Tory peer accused of using ‘meaningless’ comparisons to try to make his argument against the need to tackle global warming Lord Lawson, the former chancellor, has been privately accused by the government’s chief scientific adviser of making “incorrect” and “misleading” claims in his book on climate change . The charge against Lawson, the country’s most prominent global-warming sceptic, was made during an extraordinary and at times fractious exchange of letters between the men following a meeting over coffee at the Lords. Sir John Beddington wrote to Lawson to tell him that his book, An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming , had made “a number of points related to the underlying science of climate change that are incorrect or presented in a misleading way”. An appendix to his letter accused Lawson of making “meaningless” comparisons to prove his thesis. In response, Lawson wrote back to accuse Beddington of attempting to “trump” his arguments without evidence or quantification. He also confessed to being baffled by Beddington’s criticisms, adding that the government adviser had committed a “gross misuse of language” in claiming that the Earth has warmed “dramatically” in the past 150 years. Lawson, who is chairman of the sceptical Global Warming Policy Foundation , is the most prominent critic of the government’s policies on climate change. While not denying that there is evidence of a change in the climate, he has announced himself unconvinced that it has been caused by greenhouse gases. Lawson is set to represent the climate sceptics at a debate hosted by the Spectator magazine, entitled “The Global Warming Hysteria Is Over: Time for a Return to Sanity”. But Christian Hunt of the website Carbon Brief , who, along with investigations website Spinwatch , uncovered the letters, said they showed Lawson did not have a grasp of the science: “It is worrying that a prominent figure like Lord Lawson is seen as a credible commentator on this issue, when his understanding of appears so flawed.” “His climate-sceptic thinktank, the Global Warming Policy Foundation claims a charitable aim ‘to advance the public understanding of global warming’, but they seem to spend most of their time casting doubt upon well-established science.” Speaking from his home in Gascony, Lawson denied to the Observer that he had been “upset” by Beddington’s criticisms and said he had failed to find a single factual inaccuracy in his book, which was first published in 2008. “We got on well in personal terms, but it wasn’t a meeting of minds,” he said.”I wasn’t upset in the slightest, because I seem to recall that I thought that he had missed the point. “I am chiefly concerned with what is a sensible policy. I seem to recall that none of the things in that appendix really affected the question of what policy one should pursue. Moreover, so far as my book is concerned, he was … unable to find a single thing in it that was factually inaccurate.” Of his first meeting with Beddington, before their correspondence began, Lawson added: “He had been recently appointed and he seemed to me to be a reasonably sensible fellow, and I said come along and have a cup of coffee at the Lords and discuss this together.” Beddington’s first letter to Lawson was written a month after their meeting last March. To Lawson’s claim in his book that there has been no “further global warming since the turn of the century”, Beddington wrote: “Short-term temperature trends are meaningless in the context of global warming.” To Lawson’s claim that calculating average global temperature is not straightforward and data from the developing world and former Soviet Union were not reliable, Beddington claimed those issues were taken into account and warming could be seen in other ways, such as in the decrease of Arctic sea ice. To Lawson’s claims that urbanisation raises near-surface temperatures and might be responsible for the recording of global temperature rises, Beddington said it has been studied and found to have a “negligible effect”. And to Lawson’s claim that “neither scientists nor politicians serve either the truth or the people by pretending to know more than they do”, Beddington wrote: “It is clear from the scientific evidence … that the risks are real and, I believe, it is not going too far to say, potentially catastrophic in the absence of strong global action to reduce emissions.” A month later Lawson wrote back thanking him for his “very full response”. But he warned Beddington, as a scientist, against the “journalistic” phrase “catastrophic climate change”. He then described his use of statistics as arbitrary, and his facts as carefully selected. A month later, Lawson again wrote to Beddington demanding that he write to the Guardian to deny a report that the civil servant had been highly critical of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. Beddington refused, claiming he had not criticised Lawson and stood by his criticisms about those who rely on anecdotal evidence to disprove climate change. Climate change scepticism Green politics Climate change House of Lords Daniel Boffey guardian.co.uk
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The CDU’s hold on the state may give way to a Green-SPD coalition after the chancellor’s U-turn on nuclear power Baden-Württemberg in south-west Germany is one of Europe’s richest regions. For almost 58 years, it has been governed by Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). But from 6pm tonight, when the first results from the state’s elections start to come in, this region of plenty might well be heading into the clutches of the opposition. If the pollsters are correct, the risk-averse burghers of Baden-Württemberg – with their locally assembled Mercedes in their garages and their jobs for life – may end up electing, by a narrow vote, Germany’s first Green regional prime minister. Even more shocking is the slim chance that the ultra-socialist Linke (Left) party might win enough votes to be represented in the state parliament. The election might be a local one, but the consequences will reverberate in
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Click here to view this media Bill Maher talked to Canadian actress Ellen Page on Real Time about her work on the vanishing of the bees and their importance to our very survival and our ability to feed ourselves. Maher quoted Einstein during the segment who said this: If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man. If you would like to find out more about Page’s work her web site is here — Vanishing of the Bees .
