Prince Charles Vs Climate Sceptics – Again

http://www.climatechangedispatch.com/11242-prince-charles-vs-climate-sceptics-again.html

Prince Charles has attacked corporate lobbyists and climate change sceptics for turning the Earth into a “dying patient”, making his most outspoken criticism yet of the world’s failure to tackle global warming just when the heir to the throne is assuming a growing number of the duties of what is supposed to be an apolitical monarchy. Prince Charles’s views were reinforced by Lord Stern, author of the 2006 report on the economics of climate change, who called sceptics and lobbyists “forces of darkness” who would be driven back. –Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 9 May 2013

The prince’s remarks were attacked by climate change sceptics and dismissed by several lobbyists. Benny Peiser, of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, the thinktank founded by Lord Lawson, which takes a climate-sceptic stance, accused the prince of poisoning the debate on climate change with “apocalyptic language that a government minister would not use”, and accused him of being happy for consumers to pay more in their energy bills for green policies. –Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 9 May 2013

Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation – a climate-sceptic think tank set up by former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson – sharply criticised the prince. “He doesn’t make himself popular by attacking half the British public, who are known to be sceptical.” Dr Peiser said the heir to the throne should “have a conversation with his father”, who he said had a different view. “It’s not about the science,” he said. “It’s about the apocalyptic rhetoric that is poisoning the debate.” –BBC News, 9 May 2013

In the fields of medicine, agriculture, architecture and energy production, the prince is taking positions that are intensely partisan; and some of these are areas in which decisions have monumental economic implications for every family in the land… The prince certainly needs someone to point out to him that the planet is not “dying” and that it was doing just fine when CO2 concentrations were vastly higher than they are now or are ever likely to be as a result of whatever amount of fossil fuels we burn. –Dominic Lawson, The Sunday Times, 12 May 2013

But no matter how much you and I agree, Prince Charles should have remained silent. Charles strays into areas of political dispute over what should be done [about global warming]. Charles’s lack of judgment may explain why, though he will take over duties such as attending Commonwealth heads of government conferences, the Queen will not agree to either abdication or a regency. Charles is a dangerously divisive figure – not because he may destroy the monarchy (which I would welcome), but because he threatens an already fragile public confidence in democracy.  –Peter Wilby, The Guardian, 10 May 2013

The Prince of Wales has warned that mankind is on the brink of “committing suicide on a grand scale” unless urgent progress is made in tackling green issues such as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, intensive farming and resource depletion. Adopting uncharacteristically apocalyptic language, the Prince said the world was heading towards a “terrifying point of no return” and that future generations faced an “unimaginable future” on a toxic planet. However Dr Benny Peiser, director of Lord Lawson’s Global Warming Policy Foundation, said the Prince’s views were still out of step with mainstream thinking. “He is really a good representative of the environmental movement as such and it is not a personal issue,” he said. But he added that the “extreme alarm and extreme concern” was “over the top and not helpful to the debate”. “It doesn’t convince any governments or any ministers and in the end it is over the top and won’t be heard.” –Jonathan Brown, The Independent 23 November 2012

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remember this the guy who wanted to be a tampon..

see him in the picture above looking for a face on the plant..then he can kiss it on the lips..he loves plants more than humans..and definitely more than his first wife..

“ ”It’s not about the science,” he said. “It’s about the apocalyptic rhetoric that is poisoning the debate.”

amen Dr Peiser..

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Oil company offices raided in EU pricing probe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22530379

The offices of several firms involved in the oil market have been raided by European Commission officials.

The commission said it had concerns that “the companies may have colluded in reporting distorted prices”.

It did not name the firms, and said the raids did not mean the companies were guilty of any charges.

BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Norway’s Statoil and the pricing agency Platts confirmed that they were working with the authorities in their inquiries.

The investigation relates to the pricing of oil, refined products and biofuels.

“Even small distortions of assessed prices may have a huge impact on the prices of crude oil, refined oil products and biofuels purchases and sales, potentially harming final consumers,’” the Commission said.

As part of the investigation, the Commission said it was examining whether the companies may have prevented others from participating in the pricing process “with a view to distorting published prices”.

It added: “Any such behaviour, if established, may amount to violations of European antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and abuses of a dominant market position.”

The EU called the raids “unannounced inspections”. They are seen as a preliminary step in an investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices.

Statoil, which confirmed its Norwegian headquarters had been inspected, said the suspected violations “related to the Platts’ Market-On-Close (MOC) price assessment process” and “may have been on-going since 2002″.

Platts, which compiles prices for energy markets, said the European Commission had visited its London operations on Tuesday. “Platts is co-operating fully with the European Commission’s review,” it added.

BP said in statement: “We are co-operating fully with the investigation and are unable to comment further at this time.”

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well i never..multinationals conspiring to fix the the price of something..i am just so shocked..i thought these companies were here to help everyone on earth prosper and make our lives better..eh?

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US seizes top Bitcoin exchange as crackdown begins

http://rt.com/usa/bitcoin-exchange-seized-crackdown-begins-334/

The US Department of Homeland Security seized a payment processing account Tuesday belonging to Mt. Gox, the largest international Bitcoin trader, claiming the monetary exchange service falsified financial documents.

The American government has previously made it clear that officials are watching Bitcoin, a decentralized economic currency that international regulators have not yet been able to control. Many of those who favor Bitcoin use Dwolla, an Iowa-based startup that allows customers to transfer their dollars into Bitcoins.

Unfortunately for those consumers, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warrant Tuesday effectively shutting down Dwolla’s ability to process Bitcoin payments, as reported by CNET. Whether because of the DHS’ charge of operating an “unlicensed money transmitting business,” the sudden timing of the allegations, or another reason, Dwolla and Mt. Gox officials have been reluctant to comment.

“In order not to compromise this ongoing investigation being conducted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore, we cannot comment beyond the information in warrant, which was filed in the District of Maryland [Tuesday],” said Nicole Navas, a representative for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The warrant claims Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles did not disclose he operated a financial transfer site when he opened a new bank account for the business. Money transmitting services, according to Gawker, are required to register with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). Mt. Gox, which is involved in roughly 63 per cent of all Bitcoin purchases, has not done so.

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as some predicted..here comes the crackdown..and next will be the huge losses..and the loss of confidence in schemes like this..driving people back to the currencies and old school exchanges..seems to be happening doesn’t it?

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The Times of Israel: Jews DO control the media

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jews-do-control-the-media/

We Jews are a funny breed. We love to brag about every Jewish actor. Sometimes we even pretend an actor is Jewish just because we like him enough that we think he deserves to be on our team. We brag about Jewish authors, Jewish politicians, Jewish directors. Every time someone mentions any movie or book or piece of art, we inevitably say something like, “Did you know that he was Jewish?” That’s just how we roll.

We’re a driven group, and not just in regards to the art world. We have, for example, AIPAC, which  was essentially constructed just to drive agenda in Washington DC. And it succeeds admirably. And we brag about it. Again, it’s just what we do.

But the funny part is when any anti-Semite or anti-Israel person starts to spout stuff like, “The Jews control the media!” and “The Jews control Washington!”

Suddenly we’re up in arms. We create huge campaigns to take these people down. We do what we can to put them out of work. We publish articles. We’ve created entire organizations that exist just to tell everyone that the Jews don’t control nothin’. No, we don’t control the media, we don’t have any more sway in DC than anyone else. No, no, no, we swear: We’re just like everybody else!

Does anyone else (who’s not a bigot) see the irony of this?

Let’s be honest with ourselves, here, fellow Jews. We do control the media. We’ve got so many dudes up in the executive offices in all the big movie production companies it’s almost obscene. Just about every movie or TV show, whether it be “Tropic Thunder” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” is rife with actors, directors, and writers who are Jewish. Did you know that all eight major film studios are run by Jews?

