It is highly probable that come the end of the year; the ETS or emission trading scheme will become more mainstream. Either that or a carbon tax at source.
These are the improbable targets. To keep the average temperature increase within 2c by the year 2100.
An easy target you might suggest. However to achieve this remarkable feat will require some remarkable changes. Somehow the world has do reduce global greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020. (ie 40% below 1990) OR RISK A 6C RISE instead.
Here in New Zealand, it should be noted that 50% of our emissions are in the form of methane gas. (ie farm animals)
How is it going to be possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time have a growing global economy?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
"Indeed it is the ability of the human species to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of others; that defines our human evolution."
28 Days
Imagine if you were in an accident and suffered a minor head injury. The doctors thought it wise not to awaken you from your sleep and decided to induce a coma through medication for 28 days. During this time you were connected to a life support system and fed food and liquids intravenously.
28 days later and you awake. You are obviously in a hospital, but no-one is around. You are dazed and groggy. (and in the movie version, naked)
You stumble to your feet and are met with some pain as you inadvertently remove the drips from your arms.
Now you yell out in pain. ‘Is anybody there?’ “where the %#$%$ is everyone?”
The response is deafening in its silence. You say to yourself, ‘I must still be dreaming’ or ‘this is some $#%$@# up hallucination’
The world as you previously knew it has changed irreversibly, and forever. What remains is but a hollow shadow. Appearances are the same, but life has all but disappeared. A deadly virus has wiped out 99.99% of the human race in a matter of 28 days.
The fact that you were in a coma during this period, probably saved your life. Plus that fact that you were quarantined when the virus was most virulent. However the most likely cause is less coincidental. You were simply one of those rare people who were immune to the virus.
Not that you know anything about this right now. As you stumble out of the hospital room where your bed was located, all you know is that everything smells of decaying flesh. You are taken back. You make efforts to cover you mouth and nose and breathe less deeply. Then you start to see bodies. All the bodies have a dark blue/black hue and dark liquids oozing from their orifices. The bodies are to be found almost everywhere, well at least it seems that way in the beginning. It is a grotesque sight. The bodies have been dead for some time, deadly stiff in obscenely twisted positions. It this is not bad enough, facial expressions paint a thousand worlds of the kind of death suffered by the poor victim. One can only prey and hope that the end came swiftly for them.
God only knows what you would do if you ever found yourself in this predicament. I would suggest that once/if you recovered from your shock and grief, survival instinct would take over. What follows, is what I would do. (if ever this scenario did occur)
First and foremost, I would plan ahead as from today. Hopefully I will have more than 28 days to do this. This is simple practical stuff. I might suggest the following items: Food, water, utensils, candles, lighters, torches, batteries, first aid, educational/inspirational books, music.
My advice to anyone reading this would be to secure the above items right now and always keep a minimum 28 days supply. It goes without saying that the food should be able to be eaten without being cooked and stored without the need for refrigeration or freezing. This is now your personal insurance policy to safeguard yourself and your family. Just in case there ever was a pandemic or some kind of major natural disaster.
Realistically, if ever there was a pandemic, it is unfortunately unlikely my advice would be of much use. (eg to quarantine yourself in your house) This is one of the weird things about human nature. We become so attached to family and loved ones, that the very thought of seeing them suffering needlessly; is too much. We rush to their aid and through our natural act of charity; we also become infected with the virus. I would suggest that it is futile to resist this urge. After all, this urge is what defines our species as human. (at least for the majority) If you resist this urge in the beginning, you are only likely to spend the rest of your life wondering what sort of person you have become. My advice would be the following: be more practical with your conscience.
It is all related to our evolutionary path. It is this path that we learn all about sacrifice. Sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice the innocent lives of a few for the sake of improving the survival of the whole. Indeed it is the ability of the human species to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of others; that defines our human evolution.
Imagine if you were in an accident and suffered a minor head injury. The doctors thought it wise not to awaken you from your sleep and decided to induce a coma through medication for 28 days. During this time you were connected to a life support system and fed food and liquids intravenously.
