China orders first CO2 limits in 5 Cities

 

17 Jan 2012: China Sets First-Ever Cap
On Greenhouse Gas Emissions

”The Chinese government has ordered five cities and two provinces to set caps on greenhouse gas emissions in preparation for a series of regional carbon markets. Last week, China’s National Development and Reform Commission urged Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen, as well as the provinces of Hubei and Guangdong, to set “overall emissions control targets” and submit strategy proposals on how to achieve them. A plan developed by Guangdong — which commits the province to achieving 20 percent of its total energy consumption from non-fossil fuels by 2015 — has already been approved by the central government. The province must also cut its “carbon intensity,” or the CO2 emissions per unit of economic growth, by 19.5 percent. China as a whole, which has already passed the U.S. as the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has committed to reducing its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. According to a new government report, China’s urban population surpassed its rural population for the first time ever in 2011.”

http://e360.yale.edu/digest/china_sets_first-ever_cap_

Ironically a centralised authoritarian government is more able to respond to the  imminent scientifically proven  climate disaster.

Environmental activists have been repressed again, just like unions an all ‘wage slaves’. It’s also ironic that to help stop climate chaos  (and supply a plus 12% p.a. energy demand) the state is pressing ahead with the biggest and most destructive  mega dam projects in history. Green Activists Feel Sting of Chinese Government Crackdown

Meanwhile  back in the USA, the other great CO2 producer, politicians who ”believe” in climate change can’t survive, and reports of Climate disasters are disappearing from the media. The climate deniers are having a field day, with false or manipulated evidence  spread by right wing and oil company funded media and white male bloggers.

The latest this week, featured again by the BBC, says CO2 emissions have averted an Ice Age.. perfect propaganda to keep on destroying the planet, while even they admit levels would have to be below 240ppm for icing to even begin, way below even pre industrial levels.. no matter, damage done, and a name made for some happy researchers.Carbon emissions ‘will defer Ice Age’

Monsanto swindle destitutes millions in India….

Using its colossal market power, Monsanto craftily penetrated into the Indian markets.

Monsanto convinced the Indian government that its GM seeds would produce better crops. According to a report by Farm Wars, one former Managing Director of Monsanto claimed that Monsanto manipulated research data “to get commercial approvals for its products in India.”

Indian regulatory agencies, instead of verifying the data, simply remained compliant with the findings of what Monsanto presented. “They did not even have a test tube to validate the data and, at times, the data itself was faked,” the Farm Wars report says.

 Government regulations worked in favor of Monsanto to monopolize the Indian seed market. For example, “Prime Minsiter’s Office” in India pressured various state governments to sign MOUs with Monsanto to privatize the seed market.

Through these “vested interests” with the Indian government, Monsanto eventually has monopolized the GM seed market for more than a decade……….

The failure of Monsanto’s GM seeds was palpable. The farmers held onto their hopes for better crops after they had planted the “magic” seeds. Their crops never came. Throughout the villages in India the harvest from the GM seeds failed. The parasites destroyed the so-called “pest-proof” GM seeds.

Monsanto uses methods of manipulation and misinformation to reap their own benefits and profits at the cost of the farmers who rely on organic methods to grow their crops and animals, a tradition that existed in India for centuries.

By a contractual clause, the farmers could not save Monsanto’s GM seeds for reuse after the first season……….

With no harvest, the farmers could not pay back the lenders. Burdened with debts and humiliation, the farmers simply took their own lives, some by swallowing poisonous pesticides in front of their families. To date, an estimated 200,000 farmers have committed suicide all over India.

To add to the misery, wives inherited the debts along with the fear of losing their homes and lands. With no money coming in, they also had to pull their kids from the schools. The mass suicide among the Indian farmers is known as the “GM genocide.”

In its company website Monsanto declares that its pledge is “our commitment to how we do business.” And then there are the business philosophies with virtuous words like “integrity” and “transparency.”

Read Long full article HERE Globalresearch.caGlobal Research Articles by Iqbal Ahmed

 

More bio tech type stories I’d like to re blog   (from The Watchers with thanks)

