James Delingpole has a summary at the Telegraph.

If you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW.

When you read some of those files – including 1079 emails and 72 documents – you realise just why the boffins at Hadley CRU might have preferred to keep them confidential.

More: Investigate Magazine. (PDF)

… so it is time to look at the malice angle.

First we have Eric Holder doing a good imitation of a gasping fish out-of-water in his non-answers to Lindsey Graham.

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-S.C): Can you give me a case in United States history where a enemy combatant caught on a battlefield was tried in civilian court?

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: [5 second pause with deep breath] I don’t know. I’d have to look at that. I think that, you know, the determination I’ve made —

GRAHAM: We’re making history here, Mr. Attorney General. I’ll answer it for you. The answer is no.

HOLDER: Well, I think –

GRAHAM: The Ghailani case — he was indicted for the Cole bombing before 9/11. And I didn’t object to it going into federal court. But I’m telling you right now. We’re making history and we’re making bad history. And let me tell you why.

Then we have Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius trying to get ahead of the uproar over the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force jumping the gun before ObamaCare passes and deciding some an uptick in death from breast cancer is worth the cost-savings of doing less mammograms.

In an interview with NPR’s Mara Liasson, Sebelius said the House-passed health bill gave her, not the task force, the authority to decide what health insurance will and will not cover. That isn’t quite true. The statutory language says that if the task force recommends some service, health insurance has to cover it. The HHS secretary can decide to cover something that is not recommended (e.g., routine mammography for women ages 40 to 49), but she could not decide to take away coverage of something the task force recommended. (Senator Reid’s plan is similar.)

The much more important point is that the HHS secretary would have plenary power to decide what health insurance must cover. Not just preventive services, but all services. That is the essence of political health insurance and what distinguishes the system of private health insurance we have now from a system of political health insurance.

What the Left would have you believe is that any concern over the Task Force’s recommendations is just politics as other recommendations against certain screenings have been done before so nothing to see, move one. However, none of those recommendations have been poised to become law due to a provision of the Stimulus bill.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.” [...]

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties. “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)

What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment?

The United States has the best survival from cancer rates in the world, due to earlier screening and aggressive treatments.

Why do Obamacrats want to see that change for the worse? It couldn’t be stupidity …

From Market Watch:

A key congressional panel on Thursday approved legislation introduced by the Texas congressman that - for the first time in the central bank’s 95-year-history — would require government audits of Federal Reserve monetary policy, as well as how much the central bank has lent and will lend to specific banks.

Paul’s measure, which was approved by a vote of 43 to 26, would require the Government Accountability Office to audit the central bank’s interest rate policy, agreements with foreign governments, foreign central banks and the International Monetary Fund. It also would permit audits of a roughly $800 billion Fed mortgage-backed securities purchase program, which could grow to $1.25 trillion, Paul said.

Zero Hedge has a clip of Alan Grayson.

Voting against the measure was Barney Frank (chairman of the House Financial Services Committee) twenty three other Democrats, and two Republicans.  One might say that with this vote, Mr. Frank has finally exposed himself.

Opposing: Gwen Moore (D), Shelley Moore (R), Al Green (D), Mary Jo Kilroy (D), Charles Wilson (D), Carolyn Maloney (D) Gregory Meeks (D), Gary Ackerman (D), Brad Miller (D), Melvin Watt (D), Emanuel Clever (D), Keith Ellison (D), Stephen Lynch (D), Michael Capuano (D), Barney Frank (D), Dennis Moore (D), Andre Carson (D), Joe Donnelly (D), Bill Foster (D), Melissa Bean (D), Luis Gutierrez (D), Ron Klein (D), Jim Himes (D), Joe Baca (D), Gary Miller (R), Maxine Waters (D).

Related:  Kevin Brady (R-TX) asks Geithner to resign, who takes the opportunity to call upon denial and conjecture while tripping over a big stone building in New York.  Tension ensues. h/t Indy.