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Party joins forces with charities and senior figures in local government to warn about risk of more child poverty The government’s flagship plan to cap benefits at £500 a week per family has been thrown into crisis after the Liberal Democrats broke coalition ranks to complain that the policy risks increasing child poverty and homelessness. In a move that suggests a more assertive approach by Nick Clegg’s party, the Lib Dems have joined forces with leading charities and senior figures in local government to argue that a rigid cap could have a disastrous effect on families living in areas where the cost of housing is highest. Jenny Willott, the Lib Dems’ welfare spokesperson, told the Observer that she was pushing ministers to make major changes to avoid throwing more children into poverty and adding to homelessness. “I am very concerned about the effect on child poverty,” she said. “There are a number of possible changes that are being discussed, but at the moment I am certainly not happy with what is being proposed.” Willott made clear she had Clegg’s support and believed that ministers would amend their plans to ensure they pass through the Commons. She wants ministers to build more flexibility into the system – and to consider removing child benefit from the cap altogether. This, she argues, would help families with children in areas such as London who could end up paying £400 a week on housing, leaving just £100 to meet their other costs. The plan to impose a £500 cap was announced by the chancellor, George Osborne, at the Tory conference last autumn. But while the plans have proved popular with grassroots Conservatives, many charities and local government officials believe they are ill-conceived and rigid. Roger Harding, head of policy at the housing charity Shelter, told the welfare bill committee in the Commons last week that the housing benefit cap undermined the underlying principles of the welfare state. “Analysis at Shelter shows that much of the south-east will become unaffordable to three-children families because of the cap. For a typical family of two adults – with one or both working – and three children, if both parents lose their job they will suddenly face not receiving enough housing benefit to live not only in their town, but in their region.” Government sources indicated that changes would be considered. “We can certainly look at transitional arrangements. We are not going to introduce anything that will make people suffer,” said a source, adding that reforms were designed to bring greater fairness and the cap would be lifted as soon as those on benefits found work, creating a real incentive to find employment. Liberal Democrats Welfare Housing benefit Child benefit Housing Toby Helm Daniel Boffey guardian.co.uk
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Turnout for generally good-natured rally exceeds organisers’ expectations, but mood marred by violent minority March for the Alternative – as it happened Thousands march against spending cuts – in pictures More than a quarter of a million people have marched through central London to deliver a powerful message about the government’s cuts in public spending. The generally good-natured mood was soured by violent and destructive attacks on symbols of wealth including the Ritz, banks and a luxury car dealer; and an occupation of the upmarket food store Fortnum and Mason. Trade union organisers said that the turnout had exceeded their expectations, and thousands had travelled by coach and by train from as far away as Edinburgh to vent their anger at the government’s cuts by marching through London to a rally in Hyde Park. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, the public service trade union, said that the turnout was “absolutely enormous and showed the anger of ordinary working people”. But the day was marred by a violent minority of anarchists who went on the rampage, smashing windows and attacking property around Oxford Street. Prentis said he regretted that the actions of “a few hundred” risked diverting attention from the message that the “political heat is rising on the government”. At one stage 13 shops in Oxford Street were closed following skirmishes between activists and riot police. Topshop – owned by Sir Philip Green, who has been accused of tax avoidance – and HSBC had windows smashed, while paint and bottles were thrown at a Royal Bank of Scotland branch. A dozen police officers were surrounded and beaten by a masked mob in Sackville Street, off
Continue reading …Question: What happens when you put Joe Biden, Florida Senator Bill Nelson, and Orlando Sentinel Reporter Scott Powers together in the house of a rich Democratic donor? Answer: They don't stay together for long, as reported in a Drudge flash late this afternoon (also carried at the PJ Tatler , whose time stamp is about 45 minutes later after adjusting for its West Coast location): Staffers with Vice President Joe Biden confined an Orlando Sentinel reporter in a closet this week to keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Democratic fundraiser.
