Globe thinks so despite all the fart spew about global warming:
Weary region finds a new outlook on snow: Just laugh
Tell that to them down South.
Humor to help melt the pain of region’s snow
Blaming the snow as if it was a conscience entity and it conspired against us.
When will winter stop?
You people are pathetic.
Amid historic snowfall, Boston police helping on all fronts
Ha-ha, cop standing in middle of road freezing. That's so funny.
Cambridge water main break causes street to flood
HA-HA! That is funny!
What is not:
"At least 9 people dead amid rounds of snowstorms, cold" by Jan Ransom and Jeremy C. Fox, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent February 20, 2015
An arctic air mass is set to bring bitter cold and high wind gusts Friday, according to the National Weather Service, followed by the weekend storm, which could drop 1 to 3 inches in Boston.
Another storm with the potential to deposit significant amounts of snow is possible Wednesday, but forecasters said that it could veer out to sea.
The Weather Service cautioned that accumulated snow combined with drains clogged by ice could lead to some flooding, but the real-world outcome depends on how quickly snow melts and how much rain the region receives.
My paper seems more and more divorced from that every day.
After last weekend’s storm, a 57-year-old Brighton man began shoveling the snow near his home, where he died of a heart attack, officials said.
“Anyone that has to do any shoveling at all understands how incredibly difficult it is to stay on top of the amount of snow we’ve had,” said Dr. Huy Nguyen, interim executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.
The Brighton man’s death prompted a warning from the city’s top health official.
“We are so used to snow and shoveling it that we don’t think of it as an exercise, but it’s a very, very strenuous exercise,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said anyone with heart disease, breathing problems, or anemia should leave the tough task of shoveling to someone more able-bodied.
The streets have also turned into danger zones, with snowplows taking to the roads like rarely seen before.
Twice, pedestrians have had lethal encounters with snowplows.
Shortly after a snowplow driver helped Cynthia Levine clear a parking spot earlier this month at a condo complex in Weymouth, he accidentally hit and killed the 57-year-old.
Five days later, in Medford, Cesar Moya, 60, a Whole Foods worker who lived in Chelsea, was killed when a plow struck him as he walked in the store’s parking lot at 300 Middlesex St.
“The biggest thing is . . . people driving cars, people walking have to be extra aware of their surroundings,” said Chris Besse, of Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
Fire departments have asked residents to assist with digging out hydrants.
The dire consequences of trying to fight fires amid snow, ice, and wind became evident at least three times recently.
**********
Fire officials highlighted another danger associated with snow and cold: carbon monoxide poisoning. They said residents should be sure to protect themselves by installing detectors in the home and by clearing snow from car pipes, chimneys, and vents.
But doing that can prove perilous: In Yarmouth, the body of 97-year-old Richard MacLean was found deep in the snow Jan. 28 lying near a carbon dioxide vent he was trying to clear.
Even trying to be helpful amid the snow can turn deadly. On Jan. 27, a 53-year-old New Bedford man died while using a snow blower to help neighbors.
A storm could portend more troubles for the state’s sputtering transit system, which is slowly chugging back to normal....
I can not believe they printed that pos lie!
--more--"
"Deep freeze disrupting traffic on vital waterways; Extensive ice tangles sea lanes" by David Abel, Globe Staff February 20, 2015
Chunks of ice are nothing new this time of year in Boston Harbor, but the vast stretches of frozen seawater evident this winter are unlike anything local mariners can remember.
So much of the vital waterways into the area has frozen that commerce has slowed, passenger ferries have been canceled, the hull of a Coast Guard tender was pierced, and critical buoys indicating dangerous shoals and bends have become unmoored.
“This winter has definitely been one of the worst,” said Petty Officer Ross Ruddell, a spokesman for the Coast Guard in Boston. “We’re definitely approaching records for the amount of ice formed and broken.”
They have “never seen the ice this heavy or constant,” in fact it's “the worst they’ve ever seen it.”
--more--"
Related:
Icy waters halt MBTA ferry in Hingham Harbor
Commuter ferries canceled amid harbor icing
At least you can drive a car across the harbor.
Also see: Niagara Freeze
That photo made the printed Globe.
Of course, it is only cold where you are:
"This year is off to a toasty beginning" Associated Press February 20, 2015
WASHINGTON — It may be hard to believe for a country that’s shivering from Maine to Miami, but 2015 has gotten off to a rather toasty start.
It's not hard at all. I don't believe it. Was easy.
Last month was the second warmest January on record globally, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Well, the liars at NOAA said no polar vortex this year and.... you know the rest. It's been worse!
In America, January and the entire winter so far has been a tale of two nations: record hot in the West, bone-chilling cold to the East. While Boston is buried in more than 8 feet of snow, parts of Pacific Northwest that depend on winter snow have gotten next to nothing.
