Judicial Salaries, Food Riots and the Olympic Torch
New York state judge Judith Kaye sues to have the salaries of state judges increased by 20%.
The head of the International Monetary Fund warns that high food prices could create a humanitarian crisis in the developing world.
Journalists note the extensive “carbon footprint” of the Olympic torch relay heading for Beijing.
1. LEGAL
New York state judge Judith Kaye sues to have the salaries of state judges increased by 20%.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on why Judge Kaye doesn’t deserve a raise:
“The irony is that if there ever were a state judge who deserved a pay cut, it’s Judith Kaye, given her rotten tenure as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and refusal to evenhandedly apply the law. Kaye has repeatedly exhibited bias in favor of trial lawyers, against small businesses, and against breadwinner spouses and fathers in divorce cases. She routinely distorts and ignores her own court’s past precedents.”
2. INTERNATIONAL
The head of the International Monetary Fund warns that high food prices could create a humanitarian crisis in the developing world.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Energy Policy Analyst William Yeatman on where all the food is going:
“…across the globe, huge quantities of food are being turned into fuel. This year alone, American biofuel producers used more than 550 billion pounds of corn. By 2016, Europe is expected to turn more than 39 billion pounds of wheat into fuel each year. Last year, in more than 100 production plants across the United States, 250 million gallons of biodiesel were made from soybeans. Brazil now dedicates about half its sugar crop to the production of fuel.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
Journalists note the extensive “carbon footprint” of the Olympic torch relay heading for Beijing.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steven Milloy on the hypocrisy of global warming activists who are letting China off the hook:
“But despite their melodramatic rhetoric — and the just-reported news that the Olympic torch relay will release more than 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 550 SUVs — you won’t see Al Gore, Ted Turner or anyone from the U.N. trying to tackle an Olympic torch bearer even though China easily — and unapologetically — wins the gold medal for carbon dioxide emissions and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”
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