Scrolling around...October 15, 2012

Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly released
The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week.

The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.

This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years...

Obama's Great Alaska Shutout-Interior bans drilling on 11.5 million acres of 'petroleum reserve.'
President Obama is campaigning as a champion of the oil and gas boom he's had nothing to do with, and even as his regulators try to stifle it. The latest example is the Interior Department's little-noticed August decision to close off from drilling nearly half of the 23.5 million acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The area is called the National Petroleum Reserve because in 1976 Congress designated it as a strategic oil and natural gas stockpile to meet the "energy needs of the nation." Alaska favors exploration in nearly the entire reserve. The feds had been reviewing four potential development plans, and the state of Alaska had strongly objected to the most restrictive of the four. Sure enough, that was the plan Interior chose...

Germany facing power blackouts
Germany could be struck by power blackouts this winter as the country struggles with a shift to renewable energy the economy minister has warned...

Old-Fashioned Control Systems Make U.S. Power Grids, Water Plants a Hacking Target
Critical infrastructure is at risk of a cyberattack because of systems that haven't kept pace with Internet threats...

Occupy London Activists Chain Selves To Pulpit at St. Paul's Cathedral
Several supporters of the anti-corporate Occupy movement chained themselves to the pulpit of St. Paul's Cathedral during a service Sunday in an action marking the anniversary of its now-dismantled protest camp outside the London landmark.

The Dean of St. Paul's, David Ison, said he was taking an evening prayer service when "four young women dressed in white" chained themselves to the structure.

"It will be a long, cold night if they want to stay there," he said...

'2016: Obama's America' to Screen at Churches Before DVD Release
A hit documentary film challenging President Obama will be screened in tax-exempt churches, whether the IRS likes it or not...

Court Rejects Name Change To "ChristIsKing"
In Matter of Nawadiuko, (City of NY Civil Ct., Oct. 1, 2012), a New York trial court denied an application by a family to change their name from Nwadiuko to "ChristIsKing". The court identified two concerns...

Pakistani girl shot by Taliban now in UK for care
A teenage Pakistani activist shot in the head by the Taliban arrived in the United Kingdom on Monday for more specialized medical care and to protect her from follow-up attacks threatened by the militants.

The attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai as she was returning home from school in Pakistan's northwest a week ago has horrified people across the South Asian country and abroad. It has also sparked hope that the Pakistani government would respond by intensifying its fight against the Taliban and their allies....

Boris says marriage is a relic of the ‘Stone Age’
London Mayor Boris Johnson says the nation needs “to move beyond the Stone Age” by redefining marriage.

He supports David Cameron’s plan to rewrite the meaning of marriage, saying: “frankly I can’t see what the fuss is about.”

He made the dismissive remarks in an article for The Independent, a newspaper which is actively campaigning for marriage to be redefined...

Study shows $1.2 trillion gap for public pensions
The largest 100 public pension funds have around $1.2 trillion of unfunded liabilities, about $300 billion above the nearly $900 billion they reported themselves, according to a new actuarial study to be released on Monday.

The pension systems reported a median funding level of 75.1 percent. The study by the actuarial firm Milliman, which used different ways to value assets and measure liabilities, finds an aggregate level of funding of 67.8 percent...

Iran Detains Seven More Christians in Church Raid
Authorities in Iran's Fars Province arrested seven Christians in a church raid on Friday, even as five other Christian converts who were detained eight months ago from the same province will face trial on Monday. Over 300 Christians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained over the last two years.

Security personnel on Friday evening raided a house church belonging to the Church of Iran denomination in the city of Shiraz, and detained seven Christians, U.K.-based charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported...