I was going through my redbubble photo folio looking at possibly cleaning up my folio for the new year and I feel that some great work has gone unnoticed, maybe this is because my folio has grown quite a bit throughout 2009.

You can see some of my unnoticed work by following the link: http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/4333127-my-unnoticed-work

Review: China Dams the World
by Peter Bosshard
in: World Policy Journal, Winter 2009/10, pp. 43-51
www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/wopj.2010.26.4.43

China counts half of the world’s large dams within its borders, and is
the biggest producer of hydropower. Throughout the 20th century, Western
companies helped China build up its hydropower capacity. Yet in the huge
Ertan and Three Gorges projects of the 1990s, China changed the rules of
the game. Companies interested in the multi-billion dollar contracts had
to manufacture half the turbines and generators on Chinese soil, in
cooperation with Chinese partners. The leading hydropower firms of the
time – including ABB, Alstom, General Electric and Siemens – complied,
and transferred their technology in the process.

As in other sectors, the Chinese students wasted no time underbidding
and outpacing their Western masters. Today Chinese dam builders are
dominating the global market, and building 19 of the world’s 24 largest
hydropower projects. Their Western competitors can be heard grumbling in
the background. Many of them have in the meantime built a manufacturing
base of their own in China in order to cut costs.

What has happened? How have Chinese dam builders managed to conquer the
world market so quickly? And what are the consequences for the social
and environmental standards applied in such projects? Peter Bosshard,
the Policy Director of International Rivers, examines these questions in
an in-depth essay in the latest issue of World Policy Journal. Bosshard
has monitored the global dam industry for almost 20 years. He has been
intimately involved in the key policy processes and project campaigns
which have shaped the sector. His essay combines eyewitness account,
analysis and commentary on important milestones of the global
environmental debate.

The author takes us to the resettlement sites of communities affected by
dams in Sudan and Uganda, and to the top floors of the dam financiers in
Beijing and Washington. He examines the strategies of Western dam
builders and their Chinese competitors, and the evolving role of civil
society networks. He finds that Chinese support has allowed projects to
go forward which Western funders did not touch because of social and
environmental concerns. The Chinese competition in turn made Western
financiers backslide on their own commitments. “The new glut of
hydropower funding allows many projects to go forward that don’t meet
international social and environmental standards,” comments Bosshard.

Yet the conclusion of the new essay is optimistic. Destructive dams,
mining and logging operations have already triggered a backlash against
Chinese investors in many countries. China’s government has realized
that social and environmental sustainability is in its long-term
self-interest, and is urging Chinese companies to follow stricter
standards when they invest abroad. Civil-society organizations from
China and the host countries of Chinese projects have begun to work
together to monitor such commitments, and International Rivers supports
them in this effort. “Working together with Beijing and host country
governments to strengthen environmental standards in global projects
looks like a more promising approach than engaging in an environmental
race to the bottom,” concludes Bosshard.

As the Chinese say, the mountains are high and the Emperor lives far
away. Chinese companies are managed at arm’s length and often resist
instructions from their government even if they are owned by the state.
Further conflicts over Chinese and Western dam projects will undoubtedly
follow. Peter Bosshard’s insightful eyewitness account will help to put
them into perspective.

World Policy Journal is published by the World Policy Institute. The
new focus issue on water also contains articles by Alun Anderson (former
chief editor of the New Scientist), Martin Chulov (the Guardian’s
correspondent in Iraq) and Peter Gleick (President of the Pacific
Institute), and a conversation with Ismail Serageldin (former Chair of
the Global Water Partnership). It is available at
www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/wopj/current.
________________________________________________

From my book  CHILDHOOD MEMOIRS

 Goddess Saraswaty’s eldest son Mathematics holds a venerable position in the family followed by Physics. Both are allied like Ram and Laxman.

 Later on, came Chemistry and Biology. Alas! Geography and History are just poor cousins! In India our ancestors were too much concerned about Atma and Paramatma to be bothered about such mundane matters like the Mountains and Rivers and the Seas. Even Al Beruni’s India, written after A.D. 1000, contains only sketchy description of a few rivers.

 While Alexander the Great sent an expedition to explore the river Indus up to the Sea (Alexander wanted to return to Greece through the seas about which coastal Europeans were acquainted through Sea Traders from the time of Phoenicians; but the attempt failed because of inclement whether and pestilence, to the disappointment of the great Emperor), did any of the Kings who ruled this region afterwards care to do it?

 The Chinese marine traders made a map of the known world, including parts of Africa, even two millennia ago. By 18th century Portuguese made comparatively accurate maps, which were kept very secret, in consideration of Trade Wars, even though much of it was destroyed in fire.

 Captain Cook was a good Cartographer. He sailed round part of Australia and  the New Zealand islands,and the map he made is remarkably accurate. He planted the Union Jack there and on return to England offered the Island on a platter to the Queen! Thus it becomes part of Her Majesty’s Empire!

 Indian is much nearer to Australia and N.Z. With such a shore line and good quality wood for the shipping industry, we could have produced great explorers and history would have been different. We just don’t care about geography. How many of us can describe off hand, the States bordering Chattisgarh? Do we have a geographic society like the National Geographic Society (USA) for the Royal Geographic Society (UK) which foots the bill of innumerable expeditions?

 Only when the British Rule was established, a comprehensive survey of the land was undertaken. I feel that children should not be taught Geography; they should learn it like their mother tongue. They just cannot read the maps on flat papers. A Geographic park will automatically enliven their interest in the subject. The waste land South of Nizamuddin Bridge to East Delhi is ideally suited for the purpose. The outline of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can be marked, measuring at least one kilometre, and sand excavated from surrounding “Seas’’ filled in the “subcontinent’’. Thus, Himalayas as high as 20 feet and other mountains of proportionate hight can be made.

 By fitting pipelines under the mountains, water can be made to spout from the origin of the rivers to make them “flow’’. Dams and Great Bridges can be made at actual location, along with major Rail routs and National Highway. Green grass can be grown at important grain producing plains. Shrubs can indicate forest. Suitable models of the Gateway of India, Rameshwaram Temple, Charminar etc. can show actual location of the concerned cities and towns. Even Power Plants and Electric grid can be simulated. 

 A Water Park may be made in the “Seas’’ with Floating Shops and Restaurants. Illuminated by Solar Powered Electricity, the area can became a destination point for Delhi-ites who desperately throng the India Gate in the evenings, for want of something better.

In due course, the “Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean’’ can be dug, leaving contour maps of Africa, America etc. We may think of a Deer Park in Africa and Goshala in America! And what about a Solar System where students can watch the movements of planets and occurrence of eclipses?

After a visit to the Park, children will learn more of Geography, than they can learn in ten years!

EP's Andy Maser, Kyle Dickman and Trip Jennings at the Teotônio Waterfall. © Adam Mills Elliot

The crew took off this morning for one more round of whitewater — taking on the rapids of Cachoeira de Teotônio (Teotônio Waterfall).