What BULL!
Yeah, the hot West offset more than half the country and topped it.
PFFFFFT!
‘‘Winter seems to have completely forgotten about us out here,’’ said Kathie Dello, deputy director of the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University. ‘‘If we could find a way of sending that snow out here, we’d really, really appreciate that.’’
Flowers have already started popping out and the ski industry is desperate, Dello said: ‘‘You can’t ski on rain, you can’t ski on dirt.’’
But you can certainly ski in New England, if you can dig out.
California is having its warmest winter on record for a second consecutive year. And for the first time, San Francisco had no rain in January.
They got rain in December, and I don't believe it anymore anyway, sorry.
Lying about the weather was the last straw!
--more--"
"Colorado mountain snow is bright spot during drought" Associated Press February 19, 2015
DENVER — Snow pack in the mountain valleys where the Colorado River originates was only a little below normal on Wednesday, marking one of the few bright spots in an increasingly grim drought gripping much of the West.
My interest in reading the propaganda pre$$ is drying up fast!
By contrast, in drought-stricken California showed snowpack at 50 percent or less in early February, the most recent figures available. Some detected no snow at all.
Mountain snow in Colorado is closely monitored because a half-dozen Western waterways, including the 1,400-mile Colorado River, start in the area. The river and its tributaries supply water to millions of people in seven states and Mexico.
Much of the river volume comes from mountain snow that accumulates during winter and melts in the spring.
And with the heavy snow melt and flooding that results we are told its global warming!
‘‘It’s looking pretty dismal over much of the West, but there are some areas where we’re OK,’’ said Mike Strobel, head of the US Department of Agriculture’s Snow Survey.
Mountain snow depth usually peaks in early April across the West. It’s unlikely many of the hardest-hit mountains will get enough precipitation by then to recover, Strobel said.
--more--"
Related:
"Coloradans took to cross-country skis, snowshoes, and sleds Sunday as a snowstorm dumped more than 2 feet of snow on some areas, breaking local records and forcing churches to close. Forecasters predicted 2 feet or more of snow for mountain areas and western slopes of the Front Range by the time it stops falling Monday, after a lull Sunday. Another round is expected in the middle of the week, lasting through the weekend. Elsewhere in the United States, the winter’s onslaught continued. Flood warnings were posted in the South after rain and above-freezing temperatures in Tennessee prompted state emergency officials to warn of possible flash flooding from melting snow. Officials blame the weather for 21 deaths in the state."
I blame fart-misting f***s.
At least the West is hot.
You might be in Boston, too:
"City wipes out 9,000 snow complaints in error; Walsh apologizes after backlog is cleared unresolved" by Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff February 21, 2015
The good news flashed across Paola M. Ferrer’s phone: After repeated requests, the city had finally cleared snow from stairs and a handicapped-access ramp that serve a vital pedestrian bridge in Allston. But when Ferrer arrived at the stairs, she discovered the city had done no work.
“I was angry,” Ferrer said. “They said they had removed the snow, but it didn’t happen. I felt very frustrated because this wasn’t the first time I had reported the snow.”
WTF?
Earlier this month, the city eliminated a massive backlog of snow complaints by arbitrarily closing more than 9,000 cases filed with its 24-hour constituent service system. All the cases were closed over two hours on Feb. 12, as another storm approached, according to data provided by Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration.
What did they think, that would make the snow disappear?
But, officials acknowledged, closing a case didn’t mean any snow had actually been removed.
“It was a mistake,” Walsh said in an interview Friday. “A staffer — I’m not sure who it was automatically just closed all these cases with the anticipation of a new storm coming. They shouldn’t have done it.”
PFFFFFT!
You can't come up with anything better than that lame pos?
For an administration that touts its data-driven approach to municipal government, the misstep raises questions about the response to the season’s series of massive snowfalls....
Not really.
“There’s no scandal here,” Walsh said. “There’s something that shouldn’t have happened. I acknowledge that. For the folks that were inconvenienced . . . I apologize because that’s not how we want to operate.”
And because his lordship says so.... sigh!
Walsh and other city officials said that many of the complaints were probably resolved during the next storm, when an army of plows worked to clear an additional 16 inches of snow.
Probably? Why don't you f***ing find out?
But the cases included more than mundane plow requests: There were reports of hulking snow mounds clogging intersections, unshoveled sidewalks abutting city property, and blocked handicapped ramps....
This as Walsh was fining people for not shoveling!!
Scores of the residents received notices on their smartphones through the Citizens Connect app that “snow has been removed” with a photograph of the local public works crews that supposedly did the work. The smiling employees posed inside a city building, but outside on the street, some snow remained untouched.
OMG, it was a huge plate of swirling and steaming public relations!
At least the app works.
