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Live Earth has been branded a foul-mouthed flop. Organisers of the global music concert - punctuated by swearing from presenters and performers…

Buenos Aires Gets First Snow Since 1918

Top 10 ‘Global-Warming’ Myths

10. The U.S. is going it alone on Kyoto and global warming.

Nonsense. The U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol’s energy-rationing scheme, along with 155 other countries, representing most of the world’s population, economic activity and projected future growth. Kyoto is a European treaty with one dozen others, none of whom is in fact presently reducing its emissions. Similarly, claims that Bush refused to sign Kyoto, and/or he withdrew, not only are mutually exclusive but also false. We signed it, Nov. 11, 1998. The Senate won’t vote on it. Ergo, the (Democratic) Senate is blocking Kyoto. Gosh.

Don’t demand they behave otherwise, however. Since Kyoto was agreed, Europe’s CO2 emissions are rising twice as fast as those of the climate-criminal United States, a gap that is widening in more recent years. So we should jump on a sinking ship?

Given Al Gore’s proclivity for invoking Winston Churchill in this drama, it is only appropriate to summarize his claims as such: Never in the field of political conflict has so much been asked by so few of so many … for so little. 9. Global-warming proposals are about the environment.

Only if this means that they would make things worse, given that “wealthier is healthier and cleaner.”

Like Carmeron “Ditz” Diaz (but aren’t Liberals supposed to be the most intelligent people on the planet? The BIGGEST MYTH - Hey, but she did graduate from Long Beach Poly Tech High!

Even accepting every underlying economic and alarmist environmentalist assumption, no one dares say that the expensive Kyoto Protocol would detectably affect climate. Imagine how expensive a pact must be — in both financial and human costs — to so severely ration energy use as the greens demand. Instead, proponents candidly admit desires to control others’ lifestyles, and supportive industries all hope to make millions off the deal. Europe’s former environment commissioner admitted that Kyoto is “about leveling the playing field for big businesses worldwide” (in other words, bailing them out).

8. Climate change is the greatest threat to the world’s poor.

Climate — or more accurately, weather — remains one of the greatest challenges facing the poor. Climate change adds nothing to that calculus, however. Climate and weather patterns have always changed, as they always will. Man has always best dealt with this through wealth creation and technological advance — a.k.a. adaptation — and most poorly through superstitious casting of blame, such as burning “witches.” The wealthiest societies have always adapted best. One would prefer to face a similar storm in Florida than Bangladesh. Institutions, infrastructure and affordable energy are key to dealing with an ever-changing climate, not rationing energy.

7. Global warming means more frequent, more severe storms.

Here again the alarmists cannot even turn to the wildly distorted and politicized “Summary for Policy Makers” of the UN’s IPCC to support this favorite chestnut of the press.

6. Global warming has doomed the polar bears!

For some reason, Al Gore’s computerized polar bear can’t swim, unlike the real kind, as one might expect of an animal named Ursa Maritimus. On the whole, these bears are thriving, if a little less well in those areas of the Arctic that are cooling (yes, cooling). Their biggest threat seems to be computer models that air-brush them from the future, the same models that tell us it is much warmer now than it is. As usual in this context, you must answer the question: Who are you going to believe — me or your lying eyes?

5. Climate change is raising the sea levels.

Sea levels rise during interglacial periods such as that in which we (happily) find ourselves. Even the distorted United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports refute the hysteria, finding no statistically significant change in the rate of increase over the past century of man’s greatest influence, despite green claims of massive melting already occurring. Small island nations seeking welfare and asylum for their citizens such as in socially generous New Zealand and Australia have no sea-level rise at all and in some cases see instead a drop. These societies’ real problem is typically that they have made a mess of their own situation. One archipelago nation is even spending lavishly to lobby the European Union for development money to build beachfront hotel resorts, at the same time it shrieks about a watery and imminent grave. So, which time are they lying?

4. The glaciers are melting!

As good fortune has it, frozen things do in fact melt or at least recede after cooling periods mercifully end. The glacial retreat we read about is selective, however. Glaciers are also advancing all over, including lonely glaciers nearby their more popular retreating neighbors. If retreating glaciers were proof of global warming, then advancing glaciers are evidence of global cooling. They cannot both be true, and in fact, neither is. Also, retreat often seems to be unrelated to warming. For example, the snow cap on Mount Kilimanjaro is receding — despite decades of cooling in Kenya — due to regional land use and atmospheric moisture.

3. Climate was stable until man came along.

Swallowing this whopper requires burning every basic history and science text, just as “witches” were burned in retaliation for changing climates in ages (we had thought) long past. The “hockey stick” chart — poster child for this concept — has been disgraced and airbrushed from the UN’s alarmist repertoire. 2. The science is settled — CO2 causes global warming.