The falls are on the Rio Madeira — the longest and the second largest tributary of the Amazon. The river gets its name “River of Wood” from the massive number of uprooted trees that once floated down its rough waters

Teotônio is a iconic rapid in the Amazon Basin and is renowned fishing site for local communities that rely on fish for food and their economy. But EP’s run of its rapids will be one of the last. By 2012, construction will be finished on a dam below the rapid that will submerge Teotônio.

Andy Maser finds some whitewater. © Adam Mills Elliot

Not only will the dam turn whitewater into resevoir, but the construction will block passage for native catfish. Ultimately, the fish in this now-productive ecosystem will go extinct — hurting fishing communities and changing a way of life.

From International Rivers:

The projects would block the transport of sediment and the passage of fish and threaten the river’s unique biodiversity, affecting the land and livelihoods of thousands of river bank dwellers and indigenous people. The habitat of thirty–three endangered mammal species would be destroyed. And the Amazon’s most important tributary would no longer flow freely.

The biggest threat to the Amazon is rapid deforestation and damming of rivers like the Madeira — already more than 4,000 sq mi of the Brazilian Amazon has been flooded by dams.

And over the last three decades, an annual average of 6,500 square miles of the Brazilian Amazon — an area that is greater than the size of Connecticut — has been deforested to make way for beef and soy production.

The crew with their catch of the day. © Adam Mills Elliot

EP’s goal on this expedition was to complete a biodiversity inventory of the river and to find and document the monster fish written about by Teddy Roosevelt in 1914, before this dam changes the ecosystem forever. But the biggest goal is to bring this story home. EP is working to raise awareness to the plight of these threatened rivers, fish species and the communities that depend upon them.

So what can you do? Be an informed global citizen. Did your hamburger (or soy burger) have roots in the Amazon? Do your best to support your local farmer — buy and eat local foods. And to take action, click HERE to help protect the Rio Madeira!

For the last one year or so, our country has been experiencing a very severe drought which has seen most parts of the country and human beings are dying of hunger because there is nothing left to eat.

It was declared a national disaster many Kenyans have suffered due to lack food and clean water for domestic use. In places like eastern province, where I come from, people really face a lot of problems during such times because they survive by relying on rain water which they save in dams. Water there is as precious as gold

That is the water which they share with their animals as no rivers or underground springs found because it is a semi arid area .Just a few months ago we saw on our local media people boiling raw paw paws and mangoes for food which is not fit for human beings to feed on to. The situation is so dire and people are being forced to share water with their few animals as no rivers or underground springs.

Since independence people have lived suffering, walking long distances in such of precious commodities, whenever drought hits our country we only take temporally measures instead of solving them once en for all.

Farmers lost many of their livestock as they died due to lack of pasture and water, for some parts of the country the government tried to save farmers from big losses , by buying some of the livestock through the Kenya meat commission though at a throw away price.

Through that period of time many NGO’S came out to give a helping hand to our brothers and sisters who were facing hard time. If we lived with that spirit of love we would see our country prosper as together we can make it.

The government on its side worked hard by providing food to many families and even in school where it was highly needed as education can’t take a hungry belly.

Since beginning of October we have been experiencing the long rains in which we have very high hopes with, farmers around the country had been supplied with free seedlings from the government, and so everyone was able to plant which in future will reduce the high rates of hunger in our country.

I purchased Snodgrass Vacation due to a forum post by the author, Dave Conifer.

The writing in this novel was very well done with some excellent dialogue and tongue-in-cheek humor. I read about a quarter of it. I’m just not fond of books where the humor overtakes the plot. It did have some very funny portions, though. I do recommend this for anyone who enjoys satirical novels.

—————————————-

Here are some comments from the author, Dave Conifer:

Just in case anybody’s wondering, I really like Disney World and have been there a quite few times. In fact, I didn’t even have to do much research because I know the place so well. The last time I was there I saw so many things that I found comical that I decided that I had to write this story even though I know it’s completely unpublishable (which isn’t very important to me anymore — sour grapes!) There is so much material there for anybody willing to push the boundaries perfect for an unpublished author who doesn’t mind remaining unpublished. Nobody wants to admit they resent or even notice the growing scooter traffic or that the rides often stop so handicapped people get on and off. But we all know they do.

As I was writing this story I always felt it was a drag that at some point I would have to rename everything. I guess I thought I was doing a documentary. But after I started coming up with fake names I realized it was an opportunity to poke even more fun. Pirates of the Caribbean became Brutal Yet Fun and Lovable Buccaneers because although pirates were lawless, inhumane dirtbags, we’ve romanticized them into swashbuckling heroes who didn’t really do anything that bad. EPCOT became SEPWAR, which Vinnie believes stands for “stuffy educational park with a few rides.” Same for Plodding Though Yesteryear, Rural Mammal Ho-Down and The Steve McQueen Stunt Show (named for an action hero only a little more dated than Indiana Jones).

How did you come up with the title?

As I said, the story is about Disney World and it’s fans. Anybody who has ever been there will recognize it, although as I said after I finished writing it I went back and renamed everything. Part of what’s hilarious about Disney is that one hundred years ago Disney was just another name, like Weiner or Snodgrass. If Walt Disney had actually been named Merv Snodgrass, we’d all throw the word ‘Snodgrass’ around like we do ‘Disney.’ We’re going on a Snodgrass vacation to Snodgrass World! That’s somehow funny to me.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve always enjoyed language and writing but it’s only been about ten years since I took up story-writing as a hobby. I didn’t realize it as I was doing it but I now see that I satisfied my urge to write by keeping a detailed journal (yeah, it’s a diary I guess) which I started in elementary school. After I got busy writing, when I was almost forty, the journaling faded away. I’m sad to say that I haven’t written in my journal on a regular basis for about five years — the years that I’ve gotten so involved in writing stories.

What authors have inspired you?

I love to read and have a lot of favorite authors but none of them directly inspired me. The closest would be John Grisham, who described in the foreward to one of his books how his writing career began as a private hobby. Sometimes when I read great prose I feel ashamed that I even try to write.

Who is your favorite character?

In this story? Definitely Vinnie Zandanel. I can still open the manuscript up, find his dialogue and laugh my butt off (I know that’s arrogant of me to say). He gets away with outrageous things because it’s accepted early in the story that he’s loud, tactless and insensitive.

Biographical Information:

I live in Southern New Jersey with my wife and three kids. I’m a fitness fanatic but other than that my daily life is ruled by kids activities. I’m a boy scout leader and a girl scout leader, have coached teams in lots of different sports, and yesterday spent twelve hours opening and closing the gate so bands could enter the field for the state marching band tournament that my son’s band hosted.

——————————————

I purchased Wet Desert, by Gary Hansen, due to a forum post. I was leery at buying it because it strayed a little far from my usual fare. As it turns out, I was right. The writing is wonderful with good, taut descriptions. I just couldn’t get into the subject matter.

—————————————-

Here are some comments from the author, Gary Hansen:

How did you come up with the title?

I had many working titles over the years, Wet Desert came up in a brainstorming session where I wrote down combinations of all key words relating to my story. Wet Desert didn’t strike me at first, but I went back to it years later.

How long have you been writing?