  1. Organic farmers sue Monsanto over GMO seeds A landmark lawsuit filed on March 29 in US federal court seeks to invalidate Monsanto’s patents on genetically modified seeds and to prohibit the company from suing those whose crops become genetically contaminated. The Public Patent Foundation filed suit on behalf of 270,000 people from sixty organic and sustainable businesses and trade associations, including thousands of certified-organic farmers. In Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, et al. (U.S. District Court, Southern……
  2. Secret GM wheat experiments begin in Australia Australia’s first trial of genetically modified wheat and barley is under way near Narrabri, New South Wales in the south-eastern area of the country. The goal of the GM wheat is said to be more nutritious bread (http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/gm-wheat-…). How exactly the genes were altered to create this alleged more nutritious bread remains a secret. All that is known is that 14 different strains of wheat and barley will be grown. Some strains will allow researchers……
  3. Plant disease raises questions on modified crops Sudden death syndrome (SDS) of soybean was first discovered in 1971 in Arkansas and since then has been confirmed throughout most soybean-growing areas of the U.S. SDS is a fungal disease that also occurs in a disease complex with the soybean cyst nematode (SCN, Heterodera glycines). SDS is among the most devastating soil-borne diseases of soybean in the USA. When this disease occurs in the presence of SCN disease symptoms occur earlier and are more……
  4. Nikola Aleksic, Serbian ecology leader arrested for openly defying GMOs and chemtrails In October 2011, Nikola Aleksic, leader of Ecological Movement of Novi Sad in Serbia, was arrested and fined. Earlier on his way to a conference in Belgrade, an attempt was reportedly made on his life. And Monsanto has sued him with the threat of removing him and his family from their rented flat as “collateral.” Why all the fuss? Nikola made a spirited speech, recorded on video, challenging the Serbian president for allowing GMOs to……
  5. Did the USDA deregulate all new genetically modified crops? In press release titled “ USDA Responds to Regulation Requests Regarding Kentucky Bluegrass,” agency officials announced their decision not to regulate a “Roundup Ready” strain of Kentucky bluegrass—that is, a strain genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate, Monsanto’s widely used herbicide, which we know as Roundup. The maker of the novel grass seed, Scotts Miracle Gro, is now free to sell it far and wide. So you’ll no doubt be seeing Roundup Ready bluegrass blanketing lawns……
  6. BASF tries (again) to push ‘Frankenpotatoes’ on Europe Europeans have made it abundantly clear time and time again that they want nothing to do with genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). But chemical giant BASF refuses to take no for an answer, and is once again pushing for EU approval of a “Frankenpotato” known as Fortuna that, if approved, would represent the EU’s second new legalized GMO in more than a decade. Unlike most Americans, Europeans generally take a keen interest in the integrity of their……
  7. Biotech’s dirty tricks exposed in new documentary: ‘Scientists Under Attack’ “One question means one career.” This was the harsh warning of UC Berkeley Professor Ignacio Chapela for those daring to conduct independent research on genetically engineered foods and crops. “You ask one question, you get the answer and you might or might not be able to publish it; but that is the end of your career.” Both he and biologist Arpad Pusztai dared to asked questions and do the research. And then all hell broke……

 

 

Iran War to ‘boost US War Corporations’..Stop Them NOW!

The final logic of Capitalism is war. The excuse of a ‘nuclear program’ in Iran is as false as Saddam’s secret weapons. This time round more millions of innocents will die, to boost the profits of the US ‘War Economy’ Corporations who control the US Congress. This time round there is little protest, nobody believes they can be serious, but with the latest sanctions set to choke Iranian banks and the next to stop their vital oil exports, this war is becoming daily more certain. Now is the time for the US  and UK public to stop a barbaric genocide.

Confrontation? Iran’s New Naval Exercise to Coincide With US/Israeli Drill  Cheney’s office considered provoking war with Iran by launching false flag attack at sea

Paul Joseph Watson..Iran’s newly announced “massive” naval drill, set to take place within the next few weeks near the Strait of Hormuz, will coincide with a major US/Israeli exercise in the same region, increasing the chances that a war provocation manufactured by either side could take place.

“The newly announced Iranian drills, codenamed The Great Prophet, may coincide with major naval exercises that Israel and the United States are planning to hold in the Persian Gulf in the near future,” reports RIA Novosti.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s naval commander, Adm. Ali Fadavi, told the Fars news agency last night that the upcoming exercise would be “different” from previous ones.

Iran’s announcement of yet more naval drills follows an escalation in rhetoric after the United States sent the massive battleship USS John C. Stennis

Corporate warcrimes: In Iraq they did not even keep count of civilian casualties.

sailing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz amidst Iranian wargames based around closing the Strait, a key oil choke point.

Iran responded by firing off missiles during the drill and ordering the US aircraft carrier to “stay out of the Persian Gulf”.

The US/Israeli naval exercise, named Austere Challenge 12, is set to be the largest ever naval drill between the two powers and is based around “(improving) defense systems and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli forces.”

The overlapping of the naval exercises amidst escalating tensions serves as a reminder that the Bush administration once debated staging a false flag wherein fake Iranian patrol boats would be used to attack a US ship as a means of creating a pretext for war.

In January 2008, the US government announced that it had been “moments” away from opening fire on a group of Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz after the boats allegedly broadcast a warning that they were about to attack a US vessel.