28 days later and you awake. You are obviously in a hospital, but no-one is around. You are dazed and groggy. (and in the movie version, naked)
You stumble to your feet and are met with some pain as you inadvertently remove the drips from your arms.
Now you yell out in pain. ‘Is anybody there?’ “where the %#$%$ is everyone?”
The response is deafening in its silence. You say to yourself, ‘I must still be dreaming’ or ‘this is some $#%$@# up hallucination’
The world as you previously knew it has changed irreversibly, and forever. What remains is but a hollow shadow. Appearances are the same, but life has all but disappeared. A deadly virus has wiped out 99.99% of the human race in a matter of 28 days.
The fact that you were in a coma during this period, probably saved your life. Plus that fact that you were quarantined when the virus was most virulent. However the most likely cause is less coincidental. You were simply one of those rare people who were immune to the virus.
Not that you know anything about this right now. As you stumble out of the hospital room where your bed was located, all you know is that everything smells of decaying flesh. You are taken back. You make efforts to cover you mouth and nose and breathe less deeply. Then you start to see bodies. All the bodies have a dark blue/black hue and dark liquids oozing from their orifices. The bodies are to be found almost everywhere, well at least it seems that way in the beginning. It is a grotesque sight. The bodies have been dead for some time, deadly stiff in obscenely twisted positions. It this is not bad enough, facial expressions paint a thousand worlds of the kind of death suffered by the poor victim. One can only prey and hope that the end came swiftly for them.
God only knows what you would do if you ever found yourself in this predicament. I would suggest that once/if you recovered from your shock and grief, survival instinct would take over. What follows, is what I would do. (if ever this scenario did occur)
First and foremost, I would plan ahead as from today. Hopefully I will have more than 28 days to do this. This is simple practical stuff. I might suggest the following items: Food, water, utensils, candles, lighters, torches, batteries, first aid, educational/inspirational books, music.
My advice to anyone reading this would be to secure the above items right now and always keep a minimum 28 days supply. It goes without saying that the food should be able to be eaten without being cooked and stored without the need for refrigeration or freezing. This is now your personal insurance policy to safeguard yourself and your family. Just in case there ever was a pandemic or some kind of major natural disaster.
Realistically, if ever there was a pandemic, it is unfortunately unlikely my advice would be of much use. (eg to quarantine yourself in your house) This is one of the weird things about human nature. We become so attached to family and loved ones, that the very thought of seeing them suffering needlessly; is too much. We rush to their aid and through our natural act of charity; we also become infected with the virus. I would suggest that it is futile to resist this urge. After all, this urge is what defines our species as human. (at least for the majority) If you resist this urge in the beginning, you are only likely to spend the rest of your life wondering what sort of person you have become. My advice would be the following: be more practical with your conscience.
It is all related to our evolutionary path. It is this path that we learn all about sacrifice. Sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice the innocent lives of a few for the sake of improving the survival of the whole. Indeed it is the ability of the human species to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of others; that defines our human evolution.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
7 days into 2009
It is now 7 days into 2009. The year has started o.k. from a sharemarkets perspective. Recent volatility seems to have disappeared for now. This may simply be reduced volumes due to holiday trading, however most markets are up so far this year and some are approaching 2 month highs. What is more likely is that most people are taking a wait and see approach for now and are taking advantage of any shares that may have been oversold in recent times. 2008 was a treacherous year; make no mistake. It is far too early to say how widespread the casualties are. Already in 2009 a few more big names have been named to the list. You know that it is getting bad when Billionaires are starting to commit suicide. It goes without saying that most reputable resource companies and retailers are battling down the hatches until the worst is in the past. Those who have not taken the necessary precautions in liquidity reserves are the first to go into receivership.
One thing is certain. Until Obama takes over the US presidency in around 2 weeks, the world is in something of a stalemate. In Geopolitical terms the window of opportunity to take advantage of the current political stalemate is fast running to a close. It is not surprising that a few main players have taken advantage of this free window for political manoeuvring.
Israel as widely expected has taken a dramatic stand to rout Hamas for good. The latest war has taken out over 600 palestinian’s including known terrorists, Hamas officials, innocent civilians, soldiers, police, ambulance drivers, and children. It is an outrageous exercise in bully tactics and I fear that any sympathy that Israel may have deserved; is lost in a sudden rush of shock and anger as its own list of damage, casualties and fatalities fade into total insignificance. Meanwhile a humanitarian crisis in Gaza looms…
...
