Friday The 13th: A Night with The Cool Kids & Mos Def

FRIDAY THE 13th: A NIGHT WITH THE COOL KIDS and MOS DEF from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Last Friday, Creative Control.Tv launched (along with the BlakRoc album). Already there's some pretty interesting ish over there. One being this trailer for, Friday The 13th: A Night with The Cool Kids & Mos Def. Watch as The Cool Kids run the streets of NYC, hang out at the DD172 space, chill with Mos Def, craft some beats, and perform at Webster Hall. This is taken from an upcoming film by Michael Sterling Eaton.

Snoop Dogg - I Wanna Rock

Malice n Wonderland, due in stores December 8th 2009!

Directed by Erick Peyton.

Chip Tha Ripper – Fat Raps (feat. Curren$y & Big Sean) (prod by Chuck Inglish)

Here goes something new from Cleveland’s own Chip Tha Ripper called “Fat Raps″, and it features Curren$y the Hoy Spitta and Big Sean with production by The Cool Kids own Chuck Inglish. You can definitely feel his vibe on the track. This record will be on Chip’s The Cleveland Show, due out December 1st.

Chip Tha Ripper – Fat Raps (feat. Curren$y & Big Sean) (prod by Chuck Inglish) by treylord

Download Chip Tha Ripper – Fat Raps (feat. Curren$y & Big Sean) (prod by Chuck Inglish)

The Best of Susie Greene

The Best of Susie Greene - watch more funny videos

Common ft. John Legend "Strange Fruit" (prod. by Kanye West)

Here is a previously unreleased Common joint. The song is called "Strange Fruit" and features John Legend, with Kanye West on the production. Apparently this song was meant for Com's album, Finding Forever, but Cassidy got to the beat first. I like the soulful feel, mellow rhymes.

Thoughts?

Common - Strange Fruit (Feat. John Legend) by treylord

Download Common ft. John Legend "Strange Fruit" (prod. by Kanye West)

NYtimes: The Road to Copenhagen - Tree Harvester Offers to Save Indonesian Forest

Ok, so I admittedly have been slacking on posting updates from the whole "Road to Copenhagen" process but frankly there is just too much happening to really make sense of it and there are daily BREAKING NEWS that aren't that interesting, such as Obama setting emissions targets, the African delegation walking out of talks, the Chinese fucking around, etc.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to post more interesting snippets and MAJOR things happening in Copenhagen over the next few weeks. Hopefully we'll get a robust internationally binding treating, but it's a long shot. Till then, check out some of the international efforts to help mitigate climate change.

This article should highlight some of the difficulties of the climate negotiations, and accounting for what should be eligible and ineligible for carbon credits.

NYtimes:

TELUK MERANTI, Indonesia — From the air, the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia stretches for mile after mile in dense scrub and trees. One of the world’s largest peat swamp forests, it is also one of its biggest vaults of carbon dioxide, a source of potentially lucrative currency as world governments struggle to hammer out a global climate treaty. The vault, though, is leaking.

Canals — used legally and illegally — extend from surrounding rivers nearly into the peninsula’s impenetrable core. By slowly draining and drying the peat land, they are releasing carbon dioxide, contributing to making Indonesia the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the United States.

The leaks were evident to a family of fishermen from this village, just south of the peninsula, as they paddled up a creek in a dugout canoe.

“I can tell the peat land’s leaking because the water here is getting browner and more acidic,” said Amiruddin, 31, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, as his wife, Delima, 29, scooped up the creek’s coffee-colored water to drink.

Forests like the one on the Kampar Peninsula are at the center of a growing battle over the shape of a new climate treaty and efforts to curb the destruction and degradation of forests. Though countries are expected to reach only a broad agreement at next month’s summit meeting in Copenhagen, governments, scientists, businesses and environmentalists are already arguing over what kinds of forests should qualify as carbon reducers and what kinds of projects should be rewarded financially.

The arguments over the Kampar have become particularly heated, not just because of its ecological importance, but because, so far, the most detailed plan to stop the leaks from the peat land comes from an unlikely source: a giant paper and pulp company that, according to its critics, has been one of the driving forces of deforestation in Indonesia. The company, Asia Pacific Resources International Limited, or April, says it wants to create a ring of industrial tree plantations around the peninsula’s core to preserve it.

What is more, it hopes to receive carbon credits for doing so under a United Nations program to reward nations for conserving forests and reforesting degraded ones. The program, Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or REDD, is expected to be part of a new climate treaty. Unlike the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a new treaty is expected to tackle deforestation, which alone accounts for 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Halting deforestation in tropical forest nations like Indonesia and Brazil, the world’s fourth biggest emitter, is considered crucial to reining in global warming.

Developing nations that preserve forests would be paid with carbon credits that they could sell to industrialized nations seeking to meet emissions reduction targets. Though the program’s specifics will probably take months or years to be worked out, more than a dozen projects of the United Nations program are already under way in Indonesia, backed by such diverse entities as conservation groups, the Australian government and Merrill Lynch, in addition to paper and pulp companies.

Environmental groups say the paper and pulp companies, after years of despoiling Indonesia, should not be rewarded under the program.

“They are the ones that did the damage,” said Michael Stuewe, an expert on Indonesia at the World Wildlife Fund. “Now they’re saying: ‘We were bad boys. Now we’re good. So give us the money.’ ”

The companies argue that the United Nations program could provide them with the financial incentives to preserve forests even as they expand their operations, a goal supported by the Indonesian government, which sees the paper and pulp industry as a mainstay of the country’s economic development.

“We could perhaps reduce the annual Indonesian emissions by 5 percent with this one project,” said Jouko Virta, April’s president of global fiber supply, referring to the company’s plan to ring the peninsula’s core. “It’s so significant. One project.”

Everyone agrees, at least, on the importance of saving the Kampar Peninsula, a nearly one-million-acre peat bog on the equator inhabited by Sumatran tigers, bears, monkeys, crocodiles and other wildlife.

Most of the peninsula remains free of humans, though small fishing camps can be found up its creeks. More significantly, illegal loggers can be seen operating in bases set up along some canals and creeks. And east of here, near a village called Pulau Muda, more than a dozen houses flank a long canal jutting into the peninsula, in what appears to be the biggest human settlement on the Kampar.

Made up of decomposed trees and plants, sometimes as deep as 50 feet, the waterlogged land stores billions of tons of carbon dioxide. But once drained or cleared, the peat land releases many times more carbon dioxide than the deforestation of rain forests. Most experts believe that, as with rain forests, the protection of peat swamp forests will be eligible for carbon credits under the United Nations program.

The Kampar Peninsula is one of the last tracts of green left in central Sumatra, where forests have been cleared to make way for palm oil plantations and industrial tree plantations, especially those belonging to April and its chief rival, Asia Pulp and Paper, both owned by Indonesian conglomerates. According to the World Wildlife Fund, here in Riau, the province where the two companies have their main mills and plantations, two-thirds of the area’s forests have disappeared in the past quarter century.

