Kissinger Is Dead
We just live in his world. Welcome to COP28.
PRESENTED BY ASHES TO ASHES
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) officially launched this morning in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Here’s the webcast page.
One of the open questions for these climate talks, in addition to what agreements, if any, will be found on methane, loss and damage, carbon markets, and international carbon taxes, is which world leaders will use the COP 28 stage to honor a genocidal war criminal, and which will use it to condemn him, as Henry Kissinger is now, finally, dead.
Despite—or because because of—his propensity for genocide, lies, and the persecution of his political enemies, Kissinger was long fêted by the New York cocktail circuit. Hillary Clinton decided to run the second time for the presidency as she spent Christmas 2014 with the Kissingers, as she and Bill did every year at Oscar de la Renta’s Dominican Republic retreat. But that, of course, didn’t keep the Beltway Butcher from advising Donald Trump during the 2016 primary and in the White House as well.
Thursday includes two Republican-led hearings on the mining industry, under the “critical minerals” rubric. At 10 am, the House Science Committee holds a hearing on the role of federal research in establishing a robust U.S. supply chain of critical minerals and materials The all-male panel includes DOE oil and gas official Ryan Peay, the mining-industry-funded Stanford mining engineer Jef Caers, rare-earth miner and former Trump DOE official Drew Horn, solar-energy supply-chain scientist Dustin Mulvaney, and chemical process CEO Tom Baroody. And at 2 pm, there is a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing on safety and security in the critical mineral supply chain.
Other Thursday 10 am hearings:
A Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on advanced nuclear reactor commercialization;
A House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the bipartisan Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act, with witnesses from the National Forest System, the National Park Service, lobbyists for outdoor recreation industry, and rock climber Sasha DiGiulian and mountaineer Luis Benitez; and
A Senate Agriculture nomination hearing for former Virginia agriculture secretary Dr. Basil Gooden to be Undersecretary of Rural Development, and Republican lobbyist Summer Mersinger to be reappointed to the Commodities Future Trading Commission.
Thursday’s other 2 pm hearings include a House Science oversight subcommittee hearing attacking the Biden administration’s proposed Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate-Related Financial Risk rule. In particular, this hearing will feature testimony from White House Council on Environmental Quality Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Mayock, who will be pressed on the administration’s crafting of the rule to use the privately-backed Science Based Targets Initiative organization as the overseer of corporate compliance with the rule. Republicans will, without irony, question why a private organization with extensive ties to industry should be trusted with ensuring compliance to climate targets for industry.2
Also at 2 pm, a House Foreign Affairs hearing on border security, Trump style, with white nationalists Chad Wolf of the ecofascist America First Policy Institute and Gene Hamilton of Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, worthy successors to Kissinger’s legacy of ethnic cleansing and callousness toward the most helpless people in the world.
In contrast, here’s an Ash-throated Flycatcher:
And a Trogon caught by Ash Ponders:
And the Argyle Street Ash Tree:
Not all ashes are bitter.
Hearings on the Hill:
10 AM: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization10 AM: Federal Lands
House Natural Resources
Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act10 AM: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Nomination of Basil Gooden to be Undersecretary of Rural Development, and Reappointment of Summer Mersinger as CFTC Commissioner10 AM: House Science, Space, and Technology
The Role of Federal Research in Establishing a Robust U.S. Supply Chain of Critical Minerals and Materials2 PM: House Foreign Affairs
Border Security: In Defense of Eco-Fascism2 PM: House Science, Space, and Technology
Environment
Investigations and Oversight
CEQ Testimony on Proposed Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate-Related Financial Risk Rule2 PM: House Oversight and Government Reform
Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs
Digging Deeper: Ensuring Safety and Security in the Critical Mineral Supply Chain
Climate Action Today:
12 AM: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
COP 28: Day One
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As part of my duties at the Los Angeles Times, I was the editor of Kissinger’s monthly column, which also appeared in other publications. In addition to having to suppress my view that he should be in prison for the rest of his life, every change, including commas, had to be personally approved by Kissinger himself. After a promotion, I managed to worm my way out of this intolerable task and make it someone else’s problem.