Wet Desert is my first book. I spent 15 years of research and six years trying to write it and taking writing classes before it came out.

Where did you get the idea for the novel?

Wet Desert is my first book, and 15 years in the making. It was conceived early in the nineties when I saw the Jun 1991 issue of National Geographic about the Colorado River. It made the point that every geography class in America teaches the Colorado River winds through the west and empties into the ocean at the Gulf of California. Except the river doesn’t make it to the ocean any more because humans divert every drop. It showed a picture of a small stream (the remains of the river) dying in the desert, miles from the ocean. Father that, I started telling my friends that someday I would write a book about an environmentalist taking matters into his own hands to restore the river. My friends told me to shut up and start writing.

Do you have a sequel published or on the way?

I’m working on my second novel, but it isn’t a sequel. It is a similar genre that I call chaos in the west.

Biographical Information:

I grew up on a farm in a small town of 450 people. I graduated in electrical engineering and moved to Los Angeles. I loved to play and used to go out to the Colorado River to water-ski. I never aspired to write a book, but admired others for their talent. I always loved to read, and was drawn to suspense/thrillers. Some of my favorite authors are Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, & Michael Crichton. I am also a Stephen King fan, although horror is not my genre.

Excerpts from GLOBAL WARMING IS A MYTH

IS CARBON DI OXIDE THE VILLAIN?

Such terms as carbon credit find a place in newspapers almost daily. I don’t know what is all this about. To me CO₂ sustains life on earth. Has the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere gone up? Has it been proved experimentally?

 Before Industrialization

The whole of America and most of the old world were inhabited by a comparatively small population, a majority of whom depended upon meat and fish. Farming depended entirely on rain water as big dams were unknown. The grasslands of America and Australia didn’t produce food grains. Coal and other fossil fuels were not commercially exploited. In those days we may presume that a proper balance existed between CO₂ and other ingredients of the air like N₂ and O₂ in spite of forest fires, the like of which we witnessed in California recently.

After Industrialization

Commercial exploitation of coal began first followed by oil and natural gas, resulting in increase in the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Simultaneously two other developments followed: increase in population (both human and animal) and corresponding growth in food grains production. Big dams were constructed and more and more areas of land were brought under cultivation. Mechanization and the use of artificial fertilizers made leaps and bounds in production of food grains, fruits and other commercial crops. The Prairies of North America became the granary of the world. Compared to grass, food grains and sugar fix a large quantity of CO₂. The major items responsible for such CO₂ fixation are:

1. food grains like wheat, corn, rice, oats, soybean etc
2. underground vegetables like potato, tapioca, beetroot etc
3. fruits like apple, grapes, banana, dates, cherry, pineapple etc
4. sugarcane etc

Experts can calculate the total quantity of CO₂ produced by industry and that absorbed by vegetation as mentioned above and the marine vegetation in order to find out whether the net balance is favoring CO₂ concentration in the air. An easier way would be to experimentally ascertain the percentage of CO₂ in the atmospheric air (being heavier than air CO₂ is available near the surface of the earth). If CO₂ level increases O₂ level should decrease. In my childhood (I am 70+) O₂ level was 20% as mentioned in my text book. Has it changed? An atom of carbon combines with two atoms of oxygen to form CO₂ which is absorbed by the leaves of the plant to form starch. In the process two atoms of oxygen are released into the atmosphere. We may say that each carbon atom burnt ultimately results in the release of two atoms of oxygen, thus resulting in increase in the level of O₂. Level of CO₂ dissolved in the ocean water should also be checked. If this level increases, fishes would die en mass. Has this happened? If the level of CO₂ dissolved in ocean waters decreases, plant life in the ocean cannot produce enough starch by photosynthesis. This will be a hazard for fishes and other marine life.

The volume of animal and hence plant life in the oceans is much more than that on the continents. This is because the area of the oceans is seven times the area of the continents. Also, the oceans are deep. Hence the volume of water is very much more and can contain a large population of marine life. The necessary starch has to come from plant life. So, the total bio mass in the oceans is considerably higher than that in the continent. The carbon di oxideàPlant starchàAnimalsàCarbon di oxide cycle is there in the watery medium, just as in our atmosphere. All the gases, including nitrogen, will be present in dissolved state in the oceans too. Here industrialization has not affected the ‘atmosphere’ of the ocean. This fact has to be recognized in any discussion on Global Warming.

[The percentage of various components of atmospheric air as obtained from the websites is given below:

Nitrogen 78.1

Oxygen 20.9

Argon 0.9

Neon 0.002

Helium 0.0005

Krypton 0.0001

Hydrogen 0.00005

Carbon di oxide 0.035!!!!!!!! (Poor, innocent CO2 has been maligned unnecessarily)

Methane 0.0002

Ozone 0.000004

This would suggest that the percentage of oxygen has slightly increased. If this is true it augers ill, as forest fires may become uncontrollable with increase in the level of oxygen in the coming years. Therefore, this line should be investigated separately by experts. My guess is that with unchecked use of nitrogenous fertilizers, the total bio mass in the earth could have increased. The requisite extra nitrogen must have been drawn from the atmosphere along with CO₂ releasing extra oxygen into the atmosphere as pointed out above.]

The importance of proper scientific study cannot be over emphasized. Mother Nature maintains her balance, whatever her children may do!

207422     การออกแบบเขื่อนขนาดเล็กและอาคารควบคุมน้ำ     Design of Small Dams and Water Control Structures

การออกแบบเขื่อนดินขนาดเล็ก ฝายคอนกรีต อาคารระบายน้ำล้น อาคารสลายพลังงาน ประตูระบายน้ำหัวงาน การป้องกันตลิ่ง วิธีประเมินราคาค่าก่อสร้างงานแหล่งน้ำและการวางแผนงานก่อสร้าง

(Design of small earth dams, concrete weirs, spillways, energy dissipators, head regulator, bank protection, construction cost estimation of water resource works and planing of construction.)

(207422 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

Today, I found an article explaining why large concentrations of carcinogens can occur in drinking water.

Rewind to my childhood: I lived in a quaint blue and white house, in a little typical “family neighborhood” on a street lined with lawn and lots of trees in the town of Los Gatos. In this house tap water was practically considered poison. The sink water, as my mother explained, was for washing and cooking, while the “cooler water” in the corner of our pantry was what was used to fill our cups and quench our thirst. I even instructed my friends when they came over to our house, that no, it was bad to drink from the tap at our house. They must go into the pantry to get water. I was conditioned to believe that the tap water was horrible to drink.

