Video: Protests, violence grows in Egypt's Tahrir Square

>>> today. james maceda joining me live. it appears reminiscent of the scene two years ago.

>> reporter: you're right. and i want to point out something that's just happened within the last couple of minutes. we've seen some exchanges of blows, some scuffling going on between what looks like mostly anti-morsi people who are here obviously, this is an opposition demonstration, and perhaps some infiltrated pro morsi people. it's hard to tell. but just down below us, there was some scuffling, some punching out, and using sticks. and suddenly the group were thrown by undercover security into a van and driven off. this all just happened a few moments ago. you're absolutely right that we get that feeling of two years ago here. you've got a massive crowd, by last estimate about 100,000 here tonight, packed into this square. it's of course ground zero 2011 resolution. and you can hear them chanting leave, leave and the people want to bring down the regime. the same expected against mubarak. today they're meant for morsi. these are people who are mixed bag. young, old, male, lots of female, from all walks of life. and they are part of this opposition movement that's really been galvanized over the past week or two by -- last week i should say by morsi's sudden decree that has given him of course so much power. but now they're also protesting against something else and it is an important point to make here. they're concerned about and reject entirely this flawed draft constitution which they say doesn't represent them at all, but, rather, represents morsi's muslim brotherhood and other iz laslamist who approved the rushed constitution . they say now that to ratify the draft constitution is just a political employ by morsi to get him out of the current jam that he's in because keep in mind once there is a new constitution , morsi can hand over much of that controversial power to the parly the and then he gains a state with a constitution that has a very, very strong islamist bias. one which by the way critics and international human rights experts today were criticizing, were concerned about, it could be a constitution that seriously inhibits freedom of speech , freedom of religion , as well as women's rights and much more. so, craig, it's really upping the ante. the protest is no longer just about a power grab. it's about what kind of country egyptians down below want. and those people there are saying passionately that they don't want what morsi has to offer.

>> jim, as you have been talking about this draft constitution , we have zoomed in on some of the pictures that you described, a well, the 100,000 or so protesters who have gathered in tahrir square. and we've witnessed some of the fistacuffs that you talked about. is this akin to what you've also been seeing, have we seen blows being exchanged or is this something new?

>> there have been now for the past nine days ongoing skirmishes, clash, whatever you want to call it between protest ares, a group of protest are, not necessarily part of any specific organization that take on the security forces when they have the opportunity to do so. that has led to two killed so far and several hundred injured. not just here in cairo, but up in the now river delta , alexandria, places like that. so that has been going on independent of this. these demonstrations here on the other hand have been relatively nonviolent. festive at times. we haven't seen that type of violence over the past week here. they've been very careful to stay on message, and it's been since for about a week now,s's been entirely the anti-morsi faction or opposition. they want to get the message out that they're staying here, sitting in or demonstrating until

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/50030155/

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War rips apart families, neighbors in Syria

Syrian children look through their car window as they cross into Lebanon with their families at the border crossing, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Syrian children look through their car window as they cross into Lebanon with their families at the border crossing, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 photo, night falls as men warm themselves by a fire in a Syrian rebel controlled area in where residents are trying to get back to their daily lives after months of heavy fighting in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

BEIRUT (AP) ? ? It's at night that worries over her children hit the matriarch of the Khayyat family hardest, tormenting her as she tries to sleep.

Four of her sons have joined the tens of thousands of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The fifth is a sergeant in Assad's army, a draftee. Worsening her troubles, her own brother no longer speaks to her because of her sons in the rebellion.

"This is what it has come to in Syria," said the 60-year-old Sunni Muslim woman as she sat in the family home on the outskirts of Damascus. "This is my son, and the other is my son, but each is fighting on a different side in this war. It burns my heart." Because of fears of reprisals against any of her children, she spoke on condition she not be identified except by the name of her large, extended family.

More than any of the other uprisings that toppled longtime dictators in the Arab world, the civil war in Syria has sharply polarized the country ? ripping apart families and neighbors and bringing a bloody end to decades of coexistence.

The war has riven Syria along sectarian lines. The Sunni majority forms the backbone of the revolt. The minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism, backs the regime of Assad, who is himself an Alawite and has stacked his leadership with members of the community. Other minorities like Christians largely support Assad or stand on the sidelines, worried that Assad's fall would bring a more Islamist rule over them.

But behind the broad outlines, even families within the same community have been wrenched apart.

Some are torn by ideology: In a family, some remain fiercely loyal to Assad, alienating those who became regime opponents. Despite years of discrimination under the Assad family rule, even some Sunni Muslims back him, whether out of fear of the alternative or belief in the regime narrative boasting of Syria as an oasis of secularism and stability in a turbulent region.

Others families are divided by circumstances: Young army conscripts find themselves fighting for a regime they fear defecting from even as their brothers join the rebels.

The violence, which activists say has killed more than 40,000 people since March 2011, has unleashed animosity and sectarian hatreds that many say they didn't even know existed. Tit-for-tat killings between sects have swelled, as has segregation as Sunnis and Alawites flee each other. On social media web sites, venomous accusations and insults fly between regime opponents and Assad loyalists, who they often deride as "Minhibakjis" ? Arabic for "we love you." A third group of Syrians is opposed to both camps.

"Syrian society has been deeply fragmented along multiple lines which may take generations to repair," said Randa Kassis, a Syrian anthropologist opposed to Assad's regime. "Anyone of a different opinion is immediately being cast as an agent or a stooge."

"It will take a lot of work to instill a culture of tolerance and acceptance, of give and take among people," said the Paris-based Kassis, who founded the Movement for a Pluralistic Society, an organization working for a secular and united civil society in Syria.

In that atmosphere, a difference of opinion within a family can swell into a bitter split.

Mohammed, a former sergeant from the southern town of Daraa, where the uprising began, said he defected early on because he could not bring himself to open fire on protesters. He said he "felt like his heart was on the other side."

But his father and his brother, who serves in the air force security department in Daraa, remain hardcore regime supporters, convinced that those protesting are foreign-backed terrorists. Mohammed spoke on condition he be identified only by his first name for fear his brother would be harmed for the connection to an uprising supporter.

"The first few months were hell," he said. "My father forbade any talk at home of the revolution. When I told him I intended to defect, he grabbed me and said: 'If you want to defect, go do it somewhere else and don't bring shame to this family.'"

Mohammed said he joined friends in the central province of Homs and has been fighting there since.

"I think my brother is a coward. But I don't blame him, each person's tolerance level is different," he said.

An opposition activist in Damascus said his family's divisions are a generational struggle. He said his family has long opposed the regime but are of a generation that shunned activism, knowing it would bring harsh retaliation.

So "when I quit my job as a magazine editor to dedicate my time to the revolution, they went crazy," he said in an interview through Skype.

"Sometimes they shut me off for days, they don't talk to me, then they ease up," he said.

The rebel sons of the Khayyat family matriarch seemed unsure whether their brother was serving in Assad's military willingly or out of fear if he defected. The brother was drafted six months before the uprising began and is serving in the eastern Deir el-Zour province. Tens of thousands of soldiers have defected over the past 20 months, many now fighting alongside the rebels.

At the Khayyat family home in Kisweh, south of Damascus, the matriarch's eldest son walks in slowly, dragging his foot because of a injury during recent fighting. He was the first of the brothers to join the Free Syrian Army rebels, after he became convinced armed resistance was needed against Assad's brutal crackdown on peaceful protests.

He hasn't seen his army brother for months. He and other members of the family spoke on condition their first names not be used for fear of reprisals.

"I know there may come a day when my brother and I might stand face to face against each other, but this is a war between right and wrong," he said.

Another brother with the rebels is convinced their military sibling is staying unwillingly. The last time he spoke with him was last month during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

"He couldn't say anything beyond 'how are you'. He knows he is under surveillance," said the brother, who was fired from his job as teacher at a private school for taking part in an anti-government protest. "If he defects, they would not forgive him, he would be killed."

"The struggle is no longer just between the regime and the opposition. It is now at the workplace, in every family and in every home," he said.

Their father, who was imprisoned several times during the uprising, is now in hiding, a wanted man. Their mother starts to cry as she tells of how her own brother has not spoken to her in a year and a half because of her rebel sons.

"But I stick up to my sons because they are fighting for what they believe in," she said. "As a mother, I don't differentiate between my sons."

"All I want is to have them all gathered around the same meal at home again."

___

An AP contributor in Damascus contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-30-ML-Syria-Divided-Families/id-dece814d0ce44f3dbc2ab8c08f16d48f

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Senate Democrats Face Another Daunting Numbers Game

Stop us if you've heard this one: Senate Democrats will defend many more seats than their Republican counterparts this cycle, putting the party squarely on defense and their 55-seat majority at risk. Faced with the same bleak scenario at the start of the 2012 cycle, Democrats wound up with unexpected gains. But their odds of keeping a majority intact after the midterm elections will depend in part on the preparation they do now.

That's because a number of senators whose terms will expire at the end of the cycle are seriously contemplating retirement, leaving open seats that would become inviting targets to Republicans. Democrats want to keep retirements ? and the targets they create ? to a minimum. At the very least, party strategists say it would be helpful to know which seats will be open, so that replacement candidates have the time to mount successful efforts.

Behind the scenes, Democrats have already begun the biennial process of feeling out their candidates. Sources say Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has long played a major behind-the-scenes role strategizing for his fellow Senate Democrats, will gently push incumbents to make a decision earlier rather than later. They don't try to force senators to decide by a date certain, but the subtle pressure will exist. Reid plays a bigger role with older members of the Senate, while Schumer has a closer relationship with newer, younger senators.

