Cha
Cha's JournalBREAKING: The US and China Just Announced a Huge Deal on Climate—and it's a Gamechanger
President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met today in Beijing. Ju Peng/Xinhua/ZUMA
The surprise agreement aims to double the pace of carbon pollution reduction in the United States.
—By Tim McDonnell and James West
In a surprise announcement Tuesday night, the world's two biggest economies and greenhouse gas emitters, United States and China, said they will partner closely on a broad-ranging package of plans to fight climate change, including new targets to reduce carbon pollution, according to a statement from the White House.
The announcement comes after President Obama met in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and includes headline-grabbing undertakings from both countries which are sure to breathe new life into negotiations to reach a new climate treaty in Paris next year.
According to the plan, the United States will reduce carbon emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, nearly twice the existing target—without imposing new restrictions on power plants or vehicles
Tuesday's announcement is equally remarkable for China's commitment. For the first time, China has set a date at which it expects its emissions will "peak," or finally begin to taper downwards: around 2030. China is currently the world's biggest emitter of carbon pollution, largely because of its coal-dependent economy, and reining in emissions while continuing to grow has been the paramount challenge for China's leaders.
MOre..
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/11/obama-just-announced-historic-climate-deal-china
China, America and Our Warming Planet
John Kerry: Our Historic Agreement With China on Climate Change
snip//
BEIJING — The United States and China are the world’s two largest economies, two largest consumers of energy, and two largest emitters of greenhouse gases: Together we account for about 40 percent of the world’s emissions.
We need to solve this problem together because neither one of us can solve it alone. Even if the United States somehow eliminated all of our domestic greenhouse gas emissions, it still wouldn’t be enough to counteract the carbon pollution coming from China and the rest of the world. Likewise, even if China went down to zero emissions, it wouldn’t make enough of a difference if the United States and the rest of the world didn’t change direction.
MOre..
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/opinion/john-kerry-our-historic-agreement-with-china-on-climate-change.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
Suck on that, Kocksters.
And, I'll leave on this note.. from SOS John Kerry's OP in the NYT~from the link..
"There is no question that all of us will need to do more to push toward the de-carbonization of the global economy. But in climate diplomacy, as in life, you have to start at the beginning, and this breakthrough marks a fresh beginning: Two countries regarded for 20 years as the leaders of opposing camps in climate negotiations – have come together to find common ground, determined to make lasting progress on an unprecedented global challenge. Let’s ensure that this is the first step towards a world that is more prosperous and more secure."
"Holder's Legacy: Steering Away From the Drug War" and It's not all bad.. but, I understand there
are those who are invested in the failures of the Obama Admin.. I'm just not buying what they're pushing.
Holder's accomplishments include:
-- Calling on policymakers at all levels to find ways to reduce the number of people behind bars.
-- Supporting efforts in Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission to reduce punitive sentencing.
-- Supporting policies that made the sentences of thousands of prisoners shorter and fairer
-- Changing how the Justice Department charges people to reduce the application of draconian mandatory minimum sentencing.
-- Establishing guidance allowing states to legalize and regulate marijuana with less federal interference.
-- Establishing guidance to make it easier for banks to deal with state-legalized marijuana businesses.
-- Promoting efforts to re-integrate formerly incarcerated individuals into society and eliminate barriers to successful re-entry.
-- Working to end the "school-to-prison pipeline", including working with the Departments of Education to scale back "zero tolerance" school discipline policies.
-- Advocating for the restoration of voting rights for the formerly incarcerated.
-- Urging federal law enforcement agencies to identify, train and equip personnel who may interact with a victim of a heroin overdose with the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
MOre
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-piper/eric-holder-resignation-drug-war_b_5883950.html
"Federal prison population drops by roughly 4,800"
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal prison population has dropped in the last year by roughly 4,800, the first time in several decades that the inmate count has gone down, according to the Justice Department.