The January Strait of Hormuz incident taught Cheney and other administration insiders that, “If you get the right incident, the American public will support it”. Hersh said: “There were a dozen ideas proffered about how to trigger a war. The one that interested me the most was why don’t we build, we in ‘our shipyard’, – build four or five boats that look like Iranian PT boats. Put Navy seals on them with a lot of arms. And next time one of our

''Who are the murderers? These are the murderers!''

boats goes to the Straits of Hormuz, start a shoot-up. Might cost some lives”.

Given the fact that the Obama administration’s foreign policy of pre-emptive warfare has mirrored that pursued by the Bush administration, the potential for a stage-managed provocation to create a pretext for an attack on Iran during the next round of naval wargames is clear.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE   ( WITH THANKS) Prison Planet.com.

Wukan rebellion to snowball across China?

Adam Ford

Xue Jinbao addressing a meeting before his death at the hands of the state

Xue Jinbo – died in police custody, apparently the victim of a state killing. The state news agency claimed that Xue was the victim of a heart attack, but the bruised knees, bloodied nostrils and broken thumbsreported by his son in law indicate this took place under torture.The furious Wukan villagers banded together and drove the police and Communist Party officials out of town. They then set about running things for themselves.

The struggle began in September, when Wukan residents became suspicious that the local government was in the process of selling common farming land to Country Garden – a company which builds residences for the rich.Protesters began blocking roads and attacking buildings in an industrial park.
Three villagers were arrested at the Communist HQ demonstrations, and the next day hundreds laid siege to the police station, demanding their release. The state responded to this challenge with unrestrained ferocity, with police and mercenaries beating villagers apparently

Wukan VICTORY over State

without discrimination – men and women, children and the elderly.

One of the leaders – respected village butcher Xue Jinbo – died in police custody, apparently the victim of a state killing. The state news agency claimed that Xue was the victim of a heart attack, but the bruised knees, bloodied nostrils and broken thumbsreported by his son in law indicate this took place under torture.

The furious Wukan villagers banded together and drove the police and Communist Party officials out of town. They then set about running things for themselves. Meanwhile, cops maintained a blockade a few miles away. At this point, the central government’s strategy appeared to be one of containment. Despite the blocking of Wukan-related internet searches within China itself, some international media were in town to spread the word, and villagers even set up their own press office. People from nearby villages managed to smuggle food in – their solidarity directly fuelling the resistance. There was also some wealth redistribution from the wealthiest to the poorest, ensuring that everyone would survive the blockade.

Chinese police backed down as Wukan uprising got worldwide coverage

Frustrated, the Communist leadership eventually cut a deal. Though details are scarce and unreliable, the provincial government has reportedly agreed to buy back land it had seized, and allow the peasants to collectivise it once more. Detained villagers have been released, and an ‘investigation’ into the death of Xue Jinbao has been announced.

There are growing indications that the national export-led economy is being dragged down by rising recessionary tides in the western world. Factory bosses have already been compelled to attack jobs, wages and conditions across the country, and a strike movement seems to be gathering pace. During the first recession of this global depression, Chinese leaders threw money at the problem, and seemed to have headed off a broad revolt. But that money has now been spent, and indeed led to more problems, as a property bubble seems fit to burst It it now possible to envisage a largescale uprising of the Chinese industrial proletariat, which would no doubt find support in  villages like Wukan.

read full article HERE  (with thanks!  http://thecommune.co.uk/

Stop Guantánamo Torture: rally..Sat 7 Jan. London

Sat 7 January London Rally Trafalgar Square: Shut Guantánamo – End 10 Years of Shame

 

Saturday 7 January 2012: 2.0pm – 4.00pm  Public Rally Trafalgar Square, London

January 2012 marks ten years of torture, abuse and arbitrary detention at Guantánamo Bay – one of the world’s most notorious symbols of injustice. The illegal US military prison has held more than 800 prisoners – most of them released without charge or trial. 171 prisoners remain, without prospect of release.

Over a dozen British nationals and residents have been illegally imprisoned at Guantánamo. Two remain: Shaker Aamer, a UK resident with a British family in south London, including a son he has never met; and Ahmed Belbacha, an Algerian national from Bournemouth. Both men were cleared for release in 2007.

President Obama promised to close Guantánamo but has not. Now prisoners may beheld indefinitely without evidence. The vast majority have never faced any charges.

Kidnapping and imprisoning people indefinitely without charge or trial, denying them their freedom and human rights,gratuitously denigrating and abusing them physically and mentally: Join the rally on 7 January 2011 to say all of this must end now.

Sign London Guantánamo Campaign’s petition…

Repsol criminales FUERA de Ecuador YA!

