Iran divides East and West- on green movement and on nuclear fears!

(See What We See News and Archive)

Based on monitoring of media with close ties to certain Asian powers, the editorial here takes the view, that Iran is one of the many issues which divide east and west:


Editorial by Marc Aupiais

Since taking on my role as a news editor, largely to fill the gap we at Scripturelink had in our search engine's coverage of certain specialty issues, I have always attempted to broaden my mind. For this reason I subscribe to the press releases of governments all over the world, in the languages these nations' governments speak in. In addition to this, as South Africa is certainly more connected with the East than the West, at least politically, I am privileged enough to be allowed to watch on my television, what many in the western world consider nothing but propaganda. Given that I have an in depth knowledge of issues, however, I am usually not fazed by this.

While western nations have been condemning the response to the Iranian authorities to the so-called "Green" movement, which claims that recent elections were rigged, the media voices of Eastern powers: China, and Russia, have been presenting a very different perspective.

Both have portrayed protests recently in which about 300 people were arrested as "Violent" "anti-government" protests: in RT (Russian) and CCTV 9 (China Central Television international) that is. The Russian broadcaster quotes the Iranian government to say how many people died, saying that 8 had died, unlike opposition figures cited by western media, which claim that 15 died. Rather than seeing the protests as by one political movement against another, or as against an administration, or "regime", these services both portrayed the recent protests as violent and anti-governmental. While the western observers saw the violence as largely caused by both sides, this is not the impression created by these eastern services with relatively close ties to the state.

RT today broadcast an interview with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, in which Russia seems to further cement their seeming support for the Iranian administration. While Sanctions are directly credited with ending Apartheid in South Africa, and many other disputes, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister insisted that sanctions are historically inadequate as means to insure compliance with laws and systems. The Deputy Foreign Minister was not talking about recent protests, but rather about Iran's alleged nuclear program.

The Deputy Foreign Minister went on to explain, that his nation "treasures" its ties to Iran, and its relationship to the Iranian government.

Russian RT television gave a lot of airtime, as did Chinese state television- to accusations by the Iranian administration, that protests were western inspired, as there was no quotations on the other end, this seems to be a lot more airtime afforded to the Iranian administration than they did to conflicting views. No quotation was made, while I was watching, of the Green movement behind the protests.

Before Copenhagen, watching RT, I knew that there was no chance that the East would bow to any legally binding deal on so-called "Man-Made Climate Change", Russian media for one, was only broadcasting views contrary to those of persons supporting the theory that climate change is man-made.

The reason I watch these stations, is because I believe them to be voices for the strict administrations they represent. These countries are certainly players on the world stage.

That both of these media bodies seem to be subtly if not openly on one side over the Iranian protests, and as Western support for the Green movement has been condemned by Eastern media- it certainly seems firstly that Iran has some backing for their fight against the Green movement. It also would seem that Iran may well enjoy the same impunity as far as its alleged nuclear ambitions are concerned, as Israel enjoys for other reasons from the West. It may be noted, that Israel does not officially have any nuclear weapons.

America's choice to reach out to Iran earlier this year, before the election, may have unwittingly caused Russia to fear for its own territory, and may even be now hampering American efforts, once again spurred on by claims of fears of weapons of mass destruction.

That America has no problem with a seemingly rigged election in Afghanistan, under a "moderate" regime, which none the less allows wives to be denied food if they do not please their husbands' sexual desires suggests the same partisan approach by the West which I have noted before, which certainly does not help create the impression that America is doing as they do for the good of the whole world. That human rights abuses in China, and in South America, Iraq, Afghanistan, can be ignored, but those in Iran warrant attention, alas after a delay in which Obama alienated many western observers means that America certainly can no longer claim to be the World Police, but only one of the many centres of power in the world, aiming for its own benefit, or that of one or other ideology.