100601 A flotilla of ships headed towards Gaza has been intercepted by Israeli forces in International waters. As the Israelis soldiers boarded the ships to inspect cargoes, they were attacked. In self defense the Israeli soldiers killed ten activists and injured many others with paintballs and pistols. All flotilla ships and occupants are now confiscated and under arrest. Anyone that is known to have assaulted Israeli soldiers will be summarily arrested and face Israeli justice. At the very least, all occupants will face hours of intense interrogation. Immediate deportation will be a mercy ending reserved for the more fortunate cases.
As it is; the flotilla intercepted is a lot smaller than was intended, and the flotilla originally headed off from Turkish shores. It may or not be a coincidence that most of the activists killed were of Turkish nationality. It may also be a coincidence that many of the ships that intended to travel to Gaza from Turkey suffered engine difficulties, or seemed in urgent need of other repairs at the time of sailing.
Let’s not spin words here. Israel is fighting a deadly foe and this foe is known as Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization that will stoop to any low levels necessary to achieve its goal. Remove Israel from the map. As a terrorist organization, Hamas is not alone in this goal. (Hezbollah)
What is perhaps more insidious is the influence of Iran. It seems highly likely that Iran is smuggling more sophisticated rockets into Gaza, or waiting patiently for the opportunity to do so.
No wonder that Israeli forces are taking no chances no matter what the international community might say. They are not the ones who will have to live with the result if the smuggled rockets do get through. Make no mistake; the chances of any flotilla of ships getting through without thorough Israeli inspections are slim. This means that future confrontations are inevitable. This is a dangerous battle of wills that will quickly inflame the Islamic world, especially Turkey and neighbours of Israel.
Meanwhile in the midst of all the ongoing turmoil in the ME, Russia decides to ratchet up the rhetoric with its own favourite neighbour, the Ukraine. This is a dangerous war of words because inevitably the inevitable happens. Russia cuts or slows down gas supplies and the Ukraine gets up to its own dirty tricks. This is a war of words that no-body can win. This especially applies to all those European countries that depend on gas that comes from Ukrainian pipelines. A catch 22 situation make no mistake and especially deadly in the middle of winter with a cold storm approaching.
The thing is that this is all becoming slightly repetitive. When will all of this nonsense end?
One thing is certain. Until Obama takes over the US presidency in around 2 weeks, the world is in something of a stalemate. In Geopolitical terms the window of opportunity to take advantage of the current political stalemate is fast running to a close. It is not surprising that a few main players have taken advantage of this free window for political manoeuvring.
Israel as widely expected has taken a dramatic stand to rout Hamas for good. The latest war has taken out over 600 palestinian’s including known terrorists, Hamas officials, innocent civilians, soldiers, police, ambulance drivers, and children. It is an outrageous exercise in bully tactics and I fear that any sympathy that Israel may have deserved; is lost in a sudden rush of shock and anger as its own list of damage, casualties and fatalities fade into total insignificance. Meanwhile a humanitarian crisis in Gaza looms…
...
100601 A flotilla of ships headed towards Gaza has been intercepted by Israeli forces in International waters. As the Israelis soldiers boarded the ships to inspect cargoes, they were attacked. In self defense the Israeli soldiers killed ten activists and injured many others with paintballs and pistols. All flotilla ships and occupants are now confiscated and under arrest. Anyone that is known to have assaulted Israeli soldiers will be summarily arrested and face Israeli justice. At the very least, all occupants will face hours of intense interrogation. Immediate deportation will be a mercy ending reserved for the more fortunate cases.
As it is; the flotilla intercepted is a lot smaller than was intended, and the flotilla originally headed off from Turkish shores. It may or not be a coincidence that most of the activists killed were of Turkish nationality. It may also be a coincidence that many of the ships that intended to travel to Gaza from Turkey suffered engine difficulties, or seemed in urgent need of other repairs at the time of sailing.
