by: Peter N. Spotts, The Christian Science Monitor

You never know what you’ll find until you dig a little deeper. Scientists taking the measure of how much carbon the Arctic locks up beneath its tundra have done just that. Based on what they’ve found, they estimate that the Arctic could harbor an average of 60 percent more carbon than previous estimates have indicated.

Researchers are interested in the Arctic’s carbon budget because projections of global warming suggest that the region’s average temperature could warm by as much as 6 degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, depending on the trajectory that emissions from human activities take. The concern: As the Arctic continues to warm and the permafrost thaws, significant amounts of carbon will find their way into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane. These added greenhouse gases would serve to reinforce global warming.

The results come from a group led by University of Alaska at Fairbanks soil scientist Chien-lu Ping and published in today’s edition of Nature Geoscience. Hints that the Arctic’s tundra may lock up more carbon than older, widely cited estimates had indicated date back at least to 2005. For instance, a team led by Jeffery Welker at the University of Alaska at Anchorage reported at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union that in Greenland, it was finding between nine and 125 times the amount of carbon previously reported, depending on the type of Arctic landscape yielding the measurements. (more…)

side note: lots of footnotes, so click here for the original

By Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com.
via alternet.org

Bush’s supporters see the global war on terrorism as a “clash of civilizations” — yet the civilization we are destroying in Iraq is part of our own.

On April 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2003, the United States Army and United States Marine Corps disgraced themselves and the country they represent in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital city. Having invaded Iraq and accepted the status of a military occupying power, they sat in their tanks and Humvees, watching as unarmed civilians looted the Iraqi National Museum and burned down the Iraqi National Library and Archives as well as the Library of Korans of the Ministry of Religious Endowments. Their behavior was in violation of their orders, international law, and the civilized values of the United States. Far from apologizing for these atrocities or attempting to make amends, the United States government has in the past five years added insult to injury.

Donald Rumsfeld, then secretary of defense and the official responsible for the actions of the troops, repeatedly attempted to trivialize what had occurred with inane public statements like “democracy is messy” and “stuff happens.”

On December 2, 2004, President Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, to General Tommy Franks, the overall military commander in Iraq at that time, for his meritorious service to the country. (He gave the same award to L. Paul Bremer III, the highest ranking civilian official in Iraq, and to George Tenet, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, which had provided false information about Saddam Hussein and Iraq to Congress and the people.)

In the five years since the initial looting and pillaging of the Iraqi capital, thieves have stolen at least 32,000 items from some 12,000 archaeological sites across Iraq with no interference whatsoever from the occupying power. No funds have been appropriated by the American or Iraqi governments to protect the most valuable and vulnerable historical sites on Earth, even though experience has shown that just a daily helicopter overflight usually scares off looters. In 2006, the World Monuments Fund took the unprecedented step of putting the entire country of Iraq on its list of the most endangered sites. All of this occurred on George W. Bush’s watch and impugned any moral authority he might have claimed. (more…)

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Even though Obama says he’ll cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, Gallup records 53 percent thinking he’ll raise them.

You’ve really got to tip your hat to the anti-tax propagandists on the Right. According to Gallup, 53 percent of Americans believe an Obama presidency would result in their taxes going up, despite the reality that he has offered tax “relief” for 95 percent of taxpayers and would only raise taxes on the top 5 percent to the levels they paid during the Clinton years.

Interestingly, about a third of respondents to the Gallup poll said John McCain would also raise their taxes. A quarter said as much of George W. Bush in 2004 — clearly, there’s a sizable group of Americans who believe that it’s just what politicians do.

From Gallup:

Given the current economic environment, one might think that the last thing the presidential contenders would be thinking about — let alone verbalizing — would be their intention to raise federal income taxes. In fact, McCain has pledged to renew the tax cuts Bush instituted, and Barack Obama has said he would raise taxes on the wealthiest but would provide a tax cut to middle-class Americans. Therefore, it may be somewhat surprising that so many Americans think their federal taxes will go up, regardless of whether Obama or McCain is elected. …

Republicans are overwhelmingly convinced that Obama will increase their taxes, with 81% stating such an expectation, compared to 52% of independents and 34% of Democrats. In sharp contrast, only 16% of Republicans think their taxes will increase if McCain is elected president, compared to 34% of independents and 46% of Democrats. While party affiliation clearly plays a role in the way Democrats and Republicans view potential tax increases, a substantial percentage of independents think their federal taxes will increase no matter who wins. (more…)

By Dave Dempsey, AlterNet.

