Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Dirty Movies
A new study about pollution in Los Angeles is pointing a finger directly at — Hollywood. A report from the UCLA Institute of the Environment says the film and TV industry emits up to 140 tons of ozone and diesel particulate emissions each year from such things as trucks and generators, special effects explosions and the destruction of sets with dynamite.
This makes Hollywood the second largest polluter in the region — trailing only the petroleum industry. In fact, the makers of the global-warming film “The Day After Tomorrow” belched out 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during production.
The movie made $543 million worldwide. Producers contributed $200,000 dollars to plant trees and take other steps to offset the pollution they created.
Cause or Cure?
Several prominent scientists — including a Nobel laureate — think the answer to global warming — which is often blamed on pollution — is more pollution.
Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen wants to put heavy guns aloft on balloons and fire sulfates into the stratosphere — creating a layer of pollution that would reflect the sun’s rays and cool the earth.
Crutzen says the original concept was actually meant to startle government leaders — and he’s surprised at the positive reaction he’s getting.
“Bonnie and Clyde”
Meanwhile Al Gore — who’s in Australia to promote his global warming movie — is calling the U.S. and Australia the “Bonnie and Clyde” of the climate crisis for failing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard calls Gore a “peeved politician” and says global warming “is not going to overwhelm us tomorrow. We are not going to drown in the sea in a couple of weeks time.”
Wal-mart Blacklisted
The people who run Norway’s global state investment fund are blacklisting Wal-Mart — because they say the world’s largest retailer discourages labor unions. The fund has an ethics policy prohibiting investments in companies that make weapons and do other things the Norwegians don’t approve of. The leader of the fund’s ethics council says the policy exists “so the Norwegian people can sleep better at night.”
But the U.S. ambassador to Norway calls the policy hypocritical — pointing out the fund does invest in countries where there are no private labor unions at all.
Ambassador Benson Whitney says the inconsistent approach actually “encourages unethical companies and discourages ethical ones.”
A Jinx on Bush
A renowned black magic practitioner in Indonesia has performed a voodoo ritual to jinx President Bush and his entourage during their upcoming visit on Monday.
The witch doctor slit the throat of a goat and a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest. Then he mixed the blood with spice and broccoli, drank the potion and smeared some on his face.
Says the man — “I don’t hate Americans, but I don’t like Bush.” He says he believes the jinx will work because “the devil is with me today.” So far no response from the secret service.
—FOX News Channel’s Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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