Fast forward to last year. After a class on dams in my outdoors course, my expedition group sat around camp on their backpacks discussing the problems of dams. This discussion inevitably moved on to the issue of shipment of bottled water. One guy pointed out that it was extremely wasteful polluting to ship bottled water and that many bottled water companies ship water that has been less regulated in cleanliness than tap water. That’s when I chimed in with the fact that I had been drinking bottled water most of my life, because my mother believed there was carcinogens in the tap water.  Everyone thought that this was ridiculous. “Seriously?!” one kid said. “They ship a bottle of water to your house every month?” I felt clueless and guilty.

from:  WordPress blog: “What’s in your Bottled Water?” by Dan Mitchell

But then, a few days ago, I found Hisam Baqai’s article, “Effects of Recharge of Chlorinated State Water Project Waters to Groundwaters in Lancaster Area of California,” from the online Water Digest, which described a process in which tap water that comes out of aqueducts accumulates a high concentration of carcinogens. Wow, maybe my mom really did have a point. Here is a simple summarization of what was scientifically explained: When aqueducts are pumped too much and when the aquifer level decreases drastically, surface waters are added to the underground aqueduct. Along with surface waters comes organic material which reacts with the chlorine in aqueducts to form trihalomethanes, also known as THMs, also known as carcinogens.

This problem was addressed, and in many places throughout California, surface water that became infected, with carcinogens, was pumped out, and they didn’t achieve a 0 percent concentration, but they did get a low concentration. I’m not sure if the tap water in my particular home has been checked or cleaned too, but I would still lean to drinking tap water. I think it’s important to fight for one’s local water source to be cleaned before simply dishing out the money to obtain your water from somewhere else. Water needs to be available everywhere to everyone. Buying expensive bottled water does not solve the problem for the majority of people. In fact it promotes the problems of water quality, and promotes a system in which commercial companies can take advantages of these problems which, in tern, lets people ignore them instead of solving them. Just because your water marked with a brand name doesn’t mean it should be or is cleanlier.

I plan to write a letter from home asking about the concentration of carcinogens in my tap, so that I can get an answer for myself about the status of my local water situation.

There will be no Copenhagen Treaty.

In Japan, politics has been an unusually profitable profession.

Colombia and Venezuela are getting really hostile with each other.

In China, the Three Gorges Dam is not going according to plan.

Blogging is for shills.

The Three Shastas: Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake and Mt. Shasta in northern California.

This photo was made in about 1981. I was still in high school at the time and I drove up to Shasta Dam after hearing news that the dam keepers were going to open the spill gates.

What’s interesting about this story is about four years earlier Shasta Lake had all but dried up after several years of severe drought conditions. I recall as a kid standing on the roadway atop Shasta Dam looking down at the dry lake bed some 250 feet or so below the top of the dam. The only water was the trickle flowing down the Sacramento River at the bottom of the dam. I do recall at the time the “experts” claimed that it was probably going to take decades to fill the lake again.

Shasta Lake holds more than 4.5 million acre feet of water when full. It spills into Keswick Reservoir and eventually into the Sacramento River just above Redding, CA.

Prior to construction of Shasta and Keswick Dams the Sacramento River would commonly flood much of the Sacramento Valley during very wet winters. The dams not only allowed for more consistent and stable flows down the Sacramento River, but they help maintain cold water flows that help migrating salmon and steelhead during their summer spawning runs. In addition, the reservoirs formed behind the dams created plenty of recreational opportunities and bolstered an entire economy for the region. They also generate plenty of clean, renewable energy through hydroelectric generation.

We came together for two main reasons. First, we aimed to produce a new, comprehensive Youth Statement that represented our consensus on key issues in the ASEAN region. Second, we hoped to strengthen our youth network to facilitate communication and exchange of ideas, support youth activities and share information between youth working at the local-level. The ASEAN Youth Forum was planned to be a platform to build recognition for youth voices in civil society and engage directly with ASEAN.

Erwin, a student activist from Java, Indonesia pointed out early on, “youth are casualties of globalization.” This statement may seem vague, but it makes an important point. The economic, socio-cultural and environmental changes occurring in ASEAN are having real, negative impacts on youth and we are increasingly aware of them. Southeast Asian countries have young populations, yet there is little being done by state governments to support a sustainable future for the next generation. Whether it is unemployment in Indonesia or Cambodia, unequal access to education in Lao PDR or Burma, gender inequality in Vietnam, socio-political apathy in the Philippines or Singapore, and migrant labor throughout the Mekong sub-region, there are serious problems and challenges facing youth. Economies have expanded greatly and many youth own fancy cell phones and motorbikes, but what are we to for all ASEAN Youth?

On our second evening, I sat for dinner with a Vietnamese environmental researcher of Khmer Krom heritage, a Lao youth organizer of Vietnamese decent, a brother and sister from the Tai Yai community in Shan State, Burma, and a Thai student activist from the rural northeast. We sat together, speaking Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, Tai Yai and English, while sharing ideas about important issues. Our conversation ranged from regional history of migration, the climate crisis and carbon trading, agribusiness and livestock feedlots, global economic bodies like the G8, BRIC and ASEAN, and finally, the construction of dams on the Mekong and Salween rivers. After dinner, it hit me that I was working with a unique group of young people that genuinely care about society and are working for positive change.

But for many grassroots activists, ASEAN’s economic focus is a major problem. Some youth reject ASEAN on this principle, while others question the viability of bilateral trade agreements. To all of us, such an emphasis on the economy speaks to ASEAN’s ignorance towards important social and environmental issues. Yet how do we want to engage with an institution that we don’t agree with? As I have written before, here and here, there is an undeniable value in actually meeting person-to-person, bringing people together for a common cause (though not necessarily a stress-free process).

Statement process

Our participants knew that we needed a clear, specific set of recommendations. We shared common ground on human rights, impacts from the financial crisis, human trafficking, government corruption, natural resource exploitation and environmental destruction. We also understood the potential for conflict between bordering nations, especially from the Mekong and Salween dams and the increasing presence of Chinese investors and corporations in natural resource-rich economies.

We also felt a need to integrate the Young Progressives Southeast Asia (YPSEA) Youth Charter into our statement. After four years of development, the Youth Charter presented a solid approach to regional youth policy, something that other youth networks had yet to focus on. Education, the environment and human rights were productive points of discussion.

The problems associated with the conventional education system are something many youth are already focusing on them. Vietnam youth organizations such as the Vietnam Students Union are working to address this issue, but are unable to take a rights-based approach because of government intervention (Tuan, a youth representative from Hanoi, made the point that the Students Union was “government funded, but independent” though with a government official as chairperson).

Indonesian, Philippine and Malay youth organizations are all fighting against privatization of schools and pushing for youth participation in educational system decision-making. Thai youth from the Youth and Local Wisdom Network called for reform in the conventional education system and made concrete suggestions about the need for alternative education, which includes and supports local communities. Environmental education is also seen as an important starting point for building awareness and genuine environmentalism among youth.

Though the Lao government seems convinced by the “battery of Southeast Asia” concept, Lao youth are able to articulate very clearly the connections between large-scale development projects, such as dams, and impacts on community and environment. Development in Laos has meant a widening gap between the wealthy and poor (especially in terms of education) and environmental destruction. Youth in other ASEAN countries (including those which may not be direct beneficiaries of Mekong hydropower) saw this as an important issue and were supportive of a strong statement regarding the environment. Moving beyond our demands to stop large-scale hydropower development, we urge more support for local, renewable and community-managed forms of alternative energy.

