I want to go on record as saying that I think that Vladimir Putin, despite his longstanding, repeated denials that he would try to change the constitution and run for a third term, is in fact going to do exactly that.  Like a Sucker, I believed him, until I saw these pictures.  They are a painfully obvious announcement of his changed intent...or, rather, the revealing of his true intent. 

Hee hee - one of Chavez's stooges got busted trying to buy off Kirchner in Argentina.  Bonus:  the stooges name is "Guido." 

 

Even funnier is the article below from the NYT where Hugo is changing the Venezuelan clock by 30 minutes.  He feels that this, in concert with his people's work day of six hours, will result in improvements to metabolism. 

 

The guy is trying as hard as he can to destroy his country's economy.  He now has a six hour window to work with other time zones.  I really, really feel for the people of Venezuela.  They have allowed a seller or Bread and Circuses to fool them.  In the not too distant future, they will learn the very painful lesson that There is no such thing as a Free Lunch.

 

World Briefing | The Americas

Venezuela: A Decree for the Clocks

 By SIMON ROMERO

Published: August 21, 2007

Moved by claims that it will help the metabolism and productivity of his fellow citizens, President Hugo Chávez said clocks would be moved forward by half an hour at the start of 2008. He announced the change on his Sunday television program, accompanied by his highest-ranking science adviser, Héctor Navarro, the minister of science and technology. “This is about the metabolic effect, where the human brain is conditioned by sunlight,” Mr. Navarro said in comments reported by Venezuela’s official news agency. Mr. Chávez said he was “certain” that the time change, which would be accompanied by a move to a six-hour workday, would be accepted.

A number of articles of interest today.  First up is this article that purports to statistically link sun cycles to warmer global temperatures, with an amplified effect at the poles.

 

Next is A Geologist Journal's take on Global Warming, very interesting and corresponds pretty closely to my own opinion.

 

Oh, and for the record, my position is that of course global warming is happening.  One shouldn't argue with observational science absent spectacular cause.  My take is that the greenhouse gasses are not responsible en toto for global warming.  It doesn’t track with previous millennia CO2/temperature readings in an exact enough manner.  Greenhouse gasses theory states that the released gasses have a catalyst effect on sunlight, increasing global warming.  I have no doubt this is true, just not to the extent claimed by those with an interest in propagating this particular theory.

I find it much more logically likely that sun cycles, in correlation with cosmic radiation, is behind the global rise in temperatures.  This theory goes something like this:  cosmic radiation was proven a few years back to have a cloud-forming effect on the planet.  Clouds deflect sunlight back to space and cool the planet.  Solar winds increase as the sun grows stronger.  The sun was just last year in the strongest year of its cycle.  Solar winds deflect cosmic radiation, meaning less clouds form, meaning the planet is hotter.   This mimics the catalyst theory that greenhouse gas theorists have come up with and tracks better with the sun cycle/actual planet temperature correlation.  Increased global warming on Mars and Venus bolster this theory.

REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE, greenhouse emissions still need to be monitored and controlled. I don’t want my kids breathing pollution, and I want the planet to return to a state of cleanliness – but neither do I want to embrace a movement based on faulty or inaccurate science designed to motivate the masses through fear.  It is disingenuous and demagogic and patently offensive.