Politics.Hu: Hungarian deputy PM hits back at comments by Merkel, Luxembourg FM

Luxembourg: Roude Léiw huel Séi!

Luxembourg is asserting itself. The Prime Minister of Luxembourg, his Deputy Prime Minister and who knows who else have definitely chosen to go on a collision course with evildoers, simplistic minds, radicals, non-radicals, those who are against, those who are in favor, well the whole tutti frutti. The punished have been the UK's Tony Blair, the French President, Frau Merkel, Israel, Switzerland and now Hungary.

Politics.Hu: Hungarian deputy PM hits back at comments by Merkel, Luxembourg FM

This is only a warming up period. Wait until you see us getting up there at the UN Security Council in 2013! We'll teach you a severe lesson if you don't behave!

Cablegate: US ambassador in Luxembourg praised ex-Gitmo inmate

The Associated Press: Cable: US ambassador praised ex-Gitmo inmate

OMG!

I posted a Wikileads fantasy yesterday, where I mused about what could have been said in those 168 "cables" out of Luxembourg. Of course I believe I know what I'm talking about.

So one cable got released today and meets my predictions: Gitmo is the subject. So let's count. One prediction right on 1 release is 100% success rate.

Want to know the future? Trust me, read my old post. I could do some consulting on what the future holds, though not with the tarot cards. Much more accurate.

Isn't it true that we can't wait for the next release? Then again, read yesterday's post about what I'm thinking about the future of cablegate: in a couple of days, everyone should have understood that there is no future for that boring stuff.

Wikileaks, Cablegate, the US and Wiki Luxembourg

Depending on where you sit:

It is a high crime, it is cowardly crime, it is a loss of face, it is a loss of faith, it is fun, it is voyeurism, it is damage control, it is "what about me", it is "I can't believe they said that about me", and "who is the miserable informant?"

From my point of view: all of the above are right, but for the fallout, except for some unhealthy excitement as the leaks are dripping, there is not much about this thing long term. However get Teddy Roosevelt to walk around with a big stick.

1. Wikileaks and the US

Of course the Cablegate is embarrassing, the failure of a whole chain of command to adequately guaranty the security of communications, deemed to be secret. What is embarrassing too, is that the worldwide public opinion gets the sense, that the US superpower is not capable to prevent the leaks on Wikileaks. This should be cyberwar.

Also, the perpetrators there feel more and more comfortable that they get away with their criminal activity. They are basking in the limelight that well established news outlets such as the New York Times, Le Monde and Der Spiegel didn't hesitate to shine on them. What was their reason: the public's right to know, the superficial vanity to be still considered by the leakers to be leading news outlets, or the need to sell more copies? Were they not aware that they were reselling looted property? So everyone in the great scheme seems to get away with it, but no one of those "everyones" hasn't yet tried to publish, let's say Russian or Chinese equivalents of the US leaks. How interesting!

No doubt a high crime has been committed in stealing the documents, and a similar crime is committed as they are published. They need to be prosecuted now. What are the other remedies? First, fix the vulnerable diplomatic communication system. How come a breach was so simple? Second stop the leaks here and now, if it is still possible. Maybe Embassies in Moscow or Beijing could be helpful in sending a cable with local recipes for stopping undesirable events.

2. Wikileaks and Luxembourg: Wikileaksembourg.

This is of course a relevant outside perspective. Let's use it as an example of how the world might see the leaks, half with concern and half with fun and Schadenfreude. Indeed outside the crimes, which must be addressed, this is a case study on how the outside world might react.

Luxembourg? "We may be small, but we don't think that way" says one of our slogans. Given our supersized ambitions, it is extremely frustrating that we are not well positioned with only 168 "cables". What the heck are cables anyway? The number 168 puts us far back on the list, into the lowest category of US attention, even after Burkina Faso (though someone compared Luxembourg with Ouagadougou), Bhutan, Togo, Mauritius but a tad before Micronesia, Tristan da Cunha and the Cocos Islands. Next time I meet someone from the Embassy, maybe Cinthia , we make it clear: we are craving for more attention, and that is the way we think.

The Luxembourg public is of course driven by an unhealthy voyeurism as documented by the Luxembourg Press. To their disappointment, there was no leak yet published about cables originated from Luxembourg. Now everyone is watching with great expectations, and the main papers published all the relevant online links, such as:

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/

http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/tags/Country

http://www.tageblatt.lu/index.php/international/47666.html

http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/letzebuerg/artikel/2010/11/128273/168-depeschen-aus-luxemburg.php

Everybody seems to be impatient. Is any cable saying anything about members of the government? Will cables talk about the at least zero prisoners from Gitmo we are taking, or about Mister Euro, editing videos, why not the tripartite, revising a constitution? Because we "don't think that way", are there explanations for our ambitions to rule the UN Security Council and why not NATO? What about Schleck and Armstrong?

Let me tell you, there is a lot of angst, as the leaks are dripping. And then you'll see the unhappy faces of those who thought they deserved to get mentioned and didn't, or those who did and are not happy about what was said. They need to find out who that bastard, who said that, really is. And when the 168 leaks have come dripping down, there will be disappointment: nothing much more than what we already knew is there. We however don't put our gossip into unsafe cables: we ask our friends to keep it to themselves. So everyone knows.

3. The aftermath

Depending on the US stance in the coming days, this thing will go away or it will go away. This is not misspoken. Whether something spectacular stops the leaks, or nothing is done, as the past weeks seem to indicate, the last drip won't even be heard. So someone wants to bomb Iran, another guy is shallow, another one is Hitler and another one undecided? What else is new? We knew all that, and as this trickles down, people will yawn.

The only thing that is for sure: it will happen again, if nothing dramatic happens now to stop the dripping. Luxembourg knows: our cablegate is the banking CD gate. It will happen again.

And eventually, when the whole world is yawning, some guy will come up with a conspiracy theory like this: it was all a setup to further a US agenda for more transparency. The Administration sacrificed a bunch of meaningless diplomatic blabber to get the world started on straight talk and expose everybody's hidden agendas. To the relief of the cable guys, the diplomats, who are otherwise honest people but paid by a government to go and lie to people abroad. They no longer have to stamp as "classified" documents where they tell the truth. From now on it is the naked TRUTH, to the tone of some of those leaked cables: "Oh hello Excellency, my dear friend, you seem pretty drunk tonight". "Oh Excellency, thank you so much, I'm afraid so are you. But it doesn't seem to keep you from womanizing."

We are awakening to a new world, a transparent world, quite direct with no need to classify the message anymore.

Luxembourg's Andy Schleck hooked a contador.

Andy Schleck got lucky again: he caught a very nice pike in (cold) Luxembourg. That fish is of the family of the contadors. Some say it is not good for consumption. It ranges high in the food chain, which loads it with clenbuterol.

This is the second stroke of luck for Andy Schleck, as he might also become the winner of the Tour de France 2010. He doesn't know it yet. But again, clenbuterol is the common denominator here, as the other Contador ate a whole asthmatic Spanish cow during the Tour de France 2010. The bronchodilator clenbuterol someone had prescribed to that cow, might have given Contador a breezer, but also a positive anti doping test.

