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History's Largest Mining Operation Is About to Begin It's underwater—and the consequences are unimaginable. December 20, 2019
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They're not making it anymore RT — Renegade Inc.
Land is a necessity for human existence and remains the original source of all wealth. Yet bankers, economists, and politicians have simplistically lumped land and capital together, so apparently now they mean the same thing.
So why, as a society, have we chosen to eliminate land from the economic calculus? The consequences have been far reaching.
Host Ross Ashcroft is joined by writers and economists Laurie MacFarlane and Josh Ryan-Collins. to talk about this.
Its with listening to.
Source: They're not making it anymore RT — Renegade Inc.
Posted on April 14, 2017 April 14, 2017 Categories EconomyTags Capitalism, land, sustainable society
The OECD as the cradle of the Club of Rome | reblogged from OECD Insights Blog
By guest author Matthias Schmelzer, University of Jena, based on a newly published article on the origins of the Club of Rome within the OECD.
The Club of Rome's first report, The limits to growth, appeared in 1972 and was ultimately published in thirty languages and sold over thirty million copies worldwide. It made many people aware for the first time that with continuing growth the world would eventually run out of resources. Today, 45 years later, its electrifying conclusions, which modelled the 'overshoot and collapse' of the global system by the mid twenty-first century, still provoke intense debates.
The report also brought international fame to the newly founded Club of Rome, which has since become a key reference point in the public memory of the 1970s and environmental discourses more generally. It boasts considerable authority as a private, non-state, and global group of experts concerned about the fate of humanity, and a wise warden for the ecological survival of planet Earth. However, this extraordinary public and academic attention has largely overlooked the constitutive entanglements with the OECD that characterise the Club's foundation and early history.
This OECD–Club of Rome nexus needs explaining. The OECD, founded in 1961 as the successor of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) that had overseen the Marshall Plan aid, soon became, in the words of one of its Directors, "a kind of temple of growth for industrialised countries; growth for growth's sake was what mattered". By the late 1960s, however, faced by increasing popular anxiety about unsustainable growth in Western societies, scientists and bureaucrats within the OECD launched a debate on "the problems of modern society". The driving forces of this growth-critical and ecologically oriented debate were two of the most powerful men within the Organisation: the head of the OECD since its foundation in 1961, Secretary-General Thorkil Kristensen, and the Organisation's long-time science director and unofficial intellectual leader, Alexander King. The topic assumed such importance that it was central to discussions at the OECD's ministerial meetings in 1969 and 1970.
However, Kristensen, King, and their associates around the science directorate and the Committee for Science Policy were frustrated by governments' inability to deal with long-term and interrelated ecological problems and thus looked for allies outside the OECD. They got together with Italian industrialist and global visionary Aurelio Peccei, at that time an executive of Fiat and the managing director of both Olivetti and Italconsult, and in 1968 this elite group of engineers, scientists, and businessmen, founded the Club of Rome. They were fundamentally sceptical about the potential of existing political institutions to catalyse the controversial global debate they deemed necessary, because they regarded these institutions as the "guardians of the status quo and hence the enemies of change". They saw themselves "faced with the extraordinary arrogance of the economist, the naivety of the natural scientist, the ignorance of the politician, and the bloody-mindedness of the bureaucrat", all unable to tackle the ensemble of problems they had identified.
Thus, they built a transnational network to advance their view of planetary crisis both through the OECD (thus targeting key economists and ministers from member countries) and through the Club of Rome, whose reports forcefully shaped public debates. This network blurred the lines between the "official" OECD and the "private" Club, not only in terms of overlapping membership but also in terms of discourses. While the Club functioned as a "detonator", its core members used international organisations "as transmission belts", as Peccei explicitly put it, and thus acquired a strong leverage.
The personal overlap between the OECD and the Club of Rome in its initial phase is remarkable. Not only were three of the four persons that founded the Club working in or with the OECD (King, the Austrian systems analyst, astrophysicist, and OECD expert; Erich Jantsch; and the Swiss director of the Geneva branch of the Battelle Memorial Institute and Vice-Chairman of the OECD's science committee Hugo Thiemann). Besides the Italian industrialist Peccei and the German industrial designer Eduard Pestel, who secured the funding from the Volkswagen Foundation for the first report, all the crucial personalities in the formative period of the Club of Rome were closely connected to the OECD. Almost the entire core group of the Club of Rome, its "executive committee" – which has been characterised as the true "motor" of the Club of Rome, and who signed Limits to growth – also had positions within the OECD.
This transnational group of experts at the interface of national governments, international organisations, and the Club of Rome formed a unique circle of elite environmentally conscious planners. Even though claiming to speak for the entire globe, they represented a very narrow fraction of the global population, in part because of their organisational base in the OECD, often dubbed the "Club of the Rich". They were all highly-educated and largely white men and thus reproduced the tradition of upper-class gentlemen's clubs, and all came from countries in the global North (mostly European, some US and Japan). With close ties to elite universities, transnational business, and international organisations, they acted from economic positions of privilege and power. Furthermore, the entire network had academic backgrounds in the natural sciences (in particular chemistry and physics) or engineering, with only a few trained in economics, and none in the social sciences or humanities. Finally, almost all had spent at least part of their career as national government experts or administrators.
All these factors influenced the perspective and politics of the network at the heart of the OECD–Club of Rome nexus. A more profound appreciation of the gestation, midwifery, entanglements, transfers, and tensions that characterise this nexus opens up a more complex understanding of both organisations and the actors driving them. It puts in perspective the public perception of the Club of Rome as a private, non-governmental, and global think tank by analysing its origins within an all-male elite group of engineers, scientists, and businessmen, and its intimate interrelationships and personal overlaps with the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation representing the industrialised capitalist countries. This social positioning fundamentally shaped the network's outlook, most importantly with regard to its systemic analysis of interrelated global problems in a computer-engineering perspective, the technocratic outlook from the perspective of the global North, and top-down management approach.
How did the cradle of the Club of Rome react when its offshoot published its first report in 1972? After all, Limits to growth was consciously set up as a "detonator" to give a jolt to established governments and international organisations. At first, it did indeed impress and unsettle the OECD. But once the public debate took off, the views expressed in Limits deepened the internal fractures within the OECD and provoked hostile reactions, leading to a revitalisation of the strong pro-growth position.
The strongest force behind the backlash against the critiques of growth came with the onset of economic turmoil, soaring energy prices, and stagflation from 1973-74 onwards. While the energy shortages and their effects on industrialised countries were largely interpreted by the public as proof of the Club of Rome's predictions, within the OECD these developments did not strengthen the faction critical of growth. On the contrary, the debate on the "problems of modern society" was choked by a combination of changing member-state interests, an attempt by the top level of the Secretariat to better position the OECD, and a shift of influence within the Organisation.
The growth critique sparked a bitter controversy between the macro-economic branch of the Organisation and the science experts and environmental scientists around King, which the latter lost when the OECD refocused on trade, energy, and growth. In particular, the publication of the Club of Rome's first report polarised the debate to such a degree that not only the OECD but Western policy-making circles more generally returned to the promotion of quantitative growth. While the Club of Rome was born in the corridors of the OECD, its first report effectively ended these intimate relationships.
Matthias Schmelzer (2016), The Hegemony of Growth. The OECD and the Making of the Economic Growth Paradigm, Cambridge University Press
The OECD Interfutures project (1979)
Source: The OECD as the cradle of the Club of Rome | OECD Insights Blog
Posted on February 27, 2017 Categories Audio, Capitalism, Development, EconomyTags Club of Rome, degrowth, OECD
Rapacious consumerism and climate change | by Graham Peebles, Scoop News
22nd December 2016 Commercialisation has poisoned all areas of contemporary life, and together with its partner in crime, consumerism, is the principal cause of man-made climate change.
Operating under the suffocating shadow of neo-liberalism, the market forces of commercialisation act blindly and indiscriminately. The presiding deity is money; the goal of endeavour quick profit and limitless growth – no matter what the human or environmental costs may be. And the consequences to both are great, long-term and far-reaching: global climate change, with its numerous effects, and the wholesale destruction of the natural environment being the most significant.
Bleak prospects
The Earth is our home, "our sister", as Pope Francis calls it in his ground-breaking Encyclical letter, "On Care For Our Common Home". But we are poisoning and raping her; polluting the rivers and oceans, destroying the rainforests, coral reefs and natural habitats; the treasures she has given us to care for. It is unchecked human behaviour that is lighting the various fires of destruction. Unless there is a change in the unsustainable, overindulgent way we are living, the
prospects for the planet are bleak.
The interrelated environmental catastrophes are the greatest threat to human and non-human life, and they affect the economic and social crises facing humanity. And they highlight the need for a new imagination to meet the challenges we face.
Our abuse of the Earth, together with what many believe to be a growing threat of nuclear confrontation, has, as Noam Chomsky makes clear, brought about the most serious crisis in human history. It has motivated millions of concerned people throughout the world to unite against government apathy and destructive actions, but is being met with complacency and arrogance by ideologically-driven politicians and the corrupt corporations, who, to a greater or lesser extent, determine policy.
Pope Francis expresses the view of many when he says that, "the Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth". He goes on to point out that "we may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth", resulting from the wide-ranging effects of climate change and global warming.
While man-made climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels is due to various factors, a lifestyle based on rapacious desire for all things material is the key underlying cause. This is made clear in a University College London (UCL) research paper, which states that, "although population and demographics are considerable factors in carbon emissions and consequent global warming, consumption patterns remain the most significant factor. It adds that consumers, rather than people, cause climate change," although in the world of big business and among some governments these appear to be synonymous terms…
A world of exacerbated consumption
Consumerism is the life-blood of capitalism. It is an engineered pattern of behaviour that functions and is perpetuated through the constant agitation of desire for pleasure, a transient state that is sold as happiness.
The consumer culture has been manufactured. Human beings are not naturally rapacious but have been coerced into it. Through manipulative advertising and marketing strategies corporations have promoted the false idea that happiness and contentment will be discovered on the next shopping excursion, inside the packaging of the new gadget or video game.
The designers of the consumer game know well that no such peace will be discovered in the material world of make-believe, and so discontent is guaranteed, prompting the next desire-fuelled outing. And so the cycle of inner emptiness, perpetual longing and dependence on transient appeasement through consumption is maintained…
The consequences of this are ever-greater energy demands, oceans of landfill waste, deforestation, contaminated air that kills millions every year, and widespread environmental destruction.
Consumerism is a Western way of life, another toxic export – together with fast food, obesity and diabetes – that is now finding its way into the cities of some developing countries. It is not the billions living in poverty in the towns and villages of sub-Saharan Africa, or rural India and China, who are indulging in the voracious consumption that is crippling the planet. The poorest 50 per cent of the world's population is, according to Oxfam, responsible for a mere 10 per cent of "total lifestyle consumption emissions". The cult of consumerism is predominantly the pastime of the spoilt and bored – with access to easy credit – in the developed nations of the world. Europe and America, for example, with a mere 12 per cent of global population, account for over 60 per cent of worldwide consumption…
Unrestrained consumption and perpetual growth are essential to the success and profitability of the neo-liberal project, which without such consumerism would collapse. And so insatiable desire for material possessions is virtually insisted upon by governments obsessed with economic growth, and businesses that depend on sales. This itch, which is constantly excited by persuasive advertising, a culture of comparison and narrow definitions of the self, feeds an urge to continually consume…
The extreme capitalist system that is demanding such behaviour is inseparable from wealth and income inequality, climate change, displacement of people and environmental degradation. All of these are interconnected and increasingly recognised to be so…
All forms of life are mistreated in such a world because nothing has any inherent value; everything has fallen prey to the curse of commercialisation and is seen as a commodity, including human beings. Rivers, valleys, forests and mountains all are commodified. They are bought up by large companies who see such natural treasures in terms of an end product, a source of profit when sold in the shopping centres and homogenous high streets of our towns and cities.
In the rush to drain the Earth of all goodness, huge numbers of indigenous people are displaced, the land ruined and beauty lost. Where the corporate hand of mankind is found, all too often one witnesses exploitation, destruction and waste…
Impelled by a restless appetite to conquer everyone and own everything, "capitalism," as Naomi Klein rightly states, "is at war with life on earth". And if triumph is to be judged in terms of destruction and degradation, at the moment it is winning.
Heating up the planet
Climate change brought about by greenhouse gases and the resulting warming of the planet dates from the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th Century. According to analysis by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), "the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times". Two thirds of this increase took place since 1975, and it's intensifying. Nine out 10 of the hottest years on record occurred since 2000 and, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this sharp increase is "due to the observed increase in anthropogenic [man-made] greenhouse gas concentrations".
As Naomi Klein puts it, climate change "has less to do with carbon [and other polluting emissions] than with capitalism". An extreme form of capitalism that only prospers when certain negative aspects of human behavior are elicited: selfish, materialistic tendencies, which the ideological disciples, who benefit from this divisive way of living and believe in its dogma are committed to encouraging. Honing in on Ms Klein's statement further, we can say, as Pope Francis, UCL and others have concluded, that the most significant cause of man-made climate change is the food and drink of capitalism – consumerism.
The logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness
Worldwide, awareness of climate change varies from region to region. In a Gallop poll of 128 countries taken in 2008, it was found that overall 61 per cent of the global population were aware of global warming, of which only 11 per cent felt they "knew a great deal about it". Europe was the region where awareness was highest, 88 per cent being aware, with 70 per cent knowing "something about it". This figure drops in the Americas (North and South) to 64 per cent and plummets to 45 per cent in Asia, 37 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 42 per cent in North Africa and the Middle East.
Even where some acceptance of climate change exists, people are often reluctant to change their lifestyle and make the required sacrifices – for example, stick with their existing mobile phone, buy less stuff, reduce the use of electricity/gas, give up that diesel car or use public transport.
Awareness of climate change is a beginning, but understanding of the underlying causes and effects is needed to change behaviour, as well as a major shift away from selfishness and greed. Such tendencies create separation – from oneself, from others and from the natural environment – desensitize us and lead to complacency. These ingrained patterns of behaviour are strangling the purity out of the Earth and stifling the humanity in us…
Knitted firmly into the heart of this culture and the crises facing humanity is neo-liberalism – an unjust system that needs to be laid to rest and replaced by one that flows from the recognition that humanity is a family and that all human beings have the same needs and the same rights to live secure, dignified lives…
Moving away from the present unjust economic model would create the possibility of purification taking place: purification first and foremost of us, of the way we think and act…
Purification of our internal lives, in which we break the addiction to material goods, cease to look externally for happiness and reduce our levels of consumption, will lead to purification of the natural environment.
A massive education programme is needed to bring about such a shift in thinking and behaviour, one that inspires a shift in consciousness away from the idea of the individual as the centre of all activity, determinedly competing with everyone else, to recognition of one's place within the whole and the responsibility that goes with that…
Otherwise, the model of consumerism will continue to advance, and with it the further contamination of the Earth, the destruction of ecosystems and the heightened threat to human life.
The choice is ours.
Source: Rapacious consumerism and climate change | Scoop News
Posted on December 23, 2016 Categories Biosphere, Capitalism, Climate ChangeTags commercialisation, education, neoliberalism
The Great Investment Turnaround: how to finance a sustainable world economy — PIK Research Portal
– Banks and insurers can play a crucial part in stabilizing the climate, while at the same time safeguarding their clients' assets. Leading representatives of finance and climate research will discuss the best strategies for a turnaround in investing this Thursday in Berlin. The event is hosted by the Swiss global bank UBS, the French multinational insurance firm AXA, CDP, the European innovation initiative Climate-KIC, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
Divestment – the diversion of capital from fossil fuel industries to green innovation and sustainable businesses – is a new approach to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, which could turn out to be a global "game changer".
Already today, investments of billions of Euros are being redirected. Pioneered by students of wealthy US universities, divestment has reached financial big shots like Allianz by now: the financial services company announced its intention to divest from its assets in coal mining. The foundation of the legendary US oil dynasty Rockefeller plans to divest their funds from the fossil fuel industry as well.
"The risks of climate change affect everyone and everything. When the finance sector now divests billions from the fossil business, this does not only reflect a moral responsibility but also makes good business sense," says PIK director Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, co-initiator of the conference. "While weather extremes increase already, many of the biggest climate impacts, like the consequences of sea-level rise, will become perceptible only after it would be too late to act. Therefore it is important for the finance sector to recognize the warnings of science and to ramp up sustainable investments as soon as possible. The Paris Agreement substantiates that the nations of the world aim at reaching zero emissions by 2050. This means we are now in year one of the Great Transformation. Whoever still invests in coal and oil will not only damage the environment, but eventually also lose a lot of money."
"Recognize the possible economic and social impacts of climate change"
"As a global bank it is of major importance to recognize the possible economic and social impacts of climate change, in order to better prepare us and our clients," says Axel Weber, Chairman of the Board of Directors of UBS Group AG. "The financial sector is working hard to lay the foundations for filling gaps in financing climate action and to support nations in delivering on their corresponding commitments. We aim for a sensible long-term allocation of capital that is congruent with a low-carbon economy."
Christian Thimann, Global Head of Strategy, Sustainability, and Public Affairs at AXA Group and Vice-Chair of the FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, says: "Finance has an important role in addressing climate change, because it steers long-term investment. Investors need to understand how companies address climate change in their strategies, which goes well beyond the current carbon footprint. Under the mandate of the G20 and the Financial Stability Board, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure seeks to develop consistent voluntary disclosures by companies and enhance investor understanding of climate-related business risks and opportunities. Such disclosures and better investor understanding will foster implementation of the COP21 agreement."
"Divestment is one of the most potent signals of investor discontent"
Susan Dreyer, CDP Country Director Germany, Austria, Switzerland adds: "Divestment is one of the most potent signals of investor discontent and can be a valuable method to manage portfolio risk, given climate risks are becoming more urgent every day. Having built a platform for transparent and comparable climate strategies, into which 5600 companies worldwide are voluntary reporting today, CDP knows of the impact investor engagement can unfold. Shareholder resolutions or setting joint reduction targets are good examples. And yet, the clear signal from both civil society and investors that fossil based business models do not have a future in the decarbonized world of 2050, is helpful and needed."