The first question western observers should be asking is: if the green movement gets into power, will they continue Iran's alleged nuclear projects, or will they choose a more peaceful approach. This movement is not a classical western movement, and even these often hide behind nuclear weapons. From my impression of a broad spectrum of views, I would estimate it highly likely that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, just as I estimate it likely that the Apartheid era, South African government had nuclear weapons, and likely that Israel currently does.

I also estimate it as highly likely that the Iranian elections recently were either flawed, or fraudulent. I also am more inclined to believe that the protesters portray a more accurate view of what is happening in Iran- than the Iranian state media. However, having been taught of the alleged witch trials carried out in South Africa, by ANC activists in late apartheid, allegedly to make South Africa ungovernable- I read about this from different sources as required reading in the law cause I am currently doing, and as such I also know that it is unwise to trust the views of a movement simply because its opponent may well be bad or oppressive.

On this note, neither of these Eastern media voices seemed to care for the views of the protesters. I would suspect, that in the minefield of global politics, that Russia and China both are supporting the Iranian administration, and that America should be very careful as it along with European powers seeks to insure that Iran does not gain nuclear capability, as it does not look as though they have Russian support in this initiative.

In accordance with journalist integrity, I will note my personal bias, in that I am more western in my personal views, especially on this matter. What I am noting, is that Iran does seemingly have strong supporters on the global scene, supporters which America has yet to buy with mistranslated Russian on ignition keys, and mouse speeches in China, where on Christmas day, yet another Human Rights activist was sent to jail, this time for eleven years- for writing and petitioning with a document, of which, according to Vatican connected service AsiaNews, the entire text has previously been signed in diplomatic documents by the Chinese representation. AsiaNews also alleges that 300 others who signed the document also desired to be tried, but were not. Under the current administration in America, I do not see in the future any more success in negotiating alliance with the East over issues such as Iran.

As always I welcome your views and input, do you think that America and others will be able to bypass world politics, and actually get a hold of Iran, in order to force enrichment of uranium to go through Europe, or will they not be able to pass this politically hard impasse?

Abstinence is GrrrrEat!!!!

Abstinence is GrrrrEat!!!!: "You can't stop kids from having sex we're told all the time. But Tony the Tiger can!

While the U.S. government and the the United Nations have gone cuckoo for the condoms, it seems that there might be a very different answer to stopping kids from having sex.

I've always been told that breakfast was the most important meal of the day but that may be much more true than you thought. A little helping of Cocoa Puffs or breakfast of any sort keeps away teen pregnancy and all sorts of venereal diseases. Let's put Cap'n Crunch in charge of the HHS instead of Sebelius.

Reuters reports:

Teens who skip breakfast as middle school students tend to have sex at an earlier age than those who start the day with a proper meal, a government-backed Japanese medical researcher said on Friday.

The link between breakfast and sex probably lies in the teens' family life, said Kunio Kitamura, executive director of the Japan Family Planning Association, who conducted the survey.

The survey examined sexual experiences as well as family relationships and lifestyle habits of Japanese females and males aged 16 to 49. It was carried out in September and was based on about 1,500 people.

The average age of first-time sex for those who said they ate breakfast every day as a middle school student was 19.4, while for those who skipped breakfast, the average age was 17.5.

'The fact that people can't eat breakfast may show something about their family environment,' said Kitamura. 'Before blaming individuals for having sex at an early age, it may be necessary to look into the sort of homes they are from.'

If the United Nations saw this study, they'd probably start a program where each box of Sugar Smacks had a free condom inside.

I'm sure this study will be ignored and while this should lend credence to the belief that governments should be working to strengthen families, they'll continue to fund programs to weaken them. So while kids scarfing Sugar Bombs down their gullet may not be the picture of health, it might be the healthiest thing they can do.

"

Source:http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2009/12/abstinence-is-grrrreat.html

Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4BP18P20081226

adds:

"People who said they disliked their mother had sex for the first time at the average age of 16, while the average age for those who appreciated their mother was 19, Kitamura said."

The pain, what it truly is now!

