Missive from a minion

by | Aug 1, 2007 | North America

A breathtakingly thuggish op-ed on the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and US in the FT today. The author? John Bolton, who these days is a senior fellow somewhere or other.

According to Bolton, the UK needs to take two teensy weensy steps to keep the relationship fresh:

  1. Pull out of the EU or face the consequences – ejection from the Security Council, end of intelligence co-operation etc.
  2. Join the US in invading Iran whenever it feels ready to stop European connivance in the Iranian ‘goose-step towards nuclear weapons.’

Laughably, Bolton tries to present his position as reflective of a bipartisan consensus in the US, while pompous to the last, he offers to wait a while (“but not forever”) for the British PM to pledge allegiance to neo-conservative orthodoxy.

I am sure Bolton’s screed is being read with great seriousness in Downing Street – 2 or 3 microseconds of attention at least. Then Brown’s team will get back to the serious business of working out how they can:

  1. Best ignore lame-duck-Bush and his increasingly batty minions, and
  2. Buddy up to the various brave souls volunteering themselves to clear up the mess Dubya will leave behind.

The FT is offering all and sundry the chance to put questions to Bolton in an ‘ask the expert’ session (expert in what? one wonders). Ask your questions here…

Climate-driven sea level rise: whole metres this century?

by | Aug 1, 2007 | Climate and resource scarcity, Conflict and security

Celebrated climate scientist James Hansen has blunt tidings in the last edition of New Scientist: “I find it almost inconceivable that ‘business as usual’ climate change will not result in a rise in sea level measured in metres within a century.” 

(Wondering how a 5 metre rise would affect you? This excellent hacked version of Google Maps has the answer.) 

Bottom line on what needs to be done to avoid this, according to Hansen:

The global community must aim to restrict any further global warming to less than 1 °C above the temperature in 2000. This implies a CO2 limit of about 450 parts per million or less.

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Fighting the insatiable international bureaucrat…

by | Aug 1, 2007 | North America

In 2004, we had Howard Dean, until the ‘I have a scream’ speech gave the commentariat a chance to say, ‘enough, already.’ For the 2008 presidential election, we have Ron Paul looking increasingly comfortable in the Dean spot. Coming in fast from the fringes – check. Webby campaign that circumvents traditional party structures – check. Inspires unquestioning loyalty among the true believers – yes, yes, and yes again. (more…)