Scared Monkeys Radio Daily Commentary – Thursday, December 27, 2007 – Man-Made Global Warming Is A Bunch Of Hot Air

• Dana Discusses scientific research that contradicts Al Gore’s idea that humans are harming the environment and causing global warming.

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AP Lists Their Top 10 Stories of 2007 … Give Us Your Picks

Here are 2007′s top 10 stories, as voted by AP members.

What are your top stories of 2007?

1. VIRGINIA TECH KILLINGS: Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed two fellow students in a dormitory on April 16, then shot dead 30 students and professors in a classroom building before killing himself. It was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

2. MORTGAGE CRISIS: A record-setting wave of mortgage foreclosures, coupled with a steep slump in the housing market, buffeted financial markets, caused multibillion-dollar losses at major banks and investment firms, and became an issue in the presidential campaign.

3. IRAQ WAR: The “surge” that sent more U.S. troops to Iraq was credited with helping reduce the overall level of violence. But thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of U.S. personnel were killed nonetheless during the year, and Iraqi political leaders struggled to make meaningful progress toward national reconciliation.

4. OIL PRICES: Oil prices soared to record highs, at one point reaching nearly $100 a barrel. The high prices, which burdened motorists and owners of oil-heated homes.

5. CHINESE EXPORTS: An array of Chinese exports were recalled, ranging from toys with lead paint to defective tires to tainted toothpaste and food. Despite the high-profile problems, America’s trade deficit with China was running at record-high levels.

6. GLOBAL WARMING: Warnings about the consequences of global warming gained intensity with new reports from scientific panels and a Nobel Prize to Al Gore for his environmental crusading that included the film “An Inconvenient Truth.” Across the U.S., many state governments sought to cap emissions blamed for global warming.

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Better Late than Never at a cost of $14.8 billion … The Big Dig in Boston is Complete

The “Big Dig” has seemingly come to an end and only at an expense of $14.8 billion. The initial cost of this Boston, MA construction project was $2.6 billion. This is one anniversary that no one will be popping a champaign cork to. It seems like construction just started such a short time ago. Yeah, like 1991!!!

After a history marked by engineering triumphs, tunnels leaks, epic traffic jams, last year’s death of a motorist crushed by falling concrete panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there’s little appetite for celebration.

Civil and criminal cases stemming from the July 2006 tunnel ceiling collapse continue, though on Monday the family of Milena Del Valle announced a $6 million settlement with Powers Fasteners, the company that manufactured the epoxy blamed by investigators for the accident. Lawsuits are pending against other Big Dig contractors, and Powers Fasteners still faces a manslaughter indictment.

Officially, Dec. 31 marks the end of the joint venture that teamed megaproject contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to build the dizzying array of underground highways, bridges, ramps and a new tunnel under Boston Harbor — all while the city remained open for business.

On Dec. 31, It’s Official: Boston’s Big Dig Will Be Done

Tragic Plane Crash in Panama Leaves 3 Dead; Michael Klein, 37, Talia Klein, 13, and pilot Edwin Lasso, 23. One Surviver

The small plane carrier Michael Klein, 37, Talia Klein, 13, Francesca Lewis, 12, and pilot Edwin Lasso, 23, had first gone missing over the weekend in Panama. Then the tragic news came upon the search and recovery as 3 people were found dead and 1 survivor.

Michael Klein, 37, Talia Klein, 13, and pilot Edwin Lasso, 23, were found dead in an uninhabited region of Panama known as Las Ovejas, about 270 miles west of the capital, the civil protection agency said.

Scared Monkeys Radio Daily Commentary – Wednesday, December 26, 2007 – “Till (blank) Do Us Part”

• Dana comments on some interesting family differences in the Bill and Hillary Clinton household.

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