Wednesday, February 11, 2009

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MJ Rosenberg: Netanyahu: Better for America, Better For Israel Top
In the end, it does not matter all that much that Bibi Netanyahu is going to be Israel's next prime minister. I don't see much (if any) real differences between him and Ehud Barak or Tzipi Livni. In fact, in my opinion, it is Barak more than anyone else who is responsible for demise of the Oslo process. (For the facts on that, see Clayton Swisher's "The Truth About Camp David," a brilliant expose by a young ex-Marine who was there). I also am taken by an analysis by Yossi Beilin, who was Oslo's architect. He says that it is better to have a pure right wing government than a right wing government covered by a centrist fig leaf. He says that, in the past, the worst Israeli governments have been national unity hybrids. The right goes about its business building new settlements and thwarting the peace process while the "left" (i.e., Shimon Peres, in his day) puts a pretty face on it. He also believes that the United States will come down a lot harder on a right wing government than on one that appears centrist. It will be easier for President Obama to deal with Netanyahu than with the almost equally hawkish Livni because the latter seems dedicated to ending the conflict. In fact, her views on some of the critical issues are at least as hard line as Netanyahu's. But her seeming moderation is a nice cover. A Netanyahu/Lieberman government would have no such cover. Any acts of sabotage to the peace process would likely be strongly opposed by the United States. Israel's most slavish "friends" in Congress -- almost all Democrats -- would find it hard, although far from impossible, to choose Netanyahu (who is very close to the GOP) over Obama. The lobby will be dispirited. Contrary to popular opinion, it does not like far right governments because they are a tougher sell. The likely result will be either a right wing government that goes out of its way not to offend the United States or one that does, and gets put in its place. So I'm not too sad today, except about the rise of the neo-fascist Lieberman (the "neo" is there because everyone uses it. I'm not sure what's so neo about him). Here's my piece about him from today's Los Angeles Times. FOR MORE, SEE MY ORGANIZATION'S NEW BLOG
 
Taliban Attack Afghan Government Buildings, Killing 19, Before Holbrooke Visit Top
KABUL — Taliban gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed the Justice Ministry and another government building in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, killing 19 people ahead of a planned visit by President Barack Obama's special envoy to the region. Eight attackers also died in the assaults, including an attacker outside a third government building, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said. The coordinated attacks on the Justice Ministry and a corrections building struck in the heart of Kabul, underscoring the reach of the Taliban beyond their strongholds in the south and east. Azimi said all eight attackers had suicide vests, but only three assailants detonated them. Five men armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked the Justice Ministry in late morning _ and they appeared to control it for at least a short period. But by midday, about two hours after the attacks began, Afghan security forces waved from windows in an apparent all-clear sign, according to an AP reporter on the scene. All five attackers were killed in a shootout with security forces. Justice Minister Sarwar Danesh spoke to The Associated Press while he was briefly trapped inside the ministry with a number of government employees. "They used grenades and AK-47s," Danesh said of the attackers, speaking by mobile phone. A ministry worker said he scrambled out of a second-floor window to escape an advancing gunman. "I came out of my office to see what was going on, and I saw a man with an AK-47 shooting at every employee he saw in the hall," said ministry employee Nazir Mohammad, shaking as he spoke. Another two men blew themselves up at the ministry's correction department in northern Kabul, Azimi said. Afghanistan's Health Minister, Mohammad Amin Fatimie, said at least 19 people were killed between the two attacks. In a third incident near the Education Ministry, police shot dead another attacker, said police officer Zulmay Khan. No one else was reported to have been killed at that scene and it was unclear if he was targeting the Education Ministry, which is very close to the Justice Ministry. Zabiullah Mujaheed, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the attacks were in response to the alleged mistreatment of Taliban prisoners in Afghan government jails. "We have warned the Afghan government to stop torturing our prisoners," Mujaheed told the AP in a phone call from an undisclosed location. "Today we attacked Justice Ministry compounds." The Taliban regularly use suicide bombings in their assaults on Afghan and foreign troops, but the heavily barricaded capital had been largely spared of major attacks recently. Obama has vowed to increase U.S. focus on the resurgent Taliban, including sending more troops to the country and designating an envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Richard Holbrooke is currently in Pakistan and expected imminently in Afghanistan. His trip is part of an effort to help the administration chart a new strategy to beat the insurgencies raging in both countries. ___ Associated Press Writer Noor Khan contributed to this report from Kandahar, Afghanistan. More on Afghanistan
 
