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stockholmer
stockholmer's Journal
stockholmer's Journal
February 15, 2012
US Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum won all three republican voting contests last night. Let's just remind our viewers what some of his thoughts are regarding foreign policy and Iran...remember what he said on the campaign trail about nuclear scientists ending up dead being a good thing? He's also advocated airstrikes on nuclear facilities.
As we hear the drum beat of war between the West and Iran, we often see war and politics as separate from the economy. They are not. Putting aside the human cost for a moment, which is huge, let's look at the economic cost. The price of economic sanctions, and any conflict for energy...what effect will it have on prices for the basic things that we need, like oil? What effect will this have on an economy already muddling through the dirt? Will countries resort to even more resource wars as a result, and will these lead to currency wars? Well, we have the man that wrote the book on this, James Rickards, in studio with us to talk about just that. He made the rounds on Capitol Hill today, and before heading to the Lion's den, the US Treasury tomorrow, he is here to give us the inside scoop.
And speaking of the hill, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, has been making the rounds himself lately, as he often does. He has been telling lawmakers that he doesn't want higher inflation, and that the Fed's dual mandate should not be confused with a dovish stance on inflation. But do the fed's policies belie those words? To borrow from Jim Rickards, is Bernanke the Lawrence Welk of our time, conducting Fed policy with help from the same bag of tricks...his bubble machine? And really, what does the inflation have to do with unemployment? We learn in economics that the phillips curve works, but does it really, or is it a broken model that economists still use to escape the hardships of living in the real world? We will ask James Rickards what he thinks of this as well.
Capital Account: Jim Rickards: War with Iran and QE3 possibly by this Summer
US Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum won all three republican voting contests last night. Let's just remind our viewers what some of his thoughts are regarding foreign policy and Iran...remember what he said on the campaign trail about nuclear scientists ending up dead being a good thing? He's also advocated airstrikes on nuclear facilities.
As we hear the drum beat of war between the West and Iran, we often see war and politics as separate from the economy. They are not. Putting aside the human cost for a moment, which is huge, let's look at the economic cost. The price of economic sanctions, and any conflict for energy...what effect will it have on prices for the basic things that we need, like oil? What effect will this have on an economy already muddling through the dirt? Will countries resort to even more resource wars as a result, and will these lead to currency wars? Well, we have the man that wrote the book on this, James Rickards, in studio with us to talk about just that. He made the rounds on Capitol Hill today, and before heading to the Lion's den, the US Treasury tomorrow, he is here to give us the inside scoop.
And speaking of the hill, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, has been making the rounds himself lately, as he often does. He has been telling lawmakers that he doesn't want higher inflation, and that the Fed's dual mandate should not be confused with a dovish stance on inflation. But do the fed's policies belie those words? To borrow from Jim Rickards, is Bernanke the Lawrence Welk of our time, conducting Fed policy with help from the same bag of tricks...his bubble machine? And really, what does the inflation have to do with unemployment? We learn in economics that the phillips curve works, but does it really, or is it a broken model that economists still use to escape the hardships of living in the real world? We will ask James Rickards what he thinks of this as well.
February 15, 2012
In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, discuss tear gas and deja vu for financial crimes and tombstone austerity. In the second half of the show, Max talks to James Howard Kunstler of Kunstler.com about the John Brown moment in America and the control fraud of media.
KR on FB: http://www.facebook.com/KeiserReport
Keiser Report: Tombstone Austerity (E249)
In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, discuss tear gas and deja vu for financial crimes and tombstone austerity. In the second half of the show, Max talks to James Howard Kunstler of Kunstler.com about the John Brown moment in America and the control fraud of media.
KR on FB: http://www.facebook.com/KeiserReport
February 13, 2012
(Reuters) - Airlines and their passengers would pay up to $32 billion in new air traffic and security fees over 10 years, and grants to big airports would fall sharply under White House budget proposals on Monday aimed at deficit reduction. The Obama administration wants major carriers, their passengers, business jets and airports to pick up more of the costs of air travel and airport improvements that for years have been borne by taxpayers.
New fees are sure to trigger strong opposition from airlines and other aviation groups who argue that the industry is already over-taxed and over-regulated. Ideas quietly floated and then discarded during congressional budget negotiations last summer reemerged in the fiscal 2013 transportation and homeland security portions of the White House budget sent to Congress that outlines $4 trillion in deficit reduction.
snip
The budget proposal would also permit the Homeland Security Department to raise the fee on its own after that through regulation. Congress has resisted previous efforts by the Bush and Obama administrations to raise security fees, which cover less than half of the cost annually of screening airline passengers and their bags for weapons and bombs.
But airlines worry that Congress may yield to the enormous pressure to cut federal spending. Airlines are also making money again on higher fares, which could make it more difficult to convince lawmakers to see things their way. The administration is also proposing a $100 departure fee for airlines, business jets and other aircraft to help cover the costs of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control.
snip
Obama budget proposes to bill travelers $32 Billion in new security pat-down and other airline fees
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/us-usa-budget-transport-idUSTRE81C1BP20120213(Reuters) - Airlines and their passengers would pay up to $32 billion in new air traffic and security fees over 10 years, and grants to big airports would fall sharply under White House budget proposals on Monday aimed at deficit reduction. The Obama administration wants major carriers, their passengers, business jets and airports to pick up more of the costs of air travel and airport improvements that for years have been borne by taxpayers.