Andy Schleck is magnanimous about both contadors: he argues it is catch and release only. Good at least that he didn't eat that fish! He would have had his own food contamination. Let's see if the other Contador gets released too.

You think this is a fisherman's tall tale? See for yourself:

http://plixi.com/photos/original/59335600

EU Juncker: Euro Not In Danger; Must Narrow Divergences: CNBC | iMarketNews.com

EU Juncker: Euro Not In Danger; Must Narrow Divergences: CNBC iMarketNews.com

Wasn't it foreseeable? Without a European Government, with a common economic policy, how can you manage a common currency? It will go into history as one of the great blunders: with the introduction of the Euro, dramatically different national economies lost one of the the critical tools of economic policy, the possibility to devaluate their currencies. Ireland can't devalue the Euro. But it could kill it!

Dolce & Gabbana Indicted

Dolce & Gabbana Indicted

One man's tax avoidance, another man's tax evasion?

De Peckvillchen: D’ Gëlle Fra gouf entfouert!

De Peckvillchen: D’ Gëlle Fra gouf entfouert!

A dramatic development around Luxembourg's Golden Lady, kidnapped by an obsessed villain, eventually rescued by her Chinese fans.

For Veterans Day, a thought about the American Cemetery in Luxembourg.

On a day like this I visited the place with two American friends, a couple of weeks ago. The weather added to the sadness of the place. The story remains the same to be told. It's only different how you learnt about it. I should give here a thought to Day Turner from 2009:

http://egidethein.blogspot.com/2009/05/memorial-day-2009.html

Publish Post

Team Luxembourg’s Name will be… | CyclingFan.net

Team Luxembourg’s Name will be… CyclingFan.net

Sure: Leopard True Racing.

You have already seen during the Tour de France 2010 all those Luxembourg fans on the slopes of the Alps and the Pyrenees. They were waving the Luxembourg alternate flag: the Luxembourg coat of arms, the red Lion, forked tail, crowned with gold on a blue and white striped ensign. Now that was already a wild symbol, paired with the slogan of "Roude Le'iw, huel se!"

Now let's add a leopard. Forked tail, crowned with yellow jerseys, and quartered with Mercedes stars.

Versus, get ready to team up with Animal Planet.

Nygaard aiming to make history by putting both Schlecks on the Tour de France podium

Nygaard aiming to make history by putting both Schlecks on the Tour de France podium

Both 1st Ex-aequo?

The Voice of Russia Picks up a Story

Dolce and Gabbana summoned to court

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/10/17/26518374.html

Famous Italian designers Dolce and Gabbana will be summoned to court. They are accused of establishing an offshore company in Luxembourg, where the recorded income was not taxed in Italy. Thus, they succeeded in taking almost a billion euros out of their country. In addition, Dolce and Gabbana are accused of transferring assets to the Luxembourg company at a cost far below market prices.

Luxembourg - Fulbright - International Educational Exchange Program

Luxembourg - Fulbright - International Educational Exchange Program

Hey! You never know!

Luxembourg confirms further support for Laos | Lao Voices

Luxembourg confirms further support for Laos Lao Voices

Very interesting. Despite a solid budget deficit and curtailed social security and health care, Luxembourg continues these programs with borrowed money. Has Luxembourg "laost" its mind, or is it the shining star?

Mercedes to back Schlecks' Luxembourg team

Mercedes to back Schlecks' Luxembourg team

No chain malfunction there!

The Inner Ring: Team Luxembourg sponsor rumours

The Inner Ring: Team Luxembourg sponsor rumours: "The well-informed cyclismactu.net has more detail on the future of the Luxembourg cycling project being created by the Schleck brothers in c..."

A good summary of the rumors. Rumors are best deflated by transparency.

Transfer News: Daniele Bennati joins Schleck’s Luxembourg team for two years

Transfer News: Daniele Bennati joins Schleck’s Luxembourg team for two years

What is the strategy here? Winning stages? Or winning the Tour de France? Or both? Is both possible at all?

Afterhaving been manipulated by some, prudence is also recommended. I would disclose details now about who is going to do what with whom. You Schleck brothers don't need another adventure of the kind of Bjaarne Riis.

Schleck Says Contador Signing Was No Surprise | Cyclingnews.com

Schleck Says Contador Signing Was No Surprise Cyclingnews.com

It just surprises me that it was no surprise.

Andy Schleck rules himself out of Luxembourg World Championship team

There you have it !

Australia drops out of the race for a seat at the UN Security Council, which automatically leaves that seat to Luxembourg.
Luxembourg counters with Schleck you very much, but no Schleck at the World Championship in Australia.

Andy Schleck rules himself out of Luxembourg World Championship team

I can only say that the World Championship and the World Government are both losers in those decisions. Now read that last sentence one more time.

Cycling: Wedding for Frank Schlek before Bid for Tour of Spain

Cycling: Wedding for Frank Schlek before Bid for Tour of Spain

For the record. Please disregard the missing C as in "Collar Bone" in the name Schleck. That wasn't me. Now lets go to the Vuelta. With Bjarne Riis as the team boss. Not to speak about friend of Contadors's! Next, we'll check out that Vuelta.

Luxembourg Team On Schedule For 2011 Debut | Cyclingnews.com

An expected development:

Luxembourg Team On Schedule For 2011 Debut | Cyclingnews.com

Surprisingly, a "National Team Luxembourg" runs a bit counter Luxembourg's historical experience with the Tour de France. Though "National" used to mean strictly nationals as team members. Charly Gaul would never have won the Tour de France because of the scarcity of good Luxembourg team members. It took a mixed Dutch-Luxembourg team to provide a reservoir of good domestiques to help him win the Tour 1958.

Returning to the national concept is no longer the same: it is all about the backers, which still are not well known I do hope that all this goes well. Luxembourg isn't a country that will provide many consistent backers. It is too small. For the same reason, it doesn't offer endorsement opportunities as, say, the United States.

Cycling is an immensely popular sport in Europe. But spectators don't pay. Contracts pay a little, but endorsements will make the successful athlete's living. Therefore, I stick to my guns of last year and maintain the Schlecks should have teamed up with Lance Armstrong's Radio Shack when the opportunity came knocking. Please revisit:

http://egidethein.blogspot.com/2009/07/luxembourg-tour-de-france-armstrong.html

If they had done so, imagine how the Tour de France 2010 would have evolved. Lance Armstrong would have recognized his weakness early on, releasing Andy Schleck out of a helper situation. Andy Schleck would have gotten better advice from that team than from Bjarne Riis, his sports director who secretly already knew that he would team up with .... Alberto Contador in 2011! Betrayal?

Cayman’s Financial Services Industry - How (and Why) it Works

As any so-called "offshore center", "tax haven", even "judicial and regulatory" haven, Cayman comes under attack like any other financial center, provided it is not a member of the G20.

