Seven Arrests in the UK for Suspected Carbon Credit Trading Fraud

Interestingly, the sale of carbon credits itself isn't the fraud they're investigating. In the holy crusade to save the planet, some heretics appear to be playing for the money. Rowena Mason (Telegraph) reports:

Officers from HM Revenue & Customs searched both residential properties and offices in both Gravesend and London targeting an alleged network of organised crime.

Members are believed to have been trading large volumes of high-value carbon credits from overseas sources free of VAT.

Tax investigators believe these may then have been sold on to businesses in the UK charging VAT that is never paid to the authorities.

Officers said further arrests are likely, adding that the proceeds of this alleged crime have been "used to finance lavish lifestyles and the purchase of prestige vehicles".

Shocking, isn't it? Who would have guessed that scheisters would take advantage of this noble cause? It's such a flawless idea -- we really should expand it to include this:



(Thanks to Watts Up With That and Bob's Bites)

Health Care Overhaul Supporters Plan Expensive Counterattack

Evidently, the verbal assault (from both politicians and media) on citizens who oppose government overhaul of health care at town hall meetings isn't having the desired effect. In addition to the name-calling, they have insisted that those opposed to healthcare are "astroturfing", implying that the opposition to the plan isn't real. Now, the AFL-CIO is prepared to spend $15 million for "mobilization and communication" to counter what those citizens have to say. Unions are planning to advertise, and the SEIU is sending their members to hundreds of events:

Liberal groups are dispatching members to town-hall meetings with the goal of persuading lawmakers that they are the majority. They are supplying signs that can be printed from Web sites, telling members to buttonhole reporters, and giving suggestions for confronting adversaries.

"Interrupt them when they get disruptive and refocus the meeting," HCAN says in one message to members. "Line up a number of people who feel comfortable interrupting and prepare them with statements."

Now that's odd. Tell me again, what's the definition of astroturfing?

Attack on TEA Party Protester in St. Louis, 6 Arrested

Gateway Pundit is reporting that Kenneth Gladney, a black conservative protester, was attacked outside the Russ Carnahan town hall meeting in South St. Louis last night. He was badly injured. (You can see raw video of the arrest at the above link.)

Most of those protesters had to remain outside the meeting, but according to Gateway Pundit, "Carnahan reserved a section at the event for union supporters. He blocked the 1,000 tea party protesters from entering the event and even had his supporters enter in a side door." Patrick Ishmael at Hot Air:

The parking lot at the school was full when I arrived, and people were already crossing the field near the street on their way from their street spots. (Hence, the cars exiting in the line video; there were no spaces to be had.) I had to park three blocks away even as a relatively early arrival; others parked much farther away.

I got into the line immediately after taping it, but not everyone was abiding by the same rules. Carnahan staffers were wandering through the line with a list of “guests” that, as expected, got to jump the line and join the Astroturf of Purple inside. Not sure how many “town halls” operate like a gated community, but this one certainly did.

See the whole report at Hot Air Green Room for videos and pictures, including photos of those branded a "dangerous mob" by the media, and a letter from an eyewitness who was with Kenneth Gladney claiming that the attackers were members of the SEIU. More here, here and here.

UPDATE: Looks like some of those bothersome constituents were locked out in Tampa, too.

The World's Poor and Kofi Annan's Apocalyptic Warnings

Kofi Annan's made some dire predictions earlier this year of “mass starvation, mass migration, and mass sickness” if the world doesn't board the global-warming bandwagon. (No fear-mongering hyperbole was intended there, I'm sure.) But:

A funny thing happened on the way to saving the world’s poor from the ravages of global warming. The poor told the warming alarmists to get lost.

Among other good things, it seems more American-style economic freedom coincides with increased life expectancy in poor countries. And as it turns out, the poor like living. Who knew?

Read the rest . . .

If You Log On to Clunkers CARS.gov Website, the Government OWNS YOUR COMPUTER?

It seems so, if you agree to the "Privacy Act and Security Statement".