New fees are sure to trigger strong opposition from airlines and other aviation groups who argue that the industry is already over-taxed and over-regulated. Ideas quietly floated and then discarded during congressional budget negotiations last summer reemerged in the fiscal 2013 transportation and homeland security portions of the White House budget sent to Congress that outlines $4 trillion in deficit reduction.
snip
The budget proposal would also permit the Homeland Security Department to raise the fee on its own after that through regulation. Congress has resisted previous efforts by the Bush and Obama administrations to raise security fees, which cover less than half of the cost annually of screening airline passengers and their bags for weapons and bombs.
But airlines worry that Congress may yield to the enormous pressure to cut federal spending. Airlines are also making money again on higher fares, which could make it more difficult to convince lawmakers to see things their way. The administration is also proposing a $100 departure fee for airlines, business jets and other aircraft to help cover the costs of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control.
snip
February 13, 2012
Saudi Sheikh cries out that Saudi Columnist Hamza Kashgari get executed for tweets
Sheikh Nasser Al Omar weeps and pleads to the king that Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari gets executed for supposedly writing "shameful" comments about prophet Mohammed on Twitter.
The sheikh openly weeps and asks for the death penalty for Hamza Kashgari for his tweets about Muhammad, Sheikh Nasser Al-Omer reminds Muslims about debating with atheists;
"...and as Ibn Al-Arabi said when he was told "We should argue with atheist through intellectual debates" He replied, "That's a cold reaction, that should be warmed up with the heat of the SWORD".
He then adds "That is what Ibn Al-Arabi said back then about atheists"
That those who practice atheism should be killed and there should be no intellectual debate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysia sends Saudi home, where he's threatened with death for a tweet
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0213/Malaysia-sends-Saudi-home-where-he-s-threatened-with-death-for-a-tweet
Malaysia's government on Monday defended its decision to deport a young Saudi journalist who may face persecution at home for allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad on Twitter. International rights groups have slammed the deportation but Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia was not a safe haven for fugitives.
Jeddah-based newspaper columnist Hamza Kashgari was detained Thursday at the Malaysian airport while in transit to New Zealand. He was deported Sunday despite fears from rights groups that he may face the death penalty if charged with blasphemy over remarks he tweeted that many considered offensive. "I will not allow Malaysia to be seen as a safe country for terrorists and those who are wanted by their countries of origin, and also be seen as a transit county," Hishammuddin said.
He said the deportation followed a request from the Saudi government. Allegations that Kashgari could be tortured and killed if he was sent back home are "ridiculous" because Saudi Arabia is a respectable country, he said. Malaysian authorities also didn't receive any court order to halt the deportation, he added. Lawyers representing Kashgari's family obtained a court order Sunday to try to keep him in Malaysia but he had been put on a plane back home by the time the order was issued.
Human Rights Watch slammed Malaysia's failure to respect human rights. It said Kashgari was kept incommunicado and denied access to lawyers and the United Nations refugee agency. Police also told lawyers that Kashgari was still being held after he already had been forced on a plane, it said.
snip
-----------------------------------------------
DEAR HOUSE OF SAUD,
FUCK OFF.
FROM SWEDEN WITH LOVE,
Saudi Sheihk weeps for the return & execution of journalist for tweet, punkass Malayasia:OK, deports
Saudi Sheikh cries out that Saudi Columnist Hamza Kashgari get executed for tweets
Sheikh Nasser Al Omar weeps and pleads to the king that Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari gets executed for supposedly writing "shameful" comments about prophet Mohammed on Twitter.
The sheikh openly weeps and asks for the death penalty for Hamza Kashgari for his tweets about Muhammad, Sheikh Nasser Al-Omer reminds Muslims about debating with atheists;
"...and as Ibn Al-Arabi said when he was told "We should argue with atheist through intellectual debates" He replied, "That's a cold reaction, that should be warmed up with the heat of the SWORD".
He then adds "That is what Ibn Al-Arabi said back then about atheists"
That those who practice atheism should be killed and there should be no intellectual debate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysia sends Saudi home, where he's threatened with death for a tweet
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0213/Malaysia-sends-Saudi-home-where-he-s-threatened-with-death-for-a-tweet
Malaysia's government on Monday defended its decision to deport a young Saudi journalist who may face persecution at home for allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad on Twitter. International rights groups have slammed the deportation but Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia was not a safe haven for fugitives.
Jeddah-based newspaper columnist Hamza Kashgari was detained Thursday at the Malaysian airport while in transit to New Zealand. He was deported Sunday despite fears from rights groups that he may face the death penalty if charged with blasphemy over remarks he tweeted that many considered offensive. "I will not allow Malaysia to be seen as a safe country for terrorists and those who are wanted by their countries of origin, and also be seen as a transit county," Hishammuddin said.
