Thursday, November 26, 2009

Homage to the Heroes and Victims of 26-11 at Karwar



We, as small Group of Lawyers friends at Karwar paid Homage to the valiant Heroes and the innocent victims of the 26-11 Mumbai Terror Attacks, at the residence/office Mr. Pradeep M Naik Advocate.
Mumbai's prominent landmarks like the Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, Oberoi Trident, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Nariman House fell prey to the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives. Several brave officers of the Mumbai Police force like Joint Commissioner of Police, Anti-Terrorist Squad, Hemant Karkare, Police Inspector, Anti Extortion Cell, Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte fell prey to the bullets. National Security Guards and Marine Commandos were summoned to bring the situation under control. The NGS also lost its two personnel, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Commando Gajendra Singh. The day is a tribute to all those martyrs who gave up their lives to ensure others could live to tell their tales and a salute to the bravery of those who survived. CNN-IBN
Attending the Homage ceremony at Karwar Lawyer Pradeep M Naik's house, were Anil Mayekar, Anirudh Haldipurkar, Jagadish Harwadekar, Ramnath Bhat, Yogesh Naik, Nagaraj Deshbhandari, Varada Naik, Vinayak Naik, A. D. Naik, Ramnath Parulekar, Jyoti Mirashi, Gajanan P Tarikar, Ashwini Gowda, etc. Advocate Kiran Naik sang patriot songs and 2 minutes of silence was observed.
The first anniversary of the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror carnage was also the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian constitution but sadly, this did not get the attention it deserved, a Rajya Sabha MP lamented Thursday. ‘This morning, when we assembled, we paid tribute to the victims of the 26/11 attack. But we have forgotten that our constitution was adopted on 26th November 1949. Today is the 60th anniversary of that momentous event,’ Bharatiya Janata Party member S.S. Ahluwalia said during zero hour. ‘Sadly, there is no mention of this in the media. Parliament too has forgotten about it. There was not even a bouquet placed in the Central Hall where the constitution was adopted,’ Ahluwalia added.
Source: 26/11 anniversary is also 60th anniversary of constitution’s adoption 60th anniversary, ahluwalia, indian constitution, rajya sabha
A year later, the entire nation has come together to observe the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks and pay homage to the 166 people who lost their lives. Indian Express Nation observes first anniversary of 26/11
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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Copenhagen UN Climate Summit - Results ?

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14915108&subjectID=348924&fsrc=nwl

EXPECTATIONS for the Copenhagen climate conference, to be held next month in the Danish capital, rise and fall. On November 15th, as Barack Obama toured Asia, he and the Danish prime minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, agreed that no agreement on a new treaty would be reached at the conference. Instead, they said that the best that can now be expected is a “political” deal out of the Copenhagen meeting, which begins on December 7th.
The negotiations leading up to Copenhagen have been something of a fiasco. But this is not, as some would have it, wholly the fault of balky American senators who have refused to pass a cap-and-trade bill fast enough. It is true that a lot of the blame does indeed belong on Capitol Hill; the Senate has taken its time mulling over its version of a climate-change bill, not helped by the protracted debate over health care. John Kerry, one of the Senate’s cap-and-trade champions, now says only that he hopes the bill will make it to the floor in the spring.

