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REMEMBER “peak oil”? It’s the theory that geological scarcity will at some point make it impossible for global petroleum production to avoid falling, heralding the end of the oil age and, potentially, economic catastrophe. Well, just when we thought that the collapse in oil prices since last summer had put an end to such talk, along comes Fatih Birol, the top economist at the International Energy Agency, to insist that we’ll reach the peak moment in 10 years, a decade sooner than most previous predictions (although a few ardent pessimists believe the moment of no return has already come and...

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Lesbians given equal birth rights Many lesbian couples have used fertility treatments to start a family Women in same-sex relationships can now register both their names on the birth certificate of a child conceived as a result of fertility treatment. Female couples not in a civil partnership but receiving fertility treatment may also both be registered. The law change applies to female couples in England and Wales who were having fertility treatment on or after 6 April 2009. Previously, the mother's female partner could not be registered as a parent. But the change in the law confers legal parenthood on...

LA PAZ – The president of the United Nations General Assembly, Rev. Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, on Saturday declared Bolivian President Evo Morales as “World Hero of Mother Earth” in a ceremony at the presidential palace in this capital. With a medal and a parchment scroll, the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization named Morales “the maximum exponent and paradigm of love for Mother Earth” in the resolution for his decoration that was read during the ceremony. The document added that the decision was taken “after extensive consultation” among representatives of the General Assembly’s member countries. D’Escoto recalled that Morales...

APALACHICOLA, Fla. - In government, they do not trust. And there's no way they'll let Uncle Sam run their health care - even if they have none. Even if they already have government-run care, like Medicare, and wouldn't give it up. "I believe this bill is literally a death bill," said Diane Berryhill, a mother of four who has no insurance. And it doesn't seem to matter what officials say to the contrary. To find out why, the Daily News made under-the-radar visits last week to contentious town hall meetings in the Florida panhandle district of conservative Democratic Rep. Allen...

Rep. Barney Frank endorses measure to audit the Federal Reserve that has won hundreds of co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle since it was introduced in late February by Rep. Ron Paul. Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has endorsed a bill calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve. The support from the powerful Massachusetts Democrat comes after the measure, introduced in late February by Rep. Ron Paul, has won hundreds of co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle. Frank's office had previously declined to comment on the bill, which had been idling...

One out of every five killers is an immigrant By MATTHEW HICKLEY and JASON BENNETTO 31st August 2009 Foreign influence: Immigrants are twice as likely to commit or be charged with an illegal killing, like murderer Marek Harcar Up to a fifth of killers in England and Wales are foreign, police figures suggest. Out of 371 individuals accused or convicted of murder or manslaughter last year, 79 were from abroad - more than 21 per cent. Foreign immigrants make up only around a tenth of the UK population, meaning they are statistically twice as likely as native Britons to be...

Brazil is preparing to infringe patents on US pharmaceutical products, in retaliation against subsidies for US cotton farmers, according to the Brazilian press. The World Trade Organisation is expected to rule on Monday that Brazil can contravene the drug patents, say the reports. Brazil led a challenge against US cotton subsidies in 2002 and, two years later, the WTO ruled that about $3bn paid to US cotton farmers each year distorted global prices and violated trade rules. The US has continued the subsidies, arguing that the measures were consistent with its WTO obligations. But the WTO has supported Brazil’s case....

Virtually all national polls show that health care reform is in trouble, just as it was under the Clintons. Once again, lobbyists from the health industrial complex have purposefully confused the American public, as they did with the misleading but highly effective “Harry and Louise” ads in the 1990s, and bought off our elected representatives in both parties. I am a Republican, former chairman of the Republican Party in Jasper County, Ga., and chair of that county commission. Under our two-party system, it is easy to see why we Republicans oppose Democratic Party reform proposals. We are the opposition party...

Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) of Wyoming delivered the weekly Republican address Saturday on the loss of Senator Kennedy and the importance of getting health care reform done right. Senator Enzi discussed how the Democrats are rushing a health reform bill through congress that will ultimately "raid Medicare", raise costs and increase the deficit. And, he urged lawmakers to listen to what the American people are saying and scrap the Democrats’ current plan in order to "enact common sense reform that will actually cut costs." Here's the video: Senator Enzi: ObamaCare to Cut Billions from Elderly

The truth of what really happened on July 18, 1969, on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts will never be known. What is known is that at the end of the evening, Mary Jo Kopechne was found dead in a car that Edward (Ted) Kennedy had been driving. Was her death the result of a tragic accident or due to gross negligence on the part of Ted Kennedy? Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne attended the same party on the evening of July 18, 1969. Kennedy left the party with Kopechne as a passenger in his car and accidentally drove off the road...

