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
Back in November of last year, Glenn Beck heard Freedom Works President Matt Kibbe speaking in South Carolina. One particular line from Kibbe’s presentation stuck with Glenn. Kibbe told the crowd; “I can’t believe we have to go fight the Republicans before we go fight the Democrats.” Tonight on GBTV, Glenn and Matt talked at length about the Tea Parties all across America and how these very diverse groups have the potential to change the direction of the country in the 2012 elections and beyond. Here’s part one. In second part of the interview, Beck and Kibbe drilled down a little deeper into the Tea Party’s beliefs on what makes a good elected official. The Freedom Works President clarified his thoughts: Our thing is constant accountability, transparency, holding everyone to the same standard regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat… It’s based on the issues… it’s based on what you actually do in office. On the topic of the Fall election season, Glenn asked Matt about the Tea Party plans for making certain that the elections are legitimate: I think our whole strategy has to be based on freedom. That the fight against voter fraud is only going to be fought with a very decentralized system where each person takes responsibility in their community to police those voting booths, to volunteer, to actually be there. Despite the current tensions in the GOP Primary process, Kibbe maintains a positive outlook: That’s why I’m so optimistic, I think that a decentralized, freedom-based model can win and will win if each of us take responsibility and focus on the things that matter. The entire second part of the interview with Matt Kibbe is here:
It’s unclear who was behind the double suicide car bombings that rocked Damascus on Friday but Hezbollah has a pretty good idea who it thinks was responsible. Though supporters of President Bashar Assad blamed Al Qaeda and Syrian insurgents accused the Assad regime of orchestrating the bombings to drive attention away from the government’s bloody crackdown, Hezbollah says it was a plot carried out by the U.S., “the mother of terrorism.” The Lebanese Shi’ite militant group released a statement calling such acts: “the specialty of the United States and its agents in our region.” Lebanon’s Daily Star reports: The blasts came a day after an advance team of Arab League observers arrived in Damascus to monitor Syria’s promise to end its violent crackdown on protesters. “These bombings which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of people, mostly women and children, are the specialty of the United States, the mother of terrorism,” Hezbollah said in a statement. It accused the U.S. of “specializing in targeting, killing and terrorizing the innocent in order to push them into bowing to the U.S. policy that is seeking to achieve the Zionist interest which the Americans put above any other consideration.” Hezbollah, which is a major ally of Assad, said the timing of the bombings clearly signaled they were an act of revenge for the U.S. “defeat” in Iraq following the withdrawal of its troops from the warn-torn country. “This horrific terrorist crime committed by the enemies of humanity in the city of Damascus came one day after the coordinated bombings that targeted Baghdad and other Iraqi cities,” the statement said. “This signals that the parties that stand to lose from the big defeat inflicted on the United States, which led to the humiliating withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, have begun a cowardly, bloody act of revenge by targeting all forces and states that helped the heroic Iraqi resistance in its Jihad [holy war] to evict the U.S. occupation.” Thousands attended the funerals of the 44 killed in the unprecedented attacks outside the buildings of the powerful intelligence services in the center of the capital. It’s notable that Hezbollah, a terrorist group with such a rich history of targeting men, women and children, including U.S citizens, racking up almost 30 years of kidnappings, suicide bombings and rocket attacks would so easily accuse the U.S. of specializing in this sordid business. The U.S. and Israel accuse Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime of providing funds and arms to Hezbollah and for allowing the transfer of Iranian weapons and money via Syria to Hezbollah military operatives in next-door Lebanon.
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Guess Which Country Hezbollah Is Blaming for the Syrian Suicide Bombings?
(Photo via American Independent)
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U.S. Called ‘Immoral’, Canada ‘Laggard’ at International Climate Conference
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Monday cut off funding for the U.N. cultural agency, after its member countries defied an American warning and approved a Palestinian bid for full membership in the body. The lopsided vote to admit Palestine as a member of UNESCO, which only the United States and 13 other countries opposed, triggered a long-standing congressional ban on U.S. funding to U.N. bodies that recognize Palestine as a state before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached. The State Department said a $60 million payment to UNESCO scheduled for November would not be made as a result, and U.S. officials warned of a “cascade” effect at other U.N. bodies that might follow UNESCO’s lead. “Today’s vote by the member states of UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is regrettable, premature, and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. She said the U.S. remained committed to UNESCO and its goals, which include the promotion of science, education and culture, and that the administration would work with Congress to preserve U.S. interests and influence in the body. But, while Nuland said the U.S. would maintain its membership and participation in UNESCO, the organization’s internal rules will strip Washington of its vote if it is delinquent in paying its dues for two years. It is not clear how U.S. membership would work in the interim, especially since UNESCO depends heavily on U.S. funding. The U.S. provides 22 percent of its budget – roughly $80 million a year – but has survived without it in the past: The United States pulled out of UNESCO under President Ronald Reagan and rejoined two decades later under President George W. Bush. Of potential greater concern to the administration is the possibility that the Palestinians, buoyed by the 107 to 15 vote in their favor at UNESCO, will apply for membership in other U.N. organizations that the United States values, like the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or the International Atomic Energy Agency. “We don’t see any benefit, and we see considerable potential damage, if this move is replicated in other U.N. organizations,” Nuland said. “We are trying to make clear what the implications for us, what the implications for these organizations are, of the move that the Palestinians started here. And we are hoping that this will end here and we can get back to the peace talks because that is the place where we’re going to be able to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people.” Senior State Department officials were meeting Monday with executives from numerous high-tech firms to consider options if the U.S. is forced to restrict its participation in the World Intellectual Property Organization, which sets global standards for copyrights and adjudicates cross-border patent disputes. “We need to make sure that our companies understand the implications of what’s happened and begin that conversation with them.” The UNESCO vote was a fallback for the Palestinian leadership that presented its plan for U.N. recognition as a state and full membership in the global body in September. Israel has fiercely opposed the bid, and it has no chance of passing because the Obama administration has promised to veto any resolution in the Security Council. Nuland said U.S. payments to the Paris-based organization effectively stopped Monday. While more than 150 countries voted for the Palestinian bid or abstained, Nuland insisted that their decision “creates tensions when all of us should be concerting our efforts to get the parties back to the table.” The U.S. has long brandished the Palestinian efforts at the U.N. as counterproductive to the Mideast peace process. But Washington has been unable to present a viable alternative, after a year when Israelis and Palestinians have refused to hold any direct talks on the parameters of peace agreement with one another. “The United States remains steadfast in its support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, but such a state can only be realized through direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Nuland said. White House spokesman Jay Carney also called UNESCO’s approval “premature” and a distraction for peace talks. Carney spoke as U.N. Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair was meeting Monday with President Barack Obama at the White House.
