Morning News Roundup (25 August)

Middle East Sturm und Drang

• Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), once an ardent supporter of the war in Iraq, said yesterday that the Bush administration should set a time frame for withdrawing U.S. troops. He added that most of the withdrawal could take place next year.
  [...]
  Shays, chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, emerging threats and international relations, plans to outline a time frame for withdrawal next month, after he holds three hearings titled "Iraq: Democracy or Civil War."
  
  Critics said Shays is significantly modifying his stand because he is facing a tough challenge from an antiwar opponent in a state that has become a center of opposition to the war. "Americans have known for a long time that Iraq was a mess, and the only thing that changed is proximity to Election Day," said Bill Burton, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. [WaPo]
  
  
• France agrees to commit 2,000 troops to a multinational force in southern Lebanon, but Chirac today said he believed the original UN target of 15,000 total troops was "excessive". Syria cuts the power supply to Lebanon, but denies the move contains any political message. Cracks are beginning to appear in the Hezbollah facade, with Lebanese Sunnis increasingly vocal in their opposition to the group and the "Green Flood" of cash meant to silence critics not having the intended effect. [Foreign Policy's Passport]

Climate Crisis

• California continues to lead on global warming. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced she will introduce legislation to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 70 percent below those of 1990, with the goal of keeping global temperature increases to only 1 or 2 degrees. [ThinkProgress' ThinkFast]
  
  
• “Colorado is joining a growing number of states and cities that have taken it upon themselves to fight global warming locally,” kicking off efforts to develop a statewide plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [ThinkProgress' ThinkFast]
  
  
• US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) has released a study that shows that by taking six small and relatively painless steps, we can reduce emissions to 19% below 1990 levels by 2020 (hat tip to DeSmogBlog). The steps are: 1) Stabilize vehicle travel. 2) Increase vehicle fuel economy standards to 40 miles per gallon and set fuel economy standards for large trucks. 3) Replace 10 percent of vehicle fuel with biofuels or other clean alternatives. 4) Reduce energy consumption in homes, business and industry by 10 percent from current levels. 5) Obtain 20 percent of our electricity from new renewable energy sources. 6) Hold emissions from other sources to current levels. Check out the executive summary, which offers more explanation about each step, as well as download a PDF of the whole document. [via my Hugg]
  
  
• The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) believes that the growing environmental degradation of Africa is perhaps most starkly reflected in satellite images beamed from the skies.
  [...]
  "The rapid shrinking of Lake Songor in Ghana, partly as a result of intensive salt production, and the extraordinary changes in the Zambezi River system as a result of the building of the Cabora Bassa Dam sit beside more familiar images of the near 90 percent shrinkage of Lake Chad," UNEP said.
  
  According to the U.N. agency, Lake Songor emerges "as one of the most dramatic visual changes in the atlas." Described as a brackish coastal lagoon in Ghana, the lake is home to fish and globally threatened turtles, as well as a vast bird population.
  
  In December 1990, the lake appears as a solid blue mass of water some 74 square kilometres in size. But by December 2000, the water body has been reduced to "a pale shadow of its former self." [IPS]

Domestic Potpourri

• S.R. Sidarth had built an impressive record of achievements for such a young man: straight-A student at one of Fairfax County's finest high schools, a tournament chess player, a quiz team captain, a sportswriter at his college newspaper, a Capitol Hill intern and an active member of the Hindu temple his parents helped establish in Maryland.
  
  But for all his achievements, the moment that thrust him into the national spotlight this month came when Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) called him "macaca." [WaPo]
  
  
• Sorry, but will Sen. George Allen please stop apologizing?
  
  Since calling an Indian American man a type of monkey earlier this month, the Virginia Republican has apologized in two speeches, on Sean Hannity's radio show, in a phone call to the young man himself, in at least seven media interviews and in several statements from his campaign showing varying levels of contrition.
  [...]
  It seemed surreal to see such groveling from the former quarterback and aspiring presidential candidate. But Allen, who was cruising to reelection a few weeks ago, has seen his lead plunge in polls and has been exposed to national ridicule. The rattled candidate has lost his bluster; his aides trail him with looks of nausea. [Dana Milbank in the WaPo]
  
  
• Ha ha!! From the Gadflyer:
  

  How incompetent is Lieberman?
  
  For an answer, cruise over to the website at ConnecticutForLieberman.
  
  It's bad enough that Lieberman didn't have the judgment to name his indy bid with the less selfish-sounding Lieberman for Connecticut, instead opting for the provincial Connecticut for Lieberman.
  
  But his team didn't even take five minutes and $30 to register the site.

Big Blue Marble

• South Africa is due to become Africa's first country to legalise gay partnerships following the government's approval yesterday of a bill on civil unions. President Thabo Mbeki's cabinet discussed and approved the Civil Unions bill, which provides for the recognition of domestic partnerships between adults of the same or a different sex. [Financial Times]

Misc.

• If you own an Apple Powerbook (either 12- or 15-inch), you might well be affected by the recall of 1.8 million batteries:
  

  Apple initiated the recall of lithium-ion batteries in some of its iBook and PowerBook computers sold from October 2003 to August 2006 after receiving nine reports of overheating that caused minor burns or property damage. The battery cells used in the recalled Dell and Apple computers were manufactured by the same company, Sony Energy Devices Corp., in Japan.

  
  FotF Jeff Carlson in one of his day jobs with the Mac-centric Tidbits technology newsletter gives a rundown of the affected serial numbers.
  
  
  
  
• Jesus, not again! From the Beeb:
  

  Chelsea and Champions League holders Barcelona will renew their rivalry after they were drawn together in the first phase of this year's competition. The two sides, who have now been paired for the third time in three years, also face Werder Bremen and Levski Sofia.