Pittsburgh Alpha to Omega

(CNN) — The largest-ever gathering of climate protesters will assemble in Copenhagen this week for the long-awaited COP15 summit, raising the prospect of clashes with authorities as they attempt to highlight their concerns to world leaders.

With up to 50,000 protesters expected to arrive over the 11-day conference, their activities are likely to be as much of a focus as the discussions on climate change taking place within the heavily-guarded venue.

“Climate protesters descend on Copenhagen” by George Webster, 12-7-09 CNN

As always, it’s nice to see 11 and 15 snuggling up.  If C=3, o=15, and P=16, 3+1+5+1+6=13=4, 3+15+16=34=7, 13+15=4×7=28=10=1, 1+3+1+5=10=1, 34+15=7^2=49=13=4, 3+4+1+5=13=4, and 4+7=11, 7+10=17, 10+13=23, 49+28=77, etc.  And for the denialists who maintain there’s no link between the climate circus and 9-11, check this truly bizarre (what’s with the conditional “would be”, the lowercase “ipcc”?) announcement from the IPCC website:

** For important maintenance reasons, the ipcc website would be unavailable Thursday December 10th between 9pm and 11pm CET. We apologize for the inconvenience. **

Straw-grasping numerology aside, the first significant numbers from COP15 are the Danish text (for a final straw-grasp, dig how the first letters of “Haiti” and “Guyana” sum to 15)

The so-called Danish text, a secret draft agreement worked on by a group of individuals known as “the circle of commitment” – but understood to include the UK, US and Denmark – has only been shown to a handful of countries since it was finalised this week.

The agreement, leaked to the Guardian, is a departure from the Kyoto protocol’s principle that rich nations, which have emitted the bulk of the CO2, should take on firm and binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, while poorer nations were not compelled to act. The draft hands effective control of climate change finance to the World Bank; would abandon the Kyoto protocol – the only legally binding treaty that the world has on emissions reductions; and would make any money to help poor countries adapt to climate change dependent on them taking a range of actions.

The document was described last night by one senior diplomat as “a very dangerous document for developing countries. It is a fundamental reworking of the UN balance of obligations. It is to be superimposed without discussion on the talks”.

A confidential analysis of the text by developing countries also seen by the Guardian shows deep unease over details of the text. In particular, it is understood to:

• Force developing countries to agree to specific emission cuts and measures that were not part of the original UN agreement;

• Divide poor countries further by creating a new category of developing countries called “the most vulnerable”;

• Weaken the UN’s role in handling climate finance;

• Not allow poor countries to emit more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050, while allowing rich countries to emit 2.67 tonnes.

Developing countries that have seen the text are understood to be furious that it is being promoted by rich countries without their knowledge and without discussion in the negotiations.

“It is being done in secret. Clearly the intention is to get [Barack] Obama and the leaders of other rich countries to muscle it through when they arrive next week. It effectively is the end of the UN process,” said one diplomat, who asked to remain nameless.

“Copenhagen climate summit in disarray after ‘Danish text’ leak” by John Vidal, The Guardian 12-8-09

this epic silliness from the EPA, which exists in a conceptual vacuum and bears no relation to COP15 or to anything else,

The recent decision by the EPA that carbon dioxide is a “threat to human health” has garnered praise at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, even as certain European countries demand that the United States do more to curb “green house gasses.”

Obama administration officials are claiming that President Obama still prefers to prefer to address carbon emissions through the legislative process. Obama administration officials claim that the EPA announcement and the opening of the Copenhagen Climate Conference are “coincidental.”

Critics of climate change legislation are having none of it, though. Hot Air Allahpundit suggests that the EPA , in declaring carbon dioxide a “threat to human health” has reserved onto itself the power to regulate almost every aspect of human life and commerce in the United States, bypassing the Congress, and in effect grabbing unprecedented power for the federal government.

“Copenhagen Climate Conference Praises EPA Carbon Dioxide Decision” by Mark Whittington, AC 10-8-09

Copenhagen’s mayor vs. the city’s sex workers,

PROSTITUTES IN Copenhagen, who were anticipating a bumper trade during the UN climate summit, have reacted angrily to an official attempt to blacklist them.

The city’s mayor, Ritt Bjeregaard, who is a former EU environment commissioner, has circulated postcards to the city’s 150-plus hotels urging them to advise guests not to patronise prostitutes during their stay. “Be sustainable – don’t buy sex” was the message.

Now, the Sex Workers Interest Group has hit back by saying that its members, all of whom operate legally, would offer free sex to any participant in the conference, on production of the offending postcard and their “COP 15” badge.

“This is sheer discrimination. Ritt Bjerregaard is abusing her position as mayor in using her power to prevent us carrying out our perfectly legal job. I don’t understand how she can be allowed to contact people in this way,” spokeswoman Susanne Møller said.

She said it was reprehensible and unfair of the city’s political leaders to be using the UN climate summit as a platform to conduct a campaign against sex workers.

“Prostitutes raise temperatures at Copenhagen climate summit” by Frank McDonald, Irish Times 12-4-09

and the continuation of G-20 Pittsburgh-style precrime obnoxiousness.

According to a Climate Justice Action (CJA) spokesperson Tannie Nyboe, some 200 policemen entered a building next to their accommodation at around 3am on Wednesday morning, and searched for weapons. “It became clear quite soon that they couldn’t find what they were looking for.” Instead, said Nyboe, the police confiscated a number of tools which the protesters said were for putting up tents, as well as a number of posters with CJA schedules printed on them.

Copenhagen Police described the seized tools as ‘the most peculiar tools we’ve ever seen’. At a press meeting the police showed off shields, balloons filled with paint, and wire cutters.

“This organization might have attracted people with another view on how to demonstrate,” said Henrik Suhr, spokesperson for Copenhagen Police. He refused to disclose how the police knew about the tools. “We have our ears and eyes, and we’re running our own investigations,” was all he would say.

The raid has angered CJA: “It was really intimidating to be woken up by police coming in and searching through the building. I think this gives a very bad impression of the Danish police to all our international friends,” said Nyboe.

“Police confiscate ‘weapons’ during night raid” by Sjoerd Klumpenaar, The COP15 Post 12-10-09

Also, Barakhenaton blamed war tomorrow on losing the CC war today in his latest infomercial,

There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement — all of which will fuel more conflict for decades.  For this reason, it is not merely scientists and environmental activists who call for swift and forceful action — it’s military leaders in my own country and others who understand our common security hangs in the balance.

“Remarks by the President at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize“, The White House 12-10-09

all of which leads me to suspect that, naughty or nice, free humanity will get Shafted As Usual/Like Never Before, in addition to lumps of coal (truly a “dirty” energy source, though not because of CO2), in our metaphorical stockings, a full week before the 25th.

On that note, I hit up the opening of 25 Squared (25 artists, 25 pieces, each 5″ or smaller, each, including fully immersive moss-scapes, a mobil, and paintings of, among other things, some cute, cartoonish tripods) at Fe Gallery, which was rad, but too packed to scope out the often minutely-detailed pieces properly.  I recommend checking it out some quiet afternoon.

Keep warm, stay cool and cuídate.