“This is a huge deal for us,” said Lauren Lockwood, Boston’s chief digital officer. “Citizens Connect is a very important channel for us. It’s important that our users trust us. We hope to do whatever we can to make this right.”
Not anymore. Btw, which well-connected concern got the contract?
Interim Public Works Commissioner Michael Dennehy apologized in an e-mail sent Feb. 13 to some constituents whose cases were cleared, according to Walsh’s staff.
Dennehy noted in the letter that during snowstorms, the city prioritized “major thoroughfares and locations where emergency vehicle access is impeded.”
“Unfortunately, we are not always able to individually address every service request,” Dennehy wrote. “As we prepare for the upcoming storm, we are closing out older requests to ensure our snow removal personnel can focus on requests tied to the most current conditions.”
On Friday, Walsh said the letter was not an acknowledgment that the city was incapable of clearing snow that continues to choke side streets.
“Absolutely not,” Walsh said. “We’ve plowed every street. When people throw snow on streets . . . they may say it’s not plowed. We’re not going to go around plowing streets when neighbors throw snow.”
OMG! He's blaming the people.
What an a**hole!!
(Btw, Adam Frankel called)
The largest number of the 9,000 improperly closed snow complaints came from Dorchester, which is the city’s largest neighborhood. There also were significant numbers in Back Bay, Mattapan, Roxbury, and South Boston.
So the MINORITY POPULATION once again got the SHORT END of CITY SERVICES!
Walsh often cites statistics gathered by his constituent service system. He has repeatedly asserted, for example, that his team filled 19,000 potholes last year, which he has said is 50 percent more than the previous administration.
So the dead Menino was really neglectful other than shoveling loot to his friends?
The city will not include the 9,000 improperly closed snow cases when it analyzes its response to the winter storms, according to Lockwood, the digital officer.
PFFFFFFFFTT!
I'm sure the report will say they did a great job in the midst of historically difficult circumstances!
Walsh acknowledged Friday that people are “frustrated in the city of Boston that there’s so much snow on the ground.”
“Sometimes, they need a place to be frustrated with, and the city is a good target,” Walsh said. “As I look around, the city is clearing up. It’s getting better and better. [But] we’ve got to continue the [snow] removal effort.”
Yeah, he's dismissing all legitimate concerns. What a jerk mayor!
As for those stairs in Allston that Ferrer called about? Residents dug them out.
Why do we even need looting government?
The handicapped ramp remains encrusted with snow.
That will bring criticism with it.
--more--"
Also see: As the snow piles up, so do parking miseries
Starting to get angry yet, readers?
Maybe some soup and booze will warm you up, and a loan will help you to heal.
"At meeting, Baker is known as the governor of snow" by Joshua Miller, Globe Staff February 23, 2015
WASHINGTON —“Governor Baker, biggest issue you face in Massachusetts?” the moderator asked.
“Snow,” he replied instantly. The governors and the audience burst into loud laughter and applause.
Charlie Baker spent the weekend in Washington discussing the opiate addiction crisis, education, energy costs, and other topics.
How did he get there? Add to the carbon footprint, did he?
But at this year’s winter meeting of the National Governors Association, his first big event outside of Massachusetts since he took office, Baker is known, simply, as the governor of snow.
As the conference began in earnest Saturday, Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island, a Democrat, said she has been speaking to Baker in the weeks since she attended his January inauguration.
“Sadly, we’ve talked about snow,” she said with a laugh....
It snowed in Washington on Saturday and Baker said he was barraged by ribbing.
Ever think God is trying to tell the fart-mi$ters something?
“Lots of jokes of about me bringing it with me,” he said. “Lots of jokes about that.”
At the forum on the economy, which took place on Saturday, Baker, a Republican, was one of the most casually dressed governors. Sitting between Democratic Governors Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, Baker wore garb that could be classified as storm chic — boots, blue jeans, a button-down shirt, a pullover, and a sport coat. Most other governors wore suits and ties.
He explained that for many Massachusetts businesses, February has been a grim month. The massive snowfall has wrenched local budgets, he said, and he talked about property damage and roof collapses.
Isn't that stuff funny, too??
Perhaps noticing the darkening visages of some fellow governors, Baker interrupted himself: “Is this apocalyptic for all of you?”
The crowd chuckled....
Governors attended a black-tie event at the White House with President Obama on Sunday night (among dishes on the menu: shrimp a la plancha and braised beef short ribs) and are set to return there for an event with the president on Monday.
Oh, I'm glad they are eating well at taxpayer expense after cutting food stamps for hungry Americans.
Related:
"Baker and other governors attended a black-tie event at the White House Sunday evening and Baker was seated at the president’s table, close to Obama. Obama acknowledged the recent bad weather in remarks to governors."
And they all laughed?
Discussion with and about those who are likely to try to succeed Obama has been something of a sideshow at this National Governors Association meeting.
