Whose Moon is it anyway?

51st state? [image credit: NASA]

Who is going to police the Moon if or when its resources begin to be exploited?

Phys.org notes that the UN ‘…passed an Outer Space treaty back in 1967, which among other things, stipulates that no one country can claim sovereignty over any part of the moon.’ More from phys.org:

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has caused a bit of stir by hinting that it plans to expand its authority to include exploration of the moon and the use of its resources. News agency Reuters has reported that it has obtained a copy of a letter composed by officials with the agency and sent to U.S. based Bigelow Airspace—in it, the agency said it plans to leverage its launching authority by adding licensing authority of moon assets — all to encourage private companies to invest in such activities.

Ben Kelly: The European Arrest Warrant: a useful tool (for a tyrant)

Reblogged from Libertarian Home

‘Garage ‘as got my gloody gottle of geer in ‘is cocket’

The erosion of liberty continues apace. Watching it happen over time is like observing the crumbling white cliffs growing ever weaker as the waves crash into them. It is generally a gradual, continuous process but eventually comes the moment when a great chunk crumbles into the sea and is washed utterly away. Today is such a day; a sad day for Britain and a shaming one for Parliament. Most distressing of all is how few people are aware of it, and how even fewer seem to care. Make no mistake; this is a significant time in British history, one that will be studied far into the future. We are in the late stages of a long process in which we are willingly surrendering the independence of our legal system. It is the Conservative Party that is leading us down the dark, illiberal path to subjugation. For shame.

Nigel Farage: This government has consistently treated British people with contempt.

David Cameron PROMISED a House of Commons a vote on the European Arrest Warrant last night. Guess what? He lied. AGAIN.

This government has consistently treated the British people with contempt. Even the Conservative Party’s own Members of Parliament accused it of “deception”, and Speaker Bercow, with whom I rarely agree, called it a “sorry saga”. He was right.

Germany faces suits worth billions over nuclear phase-out

Energy made in Germany

The already high cost of Germany’s ‘energy transition’, which includes a lot of new coal power stations as well as vast expense on renewables, looks about to get even higher. Nuclear power station operators want some of their money back.
***
Nuclear Power Daily reports: Germany’s phase-out of nuclear energy has triggered over 20 lawsuits by big power companies who have demanded billions of euros in damages, said a government paper released Tuesday.

Berlin after Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster moved to immediately shutter the country’s eight oldest reactors and close all others by 2022 while boosting renewable energy such as wind, solar and biomass.

Three large electricity companies — EON, RWE and Vattenfall — have responded with a spate of court challenges, which the environment ministry has listed for the first time in response to a request by the Greens party.

Mainstream media is finally catching up with the sceptics

A hard hitting article appears in the Mail which slams the climate change act.

Six years ago today, an ambitious Labour politician, newly appointed climate change secretary, set Britain on a ruinous path that threatens our energy-dependent civilisation with collapse.
Such is the devastating conclusion of Owen Paterson, the Tory former Environment Secretary, who yesterday joined Lord Lawson among the highest-profile critics of the political consensus on energy policy.
For it was on October 16, 2008, that the new secretary of state – Ed Miliband, by name – set us the legally binding goal of meeting the EU’s wildly ambitious target to cut carbon emissions by 80 per cent before 2050 (and how significant that no other country has followed his lead).

UK Energy policy incompetence: Emergency Measures To Prevent Winter Blackouts announced

Remember this stuff when casting your vote next May. UKIP is the only party with a sensible energy policy. Roundup of (lack of) energy: news by Benny Peiser at GWPF:

Written by Dr. Benny Peiser, GWPF on 28 October 2014

Emergency measures to prevent blackouts this winter have been unveiled by National Grid after Britain’s spare power capacity fell to just 4 per cent. –Emily Gosden, The Daily Telegraph, 27 October 2014

The capacity crunch has been predicted for about seven years. Everyone seems to have seen this coming – except the people in charge.  –Andrew Orlowski, The Register, 10 June 2014

Poland threatens EU with veto on 40% CO2 reduction target

The Polish Government is talking tough. From wbj:

If the EU summit next week maintains the European Commission’s proposal on reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent by 2030, Poland will have to veto it, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Janusz Piechociński told Polish Radio on Thursday.

“If this initial proposal will look as it does now, then Poland will have no choice but to veto it,” Piechociński said.

“For the Polish economy minister and the majority of EU economy ministers the 40-percent option, which destroys half of Europe’s industry, is unacceptable,” he added.

