Lemme see if I get this right. . .

The moose hate the snow, there's record snow in Anchorage, Alaska. . . the snow says that Alaska must not have got the memo about Global Warming. . . and the moose say that we should create global warming to help them survive. . . therefore. . . global warming is good for the Earth.

Gotcha


Hungry Moose Invade Downtown Anchorage
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska —

Deep mountain snow usually drives moose to seek lower ground in Anchorage, but the snow piling up in town this winter is a bit much even for the stilt-legged animals.

So they're going where they'd rather not, choosing major roads, plowed sidewalks and groomed trails to sidestep the vast cushion of snow in neighborhoods and greenbelts left during a remarkably temperamental month in Alaska's largest city.

The half-ton ungulates are even showing up downtown, placidly gnawing on bare trees at busy intersections.

"They don't want to walk through deep snow either," said state wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott. "Most moose don't really want to interact with people and cars and dogs."

Snow removal crews are overwhelmed with the aftermath of storms that dumped almost 76 inches of snow midway through a season that normally totals 68 inches.

It'll be weeks before they get a handle on the massive chokehold, but if the weather pattern continues the city's moose could suffer — and so could people, said Don Spalinger, an ecologist at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

"The problem is the moose are sticking to the trails. They're out on the roads. We could see a lot more of them hit by cars," he said, not to mention more dangerous encounters between moose and people.

In a normal winter, 130 moose can die from car collisions within the city limits.

Statistics have not been compiled yet for the latest moose casualties, but they could be two, even three times the average by winter's end, said Gary Olson of the Alaska Moose Federation, a nonprofit moose advocacy group.

"We could be heading into a killer snow year, with the snowiest months ahead," he said.

Without or without the big snow, food will become increasingly scarce over the next few months. But experts say more storms in this heavy snow season could keep moose reaching all available food, it takes more energy to trudge through deep snow, at a time when there are more of the animals in the city.

In summer, only a few hundred moose roam Anchorage. But the urban population can swell as high as 1,000 in winter. That's when many of the animals leave the harsh conditions in the nearby Chugach Mountains, traveling up to 20 miles.

In Anchorage, they forage on twigs and bark until spring brings back the plentiful greens and flowers. Moose eat up to 40 pounds of wood a day, enough to fill two large garbage cans, Sinnott said. But as the accessible food diminishes, adult moose are losing a pound a day.

A few hundred moose end up dying in town each year, including those hit by cars, according to Sinnott. Sometimes they starve to death or succumb to diseases in their weakened states, frequently in people's yards. Sometimes the carcasses aren't discovered until the snow melts.

In any case, it's the property owner's responsibility to remove the body.

"I tell people when the moose is alive, it belongs to the state," Sinnott said. "If it's dead and on your property, it belongs to you."

Sinnott keeps a roster of local trappers who will remove the carcasses for free. It's the only legal way they can use game meat for their traps, so finding volunteers is no problem.

Lynn Keogh, who uses the meat mostly for trapping wolves, already has been called to remove two dead moose, including a calf and the remains of an ailing moose that expired on a popular coastal trail.

"A lot of times I just haul them into the woods and let the animals feed on them," he said of the meat he doesn't use.

When trappers aren't available, residents either tackle the chore themselves or they hire someone like Robert Doran.

Removing dead moose is just one of the services offered by his Wasilla company, Nuisance Wildlife Management, whose ads state: "When the wilds of Alaska get too close to home."

Residents pay anywhere between $195 and $265 for his moose retrieval service. The price includes depositing the carcass at the local landfill.

"I expect it'll be busier this year because of all the snow in Anchorage," Doran said.

Ring the Bells. . . let people know

This is a victory. . . so don't expect to hear much about it.