". . . When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a Federal computer system and is property of the U.S. Government. . . Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized CARS, DoT, and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign."

I'm predicting continued silence from both the ACLU and MSM on this one.

John Stossel's 20/20 Segment on Canadian Healthcare

If you missed Stossel's 20/20 segment on our northern neighbor's government-run health care last night, the video is here. (As you probably remember, ABC pulled Stossel's Canadian health care segment a month ago, to free time for yet more coverage of Michael Jackson.)

The Black Sphere on the Whitehouse BeerFest

The Black Sphere has a thought or two on Gatesgate, and the ensuing beered-up "teachable moment":

In what was sold as the most transparent administration in the modern era, Obama’s teachable moment had a “gag order.” The conversation sealed until the next millennia, or some unspecified time when Amerika can be graced with Obama’s “words.” Perhaps the people of the year 3000 will get to hear this profound audio, and know how to deal with race issues, issues created when a puppet dictator decides to weigh in on issues “above his pay grade.” Until then, the rest of us will have to just rely on common sense and know that smart presidents simply ignore the non-event of cops doing their jobs.

It is a non-event -- but while the media pondered whether it would be Bud Light or Sam Adams, pols pondered what to do now that cash-for-clunkers ran out of cash and Pelosi pondered wringing "more cash out of the system" to pay for the massively expensive gubmint-run "health care". Funny how race-baiting provided a smoke screen for it all, and for an incisive and humorous take on that, Kevin Jackson at the Black Sphere is the go-to guy.

Cash-For-Clunkers is Out of Cash

If you haven't gotten that $4,500 from the government for your junker, you may be out of luck:

White House officials and lawmakers were studying late Thursday how to keep alive the government's cash-for-clunkers incentive program because of concerns the program's $1 billion budget may have been exhausted after just one week.

Obama administration officials warned congressional leaders Thursday it planned to suspend the program at midnight. But the White House released a statement late Thursday saying that completed deals would be honored and the program is still under review.

But there were problems even before the program ran out of money -- that is to say, pretty much immediately. Dealers are reporting the morass of complications that's typical of government bureaucracy:

The Cash for Clunkers program, which allows qualifying consumers to scrap their gas guzzlers for a government rebate of $3,500 or $4,500 on a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, has auto dealers throughout west central Minnesota reporting greatly increased traffic, but countless forms to fill out and pages of regulations to page through for each deal.

Scott Lambert, vice president of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association, said that he has heard a lot of frustration in his conversations with auto dealers in the past week.

“This is quickly turning into a nightmare for Minnesota dealers,” he said. “They’re scanning in 20 pages for every deal. If one detail doesn’t match up, it won’t get approved.”

Dealers are struggling to process mountains of paperwork that require many hours to complete, some in their pajamas.

Employees worked around the clock, taking breaks to nap in the owner's office using sleeping bags set up in the closet. Three workers manned the computers at all times.

The program's computer system appeared not to have been set up to handle the amount of traffic it was getting.

After spending four hours to process one deal, an error message popped up. . .

Some dealers have suspended participation, on concerns that the program will run out of money (a well founded worry, as it turns out) and they won't be reimbursed for the rebate. In other words, they believe it may be too risky.

Unbelievably, that's not all. The EPA ratings for some cars were changed midstream for those who had already qualified. (Reminds me of what the auto sales industry calls a "bait and switch".) The result: cars that qualified last Friday did not qualify on Monday. For some, the purchase was already under way when their clunker was suddenly disqualified.

The House voted today to transfer $2 billion to the cash-for-clunkers program to keep it afloat, so the program is (thus far) costing three times the original price tag. I haven't been able to find an estimate on what the program cost the economy for the hours spent fulfilling draconian 20-page-per-clunker paperwork requirements.

