Keystone XL Pipeline Protesters to Encircle the White House

Here's a post at the Tar Sands Action website: "Huge Momentum for Tomorrow."

And get a kick out of Robert Redford, via Blue Collar Philosophy:

And more at the Montreal Gazette, "Seinfeld's 'Elaine' adds voice to Keystone protest." And at Toronto Sun, "Keystone XL pipeline a slippery issue."

The Post-Global Warming World

From Wall Street Journal (at Theo Spark):

The science on climate change and man's influence on it is far from settled. The question today is whether it makes sense to combat a potential climate threat by imposing economically destructive regulations and sinking billions into failure-prone technologies that have their own environmental costs.

Well, WaPo's Eugene Robinson says the debate's over.

Right. Freakin' idiot.

'Blackthorn'

I saw "Blackthorn" on Saturday night, at the Regency Theater across from South Coast Plaza, which is now a little art house venue. I just felt like seeing a flick and picked "Blackthorn" while skimming through the listings. I love westerns, and this one's unusual:

It’s been said (but unsubstantiated) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In BLACKTHORN, Cassidy (Sam Shepard) survived, and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. Tired of his long exile from the US and hoping to see his family again before he dies, Cassidy sets out on the long journey home. But when an unexpected encounter with an ambitious young criminal (Eduardo Noriega) derails his plans, he is thrust into one last adventure, the likes of which he hasn’t experienced since his glory days with the Sundance Kid.

There's a review at Los Angeles Times, and while the film drags on in parts, this pretty much nails it:

... there is that allure of the Old West that is hard to resist, and there's plenty of grist in the story worth milling and mulling. If nothing else, the film reminds just how arresting an actor Shepard can be. Like Blackthorn, he's only gotten better with age.

Sam Shepard is the perfect actor for the aging outlaw role, and he brings a lot of warmth and humanity to it. An enjoyable film. See also: "Indie Focus: Sam Shepard plays with the Butch Cassidy myth."

New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology Shuts Down After Lackluster Attendance

This is over in Santa Monica.

At LAT, "Eco-friendly festival can't sustain itself."

It was the first New World Festival of Eco-Friendly Science and Technology and quite possibly the last.

The event near the beach in Santa Monica, which had been scheduled to run through Sunday, was shut down abruptly Saturday afternoon.

Its website had promised robots, a petting zoo, six stages of live music and more than 150 exhibits. But the gathering on Saturday looked more like a medium-sized, eco-friendly farmers market.

Howard Mauskopf, the festival's organizer, said he needed to shut down because so few people had shown up. "We're in a position where we don't have the financial ability to continue," he said, adding that he would have needed eight to 10 times the crowd that was present to make ends meet. He said he is going to try to reimburse food vendors next week.

"I don't know why people didn't come," he said.

Well, here's a clue: Even in far left-wing Santa Monica folks care more about finding a damned job than a bunch of bullshit eco-friendly enviro-crap.

Michael Jackson Audio Clip Played at Conrad Murray Trial

At LAT, "Murray's iPhone offers snapshot of Jackson's final weeks."

'Climate Justice'

Climate justice?

That's a scam right? There's no such thing as "climate justice," right?

Think again, at Pirate's Cove, "Apparently, 4.5 Billion Years Of Changing Climate Threatens “Human Rights”." Follow the links to the discussion of "restorative justice" for "those countries worst affected by the issue..." And "those countries" would be the LCDs, in the latest round of the global left's developmental shakedown regime.

RELATED: From Zombie, "Justice Justice."

Ethical Oil

Via The Blog Prof:

So Respectable: Paris Hilton Eager to Shed Party-Girl Image

At LAT, "Paris Hilton's higher aims":

When you're sitting in Paris Hilton's living room, plenty of things catch your attention. The half-dozen dogs, three Munchkin cats (bred to have absurdly miniature legs), and one 150-pound pot-bellied pig sashaying around the backyard pool. The Pepto-Bismol-pink Maserati in the driveway, next to the powder-blue Maserati. The throw pillows emblazoned with pictures of her famous face. The two gigantic nudes of herself on opposing walls, displayed above gold-trimmed couches.

