Friday, March 9, 2007

Pulitzer finalists leaked Finalists for Pulitzer Prizes have been leaked and our friends at the Denver Post are up for an award in the Breaking News category. Congratulations y'all. 6:01:57 AM

International Women's Day Katha Pollitt (via TPM Cafe): "March 8, International Women's Day, brings a slew of news on women's lives and struggles around the world, most of it bad, and this year is no exception. The World Health Organization notes that one in five women is a victim of sexual violence by the age of 15, and that half a million women die each year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth -- a number that has barely changed in 20 years. The UN Security council has passed a non-binding resolution condemning violence against women in armed conflict, and called for women to be included in peace making, while Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon gave a speech deploring women's low status around the globe. Big whoop." 5:57:55 AM

War on terror Captain's Quarters: "The US has sent CIA special operations units into Pakistan to hunt down fresh leads on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders, the London Telegraph reports. The action comes just a few weeks after American officials presented Pervez Musharraf with evidence of AQ's growing presence in Waziristan and demanded action to destroy them." "2008 pres" 5:43:00 AM

? for president? Andrew Sullivan: "There are many reasons to like Giuliani, but his personal intolerance of any hint of disloyalty, his contempt for dissent, his corner-cutting executive excesses and long history of cronyism must and surely will be weighed in the equation. Jim Sleeper is no lefty. His concerns are serious ones in a period when the constitution has already been strained to near-breaking point." Political Wire: "A new American Research Group survey of likely primary voters or caucus goers across the nation shows the Democratic and Republican races closer than all voter surveys indicate. Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Clinton is at 34%, Sen. Barak Obama is at 31% and John Edwards is at 15%. Among Republicans, Rudy Giuliani is at 34%, John McCain is at 30% and Newt Gingrich at 12%." "2008 pres" 5:41:27 AM

Candidates for Denver 2007 General Municipal Election Here's the list of candidates for the May election from the Denver Post: "Mayor: John Hickenlooper (I)* and Danny Lopez "Auditor: Dennis Gallagher (I) and Bill Wells "Clerk and recorder: Stephanie O'Malley and Jacob Werther "District 1: Rick Garcia (I) "District 2: Jeanne Faatz (I) "District 3: Antoinette Alire, Niccolo Casewit, Paul Lopez, JoAnn Phillips, Mark Roggeman, Ben Romero and Kathy Sandoval "District 4: Ike Kelley, Peggy Lehmann (I) and William Rutherford III "District 5: Marcia Johnson (I), Mitchell Poindexter and Ronald "RJ" Ours "District 6: Charlie Brown (I) "District 7: Julie Connor, Chris Nevitt, Dennis Smith and Rochelle 'Shelly' Watters "District 8: Sharon Bailey, Carla Madison, Greg Rasheed and Darrell Watson "District 9: Waldo Benavides and Judy Montero (I) "District 10: Jeanne Robb (I) "District 11: Michael Hancock (I) "At large: Carol Boigon (I), Carol Campbell and Doug Linkhart (I) "*(I) == Incumbent" Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News. "denver 2007" 5:32:28 AM

Iraq So how does Colorado's delegation stand with regard to the Iraq resolution introduced yesterday? According to the Rocky Mountain News, "So far, only one member of the state's congressional delegation -- newly elected Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden -- has publicly embraced a plan outlined by Democratic leaders Thursday to force the withdrawal of combat troops by the end of next year." Non Prophet: "General David Petraeus sounds entirely unlike an idiot. That such a statement is first hitting my ears from a military commander is a bit surprising...General David Petraeus, in his first news conference in Baghdad since he took command last month, said: 'There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq.'" Captain's Quarters: "The Democrats unveiled their latest version of Cut and Run, which will demand a total withdrawal from Iraq by no later than the fall of 2008 -- just in time for the Presidential election. The plan forces President Bush to certify that the Iraqi government has met a series of benchmark tests, and any failure will trigger an immediate and early withdrawal." Obsidian Wings: "The Iraq Block: This post is a collection of observances from people who are (or were) there." Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link. Mohammed Fadhil and Omar Fadhil (via the Wall Street Journal): "The new strategy to secure Baghdad has been dubbed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as 'Operation Imposing the Law.' After weeks of waiting and anxiety it is finally under way, and early signs are encouraging." Thanks to Mt. Virtus for the link. "2008 pres" 5:21:17 AM