I will be getting to some posts about 2016 soon.
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, currently seen as among the top tier of probable GOP 2016 presidential candidates, was surrounded by reporters on Saturday.
McAuliffe, a longtime close ally of the Clinton family, was peppered with questions about former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, seen as the likely Democratic White House nominee.
Baker, who arrived in Washington Friday, has drawn less national attention, and has also gone to some activities apart from the National Governors Association meeting.
He went to some Republican Governors Association events. That partisan group spent millions of dollars on television ads boosting Baker and attacking his Democratic opponent, then-attorney general Martha Coakley, during the 2014 race for governor.
But it has been tough for Baker to escape the overriding theme of his time in the nation’s capital and, indeed, his time so far as governor....
Snow, ha-ha!
--more--"
What I am not finding funny at all:
Two families displaced, firefighter injured in blaze
Officials suspect smoking materials may be behind fatal fire in Waltham
Firefighters rescue 85-year-old woman who was trapped in a snow bank in Dennis
Driver faces charges after truck plummets off I-93
Woman killed in crash on I-495 in Mansfield
Good Samaritan falls off bridge, dies
Worker critically injured after falling through mall skylight
Unshoveled sidewalks force city pedestrians into the streets
Man struck by cars while walking in snow
Woman, 21, seriously injured by snowplow in Fitchburg
Gas-fed fire forces evacuation of Duxbury care facility
Man, two dogs rescued from ice-covered Revere marsh
Boys, 15, survive frigid night in Maine woods
No injuries as snow collapses Bridgewater school roof
Buried hydrants hamper fight against three-alarm fire
Three firefighters hurt while battling blaze in Brookline home
Methuen firefighter rescued after falling through hole in burning home
Man rescued from house after roof collapses
2 Canton deaths reinforce risks of snow removal from roofs
Kite-skier dies after striking shed near lake
Two horses killed in Westford stable collapse
Rainfall may add to area’s roof problems
After record snowfall, push back state standardized tests
Tow truck procession marks funeral
Man dies after falling into icy Vermony river
The young woman and the mountain
Who goes mountain climbing in a snowstorm?
Icicles posing another wintry hazard
Related: Ice Missiles Destroyed WTC Towers
Record-setting snow saps budgets
The cold is expected to continue Friday, and there is a chance for more snow on the weekend.
Not $o funny now, is it?
Let's finish up the conference:
"Obama urges governors to help him on key issues; Says collaboration is key to economy, health care needs" by Julie Hirschfeld Davis, New York Times February 24, 2015
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday beseeched the nation’s governors to partner with him on elements of his agenda to help the middle class in the face of congressional gridlock, saying there was room for collaboration on economic issues, health care, and criminal justice reform.
“I’m in the fourth quarter of my presidency — or, as some of you might call it, the kickoff for your campaign season — but I think there’s still a lot that we can get done together,” Obama told the governors Monday at the White House, where they were wrapping up their winter meeting.
He said it was time to “move past some of the habits of manufactured crisis and self-inflicted wounds” that he said had been created by Congress, including the looming threat of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security because of a dispute over Obama’s recent immigration directives.
So when is the next false flag attack, jerk?
“It will have a direct impact on your economy, and it will have a direct impact on America’s national security,” Obama said of a lapse in funding for the department, in which the staff would be furloughed or forced to work without pay. “Their hard work helps to keep us safe, and as governors, you know that we can’t afford to play politics with our national security.”
I repeat my question.
The president also thanked the governors from both parties who have expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act, and he made a pitch to those who have not changed their stances.
“I’d urge you to consider it, because our team is prepared to work with you to make it happen,” Obama said.
There is room for governors to work with the White House on elements of his agenda “even when Congress does not act or does not act fast enough,” Obama said.
He cited criminal justice changes as an example, noting that in Georgia, the Republican governor, Nathan Deal, has provided judges with alternatives to mandatory minimum sentences.
In addition to the standoff over funding the Department of Homeland Security, a looming Supreme Court case that could strike down health insurance subsidies for millions of people dominated the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
I will be getting to those items shortly.
Obama did not mention the case, but he did urge governors from states that have not expanded Medicaid under the law to take that step.
‘‘We can all agree that it’s a good thing when a family doesn’t lose a home because a member of that family gets sick,’’ he said.
He says this as premiums rise and people will have to refile their taxes!
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who chairs the association, said the governors expected to avoid divisive issues at their meeting with Obama, focusing instead on subjects such as trade deals, workforce development, education, and infrastructure.
‘‘When we go to the president our goal is to try to be more constructive,’’ he said ahead of the meeting.
Obama, too, struck an optimistic tone as he addressed the governors. He declared that the United States is ‘‘as well-positioned as we’ve been in a very long time’’ and praised the governors for doing ‘‘creative work to enhance the opportunities for advancement of their citizens.’’