Source: The Great Investment Turnaround: how to finance a sustainable world economy — PIK Research Portal
Posted on November 9, 2016 Categories Climate Change, Economy, UncategorizedTags capital diversion, divestment, green innovation, sustainable business
Global trade deal threatens Paris climate goals, leaked documents show | Environment | The Guardian
Arthur Nelson, 20 September 2016
Controversial Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa) could make it harder for governments to favour clean energy over fossil fuels as part of efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5C
A far-reaching global trade deal being negotiated in secret could threaten the goals of the Paris climate deal by making it harder for governments to favour clean energy over fossil fuels, a leak of the latest negotiating text shows.
The controversial Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa) aims to liberalise trade between the EU and 22 countries across the global services sector, which employs tens of millions in Europe alone.
But a new EU text seen by the Guardian would oblige signatories to work towards "energy neutrality" between renewable energy and fossil fuel power, although amendments proposed by the EU would exempt nuclear power from this rule.
The document, marked "limited distribution – for Tisa participants only", would also force member states to legislate against "anti-competitive conduct" and "market distortions" in energy-related services. This is viewed by campaigners as code for state support for clean power sectors, such as wind and solar.
A right to regulate is explicitly mentioned in the paper, but governments would first have to prove the necessity for regulations that legally constrain multinationals.
The same clause was used in the World Trade Organisation's Gatt and Gats treaties which entered into force in 1995, and led to 44 complaints by multinationals via their governments. Of these, 43 were upheld.
Susan Cohen Jehoram, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, told the Guardian: "We fear the same thing will happen with Tisa but on a much larger scale, when legislation is proposed to keep temperature rises to 1.5C [above pre-industrial levels, as agreed at the Paris climate summit].
"If we want to reach that target, governments will need a toolbox of measures that can give incentives to cleaner energy. Tisa, like the proposed TTIP and Ceta trade agreements, would increase the power of multinationals to prevent governments taking desperately needed measures to decrease CO2 levels."
The Paris climate agreement called for "making finance flows consistent with a pathway to low greenhouse gas emissions" but the deregulatory thrust of the negotiating text, which was obtained by Greenpeace Netherlands, seems to run counter to this.
Its energy annex says that the trade rules will apply to all legislative measures covering power generation services, "whether the energy source is renewable or non-renewable".
It also contains a "standstill" clause freezing in perpetuity the high watermark of liberalisation in certain sectors, and a "ratchet" clause to stop countries reintroducing trade barriers that had been previously removed. Both mechanisms have been proposed by Australia.
Under their tenets, any government elected on a ticket of reversing the liberalisation of services contained in the treaty would thus be unable to do so, campaigners claim.
The UK's shadow international trade and energy spokesman, Barry Gardiner, Labour MP, told the Guardian: "Whilst every effort should be made to promote business and trade, this must not be at the expense of the protection and enhancement of workers' rights, environmental safeguards and the wider interests of the British people."
While Brexit could prevent the UK from being bound by the planned trade treaty, any agreement allowing access to the EU's single market would probably oblige it to follow the new rules.
Opposition to the proposed text from Theresa May's government is thought unlikely. David Davis, the minister for Brexit, recently described the similar Ceta trade agreement with Canada as his preferred model for a trade arrangement with the EU.
Gardiner said: "The British people have voted to come out of the European Union to preserve the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, it cannot be right then that secret trade deals are currently being conducted entirely outside the scrutiny of national parliaments and law-makers."
"The structure of such deals are like a lobster pot – once you have gone through and given power to the commercial interest it is no longer possible to recapture democratic control. What we do hear, through leaks and rumours, are terms which clearly prevent the ongoing capacity of governments to govern in the public interest."
Before coming into effect though, any finalised Tisa text will most likely need to be approved by all EU member states – which currently includes the UK – and will also require approval from the European parliament.
Earlier this year, MEPs voted to back the deal, on the proviso that public services were excluded and that the deal legally secured the right to regulate at European, national and local authority level.
Parliament's rapporteur, the former EU justice commisioner, Viviane Reding, has previously said that the assembly will "never consent" to any trade pact that diminished the EU's right to regulate on climate, health and social laws.
Reding refused to comment on the leak but informed sources said that neither she nor the European parliament would consent to provisions which prevented public authorities from supporting renewables.
Reding, a conservative politician from Luxembourg, has also called on the Luxembourg government to demand an end to negotiations on the EU-US free trade deal known as TTIP, over the use of controversial secret investor courts, and threats to the environment and food safety.
Unlike TTIP, Tisa deals with the less tangible trade services sector that nonetheless constitutes more than half of the global economy, and could impact on an estimated 1.8 billion people.
As well as energy, any Tisa deal will apply to financial services, e-commerce, information and communications technology services, international maritime transport services, computer related services, postal and courier services, and government procurement of services.
A report by the UN conference on trade and development later this week is expected to say that mega-trade deals such as TTIP and Tisa are becoming increasingly politicised, and failing to provide a solution to the slowdown in global growth.
Source: Global trade deal threatens Paris climate goals, leaked documents show | Environment | The Guardian
Posted on October 16, 2016 Categories Climate Change, Paris agreement, Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), Trade In Services Agreement (Tisa)Tags 1.5, climate goals, free trade agreements
The $8 Trillion Fight Over How to Rid America of Fossil Fuel – Bloomberg
Economists agree it can be done, but differ on how much it will cost.
Source: The $8 Trillion Fight Over How to Rid America of Fossil Fuel – Bloomberg
Posted on September 2, 2016 Categories Economy, Energy, fossil fuels
Companies need to come clean about climate change risk, Mark Carney says – Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News
TORONTO – Only about one-third of the world's 1,000 largest companies provide effective disclosure of the risks they face due to climate change, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said Friday.
Lack of full disclosure, Carney said, makes it difficult for investors, creditors and regulators to assess who is on top of the increasingly critical issue.
"What is your strategy for managing climate-related risk?" he said. "Longer-term strategies are going to be much more important for evaluation."
At the same time, he said, the transition to an environmentally sustainable future in the coming decades provides an annual opportunity worth trillions of dollars for companies and financiers.
One example he cited is the development of a green bond market in China that current estimates suggest will be worth US$500 billion a year. It's a market Beijing is keen to open up, he said.
Carney's comments came during a session with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna at a business breakfast forum. The former Bank of Canada governor noted that the number of extreme climate events has risen threefold in the last few decades while the cost of claims paid out as a result has risen fivefold.
Still, he said, part of the issue facing regulators relates to the different views on the seriousness of the threat posed by global warming and the ways governments are addressing the problem.
"We want to be neutral, create the information set out there, so that all of those views can be expressed in a market that is an efficient market," he said.
In response to a request from G20 leaders, Carney said a private-sector task force that includes those who have to provide disclosure and those who use that disclosure is trying to come up with the information needed to allow consistent and effective comparisons among companies about their emissions and the risks they face.
The panel is expected to produce its final report at the beginning of next year.
The reality companies must face and must deal with is that governments around the world are serious about implementing various schemes aimed at lowering emissions believed to be at the root of global warming, Carney said. "Climate policy is real," he said. "Emissions have to be capped."
Source: Companies need to come clean about climate change risk, Mark Carney says – Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News
Posted on July 17, 2016 Categories Climate Change, EconomyTags Bank of England Governor, climate change risk
China threatens reprisals on NZ dairy, wool and kiwifruit if government doesn't back off cheap steel inquiry | Stuff.co.nz
Those seeking trading partnerships with China should be wary.
Manawatu dairy farmer Andrew Hoggard says struggling farmers can't take another hit from a trade war with China. China has threatened "retaliatory measures" against New Zealand trade, warning it will slow the flow of dairy, wool and kiwifruit imports.
The world's biggest trading nation is angry at New Zealand inquiries into a glut of Chinese steel imports flooding the market; the Chinese believe New Zealand is part of a US-led alliance to target Chinese national interests.
The behind-the-scenes threat comes just days before the arrival of US Vice President Joe Biden in New Zealand, forcing government and commerce officials to scramble to open urgent talks with China. New Zealand is angry that China should take such a combative approach, and is asking that it desist.
Manawatu dairy farmer Andrew Hoggard fears the impact of a vengeful China – but says New Zealand must stand up for its free trade principles. "The rules are the rules."
Pacific Steel, the sister company of iron miner and processor NZ Steel, has lodged a confidential application, under local and World Trade Organisation rules, for an investigation into China dumping cut-price steel on the New Zealand market. The local industry is struggling to compete with the glut of sometimes substandard Chinese metal, which is being used in major projects like the $1.4 billion Waterview Connection and bridges on the Waikato Expressway.
Right now, lawyers for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are deciding whether the investigation should proceed, which could result in punitive anti-dumping tariffs against China.
But somehow, China learned of the application – and it is taking retaliatory action.
In the past week, representatives of New Zealand's biggest export industries have been called in by Chinese officials, and told to exert their influence to make sure the MBIE investigation does not go ahead.
To up the ante, they have been told China has begun consulting with its local food producers about imposing reprisal tariffs to slow down the access of New Zealand dairy, wool, kiwifruit and potentially meat to the 1.35 billion-strong Chinese consumer market.
Local producers are alarmed.
"A trade war with China is definitely not in our interests," says Andrew Hoggard, a Manawatu dairy farmer. "It's about 20 per cent of our markets and we're getting good market penetration with added value products in there."
Hoggard, who chairs the Federated Farmers dairy division, said many farmers were still struggling to meet mortgage payments and a number had been forced off the land, after last year's very low milk solid prices. The last thing they needed was to be slammed by Chinese trade barriers.
Highly-placed sources have confirmed China is applying pressure in an attempt to sway regulators away from imposing anti-dumping or countervailing duties – which are imposed when goods are subsidised – on imported Chinese steel. Zespri and Fonterra are said to have been heavied, and other exporters may have been.
Pacific Steel's parent company BlueScope Steel has also been strongly critical of the anti-dumping protections against Chinese imports in Australia, and is said to have applied for punitive measures there, as well. In New Zealand, Pacific Steel did not respond to a request for comment, and MBIE's acting manager of trade, Karl Woodhead, said the ministry could not confirm or deny if it had received an application.
Under World Trade Organisation rules "applications relating to anti-dumping or countervailing duties are confidential unless investigations are initiated", begging the question of how China found out.
The world's biggest trading nation believes the United States is leading an alliance of sycophantic nations, doing the US bidding by shutting down Chinese trade and trying to force its military out of the contested islands and atolls of the South China Sea.
Joe Biden landed on the USS John C Stennis aircraft carrier in the South China Sea on Friday, where he told crew, "we're going to be active in the region as long as all of you are alive".
He flies into New Zealand on Wednesday – and it seems certain relations with China will again be high on his agenda.
The US and the EU have been at the forefront of actions against Chinese steel exports. They believe China is dumping steel at prices far below the cost of production with its output far outstripping demand as its economy slows.
The US has imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of up to 450 per cent on corrosion-resistant steel from China in the latest move against its steel exports. China described the move as "irrational". China would likely view any New Zealand move on steel as part of an orchestrated attack on its steel exports led by the US. However NZ industry representatives and officials have made it clear MBIE's processes are independent and rules-based and are not influenced by foreign powers.
China's unusual tactics have caused government and industry to close ranks. The Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) has denied consulting on retaliatory tariffs. Fonterra spokesman Phil Turner and Zespri's chief operating officer Simon Limmer both denied any knowledge of the Chinese industry consultation.
But trade expert Charles Finny, who has worked on China-New Zealand trade issues for decades, said sources in Government confirmed at least one major exporter had been told "the Chinese Government would like pressure to be applied to MBIE".
New Zealand was the first country to recognise China as a market economy – a fact that is likely to have sharpened China's response to any NZ move.
China believes any anti-dumping move against its 600,000 tonnes of exports to New Zealand would be out of proportion, when the value of the imports from China were less than 6 per cent of total New Zealand imports of similar productIt has said it thought New Zealand and China were "at peace" on trade issues – but apparently not.
Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng had been expected to raise the Pacific Steel complaint at his meeting with Trade Minister Todd McClay in China this week, where McClay was attending the G20 meeting. But McClay said no competition issues were raised.
Chinese ambassador Wang Lutong said there was no issue with the imported steel quality but the embassy had been discussing the industry's concerns with New Zealand authorities.
Speaking to TV3's The Nation in unscreened footage this weekend, he said: "I have no idea where the media got this information from. I couldn't possibly comment on the motivation and intention of those reports. What I can say is, we will have a very detailed investigation of any report concerning the quality of steel, and we spoke to your people about that. But I think both sides are satisfied with this procedure."
NZ First leader Winston Peters said China was "monstering" Fonterra, Zespri and the NZ steel industry. "And as for the upgrade of the trade agreement, it's all dependent on what stance we take on the South China Sea. That's the reality of it now.
"I can't believe the ministers haven't talked. You've got officialdom and business operating in isolation from government."
The Chinese Embassy had not responded to specific questions, by deadline.
– Additional reporting Gerard Hutching
– Sunday Star Times
Source: China threatens reprisals on NZ dairy, wool and kiwifruit if government doesn't back off cheap steel inquiry | Stuff.co.nz
Posted on July 16, 2016 August 13, 2016 Categories Economy, TradeTags China, dairy, New Zealand, steel manufacturing
Inside The Green Economy: Promises And Pitfalls In 9 Theses, by Barbara Unmäßig, Lili Fuhr, Thomas Father,originally published by The Leap | JUL 14, 2016
In their new book Inside the Green Economy–Promises and Pitfalls, Thomas Fatheuer, Lili Fuhr, and Barbara Unmüßig of the Heinrich Böll Foundation set out to explore the underlying assumptions, hypotheses, and propositions of the green economy and to spell out their consequences in the real world. The authors call for radical realism and the courage to recognize the complexity of the global crises. They assert that the great task will be to continue the project of modernity, embracing the latest knowledge about planetary boundaries as well as the old vision of broad democratic participation and an end to poverty and injustice.
1. The green economy is an optimistic vision of fossil-fuel phase-out in an economy assumed to become greener via technology and efficiency In the mainstream imagination, the green economy wants to break away from our fossil-fueled business-as-usual.
It's a nice, optimistic message: the economy can continue to grow, and growth can be green. The green economy even hopes to become a driver of more growth. Yet reconciling climate change mitigation and resource conservation with economic growth in a finite and unjust world remains an illusion. With its positive associations, the term "green economy" suggests that the world as we know it can continue much as before thanks to a green growth paradigm of greater efficiency and lower resource consumption.
However, anyone making such a promise must deliberately downplay complexity and have powerful faith in hoped-for miracles of the market economy and technological innovation, while at the same time ignoring social inequality and not wanting to tackle existing economic and political power structures. The green economy is thus a matter of faith and selective blind spots.
It can only be a realistic option for the future if it recognizes planetary boundaries, overcomes social and political injustice and ensures the radical reduction and fair distribution of emissions and resource consumption.
2. Fixing the failure of the market by enlarging it: instead of rethinking business, the green economy wants to redefine nature
The green economy redefines the idea of the primacy of economics as the conclusive answer to current crises. It responds to the multiple crises with more economics. Economics has become the currency of politics, say its advocates. Consequently, they intend to correct the failure of the market economy by enlarging the market. The green economy thus wants the market to encompass things that have previously been beyond its scope by redefining the relationship between nature and economy.
The result is a new version of the concept of nature as natural capital and the economic services of ecosystems – and not a transformation of our way of doing business. Instead of rethinking business, the green economy wants to redefine nature by measuring and recording it, assigning it a value and putting it on the balance sheet – based on a global, abstract currency of carbon metrics.
This hides the many structural causes of the environmental and climate crisis from view and no longer fully takes them into account in the search for real solutions and viable pathways. The consequences of such an approach are also reflected in new market mechanisms for trading biodiversity credits. In many cases, they do not prevent the destruction of nature but merely organize it along market lines.
The green economy reduces the needed fundamental transformation to a question of economics and gives the impression that it can be implemented without major upheaval and conflict.
3. Ecological policy is about more than carbon emissions
The green economy states its central decarbonization strategy in its mantra: "put a price on carbon". This reduction to prices and a single currency unit (carbon credits) is one-dimensional.
Source: Inside The Green Economy: Promises And Pitfalls In 9 Theses
Posted on July 15, 2016 Categories Capitalism, EconomyTags Green Economy
Leaked TTIP energy proposal could 'sabotage' EU climate policy | Environment | The Guardian
The latest draft version of the TTIP agreement could sabotage European efforts to save energy and switch to clean power, according to MEPs. A 14th round of the troubled negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal between the EU and US is due to begin on Monday in Brussels.
A leak obtained by the Guardian shows that the EU will propose a rollback of mandatory energy savings measures, and major obstacles to any future pricing schemes designed to encourage the uptake of renewable energies. Environmental protections against fossil fuel extraction, logging and mining in the developing world would also come under pressure from articles in the proposed energy chapter.
Paul de Clerck, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth Europe, said the leaked document: "is in complete contradiction with Europe's commitments to tackle climate change. It will flood the EU market with inefficient appliances, and consumers and the climate will foot the bill. The proposal will also discourage measures to promote renewable electricity production from wind and solar."
The European commission says that the free trade deal is intended to: "promote renewable energy and energy efficiency – areas that are crucial in terms of sustainability". The bloc has also promised that any agreement would support its climate targets. In the period to 2020, these are binding for clean power and partly binding for energy efficiency, in the home appliance and building standards sectors. But the draft chapter obliges the two trade blocs to: "foster industry self-regulation of energy efficiency requirements for goods where such self-regulation is likely to deliver the policy objectives faster or in a less costly manner than mandatory requirements".
Campaigners fear that this could tip the balance in future policy debates and setback efforts to tackle climate change. Jack Hunter, a spokesman for the European Environmental Bureau said: "Legally-binding energy standards have done wonders to lower energy bills for homes and offices, so much so that energy use has dropped even as the British economy has grown and appliances have become more power-hungry. Advertisement "Voluntary agreements have a place, but are generally 'business as usual' and no substitute for the real thing. If they became the norm, it would seriously harm our fight against climate change." Read more..
Source: Leaked TTIP energy proposal could 'sabotage' EU climate policy | Environment | The Guardian
Posted on July 12, 2016 Categories Climate Change, EconomyTags EU, TTIP


