Myth of Consensus Explodes: APS Opens Global Warming Debate

The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming. The APS is also sponsoring public debate on the validity of global warming science. The leadership of the society had previously called the evidence for global warming "incontrovertible."

In a posting to the APS forum, editor Jeffrey Marque explains,"There is a considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not agree with the IPCC conclusion that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are very probably likely to be primarily responsible for global warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution."

The APS is opening its debate with the publication of a paper by Lord Monckton of Brenchley, which concludes that climate sensitivity -- the rate of temperature change a given amount of greenhouse gas will cause -- has been grossly overstated by IPCC modeling. A low sensitivity implies additional atmospheric CO2 will have little effect on global climate.

Monckton, who was the science advisor to Britain's Thatcher administration, says natural variability is the cause of most of the Earth's recent warming. "In the past 70 years the Sun was more active than at almost any other time in the past 11,400 years ... Mars, Jupiter, Neptune’s largest moon, and Pluto warmed at the same time as Earth." (...)

5 in Heathrow plot change pleas

It was Ali who recruited five friends and acquaintances living in the east and north fringes of London to make videos threatening martyrdom, filming them wearing black and white head scarves in front of a black flag with Arabic script and coaching them along the way.

In testimony, defendants distanced themselves from Al Qaeda and suicide attacks. They said they copied the rhetoric of Al Qaeda to make their videos seem believable.

Some of the suspects claimed to have been tricked by Ali into making videos that they were told were for a documentary in which their identities would be disguised.

"I am still finding it hard to forgive Ahmed for not telling me," said Waheed Zaman, the former biomedical student. Savant, the Anglo-British convert to Islam, called Ali "manipulative" and said his video was just "a bit of fun."

The group had not yet made the HMTD explosive or refined the hydrogen peroxide to the correct concentration. Some of the suspects did not yet have new passports. Some stumbled or smiled during their videos, giving them an amateurish quality. No plane tickets had been purchased. Ali testified that he thought they were being watched and had put the plan on hold.

In cross-examination, Ritchie, the government scientist, testified that making the liquid bomb required lengthy research, and that the preparation and transport of liquid explosive materials would be extremely hazardous. (...)

Muslim three admit plan for Heathrow bomb blasts

But they deny it was part of a plot to kill thousands of passengers in a wave of co-ordinated suicide attacks using liquid bombs on jets flying from London to US and Canadian cities.

Instead, they claim they were planning to set off small devices around London - and targets such as oil refineries - in protest at UK foreign policy and had no intention to kill or cause injuries.

In their defence, Ali and Sarwar said they planned to record a documentary highlighting injustices against Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. A small explosion at the Houses of Parliament in which no one would be hurt would act as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the programme. The two men also considered other targets such as Heathrow's Terminal Three and other "iconic" buildings. Ali and the five other men who recorded videos said they were acting the role of violent hate-filled extremists and the footage would be woven into the video.

The jury saw videos showing some of the accused praising Osama bin Laden and trying to justify their alleged plan to kill civilians.

Ali, of Walthamstow, Hussain, of Leyton, Sarwar, of High Wycombe, bus inspector Islam, (born Brian Young), of West Ham, Savant, of Stamford Hill, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, of Walthamstow, Waheed Zaman, 24, of Walthamstow, and Mohammed Gulzar, 26, of Barking, all deny conspiracy to murder by detonation of improvised explosive devices on board transatlantic aircraft and conspiracy to murder between January and August 2006. (...)

Some very clear hints on how they were duped by provocateurs. A textbook case.

5 men admit to lesser charge in case of airplane bombing plot

Prosecutors say the five, along with three other defendants, wanted to kill hundreds of passengers by detonating bombs concealed in soft drink bottles as their flights crossed the Atlantic Ocean, or passed over North American cities. Prosecutors say they were close to carrying out their plan when they were arrested in August 2006 and that they had created "martyrdom" videos to be shown after the suicide-bombings were carried out.

The men deny the charges. Ali and Sarwar told the court they were assembling the weapons as part of a publicity stunt to promote an anti-Western documentary which would feature the videos.

Ali said he hoped a small, non-fatal, bombing — at Britain's Houses of Parliament, at an oil refinery, or at an airport — would jolt Londoners and draw attention to his movie.

"We did not want to kill or injure anyone," Ali told Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London last month. He added that he wanted to set off something "that would be considered serious and credible, something to generate that mass media attention."