But it's the voice — that's the thing that stands out most when you sit down for a talk with Paris Hilton. It's mature. Deep, even. "Yeah, I have a normal voice," Hilton said. "That's the one thing people say when they meet me. That I don't speak like I do on TV. I don't speak like a baby."

Poised and perfectly coiffed, with long, white-blond extensions tumbling below thin shoulders, the hotel heiress is promoting her latest reality series (her third, for those keeping track). "The World According to Paris" airs Wednesday on Oxygen, a basic-cable channel that targets women and is owned by NBC. It's pitched as being different from anything else she's done because this is, as Hilton puts it, "the real" her.

"I wanted to get at this whole spoiled-heiress perception," said the great-granddaughter of hotelier Conrad Hilton. "There are a lot of heirs out there that don't work because they don't have to. That's not me. I've had success on my own. I bought this house myself, I've bought every car I own. It's all me and my hard work."

More at the link above.

Not So Fast on Japan's Chernobyl

From The Blog Prof, "Vlog: Fukushima is No Chernobyl, and Here's Why":

RELATED: At New York Times, "Data Show Radiation’s Spread; Frantic Repairs Go On at Plant." And more at Memeorandum.

Legacy of Hiroshima Heightens Fears in Japan

As we discussed the earthquake and tsunami on Monday in class, I noted that Japan was the world's only country that had previously faced a nuclear holocaust. The potential (and now real) meltdown of nuclear reactors there has an enormous historical significance for the Japanese, beyond the comprehension or experience of any other nation. At WSJ, "Hiroshima's Legacy Heightens Fears":

TOKYO—Mikiso Iwasa was 16 years old when the atomic bomb struck Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. He was in the backyard of his house, a little less than a mile away from ground zero. He was smashed onto the ground by the force of the bomb.

Mr. Iwasa escaped, but the deadly effects of radiation caught up with him later: He suffered from skin cancer twice as well as prostate cancer. He lost his hair. His nose and gums bled. He developed rashes all over his body.

For the only country ever to have experienced the atomic bomb and the horrific effects of concentrated radiation exposure, the nuclear crisis escalating in Japan has had a crippling effect on the nation's collective psyche.

Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Catastrophe as Workers Flee Plant!

The front image at the New York Times' homepage includes an overhead picture with the caption, "The worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl explosion in 1986 is unfolding in northern Japan at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant ..." The article link is here. See also Telegraph UK, "Japan crisis: third explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant" (via Memeorandum).

A fresh explosion rocked Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday and some workers were ordered to leave the site, a sign that the situation may be getting more serious.

Japan Quake Toll May Reach Tens of Thousands

AP has that tsunami video that was replayed over and over on cable this afternoon.

And there's dramatic coverage at Los Angeles Times, "Japan quake toll could number in tens of thousands":

Reporting from Sendai, Japan, and Tokyo - With a death toll expected to climb into the tens of thousands, more than a half-million people displaced and a nuclear crisis continuing to unfold, rescuers converged Monday on Japan's devastated earthquake zone while workers in relatively unaffected areas struggled to return to offices and factories.

A new explosion rocked the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, wire services reported, sending a plume of smoke into the air. Japan's nuclear safety agency said it could not confirm whether the hydrogen explosion at the plant's No. 3 reactor had led to an uncontrolled leak of radioactivity.

The government reported Monday that radiation levels again rose above legal limits outside the crippled nuclear complex at quake-battered Fukushima, about 150 miles north of Tokyo, where authorities have been pumping seawater into overheated reactors to try to cool them down. Several other nuclear installations were under close watch for potential problems.

Across a wide swath of earthquake-hit territory, hundreds of thousands of hungry survivors roused themselves from a third cold night spent huddled in darkened emergency centers, cut off from rescuers, aid and electricity. At least 1.4 million households had gone without water since the quake struck and some 1.9 million households were without power. Rolling blackouts to conserve energy were scheduled across much of the country on Monday.

The developments there have been rapid fire and overwhelming. Danger of radiation fallout is now exacerbated by news of a volcanic eruption. And the New York Times reports, "Minister Calls Disaster Country’s Worst Since WWII." See also, "Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say." (More at Hot Air and Memeorandum.)

Radiation Scare as Japan Copes With Blast at Fukushima Nuclear Plant

At ABC News, "Radiation Dangers Heightened at Japanese Nuclear Plant: Nuclear Expert Recommends Emergency Distribution of Potassium Iodine to Children Within Range of Reactor":Also, update on developments at Stratfor: "Officials Claim Positive Signs on Japanese Reactor":

New developments at Japan’s earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor No. 1 may suggest positive signs for authorities’ efforts to contain the problem. But many dangers and risks remain.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said that while an explosion did occur at the plant, it did not damage the steel container around reactor No.1, where emergency workers are still struggling to cool down the reactor core after nuclear fuel rods were damaged following the failure of cooling systems due to the earthquake damage and short power supply. Edano said the explosion did not occur within the reactor container and thus did not lead to a large leak of radioactive material. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency claims that radiation levels support the view that there has been no breach of the container around the reactor, though they have risen as a result of actions taken to relieve pressure in the container by releasing radioactive steam.

If accurate, these would be positive developments for the attempt to avert a meltdown in the reactor core ...

Also, previously at Time's science blog, "Nuke Plant Crisis Worsens as Radiation Levels Rise."

Plus, "Nuclear Meltdown at Fukushima Power Plant in Japan!", and "Meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant?"

RELATED: At New York Times, "Japan Pushes to Rescue Survivors as Quake Toll Rises" (via Memeorandum).

Nuclear Meltdown at Fukushima Power Plant in Japan!

Well, maybe it's not as bad is it sounds.

Stratfor calls it a full meltdown, although still contained: "Red Alert: Nuclear Meltdown at Quake-Damaged Japanese Plant." (Via Mememorandum.) And a roundup at POWIP, "Video of Fukushima Nuclear Plant Explosion."

See also New York Times, "Explosion Rocks Japan Nuclear Plant After Quake," and Los Angeles Times, "Japan's fears mount with nuclear plant blast":

Officials try to calm residents wary of a possible radiation leak -- or worse -- at the Fukushima power plant, which lost its cooling system in Friday's massive earthquake. Nationwide, the death toll from the quake and tsunami could top 1,700.

Reporting from Tokyo and Beijing — A day after responding to one of the worst earthquakes on record and a massive tsunami, the Japanese government sought to allay fears of a radioactive disaster at a nuclear power plant on the country's battered northeastern coast.

The outer walls of the Fukushima power plant's No. 1 reactor were blown off by a hydrogen explosion Saturday, leaving only a skeletal frame. Officials said four workers at the site received non-life-threatening injuries.

The inner container holding the reactor's fuel rods is not believed to be damaged, said Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, and workers were cooling the facilities with seawater.

In a press conference shortly after the explosion, which left the facility shrouded in plumes of gray smoke, Edano explained that the reactor is contained within a steel chamber, which in turn is surrounded by a concrete and steel building. Although the explosion destroyed the building, it did not occur in the chamber.

"The escape of hydrogen mixed with the air between the chamber and the concrete-and-steel building and led to the explosion," Edano said.

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. has confirmed that the inner reactor is undamaged," he added. "There was no massive release of radiation."

RELATED (WITH additional links and information): "Meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant?"

Meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant?

It's not looking good, actually.

See LAT, "Post-quake events at Japan nuclear plant raise concerns":

A portion of Japan's nuclear reactors have been shut down in the wake of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, but officials are worried about the Fukushima plant, where the emergency cooling system is problematic.

