NMSU Scientists Developing Drought-Tolerant Alfalfa
N.M Rep Wants Criminal Statute Reform
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| Rep. Bill Rehm |
Heart Attacks Kills N.M. Guardsman in Afghanistan
Iranians Issue "Warning" to U.S. Carrier Stennis
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| Iranian Navy Ships |
“We usually don’t repeat our warning, and we warn only once,” the head of Iran’s army, Ataollah Salehi, was cited as saying yesterday by the state-run Fars news agency. “We recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf.”
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| Air Craft Carrier John Stennis |
He didn’t say what action Iran might take if the U.S. ignores the warning. His statement follows threats from other Iranian officials in recent days to block oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in a conflict over new economic sanctions.
While Iran has the military capability to disrupt shipping at least temporarily, it would hurt itself by doing so because it is dependent on the waterway for its oil-export revenues, according to analysts such as Ali Nader of the RAND Corp. research institute. Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington last week called recent threats “an exercise in rhetoric.”
The Stennis, which Iran said it spotted during naval exercises, passed eastward through the Strait of Hormuz on Dec. 27 on a routine voyage and was operating in the northern Arabian Sea, according to the U.S. 5th Fleet, which has a base in Bahrain. “We are not seeking a confrontation,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said yesterday at a briefing in Washington. The U.S. military will continue to play a role in ensuring freedom of navigation, she said. Read full story here: News New Mexico
Governor Seeks More Transparency
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| Susana Martinez |
Governor Susana Martinez will be supporting legislation in the upcoming legislative session that will increase government transparency by requiring all final public-meeting agendas to be available 72 hours in advance and posted online, along with all related documents. The bill, which will be sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith (R-Sandia Park), is also backed by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. “In the spirit of open government, this is a simple yet important step toward increasing transparency that should receive wide bipartisan support,” said Governor Martinez. “Legislation requiring public meeting agendas to be posted online three days in advance will set a uniform standard across government and allow more access for all interested New Mexicans. I’m pleased to work with NMFOG and Rep. Smith on this measure and I hope to see it passed into law during next month’s legislative session.”
Currently, New Mexico law requires agendas to be posted within 24 hours of a public meeting, which can make it difficult for those interested in the public body's work to know the items that the committee will be discussing and make the decision on whether to travel to the meeting and participate.
"Democracy can't work unless citizens are informed about what their policy makers are doing," said Sarah Welsh, Executive Director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. "That is what this bill is all about; it gives New Mexicans a much better opportunity to inform themselves and to participate in government."“This is an opportunity to increase and standardize transparency across state and local governments,” said Rep. Smith. “Given the technology available, it only makes sense to make these materials available so New Mexicans can see well in advance the business that their elected and appointed officials are addressing.”
Silver City a Commuter's Dream
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| Silver City |
Rail Runner Offering a Quiet Car
UNM President Salary Will Fall
Iowa in Today's Spotlight
Five opponents are competing in Iowa to beat him, and for much of the year, they have jockeyed for the mantle of the non-Romney candidate, trading the lead in the polls in what may well be the most volatile campaign in Iowa history. Now, in a final twist, the one person who has never held a lead, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, may have the best shot at topping Mr. Romney and becoming the candidate who unites conservatives. Read full story here: News New Mexico
XL pipeline—a line in the sand for America’s future
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| Marita Noon |
If the vaunted renewables aren’t yet ready for prime time, what will we do if, for example, Iran makes good on its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz and blocks a significant supply of the world’s energy? Just the fear of a supply disruption bumped up the price of oil.
The geopolitics provide a perfect backdrop for pushing the pipeline that will boost the economy through more jobs and price stability, provide energy security, and help balance the trade deficit. Opponents see building the Keystone XL pipeline as a flashpoint for the struggle between old and new energy paradigms—yet with the failure of so-called future energy, the pipeline is representative of our energy future.
Untold billions of taxpayers’ dollars have been spent trying to force renewables into an unnatural economic timeline with the expectation that the laws of nature will bow to the laws of politicians. Yet, not one of them produces a significant percentage of our energy needs. If we lost 20% of our renewable energy, we’d never feel it. If we lost 20% of our oil supply—the amount that goes through the Strait of Hormuz, we could be back to the rationing and gas lines that are reminiscent of the Carter administration.
“President Obama repeatedly assured the American public that a slew of taxpayer-funded projects in his 2009 stimulus package were ‘shovel-ready.’ Yet few of these projects ever got off the ground, and the jobs they produced were negligible,” says National Center for Public Policy Research Senior Fellow, Bonner Cohen. “By contrast, the Keystone XL project really is shovel-ready. And even though it would produce jobs and energy quickly, he refuses to give it the green light.”In a time of economic war, the Keystone XL pipeline is a job creator that requires no new technology or research, no taxpayer funding while generating new tax revenues, and no new infrastructure—all with virtually no risk (financial or environmental). Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
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