"laughing at Courtney Love's batshit claim that Britney Spears was molested as a young girl, and the British tabloid who's paying an unnamed female Spears family member to argue that she did. "
@bowleserised: Got molested? The sentence construction is confusing, but kind of British-sounding. Like, "I haven't ever snorted Pixy Stix from the floor of a drained jacuzzi, but I have it on good authority that Courtney Love has done."
@TargetLady: I'm British ;) But it sounds like it's the unnamed female Spears family member who did something, rather than Britney who had something done to her.
@bowleserised: Oh! Sorry, it was meant with love for all things British. A semester in Norfolk gave me a whole new appreciation for the finer points of our common language. : )
@bowleserised: You don't say! That's really an interesting place. I was at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. Really miss it, in truth, especially after reading about Britney Spears and Courtney Love. :D
In 2003, shortly after Versace's murder, some pals and I were in South Beach walking south when we happened upon a mansion with a spotlight on it and maybe 15-20 people standing around staring at it. I didn't know right away this was Versace's old house, but suddenly this horrid white guy with a tilted baseball cap starts to loudly explain to his friend "Yea yea this is where that fashion faggot got gunned down!" and he proceeded to re-enact the shooting as if he were Cool Moe D cast in some thug ghetto shoot'em-up -- he crouched behind a pillar and jumped out and pretended to point a gun, er, sorry, gat, sideways at Versace, and yelled "Blam, blam, die, faggot!"
Some notes:
1. Chad Wiggerton likely did not realize the shooter was Versace's ex-lover, and likely did not use the word "faggot"
2. The shooter probably did not hold his weapon sideways.
Nonetheless, his editorializing of the event was hilariously grand, and all of the onlookers made sure his role in the douchebaggery world was maintained.
@lobstr: Uh, that's not awful. Miami's full of characters. Always fun to see people go to South Beach who are otherwise total troglodytes, and how they experience it.
Also, where's that video of you and the Koala Pillow? I was trying to explain this to someone the other day and kept laughing too hard to find it.
@lobstr: The shooter wasn't Versace's ex-lover, he was some nut who maybe met him once at a charity event. I used to see Versace and his partner on the beach and walking the streets of South Beach, and he was always super gracious to people asking for pictures or autographs. He'd been in a long term relationship, and wouldn't have touched Andrew Cunanan with a ten foot pole.
@ParahSalin: ah, whoops, guilty as charged for being equally as uninformed as Glocky Douchebaggala.. I guess I was just recounting what I remember from the press.. (cuz, you know, wiki wasn't around in '03 to misinform us, heh) ..
but I still maintain Versace was probably not called a "faggot" and shot at with the sideways gangster-grip when he was being accosted.
@lobstr: No problem, it's just that I used to work in the fashion industry, and there were so many awful people who deserved to get shot in the head, and Versace wasn't one of them. Sadly, that's how it always seems to go (note the number of Bush death threats vs. Obama death threats). I'm pretty sure Cunanan didn't call Versace a "faggot" before he killed him since he was gay himself. I think he just wanted to go out in a blaze of glory after a killing spree, and decided Versace was an easy target because he was so accessible. I'll always remember walking behind him and his partner one day on Collins Avenue, and some young couple stopped him and the girl posed with Versace and his partner while her boyfriend snapped pictures and he gave them autographs. I remember when I heard he was murdered I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
@AzureTexan: Shinshi shinshi. I can't find the video but you should see a great episode of SNL from like 2000 with a PHENOMENAL sketch starring Christopher Walken and I think Ana Gasteyer as lovers, guests of the wonderful LOVAHS Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch. Jacuzzi. Native Drumming. I think its on Will Ferrell's best of collection.
I'm still trying to figure out what the purpose of the "hoax" is supposed to be.
Maybe I'm not lurking the right conspiracy sites, but the only thing I've been able to determine, based on a passing Alex Jones quote, is that environmentalism (as a whole?) is an attempt to steal your land. And then... I don't know.
Can anyone explain to me why anyone could be so angrily against curbing pollution?
That's what it really boils down to, as far as I can tell. Even if you don't believe that global warming/climate change is real, why would you choose to be against efforts to slow down/half pollution?
"$94 billion that HSBC Bank estimates has been spent globally this year on what it calls "green stimulus"—largely ethanol and other alternative energy schemes—of the kind from which Al Gore and his partners at Kleiner Perkins hope to profit handsomely."
@ConAir34: Last I checked, none of the organizations you cited actually do any research. Yes there are some opportunists but that doesn't change physics
@The Van Buren Boys: But the only reason this business exists is due to tis research. Not to mention grants. From that same WSJ article.