The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed as a lightweight fighter based on the Mirage III in the late 1970s for the French Air Force. The Mirage 2000 evolved into a successful multirole aircraft with several variants developed. The variants include the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5 and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it is in service in nine countries as of 2009.In that summer, at the Farnborough Airshow, this machine displayed not only excellent handling capabilities, but also a full control at 204 km/h and 26 degree angle of attack. This was totally unexpected in a delta-wing fighter, and proved how CCD controls were capable of overcoming the delta wing shortcomings related to poor low-speed control, while retaining the advantages, such as low-drag, low radar cross section, ideal high speed aerodynamics and simplicity, provided by the absence of horizontal tail surfaces. The Mirage 2000 was one of the stars of that airshow and became the direct adversary for the F-16, which shared the CCD control and relaxed stability. The 02 Prototype followed in 18 September 1978 and 03 in 26 September 1979. After 400 hours of flight, they were sent to CEV (Centre d'Essais en Vol). The 04 Prototype was a demonstrator made by Dassault for its own purposes, and finally the first dual-seat Mirage 2000B flew in 11 October 1980.The Mirage 2000 features a low-set thin delta wing with cambered section, 58 degrees leading-edge sweep (4 at the exit wing border) and moderately blended root; area-ruled; two small canard wings, fixed, placed just behind the air intakes. The flight commands on the wing are: four elevons (+15/-30°), four slats, four airbrakes (2 above and 2 below each wing).Its neutral point is in front of its center of gravity, giving the fighter relaxed stability to enhance maneuverability. It was the first fighter jet to incorporate negative stability and fly-by-wire controls in its design. An airbrake is fitted on top and below each wing in an arrangement very similar to that of the Mirage III. A noticeably taller tailfin allows the pilot to retain control at higher angles of attack, assisted by small strakes mounted along each air intake.It has a runway arresting hook or fairing for a brake parachute can be fitted under the tail. The landing roll was reduced by robust carbon brakes. The backward-retracting, steerable nose gear features dual wheels, while the main gear features single wheels and retracts inward into the wings. A parachute brake is on the tail, just above the engine exhaust.A fixed removable refueling probe can be attached in front of the cockpit, offset slightly to the right of center.Dassault further improved the Mirage 2000-5, creating the Mirage 2000-5 Mark 2 which is currently the most advanced variant of the Mirage 2000. Enhancements to offensive systems included a datalink for the targeting of MICA ER missiles, the addition of the Damocles FLIR targeting pod, and a newer, stealthier Thales RDY-2 all-weather synthetic aperture radar with moving target indicator capability, which also grants the aircraft improved air-to-ground capability. The avionics were further updated with higher resolution color displays, an optional Topsight helmet-mounted display, and the addition of the Modular Data Processing Unit (MDPU) designed for the Rafale. A new Thales Totem 3000 inertial navigation system with ring laser gyroscope and GPS capability was added, providing much greater accuracy, higher reliability, and shorter alignment time than the older ULISS 52 navigation system which it replaced. Other upgrades included the addition of an on-board oxygen generation system (OBOGS) for the pilot and an ICMS 3 digital countermeasures suite.Further planned upgrades will include Thales AIDA visual identification pod, a GPS receiver, MIDS datalink, new long-range sensors, and the Topsight E helmet-mounted display. Other technology developed for the Rafale will also be integrated into the Mirage 2000, including infrared and optical sensors for IFF and targeting.