Now, all this angst and nonsense (achieved in a single week) was for a simple rebate deal. What unfathomable maze will these wizards of budgetry create when they revamp one fifth of the economy to bring us a health care "overhaul"? How well did they estimate the cost? What if it were surgery approval, and not a clunker rebate approval, for which requirements changed overnight? What consequences will one wrong detail in the paperwork have then? Will their health care overhaul really improve anything?

Are you ready to bet your life?

Climate Depot: Scientists Seek to Remove Climate-Fear Promoting Editor and 'Trade Him to New York Times or Washington Post'

Climate Depot has an exclusive report of yet another dustup in the scientific community over anthropomorphic (human caused) global warming:

An outpouring of skeptical scientists who are members of the American Chemical Society (ACS) are revolting against the group's editor-in-chief -- with some demanding he be removed -- after an editorial appeared claiming “the science of anthropogenic climate change is becoming increasingly well established.”

The editorial claimed the "consensus" view was growing "increasingly difficult to challenge, despite the efforts of diehard climate-change deniers.” The editor now admits he is "startled" by the negative reaction from the group's scientific members. The American Chemical Society bills itself as the "world's largest scientific society."
[. . .]
The editorial was met with a swift, passionate and scientific rebuke from Baum's colleagues. Virtually all of the letters published on July 27 in castigated Baum's climate science views. Scientists rebuked Baum's use of the word “deniers” because of the terms “association with Holocaust deniers.” In addition, the scientists called Baum's editorial: “disgusting”; “a disgrace”; “filled with misinformation”; “unworthy of a scientific periodical” and “pap.”

Some of them are calling for his removal. Read the rest . . .

(H/T American Thinker)

By the way: American Physical Society is reviewing it's climate stance. Read about it here.

Conyers on Health Care: The Emanuel Factor

Apparently, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) is unhappy with the president's change of mind on the Democrats' so-called "single-payer" health insurance plan. According to proponents, this government-run system would reduce costs by reducing administration -- and as we all know, the government is wonderfully adept at reducing administration. So, I guess that's why network news outlets didn't tell you the downside of government run "health care", and House Democrats didn't want you to see this administrative flow chart:


(You can see an enlarged PDF version of the flow chart here.) What precipitated Obama's change of mind on his party's single-payer plan, in favor of the bill now under consideration in the House? Conyers told reporters at the National Press Club on Friday that his "guess" was that Obama "wants it because of the Rahm Emanuel factor." He explains:

. . . The Rahm Emanuel factor, to quote him [Emanuel], is that, look, we want success, and we're willing to make a deal about anything. . .

“And that’s the whole idea, is that he wants a bill," said Conyers. "He wants to win in the off-year elections. He [Emanuel] wants our president reelected the next time he comes up, and so do I. But I don't want anything that's stamped ‘reform’ and let it go at that.” [See the video...]

So, according to Conyers, Emanuel said he's willing to "make a deal about anything". Apparently, whether the plan is beneficial to the people or not doesn't matter so much, when weighed against Democrats retaining power. "He [Emanuel] wants to win in off-year elections. He wants our president reelected the next time he comes up" says Conyers, who then asks, "Does that make you feel pretty comfortable about health care?"

Some of us are uncomfortable for reasons that go far beyond transplanted Chicago-style politics. There is a reason that Congress refused to saddle itself with the plan. Seems what's good for us (the cattle) isn't good for them (the ranchers). Beyond protecting their own personal interests, a number of our alleged representatives won't even burden themselves with the task of reading the legislation -- and that, by the way, includes Democrat John Conyers:

“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Conyers.

“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”

There are those who, like little children who have unshakable faith in their parents, believe that our loving, trustworthy government will always do what's best for us. I am not among them. What with back-room deals designed to benefit political careers at the people's expense, and representatives who can't be bothered to read legislation that will affect our lives and health, should we be "pretty comfortable" about about a Democrat-controlled Congress legislating government control of health care?

For me -- sadly, but without a doubt -- the answer is absolutely not.