Further, biofuel plantations are not the answer to our energy needs. Such monocropping is already destroying community food resources in Thailand and is increasingly present throughout the region. As Usup, a Thai activist based in Chiang Mai pointed out, we must also look beyond food security, understanding that it isn’t “connected to our rights, it just talks about having something to eat…but food sovereignty is about rights, our choices to plant what we eat, the safety of this food and the diversity of foods to eat.”

Given the dedication to human rights by the Thai Volunteer Service Foundation and Action Aid, the protection of human rights was a key issue for our forum. As one Burmese youth living in a refugee camp on the Mae Sot border pointed out, “we have our own rules and laws, but they are only in the books.” These youth were incredibly brave to stand in front of ASEAN and speak honestly about the Burmese people’s struggle. While rights violations in Burma are the most well known in our region, they continue in all ASEAN countries. We demand that the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) be an independent body capable of protecting human rights and investigating rights violations. Youth must also be a part of this process, especially for young law students. The unveiling of the AICHR at the 15th ASEAN Summit made clear that such interests were not taken into account, but we will continue this work for justice and community rights regardless of ASEAN support.

There is a contradiction between economic and social development in ASEAN. This is made clear by the environmental devastation (often transboundary) occurring every day. Export-orientation has put small-scale producers at a major disadvantage, and the financial crisis has proven that we can no longer rely on this system. Yet ASEAN governments support this system, so ASEAN youth must find a concrete way to engage and challenge free trade.

The regional economy was a major sticking point for our group’s process. Donaldson Tan’s in-depth understanding of regional politics, economics and even engineering eventually became an essential part of our critical engagement with ASEAN. Several Thai grassroots activists were initially frustrated by Donald’s insistence about economic issues, such as the inevitability of free trade and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). During the discussion on Fair Trade, Athit, a leader in the LYAP project “Are we youth or politicians?” Can, an activist based in Chiang Mai, Thailand continued, “we are agricultural countries, and we need to exchange and help our neighbors. It’s more about exchange than trade or racing to get rich.”

But through hours of exchange and debate, we forged common ground about the need for fair trade and intervention on corporate exploitation of workers and natural resources. We are believers in the power of local economies and the role of youth social entrepreneurs in those communities. This is where ASEAN should put its support if they truly want to strengthen the regional economy. Our struggle to agree on the economy was the exact opposite of ASEAN’s process because we worked so hard to account for the social and environmental impacts from trade and investment. Perhaps serves as a symbol for difference in worldviews between ASEAN governments and civil society.

Network process

When we first met each other, Che-Anne, a student activist from the Philippines, called our network’s goal, “greater collaboration for greater space.” Later, while introducing the Philippines’ situation to the group, she concluded that “participation is not just about airing grievances, we need to propose concrete solutions.” Based on our Youth Statement, it’s clear that we’ve proposed concrete solutions. But can we bring a network together? Can we call it an “ASEAN Youth Movement”?

Our access and use of communication tools remains an obstacle in this process. At our Media Team meeting, Burmese youth explained that e-mail from several major providers is unavailable, and most importantly, they must be very careful with what they send and receive, and how public that information can become. Following our forum, one youth sent an e-mail that told everyone she was leaving for her fieldwork in rural Burma and would not have e-mail access for the next several months. Most youth working in rural communities have irregular access to e-mail. When we use these tools, we tend to prioritize our communication as well. How can we make contributing to aseanyouthmovement.org or informing friends about an upcoming event a priority?

The English language also remains a point of some contention. For some Thai activists, English represents the loss of culture and local languages, and for Che-Anne, from the Philippines; the ability to speak English fluently is a legacy of her countries history of colonialism. Yet for others, learning English is an essential tool for communicating to a larger audience and accessing information for abroad. These differing understandings of English will be an important challenge for keeping our network connected.

The forum’s facilitator, Aphatson “Ae” Sombunwatthanakun, introduced concepts of a “transnational civil society” and “regional people’s movement” to our group. I think that these are useful for us to think about in working to create our network. We’ve created a group of friends in nine out of ten ASEAN countries, but how do we generate a “space” for us to work together. On one level, this space requires further funding, so that we can host more forums and meetings to develop future collaborative projects. On another level, this space requires commitment from our Youth Forum’s participants. If youth are committed to further communication and coordination, and bring their friends and allies into the process, we can begin to open a space and engage the local with the transnational and regional levels.

Conclusions

“I believe in the struggle of the people, not meetings among government officials.” – Usup

Many youth don’t expect that much from ASEAN. The failure of government leaders to participate in the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum was certainly disappointing, but not surprising. The rejection of civil society representatives in the Interface dialogue with ASEAN was just the icing on the cake. How can ASEAN claim to be “peoples’ centered” while refusing to dialog with the people themselves?

Many youth have said, “This doesn’t just stop at the ASEAN Summit.” Our voices are coming from grassroots communities and pursue ASEAN as another space for exchange. There are important common issues between many ASEAN countries: incomplete or unequal educational systems, youth job insecurity, a widening gap between urban and rural youth, environmental and social impacts from large-scale development and chemical-intensive agriculture.

At the end of her discussion on human rights and ASEAN, Dr. Sriprapha, now a member of the ASEAN Inter-governmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR), told us all, “Being noisy is useful as well.” It is clear that we will need to keep making government leaders listen to us.

We’ve developed a progressive agenda and taking action at the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF) was a first step. Running around the event in pink t-shirts and carrying signs that ranged from “Local Wisdom” to “NO EU-ASEAN FTA,” we made clear to the rest of civil society that youth are committed to working on regional issues. We believe that working for change ourselves is most important.

To learn more about our movement, please visit aseanyothmovement.org

For comments or questions, please contact us at aseanyouthmovement@gmail.com

Reading,
DOMENICA 15 NOVEMBRE 2009, ore 21.00:

Nostra signora dei calzini
un libro (Seed edizioni) e uno spettacolo di Alessandra Racca

Una serata di poesie, mollette, fili stesi e… calzini
Ospite a sorpresa Guido Catalano

“Ecco come è successo il fattaccio, prima sono andata al mercato e ho comperato le calze. Poi ho scritto una poesia in cui io e la signora che vende i calzini discutevamo del perché i calzini si perdono. Poi le persone hanno iniziato a chiamarmi la Signora dei calzini.“

“Ci sono cose nella vita che uno ci pensa su. Cose pesanti e cose leggere. Ti capitano e hai bisogno di fermarle un attimo, di condensarle, appenderle e così appese guardarle: una dopo l’altra, finalmente lineari, semplici, come panni stesi…
…perciò è così che faccio, ho un filo di lana rossa e tanti calzini, ho cose da raccontare per ognuno di questi calzini, ho delle poesie. Racconto cose che mi sono capitate, leggo pensieri in forma di poesia e li appendo, con le mie mollette di legno, al filo di lana rossa. Quando il filo è pieno di calzini che penzolano, tutti le possono vedere queste cose: quelle cose della vita che ci penso sempre su.“

Alessandra Racca nasce il 14 gennaio 1979 e finisce in pieno negli anni ottanta, a guardare cartoni animati e a crescere un po’. Poco. Negli anni novanta studia greco. Col nuovo secolo si dimentica il greco, decide di studiare teatro al DAMS e anche di farlo. I biografi dicono che Alessandra abbia imparato a scrivere a soli 4 anni, in Italiano, non in greco. La prima parola che ha composto, Alessandra, se la ricorda bene: pescie. Alla prima, ne sono seguite altre. Alessandra non ha smesso di fare errori di ortografia, ma ha continuato a scrivere: teatro, racconti, filastrocche per bambini, sceneggiatura, poesia.
Incredibilmente, oltre a scrivere, è anche capace di leggere. Ha preso a farlo in pubblico con i reading Nostra signora dei calzini e Eroticismi.