He said the deportation followed a request from the Saudi government. Allegations that Kashgari could be tortured and killed if he was sent back home are "ridiculous" because Saudi Arabia is a respectable country, he said. Malaysian authorities also didn't receive any court order to halt the deportation, he added. Lawyers representing Kashgari's family obtained a court order Sunday to try to keep him in Malaysia but he had been put on a plane back home by the time the order was issued.
Human Rights Watch slammed Malaysia's failure to respect human rights. It said Kashgari was kept incommunicado and denied access to lawyers and the United Nations refugee agency. Police also told lawyers that Kashgari was still being held after he already had been forced on a plane, it said.
snip
-----------------------------------------------
DEAR HOUSE OF SAUD,
FUCK OFF.
FROM SWEDEN WITH LOVE,
February 13, 2012
The U.S. oil market could be on the verge of its own fracking revolution, similar to what the natural-gas market is already experiencing. As a result, domestic production is now projected to rise significantly over the coming decades, reducing the relative share of imports in U.S. oil consumption.
Advances in horizontal drilling and hydrofracking, in which highly pressurized liquids are injected into underground rock, have been used increasingly over the past few years to extract natural gas. The result has been a substantial increase in recoverable reserves -- accompanied by a lot of controversy over fracking’s environmental effects -- and an associated decline in the cost of natural gas.
In late 2007, wellhead prices http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/n9190us3m.htm for natural gas were hovering in the range of $6 to $7 per thousand cubic feet; by late 2011, they had declined to $3 to $4, and they have fallen further since. John Deutch, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has written http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67039/john-deutch/the-good-news-about-gas that, given the impact on energy markets and therefore geopolitical dynamics, “it is perhaps a permissible exaggeration to claim a natural-gas revolution.”
The same controversial technologies used to recover natural gas from deep-rock formations are now increasingly being used to extract oil. Oil is already being produced from shale at several locations throughout the U.S., most notably the Bakken shale in North Dakota. http://topics.bloomberg.com/north-dakota/ As Jim Mulva, the chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, recently said, “The revolution has spread to domestic oil production. And it may track the path it followed with natural gas. We just don’t know yet. But it looks promising.”
snip
-------------------------------------------
see The Oil Drum for a cold, hard look at this type of 'cornucopian' delusion
http://www.theoildrum.com/
also
Businessweek Gets it Wrong - Everything You Know about Peak Oil is NOT Wrong
http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2012/02/businessweek-gets-it-wrong-everything-you-know-about-peak-oil-is-not-wrong/
Peter Orszag Sells Out: Fracking Boom Could Finally Cap Myth of Peak Oil (former Obama OMB Director)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01/fracking-boom-could-finally-cap-myth-of-peak-oil-peter-orszag.htmlThe U.S. oil market could be on the verge of its own fracking revolution, similar to what the natural-gas market is already experiencing. As a result, domestic production is now projected to rise significantly over the coming decades, reducing the relative share of imports in U.S. oil consumption.
Advances in horizontal drilling and hydrofracking, in which highly pressurized liquids are injected into underground rock, have been used increasingly over the past few years to extract natural gas. The result has been a substantial increase in recoverable reserves -- accompanied by a lot of controversy over fracking’s environmental effects -- and an associated decline in the cost of natural gas.
In late 2007, wellhead prices http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/n9190us3m.htm for natural gas were hovering in the range of $6 to $7 per thousand cubic feet; by late 2011, they had declined to $3 to $4, and they have fallen further since. John Deutch, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has written http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67039/john-deutch/the-good-news-about-gas that, given the impact on energy markets and therefore geopolitical dynamics, “it is perhaps a permissible exaggeration to claim a natural-gas revolution.”
The same controversial technologies used to recover natural gas from deep-rock formations are now increasingly being used to extract oil. Oil is already being produced from shale at several locations throughout the U.S., most notably the Bakken shale in North Dakota. http://topics.bloomberg.com/north-dakota/ As Jim Mulva, the chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, recently said, “The revolution has spread to domestic oil production. And it may track the path it followed with natural gas. We just don’t know yet. But it looks promising.”
snip
-------------------------------------------
see The Oil Drum for a cold, hard look at this type of 'cornucopian' delusion
http://www.theoildrum.com/
also
Businessweek Gets it Wrong - Everything You Know about Peak Oil is NOT Wrong
http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2012/02/businessweek-gets-it-wrong-everything-you-know-about-peak-oil-is-not-wrong/
February 12, 2012
Historic buildings set ablaze in Greek riots
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/historic-buildings-set-ablaze-in-greek-riots-4717763
(Reuters) Historic cinemas, cafes and shops went up in flames on Sunday as Greek riot police struggled to pin down black-masked anti-austerity protesters roaming around central Athens. As lawmakers prepared to vote on an EU/IMF bailout to save Greece from a messy bankruptcy, a Reuters photographer saw the buildings engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke rose in the night sky.
Black-masked protesters throwing petrol bombs created a wall of fire outside Greece's parliament as lawmakers inside looked set defy public rage by endorsing a new austerity deal to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy. Lawmakers came under intense pressure from both sides, with tens of thousands of demonstrators pouring into Syntagma Square in front of parliament, while the government warned that rejection would demand "unimaginably harsher" sacrifices by Greeks.