Mia Farrow caught black handed with dirty oil money

The Talkshop isn’t the sort of place you’d normally find salacious Hollywood gossip, but this one is too good to pass up. Phelim McAleer has been on the trail of the Green groups who tried to sting Chevron Oil for multi-millions with a cooked up court case in Equador. This excerpt is from the New York Post, where the full story can be found.

Mia Farrow’s dirty profits—a hidden payoff in corrupt Ecuador trial
By Phelim McAleer October 5, 2014 | 11:33pm

This Farrow role was billed as a trip to “show her support for indigenous people” in a massive lawsuit that accused the US oil company Chevron of polluting the jungle and poisoning locals.
The highlight of the dramatic visit featured Farrow reaching into the ground and, with world media present, holding up a dirty, oil-drenched hand.

The reviews were quick and gushing. “Isn’t Mia lovely . . . what modesty and what solidarity. Thank you, Mia!” gushed Ecuador’s president, Raphael Correa.

The country’s top newspaper noted that Farrow, known for her “altruistic personality,” is quite simply “one of the most influential people in the world.”

The Farrow visit was part of a campaign centered on an Ecuadorian court ruling that found against Chevron and ordered it to pay more than $9 billion in compensation, the largest civil penalty in history.

But, as Farrow knows from her other performances, there is often a final twist that can turn the story on its head. And so it is with her Ecuadorian jaunt and the Chevron suit.

Nuclear operator loses Fukushima suicide law suit

Fukushima Unit 1
[image credit: Wikipedia]

How far does liability go for nuclear power plant operators after accidents? A Japanese court has ruled it can extend to suicide in some circumstances.

Going To Pot!

oldbrew:

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California’s going even more potty.

Originally posted on NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT:

By Paul Homewood

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/8/marijuana-smokers-sue-san-diego/

Now I know the world has gone crazy!

The Washington Times reports:

Medical marijuana smokers in San Diego say the city has forced their pot shops to locate in remote areas and that means the drives to and from will increase air pollution — and ultimately, harm their lungs.

The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients has filed a lawsuit, saying the city is violating the California Environmental Quality Act, United Press International reported.

The suit names as defendants the Coastal Commission and the city of San Diego and claims the zoning laws put in place for marijuana dispensaries means patients have to actually get in their cars to drive to the remote locations — and the additional drive times will only increase the city’s air pollution levels.

On top of that, some patients, perhaps those without cars, will now have to grow their own marijuana plants…

View original 99 more words

Formula One boss fast-tracks justice in Bavaria

State of Bavaria prosecutor: “Mr Bernard Ecclestone, we charge you with the crime of bribery.”

Ecclestone: “Here’s a cheque for 100 million dollars.”

Prosecutor: “Wunderbar! That’ll do nicely.”

Judge: “Out of court settlement – case dismissed.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/f1-boss-bernie-ecclestone-pays-staggering-60million-out-of-court-settlement-to-be-cleared-of-bribery-charges-in-germany-9648030.html

National Review Files Legal Brief

The legal action grinds on.

“as many of our donors have helped support our legal efforts, I thought you might wish to see our brief and be updated on the case”

 

UK solar PV companies want to go to court

(Reuters) – Four of Britain’s largest solar companies have requested a judicial review of a government proposal to halt a subsidy scheme for solar energy earlier than planned.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/04/uk-britain-solar-idUKKBN0G40N220140804

EU gets legal on 24 member states for failing to implement energy efficiency directive – New 30% target

From a memo put out by the unelected EU commissars, compelling evidence for why we should demand an EU referendum before our remaining industries are forced to flee to less oppressive regimes.

What is the Energy Efficiency Communication?

The Communication on “Energy Efficiency and its contribution to energy security and the 2030 Framework for climate and energy policy” (onwards, the Energy Efficiency Communication) does two things:

1. It assesses whether the EU is on track to reach its 2020 target to increase energy efficiency by 20% and outlines what is necessary to ensure that the target is achieved.

2. It proposes a new energy saving target of 30% by 2030. This completes the 2030 Framework on Climate and Energy which was adopted by the European Commission on 22 January 2014. The Framework called for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels and for a renewable energy share of at least 27% of energy consumption, and indicated that the cost-effective delivery of the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target requires increased energy savings (http://ec.europa.eu/energy/2030_en.htm). That is what today’s communication is delivering on. When setting the target, the Commission aims to strike the right balance between expected benefits and costs.

Court overturns government subsidy refusal for Drax

Drax powerstation, generating 7% of Britains needs.

(Reuters) – British power producer Drax won a legal case against the government on Monday as the High Court overruled a decision to drop one of the company’s coal-to-biomass conversion projects from a new renewable energy subsidy scheme.

