There’s no true guru.

That which is true can’t be taught,

only recognized.

.

From: Radio Free Asia online.

China racing to be world's worst polluter
By Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING - China has delayed the release of a long-expected national plan on tackling global warming amid warnings that the country is set to overtake the United States as the world's biggest source of greenhouse gases this year - much earlier than forecast - because of its runaway economic growth.

It is the second time this month that Chinese officials have deferred the release of the anticipated public information. Earlier, national statisticians delayed the publication of quarterly data about the country's economic growth, announcing consequently that China's growth increased unexpectedly by 11.1% in the first three months of 2007.

The new increase comes on the heels of breakneck annual economic expansion of more than 10% for four straight years, which has seen China rapidly emerge as the fourth-largest economy in the world.

The problem with China's transformation into an economic powerhouse, however, is that it is fueled almost entirely by highly polluting coal.

Burning coal and other fossil fuels release gases such as carbon dioxide, which are believed to cause global warming by trapping the sun's heat within the atmosphere - the so-called greenhouse effect. Last year China burned more than 1.2 billion tons of coal - and it has ambitious plans to build a series of new coal-fired power plants to continue its economic expansion.

Chinese statisticians are not the only ones taken by surprise by the country's raging economic growth. The International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises developed countries on energy policies, has had to revise its projections regarding China too.

Analysts had predicted that China's emissions of greenhouse gases would surpass those of the US by 2009. But in the light of China's astonishing economic performance of last year and the first three months of 2007, the IEA now believes this is going to happen within months.

What is more, if those emissions are left unchecked, in 25 years China will be emitting twice as much carbon dioxide as the richest developed countries together, according to IEA's chief economist, Dr Fatih Birol. By then China's pollution could outstrip any gains made elsewhere in the world.

"In 25 years, carbon-dioxide emissions ... from China alone will be double the carbon-dioxide emissions which come from all the OECD [Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development] countries put together - the whole US, plus Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand," Birol was quoted as predicting this week.

The deferred national "action plan" on climate change is expected to promise emission cuts but no carbon caps, which limit carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming that a country may release.

Such caps are perceived by Chinese leaders as costly measures because they may stifle economic growth, which they regard as paramount in maintaining social stability. So far, Beijing has refused to consider any preventive steps that could hobble economic expansion and lead to social unrest.

Instead of trying to cap greenhouse-gas emissions, China's leaders are trying to reduce energy intensity, the amount of coal and other fuels the country burns relative to economic output. Chinese academics say this will be the keystone of the new "action plan" on climate change.

China is a signatory to the 1998 Kyoto Protocol, which obliges developed nations to limit their output of greenhouse gases, but as an emerging nation it is exempt from mandatory limits.

However, China's continuing economic boom means that if it does not control emissions, any attempts to moderate global warming will be meaningless.

"Without having China on board, no international climate-change policy has any chance of success at all," Birol said. "Without China playing a significant role, all the efforts of every other country will make little sense. It is terribly important."

Beijing has given contradictory signals to its willingness to be a full participant in future global efforts to fight climate change.

Group: China Stamps Out Dissent

By SCOTT McDONALD

The Associated Press
Friday, May 4, 2007; 4:06 AM

BEIJING -- China is cracking down on dissent in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics by persecuting and harassing human rights activists, a rights group said Friday.

The Chinese Human Rights Defenders group said the situation deteriorated last year, with activists increasingly arrested and intimidated. "The government appears determined to stamp out any sign of discontent and dissent so as to present a happy facade of social stability and social harmony to the world as the 2008 Summer Olympics draws closer," the group said in a report.

It was the second such report this week after Amnesty International said Monday that Beijing had failed to live up to promises to improve human rights for the Olympics despite death penalty reforms and increased freedoms for foreign reporters.

China, which rejected the Amnesty International report, has said it is meeting its commitments and that the human rights situation in the country is improving.

It was a holiday in China this week and no officials were available to comment on the latest report.

It said that despite a growing human rights movement in China, the communist government was suppressing moves to defend land rights in rural areas, intimidating and persecuting lawyers, and restricting the movements of activists in many cities.

"Persecution of rights activists has in fact worsened in that the methods are more sophisticated, hence harder to hold authorities accountable," Chinese Human Rights Defenders said.

"Punishment typically through deprivation of freedom, livelihood, housing or family, has continued," it said.

The report cited the case of Huang Weizhong, a farmer in southern Fujian province. He was sentenced to three years in prison last year for "assembling a crowd to disturb social order" after appealing to the authorities for the protection of land rights.

It also pointed to the case of Chen Guangcheng, a blind activist who has recorded complaints of officials compelling villagers to undergo late-term abortions and sterilizations.