But that’s not all. We also control the ads that go on those TV shows.

And let’s not forget AIPAC, every anti-Semite’s favorite punching bag. We’re talking an organization that’s practically the equivalent of the Elders of Zion. I’ll never forget when I was involved in Israeli advocacy in college and being at one of the many AIPAC conventions. A man literally stood in front of us and told us that their whole goal was to only work with top-50 school graduate students because they would eventually be the people making changes in the government. Here I am, an idealistic little kid that goes to a bottom 50 school (ASU) who wants to do some grassroots advocacy, and these guys are literally talking about infiltrating the government. Intense.

Now, I know what everyone will say. That everyone tries to lobby. Every minority group and every majority group. That every group has some successful actors and directors. But that’s a far call from saying that werun Hollywood and Madison Avenue. That the Mel Gibsons of the world are right in saying we’re deliberately using our power to take over the world. That we’ve got some crazy conspiracy going down.

Okay. Fine. So some of that is kooky talk.

But let’s look at it a bit deeper.

Continue here: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jews-do-control-the-media/

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this isnt written by anti semites..its written by jews..about jews..and it speaks truth..it is not a conspiracy..its a hard cold fact..you can make up your own mind if its a good thing or a bad thing..

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Why the FBI will love Google Glass

http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/why-the-fbi-will-love-google-glass

According to Google’s Transparency Report, the company received 14,201 government requests for user data in 2010 and complied with 76% of them. In 2012, Google complied with only 66%, but due to the growing number (21,389 in 2012) of requests, Google actually forfeited user data thousands more times.

Google, and other tech giants, have been fighting back, but the trend is clear: Every year, more data is flowing from tech companies to the government.

During this same period, Google conceived of and announced its next big product: Google Glass, a wearable, connected device with a camera.

Now, imagine for a moment that wearable computing finally has its breakthrough moment. That a cheap version of Google Glass, after it becomes available to the masses, turns millions of users into full-time documentarians — of any and all things.

Then, imagine the FBI has access to that information.

Public reception of Glass has been mixed. The vast majority of people haven’t tried it, or anything like it, but the concept is new and discomforting. For many, concerns center around Glass’ inconspicuous ability to outwardly surveil the unsuspecting. With Glass there is no “point and shoot” — there’s just “shoot.”

Two decades ago, the FBI lobbied aggressively for Congress to pass the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), mandating that all telephone switches be “wiretap friendly” in the event that the FBI needed to listen in on phone lines. In 2004, CALEA was extended to some broadband providers, like colleges, but larger web companies were not included.

CALEA set the stage for what’s known as the FBI backdoor, the idea that the government — with legal authorization — can monitor communications through connected devices, often times without the user’s knowledge.

Last year, one federal judge estimated there are probably around to 30,000 secret electronic surveillance orders issued by federal courts every year. Similarly, Wiredreported the FBI was lobbying big tech companies like Yahoo, Facebook, and Google to request cooperation with backdoors for surveillance.

As with most surveillance, it’s hard to know just how easy it is to gain access to user information. In 2012, Ars Technica found that it is highly unlikely that Apple could surrender encrypted data on an iPhone to authorities but noted that information in the cloud was much easier to obtain. (Since then, Apple, like Google, has actively encouraged users to migrate their iPhone’s contents to the cloud.)

What makes Google Glass different — or at least seem different compared to smartphones — is intimacy. Wiretapping Glass doesn’t just allow the government in your life, it allows it inside your head.

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“Wiretapping Glass doesn’t just allow the government in your life, it allows it inside your head.”

data and access to your mind..in one neat package..

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TEPCO seeks permission to dump groundwater from Fukushima plant into ocean

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-seeks-permission-to-dump-groundwater-from-fukushima-plant-into-ocean?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2013-05-14_AM

Officials from Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on Monday met with a Fukushima fisheries cooperative to seek its members’ permission to dump groundwater from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.