(Journey in a Broken World)

Article by Marc Aupiais

A change slightly in the room's temperature,sudden, everything changes, and one is left near empty. The feeling, as though one is too long in lukewarm water, as though drained, as though ones essence is sucked away, and one has nothing, because they have not that!

And inside, the heart feels physical pain, a pain as though a spear splintered into it- and the stomach hurts as well. A desire seems to appear, as though to desire blankness, nothingness, though really- one simply desires comfort, one misreads what one really needs.

One may feel sick, not desire to raise out of bed, not want to eat, or sleep- or do anything. One wants to be nowhere, or anywhere but here.

Odd, our mood is determined by so few things in life, so few people hold the key to our hearts and everything. Everything is so close to falling, our journey rests on the edge of a knife-blade. One individual, one things- makes everything noted.

One wants an end to absence of good, not really an end to self. One wants hope, truth, and shall get it again, if one seeks truth.

If one is depressed, it is because they have hope, for one can only be sad of what they have lost, or could have had.

I know God oddly acts, his ways are strange, odd at the least and most. Yet, his wisdom is great- therefore, I follow my intuition and always do I trust. Do you? Even when one or other thing in the day goes wrong. Often, we can offer it up as a sacrifice, our suffering, and try find God's will. I truly have learnt to find joy in my life, even if things are temporarily awry ... because the tides of life are just that- but the tides of eternity last for eternity.

This advent, look forward to Christ. Have joy, and remember- the darkest clouds move on, too heavy, blown in the winds, but the Christian lasts forever, if he seeks to obey truth always!

Marriages by those baptised in the Catholic church: if performed outside the church- will now be INVALID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[English; Afrikaans; français]


(Tridentine South And Southern Africa)

Note by Marc Aupiais

Persons baptised Catholic are obligated to marry in the Catholic church, or with its approval, or their marriages are invalid. Previously there was a clause exempting those who formally abandoned the faith in a certain way from this- the clause is removed by the Muto Proprio just released by the pope, lets let the Vatican explain the rest:

"MOTU PROPRIO: VARIATIONS TO THE CODE OF CANON LAW

VATICAN CITY, 15 DEC 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio, "Omnium in mentem". The document is dated 26 October 2009 and contains two variations to the Code of Canon Law (CIC), variations which have long been the object of study by dicasteries of the Roman Curia and by national episcopal conferences.

The document published today contains five articles modifying canons 1008, 1009, 1086, 1117 and 1124. According to an explanatory note by Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, these variations "concern two separate questions: adapting the text of the canons that define the ministerial function of deacons to the relative text in the Catechism of the Catholic church (1581), and suppressing a subordinate clause in three canons concerning marriage, which experience has shown to be inappropriate".

The variation to the text of canon 1008 will now limit itself to affirming that "those who receive the Sacrament of Orders are destined to serve the People of God with a new and specific title", while canon 1009 "will be given an additional third paragraph in which it is specified that the minister constituted into the Order of the episcopate or the priesthood receives the mission and power to act in the person of Christ the Head, while deacons receive the faculty to serve the People of God in the diaconates of the liturgy, of the Word and of charity".

Archbishop Coccopalmerio's note then goes on to explain that the other changes contained in the Motu Proprio all concern the elimination of the clause "actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica" contained in canons 1086 para. 1, 1117 and 1124. This clause, "following much study, was held to be unnecessary and inappropriate", he writes.

"From the time the Code of Canon Law came into effect in the year 1983 until the moment of the coming into effect of this Motu Proprio, Catholics who had abandoned the Catholic Church by means of a formal act were not obliged to follow the canonical form of celebration for the validity of marriage (canon 1117), nor were they bound by the impediment concerning marriage to the non-baptised (canon 1086 para. 1), nor did they suffer the prohibition on marrying non-Catholic Christians (canon 1124). The abovementioned clause contained in these three canons represented an exception ... to another more general norm of ecclesiastical legislation according to which all those baptised in the Catholic Church or received into her are bound to observe ecclesiastical laws (canon 11).