Illegal loggers have also clear-cut vast chunks of forest. Migrants often slash and burn land for farming, sometimes inside national parks; like people elsewhere in Indonesia, they are often encouraged by local governments seeking to populate areas for economic or political reasons, in defiance of officials from the understaffed Forestry Ministry.

April, which, with its partners, has government-issued concessions across a third of Kampar, says its ring of acacia plantations around the core will block off any such encroachment, though it says it needs to acquire more land to complete the circle. On plantations already in operation, the company uses a sophisticated network of canals and dams that minimizes leakage from the peat land, environmental groups acknowledge.

If April acquired control over the core, it could be paid for protecting it. The company says it believes that it can be, at the very least, rewarded for the ring, about half of which would be turned into acacia plantations and half left as natural forests or what it calls “conservation areas.”

“The carbon we are storing in the conservation areas could be financed through REDD,” Mr. Virta said in an interview at April’s 4,300-acre mill, about two hours west of here by car.

Agus Purnomo, who leads the government’s National Council on Climate Change, said it would take months or years of negotiations after next month’s climate conference to determine whether April’s ring would be entitled to carbon credits.

Much will depend on whether an agreement includes stipulations against the conversion of natural forests into industrial tree plantations. Indonesia, like other countries with paper and pulp industries, counts industrial tree plantations as forests.

Environmental groups caution against any project of the United Nations program involving the conversion of natural forests into industrial tree plantations. Bill Barclay, policy director at the Rainforest Action Network, said the priority in Indonesia should be to “halt further conversion of natural forests” and “further draining of peat lands.”

But that kind of argument finds little traction in a nation with an economy that is still developing.

Mr. Purnomo, of the country’s climate change council, said government officials were worried that Indonesia’s ranking as the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases would increase pressure to reduce emissions.

“Are we going to remain underdeveloped because of that?” he asked.

Since starting operations on a new concession near here in September, April has brought jobs to Teluk Meranti. As part of its community outreach, it has brought a new generator to increase the supply of electricity and construction material to renovate two mosques. Still, Teluk Meranti had yet to buy April’s vision of the future. Villagers remained overwhelmingly opposed to the company’s presence here, opponents and supporters of the company said.

“We don’t know what we’ll get,” said Firdaus, a 39-year-old man operating a makeshift convenience store. “What rights do we have?”

He was unaware of April’s ring project. But, yes, he had heard of the importance of peat from environmental groups. “We were told,” he said, “to protect the peat for the climate.”

Okayplayer Kevin Casey mixtape: LIVE FROM New York: 1994-2001

HOTNESS:


New from OKAYPLAYER! A dope NYC compilation for your enjoyment...


46 tracks featuring Deep Cover 98, Flamboyant, Eye For An Eye, John Blaze, Banned From T.V., 10 Crack Commandments, T.O.N.Y. and many more.

DOWNLOAD: Live From New York: 1994-2001 (Mixtape)

Lupe Fiasco “Enemy Of The State: A Love Story” Mixtape

As promised, here is the Thanksgiving mixtape from Lupe Fiasco.

Download it HERE.

1. Intro
2. The National Anthem
3. All The Way Turnt Up
4. Fireman
5. Interlude
6. Angels
7. So Ghetto
8. Say Something
9. Thank You
10. The One
11. Popular Demand
12. Summit On The Summit (HP TV Commercial)

Real World DC Trailer

Real World XXIII: Washington DC - MTV Shows

So glad these fuckers are gone.

Mick Boogie & Terry Urban Presents Le Da Soul (20 Years of De La Soul)

It’s finally time to unleash the latest mixtape from Mick Boogie & Terry Urban. Dedicated to my favorite hip hop trio of all time. Featuring the likes of Homeboy Sandman, Asheru, Tanya Morgan, Camp Lo, CurT@!n$, Big Pooh, Talib Kweli, ESSO and many more. With production from 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, Apple Juice Kid, Remot, Christian Rich, J. Rawls, etc.



DOWNLOAD: Le Da Soul (20 Years of De La Soul)

Ski "Taxi" feat. Mos Def and the launch of CreativeControl.tv

Ski feat. Mos Def-Taxi from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Creative Control just unleashed some more in the form of this video that shows us a snippet of a song called "Taxi" by Ski Beatz featuring Mos Def. The song will appear on an upcoming full-length project by Ski. All of these vids are build up for the November 27th launch of CreativeControl.tv, the network founded by Chike Ozah, Coodie Simmons and Damon Dash.

R Kelly - Real Talk

R Kelly - Real Talk,
Uploaded by LilQ. - Explore more music videos.

R Kelly is one special kind of guy.

Thanks to Preetha for the heads up.

And next up, a hip hopera staring R. Kelly called "Trapped in the Closet"

Lupe's Mixtape due out Thanksgiving

As I've posted in the past, Lupe was inspired by the snub on the MTV's hottest MCs in the game list, and now is out to prove he's better than everybody. "If it takes three more albums to do it, then so be it. That's what I got left with Atlantic. Three more after Lasers. I'm already done with two. The mixtape is coming Thanksgiving" says Lupe from the red carpet of Diddy's b-day party. A highly motivated Lupe continues: "I'm finnin' to house every single mode and arena I can get into," Fiasco promised. "If y'all had somewhere where it's live performances, I'm finnin to have the best live performances. If it's mixtapes, I'm finnin' to have the best mixtapes. If it's albums again, it's gonna be the best verse. If it's the best dressed, I'm going hard as well." Lupe also mentions that this Thanksgiving day mixtape is untitled as of now and will feature him going in over other MCs' beats.

Timbaland – Morning After Dark f. SoShy

First single of Timbo's next album Shock Value 2. It's a pretty classic Timbaland hit, solid beats, and will likely be a club hit. Not familiar with SoShy, but I'm starting to like her.

Wale, Drake, and Kid Cudi in GQ's Man of the Year issue

AdrianHopkins: My First Grad School Mixtape, Because Sharing is Caring

My boy Adrian Hopkins' first mixtape. I can vouche that he's in a league of his own on music, design, literature, etc. You may remember him from a post a while back with him rapping about his quarter-life crisis. I'll repost that vid after the jump. Check out his website though.

I've listened to the mixtape, and it's a ride.

From AdrianHopkins.com:

Earlier this week, I chronicled a bit of the musical selections that provided the soundtrack to my paper-writing adventure. Since sharing is caring, I decided to put those songs into a mix just for you!

I played each of these songs on repeat at least 15 times (Francis & The Lights' cover of Kanye's "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was the undisiputed champion with 164 plays) as I wrote about the influence of Edward Bernays' 1928 book, Propaganda, on the last 80+ years of American mass manipulation and media scholars' discussion thereof.

The tracklisting is below. Click here or on the album cover to download. Enjoy!