The contaminated water storage has been a problem since early in the accident. TEPCO officials acknowledged last month that a lack of storage space has become a “crisis.” TEPCO has promised to speed up building more reliable steel tanks and eventually empty the underground tanks.

Runoff from the three reactors melted in the aftermath of the March 2011 quake-tsunami and a steady inflow of groundwater seeping into the basement of their damaged buildings produce about 400 tons of contaminated water daily at the plant.

TEPCO says 280,000 tons of contaminated water has been stored in tanks on the plant, and the amount would double within a few years.

At Monday’s meeting, TEPCO officials outlined their plan to the fishermen’s cooperative in which it hopes to divert groundwater into the ocean, TV Asahi reported. TEPCO said only water with low radioactivity would be dumped.

A spokesman for the fishermen was quoted by TV Asahi as saying it would be difficult to give approval to such a plan but added that the cooperative will study the plan.

TEPCO also needs the central government’s approval to implement such a plan.

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seriously..how do you spell “NO”..are these people insane?

“only water with low radioactivity would be dumped” <– oh..so we die over 15 years not 5..cool..

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Wall Street: How much does Bloomberg know? Journalists spied on Bernanke and Geithner

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100729453

The escalating controversy over Bloomberg reporters accessing private information on Wall Street through the company’s terminals puts the data and media empire founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into strange, new territory. It is now in the rare position of having to explain its actions to an industry that puts billions of dollars into its coffers every year.

Since news of the privacy breach broke on Friday, some of Bloomberg LP’s biggest customers on Wall Street are re-examining their agreements with the company to see how much information the company can access from desktop terminals, say sources at those firms. Goldman Sachs Group and JP Morgan Chase so far have complained about the practice of Bloomberg reporters being able to see when one of their employees is signed on and what kinds of functions they use through keystrokes on the terminal.

“It’s pretty surprising that an organization this big has given that kind of open access to user information,” said Larry Tabb, founder of Tabb Group, a financial markets research and advisory firm. “This is going to be a challenge for Bloomberg. This hole should have been locked down.”

“This industry is all about confidentiality,” Tabb continued. “When you give access to information about when a user is logged in and what they are doing with their terminal, that violates a confidence. That could be an issue.” He added he wouldn’t be surprised if subscriber agreements would be reworked to ensure more guarantees against breaches, especially as Wall Street firms have beefed up compliance departments and measures.

http://rt.com/news/bloomberg-spying-scandal-bernanke-geithner-180/

In a new twist of the Bloomberg spying scandal a former company employee has revealed journalists allegedly spied on the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner through the news terminals.

Bloomberg journalists had access to what both Bernanke and Geithner were using the private company’s business terminals for: information regarding news, equity markets and bonds.

Though, the former Bloomberg employee told CNBC the information was general rather than specific, although knowing how often a user logged on and what information they were searching for could provide valuable insight into their concerns.

The former Bloomberg employee, who used to work for the editorial section, didn’t say specifically what he was looking at, but added that he and some of his colleagues also used to call up information on the officials “just for fun”, showing newcomers “how powerful” their terminals were.

The source also added that all Bloomberg journalists who knew of this capability of the terminal would have had access to the usage information of the officials. However, CNBC has no information that the data were either used by the employees for journalism or shared inappropriately.

“What you are reporting is untrue,” a Bloomberg spokesman told CNBC, but declined to name specific inaccuracies. The US Federal Reserve announced that it would look into the situation but the spokeswoman declined to comment further.

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who watches the watchers?

spying and leaking information coming out of everywhere right now..whistleblowing..secrets revealed..its all exploding in a cacophony of truth? IRS, AP and now this..

bloomberg owned them..i wonder how long this has been going on?..sachs and morgan cant complain..the thieves have been thieved!

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