Lofty Biofuels Goals Rest On Investor Leaps Of Faith Top
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The U.S. could produce enough ethanol to displace nearly a third of all gasoline use by 2030, but gas would have to cost more than it does today for the plan to work, according to a study released Tuesday by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corp. The researchers found that annual ethanol production from plant waste and energy crops could reach 90 billion gallons by that date, with 75 billion gallons coming from cellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass, corn stover, wheat straw and woody crops. Cole Gustafson, a biofuels economist at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., said the 90 billion figure is the most aggressive he's heard to date, far surpassing a federal mandate calling for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2022. "I really question if we can even make that," Gustafson said. "This technology has been very slow to evolve." The government would need to protect the industry from low-priced competitors. "What we end up finding is that we're going to have some significant challenges with regard to competing with very low priced petroleum products," said Art Pontau, Sandia's deputy director of combustion and industrial technologies. The "seed to station" floor cost of ethanol without taxes is $1.50 per gallon, and gasoline will undercut it if it's priced below $2.25 per gallon without taxes, or $2.65 at the pump, the study found. The average national retail cost for a gallon of gasoline on Tuesday was about $1.93. One year ago at this time a gallon cost about $2.95. The cost of E85 ethanol was $1.655 per gallon Tuesday. The study took a value-chain approach to cellulosic ethanol, accounting for the variety of feedstocks and processes to convert crops to fuel, as well as storage, transport and distribution issues, Pontau said. "We didn't pick the most optimistic assumptions or the most pessimistic," Pontau said. "We tried to pick something that we thought would be manageable in this sort of environment and time scale." Pontau said the study is designed as an evolving model that the industry can use to identify places where investment in research and development makes sense. It found that cellulosic ethanol could compete with $90-per-barrel oil, assuming 91 gallons of ethanol could be produced from a dry ton of biomass, building a cellulosic ethanol plant would cost $3.60 per gallon of capacity and plants would pay an average of $40 per dry ton of feedstock. Government incentives including carbon taxes, excise tax credits and loan guarantees could help draw investors by mitigating risk, Pontau said, The study found no fundamental barriers to large-scale production of biofuels, assuming the technology matures as projected. "We anticipate that there'll be an ever increasing efficiency in both the processing approaches and ability to get more yield per acre of the feedstock," he said. Gustafson is not so sure. "The challenges that we face in doing this are almost insurmountable," he said. Existing corn ethanol plants have consistent performance benchmarks that translate well to a balance sheet, but the cellulosic industry is experimenting with a broad range of feedstocks that can be confusing to investors. "Those variances are very unsettling to Wall Street, because they aren't assured that the technology in one place is going to work in another," Gustafson said. On Tuesday, Vancouver-based Lignol Energy Corp. said it was putting on hold its plans to build a Colorado cellulosic plant that was to convert wood residues into ethanol. The biorefinery, a joint project with Suncor Energy, had been awarded a $30 million Department of Energy grant. "They had technology that was looking very promising. The federal government thought so because they kicked in the dollars," Gustafson said. "But obviously, because of both market conditions and logistics, they're having a very difficult time going forward." David Pimentel, a Cornell University ecology and agriculture professor and longtime ethanol critic, called the 90 billion gallon number "off the wall." Unlike corn, cellulosic feedstocks have much fewer starches and sugars, and they're held tightly by a plant's lignin. Companies are working on ways to improve the process, but they're having difficulty making cellulosic ethanol cost competitive, he said. A more reasonable goal would be 10 billion gallons a year from cellulosic ethanol within the next 10 years, Pimentel said. More on Oil
 