Related: Fed makes colorful study, pushes dollar off cliff.  From the first comment at the link: “our currency is now over 50% backed by fannie/freddie MBS”

Speaking of Freddie and Fanny, that government-sponsored billion-dollar scandal is not ready for prime time.

Update: Also from Indy, Geithner completely loses grasp.  Either the position must pay well…or that resume update isn’t looking good.

Baffled?

That thing about language and meaning Jeff’s been stressing?  Nah.

Global warming appears to have stalled. Climatologists are puzzled as to why average global temperatures have stopped rising over the last 10 years.

Ironically, climate change appears to have stalled in the run-up to the upcoming world summit in the Danish capital, where thousands of politicians, bureaucrats, scientists, business leaders and environmental activists plan to negotiate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Billions of euros are at stake in the negotiations.

Probably billions of euros are at stake in the negotiations.  Theory wanting?  Get creative.

To understand the sheer idiocy and harm to be done by the CPSIA (best coverage at Overlawyered and I’ve covered it here and here) is to see CA AG Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown hold a press conference in order to rattle his saber at retailers.

Here at the cusp of the holiday buying spree (or what passes for a spree in the midst of this pesky recession), California Attorney General Jerry Brown issues a warning. It’s okay to drop a lump of coal into Junior’s stocking if you see fit, but you can’t have lead in any product aimed at children.

Brown sent out letters to six big retailers, telling them to pull from their shelves a number of products testing shows contain excessive amounts of lead. California considers anything more than 300 parts per million to be excessive when it comes to lead.

Certainly, no one wants kids ingesting lead. However, let’s look at that list of potentially harmful, OH MY GAWD! ELEVENTY!!! WALMART WANTS TO KILL MY KIDS!!! “toys”

•Kids Poncho, sold at WalMart, contains 667 ppm of lead.
•MSY Faded Glory Rebecca Shoes, sold at WalMart, contains 1331 ppm of lead
•Dora the Explorer Activity Tote, sold at TJ Maxx, contains 2348 ppm of lead
•Paula Fuschia Open-Toes Shoes, sold at Sears, contains 3957 ppm of lead
•Reversible Croco Belt, sold at Target, contains 4270 ppm of lead.
•Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit, sold at Tuesday Morning, contains 6196 ppm of lead.

And the most leaded of them all…

•The Disney Fairies Silvermist’s Water Lily Necklace, sold at Walgreens. Brown says his test results show 22000ppm of lead.

Do you see one toy on that list? Goodness, the majority of it is CLOTHING. And that’s because brass or any metal that may have lead in it is verbotten. It doesn’t matter if your 11 year old is not going to be chewing on the beltbuckle of a reversible croc belt, the mere presence within five yards of the youngster is magically going to TAINT THEM FOREVER!!!! Children under 12 cannot have bikes, buttons, zippers, grommets or any piece of clothing, jewelry, books, notebooks (think of those horrible, dangerous spiral pads), ballpoint pens ….. well, you get the picture. Children should be dressed in flour sacking, use brown paper bags and crayons for writing and “toys” made strictly from unbleached organic cotton or wool.

Congress passed a “feel-good” bill written by evil troll Henry Waxman and Jerry Brown is taking advantage of it …

Brown’s office says the Consumer Product Safety Commission has also been notified.

… as a distraction from his own problems.

One month ago, Eric Scheie wrote on the 663 page Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 which contained the Lacey Act Amendment

The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or any foreign law that protects plants. The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.

The definition of the term “plant” includes “any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands.”

[...]

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted. In any prosecution under the Lacey Act, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the government.

[...]

Violations of Lacey Act provisions for timber and other plant products, as well as fish and wildlife, may be prosecuted through either civil or criminal enforcement actions. Regardless of any prosecution, the tainted plants may be seized and forfeited.

Eric observes

Obviously, this means that in the future, the Fish and Game guys will be able to accompany SWAT Team raiders to check all wood in homes and businesses for possible violations. Even if they’re wrong in their suspicions about the wood, it can still be confiscated. (Might that be a goal? To beef up employment at Fish and Game?)