Democrats acknowledge that, amid distaste for Washington and politics writ large, incumbency isn't the advantage it once was. But an incumbent has the ability to raise more money, depend on name recognition, and tell their story at an earlier point than a nonincumbent might be able to.

The results are evident: In the last eight years, just two Democratic incumbents ? Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin ? have lost reelection bids. In the last two election cycles, Republicans picked up five Democratic-held open seats, in Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.

No Democrats have said publicly they will not seek another term this cycle, but party strategists are keeping a close eye on several incumbents, given their age or conditions. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 88, is the oldest member of the upper chamber. Four others ? Sens. Max Baucus, Carl Levin, Tom Harkin, and Jay Rockefeller ? are over 70 years old. Sen. Tim Johnson, 65, is still recovering from bleeding in the brain he suffered in 2006.

Lautenberg, Levin, and Rockefeller are the most likely to step aside, Democratic sources say, but even they aren't sure things. A Lautenberg spokesman told The Hill this week that retirement "is the last thing on his mind." Rockefeller told Politico he would make an announcement later, and sources with knowledge of his thinking said he truly hasn't turned his mind to politics yet. A Levin spokeswoman also dodged the question.

Johnson faces a difficult fight against former Gov. Mike Rounds, who has already formed an exploratory committee. Johnson told a South Dakota reporter last week that he would decide on reelection "sometime next year."

Beyond age and health, some incumbents may simply want to move on. If Sen. John Kerry isn't tapped for an administration job this year, he might decide to step aside. Then again, if he is tapped ? a more likely scenario ? he would be out of the Senate even earlier, forcing a special election unless Bay State Democrats pass new legislation allowing the governor to appoint a replacement.

Some Democrats say they wouldn't be surprised if Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, second in his party's leadership ranks, decide against another term. Durbin told Crain's Chicago Business?thatg he planned to run for reelection, but that a final decision would come next year.

Open seats aren't created equal. Democrats would certainly have an easier time keeping Lautenberg's New Jersey seat in the blue column than they would Johnson's South Dakota seat. But even deep-blue states can force a party to spend money: In 2012, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent $2.6 million to defend an open seat in Connecticut, a state President Obama won by 18 points. Every dollar the party spent there, or will have to spend in a blue state with an open seat in 2014, is a dollar they can't spend defending vulnerable incumbents.

And this cycle features plenty of vulnerable incumbents who will almost certainly seek another term. Republicans will likely target Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, and North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan, four Democrats who hold seats in states Mitt Romney won in 2012. Colorado's Mark Udall, New Hampshire's Jeanne Shaheen, and Minnesota's Al Franken could all attract promising Republican opponents as well.

After losing two seats in 2012, Republicans now need to pick up a net of six in 2014 to control the Senate. Democratic wins this year provided an immeasurable psychological boost to a party that had expected to lose. Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and the next head of the DSCC will need that psychology to prevent a rush to the exits over the next 18 months, and to preserve their control over the Senate.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-democrats-face-another-daunting-numbers-game-060002542--politics.html

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Rick Warren on gay marriage ? CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

November 28th, 2012

05:49 AM ET

American evangelical Christian pastor Rick Warren discusses homosexuality and gay marriage with CNN's Piers Morgan.

Watch Piers Morgan Tonight weeknights 9 p.m. ET. For the latest from Piers Morgan click here.

---

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, with daily contributions from CNN's worldwide newsgathering team and frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero.

Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/28/rick-warren-on-gay-marriage/

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Six Lessons from a Former Mutual Fund Investor

I have been studying investing since my undergraduate college days where I studied Finance. ?Ironically, it wasn?t for many years after college that I really started questioning the common advice being offered by mainstream financial planners.

When I did, however, I realized how wrong that common advice was and totally changed my approach. ?Since then, I have been involved in the financial services industry, now concentrating on structuring Equity Indexed Universal Life Insurance policies that creates tax-free income for my clients -though I will not be limiting my posts to EIULs (boy would those be snoozers!) Instead, I will talk about all things surrounding investing and the economy. ?I have been a long-time fan of real estate investing and believe that owning an EIUL is a perfect complement to real estate.

This first post I want to briefly talk about my voyage from the standard, ? mutual funds inside a 401k/IRA wrapper,? strategy for retirement income to where I am now. I?m sure many of the readers have had similar voyages. ?There are some lessons to be learned from our earlier mistakes.

Signs of Trouble

In the late 1990s I started to get a funny feeling about my retirement funds which were invested in mutual funds inside an 401K and an IRA. ?There was so much emphasis on ?the number? or the numeric goal you hoped to reach by retirement time that it seemed to me to simplify the process too much. ?At the same time people were assuming very high average rates of return from their mutual funds, some even over 20%. ?That is when I started to really look at historic stock market returns and immediately noted several huge issues. ?The first was ?the actual sequence of returns from the stock market was highly variable creating what is called ?sequence of return risk.?

It became apparent that a large market swoon within 5 years before or after retirement was not only likely, but almost guaranteed. ?The only way to avoid this was to move out of the stock market sometime earlier which of course kept your overall returns low at a critical time. ?The other issue was that you never could really get a handle on how long this money was needed to last for? (or put uglier: when you were going to die.)

It became apparent that the cycles in the stock market were very long and unpredictable so it was entirely possible that you would spend a large portion of your investing life in bad stock times. Finally, it wasn?t entirely clear how best to turn your mutual fund wealth into retirement income.

To put this in technical terms there were three risks unaccounted for by mutual funds; sequence of return risk, economic risk, and length of life risk. ?It was easy to see how any of these risks could create havoc even with a carefully planned retirement strategy that depended upon mutual funds no matter how they were balanced.

It also became apparent that there were opposing camps of advice that seemed to be more interested in fighting each other over client dollars than to figure out what were the best retirement strategies for folks. ?The stock salesmen and the insurance salesmen spent much of their time demonstrating their opposition?s approach was dangerous instead of actually looking at the results of their advice that was streaming in.

By the way, the results of their advice was, and still is very ugly.

The other idea I found somewhat vexing was the idea of diversification. ?There were many good to great investors that simply did not believe in the need for massive diversification of stocks and even the original work done on diversification was of diversified asset classes not diversification within an asset class.

Six Fundamental Ideas to Keep In Mind

So that is where I found myself with all these ideas rolling around in my head and no strategy in place to account for them.

These? ideas are important and should be kept in mind for all investors:

1. It?s not ?the number? that is important, but the income generated by the investments;
2. Variance is an enemy of retirement income seekers;
3. Deferring income taxes is a losers strategy because no one can predict what the income tax rates will be in the future and [here is an obvious one] our goal should be to have as much income as possible, pushing us up to higher income tax brackets in the future if we defer the tax;
4. One really good investment is much better than 10 mediocre ones;
5. Time is always a question mark with investing, so investments should be able to work together to account for the unknowables around how long we live, how long we can actively manage our investments, how long we have to produce money for investments, etc.; and
6. Whenever the government and a large influential corporate cabal get together to make you a deal that seems great remember they are not doing this for your benefit but for theirs!

The Path Less Traveled

My search for answers found me focusing on three areas:

• Real Estate;
• Insurance products;
• Growth stocks (including dividend producing stocks.)

It took me a while to get out of my 401k with mutual funds but after around 8 years I accomplished it. ?This is all described in my blog, which I started in 2008. ?During my journey I made a decision to get my insurance license and sell Equity Indexed Universal Life Insurance because I found the product so useful and the average life insurance agent so ignorant on how to use it.

It has been a strange journey to having a niche life insurance business structuring policies for maximum cash value build-up, but it has been fun.

I hope to share much of what I have learned with BiggerPockets. ?Along the way if you have any questions or suggestions for posts please let me know, I can use all the help I can get

Thanks for the opportunity,

David Shafer

Photo: David Evers

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/11/29/lessons-from-a-former-mutual-fund-investor/

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GUEST COMMENTARY - Religion News Service

(RNS) Presidents, government ministers and religious leaders from around the world gathered in Vienna on Monday (Nov. 26) for the gala launch of the King Abdullah Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.

While Austria and Spain joined Saudi Arabia in establishing the center, it originated in a bold initiative by Saudi King Abdullah. Some years ago, the king convened representatives from all segments of the Muslim world in Mecca to support his call for Islam to engage the other world religions in addressing the social, scientific and global challenges of our times.

He followed this up with an interfaith conference in Madrid co-hosted with King Juan Carlos of Spain, and subsequently brought his initiative to the United Nations in 2008, hosting a gathering of world political leaders that included Israeli President Shimon Peres.

It was naturally vital for Abdullah to enlist the leading institutions of the Christian world -- in particular the Vatican -- as partners in founding the interfaith center. But this raised skepticism about the project. It was surely incongruous, to say the least, for Christian leaders to cooperate with the Saudis in an interfaith center, when their communities are not allowed to openly worship, let alone build churches in Saudi Arabia.

However, Christian leaders decided that they needed to be involved in this project for that very reason. In addition to working to ensure that religion is a source of blessing and not abused for conflict and violence, the center also addresses the reality that societies have their various and differing internal educational challenges.

The Saudi monarch and his ministers have declared that change in their country will not come through confrontation. Rather, the more its leaders, scholars and representatives are seen to be engaged in respectful cooperation with other religions, the more open and understanding Saudi society will become in relation to those other religions.