In running battles, protesters threw home made bombs made from gas canisters as riot police advanced across the square on the crowds, firing tear gas and stun grenades. Loud booms From the protests could be heard inside parliament.
"Tear gas has reached the parliament chamber," said leftist lawmaker Panagiotis Lafazanis.
snip
------------------------------------------------
Live streams:
http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks
http://www.aganaktismenoi.com/index.php/live-streaming-.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile in Ireland:
The middle classes, the very backbone of Ireland, are being driven into revolt
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/carol-hunt-well-only-be-pushed-so-far-enda-theres-nothing-left-to-take-from-us-3016993.html
The Coping Classes: The term was first coined by Eoghan Harris, a leading political strategist in Ireland, to analyse the rise of a huge middle-class in the South, which is credited with kick-starting the Celtic Tiger.
snip
Here in Ireland, Eoghan Harris replaced the term "middle-class" with "coping classes" to better explain the increasing numbers of Irish people who may not have fitted the traditional (British?) interpretation of "middle-class" but who nonetheless shared the values usually attributed to this group.
So who are we? Well, we're a very ordinary lot really -- but what we all have in common is a belief in the future. We work, we earn moderate salaries, we have mortgages -- some far in excess of what our homes are now worth -- we pay our bills and taxes and try to make sure our kids get the best chances available to them. We keep the peace, we keep our heads down, we are little or no trouble to our neighbours or to the State.
We try to go away every so often -- for a break, a treat, a family time together that we believe is important for good communication. We save to get braces fitted on our teenagers' teeth or to consult a specialist about their swollen tonsils; we put what we can away for their college fees and we enthusiastically drive them to football, piano or ballet practice. We ask for little, we give far more than we take and we are happy to be in a position to do so in a civilised and just democracy in a State we call our home.
But now we, the coping classes, are in danger of being wiped out, in many cases we are no longer coping, but barely surviving. Some are not even doing that. We've become an easy target for a political class that doesn't have the guts to stand up to a bullying European bureaucracy or the imagination to conceive of new approaches to our current woes.
snip
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ireland: Shocking injustice of austerity taxes revealed The biggest burden has fallen on those earning €17,542 to €20,000, who have collectively paid three times more tax in 2011 than they did in 2010 — or a shocking 215 per cent increase.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shocking-injustice-of-austerity-taxes-revealed-3017101.html
THE true scale of the tax burden on low- and middle-income earners as a result of the austerity drive is revealed in staggering new figures published today. Estimates released by the Department of Finance showed that those who earn the least have been worst hit by tax hikes while the country's top earners contributed marginally less.
The figures provide a detailed snapshot of how the increased tax burden caused by the economic crisis has weighed more on the less-well-off than the richest. They showed that the "coping classes" earning anything from €17,543 to €50,000 are bearing the brunt of austerity.
The biggest burden has fallen on those earning €17,542 to €20,000, who have collectively paid three times more tax in 2011 than they did in 2010 -- or a shocking 215 per cent increase. Those earning €20,001 to €30,000 are paying 36 per cent more tax than they did in 2010 and those earning between €40,001 and €50,000 are paying 23 per cent more. The huge tax burden was attributed to the introduction of the Universal Social Charge and on a reduction in tax credits in the Government's bid to raise more than €1bn in extra income tax in 2011.
However, leadings tax consultants said yesterday the figures showed how the tax hikes have had a "disproportionate effect" on the lower paid while leaving the country's highest earners largely unscathed. For example, the 118 people in the country who earn more than €2m paid 0.3 per cent less in tax in 2011 than they did in 2010; the 1,148 who earned between €400,001 and €450,000 paid just 1.1 per cent more in tax.
snip
Ever wonder how Starbucks coffee tastes burnt? Ask a Greek in Athens
Starbucks in AthensHistoric buildings set ablaze in Greek riots
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/historic-buildings-set-ablaze-in-greek-riots-4717763
(Reuters) Historic cinemas, cafes and shops went up in flames on Sunday as Greek riot police struggled to pin down black-masked anti-austerity protesters roaming around central Athens. As lawmakers prepared to vote on an EU/IMF bailout to save Greece from a messy bankruptcy, a Reuters photographer saw the buildings engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke rose in the night sky.
Black-masked protesters throwing petrol bombs created a wall of fire outside Greece's parliament as lawmakers inside looked set defy public rage by endorsing a new austerity deal to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy. Lawmakers came under intense pressure from both sides, with tens of thousands of demonstrators pouring into Syntagma Square in front of parliament, while the government warned that rejection would demand "unimaginably harsher" sacrifices by Greeks.
In running battles, protesters threw home made bombs made from gas canisters as riot police advanced across the square on the crowds, firing tear gas and stun grenades. Loud booms From the protests could be heard inside parliament.
