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Poor nations to get funds to fight climate change Negotiators at a U.N. climate conference broke through red tape and freed up millions of dollars Friday to help poor countries adapt to increasingly severe droughts, floods and other effects of global warming. "This could be the one thing to come out of Poznan," said Kit Vaughan of WWF-Britain. The decision in the final hours of the two-week conference could begin to release some $60 million (euro45 million) within months, according to delegates and environmentalists following the closed-door talks. "This is an important step," said delegate Mozaharul Alam of Bangladesh.

Sen. Kerry expects swift new US policy on climate By ARTHUR MAX – 2 hours ago POZNAN, Poland (AP) — Sen. John Kerry said Thursday that a new draft treaty on global warming should be possible even if the United States does not impose mandatory limits on greenhouse gases before the next pivotal climate conference. Kerry said in an interview with the Associated Press that he expects the United States to have a climate policy in place within a year that will allow it to join the worldwide effort to combat global warming.

Nancy Sutley to Head White House Council on Environmental Quality December 10, 2008 10:46 AM Democratic sources tell ABC News that President-elect Barack Obama will name Nancy Sutley, Los Angeles's deputy mayor for energy and environment, to chair his White House's Council on Environmental Quality. The CEQ advises the President and Vice President on national and international environmental policy matters and works to ensure that federal agencies operate efficiently and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa turned to Sutley to help him in his goal to transform L.A. into “the greenest big city...

Kyoto Carbon Emission Credits Not For Sale 04 December 2008 By Mathew Carr, Alex Morales / Bloomberg POZNAN, Poland — The country will refuse to sell carbon-emissions credits to other nations, removing from the market the biggest single pool of licenses to release greenhouse gases under the Kyoto global-warming treaty, a government official said. The country will hold the credits beyond the Kyoto Protocol's 2012 deadline, Viktor Blinov, deputy chief of Russia's delegation to United Nations climate talks in Poland, said Tuesday. Instead, Russia will use them to comply with a successor treaty that is being negotiated. The comments may...

I would be remiss if I didn't point you to Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's op-ed in today's Chronicle, making an economic case for U.S. investment in green jobs. Here it is, in full: Amid the pressures of the global financial crisis, some ask how we can afford to tackle climate change. The better question is: Can we afford not to? Put aside the familiar arguments - that the science is clear, that climate change represents an indisputable existential threat to the planet, and that every day we do not act the problem grows worse. Instead, let us make the...

The Bretton Woods Conference, 1944 The Bretton Woods Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was a gathering of delegates from 44 nations that met from July 1 to 22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to agree upon a series of new rules for the post-WWII international monetary system. The two major accomplishments of the conference were the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The lessons taken by U.S. policymakers from the interwar period informed the institutions created at the conference. Officials such as President...

“Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Psalm 2:3-4 As I’ve been discussing for the past week, God is in control. Consider the story of a five-year-old playing basketball with his 6’10” brother. When the little boy says to his older brother, “I’m gonna stomp on you,” the older brother has little reaction but to laugh. It’s totally preposterous that a boy who cannot even tie his shoes can win against his older, taller brother. But, isn’t it amazing when the enemies of God...

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. Psalm 2:1-2 There are many in this world who would shake their fists at God. They’re angry. Before we become self-righteous about their anger at God, I think we need to take a close look at our house as well. Could it be that they look at us and see a lack of devotion to Christ and his teachings? Consider the areas that this might display itself. You...

U.S. airlines cry foul over new EU rule Regulation that places tough pollution standards on air carriers may spur legal action against the European Union. By Shelley Emling Cox International Correspondent Saturday, November 08, 2008 London —- A new European Union rule imposing tougher pollution limits on U.S. airlines violates international law and will likely result in a legal challenge, U.S. government officials say. All airlines flying in or out of the EU will have to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas considered a major contributor to global warming, by 3 percent in 2012 and by 5 percent starting...

The U.N.: Even More Expensive Than It Looks How much does the United Nations cost? Rich countries, led by the United States, take note: you already pay about three times as much for the U.N. as appears on your own books — about $17.2 billion in 2006, according to figures newly pulled together in a U.N. report. And that number includes a whopping $800 million surplus for the sprawling U.N. system. What the U.N. did with the extra cash isn't covered in the document that for the first time reveals the full extent of U.N. anti-poverty contributions and spending across...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 18, 2008 – The U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division and Afghan National Army bands met this week for a four-day training event here. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Hager, commander of the 101st Airborne Division band, conducts the Afghan National Army band and 101st band during a training event at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan recently. The two units worked together to learn music and foster relationships. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Otto, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The two units worked together to learn music and foster relationships. The...

