Tuesday, October 28, 2008

EU leader urges climate change fight continue

European Union leader Jose Manuel Barroso urged leaders at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing to keep up the fight against climate change despite the financial crisis.

In some ways, the climate change battle will benefit inadvertently from the fall in production and consumption that is likely to occur in a non-organized fashion from economic recession or depression.

Healthy economies can certainly be developed that do not depend on rampant consumerism. Indeed, that's how the world has survived for most of history. However, the idea was a smooth, structured move toward such a transition. The economic free-fall could send us in that direction in a more drastic fashion. However, there still is a need to shift toward sustainable, green technologies.

Such a shift could become more difficult now because money is being diverted to prop up banks and financial firms.

If nothing is done, most scientists agree that severe consequences lie ahead from rising sea levels, to serious fluctuations in weather patterns that would hamper agriculture and cause extensive infrastructure damage.


CCTV

Barroso: Climate change to become more serious if no action is taken
Xinhua, China - Oct 25, 2008

... actions to tackle the climate change, there will be larger threats," Barroso made the remarks at the press conference of the seventh Asia-Europe Meeting ...
EU, Asia agree on finance, climate change, Myanmar Trend News Agency
ASEM reviews 12 years’ progress Viet Nam News
China can make important contribution to resolving global crisis ... Forbes

Monday, October 27, 2008

US cross-border raids in Pakistan, Syria

Another suspected US drone strike in Pakistan has killed 10 people according to security officials. On Sunday, US helicopters assaulted a village in Syria killing eight people, Syrian media reported. Washington had no comment on the attacks.




Reuters

'Drone' raid kills 10 in Pakistan
BBC News - 5 hours ago
Missiles from a suspected US drone (unmanned plane) have killed 10 people in a militant camp near Pakistan's Afghan border, security officials say.
Suspected US missile attack kills 20 in Pakistan's tribal region Xinhua
Suspected US missile strike kills 20 in Pakistan Monsters and Critics.com



AFP
Eight die in US attack inside Syria: official media
AFP - 16 hours ago
"Four American helicopters violated Syrian airspace around 16:45 local time (1345 GMT) on Sunday. They penetrated eight kilometres (five miles) into Syria," ...

Sunday, October 26, 2008

UN hoping for Obama?

A Washington Post article indicates that many United Nations staff members and delegates are hoping that Sen. Barack Obama wins the U.S. presidential race.

An informal survey of more than two dozen U.N. staff members and foreign delegates showed that the overwhelming majority would prefer that Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, saying they think that the Democrat would usher in a new agenda of multilateralism after an era marked by Republican disdain for the world body.


The United Nations is not popular with Republicans in general who often advocate a unilateral approach, although workers at the UN acknowledge that the administration has been more cooperative recently.

Out of 28 UN workers and foreign delegates surveyed, only two said they preferred Sen. John McCain for president.

The majority of people here believe in multilateralism. The Republicans were constantly questioning the relevance of the United Nations," said one UN worker while another remarked, "Please, God, let him win."

According to the article, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has a hankering for Obama, but officially he takes no position in the US election.

The United Nations has elected one black secretary-general, Kofi Annan, and Ralph Bunche, a UN mediator who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was African American.