Catch up

Here are some articles I meant to post, but either didn't have time to get to or whatever.

A solution to global warming... in weapon form:

As the world slowly wakes up to the threat of global warming, a few high-profile scientists known as geoengineers are pushing plans for large-scale technological "solutions" to the looming crisis. According to David Shiga, writing for the New Scientist's environmental blog, the various ideas have included a proposal to launch trillions of tiny "sunshades" into space to angle the sun's rays away from the earth and a plan to inject sulfur into the atmosphere to create a sort of global shade. Shiga questions the plausibility of these plans, asking whether "even entertaining these ideas take[s] focus away from practical, if somewhat inconvenient, steps we will have to take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?"

The real problem with geoengineering might be worse than simple distraction. Historian James R. Fleming writes for the Wilson Quarterly that the United States has been pursuing geoengineering technology since the 19th century. Early attempts by American scientists focused on rainmaking to combat droughts, but the projects quickly turned militaristic as the US government realized the potential of turning earth's climate against its enemies.

Iraq's Shadow Gov't

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.

The Office of the Commander in Chief has the power to overrule other government ministries, according to U.S. military and intelligence sources.

Those sources say the 24-member office is abusing its power, increasingly overriding decisions made by the Iraqi Ministries of Defense and Interior and potentially undermining the entire U.S. effort in Iraq.

In a joint news conference, Iraq's ministers of interior and defense vigorously denied allegations the Office, as it is known in Baghdad, is run to achieve sectarian goals.

Oil and Gas Thieves

In case you're wondering why crude oil prices are down from last year, hanging around at about $60 a barrel, while gasoline prices have soared past $3.10/gallon nationwide, just check out the latest profit reports from the oil companies. They are at record levels.

The answer for this seeming contradiction is simple: Americans are being robbed blind by the oil industry.

Sure, the oil companies, and their PR and lobbying agency, the American Petroleum Institute, will give you all kinds of reasons for higher gasoline prices at a time of falling crude prices: problems at two refineries in Texas and Oklahoma, rising demand or whatever. But the real answer is that there is simply no competitive market in this industry.

As Tim Hamilton, a researcher and petroleum industry consultant with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, observes, the oil companies all store their crude oil and refined gasoline in the same tanks, and all know exactly how much inventory each other company has, so they don't have to meet and collude on pricing in order to reap the huge rewards of deliberate supply constraints.

Says Hamilton, "Years ago, you had companies that would try to guess when the other companies were going to have supply shortfalls of gasoline in the summer. They'd ramp up their own gasoline refining and then supply the market at a lower price and eat their competitors' lunches, the same way General Motors would do if Ford had a problem on its assembly line. But today, no oil company would do that. They all benefit by keeping the supplies tight."
...

As an indication of how much control the oil industry has over retail gasoline prices, Hamilton points to a study he did, looking at the price of gas approaching Election Day. His results are truly disturbing.

The oil industry has been a solid backer of Republicans for many years, giving 80-90 percent of its campaign contributions to GOP candidates-particularly during the two Bush terms. What Hamilton discovered is that this support hasn't just been limited to campaign contributions. In fact, the oil industry appears to have clearly tried to minimize voter anger at Republicans late during the election cycle by pushing prices at the pump down just ahead of the voting. In the period 2000-2006, Hamilton found that each non-federal election year-2001, 2003 and 2005, gasoline prices didn't decline during the month of October, but each of the election years-2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006-they fell, with the most dramatic drop coming in October 2006-a period when crude oil prices were rising sharply. Each time, gasoline prices rose again quickly right after the election was over.

"This is a set of coincidences you'd be hard-pressed to explain by anything but planning," says Hamilton. (And incidentally, it would be interesting, when Congress gets those Karl Rove emails from the Republican Party and the White House mainframe computer, to see if there are any to the American Petroleum Institute.)

Yeah, like they'll ever actually get those emails.

...The irony here is that it is higher prices for gasoline that might eventually convince Americans to use less gasoline, and to reduce the production of greenhouse gasses. But where those higher prices in Europe come in the form of taxes, which can then be used to subsidize public transportation or retirement and healthcare programs, in the U.S. the higher prices simply go to the bottom line of the oil companies, and into the pockets of oil company shareholders, leaving public transit, retirement and healthcare programs under funded, and leaving lower-income workers stuck with higher bills to get themselves to and from work in their cars.

Until the public recognizes that the illusion of competition carefully maintained by the oil industry and its backers in the government is just that-an illusion-this astounding rip-off will continue.

One more I found interesting early in the month:
Down Sydrome children not often born

“I am so lucky I get to do so many things,” she concluded. “I just want you to know, even though I have Down syndrome, it is O.K.”

Sarah’s appearance at Henry Ford Hospital here is part of an unusual campaign being undertaken by parents of children with Down syndrome who worry about their future in the face of broader prenatal testing that could sharply reduce the number of those born with the genetic condition.

Until this year, only pregnant women 35 and older were routinely tested to see if their fetuses had the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome. As a result many couples were given the diagnosis only at birth. But under a new recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, doctors have begun to offer a new, safer screening procedure to all pregnant women, regardless of age.

About 90 percent of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis have chosen to have an abortion.

Now I'm not tying these articles together in any way, and they aren't in any order to prove a point. Just some things I read earlier in the month that never made it up here. The weaponized solution to global warming is kind of funny considering the best way to get this administration behind anything progressive is if they can use it to kill people. The Iraqi shadow gov't is something of a mystery to me. That such goings on are happening in Iraq is nothing but a clear indication that we're really in far too deep for an easy solution to present itself. There was an article about Cheney's visit to Baghdad I was going to post as well, perhaps as a counterpoint, but I've had enough of that guy and it's not like anything new was revealed. Mr. Batshit VP still believes his own bullshit regardless of what's actually going on.
The oil article was one that I really wanted to post on. Which explains why I've put so much of it in this post. It's really alarming to me the control that this industry has on our way of life. And while people are always talking about conspiracies and whatnot involving the gas companies, the reality is that the truth is probably more shocking than any crackpot theory. These guys are in it for big dollars and don't go blaming the guy that owns the station, those guys don't see dime one of these windfall profits, it really does go straight to the pockets of those in charge.
The last article is one that may hit hard for some, and may be an easy thing to ignore for others, but it's interesting to note when you take into account the conservative stances on abortion in the past several years. The recent passage of the partial birth abortion ban is also a good thing to think about here. While these doctors are trying to improve the situation for downs syndrome kids, to change perception, it still stands to reason that 90% of these births are aborted because of the birth defect. What does it tell us about the real tolerance for this icky thing that no one wants to stand behind? It tells us that when push comes to shove, an inconvenient situation easily makes the option of abortion a viable one. These aren't children conceived from rape and aren't affecting the life of the mother, yet 90% of those parents made the decision to end the life of the child. If that isn't proof that abortion is something our society desires to have as an option, I really don't know what it means.