"Tear gas has reached the parliament chamber," said leftist lawmaker Panagiotis Lafazanis.
snip
------------------------------------------------
Live streams:
http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks
http://www.aganaktismenoi.com/index.php/live-streaming-.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile in Ireland:
The middle classes, the very backbone of Ireland, are being driven into revolt
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/carol-hunt-well-only-be-pushed-so-far-enda-theres-nothing-left-to-take-from-us-3016993.html
The Coping Classes: The term was first coined by Eoghan Harris, a leading political strategist in Ireland, to analyse the rise of a huge middle-class in the South, which is credited with kick-starting the Celtic Tiger.
snip
Here in Ireland, Eoghan Harris replaced the term "middle-class" with "coping classes" to better explain the increasing numbers of Irish people who may not have fitted the traditional (British?) interpretation of "middle-class" but who nonetheless shared the values usually attributed to this group.
So who are we? Well, we're a very ordinary lot really -- but what we all have in common is a belief in the future. We work, we earn moderate salaries, we have mortgages -- some far in excess of what our homes are now worth -- we pay our bills and taxes and try to make sure our kids get the best chances available to them. We keep the peace, we keep our heads down, we are little or no trouble to our neighbours or to the State.
We try to go away every so often -- for a break, a treat, a family time together that we believe is important for good communication. We save to get braces fitted on our teenagers' teeth or to consult a specialist about their swollen tonsils; we put what we can away for their college fees and we enthusiastically drive them to football, piano or ballet practice. We ask for little, we give far more than we take and we are happy to be in a position to do so in a civilised and just democracy in a State we call our home.
But now we, the coping classes, are in danger of being wiped out, in many cases we are no longer coping, but barely surviving. Some are not even doing that. We've become an easy target for a political class that doesn't have the guts to stand up to a bullying European bureaucracy or the imagination to conceive of new approaches to our current woes.
snip
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ireland: Shocking injustice of austerity taxes revealed The biggest burden has fallen on those earning €17,542 to €20,000, who have collectively paid three times more tax in 2011 than they did in 2010 — or a shocking 215 per cent increase.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shocking-injustice-of-austerity-taxes-revealed-3017101.html
THE true scale of the tax burden on low- and middle-income earners as a result of the austerity drive is revealed in staggering new figures published today. Estimates released by the Department of Finance showed that those who earn the least have been worst hit by tax hikes while the country's top earners contributed marginally less.
The figures provide a detailed snapshot of how the increased tax burden caused by the economic crisis has weighed more on the less-well-off than the richest. They showed that the "coping classes" earning anything from €17,543 to €50,000 are bearing the brunt of austerity.
The biggest burden has fallen on those earning €17,542 to €20,000, who have collectively paid three times more tax in 2011 than they did in 2010 -- or a shocking 215 per cent increase. Those earning €20,001 to €30,000 are paying 36 per cent more tax than they did in 2010 and those earning between €40,001 and €50,000 are paying 23 per cent more. The huge tax burden was attributed to the introduction of the Universal Social Charge and on a reduction in tax credits in the Government's bid to raise more than €1bn in extra income tax in 2011.
However, leadings tax consultants said yesterday the figures showed how the tax hikes have had a "disproportionate effect" on the lower paid while leaving the country's highest earners largely unscathed. For example, the 118 people in the country who earn more than €2m paid 0.3 per cent less in tax in 2011 than they did in 2010; the 1,148 who earned between €400,001 and €450,000 paid just 1.1 per cent more in tax.
snip
February 12, 2012
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,813814,00.html
Will reduced solar activity counteract global warming in the coming decades? That is what outgoing German electric utility executive Fritz Vahrenholt claims in a new book. In an interview with SPIEGEL, he argues that the official United Nations forecasts on the severity of climate change are overstated and supported by weak science.
The articulate utility executive is nervous at the beginning of the conversation. He is groping for words -- not a common occurrence for the practiced provocateur. After all, Fritz Vahrenholt, 62, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, has been a rebel throughout his life. "Perhaps it's just part of my generation," he says.
He is typical of someone who came of age during the student protest movement of the late 1960s, and who fought against the chemical industry's toxic manufacturing plants in the 1970s. His party, Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), chose him as environment senator in the city-state of Hamburg, where he incurred the wrath of the environmental lobby by building a waste incineration plant, earning him the nickname "Feuerfritze" (Fire Fritz). He worked in industry after that, first for oil multinational Shell and then for wind turbine maker RePower, which he helped develop. Now, as the outgoing CEO of the renewable energy group RWE Innogy, he is about to embark on his next major battle. "I'm going to make enemies in all camps," he says.
He wants to break a taboo. "The climate catastrophe http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,803906,00.html is not occurring," he writes in his book "Die Kalte Sonne" (The Cold Sun), published by Hoffmann and Campe, which will be in bookstores next week.
snip
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Die CO2-Lüge (The CO2 lie) (1st in a series of articles)
http://www.bild.de/politik/inland/globale-erwaermung/die-co2-luege-klima-katastrophe-ist-panik-mache-der-politik-22467268.bild.html
http://translate.google.se/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bild.de%2Fpolitik%2Finland%2Fglobale-erwaermung%2Fdie-co2-luege-klima-katastrophe-ist-panik-mache-der-politik-22467268.bild.html
If the human race from a self-made climate catastrophe? Or is global warming just a big CO2 lie by hysterical scientists? A team led by Hamburg's former environmental minister Vahrenholt are clear!