The court decided the utility had fulfilled all of the key criteria set out by the government at the time of making its application to seek early investment contracts under the new scheme for two of its projects to convert coal units to biomass.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/14/uk-draxgroup-brief-idUKKBN0FJ1NM20140714

LibLabCon secret meeting: Emergency snooper’s charter to be rushed in

Following the EU court ruling that retention of phone email and internet use records for 18months is no longer required, a new law is to be rushed through within a week to force telco and ISP’s to keep old records and continue to retain citizens data. To try to head off criticism they are incorporating some measures to ‘reassure’ the population that the snooping powers won’t be abused.

The BBC is scared of Lord Lawson – and it’s right to be

The Spectator has a good analysis on the BBC climate reporting bias debacle which coins a new phrase – ‘Climate Correctness’. A few excerpts:

It is only a matter of time before Nigel Lawson — if he is allowed on the BBC at all — has to have his words spoken by an actor in the manner of Gerry Adams at the height of the IRA’s bombing campaign during the 1980s. In the case of Mr Adams, whose voice was banned from the airwaves by the government, the BBC stood up for free speech. But it is quite a different story with Lord Lawson. The BBC has effectively banned the former chancellor (and former editor of this magazine) from appearing on its programmes to debate climate change, unless he is introduced with a statement discrediting his views.

When people try to close down debate rather than engage with it, there is a pretty clear conclusion to be drawn: they lack confidence in their own case. The suppression of debate was shown again this week when Vladimir Semonov, a climate scientist at the Geomar Institute in Kiel, Germany, revealed that a paper he wrote in 2009 questioning the accuracy of climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was effectively censored by the scientist to whom it was sent for review.

Salmond pins hopes on Muckle as EU court scotches plans to grab sassenach subsidy

Oh noes! H/T to Oldbrew for spotting this GWPF story culled from the Times:

Don’t forget to visit cartoonsbyjosh.com and buy something

EU COURT ENDS SALMOND’S HOPES FOR GREEN SUBSIDIES
Date: 04/07/14 Peter Jones, The Times

Alex Salmond’s hopes that the economy of an independent Scotland could rely on expanding renewable energy generation have been crippled by a European Court of Justice ruling.

The court has said that no government must pay subsidies to renewable generators in another country. The ruling removes any legal foundation for the first minister’s claim that the rest of Britain would continue to pay a subsidy — more than £500 million a year — to Scottish renewable generators for their green energy.

Pro-Union sources said that the ruling could mean higher energy bills after a “yes” vote. It also leaves the future of the industry, if there is a “yes” vote, resting on the hope of a negotiated agreement between the Scottish and British governments, which Westminster has said is unlikely.

Biased BBC: Sending journos on “how to break our charter” courses

I had a brief chat with a journalist friend yesterday whose sister is a QC. He’s going to sound her out for me about the possibility of a class action against the BBC for breaking its charter. This from the Telegraph:

BBC staff told to stop inviting cranks onto science programmes
By Sarah Knapton, Science Correspondent –  04 Jul 2014

BBC journalists are being sent on courses to stop them inviting so many cranks onto programmes to air ‘marginal views’

The BBC Trust on Thursday published a progress report into the corporation’s science coverage which was criticised in 2012 for giving too much air-time to critics who oppose non-contentious issues.

The report found that there was still an ‘over-rigid application of editorial guidelines on impartiality’ which sought to give the ‘other side’ of the argument, even if that viewpoint was widely dismissed.

Some 200 staff have already attended seminars and workshops and more will be invited on courses in the coming months to stop them giving ‘undue attention to marginal opinion.’

“The Trust wishes to emphasise the importance of attempting to establish where the weight of scientific agreement may be found and make that clear to audiences,” wrote the report authors.

BBC Bias: Spends £519,000 on campaigning climate ‘survey’ while gagging sceptical voices

Excerpts from David Rose’s Mail on Sunday article, plus a couple of tweets from Richard Betts:

BBC spends £500k to ask 33,000 Asians 5,000 miles from UK what they think of climate change: Corporation savaged for ‘astonishing’ campaign survey on global warming
David Rose – Sun 29th June 2014

The BBC has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money asking 33,000 people in Asian countries how climate change is affecting them.

The £519,000 campaigning survey by little-known BBC Media Action is designed to persuade the world to adopt more hard-line policies to combat global warming.

It was immediately condemned yesterday as a flagrant abuse of the Corporation’s rules on impartiality and ‘a spectacular waste of money’ by a top academic expert.

Every year, BBC Media Action gets £22.2 million from the taxpayer via the Foreign Office and Department for International Development.

BBC Media Action has a £40 million annual budget, and the proportion not funded by the taxpayer is paid  by the European Union, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the US government.