"With the coming into effect of the new Motu Proprio", Archbishop Coccopalmerio adds, "canon 11 of the Code of Canon Law reacquires its full force as concerns the contents of the canons thus modified, even in cases were there has been a formal abandonment. Hence, in order to regularise any unions that may have been made in the non-observance of these rules it will be necessary to have recourse, if possible, to the ordinary means Canon Law offers for such cases: dispensation from the impediment, sanation, etc".
MP/OMNIUM IN MENTEM/COCCOPALMERIO VIS 091215 (520)"

Dusk 'til Dawn- our journey with God of truth..

(Journey in a Broken World)

Article by Marc Aupiais

It is odd the effect some people have- just by their presence they change our entire being, by their strength we can move mountains- by their faith we believe.

Though they exhaust us, their energy pushes into us, I almost would say we are inebriated with sanity, with hope, truth, faith, strong faith- and by faith we get strength- and the way to continue through this path- our life.

The dark labyrinth fills vision, as one walks down the tunnel, from darkness to darkness, and into water, a current pulls, a current pushes. And as one flows, they grab onto anything, yet fall, for it is the fate of those with no hope. Yet, this is trust- to lean into the current, deeply, so as to float, though one is pushed. This is faith, to push still in the right direction, with or without the force of water. Catholicism is sanity, and simply in the presence of some, all desire to sin leaves- breaks, dies like a broken flame.

When we are told to live the gospel- this is it:... by changing the world with our presence, choices- works, energy and faith, our hope- by hitting the tennis ball as though into the net, so that it flies over- by doing what some think near suicidal in risk- out of trust of God.

I would rather believe the "impossible" from truth as my source, than any probable thing. God often allows storms in our lives. The lightning flashes, the thunder howls, yet- if we trust, and are shelters- these are beautiful, not deadly. The rain, the Highvelt thunder, itself effects one with energy, and the faith of one makes another dance with joy- by actions and truth.

Often we watch the flashes, but can we feel the magic in the air, the power of raw nature, which accompanies the storm. Are we a storm to watch? I try deeply to be- if anything one gets everyone's attention when they follow the way of God. I have never seen a diluted Catholic change anything- though I often argue from another's perspective, slowly pushing them along.

I walk in dusk, dawn ahead, night behind, somehow fate reversed, in this spiral- my life. I broke the ice, and pushed beyond all snow, and yet I still walk in greyness, and daily I must break the ice, and snow and awake- walk naked into the blizzard, knowing this is not the blizzard I know- that here is infinity minus, that in righteousness, all we thought is oft reversed, and our missteps are clear. Our glasses and every lenses broken.

I know I am weak, though I am told I am strong, I clutch to the wind, like a speck of fluff, and I sink and break, and fall. My strength which has emerged is not my own, but that of God! And perhaps of you- should you perform it for me! We are only real in faith!

SACBC dispatch: Papal Mass

[Apologies in advance for any poor formatting, due to current technical difficulties, I am having to post this dispatch from my personal Blackberry:]

The following will be a dispatch received by our service from the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, they speak entirely in their own capacity. I hope the image registers (advertising what the SACBC calls the screening at 11 PM on Christmas Eve [24 / 10 / 2009] of the Midnight Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, by SABC 3 a government television station, a broadcast which is in association with the SACBC, commentary by Cardinal John Foley):

Attention Attention Read All About It...

Contact has been made by South African Catholic News, editor, Marc Aupiais posting away on tweeter, chilling from his computer he's tweeting away any withdrawls ... this is what I read or would that be twead "I believe... But on God's terms- not mine!".

Hmm, what does that tweet mean or could it be the title of something to come, thats a powerful tweet!? Are those terms hard for anyone to follow?

Source: Friend of a Saint, seen first via Canada :) . Follow him via his tweets on his twitter site, twitterin' some tweet twuff at times.