The air disaster was the invention of politicians and UN investigators weather! The truth is the sun at least as responsible for the temperature fluctuations of the earth as CO2! Exclusive to BILD, the authors have summarized their theses.
Part 1: What the IPCC conceals at the UN
Climate horror warnings raining down on us: heat waves, hurricanes, biblical floods to the planet visit soon. Apocalyptic atmosphere! Even in school children get indoctrinated: All that we have our own brewed. From 2020 we will therefore developed world every year to pay 100 billion dollars to developing countries to redress alleged climate damage.
One thing is certain: In the last 150 years it has become warmer on our planet by 0.8 ° C manageable. The omniscient IPCC of the United Nations tells us that the warming almost entirely by the evil CO2 is created. And if our emissions have already been in debt almost a degree of global warming, would then end of the century soon to come a few more degrees.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------
'Germany's George Monbiot' turns climate sceptic
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100135592/germanys-george-monbiot-turns-climate-sceptic/
When the Germans start running headlines like that in their biggest tabloid newspaper, you know that for the eco loons Der Krieg ist Verloren. It means "Global Warming stopped twelve years ago," and it's part of a serialisation being run by Bild (circulation: 4 million) of Germany's newest surprise bestseller – a climate sceptical book called Die Kalte Sonne (The Cold Sun).
What's even more surprising is this: one of the authors, Professor Fritz Vahrenholt, is a former environment minister and well-known green activist. P Gosselin at No Tricks Zone has the story: http://notrickszone.com/2012/02/06/body-blow-to-german-global-warming-movement-major-media-outlets-unload-on-co2-lies/
What has set it all off? One of the fathers of Germany’s modern green movement, Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, a social democrat and green activist, decided to author a climate science skeptical book together with geologist/paleontologist Dr. Sebastian Lüning. Vahrenholt’s skepticism started when he was asked to review an IPCC report on renewable energy. He found hundreds of errors. When he pointed them out, IPCC officials simply brushed them aside. Stunned, he asked himself, “Is this the way they approached the climate assessment reports?”
Vahrenholt decided to do some digging. His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found. Persuaded by Hoffmann & Campe, he and Lüning decided to write the book. Die kalte Sonne cites 800 sources and has over 80 charts and figures. It examines and summarizes the latest science. According to the Global Warming Policy Foundation's Benny Peiser, himself a former member of the German green movement, Vahrenholt's U-turn represents a huge blow to the climate alarmist camp. (For further details read this GWPF account http://www.thegwpf.org/the-climate-record/4913-renewable-energy-boss-turns-climate-sceptic-.html and also this one http://www.thegwpf.org/international-news/4923-solar-shift-rock-germany.html ) "Imagine if George Monbiot were suddenly to declare himself a climate sceptic. That's how massive this story is.....................
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and so it goes, for better or for worse
Global Warming Wars in Germany: largest newspaper (Bild) mag (Spiegel) & green leader all go sceptic
Breaking Global Warming Taboos: 'I Feel Duped on Climate Change'http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,813814,00.html
Will reduced solar activity counteract global warming in the coming decades? That is what outgoing German electric utility executive Fritz Vahrenholt claims in a new book. In an interview with SPIEGEL, he argues that the official United Nations forecasts on the severity of climate change are overstated and supported by weak science.
The articulate utility executive is nervous at the beginning of the conversation. He is groping for words -- not a common occurrence for the practiced provocateur. After all, Fritz Vahrenholt, 62, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, has been a rebel throughout his life. "Perhaps it's just part of my generation," he says.
He is typical of someone who came of age during the student protest movement of the late 1960s, and who fought against the chemical industry's toxic manufacturing plants in the 1970s. His party, Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), chose him as environment senator in the city-state of Hamburg, where he incurred the wrath of the environmental lobby by building a waste incineration plant, earning him the nickname "Feuerfritze" (Fire Fritz). He worked in industry after that, first for oil multinational Shell and then for wind turbine maker RePower, which he helped develop. Now, as the outgoing CEO of the renewable energy group RWE Innogy, he is about to embark on his next major battle. "I'm going to make enemies in all camps," he says.
He wants to break a taboo. "The climate catastrophe http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,803906,00.html is not occurring," he writes in his book "Die Kalte Sonne" (The Cold Sun), published by Hoffmann and Campe, which will be in bookstores next week.
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Die CO2-Lüge (The CO2 lie) (1st in a series of articles)
http://www.bild.de/politik/inland/globale-erwaermung/die-co2-luege-klima-katastrophe-ist-panik-mache-der-politik-22467268.bild.html
http://translate.google.se/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bild.de%2Fpolitik%2Finland%2Fglobale-erwaermung%2Fdie-co2-luege-klima-katastrophe-ist-panik-mache-der-politik-22467268.bild.html
If the human race from a self-made climate catastrophe? Or is global warming just a big CO2 lie by hysterical scientists? A team led by Hamburg's former environmental minister Vahrenholt are clear!
The air disaster was the invention of politicians and UN investigators weather! The truth is the sun at least as responsible for the temperature fluctuations of the earth as CO2! Exclusive to BILD, the authors have summarized their theses.