Let’s not spin words here. Israel is fighting a deadly foe and this foe is known as Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization that will stoop to any low levels necessary to achieve its goal. Remove Israel from the map. As a terrorist organization, Hamas is not alone in this goal. (Hezbollah)
What is perhaps more insidious is the influence of Iran. It seems highly likely that Iran is smuggling more sophisticated rockets into Gaza, or waiting patiently for the opportunity to do so.
No wonder that Israeli forces are taking no chances no matter what the international community might say. They are not the ones who will have to live with the result if the smuggled rockets do get through. Make no mistake; the chances of any flotilla of ships getting through without thorough Israeli inspections are slim. This means that future confrontations are inevitable. This is a dangerous battle of wills that will quickly inflame the Islamic world, especially Turkey and neighbours of Israel.
Meanwhile in the midst of all the ongoing turmoil in the ME, Russia decides to ratchet up the rhetoric with its own favourite neighbour, the Ukraine. This is a dangerous war of words because inevitably the inevitable happens. Russia cuts or slows down gas supplies and the Ukraine gets up to its own dirty tricks. This is a war of words that no-body can win. This especially applies to all those European countries that depend on gas that comes from Ukrainian pipelines. A catch 22 situation make no mistake and especially deadly in the middle of winter with a cold storm approaching.
The thing is that this is all becoming slightly repetitive. When will all of this nonsense end?
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2008
2nd to last day for 2008. Oil is around $40pb, gold is approaching $900 and the US dollar is fading a tad. The Euro is holding up well for now, but for how much longer is anyone’s guess. As for the pound, hmm. The winner by some margin is the almighty yen for some good reason.
Sharemarkets are down around 40-60% across the board. Commodity stocks are amongst those impacted, as well as some financial institutions, banks and automobile manufacturers.
News of the hour is the dreaded Israeli incursion into Gaza. Palestinian sympathisers are in an uproar and Hamas vows steep revenge for recent air attacks the have caused serious damage to the Hamas government infrastructure, injured thousands and killed over 350 Palestian’s. Hamas is retaliating with its own primitive rocket devices, and has so far has managed to inflict some damage and a few fatalities.
From Israel’s perspective, this latest incursion is timed perfectly politically. One, America is in a handover power stalemate scenario until President elect Obama gets inaugurated on January 20th. Two; it just so happens to be election time in Israel. What better approach than the hard line when faced with a deteriorating economy and people that are simply fed up with deadly rocket attacks than inflict maximum inconvenience and deadly fear and random collateral damage.
Israel has been planning this incursion for some time. The window of opportunity is short, another twenty days or there abouts to rout Hamas for good. God forbid if an escalation ensues and Iran gets involved. The perfect excuse for Israel to enact it own form of ‘pre-emptive’ attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Gaza is simple target practice in this case.
This would be a dark scenario, yet one cannot help but think that it has all been planned in advance. The last time this happened, the escalation rapidly reached Lebanon. Hezbollah joyously joined in and soon Lebanon too was the subject of air assault campaigns. Israel was defiant until the last moment. Then it backed down or finally agreed to some peace deal negotiated weeks before. It goes without saying that substantial and real damage was done to many of Lebanon’s buildings and infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
It is all rather a catch 22 situation. Who do you feel most sorry for. Both actually. But at the end of the day, they are just as bad as each other. One is a tad arrogant, the other a tad terrorist.
So far nothing has happened out of the ordinary in the conflict that has so far lasted three days. It is officially an ‘all out war’ between Hamas and Israel, with a distinct ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. The UN is powerless to do anything apart from issuing statements to stop fighting from both sides. (America has power of veto and is known in advance to support Israel actions against terrorist organizations such as Hamas)
The problem is that Israel is being seen more and more as a bully. Protests in far away places such as London are starting to get serious. Israeli embassies are being targeted and the message is clear. Stop the killing of innocent Palestinian’s. One life is worth no more or less than another. Hamas may or may not have anything to do with the terrorists sending rockets across the border, however these rockets inflict minor damage compared to Israeli retaliation. No court of law in the land could justify such a gross imbalance, not only in people killed and injured but also cost and collateral damage.
