Man Made Climate Change: More Sobering Evidence from Around the World

"[The] climate crisis is significantly worse and unfolding more rapidly".
--Al Gore, in Switzerland

"The snow, the worst in a decade in many places, has hit most of China since Jan. 12, leaving homes collapsed, power blackouts, highways closed and crops destroyed."
--Chinese weather agency



While Al Gore was in Switzerland, trying to raise the alarm on global warming, the forces of man-made climate change turned deadly in China.

Environmentalists continue to warn those who raise a deaf ear against the catastrophic results of man-made climate change.

The Earth's future hangs in the very balance.

For those who will not listen, more gloomy climate news is as near as their local newspaper.

China’s prime minister rushed south from the capital to show his concern for millions of travellers stranded by snowstorms and blizzards, only to fall victim himself to the worst winter weather in China for half a century.

The extreme weather is now thought to have killed more than 50 people after two buses crashed today.

As if this sad news of the results of mankind's continued use of fossil fuels wasn't enough, there was additional startling news closer to home.

A freak snowstorm has hit British Columbia, causing at least one death, with chaos in some areas and outages in others.

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority was last night attempting to restore normal electricity service to 2,500 customers in Maple Ridge who were affected when a fire engine flipped over and ruptured a power line.

In the U.S., Gore's climate theories might finally get the respect they deserve as Los Angeles fell victim to man's climate madness.

Despite the normal prevailing winds, 80-degree temperatures, and relentless sunshine a localized freak snowstorm hit the heart of Los Angeles producing intermittent limited visibility and occasional measurable accumulation. Residents were completely surprised by the unusual patterns and local forecasters could find no explanation or record of similar occurrences.

The former Vice President has these sober words for a listening world yesterday.

At a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Gore warned that the climate crisis was worsening.

"We could take the whole session talking just about the new scientific evidence of the last few weeks and months," said Mr Gore, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight climate change.

He added that the "climate crisis is significantly worse and unfolding more rapidly".

More evidence for "climate change deniers" to ponder as they seek to obstruct Gore's plans of more taxes and regulations to counter the menace that threatens the entire world.

John McCain, running for president on the Republican ticket, is one of the few candidates who has tried to address the coming disaster that is global warming. McCain agrees that the U.S. isn't doing enough to stop this ecological time bomb.

Al Gore isn't kidding.

Time is running out.

Will no one do something?

by Mondoreb
images: RidesAPaleHorse;schooltube
Sources:
* 50 dead as snowstorm chaos hits China
* 500,000 Still Stranded in Guangzhou
* Freak Snowstorm Hits BC
* Freak Snowstorm Hits LA



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

McCain Lobbyist Story: Spin, Smear or Straight Reporting?

Hires high-priced attorney Bob Bennett
to deal with story he called "Gutter Politics"

The expected denials of an earlier story posted on the Drudge Reports website about presidential candidate, John McCain, and memebers of his campaign staff pressuring the New York Times to spike the story were issued a few hours ago.

Sen. John McCain said today that he has "never done any favors for anybody -- lobbyist or special-interest group" as his presidential campaign rushed out a statement denouncing allegations that he did anything to benefit a specific Washington lobbyist as "gutter politics."

McCain took the unusual step of hiring Washington insider and super-lawyer Bob Bennett to deal with a story he characterized as nothing more than "gutter politics".

The AP reported on earlier reports that McCain favored a lobbyist--the Keating Five.

Sen. John McCain said Thursday he had "never done any favors for anybody—lobbyist or special interest group." McCain made the remark to reporters in Detroit when questioned about a report that The New York Times was investigating allegations of legislative favoritism by the Arizona Republican.

He acknowledged that his presidential campaign aides have had discussions with the newspaper regarding its inquiries. "I have not had been in talks with The New York Times. They've been communicating with our staff and with us," McCain said. "I've never done any favors for anybody—lobbyist or special interest group—that's a clear, 24-year record."

McCain and four other senators were accused two decades ago of trying to influence banking regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, a savings and loan financier later convicted of securities fraud. The Senate Ethics Committee said McCain had used "poor judgment" but also said his actions were not illegal.

The Arizona Republican has hired a prominent criminal attorney, Robert Bennett, to deal with the matter. "What is being done to John McCain is an outrage," Bennett said in an interview this morning.

Bennett is preparing answers to written questions submitted by a team of New York Times reporters who have spent weeks investigating questions about the senator and the lobbyist; she has also retained a lawyer, according to a knowledgeable source who asked not to be identified because he was discussing legal matters.

The McCain story hit the Drudge Reports website earlier today and was eventually picked up by larger press outlets.

McCain called Times Executive Editor Bill Keller this month to deny the allegations and to complain that he was not being treated fairly by the Times reporters, who have not yet interviewed him, the source said.

The Times inquiry burst into public view when the Drudge Report Web site posted an item about the newspaper's probe.

John McCain might have cut the media a little slack for looking into a story involving favored treatment to a lobbyist by the Senator from Arizona.

McCain was in his first Senate term when he was named as one of the "Keating Five", a group of lawmakers who took favors from savings and loan wheeler-dealer Charles Keating--in essence, a lobbyist.

