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Monday
23Nov2009

Did Hadley hackers do a good deed if they did the deed at all?

Image of Planet Earth, courtesy of NASA.Commentary by Kay B. Day

The great front porch, the Internet, where the world congregates to debate or idle, has been abuzz for days over hackers who allegedly infiltrated Hadley University’s Climate Research Center in the United Kingdom.

Are the contraband emails posted on major media brand outlets and blog directories legit? Who can really say unless you’re one of the hackers or one of the expert perpetrators of propaganda distributed via colluding "scientific journals"?

Whatever the validity of hacking claims, if the alleged hacked emails and exchanges are genuine, they simply drive home what we’ve said about global warming alarmism at The US Report (our own portico in cyberspace) for quite some time

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Friday
20Nov2009

Gibson Guitar raid penalizes American company for foreign forestry practices

Commentary by Kay B. Day

The SG Standard, said Gibson, is the best-selling Gibson of all time.[Photo from Gibson website.]The Gibson brand needs no introduction to anyone who’s ever played a guitar, and the factory in Nashville is a valuable employer providing jobs to approximately 2,800 Americans. But armed with an expansion of the Lacey Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raided the plant on Tuesday.

At stake: “wood procurement,” said a statement from Gibson. The Tennessean (Nashville) theorized about the raid’s link to exotic hardwoods: “But some exotic hardwoods traditionally used in making premium guitars, such as rosewood from the rain forests of Madagascar and Brazil, have been banned from commercial trade because of environmental concerns under a recently revised federal law.”

In 2008 Congress expanded the Lacey Act. Here’s an example of the depth of that expansion. According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture 'Facts about the Amended Lacey Act,' “As of May 22, 2008, if a tree is illegally harvested, made into wood products, and then exported to the United States, anyone who imported, exported, transported, sold, received, acquired, or purchased the wood products made from that illegal timber, who knew or should have known that the wood was illegal, may be prosecuted for violation of the Lacey Act.”

Few would dispute the value of wise forestry practices. But few would agree the language is sound in the provision cited. The very phrase “who knew or SHOULD have known…” permits subjectivity in the application of federal law. In addition the law as applied in the Gibson raid appears to target American companies rather than the source of the product or the wholesale distributor of the product.

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Thursday
19Nov2009

Lawsuits blame Florida education system for graduation rates, unsafe schools

Commentary by Kay B. Day

Parents assisted by the Southern Legal Counsel and Fund Education Now have filed lawsuits against Florida’s education system. Complaints include the state’s failure “to provide the necessary resources for education,” The Florida Times-Union said. That failure causes low regular-diploma type graduation rates and lack of school safety. These groups follow the lead of the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit, Aho et al. vs. Charlie Crist et al., filed in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The lawsuits  apparently have to do with how much money is allocated to schools. One parent cited by the T-U said it actually had to do more with how the money is spent, although the paper said that the lawsuit mainly addresses funding in general.

Most studies and lawsuits claiming to act on behalf of students break school populations down by racial groups. Most always cite a gap between whites, hispanics and blacks.

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Wednesday
18Nov2009

Palin tour includes triple hit in Florida; media can’t get enough

Commentary by Kay B. Day

[Photo of Gov. Palin from Alaska Governor website.]Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) heads to Florida November 24 and organizers are preparing for what will likely be a warm welcome. Palin, new book and perseverance in hand, will visit supporters in Jacksonville, The Villages and Orlando. Palin’s press tour in conjunction with the release of ‘Going Rogue’ has garnered deep coverage from print, Web and traditional TV networks. From the moment Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced her as his running mate in the 2008 elections, Palin drew media like a ripe orange draws wasps. Obviously, she still does.

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Tuesday
17Nov2009

PWC says whistleblower filed 40 ‘unsuccessful’ actions in Kuwaiti Courts

Events surrounding the indictment of Kuwaiti-based Public Warehousing Company for conspiracy to defraud the United States and other allegations raise questions about a key whistleblower in the case. In announcing PWC’s indictment on Monday, the Dept. of Justice said, “All of the charges concern multi-billion dollar contracts issued by the Department of Defense for feeding American troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.” PWC is scheduled for an initial appearance and arraignment in Atlanta on Nov. 20. A related civil action has also been filed against PWC.

But most major media have overlooked a strongly worded statement issued by PWC about the charges. That statement paints a complex picture of international intrigue and politics.

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Monday
16Nov2009

Medal of Honor recipient Lewis Millett, hero of Battle of Bayonet Hill, passes 

by Chris Carter
Capt. Louis L. Millett, 88, Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Nov. 14 in Loma Linda, Calif.[Photo from Crushing Chris}

In 1940, Lewis L. "Red" Millett, a 17 year old native of Mechanic Falls, Maine, dropped out of high school and joined the Army Air Corps in order to fight the increasing fascist threat in Europe. But when President Roosevelt stated that the U.S. would not be entering the war, Millett decided to pack his bags and head to Canada - not to avoid combat, but to seek it out as part of the Canadian army. He was sent to London where he served as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Nazi's "Blitz" bombing campaign.

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