But this is far from the only reason that a full, binding deal at Copenhagen had to be scratched. Each round of successive negotiations leading up to the conference lengthened, rather than shortened, the list of matters up for debate. The negotiating text is a snarl of bracketed material that the parties cannot agree on. There is now no hope of getting legally binding targets for emissions-reductions—a “son of Kyoto” treaty that would extend plans to cut greenhouse-gas emissions when the targets laid out in the Kyoto protocol end in 2012.
Big developing countries have been as immovable as America, at least publicly. China’s president said in September that his country would cut the amount of carbon dioxide it emits per unit of output by a “notable amount”, but has provided no actual figure. India, another big poor-country emitter, has steadfastly pushed back against any binding targets for poor countries at all. Many in Washington, DC, continue to believe what they did at Kyoto: no deal is acceptable in America that requires nothing concrete of the big poor-world emitters. China, after all, puts out more carbon dioxide than America does.
Yet a number of climate-watchers in Washington breathed a sigh of relief when Mr Obama and Mr Rasmussen said what everyone involved had long known. Not only will Mr Obama now not sign a bill before Copenhagen; the Senate is not even expected to vote on one. But at least that means that the several committees that get a crack at the bill will be allowed to get on with their work.
Climate change was at the top of the agenda when Mr Obama arrived in China late on November 15th. A few Copenhagen-watchers still held out hope that Mr Obama and Hu Jintao, China’s president, would announce something that could break the deadlock. Instead, they announced a raft of practical measures on energy—both its production and its use. Some were more aspirational than operational. But they may show the way forward, by focusing on concrete measures to be taken today rather than distant goals.
The measures announced include the creation of a Sino-American clean-energy research centre and an electric-vehicles initiative. They also include a plan to increase energy efficiency, especially in buildings. This was a big part of America’s stimulus bill, and an Energy Department official says that China will add housing and office space equivalent to America’s entire stock in the next 20 years.
Another promise, to work together on “cleaner coal”—meaning capturing and storing the carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants—is important as both countries sit on mountains of the stuff. Finally, the two agreed to co-operate on extracting natural gas from shale. America has much more extractable gas in shale than previously thought, and the same geology pertains around the world. Gas power emits just half the carbon dioxide of coal.
Back in Washington, such talk may help a cap-and-trade bill’s chances. Boosters now talk more about energy production (from natural gas or solar), and cost-saving (like keeping buildings just as warm with less energy) than about hair-shirt measures like turning out the lights. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, has joined forces with Mr Kerry, saying he will support a cap-and-trade bill if it includes production of more low-carbon energy from nuclear power, as well as offshore oil-and-gas drilling in America. On the Senate bill, E&E Daily, an energy and environmental news website, counts 27 of 100 senators “on the fence”, along with 41 “yes” and “probably yes”. That fence-sitting group has grown, though 60 votes are still needed to ensure passage of a bill. Some talk of abandoning the idea of a cap-and-trade system that covers the whole economy in favour of one that covers power companies (which are reconciled to the idea) plus tighter fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles.
The interplay between international negotiations and the Senate’s deliberations is delicate. Senators are unwilling to vote for caps in America without a commitment from China, China is unwilling to make one without an ambitious target for cuts from America, and the administration is unwilling to antagonise the Senate by seeming to cave in to foreign pressure. But there are ways round the impasse. America may offer up numerical targets based on the legislation that it hopes will pass next year, and China might put a number on the “notable” cuts in the energy intensity of GDP it has promised. That could be the basis for an outline deal at Copenhagen—details to be filled in next year.

Copenhagen UN Climate Petition



Hopenhagen is a movement, a moment and a chance at a new beginning. The hope that in Copenhagen this December – during the United Nations Climate Change Conference – we can build a better future for our planet and a more sustainable way of life. It is the hope that we can create a global community that will lead our leaders into making the right decisions. The promise that by solving our environmental crisis, we can solve our economic crisis at the same time.Hopenhagen is change – and that change will be powered by all of us.

Change will not happen unless the people demand it. That’s why Hopenhagen exists – to give you a rallying cry and the tools to demand a positive outcome in Copenhagen. Signing the UN Climate Petition is only the first step. We need your help activating Hopenhagen in your communities, so the movement grows. This needs to be a people’s movement, with enough people involved that our leaders can’t ignore it.




Our hope is that in Copenhagen we can begin to build a cleaner, more livable world than the one we live in today. And this hope is more than just wishful thinking. We’re already seeing examples of how this is possible, all around the planet.


On December 7, leaders from 192 countries will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to determine the fate of our planet. Let’s turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen. Sign the Climate Petition and become a citizen at hopenhagen.org.