In fact, the Saudi leadership pointed to changes that Abdullah had introduced since coming to the throne in education, the status of women and in the creation of a center to promote dialogue and respect for diversity inside Saudi Arabia.

Another major source of concern was how independent this center would be. That's why the center was established by the three equal national partners as an international organization under Austrian law. Its directorship is constitutionally managed by a nine-member board -- three Christians (representing the Vatican, the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate, and the archbishop of Canterbury), three prominent Muslim scholars (two Sunni and one Shiite), one Jew, one Hindu and one Buddhist.

There will also be an international Advisory Forum that will provide voices for the faith communities and parts of the globe that are not represented on the board. The forum is also responsible for determining the projects and activities of the center. Together, the founding parties, the board and the forum guarantee the independence of the center. In fact, it was the multifaith board that determined that the center be named after King Abdullah.

What makes this interfaith initiative so special is not just that it has been established by three governments or that it has a multifaith board. Rather, it is the fact that this initiative has come from the very heart of the Muslim world -- from the custodian of the two holiest shrines of Islam. This gives it a unique standing and, hopefully, the potential to contribute globally.

While the center seeks to be a hub for interfaith work internationally and to provide state-of-the-art technology to help empower this work, it also explicitly seeks to address situations where religion is abused and exploited for violence and conflict, and to ensure that religion is part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

In the end, ?the proof of the pudding is in the eating,? and time will tell whether this venture lives up to its expectations. Nonetheless, this initiative provides a remarkable opportunity. Skepticism here is not misplaced, but it must not lead us to spurn the outstretched hand. To do that would be to allow distrust to vanquish hope, good will, and the possibility of constructive change for the good of society as a whole.

Show Caption | | Details

Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, is the Jewish member of the board of directors for the King Abdullah Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue. Credit: RNS photo courtesy Rabbi David Rosen

(Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, is the Jewish member of the board of directors for the King Abdullah Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.)

KRE/AMB END ROSEN

Source: http://www.religionnews.com/faith/international/GUEST-COMMENTARY-Why-we-have-to-take-the-Saudis-interfaith-offer-seriousl

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Ford Hybrids' Fuel Economy Failing To Live Up To EPA Ratings ...

This is starting to look not so good.

It appears that two new hybrid cars from Ford?the 2013 C-Max Hybrid hatchback and the 2013 Fusion Hybrid sedan?may not deliver real-world gas mileage that?s anywhere near their 47-mpg EPA ratings.

Automotive journalists have been quietly discussing this for a few weeks, since Ford began releasing C-Max and 2013 Fusion vehicles into media test fleets.

C-Max Hybrid: stretching to hit 40 mpg?

It?s still early yet, and it?s possible that gas mileage may improve slightly in the cars once several thousand miles have accumulated on each one.

But Green Car Reports has tested the C-Max twice, once at Ford?s media drive and once over a quick weekend route.

In the first case, the C-Max delivered 37 mpg over 50 miles of mixed freeway and urban driving. Over our weekend route, we got 40 mpg over 240 miles, mostly at freeway speeds.

And other outlets had similar results.

Most awkwardly for Ford, Larry Vellequette of Automotive News has documented his struggles to achieve anything close to 47 mpg in the C-Max Hybrid he bought for family use.

His average gas mileage was 37 mpg.

Vellequette even got chief engineer John Davis to show him the most fuel-efficient driving techniques, but he still couldn?t approach a sustained 47 mpg.

Moreover, the eight C-Max Hybrid owners who have submitted their real-world mileages to FuelEconomy.gov averaged just 40.7 mpg.

2013 Fusion Hybrid too?

Now tests are starting to emerge for the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, the most fuel-efficient model of the company?s new mid-size sedan.

And, again, they seem to be far below the EPA numbers, which duplicate those of the C-Max Hybrid at 47 mpg for all three ratings: city, highway, and combined.

Jason Harper, testing the Fusion Hybrid for Bloomberg, got 36.9 mpg.

Gary Gastelu, testing the hybrid sedan for Fox News, wrote, ?Even though I intentionally left my lead shoes at home and light-footed the Fusion Hybrid as much as possible (proving once and for all that I can, in fact, drive 55 mph) I took a lot of work to get it anywhere near 40 mpg, let alone that magic 47 mpg mark.?

Only two owners have submitted real-world ratings for the 2013 Fusion Hybrid to FuelEconomy.gov, but their average was even worse: 35.0 mpg.

Last generation: on the money

The discrepancy is all the more surprising because the last-generation Ford hybrids seemed to hit their mileage numbers on the nose.

The late Escape Hybrid, rated at 29 mpg in its all-wheel drive model, generally achieved 28 to 32 mpg.

In our test of the last-generation Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, we registered 40.5 mpg over a 250-mile route with a majority of highway mile?better than its combined EPA rating of 39 mpg.

Similarly, The Car Connection got around 40 mpg on its week-long test of 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Moreover, all members of the Toyota Prius line of four vehicles appear to deliver real-world mileage within about 10 percent of their combined EPA ratings.

Those are 50 mpg combined for both the Prius Liftback and the new Prius C subcompact, and 42 mpg for the Prius V wagon.

Power too tempting?

We spoke with three separate Ford engineers and executives at last week?s C-Max Energi media event, asking them why the real-world figures might be so different from the EPA ratings.

Each noted?as if in unison?that different owners will achieve different mileage results, that efficiency depends greatly on driver behavior, and that customers have told Ford about real-world mileages both above and below the 47-mpg combined rating.

Pressed further, one engineer noted that because the newest hybrids have a great deal more power than comparable Prius models?54 hp more, as Ford touts in its marketing?it may be that drivers are tempted to use that power.

Heavy acceleration and spirited driving, he suggested, could do some serious damage to mileage figures achieved with a light foot and a great deal of pre-planning.

What mileage do you get?

We think there will be more to this story in the months ahead, as more and more C-Max Hybrids and Fusion Hybrids hit the streets.

Certainly the lure of a compact five-door hatchback and a mid-size sedan (a nice-looking one at that) that each achieve 47 mpg is undeniable.

But as Hyundai and Kia just recently found out, when the truth comes out, it?s not pretty?and if mistakes in testing were made, it can cost the company a lot of money.

We invite owners of both the C-Max Hybrid and the new 2013 Fusion Hybrid to share their real-world mileage in the Comments below.

____________________________

This article originally appeared at Green Car Reports.

Source: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/11/27/ford-hybrids-fuel-economy-failing-to-live-up-to-epa-ratings/

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Post-divorce parenting arrangements increasingly diverse - Marilyn ...

A study of separated parents in Australia suggests that child contact arrangements are becoming more diverse. The findings point to a shift from traditional arrangements where a father would see their children every second weekend, to agreements with more paternal involvement.

The study of separated parents registered with the Australian Child Support Agency found that children generally move between parents? houses two or four times a fortnight. The research also suggests that there is more sharing of parental responsibilities than has been evident in the past. For instance, there are now more 50/50 arrangements where children spend a week at a time with each parent.

Study leader Dr Bruce Smyth, of the Australian National University, said concern had been expressed about moving children between homeses too often. However, according to the report:

?The new data suggests that arrangements involving frequent moves between homes are not the norm. Fewer transitions help to limit children?s exposure to parental hostility at handovers and offers greater predictability for children, especially young children.?

Dr Smyth added:

?All parenting arrangements involve trade-offs, single long blocks of time with each parent require fewer transitions for children, but involve longer absences from one parent. By contrast, more fragmented schedules require more transitions for children but help to minimise the time away from each parent.?

He said creative arrangements can be effective in amicable situations:

?Most parenting arrangements can work well where parents get along, there?s some flexibility, and the arrangements are child-responsive.?

Photo by?noheadlights?under a Creative Commons licence

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Posted on 28 November 2012

Source: http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2012/11/28/post-divorce-parenting-arrangements-increasingly-diverse/

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Social Networking Sites : Merits and Demerits Of Relationships

A relationship is the interaction or bond between two or more things, people, animals or places.?A new research study appraises facets of relationships crafted in social networking sites to determine their importance, profundity and potentials.? Sites such as Facebook pinterest and Twitter have revolutionized relationships to e-relationships in this digital era. In this mounting tempo of social networking sites, users share relationship status, emotional feelings, pictures and videos that depict their personality with an ever-growing list of online friends.

Nancy Baym, professor of communication studies at the University of kansas, in research on social networking sites states, ?They start in the mid-late 1990s based on this idea that Stanley Milgram had that everybody?s connected by six degrees of separation ? and the first one was actually called ?sixdegrees.com,? ?

?And they?re based on the premise that you?re more likely to want to get to know people who know people you already know than all-out strangers. So rather than a dating site that just has people putting up profiles and trying to randomly match, what if you could put up profiles of people that had shared friends. Wouldn?t those be more likely to succeed??

Baym recently has completed research on Last.fm, a site that connects fans of similar music. She found that online friendships were formed on common flavor in music and the profundities of these relations were very weak. However, people also used the site to maintain closer relationships.

?What I found on Last.fm was that on average these relationships are not very strong,? said Baym.

Despite, lawyers in US claim that the social networking sites played primary roles in many divorces and custody conflicts. Now social networking sites are blamed for the undermining relationships and marriages.