This is an interesting swing at G20 and some good talking points for fellow havens.

Cayman’s Financial Services Industry - How (and Why) it Works

Virgin Media gets Luxembourg Tax Saver

Look here, good news, bad news.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23864899-virgin-media-in-luxembourg-tax-saver.do

Good news for Virgin. Good news for anyone in that business: why not do what Virgin does? Become a tax refugee. It is self-defense.

Here's the bad news: one day, not so far down the road, Luxembourg will wake up with yet another accusation on its sleeves. The accusation to have seduced the Virgin into unspeakable tax promiscuity. Though this one will be a tough one to build into a European crime committed by Luxembourg, without violating the so sacred European principles of free movement of services. And don't forget, the Earth is flat.

You think I'm exaggerating the bad news? Not at all, the thing started already. Doesn't the author insist on calling us a "principality"? That is already belittling and insulting the adversary before hostilities start.

Luxembourg Buys Hot Air from Estonia.

Hats off to Estonia! They just sold AAUs for € 30 million to Luxembourg. I had a number of skeptical friends calling me today asking what else Luxembourg would buy: intergalactic real estate, futures on nuclear fusion, the oil sniffing planes or residual Madoff certificates. I also heard about an interesting proposal from Dr Lulu from Nigeria.

Here is what we bought: http://www.estonianfreepress.com/2010/08/estonian-government-approves-the-sale-of-aaus-to-luxembourg/

Chapeau, those Estonians!

Luxembourg: iPhone 4 – Luxgsm, Tango and Orange Prices and Packages Compared

A very good and useful initiative and compilation by online-marketing.lu. Interesting blog.

http://www.online-marketing.lu/blog/mobile/iphone-4-luxembourg-provider-comparison

"iPhone 4 is now available in Luxembourg – Luxgsm, Orange and Tango's offers are analyzed and compared right here"

Brian Nygaard talks about origins of the new team out of Luxembourg

Lifting the veil:

Brian Nygaard talks about origins of the new team out of Luxembourg

Banking and Finance in Luxembourg: Facts & Figures (July 2010) | ABBL

Life is coming back. Some good colors on their cheeks. Careful though: some deflationist tendencies in the US could forecast yet another bad weather day.

Banking and Finance in Luxembourg: Facts & Figures (July 2010) | ABBL

The Schlecks Set To Leave Team Saxo Bank

The Schlecks Set To Leave Team Saxo Bank

Duchy will examine Pyongyang accounts - INSIDE JoongAng Daily

Duchy will examine Pyongyang accounts - INSIDE JoongAng Daily

That's touchy for the Duchy.

"Contador Wins By One Bike Chain"

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2010/07/26/contador-wins-by-the-length-of-one-bike-chain/

The WSJ says it all and says it best. And Versus showed it all. For now, the end of the story.

Tour de France 2010: Memo to Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck.

This is the last stage and nothing is supposed to happen. Though something could and should happen.

As for Alberto Contador, get at least that one second that would put you 40 seconds ahead of Schleck, so that I can keep quiet about you stealing this Tour de France. Remember the 39 seconds you stole from Schleck in your "chain reaction" lo siento thing? What was that?

As for Andy Schleck, it's OK, though unusual, to attack the leader of the Tour de France during the last stage which is his tour of honor. Honor? Andy Schleck, you are the sheriff and you should look after getting your stolen goods (seconds) back. Just let the public know that Alberto's jersey is stained.

Tour de France: Luxembourg's Schleck vs Contador.

Alberto Contador is set to win the Tour de France 2010 just 39 seconds ahead of Andy Schleck. One can indeed assume that nothing else is going to happen in tomorrow's last stage to Paris, except the usual pranks.

In your wildest dreams, you cannot figure out such a dramatic scenario: Contador wins with exactly those 39 seconds he stole from Andy Schleck in the 15th stage, when he attacked Schleck who had a mechanical incident. An attack in those circumstances is a no-no in the peloton's ethics code.

Then Contador lied a little bit about not knowing of the incident.

Then he apologized, saying he should not have done it.

Then he obviously held back on the Tourmalet to leave the stage victory to Schleck. Some read chivalry into that, some read guilt into that, which in the circumstance is all the same: chivalry induced by guilt. Germans call it "Wiedergutmachung."

The Gods of the Mountains were very malicious: they had Schleck and Contador in a tie. Today's time trial result speaks the final Truth, and it is one of those dramas about the Tour. It denies the moral confirmation to the champion Contador as it favors Schleck: he lost the Tour by exactly the amount of seconds stolen by Contador.

Contador really doesn't "win" the Tour: he fails to clear that doubt by failing to get at least one second more than the 39 seconds he stole in the 15th stage. It is certainly not a clear win. In some way, abusing the code of honor comes back to haunt Contador. Just a little. Who will remember this year's 15th stage comes 2011?

Tour de France: Schleck vs Contador.

Alright, there you have it. The Gods of the Mountains put on their angry misty hats and had Schleck and Contador sort it out. Schleck on the attack, Contador as matador. Schleck showed strength, Contador the convincing style of a climber. Both were equally strong. Maybe Contador didn't insist to win the stage in the final sprint: bad conscience from his "chain reaction" on Monday, when the temptation to attack Schleck, who had a chain problem, was too great.

Contador also never led today, which is only partly understandable: Schleck was the challenger, but with his help, Contador put time between himself and all other contenders. But Schleck did all the work. Schleck didn't seem to hold any grudge after both arrived on top of the Tourmalet.

The Tour might be over right now. In the history of the Tour there is that moment, as the one we see now, when the final explanation has taken place.

However, getting back to Contador's chain reaction, where he stole 39 seconds, he really has one unfinished business: he has to win the Tour with at least 40 seconds ahead of Schleck, not 8, and honor is save. Though it is not over until the fat lady sings. Who could that be?

In the meantime, hats off for Versus Television, for their excellent reporting.

Tour de France: Schleck vs Contador.

Alberto Contador is sorry that people think he should not have won the yellow jersey the way he did. It took him some coaching and the time to set up for a damage control interview in his room to profer a "lo siento". Anyone familiar with the sport didn't need so much time, but jumped at the view of Contador sprinting away from his main competitor, beating not him but his failing bike. The pistolero, whom I always considered as a world class champion, has lost class. Maybe by tomorrow he'll lose the champion title too. The pistolero, mimicking shooting his guns when winning a stage, just robbed the bank for a short time gain. He lost in attractiveness as a role model, which is for a professional athlete the equivalent of losing sponsors' money, the long term gain for being a hero.

But, for one thing, the pistolero brought a lot of passion to the Tour that otherwise has been already one of the best in recent years.