Funeral Details: Fr Louis Blondel, Missionary of Africa - 11/12th December 2009

The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference speak entirely in their own capacity, we do not necessarily endorse their presentation, facts or claims/views etc: what will follow is a press release from the SACBC which we publish in the public interest (Paragraphing/formatting may be off due to our current connection issues- but the text contents are in the form we received):

"Friday 11 December 2009:

The body of Fr Louis Blondel, Missionary of Africa, will arrive at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Diepsloot at 5pm. Archbishop Paul Mandla Khumalo will receive the body. Fr Louis' body will remain in the church for a night vigil.

Saturday 12 December:

The Requiem Mass for Fr Louis Blondel will be celebrated by Archbishop Paul Mandla Khumalo, Archbishop of Pretoria at 11am.

The burial will take place after the service in the Catholic Section of Westpark Cemetery.

All are welcome to attend. After the funeral service, all are invited to follow the hearse on foot through Diepsloot as a sign of solidarity.

Clergy Instructions:

Friday Evening – Cassock & Surplus/ Religious Habit, white Stole.Saturday – White Alb and White Stole.

Directions:Diepsloot is off the R511 near the N14.

From Johannesburg: Take the Fourways offramp (William Nichol) and head past Montecasino, the Indaba Hotel and continue straight until you see the Mall at Diepsloot on your left. Turn left at the Mall and take the dirt road on the left until you see the Church on the right (about 100m down the dirt road – follow the taxis). If in doubt, please ask.

From Pretoria: Take the N14 to Krugersdorp and then the R511 offramp. Head towards Sandton, Diepsloot Mall  is on the right. Turn Right at the mall and Left onto the dirt road.

Fr Chris Townsend
Information Officer
Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC)P.O.Box 941 Pretoria 0001 South Africa
Khanya House - 399 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria, 0001
Tel: +27 (0)12 323 6458
Fax: +27 (0) 12 326 6218
Mobile: +27(0)82 783 4729www.sacbc.org.za   "

To alter this article, or contact the person responsible for it on our side, please contact Marc Aupiais, editor of South African Catholic!

Christmas Eve Mass Schedule Change

The Vatican has announced and agreed to a change in the Christmas Eve Mass schedule which previously has always begun at midnight. The scheduled mass will now begin at 10 pm on Christmas Eve to allow adequate rest for the Pope to enjoy festivities on Christmas Day.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=4831

Murder of Fr Louis Blondel in Diepsloot, Pretoria

We apologise for the poor form of this article- it was written on a blackberry for current technical reasons our regular readers are now familiar with:

Our usual disclaimer applies here- the SACBC speak in their own capacity. The link to the Bishops' website is not an endorsement. This quotation is made in the public interest:

"Father Louis Blondel was shot dead in his presbytery in Diepsloot during the night 6th/7th December 2009. Four people had allegedly broken into Presbytery. Father Louis, 70, was member of the Missionaries of Africa, a french society of Catholic missionaries dedicated to serving the people of Africa.

Read more...

Fr Chris Townsend
Information Officer
Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC)
P.O.Box 941 Pretoria 0001 South Africa
Khanya House - 399 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria, 0001
Tel: +27 (0)12 323 6458
Fax: +27 (0) 12 326 6218
Mobile: +27(0)82 783 4729
www.sacbc.org.za "

Read more sends you to:

http://www.sacbc.org.za/Site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=397:murder-of-fr-louis-blondel-in-diepsloot-pretoria&catid=1:latest&Itemid=100

God bless,

Marc

Again- sorry for the formatting!

We still are down

Our service may continue to be down for a week. Our twitter should still keep you up to date! It is currently impossible to bypass the technical problem we are having, so I am taking a break from my role as editor of this service for a while.

Perhaps an offsite centre will post in the meantime, the service is not entirely dependant on myself- in the meantime- I am going on holiday from focussing on news for a while- I sense I need to refocus the service anyway- and this is a perfect window for soul searching- who said God doesn't make us take mandated breaks from our moonlighting as a Catholic editor!