Marshall Fine: Movie review: Dreadfully unfunny Shopaholic Top
Much is being made of the bad timing in releasing a movie like Confessions of a Shopaholic - a comedy about a woman with a shopping addiction being pursued by a collection agency for her thousands in credit-card debt - at this particular moment in our economic history. As if there's ever a good time to release a laugh-resistant, brain-dead comedy. Because, honestly: If this movie was actually funny - instead of a stinker from the word 'go' - wouldn't critics be singing its praises for daring to fly in the face of conventional wisdom and/or good taste? That's a moot point. Shopaholic , drawn from the novels by Sophie Kinsella, is DOA, not even amusing enough to make the cut as a Lifetime movie. It's hard to know where to point the finger of blame because there's so much to be assigned. Let's just say that were it not for the bad script and dull-witted direction, we'd still have to contend with Isla Fisher's inept slapstick performance. Fisher plays Rebecca Bloomwood, a would-be fashion writer stuck working at a home-and-garden magazine - until it goes belly up. She's always dreamed of writing for Alette, a high-fashion mag edited by snooty French boss Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas) - but when she applies for an opening there, she find it's already been taken by the robotically evil Alicia (Leslie Bibb). So Rebecca applies instead for a slot at Alette's sister magazine, which is devoted to personal finance - and lands it. Here's the kicky, wacky twist: Rebecca is up to her eyeballs in credit-card debt because she never saw a designer-label item she could resist buying, no matter how small her income. She's the clichéd character who rummages through a jam-packed closet and moans, "I don't have a thing to wear." Even as she establishes herself as the magazine's popular common-sense columnist, Rebecca is on the run from a persistent bill collector, who she dodges with nonsensical excuses. She's climbing the corporate ladder as a writer whose work is a magnet for media attention - even as her personal finances go down the toilet. She even tries Shopaholics Anonymous - but leaves early to go shopping. Laugh? I thought I'd die. The script is by a trio of writers, who can't manage a trio of laughs. Verbal wit? Forget it; most of the humor comes from waves of mistaken impressions and wrongly drawn conclusions that Rebecca is meant to ride like a surfer. But the surf definitely isn't up. Meanwhile, director P.J. Hogan apparently has directed Fisher to pretend she's Lucille Ball, flinging herself about with clumsy physicality that evokes pity, rather than laughter. Even so, a physical comedian - of the caliber of, say, Tea Leoni - might have made something of the role, other than the hash that Fisher manages. Speaking of pity, save some for Hugh Dancy as Rebecca's boss, a rich kid trying to carve out his own place in life, who winds up falling for his frivolous new employee. Dancy seems like a stand-up guy, one who could easily play straight-man and foil to a skilled comedic partner. Unfortunately, he doesn't have one here. Other talented actors are wasted in underwritten or overripe roles, including Scott Thomas as the snooty fashion maven, Joan Cusack and John Goodman (as Rebecca's frugal parents), and Fred Armisen, as Dancy's brown-nosing boss. Director Hogan apparently thought Krysten Ritter, who plays Rebecca's roommate/best friend, had a comic flair - but then he obviously thought that about Fisher. Wrong on both counts. Confessions of a Shopaholic blows. The problem is not the timing of its release; it's the movie's comic timing - and its complete lack thereof - that's the killer. For more of my reviews and commentary, visit my website: www.hollywoodandfine.com.
 
Google Power Meter Top
The New York Times is reporting Google will announce a free web service tomorrow called PowerMeter that'll let users track energy consumption in their homes or business, provided there's a means to upload the data. That part of the equation's gonna be up to other companies to create compatible devices, and while no manufacturing partners have been named, we'd suspect strange bedfellow GE will probably jump aboard pretty quickly. The service is expected to roll out in the next few months. Ready to give the boys in Mountain View even more access to your life? More on Google
 
Oil Refiner Valero May Buy Troubled Ethanol Plants Top
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — If federal renewable fuel mandates require ethanol to be mixed into gasoline, the nation's largest independent oil refiner figures it might as well just do it itself. The ethanol industry is under duress partly due to overcapacity and biorefineries can now be had for pennies on the dollar. Valero Energy Corp. became the first conventional energy company to test the waters last week, bidding $280 million for five ethanol plants owned by VeraSun Energy Corp., which is now under bankruptcy protection. It would be the largest ethanol buyout in U.S. history in terms of production capacity, according to Raymond James & Associates. Cory Garcia, a senior research associate with Raymond James, said it was only a matter of time before the petroleum industry got into ethanol, much like agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. did years ago. "This is the first time we've seen a refiner get out there and do this," Garcia said. "If they're bullish long-term on the blending ability of ethanol, you can't beat this price." The nation's renewable fuel standard ensures demand for ethanol by calling for 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline this year, with that number climbing to 36 billion gallons by 2022. "To this point, we've just been buying it, not producing it," said Bill Day, Valero's spokesman. "But once we realized that ethanol is likely to remain an important part of the fuel mix here in the United States, we decided to start looking at opportunities to produce it as well." The ethanol industry has been hammered during the past year by volatile commodities and shrinking profit margins. Those market conditions pummeled the stocks of many smaller publicly traded companies and landed VeraSun, the nation's second largest producer, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Raymond James estimates that Valero is buying the plants for around 25 percent to 33 percent of book value. "With all the plants and the capacity that they had, it was basically a fire sale at this point," Garcia said. "And Valero stepped in and got a very, very attractive price, in their opinion." Valero during its history has taken advantage of opportunities created by distressed assets and bankruptcy filings, Day said. "Right now, ethanol assets can be purchased at significant discount to what they would cost to build new because of the state of the industry," he said. Valero's bid is for production facilities in Aurora, S.D.; Charles City, Fort Dodge, and Hartley, Iowa; and Welcome, Minn.; and a development site in Reynolds, Ind. "The Valero bid suggests reports of ethanol's death are premature," said Oppenheimer Research analyst Joseph Gomes Jr. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based VeraSun owns 16 biorefineries with the total capacity to produce 1.4 billion gallons of ethanol annually, or about 13 percent of the country's total capacity. Only four of those refineries _ all ones targeted by Valero _ remain operational. VeraSun is looking to sell all of its production facilities and has set a March 13 deadline for bids. If Valero's offer prevails, the company would group the plants under a subsidiary and use the staff already in place at the refineries. The $280 million bid values the 560 million gallons of existing capacity at 50 cents per gallon, well below the $1.50 to $2 per gallon cost of a new facility. That low price doesn't bode well for Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. and Pacific Ethanol Inc., ethanol companies that saw their stocks lose about 95 percent of their values during 2008, Gomes said. "In an acquisition, the shares would appear to have little, if any, value," he said. "On the positive side, Valero is betting the industry has a future." Gomes said more cross-industry acquisitions could be on the way. "We would not be surprised to see additional players in the petroleum industry step up and bid on the remaining VeraSun assets," Gomes said in a research note. More on Oil
 
Britain Launches Major Offensive On Grey Squirrels Top
They may be cute and cuddly but that won't be enough to save grey squirrels in northern Scotland after the launch on Tuesday of Britain's largest ever culling campaign of a mammal. Naturalists and landowners are joining forces to rid northern Scotland of the squirrels, arguing they carry a deadly pox virus and threaten the smaller native red squirrel. Scotland is one of the few safe havens left for the red squirrel whose numbers have been in slow decline throughout Britain since the arrival of its stronger, disease-carrying cousin from North America in the 1870s. More on Animals
 
Nick Carpenter: Bridget Marquardt Has A New Man Top
Bridget Marquardt is spending Valentine's Day with her new beau, Nick Carpenter. "I'm doing a club appearance in Vegas at Studio 54, so he'll be my valentine and go along with me," the Girl Next Door told Usmagazine.com at Sunday's Grammy Awards. So how are things going with Nick -- her first fling since splitting from Hugh Hefner in October? "Really good!" she told Us. More on Playboy
 
Leonardo DiCaprio Honored By Pal Mikhail Gorbachev Top
Leonardo DiCaprio was honored personally by none other than close pal Mikhail Gorbachev at the eighth annual Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin - and luckily, an interpreter was on hand so the two could have a lively discussion as they broke bread. Gorbachev presented the eco-friendly actor with an International Green Award on Monday night. The unlikely pair, who met when the Russian Nobel Prize winner appeared in DiCaprio's environmental movie "The 11th Hour," sat across from one another at dinner. And while they couldn't speak directly to one another in English, Gorbachev's granddaughter was on hand to translate.
 
Gwyneth, Spielberg, Beyonce, Cox And More Party For Cancer Top
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Beyonce hugged Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg chatted up Jay-Z at a fundraising dinner honoring Gwyneth Paltrow and Courteney Cox at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Hanks was the master of ceremonies for Saks Fifth Avenue's 14th annual "Unforgettable Evening" Tuesday to benefit the Women's Cancer Research Fund. He and wife Rita Wilson, along with Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw, serve as honorary chairs of the charity, which funds innovative cancer research. Paltrow and Cox were recognized for their dedication to cancer causes. Paltrow, who helped establish a research fund in memory of her father, appeared deeply touched by the honor. "I'm like a housewife in England," the 36-year-old actress said. "I'm married to a singer. And now I'm here." Paltrow's husband is Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who won three Grammys with his band at Sunday's Grammy Awards. Martin missed Tuesday's party. "My husband's in Japan," Paltrow said. "But I've got Jay-Z, so that's even better." The A-list crowd nibbled on filet mignon and chocolate-covered strawberries, then finished with three songs from Beyonce. Wearing a sparkly gold mini-dress and backed by an eight-piece, all-girl band, the entertainer opened with Etta James' "At Last" and boogied alongside two dancers during "Crazy in Love" and "Single Ladies." Beyonce called Paltrow "one of my favorite people in the world." ___ On the Net: http://www.eifoundation.org/national/wcrf/splash More on Gwyneth Paltrow
 
Michael Moore: Will You Help Me With My Next Film? ...a request from Michael Moore Top
Friends, I am in the middle of shooting my next movie and I am looking for a few brave people who work on Wall Street or in the financial industry to come forward and share with me what they know. Based on those who have already contacted me, I believe there are a number of you who know "the real deal" about the abuses that have been happening. You have information that the American people need to hear. I am humbly asking you for a moment of courage, to be a hero and help me expose the biggest swindle in American history. All correspondence with me will be kept confidential. Your identity will be protected and you will decide to what extent you wish to participate in telling the greatest crime story ever told. The important thing here is for you to step up as an American and do your duty of shedding some light on this financial collapse. A few good people have already come forward, which leads me to believe there are many more of you out there who know what's going on. Here's your chance to let your fellow citizens in on the truth. If you have any info that would help, please contact me at my private email address: bailout@michaelmoore.com . For the rest of you on my email list who don't work in the financial industry, you're probably wondering, "What the heck is this all about? I thought he said he was making a romantic comedy!" Well, I just can't say much right now. I'm sure you can understand why. One thing I can tell you is that you're gonna like this movie when I'm done with it. Oh, yeah... So, again, if you work for a bank, a brokerage firm or an insurance company -- or if you have seen things or heard things that you believe the American people have a right to know -- please contact me at bailout@michaelmoore.com . Thank you in advance for your help! Yours, Michael Moore bailout@michaelmoore.com MichaelMoore.com Join Mike's Facebook Group More on Timothy Geithner
 
Graham Hill: Sexy And Sustainable - Especially When Delivered By Bike Top
With Valentine's Day this weekend, it's fitting that a recent Chicago Tribune story about enterprising bike entrepreneur Anthony Mikrut, who delivers sex toys by bicycle to 27 Chicago zip codes , was a good reminder that the sex industry could still use quite a lot of greening. More and more small businesses, such as The French Letter Condom Company , are figuring out there's a thriving market for Fair Trade, organic, and greener sex aids as people look at personal care and realize it's got a lot of chemical components they might not want so close to their bodies. Babeland had cornered the market for green items via the 'Net (check out Eco-Sexy kit) , but others such as Earth Erotics and Love Me Naturally are getting in on the game. What is even more interesting about Mikrut's business idea, however, is the realization that all industries (and we, the consumers) could massively benefit by cities expanding their bicycle infrastructure, culture, and delivery services. Think about it. What's the number one bummer about 'Net shopping? The time between typing in your Visa number and waiting for purchases to turn up in the mailbox. With Mikrut's Kinky Llama , next day delivery of sex aids is free, while bike-based 1-hour delivery is only $5. Sex aids delivered for the price of an organic beer...not bad. Bike delivery and bike-businesses are becoming a lot more common in forward-thinking bike meccas such as Portland, Oregon, where you can get eco-friendly cleaning or your evening soup meal delivered by bike. Fifty (!) new bike-related businesses have sprung up there in the last two years. In Boulder, Tuscan olive oil can be delivered by bike. In Ventura, California, it is fine cuisine that can come by bike. UPS even added bicycle delivery in some Oregon cities during the holidays. In Minneapolis, Peace Coffee has offered bicycle delivery for more than six months, and found that they've saved tons of CO2 delivering over 30,000 pounds of FairTrade coffee . As Mikrut's Kinky Llama illustrates, there are plenty of ways to expand local economies and make people happy by building up a sexy, sustainable bicycle economy. More from TreeHugger and Planet Green on green sex :: TreeHugger TV: How to Buy a Green Sex Toy :: How Far Would You Go, Literally, For Sex :: Sustainable Sex Toys Just in Time for Valentine's Day :: How to Go Green: Sex :: Eco Kink: Japan's Green Sex Clubs :: Not Vegan? No Sex More from Graham Hill on Huffington Post :: The Green Stimulus Plan is Growing Yellow-Bellied :: Denmark's Doing it Again: Seriously Investing in Renewable Infrastructure, That is :: Five Greener Stimulus Ideas :: 2009 - A Banner Bike Year, We Hope :: Grassroots Greening and the 'Mob :: Kiss of Death for Carbon Capture? :: Dispatch from the Electric Vehicle Revolution :: Black Friday Versus Green Retailing :: Designing for Nextopia :: Toronto's Great Coffee Cup Debate Heats Up :: A New Age for Recycling...Prod Producers or Reward Consumers? :: Tech Enabled Bike Sharing Rolls Into North America More on Sex
 

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