Today Alberto should have time to scrutinize the horizon, as the Gods of the Mountains are waiting for him tomorrow. They seem to disapprove and put on their angry faces and cloudy hats. They cannot be talked out of the Truth, one cannot tell them "I'm sorry" , and they'll punish those who don't obey their rules.

http://www.letour.fr/2010/TDF/LIVE/us/1700/etape_par_etape.html

Tour de France: It's hardly fair play, says angry Schleck

The Kiwis got it right. The New Zealand Herald's opinion is:

"Now, the gloves are off at the Tour de France.
A furious Andy Schleck of Luxembourg lost the yellow jersey after his chain derailed during a tough climb yesterday in the Pyrenees - and defending champion Alberto Contador unabashedly sped ahead to take the race lead."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/cycling/news/article.cfm?c_id=31&objectid=10660152

Luxembourg and Australia: And , oh no, the winner is Luxembourg!

The Mouse that roared! Roude Le'iw huel Se! Andy Schleck, go get him!
Running up the white flag on foreign affairs.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/running-up-the-white-flag-on-foreign-affairs-20100720-10jk6.html

Everyone should by now have gotten visits, if not bribes, from three contenders for two seats at the UN Security Council. Those candidates were Australia, Finland and Luxembourg. Guess what: those who didn't yet get any bribe or any visit, forget about it then. There are only two candidates left. Australia dropped out, given the ridiculous cost for a questionable prestige win.

For Luxembourg it means, we cannot even withdraw. We won for the second time in our history after that glorious assault on the USA of our twelve men expeditionary corps under the unlucky leadership of Peter Sellers in the "Mouse that Roared". We were destined to lose, but Peter Seller's men messed up and inadvertently won the war against the US.

Now someone messed up history again and we are going to get that seat on that thing, or "machin" as de Gaulle used to say. There we'll save the world, tell Israel what they do wrong, embrace Ahmewhatever and reunite Belgium. But you, you the Dutch, who sided with Australia against Luxembourg, get prepared. We'll send you upside down right down under so that your brains get some irrigation in that inversed position. What a blunder! We resent it. It is hard to believe that we were once part of the Netherlands! Though even then Luxembourg had a higher elevation at Grevels Knapp.

I know, it's hard to believe: we could have spared those promotional trips to Ulan Bator, Bandar Seri Begawan and Asuncion. Asuncion is that Paraguay or Uruguay? Got you there! You should know if you pretend to save the world.

The ominous article concludes: "Leaving Luxembourg to take a seat on the council unchallenged would be like delegating questions of international peace and security to the mayor of Geelong." You have to know that Juncker is no mayor of Geelong. Where the heck is Geelong? Uruguay? We haven't been there yet.

Tour de France: Schleck vs Contador.

Today's stage in the Pyrenees was all set to be one where the Truth about leadership would come out. And it did in a big way.

It was to separate the best from the second best, and it did so in a perverse way: the best was relegated to second place. A mechanical incident threw the attacking Schleck out of the moment. Moment that Contador used to make a difference.

On the day the Tour de France celebrates the 100's anniversary of the inclusion of the Pyrenees in the track of the race, Contador's seizing of the moment flies into the face of the chivalrous tradition of this grand sport. There have been memorable battles between champions. There has been a sort of code of honor not to take advantage of a situation born out of bad luck such as a mechanical incident or a crash. That gentlemanly behavior was not Contador's today. He might win the Tour, with a bitter after taste. Contador, you don't do those things without consequences.

Of course sneaky behaviors and betrayals of trust have existed before. Speaking about another such incident and inelegant behavior involving a Luxembourg champion, let's revisit the Tour 1958. Charly Gaul who was one of the serious contenders for a final win, virtually lost his chances in the 19th stage, where he had a mechanical incident. Raphael Geminiani (and others) took advantage to relegate Gaul at more than 16 minutes. Two stages later an angry Gaul shook up the whole field in a punishing 21st stage. Not only did he do it, he announced that he was going to do it on the departing line. The press said on that day that Charly Gaul "the Angel of the Mountains" had become "the Demon of the Mountains."

Contador, I wish you in the days to come to be confronted by the true leader. Prepare not to meet "Andy" Schleck, but "Angry" Schleck.

Kim Kirchen released from hospital following cardiac arrest, proud father of twins

There you go!
There you go!
Congratulations.
Congratulations.
Twins
Twins
Kim Kirchen released from hospital following cardiac arrest, proud father of twins

Naples News Guest Commentary: Jackson Lab’s answers trigger more questions

Or: Could Luxembourg teach us something here?

This is a case study for any public economic development specialist. Jackson Laboratories, a non-profit from Maine has been singled out by a number of political and business leaders in Naples and Collier County to become the anchor of a "biomedical village" at a cost of $260 million in public money. Other future "bio-villagers" won't get any of those funds, and generally, incentive programs for other businesses in Naples and surroundings are dismal. No wonder the only existing economic activities gravitate around real estate, tourism and agriculture. Is this fertile ground for such a project? Not without serious amendments, including safeguards and an overhaul of existing policies. The dozen talking points used by promoters at this point show very few certainties but some special interests which opens more questions.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jul/03/guest-commentary-jackson-labs-answers-trigger-more/?cid=Facebook

Some more things could have been said, such as if you are really rich, what about a Biobank? But if you don't have the money and your commentary is limited to 750 words, that one has to be dropped first.

Eight Americans competing in 2010 Tour de France

Eight Americans competing in 2010 Tour de France

Bjarne Riis responds to Andersen's new Luxembourg ProTour team, Schlecks likely gone

Bjarne Riis responds to Andersen's new Luxembourg ProTour team, Schlecks likely gone

A Luxembourg Team around the Schleck Brothers? What about Lance Armstrong?

There we are, one year later. The Schlecks are going to leave Saxo Bank Team and join a "Luxembourg based team."
Please see the story here at Velonation.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4690/Bjarne-Riis-responds-to-Andersens-new-Luxembourg-ProTour-team-Schlecks-likely-gone.aspx

I'm not sure what this team will be. It is bad strategy to announce this at 5 days before the beginning of the Tour de France. But you could argue that it is Ok. It is proof of a high self-confidence ahead of the biggest event of the year.

But is it meticulously preparing a career, that as everyone knows considers Lance Armstrong as a retired participant? What can a Luxembourg team bring to the Schlecks except the fact that both are the guaranteed leaders? We all know that in this short career, income derived from corporate endorsements beats wins and salaries. Therefore my post from last year is still as to the point as last year. Please go and have a look here:

http://egidethein.blogspot.com/2009/07/luxembourg-tour-de-france-armstrong.html

Canoeists survive Bucks County capsize - The Trentonian News: Serving Trenton and surrounding communities. (trentonian.com)

This must be a message from a parallel world:

Canoeists survive Bucks County capsize - The Trentonian News: Serving Trenton and surrounding communities. (trentonian.com)


This is a brilliant parable. The name Luxembourg got my attention first, the name of a Lake in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. First question: Is the Lake the size of Luxembourg, like the Icebergs slitting away from the shelf ice, or a measurement unit for the oil spill in the Gulf?

Anyway, a canoe capsized, but everything went well. Only some bruises. So we may rejoice and catch the deep meaning in this hidden message.