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text:
Who was SOAS's first graduate?
Home/timeline/1910s/Who was SOAS's first graduate?
By Angel Lambo|February 21, 2017|1910s|0 comments
K A Subranamia Iyer was one of the SOAS's first students, enrolling on the Sanskrit and Pali programme in 1917 at the then School of Oriental Studies. Born in 1896, he matriculated in 1912 and by the time he came to the School had already studied in Paris and London. He was the School's first graduate, receiving in 1920 the Diploma in Sanskrit for 'research in Indology.'
He returned to India and founded the Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages at Lucknow University, according to the university's website:
'The department has been working since 17 July 1921 and Dr. K. A. Subramania Iyer was the first Head of the department. He was a well-known Sanskrit scholar and also an able administrator…He had introduced numerous courses related to Vedic literature and classical Sanskrit literature, the courses in Prakrit, Pali and Tibetan languages. On several occasions, Sanskrit dramas were staged during his tenure.'
These stagings obviously had a great impact, as they are referred to in Professor Iyer's Felicitation Volume, published in 1976 by the Journal of the Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad*:
'Professor Iyer fully realised the importance of extra-curricular activities in the making of a student and with this object in view he established the Jnanavardhini Sabha which conducted such activities as debates and dramas. I still remember how the enactment of the law court scene from the Mrechakatika by the students and staff of the Sanskrit Department, including Professor Iyer, in 1930 was hailed by the audience.'
In the same 1976 volume, Shri Radha Krishna wrote: 'Prof K A S Iyer has shed lustre and dignity on the cultural and academic life of Lucknow for about half a century now by his erudition, devotion, wide range of study and simplicity of character. When the old Govt. Sanskrit College, Varanasi was raised to the status of the University, it was Prof. Iyer who was mainly responsible for effecting the smooth change over and for selecting the Faculty with his wide contacts and with the influence and respect that he commanded among the scholars all over the country.'
Professor Iyer later became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lucknow, but resigned before his term was over. He was persuaded by Shri Sampernanand to take charge of the old seat of learning, the Varanasi Sanskrit Vishva-Vidyalaya and, as its Vice-Chancellor, 'soon after assumption of office, gave it a new orientation and instilled sense of purpose and mission in the Faculty and amongst the students.'
Radha Krishna goes on to write: 'While talking of Prof Iyer one cannot miss Dr (Mrs) T S Iyer, his life partner, the noble Ardnangini. A more devoted couple can hardly be imagined. She is a lady of great attainments and equally great charm. Coming from distant Poland, she made India her home by choice and imbibed its culture and traditions with such ease that it is hard to believe she was born and bred under an altogether different environment.'
A medical practitioner, his wife Teresa Jadwiga Subramania Iyer, MRCS (Eng) LRCP (Lond), BS (Lond), received an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours of 1938 in recognition of her work as Director of the Maternity and Child Welfare Section of the United Provinces Branch of the Indian Red Cross Society.
He was obviously a greatly respected teacher. 'Professor Iyer has always been the friend, philosopher and guide of his students and has never grudged them any help which they deserved. His love of learning is so great that even after his retirement he has been busy enriching Sanskrit literature by his monumental work on Bhartrhari and his contribution to Sanskrit grammar. Fortunately, he has got a very worthy life-partner and that is one of the secrets of his active life at this age.'
Dr Navjivan Rastogi, who studied for his doctoral thesis on the Krama System of Kashmir at Lucknow University when Professor Iyer was Vice Chancellor, wrote:
'It was an experience and an opportunity to have a glimpse of his intensive knowledge and vast command over the subject (Kashmire Saivism). It was again a rare privilege when he passed his several research papers on to me for my use.
'But my real story beings with not knowing him as a teacher, but as a teacher in the midst of tumultuous and chaotic administrative-cum-academic situations. It was here that I saw his perfect calm, poise of mind, serenity of purpose and regard for human values. I do not remember the exact time but it was long after the student movement, that I led as President of the Lucknow University Students' Union, had subsided and I was released from jail when I called on him. Though temperamentaly cool and physically active, I found him less exuberant and tired. My drawing his attention to it brought back the remark, 'Navjivan, you have finished me.' This sentence revealed in a flash of moment the amount of severe strain he had undergone due to the student movement. I could not speak a word and personally I shall never be able to forgive myself. It is altogether a different matter that the student movement, for the first time, addressed itself to the real problems and academic ills that confronted the Lucknow University. What is more important is to note how in the midst of tumultuous, fast and impersonal series of events the course of which was determined and dictated by historical dynamics of the forces that mattered a very personal feeling, a very personal attachment, howsoever feeble, could survive and under-run the whole gamut of events. It is this personal element that makes me feel guilty even today so far as Prof. Iyer is concerned.
'Not that Prof. Iyer does not have week (sic) aspect of his personality; like all other human beings he has them and has them in abundance. He suffers from one great weakness – he is too good… I bow in respect. He is my teacher.'
K. A. S. IyerSanskritUniversity of Lucknow
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Praja Rajyam — literalment Govern del Poble— fou un partit d'Andhra Pradesh a l'Índia, que va existir fins al 6 de febrer del 2011 quan es va unir al Partit del Congrés de l'Índia.