Sul web: http://www.signoradeicalzini.it/

——————————————————————-

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DEAR COMRADES,
When the first EMS ministry was sworn in, way back in March 1957, we were overjoyed and the celebrations were spontaneous.
From the point of view of the Party, it was just an experiment. The dismissal of the Govrnment in May 1959, belied our hopes. A review of our attitude towards bourgeois democracy was called for at that time; but having tasted power, I think, we let go of that process, because thounds of workers, openly supporting our cause, would find it unpalatable to lose certain previleges, which the capitalist system carefully nurtures, for keepng the people away from mischief.
Now, after a half century,we should look inwards, for an answer to the question: why are we losing ground throughout India?
In one word, the answer is that we have become social democrats, whom Lenin ridiculed and attacked so vehemently.
Why have Party workers, travelling in cars and staying in AC hotels, lost contact with the people ?
Let them read autobiographies of AKG and Cherukad’s JEEVITHAPATHAKAL, to know how the Party in Keralam was built up, by poeple like Krishna Pillai who died of snake bite, if I remember correctly, brick by brick, mostly travelling on foot, sometimes without food, which kept  them in touch with the common man. The election of March 1957 was fought without a single rupee, in the accounts of the Party, by contributions of the people, sometimes just 25 paise! The opponents had wads of hundred rupee notes, I saw with my own eyes. I was an electon agent, my pocket empty except for some change for bus fare. At lunch time, we had hot rice and watery dhal, in some poor man’s hut. It tasted so nice that I still remember it with gratitude.

 
Water is a problem everywhere. A detailed scheme for makng a series of check dams in the river Bsratapuzha, was incuded in my first volume, BOLD UNFETTERED THINKING VOL: 1(The booklet is in English, but the article about the river was in Malayalam, for the benefit of Malayalees) copies of which were given personally, to M.A.Baby, Kodiyery, speaker Radhkrishnan  who actually told me he would contact me, for dicussing the sheme face to face, but he never did, and several other MLAs; but, I am sorry to say this: none remembered me afterwards, as they are all busy!
On my own account, I found out that, there is a research institute at Peechi, where scale model studies can be conducted, to verifythe technical feasibility of my sheme. When I contacted them, they wanted Rs.35,000, to be first deposited in the treasuy. Can they not do it of their own initiative? No was the answer. Today, the concerned minister can give an order to do it.
I can show the living examples of my sheme at Thirunnavaya, where such dams have come up naturally.

Every year, during festival season in May, they used to make a path across the river, by removing loose soil, by throwing it on either side, enabling bikes etc. to move freely. I course of time, grass has covered the slopes of the walls, making a permanent structure, not affected by the monsoon flow.

 This is how islands are formed in the rivers.The same scheme under the title ELIMINATE FLOODS FOREVER has been briefy discussed in my book CHILDHOOD MEMOIRS, about which I recently sent e:mail to some of our ministers.
Had it been AKG or Krishna Pillai, they would have experimented it, with the help of our volunteers, and comleted it in just two days.

I made this digression deliberately, to show, how we have kept ourselves away from people’s problems and concentrated on vote bank politics, like Congress and the BJP.
Budhadev has decided to counter the Naxalite problem, as a law and order issue, as the British government termed the freedom movement. I wish him all sucess.
Read history, Comrades, learn the lessons. Had we abandoned BOURGEOIS DEMOCRACY and concentrated on people’s problems, Naxalism would not have arisen. Read my postings in this same blog :
RED STAR OVER INDIA
HOW TO CONTAIN THE NAXAL MENACE
IN SEARCH OF MY SON

DEAR CHIDAMBARAM,

with some faint hope,

waterfriend

เรียนทุกท่าน         ขอเชิญร่วมลงชื่อ   ระงับโครงการสร้างเขื่อนไฟฟ้าฮัตจี

โครงการสร้างเขื่อนไฟฟ้าฮัตจี ขณะนี้กำลังอยู่ระหว่างการตัดสินใจของรัฐบาลไทย เพื่อเดินหน้าโครงการและมีแนวโน้มที่จะมีการก่อสร้างในปี พ.ศ. 2553   ซึ่งเป็นโครงการของการไฟฟ้าฝ่ายผลิตแห่งประเทศไทย(กฟผ.) โดย กฟผ. ได้ร่วมลงทุนกับบริษัทชิโน โฮโดร คอร์ปอเรชั่น จำกัด และกรมไฟฟ้าพลังน้ำของประเทศพม่า

ดังนั้นจึงขอความร่วมมือทุกท่านได้ร่วมลงนามเพื่อขอระงับโครงการเขื่อนฮัตจี

โดยรายชื่อที่ทุกท่านได้ร่วมลงนามนั้นจะแนบท้ายพร้อมจดหมายถึง นายกรัฐมนตรี  ในวันที่  23  พฤศจิกายน  2552  ที่ทำเนียบรัฐบาล  กรุงเทพฯ โดยมีตัวแทนจากเครือข่ายต่างๆ และชาวบ้าน เข้าร่วม

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A mezzogiorno mi chiama una mia vecchia amica, che ho conosciuto una quindicina di anni fa quando, in coppia con Pippo (alias Stefano Filippi) animava il Ludobus sotto lo pseudonimo clownesco di Giuditta. All’epoca studiava al Dams di Bologna, e ricordo fece una tesi sulla merda nella letteratura. Volendo mettere qualche notizia in proposito ho digitato su Google il suo nome e l’argomento:

KATIA CONTE MERDA

Solo dopo mi sono accorto che poteva sembrare offensivo… Scusa, Katia.

Comunque, ho trovato un solo post sull’argomento, un riferimento scritto da Giuliano Scabia che le fece da correlatore. Una ragazza che fa una tesi di laurea sulla merda è già di per sé interessante. In più Katia ha uno dei più bei sorrisi che abbia mai visto, quando sorride le si apre il viso, per cui volevo mettere il link a una sua foto, ma non ne ho trovate. Pazienza.

Mi dice (probabilmente telefonando da una libreria):

Ho appena comprato il tuo libro! Sulla fiducia. Poi ti chiamo e ti dico se NON mi è piaciuto.

Ora, questo porre l’accento sulla negazione è positivo. Vuol dire che lei si aspetta che le piaccia, nel qual caso non le piacesse, me lo farà sapere. E, conoscendola, so che non ha alcun timore reverenziale nei confronti di un autore. E’ lei che, di fronte a un auto-proclamantesi poeta cittadino, a chi le disse: “ma lui è un poeta!”, rispose:

Sì, un po’ eta e un po’ beta.

