the late King of Pop but to the 19th century populist president whom his opponents called "King Andrew." According to Michael Barone, in the 2010 elections Republicans have a chance to knock Democrats out of as many as three dozen insecure congressional seats in "Jacksonian districts." By itself, this would merely reinforce the identification of the Party Formerly Known as Lincoln's with the white South. But in a time of popular anger over banker bonuses and lobby-hobbled government, the themes of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian populism have appeal far beyond the...

In case you have not yet heard, the scientists behind the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) have been exposed through their own email conversations. At this time, it is not known who or how the emails were obtained, though much speculation has been done. From the servers at the University of East Anglica in the UK being illegally broken into and hacked, to a whistle blower protected by UK laws as well as US laws, to an insider job, a person with legitimate access to the emails have all been discussed. More will be revealed certainly. What is known...

An emergency court case apparently has prompted a hospital in Tennessee to continue to provide treatment to a sick baby officials had threatened to disconnect from a respirator even though attorneys for his mother described him as "alert, active and responsive." "Baby Gabriel" is being treated at East Tennessee Children's Hospital for vascular problems he developed after procedures the hospital performed on him in October. According to the Alliance Defense Fund, the child was born prematurely in January with a genetic abnormality, clubfoot and narrow airway, but he flourished after he went home in June. His mother, Catherine Palmer, took...

After more than five months of going it alone, Iran's opposition Green Movement is reaching out to the United States for help. Via public and private channels, the Obama Administration has received several appeals in recent weeks to take a stronger stand against human-rights abuses in Iran, avoid military action and impose more aggressive and rapid-fire sanctions against the Revolutionary Guards and its vast business interests. [snip] Washington has struggled since the disputed June 12 presidential election to figure out how to engage the regime without undermining the opposition. Now it has begun to hear answers from the Green Movement...

We've all seen reports that Barack Obama's job approval rating has recently fallen below 50 percent in the Gallup poll for the first time since the president took office in January. A look inside those numbers -- Gallup publishes a weekly breakdown of its results by demographic groups -- shows that there are a lot of other firsts in the polling: Among age groups: For the first time in the White House, Obama is below 50 percent with every age group of Americans except those between 18 and 29. He's at 48 percent with people in the 30-49 range; 46...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - An Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people during an attack on his Texas post will likely plead not guilty to the charges against him and may use an insanity defense at his military trial, his attorney said Monday. John Galligan, the civilian attorney for Maj. Nidal Hasan, said he is considering an insanity defense among other options, but that it's too early to determine his defense strategy. "Based on the evidence thus far, his mental status must be raised," Galligan told The Associated Press by phone from his office near Fort Hood, about 130...

Faleh Hassan Almaleki pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of aggravated assault. Prosecutors are expected to issue harsher charges now that his daughter has died. Peoria police say Almaleki ran down his daughter and her boyfriend's mother ... Almaleki fled the country after the attack, but was stopped at a London airport and sent back to the U.S.

An alleged plot to send anti-aircraft missiles and guns to Syria or Iran was thwarted after a key figure was arrested in Philadelphia, the FBI said in documents released Monday. -snip- He was after missiles that could "take down an F-16," the affidavit says. Little did Tarraf know, he was requesting the weapons from an undercover agent, according to documents. The affidavit alleges that Tarraf paid a $20,000 cash deposit to the agent in July for machine guns and shoulder-fired Stinger missiles, MyFoxPhilly.com reported. The documents say Tarraf's dealings with the undercover officer date back to June 2007. -snip-

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And now, the race for the next 60. Senate Democratic leaders cleared a big hurdle Saturday in their effort to pass a health-care overhaul when they overcame the threat of a filibuster to begin debate on the bill. Now they need to get 60 votes to end debate on the bill. Republicans have vowed to filibuster the final bill, and some moderate Democrats are wavering and threatening to join the opposition. Still, there are a few scenarios where Democratic leaders could try to break the 60-vote threshold. Some are purely theoretical, while others have been attempted in the past to...

Lift up a rock and another snake comes slithering out from the ongoing University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit (CRU) scandal, now riding as “Climategate”. Obama Science Czar John Holdren is directly involved in CRU’s unfolding Climategate scandal. In fact, according to files released by a CEU hacker or whistleblower, Holdren is involved in what Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Canadian climatologist Dr. Tim Ball terms “a truculent and nasty manner that provides a brief demonstration of his lack of understanding, commitment on faith and willingness to ridicule and bully people”. “The files contain so much material that...