A new compact protecting the Great Lakes is set to pass Congress, but there are a few green critics with serious concerns.

For 25 years, residents around the Great Lakes have worried that thirstier regions (or even countries) would make designs on their water. The lakes’ bounty as the single largest freshwater source in the world (holding 18 percent of the Earth’s available surface freshwater) has inspired the eight surrounding states to try to formulate a legal shield ensuring their water stays in their own backyards.

Now, a quarter-century of fitful but fruitful work to come up with a common, enforceable agreement that would ban the export of Great Lakes water in (among other things) pipelines and railroad cars is just one house of Congress away from final federal consent. The long regional nightmare of Great Lakes drained to green golf courses in Arizona is almost over. Business, government and environmental advocates are singing the praises of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

But a few voices scattered across the region are charging that the compact, as written, will actually facilitate the commercial export of Great Lakes water.

One of the most vocal voices has been Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. He fired off letters to the U.S. trade representative, the Department of State and the International Joint Commission (a U.S.-Canadian body that administers the Boundary Waters Treaty, which covers the Great Lakes), asking them to comment on the potential for sale of Great Lakes water. (more…)

side note: watch Joe turn into a little kid, as he gets all bent out of shape when Shuster calls him a republican. it’s great.

side note: What!!!??? our big bad president was talking timetables? but the terrorists will just wait us out!!!

http://www.reuters.com

The United States asked Iraq for permission to maintain a troop presence there to 2015, but U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to limit their authorization to 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.

“It was a U.S. proposal for the date which is 2015, and an Iraqi one which is 2010, then we agreed to make it 2011. Iraq has the right, if necessary, to extend the presence of these troops,” Talabani said in an interview with al-Hurra television, a transcript of which was posted on his party’s website on Wednesday.

U.S. officials in Baghdad were not immediately available for comment. (more…)

By Bob Herbert, The New York Times.
via alternet.org

A populist message and a willingness to take the fight to his opponent is Barack Obama’s ticket to the White House.

After being pummeled for weeks by John McCain, and losing some of his slender lead in the polls, the Obama campaign may finally be showing signs of life.

Barack Obama was always a long shot to win the White House. It’s no secret that some portion of the electorate will never vote for him because of his color. But he has made the odds even longer by running a campaign that, since the primaries, has seemed directionless, uninspired and addicted to the empty calories of generalities.

And the candidate himself has seemed flat. No fire. No passion.

I’m all for thoughtful, reasonable, even cerebral candidates. John Wayne has had way too much influence on our politics. (”Bring ‘em on.” “Bomb, bomb Iran.”) But if ever there was a presidential campaign that cried out for a populist’s passion, this is it.

The last eight years have been calamitous. We’re struggling with two wars, one of which we never should have started. The economy has tanked big time. The housing market has collapsed and foreclosures have skyrocketed. (more…)

by Jared Bernstein
http://www.huffingtonpost.com

So McCain is rich. Or, his wife is rich, and that makes him rich too. Wasn’t there some movie where Dudley Moore was engaged to a women with megabucks, and he kept getting drunk and introducing her to people as my ‘financier’ (instead of fiancée)?

For all the ink spilled over this last week, two related issues were under-explored, the latter of which is especially important: what’s ‘rich,’ and why does it matter? What does McCain’s wealth, and the way he talks about it, reveal about his ability to be a successful president?

On the first point–what means ‘rich’?–there’s no simple answer, no line in the economic sand that divides the rich from the rest. I’ll get to the income data in a second, but they’re only of marginal help here.

For one, there’s tremendous geographical variation. If your family income is $100,000 in a rural area of a low-income state, you’re well off. That income in Manhattan arguably puts you in the middle-class.

This example also suggests that there’s a relative component to “rich.” To be rich means you breath the rarified air in the upper reaches of the income scale. In a series of recent revealing remarks, McCain said he thought an income of $5 million made you rich. There’s no doubt that’s true, but if that’s your income cutoff, almost nobody’s rich.