Republicans made major gains during the midterm elections and now control 31 of the country’s governors’ mansions.
--more--"
Thank God that is over.
"Prominent alumni ramp up pressure on universities to divest" by Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent February 20, 2015
Actress Natalie Portman and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Friday joined a growing number of Harvard University alumni calling for a week of sit-ins at the school to pressure the administration to divest from fossil fuels.
In a letter scheduled to be published and distributed online on Friday, more than two dozen powerful alumni of Harvard University — including politicians, religious leaders, Hollywood actors, and environmentalists — vowed that at least some of them will participate in several days of action, including sit-ins and rallies, at the Cambridge campus in April and called for other graduates to join the effort, which has been dubbed “Heat Week.”
When is that? Not now?
“Divestment is effective,” said the letter, whose signatories included Portman, Kennedy, former US senator Tim Wirth, philosopher Cornel West, director Darren Aronofsky, and architect Maya Lin. “While we can’t bankrupt the oil companies, we can start to politically bankrupt them, complicating their ability to dominate our political life.”
What about the Zionist lobby controlling our foreign policy?
I'm sorry to see some of those names there, but they are obviously part of the elite.
In recent years, students, faculty, and prominent alumni from major colleges and universities across the country have called on their schools to divest from companies that produce oil, gas, and coal because the fuels have been identified as a cause of global warming.
The cause of what?
The steps taken have included trying to divert donations away from their alma maters and joining student-led protests at the campuses.
A key target of the movement has been Harvard, which at $36.4 billion, has the largest endowment of any college in the world. Harvard President Drew G. Faust has said the school does not plan to divest, despite protests and petitions from students and faculty.
************
Meanwhile, alumni from Harvard and a growing number of other institutions — including Columbia, Swarthmore, and the University of California — have in recent months established special funds that aim to intercept would-be donations to the colleges and hold onto the gifts until the schools agree to divest.
The Multi-School Fossil Free Divestment Fund was recently launched by alumni and students from 17 different colleges, including MIT, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Tufts, Boston College, Northeastern, Brandeis, Wellesley, and Williams.
The fund collects tax-deductible donations “for those who would like to give to an educational institution but are hesitant because the institution invests in the environmentally, financially, and morally hazardous fossil fuel industry,” organizers said.
The money will be invested and held by the fund. If a school publicly commits to divest from fossil fuels, donations earmarked for that college will be given to the school.
Money earmarked for colleges that have not divested by Dec. 31, 2017, will be given to schools that have divested, organizers said.
Morgan Curtis, 23, who graduated from Dartmouth last spring, said the fund has collected donations from nearly 100 individuals so far. She declined to say how much money the fund has accumulated.
“We’ve had a wonderful swell of interest so far,” she said. “The purpose of the fund is to leverage the greatest power that alumni hold: their annual donations.”
Honestly, I really don't care which elites give their loot to what school.
****************
Harvard alumnus Bill McKibben, an environmental activist who signed the alumni letter, said, “Climate change is a time test. If we don’t act very quickly — well, Boston is getting a taste right now of what a changed climate looks like.”
Yeah, the HARBOR is FROZEN (and don't call it climate change).
--more--"
Please watch: The Great Global Warming Swindle
Any questions?
"Senator Markey questions climate studies; Calls for review of links to energy companies" by Sylvan Lane, Globe Correspondent February 22, 2015
So do I: Climate Scientists $old Their $oul For Government Dole
WASHINGTON — Senator Edward J. Markey is calling on coal and oil companies to reveal whether they are funding scientific climate change studies after his staff reviewed newly obtained documents illuminating the relationship between a researcher for a Cambridge-based institution and energy interests.
PFFFFFT!
The Massachusetts Democrat will send letters to fossil fuel companies, trade organizations, and others with a stake in carbon fuels, aiming to reveal other climate-change-skeptical scientists whose work has been subsidized by those parties, a Markey spokesman said via e-mail.
“For years, fossil fuel interests and front groups have attacked climate scientists and legislation to cut carbon pollution using junk science and debunked arguments,” Markey said in a statement. “The American public deserve an honest debate that isn’t polluted by the best junk science fossil fuel interests can buy. That’s why I will be launching this investigation to see how widespread this denial-for-hire scheme stretches within the anti-climate action cabal.”
What an embarrassing and pathetic pos.
The documents reviewed by Markey’s staff were obtained by Greenpeace, the environmental group, through the Freedom of Information Act.
Related: Greenpeace's Director Busted For Lying About The Effects Of Global Warming
There goes their credibility.
They show a relationship between Dr. Willie Soon, a solar researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and several fossil fuel companies who’ve funded his research on climate change. The Cambridge-based center is a joint project of Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution, though Soon is employed by the Smithsonian side. The center has previously said that Soon’s views are his alone and not reflective of the institution.
