SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Gavin Newsom is endorsing a proposal that would make San Francisco the first city in the country to require radiation labels for cell phones.

pass the Zoloft.

posted by Mudd

NPR reports – “Danish police fired pepper spray and beat protesters with batons outside the U.N. climate conference on Wednesday, as disputes inside left major issues unresolved just two days before world leaders hope to sign a historic agreement to fight global warming.”

Ah, how reminiscent of the infamous Battle in Seattle, from which America is still reeling. [pun intended]

“Hundreds of protesters were trying to disrupt the 193-nation conference, the latest action in days of demonstrations to demand “climate justice” — firm action to combat global warming. Police said 230 protesters were detained.”

What the story failed to note is that 97% of the protesters will grow up to be lawyers, investment bankers, and porn stars.

Meanwhile, that bastion of environmental justice, the Pope, has jumped into the ring of fire. In a statement from his Palace of Gold, Pope Benedict said “Industrialized nations must recognize their responsibility for the environmental crisis, shed their consumerism and embrace more sober lifestyles.” Of course, the Pope should know about rich folk; his institution is alleged to be sitting on beaucoups bucks, possibly to the tune of several billion dineros.

What to do as the Game turns increasingly into a tabloid cartoon of silly adults and even sillier children hell bent on proving that, indeed, we now inhabit a 5 Second World? The answer is clear: smart money turns to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson for a few words of insight.

The Swine are gearing down for a serious workout this time around… So much, then, for The Road — and for the last possibilities of running amok in Las Vegas… Well, at least, I’ll know I was there, neck deep in the madness, before the deal went down, and I got so high and wild that I felt like a two-ton Manta ray jumping all the way across the Bay of Bengal.

salut!

posted by Mudd

The BBC News reports – “Tea and coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a large body of evidence shows.”

“This analysis revealed that people who drink three or four cups of coffee or tea a day cut their risk by a fifth or more, say researchers.”

Pass the java….

posted by Mudd

The backstory to the Copenhagen Climate Soiree –

“More than a year ago, Mr. Obama said of climate change: ‘Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.’ But when Mr. Obama and other world leaders met last month, they were forced to abandon the goal of reaching a binding accord at Copenhagen because the American political system is not ready to agree to a treaty that would force the United States, over time, to accept profound changes in its energy, transport and manufacturing sectors.” (John M. Broder, New York Times)

Funny how democracy gums up the works. Especially in a new world order.

Then again, Gore Vidal has a good point: “Apparently, a democracy is a place where numerous elections are held at great cost without issues and with interchangeable candidates.”

posted by Mudd

Hot news from the BBC – “Negotiations at the UN climate summit have been suspended after developing countries withdrew their co-operation. Delegations were angry at what they saw as moves by the Danish host government to sideline talks on more emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.”

“The countries that have suspended co-operation are those which make up the G77-China bloc of 130 nations. These range from wealthy countries such as South Korea, to some of the poorest states in the world.”

Did they says China? Coal fired gonzo deluxe?

Developing countries double as the suppliers of the “developed world’s” plethora of crap. If cutting greenhouse gasses cuts useless junk out of the market, maybe these guys are on to something. Of course, their economies will crash in short order. Such is life.

posted by Mudd

From the New York Times – “The federal government announced on Tuesday [12-8-09] that it intends to pay $3.4 billion to settle claims that it has mismanaged the revenue in American Indian trust funds, potentially ending one of the largest and most complicated class-action lawsuits ever brought against the United States.”

The Federal government mismanaged billions of dollars that belonged to somebody else? Isn’t that what governments are all about?

…no country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds that they are the guardians of the law and that the law officers are only the machinery for its execution, nothing more.
– Mark Twain

posted by Mudd

Ahoy the ship! The cat’s nose peaked out of the proverbial bag. Batten down the hatches; we’re off tho the races…..

From the China Daily (China’s Daily Newspaper) — COPENHAGEN: Population and climate change are intertwined but the population issue has remained a blind spot when countries discuss ways to mitigate climate change and slow down global warming, according to Zhao Baige, vice-minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (NPFPC) .

“Dealing with climate change is not simply an issue of CO2 emission reduction but a comprehensive challenge involving political, economic, social, cultural and ecological issues, and the population concern fits right into the picture,” said Zhao, who is a member of the Chinese government delegation.

posted by Mudd

“The other beings that live here with us are, like us, descended from ancient lineages. In and of themselves, they are marvels to be wondered at. But they are also precious: they make our planet what it is today.” Olivia Judson in the New York Times.

posted by Mudd

This just in from NPR – “You don’t have to be a real person to amass a following on Twitter. The brash and buffoonish Roland Hedley, a fictional Fox News correspondent created by cartoonist Garry Trudeau, has attracted more than 14,000 followers since he began ‘tweeting.'”

tweet tweet.

posted by Mudd

“Cap and trade also did little to improve public health. Coal emissions are still significant contributing factors in four of the five leading causes of mortality in the United States — and mercury, arsenic and various coal pollutants also cause birth defects, asthma and other ailments. Yet cap-and-trade schemes are still being pursued in Copenhagen and Washington.”

Or so says James Hansen (NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies) in The New York Times.

This is the missing link in the climate change scenario – pollution is toxic to most vertebrates, including Homo erectus asphaltus. You don’t need global warming to make the heady decision to rid the atmosphere of noxious fumes. And we’ve known this for decades.

posted by Mudd