"Praja Rajyam" fou fundat el 26 d'agost de 2008 per l'actor de cinema telugu Chiranjeevi (nascut el 1955 com Konidela Siva Shankara Vara Prasad, que porta els títol honorífics de "Suprem Heroi" i "Megastar"). Fou considerat l'alternativa regional del partit del Congrés (partit governant en aquell moment) i del Telugu Desam (oposició aleshores) a l'estat d'Andhra Pradesh. Durant l'acte fundacional al que van assistir prop d'un milió de persones, Chiranjeevi va donar a conèixer la bandera del partit. Al website del partit  hi ha una cronoligia d'aquest acte on s'inclouen les referències a la bandera (horitzontal, tres parts blanca damunt i una part verda a sota, amb un sol vermell al mig de la part blanca):

"7 pm. El símbol escollit és el sol amb 24 raigs. La bandera és hissada i inclou el símbol en vermell sobre fons blanc amb una franja verda a la part inferior per representar als pagesos.
 7:10 pm El sol representa l'energia i la llum les 24 hores del dia; el vermell és el color del canvi; el blanc representa el vibgyor (mnemònic de l'arc de sant Martí del més curt al més llarg: violeta, índic, blau, verd, groc, taronja, vermell; el verd representa l'agricultura; el sol està rodejat d'una línia groga per significar que brilla en la cara de cada ciutadà; vermell, blanc i verd representen a hindús, cristians i musulmans
 7:15 pm Es toca el himne".

