Cap-and-Trade Is Back

On Wednesday, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) plan to introduce legislation designed to inflate the cost of energy, strain family budgets, and decimate America's manufacturing sector -- all in the name of supposedly saving the climate.

Kerry and Lieberman have been revamping legislation that narrowly passed the House of Representatives last year. The House bill imposes oppressive limits on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and establishes a complex cap-and-trade scheme in which the federal government determines how much CO2 a business may emit. If a business exceeds its allowance, it may purchase additional "carbon credits" from an exchange, where the credits will be traded like a commodity. Rules for the exchange of carbon credits, including the trading of carbon derivatives, are addressed in the House bill, and my sources tell me that the Senate version will include these same stratagems.

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The McCain-Lieberman Police State Act

If enacted, it will advance what this writer addressed in a December 2007 article titled, "Police State America - A Look Back and Ahead," covering numerous Bush administration laws, Executive Orders (EOs), National and Homeland Security Presidential Directives, edicts, and various illegal acts targeting designated domestic and foreign adversaries, dissent, civil liberties, human rights, and other democratic freedoms.

Straightaway post-9/11, George Bush signed a secret finding empowering the CIA to "Capture, Kill or Interrogate Al-Qaeda Leaders." He also authorized establishing a covert global gulag to detain and interrogate them without guidelines on proper treatment.

Other presidential directives ordered abductions, torture and indefinite detentions. In November 2001, Military Order Number 1 empowered the Executive to capture, kidnap or otherwise arrest non-citizens (and later citizens) anywhere in the world for any reason and hold them indefinitely without charge, evidence, due process or judicial fairness protections of law.'

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Next Power Grab: Cap-and-Trade

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E&E Daily reports this morning that Obama administration officials have met with Kerry-Graham-Lieberman to prepare an April push for the-tax-formerly-known-as-cap-and-trade.

That’s very good timing for reasons I’ll explain as the moment nears. Also timing well, on the heels of this report, is a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal-Europe which, in the words of Open Europe’s daily update, “looks at the EU’s emissions trading scheme for carbon and argues that it is “a cautionary tale in how quickly environmental policy engineering degrades into rent-seeking for the fortunate few.”

You Gamecocks need to explain to your neighbors the bag of magic beans that their senior senator is chasing. I’m not claiming that Senator Graham is listening to his constituents of late, just that it may be worth one last effort to educate him and his staff.

Then again, maybe this explains what he is up to: he’s been cuddling up with GE.

Source

U.S. 'Cap and Trade' Rebranded 'Pollution Reduction'

A clunky and difficult term to define for laymen and some politicians, "cap and trade" had become dirty words on Capitol Hill in recent months.

Republicans called the plan nothing more than "cap and tax" and one influential senator took great pains last week to declare cap and trade "dead."

Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent trying to draft a bipartisan bill, said, "We don't use that term anymore."

Instead Lieberman said, laughing: "We will have pollution reduction targets."

But Lieberman did say it was still possible utilities may be subject to a cap and trade system. Senator Thomas Carper, who chairs a clean air panel in the Senate, told Reuters on Tuesday that cap and trade for utilities was the way to go.'

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Sen. Joe Lieberman Advocating US Strike Against Iran

Senator Joe Lieberman is advocating a US military strike against Iran if economic sanctions fail to work. Lieberman has long advocated economic sanctions against Iran in the Senate. His strong support of the Iraq war and hawkish position on the middle east has put him at odds with much of the democrat base costing him the democratic primary. Lieberman was re-elected as an independent, however still caucases with the democrats.

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Israeli Police Recommend Indicting Foreign Minister Lieberman

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman may soon face criminal charges, as the National Fraud Unit recommended Sunday he be indicted for fraud, bribery, fraudulently obtaining benefits, money laundering and breach of trust.

The National Fraud Unit also alleges that the foreign minister attempted to obstruct the investigation and badgered a witness, and plans to ask charges of obstruction of justice and witness harassment be added to any future indictment.

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Lieberman: U.S. to Accept Any Israeli Policy Decision

The Obama Administration will put forth new peace initiatives only if Israel wants it to, said Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since taking office.

"Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets.

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Lieberman Likely to be Convicted: Police

Israeli investigators say a corruption probe about foreign minister is likely to convict him of money laundering, fraud and breach of trust. The investigation into the crimes allegedly committed by the Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman is nearing an end, Haaretz on Saturday quoted Israeli police sources as saying. The sources noted that the police could submit their recommendations on filing an indictment in the coming weeks. Israeli investigators are collecting more testimony to charge him with bribery as well, according to the sources.

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Police Question Israeli FM

Israeli police questioned the new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, for more than seven hours on Thursday on suspicion of bribery and money laundering.

Lieberman, an ultranationalist who became Israel's top diplomat on Tuesday, has denied any wrongdoing and has called the police probe into his affairs a smear campaign.

His anti-Arab rhetoric has alarmed Palestinians as well as Arab leaders in the region.
"Avigdor Lieberman was questioned under caution by police today for seven-and-a-half hours on suspicion of carrying out the following: bribery, money laundering and breach of trust," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

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Warmonger Lieberman is New Israeli Foreign Minister

Avigdor Lieberman, the controversial Israeli far-right politician, is set to become foreign minister of the incoming government, to the alarm of the country’s neighbours and allies.

One Saudi Arabian adviser described Mr Lieberman’s appointment as an “absolute catastrophe”, adding: “[He] stands for everything the peace process is not. He is against the freezing of [Israeli] settlements and most importantly he is against giving back all the occupied territories to make a Palestinian state. Basically, with him as foreign minister the peace process will be dead.”

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Israel's Next Foreign Minister?

It is very alarming that the far right demagogue, Avigdor Lieberman, may be considered as Israel's next foreign minister by in-coming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lieberman's extremist views are remarkable, even for Israel.

He has proposed the mass deportation of all Arabs holding Israeli citizenship, who now make up over 20 per cent of the Israeli population. He has called for the execution of elected Arab members of Israel's parliament if they meet with members of Hamas, and he has demanded the drowning of Palestinian prisoners in the Dead Sea. At his Yisrael Beiteinu party rallies, his supporters chant "Death to the Arabs."

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