Two wrongs do not make a right. However Israeli arrogance this time could be deliberate. Time will tell. Either way, Israel is quickly running out of supporters.
Sharemarkets are down around 40-60% across the board. Commodity stocks are amongst those impacted, as well as some financial institutions, banks and automobile manufacturers.
News of the hour is the dreaded Israeli incursion into Gaza. Palestinian sympathisers are in an uproar and Hamas vows steep revenge for recent air attacks the have caused serious damage to the Hamas government infrastructure, injured thousands and killed over 350 Palestian’s. Hamas is retaliating with its own primitive rocket devices, and has so far has managed to inflict some damage and a few fatalities.
From Israel’s perspective, this latest incursion is timed perfectly politically. One, America is in a handover power stalemate scenario until President elect Obama gets inaugurated on January 20th. Two; it just so happens to be election time in Israel. What better approach than the hard line when faced with a deteriorating economy and people that are simply fed up with deadly rocket attacks than inflict maximum inconvenience and deadly fear and random collateral damage.
Israel has been planning this incursion for some time. The window of opportunity is short, another twenty days or there abouts to rout Hamas for good. God forbid if an escalation ensues and Iran gets involved. The perfect excuse for Israel to enact it own form of ‘pre-emptive’ attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Gaza is simple target practice in this case.
This would be a dark scenario, yet one cannot help but think that it has all been planned in advance. The last time this happened, the escalation rapidly reached Lebanon. Hezbollah joyously joined in and soon Lebanon too was the subject of air assault campaigns. Israel was defiant until the last moment. Then it backed down or finally agreed to some peace deal negotiated weeks before. It goes without saying that substantial and real damage was done to many of Lebanon’s buildings and infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
It is all rather a catch 22 situation. Who do you feel most sorry for. Both actually. But at the end of the day, they are just as bad as each other. One is a tad arrogant, the other a tad terrorist.
So far nothing has happened out of the ordinary in the conflict that has so far lasted three days. It is officially an ‘all out war’ between Hamas and Israel, with a distinct ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. The UN is powerless to do anything apart from issuing statements to stop fighting from both sides. (America has power of veto and is known in advance to support Israel actions against terrorist organizations such as Hamas)
The problem is that Israel is being seen more and more as a bully. Protests in far away places such as London are starting to get serious. Israeli embassies are being targeted and the message is clear. Stop the killing of innocent Palestinian’s. One life is worth no more or less than another. Hamas may or may not have anything to do with the terrorists sending rockets across the border, however these rockets inflict minor damage compared to Israeli retaliation. No court of law in the land could justify such a gross imbalance, not only in people killed and injured but also cost and collateral damage.
Two wrongs do not make a right. However Israeli arrogance this time could be deliberate. Time will tell. Either way, Israel is quickly running out of supporters.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Dharma
'रेंकार्नाशन'
अस थे एम्बोदिएद सोल पस्सेस थ्रौघ थिस लाइफ फ्रॉम चिल्धूद तो ओल्ड आगे, थे सोल सिमिलार्ली पस्सेस इन्तो अनोठेर बॉडी अत डेथ। थे सेल्फ-रेअलिजेद अरे नोट बेविल्देरेड बी सुच अ चंगे।
भगवद Gita
अस थे एम्बोदिएद सोल पस्सेस थ्रौघ थिस लाइफ फ्रॉम चिल्धूद तो ओल्ड आगे, थे सोल सिमिलार्ली पस्सेस इन्तो अनोठेर बॉडी अत डेथ। थे सेल्फ-रेअलिजेद अरे नोट बेविल्देरेड बी सुच अ चंगे।
भगवद Gita
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
२१स्त सन्तुरी revolution
This particular ब्लॉग is dedicated to the 21st century revolution, the planet Earth; and all the diverse species that live there.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Urgent call for Rudd and Clarke on climate change action
Community leaders from the Pacific are urging Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand to take more proactive actions on climate change in the Pacific.
Over 100 representatives of non-government organisations from across the Asia-Pacific - including the main Pacific peak bodies and NGOs - have made an urgent call for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark to do more to help the Pacific with climate change, in particular increased immigration and resettlement...
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