Oh, they found ONE GUY, huh?
In 2013, the Boston Globe profiled Soon, who has spent much of the past decade studying the sun’s effect on climate change and downplaying the role of carbon emissions. Some climate scientists and environmental groups have questioned the scientific basis of his work.
If you look at real research and real science, you will find Soon is right.
Or you can believe the lying, agenda-pu$hing paper. Your choice.
Soon did not respond to a request for comment.
Since 2001, Soon has received more than $1 million in grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation, Southern Company, the Texaco Foundation, the American Petroleum Institute, and other organizations either affiliated with fossil fuel companies or active in undermining carbon’s role in climate change, according to documents that have been previously reported.
Actually, carbon is doing that all by itself. Can you imagine?
Soon also is affiliated with the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank known for its conferences on climate change skepticism.
Says my bastion of corporate liberali$m.
The new documents, which were given to the Globe by Kert Davies, an environmental activist who is executive director of the Virginia-based Climate Investigations Center, contain proposals and contracts made between the Smithsonian wing of the center and four entities: ExxonMobil, Southern Company, DonorsTrust and The Charles G. Koch Foundation.
Southern Company is one of the country’s largest power companies, operating coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, and natural gas plants across the southern United States. DonorsTrust relays donations from anonymous patrons “dedicated to the ideals of limited government, personal responsibility, and free enterprise,” according to its website. Koch is a libertarian-conservative mogul who has fought climate change rules.
The newly obtained documents show Soon received more than $270,000 from DonorsTrust and close to $60,000 from Southern Company for solar studies since 2012.
Soon and three co-authors in January published in a Chinese journal a study in which they said the United Nations panel on climate change used a flawed methodology to estimate global temperature change.
Or they flat-out lied (it is called Climategate).
The authors said they have developed a more accurate model and the panel’s calculations are exaggerated. Christopher Monckton, one of the paper’s co-authors, insisted he, Soon, and the other two co-authors funded the study entirely. He also said the study was done on the researchers’ own free time and that Soon’s funding from DonorsTrust and Southern Company had nothing to do with the paper published in Science Bulletin.
Soon said in the study that he had no previous conflicts of interest in the study despite his previous funding, and Science Bulletin, the journal that published the study, did not comment on whether that funding can be considered one. Science Bulletin is investigating the matter but did not respond to requests for comment about their findings.
Co-author Dr. William Briggs declined to comment.
While Southern Company has taken measures to reduce its carbon footprint, it also funded a 2010 study conducted by Soon entitled “Avoiding Carbon Myopia: Three Considerations for Policy Makers Concerning Manmade Carbon Dioxide.” The study accused the UN panel of overstating the negative environmental effects of carbon dioxide emissions. It also said efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions wouldn’t have a measurable effect on severe weather or levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to a report Soon submitted to Southern Company in May 2011.
It's all in the hands of the sun.
The report also highlights a March 2011 study funded by Southern Company, which calls the panel’s global warning alarm “an anti-scientific political movement.”
Southern Company funds research on issues with public policy implications on its business, but is committed to producing clean and reliable electricity, said spokesman Jack Bonnikson via e-mail.
--more--"
Of course, it is only cold where you are:
"Heavy Winter Storm Descends on Parts of Mideast" ASSOCIATED PRESS, FEB. 20, 2015
JERUSALEM — A heavy winter storm descended on parts of the Middle East on Friday, with snow forcing the closure of all roads leading in and out of Jerusalem and sprinkling Israel's desert with a rare layer of white.
Isn't that like, at the equator?
Snow also fell in parts of the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria as a cold front swept through the region.
The snowstorm added to the burdens for Syrians displaced by war and living in tents in Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp. Some tents collapsed or suffered damage, and streets were turned into large puddles of muddy water. Children walked through the puddles and helped clear snow from the roofs of tents.
A Syrian refugee who identified herself as Umm Raed said conditions in the camp were difficult even before the winter storm hit.
"This is the third snowstorm, many people live in tents, their situation is very bad," she said. "Look at the situation of the children."
Oh, that's just SILLI.
By contrast, the Holy Land's ancient sites were picture-postcard pretty. Snow capped the golden Dome of the Rock, a Muslim site in Jerusalem, dusted the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site, and blanketed the Nativity Church in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born.
"It's a magic wonderland," said Miriam Leibowitz, a Jerusalem resident, as she strolled through a snow-filled city park with her family. "In the middle of Jerusalem we felt like we're in Switzerland."
Jerusalem municipality spokeswoman Brachie Sprung said 10 inches of snow were dumped on the city.
That's where my print ended. Must be the global warming.