"Consider the case of Phil Jones, the director of the CRU and the man at the heart of climategate. According to one of the documents hacked from his center, between 2000 and 2006 Mr. Jones was the recipient (or co-recipient) of some $19 million worth of research grants, a sixfold increase over what he’d been awarded in the 1990s.
Why did the money pour in so quickly? Because the climate alarm kept ringing so loudly: The louder the alarm, the greater the sums. And who better to ring it than people like Mr. Jones, one of its likeliest beneficiaries?"
@ConAir34: cause only oil companies can profit handsomely right? Only carbon-based energy companies get all the "money and control"? Cause if you're a green company, you're trying to "force" me to consume something I'm not used to!?! Quelle horreur!
If these energy companies are so scared of lost profits, maybe they should invest in "green" technologies too. It's not anyone else's problem but their own that they put all their eggs into a non-renewable resource.
@ConAir34: You're citing an editorial article in the Wall Street Journal. Not exactly a bastion of objectivity. MONEY DOESN'T CHANGE PHYSICS. Gravity doesn't exists because someone gave Isaac Newton money. Christ...
@ConAir34: I should have said earlier that I wasn't pro-cap and trade, precisely for the reason you cited (that it creates yet another derivatives market) but where did I say anything about green companies being more noble? I just prefer there be more options available. What's wrong with diversifying the ways we power our lives?
Furthermore, it seemed to me that you, or whoever your friends are that are concerned over "money and control," are not acknowledging that energy companies already have substantial "money and control" yet you (or they) defend them in spite of this new technology. Sure, it may be expensive/inefficient now, but the price of oil will only go up, and once it reaches $100, will I hear you bitching about windfall profits from Exxon Mobil?
@Helio: I am not really trying to defend energy companies. I just don't want Cap and Trade type legislation to emerge and I am very tired of global warming talk.
If oil goes up again Americans will respond as we did before and stop using as much. There are vast amounts of untapped oil and gas we would need to use up before this becomes a real worry.
@Helio: I am sure we will. 100 years ago we had no idea what would provide a good amount of power (nuclear). 100 years from now imagine how different it will be.
@ConAir34: You understand that this is what virtually every scientist in the country does, right? They are all competing for grant money in order to pay for their projects, so they write grant requests in order to make their cases. To argue that "ringing the alarm" (i.e. stating your case) implies that you are ginning it all up, simply because there's project money to be gotten for doing so, is specious at best. I mean, was this scientist pocketing the money and buying mansions with it? Where is the impropriety here?
@ConAir34: Of course, part of finding and developing new energy sources is criticizing the unsuitability, or noting the winding down, of current ones. In order to understand that we need something new, we first have to understand how what we have right now is insufficient.
@skt.smth: I have no problem with criticisms. I agree with many of them.
I do have problems with made up fairy tale criticisms. That is the difference here.
People are/will be trying to find affordable alternate energy sources because there is a ton of money in it.
Currently wind/solar/geothermal etc.. just isn't up to snuff yet and this country has an uncommon fear of anything nuclear so that's out.
Once again my only real problem here is that this science (or lack thereof) has been flawed but policy has been made and legislation written based off of these flawed conclusions.
@ConAir34: What are the fairy tale criticisms? Set global warming entirely aside, even though it's quite real and is happening. Urban centers always have staggering asthma rates thanks to air pollution. With or without global warming, it's not safe for anybody to be breathing in massive amounts of this crap. It is a genuine health risk. That anybody would think, well global warming doesn't exist, therefore there are absolutely no problems with carbon emissions, is what really pisses me off. 1) Because it's not true. And 2) because it completely disregards all of the other non-global warming problems related to carbon emissions.
@ConAir34: Is Enron lobbying for climate change legislation from beyond the corporate grave?
Honestly, at best your argument is that it's better to side with Exxon Mobil and Shell instead of finance firms who stand to profit by investing in new markets/fields/products.
You're talking gibberish.
The WSJ is hardly a bastion of unbias information and so what if people who back alternative energy stand to profit? Once again, all you're saying it's its better for the oil industry to profit than those on the side of alternative/renewable energy.
@ConAir34: They were an energy company. You can try and paint the alternative energy movement as evil because of people who took an interest in it, but it's, as is everything you're asserting, nonsense.
Enron was run by crooks who did everything to make/steal as much money as possible. If this means investing in emerging markets and products, so be it, they also helped get Davis kicked out of office by manipulating the energy supply to California, they tried to find ways to invest in the weather.
Saying something like "Enron was supported it so..... it must be corrupt" It's like saying "Mark Foley is a Republican so..." does that mean all Republicans want to fuck teenage boys? No, obviously not.