Al Gore shows his audience a slide of CO2 concentrations, and a slide of historical temperatures. But for very good reason he does not combine them in one overlaid slide: Historically, atmospheric CO2, as often as not, increases after warming. This is typical in the campaign of claiming “consensus” to avoid debate (consensus about what being left unspoken or distorted).

What scientists do agree on is little and says nothing about man-made global warming, to wit: (1) that global average temperature is probably about 0.6 degree Celsius — or 1 degree Fahrenheit — higher than a century ago; (2) that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have risen by about 30% over the past 200 years; and (3) that CO2 is one greenhouse gas, some level of an increase of which presumably would warm the Earth’s atmosphere were all else equal, which it demonstrably is not.

Until scientists are willing to save the U.S. taxpayer more than $5 billion per year thrown at researching climate, it is fair to presume the science is not settled.

1. It’s hot in here!

In fact, “It’s the baseline, stupid.” Claiming that present temperatures are warm requires a starting point at, say, the 1970s, or around the Little Ice Age (approximately 1200 A.D to the end of the 19th Century), or thousands of years ago. Select many other baselines, for example, compared o the 1930s, or 1000 A.D. — or 1998 — and it is presently cool. Cooling does paint a far more frightening picture, given that another ice age would be truly catastrophic, while throughout history, warming periods have always ushered in prosperity. Maybe that’s why the greens tried “global cooling” first.

The claim that the 1990s were the hottest decade on record specifically targets the intellectually lazy and easily frightened, ignoring numerous obvious factors. “On record” obviously means a very short period, typically the past 100+ years, or since the end of the Little Ice Age. The National Academies of Science debunked this claim in 2006. Previously rural measuring stations register warmer temps after decades of “sprawl” (growth), cement being warmer than a pasture.

Today, July 11th the deadline for the Treasury Department to release regulations for the implementation of the UIGEA is officially past due.

The regulations which would force banks to comply with the UIGEA to stop gambling transactions online have been extended after 9 months of waiting.

The regulations are not yet ready to be published. Today happens to be the end of the 270 day allotted time period. Instead they expect to see regulations issued sometime later this month. Steve Laughton was the email contact listed at the Reginfo.gov for the UIGEA updates.

There is still uncertainty in the air about future regulation dates. In two separate emails sent to Laughton, one stated they would “hopefully” have regulations in place this month. The second email replied that they would have regulations in place “soon” this month. Both emails were received within an hour apart of each other yet imply different regulation release dates.

No further specific updates were given on possible timeframes or strength of the regulations from Laughton.

In previous weeks things have looked positive for online gambling in the US including Seattle based lawyer suing the State over the UIGEA, almost 600,000 US citizens joining the PokerPlayersAllianace and IMEGA seeking and injunction against the UIGEA.

As Graffiti Wall reported earlier, the impact of the UIGEA in this years World Series of Poker has been major with a large decline in registrants for the Main Event which began earlier this week.

For now poker and casino gambling continues online in the United States. Players are getting accustomed to sitting on their hands and continue to wait and see if their freedoms are taken away.

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS GOLF NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

PGA

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois - With the world’s best golfers preparing for next week’s third major, the British Open Championship, the PGA Tour heads for its annual stop in Illinois for the John Deere Classic.

Talk about a place where people go for their first win. Seven of the previous 10 champions have claimed their first PGA Tour crown at this event, which has been contested at the TPC Deere Run since 2001. Overall, 18 of the previous 35 winners picked up tour win No. 1 at this tournament.

John Senden got up and down from a greenside bunker on the 18th for par and his first PGA win.

Last year it was John Senden’s turn. Senden got up and down from a greenside bunker on the 18th for par and the win. The par helped him fend off 2002 winner J.P. Hayes by one stroke. Hayes had a chance to grab the lead with an eagle on 17, but he could not convert and ended one back after a closing 65.

The last three winners — Mark Hensby, Sean O’Hair and Senden — all earned berths in the British Open with their wins, however Hensby declined the invitation.

There have been just six playoffs in the first 35 years of this event, but the 1981 playoff was an historic one. Dave Barr needed eight — yes, eight — extra holes to knock off Woody Blackburn to claim the title.

The only reason that playoff was possible was because Victor Regalado bogeyed the final two holes that create a five-way playoff with Barr, Blackburn, Regalado, Dan Halldorson and Frank Connor. The playoff featured two Americans (Blackburn and Connor), two Canadians (Halldorson and Barr) and a Mexican, Regalado.

Michelle Wie, who pulled out of this event last year during the second round because of heat exhaustion, withdrew from the event a month ago due to her wrist injury.

The Golf Channel and CBS split coverage of the four rounds this week. Next week is the season’s third major, the British Open. Tiger Woods will defend his title at Carnoustie, while the remainder of the PGA Tour will be at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, where Corey Pavin won the title in ‘06.