1. In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem) - KiD CuDi - 2009
2. The Bells (feat. Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles) - Laura Nyro - 1973
3. Can't Tell Me Nothing - Francis & The Lights - 2008
4. Everybody Touch - J*Davey - 2006
5. Eclipse - Ahmad Jamal - 1974
6. RobertaFlack - Flying Lotus - 2008
7. Paper Chase - Do Or Die - 1996
8. The Rotten Apple - Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) - 2007
9. I Wanna Know - The Foreign Exchange - 2008
10. Baby (You Know I'm Gonna Miss You) - The Montclairs - 1972
11. (Love) Lock Down - Rashid Hadee - 2009

Lil Wayne Carter Documentary

Friedman in NYtimes: What They Really Believe

Friedman in NYtimes:

If you follow the debate around the energy/climate bills working through Congress you will notice that the drill-baby-drill opponents of this legislation are now making two claims. One is that the globe has been cooling lately, not warming, and the other is that America simply can’t afford any kind of cap-and-trade/carbon tax.

But here is what they also surely believe, but are not saying: They believe the world is going to face a mass plague, like the Black Death, that will wipe out 2.5 billion people sometime between now and 2050. They believe it is much better for America that the world be dependent on oil for energy — a commodity largely controlled by countries that hate us and can only go up in price as demand increases — rather than on clean power technologies that are controlled by us and only go down in price as demand increases. And, finally, they believe that people in the developing world are very happy being poor — just give them a little running water and electricity and they’ll be fine. They’ll never want to live like us.

Yes, the opponents of any tax on carbon to stimulate alternatives to oil must believe all these things because that is the only way their arguments make any sense. Let me explain why by first explaining how I look at this issue.

I am a clean-energy hawk. Green for me is not just about recycling garbage but about renewing America. That is why I have been saying “green is the new red, white and blue.”

My argument is simple: I think climate change is real. You don’t? That’s your business. But there are two other huge trends barreling down on us with energy implications that you simply can’t deny. And the way to renew America is for us to take the lead and invent the technologies to address these problems.

The first is that the world is getting crowded. According to the 2006 U.N. population report, “The world population will likely increase by 2.5 billion ... passing from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050. This increase is equivalent to the total size of the world population in 1950, and it will be absorbed mostly by the less developed regions, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050.”

The energy, climate, water and pollution implications of adding another 2.5 billion mouths to feed, clothe, house and transport will be staggering. And this is coming, unless, as the deniers apparently believe, a global pandemic or a mass outbreak of abstinence will freeze world population — forever.

Now, add one more thing. The world keeps getting flatter — more and more people can now see how we live, aspire to our lifestyle and even take our jobs so they can live how we live. So not only are we adding 2.5 billion people by 2050, but many more will live like “Americans” — with American-size homes, American-size cars, eating American-size Big Macs.

“What happens when developing nations with soaring vehicle populations get tens of millions of petroleum-powered cars at the same time as the global economy recovers and there’s no large global oil supply overhang?” asks Felix Kramer, the electric car expert who advocates electrifying the U.S. auto fleet and increasingly powering it with renewable energy sources. What happens, of course, is that the price of oil goes through the roof — unless we develop alternatives. The petro-dictators in Iran, Venezuela and Russia hope we don’t. They would only get richer.

So either the opponents of a serious energy/climate bill with a price on carbon don’t care about our being addicted to oil and dependent on petro-dictators forever or they really believe that we will not be adding 2.5 billion more people who want to live like us, so the price of oil won’t go up very far and, therefore, we shouldn’t raise taxes to stimulate clean, renewable alternatives and energy efficiency.

Green hawks believe otherwise. We believe that in a world getting warmer and more crowded with more “Americans,” the next great global industry is going to be E.T., or energy technology based on clean power and energy efficiency. It has to be. And we believe that the country that invents and deploys the most E.T. will enjoy the most economic security, energy security, national security, innovative companies and global respect. And we believe that country must be America. If not, our children will never enjoy the standard of living we did. And we believe the best way to launch E.T. is to set a fixed, long-term price on carbon — combine it with the Obama team’s impressive stimulus for green-tech — and then let the free market and innovation do the rest.

So, as I said, you don’t believe in global warming? You’re wrong, but I’ll let you enjoy it until your beach house gets washed away. But if you also don’t believe the world is getting more crowded with more aspiring Americans — and that ignoring that will play to the strength of our worst enemies, while responding to it with clean energy will play to the strength of our best technologies — then you’re willfully blind, and you’re hurting America’s future to boot.

k-os "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" featuring Saukrates

Tomorrow is the U.S. release date for k-os's new album, Yes!. Here's his latest video, "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman," featuring Saukrates. The two Northeners team up to make this dope Western style vid.

Not entirely sure where the Natalie Portman reference comes from, but it's finally made use of that song from the ill fated OC.

B.o.B aka Bobby Ray - No Mans Land

This cut is off of his B.o.B vs Bobby Ray mixtape, done by the Motion Family.

Love this joint. Dude is not only a rapper, but a talented guitarist.

B.o.B Presents The Features (Mixtape)

My dude B.o.B (a.k.a. Bobby Ray) is back at it again with the help of the cats at 2dopeboyz. B.o.B's label, Atlantic, has a full out campaign set for The Adventures of Bobby Ray (which is scheduled for an April release). I’ve said it countless times and will continue to do so, this man is one of the most talented artists doing it right now. And I’m glad to inform ya’ll that there is a huge record on the horizon and a single dropping sometime this month.

This mixtape is a compilation of his best tunes so far, made by 2dopeboyz.

Download: B.o.B Presents the Features

WP: Supreme Court refuses to hear Redskins' naming case

Big win for the team, but big loss of my respect. They need to take it on themselves to change the name.

WP:

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit on behalf of Native American activists who claimed that the Washington Redskins' team name is so offensive that it does not deserve trademark protection.

The court without comment refused to get involved in the long-running dispute. The decision essentially lets stand a lower court ruling that the activists waited too long to bring the challenge.

The team has been known as the Redskins since 1933, when the name was changed from the Boston Braves. It became the Washington Redskins in 1937, when the team moved south.

The lawsuit was filed in 1992, when seven activists challenged a Redskins trademark issued in 1967. They won seven years later in a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which said the name could be interpreted as offensive to Native Americans. The case is Harjo v. Pro-Football, Inc.

Trademark law prohibits registration of a name that "may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, . . . or bring them into contempt, or disrepute."

The team appealed to federal court.

Judges at the district and circuit levels said the activists' trademark cancellation claim was barred by the doctrine of laches, which serves as a defense against claims that should have been made long ago.

The activists argued that disparaging trademarks can be challenged at any time, citing a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The decision was written by then-judgeSamuel A. Alito Jr., who now sits on the Supreme Court.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that was merely a "suggestion" of how to interpret the law.

The federal district judge who heard the lawsuit also said the activists had not proven that the name was disparaging.

The Supreme Court considered only the question of whether the suit was barred because of the passage of too much time.

Clipse feat Pharrell - I'm Good

Clipse feat Pharrell - I'm Good from Malice of the Clipse on Vimeo.

More from the Clipse. This isn't new, but I don't think I put it up yet.

Clipse – Doorman

Clipse - Doorman Music Video - Til The Casket Drops Dec 8 from Malice of the Clipse on Vimeo.

The flaunting gets old and the video is pedestrian, but can't beat the beats. New Clipse, produced by Pharrell.