Few may celebrate the half-century since Charles de Gaulle’s triumphs of 1958, says Robin Harris, but this realist genius understood that, in geopolitics, the nation-state was all Almost exactly half a century ago, on 1 June 1958, Charles de Gaulle became the last Prime Minister of the French Fourth Republic and immediately began the construction of the Fifth. The Fourth Republic, be it said, was not as bad as it was painted, not least by de Gaulle. The economy had grown, the communists were kept out, and France took the first steps to becoming a nuclear power. But the system...

Charity: Aid workers raping, abusing children [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/05/27/charity.aidworkers/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail] “LONDON, England (CNN) — Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in several war-ravaged and food-poor countries, a leading European charity has said.” Circulation of the following pictures is encouraged. Please copy as opposed to linking, as it uses this site’s bandwidth. Children as young as 6 have been forced to have sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in return for food and money, Save the Children UK said in a report released Tuesday. After interviewing hundreds of children, the charity said it found instances of rape, child...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iceland is the world's most peaceful nation while the United States is ranked among the bottom third, according to a study released on Tuesday. The "Global Peace Index," compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked the United States 97th out of 140 countries according to how peaceful they were domestically and how they interacted with the outside world. The United States slipped from 96th last year, but was still ahead of foe Iran which ranked 105th. It, however, lagged Belarus, Cuba, South Korea, Chile, Libya and others which were listed as more peaceful. Iraq, which the United...

Excerpt - If the EU wishes to become a superstate then, of course, the nation state — its natural enemy — has to go. In its place comes a vast phalanx of somewhat ill-defined racial types, clamouring for recognition — from Catalonia, the Basque region, Flanders and the two Galicias, from Transylvania, from Friesland, Brittany, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, ad infinitum. And lastly, not quite sure why they are there at all, or how they might be defined, that quietly clamouring horde from England. The English. Do you have a St George’s flag to hand? They have become most fecund...

CHIBA, Japan - China, India and other developing nations must join industrialized countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions if the world is to avert a global warming disaster, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said at a climate change conference Saturday. An agreement to succeed the Kyoto global warming pact that expires at the end of 2012 will have to find a way to include developing nations, while allowing them to grow their economies, Blair told the meeting of 20 nations. "The dilemma is this: how to cut a deal that has both the developed and developing in it, recognizing...

The 77-year-old former James Bond actor, who lives in the Bahamas, says Scotland is "within touching distance" of achieving independence. Writing for the Scottish Sunday Express, Sir Sean praises the work of the SNP government which gained power in the devolved parliament last year. He has been the SNP's most high-profile supporter, donating thousands to funds. Sir Sean, who was born in Edinburgh, has previously sworn not to return to the country until it is independent. In the article, Sir Sean praises Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and the work of the SNP government since it came into power in...

Nations agree S American highway The three leaders hailed the deal as a boost to trade The presidents of Brazil, Bolivia and Chile have agreed to build a highway by 2009 that will link the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America. Much of the route is already paved but the leaders agreed to invest a further $600m (£300m) to complete the road. The highway is to run from Santos in Brazil to Arica and Iquique in Chile. The meeting in the Bolivian city of La Paz was seen as a chance to improve strained ties between Bolivia and Chile...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Oct. 26, 2007 – It didn’t matter that he already had a good job that paid well, and his convictions weren’t shaken after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Tom Jessee wanted to join the Army full time. He wanted to become a full-time warrior. Army Lt. Col. Tom Jessee, executive officer for the 1st Air Cavalry “Warrior” Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, sits on the flightline at Camp Taji, Iraq, in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he’ll be flying during missions that day. Photo by Cpl. Nathan Hoskins, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2007 – Nations of the world must unite against terrorism, which denies fundamental rights, President Bush told the United Nations General Assembly today. Terrorists are a threat to all civilized people, Bush said at the opening of the assembly’s 62nd session. “All civilized nations must work together to stop them by sharing intelligence about their networks and choking off their finances and bringing to justice their operatives,” he said. “In the long run, the best way to defeat extremists is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision, a vision of liberty that founded...