Thursday News Grab-bag
The Environment: Well, at the UN climate change conference in Montreal, the U.S. are coming off as assholes, refusing to even agree to agree to more talks, (specifically for nations not signed on to Kyoto), because they might lead to limits on emissions. You know it's bad when Canada's calling you out. On the bright side, yesterday 26 Senators sent a letter to Bush asking him to stop being a dick about this, although not in so many words, sadly. We all know how much good that's likely to do, which is why it's pretty darn cool that nine Northeastern states are about to sign their own emission-limiting agreement, known as Reggie. And Arnold is pushing to cut vehicle emissions by 30% in ten years in California. Usually, I think Arnold is obnoxious and insidiously evil, but I hafta give him props on this. California is the most populous U.S. state - it's a huge auto market. If this passes and survives legal challenges, auto makers around the world will have to comply or become obsolete.
International News: The IMF is going to cancel $4.2 billion in debt to the world's poorest countries. Way to go Bono! And, uh oh. Thousands are being evacuated from their villages the Pacific island of Vanuatu as Mt. Manaro seems about to have a major eruption. Ships are standing by in case the whole island has to be evacuated... it could go either way. [video report]
Voting: He's still illegitimable! GAO report says 2004 election stolen.
The exit polls showed Kerry winning in Ohio, until an unexplained last minute shift gave the election to Bush. Similar definitive shifts also occurred in Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico, a virtual statistical impossibility.
...
Election officials in Mahoning County now concede that at least 18 machines visibly transferred votes for Kerry to Bush. Voters who pushed Kerry's name saw Bush's name light up, again and again, all day long. Officials claim the problems were quickly solved, but sworn statements and affidavits say otherwise.
Sigh. I'm getting tired of this. It's all suspiciously familiar territory from Florida in 2000. Is that how it's going to keep going? Republicans steal an election, post mortems after the fact show this, but it's too late to do anything, and the Republican machine grinds onward? Mark Crispin Miller in his book Fooled Again, thinks so.
Bummed now? Yeah, me too. To cheer us up, you can watch the clip (at Crooks and Liars) where Jon Stewart and Samantha Bee make Bill O'Reilly look like an ass (moreso). It is a thing of beauty. The clip appears to be down... last night's episode reruns on Comedy Central at 8pm EST. For some reason I can't view Comedy Central's media, but their main page has the clip up with O'Reilly's name for the channel, Secular Central. For my money, TDS and The Colbert Report are must-watch news and humorous sanity saviours.
ETA: New link for last night's Daily Show clip. Thanks, leeann_marie.
P.S. - I know luna_k would want us to mention this... possible presidential hopeful Virginia Governor Mark Warner seems to be a hit in South Carolina. With Hillary pandering to who knows, (does she really think the people who want to outlaw flag burning will vote for her? Not while she's female, she's got a D after her name, and her name is Clinton), it's nice to see the shine hasn't come off one possible candidate yet. I really think governors are the way for the Dems to go in 2008. Nearly every other likely candidate will be branded a "flip-flopper" on Iraq by the Republicans and the media, whether or not it's fair. Senate Democrats putting the good of the country ahead of their own personal ambition would step aside. Or they'd run aggressive, hit-back campaigns, that left the Republican rhetoric sputtering. And we all know how likely that is to happen. (Or what the media would do to them if they did... remember the "Dean Scream"?)
International News: The IMF is going to cancel $4.2 billion in debt to the world's poorest countries. Way to go Bono! And, uh oh. Thousands are being evacuated from their villages the Pacific island of Vanuatu as Mt. Manaro seems about to have a major eruption. Ships are standing by in case the whole island has to be evacuated... it could go either way. [video report]
Voting: He's still illegitimable! GAO report says 2004 election stolen.
The exit polls showed Kerry winning in Ohio, until an unexplained last minute shift gave the election to Bush. Similar definitive shifts also occurred in Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico, a virtual statistical impossibility.
...
Election officials in Mahoning County now concede that at least 18 machines visibly transferred votes for Kerry to Bush. Voters who pushed Kerry's name saw Bush's name light up, again and again, all day long. Officials claim the problems were quickly solved, but sworn statements and affidavits say otherwise.
Sigh. I'm getting tired of this. It's all suspiciously familiar territory from Florida in 2000. Is that how it's going to keep going? Republicans steal an election, post mortems after the fact show this, but it's too late to do anything, and the Republican machine grinds onward? Mark Crispin Miller in his book Fooled Again, thinks so.
Bummed now? Yeah, me too. To cheer us up, you can watch the clip (at Crooks and Liars) where Jon Stewart and Samantha Bee make Bill O'Reilly look like an ass (moreso). It is a thing of beauty. The clip appears to be down... last night's episode reruns on Comedy Central at 8pm EST. For some reason I can't view Comedy Central's media, but their main page has the clip up with O'Reilly's name for the channel, Secular Central. For my money, TDS and The Colbert Report are must-watch news and humorous sanity saviours.
ETA: New link for last night's Daily Show clip. Thanks, leeann_marie.
P.S. - I know luna_k would want us to mention this... possible presidential hopeful Virginia Governor Mark Warner seems to be a hit in South Carolina. With Hillary pandering to who knows, (does she really think the people who want to outlaw flag burning will vote for her? Not while she's female, she's got a D after her name, and her name is Clinton), it's nice to see the shine hasn't come off one possible candidate yet. I really think governors are the way for the Dems to go in 2008. Nearly every other likely candidate will be branded a "flip-flopper" on Iraq by the Republicans and the media, whether or not it's fair. Senate Democrats putting the good of the country ahead of their own personal ambition would step aside. Or they'd run aggressive, hit-back campaigns, that left the Republican rhetoric sputtering. And we all know how likely that is to happen. (Or what the media would do to them if they did... remember the "Dean Scream"?)