So far your whole argument is some murky concept of control and money based on guilt by loose association.
This may be your best quote as it illustrates your utter lack of understanding: ""Green" technology will be embraced when it can produce cheaper and better energy. Technology still needs to catch up to that. "
How do you think the technology catches up? I'll help: It's through investment and research.
Do you think technology is just an organism that evolves (shit, do you deny evolution too?) over time all on it's own and doesn't cost anything? It's something that requires thousands and millions and billions of dollars of research over time.
@Voyou_Charmant: Wow look at the condescension dripping from that post.
You have obviously not read the whole thread. I pointed the Enron and Goldman Sachs connection to show that this was about money and that "green" companies weren't going to be the recipients. I will spell it out better for you from now on.
Feel what you will about the slant to WSJ but the facts are there. They didn't make them up.
My opposition here is mandating "green" energy based on climate change alarmism.
Technology does catch up through investment and research. I simply don't think those should come in the forms of mandates that are based on manufactured "science".
I am sure I sound ridiculous to you. You are a sheep.
@skt.smth: Clearly the reptilian underground shape-shifters who control the liberals and are using hippies and Al Gore to enslave the world have gotten to you. GOING GREEN IS SHEEPLE!!!11111
@ConAir34: Zing! Though, I think "I'm rubber, you're glue" would have at least been silly enough to be acceptable.
I love the questioning of, by a conservative nonetheless, someone's capacity for critical thinking, yet you buy into some vague conspiracy and only believe research pushed by people who are funded by companies like Exxon Mobil. Those are obviously the only honest scientists!
Progress, throughout history, has been pushed with legislation. Fuel economy, auto safety standards, food handling procedures, workers rights, work place safety, civil rights, environmental regulation all forced progress and all opposed by those who either see it as an assault to their profit margins, or values or personal freedom.
Big business, in almost every form seems to enjoy keeping the status quo, it's cheaper and easier and since they are all over stuff and lazy, they know they won't really have to worry about the other companies to out do them.
Side note:
My favorite part of your Gawker profile: "ConAir34 has no friends."
@Voyou_Charmant: Go figure, a person who argues conservative viewpoints on a liberal site doesn't have a ton of "friends". Go argue your points on Redstate and see how many "friends" you get.
Your lack of comprehension has shone through once again. Re read the thread to see why I spoke of Enron.
No one is arguing about worker's rights, or work place safetey. Those are verifiable things that definitely needed improvement.
Here is were you lack critical thinking. Global Warming is not like any of those things you mentioned. It is (so far) a farce, malarky, snake oil, hyperbole, etc... It has never actually been proven to exist nor proven to be man made.
There is no proof that anything will be improved by enacting legislation to control carbon emissions or greenhouse gas or whatever the next earth destroying thing happens to be.
The only guarantee is it will raise energy costs.
Maybe you are comfortable with paying double on your gas/electric bill to offset the magical "carbon cost" but I, and millions of others, aren't so flush right now and while I respect your right to whatever religion you choose I don't wish to tithe to the Church of Gaia.
@ConAir34: Well, it is a fact that carbon gases act as an insulator in the atmosphere. And it is a fact that the amount of carbon gases in the atmosphere rose dramatically in the 20th century. Whether you want to believe that man-made pollution bears some responsibility for this increase is probably going to depend on where you look for your information (scientific research or reactionary propaganda), but the fact of the matter is that there's more of the stuff in the atmosphere, and a lot of the shit we do on an everyday basis has it as a byproduct. Simple logic will tell anybody with a brain that we at least contribute to this phenomenon. You don't need any data to back you up on that, except for the data that tells you carbon monoxide comes out of tailpipes, and that there are a hell of a lot of tailpipes in the world today.
@skt.smth: Again you have stated something that has not been proven to have any negative effect. For all the "rise in carbon gases" there has been no corresponding temperature rise. In fact if you knew anything about the phenomena you would know that the entire premise of rising carbon levels causing higher temperatures is not true. It is actually backwards. It is part of the debunking of the hockey stick graph and one of the many flaws of High Druid Al Gore's movie. Nice try though.
You could have come on here and talked about pizza topping trends and and had the same impact.
Next you will be telling me there is too much nitrogen in the air.
You have no grasp on anything, you're a climate change denier (we get it!), you've shown yourself to be, through this series of comments, and others on various topics, to be a typical rank and file conservative. You believe oil industry hacks and big industry lobbying groups like the Chamber of Commerce -- Got it. Fantastic. Doesn't change anything.
Oh, and I called my old science teacher, luckily she was still in her office grading tests. She said you're stupid also.