Twenty-year-old Nachy Faiman, a Jewish seminary student from Monsey, New York, said he was praying with a group of men at the Western Wall when the snow started. "It was awesome," he said.
In the early hours of the morning, Israeli police closed the main roads leading in and out of Jerusalem, and reopened them by midday.
Jerusalem's light rail tram service was shut down all day after two trams, making dry runs without passengers, were derailed overnight due to the snow, tram service spokesman Ozel Vatik said.
The Israeli desert towns of Dimona, Yerucham and Arad woke up to a layer of white while in Arad, residents proudly showed off a snowman. Israeli TV broadcast an unusual scene from the desert: camels in the snow.
I'm glad all the Israelis are having fun.
The Syrian capital of Damascus and surrounding mountains were covered with snow, and in neighboring Lebanon, the snowstorm closed most mountain roads, isolating dozens of villages.
The Beirut-Damascus highway was closed since late Thursday and the Lebanese fire department urged people to stay at home.
In the Jordanian capital of Amman, snow paralyzed most streets, and in Gaza, heavy rains that started on Thursday have been forecast for the rest of the week.
Related: Getting Back to Gaza
I don't think they will be.
In Egypt, strong winds and heavy rain shut down the Mediterranean ports of El-Arish and Damietta, where strong winds uprooted trees.
The Red Sea Port Authority said six of its ports shut down early Friday, including Ain Sukhna in the Suez area and the ports on the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
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Don't worry; the Globe has already put spring on the front page and I'm about to go play some ball myself.
NDUs:
"Garbage complaints are piling high; Residents say Boston has neglected trash pickup amid snow woes" by Jan Ransom, Globe Staff February 25, 2015
Numerous city services have been crippled by the record-breaking snowfall — 99.9 inches so far this year — and trash collection is one that has Bostonians raising a stink.
Uh-oh.
***********
“God knows what’s under the snow at this point,” said 25-year-old Erin Shea, who lives in the North End. “I’m so nervous for when the snow melts. There’s going to be a treasure trove of gross stuff.”
Shea said some of her neighbors on Charter Street had begun to place the trash atop snowbanks and cars to ensure the bins and bags were spotted by sanitation workers. She said the collection on her block has been spotty since the start of the harsh winter, and the trash had not been picked up since the second storm....
Bonnie McGilpin, spokeswoman for Mayor Martin J. Walsh, said recycling and trash collection returned to its regular schedule this week.
“The mayor has asked residents for their cooperation and patience as Boston continues to recover from a historic amount of snow over the past 30 days,” she said. “Public works is asking that residents place their trash in accessible locations, not behind snowbanks, to ensure it is picked up on time.”
I can't speak for the citizens of Boston, but I'm out of that.
But to clean up the mess, the city will also have to take out the trash from its own neglected bins.
The garbage in one municipal can on Prince Street in the North End was spilling over.
“They should at least pick the stuff up out of the street barrels,” said Maria Bova, who lives in the area and was walking pass the trash-filled bin. “We don’t want rats again.”
They grow pretty big from what I've read in the past.
“It’s disgusting, really,” she said, motioning to an assortment of detritus on the ground near the trash can.
Piles of litter further limit the already-cramped space that pedestrians are forced to navigate on city sidewalks where snow mounds rule.
They have been getting out into the street (where they are being hit by plows).
“There’s garbage everywhere,” said Bova. “It’s terrible. You can’t even walk on the sidewalks in some places.”
McGilpin said residents should call the mayor’s hot line or use the Citizens Connect app if their trash has not been collected....
Uuuuuuhhhhh.... will they get a nice photo saying "Done!" before the complaint is oopsied?
One of those could be Karen Schwartzman’s. She says she tried in vain to get the city to address the overflow of trash and dog waste at Peters Park, in the South End.
Oooooooh!
Schwartzman, 61, who lives on Washington Street, said she filed several complaints about the matter, but said the garbage continued to grow for at least a month.
“It is just disgusting. I started [emptying] it myself,” said Schwartzman, who purchased industrial garbage bags.
Schwartzman said she began checking the bins daily while walking her dog.
Oh. While not being anti-dog, she's ironically part of the problem.
She recently lugged 16 bags of trash to Shawmut Avenue to ensure it would be collected and later placed new garbage bags into the bins.
The Parks Department eventually emptied only two of more than a dozen trash cans in the park, while the others continued to teem with trash and dog waste, she said.
“If I can do it, I don’t understand why the city can’t do it,” Schwartzman said. “It’s not my job. I’m so grossed out by seeing it that I just do it.”
At one time you could have said it was me, but.... good thing Jews always go above and beyond the rest of us scum.
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Thankfully, I live far away from that place.
Related:
Community groups seek more heating aid
Why would that be needed?
This winter proves to be busy season for adjusters
Yeah, the poor in$urers.
Teen falls 25 feet clearing snow on roof at Westwood store
Is he okay?