Im sure, this is hidden message from the "powers", a very classical parable: it needed the name Luxembourg to set the environment. Who are those guys in the canoe, named "Tripartite", paddling wildly on Lake Luxembourg? Were they navigating under Luxembourg flag? We learn, at least in the biblical sense, that with uncoordinated paddling, the team goes overboard. The good news is that on Lake Luxembourg that's not to big a deal. You are always close to the shore.

Tour de France on Versus

Let the serious things begin. Tour de France is on soon. In the US get Versus!

http://www.versus.com/blogs/2010-cycling-events/tour-de-france-tv-schedule/

If you bet that Schleck wins, this year you have two chances to be right. Both Schlecks are in good shape.

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

Good job!

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

More oil gushing into Gulf after problem with cap

OK, now that's day 65.
What about outside help? Can anyone lift restrictions?

More oil gushing into Gulf after problem with cap

This offer has been on the table since the beginning of the disaster. The response to this offer is a disaster too:

http://egidethein.blogspot.com/2010/06/gulf-of-mexico-bp-us-oil-spill-and.html

OSCE Centre in Ashgabat - OSCE Centre organizes study visit to Luxembourg and Belgium for Turkmenistan parliamentarians

In case you missed it:
OSCE Centre in Ashgabat - OSCE Centre organizes study visit to Luxembourg and Belgium for Turkmenistan parliamentarians

Saxo Bank completes Tour de France lineup, Larsson will miss race

There you go!
Saxo Bank completes Tour de France lineup, Larsson will miss race

Andy Schleck: “I’m better than last year”

We are watching:
Andy Schleck: “I’m better than last year”

Katusha's Kim Kirchen shows slight improvement following heart attack, still in coma

Katusha's Kim Kirchen shows slight improvement following heart attack, still in coma

Feierwon: Le Luxembourg et la Pyramide de Madoff

This aticle in French is about UBS facing a probe in Luxembourg.

Feierwon: Le Luxembourg et la Pyramide de Madoff

It is well known that Madoff had its tentacles well spread into the financial center of Luxembourg, About $2.5 billion are said to be lost. Investors by the thousands scrambled in a difficult attempt to get some money back.

Now that they are somewhat organized, Luxembourg authorities launched a criminal investigation. That's bad news: a curious principle edicts that criminal proceedings have precedence over civil matters. The plaintiffs have to wait out the criminal case.

A strange twist is that at the time of the Madoff affair, Luxembourg law didn't cover the aspect of corporate criminal liability. Is the time spent then on criminal proceedings lost time?

The Gulf of Mexico, BP, the US, the Oil Spill and Luxembourg

I'm living on the Gulf Coast, and given the fact that the now notorious oil leak is in its 58th day, I start wondering.... People get pretty frustrated with the seemingly "Mission Impossible" to stop the leak. Those who think they could easily do so are even more frustrated. As evidenced here in a quote from the Lloyd's List Intelligence:

"AN OFFER by Belgian dredging giant Jan de Nul, (headquartered in Luxembourg), to bring an early end to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was turned down because of a protectionist US law, the company said today.
Jan de Nul offered to send its fallpipe vessel Simon Stevin to the Gulf of Mexico but was frustrated by the US Jones Act, which restricts coastal traffic to vessels built and flagged in the US."

The fallpipe vessel Simon Stevin, navigating under Luxembourg flag is described in this Dutch speaking video, that shows the essential pictures. Read on for a summary.

http://www.tvoost.be/nl/2010-06-09/de-nul-hekelt-aanpak-olievlek/

The video explains that the vessel is equipped with a 1 meter diameter fallpipe, which compares to the 6" pipe being used now. If my math is right that is about a 1:40 difference. The fall pipe is 2,000 meters long. The video shows other equipment that would have been able to build a berm around the marshes.

The Jones Act, acts against common sense.

Memorial Day 2010. Remembering S Sgt Day G. Turner

Or why my mother tongue isn't German. Article posted for Memorial Day 2009.
http://egidethein.blogspot.com/2009/05/memorial-day-2009.html

Yen Rises Amid Lingering Europe Debt Concern; Euro Erases Gains - Bloomberg.com

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=al1b4DcSa864

The European leaders, none of whom ever even successfully managed a grocery store, now save the conceptually failed Euro with $1 trillion. They treat the symptoms and blame "attacks"!
No one, neither Soros nor China nor anyone else detains the power to go against the markets. If it were the case, any rogue nation or organization could manipulate and destabilize the system every day. And if it were the case, the contrary would be true too: the $1 trillion would do the job. Wait for the days to come!
It's the failed policies that let the markets react.

De Peckvillchen: D' Ballade vun de Fënnef Fangeren.

De Peckvillchen: D' Ballade vun de Fënnef Fangeren.

IMF Recommends Luxembourg Adapt Post-Crisis Policies

Some kind and timely words from the IMF, at a moment when the Luxembourg social-democratic model is under strain. Nothing anyone in Luxembourg wouldn't know. But it is so good to hear from abroad, what those people were told by Luxembourg authorities. The same authorities take great pain not to upset the applecart by telling their own constituents the same candid message. It's a syndrome called tripartite. Let the IMF do it then. Here it is.

IMF Recommends Luxembourg Adapt Post-Crisis Policies

Luxembourg Unveils Ambitious Tax Plans

An interesting summary of what is going on in Luxembourg, confronted with the need to get its public finances in order. Not a tax haven for everyone?
Luxembourg Unveils Ambitious Tax Plans

Luxembourg: “Fuel Tourism” Increases CO2 Emissions Nonsense

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5634129-luxembourg-fuel-tourism-increases-co2-emissions

This stupidity of an OECD "expert study" is going to hang around for a couple of weeks. Please explain why a car is polluting more if it is filled up on the other side of the border. Gurria, when you are right, I'm with you. Not on this one. You are losing your credibility when you put out and promote this garbage. You have an axe to grind, it seems to me.
Even disregarding the fact that the manmade global warming has its own credibility issues.

De Peckvillchen: D' Gëlle Fra Schéckt Schéin Gréiss vun Shanghai

De Peckvillchen: D' Gëlle Fra Schéckt Schéin Gréiss vun Shanghai


I know, there are moments when you regret skipping those Luxembourgish classes.
A must read though, even if it requires a Mandarin accent.

OECD says Luxembourg should do more to clean up its environment

This is a new paper by OECD:

http://governancefocus.blogspot.com/2010/04/oecd-says-luxembourg-should-do-more-to.html

Now this is getting out of hand. While criticism maybe justified to fustigate Luxembourg as a tax haven, this new criticism is a monument of hysteria, ill will, bad scientific methodology and an intolerable interference in a member's policies. Hopefully someone has the guts to send that message. Unless it is politically more expedient to join the hysteria, gather the votes coming with that and deprive the country of a source of income that comes from totally acceptable tax competition. No emissions are saved if Luxembourg artificially stops "tank tourism".