Another study by Jennine Estes, a licensed marriage and family counselor living in San Diego, ?says that she comes across clients who share how Facebook was involved in some part of their relationship.? Some stated that they used Facebook when they felt insecure in the relationship to investigate their partner?s activity with others, searching for signs that the relationship is off-track, or looking for inappropriate comments.?Other clients have stated that they watch their partner?s (or soon to be partner) relationship status as a sign of whether their relationship is in tack, broken-up, or in the works. The list is endless!

Keeping in mind, all these endless lists of problems, here is a way how to keep social media at bay from your relationships:

• The use of ?social media can magnify the insecurities, if you?re already dealing with jealousy-syndrome, if you are feeling insecure, its better you and your partner should delete your social media accounts. Even a sentence post or new friendship can be misunderstood by your partner.

• Do not assume?Posts or comments by your partner, friends, or colleagues depict their personalities or the world they reside in. assumptions can be biggest threats in relationships. As we cannot judge a person without knowing them in person.

• More clearer you?re, lesser the chances of getting ?a cord of spark in your relationship. So be clear when you are posting something and check if it is conveying the message you really wanted to give.

• Post safer topics, without giving an eye for suspect.

• Don?t air your worries misunderstandings or feelings related to your relationships.

• Include your partner in your account, either posting pictures of both or by creating a joint account. Be comfortable using ?account even when your partner is around or sits next to you.

• If you feel your relationships are hindering by your addiction to social networks, just make sure you use it minimal.

• Sometimes people just cross their limits by commenting or posting in an inappropriate or flirty way, which may hurt your partner and if this person is a ?red-flag?, its time delete them from your friend?s list, which can heal your relationship and also improves the bond.

Interestingly, women are more likely to use social networking sites than men since 2009:

• In August 2012, 75% of women were users of social networking sites, where as 63% were men.
• Women are more active users of these sites, where more than half of female users use them on typical day (54%), in comparison with 42% of male internet users. (February 2012)

Between February 2005 and August 2006, young adult internet users ages 18-29 jumped from 9% to 49% and have steadily increased since then.

However, As everything in this world has its own pros and cons ,we still are fanatic to what our neurons senses good for us.

?

Source: http://www.dazeinfo.com/2012/11/26/social-networking-sites-boon-or-bain-for-relationships/

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Apple Had to Acquire Its "Lightning" Trademark From Harley-Davidson

Apple's controversial Lightning connector has a name that nicely matches up with the Thunderbolt data connection. But its name caused Apple some trouble—because it had to buy the trademark from Harley-Davidson. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Bl0NEZqavq8/apple-had-to-acquire-its-lightning-trademark-from-harley+davidson

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Syrian planes bomb olive press, many killed

In this picture taken on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, Citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebels walk next to a cannon that was captured with other weapons from the 46th Regiment base which was a major pillar of the government's force, near the northern city of Aleppo, Syria. Syrian Rebels on Monday captured a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates River in the country's north after days of heavy clashes, carting off boxes of ammunition and notching the latest in a string of recent strategic advances for opposition fighters, activists said. (AP Photo/Idlib News Network ENN)

In this picture taken on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, Citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebels walk next to a cannon that was captured with other weapons from the 46th Regiment base which was a major pillar of the government's force, near the northern city of Aleppo, Syria. Syrian Rebels on Monday captured a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates River in the country's north after days of heavy clashes, carting off boxes of ammunition and notching the latest in a string of recent strategic advances for opposition fighters, activists said. (AP Photo/Idlib News Network ENN)

In this picture taken on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, Citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebels, center, stand next to weapons that were captured from the 46th Regiment base which was a major pillar of the government's force, near the northern city of Aleppo, Syria. Syrian Rebels on Monday captured a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates River in the country's north after days of heavy clashes, carting off boxes of ammunition and notching the latest in a string of recent strategic advances for opposition fighters, activists said. (AP Photo/Idlib News Network ENN)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian warplanes bombed an olive press factory in the country's north on Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people, including farmers who were waiting to convert their olives to oil, activists said.

Two activist groups ? the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees ? say the factory is west of the city of Idlib. The LCC says at least 20 people were killed and many others wounded in the raid, while the Observatory said "tens were killed or wounded."

Both groups depend on a network of activists on the ground around the country.

President Bashar Assad's regime has been launching intense air raids on rebels in recent months, mostly in Idlib, the nearby province of Aleppo, Deir el-Zour to the east and suburbs of the capital Damascus.

The most recent air raids have killed hundreds of people, including eight children on Sunday in the village of Deir al-Asafir near the capital Damascus.

Olive oil is a main staple in Syria. Tens of thousands of tons are produced annually.

Fadi al-Yassin, an activist based in Idlib, told The Associated Press by telephone that dozens of people had gathered to have their olives pressed when the warplanes struck, causing a large number of casualties.

It was not immediately clear why the olive press was targeted. "It was a massacre carried out by the regime." said al-Yassin.

"Now is the season to press oil," said al-Yassin, noting that since many olive press factories are not functioning in the area because of the fighting in the region. A large number of people were at the one near the city of Idlib.

"Functioning olive press factories are packed with people these days," he said.

The Observatory also reported heavy fighting on the southern edge of the strategic rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan, captured from government troops last month.

The town is on the highway that links the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest, a commercial center that has been the scene of clashes between rebels and troops since July.

The Observatory and al-Yassin said air raids on Maaret al-Numan killed at least five rebels.

Syria's conflict started in March 2011 as an uprising against Assad's regime, but quickly morphed into a civil war that has since killed more than 40,000 people, according to activists.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-27-Syria/id-838cb5a4d54b47ffbac1ae45cc901452

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Shapiro: Fiscal Cliff's Notes on budget shell game

By Walter Shapiro

It was the political equivalent of discovering more Americans were secretly watching British snooker telecasts than pro football. According to a recent national survey by the Pew Research Center, more Americans claimed to be very closely following the budget negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff than were engrossed in the soap opera that forced CIA director David Petraeus to resign.

A few possible explanations for these anomalous poll results:

1) A sex scandal involving a revered four-star general is inherently boring. 2) Americans mistakenly assume that the fiscal cliff is part of an extreme skateboarding competition, not shorthand for the looming expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts and possible across-the-board spending cuts. 3) Voters have been panicked into believing that the president and Congress must solve the country?s financial problems by the Dec. 31 or we instantly become an international basket case.

In truth, the fiscal cliff is nothing more than an arbitrary deadline created by Congress to be replaced with a dramatic flourish and, yes, another arbitrary deadline set a bit further in the future. It?s a shell game created by political con men who have come to believe their own cons.

So, relax about the over-hyped New Year?s Eve countdown for budget negotiations. Results matter, not the timetable. But even without the Petraeus-related distractions, it?s hard to separate the real from the fake, the legitimate fiscal issues from the political posturing.

So here is my version of Fiscal Cliff Notes:

Fact: All comparisons to Greece, Spain, the Roman Empire or the Duchy of Grand Fenwick are ludicrously exaggerated.

?The Road to Greece? might have been the title of a Mitt Romney campaign biopic since the former GOP presidential hopeful used the imagery so often. And during an interview Sunday with ABC?s ?This Week,? South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham used the same rhetorical excess about the American economy reduced to offering budget tours of the Acropolis.

In fact, the European fiscal crisis is far different from what the U.S. faces.

Debtor nations like Greece and Spain do not fully control their economies because they are lashed to German austerity policies through the common currency, the Euro. That means those countries do not have their own currencies to devalue, which would spur exports. Nor do they have a central bank like the U.S. Federal Reserve which would provide liquidity for their banking systems.

The United States does have long-term fiscal challenges and years of unsustainable trillion-dollar budget deficits. But our problems are largely due to the fact that we are still groping our way out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Slow but persistent economic growth (the White House projects that unemployment will not drop below 6 percent until 2017) will reduce many budgetary problems.

Global confidence in the American economy is reflected in the near record low interest rates available on 10-year and 30-year Treasury bonds. Investors around the world are willing to tie up their money for 30 years in Treasuries for the paltry interest rate of 2.8 percent.

Fact: Even if all the Bush tax cuts expire on Jan. 1, no one will instantly be paying higher income tax rates.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story the other day titled ?Most Households Face Fiscal Cliff,? suggesting almost every American family would pay more if the Bush tax cuts expired. As an example, the Journal pointed to a married couple making about $25,000 a year whose annual income tax bill would leap from zero to about $1,400.

While the tax calculations are accurate, the likelihood of this happening is about on par with an asteroid destroying the Capitol. No one in government wants the Bush tax cuts to expire for anyone earning less than $250,000 a year, so a hypothetical family scraping by on $25,000 a year would not pay a penny more in income taxes under anyone?s plan.

But what if Congress misses the Dec. 31 deadline to extend the Bush tax cuts?

This is the part of the shell game. The Treasury Department has wide discretion in the pace by which it instructs employers to adjust their income-tax withholding rates. Chances are Treasury would do nothing in January to change the rates for anyone earning less than $250,000, meaning a temporary tax increase for those wage earners would be a fiscal abstraction rather than a real-world wallet pinch. And when Congress and the president cut the inevitable tax deal, the new, lower rates would be retroactive to January 1.

Make no mistake: Some people will see their taxes increase. For the past two years, most Americans have benefited from a 2 percent reduction in their payroll taxes ? a cut designed to stimulate the economy in a period of high unemployment. But the payroll tax cut was always supposed to be temporary rather than a permanent rate adjustment. While nothing is certain, chances are payroll taxes will revert to their normal levels next year.