Water main breaks on Mass Ave.
I know I said ha-ha yesterday; however, that was ought of frustration due to tone of coverage. Not really funny at all. Irony noted, that's all.
"Betrayed By Science, The Church of Global Warming Can Still Burn a Heretic or Two
24 Feb 2015
To appreciate the psychology of the global-warming cult, one must understand a few contextual details. Most importantly, these are times of panic for the Church of Global Warming. Science has failed them. The global warming they predicted is going into its third decade of not happening. Polar ice and sea levels aren’t doing what they predicted. Much of their seminal research has been exposed as academic fraud, based on cute little games like ignoring large periods of history that don’t conform to their man-made climate change models, fudging temperature measurements, and changing the methodology for recording and estimating global temperatures at during different historical periods. Their recent attempts to scare up a few headlines favorable to the movement, such as the big media fuss about 2014 being the “hottest year in history,” have collapsed under scrutiny as exaggerations or outright falsifications.
Secondly, this is a movement about social status and pseudo-intellectual culture, as much as it’s ever been about science. That’s why so much of Big Climate’s behavior is cultish in nature, including its conspiracy-theory paranoia, and its savage treatment of heretics and blasphemers — they’re not shy about comparing skeptics to Holocaust deniers or 9/11 truthers, as seen in the Daily Beast’s hyperventilation over the story of skeptic Wei-Hock Soon’s corporate funding. Belief in global warming is a cultural marker, an aspect of the same vapid credentialism that gives leftists the vapors when someone who doesn’t have an Ivy League degree considers running for President.
Of course, this obsession with credentials evaporates when it comes to global-warming believers.
***************
Also not “climatologists:” Leonardo di Caprio, Robert Kennedy Jr., Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Rajenda Pachauri, the U.N. climate honcho currently sliding down the global-warmist memory hole due to sexual harassment allegations. Before that, Pachauri was noted for straight-up science denialism and making hilariously inaccurate doomsday predictions, but nobody in the Church of Global Warming seemed concerned about his lack of climatology credentials. Incidentally, Pachauri described climate change as his “religion” on his way out the door.
Finally, there’s the intimate connection between the global-warming cult and its patrons in collectivist politics, who view climate change as an indispensable opportunity to seize money and power — a claim in which politicians get to represent the Earth itself against the grubby little people they’re not terribly fond of, even when they’re not trying to promote a scary story about aerosol deodorant, cow farts, air conditioners, and automobiles unleashing the apocalypse.
This is reflected in the climate-change movement’s belief that their money is clean and pure, while the funding of skeptics is pure concentrated evil, especially if it comes from the hated fossil-fuel profiteers. A dollar from environmental activist Tom Steyer is as sacred as a communion wafer, while a buck from the (gasp!) Koch Brothers is supercharged with world-destroying menace, like the little piece of David Warner sitting in the microwave at the end of “Time Bandits.” Don’t you dare even ask about how much money Al Gore has made off climate alarmism.
Most pure and luminous of all are compulsory tax dollars extracted from the rubes and poured into Big Climate, a funding stream so transcendent that it’s supposed to be invisible – that’s how climate change, one of the biggest industries on the planet, pretends to be an order of selfless monks living hand-to-mouth while they mount a brave resistance against the well-tailored minions of Big Oil.
Disclosure standards are matters of fact, set by each publication and made known to its contributors; it is fair enough to complain about violations, as Soon is accused of doing in at least 11 cases over the past six years, according to the New York Times. Of course, the Church of Global Warming gives itself unlimited discretion to violate academic standards, and has been known to endorse all sorts of hoopla (such as Hollywood fantasies about climate apocalypse) that it knows are ridiculous, because it’s considered worthwhile to “raise public awareness” by any means necessary. It’s also interesting to note how the Times tap-dances around the fact that everyone in the climate change movement knew perfectly well where Dr. Soon got his money from, and incessantly complained about it. The amount in question, $1.2 million, is chump change by the standards of Big Climate. There seems to be a good deal of revulsion about how he viewed himself as a contractor with a job to do.
While we enjoy the spectacle of those who blew off the Climategate revelations of academic fraud shrieking that Soon didn’t properly disclose the corporate funding they always knew he had, we might reflect on the funny thing about actual science: it doesn’t really care who funds you, or how noble your intentions supposedly are. Science welcomes skepticism from all sources; what does not kill a good theory makes it stronger. The Church of Global Warming is reduced to blaming corporate saboteurs for tricking the public into doubting a sacred “scientific consensus” that was never even remotely true, because that illusion of faith is all they have left. But then, faith in collective judgment — and submission to collectivist politics — is what this was always about. Meanwhile, climate change still isn’t happening, and the true believers still can’t explain why it’s not.
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Time to start conserving gas.