Immigration Here's a report on Operation Jump Start from the Monterey Herald. From the article, "President Bush launched Operation Jump Start last year to send thousands of National Guard troops such as Nesset to the southwest border, boost the ranks of the U.S. Border Patrol by 6,000 agents and build a fence between Mexico and the U.S. About 600 National Guard soldiers from several states have volunteered to serve as long as two years in Arizona. Hundreds more are in Texas, New Mexico and California. Operation Jump Start is costing U.S. taxpayers $815 million this fiscal year, according to the National Guard. Border Patrol officials say the influx of military might appears to be working. Fewer illegal immigrants have been arrested and more illegal drugs seized since the first National Guard soldiers began arriving. Arrests are down because word has gotten out that it's becoming more difficult to cross, said Jesus Rodriguez, a Border Patrol supervisor. Meanwhile, more drugs are being confiscated now that more border agents are on patrol instead of building fences and operating road graders - work now done by the National Guard." From today's Rocky Mountain News, "A coalition of immigrants' rights activists, church leaders and community leaders announced plans Thursday for a statewide boycott March 25 through April 1 to bring attention to what they say are the economic contributions of illegal immigrants... "The boycott, led by members of the Colorado Immigrants Rights Coalition, is part of campaign to drum up support for pending immigration reform legislation in the U.S. Senate. It is similar to a boycott called for during last year's pro-immigrant demonstration, which drew more than 100,000 participants." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post. They write, "Immigrants and their supporters plan to keep their money at home for a week. No new televisions, no extra clothing, no wiring money to family members abroad or even paying for a photocopy at the consulate. The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, which represents nearly 80 immigrant groups statewide, on Thursday announced an economic boycott set to begin March 25." "2008 pres" 5:10:59 AM

2007 Colorado River Salinity Control Environmental Quality Incentives From the Montrose Daily Press, "The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is holding a second sign-up in the Delta, Montrose and Cortez Field Offices in Colorado for the 2007 Colorado River Salinity Control Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The application period for this second sign-up period will be March 1 through March 30. Only areas in the Lower Gunnison, Mancos Valley, and McElmo Creek are affected. NRCS provides financial cost-share assistance to agriculture producers who voluntarily implement land management and irrigation practices that reduce salt loading. Agriculture producers participating in these efforts are provided incentive payments but are required to contribute at least 25 percent of the cost of the measures installed to reduce salt loading. NRCS also provides technical assistance to producers to plan, design, and install more efficient irrigation systems and to implement other land management practices... "Landowners who are interested in applying may visit their local USDA Service Center or visit the Colorado NRCS Web site at www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/eqip.html." "colorado water" 5:04:38 AM

Resourcism Here's an article from New West on the subject of resourcism. From the article, "The ideology of resourcism has had a number of interlocking pieces throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. I would line them up as follows: Professionalism -- Trained experts are best qualified to manage natural resources and public lands; Progressivism/Optimism -- Progress as a secular religion of material, informational, moral, and organizational advances is key to resourcism, as is an intensely optimistic view of the future benefits of wise management; Engineering -- The science behind resourcism is manipulative and controlling[~]not pure science, but rather technology and engineering; Resources for people -- Resource management by experts is to result in benefits for everyone. (In principle this standard is still touted -- in practice it is corrupted in favor of those with wealth and political power.); Multiple Use -- Properly managed lands can produce multiple uses of timber, minerals, forage, water, wildlife, and recreation, often on the same acre; Sustained Yield -- Lands are to be managed for the maximum they can produce on a sustained basis without harming the future productivity of the land; Utilitarianism -- Resources and the land are here to be used to produce goods and services for humans." Read the whole article it's worth your time. "2008 pres" 4:59:39 AM

New fishing regulations for the Blue River According to the Summit Daily News "reg" the Colorado Division of Wildlife has adopted new fishing regulations for the Blue River. From the article, "After several rounds of public input and internal rule-making, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) has finalized adoption of new catch-and-release regulations for a trout-rich section of the Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir. The new rules, which simply require anglers to return all fish to the water immediately after catching them, go into effect May 1. The change in regulations was prompted in part by a land trade that will enable more public access to the scenic stretch of river through ground managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Anglers concerned about potential impacts to the thriving fishery encouraged the wildlife agency to establish a catch-and-release regime for the reach...Advocates said the catch and release regs are the easiest for the agency to enforce, making it the best way to protect the fishery. "colorado water" 4:49:30 AM

