Hummer to become an extinct species of auto

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors’ deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese automaker fell through Wednesday and the company said it now plans to shut down the brand.

GM did not give any details about why the agreement to sell Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Ltd. could not be completed, saying only that it was disappointed it was unable to close the deal.

The large SUV brand is based on the Humvee military vehicle. It was always a niche vehicle but its image and sales were hit particularly hard by rising gasoline prices earlier this decade. Last year, GM only sold 9,046 Hummers, down 67% from 2008.

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Obama meets Dalai Lama, angering China

Raising issues that quickly stoked China’s ire, Obama used his first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama to press Beijing, under international criticism for its Tibet policies, to preserve Tibetan identity and respect human rights there.

Obama sat down with the Dalai Lama — who is reviled by the Chinese government as a dangerous separatist but admired by many around the world as a man of peace — in the face of wider tensions over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, China’s currency practices and Internet censorship.

Full Story Here: Obama meets Dalai Lama, angering China

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Camacho to make final address: Residents want governor to discuss military buildup

Some Guam residents shopping in Hagåtña yesterday gave the governor a medium rating for his last term. They’re hoping he devotes significant time in today’s speech to talk about what exactly the government of Guam has done in preparation for the military buildup, and how it plans to ensure the buildup is carried out in the safest way possible for Guam residents.

Full story in the news:

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Retraction: Lusty Aussie Premier (NOT) embroiled in sexual affair?

Seven retracts Rann affair claim

Network Seven has retracted its claim that a former parliamentary waitress had a sexual relationship with South Australia Premier Mike Rann.

During its Sunday Night program, Channel Seven acknowledged Mr Rann’s denial of Michelle Chantelois’ claim made in November last year.

“Seven Network acknowledges the premier of South Australia’s statement in response to its Sunday Night program last year which featured an interview with Michelle Chantelois and in particular his denial that he engaged in sexual intercourse with Ms Chantelois,” Seven said.

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A CH4 Bomb ready to explode on earth

One hundred to one thousand times the normal atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas 25 times as powerful as CO2 at warming the earth, were found this summer over the Siberian shelf in the Arctic Ocean. The Siberian shelf contains enormous amounts of methane – 13 times the total carbon content of the earth’s atmosphere.

Much more here on this topic.

A vast shallow sea lies north of Siberia. One quarter of the world’s continental shelves are found in the Arctic. Seven great rivers pour carbon rich sediment onto the Arctic shelves. During the ice ages the very shallow and very vast east Siberian sea was above sea level causing deep permafrost to sequester the carbon at negative 17 Celsius. Enormous amounts of methane were trapped as methane hydrate ice.Rapid warming of the Arctic is now destabilizing the methane ice in parts of the east Siberian sea.

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Beijinger to open shopping mall in Milwaukee

A Beijing company has purchased a shopping mall in the US, marking the largest overseas acquisition of commercial property by a Chinese enterprise to date.

Beijing's Toward Group said it will open the mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in August 2010 when 40 percent of tenants are expected to have moved in. The company announced its acquisition of the property on Dec 24.

via Beijinger to open shopping mall in Milwaukee.

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Cambodia sends 20 Uighur asylum seekers back to China

BBC News – Cambodia sends 20 Uighur asylum seekers back to China

A group of 20 Chinese Uighurs who fled to Cambodia after ethnic riots in July have been deported back to China.

The United Nations refugee agency strongly condemned the deportation, saying Cambodia had committed a grave breach of international refugee law.

The decision follows intense pressure by China, which has referred to the group as criminals.

Human rights groups have warned that the group is likely to face persecution on return to China.

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Top Ten Questions about Climate Change on the Eve of Copenhagen

purloined the following article from Juan Coles’ site.  He is one of the most respected voices on the political blogosphere, being an expert in the middle east and surrounding environs.  Here he talks about global warming.  Please take the link to his site for more good stuff.

Informed Comment: Top Ten Questions about Climate Change on the Eve of Copenhagen

Is the earth’s climate warming? Indisputably.

Has the pumping of vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by human beings since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution contributed to global climate change? Also, indisputably.

Would extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause warming? In the absence of some sort of offset, yes. In fact, this effect can be demonstrated in a bottle.

Who funds “science” questioning carbon-dioxide-driven climate change? Exxon-Mobil, among others.

Why don’t most American senators and congressmen have the gumption of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who called climate change deniers “flat-earthers”, and “anti-science”?

Would global warming just mean it is hotter? No. If mountain ice and glaciers melt, the people who depend on seasonal melting of such highland ice will be left without a water source and thrown into drought. Over a billion people in the Indian subcontinent are at risk. And, 60% of Bangladesh is at risk from rising sea levels.

Has global warming been flat since 1998? No, this assertion depends on a stupid little trick. 1998 was unusually warm because of an El Nino, so if you take it as the baseline, you get a false picture. Take 1997 or 1999 as your starting point (normal years), and then you see the clear continuing warming trend. It would be like starting with the 2005 tsunami and saying the ocean levels have fallen mysteriously and dramatically since then in Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Are the measures proposed at Copenhagen a good first step? Not even remotely. (See also Bill McKibben at Tomdispatch.com

Would actually proving that some climate scientists have engaged in partisan activity change the above facts? No. Was that proved by the hacked emails? No.

Is is just an accident that the countries who are the biggest polluters have publics who are most skeptical of human-made climate change?

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Wie records long-awaited victory at Guadalajara Country Club

Wie records long-awaited victory at Guadalajara Country Club | Guadalajara Reporter
“It sounds a cliché but it feels awesome” was how Michelle Wie described her first professional triumph Sunday at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara.

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China: Censorship Limits Obama’s Charm Offensive

China: Censorship Limits Obama’s Charm Offensive- Slate Magazine
China: Censorship Limits Obama’s Charm Offensive

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