About 18% of Japan's 33 nuclear reactors have been shut down in the wake of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that struck offshore Friday and triggered a massive tsunami, but officials are particularly troubled by events at one of them — the 480-megawatt Fukushima No. 1 plant in Fukushima Prefecture, where the emergency cooling system has not been functioning properly.

Emergency authorities have ordered the evacuation of all civilians in a two-mile radius around the power plant, a total of about 3,000 people, and are planning to vent slightly radioactive steam from the plant, which is located about 160 miles north of Tokyo. Those within a six-mile radius were warned to stay in their homes.

See also NYT, "Quake and Tsunami Leaves Wake of Destruction Across Northern Japan." And "Japan Orders Evacuation Near 2nd Nuclear Plant" (via Memeorandum).

RELATED: At Scientific American, "How to Cool a Nuclear Reactor."

Obama Reverses Course on Offshore Drilling

The administration's drilling moratorium is killing job growth. But the mandarins at NYT are down with that: "They Haven’t Learned."

Ah, those were the days, last March:

And from PhysOrg.com, "The recently announced seven-year moratorium on offshore drilling is yet another example of the short-sightedness of the US Department of the Interior, says John W. Kindt, a professor of business and legal policy at Illinois and expert on marine pollution":

The Obama administration's decision to maintain a ban on oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is a mistake, according to a University of Illinois expert who wrote a six-volume book series on marine pollution.

"It's a ridiculous decision on the part of the Interior Department," said John W. Kindt, a professor of business and legal policy at Illinois. "The previous 180-day moratorium really hurt a lot of businesses. Well, a seven-year ban is going to sting even more."

Kindt says giving the oil companies a public spanking through a seven-year ban isn't going to solve our energy problems, and that unreasonably prohibiting offshore drilling will not only exacerbate the region's economic woes, it also will strengthen U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

"Our motto should be 'Drill, Baby, Drill' but 'Safely, Baby, Safely,'" he said. "We have two wars in the Middle East, and while we do need alternate sources of energy, in the interim we still need to safely develop our off-shore resources. That means we need to open up both the East Coast and California for drilling, although California is not going to like that. But we've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time."

According to Kindt, the author of "Marine Pollution and the Law of the Sea," a six-volume series that examines protecting the world's oceans while encouraging development of essential resources, the real villain in the new contretemps is not BP (formerly British Petroleum), but the Department of the Interior, with the recently announced seven-year moratorium serving as yet another example of what he says is the department's shortsightedness and incompetence.

"The real issue is the Interior Department, which is the most scandal-ridden agency in American history," he said. "Along with an inability to regulate, the entire department is rife with conflicts of interest, which came to light during the BP fiasco when Interior Secretary (Ken) Salazar was making statements to the effect of, 'We've got our heel on the throat of BP.' Statements like that were just a way to divert attention away from their own inadequacy."

Another reason to get Sarah Palin in there.

See also Intellectual Conservative, "Nice Oil Business You Got There..."

RELATED: At Wizbang, "Nation's poor feeling the sting of Obama's war against fossil fuels."

International Crises Threaten to Overshadow Obama's Economic Message

Well, the report's at Fox News, but my question is, "what message?"

Oh yeah, that socialism thingy? How's that working out? Not so great, eh?

At WSJ, "Obama's Overture to Business Gets Wary Reception From CEOs." And on taxes, some left-wing whining: "Extend Bush Tax Cuts? Don't Call it Compromise, it is Surrender."

Lefties should get real. Obama's takin' it on the chin.

As well he should: At Monsters and Critics, "Obama's Losing battle: Chances Drop for US Climate Action," at Business Week, "Global Warming Skeptics Ascend in Congress," and WSJ, "Countries Pare Ambitions for Talks on Climate Change."

RELATED: At Weasel Zippers, "UN Official Admits It’s About “Redistributing Wealth”."

Climate Terrorism

Commentary at Midnight Blue.