@ConAir34: Well wait. You either believe that the greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth uncommonly moderate in temperature, by variously trapping and reflecting the sun's rays, or you don't.
@skt.smth: If you are talking about a the normal process then yes of course. Typically when someone spouts that their next line is is justification for their belief artificial warming.
It seems you weren't going that way so sorry for the misunderstanding.
@Voyou_Charmant: While you have shown yourself, here and other places, as typical clueless liberal with zero critical thinking skills. If it isn't programmed into your groupthink you reject it immediately. I am sure your liberal arts degree serves you well in discussions with your fellow shrieking reactionaries but it tends to fall apart when someone calls you on your bullshit.
You are wrong. You will probably always be wrong. You do not have, nor seem to care about, the facts to back up your arguments.
I could care less of "oil industry hacks and big industry lobbying groups" but allowing this talk to go on unchallenged is what will get piece of crap legislation passed that further cripples our economy.
I reject "consensus". I reject that this is "settled science" when it is not actually science in any form.
You will see more now that some cracks have appeared in the dam.
This was a scam from the very beginning. 10 years from now this will get as much mention as acid rain the ozone layer and DDT. Just another stupid panicky nothing.
@ConAir34: Yes, and which gases are the ones that trap warmth? They just so happen to be a lot of the same ones we pour into the atmosphere, not via "normal" processes, but needlessly through burning certain kinds of fuel, etc. Oh, and by cutting down all the trees, which consume our bodily greenhouse gases and give us that shit we need to breathe.
We can live differently. We don't need to spray carbon monoxide into the atmosphere day and night.
@skt.smth: That is only a logical step if you don't fully explain the process that naturally reduces these same gasses.
Even back in 2003 National Geographic was talking about carbon lifecycles and how even with the increases in carbon emissions there was no net increase in levels.
It is a little much for me to type here but at this point the amounts we put introduce aren't having the negative effects that theoretically would happen.
I am not saying we should never try to get away from burning fossil fuels and I am not saying we shouldn't "save" trees. My beef is with unfounded claims to basically scare us into unnecessary, cost prohibitive restrictions.
Especially when we seem to be the only ones looking at that option. As recently as this weekend Britain will be reevaluating its position and Australia voted down there own version of Cap and Trade.
@ConAir34: Well, the reason why it isn't "worth" the bet is because every party in the environmental discussion knows that the ramifications of our actions only end up hitting the 3rd world and developing nations hardest. So the world gets hotter? We'll just buy more air conditioners, while poor farmers in places we've never seen lose their crops and people die of starvation. The very idea of this "reevaluation" being economic in nature, i.e. too high-cost, bespeaks the lack of a scientific basis for inaction. If they had the science argue against global warming, they'd use it, but now it seems that the recession will be the reason, where "reevaluations" occur anyway.
@skt.smth: There is no science to argue for global warming. That is the whole point here.
Temp trends are not up. The most accredited group is in the middle of shitstorm right now due to lies and terrible computer models. NASA is probably going to be next. There have been holes getting punched in this for a while now.
I don't care about the 3rd world nations because there is nothing actually happening that we can fix by paying higher prices for electricity.
If you feel bad for them then volunteer your time/money/effort towards improving their lot. Just don't demand that I do the same.
The cost isn't necessitated because there is nothing wrong.
@ConAir34: Rubber, glue, blah blah blah. Everything, literally everything you say, is just a reversed application of what is being said to you.
Yes, those who are godless, unwashed bleeding heart-liberal tend to side with the environment and the consensus of the scientific community over that of big business. This is typically based on the fact that doing the opposite would call into question someone's ability to engage in rational thought.
What does a liberal arts degree have to do with anything? Just last week you asserted that I was still in high school --- What I mean to say is: thank you, it's not every day someone thinks so highly of my intelligence that they would think it possible that I was able to go from high school to a degree in any course of study, in only a weekend's time. But, as I said, thank you -- it feels weird being complimented in this way by someone who has repeatedly resorted to calling me stupid.
Moving on...
Acid Rain and DDT are the examples you're going with? Are you sure?
Well... That is fantastic, because we've addressed and studied this: you don't hear about DDT because it's not used in the United States (banned since 1972); and was banned for worldwide use under the Stockholm Convention, vector control notwithstanding. So, yeah, it's sort of a nonissue now because we addressed it.
Acid Rain, is a very real thing which again, was addressed and after an extensive (10 year) study, had legislation passed (a cap and trade program nonetheless) which has effectively lowered SO2 emissions and by 2007, bringing the legislation's (1990 Clean Air Act) goal of less than 8.9 million tons by 2010 to fruition 3 years ahead of schedule. Legislation for the win!