The often-cited work of income analysts Piketty and Saez (see Table 0) reveals that admission to the top 1% of the income scale will run you a cool $375,000. Too many common folk there for your taste? Then you’ll need about $600K to move up to the top half of the top 1% (i.e., the top 0.5%). (more…)

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
http://www.nytimes.com

Home sales have begun to stabilize as sharply reduced prices lured buyers back into the market in July, according to a pair of reports issued this week. And prices, once plummeting at a breakneck pace, fell in June at a more moderate clip.

But prices will have to keep falling, economists said on Tuesday, before the housing market can make a full recovery. Much of the buying last month stemmed from fire sales of foreclosed homes. And prices are expected to keep sagging under the weight of an enormous backlog of unsold homes.

For now, “it’s still a buyer’s market, and likely to be so for a while,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist of PNC Bank. “Home buyers are holding all the aces.”

A report on Tuesday showed that in the 12 months through June, American home values dropped 15.9 percent, the biggest annual decline on record. (more…)

side note: Yes, this is bullshit that the White House keeps putting this off……Lets make sure she testifies this year, if she doesn’t, she should be dragged to jail for not responding to Congress. These fuckin people are not above the law. What are they hiding that they keep refusing to testify?

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer

A federal judge yesterday refused to delay his order requiring former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers to testify in Congress, another legal setback for the Bush administration’s attempts to limit cooperation with Democratic lawmakers.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates rejected the administration’s argument that Miers should not be required to cooperate with Congress while the government appeals an earlier ruling he issued.

In the previous decision, Bates rejected the administration’s assertions that Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten were protected by executive privilege and could not be forced to testify or provide documents to Congress about the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. The judge said that the government’s position was excessively broad and that senior aides must be more specific about the information they say is protected.

The new ruling will make it more difficult for Miers to avoid testifying by running out the clock on the 110th Congress, which ends in early January. Without a stay, she could be compelled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee as early as next month.

Lawmakers are seeking testimony from Miers and documents from Bolten as part of an ongoing inquiry into the prosecutor firings and broader allegations of politicization at the Justice Department, primarily under former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales. The House and Senate judiciary panels also have voted to hold former presidential adviser Karl Rove in contempt for refusing to testify about the dismissals. (more…)

side note: Every American should become familiar with Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont. He is one of the real civil servants of our country. You can now listen to him on the Thom Hartmann show every Friday, called “Brunch with Bernie”. This speech is unbelievable….Bernie does a good job of explaining what’s been happening in this country as big business and big government have combined to fuck the rest of us over!

side note: I really think that the youth of this country are going to play a larger role then everyone thinks. During the primary season, we heard from Boomers all over the country that their kids had encouraged them to support Senator Obama. I know a lot of the older generation looks at Obama with skepticism. They believe that they have seen and heard people like Obama promise the world, and then once their in office, they cave to corporate business interests and dirty lobbyists. Granted, they have more experience, but this is no reason to discount Senator Obama. Yes, he may be just another politician, selling his snake oil……but he may also be someone who is not that far removed from a middle class life style….someone who remembers what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck…….McCain on the other hand has been living the good life for sometime now and now owns 10 houses, and combined with his wife is worth more then 100 million dollars! The youth of this country has to keep pounding into their parent’s brains that the decisions made now will impact their lives and the lives of their children. Barack gives us the best chance for creating a better world…..if your parent is supporting McCain, sit down and talk with them, tell them why you like Obama and why they should vote for him.

By BOB HERBERT
The New York Times

Dearborn, Mich.

The fun and games may be in Denver, but this year’s presidential election will likely be decided in critical states like Michigan, where many Democratic voters, despite being hammered by a wicked economy, are ambivalent at best about the candidate at the top of their party’s ticket.

You could easily get the impression, through casual conversations, that Michigan will be a cakewalk for Barack Obama. Most people you talk to say that they plan to vote for him. Nearly all working families have been touched by the downturn, which has been longer and more severe here than in most other parts of the nation.

Relatives in different parts of the state are seeing less of one another because of high gasoline prices. Auto industry workers, traumatized by the number of colleagues who have been laid off, worry that they will be the next to go.

The anger at George W. Bush is white-hot.

Margaret Schlack, who is married and the mother of four, talked about the election after attending Sunday services at St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Livonia, a largely white, working-class suburb of Detroit.

“This area has seen a lot of economic trouble,” she said. “A lot of people are out of work. The housing market is just awful. And I don’t feel that John McCain cares about the average person.” (more…)