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Update: U.S. Cuts Funding to U.N. Agency for Approving Palestinian Membership
**Written by Doug Powers In 2009, a weepy Nancy Pelosi denounced rhetoric she claimed was coming from the Tea Parties, claiming the protest could lead to a climate of violence. Since then, however, Pelosi has given Occupy Wall Street her blessing . Kelly Maher’s piece at the Daily Caller might have some wondering where Pelosi’s deep concern is now: The young University of Colorado student may appear too young to have much life experience, but yessir — he’s mad as hell and he isn’t going to take it anymore. He sure looks comfortable in that designer jacket, though. (Ladies: Is that Burberry or a knock-off?) “There’s a lot of stuff that needs to change,” our boy added, “and if it doesn’t, violent revolution will come.” How to change things for the better? Apparently it just takes a box of bullets and some rope. “If you get the thirteen families that own the world, including George Bush and his administration, get them in front of the White House and hang them and shoot them, because they deserve that.” Roll tape (language warning): Pundit Press has more about rhetoric that would be getting front page coverage from the MSM and crocodile tears from Nancy Pelosi if it were coming from the Tea Party. **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Denver Occupier Promotes New Tone: ‘Hang and Shoot’ Bush Administration
**Written by Doug Powers We’ve covered the personal connections to Wall Street of some of the celebrities who are supporting the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters. Now there’s a picture going around that helps establish a personal Wall Street/corporate connection to the protesters themselves (Doug Ross has a full size pic here ): As for political leaders, President Obama has claimed the protesters represent “broad based frustration” with the financial system. Nancy Pelosi said “God bless them” and that no longer will the “recklessness of some on Wall Street cause massive joblessness on Main Street.” In 2008, Obama raked in millions upon millions in campaign cash from Wall Street , and Nancy Pelosi’s husband made his bones as an investment banker . History won’t record this as the largest protest ever, but it might take the prize for the most ironic. Update: Nancy Pelosi is finally speaking out about this madness: “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw this myself in the late 70s in San Francisco, this king of rhetoric. … It created a climate in which violence took place. … I wish we would all curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements and understand that some of the ears that it is falling on are not a balanced as the person making the statements may assume.” Wait, nevermind — that was in reference to the Tea Parties in 2009. Meanwhile, Pelosi managed to pin some of the blame for the ongoing Wall Street protests on… you guessed it: George W. Bush . **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Evil Corporations Get Unwitting Support at Wall Street Protests
Hank Williams Jr . came. He spoke . He explained. And then apologized. Following his official statement to clarify the Obama – Hitler comparison (an interpretation others, including The Blaze’s Meredith Jessup , say isn’t accurate ) he made on “Fox and Friends” Monday, Williams blogged an apology for his remarks: “I have always been very passionate about Politics and Sports and this time it got the Best or Worst of me. The thought of the Leaders of both Parties Jukin and High Fiven on a Golf course, while so many Families are Struggling to get by simply made me Boil over and make a Dumb statement and I am very Sorry if it Offended anyone. I would like to Thank all my supporters. This was Not written by some Publicist.” — Hank Williams Jr If this hadn’t been written on a computer, one imagines it would have been pieced together from letters cut out of a magazine. h/t Washington Post
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Hank Jr. ‘sorry’ for ‘dumb statement’
See Ronald Brownstein, at National Journal , ” Coming Together “: Two iconoclastic new studies challenge the grim fatalism surrounding the congressional super committee charged with identifying the next steps toward taming the long-term federal debt. The glum, growing consensus in Washington is that the super committee is more likely to perpetuate than resolve the parties’ stalemate over the deficit. The betting is that, with Republicans still rejecting any tax increases (even though federal revenues, as a share of the overall economy, now stand at their lowest level since 1950), Democrats won’t accept any meaningful restraints on entitlement spending (even though payments to individuals now consume more than three-fifths of the federal budget, squeezing all other liberal priorities). Conventional wisdom now assumes that the committee will offer just enough savings to avoid complete failure (which might further rattle spooked financial markets) but not enough to truly confront the long-term problem. Yet the two recent studies from unusual left-right coalitions show the opportunity for greater boldness. In each report, groups that started with diametrical ideological views about the role of government coalesced behind reform programs that would substantially reduce the deficit by eliminating programs that are either ineffective or that unnecessarily subsidize special interests. The agendas offered by these odd-couple alliances alone are not sufficient to stabilize the long-term budget—that can only be done by restraining entitlements and raising more revenue. But these plans show how austerity can enable reform: They underscore the opportunity to use the deficit challenge to rethink federal expenditures that are now justified by little more than the strength of the lobbies protecting them… Interesting. More at that top link.
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Left and Right Come Together