God bless,

Hope to be up and running again soon, but if the problem is what I think it is, then this is unlikely to be fixed until around the end of the week.

We plan to dump this week's VIS dispatches and our own articles for the week. VIS is available via subscription from the Vatican website, and online.

We advise subscribing to Zenit, CNA or Catholic World News in the meantime!

God bless,

Marc Aupiais,
Scripturelink.net webmaster and news division head (voluntarily, surprisingly)!

South African Catholic down

Note by Editor

For some reason, I am unable to access any Google site from my connection. I hope this only affects me. We hope to publish last night's VIS dispatch once we are up and working again. Sorry for the inconvenience!

"Climate fraud": Unravels quietly, as major press outlets seemingly attempt to be "responsible"

(World Tainted Green; c.f. The Times (UK based; Independent; Secular) 29 / 11 | November / 2009; Daily Mail (UK based; Independent; Secular) 26 / 11 | November / 2009 ; Bloomberg (Secular; independent; American; Article) 02 / 12 | December / 2009 ; (Secular; Indpendent; American; Editorial) 02 / 12 | December / 2009)

[English; Afrikaans; français]


Article by Marc Aupiais

Comment by World Tainted Green's Marc Aupiais:

For journalistic integrity: Before even starting this article, I admit that I do lean more towards believing in climate change being caused by emissions, than I do towards the theory involving the sun, fronted by climate skeptics, or rather, I believe that the risk that our impact may be causing climate change, is great enough to warrant at least a personal response in each individual, to attempt to reduce their footprint on the earth. That said, I believe that a transparent press, which shows both sides, giving correct weight to each is required at this time.

While doing so in a sustainable manner, and with mind to the effect economic legislation has on deaths due to poverty, I do think climate change should still be investigated with a cautious realization of its consequences if true, and the consequences to the economy if it is not man-made.

Following the hacking of many of the emails (reportedly seen as genuine by the BBC's climate change expert Paul Hudson [so claims the Daily Mail (UK based; Independent; Secular) 26 / 11 | November / 2009]) which were sent by prominent Climate Change scientists throughout the world, in which some top scientists' behaviour for whatever reason, seems to hint at a more activist stance, than at raw scientific endeavour, it has now emerged, that the major collection of original data, on which the claim of the existence of man-made climate change largely is based, that which was held by the University of East Anglia, which is now at the centre of a transparency scandal, was destroyed right back in the 1980s.

All that reportedly remains, is the altered data, now largely provided to the public by the University. This means that the major body of scientific proof of the existence of climate change due to carbon emissions, is secondary, and not based on original raw data. Without evidence of temperature records, it is hard to prove that there is a direct correlation between specific increases of carbon dioxide, and temperature levels. The world climate is thought to have heated up by just 0.8 degrees over the past 150 (One Hundred and Fifty) years due to Carbon Dioxide emissions. This based on the findings of the University of East Anglia, which has been avoiding requests for information.

The statistical calculations on climate change, specifically, those which correlate with fears of the effects of a 2 degrees Celsius increase in global temperature, cannot be based purely on melting ice caps, and the changes in sea temperature and perceived increase in natural disasters now being reported. With only processed data remaining, any errors by original compilers, could have a massive impact on the accuracy of calculations. Decisions, allegedly taken by scientists to quiet sceptics, and the reported involvement of the top University of East Anglia expert in this, do not lend credibility to their climate change research or statistics, of which the raw data no longer exists, and therefore cannot be peer reviewed.

While the so-called "ClimateGate" emails are getting a lot of attention in the press, what concerns me most about this situation, which I shall further explain now, involving the British University of East Anglia, is the recent release by the University, noted by The Times (UK based; Independent; Secular) 29 / 11 | November / 2009:

"SCIENTISTS at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based.

It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years.