China, Europe and Russia, on the other hand, still have a serious problem with Acid Rain.
So, like I said, PLEASE, for the love of god use those as your examples of similar environmental concerns, you incredible fucking idiot.
.......
Lets set aside all of the claims being made people like Al Gore, and the vast majority of the rest of the world and ask this:
Why not do everything we can to curb pollution?
While you may feel that you're fighting this grand conspiracy by arguing on a tech blog, you're really just defending the continued pumping of chemicals into the air, land and sea.
@Voyou_Charmant: I will keep this short as we are never going to agree anyway.
My point on DDT: It was banned as a kneejerk reaction based on psuedo science. Since then thousands of people in those 3rd world countries you are so worried about have died of/gotten malaria. They now use it in a limited fashion. Again kneejerk reactions to unsettled science.
Acid rain is a minor problem completely overblown and legislation has done nothing to combat it.
This is why you probably think everyone else is an idiot. Because you have no fucking clue about anything that doesn't fit your worldview.
You are a whiny, insulting, little person. I think I am done here as there is know way we are going to sway each other and this is getting old.
Speaking as someone who has worked in Washington DC on climate change issues, all I can say is that it is the most frustrating issue ever. You can spend weeks and months compiling and summarizing the most convincing and well vetted scientific research into a cogent arguement and have a single uninformed imbecile (i.e. Inhofe) come in, start spreading lies, and hijack the entire public conversation. The fact that people like Inhofe, Dobbs, and the rest of their ilk are given equal time in the media as non-partisan researchers with actual knowlege about the topic is unfortunate at best and dangerous at worst.
@The Van Buren Boys: "You can spend weeks and months compiling and summarizing the most convincing and well vetted scientific research into a cogent argument ": I humbly submit that that's your mistake right there. Emotion always trumps logic. You're using the wrong tactical weapons at your disposal. You cannot fight a campaign of lies and deceit with research summaries. You'll lose every time. Lies and deceit are calculated to frighten people. You fight lies and deceit with video and still images, rhetoric, emotion and high intensity graphics. Ratchet up the emotion. Don't fall into the classic trap that American liberals consistently fall into. Learn from your enemy.
@Wrapitup: Agreed. The problem is that it's grossly unethical for a scientist to insert emotion into research. Also, liberals suck at arguing this issue and like to troll out images of polar bears instead of the potential 150 million climate refugees created by 2050. [www.guardian.co.uk]
@The Van Buren Boys: You said it, sir. It presents a complex dilemma for a scientist. But then again, why are scientists abandoned by the liberal establishment to undertake a complex task of persuasion all on their own? And yeah absolutely, Democrat and other liberal consultants in DC suck at their jobs. I suppose it's because their job security is not dependent on actual results. As a scientist, it should not be your job alone to formulate a persuasive argument. There ought to be a whole team of professional communicators working with you. The liberal establishment has dropped the ball yet again. But then, we like to be the aggrieved loser much more than being the winner.
@If_I_Had_a_Poodle: I absolutely agree but the message can get lost on those who need to heed it most when those delivering it are shown to talk the talk, but not walk the walk, as the Times article shows.
Christ, I am having cabbage for dinner.
@Buttafooco: The proof of the bad intentions of the deniers is this: if some portion of global warming is part of a natural cycle, shouldn't that make us redouble our efforts to keep from adding to it?
@Buttafooco: The proof of the bad intentions of the deniers is this: if some portion of global warming is part of a natural cycle, shouldn't that make us redouble our efforts to keep from adding to it?
@If_I_Had_a_Poodle: apparently, many don't share the notion that we should sometimes nip things in the bud......rather, they prefer to wait until the point of no return. Unfortunately, having read some of the cap and trade proposals, there are way too many loopholes for exploitation by corporations.
@Mediahohoho: She also knows how to solve the world's most vexing economic problem. How do we pay for the deficit? Easy! We cut the taxes on the small business owners who are creating the wealth, who should keep the wealth that they created, because that's their wealth, and if they could keep it we could pay the debts and create the jobs and the people could work, because they are the ones that create the jobs that America and the Troops and Jesus think we deserve because we're the best country ever. Damn, it's so simple it's brilliant. When she's right, she's right. If only Republicans had thought to cut taxes for the past 30 years! Geez, they must feel like real simpletons now that she's pinpointed the problem and the solution in such an informed and incisive manner. I think I may vote for her in 2012. Cutting taxes to reduce the deficit! Who'd a thunk it?
@ParahSalin: Funny thing about Republicans. Neither my taxes nor spending ever go down when they're in office. Things just get shitty and mean. She's perfect for that party.
