Pennies

Today I took eight pennies out of my pocket.  One was from Canada.  It is a sign of how close we are as nations that I figure it is just as good as a US penny.  Our relationship with Canada is very important to us.

The bonus was that one of the US pennies had the new reverse, designed by Mr Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Mr Don Everhart, with a clean shaven Lincoln standing in front of the Illinois state capitol building, in Springfield.

I think this is a fine work of art and a good tribute to President Lincoln for the Bicentennial of his birth.

Regards  —  Cliff

Follow The Money

Here is a contrarian view on the issue of climate change and the idea of "follow the money."

Sure, it is The Wall Street Journal and thus corrupt by implication, but then it is part of the MSM.

It turns out that compared to Exxon's contribution to the discussion, monies flowing to those working the Climate Change dodge is quite a bit.

However, what bothers me is that for the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to places like the CRU, we don't have the underlying data.  Did it just go away?  I find that hard to believe.  It was collected at one time.  Can the results not be duplicated?

Regards  —  Cliff

Skip the Lawyers, go for the Headline Writers

To set down what we know.

Whoever was on the staff at the Sobibor Extermination Camp, in Poland, during World War Two perpetrated evil that is almost unspeakable.  Evil that seriously raises the question of the death penalty.  Evil that raises the question of whether forgiveness is even possible.

Now we turn to today's Boston Globe. On page 3 of my edition of the paper is an article on the German Government (or is it the Bavarian Government) trying a certain John Demjanjuk, accused of being a guard at Sobibor.  The fact is that this person was tried by a court in Israel and sentenced to death.  This conviction was later overturned based upon the fact that it was a case of mistaken identity.  It appears that in international justice terms there is no such thing as double jeopardy.

But, back to the article.  Mr Demjanjuk was born in the Ukraine, fought in the Soviet Army in WWII and was captured.  While a POW he switched sides and joined the German Army.  After the war he emigrated to the US and became a US Citizen.  He had his Citizenship stripped for lying about his past with the German SS.  After his trial in Israel, and his eventual acquittal, his US Citizenship was restored, only to again be stripped by a Federal Court.  He was then ordered deported.

As even the Boston Globe article states:

Given that his United States citizenship has been revoked, he would probably remain in Germany.

So, why is the headline?

American’s Holocaust trial begins

This man is not an American.  He was not born here and his naturalized citizenship was stripped from him.

At The Boston Globe are headlines assigned randomly?  Do the headline writers even read the stories?  Do they have a background and education that would allow them to understand the stories for which they are writing headlines?  Is there any adult leadership down at the main office?

Regards  —  Cliff

Sunset Clause

I have been meaning to complement City Councilor Rodney Elliot for suggesting last week that we put a "Sunset Date" on the increase in the hotel tax.  Not that there is anything especially egregious about the hotel tax.  Rather, on principle, every item passed by the City Council that is not a commemoration of someone or something should have a sunset clause with it.

When an ordinance is proposed and passed it is assumed that it is good for ever.  We have found a problem and permanently fixed it.  This is just not so.  The problem may change.  The problem may have been misunderstood.  The solution may have been ill founded.  There may be a better idea out there.

Under our current approach an ordinance is passed and stay on the books for ever and the world has moved on.  Remember when we found that we had a law on the books here in the Commonwealth about not granting a marriage license to a couple if the marriage would be invalid in their home state?  Wasn't that embarrassing?

I hope that Councilor Elliot keeps asking about "Sunset Dates".  It is a great idea.

Regards  —  Cliff

Climate Change—Not a Two-Handed Game

When we think about the issue of Climate Change we need to ask ourselves about what our partners in this game are thinking.  Sure, the US, Canada, the UK and Europe are the big players, but so are other nations.  At the end of the day it is about what 200 different nations think.  While we can ignore those nations with little industry and a good climate, we can't ignore India, China and Brazil.  And the next President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, notwithstanding, there isn't likely to be a global dictatorship taking us through the problem.  There are a lot of different interests at stake here.  And it is going to take all of us cooperating if this is a real crisis.  Foreign Policy is HARD!

Following is an analysis, provided without attribution, of what China may be thinking.  (The emphasis is mine.)

I've now had a chance to read the article (which is in Kexue Shibao, Science Times, rather than Keji Ribao, Science & Technology Daily; both are published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences) in which the author indicates that China should see efforts at curtailing emissions as an effort on the part of the industrialized world to constrain developing countries' ability to modernize and develop.

Most interestingly, the author cites one of the vice presidents of the CAS, a paleo-climatologist, as questioning whether global warming is happening (although it is unclear whether he means global warming, or anthropogenic global warming).

That the piece was published on the front pages of Kexue Shibao is itself telling. Articles like this don't just get put out there, not on THAT piece of real estate, w/o some clearance from within the CAS and, as important, from the Chinese Communist Party (i.e., the ruling elite).  As with what Arab leaders say in Arabic versus in English, it raises some interesting questions about what is said to the foreigners, and what is said within the Chinese context.

As [someone] notes, the interesting part will be what the Chinese say at Copenhagen.  Reading that article (from September 7), I would suspect that if the Chinese push a per capita greenhouse gas emission standard, that the article's position is indicative/supported by the top leadership.  If not, then it suggests that there IS debate within various Chinese organizations about major policy decisions (with broader implications, including for national security).

As ever, the PRC system remains translucent on the best of days, opaque and misleading most others.

Global Warming, or "Anthropogenic Global Warming" (AGW) is not just about what happens at the CRU at East Anglia University or what former VP Al Gore thinks.  It we are facing an AGW problem it will take a global consensus as to how we help others grow out of poverty while not destroying the basis for our own economic success.

Regards  —  Cliff

Zwieback RIP

Zwieback is gone?  My Father is rolling over in his grave.

From the Al Dente blog:

For those who have been following my cheesecake saga, let me fill you in on the AWOL zwieback, the critical ingredient in the crust of a cheesecake my husband made a few weeks ago.  After multiple but fruitless searches for zwieback up and down cookie, cracker and baby food aisles in a variety of grocery and specialty stores, I contacted Kraft Foods to find out where I could purchase their zwieback toast.  I heard via email from a spokesperson there that the company no longer makes it.  Zwieback R.I.P.

Although, as I recall, my Father did try making his own some time back in the early 50s.

Regards  —  Cliff

PS:  Hat tip to Instapundit.

A Lowell Blog is Going Away

We are apparently losing a blogging voice here in Lowell.  Renee Aste, who lives up on Christian Hill, is going back to work and thus has to re-jiggle her life.  She is giving up her blog.

I started blogging to get my mind away from the law, because I wasn’t going to practice for some time. Well it seems being an active attorney might be on the horizon, a far away horizon.  Still need to transition out being home full time, which means dropping this.

I need to stop blogging.

I can be reached via my profile.

Here is my EMail to Renee, which captures what I think about this

Renee

I am sorry to see you are hanging up your blogging slippers.  I have enjoyed reading your blog.  Your voice was important to providing a more rounded picture of what is (or who is) Lowell.

Good luck on your new venture.

Since "End of Nihilism" is her second blog and she started her first one in 2005 I suspect she may be back some time in the future.  With technology changing the way it is, perhaps by then it will be a whole new approach to communicating one's thoughts.

Regards  —  Cliff