Whacking the global warming denial mole: some things never change

Tim Lambert posted this week trying to set the record straight on claims that global warming had stopped.
I'm beginning to think that Tim is never going to be able to change the minds of those Australian journalists indulging in climate change denialism.

By October 2004 Andrew Bolt thought it possible that global warming was being caused by sun activity and by this year is inclined to believe that recent wet weather trumps climate change.
In December 2004 Michael Duffy was taking shots at the idea of man-made global warming and is still whiteanting way even now.
Also in December 2004 Tim Blair discovered where his audience wanted him to go and hasn't really deviated to date.

Neither the literary skills or the arguments of their respective denialist fan clubs have advanced in recent years and I suspect that most of those commenting in support of Andrew, Michael and Tim haven't ever had one thought beyond their original positions.

Graph found at Real Climate.

Labor betrays New South Wales and the Northern Rivers

The NSW Labor parliamentary party yesterday declared itself willing to trust to Morris Iemma's leadership on 'fire sale' privatisation of the state's power industry.
I hope these same pollies are willing to trust the electorate to remove them from their seats in 2011.
Deceitful, spineless, brown paper bag merchants one and all.

Not only are they condemning low-income eraners to electricity price increases which will go beyond what could have been expected under state ownership, they are placing NSW northern rivers under threat because certain multinational power companies have had their eyes on our fresh water for years with regard to proposals to build new hydro-electric schemes.

Southern Cross University to host July 2008 Second Regional Forum on Climate Change and Coastal Communities

The NSW North Coast's Southern Cross University will host the Second Regional Forum on Climate Change and Coastal Communities in July 2008.

 

Organiser Associate Professor Graham Jones said that while progress had been made in some areas since the initial forum, there were many challenges facing the Mid North and North Coast regions.

"We can expect the sea level to rise by at least one metre over the next 90 years and in some places that will have quite a substantial impact. If there's a one-metre rise, this can produce inundation of about 100 metres," Professor Jones said.

"This has major implications for planning of coastal developments."

People from the Coffs Harbour region north to the Queensland border are being invited to attend.

Speakers include Dr John Hunter, from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania, who will provide an overview of the impact of sea level rise on the northern NSW coastline, and Professor Rodger Tomlinson, from Griffith University's National Centre for Climate Change Adaptation,  who will talk about coastal erosion and the coastal planning that will be required over the next century.-------

Anyone interested in participating in the Climate Change Forum should contact the Centre for Regional Climate Change Studies on 6620 3650, email graham.jones@scu.edu.au or visit the website www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/

The forum will be held at the Whitebrook Theatre, Lismore campus, on July 3 and 4.

Charting inflation makes me feel soooo safe

TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute have created an inflation gauge to chart the rise and rise of the cost of living for Aussies on a monthly basis.
At over $600 a subscription it way beyond my wallet but I'm sure it will be useful to somebody.
What is interesting is that this gauge appears to heavily rely on the Internet to gather information for many of the 1,000 price lines it charts.
Given the laxity some companies display towards regularly updating their websites, this might really throw a spanner in the works.
Forbes reports that according to the gauge the year-end inflation rate has been running at over 4% for the last three months.

Iemma and Costa determined to give Spivs Inc [NSW] and Developers Unlimited mates a good deal on power privatisation?

With the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption replete with investigative files prima facie linking political donations with favourable actions taken by the NSW Government, one has to wonder whether last weekend's decision by an intransigent Morris Iemma and a 'tired and emotional' Michael Costa to defy Labor Party policy and the electorate, by forging ahead with plans to privatise state-owned power assets, indicates that some big business mates are already preparing to carve up those assets.

The recently created Alliance for NSW Future, whose sole purpose is to promote electricity privatisation, has member organisations which represent many corporations on NSW Labor's donor list.

Morris Iemma has presided over a government which is less than transparent over its dealings with political donors and he appears to have lost the confidence of a majority of voters.
Michael Costa has turned every portfolio he ever held into a public relations disaster and as Treasurer demonstrated this week why it might be unwise for such a mercurial and aggressive personality to continue to hold this ministry.

The Labor Party and Labor MPs need to ask themselves if they can afford to indulge a prima donna Premier who cannot eradicate a perception of corruption and a Treasurer whose emotional balance and judgement is now in question.

Caroline Kennedy backs Obama to the hilt

The Obama for America campaign team emails are coming thick and fast.

Yesterday's email sees Caroline Kennedy calling her father's mantle down on the senator from Illinios.

Though whether the name of a modern day political rogue and womaniser helps in his voter registration and volunteer drives is debatable from an outside perspective.

 

The email.

 

My father called on Americans to ask what they could do for their country.

Those who answered his call built a movement that transformed our country and brought out the best in our national character.

Barack Obama has followed in that tradition -- dedicating himself to public service as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago and then as a state and U.S. Senator.

Now, Barack is calling on a new generation of leaders to get involved and help transform this country.

The Obama Organizing Fellowship is designed not just to help win this election, but to strengthen our democracy by training dedicated volunteers in communities across the country.

Answer the call. Ask what you can do -- for this movement, for our democracy, and for this country.

Apply to be an Obama Organizing Fellow today:

http://my.barackobama.com/fellows

Fellows will participate in an intensive and rewarding training program focused on the basic organizing principles at the heart of Barack's campaign.

Then, in June, they will be assigned to a community where they will receive a minimum of six weeks of real world organizing experience that will have a concrete impact on this election.

Organizing is about more than winning votes. It's an opportunity to help people realize the power they have to change their communities, and this country, from the bottom up.

Barack's experience on the South Side of Chicago transformed his life, and he wants to share that experience with you.

The application deadline is Thursday, May 15th, so apply now to be an Obama Organizing Fellow:

http://my.barackobama.com/fellows

Thank you,

Caroline Kennedy

P.S. -- If you cannot make the commitment required to be an Obama Organizing Fellow, I hope you will pass this message along to someone you know who might be interested.