@Mediahohoho: My taxes do go down when Republicans are in office, but mainly because I never can find a job when they're in control. It's fairly hard to tax me when I have no income. In your face Republicans! I'm broke, nothing left for you to take. Wow, that doesn't really feel as good as I thought it would.
@TheBusinessGuy: In the old days a divorce would have done her in. The Christians used to shun the divorced, but after stoning Anita Bryant in the 1980's they realized that most of their fellow travelers were divorcing in droves. Then they switched to blaming working mothers for society's ills in the 1990s. Then they realized their base consisted of a lot of working women. Now they're down to having nobody to hate but the race traitors (like McCain and his biracial illegitimate child), fetus killers and the homos. I guess if she declared her love for another woman or admitted she'd had an abortion in high school, that might also disillusion a few of them.
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Did what? I'm so confused.
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Yes, I think you're right, and remain confused.
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Some notes:
1. Chad Wiggerton likely did not realize the shooter was Versace's ex-lover, and likely did not use the word "faggot"
2. The shooter probably did not hold his weapon sideways.
Nonetheless, his editorializing of the event was hilariously grand, and all of the onlookers made sure his role in the douchebaggery world was maintained.
12/06/09
Also, where's that video of you and the Koala Pillow? I was trying to explain this to someone the other day and kept laughing too hard to find it.
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Did you mean the time the WB fell for my tale of how he saved my life from errant tornado-blown shards of glass: [haxxor.tv]
or this ol' ditty, same channel:
[haxxor.tv]
then there's this'n:
[haxxor.tv] (that thar tornado got him a lot of exposure!)
the all-time classic Yolanda-distractor:
[haxxor.tv]
and bonus points for the Koalie news hax via t-shirt: [haxxor.tv]
I was unaware you were a Koalie fan :[]
12/06/09
but I still maintain Versace was probably not called a "faggot" and shot at with the sideways gangster-grip when he was being accosted.
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This is how rumours start, children.
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Aural sex?
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Maybe I'm not lurking the right conspiracy sites, but the only thing I've been able to determine, based on a passing Alex Jones quote, is that environmentalism (as a whole?) is an attempt to steal your land. And then... I don't know.
Can anyone explain to me why anyone could be so angrily against curbing pollution?
That's what it really boils down to, as far as I can tell. Even if you don't believe that global warming/climate change is real, why would you choose to be against efforts to slow down/half pollution?
12/02/09
The #1 backers for Cap and Trade originally were Goldman Sachs and Enron.
It creates a whole new derivatives market in Carbon trading.
12/02/09
"$94 billion that HSBC Bank estimates has been spent globally this year on what it calls "green stimulus"—largely ethanol and other alternative energy schemes—of the kind from which Al Gore and his partners at Kleiner Perkins hope to profit handsomely."
That is from a WSJ article.
It's always money and control.
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"Consider the case of Phil Jones, the director of the CRU and the man at the heart of climategate. According to one of the documents hacked from his center, between 2000 and 2006 Mr. Jones was the recipient (or co-recipient) of some $19 million worth of research grants, a sixfold increase over what he’d been awarded in the 1990s.
Why did the money pour in so quickly? Because the climate alarm kept ringing so loudly: The louder the alarm, the greater the sums. And who better to ring it than people like Mr. Jones, one of its likeliest beneficiaries?"
12/02/09
If these energy companies are so scared of lost profits, maybe they should invest in "green" technologies too. It's not anyone else's problem but their own that they put all their eggs into a non-renewable resource.
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You seem to think it is more noble for "green" companies to make money based off of bad research than oil companies.
"Green" technology will be embraced when it can produce cheaper and better energy. Technology still needs to catch up to that.
12/02/09
Furthermore, it seemed to me that you, or whoever your friends are that are concerned over "money and control," are not acknowledging that energy companies already have substantial "money and control" yet you (or they) defend them in spite of this new technology. Sure, it may be expensive/inefficient now, but the price of oil will only go up, and once it reaches $100, will I hear you bitching about windfall profits from Exxon Mobil?
12/02/09
If oil goes up again Americans will respond as we did before and stop using as much. There are vast amounts of untapped oil and gas we would need to use up before this becomes a real worry.
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I do have problems with made up fairy tale criticisms. That is the difference here.
People are/will be trying to find affordable alternate energy sources because there is a ton of money in it.
Currently wind/solar/geothermal etc.. just isn't up to snuff yet and this country has an uncommon fear of anything nuclear so that's out.
Once again my only real problem here is that this science (or lack thereof) has been flawed but policy has been made and legislation written based off of these flawed conclusions.
12/02/09
12/03/09
They are arguing this legislation based on climate change. That is the fairy tale.