Continue reading …The Koch brothers are fighting back against the perception (at least on the left) that they’re evil personified. The latest salvo comes via a lengthy profile in the Weekly Standard , which argues that the brothers behind Koch Industries are “demonized” by liberals who see them as “convenient scapegoats.” Remember that…
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Although this is not the first time we’ve seen an efficiency increase in blue OLEDs, it’s worth noting that their proposed cap of productivity up to this point was a lowly five percent. It’s exciting to learn, therefore, about a breakthrough by professor John Kieffer and graduate student Changgua Zhen from the University of Michigan, which has resulted in them successfully increasing azure diode power efficiency by 100 percent. The duo, accompanied by some bright minds in Singapore, manipulated performance controllers by rearranging OLED molecules in a computer model, improving material characteristics. In simple terms though, we’re still looking at a measly ten percent efficiency, so we’ll see where they take it from here. Scientists improve blue OLED efficiency, don’t promise everlasting light originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Hannity goes all-in on the Birtherism, keeps insisting Obama hasn’t produced a legal Hawaiian birth certificate
March 26, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Fox News is pretty rapidly becoming the Conspiracy Nutcase Network, what with Glenn Beck going all-in as a John Bircher , along with Sean Hannity’s headfirst dive into the swamps of Birtherism. After Hannity’s initial foray into Birtherism in defense of Donald Trump on Wednesday , he devoted both of his subsequent “All American Panel” segments to defending Birtherism again. On Thursday, the panelists included former Maryland Gov. Rob Ehrlich, poli-sci prof Caroline Heldman, and ex-Imus producer Bernard McGuirk. It went like pretty much like the first foray: HANNITY: First of all. What’s the deal? Produce the birth certificate it is over and done with. Chris Matthews wants it. MCGUIRK: This is why Donald Trump should throw his hair into the ring. He legitimized this issue. People say why not just show it. The other thing it took away is that Joy Behar was conspicuously silent. She is a bully she will go over — she will go after Sharron Angle, Donald Trump she has nothing to say. … HANNITY: If I asked for the birth certificate, can I get it? HELDMAN: I assume that you could, Sean. HANNITY: Is it go all the way back to 1975? HELDMAN: Sure. HANNITY: Could you get your birth certificate? MCGUIRK: In a heartbeat. HANNITY: Look, what I like about this, every pejorative, birthers and this and that. Chris Matthews was the guy — why don’t we get rid of it and move the issue aside so it never comes up again? HELDMAN: How about common sense takes over and it never comes up again. HANNITY: Wait a minute, but he did talk in his book prayers and he went to a Muslim school and he talk all about all these and he studied the Koran and prayers at sunset were most beautiful things he saw in life. He spent a lot of his youth in Indonesia. HELDMAN: And? MCGUIRK: Show the birth certificate and get it over with. HELDMAN: Wait, what does – have to do with being born in the United States? How is that material to whether or not he was in the United States? What is the logic? HANNITY: Why won’t they release the birth – HELDMAN: What is the logic? HANNITY: Why don’t they just release it and get it over with. The only reason they don’t release it is because it insults him. Last night, it was more of the same, with a different panel, including civil-rights activist Ron Daniels, Fox contributor Peter Johnson, and Republican “strategist” Dee Dee Benkie. Daniels tried pointing out, repeatedly, that Obama has in fact produced his birth certificate — but that seemed to fly right over everyone else’s head: HANNITY: Do I think he was [born in America]? Yes. Do I think this is odd that they won’t produce the birth certificate? It’s beginning to get odd to me. … BENKIE: Yeah, but why not produce it? It’s so easy. Here it is — on TV, on billboards, whatever. Why not just bring it out? Why not show it? DANIELS: It’s shown time and time again. Do we trust the Hawaiian authorities or not? I don’t understand this. There is a problem here. There’s something going on here, that people keep talking about this birth certificate, and there’s a significant amount of people believe in it. HANNITY: Why haven’t they just produced the certificate? DANIELS: They have! They’ve shown it! You can go see it — anybody can go see it, just like you can go see a copy of — HANNITY: That’s not true! BENKIE: That’s not true. It’s never been out. HANNITY: Because they’ve never allowed anybody to see it. That’s the point. BENKIE: It’s never been out. HANNITY: It’s never — see, you’re agreeing with me that it’s odd. BENKIE: It is odd. It’s very odd. Yes, very odd, very odd indeed. Odd that no matter how plainly the evidence is given to people like Hannity, they keep insisting that it hasn’t been presented. OK, I’m going to write this verrrrry slooooowwly, just so Hannity and his panelists and the likeminded Trump fans don’t miss anything: 1. President Obama has in fact presented for public viewing his legal birth certificate from the State of Hawaii. It was released in 2008. Here it is. enlarge 2. A lot of people have in fact examined this birth certificate, including the fact-checkers at Fact Check.org : FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as “supporting documents” to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said. 3. This birth certificate is the same birth certificate anyone born in Hawaii would present as proof of citizenship. “Our Certificate of Live Birth is the standard form, which was modeled after national standards that are acceptable by federal agencies and organizations,” Okubo said. “With that form, you can get your passport or your soccer registration or your driver’s license.” 4. The director of Hawaii’s Department of Health confirmed that Obama was born in Honolulu. “There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama’s official birth certificate. State law (Hawaii Revised Statutes §338-18) prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record. “Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawaii, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures. “No state official, including Governor Linda Lingle, has ever instructed that this vital record be handled in a manner different from any other vital record in the possession of the State of Hawaii.” The continued dispute that Hannity and Trump seem to think is so significant is so important, in fact, is over the privacy-protected medical records of Obama’s birth — what the Birthers are calling his “long form birth certificate,” but are in fact the private medical records of his birth kept at the hospital, containing large amounts of personal medical information about Obama’s mother, including gynecological data. And as Hawaii officials have explained numerous times, these records are protected by privacy laws, and for perfectly sound reasons: Hawai’i’s disclosure law (Hawai’i Revised Statutes 338-18) states that “it shall be unlawful for any person to permit inspection of, or to disclose information contained in vital statistics records, or to copy or issue a copy of all or part on any such record … ” The law further states that the Health Department “shall not permit inspection of public health statistics records, or issue a certified copy of any such record or part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant has a direct and tangible interest in the record.” Those who have “direct and tangible interest” are generally limited to the person named in the record, the spouse, parent, descendant, or personal representative, or by someone who is involved in marital, parental or death litigation involving the named person’s vital record or other legal reason established by a court order, and various official agency or organization representatives, including the state director of health, according to the law. Here are a coupla questions for Sean Hannity and Donald Trump and their acolytes: Is a birth certificate acceptable to every known authority for every other citizen of that state somehow unacceptable proof of citizenship for presidential candidates? Or do they believe that every candidate for president should have to release for public review the private medical records, including personal medical information about their late mothers, of their own births? If the answer to either of these is “no,” then why are they demanding it only of Barack Obama — while simultaneously talking about his five years spent in Indonesia? And they wonder why the rest of us consider Birtherism, at its core, profoundly racist.
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PIX N PIX: Dwayne Johnson Snitch Film Dwayne Johnson Snitch Film. Dwayne Johnson Snitch . Dwayne Johnson is in negotiations to star in Snitch action thriller film. It is an action thriller that New Line has been developing for years. Ric Roman Waugh (Felon) will direct and … Dwayne Johnson in 'Snitch'? The Rock's Latest… | Gather Expand Find more about: entertainment, dwayne johnson, dwayne johnson snitch , snitch, movies, news, commentary, celebs. Expand Find Gather groups: Gather Entertainment News Channel … moviejunkie12 says: Casting Bits: Benicio Del Toro in ‘Savages;’ Derek Mears in ‘Hansel and Gretel;’ Emma Roberts in ‘Adult… http://is.gd/GO46AT #movies
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