The unravelling of their alleged plan quickly led to tough new restrictions on the amount of liquids and gels airline passengers could take in their carryon luggage — restrictions which remain in place. (...)

Three plead guilty to 'airline' terror bomb plot

They claim that they never planned to kill themselves and the videos were part of a mock "al-Qa'eda-style documentary" they were planning to release on the video-sharing website Youtube.

The jury will still have to consider whether they were also part of the plot to bring down aircraft over North American cities.

Two other men, Waheed Zaman and Arafat Khan, deny all charges.

The jury also has to consider a verdict on Mohammed Gulzar, a so-called "shadowy" figure, who allegedly flew in from South Africa to help mastermind the operation. (...)

Amazing how the corporate media tries to spin this story, making it appear as if they're admitting guilt on THE airline 'Liquid Bombs Plot' of August 2006, when in fact it's the complete opposite. It may even work if you don't actually read the articles in full...

Georgia, Washington and Moscow: a Nuclear Geopolitical Poker Game

by F. William Engdahl

The Caucasus Republic of Georgia as nations go does not appear to be a major global player. Yet Washington has invested huge sums and organized to put its own despot, Mikhail Saakashvili, in the Presidency in order to close a nuclear NATO iron ring around Russia. Now US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Tbilisi making sharp statements against Moscow for supporting the independent neighbor states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in essence blaming Moscow for an imminent war Washington has incited in order to bring Georgia into NATO by the December NATO Summit. (...)

Barry Jennings Uncut

by Dylan Avery

I've been sitting on this interview for a while, but after viewing the latest BBC piece on WTC7, I feel the time has come to release it in its entirety.

After locating Barry in mid 2007, Jason and I visited him and he graciously granted us an interview during a lunch break. He had agreed to grant us an interview under the conditions that we, at no time, associate his interview with his place of employment.

Jason and I were so thrilled with the content of the interview that we decided to release a few bits and pieces of it on both our show and Alex's.

A few months later, as the film was nearing completion, I called Barry again to touch base and see how things were going. It took him a bit to remember who I was, but as soon as he did, he began complaining about phone calls to his place of employment and that he was in danger of losing his job. He requested to have his interview pulled from Loose Change, and I honored his request.

Fast forward to February, 2008, where I'm doing an interview with the BBC, and I'm informed by their crew that Barry told them the reason he asked for it to be pulled was because of the article on Prisonplanet claiming he was stepping over dead bodies, which he denies saying. I call Barry to attempt to rectify the situation, and he is adamant that he did not use the phrase "we were stepping over people"

Fast forward one more time to two days ago, when the BBC piece finally aired. I now feel an obligation to release his interview, in its entirety, into the public where it belongs for three reasons:

1) To see the difference between the interview he gave us, and the interview he gave the BBC.

2) To establish Barry's timeline in his own words.

3) To preserve his testimony, in his own words, for the historical record.

I have remained true to my word and kept his interview out of the film, however, I can no longer keep it from the public. They deserve to hear Barry's story, out of his own mouth.

As I say in the end of the video, I would appreciate it if Barry could enjoy his privacy and live his life in peace. My intention with releasing this is so his story can be told, not to cause him any further grief or suffering. (...)

Did Russians or al-Qaeda poison superspook?

SUPERSPOOK Alex Allan may have been an assassination target of the Russians or al-Qaeda, security experts said last night.

The 56-year-old chairman of the Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee is in a coma in hospital and has had toxicology tests to see if he has been poisoned. (...)

Russia rated UK's biggest threat after al-Qaeda and Iran

Britain’s security services have identified Russia as the third most serious threat facing the country, it has emerged before Gordon Brown’s first meeting with President Medvedev.

Security officials say that only al-Qaeda terrorism and Iranian nuclear proliferation are greater menaces to the country’s safety than Russia.

The services are understood to fear that Russia’s three main intelligence agencies have flooded the country with agents, The Times understands. (...)

Australian Astronomical Society Warns of Global Cooling

A new paper published by the Astronomical Society of Australia is warning of upcoming global cooling due to lessened solar activity. The study, written by three Australian researchers, has identified what is known as a "spin-orbit coupling" affecting the rotation rate of the sun. That rotation, in turn, is linked to the intensity of the solar cycle and climate changes here on Earth. (...)