China has ordered its airlines to ignore a 2008 European Union law that imposes a “ carbon emissions tax ” on all flights traveling to and from the EU. The carbon emissions tax will cost the airline industry an estimated €9 billion ($11.8 billion) by the end of 2020, Reuters reported back when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the 2008 law was reasonable and “fair.” “Application of the emissions trading scheme to aviation infringes neither the principles of customary international law at issue, nor the open-skies agreement,” the ECJ said in its ruling. It has also been estimated by The European Commission that costs per passenger will increase by €2 ($2.60) to €12 ($15.60) for airlines participating in the cap-and-trade program. Unsurprisingly, international airlines are unhappy with the expensive new tax, as vocal opposition from both Canadian and U.S. airlines has made abundantly clear. However, going one step further than either the U.S. or Canada, China is the only country to outright disregard the EU’s expansion of its carbon cap-and-trade system . See the Euronews update: “China has ‘banned’ all airlines in the country from joining the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) aimed at cutting carbon emissions,” the BBC reports. “The authorities have also barred the airlines from increasing their fares or adding new charges for the scheme.” No compromise. “China objects to the EU’s decision to impose the scheme on non-EU airlines,” Xinhua quoted a statement by the Civil Aviation Administration of China as saying. Analysts believe that China has chosen to disregard the EU’s cap-and-trade law because the airline industry is volatile enough as it is. “The sector is already facing quite severe challenges,” Chris De Lavigne of Frost & Sullivan told the BBC. “The airline industry as a whole has already been hit by high fuel costs in the past couple of years and no one wants additional cost factors coming in.” Obviously, the decision by China to ignore the carbon emissions tax puts the EU in an odd position. Does the EU simply turn the other cheek or does it attempt to enforce its carbon tax? “We are not backing down and this legislation will apply to companies operating in Europe,” said Isaac Valero-Ladron, spokesman for EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard. He warned that the law carries fines for airlines that ignore it. But will that make any difference? “It is going to be very tricky. You have to wait and see how the EU will react,” Siva Govindasamy of Flightglobal told the BBC. “They would be able to stop the Chinese airlines from flying to the EU, but that could see retaliatory action by China which will not be good for either side,” he added. Analysts believe that because of the parties involved, the EU will be forced to seek assistance from an international authority. “It could potentially end up on the desk of the World Trade Organization as the countries who are against it have said it is an unfair trade practice,” said Frost & Sullivan’s Mr Lavigne. “Both sides have claimed that this is either fair or unfair, so it is very difficult to see how this is going to shape up.” (H/T: Newser )
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No Surprise Here: China Orders its Airlines to Ignore EU Cap-and-Trade Scheme
This isn’t surprising at all, or at least the actions of Russia and China. What’s surprising is how firm — even bellicose — Ambassador Susan Rice comes across in her statements. I’m long past the point of regime change in Syria, and we don’t need the U.N to do it. At the New York Times , ” Russia and China Block U.N. Action on Syrian Crisis .”
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Russia and China Veto United Nations Resolution on Syria
According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration is battling a computer virus that has had employees offline for the last 10 days. As of right now the EDA’s website is not functional. The Post reports that outside experts are currently working to restore functionality, but it is still unclear if any private information was stolen. The Post continues: “At this point, what is likely happening is they’re trying to find out who is attacking us, how can we get back online and how do we make sure we get all of the bad guys out of the system,” said Alan Paller, research director of the SANS Institute, a cyber-training school in Bethesda. The Commerce Department also suffered a wave of security breaches that compromised the names and Social Security numbers of some employees in late 2009 and early 2010. The department was faulted for not informing some employees until almost seven weeks after one breach. “Something has to be really bad in order for the response to be, ‘Let’s disconnect from the Internet,’ ” said Jacob Olcott, a former counsel for the Senate Commerce committee who now works for Good Harbor Consulting, a cyber risk management company.
Message on EDA website.