"Luxembourg not providing banking information" < Belgian news | Expatica Belgium

"Luxembourg not providing banking information" <>

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Hmm! The proverbial Belgian dentist, stealthily crossing the border must have a great smile. Truth is, for how long?

Luxembourg -Greece: Is there a pilot in the plane?

Unfortunately the great European construction has been flawed from the beginning, when politicians didn't muster the courage to define the real final goal of European integration. The good will of the Founding Fathers has been largely betrayed since, and the construction became a lamentable shack by compromise: appointed officials, a menu of policies to choose from and misguided decisions on Governance, Foreign Policy, Defense, Schengen, and the Euro. All are suffering from the absence of European-wide acceptance, implementation and enforcement. Of course among them the Euro that is not backed by a common economic policy and has many guardians, some clueless when a crisis shows up.

Here is what you get as an example of the cacophony. The sampling is limited to Luxembourg: it doesn't consider what was said by other officials from ECB, the Commission or any other supposed guardian of the grail:

BERLIN, March 25 (Reuters) - If Greece ends up calling on the International Monetary Fund for financial aid it would damage the European single currency, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said on Thursday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE62O0AA20100325

THAT'S THE VICE PRIME MINISTER ON REUTERS. FOLLOWS THE PRIME MINISTER WITH THE OPPOSITE MESSAGE ON AGENCE FRANCE PRESS. SAME DAY. IS THERE A PILOT ONBOARD?

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 3/25/2010

Eurozone's Juncker sees IMF in Greek rescue mix

The finance chief for the 16 nations that share the euro currency said on Thursday he envisaged IMF funding being at the heart of a rescue for debt-stricken Greece.

http://news.malaysia.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3991323

Luxembourg: Fiftieth Anniversary of the "Board of Industrial Development"

An attempt to correct an oversight

On October 29, 1958, Mr. Joe E. Gurley, a U.S. citizen residing in Luxembourg, sent a letter to the Luxembourg Government in which he urged the Minister of the Economy to consider a new economic policy. He proposed creating a task force, which he called "Board of Industrial Development" or "BID" with the goal of attracting U.S. investment and industrial corporations to Luxembourg. His argument was that a diversification of industrial activities in Luxembourg was probably desirable, even necessary, and that the U.S. industry, in the year 1958, swept into the emerging Common Market. Joe Gurley, who possessed the art of communication, brought up the argument that there was competition between the Benelux countries to bring U.S. investors into Europe. The score in this race was at that time: Netherlands 87, Belgium 38, Luxembourg 0.

His letter went unanswered. Every beginning is delicate. Joe Gurley, whom I knew well 20 years later, has always been of unfailing optimism. Colonel of the U.S. Air Force during the war and an officer of the venerable CIA, he was a member of management at "Luxembourg Airlines", which was founded in 1948. Optimistic as ever, he ignored the fact that his letter was ignored. He used his extensive contacts in Luxembourg and the United States to rally support for his concept. In a letter dated December 30, 1958 to Guill Konsbruck, Director General of Arbed, Joe Gurley mentions the interest that Prince Felix, the grandfather of the present Grand Duke, has expressed to have his son Charles play a role in the activities of the BID.

On January 14, 1959, Joe Gurley gave a written proposal for the implementation of the BID. The "Interministerial Committee for Economic Development," in place for years, reviewed the proposal for the creation of the BID favorably. The opinion of the Chamber of Commerce, however, was very reserved. Their review from early 1959 laid down a list of deficiencies in the organization of the country, energy costs and labor, the tax system, the geographic location and concluded that U.S. investors would react negatively when faced with such realities.

But the director of the same Chamber of Commerce, Paul Weber at the time had borrowed the term "monolithic" from geology to describe the dangerous preponderance of steel in the domestic economy, the equivalent of having "put all eggs in one basket. " It was an implicit recognition of the urgent need to diversify the economy. Consensus emerged within the Government in early 1959.

Joe Gurley visited New York in February to seek information and support, and solicit the help of Chase Manhattan Bank, First National City Bank of New York, the National Foreign Trade Council, Manufaturers of Trust Company, Bankers Trust and Belgian-American Bank. On his return from New York he contacted the new government elected earlier on 1 February 1959, including Paul Elvinger, Minister of Economic Affairs, to whom he sent a letter on March 2, 1959. On March 20, he delivered a speech to the Rotary Club of Luxembourg with the subject "American Investments in Luxembourg." The vision was to bring the debate to the public. Thus the political survival of the idea was sealed.

As of April 1959, an infinitesimally short lapse of time later, compared to the slowness of the previous months, the BID was created. The urgency dictated by the difficulties in the few other industrial areas, have certainly contributed to this sudden determination. The serious difficulties and ultimately closing of the last bastion of the leather industry, the company Ideal Wiltz (producing about 500,000 sqm of leather in 1958 and operating at only 40% capacity, with 350 jobs)was probably the shock that gave rise to the BID. Prince Charles of Luxembourg became President and Joe Gurley became the Director of the BID.

In the month of April 1959 Joe Gurley takes possession of an office at the Consulate General of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in New York, 200 East, 42nd Street. In Luxembourg, a number of personalities are formally part of the BID, but in reality are never solicited. The main responsibilities will lie with the Minister Paul Elvinger and Alphonse Schwinnen, Advisor at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

From the beginning, a campaign was launched to make the existence of Luxembourg known. The brochure "Luxembourg, at the center of the Common Market for Your Industry", printed in 2,500 copies, was used to support this campaign. Prince Charles visited the U.S. for three trips, from September 13 to December 5, 1959, then in October 1960 and October 1961 for visits with Joe Gurley to Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City and New York. The presence of a member of a European royal family in these years "after Grace Kelly and Walt Disney" seems to have been singularly effective in opening doors to the upper echelons of American industry and American press.

The action of the BID to publicize Luxembourg as a desirable place also had a boomerang effect: the desirable place had indeed to get some make-up and to beautify its support to investment. Municipalities, such as Steinsel have made great efforts to find industrial land to Bay State for example. And finally Luxembourg laid out its support to industry by passing the legislation framework on economic expansion on June 2, 1962.

But the story of the BID ends there, abruptly, on December 31, 1961. The BID, after three short years, became a victim of its success. The initiative by Joe Gurley marked a turning point in the economic history of Luxembourg. Its success, listed below gives the reason for this dissolution, which is summed up by a header in the New York Herald Tribune on February 12, 1964: "One unemployed worker in all the duchy." It was the issue raised, especially by Arbed, to shut down the BID, as there was too much pressure on the labor market. This decision, strongly contested by Joe Gurley in a speech to the Rotary December 8, 1961, however, was final. The monolith had spoken. Thirteen years later, ironically, the monolith was bursting into a thousand pieces, leaving us an "Anti-Crisis Division" or DAC funded by our taxes. It was also the cry for help to re-establish a "Board of Economic Development" or BED in 1975, chaired by then Crown Prince Henri. History repeats itself.