In January, the Linyi Intermediate Court in central Shandong province rejected an appeal against a sentence of four years and three months handed down last year after Chen was convicted of instigating an attack on government offices in his home village because he was upset with workers sent to carry out poverty-relief programs.

Chen also was accused of organizing a group of people to disrupt traffic.

Chen's supporters say he is innocent and that officials fabricated the charges after he documented complaints that officials trying to enforce China's birth-control regulations forced villagers to have late-term abortions and sterilizations.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders is a network of Chinese human rights activists and groups who monitor the government's adherence to its international and constitutional obligations.

FROM: FREE TIBET CAMPAIGN U.K.

9 May 2007

Belgium refuses entry to the Dalai Lama

[London] Belgium has prevented the Dalai Lama from applying for a
visa following massive pressure from the Chinese Government. The
Dalai Lama was due to appear in Brussels before 300 delegates from
around the world at the 5th International Conference of Tibet Support
Groups from 11 to 14 May 2007.

It is reported that Belgium's decision has come prior to Prince
Philip's upcoming trade meetings with Chinese counterparts.

"It is shameful that the Belgian government, a state member of the EU
and a country with a long democratic tradition is willing to
sacrifice its own values and take orders from a repressive regime. It
is a worrying sign that democratic governments who are meant to
protect human rights, freedom and justice, easily trade these values
for economic interests," said Yael Weisz-Rind, Director of Free Tibet Campaign.

Free Tibet Campaign urges the Foreign Ministry in Brussels to
publicly apologise and to immediately rectify their decision.

Chaiwallah adds: This is an opportunity for concerned Zaadzers to write to the Belgian Embassy in their country to protest.

Dear Minister Karel De Gucht (Minister for Foreign Affairs) : kab.bz@diplobel.fed.be

Dear Didier Donfut (State Secretary for European Affairs) : cab.donfut@diplobel.fed.be

 

We have learnt that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will not be attending the TSG Conference this Friday (11th May) due to the Belgian government's unwillingness to have him present at the Conference. This follows strong pressure from China on Belgium not to allow His Holiness to attend the Conference and in connection with the upcoming Belgian trade delegation (16th - 26th June 2007) to China led by the Belgian Crown Prince Philippe.

The Tibetan Government in Exile has put a press statement on the Dalai Lama not being able to participate in the TSG Conference. Attached below and on this website: http://www.tibet.net/en/prelease/2007/090507.html

In the name of the basic democratic values and human rights, I wish to express my amazement and rejection of such flagrant submissiveness to the Government of China´s attempt to violate with total impunity another basic human and democratic right and try to hide or manipulate its responsibilities in the Tibet issue.

 

For the government of Belgium to blatantly bow to China in this way and deny the Dalai Lama, an internationally renowned religious leader and a former Nobel laureate, freedom of speech is nothing short of an outrage. If this is the way all so-called democracies will start to behave when bullied by China, the future for human rights around the world, let alone in Tibet, looks very bleak indeed. And to think that China was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games. Has no-one the courage to stand up to this oppressive regime?

Although the decision by the Belgian government to block His Holiness' participation will no doubt cast a cloud over the forthcoming Conference, everybody that had planned to attend the Conference will be in Brussels with a stronger voice. Through the participation in the Conference, we will together be able to demonstrate our continued determination to continue the struggle and to collectively denounce this shameful decision by the Belgian Government.

 

In the name of the dignity of our democratic and European values and that of the Belgium Government that you represent we ask you to reconsider this decision and give a credible solution to what will only be a source of scandal and mistrust to your independence.

 

Yours sincerely.

Here is the Belgian Foreign Minister's Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail.

In response, I would like to inform you of the following:

The Dalai Lama is a religious leader who is highly respected in Belgium.
He is always welcome here and has paid several visits to our country
already, the latest occasion being in 2006.

The Chinese Embassy was informed of his visit on 5 April and immediately
issued a negative response.

Nonetheless, on 14 April a visa was issued by the Belgian Embassy in New
Delhi, entitling the Dalai Lama to enter Belgium. That visa is still
valid.

It was entirely the Dalai Lama's decision to call off the visit. His
approach has always entailed avoiding any negative impact on the
external bilateral relations of friendly countries.

We respect his decision, and reiterate that he remains welcome to visit
Belgium.

Sincerely,

Karel De Gucht

When your eyes are closed

What shape are you? What is form?

Emptiness and mind.

.