St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner Kurt Hofmann speculates on potential consequences for a group of current and retired military and law enforcement personnel who believe their oath to the Constitution should have bearing on their professional conduct. In today's column, he asks "Will Pentagon try to crush Oath Keepers?" The immediate basis for Hofmann's concern is a report following up on the Fort Hood shootings: The Pentagon may reconsider rules governing participation in extremist organizations that some lawmakers say appear outdated and too narrow in light of the shooting rampage at the Army base in Texas. Some have been following...

Scientific progress depends on accurate and complete data. It also relies on replication. The past couple of days have uncovered some shocking revelations about the baloney practices that pass as sound science about climate change. It was announced Thursday afternoon that computer hackers had obtained 160 megabytes of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in England. Those e-mails involved communication among many scientific researchers and policy advocates with similar ideological positions all across the world. Those purported authorities were brazenly discussing the destruction and hiding of data that did not support global-warming...

Former CNN host Lou Dobbs fueled already rampant speculation about his political future Monday, sending the clearest signals yet that he's mulling a bid for president — and leaving third-party political operatives salivating over the possibility of a celebrity recruit for the 2012 campaign. Less than two weeks after announcing his departure from the cable network — and after a series of interviews in which Dobbs encouraged speculation about his political plans — the anchorman known to fans as "Mr. Independent" finally made his presidential ambitions explicit on former Sen. Fred Thompson's radio show Monday. Asked if he might make...

More and more Al Gore's position on climate change is on shaky ground and is close to going over the edge into being debunked. The Wall Street Journal has published a selection of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. If the tone of these e-mails do not prove the alarmists scientists are trying to destroy the skeptic scientists, I don’t know what will. The Wall Street Journal has the selection, but here is just one e-mail from 1995 where Phil Jones, director of the CRU and global warming alarmist...

Today, Michael Bloomberg's coalition against illegal guns placed a full-page ad in the Washington Post urging lawmakers to prevent suspects on a federally maintained "terror watch list" from being allowed to purchase guns. "500 mayors agree with the Obama and Bush Administrations: stop terror suspects from getting guns," the ad says. It's also been an issue that Rahm Emanuel voiced support for back in 2007, according to this video clip. "We got to make this a number one issue, as a test vote, and take it into the election." He added, "If it's between that terrorist list and the NRA,...

(CNSNews.com) - When asked whether al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden should have the right to remain silent and be given a lawyer, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) told CNSNews.com that everyone who is accused of a crime should have the same "basic rights" afforded by the U.S. Constitution.. On Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, CNSNews.com asked Kucinich, “If and when the U.S. captures Osama Bin Laden, should he have the right to remain silent and be given a lawyer--told he can get a lawyer?” Kucinich said: “I think that America does best when the values that we want other nations...

The South Carolina Republican who has gained a reputation for his outspokenness is calling for an official government audit of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill. "After several days of reports of stimulus inconsistencies, the administration still hasn't explained where the money is really being spent," Rep. Joe Wilson said in a statement. "Their silence on this important issue is deafening." He said if a panel is not appointed by Dec. 1, he will call for an independent examination of the "reporting inaccuracies of every stimulus dollar appropriated." The main problem is the Obama administration promised that the government Web...

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) is unlikely to run in a GOP primary against Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), let alone win, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Monday. Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said he expects the former congressman, who's been mulling a primary challenge to McCain's right next year, to carry on his activities as host of a radio show, and not as a candidate.

President Obama will next week announce a surge of at least 25,000 new US troops to Afghanistan in a speech to the nation, according to US officials today. Mr Obama will make the announcement in an address on Tuesday, December 1, after weeks of deliberations over his Afghan strategy and a tenth session with his war council in the White House on Monday night. The final session was dominated by an issue that has been the focus of Mr Obama’s thinking in recent weeks: how to get US troops out of Afghanistan. The exit strategy for the US military has...

While the White House is mum about the 300 or so lucky invitees to President Obama's first state dinner tonight, top Republican lawmakers apparently didn't make the A-list. Among others, the president didn't invite his 2008 campaign rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, even though Obama the candidate pledged a post-partisan presidency. ... Most senators will be back in their home states during the holiday break, and few Republicans want to return to Washington for a party packed with Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell received an invitation but decided to skip the dinner. Some top Democrats also found themselves...

FDIC: Number of troubled banks rises to 552 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of distressed banks in the U.S. rose to the highest level in sixteen years, according to a report released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Tuesday. The FDIC said that the number of troubled banks rose to 552 at the end of September from 416 at the end of June and 305 at the end of March. This is the largest number of banks on its "problem list" since the end of 1993.

Just hours after Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa released a report Friday on their investigation into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin, the Obama White House gave the lawmakers a trove of new, previously-withheld documents on the affair. It was a twist on the now-familiar White House late-Friday release of bad news; this time, the new evidence was put out not only at the start of a weekend but also hours too late for inclusion in the report.