F. Stokes & Dirty Disco Kidz Present: FILM

“I got a west-coast accent, with a no-coast style, using Midwest slang, don’t get it mixed up now…”

When you first hear of this mixtape (prolly right now) - you're like who are these dudez??? Madison Wisconsin??? Well, just give it a listen, try 'em out... For those of you who don’t know, this midwest shit is ill, shit is illlllll.

After hearing the intro, which is a combination of audio samples from the lead voice, MC F. Stokes, as well as some real tight scratches by Mr. Vinnie Toma, you'll want to hear more. They build the momentum up, pushing you into a hip-hop funk that you will dig.

The opening track, "Sparse Parts Remix", hits you like a ton of bricks, I started bobbing my head instantaneously as the first bar dropped. That ol' Run DMC Peter Piper bell riff plus some ill strings, this beat bangs hard. The body of the album is very solid, with tracks that vary in beats, rhymes and in character. It’s hard for me to pick favorites – so I’ll break into a double – for beat I have to pick “Sparse Parts Remix” and for lyrics I have to go with the “Blessings Remix”.

My boy Mr. Physix, and the Dirty Disco Kids, produced the album. The most interesting aspects of the project are that the sounds are so original and the beats and lyrics really show how versatile their whole crew is. This is a very tight underground mixtape album, I suggest you download it now. You will be sure to find some tracks that you will put on your Friday afternoon cruisin’ playlist.

Big ups to Madison, big ups to Legendary Jackson, big ups to the Dirty Disco Kids. Big ups to the Midwest, more coming soon, stay tuned… FILM!

DOWNLOAD it here - Mediafire

more about F. Stokes

The Cool Kids "Knocked Down"

The Cool Kids - New Music - More Music Videos

Here's The Cool Kids with "Knocked Down" off of their mixtape with Don Cannon, Gone Fishing.

WP: Wale opens a panderer's box

Wale Ovechkin is still new to some people. Here is the Post's review of his new album, Attention Deficit. I'm thinking that I need to write a review, but I've been playing these songs for months now, so listening to a concise group of them is difficult.

WP:

Hip-hop isn't dead -- it's just going through a monumental identity crisis.

Jay-Z clings to his credibility while Miley Cyrus gives him a shout-out on her latest single. Kanye West follows an awards show outburst with a blog apology that feels both petulant and contrite. Lil Wayne tells Katie Couric he's a gangster, then takes her bowling.

If hip-hop -- once our most radical, rebellious popform -- is finally congealing into the snoozy status quo, how can today's rappers feel anything but conflicted?

The genre's latest ball of contradictions comes bouncing out of Washington, D.C. His name is Wale, and after a two-year slog through the record industry's broken-down hype machine, his major-label debut "Attention Deficit," finally arrives Tuesday. It's a stellar offering from a wildly gifted rapper, but almost predictably, Wale's feelings are mixed.

"I won't rest till I'm given my respect," he proclaims on "Triumph," as if fame is something he deserves.

"Am I doing this for them or me?" he second-guesses on "Contemplate," as if fame is something he dreads.

And back and forth it goes, with the rapper's sticky, dexterous flow holding the proceedings together like so much rubber cement.

For proof of Wale's lyrical acrobatics, look no further than "Pretty Girls," where the rapper's best pickup line involves two bottles of champagne, a football joke and a healthy credit rating: "What you sippin' on? It's no problem/Black and gold bottles like I'm pro-New Orleans/But shorty, I'm far from a Saint/But I got two AmExes that look the same way."

This is some masterful wordplay -- with an emphasis on play -- and it makes for the album's most dazzling cut. The song's thundering, go-go-inflected track helps, too. Production duo Best Kept Secret built it around a sample from local stalwarts Backyard Band and it sounds like a house party crumbling in an earthquake. How it will fare on national radio is anyone's guess, but for locals fluent in go-go, "Pretty Girls" is a thriller.

Wale has a fantastic ear for beats, though you wouldn't know it after hearing "Attention Deficit" in its entirety. There's some real dreck from producers Mark Ronson ("90210") and the Neptunes ("Let It Loose"). Wale is either adopting the please-all-audiences model West popularized, or his label's invisible hand is fussing with the dials. (In a delicious stroke of irony, Interscope reportedly zapped a song from the track list titled "Artistic Integrity.")

Sometimes pandering to the masses isn't such a bad idea. The album's lead single "Chillin," is a club-friendly romper with a chorus co-hosted by ascendant weirdo Lady Gaga. Purists balked at the collaboration when it hit the blogosphere last spring, dismissing it as too left field. Had M.I.A. or Rihanna belted that same exact hook, this tune would still be taking hourly victory laps across the airwaves. And there's a precedent here, too. Does anyone remember back in 1985, when local go-go icons E.U. crossed paths with pop-eccentric-turned-gay-culture-icon Grace Jones?

By the end of his 14-track, big-league debut, Wale sounds nothing less than harried, hustling to please the gods of Billboard, radio, MTV, the blogosphere and his home town. But with "Mirrors" he tries to brush those extraneous pressures off his shoulders with his most poignant line: "What the fans can't see, that mirror gonna notice."

What a concept: a rapper who answers to an audience of one.

Wale x The Roots "Pretty Girls" Live on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

To bring in the release of his new album, Attention Deficit, Wale was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon yesterday. Wale performs his song "Pretty Girls" with The Roots backing him up, and Black Thought handling the second verse. Attention Deficit is in stores now.

Veterans Day

Plants need more CO2, not less

People like this prove that we need a Hobbesian plague. Seriously, there is no hope for humanity if people like this are allowed to remain part of our society.

Please feel free to go and post your replies HERE.

Here is an editorial in The Hill by PlantsneedC02.org Chairman H. Leighton Steward:

Congress and federal regulators are poised to make a misguided and reckless decision that will stifle our economy recovery and spur long-term damage to plant and animal life on earth.

In the coming months, the Environmental Protection Agency will hold hearings to justify the movement to brand carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant. Congress will also consider cap-and-trade legislation that, if enacted, could also regulate CO2 as pollution. Why is it such a catastrophic decision? Because there is not a single piece of evidence that CO2 is a pollutant. In fact, lower levels of carbon dioxide actually inhibit plant growth and food production. What we see happening in Washington right now is the replacement of politics for science in conversations about CO2.

For plants, CO2 is the greatest, naturally occurring air-borne fertilizer that exists. Even schoolchildren learn in elementary science class that plants need carbon dioxide to grow. During photosynthesis, plants use this CO2 fertilizer as their food and they “breathe out” oxygen into the air so humans can inhale it, and in turn exhale CO2. This mutually beneficial and reinforcing cycle is one of the most basic elements of life on earth.

An article appeared recently in the Environment and Energy Daily that claimed a “modeled” nitrogen deficiency will occur as CO2 rises. Well, CO2 has already risen over 37%, 105 parts per million, and where is the real world nitrogen deficiency? Why are Earth’s forests lush if the added growth that has already occurred, due to big bursts of CO2, has depleted the nitrogen supply? The nitrogen supply of pristine ecosystems has been resupplied through natural processes for eons. Computer models, manipulated to produce desired results, can generate catastrophic, front page, forecasts. We encourage our government’s scientists to step back from their models and observe what is and what has happened in the real world as well as in actual plant experiments. Doesn’t anyone recognize the good news that is staring them in the face?