IN 2004, FEARING that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney would appoint a fellow Republican to replace Sen. John F. Kerry should he become president, the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts legislature changed the law, mandating a special election. Now, fearing that the push for health-care reform could be weakened by the absence of a 60th Democratic senator, that same legislature wants to change the law again, allowing the governor -- now a Democrat -- to make a quick appointment. With all due respect to the wishes of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, this isn't how lawmaking is supposed to work. It smacks of political expediency...

TALIBAN warlords are showing off their latest execution method - BLOWING UP their enemies - in a bid to scare Western sympathisers. This horrific film, circulating online, shows a terrified "spy" being strapped to explosives - and the gruesome aftermath. It is thought to have been filmed near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The al-Qaeda-linked video is aimed at discouraging locals from co-operating with the UK or US. A security source said: "This is a reminder of why British and US troops are in Afghanistan." (photos at link)

Saving America by Destroying it Lately I've noticed a disturbing new trend in Democratic legislation. Whether they are attacking the healthcare, automotive or energy industries, the new laws seem to be based on a single premise: destroy the profitability of the existing companies by creating an economic environment in which they cannot compete. The stated aim of the Energy/Climate Change bill, also called Cap and Trade, is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and replace them with "green" alternatives. The legislation, however, does not build "green" alternatives, rather it creates an environment where fossil fuel providers and power generators...

The last 45 of my 66 years I’ve spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here’s the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets it…It’s not about persona, style, rhetoric, it’s about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I’m about to mention here. 1- Democrats forget when Palin was the Darling of the Democrats, because as soon as Palin took the Governor’s office away from a fellow Republican and tough SOB, Frank Murkowski, she tore into the Republican’s “Corrupt...

SEATTLE - Two men arrested Friday night during a bizarre shooting spree along Interstate 5 in North Seattle may have been planning to fire at vehicles driving up and down the freeway. Investigators found a hidden campsite the suspects had built in a wooded area near North Seattle Community College. One of the suspects was found with an AK-47 assault rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition. Searchers also found the hidden campsite, covered in a camouflage tarp, with a "significant" amount of ammunition.

“End-of-life counseling” for people whose lives are not ending is a thinly veiled suggestion that their lives SHOULD end. But if that is how the government treats our veterans, to whom we owe our freedom, how will it treat ordinary people? The “Cash for Clunkers” program was aimed at getting rid of uneconomical cars. Will we now get rid of uneconomical people? Will we treat people as “economic units,” not as human beings? My country doesn’t act like that. My country is America. It’s a nice place to visit, but it’s an even better place to live. I am determined...

NORTH ROSE – Border patrol officers can’t break the law to enforce it, the Wayne County Farm Bureau is asserting. Farm Bureau is in the process of gathering information for a formal complaint to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo, asking for an investigation into the circumstances of the stop of four migrant farm workers on Route 414 in front of Barbara Jean’s Furniture Store Aug. 17. Also, U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand was made aware of the incident last week and indicated she will write a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napalitano regarding border patrol activity in...

Urban politicians have widely embraced the current concentration of power in Washington, but they may soon regret the trend they now so actively champion. The great protean tradition of American urbanism--with scores of competing economic centers--is giving way to a new Romanism, in which all power and decisions devolve down to the imperial core. This is big stuff, perhaps even more important than the health care debate. The consequence could be a loss of local control, weakening the ability of cities to respond to new challenges in the coming decades. Although the district itself has relatively high rates, unemployment in...

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S health care plan is in trouble. If he really wants to accomplish reform, he might start by learning some lessons from the past. I witnessed firsthand President George W. Bush’s attempt, and unfortunate failure, to reform Social Security. Now, Mr. Obama is making similar mistakes in his effort to fix our health care system. One of the most important lessons is that words matter — maybe too much. Mr. Bush allowed his unwavering emphasis on “personal accounts” to derail a compromise that could have helped solve the larger problem of restoring the fiscal sustainability of Social Security. In...