Ha! Hey, Harry, I don't this qualifies as the government knuckling under to you and Al Gore:

"We are making this proposal because a scientific review of the species by the Fish and Wildlife Service found that populations may be threatened by receding sea ice, which polar bears use as a platform for many activities essential to their life cycle, including hunting for their main prey, Arctic seals," Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said in a telephone a news conference. Still, Kempthorne said an endangered species listing could not be used to trigger new limits to greenhouse-gas emissions. "That whole argument of climate change is beyond the scope of the Endangered Species Act," he said. Another Bush administration official absolved the oil industry on Alaska's North Slope of blame for the polar bears' woes. "All of the 30 years of experience that we've had on the North Slope has proven to us that the oil industry has no impact," said Dale Hall, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

If we could just find a way to blame global warming on the decline of humans in the womb, then just maybe we could add unborn humans to the endangered species list.  Hey, this is the land of the free.....we can still dream.

Another observation - "Co-host Harry Smith , talked with Jeff Sailer, animal curator at New York City’s Central Park Zoo, and gushed that the U.S. government is "finally acknowledging" that the earth is getting warmer and the polar bears’ habitat is shrinking."

I don't know of any admission by President Bush or his administration that polar bears' habitat is shrinking or that the main culprit of gw are humans but as far back as 2001 President Bush did acknowledge that the earth is getting warmer.  Not surprisingly, in his biased hatred of Bush, Harry must have missed that.

Who is Jeff Sailer? Curator of animals - read "custodian that picks up sh!t and other stuff". How does some dude in NYC that picks up after polar bears know anything about the conditions up at the arctic circle other than what he reads in the media.

Off track but this is my first post, I am still trying to figure this posting stuff out. I have been lurking for about six months and have been vastly amused by most of the postings here. The wit and ambience of most posters is remarkable!

I heard this story last night, and thought that I might have to finally give up being a global warming skeptic.  But of course this is just another example of the MSM putting words in someone else's mouth.

Did anyone else notice how all of the news yesterday was about Bob Woodward's posthumously-released interview with Ford, in which the former President said, according to them, that the war in Iraq was a mistake?  If they showed a clip to back it up, though, it was the same clip:  one in which Ford clearly says that the Bush administration's justification for the war was a mistake... not the war itself...

Polar Bear Theft Ring Uncovered

(Churchill, Manitoba) Here in the polar bear capitol of the world, living with polar bears is never boring. In late summer everyone is on edge as hundreds of polar bears come into town after the sea ice melts on Hudson Bay. Because the bears are so dangerous to humans, people leave their doors unlocked in case someone gets chased by a bear, and children are not allowed to walk to school alone.

Contrast this fearsome reputation of the adult polar bear, weighing up to 1,500 pounds and possibly the most dangerous carnivore on Earth, with cuddly-looking polar bear cubs and one might wonder, "when do the bears go 'bad'? What causes these innocent cubs to grow up to be so vicious?"

The answer to this mystery might be found in another mystery that has plagued Churchill for years. Even though everyone knows each other in this sleepy little town, there have been an unusual number of thefts. Cars, boats, and even garbage cans have been taken.

But the stolen items always seem to turn up again. For instance, cars and trucks usually have been driven to the edge of Hudson Bay, and then left there with their motors running and with the doors open. Boats are taken, but they usually end up being found pulled up upon an ice floe out in the bay. Garbage is actually stolen out of the cans.

The thefts have pitted neighbor against neighbor, and have made the residents of Churchill suspicious of everyone. But then a group of townspeople decided to install a few security cameras to try to catch the culprit. The plan paid off when two bear cubs were caught stealing a boat (see picture above).

"It appears that the young cubs simply have too much time on their paws, and without close parental supervision, they go out in search of thrills", explained Manitoba Provincial Police officer Ursula Merrytime. "When the cubs are left unsupervised, anything can happen."

Instead of walking the distance between town and the bay, the bear cubs steal rides in boats, cars and trucks. Since most people do not lock their vehicles, and keys are often left in the ignition, they are easy targets for roving gangs of juvenile bear thugs. When the cubs get hungry, rather than chase seals, they simply steal the nearest garbage can along with its tasty contents.

Now that the mystery is solved, the residents of Churchill have a new problem: how to keep the cubs from continuing with their troublemaking. Talking with the cubs' parents has gotten nowhere since the parents respond very defensively, even aggressively.

The local bear jail, used for the most troublesome adult bears, could possibly be used for confining cubs as well, by many residents are offended by cute bear cubs being locked up in the slammer.

A Bear Youth Center has also been discussed as a way to offer more wholesome activities to the cubs to occupy their idle time. "But something has to be done", said Officer Merrytime, "I just can't bear many more of these thefts…I'm already covered up in paperwork as it is."

Nowhere to Run....Nowhere To Hide.....