It simply defies imagination, let alone science, that the United Nations has now backed an arbitrary limit on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The chairman of the politically charged Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said he supports efforts to reduce carbon dioxide to 10% below current levels. In the context of today’s political conversations, this recommendation may sound like an acceptable position to save the environment. But the scientific reality of such a step is quite the opposite. Lowering carbon dioxide in our atmosphere will have catastrophic affects on our food supply. Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide support plant life and helps plants thrive. If our food supply is reduced, the hunger crisis in many parts of the world will worsen. Not only would lowering CO2 levels be wrong, one can make the argument that even higher levels would be desirable. Greenhouse operators routinely increase CO2 to about three times the current level in earth’s atmosphere in order to encourage plant growth.

We know CO2 is vital for plants, but what about the argument that it is a dominant contributor to the greenhouse effect? Again, science does not support this argument either. CO2 is not even close to being the most important of the greenhouse gases. Most of the greenhouse effect is due to water vapor, which is more than 30 times as abundant in the atmosphere as CO2.

As further evidence, we find that as the post war industry boom began to put significant volumes of CO2 into the atmosphere, global temperatures did not rise. Since 1945, there have been about 40 years of cooling trend and only 20 plus years of warming. While the warming is significant, it followed an unusually high period of solar activity.

Temperature did rise steeply in the 1920’s and in the 1930’s in the USA, and 1934 was the warmest year of the 20th century. The rate of warming then was also higher than in the 1980’s and 1990’s, even though CO2 levels were lower.

Many in the scientific community reject reducing atmospheric CO2 to 350 parts per million, as Dr. Pachauri of the U.N. wishes. Thousands of peer-reviewed experiments have demonstrated CO2’ s ability to “green” the earth dramatically. Nonetheless, Dr. Pachauri and those who prefer to debate science with politics are sticking to their old story and clinging to their inadequate climate models and their headline-grabbing catastrophic forces.

Do Americans want to see their government spend trillions of dollars removing CO2 that will not lower the Earth’s temperature but absolutely will risk harming ecologies, economies and mankind itself?

UCB "Pat Your Weave" feat. Wale

More love from the DMV.
Wale's debut album, Attention Deficit, is in stores tomorrow.

Phil Ade "Hollywood"

Phil Ade "Hollywood" from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

Here is DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) emcee, Phil Ade's, new video, "Hollywood." For more of that heat, download Phil's tape, Starting on JV. I've been impressed with what I've heard thus far from dude, so be on the lookout for more Phil Ade content to come. Video directed by Tabi Bonney.

Download Starting on JV

DailyMail UK: Judge rules that green views are the 'same as religious beliefs' as sacked environmentalist wins legal battle

DailyMail UK:

An environmentalist who claims he was fired for his views has won a landmark legal battle after a judge ruled being green was just as worthy of protection at work as religion.

'Green martyr' Tim Nicholson, 42, claims he was dismissed after his bosses at showed contempt for his philosophical belief the earth faces 'catastrophic climate change'.

He said he lost his job for criticising senior management at Grainger plc - including chief executive Rupert Dickinson who allegedly flew an employee to Ireland and back just to fetch a mislaid Blackberry mobile phone.

Mr Nicholson also found fault with managers for driving 'the most polluting cars on the road' to client meetings at which they would explain their green policies.

Grainger contended his views were political and a 'lifestyle choice'.

But a judge ruled employers should no more discriminate against workers for being green than for their religious or philosophical beliefs.

Today's ruling by Mr Justice Burton now paves the way for Mr Nicholson to claim unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

The judgement is likely to be criticised by Christian groups who feel that the decision glorifies environmentalism at the expense of religion.

Mr Nicholson, a married father of one was formerly head of sustainability at Grainger, the UK's biggest residential landlord which manages 27,000 properties worth £3billion in Britain and Germany.

In a witness statement he said he had 'a strongly-held philosophical belief about climate change and the environment.

'I believe we must urgently cut carbon emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change.

'This affects how I live my life... I encourage others to cut their carbon emissions and I fear for the future of the human race.'

Mr Nicholson said his beliefs affected his 'choice of home, how I travel, what I buy, what I eat and drink, what I do with my waste and my hopes and my fears'.

'For example, I no longer travel by airplane. I have eco-renovated my home. I try to buy local produce. I have reduced my consumption of meat. I compost my food waste.

'I encourage others to reduce their carbon emissions and I fear very much for the future of the human race, given the failure to reduce carbon emissions on a global scale.'

Commenting on the ruling by employment Appeal Court judge Sir Michael Burton, Grainger corporate affairs director Dave Butler said: 'Grainger absolutely maintains, as it has done from the very outset of these proceedings, that Mr Nicholson's redundancy was driven solely by the operational needs of the company during a period of extraordinary market turbulence, which also required other structural changes to be made within the company.

'Grainger rejects outright any suggestion that there was any other motivation relating to Mr Nicholson's beliefs or otherwise.

'We are looking forward to addressing the issues at tribunal level and demonstrating that there was no causal link between Mr Nicholson's beliefs and his redundancy.'

Mr Qureshi, head of employment law at Bindmans LLP, representing Mr Nicholson, said: 'Vast numbers of people are now living their lives in accordance with their views on climate change and the environment.

'These are often deeply held views based on the premise that without change humanity will suffer.

'Tim Nicholson believes that people should be able to express such views without fear of retribution or discrimination.'

Mr Nicholson added: 'I am grateful that Mr Justice Burton understood that deeply and genuinely held views about catastrophic climate change and the need to change our ways to protect the human race are philosophical views that are worthy of protection. Such views are more and more relevant to our planet's survival.'

new WIZ KHALIFA mixtape

DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar Presents...

Wiz Khalifa – Burn After Rolling Mixtape

November 2, 2009

Dope new mixtape from Wiz Khalifa, Burn After Rolling, with DJ Ill Will and DJ Rockstar. Probably one of the best mixtape-covers i've seen in a while. kinda funny.
01. B.A.R.
02. Gettin’ Up
03. Take Yo Bitch (feat. NeakO & Young Jerz)
04. The Thrill
05. One Way
06. Miles
07. If I Were A Lame
08. Meet New People
09. Weekend (feat. NeakO)
10. Young Khalifa
11. Knock U Down
12. On Tha Pill
13. When U Find
14. Mafia Music (Remix)
15. Say U Will
16. Timeless
17. Won’t Land
18. Ode To Naked Pop Stars
19. All My Life Freestyle
20. Great To Be There (Outro)

DOWNLOAD: DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar Presents Wiz Khalifa – Burn After Rolling

The Kickdrums - There Might Be Blood [EP]

A couple days late, but here's The Kickdrums new Halloween themed EP, There Might Be Blood. The Cleveland duo give you 7 free tracks with this project, but if you want to support you can purchase it on iTunes as well. Plenty of more new content from the Kickdrums is on the way.

