Friday 17th of May 2024
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rattus trapped .....

rattus trapped .....

Labor commits to new global warming deal 

The Federal Opposition says it is willing to commit to a new international greenhouse gas emissions target, even if big polluters like China and the United States do not sign up. 

Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett says Labor's policies will not nearly be as effective in tackling global warming without a worldwide commitment on emissions cuts. 

"The critical thing is to be part of the process which we haven't been up to now because of Mr Howard's refusal to sign Kyoto," he said. 

But he admits there are limits on the impact a deal could have if China and the US were not on board. "There's no question about that," he said. 

"But it's not a question of purity either. It's a question of delivering on the original Kyoto consensus agreement and on the one that follows, and that's simple," he said. 

Labor Commits To New Global Warming Deal 

PM silent on Kyoto leak claims 

Prime Minister John Howard has thrown his support behind federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull, but has refused to say whether he believes Mr Turnbull leaked a story about urging federal Cabinet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. 

Both Mr Howard and Mr Turnbull have refused to deny the reports that the Environment Minister put the case for ratification to Cabinet earlier this year. 

Newspaper reports today suggest that Mr Turnbull leaked the story to try and improve his climate change credentials. 

But Mr Howard has told Channel Nine that he is not interested in commenting on press reports. "I'll defend Mr Turnbull - he's an excellent minister and he enjoys my full confidence," he said. 

PM Silent On Kyoto Leak Claims 

Labor-Greens deal will spark nationwide exodus: Abetz 

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz says a preference deal between Labor and the Greens would be a disastrous scenario. 

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says his party is moving towards a deal which would see Labor give preferences to the Greens in the Senate. 

However, he says it is the first time the Greens in Tasmania will not be directing preferences to either Labor or the Liberals because of both parties' support for the pulp mill and old-growth logging. 

Labor-Greens Deal Will Spark Nationwide Exodus: Abetz

two points...

the weirdo bit is I believe John Howard was the originator of the leak that Malcolm was in favour of signing Kyoto. Not to damn him but to keep Wentworth in Liberal's hand... I know it's perverse but that's the way things are... It would not cost much to Howard to secretly let the information seep, leak, filter through but in the meantime make sure Malcolm got the best chances to cross the line... One seat Labor would not get —  sort of thingy... The leak may be worth two points in favour of Malcolm... Rattus may be as perverse as I am...

still burning the stars and stripes in la la land...

Gus: It appears that the political landscape regarding Kyoto is getting a lot warmer... Not friendly warm... I mean heated up. Lotsa finger pointing and threats... and storming out. Especially if US journos ask questions about the French prez' divorce... But.

The second part of editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald (30/10/07) is a red herring. The smoke and mirror routine does not stack up:

Smoke and mirrors on Kyoto

WHO leaked it and why? Was it to help Malcolm Turnbull win over the silvertail greenies in his eastern suburbs electorate? Or was it to paint him as a rat prepared to compromise cabinet secrecy and solidarity to save himself? Choose your own conspiracy theory. Either way, the report - not denied - that some weeks back the federal Environment Minister tried to convince his leader and colleagues to ratify the Kyoto Protocol has given an impression of a Government falling apart under the pressures of an election campaign.

Why worry about Kyoto at this late stage? There seems to be bipartisan agreement that ratifying the treaty will make no difference to Australia's contribution to greenhouse gases, since we are within the targeted restraints we would have had to try to follow. What neither the Government nor the Labor Opposition is saying is that through some deft diplomatic footwork in the Kyoto negotiations, Australia managed to set its baseline for emissions so high - thanks to an unusual spurt of land-clearing in the year selected - that keeping to subsequent limits has been a doddle. This manoeuvre was a cause of some pride, until alliance politics took over and Mr Howard fell into step with Washington when George Bush, not Al Gore, became the US president.

Gus: Why worry about Kyoto I may ask?... Does Australia really meet its elastic emission reduction targets? Not on your nelly. Australia does an accounting on Global Warming trade-offs that would not pass primary school maths. And Bush became President of the US? Under false pretenses, no sweat... and "thanks to an unusual spurt of land-clearing in the year selected"? Please!!!

But then one has to go back a while in history...

Chirac: U.S. Will Bow Before The EU

The European Socialists are bound and determined to flex their puny muscles. President Chirac is now telling the United States that if it will not sign on to the Kyoto Protocol that it doesn’t matter and that the EU will simply slap the U.S. with a carbon tax as punishment.

PARIS, Jan. 31 — President Jacques Chirac has demanded that the United States sign both the Kyoto climate protocol and a future agreement that will take effect when the Kyoto accord runs out in 2012.

He said that he welcomed last week’s State of the Union address in which President Bush described climate change as a “serious challenge” and acknowledged that a growing number of American politicians now favor emissions cuts.