The UEA’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was forced to reveal the loss following requests for the data under Freedom of Information legislation.

The data were gathered from weather stations around the world and then adjusted to take account of variables in the way they were collected. The revised figures were kept, but the originals — stored on paper and magnetic tape — were dumped to save space when the CRU moved to a new building.


The admission follows the leaking of a thousand private emails sent and received by Professor Phil Jones, the CRU’s director. In them he discusses thwarting climate sceptics seeking access to such data.

In a statement on its website, the CRU said: “We do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (quality controlled and homogenised) data.”

[...]


Jones was not in charge of the CRU when the data were thrown away in the 1980s, a time when climate change was seen as a less pressing issue. The lost material was used to build the databases that have been his life’s work, showing how the world has warmed by 0.8C over the past 157 years.

He and his colleagues say this temperature rise is “unequivocally” linked to greenhouse gas emissions generated by humans. Their findings are one of the main pieces of evidence used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which says global warming is a threat to humanity."

According to Bloomberg (Secular; independent; American; Article) 02 / 12 | December / 2009:

"Claims that scientists suppressed data about global warming prompted the head of a British university’s climate research center to step down until the completion of an investigation.

Phil Jones, a professor and director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K., will temporarily relinquish his post, the school said yesterday in a statement. Private e-mails from Jones were among thousands of pieces of correspondence between scientists debating climate change that were stolen and posted on the Internet last month.

The e-mails, dating back as far as 1996, have been cited by skeptics of man’s contribution to global warming as evidence of a conspiracy to manipulate data to support research. The Climatic Research Unit has said the e-mails were taken out of context and allegations of data manipulation are unfounded.

“They’re conspiring to keep papers out of published journals,” said Marc Morano, a climate skeptic who is editor of a Web site on the issue, referring to the leaked e-mails in a Nov. 24 interview. “You see them as nothing more than a bunch of activists manufacturing science for a political goal.”

Jones said the disclosure of the e-mails ahead of an international meeting on climate change in Copenhagen is an attempt to undermine measures to fight global warming.

“This may be a concerted attempt to put a question mark over the science of climate change in the run-up to the Copenhagen talks,” Jones said in a statement. “We are, and have always been, scrupulous in ensuring that our science publications are robust and honest.”"

While major press coverage has been given to the word "trick", which was used in the emails, and to discussions on how to avoid Freedom of Information requests, what is further concerning are claims, from the hacked versions of the emails, which prima facie reportedly show Phil Jones attempting to manipulate the peer review process, to quash the views of scientists who were less convinced of climate change.

An editorial in Bloomberg (Secular; Indpendent; American; Editorial) 02 / 12 | December / 2009 claims:

"The real issue here is one of trust and transparency -- values that apparently didn’t matter enough to Professor Phil Jones, the director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The files made public Nov. 19 include a message from Jones asking other scientists to delete e-mails, apparently as a way of dodging requests under the U.K.’s Freedom of Information law.

Other e-mails discuss trying to oust a journal editor who published skeptical papers and preventing dissenting views from being published by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “I can’t see either of these papers being in the next IPCC report,” Jones wrote. “Kevin and I will keep them out somehow -- even if we have to redefine what the peer- review literature is!”"

It appears, that China's decision to set its first emission targets, as released prior the Copenhagen summit, is not as clear as originally seen, EuroNews claims, that the plan is pegged to China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and therefore reportedly means no real reductions as long as China's economy grows. The US, whose president Barack Obama was thought to take Climate Change claims seriously, has based its own emission targets on 2005 levels, rather than on 1990 levels, a reduction which would not be enough, according to some scientists. India, meanwhile has refused any legally enforceable climate restrictions, while Africa's biggest polluter, South Africa, is set to build even more coal powered power plants to combat electricity shortages.

The Australian senate also, recently voted down a climate-change bill. It is feared by those believing in man-made climate change as a threat, that Copenhagen will not result in any enforceable limits.