Part 1: What the IPCC conceals at the UN
Climate horror warnings raining down on us: heat waves, hurricanes, biblical floods to the planet visit soon. Apocalyptic atmosphere! Even in school children get indoctrinated: All that we have our own brewed. From 2020 we will therefore developed world every year to pay 100 billion dollars to developing countries to redress alleged climate damage.
One thing is certain: In the last 150 years it has become warmer on our planet by 0.8 ° C manageable. The omniscient IPCC of the United Nations tells us that the warming almost entirely by the evil CO2 is created. And if our emissions have already been in debt almost a degree of global warming, would then end of the century soon to come a few more degrees.
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'Germany's George Monbiot' turns climate sceptic
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100135592/germanys-george-monbiot-turns-climate-sceptic/
When the Germans start running headlines like that in their biggest tabloid newspaper, you know that for the eco loons Der Krieg ist Verloren. It means "Global Warming stopped twelve years ago," and it's part of a serialisation being run by Bild (circulation: 4 million) of Germany's newest surprise bestseller – a climate sceptical book called Die Kalte Sonne (The Cold Sun).
What's even more surprising is this: one of the authors, Professor Fritz Vahrenholt, is a former environment minister and well-known green activist. P Gosselin at No Tricks Zone has the story: http://notrickszone.com/2012/02/06/body-blow-to-german-global-warming-movement-major-media-outlets-unload-on-co2-lies/
What has set it all off? One of the fathers of Germany’s modern green movement, Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, a social democrat and green activist, decided to author a climate science skeptical book together with geologist/paleontologist Dr. Sebastian Lüning. Vahrenholt’s skepticism started when he was asked to review an IPCC report on renewable energy. He found hundreds of errors. When he pointed them out, IPCC officials simply brushed them aside. Stunned, he asked himself, “Is this the way they approached the climate assessment reports?”
Vahrenholt decided to do some digging. His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found. Persuaded by Hoffmann & Campe, he and Lüning decided to write the book. Die kalte Sonne cites 800 sources and has over 80 charts and figures. It examines and summarizes the latest science. According to the Global Warming Policy Foundation's Benny Peiser, himself a former member of the German green movement, Vahrenholt's U-turn represents a huge blow to the climate alarmist camp. (For further details read this GWPF account http://www.thegwpf.org/the-climate-record/4913-renewable-energy-boss-turns-climate-sceptic-.html and also this one http://www.thegwpf.org/international-news/4923-solar-shift-rock-germany.html ) "Imagine if George Monbiot were suddenly to declare himself a climate sceptic. That's how massive this story is.....................
snip
----------------------------------------------------------------------
and so it goes, for better or for worse
February 12, 2012
"Some caucuses decided not to participate in this poll and will caucus after this announcement," Webster said. "Their results will not be factored in. The absent votes will not be factored into this announcement after the fact."
Maine's caucuses began Feb. 4 and continued throughout the week. But the results announced Saturday accounted for just 83 percent of the state's precincts. Several communities elected to hold their caucuses at a later date.
Caucuses in Washington County scheduled Saturday were postponed until February 18 because of a major snowstorm that blanketed the region. Earlier, party Executive Director Michael Quatrano said county officials were told the results would not count toward the total.
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if this statement doesnt show the direct fraud/control of the GOP thug establishment, nothing does
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_CAMPAIGN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-11-18-41-15"Some caucuses decided not to participate in this poll and will caucus after this announcement," Webster said. "Their results will not be factored in. The absent votes will not be factored into this announcement after the fact."
Maine's caucuses began Feb. 4 and continued throughout the week. But the results announced Saturday accounted for just 83 percent of the state's precincts. Several communities elected to hold their caucuses at a later date.
Caucuses in Washington County scheduled Saturday were postponed until February 18 because of a major snowstorm that blanketed the region. Earlier, party Executive Director Michael Quatrano said county officials were told the results would not count toward the total.
snip
February 11, 2012
Jeopardy time.... Answer: John, Ernest, Willard, Leroy
Question.........................?
February 11, 2012
Al Cardenas, head of the American Conservative Union, has said that Republican turmoil might lead to a brokered convention in which Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, would emerge as a “possible alternative” party nominee.
Mr Cardenas, who is running this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering in Washington of some 10,000 conservatives, told MailOnline that it was not certain that one of the four current Republican candidates would emerge victorious.
His comments came as Republicans fretted publicly about the perceived weaknesses of Mitt Romney, the establishment choice and frontrunner, Rick Santorum, surprise winner in three states on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.
Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and younger brother of President George W. Bush, has repeatedly said he will not run in 2012. He is one of a number of senior figures who disappointed activists and party officials alike by staying on the sidelines.
“We'll know more in the next few weeks,” said Mr Cardenas. “The pressure’s already been on Mitt Romney to close the sale... and he hasn’t.” A split verdict on “Super Tuesday” on March 6th, when 10 states vote, could lead to a surprise at the Republican convention in Tampa in August, he suggested.
Just over an hour after his interview with MailOnline, Mr Cardenas took to the CPAC stage to introduce Mr Romney, who sought to allay the fears of activists, who view him as a moderate or changeling, using the words “conservative” or “conservatism” some 24 times.
The last time a Republican nomination battle went to the party convention was in 1976, when President Gerald Ford assembled a coalition of delegates to defeat Ronald Reagan at the first ballot.
snip
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/how-a-brokered-convention-would-work/2012/01/30/gIQAKTcAfQ_blog.html
How a brokered convention would work
If it did happen, here’s how it would work.
------ -------------- -----------
At each caucus or primary, voters are actually choosing delegates to the national convention who have pledged themselves to a candidate. At the Republican convention in Tampa, the 2,286 delegates will vote. In recent history, conventions are basically a meaningless tradition in which only one ballot is held, choosing a nominee that has already been decided in the primaries.
But in theory, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney could fail to garner the 1,144 delegates needed to assure victory. Right now he only has 37 delegates, including party officials who get an automatic vote. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich could refuse to drop out (he says he’s in for the long haul).
If there was a convention-floor fight, multiple ballots would be taken until one candidate got a majority. Romney’s supporters would have to attempt to wrangle delegates away from other candidates. Other candidates could also attempt to consolidate support. A “dark horse” candidate (for example, former Florida governor Jeb Bush) could emerge late in the primary process, or even at the convention itself, and still win. There are 412 unpledged delegates, with an additional 65 that can be unbound depending on conventions in Minnesota and Louisiana, says political scientist Josh Putnam http://frontloading.blogspot.com/ .
That includes both “automatic” delegates (similar to the Democratic “superdelegates” who got so much attention in 2008 but fewer in number) and delegates from nonbinding caucus states. Their votes are basically up for grabs outside the state-by-state process. Very few of the automatic delegates have committed to a candidate (those that have tend to favor Romney.) In the event of a tie between Romney and Gingrich, these delegates could the deciding votes. It the delegate share is divided between three or four candidates, it would get more complicated.
snip
Top Republican at CPAC: Jeb Bush could emerge as nominee at a brokered convention
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099635/Jeb-Bush-emerge-GOP-nominee-brokered-convention-says-Republican.htmlAl Cardenas, head of the American Conservative Union, has said that Republican turmoil might lead to a brokered convention in which Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, would emerge as a “possible alternative” party nominee.
Mr Cardenas, who is running this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering in Washington of some 10,000 conservatives, told MailOnline that it was not certain that one of the four current Republican candidates would emerge victorious.
His comments came as Republicans fretted publicly about the perceived weaknesses of Mitt Romney, the establishment choice and frontrunner, Rick Santorum, surprise winner in three states on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.
Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and younger brother of President George W. Bush, has repeatedly said he will not run in 2012. He is one of a number of senior figures who disappointed activists and party officials alike by staying on the sidelines.
“We'll know more in the next few weeks,” said Mr Cardenas. “The pressure’s already been on Mitt Romney to close the sale... and he hasn’t.” A split verdict on “Super Tuesday” on March 6th, when 10 states vote, could lead to a surprise at the Republican convention in Tampa in August, he suggested.
Just over an hour after his interview with MailOnline, Mr Cardenas took to the CPAC stage to introduce Mr Romney, who sought to allay the fears of activists, who view him as a moderate or changeling, using the words “conservative” or “conservatism” some 24 times.
The last time a Republican nomination battle went to the party convention was in 1976, when President Gerald Ford assembled a coalition of delegates to defeat Ronald Reagan at the first ballot.
snip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/how-a-brokered-convention-would-work/2012/01/30/gIQAKTcAfQ_blog.html
How a brokered convention would work
If it did happen, here’s how it would work.
------ -------------- -----------
At each caucus or primary, voters are actually choosing delegates to the national convention who have pledged themselves to a candidate. At the Republican convention in Tampa, the 2,286 delegates will vote. In recent history, conventions are basically a meaningless tradition in which only one ballot is held, choosing a nominee that has already been decided in the primaries.
But in theory, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney could fail to garner the 1,144 delegates needed to assure victory. Right now he only has 37 delegates, including party officials who get an automatic vote. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich could refuse to drop out (he says he’s in for the long haul).
If there was a convention-floor fight, multiple ballots would be taken until one candidate got a majority. Romney’s supporters would have to attempt to wrangle delegates away from other candidates. Other candidates could also attempt to consolidate support. A “dark horse” candidate (for example, former Florida governor Jeb Bush) could emerge late in the primary process, or even at the convention itself, and still win. There are 412 unpledged delegates, with an additional 65 that can be unbound depending on conventions in Minnesota and Louisiana, says political scientist Josh Putnam http://frontloading.blogspot.com/ .
That includes both “automatic” delegates (similar to the Democratic “superdelegates” who got so much attention in 2008 but fewer in number) and delegates from nonbinding caucus states. Their votes are basically up for grabs outside the state-by-state process. Very few of the automatic delegates have committed to a candidate (those that have tend to favor Romney.) In the event of a tie between Romney and Gingrich, these delegates could the deciding votes. It the delegate share is divided between three or four candidates, it would get more complicated.
snip
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