La mateixa bandera però canviant el sol pel símbol electoral (un tren) s'utilitza conjuntament amb l'oficial del partit durant els períodes electorals.

El 2009 feu coalició amb el Nava Telangana Praja Party, però els resultats electorals no foren bons i aquest partit posteriorment va desfer la unió i es va fusionar al Telegu Desam.

Referències

Enllaços externs
 El partit online

Andhra Pradesh
Partits polítics de l'Índia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Movie Review: 'The Time Traveler's Wife' Proves Faithful
Robert Schwentke's adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's sci-fi drama The Time Traveler's Wife both improves and dillutes its source material in almost equal measure. The result is a good movie–probably working better for starry-eyed romantics than logic-based sci-fi fans–that eludes greatness by playing it just a little too safe. However, navigating Niffenegger's tangled and thought-provoking melodrama couldn't have been easy and I'm grateful that the German director drew from it this sweet, sensitive and occassionally beautiful little movie.
Demolishing similarly themed films like The Lake House, Time Traveler's Wife finds just the right note to transform this unlikely tale of a Chicago librarian with a genetic disorder into a grounded romance about life's unpredictability and the strength a marriage requires to weather such uncertainty. More of it feels real than unreal, and the fantastic device at the center of the story–the time traveling ability of Henry DeTamble–is folded into the film's structure in such a way that is isn't anymore distracting than a flasback in a more typical drama would be. With all of these pains to render the surface of the film mundane and 'normal', Schwentke and company end up downplaying the questionable science of Henry's dillemna (it's a very strange genetic abnormality to be occassionally, and physically, rocketed through time without warning) and playing up both the benefit it has and harm it does to Henry's relationship with his true-love Clare Abshire. With Eric Bana as Henry and Rachel McAdams as Clare, the central roles are in good hands and Schwentke constructs a lyrical and visually sumptious love affair that isn't held in check by the typical concerns of time and space.
The movie begins with a car accident that claims the life of Henry's mother when he is very young. This is the first time he becomes aware of his ability. One minute the little boy is sitting in the back seat of the car, and the next he's fading out, a little bit at a time, until he has disappeared. One moment later he is standing on a snowy bank outside of the same scene and watching a truck smash into his mother's car. Distraught, confused, and without his clothes,the little boy is met and then comforted by a man who shows up seconds after he does. This is older Henry and he tries to explain the situation to his younger self. Alot of the movie is like this; looping back and forth on itself, although a great deal of it is told in a chronological, forward-manner. Upfront the filmmakers are trusting the audience to keep up.
And it isn't hard; as mind-bending time-travel conceits go, this one is rather tame. Henry travels involuntarily to places in his life that are (or will be) significant to him, and he arrives each time without clothing and no ability to trigger his return. Just like the jump itself, going back happens when it happens. The movie, like the book, takes the time to show the emotional toll this takes on Henry and Bana gives a nice, reserved performance that can become unhinged at the right moments. When he travels, he arrives nude and must go foraging for clothes, and then most of the rest of his time is spent running, depending on where he's landed. When he ends up in a field and meets a little girl who gives him a picnic blanket to cover up in, it's Clare, and he already knows her; has already met her and fallen in love with her. For her though, Henry's continuous travels to that field, several times over her growing up, cause her to fixate upon him. When they meet as adults she has been carrying a torch for him for a long time, and he has never met her–has in fact been drinking to stave off lonliness, unaware that alcohol may make the jumps more frequent.
The film avoids anything creepy in Henry's visits in the field, but it also eschews the drama that came with Clare's conundrum. Did she ever have a choice in this matter? Was she duped into loving Henry via his friendship to her when she was young? And now she is married to a man with whom she might not be able to have children (there is a genetic issue causing miscarriages) and she feels trapped. However, when she approaches him years later in the library and forwardly makes advances on him, isn't she causing the emotional connection that ultimately transports him to the field where they meet? The movie touches these ideas, but does not pick them up. It's more interested in exploring how Henry and Clare will weather growing elements that are not of their choosing. Internal strength belongs to Clare, not Henry, and that's strange because Bana typically portrays the former so well. Here, McAdams is creating the portrait of a woman that loves her husband so much that all of the resulting tragedy and triumph associated with his ability is magnified to a point that is hard to take. Bana keeps getting slingshot back and forth through the plot, so it seems like we don't get to connect as muchwith him. However, he's in almost every scene so it works in his favor when he mutes the performance a little.
I really enjoyed the suppporting cast that includes the always effective and welcome Ron Livingston as friend to Henry and Clare. He makes a nice foil, and is a sturdy fixture in later scenes when things get harrowing for Henry. Arliss Howard also does nice work as Henry's father. He isn't in many scenes, but again, he roots the scenes he shows up in. I think the choice of supporting characters is linked to the construction of the time travel scenes. Everything around Henry is made familiar to the viewer. We know the lay of the land even when he does not. If we see something coming long before it arrives, quite often that is the intent of the movie.
I loved the soundtrack and the inuitive use of music in generating an emotional landscape for Henry and Clare's relationship. My favorite moment is when a version of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart plays after their wedding. It strikes an ironic tone; love is the force keeping them tethered through each trial, but in another sense, the very presence of their care for one another makes each hurt possible. It isn't a belabored point, just something dropped gently into the background.
Visually, I like the film's pastoral beauty. The interiors of houses, the library, and the picturesque field all strike up an inviting and sumptious setting. It draws us further into the movie and so do McAdams and Bana, who have a curious chemistry even though the movie holds their romance at an arm's length. If it had found a way to bring them closer together, and into one another's orbit a little more, it might have been a masterpiece. As it is, it's a film that really feels the heartaches and joys of life with a loved one, and what's there is honest.
It isn't often that qualities like that show up in a romantic drama, and less often are they portrayed in such a positive light. Best of all, the film marries science fiction thoughtfulness to chick flick passion and the result is a great date movie. Take someone you care about and enjoy it for what it is.
Tags: adaptation, adventure, chick flick, date movie, drama, entertainment, eric bana, fantasy, life, literature, marriage, movies, Rachel McAdams, review, romance, romantic drama, science fiction, The Time Traveler's Wife, time travel, wedding
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One Response to "Movie Review: 'The Time Traveler's Wife' Proves Faithful"
Stephen Davis February 10, 2010 at 6:12 pm #
I would like to know the name of the artist who did the picture of the folded newspaper ( looked like a bird in flight ) on the wall that I guess was supposed to represent the artwork Claire was into making.


> > Is there a problem with these patches?
> > => MD5 Checksum OK for lynx2.8.5rel.1.tar.bz2.asc.
> > => MD5 Checksum OK for 2.8.5rel.2.patch.gz.asc.
> > => MD5 Checksum OK for 2.8.5rel.3.patch.gz.asc.
> > => MD5 Checksum OK for 2.8.5rel.4.patch.gz.asc.
> As they are clearly not patch files.
This will prevent the "I can't seem to find a patch in there anywhere."