Then there is the so-called ?sequester? that is supposed to slash $100 billion from the budget if lawmakers do not reach an epic Grand Bargain on the deficit. For all the alarmist talk that this will reduce the U.S. Navy to bathtub levels and shred the social safety net, the sequester is another easily disarmed fiscal booby-trap.

In fact, Congress will (shocking revelation ahead) probably extend the deadline. And even if lawmakers temporize, don?t expect to see generals and admirals on the unemployment line. The automatic cuts are evenly divided between the Pentagon budget and domestic spending for a total of about $8 billion per month and every federal agency has been preparing for these potential cuts.

Across-the-board cuts, to be sure, are a foolish way to impose budgetary discipline since there is no rational case to reduce funding for embassy security after the Benghazi raid or slash FEMA spending in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. But it is hard to believe that even a delay of a month or two will ultimately matter except at the margins.

Fact: There is no $4 trillion magic number that the president and Congress must hit to prove their long-term deficit reduction plan is credible.

Somehow $4 trillion has become the gold standard to measure deficit hawk seriousness. That was the rough number in the 2010 Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan and it carried over into President Obama?s abortive 2011 negotiations with Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

Throughout the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama talked about his own $4 trillion ?balanced plan.? But that was partly sleight of hand: The Obama road map includes $1 trillion in savings from a 2011 congressional deal and another mythical $848 billion from the end of the Iraqi and Afghan wars. In short, his plan reflected previous agreements and military spending that had already been discontinued.

Fact: Everyone in Washington wants credit for tackling the deficit but no one wants to be blamed for causing pain.

As recounted by Bob Woodward in ?The Price of Politics,? a dramatic moment in the 2011 Obama-Boehner negotiations came when the two men battled over boosting the age to qualify for Medicare. Boehner wanted the age change to take effect in 2017 while Obama wanted to hold out until 2022.?

That is Washington in a nutshell ? both men wanted to postpone the pain until after they retired from office. They wanted to bask in the glory of reaching a Grand Bargain on the deficit with all the complications reserved for a future president and House speaker.

In a sense, it is budgetary arithmetic as seen through the prism of Lewis Carroll. In Through the Looking-Glass, the White Queen promised Alice jam every other day. ?The rule is,? the Queen explained, ?jam tomorrow and jam yesterday ? but never jam today.?

Just like budget cuts and tax increases ? always tomorrow and yesterday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fiscal-cliff-notes--a-study-aid-for-the-budget-shell-game-26083862-173528170.html

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Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup | Watts Up With That?

Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org) The Science and Environmental Policy Project

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Quote of the Week: ?Give me four parameters, and I can fit an elephant. Give me five, and I can wiggle its trunk.? John von Neumann

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Number of the Week: 30%

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Which Way Now for SEPP?

Get ready for the worst ? in 2013 and after:

An avalanche of economy-crippling EPA regulations, soaring energy prices, and a White House that has Climate Change as its centerpiece. President Obama acknowledged as much in his acceptance speech, when he said he wanted to ?pass on a country that isn?t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.? [NB: The planet hasn?t warmed for the past 16 years!]

My real concern is for young people who will never know what America was like ? or might have been. They will pay the price in reduced standard of living and job opportunities ? and, more importantly, in reduced Freedom.

We may already be on the ?slippery slope? ? with the ?takers? outvoting the ?producers.?

OECD projects that China will overtake the US as the world?s largest economy in 2016

My hope is that the US is not beyond repair. Let us pray ? each in his own way.

What we are up against

The environmental movement is arguably among the best-funded and most popular of the interest groups composing the Left today. They raise and spend billions of dollars a year, a fair amount of it coming from governments and duped donors. The five top energy and environment issues in 2013 will likely be:

? regulations on fracking and mining

? state renewable-energy portfolios (manadates)

? subsidies to renewable-energy firms, environmental advocacy groups, and other cronies

? EPA regulations on coal-powered electric generation to the point of eliminating new coal-fired power plants.

? proposals for carbon taxes ? or worse

Stopping them requires exposing their abuse of sound science (including the hot topic of global warming), abuse of courts, and their alliances with groups on the far anti-human Left.

Fortunately, other groups are actively opposing thus; it?s not necessary for SEPP to duplicate their good efforts. We already work closely with such groups and support them by providing scientific back-up.

SEPP?s past ? and proposed action plan

Although I had been involved in climate science throughout my professional life (see http://z4.invisionfree.com/Popular_Technology/index.php?showtopic=3072 ), my first policy-oriented publication was in 1988: Fact and Fancy on Greenhouse Earth (The Wall Street Journal, August 30, 1988). I founded SEPP in 1990 ? just as the UN-IPCC published its first Assessment Report on climate science; we achieved 501-c-3 tax-exempt status in 1992, shortly after the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit and the World Climate Treaty.

Among SEPP?s major achievements was the first demonstration of absence of a ?scientific consensus? (the 1995 ?Leipzig Declaration?) and the publication of booklets or other responses to the four climate-science assessments of the IPCC, culminating in setting up NIPCC (Non-governmental International Panel on Climate Change) in 2007. Since then, we have published two major NIPCC reports and two summaries. Our plan calls for another (final) report and summary in 2013.

In the case of a Romney election victory, I had planned to lay out a road map for Romney-Ryan, focusing on eliminating the current Endangerment Findings of the EPA. The EF is the basis for all carbon-dioxide regulations, whether for power plants or road vehicles. Remove the EF and most of EPA?s proposed regulations would collapse.

With Obama?s re-election, our proposed plan consists of two parts: science and environmental policy.

On science we are completing a review of the state of climate science that addresses the same audience as IPCC. ?Climate Change Reconsidered ? 2013? will be the third of this series of NIPCC reports published for us by the Heartland Institute.

Serving as an ?expert reviewer? on the forthcoming 5^th Assessment report of the UN-IPCC, I can tell you without breaking confidence that the IPCC fails to make its case for AGW (anthropogenic global warming). Here is the abstract of talks I will be giving over the next couple months.

Evidence for AGW (anthropogenic global warming) is put forward in IPCC?s chapter 10 on ?Attribution.? However, NIPCC (Non-governmental International Panel on Climate Change) demonstrates that this evidence cannot survive scrutiny.

The most feared consequence of putative AGW is an accelerated rise in global Sea Level. However, a detailed analysis of available data does not support the claims of IPCC chapter 13.

We conclude therefore that all current international efforts to limit emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are pointless, expensive, ? and largely counter-productive.

On the policy side, we work mainly with established organizations, such as the Heartland Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. They are larger than we, have a talented staff of policy analysts and access to legal advice. Our contribution is to provide scientific back-up. For example, we were co-plaintiffs against the EPA, challenging their Endangerment Finding.

In 2013 we will face a large number of proposed EPA regulationsthat will do little for the environment but will certainly retard or even stop economic growth. For a (partial) listing see http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/10/obamas_epa_plans_for_2013.html

Our task is to show that most of these regulations are destructive, unscientific and unnecessary.

We invite your comments and look forward to an active and productive coming year.

SEPP pays no salaries, and does not solicit support from corporations or government agencies. It depends upon contributions from private donors.

SEASON?S GREETINGS

S. Fred Singer, PhD

Chairman, Science & Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)

1600 S. Eads St., Suite 712-S

Arlington, VA 22202-2907

<singer@SEPP.org>

1-703-920-2744

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THIS WEEK:

By Ken Haapala, Executive Vice President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)

On the Road Again: On November 28, Fred Singer will be leaving for another lecture tour in Europe. On November 30 he will be speaking at the EIKE Conference in Munich, co-sponsored by Heartland. On December 3, he will be in Geneva giving three talks: luncheon talk to the BSCC, an afternoon talk with the WMO, and an evening talk ?The Climate Debate.? On December 5, he give a 3pm open lecture on ?Skeptical about Climate Catastrophes? at the Google building in Zurich To RSVP contact Johan Branstroem +41 76 79 89 579. He will give another open talk in Vienna on Dec 7 at 6 pm. To RSVP contact Gabriella Engler at the F. von Hayek Institute. For additional information please contact Ken@SEPP.org.

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The Race to Doha: On Monday, November 26, the 18^th annual Conference of Parties (COP 18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opens in Doha, Qatar, for a two-week session to try to reach an agreement for the control of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions replacing the expiring Kyoto Protocol. [The setting is ironic; the opulence of Doha represents the benefits of a petroleum-based state economy.] Up to now, the prospects appear dim for a bold new treaty for international control of the economies of many nations by controlling CO2 emissions. The leaders of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa appear to be unwilling to subject their citizens to international control which would drastically increase the costs of electricity and curtail economic growth. They appear to be aware of the enormous benefits of economic growth to the citizens of their countries ? something many leaders of developed countries appear to be blissfully ignorant. As long as the evidence supporting that claim that carbon dioxide emissions are causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming remains illusionary, it is doubtful that China, India, etc will enter into international agreements limiting CO2.

The climate science as proclaimed by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is failing. According to surface temperature data published by the Hadley Center and the Climatic Research Unit (HadCRU), these has been no warming trend for sixteen years. According to satellite data published by the University of Alabama, Huntsville, there has been no atmospheric warming trend (lower troposphere) for at least a decade (depending on how one interprets the data). The climate models on which the IPCC makes dire prophecies are failing significantly, and the knowledge of the climate system proclaimed by the IPCC is blatantly inadequate. The climate establishment is becoming desperate.