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Some Commerce Department Employees Blocked From Internet for 10 Days Due to Virus
Donald Trump officially endorsed Mitt Romney for president, quelling conflicting media reports about which candidate the business mogul would back: Romney or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Standing beside the former Massachusetts governor at his luxury Las Vegas hotel Thursday, Trump called it his “honor and privilege to endorse Mitt Romney.” “Mitt is tough, he’s smart, he’s sharp. He’s not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we love,” Trump said. Earlier in the day, Trump had said it was Romney’s performance during the GOP debates and his tough stance on China that won him over, the Associated Press reported. “Governor Romney? Go out and get ‘em. You can do it,” Trump said. Taking the podium following Trump’s announcement, Romney said, “There are some things that you just can’t imagine happening in your life. This is one of them.” “Being in Donald Trump’s magnificent hotel and having his endorsement is a delight,” he said. “And of course I’m looking forward to the endorsement of the people of Nevada.” In an interview on Fox News Channel immediately following the announcement, Trump told host Neil Cavuto Romney has “really stepped up” on the issues during the campaign. Asked whether his endorsement means there is officially no chance of Trump seeking his own presidential bid, Trump said it depends on whether Romney gets the GOP presidential nomination. Trump has repeatedly toyed with the idea of seeking the presidency himself as a third-party candidate. “If for some reason something happens [and Romney doesn't get the nomination] then it’s open season,” he said. “[But] I don’t see that happening.” This post has been updated since it was first published.
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Donald Trump Officially Endorses Mitt Romney for President
More leaked e-mails. Skeptics falling from the sky. Another U.N. climate-change conference. What’s the latest in the fight over global warming? In feature for the new issue of The Blaze magazine , Liz Klimas takes a look at the state of the war over global warming and the international community’s plans to ostracize “deniers” and force their agenda on the U.S. economy and government. What was the impact of the message war at the most recent U.N. climate-change conference? The most notable outcome of the conference was that for the first time the three countries considered the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world—the United States, India and China—agreed to enter into a treaty to reduce emissions that would be considered “a legal instrument” that could be subject to “legal force.” Emission targets for countries will be set by 2015, meaning discussions will continue, with enforcement of said targets coming in 2020. Lord Christopher Monckton, a leading, vocal skeptic of man-made climate change and head of the U.K. Independence Party took issue with many of the details that he says are “anti-Western,” such as the establishment of an “International Climate Court” that would “have the power to compel Western nations to pay ever-larger sums to Third World countries in the name of making reparation for supposed ‘climate debt.’ The court will have no power over Third World countries.” He also blasted the conference’s rhetoric such as “the rights of Mother Earth” and the “right to survive.” The agreement also establishes a Green Climate Fund to which countries will pledge billions of dollars to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to the challenges that could be expected to come with global climate change. Get the full scoop on the global-warming crowd’s attempts to smear skeptics and to implement a worldwide plan that will impact the liberties of all Americans only in The Blaze magazine .
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Climate Wars: Leaked emails and a UN climate conference — What could go wrong?
Time.com – In an exclusive interview with TIME’s Fareed Zakaria, Obama opens up on Iran, Afghanistan, China and the challenges the U.S. faces in navigating a rapidly changing world. A full transcript of their conversation follows
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Inside Obama’s World: The President talks to TIME About the Changing Nature of American Power
(Time.com)
Blazing Cat Fur has this, ” Doctor defends controversial fetus gender report .” And see the Calgary Herald, ” It’s a girl! Action must be taken to stop sex-selective abortions “:
Many were surprised by former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s quick endorsement of rival Mitt Romney when announcing his departure from the 2012 Republican presidential primary. Huntsman had been one of Romney’s biggest critics on the campaign trail, and recently said that the campaign front runner was “making himself completely unelectable.” As Huntsman’s campaign is in postmortem, examination of the endorsement makes the choice seem even stranger as more details point to a longstanding tension between the two Republican candidates. At face value Huntsman’s endorsement of Romney seems obvious–both are former governors with ties to the business community, both are perceived as moderate by pundits in comparison to the current philosophical stance of the party, both are Mormon. Their supporters are similar, as AP reports that