Download: There Might Be Blood

01. Revelation In Slow Motion
02. Walking Dream
03. Robot Rage
04. Watch For White Noise
05. Killing Yourself To Live
06. Merry Go Round
07. Somewhere A Mountain Is Moving

Chiddy Bang ft. Yelle Ch "Fresh Like Us"

These cats are the coolest thing since the Cool Kids.

Chiddy Bang W/ Black Thought, The Swelly Express Mixtape

Straight out of the Illadelph emerges the duo Chiddy Bang, who were discovered by Black Thought who bumped into them at a train station. Says Thought, who is Executive Producing their forthcoming album, "I saw potential in the youthfully expressive wit of Chidera's (lead MC) rhyme-style, and I was feeling their live performance." In case you missed them open for The Roots earlier this year at the Highline for The Roots Jam Session, or at The Roots Picnic, here's their latest offering in the form of a mixtape. Self-described, "The Swelly Express is the true story of two college kids (Chidera Anamege and Xaphoon Jones) from Philly who rocked some parties at Drexel and quickly gained the attention of "the industry." The music and lyrics were inspired by many boring trips on the Chinatown bus (they have wifi now!) on the way to meet "big wigs" in NYC. After a bunch of nice dinners and some free drinks for these 2 underage kids, Chiddy Bang decided to make a mixtape. Enjoy!" The mixtape is presented by Black Thought, Anthony Martini, and Crush Management. Listen to "Slow Down," featuring Black Thought and Eldee The Don, then download the full mix below. Trust me, these cats will blow up quick.



Download Chiddy Bang's The Swelly Express


The Swelly Express tracklisting:

1. I Get Up In The Morning
2. Never
3. Danger Zone
4. Fresh Like Us
5. Now U Know feat. Jordan Brown
6. Welcome To Major Label Inc Skit
7. Truth feat. Passion Pit
8. Meet Mike Hoffman
9. Pro Freestyle
10. Awesome Skit
11. Dream Chasin
12. Silver Screen
13. Slow Down feat. Black Thought and Eldee The Don
14. Decline
15. Call Skit
16. The Opposite of Adults
17. Voicemail Skit
18. All Things Go

Credits to OkayPlayer.com

Financial Times: Heating Up

FT:
Analysis from one of my colleagues:

Yesterday and today, the FT published a comprehensive analysis, "Heating Up," and two lengthy editorials on the science and politics of climate change -- all told, 3500 words.

The lengthy call to "Follow the science on climate change" is nothing new, except for an explicit swipe at geo-engineering and a shout-out to Marty Weitzman and the importance of fat tails.

The second editorial, on "The deal we need from Copenhagen," is slightly naïve on the politics. But it does make three points very much in line with our thinking:

(1) the editorial explicitly calls cap-and-trade the best solution, "in the actual world". That's a major editorial shift for the FT.
(2) it makes the explicit CLEAR argument for us: a lesser obligation by developing countries "is a case for more generous quotas, not an excuse from signing up to a global emissions target" -- i.e. absolute caps for everyone, some more generous than others.
(3) it emphasizes carbon markets as the major way to generate international finance

Heating up

By Fiona Harvey

Published: November 3 2009 02:00 | Last updated: November 3 2009 02:00

Fresh off flights to Barcelona from their various capitals, a group of weary public servants yesterday lugged their bulging briefcases into yet another air-conditioned conference centre for one more round of negotiations on climate change. They know each other well, having met every few months since December 2007. Their mission: to draft a pact that would forge a new global framework to tackle global warming, intended to be agreed at a Copenhagen summit next month.

Campaigners are badging the talks as the last 45 days in which to save the world. But the urgent tenor belies the numbing reality of combing through a draft text nearly 200 pages long and bristling with more than 1,000 square brackets denoting clauses and sub-clauses that must be accepted or expunged after hours of argument, sometimes over matters as trivial as the placing of a comma.

If the talks fail, the world will have no plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a state of affairs that leading scientists warn would lead to a disastrous future of storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves - wild weather that could trigger mass migrations and conflict. If a deal is struck, it will require the transformation of nearly all sectors of the global economy and will determine the world's response to the threat of climate change for decades to come.

"We have to get a political agreement," says Yvo de Boer, the United Nations' top official on climate change and the man charged with bringing the talks to a successful conclusion - and a deal appears tantalisingly close.

In any long-running talks, however - and these have been running in various forms for two decades - there are dozens of ups and downs before an accord is reached, as the negotiators know all too well. Indeed, the Dutchman's own demeanour is usually a good indicator of where the climate talks are on the rollercoaster. At a low point at the Bali conference of two years ago, when the US under George W. Bush was refusing to compromise until finally shamed into it by boos from developing countries, he appeared to weep on the platform.

But ahead of Barcelona - the last formal session ahead of the gathering in the Danish capital - Mr de Boer looks chipper, though cautious. "It can be done," he says, though warning: "It's important not to overreach at Copenhagen - to try to get more than is politically achievable, and end up with nothing."

Progress on some issues has been followed by setbacks on others, while arguments that looked to have been put to rest have been resurrected by governments at the 11th hour. "The result is hanging in the balance," admits Ed Miliband, the UK's usually jaunty energy secretary, in a sombre moment. "We are not there yet."

Exasperation in recent months has centred on the US, where the congressional fate of healthcare legislation left little room for progress on the climate. As the administration of President Barack Obama has had no time to seal a so-called cap-and-trade bill on carbon, the US has been left without clear domestic commitments on its emissions targets, or on the money it will offer to poor countries to help them combat climate change.

The point of the talks is to ensure that global temperatures rise by no more than 2°C compared with preindustrial levels. Scientists brought together by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations offshoot, say this is the limit of safety, beyond which climate change is likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.

To stay within that limit, according to Mr de Boer, governments must agree on four main areas. First, developed countries need to take on emission-cutting targets for the medium term, generally defined as 2020. Second, emerging economies must commit to certain actions to limit the growth of their emissions. Third, a financial infrastructure has to be put in place that ensures a flow of funds from rich to poor nations, to help the latter curb emissions and adapt to the effects of warming. Fourth, institutions should be set up to oversee the governance of these commitments.

On all of these, progress has been made. Nearly all developed countries have set out targets to slash their emissions by 2020 - they fall short of what developing countries are demanding but could be acceptable.

The second requirement is even closer to resolution, though on the surface it may not appear so. Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister, has vociferously opposed taking on targets to cut emissions, accusing the west of trying to halt development, and Beijing has frequently echoed him. But this belies a more doveish reality. No developing nations have been asked to take on absolute reductions - instead, they should agree to curb their future emissions growth. While protesting against cuts, in reality China, India and several other rapidly emerging economies have committed themselves to do so, through actions including investments in renewable energy and efficiency. That will almost certainly be enough to satisfy the rich world, if the countries make these legally binding.