BID had immediate success, and even beyond its closing year. These are according to STATEC, major new foreign settlements by year of establishment: Yates, Wiltz (60), Eurofloor - American Biltrite, Wiltz (61), Alcuilux, Clervaux (61), Bay State Abrasives, Steinsel ( 61) No-Nail Boxes, Warken (61), Cleveland Crane & Engineering (62), Commercial Hydraulics, Diekirch (62), Texas Refinery, Echternach (62), Du Pont de Nemours Contern (62), Norton, Grevenmacher (63), Monsanto, Echternach (63), P. Lorillard, Ettelbruck (63) Uniroyal Steinfort (65), Eurocast, Grevenmacher (66), Morganite, Windhof (67), Continental Alloys, Dommeldange (69), GM, Grevenmacher (70). In all, several thousand jobs in 10 years. The BID budget was $ 45,000 for three years of operation, probably less than $ 15 per job created. The vision of Joe Gurley has permeated subsequent economic policies of all governments in Luxembourg. His methods are still applicable and probably universally applicable. Joe Gurley died at his home in Youngstown, Ohio State, January 9, 2003. He was a great friend and benefactor of Luxembourg. The fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the BID was last year.

Joe Gurley, awarded "Commander in the Order Adolf of Nassau", surrounded by his wife "Chirpie" Egide Thein, Paul Powers, CEO of Commercial Intertech Ambassador Berns and Ms. Powers. ca. 1994

Former US Ambassador to Luxembourg: Call her Madam too

Former Republican leader joins Mo. think tank - KOAM TV 7 Joplin and Pittsburg News Weather Sports

De Peckvillchen: Gëlle Fra géi nit a China

Are you one of the privileged few who speak Luxembourgish? You have to plunge into our literature.

Read the almost unbearable socio-political drama that involves golden girls, illegal copying, world travel to Hong Kong and Shanghai, though in a box.

All in verses!

De Peckvillchen: Gëlle Fra géi nit a China

German TV cashes in on tax scandal

German TV cashes in on tax scandal

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Global Warming: Could you please explain the science again?

Any candidate for Miss America knows: World Peace, that's good, Global Warming, that's really bad. We know about Peace, but could anyone familiar with the science behind Global Warming explain it to Miss America? We all want to listen in.

At the latest since the December 2009 "World Conference on Climate Change" in Copenhagen, by the way held through bitterly cold weather, we do know that the plan is, that you and I have to pay for something. We really don't know for what, so we need an explanation, and we need to approve.

The underlying facts for the climate concerns

Average world temperatures have risen over the last 100 years by 0.6° C. There are reports that show that most glaciers and polar ice are shrinking. Over the same period, presence of CO₂ and other hydrocarbon compounds in the atmosphere have increased. CO₂ is known to retain heat. Is there a link between the increase in CO₂ and the increase in average temperatures and shrinking glaciers? We know that "scientists" say there is.

The scientific interpretation

So we are told about the only credible hypothesis, that CO₂ and other gases in the atmosphere have increased due to human industrial activity and the use of fossil fuels. As CO₂ is a heat trapping gas released into the atmosphere by human activity, mostly in the rich, developed Northern hemisphere, the warming is global and it is manmade. That must be bad, according to Miss America.

The political conclusion

Consensus has built over the years that manmade GW will be disastrous. Expect more and stronger hurricanes, more extreme weather, flooding and desertification, rising sea levels, plagues, huge human migrations, famines and yes extreme cold, which is another unexpected effect of GW. To prepare for the announced disaster, Governments worldwide have found a way. They have created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC.

IPCC is a body of the United Nations. It indeed predicts increasing global warming, and it says that it will indeed be disastrous. It will financially and socially affect mostly poor countries that themselves do not contribute to the pollutants in the atmosphere. Humanity has to get together and work out a system to compensate poor countries and to curb CO₂ emissions. Polluters have to pay for the irreparable damage done to developing countries who claim for "climate justice". IPCC warns time is running out. The science is settled, they say. The cost of their solutions is tremendous. Cap and trade, where the polluter is paying for CO₂ pollution, could reach $1.9 trillion over six years right now for the US alone, a significant percentage of GDP of about 2.6% annually. Numbers of course vary according to the source.

IPCC, the check please

Of course, the check has a double meaning. While you at IPCC see $$ signs, I want to check on you, because my intuition tells me something is wrong. I want you to revisit your science.

Don't get me wrong, I'll defend your findings to the extreme, if only you can convince me. I know that we do not inherit the world from our parents, but that we borrowed it from our children. I will gladly follow this saying borne out of the wisdom of the Haida Indian Nation in Northwestern Canada, and show my commitment to save my planet. And I practice what I'm advocating, separating paper, glass and plastic into different bins. I also drive a hybrid car, I eat organic food and I renounced my participation at the major meeting in Copenhagen to reduce my carbon footprint. I am an environmentalist's role model, and yet, I'd like to have your help to get me out of a dreadful doubt. I got suspicions.

• Suspicion #1: Manmade Global Warming is counter-intuitive.

There's first that odd intuition, rooted in my childhood years. Formerly, when it was sunny and warm, we knew that it was the sun that warmed the earth and at the same time warmed our hearts. Today you say, it is irresponsible human behavior that warms the earth, and simultaneously heats our tempers. Formerly, heat came for free, from the sun. Today you say, we must pay, because we wrongfully overheat the planet. My intuition tells me that there must be some mistake.

Can you remember the absurd jokes of our childhood: The elephant and the mouse walk through the desert. And the mouse says: "Watch behind us, Jumbo, all that dust we both raise!" Transposed to the case of global warming, I should tell my friend the sun: "Sun, did you notice how much we both warm up the Earth?" It is indeed counter-intuitive to think that I am making any difference to the heat count that the sun provides to the Earth.

• Suspicion #2: Science is never settled

NCPA, the National Center for Policy Analysis, a think tank favoring private initiative over public regulation, shows the impact of human activity on CO₂ in the atmosphere. The tiny part of human made CO₂ "pollution" is only 3.4% of all of CO₂ in the atmosphere, which is only 3.62% of all green house gases in the atmosphere, which represent only 2% of the atmosphere. So human made CO₂ is 0.00246% of the atmosphere!

Chantecler the rooster claimed to his hens, that his morning chanting made the sun rise every morning. Your claim that mankind's production of CO₂ makes global temperatures rise sounds similar. But having dared to utter these things already makes me an outlaw in the eyes of IPCC's guardians of the temple. They'll come all over me for a therapy session, where I'll learn: The science is settled! We must act now!

• Suspicion #3: IPCC predicts the end of the world

Fear is a powerful sales pitch and you abused it. The Arctic Sea will be ice-free during summer 5 years from now, said former Vice President Al Gore, Nobel Prize winner with IPCC. You said that by 2035 the Himalayan glaciers will have ceased to exist. CO₂ the gas we exhale at every breath we take, is now the enemy of the human race. So we humans are our own worst enemy. We shouldn't be so numerous. One child per woman is enough now! Imagine, after each generation the world's population would be cut down by half! Our great grand kids, pardon the plural, our great grand kid, could finally indulge in exhaling all the CO₂ it ever wants on a very lonely and empty planet Earth.

