But I don't understand how this can be! After all, they signed a piece of paper with quasi-legislative authority!

Everyone knows when you pass a law you change how people behave, instantly! Otherwise, what would be the point of passing lots of laws?

Gee, the whole thing would be rather pointless, wouldn't it?

* Emissions worldwide increased 18.0%.

* Emissions from countries that signed the treaty increased 21.1%.

* Emissions from non-signers increased 10.0%.

* Emissions from the U.S. increased 6.6%.

I blame George Bush.

Meanwhile, no link on this, but Norway, a Kyoto protocol signatory, raised emissions 80% last year.

Gee, what would they have raised them if they hadn't signed?

Out of the Mouths Of Babes: Brit professor lays fault for global warming where it belongs -- at the feet of hot young women.

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With the notable and honorable exceptions of Charlie Gibson on ABCNews (who has been fair recently) and, shockingly, the LATimes of all outfits.

The rest? Wow.

Viewers of ABC's World News on Tuesday night learned of good news in the Pentagon's latest quarterly report on conditions in Iraq, but the positive developments went unnoted on CBS while NBC, the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, AP and McClatchy all stressed the negatives in the status report. ABC anchor Charles Gibson pointed out that “in the past, these reports have offered a brutally negative assessment” but the new one “shows real progress, across the board. On security, the report says weekly IED attacks have dropped 68 percent since June. The number of U.S. troop deaths from IEDs fell to the lowest level since January 2006.” Gibson proceeded to cite lower inflation and a boost in electricity production.

Wednesday's New York Times turned that into: “Pentagon Says Services in Iraq Are Stagnant.” USA Today headlined an AP dispatch in Wednesday's edition, “Pentagon: Transition to Iraqi security forces lags.” The Washington Post's story: “Iran Continues to Support Shiite Militias in Iraq, Pentagon Says.” The Washington bureau of McClatchy Newspapers, which infamously headlined an October story, “As Violence Falls in Iraq, Cemetery Workers Feel the Pinch,” headlined a Tuesday story: “Despite drop in violence, Pentagon finds little long-term progress in Iraq.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 11:55 AM | Comments (8)
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Admittedly, it looks cool:

But it's all very silly.

The fastest eco boat on the planet will attempt to break the round the world speed record using fuel made from human fat.

Pete Bethune, the New Zealand skipper of Earthrace, said the attempt to circumnavigate the globe would begin from Valencia in Spain on March 1 next year.

Bethune and his wife mortgaged their house and sold everything they own to help make the project happen, while continuing to seek support from sponsors.

Demonstrating further commitment to the cause, Bethune underwent liposuction and donated enough to produce 100ml of biofuel, while two other, larger volunteers also had the procedure, making a total of 10 litres of human fat.

This in turn produced seven litres of biofuel, which could help the boat travel about 15km.

Earthrace is fuelled on 100 per cent biodiesel and has a net zero carbon footprint.

Okay.

Thanks to A. Weasel.

Posted by: Ace at 11:47 AM | Comments (31)
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Pathetic.

The U.S. embassy in Iraq is investigating another deadly shooting incident involving its Blackwater bodyguards -- this time of the New York Times's dog.

Staff at the newspaper's Baghdad bureau said Blackwater bodyguards shot Hentish dead last week before a visit by a U.S. diplomat to the Times compound.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the dog had attacked one of Blackwater's bomb-sniffer dogs while a security team was sweeping the compound for explosives.

"The K-9 handler made several unsuccessful attempts to get the dog to retreat, including placing himself between the dogs. When those efforts failed, the K-9 handler unfortunately was forced to use a pistol to protect the company's K-9 and himself," she said in an e-mail to Reuters.

...

State Department investigators have made two follow-up visits to the Times compound to investigate the shooting of Hentish, correspondent Alissa Rubin said.

I'm glad we're using our resources wisely.

Thanks to CJ, I think, as well as Demure Thoughts.

[UPDATE - PA]
Looks like the NYT's "nice doggie" had a long history of biting people...one of them happened to be the (in)famous Eason Jordan himself who recounts his biting incident and others in this Huffington Post piece. Sounds like the Blackwater guy was on pretty solid ground blasting this critter.

Jordan also says the NYT was considering euthanizing the dog because of previous attacks but he talked them out of doing it.

Given that the NYT apparently knew the dog was vicious - indeed had even considered euthanizing it because of this, their swipes at Blackwater for simply doing what they had intended to do in the first place, seem very hollow indeed. Actually, one might be inclined to question their journalistic integrity given the way the story was presented. The term "dishonest scumbags" leaps to mind.

Posted by: Ace at 11:32 AM | Comments (24)
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Oh, dear. I never would have guessed.

Female monkeys may shout during sex to help their male partners climax, research now reveals.

Without these yells, male Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) almost never ejaculated, scientists found.

Female monkeys often utter loud, distinctive calls before, during or after sex. Their exact function, if any, has remained heavily debated.

To investigate the purpose behind these calls, scientists at the German Primate Center in Göttingen focused on Barbary macaques for two years in a nature reserve in Gibraltar.

The researchers found that females yelled during 86 percent of all sexual encounters. When females shouted, males ejaculated 59 percent of the time. However, when females did not holler, males ejaculated less than 2 percent of the time.

To see if yelling resulted from how vigorous the sex was, the scientists counted the number of pelvic thrusts males gave and timed when they happened. They found when shouting occurred, thrusting increased. In other words, hollering led to more vigorous sex.