polls show Romney was most often the second choice of Huntsman backers than any other candidate. However, the Huntsman campaign from the onset produced more attacks against Romney’s “core” and record than it did any other candidate, and The Washington Post reports that there has been a rivalry and tension between the two for sometime: “Six years ago, after a private dinner with their wives, Romney came away believing he would have Huntsman’s backing for president, according to a Romney adviser. Romney was so sure of the then-Utah governor’s support that he asked him to write position papers on China, a country Huntsman knows well. Romney even shared internal strategy with him. Then, in July 2006, Romney found out from news reports that Huntsman had officially endorsed Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). A source close to the Huntsman family countered said that any depiction of Huntsman misleading Romney was “’fabricated.’ Nevertheless, Romney saw the endorsement as a stinging, personal rebuke — one that further alienated the governors, who did not know each other well but whose families did. For years, the scions of two of the country’s most prominent Mormon families — they are, in fact, distant cousins — had waged an uneasy and at times bitter rivalry that would only intensify once the prize became the White House.” “The ambitions of Romney, 64, and Huntsman, 51, first collided in 1999, when the scandal-plagued Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City sought a new leader. Both men pursued the job aggressively, seeing it as a springboard to a political career. After much behind-the-scenes politicking, Romney won the job. It was a stinging defeat for the Huntsmans, considering how hard the family patriarch, Jon Sr., had lobbied for his son. ‘It was a painful, miserable loss for the Huntsman family,’ said one family confidant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ‘Two powerful juggernauts competed over the most important thing in the home state of their religion. One won and one lost. And one not only won the prize, but elevated himself on a national platform by running a successful Olympics.’ In the 2008 campaign, the elder Huntsman dutifully raised money for Romney. His son’s decision to side with McCain prompted angry phone calls from Romney, Karen Huntsman said in an interview last year.” With years of baggage, bitter rivalry and public comparison, it’s fair to say that the call Romney received from Huntsman Sunday night may have been much more awkward than the ordinary concession call between political opponents. POLITICO reports that Romney did not ask for Huntsman’s endorsement, or offer anything to get. Reid Epstein and Juana Summers describe the five minute conversation: “They spoke about ‘the state of the race’ and how Huntsman could help Romney with certain moderate voting blocs in South Carolina, Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said Monday. Huntsman offered to record a robo-call on his behalf. Huntsman did not ask Romney to help retire his campaign debt or take on any of Huntsman’s now-unemployed staff, Miller said, common practices when primary candidates step aside and back an opponent — and as Romney did for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Romney didn’t offer to. There was hope in Huntsman’s campaign — categorized even by Huntsman sources as ‘wishful thinking’ — that Romney would offer to help. High-level discussions did take place between the two candidates’ campaign managers about Romney taking on Huntsman staffers, with Huntsman campaign manager Matt David sending Romney chief Matt Rhodes resumes of staffers, a high-level Huntsman campaign source said. But Huntsman didn’t make an explicit request to Romney. Had he done so, the answer, with Romney knowing more candidates are likely to come asking the same thing, would have been no. ‘Bad time to set that precedent with others out there that might go soon and want the same thing,’ said one Romney campaign source. But the real obstacle, another Romney source explained: ‘You help your friends,’ which the two are most certainly not.” Putting a wet blanket over the already chilly endorsement, POLITICO writes that Romney wasn’t invited to Huntsman’s dropping-out speech Monday, and didn’t come even though he was also in Myrtle Beach in the morning and had no public schedule. The Hill writes on the Romney campaign’s passive reaction to the endorsement: “The former Massachusetts governor did not appear with Huntsman at Monday’s announcement and waited until after Huntsman stopped speaking to issue a terse statement: “I salute Jon Huntsman and his wife, Mary Kaye. Jon ran a spirited campaign based on unity, not division, and love of country. I appreciate his friendship and support.” In contrast, when Tim Pawlenty endorsed Romney in September, the campaign blasted out a two-paragraph release, calling the former Minnesota governor a ‘trusted adviser’ and naming him a co-chairman of Romney’s campaign.” Whether Huntsman will come around to stump for his opponent turned presidential choice, as Pawlenty did, seems unlikely. After his two sentence endorsement of Romney Wednesday, Huntsman ignored questions from reporters and headed straight for the door, on a plane home with his family by early afternoon.
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Longstanding Tension Makes Huntsman’s Romney Endorsement Seem Even Stranger