Story I:

Kidnap And Beheading Plot
Updated: 14:19, Wednesday January 31, 2007
The eight people arrested by terror police in Birmingham were allegedly planning an Iraq-style kidnapping and beheading in the UK.
Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt says they intended to post a video of the hostage being tortured and killed on the internet.
Their target was a British Muslim soldier in his twenties who is now under police protection.
The soldier, who has not been named, has served with UK forces in Afghanistan.
His abduction would have mirrored the kidnappings of the British hostages Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan by Iraqi insurgents.
The suspects - believed to be of Pakistani origin - were detained under the Terrorism Act after a six-month surveillance operation.
One of the sealed-off roads
It is thought they are being held in Coventry. Two are said to be males aged 31 and 29. The latter has been named locally as Amjad Mahmood.
More details will be given at a press conference at 3pm. You can watch it live on Sky News online.
Brunt said officers feared the alleged plot was "coming to fruition".
The fact the aim was apparently not to cause mass casualties, as in previous terror attacks, signalled a "chilling" change in tactics.
The suspects had been tracked in a combined police operation led by the Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.
They were supported by officers from the West Midlands police and the Metropolitan Police.
Officers swooped on 12 addresses in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham at 4am.
Van is towed away
West Midlands police said the eight were held "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
"Twelve addresses have been secured and sealed off... and all are currently being searched."
The statement warned: "We are mindful that communities, locations or individuals don't become a target as a result of recent events.
"Hate crime will not be tolerated and we will take robust action where necessary."
A Home Office spokesman said: "This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat we face."
Today's arrests come after police detained a total of five people in anti-terror raids in Manchester and Halifax, West Yorkshire, last week.


Story II:

EVIL Muslim terrorists were to kidnap a British soldier on UK streets and force him to plead with Tony Blair for his life in return for a pull-out of troops from Iraq, The Sun can reveal.
The soldier would have been filmed begging the PM to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan in a sick propaganda stunt.

Army sources said the target was a British Muslim soldier in his 20s.
He would eventually be beheaded on film in a sick mirror of the torture and savage killing of British hostage Ken Bigley if Mr Blair refused.
Senior security sources say the plot would have put the most unbearable blackmail pressure on the Premier to act.
It would also have sent shockwaves through the entire British Armed Forces - putting the fear of God into every man and woman in uniform on or off duty.
The fact that the arrests were made in Birmingham could suggest that soldiers recovering from wounds in military hospitals there might have been targeted.

To see the latest pictures from today's anti-terror operation click on the slideshow below.

But sources say they cannot be sure of this - and are also investigating leads that a serviceman could have been picked up by the kidnappers anywhere on the mainland.

One well-placed source said: "This plot represents a staggering change of tactic.
"We have all been braced for more mainland bombs which claim many lives and cause turmoil and widespread public fear.
"This would have taken things to a new dimension. The pressure on the PM would have been unimagineable.
"And there would have been a knock-on effect in terms of military morale."
Britain's service personnel take security precautions when off duty in and around their barracks and married quarters.
But in recent years it has become common practice for them to live off their bases in normal houses along side civilians.
The demise of the IRA threat on mainland Britain means they have been allowed to be more relaxed.
Now there will be increased security measures imposed on all servicemen and women to be on their guard.
The cunning plot represents a huge change in tactics by al Qaeda and its supporters.
It proves beyond doubt that terrorist cells are active in mainland Britain - just as MI5 boss Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned before Christmas.
And it demonstrates how sophisticated the al Qaeda cells in our midst have become.
They understand the power and importance of the media and the influence it can bring around the world on governments.
The kidnap and subsequent killing of engineer Mr Bigley two-and-a-half years ago was watched around the globe.
It paralysed Labour's annual conference as the PM waited to hear news of the hostage's fate.

Here's a bright idea. . . if by bright you mean STUPID

When we we quit letting goverment into our lives? How are they going to enforce this, raid random homes??

California may ban conventional lightbulbs by 2012Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:05 PM ET
By Bernie Woodall

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

"Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday.

"Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light."

Levine is expected to introduce the legislation this week, his office said.

If passed, it would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous U.S. state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use about 25 percent of the energy of conventional lightbulbs.

Many CFLs have a spiral shape, which was introduced in 1980. By 2005, about 100 million CFLs were sold in the United States, or about 5 percent of the 2-billion-lightbulb market, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That number could more than double this year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million CFLs at its stores by the end of 2007, the world's biggest retailer said in November.

While it will not give opinion on the possible California law, the EPA recommends CFLs.

"They save money and energy," EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said. "They are more convenient than other alternatives and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture."

Also, CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than incandescent lights, Jones said.

About a fifth of the average U.S. home's electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional lightbulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.

A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.