12/03/09
12/03/09
No you can't. Which is the whole point here.
Your belief in AGW right now is as factually correct as someone believing that Jesus did it.
12/03/09
Honestly, at best your argument is that it's better to side with Exxon Mobil and Shell instead of finance firms who stand to profit by investing in new markets/fields/products.
You're talking gibberish.
The WSJ is hardly a bastion of unbias information and so what if people who back alternative energy stand to profit? Once again, all you're saying it's its better for the oil industry to profit than those on the side of alternative/renewable energy.
12/03/09
Enron was run by crooks who did everything to make/steal as much money as possible. If this means investing in emerging markets and products, so be it, they also helped get Davis kicked out of office by manipulating the energy supply to California, they tried to find ways to invest in the weather.
Saying something like "Enron was supported it so..... it must be corrupt" It's like saying "Mark Foley is a Republican so..." does that mean all Republicans want to fuck teenage boys? No, obviously not.
So far your whole argument is some murky concept of control and money based on guilt by loose association.
This may be your best quote as it illustrates your utter lack of understanding: ""Green" technology will be embraced when it can produce cheaper and better energy. Technology still needs to catch up to that. "
How do you think the technology catches up? I'll help: It's through investment and research.
Do you think technology is just an organism that evolves (shit, do you deny evolution too?) over time all on it's own and doesn't cost anything? It's something that requires thousands and millions and billions of dollars of research over time.
You sound absolutely ridiculous.
12/03/09
[rawstory.com]
12/03/09
You have obviously not read the whole thread. I pointed the Enron and Goldman Sachs connection to show that this was about money and that "green" companies weren't going to be the recipients. I will spell it out better for you from now on.
Feel what you will about the slant to WSJ but the facts are there. They didn't make them up.
My opposition here is mandating "green" energy based on climate change alarmism.
Technology does catch up through investment and research. I simply don't think those should come in the forms of mandates that are based on manufactured "science".
I am sure I sound ridiculous to you. You are a sheep.
12/03/09
"Therawstory is hardly a bastion of unbiased information" disregard, disregard, disregard....
12/03/09
12/03/09
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12/03/09
Do you think this is established science? Do you think global warming is a fact?
There is no proof. There is no more proof that man made climate change exists than there is of Jesus' resurrection. Climate change is a religion.
There is no burden on me to disprove it because no one has ever proven it.
IT. IS. NOT. SCIENCE.
12/03/09
12/03/09
I love the questioning of, by a conservative nonetheless, someone's capacity for critical thinking, yet you buy into some vague conspiracy and only believe research pushed by people who are funded by companies like Exxon Mobil. Those are obviously the only honest scientists!
Progress, throughout history, has been pushed with legislation. Fuel economy, auto safety standards, food handling procedures, workers rights, work place safety, civil rights, environmental regulation all forced progress and all opposed by those who either see it as an assault to their profit margins, or values or personal freedom.
Big business, in almost every form seems to enjoy keeping the status quo, it's cheaper and easier and since they are all over stuff and lazy, they know they won't really have to worry about the other companies to out do them.
Side note:
My favorite part of your Gawker profile: "ConAir34 has no friends."
12/03/09
creep.
12/03/09
Your lack of comprehension has shone through once again. Re read the thread to see why I spoke of Enron.
No one is arguing about worker's rights, or work place safetey. Those are verifiable things that definitely needed improvement.
Here is were you lack critical thinking. Global Warming is not like any of those things you mentioned. It is (so far) a farce, malarky, snake oil, hyperbole, etc... It has never actually been proven to exist nor proven to be man made.
There is no proof that anything will be improved by enacting legislation to control carbon emissions or greenhouse gas or whatever the next earth destroying thing happens to be.
The only guarantee is it will raise energy costs.
Maybe you are comfortable with paying double on your gas/electric bill to offset the magical "carbon cost" but I, and millions of others, aren't so flush right now and while I respect your right to whatever religion you choose I don't wish to tithe to the Church of Gaia.
12/03/09
12/03/09
YOU. ARE. STUPID.
12/04/09
You could have come on here and talked about pizza topping trends and and had the same impact.
Next you will be telling me there is too much nitrogen in the air.
YOU. ARE. MISINFORMED.
12/04/09
12/04/09
12/04/09
12/04/09
Go ask your science teacher or maybe do a little research on current events. I'll wait.
12/04/09
You have no grasp on anything, you're a climate change denier (we get it!), you've shown yourself to be, through this series of comments, and others on various topics, to be a typical rank and file conservative. You believe oil industry hacks and big industry lobbying groups like the Chamber of Commerce -- Got it. Fantastic. Doesn't change anything.
