So it's NOT my SUV

From the BBC:

Climate changes such as global warming may be due to changes in the sun rather than to the release of greenhouse gases on Earth.

Climatologists and astronomers speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Philadelphia say the present warming may be unusual - but a mini ice age could soon follow.

The sun provides all the energy that drives our climate, but it is not the constant star it might seem.

Careful studies over the last 20 years show that its overall brightness and energy output increases slightly as sunspot activity rises to the peak of its 11-year cycle.

And individual cycles can be more or less active.

The sun is currently at its most active for 300 years.

That, say scientists in Philadelphia, could be a more significant cause of global warming than the emissions of greenhouse gases that are most often blamed.

The researchers point out that much of the half-a-degree rise in global temperature over the last 120 years occurred before 1940 - earlier than the biggest rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

That's what they were saying 8 years ago. Have we just stopped looking at the evidence?

Illegal immigrants protesting new laws

Illegal immigrants all over the country are protesting new laws pending in Congress changing the staus quo. Some are even chanting "Today we march, tomorrow we vote", in an attempt to intimidate those lawmakers and their supporters who stand against illegal immigration and any program of amnesty that rewards their lawlessness.

A quick heads up: Illegal immigrants are not Muslims; Americans are not The French; the backlash against illegals will be directly proportional to the amount of discontent the protester foment. And carrying Mexican flags will only hurt la causa.

Charles Taylor to stand trial

It is a very good thing that Charles Taylor, that notorious scumbag of sub-Sahara Africa is going on trial for his crimes. For those that don't know, Charles Taylor is the former president of Liberia and a war criminal of the highest order. Seeing him at the end of a rope would be a very good thing, at almost the same level as seeing Saddam Hussein slowing twisting in the wind.

What I find interesting is that in a post 9/11 world -- with that "Cowboy" George Bush in the Oval Office -- many of the world's most evil despots are ending up in the dock. Sure, Slobo's UN trial was a bit of a joke and he died in prison of natural causes, but he didn't died in exile somewhere living a life of luxury. No, he died behind bars, which is a good thing.

Perhaps Charles Taylor won't hang. But he probably won't walk away a free man.

And it's nice to see that there are some people in the world that are not so risk averse as to continuously capitulate to fascists.