Now, many international organizations have become climate soothsayers by predicting dire consequences if an agreement is not reached. They appear to be in a race on who can predict the greatest increase in temperatures in the shortest time. Dire predictions from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Metrological Organization (WMO) were expected, because they are the parent organizations of the IPCC. UNEP claims that current emissions are far greater than those consistent with an artificially contrived 2?C limit to temperature increase for pre-industrial temperatures. Of course, the industrial area began during the Little Ice Age, the coldest period since the last major ice age. UNEP states that without controls temperatures would increase by 3 to 5?C by the end of the century.

Seeing all the fun, other international organizations have joined the race. As discussed in last week?s TWTW, the International Energy Agency (IEA) had as point one in its summary of the World Energy Outlook, 2012, a prediction of 3.6?C. Journalist Peter Foster discovered the IEA rather cheated, buried in the report was the statement that the increase would take place by 2200 ? not this century as most who read the summary would assume.

Perhaps the most disturbing prediction came from the World Bank which predicted a 4?C rise by the 2060s. This is disturbing because it has long been considered that one of the missions of the World Bank was to promote economic growth in lesser-developed countries. One of the most important components of economic growth is affordable electricity and for many lesser-developed countries, the most affordable electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, which, generally, emit more CO2 than other major forms of electricity generation.

In its slick publication, Turn Down the 4? Heat, the World Bank appears to have changed its mission. No doubt, any country that desires to obtain a World Bank loan for a coal-fired power plant to provide needed electricity for its citizens will face far greater hurdles now than in the past. Please see links under Defending the Orthodoxy, Problems Within the Orthodoxy, Communicating Better to the Public ? Exaggerate, or be Vague?, and Communicating Better to the Public ? Make things up.

Please note that the word ?predictions? was used above rather than the more technically correct word ?projections.? The climate models have never been verified and validated, and projections is the correct term. However, the studies are being treated as scientific certainty, which they are not, so the term ?predictions? is used.

What about the predictions of the World Metrological Organization?

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Number of the Week: 30% In its November press release stating that greenhouse gas concentrations [GHG] in the atmosphere reached an all time-high in 2011 [a modern high] the World Metrological Organization (WMO) stated: ?Between 1990 and 2011 there was a 30% increase in radiative forcing ? the warming effect on our climate ? because of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping long-lived gases.? Further: ?Carbon dioxide is the single-most important greenhouse gas emitted by human activities. It is responsible for 85% of the increase in radiative forcing over the past decade.? [Boldface added]. The WMO failed to mention that there has been no corresponding increase in temperatures for over a decade.

Since there is no trend of increasing temperatures, while radiative forcing has increased, clearly there is something wrong with the theory and the models proclaimed by the IPCC. Please see link under Defending the Orthodoxy.

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Rewards and Punishments: Ross McKitrick has a slide presentation clearly demonstrating the unequal distribution of benefits and costs to the global society from international limits on CO2 emissions, provided there is not clear evidence that CO2 emissions cause unprecedented and dangerous global warming. According to McKitrick, the benefits are largely psychological, accruing to wealthy urban westerners. The costs are real costs falling on the poor, particularly in 3^rd world communities with no electricity.

McKitrick gives an example of the difficulty of obtaining World Bank financing a much needed power plant in South Africa that would benefit the poor. Let us hope that the new World Bank report, discussed above, does not signal a policy change of the World Bank to deny such loans in the future. Please see link under Seeking a Common Ground.

[There is little reason to believe that the bulk of the $100 Billion in annual transfers from Western nations to 3^rd world nations, as demanded by the UN, will actually benefit the poor.]

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Limiting Growth: Western politicians are almost falling over themselves in their efforts to limit economic growth and drive up electricity costs to their citizens. Few have taken notice of a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It states: ?On the basis of 2005 purchasing power parities (PPPs), China is projected to surpass the Euro Area in a year or so and the United States in a few more years, to become the largest economy in the world, and India is projected to surpass Japan in the next year or two and the Euro area in about 20 years.? Further: ?The United States is expected to cede its place as the world?s largest economy to China, as early as 2016. [Boldface added] India?s GDP is also expected to pass that of the United States over the long term.?

Is there any doubt why China and India do not wish to limit carbon dioxide emissions? Please see link under Economic Issues.

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EPA Endangerment Finding: There appears to be little doubt that the EPA will use its finding that GHG emissions (actually CO2 emissions) endanger public health and welfare. SEPP has been unable to find any scientific basis for EPA?s claim to the Federal court of 90 to 99% certainty in its findings. If any readers are aware of such a calculated certainty, please contact Ken@SEPP.org.

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Climate Dialogue: A new group, Climate Dialogue, has been formed to promote the exchange of ideas regarding Climate Science. Both climate experts and the general public are welcome to participate. The first issue addressed is the melting of the Arctic: ?What are the causes of the decline in Arctic sea ice? Is it dominated by global warming or can it be explained by natural variability??

The discussion questions for the first issue are:

1) What are the main processes causing the decline in Arctic sea ice?

2) How unusual is the current decline in historical perspective?

3) What is the evidence for a substantial role of ?global warming? in the current Arctic sea ice decline?

4) What is the evidence for a substantial role of natural variability (AO, AMO, NAO, PDO)?

5) What percentage of the recent decline would you attribute to anthropogenic greenhouse gases?

6) Do you think the Arctic could be ice free in the (near) future and when do you think this could happen?

The editorial staff are: 1) Rob van Dorland of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI); 2) Bart Strengers, a climate policy analyst and modeler in the IMAGE-project at the PBL, theNetherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and 3) Marcel Crok, an investigative science writer.

The organization has promise of being an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas on all sides of the issues. Such forums are much needed and SEPP gives them best wishes. Please see link under Seeking a Common Ground.

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ABC: Jo Anne Nova reports that a science program broadcast by the Australian Government ? owned Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) equated global warming skeptics with pedophiles. Argumentum ad hominem has long been a standard tool of those criticizing skeptics and reflects that those making such attacks cannot develop logical reasons why the skeptics are wrong. Let us hope that ABC has not fully reached that level. Please see link under Communicating Better to the Public ? Make things up.

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WUWT-TV: Anthony Watts is uploading the videos from his 24-hour show on global warming skeptics. Since he is not well financed, the process is slow with the equipment he has. No doubt, there are many installments that TWTW readers may wish to review. Please see links under Challenging the Orthodoxy ? WUWT-TV.

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Secret Accounts: CEI?s Chris Horner continues to seek the secret email accounts used by public officials to conduct public business away from public scrutiny. He continues to unveil official deception and deceit regarding these accounts that should be open to the public. Please see Article # 1 and link under Cap and Trade and Carbon Taxes.

******************

Amplifications and Corrections: James Wallace correctly noted that the October 6 TWTW contained an error in tense. The corrected statement is: The US has passed Russia as the leading producer of natural gas and is projected to pass Russia as the second largest producer of oil.

Richard Lindzen amplified comments on the iris effect:

?[Ken] got the story a little wrong. In paragraph 15 of the attached, Trenberth and Fasullo explicitly indicate that what they are seeing is the iris, but then proceed to cite papers that allegedly disprove what both they and we found. Of course the papers they cite are, in fact, silly, and we did publish the responses, but our responses are never mentioned. There are other papers that have confirmed what we found, and they all go through the litany of saying that our theory has been ?disproven? or, in the environmental literature ?discredited.? Apparently, this is needed in order to publish anything supportive of the iris. I spoke about this long ago at NASA-Goddard.?

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Quote of the Week: One can speculate what the famous mathematician John von Neumann would have said about the climate models used by the IPCC. According to reports, the modelers are not limiting the number of parameters by using empirical research to establish values for them. Instead, they are increasing the number of parameters. Would von Neumann say something along the line: with the IPCC parameters I can make an elephant do acrobatics on a tightrope?

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ARTICLES:

For the numbered articles below please see this week?s TWTW at: www.sepp.org. The articles are at the end of the pdf.

1. Why EPA?s ?alias? email accounts matter

By Christopher Horner, CEI, Nov 26, 2012 [To be published on Monday]

Link not yet available

2. The Scientific Blind Spot

Knowledge is less a canon than a consensus.

By David Shaywitz, WSJ, Nov 18, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324894104578113590368047244.html?mod=ITP_opinion_0

[SEPP Comment: A book review on the persistence of error.]

3. Drillers Begin Reusing ?Frack Water?

Energy Firms Explore Recycling Options for an Industry That Consumes Water on Pace With Chicago

By Alison Sider, Russell Gold and Ben Lefebvre, WSJ, Nov 20, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203937004578077183112409260.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

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NEWS YOU CAN USE:

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Challenging the Orthodoxy

Another Dissident In Germany Speaks Up In An Open Letter ? Even Warmist Science Shows There?s Been No Warming

By P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Nov 21, 2012

http://notrickszone.com/2012/11/21/another-dissident-in-germany-speaks-up-in-an-open-letter-even-warmist-science-admits-theres-been-no-warming/

Dissent is growing and skepticism is taking root in Germany, as one prominent figure after another begin to speak out. This all goes back to Prof. Fred Singer?s visit to Germany 2010, which produced an uproar, especially among the Greens and Socialists.

In for their COP ? Part III

By Michael Kile, Quadrant, Nov 23, 2012

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2012/11/in-for-their-cop-part-iii

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which now covers only 18 per cent of global GHG emissions. Under the Protocol, 37 states ? mainly developed countries ? have agreed to legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments. It has yet to be ratified by the US, while NZ, Canada, Japan and Russia have said they would not sign up to a second round when the commitment lapses at the end of 2012.