"In a speech Tuesday in New York City, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department expects to end the current budget year next week with a prison population of roughly 215,000 inmates. It would be the first time since 1980 that the federal prison population has declined during the course of a fiscal year.
snip//
In August 2013, for instance, he announced a major shift in sentencing policy, instructing federal prosecutors to stop charging many nonviolent drug defendants with offenses that carry mandatory minimum sentences. More recently, the Justice Department has encouraged a broader swath of the prison population to apply for clemency, and has supported reductions in sentencing guideline ranges for drug criminals that could apply to tens of thousands of inmates.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6a62f3a9cf80460e99f5c4eb85dfee65/federal-prison-population-drops-nearly-5000
Eric Holder Takes Another “Historic Step” Toward Ending The Drug War, Advocates Say
For the first time, advocates of ending mandatory sentences for drug criminals say, Holder was attacking a central tenet of those who fight to preserve the lengthy mandatory sentences. Supporters say mandatory-minimum sentences help induce drug offenders into cooperating with prosecutors and, the theory goes, lead to the nabbing more drug offenders.
The speech was a big deal, said Families Against Mandatory Minimums.
Price’s spokesperson, Mike Riggs, was more direct.
“It’s pretty damn historic,” he said
MOre..
http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/eric-holder-drug-sentences#
All that on the list sounds like a page out of the greenwald-snowden playbook. Conveniently overlooking all the Good that has manifested these last 6 years.
Yeah, "the President wanted this".. epic ignorance. From your link..
"Arrogant is another word that gets regular usage by his opponents, like Rand Paul, Paul Ryan and Chris Christie. Some even connect Obama and supposed arrogance to anything and everything he does."
Say the most arrogant a$$holes in Congress.. and Boner saying Obama should watch it or he will get "burned on Immigration".. was he not dog whistling to his racist base?
"To his opponents, this president’s greatest sins are his success and his self"
Precisely!thanks kpete.
ODS.. "President Obama is glad the republicon's won..it's what he wanted all along".. Ah NO..
That's just egregiously stupid.. and to quote geek tragedy here because he says it so well..
"Idiotic ODS drivel. No, Obama did not want those whose only goal is to derail his presidency
to control both houses of Congress.
He did not want Mitch McConnell having absolute power over each and every appointment of federal judges.
He does not want more votes on repealing the ACA.
He does not want Senate hearings on Benghazi."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5780337
And, Yay.. we don't have to deal with that in the BOG!
geek http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5780337
Yeah, Obama isn't perfect by a long shot but I'm glad he's the President and I have his back.. especially from all the bullshite flyin' around here.
There's certainly has been a strong stench
of bullshite wafting around.
Those "young" people who didn't vote are too self centered to realize there's a Global Climate Change Crisis hovering over our Planet..
Congratulations, Voters(and NON voters). You Just Made This Climate Denier the Most Powerful Senator on the Environment. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120134/climate-change-denier-james-inhofe-lead-environment-committee
And, they're proud of their ignorance.. writing letters to whine about there being no reason to vote
I actually know of a lot of younger peeps here on Kauai who voted on Tuesday.. Our Island was the highest turnout in the state! Proud of my Island.. They are concerned about our Environment on the Island and the whole beautiful Planet.
"LIHUE — After tallying the highest voter turnout in a primary election in 12 years back in August, Kauai led the state in Tuesday’s general election with the highest percentage of registered voters making their way to the polls.
Out of 41,869 registered voters, 57.4 percent (or 24,043) cast their vote, down from 62.9 percent in the 2012 presidential election.
“Of course, we always would like to have that number be much higher,” said County Elections Administrator Lyndon Yoshioka."
snip//
Christian Domingues, an avid voter, said professional surfer and mayoral hopeful Dustin Barca was an intriguing draw in his unsuccessful bid for office.
snip//
"Aria Juliet Castillo, communications director of Kauai Young Democrats, said she thinks this past year has proven Kauai is very engaged, “since we had the highest increase in voter registration and highest voter turnout on both elections this year.”
http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kauai-sees-state-s-highest-voter-turnout/article_3e829fe6-658b-11e4-b49f-9309ec6762f1.html
It's the Environment, Stupid.
