Category: Archive

Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse

admin /14 November, 2006

http://www.time.com/time/nation/printout/0,8816,1557842,00.html

A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the outgoing Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo
By ADAM ZAGORIN

Just days after his resignation, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany’s top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Smart meters are given the thumbs up

admin /14 November, 2006

The advent of smart metering was the most significant technology impact in the National Electricity Market (NEM) at present, the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) said in its 2006 annual report on metering and retail market development. All states investigating impact and benefits: NEMMCO said there was no national program in Australia but all Continue Reading →

Trim energy costs: it’s how you pay for and consume electricity

admin /14 November, 2006

NSW retailer EnergyAustralia says a typical customer can cut about $100 off their electricity bill and $90 off their gas bill by simply signing a three-year contract, reported The Australian Financial Review (11 November 2006, p.40).

Think smart: The article also estimates consumers could save up to $260 per annum by merging their gas and electricity bills and installing a new electronic smart meter. They could save even more by installing energy-efficient devices and shopping around between energy companies.

Smart meters make sense: Further, if your bills are more than $2000 a year you are eligible for a free smart metre, which means you’ll get charged less for electricity used during off-peak and shoulder periods and more during the peak – saving up to $200 a year, according to EnergyAustralia.

Think off-peak: Consumers can also save by switching some of their bigger appliances to off-peak times. Those with a pool could save more than $250 a year by running the pool pump during the off-peak period.

The Australian Financial Review, 11/11/2006, p.40

Source: Erisk Net  

Rumsfeld’s long walk into Political Oblivion

admin /14 November, 2006

By Mike Whitney DONALD Rumsfeld never really understood the war he was fighting in Iraq. That’s why the results have been so terrible. He liked to say that “the war in Iraq is a test of wills”, but that just shows that he had no idea what he was doing and was in way over Continue Reading →

WA fossilised reef shows sea levels rose by 4 metres

admin /14 November, 2006

 The discovery of a fossilised coral reef sitting high and dry at the southern tip of Western Australia is a warning that climate change is likely to cause a catastrophic melting of ice and rapid rise in sea level, according to The Sydney Morning Herald (10/11/2006, p.7).

Relic of last interglacial: The reef, in Foul Bay near Margaret River, is the most southerly coral reef ever found. It has been dated to about 125,000 years ago, the middle of the last period of global warming, known as the last interglacial.

High point for sea level: Malcolm McCulloch, of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, which is based in Townsville, said the position of the reef marked a high point during the last big rise in sea level on the planet.

Shows temperature change: The reef’s position, about 600 kilometres further south than reefs surviving off the West Australian coast today, was also a good indicator of how much warmer waters were 125,000 years ago.

Sea could rise 3-4m in 100 years: The coral research indicated sea levels could rise by three to four metres in the next 100 to 400 years. The reef, about 2.5 metres above today’s high-tide zone, was discovered by chance when Professor McCulloch and his colleagues were studying caves in the area.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 10/11/2006, p.7

Source: Erisk Net  

U.N. to issue ‘much stronger’ climate report

admin /14 November, 2006

‘Bound to have major impact’ on policy, chief scientist says Kenya – A long-awaited report by a U.N. scientific network will offer “much stronger” evidence of how man is changing Earth’s climate, and should prompt reluctant governments into action against global warming, the group’s chief scientist said Monday. The upcoming, multi-volume U.N. assessment — on Continue Reading →