That leaves two pressing problems, and both pivot around the US. Mr Obama was hailed last year as the man to save the world at Copenhagen, a stark contrast with his predecessor, who blocked all agreement on climate change. Indeed, some suspect his Nobel peace prize - to be awarded in Oslo while the Copenhagen talks go on - is intended as an inducement to hop across the Skagerrak strait to chivvy the talks along.

The US political system has now become the clearest obstacle to a deal. A cap-and-trade bill, with a target for emissions cuts and provisions allowing US companies to offset their own emissions by investments in poorer countries, has passed the House of Representatives and a slightly different one is in committee in the Senate. But there is almost certainly too little time left to clear the remaining legislative hurdles before Copenhagen. For its part, the Obama administration is unlikely to push too hard for victory, as a defeat would be disastrous for its stance at the summit.

W ithout a bill, the US could still in theory sign up to targets on emissions and funding at Copenhagen. "Not a single country that signed the Kyoto protocol had in place a legislative package to meet its commitments," Mr de Boer recalls.

But American negotiators are acutely aware of the pitfalls of making commitments on the international stage that are still in doubt at home. Todd Stern, US special envoy for climate change, is a veteran of the Clinton administration, which signed up to Kyoto in 1997 only to be rebuffed by Congress. The US never ratified the protocol, sealing its failure. On taking office, Mr Stern vowed he would sign no deal that would be "dead on arrival" in Congress. Nor will other countries repeat the mistakes of 12 years ago - they are determined that a deal cannot exclude the US.

On financing, the European Union has come up with a proposal that rich countries should commit €22bn ($33bn, £20bn) to €50bn a year to the poor world by 2020, of which the EU's share at the top end of that range would be about €15bn. But other countries have yet to come up with sums, giving rise to a war of words between the US and Europe.

Mr Stern brushes aside the contention that Washington is holding up the talks. He says the US has made clear the possible range of targets it will accept, at 14-20 per cent below 2005 levels, adding: "There is no huge mystery about what our number will be." He also points to estimates for financial flows contained in the bills.

Other countries, though, want the US to confirm its emissions and finance commitments before they will be drawn into a deal. "Sometimes the greatest deliberative body in the world [the Senate] acts as though it is the only deliberative body in the world," John Bruton, EU ambassador, railed recently. "The world cannot wait on the Senate's timetable." An exasperated Mr Stern snapped back: "It may be that some people on the other side of the pond don't understand the system that well, but that's the way our system works, and we're pushing ahead."

If the US cannot agree firm targets at Copenhagen or find a way to finesse the negotiations, the talks could go into next year. For some, that would be preferable to a poor deal. Sir David King, the UK's former chief scientific adviser, says: "If it does not look like we can get the strong deal that we need, there should be a moratorium on the talks for 12 months and then we come back."

But as the negotiators battle through their forest of brackets, the prospect of carrying on for another year looks distinctly unappealing. A spectre haunts these talks: that of the Doha round of trade negotiations, which have run on for eight years with little prospect of a breakthrough. "The world doesn't want Copenhagen to come to mean another Doha," says Kim Carstensen of WWF, the green campaigning group.

That is why both the UN and the Danish hosts are adamant Copenhagen is a real deadline. "There is no plan B," insists Connie Hedegaard, the Danish climate minister. "Deadlines concentrate minds. We have to agree at Copenhagen." As Mr de Boer remarks, carrying on beyond December would not improve the prospects: "I don't think it's going to get any easier if we go into next year. I can only see it getting more difficult."

The Obama effect

Will Barack Obama, US president, go to Copenhagen? Will it make any difference? The White House is tight-lipped on travel plans. Although the timing of a possible trip to Oslo to collect the Nobel peace prize seems auspicious - bang in the middle of the summit - it falls before ministers have arrived. What leaders tell their negotiators is more important than their mere presence, says Connie Hedegaard, who as Danish environment minister will host the talks. "Only leaders can give their negotiating teams new instructions."

Coal and voter wariness capture senators' attention

For US senators such as Ben Nelson, climate change is not simply a matter of party politics. It strikes at the core of his heartland state of Nebraska. "[We rely] heavily on coal-fired electricity generation so we would be disproportionately hit by the trade part of this," says the Democrat, referring to the cap-and-trade proposal before the Senate that would make large polluters buy permits to emit greenhouse gases. "We don't have to destroy the economy to save the environment."

Winning over Democrats from farming and coal states like Mr Nelson, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Evan Bayh of Indiana will be crucial if the Senate is to pass a climate change bill.

The upper chamber is still at the beginning of the legislative process. Its energy committee passed a bill in the summer and the influential environment and public works committee last week began discussing a proposal that aims to cut US emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. Analysts say it would take a miracle for the Senate to pass a bill - let alone reconcile it with the version already passed by the House of Representatives - in time for the Copenhagen summit next month.

The White House and the Democratic leadership, already facing an uphill battle over President Barack Obama's domestic priority - healthcare - have little political capital to spend on pushing through a climate change deal.

"There are so many Democrats from energy-producing states who are just not going to vote for it," says Patrick Michaels of the Cato Institute, a free-market think-tank. "What legislator wouldn't like to wash their hands of this, given the negative reaction of their communities to cap and trade?"

Still, Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts pressed ahead last week with their bill for a cap-and-trade system. While broadly similar to the bill already passed by the House, they are more ambitious on emissions reductions targets, aiming for a 20 per cent cut by 2020 compared with 17 per cent in the House version.

Initially, companies would receive billions of dollars of free permits. But the bill would require most of the money be returned to consumers and would entitle coal-fired plants that capture and store carbon emissions to bonus credits. It would also encourage investment in green technologies and nuclear power.

Still, it poses a challenge for many senators on the committee. "When I hear concerns about jobs and higher costs for consumers, I'm very much concerned," says Arlen Specter, a moderate Democrat facing a tough re-election in the coal and steel state of Pennsylvania next year. Most Democrats from coal states want a reduction of only 14 per cent to give industry time to adapt.

The overarching concern among resistant Democrats is the cost. "I don't see the logic of spending money to get a permit to emit. They should be spending money on R&D, not on permits," says Mr Nelson.

Others such as Ms Lincoln, who was recently elected chairwoman of the agriculture committee, argue that existing "tremendously good, bipartisan" legislation that promotes renewables, conservation and energy efficiency already offers the tools to curb emissions.

Chrisette Michele "Fragile" featuring Wale

Fragile - Chrisette Michele

Took a minute for this video to finally drop, but here's Chrisette Michele's latest vid, "Fragile," featuring Wale. Chrisette's sophomore album, Epiphany, is in stores now.

Lil Cease "Junior Mafia - Lost Files" Mixtape

Check out this Lil Cease release of the Junior Mafia - Lost Files. For those of ya'll who don't remember, they were made up of Lil' Cease, Notorious B.I.G., Lil Kim, MC Klepto, Banger, Nino Brown, Kayla Gardner, Jaren Clark, Carmine Nevills, Trife, and Chico Del Vec.