President Obama.. "Please Proceed, Sen McConnell"
"If you didn't get to watch President Obama's press conference this afternoon, I encourage you to do so" (See here..
freshwest http://www.democraticunderground.com/110226440 )
"He made a point of saying that he looks forward to hearing from McConnell and Boehner on what their agenda for Congress will be. And that he's willing to work on those areas where they can agree.
While some will undoubtably view this as pre-capitulation, its actually an amazing power play as well as a reprisal of conciliatory rhetoric as a ruthless strategy.
One way to deal with that kind of bad-faith opposition is to draw the person in, treat them as if they were operating in good faith, and draw them into a conversation about how they actually would solve the problem. If they have nothing, it shows. And that's not a tactic of bipartisan Washington idealists -- it's a hard-nosed tactic of community organizers, who are acutely aware of power and conflict.
Over the last 6 years, Minority Leader McConnell has been able to embrace a "post-policy" approach focused on total obstruction. Now that Republicans control both chambers of Congress, President Obama is basically saying "puts your cards on the table and let's see what you've got."
After last night's election results, both National Review Online and Rush Limbaugh are counseling McConnell to keep up the obstruction. Jonathan Chait pretty much nailed what McConnell will see as his most effective strategy going forward:
McConnell’s next play is perfectly clear. His interest lies in creating two more years of ugliness and gridlock. He does not want spectacular, high-profile failures that command public attention — no shutdowns, no impeachment. Instead, he wants tedious, enervating stalemate. McConnell needs to drain away any possibility of hope and excitement from government, so that the disengaged Democratic voters remain disengaged in 2016.
snip//
Today the President simply called on McConnell to "put up or shut up." That's his best way of undermining McConnell when/if the gridlock continues. In other words, its the best power play he has now - given what the midterm electorate did yesterday.
The rest of herstory..
Nancy Letourneau's/AKA smartypants http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/11/president-obama-please-proceed-senator.html?spref=tw
This is from Novemeber 5th and kinda got buried with all the other news coming out.. but, well worth taking a look at Now!
Well, he heard from them today..
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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Boehner is looking at President Obama as though he's going to toilet paper the Oval Office once the workday ends.
10:15 AM - 7 Nov 2014 29 Retweets 16 favorites
:hatip: http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/07/the-presidents-day-25/
Erica Werner @ericawerner
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Cornyn said discussion of immigration took up easily half the meeting, with R's pressing Obama and the president "unmoved and even defiant"
11:11 AM - 7 Nov 2014 50 Retweets 12 favorites
Gregory Korte ✔ @gregorykorte
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Consensus from witnesses along West Executive Drive is that Sen. Mitch McConnell was first congressional leader out the door after lunch.
10:17 AM - 7 Nov 2014
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/07/a-tweet-or-two-162/
To the Barack Obama Group where sanity, focus, and reality reigns!
Love you guys.. oh, and anyone who respects this President can chime in! 
sheshhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1102&pid=26485e
Yeah, the Environment in Crisis with Global Climate Chance isn't enough to get these whiners out of
bed. 
That burden is for the rest of us to carry who aren't whining because we do know what's at stake.
Congratulations, Voters. You Just Made This Climate Denier the Most Powerful Senator on the Environment. And, NON voters
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120134/climate-change-denier-james-inhofe-lead-environment-committee
Love the Tweets from TOD.. keeps us UP to Date!
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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Boehner is looking at President Obama as though he's going to toilet paper the Oval Office once the workday ends.
10:15 AM - 7 Nov 2014 29 Retweets 16 favorites
:hatip: http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/07/the-presidents-day-25/
Rofl, she
This is Classic.. Mahalo, she!
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