[SEPP Comment: The third of a three part essay describing the convoluted process to establish international control of greenhouse gases and the exaggerations by international organizations.]

Challenging the Orthodoxy ? WUWT.TV

First WUWT.TV video now online ? Senator Inhofe interview

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 20, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/20/first-wuwt-tv-video-now-online-senator-inhofe-interview/

?

The next video from WUWT.TV: Dr. Ross McKitrick

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 23, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/23/the-next-video-from-wuwt-tv-dr-ross-mckitrick/

Defending the Orthodoxy

Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Reach New Record

WMO Bulletin highlights pivotal role of carbon sinks

Press Release No. 965

By Staff Writers, WMO, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_965_en.html

Warming Temperatures Will Change Greenland?s Face

By Staff Writers, New York NY (SPX), Nov 20, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Warming_Temperatures_Will_Change_Greenlands_Face_999.html

They compared two possible future CO2 scenarios: a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere projected for the end of the century of 850 parts per million (ppm) versus a more aggressive projection of 1370 ppm. The first approximates the current rate of increase.

[SEPP Comment: Assuming the assumed climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide is correct.]

Global Carbon Dioxide Levels Hit New Record in 2011, Survey Shows

By Staff Writers, Reuters, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/global-carbon-dioxide-levels_n_2163612.html?utm_hp_ref=green

[SEPP Comment: No mention of the failure of temperatures to rise for more than a decade. Reciting the fears of declining ocean alkalinity as ocean acidification.]

IAEA Workshop Warns Ocean Acidification Threatens Seafood Supply

By Peter Rickwood, IAEA, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2012/seafoodsupply.html

Questioning the Orthodoxy

Another COP-out?

By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Nov 23, 2012

http://www.scientific-alliance.org/scientific-alliance-newsletter/another-cop-out

Globe and Mail columnist misguided on climate and energy

By Tom Harris, New Ideas, Nov 22, 2012

http://www.fcpp.org/blog/globe-and-mail-columnist-misguided-on-climate-and-energy/

Are Al Gore?s ?Dirty Weather? Claims And Tactics Criminal?

By Tim Ball, A Different Prospective, Nov 22, 2012

http://drtimball.com/2012/are-al-gores-dirty-weather-claims-and-tactics-criminal/

Speak loudly and carry a busted hockey stick

By Walter Starck, Quadrant, Nov 19, 2012

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2012/11/speak-loudly-and-carry-a-busted-hockey-stick

The average temperature for the Earth, or any region or even any specific place is very difficult to determine with any accuracy. At any given time surface air temperatures around the world range over about 100?C. Even in the same place they can vary by nearly that much seasonally and as much as 30?C or more in a day. Weather stations are relatively few and located very irregularly. Well-maintained stations with good records going back a century or more can be counted on one?s fingers. Even then only maximum and minimum temperatures or ones at a few particular times of day are usually available. Maintenance, siting, and surrounding land use also all have influences on the temperatures recorded.

Global warming hysteria will kill jobs

Hydraulic fracturing myths threaten U.S. economy

By Paul Driessen, Washington Times, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/20/global-warming-hysteria-will-kill-jobs-by-paul-dri/

Questioning European Green

A truce over wind farms?but how long will it last?

Both the Conservatives and Lib Dems are claiming a victory after striking a deal which paves the way for a new generation of nuclear power stations and wind farms but how long will it last, asks Rowena Mason.

By Rowena Mason, Telegraph, UK, Nov 23, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9698624/A-truce-over-wind-farms?but-how-long-will-it-last.html

Expanding the Orthodoxy

UN Climate Chief: Talks Are

Making Slow, Steady Progress

With a new round of climate negotiations about to get underway, Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations climate organization, explains in a Yale Environment 360 interview why, despite the obstacles, she thinks the world community is slowly inching its way toward an agreement.

By Elizabeth Kolbert, Environment 360, Nov 21, 2012 [H/t Bishop Hill]

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/un_climate_chief_christiana_figueres_talks_making_progress_on_eve_of_doha/2593/#.UK05kQ6CU1g.twitter

[SEPP Comment: As Andrew Montford states, the conclusion can be better termed as scientific socialism, not science.]

Shocker from UEA: ?consensus-based decision ? stifles progress?

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 19, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/19/shocker-from-uea-consensus-based-decision-stifles-progress/

Problems Within the Orthodoxy

China rules out new climate ?regime?, setting up US conflict

By Alex Morales, Bloomberg, Nov 21, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/china-rules-out-new-climate-regime-setting-up-us-conflict-8339504.html

China seeks delay over global climate treaty

Beijing wants industrialised countries to commit to cuts in greenhouse gas emissions before agreeing to an extension of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol

By Li Jing, South China Morning Post, Nov 22, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1087804/china-seeks-delay-over-global-climate-treaty

Climate change no longer a priority

By N.R. Krishnan, Hindu, Nov 21, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/climate-change-no-longer-a-priority/article4119896.ece

Seeking a Common Ground

The BBC and the consensus

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Nov 22, 2012

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2012/11/22/the-bbc-and-the-consensus.html

[SEPP Comment: According to Montford, the real common ground of disagreement is that we do not know if carbon dioxide emissions are a major problem or not. Can we call this lack of knowledge the consensus?]

Announcing the launch of ClimateDialogue.org

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 16, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/16/announcing-the-launch-of-climatedialogue-org/

CIIGI Conference

By Ross McKitrick, Presentation, Center for International Governance Innovation Nov 15, 2012 [About 14 minutes into the video]

http://new.livestream.com/cigionline2/events/1677785/videos/6418490

A graphical look at worldwide CO2 numbers

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 23, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/23/a-graphical-look-at-worldwide-co2-numbers/#more-74808

Communicating Better to the Public ? Exaggerate, or be Vague?

Targets for limiting global warming further out of reach: UN

By Staff Writers, Paris (AFP), Nov 21, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Targets_for_limiting_global_warming_further_out_of_reach_UN_999.html

Based on current pledges, global average temperatures could rise by three to five degrees Celsius (5.4 to 9.0 degrees Fahrenheit) this century ? way above the two degree Celsius being targeted, said a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Report: ?Swift action? needed to prevent 2 C temperature rise

By Zack Colman, The Hill, Nov 21, 2012

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/269055-report-swift-action-needed-to-prevent-2-c-temperature-rise

A Hurricane of Global Warming Lies

By Alan Caruba, Warning Signs, Nov 20, 2012

http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-hurricane-of-global-warming-lies.html

German Die Zeit?s Twisted Perception: Doubt Being Fanned Worldwide By Climate Godfather Marc Morano

By P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Nov 23, 2012

http://notrickszone.com/2012/11/23/german-die-zeits-twisted-perception-doubt-being-fanned-worldwide-by-climate-godfather-marc-morano/

Die Zeit also focuses on Fred Singer and the late Frederick Seitz, who they write are ?part of an industry-financed complex of associations and institutes that has grown up around Washington, a sort of Potemkin village of science, populated by paid experts who serve the interests of their clients. [...] A well-oiled, self-perpetuating denial machine?.

New dating of sea-level records reveals rapid response between ice volume and polar temperature

By Staff Writers, Southampton UK (SPX) Nov 20, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/New_dating_of_sea_level_records_reveals_rapid_response_between_ice_volume_and_polar_temperature_999.html

[SEPP Comment: Over the last 160 years the earth did not warm faster than it did following the Younger Dryas. Further, the total ice mass was far greater than today. Any comparisons must take this into account.

Communicating Better to the Public ? Make things up.

Turn Down the 4? Heat

Why 4?C Warmer World Must be Avoided

A Report for the World Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and , Climate Analytics, Nov, 2012

http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_the_Heat_Executive_Summary_English.pdf

4-degrees briefing for the World Bank: The risks of a future without climate policy

By Staff Writers, Berlin, Germany (SPX), Nov 20, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/4_degrees_briefing_for_the_World_Bank_The_risks_of_a_future_without_climate_policy_999.html

World Bank fears devastating 4.0 degree warming

By Staff Writers, Washington (AFP), Nov 18, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/World_Bank_fears_devastating_40_degree_warming_999.html

The Emissions Gap Report 2012

A UNEP Synthesis Report

By Staff Writers, United Nations Environment Programme, Nov, 2012

http://www.unep.org/publications/ebooks/emissionsgap2012/

[SEPP Comment: The gap is the difference in GHG emissions between what the UNEP projects is needed to keep temperatures from rising above 2 C during the industrial era and the current pledges to reduce emissions. Of course, it is pure speculation because the models used have not been validated.]

Report: ?Swift action? needed to prevent 2 C temperature rise

By Zack Colman, The Hill, Nov 21, 2012

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/269055-report-swift-action-needed-to-prevent-2-c-temperature-rise

BREAKING: Skeptics equated to pedophiles ? Robyn Williams ABC. Time to protest.

By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Nov 24, 2012

http://joannenova.com.au/2012/11/breaking-skeptics-are-like-paedophiles-drug-robyn-williams-abc-time-to-protest/

BBC Special

The BBC?s ?dirty little secret? lands it in a new scandal

The truth of a secret meeting that decided BBC policy on climate change has come out online

By Christopher Booker, Telegraph, UK, Nov 17, 2012 [H/t Number Watch]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9684775/The-BBCs-dirty-little-secret-lands-it-in-a-new-scandal.html

Changing Seas

What Goes Down Must Come Back Up

By Staff Writers, Pasadena CA (JPL), Nov 20, 2012

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/What_Goes_Down_Must_Come_Back_Up_999.html

[SEPP Comment: Sea levels are rising again? No alarmists mentioned they had fallen.]