Oh, and I called my old science teacher, luckily she was still in her office grading tests. She said you're stupid also.
12/04/09
12/05/09
It seems you weren't going that way so sorry for the misunderstanding.
12/05/09
You are wrong. You will probably always be wrong. You do not have, nor seem to care about, the facts to back up your arguments.
I could care less of "oil industry hacks and big industry lobbying groups" but allowing this talk to go on unchallenged is what will get piece of crap legislation passed that further cripples our economy.
I reject "consensus". I reject that this is "settled science" when it is not actually science in any form.
You will see more now that some cracks have appeared in the dam.
This was a scam from the very beginning. 10 years from now this will get as much mention as acid rain the ozone layer and DDT. Just another stupid panicky nothing.
12/05/09
12/05/09
This is one of the favored arguments that to justify limiting carbon emissions. They tend to leave out the whole picture though.
12/05/09
We can live differently. We don't need to spray carbon monoxide into the atmosphere day and night.
I mean, what is not to get here?
12/05/09
Even back in 2003 National Geographic was talking about carbon lifecycles and how even with the increases in carbon emissions there was no net increase in levels.
It is a little much for me to type here but at this point the amounts we put introduce aren't having the negative effects that theoretically would happen.
I am not saying we should never try to get away from burning fossil fuels and I am not saying we shouldn't "save" trees. My beef is with unfounded claims to basically scare us into unnecessary, cost prohibitive restrictions.
Especially when we seem to be the only ones looking at that option. As recently as this weekend Britain will be reevaluating its position and Australia voted down there own version of Cap and Trade.
It isn't worth the trillion dollar bet.
12/05/09
12/05/09
Temp trends are not up. The most accredited group is in the middle of shitstorm right now due to lies and terrible computer models. NASA is probably going to be next. There have been holes getting punched in this for a while now.
I don't care about the 3rd world nations because there is nothing actually happening that we can fix by paying higher prices for electricity.
If you feel bad for them then volunteer your time/money/effort towards improving their lot. Just don't demand that I do the same.
The cost isn't necessitated because there is nothing wrong.
12/05/09
12/06/09
Good luck.
12/06/09
12/07/09
Yes, those who are godless, unwashed bleeding heart-liberal tend to side with the environment and the consensus of the scientific community over that of big business. This is typically based on the fact that doing the opposite would call into question someone's ability to engage in rational thought.
What does a liberal arts degree have to do with anything? Just last week you asserted that I was still in high school --- What I mean to say is: thank you, it's not every day someone thinks so highly of my intelligence that they would think it possible that I was able to go from high school to a degree in any course of study, in only a weekend's time. But, as I said, thank you -- it feels weird being complimented in this way by someone who has repeatedly resorted to calling me stupid.
Moving on...
Acid Rain and DDT are the examples you're going with? Are you sure?
Well... That is fantastic, because we've addressed and studied this: you don't hear about DDT because it's not used in the United States (banned since 1972); and was banned for worldwide use under the Stockholm Convention, vector control notwithstanding. So, yeah, it's sort of a nonissue now because we addressed it.
Acid Rain, is a very real thing which again, was addressed and after an extensive (10 year) study, had legislation passed (a cap and trade program nonetheless) which has effectively lowered SO2 emissions and by 2007, bringing the legislation's (1990 Clean Air Act) goal of less than 8.9 million tons by 2010 to fruition 3 years ahead of schedule. Legislation for the win!
China, Europe and Russia, on the other hand, still have a serious problem with Acid Rain.
So, like I said, PLEASE, for the love of god use those as your examples of similar environmental concerns, you incredible fucking idiot.
.......
Lets set aside all of the claims being made people like Al Gore, and the vast majority of the rest of the world and ask this:
Why not do everything we can to curb pollution?
While you may feel that you're fighting this grand conspiracy by arguing on a tech blog, you're really just defending the continued pumping of chemicals into the air, land and sea.
12/07/09
My point on DDT: It was banned as a kneejerk reaction based on psuedo science. Since then thousands of people in those 3rd world countries you are so worried about have died of/gotten malaria. They now use it in a limited fashion. Again kneejerk reactions to unsettled science.
Acid rain is a minor problem completely overblown and legislation has done nothing to combat it.
This is why you probably think everyone else is an idiot. Because you have no fucking clue about anything that doesn't fit your worldview.
You are a whiny, insulting, little person. I think I am done here as there is know way we are going to sway each other and this is getting old.
Good luck.
12/07/09
12/02/09
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12/02/09
Christ, I am having cabbage for dinner.
12/02/09
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12/02/09
[women.timesonline.co.uk]
11/30/09
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