The researchers studied this for two years and, guessing, at a cost of several million dollars.

Seems like an awful lot of work just to not-so-subtly tell your wife she shouldn't lay there like a veal.

Next Up: A multiyear study to determine if oral copulation by female sloths of their partners' genitals might correlate with increased productivity by the male as well as an increased probability of monogamous behavior.

Thanks to The Sniper, who weighs in.

Posted by: Ace at 11:00 AM | Comments (32)
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Exclusively posted here on AoSHQ:

I want to wish Rudy Giuliani a very Merry Christmas.

We share a common faith in Jesus as Savior and a common love of our fellow brothers and sisters.

Of course, as a Catholic, doesn't Giuliani believe that when he takes communion he is literally eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ?

I don't know, I don't have a theology degree or anything. I'm just asking. It's just that when I look at a Nativity scene with baby Jesus, I'm not not licking my lips, thinking, "mmmm, dinner".

I mean, to even suggest such a thing is outlandish behavior, worthy of comdemnation whether it is in a presidential campaign or even in polite company.

In fact during this celebration of Christmas, we should all look beyond the campaign, put aside our differences, whether cannibal or True Christian Leader, and put on the love of Christ.

May You Have A Blessed Christmas,

Mike

PS Is it just me or does Giuliani look a little Jewish?

I added that last line. The rest is pure Mike Huckabee, or at least the "Mike Huckabee" posting in the comments.

Another One... Funky Chicken alerts me to Mike Huckabee talking up Fred Thompson:

Fred is a member of the Churches of Christ, isn't he? I mean, I'm just asking, but don't they believe that Jesus thinks musical instruments are the tools of the devil? I don't know, I'm just asking. How could I know? I mean, it's not like I have a theology degree. I'm just a humble man who shepherded a flock of loving people in Arkansas. And anyway, I don't care whether he believes that Jesus was fiction. I don't know that he does, I'm just saying, even if he did, it's not any of my business. Seriously, Fred Thompson may be going to hell for all I know, but what does it matter? He may be consumed by an everlasting fire of God's wrath for a multitude of sins he has committed, but that should be out of bounds for any conversation regarding this campaign. Just because Fred Thompson may hate Jesus won't stop me from being a Christian Leader who humbly walks with his Lord.

For His Glory,

Mike

PS His wife wears make-up like a street whore.

Added the PS there, too. Not sure why. I think I'm just trying to steal some comedy glory from this guy.

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Posted by: Ace at 10:37 AM | Comments (24)
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Eh. It's okay. The joke isn't very funny and seems... well, why is he talking about fruitcakes?

At least he doesn't claim that no one can discuss his record during this season of celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Huckabee defended his own Christmas "non-political" political ad on the Today show, with Hot Air grabbing the video. Bryan says the "conspiracy theory" about the cross in the background is "not only unfounded, but it plays right into Huckabee's hands." I agree with the latter but not with the former -- I think it was deliberate. But it sounds awful silly to go yammering on about a cross, so I didn't bother. And even bringing the topic up allows Huckabee to claim that he's just defending Christmas against those who want to destroy it.

I think the MSM would do better to ask why this "non-political" ad is only running in the three earliest political contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and if Mike Huckabee really believes that holiday season conveniently stop any and all examination of his record, or if that's instead an unsavory attempt to use religion and the birth of Christ as shield.
A new Mitt Romney ad, meanwhile, touts his role in helping find his business partner's daughter, who'd gone missing in NYC for three days.

At AdAge they think it's a none too subtle reminder that while Romney will help save your daughter, Huckabee will kill her by releasing rapists and killers from jail. It's also a dig at Giuliani, I guess: Mitt Romney came to NYC to do the job that Giuliani couldn't.

Update: A poll says that Huckabee is within a meaningless 1% of Giuliani for the national lead.

Those who don't like Giuliani or Romney would really do themselves a favor by supporting a credible candidate for president rather than Huckabee.

Posted by: Ace at 09:32 AM | Comments (29)
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Dan Riehl has the National Enquirer story.

The claim that the baby was fathered by a now-former Edwards staffer will be hard to disprove, as everyone seems to agree that's the case. Except for a National Enquirer source, a "confidante" of Rielle's, who says she's always said the baby is Edwards'.

Edwards Responds!

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Tuesday that he had sex with a campaign staffer to learn more about dating and relationships and their connection to poverty in the United States.

Edwards won't disclose how many times he had sex with Rielle Hunter, or if she is the only one with whom he has had sex. Edwards also declined to comment on the question of whether he has only had sex with women.

"It was primarily to learn, but the sex was a good thing, too," the 2004 vice presidential nominee said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Thanks to hit and run.

Posted by: Ace at 09:09 AM | Comments (17)
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Five one-year sentences, one man acquitted.

A new trial of the six men was ordered after Judge Jean-Claude Kross refused to hand down a verdict last year and instead requested information on secret interrogations led by French agents at Guantanamo.

The defence had argued that information obtained during the questioning at Guantanamo was inadmissible in court but the judge overruled the lawyers' objections during the re-trial this month.

French agents?

Some of them admitted staying in Al-Q training camps in Afghanistan, but they wuzn't fightin nobody and weren't plannin no terrorist attacks no where. "We were just making s'mores and practicing knots and stuff".

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 07:58 AM | Comments (19)
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