The Chairman of the IPCC, Rajendra Pachauri (upper left), who is a vegetarian, just reiterated that we should stop eating hamburgers. Because in order to get a hamburger you need to have cows, so you need meadows, so you are clearing forests which breathe in and store away CO₂. That's not all: these cows chew their cud and have those memorable flatulencies to blow your head off and contribute 20% (!) of the atmosphere's methane, CH₄, another greenhouse gas. We shall all perish under a sky filled with hot air.

And I shall never again eat a hamburger ............................. without having a thought for the IPCC Chair.

• Suspicion #4: Why isn't there anything good about GW?

Remembering the long cold winters of my childhood, another question is bothering me. It seems according to you that the ideal average global temperature for our planet is 14 degrees C. Why not 17? You only talk about catastrophic consequences. Why isn't any out there that would be good? What is wrong with the image of palm trees in Chicago, cherry trees in Greenland or a blooming Sahara? I know, catastrophes sell. But it is strange that you don't find a single positive outcome. Hollywood too sells catastrophes well, but from time to time with a happy ending.

• Suspicion #5: IPCC has become the prophet of a new religion, and war on CO₂ is its jihad

There are voices that rise up to challenge you at IPCC. You seem to practice a science that is increasingly militant. The empirical data you collected recently, were they manipulated to justify your earlier forecasts? I wonder why you insist so much that science is final. I want to remind you that Galileo wanted to question the well settled science, that the sun is gravitating around the Earth. But the religious "consensus" around settled science of the time was stronger. To be sure show me, why your science is settled.

It would be folly to deny that global temperatures change. That is, they go up and they go down. That there are solar cycles is a well established historic fact. However it takes a good demonstration to show that the present cycle is different and is manmade. I'm the last one to deny the obvious. But what we witness now is excess, a collective hysteria, which takes on the form of a new religion, complete with the fear of the end of the world, an original sin committed by man in the Northern hemisphere who must redress Southern climate injustice and must repent by paying hundreds of billions of dollars. Even two thousand years old religions jump on the bandwagon and put on IPCC's alarmist coat.

It is clear that there is a certain arrogance and obfuscation about the scientific work of your group regarding the public's education. The dogmas and fatwas issued by the IPCC do not serve to reassure me. And activists who support you, too often just use slogans, logos, prayers, slingshots and arson. That activism is 100% emotional and 0% science. Your glossary is militant and catastrophe-heavy: GHG for green house gases, GW for global warming, "manmade disaster" and "climate justice". That hysteria hurts your movement.

I would like to hear more about science and less about slogans. So please explain your science again. Unless you do, I remain skeptical. Throughout my career I have seen such complicated calculations as the formulas used in artillery, which are a combination of mathematics, chemistry, mechanics, physics and fluid dynamics. Here's a secret: even with these elaborate calculations, using many well known variables, it is virtually impossible to reach a target at a distance of only several miles away. One has to use a forward observer to correct the trajectory. I'd be very interested to know how you can be so sure that your science hits its targets, whereas your calculations have to be way more complex than the artillery formulas? Some variables even are probably not yet humanly recognizable and comprehended.

Living in Florida, I'm staring from time to time into the eye of a hurricane. A hurricane is a well studied phenomenon, with well known variables, and though it is powerful, it is limited in space and represents only a very small chunk of climate. But nobody can answer this crucial question just a few days ahead: where exactly and with what force will this storm make landfall? I guess you could, thanks to your monumental knowledge about the global climate?

• Suspicion #6: You have been wrong too often, you must rework your copy and show us.

IPCC considers a number of climate models, all with a large number of assumptions that are more or less arbitrary. What if only one assumption is wrong? It appears that one capital assumption is that a constant increase of CO₂ in the atmosphere, triggers a constant increase of global temperatures. But that assumption has been disproved by observation in the last decade, as revealed by an incident of "hacking" your computers and called "Climategate ". Could it be that the consensus around global warming is a "group-think"? Can it be that other assumptions and findings could be one man's erroneous thinking as it appears to be the case for the melting of arctic ice and Himalayan glaciers? Where was the peer review? Are you sure that over 100 years, your temperature records are taken the same way, in the same places with well working equipment, not gradually encroached by heat-trapping buildings? Remember this about computer models: garbage in, garbage out. And if within a generation or two empirical results show that our generation had produced climate forecasts that were absurd, costly and unfounded? Just like the fools who were Galileo's judges had to find out. Past announcements of the end of the world have often been exaggerated. It's one thing to be ridiculous, there is another one, worse: paying for it.

• Suspicion #7: Is it a beautiful story of dollars?

Some say that the scientific consensus is supported by this evidence: it pays well. The material comfort of many climate scientists, bureaucrats and activists is thus ensured, by well paying jobs. So their story must live on! What also comes to mind is that one other mechanism, which has been a bone of contention between North and South in Copenhagen: developed countries should pay for "climate justice". In Copenhagen, the alleged recipients who are the developing countries, were so upset by the slow pace of negotiations on "compensations", that they left the meeting under protest. It looked as if our children were boycotting Santa Claus. But developing countries too want the Santa Claus story to go on, and in the UN, they are a majority.

I had the privilege in 1991 to be the spokesman for the European Communities to the "Reconvened General Assembly of the United Nations". On the agenda was the reorganization of the UN in the economic and social fields. From this single vantage point, I concluded that aid to developing countries, which by the way have been "developing" for 50 years now, that aid was going into a bottomless pit. The only progress made was going from the politically oh so incorrect term "underdeveloped countries" to a more acceptable "third world countries" and finally to the triumphant "developing countries". And I concluded that for some the most ardent desire was to someday, in the framework of the UN, put their hands into the World Bank's cash register by a simple majority vote. Voting themselves some money. Twenty years later we are almost there with the climate justice payments.

Consider this situation: "Climate Justice" will be the fourth program of assistance to, in fact always the same group of countries, ruled by failed governments. The three other programs benefitting these same countries are the assistance they get through private nongovernmental organizations or NGOs, the huge assistance under the Millennium Development program of the UN (developed nations committed 1% of GDP in aid), and the UN peacekeeping operations. Yes, aid and peacekeeping go together. They are always the same customers. Meanwhile, over one billion people still lack basics like safe drinking water. When will those recipients be tested for results under a UN protectorate, with expectations and success criteria for key? And why pay in advance for climate events that might never happen? And if they were to happen, we'll adapt. You actually instituted the term "adaptation" in your glossary.

Conclusions

IPCC, if you want to win me over, forget about slogans, forget certainly about the one that science is settled, and be aware that you raise suspicions because you are overdoing it selling your story. You are not shy to assemble skeptics with big oil. I'm not big oil, but you should get big oil on your panel and let the scientific method rule your days. Not slogans, sweating polar bears and farting cows. When you have revised your copy, explain it to Miss America. I will be thrilled to listen in.