Caution Urged About Sea Level Claims

By David Whitehouse, GWPF, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.thegwpf.org/caution-urged-sea-level-claims/

Changing Sea Ice

?You?ll Be Amazed By What Was Observed? ? Inconvenient Arctic Observations Before Satellite Measurements

By P. Gosselin, Translated from Die kalte Sonne, No Tricks Zone, Nov 22, 2012

http://notrickszone.com/2012/11/22/youll-be-amazed-by-what-was-observed-inconvenient-arctic-observations-before-satellite-measurements/

Sea ice extent linked to ocean currents ? hindcast model works

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 21, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/21/sea-ice-extent-linked-to-ocean-currents-hindcast-model-works/

Changing Earth

The Retreat of the Gualas Glacier

Scientists find a surprising cause for diminishing icefields

By Lonny Lippsett, Oceanus, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/gualas-glacier

Review of Recent Scientific Articles by NIPCC

For a full list of articles see www.NIPCCreport.org

Coccolithophores in the Bay of Biscay

Reference: Smith, H.E.K., Tyrrell, T., Charalampopoulou, A., Dumousseaud, C., Legge, O.J., Birchenough, S., Pettit, L.R., Garley, R., Hartman, S.E., Hartman, M.C., Sagoo, N., Daniels, C.J., Achterberg, E.P. and Hydes, D.J. 2012. Predominance of heavily calcified coccolithophores at low CaCO3 saturation during winter in the Bay of Biscay. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109: 8845-8849.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/nov/14nov2012a3.html

[SEPP Comment: Contradicting claims of disaster from changing alkalinity of the oceans.]

Effects of Ocean Warming and Acidification on an Antarctic Echinoid

Reference: Ericson, J.A., Ho, M.A., Miskelly, A., King, C.K., Virtue, P., Tilbrook, B. and Byrne, M. 2012. Combined effects of two ocean change stressors, warming and acidification, on fertilization and early development of the Antarctic echinoid Sterechinus neumayeri. Polar Biology 35: 1027-1034.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/nov/20nov2012a3.html

More Evidence for a Truly Global Little Ice Age

Reference: Simms, A.R., Ivins, E.R., DeWitt, R., Kouremenos, P. and Simkins, L.M. 2012. Timing of the most recent Neoglacial advance and retreat in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula: insights from raised beaches and Holocene uplift. Quaternary Science Reviews 47: 41-55.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/nov/21nov2012a2.html

Eighty Years of Extreme Snowfalls and Snow Depths in Switzerland

Reference: Marty, C. and Blanchet, J. 2012. Long-term changes in annual maximum snow depth and snowfall in Switzerland based on extreme value statistics. Climatic Change 111: 705-721.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/nov/21nov2012a3.html

Economic Issues

Balance of economic power will shift dramatically over the next 50 years, says OECD

By Staff Writers, OECD, Nov 9, 2012

http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/balanceofeconomicpowerwillshiftdramaticallyoverthenext50yearssaysoecd.htm

Cap-and-Trade and Carbon Taxes

Paying for Carbon

By Donn Dears, Power for USA, Nov 23, 2012

http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/

[SEPP Comment: A basic, hard analysis that all politicians who think a carbon tax is free money should be compelled to read.]

Treasury Stonewalls FOIA Request

Vitter questions Treasury stymieing of carbon tax FOIA request

By CJ Ciaramella, Free Beacon, Nov 20, 2012

http://freebeacon.com/treasury-stonewalls-foia-request/

[SEPP Comment: Another example of bureaucrats ignoring the law.]

The Case for a Carbon Tax

Americans are paying less than the full cost of their energy use.

By A. Barton Hinkle, Reason, Nov 19, 2012

http://reason.com/archives/2012/11/19/the-case-for-a-carbon-tax

[SEPP Comment: The author accepts the proclaimed damages from enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide and ignores the demonstrated benefits.]

Subsidies and Mandates Forever

Analyzing the cost of federal and other renewable energy subsidies in Texas

By Staff Writers, Austin TX (SPX), Nov 20, 2012

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Analyzing_the_cost_of_federal_and_other_renewable_energy_subsidies_in_Texas_999.html

[SEPP Comment: Wind-blown Texas has more wind power subsidies than it needs.]

EPA and other Regulators on the March

Is The Obama EPA Running Its Own Black-Ops Program?

Editorial, IBD, Nov 19, 2012 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/111912-634046-epa-lisa-jackson-emailing-as-richard-windsor.htm

Why Courts Should Repeal EPA?s ?Carbon Pollution? Standard (and why you should care)

By Marlo Lewis, Cooler Heads, Nov 19, 2012

http://www.globalwarming.org/2012/11/19/why-courts-should-repeal-epas-carbon-pollution-standard-and-why-you-should-care/

[SEPP Comment: A repeat of a Forbes article, but with hyperlinks.]

The EPA vs. State Economies

Its regulations drive up the price of corn.

By Marlo Lewis, National Review, Nov 19, 2012

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/333604/epa-vs-state-economies-marlo-lewis#

Energy Issues ? Non-US

Oil sands to be economic driver for Canada

By Staff Writers, Edmonton, Alberta (UPI), Nov 16, 2012

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Oil_sands_to_be_economic_driver_for_Canada_999.html

[SEPP Comment: If environmentalists allow it.]

Australia managed the mining boom so well we can?t afford cancer treatments

By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Nov 21, 2012

http://joannenova.com.au/2012/11/australia-managed-the-mining-boom-so-well-we-cant-afford-cancer-treatments/

Energy Issues ? US

Global warming hysteria will kill jobs

Hydraulic fracturing myths threaten U.S. economy

By Paul Driessen, Washington Times, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/20/global-warming-hysteria-will-kill-jobs-by-paul-dri/

Oil and Natural Gas ? the Future or the Past?

The Next Oil Revolution

By Peter Glover, Energy Tribune, Nov 17, 2012

http://www.energytribune.com/65437/the-next-oil-revolution

Return of King Coal?

More than 1,000 new coal plants planned worldwide, figures show

World Resources Institute identifies 1,200 coal plants in planning across 59 countries, with about three-quarters in China and India

By Damian Carrington, The Guardian, UK, Nov 19, 2012 [H/t Energy Tribune]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/20/coal-plants-world-resources-institute

Nuclear Energy and Fears

Another Nail

By Donn Dears, Power for USA, Nov 20 2012

http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/another-nail/

[SEPP Comment: The winding down of nuclear energy in the US?]

Bucking the Trend: Nuclear China in a Post Fukushima World

By Tim Daiss, Energy Tribune, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.energytribune.com/65641/nuclear-china-post-fukushima-world

Alternative, Green (?Clean?) Solar and Wind

Wind Power Fiasco: Call Your Congressman

By Norman Rogers, American Thinker, Nov 23, 2012

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/11/wind_power_fiasco_call_your_congressman.html

The great British wind scam

Your taxes are meant to be supporting smaller turbines. In fact, they?re making giant ones less efficient

By Sebastian Payne, Spectator, Nov 24, 2012

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/8766481/the-great-british-wind-scam/

Alternative, Green (?Clean?) Energy ? Other

14,000 Jobs Possible from Military Biofuels Initiative

By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Nov 16, 2012

http://www.biofueldaily.com/reports/14000_Jobs_Possible_from_Military_Biofuels_Initiative_999.html

[SEPP Comment: The military squandering money can create jobs.]

Health, Energy, and Climate

Smog has to be cleared

By Sunita Narain, Down to Earth, Nov 30, 2012

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/smog-has-be-cleared

[SEPP Comment: The major environmental issues are in developing countries, not in developed countries.]

Environmental Industry

The fine art of scaring children

By Tony Thomas, Quadrant, Nov 20, 2012

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2012/11/the-fine-art-of-scaring-children

Ballarat has a great art gallery, with its original architecture and gold-financed 19th century acquisitions. I was stooging around there last week after enjoying its show on floral illustrations, dating back to William Dampier. In the main halls it has an ?art trail? for children, directing them to half a dozen works. Each has a screed alongside backgrounding the painting and giving the kids some quizzes.

Other Scientific News

At least one-third of marine species remain undescribed

By Staff Writers, London, UK (SPX)? Nov 22, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/At_least_one_third_of_marine_species_remain_undescribed_999.html

[SEPP Comment: Certainly draws into question the claims by some that a third of marine species are going extinct. We don?t know what they are but they are going extinct?]

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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:

C.I.A. Closes Its Climate Change Office

By John Broder, NYT, Nov 20, 2012

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/c-i-a-closes-its-climate-change-office/

[SEPP Comment: After an alarmist National Research Council report on global warming / climate change requested by the CIA.]

Another climate sticky wicket ? ?climate change is poised to reduce the viability of the maple syrup industry?

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 20, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/20/another-climate-sticky-wicket-climate-change-is-poised-to-reduce-the-viability-of-the-maple-syrup-industry/

[SEPP Comment: The report claims harmful effects of global warming on the moose in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Fifty years ago there were no moose in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Perhaps they are the result of global warming.]

Laughing gas bugs

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 22, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/22/laughing-gas-bugs/

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Source: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/25/weekly-climate-and-energy-news-roundup-71/

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