Speaking to reporters in Detroit, McCain confirmed the Times inquiry, adding: "I do find the timing of this whole issue very interesting. And we're not going to stand for what happened to us in 2000. We're getting close to the primary," referring to the Jan. 8 contest in New Hampshire.

Bennett said McCain had personally retained him "to respond more forcefully" to the allegations than he did to unfounded rumors in the 2000 South Carolina primary campaign, which included the falsehood that McCain had fathered a black baby. Those rumors, Bennett said, "may have cost him the election."

Bennett is comparing the efforts of unnamed individuals in the 2000 South Carolina contest with a sourced and documented report from the New York Times.

If one is not paying too close attention, it may prove to be a wise strategy for dealing with unfavorable press coverage so close to the contest in Iowa next month.

McCain's top strategists initially declined to comment on the Drudge item, fearing that would open the door for news organizations to write about what the advisers regard as a non-story that could well never be published by the Times. McCain, however, took the matter into his own hands by fielding questions about the controversy in Detroit, prompting his campaign to issue its statement.

"It is unfortunate that rumor and gossip enter into political campaigns," said the statement from Jill Hazelbaker, the campaign's communications director. "John McCain has a 24-year record of serving this country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the important issues facing our country."

If the story originated in the New York Times' Editorial room, McCain might be on more solid ground in labeling the Times' efforts a "smear".

The sight of indignant candidates delivering their verdict of "smear" to a waiting press has become a familiar one over the years.

As it stands, the campaign has fallen back on the political shorthand of recent years of tagging any disagreeable coverage or information as a smear.

The story from Drudge also chronicled a battle within the Times itself pitting editor against reporter in the story of whether to publish the story or not.

Time will tell if this is a "smear", "spin" or merely another journalistic effort.

by Mondoreb
[image:thewashingtonnote]
Source: Drudge Report - McCain Calls Allegations "Gutter Politics"



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

McCain Tries Spiking NY Times Story: Ghosts of Keating Five Reappear

Drudge:"Special Treatment of Lobbyist" Causes McCain Trouble

Ghosts of Keating Five Past Returns to Haunt McCain?

John McCain, a member of the Keating Five back in the 90s, has reportedly tried to talk the New York Times out of running a story about the Arizona Senator giving special treatment to a lobbyist.

According to the Drudge Report, McCain has even hired super-lawyer and Washington insider Bob Bennett to tackle the problem.

Drudge uses the word "charges": whether he means it in the legal sense of the word is hard to tell.

The following just popped up on the Drudge Report website a few minutes ago.

Just weeks away from a possible surprise victory in the primaries, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz has been waging a ferocious behind the scenes battle with the NEW YORK TIMES, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, and has hired DC power lawyer Bob Bennett to mount a bold defense against charges of giving special treatment to a lobbyist!

John McCain has put a lot of ground between himself and lobbyist treatment since his involvement in the Keating Five scandal.

It was speculated that McCain has backed the controversial campaign finance law, McCain-Finegold, because he wanted to change his public image after the Keating Five affair.

A little about the Saving and Loan honcho Charles Keating and the Keating Five:

In 1972, Keating began to work for American Financial Corp., a company involved in insurance and banking. Four years later he moved to Phoenix, Arizona to run the real estate firm American Continental Corporation, a spin-off of American Financial Corp. In 1984, American Continental Corporation bought Lincoln Savings. Such savings and loan associations had been deregulated in the early 1980s, allowing them to make highly risky investments with their depositors' money, a change of which Keating took advantage.

Some regulators noted the danger and pushed for more oversight, but Congress refused. Some of this may be due to the Keating Five, five Senators (Dennis DeConcini, Alan Cranston, John Glenn, Don Riegle and Keating's good friend John McCain) who had received some $300,000 from Keating in the 1980s as political contributions. They later met twice with regulators who were investigating American Continental Corp., in an attempt to end the investigation. (In 1990, they would be rebuked to various degrees by the Senate Ethics Committee.)
--Wikipedia: Charles Keating

Conservatives, free speech advocates and Libertarians have solidly come down against McCain-Finegold as unconstitutional. It remains a particular sticky point for McCain in winning wide-spread conservative support in his quest for the presidency.

About the effects of the Keating Five scandal on John McCain and his support for McCain-Finegold's limits on, what some call, the constitutionally protected speech of campaign giving.

The image of John McCain has long been something of a straight-talking maverick.

Some of those qualities were forged following an early chapter of McCain's political life, when he was one of the so-called Keating Five. That was a group of senators whose meetings 20 years ago with the owner of a failed Arizona savings and loan led to an ethics investigation and almost derailed McCain's career.

An Improper Proposal

In the spring of 1987, McCain was just beginning his first term in the Senate. Charles Keating was a friend, a campaign contributor, and owner of Lincoln Savings and Loan. At the time, Lincoln was under investigation by federal regulators. As McCain recounted the story in an NPR interview two years later, Keating came to his office and offered to do certain things for him, as McCain put it, in return for McCain's interceding with regulators.
--NPR: Scandal Shaped McCain's Sense of Honor in Office

Any hint of McCain giving "special treatment" to a lobbyist would bring unwanted media coverage of his past concerning the Keating Five, where he escaped being indicted for--giving special treatment to a savings and loan.

More to come.

by Mondoreb
note: Little Baby Ginn
[image:drudge]
Source: McCain Pleads with NY Times to Spike Story



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.