Strangling Entrepreneurship in Chicago

You might think life is miserable enough for small businesses in Chicago, but ever-more-numerous and convoluted roadblocks are put in their way, thanks to the city's insatiable appetite for revenue. Here, an entrepreneur with a dream faces a nightmarish and expensive maze, even before the doors are open for business. You know that classic American story of starting an enterprise with nothing but hard work and the few pennies in your pocket -- building an honest livelihood from it for yourself and for others? Well, that ain't happenin' in this town, my friend. For example:

Chicago will not allow someone to open a children's play center -- a business with toys and games and activities where parents or nannies can bring toddlers for a little neighborhood play group -- without paying a $770 application fee, getting fingerprinted, paying an architect for drawings, sorting out the Zoning Department's byzantine rules for off-street parking spaces and giving the neighbors a few weeks to object to the new business. A playroom must meet all the same requirements as a strip club or sports stadium. And while it waits for the government's blessing, the small business must stay closed but continue paying rent on empty space. The penalty for operating a playroom without the license? Up to $10,000 a day.

Now, small businesses across the city are being ticketed for hanging out a shingle without a permit -- a permit businesses can't get without a complicated and expensive array of requirements -- even if they were legal when they were originally hung.

When the city makes "anywhere but here" more attractive to entrepreneurs, it should be no surprise that Chicago leads the state in job losses. Steve Rhodes (NBC Chicago) sums it up nicely: "Let's face it, Chicago is a city that works best for those not doing the working. . . the cost of doing business in the city is two parts aggravation to one part 'here's my wallet, please leave me with something when you're through pillaging.'" Obviously, ballooning the cost of doing business increases the cost of living for everyone, making residence changes to more economically sensible communities very attractive -- especially when high taxes and other outrageous budget-wreckers (think parking meters and popping for politcal perks) are taken into consideration. Meanwhile, the Governor of Indiana offers a tempting invitation:

"We have simply made the choice here that we're going to protect taxpayers first, the most vital services, and everything else will have to take a step back, maybe wait its turn."

On property taxes: "We've cut property taxes to some of the lowest in America. All you folks in Illinois, you businesses and homeowners, come on over [to Indiana] and lower your costs of living."

Do the controlling Chicago Democrats care about economic damage to businesses and privately employed individuals, or is it really all about maintaining power? And if it is, is reform in Chicago even possible? One hard-working Chicagoan (and friend of mine) dismissively waved a calloused hand as he answered that question:

"These guys won't be happy 'til there's nuthin' downtown but cronies and tumbleweeds."

Sad to say, he may be right.

Boxer's Tangle With NBCC Chairman Alford; What He Didn't Say in the Hearing; What He DID Say to Breitbart TV

Harry C. Alford, President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, took offense at Senator Barbara Boxer's racially charged statements during the hearing on energy policy yesterday. The video (6 minutes) is terrific:



The same video is available at the NBCC website. There we are told what many are missing -- that the report on the Markey/Waxman Cap & Tax bill would cause a massive loss of jobs and GDP reduction.

"Unfortunately, what has been lost in this exchange is an opportunity to talk about the substantive issue of Energy and the NBCC Study on the Markey/Waxman Climate Change Bill."

To view our Climate Study, Click on the Link:
NBCC Study Finds Waxman-Markey Reduces GDP by $350 Billion: New study finds Waxman-Markey could cost 2.5 million U.S. jobs each year through 2030 and reduce earnings.

Breitbart TV talked with Mr. Alford after the hearing. He talks about "green jobs" (not) in California, reveals that he got an email from the Brigadier general who called Boxer ma'am (and what was in it). And he said this about the way Boxer treated him during the hearing:

"It was condescending. It was -- it was like being in Mississippi in 1945, and you got uppity to the old white boss, and he goes out finds him another black to whip your butt for him. It was vile Jim Crow. And I am not letting it slip by."

This one is about 20 minutes long. Get a cup of coffee, and enjoy.


UPDATE: Another interview with Alford, this time with John Ziegler at KGIL Radio - read & listen at Hot Air.