And from Canada Free Press:

It’s hard to know what to make of a serious short film in which a teacher blows up children as young as ten for disagreeing with climate change activism, with their blood and guts splattered over terrified class mates. It’s not a question I ever expected to have, until the “10:10” campaign released just such a video this week.

The video consists of four scenes. In each, a teacher, a company manager, a soccer coach, and a sound producer breezily intone an audience to reduce their carbon emissions. The target is a ten per cent reduction over twelve months beginning in 2010, which is the thrust of the 10:10 global campaign. They close with what turns out to be a menacingly sarcastic caveat “no pressure,” which is also the title of the film. In each scene the majority of the audience enthusiastically pledges to reduce their emissions, but one or two refuse or are indifferent. The scenes end with the authority figure pushing a red button that detonates the dissenters to a puree. Their blood covers the hysterical survivors.

After less than a day, the campaign took the movie off their website and issued an apology. The film is still available elsewhere.

I’d like to think that the film’s makers are fringe players in the global community of climate change activists or that they didn’t really believe it would help their cause, or that they just have a better sense of humour than I do. Let us test some of these possible escape hatches from the charge that this is actually the rotten core of the whole climate change activist movement.

For a fringe campaign, 10:10 has been remarkably successful. Around 100,000 people from 152 countries have signed up. Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged the entire British government to participate. Large companies are associated with 10:10, including Britain’s Royal Mail, the electronics giant Sony, and Facebook. The United Nations backed Climate Neutral Network is one of its many “partner” organisations. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature and Greenpeace are supporters through their proxy the Global Campaign for Climate Action.

So 10:10 is not a fringe organization. They’re widely trusted in the global climate activist community. Whether these adherents will now denounce the campaign for its tasteless exercise in arrogance and sadism remains to be seen. Let’s hope so, but it seems unlikely for the following reason ...

More at the link.

RELATED: "Shocking Global Warming 10-10 Video."

Plus, "Global Warming murder fantasy nabs prize as most honest political ad of all time," and "Global Warming Hysteria: Murderous Coersion in “10-10″ Anti Global Warming Ad."

Another Offshore Oil Rig Explosion in Gulf of Mexico

At LAT, "Oil Platform Explodes off Louisiana":

The opening scene was all too familiar. Black smoke rising from a burning oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and workers plucked from the sea. But Thursday's fire on an oil production facility 100 miles off the Louisiana coast appears to have ended without disaster.

None of the 13 workers on board the platform was injured. The Coast Guard found no evidence of an oil leak, and by Thursday afternoon the fire was out.

The accident — the cause is unknown and under investigation — happened a little more than four months after BP's Deepwater Horizon rig blowout, which killed 11 workers and resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Thursday's fire sent shudders along the Gulf Coast, but Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc. reported that it was able to shut in the wells connected to the oil and gas platform, averting leaks.

"Automated shutoff equipment on the platform safely turned off the flow of oil and gas from the platform's seven producing wells before the fire occurred and the crew evacuated," the company said in a news release.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said the company told officials that the fire burned an oil product stored on the platform — unlike the BP drilling rig blaze, which was fed by an uncontrollable gush from its blown-out well.

"That's a very important point," Jindal said.

Thursday's accident occurred farther west than the BP blowout, on an oil and gas platform in shallow water south of Terrebonne Bay, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Coast Guard officials said they received a call at 9:18 a.m. Central time that the platform was engulfed in flames. Crews on a nearby oil facility reported seeing an explosion on the platform.

The 13 workers, wearing red floatation suits, apparently leaped into the water, which is about 340 feet deep. They were picked up by a supply vessel and flown by helicopter to an onshore hospital. Mariner said were no reported injuries.

See also Memeorandum.

Developments in the Gulf

At Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "BP prepares to finish up 'static kill' with cement":

And see, "Factbox." Plus, "Gulf Update: Some Oil Disappears, Static Kill Seems to Be Working."