But he warned that if the United States did not sign the agreements, a carbon tax across Europe on imports from nations that have not signed the Kyoto treaty could be imposed to try to force compliance. The European Union is the largest export market for American goods.

“A carbon tax is inevitable,” Mr. Chirac said. “If it is European, and I believe it will be European, then it will all the same have a certain influence because it means that all the countries that do not accept the minimum obligations will be obliged to pay.”

Ok, let’s cut through Chirac’s bull crap here. The EU is a large marketplace for U.S. goods and the EU is going to basically raise prices on it’s own citizens to promote socialism. That is what he is saying.

Only a socialist left winger like Chirac would demand that other countries sign on to a treaty that treats signatories differently. Like allowing China to be basically exempt from regulation while remaining one of the world’s largest polluters. Looks like Chirac has bought a one way ticket to Liberal La La Land.

Gus: Sure... Chirac decided to go... La La Land? I do not think so... Yes, the frogs were burning the stars and stripes in la la land. Still burning and now burning the Southern Star knitted with the colonial Union Jack...Yes, the same La La Land is being visited by Chirac successor, Sarkozy. Why? Because Sarkozy knows that countries like Australia, the US, China are not pulling any weight on this issue (climate change), while the Europeans countries despite many being unable to meet their very stringent targets are doing far more, but they are "suffering" economically because "the US, China and Australia" are doing bugger all — apart from some states within the US and Australia. We're getting away with murder via a spruiking machine moving only its lips.

France has thrown its support behind a European Commission idea to tax environment polluters - but also urged Brussels to consider EU levies for imports from non-Kyoto countries, such as the US and Australia.

"We need to profoundly revise all of our taxes ... to tax pollution more - including fossil fuels - and to tax labour less" - French president Nicolas Sarkozy told an environment forum representing government, industry and the green lobby recently.

His speech came at the final session of the expert platform which had debated climate change issues for the past four months.

Mr Sarkozy argued that Europe should "examine the option of taxing products imported from countries that do not respect the Kyoto Protocol." He urged European Commission president José Manuel Barroso - present at the speakers' podium - to discuss, in the next six months, the implications of 'unfair competition' by firms outside the EU which do not have to abide by strict European standards on CO2 emissions.

At the Bali conference - scheduled for 3 to 14 December - 180 countries will discuss climate change and a possible successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Mr Barroso told the Paris audience that the EU would commit itself to a further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions after 2012 - by 30 instead of 20 percent - 'if the other industrialised countries follow'.

"We need to get to the right track in Bali to launch world negotiations and prolong Kyoto's dynamics. The political will to take up the climate challenge is there ... But we still have some way to go in order to have the different points of view converge."

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Gus: Yes, 2012 is a long way away... 5 years from now and possibly another 3,000 dead US soldiers in Iraq on top of the 3800 so far... And the world's temperatures are going up and up... not just politically. Soon Nero will be playing his violin... er... may be not...

When people think of Nero they often conjure up the anachronistic image of Nero playing a violin while the city of Rome burned. There were no violins at the time, but there was a fire, which started on the night of July 18 (or 19) in A.D. 64, by the Circus Maximus.

Nero is also associated with the persecution of Christians whom he blamed for the devastating fire in Rome. As a result of the fire, Nero was able to rebuild Rome, including his golden palace Domus Aurea.

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Gus: No. The whole planet is bigger than Rome... and the shock of global warming isn't like a town fire... It's a gradual warming of the bath in which we slowly become more confortable at first, then uncomfortable, untill we cook. The sad thing is that we lit the fire under the tub and keep adding fuel...

For those who really understand, the urgency to put the fire out is beyond targetting 20 or 30 per cent less fuel. we need to reach targets of 100 % CO2 emission reduction (zero emission) by 2050. Impossible?

Certum est, quia impossibile. It is certain, because it is impossible. because...:

Iacta alea est. The die is cast!

from the bottom upwards...

US mayors meet on climate change

More than 100 US mayors are attending a summit in the western city of Seattle to share and develop policies aimed at tackling climate change.

Seattle's own mayor said it was up to individual cities to take on the principles of the Kyoto Protocol, which the US government has not signed up to.

"Our federal government has ignored the problem," Greg Nickels said.

Santa Claus is gay?

Govt pledges death benefits for some same-sex couples

The Coaltion has made an election promise to extend superannuation death benefits to all Commonwealth employees in interdependent relationships, including same-sex couples.

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull made the announcement at a dinner hosted by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian business association in Sydney tonight.

Mr Turnbull says he is opposed to discrimination against same-sex couples.

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Gus: If anyone believes that Malcolm can get this one past John and Janette, that anyone must be more deluded than a stringy bark on its way to a pulp mill... Sure, we need to be opposed to discrimination against same-sex couples...

But from Howard who already ditched twice the ACT legislation to do such, and more? Another non-core fantasy full of feathers from the LIbs.... And it only works if you're dead...