Olympic projects send poor packing
Threatened with eviction but desperate not to leave, the residents of a
derelict corner of China's capital cling to their crumbling homes like
haggard castaways on a surging tide.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/16/olympics.beijing.reut/index.html

(This is a Reuters Report. They do not allow redistribution, so I've just provided you with the link. Cheers, Chaiwallah)

Guarding the West: China's New Mechanized  Infantry Division

The role of Xinjiang and Tibet as both suppliers and conduits of resources
necessary for China's continued economic growth has resulted in a
reevaluation
of both regions' importance. Xinjiang, with its domestic oil fields in the
Tarin  Basin and its role as a hub for oil and gas pipelines arriving from
Central  Asia, has become China's main source of non-seaborne petroleum
(China
Daily,  February 26, 2004). Tibet, on the other hand, possesses large
amounts of
zircon,  chromium, rutile, magnesium and titanium that are needed by China's
heavy  industries. Large amounts of cobalt and copper also lie astride the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The strategic value of these regions and their
resources
has resulted in the increased deployment of China's offensive mechanized
forces
to these regions in order to prepare for any contingencies that might
threaten  its interests.
http://www.jamestown.org/china_brief/article.php?articleid=2373403_

As its economic role in Africa expands, China's budding civil society takes cautious steps to hold its government to account.

 

Will Chinese activists help in Sudan?

 
Ali Askouri is trying to stop a dam. He came to the Shanghai NGO meeting looking for allies in China. He wants to publicize the fate of 70,000 of his fellow Nile villagers in Sudan, who are being displaced by a dam funded by China Eximbank.
 
But he had little success in reaching the ears of China's top brass.
 
As president of the Leadership Office of Hamdab Dam Affected People, his campaign has linked up with a global NGO, the International Rivers Network, with the goal of shaming ABB, the Swiss engineering giant, into withdrawing from Sudan. His group is also trying to put pressure on Alstom, a French company that is also involved in the project. But Mr. Askouri will be leaving with little expectation, at the moment, of Chinese activists joining his cause.
 
"NGOs here have too little experience and too little [political] space," says Askouri. "I'd love to see them put a lot of pressure on Eximbank, but it is hard to know how they might do it. And they might put themselves at risk. It's a hard issue for Chinese NGOs to get into at this stage

As its economic role in Africa expands, China's budding civil society takes cautious steps to hold its government to account.

 

Will Chinese activists help in Sudan?

 
Ali Askouri is trying to stop a dam. He came to the Shanghai NGO meeting looking for allies in China. He wants to publicize the fate of 70,000 of his fellow Nile villagers in Sudan, who are being displaced by a dam funded by China Eximbank.
 
But he had little success in reaching the ears of China's top brass.
 
As president of the Leadership Office of Hamdab Dam Affected People, his campaign has linked up with a global NGO, the International Rivers Network, with the goal of shaming ABB, the Swiss engineering giant, into withdrawing from Sudan. His group is also trying to put pressure on Alstom, a French company that is also involved in the project. But Mr. Askouri will be leaving with little expectation, at the moment, of Chinese activists joining his cause.
 
"NGOs here have too little experience and too little [political] space," says Askouri. "I'd love to see them put a lot of pressure on Eximbank, but it is hard to know how they might do it. And they might put themselves at risk. It's a hard issue for Chinese NGOs to get into at this stage

FORWARDED TO ME BY A FRIEND
________________________________________________________________

If you have the interest to read and learn from someone else's badluck and the enthusiasm to bake ......
A little background: Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a very expensive store; i.e., they sell your typical $8.00 T-shirt for $50.00.

Let's let them have it! THIS IS A TRUE STORY!

My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas , and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie." It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not, but you can buy the recipe."Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty - it's a great deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to just add it to my tab.

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe-$250.00". That was outrageous! I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress said it was "two fifty ", which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.

They would not refund my money because, according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money at this point."

I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes which
govern fraud in the state of Texas . I threatened to report them to the
Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney
General's office for engaging in fraud.

I was basically told, "Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of
how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your
money back."

I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to
have $250 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that
every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250
cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus...for free.

She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, perhaps
you should have thought of that before you ripped me off!" and slammed down
the phone. So here it is!

Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly
think of. I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to
EVER"make another penny off of this recipe!

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)

2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp.soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 - 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
>> > >< /B>
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

PLEASE READ THE RECIPE AND SEND IT TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW WHO HAS AN E-MAIL ADDRESS! THIS IS REALLY TERRIFIC!!

Even if the people on your e-mail list don't eat sweets send it to them and ask them to pass it on. Let's make sure we get these ladies $250.00 worth. Enjoy the cookies, they are good....

This mind is not mine,

just a succession of thoughts

from nowhere. Here. Gone.

 

Wind ripples the grass.

The hill behind our house stirs

in its green-furred sleep.

.

Thoughts are like demons

possessing the awareness,

making what's mind theirs.

.