Just think about the law enforcement possibilities alone. After kicking through and impounding your illegal wooden door, a federalized army of government termites could literally strip all wood paneling and flooring from every raided house as suspicious contraband, and haul away all the furniture, wood carvings, picture frames, tools, musical instruments! I can’t think of a better harassment tool.

Indeed

An international crackdown on the use of endangered woods from the world’s rain forests to make musical instruments bubbled over to Music City on Tuesday with a federal raid on Gibson Guitar ’s manufacturing plant, but no arrests.

Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made a midday appearance and served a search warrant on company officials at Gibson’s Massman Drive manufacturing plant, where it makes acoustic and electric guitars.

It should be noted that no where in the article does it say that Gibson was ever approached for documents, or subpoenaed.

But hey, what’s more important then giving some Fed agents some practice raiding dangerous guitar crafting facilities? I mean, it’s not like there are any Islamist terrorists out there or anything.

(h/t sdferr)

… of a video “contest” to produced the most smarmy, unthinking, schmaltzy ad EVAH. Using a bunch of little kids intoning “I deserve healthcare.”

How fun, Obama and the Left teaching little kids the joys of being pickpockets.

One hundred billion dollars in about ten months.  Ten billion dollars a month.

Improper payments by the U.S. government to people, firms and contractors rose sharply to $98 billion in fiscal 2009 and President Barack Obama plans new rules to clamp down, the White House said Tuesday.

Falling just short of blaming the previous Administration, you have to love Reuters, as the entire piece is cast in the light that these “mistakes” need only A One to set then straight.  Fortunately for us, the Democrat President Barack Obama is the just-in-time guy to reign in Democrat Pelosi-Reid stimulus machinery.  Note that breathless “and” inserted betwixt failure and Obama in the above.

At the moment, all recipients have to do is return the money.

Excellent news, that.  Which, if all one hundred billion dollars were “returned”, would be, well, let’s let Democrat Senator Tim Carper explain.

“Unfortunately, these numbers may still be just the tip of the iceberg since they don’t even include estimates for several major programs, including the Medicare prescription drug plan,” Carper said in a statement.

Yes, the prescription drug plan is itself eighteen billion dollars upside down, Senator Carper.  Shall we consider collectivizing the entire medical sector?

Thanks to my recent conversion to progressive political enlightenment, I find this all a minor inconvenience.  After all, if you’re gonna make omelets the Administration after, all you need do is break a national economy.

Jackpot: Lawyers earn fees from law they wrote

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Every lawsuit filed or even threatened under a California law aimed at electing more minorities to local offices - and all of the roughly $4.3 million from settlements so far - can be traced to just two people: a pair of attorneys who worked together writing the statute, The Associated Press has found.

The law makes it easier for lawyers to sue and win financial judgments in cases arising from claims that minorities effectively were shut out of local elections, while shielding attorneys from liability if the claims are tossed out.

The law was drafted mainly by Seattle law professor Joaquin Avila, with advice from lawyers including Robert Rubin, legal director for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Avila, Rubin’s committee and lawyers working with them have collected or billed local governments about $4.3 million in three cases that settled, and could reap more from two pending lawsuits.

That’s only a fraction of what might come. Dozens of cities and school boards have been warned they could be sued under the 2002 California Voting Rights Act.

All the cases have been initiated by Rubin’s committee or Avila, who also is a member of the lawyers’ group, according to an Associated Press review of legal documents, correspondence and legislative records, and interviews with lawyers, school and government officials, current and former legislators and voting-rights experts.

h/t Walter Olson

Simply brilliant.

…the Obama Administration is financing oil exploration off Brazil.

The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazil’s state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazil’s Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s planning minister confirmed that White House National Security Adviser James Jones met this month with Brazilian officials to talk about the loan.

[Policy] doesn’t allow the U.S. to explore in Alaska or along the East and West Coasts, which could be our equivalent of the Tupi oil fields, which are set to make Brazil a leading oil exporter. Americans are right to wonder why Mr. Obama is underwriting in Brazil what he won’t allow at home.