Energy policy: Oil and gas development The BLM has issued new rules around oil and gas development, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. From the article, "A new set of rules issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management aim to meet federal requirements on how fast oil and gas drilling permits are processed while also being realistic about how long it takes to ensure environmental protections on public lands. The rules update a law passed in 1987 to align with the Bush administration's Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included $14.5 billion in energy development incentives and altered the National Environmental Policy Act to allow the BLM to take shortcuts when granting permits for oil and gas drilling. Even with those shortcuts, BLM field offices have built up huge backlogs because they haven't been able to meet the 2005 law's 35-day deadline for issuing drilling permits. The new regulations don't change the deadlines, but do make clear the clock doesn't start ticking until after a visit by BLM officials to sites of the proposed drilling. "Kent Hoffman, minerals manager of the BLM's state office in Salt Lake City, said the order, which goes into effect May 7, changes how the agency tracks applications to drill, known as APDs. In particular, the new order clarifies that the BLM must have visited the proposed drilling site with the energy developer and other federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, if necessary. After that visit, the BLM can start work under the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure wildlife, water and cultural protections are enforced without unrealistic deadline pressure... "The order also deals with split estates, property where those who own the surface land but don't own the subsurface mineral rights. In some states, particularly Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and New Mexico, land owners have found they have little recourse against drillers holding permits to extract natural gas. Now, land owners will be allowed to participate in onsite inspection meetings, and drillers may be required to put up larger bonds than previously required to rectify damage caused by drilling or impoundment of by-product saline water." "2008 pres" 4:41:16 AM

Warming and water supplies There was a time when someone from Denver Water would not be welcome up in Summit County, but yesterday Denver Water resource manager Marc Waage, was on hand in Frisco talking about climate change and the potential effects on water supplies, according to the Summit Daily News "reg". From the article, "Rising global temperatures could play out in significant ways in the Colorado High Country, with the effects ranging from earlier snowmelt and a less reliable water supply to a loss of the spectacular alpine scenery that is fundamental to the state's tourism economy, a panel of experts said Thursday evening in Frisco. The climate change forum, presented by Our Future Summit, included a presentation from Denver Water resource manager Marc Waage, who said that even a moderate two- degree rise in temperatures could result in a six percent drop in water supplies and a 12 percent increase in demand. Waage said those numbers were based on a simplified vulnerability study recently completed by Denver Water, but even if the figures aren't spot on, the state's biggest water supplier is looking at ways to reduce its vulnerability to the impacts of global warming... "For one thing, planners are trying to break the habit of relying on historic data to make plans for the future, he said. Resource managers have traditionally based their projections on data from past years, but with the uncertainties stemming from climate change, that approach may not work... "And warming temperatures during the past few decades have already contributed to a measurable change in the timing of snowmelt and spring runoff, said U.S. Geological Survey researcher Dave Clow, outlining a pilot study based on data from 72 automate SNOTEL measuring stations and 40 streamflow gauges. According to Clow, The average change in the onset of snowmelt has been about .5 days per year, or about two and a half weeks during the 28-year period covered by the study. Warmer springtime air temperatures are the primary driver of the changes, Clow said. Those findings tied in neatly with data presented by climate researcher Klaus Wolter, who is refining statistical methods for analyzing climate trends. Among other research, Wolter has pinpointed a marked warming trend in Colorado's north-central mountains, with warming most apparent during the spring months. Temperature maximums don't seem to be quite as affected as minimum temperatures. In other words, it's not getting nearly as cold as it used to in the area, he said... "Tom Easley, of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, outlined how his organization is developing a climate action plan for Colorado. The first step is an emissions inventory and forecast, he said. The group hopes to complete its plan by the end of the year, and Easley said the Ritter administration appears to be receptive to turning those recommendations into legislative action next year. While the challenge is global in scale, taking action in Colorado is important in the scheme of things, he added, explaining that the state produces more greenhouse gases than all but 38 countries in the world. The western U.S. could take the brunt of the warming, with average temperatures climbing by almost another two degrees by 2040. That could mean 24 percent less snow in the region and 36 percent less storage in the Colorado River Basin. The good news, according to Easley, is that many of the actions required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have positive side effects, including the creation of new jobs, less sprawl and lower energy costs for consumers." "colorado water" 4:34:27 AM

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