E questa battuta la trovate anche nel secondo post, qualora gugoliate KATIA CONTE MERDA.

This might sound a little confusing, but apparently the way to reduce the threat of the Green Valley Dam failing after heavy rains is to shore up the Howard Hanson Dam upstream. The article says this will reduce the chances of Green Valley failing to 1 in 25 this winter.

A failure would flood a heavily populated area just south of Seattle, WA.

Corps:  Dam work lessens Seattle-area flood chance. AP

Christian Vietoris liderou do princípio ao fim na Sprint Race de Abu Dhabi, a contar para as GP2 Asia Series, mas o vencedor da corrida 1 este em grande, subindo do 8º lugar à partida até ao 2º lugar final, à frente de Josef Kral.

Christian Vietoris, da DAMS,  fez um grande arranque, de 3º até à liderança, com Oliver Turvey, da iSport, que partia da pole position, a cair para 4º, ficando atrás de Josef Kral, da Super Nova, e de Alexander Rossi, da Ocean Racing Technology, na 1ª curva. Johnny Cecotto, que partia ao lado de Oliver Turvey na 1ª linha da grelha, caiu para 7º, atrás dos pilotos que estiveram na luta pela vitória de ontem, Luca Filippi, da Meritus, e Davide Valsecchi, da iSport.

Davide Valsecchi esteve em movimento durante toda a corrida. O italiano ficou a par de Luca Filippi bastantes vezes nos primeiros momentos, antes de passar para a frente do compatriota na recta mais longa do circuito, na volta 14.

Luca Filippi travou bastante tarde à entrada para o gancho para tentar o contra-ataque, mas apenas saiu largo – e aí ficou para trás, para o 8º lugar, enquanto e algumas curvas depois tentava manter Johnny Cecotto afastado. Davide Valsecchi não perdeu o ímpeto ao passar pelo carro mais lento, da Meritus, e antes dessa volta estar completa, passou para 4º, para a frente do colega de equipa na iSport, Oliver Turvey.

O safety car entrou, dando a Davide Valsecchi uma hipótese de se chegar aos três primeiros. A bandeira amarela foi mostrada quando o carro de Will Bratt, falhou a travagem para uma curva de alta velocidade no fim da recta oposta e abalroou Fabio Leimer, da Ocean Racing Technology, no seu caminho contra as barreiras de protecção.

Christian Vietoris e Josef Kral tinham uma vantagem confortável antes do período de precaução, com o piloto da DAMS a ganhar distância antes de Josef Kral ficar para trás. Mas o safety car custou a vantagem a Christian Vietoris, e Davide Valsecchi rapidamente passou Alexander Rossi, subindo a 3º depois do reinício, chegando-se a Christian Vietoris e a Josef Kral.

Depois,a Christian Vietoris teve algum espaço para respirar, enquanto Davide Valsecchi estava atrás de Josef Kral, antes de passar o checo na curva 11, na última volta. Aí, Davide Valsecchi não teve tempo para apanhar Christian Vietoris, e o alemão encerrou da melhor forma o seu primeiro fim-de-semana nas GP2 Asia Series, com a vitória.

Oliver Turvey tentou um último ataque a Alexander Rossi, para tentar subir a 4º, mas sem sucesso. Johnny Cecotto ficou no 6º posto, à frente do colega de equipa de Christian Vietoris na DAMS, Edoardo Piscopo, e do atrasado Luca Filippi.

James Jakes (Super Nova), que ontem venceu, foi forçado  a alargar na 1ª curva e apenas conseguiu chegar em 10º, não tendo tempo para tentar passar Michael Herck, da DPR.

Sam Bird fez a volta mais rápida na sua tentativa de subir posições depois de abandonar na corrida 1. Apesar de ter feito algumas ultrapassagens espectaculares, o piloto da ART também fez um pião enquanto tentava ganhar terreno, e terminou na cauda do pelotão.

Here are the results of this race:

Pos  Piloto              Equipa      Tempo/Gap
 1.  Christian Vietoris  DAMS        43m18.814s
 2.  Davide Valsecchi    iSport      + 2.447s
 3.  Josef Kral          Super Nova  + 3.195s
 4.  Oliver Turvey       iSport      + 6.616s
 5.  Alexander Rossi     Ocean       + 7.420s
 6.  Johnny Cecotto      Trident     + 7.711s
 7.  Edoardo Piscopo     DAMS        + 8.237s
 8.  Luca Filippi        Meritus     + 10.136s
 9.  Michael Herck       DPR         + 10.730s
10.  James Jakes         Super Nova  + 11.643s
11.  Luiz Razia          Addax       + 11.881s
12.  Marcus Ericsson     ART         + 12.315s
13.  Diego Nunes         Meritus     + 12.893s
14.  Roldan Rodriguez    Coloni      + 13.303s
15.  Charles Pic         Arden       + 13.777s
16.  Rodolfo Gonzalez    Arden       + 14.431s
17.  Max Chilton         Addax       + 19.485s
18.  Sam Bird            ART         + 21.421s
DNF. Vlado Arabadjiev    Piquet      17 voltas completadas
DNF. Fabio Leimer        Ocean       14 voltas completadas
DNF. Will Bratt          Coloni      14 voltas completadas
DNF. Daniel Zampieri     Piquet      5 voltas completadas
DNF. Giacomo Ricci       DPR         1 volta completada
DNF. Plamen Kralev       Trident     0 voltas completadas

fonte: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79930

Christian Vietoris led from start to finish in the GP2 Asia sprint race in Abu Dhabi, but round one winner Davide Valsecchi starred with a charge from eighth to second ahead of Josef Kral.

DAMS driver Vietoris burst through from third to the lead at the start, with polesitter Oliver Turvey (iSport) elbowed back to fourth by Kral (Super Nova) and Alexander Rossi (Ocean) into the first corner, and Turvey’s front row partner Johnny Cecotto falling to seventh behind yesterday’s lead combatants Luca Filippi (Meritus) and Valsecchi.

The latter was the man on the move throughout the race. He got alongside Filippi several times early on, before drafting ahead on the long straight on lap 14.

Filippi braked ultra-late into the hairpin to try and retaliate, but just speared wide – and then spun down to eighth a few corners later while trying to fend off Cecotto. Valsecchi did not even lose momentum avoiding the wayward Meritus car, and drove around the outside of team-mate Turvey to take fourth before the lap was complete.

The safety car then gave Valsecchi a chance to catch up with the top three, the yellow being required after Will Bratt’s Coloni machine had snapped into a high-speed spin at the end of the back straight and collected Fabio Leimer (Ocean) on its way to the barrier.

Vietoris and Kral had pulled comfortably clear of the field before the caution, with the DAMS driver edging away early on before Kral closed back onto his tail at half-distance. But the safety car cost them their cushion, for Valsecchi swiftly muscled past Rossi for third after the restart and then rapidly closed on Vietoris and Kral.

That gave Vietoris some breathing space, as Valsecchi climbed all over the back of Kral before diving ahead into Turn 11 on the last lap. There was no time left to catch Vietoris though, and the German duly ended his first GP2 weekend with victory.