Southern California Edison, an Edison International subsidiary and one of the state's biggest utilities, runs a program that cuts the cost of a CFL by $1 to $2.50. In the past year, SCE has helped consumers buy 6 million CFLs, it said.

California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if CFLs replace all incandescent bulbs.

While not commenting specifically on Levine's likely legislation, Rosenfeld, winner of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award in 2006, said the switch from incandescent bulbs became feasible about five years ago when CFL performance improved.

"This is clearly an idea whose time has come," he said.

Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, last year introduced a bill that will become law in July that requires most grocery stores to have plastic bag recycling.

When I grow up. . .

When I was 12 I wanted to be a ninja. Before that, I wanted to be He-Man. Then a carpenter, then a policeman, then a pilot. See where I'm going with this? Kids don't know what they want. . . they like to pretend, unless of course, you have nut-jobs for parents.

"from the age of two, insisted that he was a girl"

Are you kidding me? I don't know a kid that never pretended to be the oposite sex. . . it's called pretending.

I think the parents should be shot, but since we can't do that, let's at least fix 'em.

I bet since I want all child molesters fixed (among others. . .) I have some sort of disorder that can be treated, eh? This is being treated as a disorder, why not my “disorder”?



Unhappy as a boy
Kim became youngest ever transsexual at 12
By Bojan Pancevski in Vienna, Sunday Telegraph


A boy of 12 is believed to have become the world's youngest sex change patient after convincing doctors that he wanted to live the rest of his life as a female.

The boy - originally called Tim, but now known as Kim - has started to receive hormone treatment, in preparation for the operation that will eventually complete the sex change.

Tim was diagnosed as a transsexual two years ago, when doctors and psychiatrists concluded that his claims to be "in the wrong body" were so deeply felt that he required treatment. The therapy involves artificially arresting male puberty, with a series of potent hormone injections before the administration of female hormones to initiate the development of features such as breasts.

Now aged 14, and officially registered as a female, Kim looks like a typical girl of her age. She dresses in fashionable clothes, has long blonde hair and blue eyes and dreams of moving to Paris to become a fashion designer. Her parents, who initially assumed their son was going through a temporary phase, eventually grew accustomed to seeing him as a girl.

The family's full identity has not been made public. But Kim's father, known as Lutz P. – speaking to the German publications Der Spiegel and Stern – said that as a child, the boy liked to play with Barbie dolls, enjoyed wearing dresses and, from the age of two, insisted that he was a girl. "We saw Kim as a girl, but not as a problem. Our life was surprisingly normal."

Kim reacted badly to the first signs of puberty, he said. "At that stage we realised that she was terrified of growing facial hair and her voice breaking."

Kim's parents consulted psychiatrists across Germany. Some condemned their support of their child's desire to undergo a sex change, or suggested that Kim be kept under observation in a closed psychiatric ward. But others agreed that the child should receive therapy, because growing up to be a man would have damaged her personality.

Dr Bern Meyenburg, the head of a clinic for children and adolescents with identity disturbances at Frankfurt University, concluded that the child was serious. He wrote in his diagnosis: "Kim is a mentally well-developed child who appears happy and balanced. There is no doubt of the determined wish, that was already detectable since early childhood. It would have been very wrong to let Kim grow up to be a man. It is rare to have such a clear-cut case."

Kim is reportedly fully accepted by her fellow school pupils and teachers. The costs of the procedure are being covered by health insurance, as the condition qualifies as an illness.

Dr Achim Wuesthof, an endocrinologist specialising in children and adolescents, who is treating the teenager at a clinic in Hamburg, said the procedure had been a success so far. Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, he said that even though under-16s were not permitted to undergo a sex change in other countries, he and his colleagues felt that in this case it had been best to start earlier. He said: "To the best of my knowledge, Kim is the youngest sex change patient in the world. According to German law, two independent psychiatrists must confirm that the child is indeed transsexual and approve the sex change. Once that has been done, it is best to start as early as possible.

"Transsexuals experience the onset of puberty, and the physical changes it brings, as a serious trauma. But there is a general lack of empathy with cases like Kim's, mostly because people know little about the condition. Imagine a man that suddenly starts growing breasts or a woman that starts growing a beard against their will – that is how Kim and people like her experience puberty.

"They are not freaks, nor do they suffer mental illness. They are simply trapped in the wrong bodies. That is why it is best to help them as early as possible and reduce the trauma for them and their families."

The problem that Dr Meyenburg and other psychiatrists faced was distinguishing a true transsexual personality from a temporary gender identity crisis. Dr Meyenburg quoted an example of a 15-year-old girl who wanted to change her sex, but who revealed during counselling that she had suffered brutal sexual abuse by her father – a case for psychological, rather than hormonal therapy.

Should Kim change her mind before the surgery, the procedure could be reversed. Doctors admit that the treatment involves a risk, however, and that its effects on children as young as Kim are not fully understood.

For legal reasons, the final stage – cosmetic surgery to remove the male genitalia – cannot take place until Kim is 18. Britain's youngest transsexual is Angel Paris-Jordan, who was granted an operation on the NHS at the age of 17.

Damn Global Warming. . .

Record low set in New York today. 9 at dawn. Tied the old record set in 1994.

I hate it when global warming makes it so damn cold. . . .

My head is going to explode. . . .

States also will have to verify that a person applying for a license is in the country legally. States will be able to issue separate credentials to illegal aliens so that they will still be able to drive.


You’re a legal US Citizen? Bend over backwards for me.
You’re an illegal alien? Watch, I can put my own head in my ass I bend backwards for you so much!

Maine revolts against digital U.S. ID card
By Jason SzepThu Jan 25, 8:27 PM ET

Maine lawmakers on Thursday became the first in the nation to demand repeal of a federal law tightening identification requirements for drivers' licenses, a post-September 11 security measure that states say will cost them billions of dollars to administer.

Maine lawmakers passed a resolution urging repeal of the Real ID Act, which would create a national digital identification system by 2008. The lawmakers said it would cost Maine about $185 million, fail to boost security and put people at greater risk of identity theft.

Maine's resolution is the strongest stand yet by a state against the law, which Congress passed in May 2004 and gave states three years to implement. Similar repeal measures are pending in eight other states.

"We cannot be spending millions of state dollars on an initiative that does more harm to our state than good," said Maine's House Majority leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat, in a statement that called it a "massive unfunded federal mandate."

The ID act sets national standards for licenses which will have to include a digital photo, anti-counterfeiting features and machine-readable technology.

States will have to verify documents presented with license applications such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and utility bills, and will have to link their license databases so they can all be accessed as a single network.

States also will have to verify that a person applying for a license is in the country legally. States will be able to issue separate credentials to illegal aliens so that they will still be able to drive.

The National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators said in a September report that the law would cost states more than $11 billion over five years and take at least another seven years to implement.

"It's a national ID card on steroids," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Project. "This will indeed be a real nightmare.

But backers say the driver's license -- a primary means of identification in the United States -- is fundamentally insecure because of widespread identity theft.

Some 227 million people hold drivers' licenses or identity cards given out by states, which issue or renew about 70 million each year.

Sally Lieber: Moron of the Year. . . so far

Against the law to spank your own kid? C’mon. Now, I know the difference between child abuse and discipline, but apparently Sally does not.

Sally thinks kids would be better off to have their father (usually the disciplinary giver) sent off to jail for a year, (and fined $1,000) therefore losing his job and gaining a criminal record, mom can’t afford the house, so they have to sell and move to a smaller house, maybe an apartment, mom’s got to go get a job now, ‘cause dad’s in the clink, kid’s now being raised by a baby sitter with no father figure for a full year.

Or, said kid could have a sore tush for about two minutes.

Why is Sally doing this? For the children.

Oh, by the way, Sally Lieber doesn’t even have children.

Iranian Fashion Show

You can't make this stuff up.

Maybe this explains why everyone in D.C. are a bunch of pussies

Sex-changing chemicals found in Potomac River
Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:25 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chemicals known to change the sexual characteristics of fish and other animals have been found in West Virginia tributaries of the Potomac River, which runs through Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Wednesday.

An investigation into fish that had both male and female characteristics turned up a range of chemicals including pesticides, flame retardants, and personal-care products, the USGS said.
The Potomac is fed by rivers and streams in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

"We analyzed samples of 30 smallmouth bass from six sites, including male and female fish without intersex and male fish with intersex," said Douglas Chambers, a USGS scientist who led the study.