Campaña para la retirada de la subvención a Repsol de los fondos de cooperación española

Contra que con fondos de cooperación al desarrollo se financien actividades que refuerzan la presencia de Repsol en la Amazonía Ecuatoriana

Campaña ciudadana para evitar la subvención, con dinero público, de actividades destinadas a la filantropía e imagen corporativa en el área afectada por el Bloque 16, en Ecuador. Los importantes pasivos ambientales e impactos sociales de la actividad hidrocarburífera obliga a esta compañía a realizar campañas en miras de apaciguar los reclamos y el descontento de la población.

La Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo, AECID, ha concedido recientemente una subvención a la Fundación Repsol YPF del Ecuador por un monto total de 149.932 euros, para la ejecución de un proyecto en zona de influencia de la operación de Repsol YPF en la Amazonía ecuatoriana. (Resolución de 25 de noviembre, CAP 2º procedimiento, línea II.7) Las actividades de Repsol en América Latina y, específicamente, en Ecuador, han sido ampliamente denunciadas por la sociedad civil a ambos lados del Atlántico por daños ambientales, sociales y violaciones de los derechos humanos de las comunidades y pueblos afectados.

En Ecuador, Repsol opera el Bloque 16, ubicado sobre el territorio ancestral del pueblo waorani, afectando también a población kitchwa, gran parte del Parque Nacional Yasuní y el territorio intangible de los pueblos no contactados Tagaeri y Tagomenani. Repsol ejerce soberanía territorial sobre el Bloque 16, controlando la entrada y salida de personas, en clara violación de los derechos territoriales de los publos afectados. A pesar de la falta de información sobre la situación en el interior del Bloque, Repsol se ha visto obligada a reconocer el vertido de 14.000 barriles de crudo en 2008. Existen denuncias recurrentes sobre el aumento de enfermedades relacionadas con la actividad petrolera y daños hídricos y ambientales en la zona.

Se puede firmar la petición a través del formulario del siguiente enlace:

http://actuable.es/peticiones/pide-…

también se puede copiar y enviar el siguiene texto a : centro.informacion@aecid.es

DESTINATARIO: DIRECTOR DE LA AGENCIA ESPAÑOLA DE COOPERACIÓN INTERNACIONAL repsolmemata

scribo para mostrar mi preocupación por la reciente concesión de una subvención a la Fundación Repsol YPF en Ecuador. Repsol incurre en prácticas contrarias a los derechos humanos internacionalmente reconocidos, así como los principios recogidos en la política de la cooperación española, el Plan Director y estrategias sectoriales tales como la Estrategia de la Cooperación Española con los Pueblos Indígenas. Solicitamos que no se utilice el dinero público computado como Ayuda Oficial para el Desarrollo para financiar proyectos de empresas trasnacionales que, además de tener cuantiosos beneficios (más de 4.000 millones de euros en 2010), muestran poco respeto por las normas socio-ambientales y los derechos humanos internacionalmente reconocidos. Confío en que AECID cumplirá con los compromisos asumidos por España internacionalmente.  Atentamente,

Domingo 1ro de enero de 2012, por

http://repsolmata.ourproject.org/spip.php?article212

In Moscow demo: anarchists,feminists, LGBT activists

An open microphone assembly was held within the giant Moscow demonstrations

Almost all the speakers at a makeshift assembly were unanimous that the opposition status, consider themselves the ideologues of the protest movement, just want to get into power and do not intend to defend the interests of ordinary people. It is unlikely that peace, even thousands, meetings will lead to some radical changes. Defend the rights people can only do by fighting against the state and capital, and building around libertarian attitude.

When podium held by the free “opposition” oligarch Prokhorov, in black and red series he shouted, “Get in your Courchevel” and “The Power of millions, not the millionaires.” Anarchists and other participants in the meeting tried to block billionaire. Unfortunately, its passage further provided personal protection, but after Prokhorov flying snowballs.

After 16 hours, when some protesters began to disperse, and on the prospect of Sakharov became freer, and the column of anarchists and anti-fascists have joined together with her group of feminists, LGBT activists and individual representatives of the organized left-wing organizations has moved closer to the stage. The anarchists chanted “Freedom, equality, anarcho-communism,” “Higher, higher, black flag, the state chief enemy,” “Fascism shall not pass!”, “Our country – all of humanity!”(During a speech to the main podium speakers Nazi views), “All politics – crooks and thieves,” “Our candidate – self-government”, “Come on out, bring us a city,” “Down with fascism and capitalism,” “Path to Freedom – a revolution! “And other slogans.

After the meeting a column of anarchists, along with other protesters managed to arrange a procession from the expanded attributes and lit fireworks in the alley and Orlikova Kalanchevskaia street. Standing in a cordon police decided not to detain demonstrators.

About 18 hours, even at the metro station “Red Gate”, the ultra-right attacked a group of anarchists, who were returning from the rally. Police arrested along with neo-Nazis three anarchists, but they were soon released.