EUROPEAN TOUR

BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN, Loch Lomond, Glasgow, Scotland - With the British Open looming next week, several Americans have gone across the pond a week early to play in the Barclays Scottish Open.

Among those who made the trip to Loch Lomond were Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson and Shaun Micheel. They are just three of 10 former major champions teeing it up this week, a list that includes newly crowned U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera.

Phil Mickelson is one of the former champions set to tee off in Glasgow.

Eight of the last 11 winners — Johan Edfors, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Thomas Bjorn, Retief Goosen, Thomas Levet, Lehman and Lee Westwood — are also scheduled to complete their final British Open preparations at Loch Lomond.

Montgomerie, an eight-time Order of Merit winner, is coming off his first win since December 2005. He won the title here in ‘99 the week before the British Open was played at Carnoustie, which will also host the Open Championship next week.

Pablo Martin, who made history as the first amateur to win on the European Tour earlier this year, will tee it up as a professional this week. Martin won the Estoril Open de Portugal as an amateur. He later turned pro, but has made cuts in just one of four events, all on the PGA Tour, to this point.

The Golf Channel will broadcast action of all four rounds. Tiger Woods defends his British Open title next week at Carnoustie, where Paul Lawrie was a playoff winner in 1999, the last time the Open was at Carnoustie.

LPGA TOUR

JAMIE FARR OWENS CORNING CLASSIC, Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio - After a week off, the LPGA Tour returns to action with the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Fresh off of her U.S. Women’s Open win, Cristie Kerr heads to Highland Meadows Golf Club.

Newly crowned U.S. Women’s Open champion Cristie Kerr heads the field, which will tee it up at Highland Meadows Golf Club for the 19th straight year.

Last year, Mi Hyun Kim birdied the third playoff hole to knock off hard-luck loser Natalie Gulbis. Both Kim and Gulbis closed with rounds of six-under 65, but Kim had been as many as four behind, before closing with three birdies on the back nine to force the extra session.

Gulbis and Kim began the final round tied for the lead, but needed everyone of those 65 strokes to stay ahead of the rest of the field. Paula Creamer matched their 65s to end one back at minus-17, with Se Ri Pak two back after a 66.

Pak will look to continue her amazing play at this event, where she has posted four wins and eight top-10s in the previous nine years. If she wins for a fifth time, she would join Mickey Wright and Annika Sorenstam as the only players to win the same LPGA event five times.

After no coverage for the opening round, ESPN2 will cover the final three rounds of action from 3:00-5:00 p.m. (et) each day. Next week, the LPGA shifts back to New York for the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship, where 39th-seeded Brittany Lincicome defeated eight-seed Juli Inkster for the crown last year.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

DICK’S SPORTING GOODS OPEN, En-Joie Golf Club, Endicott, New York - For 35 years, the En-Joie Golf Club hosted the PGA Tour’s B.C. Open. That event was removed from the 2007 schedule, so the Champions Tour moved in for a new event at En-Joie.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Open is a new event on the Champions Tour slate.

Just five of the top-10 players on the Champions Tour money list will be in the field this week, led by Tom Purtzer, who won the AT&T Champions Classic earlier this year.

Along with that win, Purtzer has seven other top-10 finishes this year and is ranked fourth on the money list.

The Golf Channel will cover all three days of action from New York. After a week off, the Champions Tour will head to Scotland for the Senior British Open, where Loren Roberts won last year.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL INVITATIONAL, The Ohio State University Scarlet Course, Columbus, Ohio - The Nationwide Tour also has a new event this week and it has one of the biggest names in golf serving as the honorary chairman.

Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio State alum, will play host on the Buckeyes’ Scarlet Course. Nicklaus oversaw a 2006 renovation of the course, which has been rated by Golf Digest as the top collegiate golf course in the country.

To get into the field, players need to fit into one of these categories: tournament winners from 2006-07; top-60 money earners on the 2006 money list; players who finished 21-60 on the 2006 money list; current U.S. Amateur champion; NCAA champion; Jack Nicklaus Award winner (College Player of the Year); First Team All-Americans; six Sponsor Exemptions, two of which are restricted to PGA Tour/Nationwide Tour members; or any finisher in the top 25 and ties from the previous event.

The Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage of all four rounds this week. Next week is the Price Cutter Charity Championship, where Doug LaBelle II won last year.

CANADIAN TOUR

FREE PRESS MANITOBA CLASSIC, Pine Ridge Golf Club, Winnipeg, Manitoba - Josh Habig fired an eight-under 63 in the final round last year, then had to wait to see if his score of 13-under would hold up.

Third-round leader Darren Griff carded three straight 68s before posting a 69 in the final round to finish two strokes behind Habig.

Just three of the past nine winners — Habig, Alex Quiroz (2002) and Perry Parker (1998) — are scheduled to play this week.

Pine Ridge Golf Club is hosting the tournament for the eighth straight year.