In the third match of the IPL-10 played at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium, the Kolkata Knight Riders won a huge victory by 10 wickets. With this victory, Kolkata has also made a record in world cricket.
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets on Friday night in their first match of the IPL-10. Chasing the target of 184 runs, both openers of Kolkata, Gautam Gambhir (76 not out) and Chris Lynn (not out 93) gave their team victory in 14.5 overs. Along with that, Kolkata made a world record in Twenty-20 cricket, so big scores has not been achieved by any team by keeping 10 wickets in hand.
With this win, two IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders, have also warned all the opposition teams in this IPL.


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Facial recognition fitted to 5,000 CCTV cameras in Moscow
Russian police say the technology has been used to catch six serious criminals Credit: EPA
Cara McGoogan
29 September 2017 • 9:50am
Russia has fitted thousands of security cameras across Moscow with facial recognition technology that give police the ability to track criminals and terror suspects.
The Russian capital is using the technology, which automatically checks live footage against police and public databases for wanted persons, in 5,000 cameras, it has been revealed.
The system matches people's faces against billions of photos, collected from Russia's version of Facebook, VKontakte, as well as police and passport databases.
It has been in place for almost a year, but was only recently connected to the federal police database. In two months Russian police have used it in the arrests of six serious criminals.
"Around six people were caught immediately who were living in Moscow," said Artem Ermolaev, Moscow's chief information officer. "We didn't know they were living here because they were hiding, but thanks to facial recognition we could find them in the centre of Moscow."
Responding to privacy concerns, Ermolaev said: "The service is only for use by the security services and those responsible for catching the bad guys." He said CCTV cameras are clearly identified, but no additional signs have been added to reflect facial recognition is in place.
"There is no difference, you will be identified any way," he said.
In the long term, Moscow plans to use the technology to record evidence and investigate crimes, as well as to gather information during elections. Citizens will be able to request footage when they have been victims of a crime.
NTechLab is hoping to bring the system to countries across the world, with Turkey, Indonesia and China being possible next steps. Other cities in Russia have also expressed interest. Moscow said the facial recognition costs around $100 million (£85m) a year.
"We would be happy to suggest the technology for any town or public place," said Mikhail Ivanov, chief executive of NTechLab. "We basically think it should be implemented in government video surveillance. All governments have a watch list."
5,000 cameras around the city are using the technology Credit: Getty Images
Ivanov also dismissed privacy fears. "They're not looking for people who parked their car in the wrong place, they're looking for serious criminals," he said. "Everyone knows the cameras are on the entrance to the public houses and on the subway and somebody is watching the crowd."
NTechLab said it has around 100 working licenses and more than 2,000 customers in countries including the US, UK, China and Singapore. The company gained recognition through the FindFace website, which let Russian people identify strangers by matching them with their VKontakte social network profile.
It isn't the only firm working on such technology, but it one of the most advanced. The US Government's National Institute of Standards and Technology recently identified NTechLab as having one of the most accurate facial recognition systems in the world.
Other countries have been trialling similar systems for law enforcement purposes. British police arrested a suspect identified using a similar system in Cardiff in June during a test of facial recognition software. The smart camera was in a police van that was clearly marked.
Germany has also tested facial recognition to track terrorists at a train station in Berlin.
Moscow's city government has installed around 170,000 cameras in public places across the city, including building entrances and in the subway system. It claims crime has dropped since the installations started five years ago.
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Students in the BSBA in Entrepreneurship degree program at Shippensburg University learn to prepare for the challenges involved in new venture creation and small business management. This nationally accredited program gives a broad skill-set for business. It also provides customized paths for success in specific business systems including new ventures, franchises, corporate ventures, socially responsible companies, and family controlled enterprises.
Why Study Entrepreneurship at Ship?
Successful completion of the undergraduate entrepreneurship degree at Shippensburg University teaches you important skills for success in today's economy. The success of America's economy has been built on the expertise of its self-starting business people - Ship's entrepreneurship concentration teaches you how to translate hard work and great ideas into profitable businesses.
You will learn to recognize opportunities and convert new ideas into business plans with a focus on implementation. The program is designed to help graduates understand risk and develop an entrepreneurial perspective to overcome challenges and achieve success.
The program also provides a thorough background in marketing, management and contemporary economic theory that can be useful in the workforce.
Shippensburg is the only university in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education to offer a BSBA in entrepreneurship.
Ship's entrepreneurship program has a 100 percent employment rate for graduates of the program. Ship has a well-established Business Internship Program that provides opportunities for on-the-job experience while gaining college credits. While participation is not mandatory for the completion of an entrepreneurship concentration, students earn one full credit hour to every equivalent of a 40-hour workweek they finish. Students can receive a maximum of nine credits.
These internship opportunities include family businesses, franchises, small businesses, and corporations where there is a need for entrepreneurial-minded individuals. Internships often turn into job offers, according to post-graduate surveys of Ship business students.
The SHIP Career Connection online job bank contains listings for both full- and part-time internship opportunities at some of PA's leading employers.
The average salary for entrepreneurship jobs in PA is $85,000.
Business Core Curriculum: All business majors take the same core curriculum. This core includes economics, finance, information systems, marketing, organization behavior, and business law as well as other business subjects.
Entrepreneurship Courses: A sequence of courses for entrepreneur students that provides the necessary technical knowledge with respect to tools, techniques, and concepts.
Grove College of Business offers an 18-credit Entrepreneurship minor for non-business students. This minor provides students with the same basic business knowledge and skills as the Business Minor, but with a strong emphasis on innovation and problem-solving. This minor will prepare students to succeed as innovators and value creators in a rapidly changing world. In order to be admitted to the minor, you must successfully complete the general education prerequisites for the program.See the most current academic catalog for details.
Enactus: Enactus (Entrepreneurship Action Us) is a global, non-profit organization that is literally changing the world through highly dedicated student teams on more than 1600 university campuses in 40 countries. The organization offers students the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise, thereby improving the standard of living for millions in the process. Guided by distinguished faculty advisors and supported by businesses around the globe, Enactus Teams teach important concepts through educational outreach projects, including market economics, entrepreneurship, personal and financial success, and business ethics to better themselves, their communities and their countries. Each year, competitions are held worldwide, drawing together thousands of students and business leaders to pay tribute to these extraordinary educational outreach projects.
Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO) is the premier entrepreneurship network with chapters on university campuses across North America and beyond. CEO currently supports entrepreneurship in over 250 chapters in all 50 states and worldwide.
CEO's Mission...is to inform, support and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and seek opportunity through enterprise creation. With a diverse entrepreneurial community and global network, CEO provides student entrepreneurs with opportunities, events, chapter activities and conferences to help start businesses. The highlight of the year is the annual Global Conference hosted each fall.