Download Lil Cease - Junior Mafia - Lost Files

Junior Mafia - Lost Files | Download New Hip Hop Mixtapes & Rap Mixtapes > HipHopDX.com

NYtimes/ClimateWire: Senate Climate Markup Set for Tuesday but Will Any Republicans Show?

ClimateWire:

The Senate global warming debate appears headed for a partisan standoff early next week with Republicans threatening to boycott a key committee vote and Democrats weighing their options on an alternative route to advance the bill to the floor.

Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said yesterday that she is planning to hold a markup Tuesday on S. 1733 (pdf), a bill that seeks to curb domestic greenhouse gas emissions across much of the U.S. economy.

But Boxer cannot hold the markup unless at least two Republicans show up, and EPW ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) signaled that he has unanimous support among the panel's minority members to boycott the session until they get more data on the legislation from U.S. EPA and the Congressional Budget Office.

Inhofe said he will wait for Boxer to file an official notice of the markup -- expected today -- before responding with his own declaration of the GOP's markup strategy.

"As soon as we find out what her announcement is and what she wants to do, we'll have our response," Inhofe told E&E last night. "We'll have our unanimous expression ready."

For her part, Boxer insisted that she would not back down from the markup, and she even opened the door to alternative approaches for moving the bill, including the use of Senate Rule 14 that allows the majority to discharge legislation out of a committee and bring it directly to the floor.

"We're going forward," Boxer said. "We're going to do our job. We're going to use every tool at our disposal to get this done."

Partisan tension on the EPW Committee stretches back more than a decade, but recent battles between the two parties have been especially tense when it comes to debate over climate policy (E&E Daily, Sept. 29).

Lawmakers repeatedly raised their voice at each other during three days of hearings this week on the climate bill, with Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) complaining yesterday that Boxer had been unfairly chiming in after any remarks that did not square with her point of view.

"You're editorializing on my comments, as you do everyone else's comments," Voinovich said just moments after seizing on testimony earlier this week from U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson where the Obama official acknowledged the agency did not do a specific set of modeling runs on the Senate bill. Jackson said it would take four to five more weeks to do such a review.

Boxer replied that she is satisfied with the EPA analysis Jackson released last Friday. "This is the longest study there is," she said, noting that it included a two-week review of the Senate proposal, as well as the findings from a five-week review that the agency took this spring to analyze H.R. 2454 (pdf), the House-passed climate bill.

Combined, Boxer said the two bills are 90 percent similar, leaving little reason to dive deeper before the markup. "We're not going to waste taxpayer money because someone drew a line in the sand," she said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called the threat of a GOP boycott "theatrics."

As for the merits of the Republicans' request, Whitehouse argued, "I think the notion that absolute exactitude before the bill goes in, when the EPA has come so close to figuring out its economic effects, doesn't make any sense in light of the fact the amendment process is going to move the results around more than the level of uncertainty that exists right now."

But Voinovich said that he wanted to have the EPA analysis, as well as a CBO review, to help him prepare for the markup. "The fact of the matter is, the complete analysis gives you a much better idea of what kind of amendments you ought to be working on," he said.

To make their case, Republicans went back into the history books to find other examples of the Senate committee delaying its work to get more information from EPA.

Inhofe cited the two-year buildup that led to a tie 9-9 vote on former President George W. Bush's "Clear Skies" initiative, which would have overhauled the Clean Air Act without setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The GOP held a narrow Senate majority during the Clear Skies debate, but Inhofe as EPW Committee chairman could not convince then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) or any Democrats to vote for the bill, including then-Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois (E&E Daily, March 10, 2003).

The Bush-led EPA produced more than 10,000 pages of analysis on the air pollution bill, but Inhofe insisted that he still postponed the March 2005 markup several times as Democrats pushed for more information.

Senate Democrats did boycott for two weeks the 2003 confirmation of Michael Leavitt, who was nominated -- and eventually confirmed -- to be the U.S. EPA administrator (Greenwire, Oct. 1, 2003).

Across Capitol Hill, House Republicans earlier this year considered a number of different approaches to stall consideration of that climate bill, including forcing the clerk of the Energy and Commerce Committee to read the entire bill aloud.

Anticipating such a move, Democrats hired a speed reader. But Republicans instead opted for a more political campaign that forced moderate and conservative Democrats to take votes on dozens of amendments that attempted to link the proposal to higher unemployment and more expensive energy bills. GOP campaign operatives sent out press releases to reporters in the Democrats' districts immediately after each vote.

Voinovich yesterday shrugged off the prospect of political red meat. "You should have the best intelligence in front of you," he said.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said he hoped the GOP lawmakers would ultimately back down from their boycott threat if they were promised a more complete study before the floor debate, which is widely expected to come early next year.

"Certainly by the time all these bills are merged, and by the time we get to the floor, I think there's ample time for EPA to finish the work they've already begun," Carper said. "Hopefully, whatever our Republican friends feel like they need in terms of modeling, they'll have it by the time the bill has come to the floor."

Grist: It’s Getting Ha! in Here: Featuring David Cross

Comic and author David Cross kicks off Grist’s new comedy interview series, “It’s getting ha! in here”! Check out his riffs on laughter saving the environment, how his fans can help planet earth and, of course, farting. And if that’s not enough, check out Cross’s new book I Drink for a Reason.

NYtimes Editorial: Cape Wind

This editorial has interesting implications both for renewable energy projects, and for indigenous rights. Give it a read.

NYtimes:

After eight years of arduous state and federal environmental reviews, the promoters of Cape Wind, a wind energy project off the Massachusetts coast, had every reason to believe that they were home free. Then the Wampanoag tribes asked the Interior Department to declare all of Nantucket Sound, where the 130 wind turbines would be built, a “traditional cultural property” and, they hoped, block construction.

Tribal officials say their culture requires them to greet the sunrise each day and that this ritual requires unobstructed views. Their claim should be rejected by the responsible federal and state officials. Another round of bureaucratic reviews would drag out an approval process that has gone on much too long and give opponents time to find some other way to derail the effort.

The tribes’ claim seems unsupportable. “Traditional cultural properties” tend to be defined areas — a ceremonial burial ground, for instance — not a huge, unenclosed portion of the ocean. Awarding Nantucket Bay such status could cast a legal shadow over a host of other activities, including shipping and commercial fishing.

There is also evidence that the tribes have been working hand-in-glove with the project’s main opposition group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. The alliance includes many local people but has been largely underwritten by wealthy homeowners from Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod who hate the idea of having 440-foot windmills on the horizon.

The Minerals Management Service, the agency overseeing the approval process, believes that the claims are bogus. But still to be heard from is Brona Simon, the state’s historic preservation officer. If she agrees with the service — and she should — then the matter goes to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. If she does not, then it goes to the National Park Service for further review and then to Mr. Salazar.

One way or the other, Mr. Salazar should approve the project. Cape Wind is supported by the Massachusetts government and the great majority of its citizens, who see it as a clean alternative to the power plants that contribute to global warming. Rejecting, even delaying it, would send a dispiriting message to other developers who are further behind Cape Wind.

In Europe, wind farms are a familiar sight. If this country is going to do its part to address climate change, they must become more common, and welcome, here.