The Canadian Tour International Team Matches with the USA and Canada will be played July 17th and 18th, then PGA Tour comes north of the border for the Canadian Open from July 26th-29th. The Canadian Tour returns to action August 16th-19th for the Montreal Open, where Wes Heffernan won last year. FUTURES TOUR CIGNA GOLF CLASSIC, Gillette Ridge Golf Club, Bloomfield, Connecticut - The Futures Tour returns with the Cigna Golf Classic this week.

Last year’s champion Song-Hee Kim has moved on to the LPGA Tour and currently stands 97th on the money list. She has made seven cuts in 13 starts this season.

Leading money winner Emily Bastel heads the field that includes all of the top-10 players on the Futures Tour money list.

Next week is the Alliance Bank Golf Classic, where Ha-Na Chae won last year. Chae is currently 10th on the Futures Tour money list.

Final Score: American League 5, National League 4

San Francisco, CA - Ichiro Suzuki hit the first inside-the- park home run in All-Star Game history, leading the American League to continued dominance in the Mid-Summer Classic with a 5-4 victory over the National League.

Suzuki’s fifth-inning home run — aided by an odd bounce off a banner covering the right-field wall — gave the American League a 2-1 lead and carried the Seattle Mariners center fielder to the Most Valuable Player Award.

“Now I have a great memory and a great memory of San Francisco,” said Suzuki.

And that piece of hardware may just be the beginning for Suzuki, who is reportedly close to finalizing a five-year contract extension with the Mariners.

The American League continued its dominance, winning for the fifth straight time and improving its record to 10-0-1 in the last 11 meetings. The Senior Circuit hasn’t won an All-Star Game since 1996.

With the victory, the American League champions will have home field advantage in the World Series.

It didn’t come without drama. Dmitri Young’s two-out grounder to Brian Roberts in the hole between first and second was gloved then dropped for an infield single, and Alfonso Soriano belted a two-run shot just over the wall tight to the line in right for a 5-4 game.

J.J. Putz was relieved, but Francisco Rodriguez wasn’t much better. The Angels closer walked Derrek Lee and Orlando Hudson to load the bases for Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand.

Rowand looked at a strike before flying out to right.

Suzuki finished 3-for-3 and Carl Crawford and Victor Martinez hit home runs for the AL, the latter a two-run shot in the eighth that made the score 5-2.

Josh Beckett picked up the victory, tossing two scoreless frames, while Rodriguez retired Rowand to pick up the save.

“I don’t think we dominated tonight. It was a great ballgame. I am so happy,” said Detroit and American League manager Jim Leyland.

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes had three hits and scored once while Ken Griffey drove in two runs and threw out Alex Rodriguez at the plate.

“I really felt like we went about it the right way,” St. Louis and National League manager Tony La Russa said. “I felt good about it. We had a lot of life defensively and offensively.”

Hometown favorite Barry Bonds, just five homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record, finished 0-for-2 with a pair of fly outs, including a ball that reached the rim of the warning track in left.

Chris Young gave up Suzuki’s homer to take the loss. Billy Wagner also gave up two runs in just one inning of work.

Reyes triggered a scoring chance in the bottom of the first, singling to center then stealing second base, all too commonplace for the big-league leader in that category with 46 steals.

Griffey answered the bell with a two-out base hit to center, chasing home Reyes for the 1-0 edge.

The American League put together a threat in the fourth. Alex Rodriguez led off with a single, stole second then raced around third on Ivan Rodriguez’s single to right.

Griffey, however, threw a dart that short-hopped catcher Russell Martin slightly up the line, but Rodriguez was out by five feet to end the threat.

One inning later, Griffey’s outfield defense and the aid of a banner gave the American League the lead. Roberts walked, and with one out, Suzuki hit a towering shot to deep right-center field. Griffey played for a carom into center field, but the ball hit low on the wall off a banner and kicked towards right.

Roberts scored and Suzuki rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run and a 2-1 advantage.

Crawford battled through a nine-pitch at-bat against Francisco Cordero in the top of the sixth, eventually lining a pitch just over the brick wall in right- center for a 3-1 lead.

Carlos Beltran hit a ball a little lower and just to the right of Crawford’s homer, bouncing hard off the wall for a leadoff triple in the bottom of the frame. Griffey then drove him home with a screaming sacrifice fly to right.

Mike Lowell singled off Billy Wagner to start the top of the eighth and Martinez gave the AL some breathing room with a line drive that cleared the wall in left for a 5-2 game.

Game Notes

Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander hit 100 miles per hour on the radar gun in the sixth…Paula Cole sang “God Bless America” during the seventh- inning stretch…The National League left nine men on base…Both starting hurlers pitched well. American League starter Dan Haren allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts in two innings, while Jake Peavy tossed a scoreless frame for the National League.