SportsCenter is tipping off on Snap's Discover, bringing you 5-minute live recaps at 5am and 5pm every day. And while Snap execs are busy dumping Gatorade on each other over the platform's first live sports show, the struggle is all too real for ESPN.
The 39-year-old Worldwide Leader in Sports hasn't looked like much of a leader as of late. Total ESPN viewership dropped 11% from 2015 to 2016, and SportsCenter revenue is down $100 million YoY. To top things off, it's laying off another 100 employees post-Thanksgiving. Keyword: another.
But ESPN's staying cool as the other side of the pillow. Snap's band of teens and millennials offers SportsCenter the chance to win over younger viewers. Because as of right now, its demographic skews towards an older (ages 30-50), cable TV-watching generation.
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HomeHow we thinkArchiveJune 2020Beyond the molecule – a new healthcare innovation podcast
Beyond the molecule – a new healthcare innovation podcast
Blue Latitude Health|9th June 2020
How do you succeed in an industry where 90% of products fail? Our hosts Martin Brass and James Atherton talk to pioneers defying the odds and developing healthcare innovations that are changing the world – from pharma leaders to biotech CEOs, scientists and healthcare technology entrepreneurs. But we don't just cover their successes. We deep dive into our guests' failures, lessons learned, and map the moments that defined them.
This podcast is brought to you by our parent company Fishawack Health, a new breed of healthcare communications agency. As part of Fishawack Health, we work end-to-end across the product lifecycle with capabilities in Medical, Consulting and Creative, underpinned by our expertise in digital technology. Blue Latitude Health joined Fishawack Health in 2018.
You can find 'Beyond the molecule' on Apple podcasts and Spotify – subscribe and never miss an episode.
#6 Sunny Kumar – How do you find and fund innovation?
Have you ever wondered how venture capitalists know which healthcare tech to invest in? Sunny Kumar, Partner at GSR Ventures, reveals how he differentiates between hype and true innovation, why he's passionate about artificial intelligence and informatics, and what the future looks like for the healthcare tech industry in the aftermath of COVID-19.
#5 Jill Hopkins – How do you save people's sight?
Jill Hopkins has dedicated her life to restoring people's vision. In this episode she talks about what it's like to fight blindness, a game-changing innovation in ophthalmology, and how Roche-Genentech keeps innovating in the wake of COVID-19.
#4 Dr Steven Shak – How do you become a precision medicine pioneer?
What does it mean to truly innovate, not just once but many times over? Dr. Steven Shak may be one of the few people who can help answer this question; from discovering the DNase1 gene, to developing a life-altering treatment for cystic fibrosis, and guiding revolutionary cancer drug Herceptin from concept to clinic, Steve Shak's groundbreaking work has changed the lives of millions across the globe. Now, in his newest venture as Chief Medical Officer at Exact Sciences, his portfolio of precision diagnostic tests have ensured one million cancer patients receive the right treatment at the right time. We discuss his life's work (so far), his advice for pharma execs, and what next for the scientist.
#3 Dan Brillman and Taylor Justice – How do you unite health and social care?
WIn a country where health and social care are divided, Dan and Taylor have done the seemingly impossible. Inspired by their fellow veterans' experiences, they developed Unite Us – a platform that connects communities, governments and healthcare systems around the single goal of improving health holistically. In this episode, they reveal how they're achieving this vision, their journey from military veterans to CEOs, and their advice for start-ups operating in complex healthcare environments.
#2 Zoe Harris – How do you personalise care for dementia patients?
When her husband battled dementia and lost the ability to communicate, Zoe saw first-hand how the care team's failure to understand his needs negatively impacted his outcomes. So, she took matters into her own hands. She developed a tool to personalise his care and now her solution – Mycarematters – is used by care staff and hospitals across the UK to improve the lives of cognitively impaired patients.
#1 Jacob Glanville – How do you treat rapidly mutating viruses?
Jacob Glanville is fascinated by the intersection of technology and medicine. Fuelled by his experiences growing up in war-torn Guatemala, he wondered how he could use technology to create a post-pathogen world. Now, as CEO of Distributed Bio, he's achieving that vision. In this episode, he explains the story behind his innovative universal vaccine tech, why he chose to leave a top job at a prestigious pharmaceutical company, and how he got to where he is today.
#0 Beyond the Molecule – Coming soon
Take a sneak peek at our new podcast 'Beyond the Molecule' where we interview healthcare pioneers to reveal the untold stories of healthcare innovation. We learn about their personal stories, how they got to where they are today, and their successes and failures, to uncover their journey from initial idea to transformative innovation.
Our content has moved
Blue Latitude Health|18th November 2020
We're posting all new articles on our parent website fishawack.com
Fishawack Health launches Delta Magazine
Our parent company Fishawack Health has launched a new magazine with a first issue unpacking rare disease.
In the precision medicine era, the line between products and services is blurred
Amit Sheinholtz and Ilektra Safari|27th August 2020
Precision and personalised medicines are more than products, they are services in their own right. So, how should pharma approach this uncharted territory to ensure targeted therapies work for patients?


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The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall, 262pp RL 4
On the off chance that there are still a few readers out there who have not heard of this fantastic book, the first in a wonderful series, I am reposting my review from a few years ago with an updated list of similar titles kids will love.
When I started this blog in 2008 the first books I reviewed were favorites of mine and books that I recommend over and over while at work at the bookstore. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, first published in 2005 and The Doll People (2003) by Ann M Martin and Laura Godwin were among those early reviews and remain two books that I can interest almost any (girl) reader in on any given day. Written at roughly a fifth grade reading level, these books are fantastic for bedtime read-out-loud for listeners from ages four through ten. They are also ideal for younger advanced readers because the stories are gentle and without too much suspense but also rich with creativity, strong characters and beautifully written. And, I have even known a few boys to enjoy hearing these books read out loud to them. I noticed that this review had very few page views and I'm assuming it's because it's just so well known and loved. But, I'd hate to think that there is anyone out there who hasn't heard of this wonderful book so I am reposting, almost four years to the day it first ran, it as well as adding links to reviews of books I have read in the past for years that are similar in tone and content.
As you might guess by looking at the cover, The Penderwicks has a classic tone and a very timeless feel which makes it appealing to kids and parents. Birdsall, who says her favorite children's author is E Nesbit (Five Children and It, The Railway Children, The Treasure Seekers) is clearly influenced by the classics, which she mentions, sometimes cryptically, throughout her The Penderwicks. As a young reader, I always loved books that mentioned other books because they always lead to something else worth reading. The four Penderwick sisters (well, the three who can read in book one) are all big readers and refer to characters the Bastables, characters from Nesbit's books The Treasure Seekers, The Wouldbegoods and The New Treasure Seekers, who are motherless just like the Penderwick sisters. Birdsall also mentions Magic By the Lake by Edward Eager, an author from the 1950s who was also influenced by Nesbit and also wrote the spectacular Half Magic.
This debt to the classics is evident in the characteristics that Ms Birdsall gives to her characters. Above all, the girls speak of pride and honor and they act out these qualities in the book in realistic ways. This is sort of an antiquated notion today. While our kids may have their pride challenged now and again on the playground, ball field, or infront of a video game, they are rarely called upon to act with honor. Perhaps because they are such a unit, the Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, who is twelve, Skye who is eleven and Jane who is ten, have a strong sense of responsibility for each other and for their youngest sister Batty, who is four. As with all good children's stories, some adults must be absent, like the the Penderwicks deceased mother, which no doubt gives them their sense of responsibility for each other, as well as their botanist father who takes long walks to study the plants, which gives them the opportunity to have adventures that test their pride and honor as they embark on their annual summer vacation, this year in the Berkshire Mountains where they are renting a cottage on the grounds of a larger estate that is inhabited by Mrs Tifton and her sheltered son, Jeffrey. The estate is named Arundel, which is also a town in England where George MacDonald, the writer of fairy tales in the mid 1800s, most notably The Princess and the Goblin was once a pastor.
One of the true treats of this book are the characters of Skye and Jane. Skye is an explorer who, being the second of four, can remember the day she had to share her room with another sister and misses the solitude and tidiness of her old life. She is also outspoken and uncensored with her sense of fairness. She is thrilled when, upon entering their cottage, she gets the cleanest, whitest, tidiest room. Jane thinks of almost nothing but the character that she created, Sabrina Starr, an adventurer, and the plots for stories she will write about Sabrina, is also a soccer star. The other sisters, Rosalind and Batty, seem more like brackets that hold the other two in and give them situations to play off of in this first book. Rosalind, by necessity, is the sensible, kind, thoughtful mother substitute. She does a little but too much herding and baking and watching out for her sisters for my taste, but all stories need a warm figure to comfort the children who get into scrapes and Churchie, the cook at the big house, never quite fits this bill. Rosalind does get her own story line in the form of a crush on Cagney, the teenager who is taking over for his uncle as estate gardener. And this is the only aspect of the novel that rubs me the wrong way, just a bit. While I know it happens to girls of all ages, boys and crushes were a bridge I didn't want to have to cross any sooner than necessary with my daughter and thus tried to steer her away from books that had romantic notions until she was a teenager. While I still love this book to bits, I do with Jeanne Birdsall could have come up with a different story line for Rosalind. That said, Birdsall does handle the heartbreak that Rosalind suffers beautifully. As for Batty, she is a great character and has some winning traits, like refusing to talk to people she doesn't like and being painfully shy and uncomfortable in the presence of people she is unfamiliar with. I just wish she had been a little bit older - five or six - since I felt like her character was functioning a bit more on that level. However, she was a realistic enough creation that I kept picturing a little friend of mine who just turned six and shares many of Batty's endearing qualities, when I read of her. And, of course, there is Hound, the enormous dog, who is Batty's protector and playmate.
The rest of the plot involves Jeffrey. His backstory is interesting and Jeffrey is a well written character and an inspiration for a character in one of Jane's stories - an imprisoned boy who needs rescuing by Sabrina Starr. Mrs Tifton and her boyfriend Dexter are a bit two-dimensional, but they need to be. There are so many other great characters in this novel that we only really need them as foils, and foils they are. Both Skye and Jane get their chance to tangle with them and come out a little sad and broken but triumphant.
I wish that there were a hundred more books like this on the shelves of the bookstore right now. The second, The Penderwicks on Gardam, and The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, both of which are also in paperback. Birdsall plans to write five books in all about the Penderwick family and says on her website that it takers her three years to write each book, which means there might be a new book in the summer of 2013. Scroll down for more books that will keep readers busy and happy while they wait for the next Penderwicks book...
The Doll People
by Ann M Martin and Laura Godwin with illustrations by Brian Selznick
Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, both by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Humming Room by Ellen Potter and Wishing for Tomorrow by Hilary McKay
aauthor: Birdsall Award Winner Family GRL4 Literary Rabbits Reading Level 4 Real Life Girl Stories Series Sibling Stories SSRL4 Summer Stories


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