"All samples contained detectable levels of at least one known endocrine-disrupting compound, including samples from fish without intersex."

Endocrine disrupters affect the animals' hormone systems. They can cause birth defects and sexual abnormalities called intersex in species ranging from frogs to alligators and perhaps humans as well.

"Antibiotics were detected in municipal wastewater, aquaculture, and poultry-processing effluent, with the highest number of antibiotics and the greatest concentrations found in municipal effluent," the USGS wrote in the report, published here .

The USGS said the sexual changes in the fish were discovered by accident in 2003, when scientists were investigating massive fish kills.

"Many potential sources of contaminants discharge to the South Branch of the Potomac and Cacapon Rivers. Chief among these are runoff from agricultural activities, municipal and domestic wastewater effluent (both treated and untreated), industrial wastewater, and gypsy moth control programs using dimilin (diflubenzuron)," the report reads.

Where's the Global Warming now?

Death Toll Mounts From Midwest Ice
By BETSY TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer




ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The death toll from a powerful winter storm rose to 36 across six states Monday as utility crews labored to restore service to hundreds of thousands of Missouri households and businesses enduring cold weather without electricity for heat and lights.
The crews hoped to take advantage of moderate weather expected Monday _ with only a few lingering snow showers and flurries _ before temperatures plunged back to the single digits Monday night.

However, some people won't be back online until late Wednesday, said the utility Ameren.
Power outages spread to other states Monday as the remains of the storm system streamed across New England.

Ice-covered roads cut into Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observances from New York to Texas, where officials canceled Gov. Rick Perry's inauguration parade scheduled for Tuesday
Even in Maine, more accustomed to winter weather, a layer of sleet and snow on roads Monday shut down numerous businesses, day care centers and schools.

Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday had been blamed for at least 15 deaths in Oklahoma, eight in Missouri, five in Iowa, three in Texas and four in New York and one in Maine.

Seven of the Oklahoma deaths occurred in one accident, in which a minivan carrying 12 people slid off an icy highway Sunday and struck an oncoming truck, the Highway Patrol said. All of the van's occupants were adult residents of Mexico, who were traveling from Arizona to North Carolina, Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West said.

About 330,000 homes and businesses had no electricity Sunday night in Missouri. State officials did not have a new estimate Monday morning, but Ameren's share of those outages had dropped from 130,000 to 98,000, spokeswoman Susan Gallager said. However, that figure included about 13,000 new outages in central Missouri.

Most of the Missouri power outages were caused by the weight of ice snapping tree branches and dropping them onto power lines, officials said. In New Hampshire, outages also were caused by vehicles sliding into utility poles.

Missouri National Guardsmen went door to door checking on the health and safety of residents in the hardest hit parts of the state and helping to clear slick roads. The St. Louis temperature hovered just above the freezing mark Monday morning, and the wind chill was 24 degrees, the weather service said.

As the storm blew across the lower Great Lakes and northern New England on Monday, a layer of ice up to a half-inch thick knocked out power to more than 50,000 customers in northern New York and was blamed for dozens of traffic accidents, authorities officials said.

A King holiday appearance in Albany, N.Y., by Gov. Eliot Spitzer was canceled because the weather prevented him from flying or driving north from New York City.

The ice accumulation also blacked out at least 4,500 customers in New Hampshire, but in the northern part of the state ski areas were celebrating their first significant snowfall of the season.
The weather and the need to de-ice aircraft prompted the cancellation of 100 scheduled departures Monday morning at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, DFW Airport spokesman Ken Capps said. More than 400 flights were canceled there Sunday.

About 122,000 customers were blacked out in Oklahoma as of Sunday night, the state Department of Emergency Management said. Authorities said it could be up to a week before power is fully restored.

Late Sunday, President Bush declared a federal disaster for Oklahoma because of the storm.
Elsewhere, a weekend cold snap that had worried citrus growers and other farmers in California produced rare freezing temperatures Monday in southern Arizona. The 8 a.m. reading in Phoenix was 29, the weather service said.

I've said it before, and I say it again. . .

Shouldn't Global Warming be more. . . I dunno. . . GLOBAL? I hear the wackos crowing about how warm it's been in NY City, but nil on this one. C'mon, play fair, children.