Friday, November 20, 2009

THE FUTURE OF ENERGY: INSIGHTS FROM THE 2009 WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK


SPEAKER(S)
Ambassador Richard Jones, Deputy Executive Director, International Energy Agency

Drawing on the results of the new World Energy Outlook 2009, Ambassador Jones joins the Council to provide a comprehensive update of energy demand and supply projections and their implications for energy security and the environment. This latest analysis from the International Energy Agency (IEA) takes into account the dramatic economic downturn that has now hit all parts of the world as well as revised expectations about energy prices, which have ridden a veritable roller-coaster over the past year. Ambassador Jones will outline the results of an in-depth assessment of the prospects for global gas markets, including the emergence of shale gas as a potentially low-cost source of supply in North America. He will also present a post-2012 scenario, which the IEA prepared as input to the UN climate negotiations, which details a pathway for the energy sector to achieve a transition to a low-carbon world. Ambassador Jones will be speaking with energy expert David Victor, Professor at UC San Diego's School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and Director of the School’s new Laboratory on International Law and Regulation.

EVENT DATE

  • 11/23/2009 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
    Please arrive early for registration

LOCATION

  • World Affairs Council Auditorium

ADDRESS

  • 312 Sutter Street
    Second Floor
    San Francisco, California 94108

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The International Youth Council

The International Youth Council

The International Youth Council (IYC) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded at the UN Youth Assembly in 2007 dedicated to giving young people across the world both collective voice and a mechanism to support global sustainable development.

Our mission is to bring together and support young leaders from around the world in pursuit of partnership, progress, and the Millennium Development Goals. We seek to empower the next generation of leaders by providing them with the training, resources, and opportunities they need to succeed. We also advocate for an official body representative of the youth within the United Nations power structure.

We hope to inspire the youth of the world to act and give them the tools to make a difference.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Hankon Thermal Power Plant - 6 - Agitation continues...

Take proper action against the officials: SHRC

Sirsi: State Human Rights Commissioner (SHRC) had recommended the government to take action on seven police officials in connection with the issue on Hankon thermal power plant, where police allegedly assaulted the people who were protesting against the proposed thermal power plant, said the commission Chairman.

Speaking to media during here on Wednesday, he said that the commission had submitted its recommendation to the Home Ministry on October 23, and urged to take proper action against the officials.

The commission had considered the incident very seriously. One the day the report of the police team regarding the Hankon incident was revealed, a message was conveyed to the Inspector General of Police (western zone) Gopal Hosur, saying that the report was not satisfactory, he said.

The delegation convinced the ministers that the project site was at an aerial distance of five Km from Kotegao Wild Life Sanctuary of Goa and 10-11 km from Anashi Tiger Reserve. Reports given by Deputy Conservators of Forests of Dandeli and Karwar in this regard were also presented to the ministers. The ministers were also told about the plight of 20,000 fishermen, who would be affected if the project was established, he said. Alva reminded the ministers the promise given by SM Krishna, when he was the CM that no more power projects would be allowed the come up in the Uttara Kannada district.

Desai further said Jairam Ramesh has assured that he would take steps against the officials, who has given the clearance to the project without verifying the facts. Alva may also lead an agitation against the project along with Medha Patkar if the letter of clearance given to the project is no withdrawn, he warned.

Hanakon agitation gets Patkar's support

The anti-thermal power unit Sameeti of Hanakon has found a supporter in Narmada Bachao Andolan founder Medha Patkar. A rally will be held in Karwar on November 7 and Patkar will participate in the rally, said Kishor Desai, legal adviser of the Sameeti, on Saturday.

Citing the order passed by the State Human Right Committee (SHRC), against police officials who allegedly committed excesses during the violence at Hanakon on July 30, Desai said the Sameeti would approach the high court and the Supreme Court if the government fails to take action against the police officers who were indicted by the SHRC.

He said the committee will stage a dharna in front of the Vidhana Soudha and the IGP's office in Mangalore. Releasing a copy of the British gazette of 1895, in which the survey number 288 where the company is building the thermal plant was shown as forest area, Desai alleged that the company had suppressed the fact before obtaining clearance for the project.

Desai said the assistant commissioner of Karwar had converted the forest land into non-agriculture (NA) land by flouting the law.

He said many sections of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act were flouted by the revenue, police and company officials and he would file a writ petition in the high court seeking action against the officials who allegedly helped the company officials to suppress and conceal the facts while obtaining the permission for the thermal power plant.