Turvey put a late move on Rossi to take fourth, with Cecotto hanging on to sixth ahead of Vietoris’ team-mate Edoardo Piscopo and the delayed Filippi.

Yesterday’s third place man James Jakes was forced wide at the first corner and could only finish 10th, the Super Nova driver having spent most of the race trying in vain to pass DPR’s Michael Herck.

Sam Bird set the fastest lap as he attempted to come through from the back following his race one retirement. Although he produced some spectacular overtaking moves, the ART driver also spun twice while trying to make up ground, and ended up at the tail of the field.

Here are the results of this race:

Pos  Driver              Team        Time/Gap
 1.  Christian Vietoris  DAMS        43m18.814s
 2.  Davide Valsecchi    iSport      + 2.447s
 3.  Josef Kral          Super Nova  + 3.195s
 4.  Oliver Turvey       iSport      + 6.616s
 5.  Alexander Rossi     Ocean       + 7.420s
 6.  Johnny Cecotto      Trident     + 7.711s
 7.  Edoardo Piscopo     DAMS        + 8.237s
 8.  Luca Filippi        Meritus     + 10.136s
 9.  Michael Herck       DPR         + 10.730s
10.  James Jakes         Super Nova  + 11.643s
11.  Luiz Razia          Addax       + 11.881s
12.  Marcus Ericsson     ART         + 12.315s
13.  Diego Nunes         Meritus     + 12.893s
14.  Roldan Rodriguez    Coloni      + 13.303s
15.  Charles Pic         Arden       + 13.777s
16.  Rodolfo Gonzalez    Arden       + 14.431s
17.  Max Chilton         Addax       + 19.485s
18.  Sam Bird            ART         + 21.421s
DNF. Vlado Arabadjiev    Piquet      17 laps completed
DNF. Fabio Leimer        Ocean       14 laps completed
DNF. Will Bratt          Coloni      14 laps completed
DNF. Daniel Zampieri     Piquet      5 laps completed
DNF. Giacomo Ricci       DPR         1 lap completed
DNF. Plamen Kralev       Trident     0 laps completed

in: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79930

The Hindu /Opinion 17 April 2006

GoM’s confidential report

The Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising Prof. Saifuddin Soz, Minister of Water Resources, Smt. Meira Kumar, Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment and Shri Prithviraj Chavan, MOS in the PMO, deputed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Madhya Pradesh, arrived Indore late in the evening on April 6, 2006.

Soon after arrival in Indore, a meeting was held with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and some of his Cabinet colleagues and officers.

The Madhya Pradesh Government made a presentation and wanted the GoM to appreciate that the Madhya Pradesh Government had taken concrete steps to rehabilitate Project Affected Families (PAFs) and that Rehabilitation and Resettlement would be completed by 30th June, 2006. In that connection, the GoM was requested to visit some sites such as Khalghat, Dharampuri, Lakhangaon and Borlai etc.

When asked as to how many SC/ST families were affected, the Government could not provide any information.

Early in the morning of April 7, 2006, the GoM left for a visit to Rehabilitation and Submergence sites.

The GoM visited Khalghat, Dharampuri, Lakhangaon, Borlai 1, 2 and 3, Awalda, Piplud and Nisarpur. The GoM was stopped at other places including Picchodi where people narrated their tales of woe. The representatives of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) had insisted in Delhi in their memorandum that a visit to Borlai, Awalda, Piplud and Nisarpur would be necessary to find out whether the claim of the Government of Madhya Pradesh that the PAFs had been rehabilitated was correct.

Khalghat

The GoM visited Khalghat site where Madhya Pradesh Government had offered land to 407 families. Only 2 families had accepted the land. The top soil there is black. The people say that they have to dig 10 feet deep to find the cultivable land. The Government had not succeeded in persuading the oustees to accept the land. Hundreds of people on the spot complained before the GoM that the Government had not conducted a proper survey and offered the land without consulting the oustees. Shri Mohan Lal Sharma (resident of Gazipur, District Dharampuri) who spoke on behalf of oustees, complained before the members of the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) that the Madhya Pradesh Government had acted in haste and allotted the land which was totally uncultivable. The members of the NVDA did not contradict Shri Mohan Lal.

It was for the first time that the GoM heard from Shri Mohan Lal that the Income Tax Department deducted Rupees One lakh from every unit of 10 lakhs that was paid to the oustees by way of compensation and for purchase of land. It was Shri Mohan Lal again who said that people were pressurized to accept cash. He said that a bribe of Rs.20,000/- had to be paid for receipt of every cheque that was given to the oustees. The crowd present on the spot gave full-throated support to the Shri Mohan Lal who they said had represented their grievances correctly.

Dharampuri

From Khalghat, the GoM went to Dharampuri. It is the largest area selected by the Madhya Pradesh Government for settlement of oustees and 4,000 PAFs are slated to be settled there (No, they are shown to have been settled there already). Not a single plot of land has been occupied by any PAF.

Approximately 2,000 people, who had gathered there, explained through their representatives (about a dozen people explained their grievances) in detail and said that it was not possible for anybody to settle there as no infrastructure had been built. In official papers, it has been indicated that the PAFs have been settled. The GoM was amazed that no sanitation, no drinking water, no system of sewage, no roads, much less the facilities like hospital, water reservoir, school, post office etc., have been provided there. There is no hope that such infrastructure will be built there soon. The officials presented a status report in respect of R & R sites at Dharampuri indicating that facilities that need to be provided by way of infrastructure would be provided and certain facilities were in progress, whereas the GoM saw nothing happening around.

In any case, the PAFs, under no circumstances, can be settled there before first of July, 2006 when the monsoon sets in.

Dharampuri had been shown to the GoM as a success story by the Madhya Pradesh Government and it turned out to be the worst example of not doing anything by way of settlement when there was apparently no difficulty in respect of resources. The people there showed to the GoM two dry water pumps and a heap of stones that had been dumped there a day before the GoM’s arrival indicating that roads would be built soon.

Lakhangaon and Borlai 1-3

From Dharampuri, the GoM proceeded to visit R & R sites at Lakhangaon, Borlai 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The GoM saw some stray dwellings without any infrastructure such as drinking water, sewage system, electricity and roads etc.

As per the status report of the Madhya Pradesh Government, 18,965 PAFs were indicated to have been settled, whereas the GoM could see, at the most 80 incomplete dwellings in Lakhangaon, Borlai 1-3 (including the dwellings shown to the GoM at Picchodi). The GoM found that there were no amenities of life like drinking water, roads and electricity etc. anywhere. The only water reservoir in Borlai 3 was not operational. In Borlai 1-3, the GoM could not see any semblance of infrastructural facilities. In Lakhangaon, of course, some structures by way of hospital and a primary school (not functional) and three hand pumps showed the fact that a determined leadership can settle the oustees. One can see that PAFs (18 of them) here can be settled properly at Lakhangaon within next six months, provided effective effort is directed towards that goal.

Visit to Piplud, Awalda and Nisarpur

The members of Narmada Bachao Andolan had, among other things, urged the Minister for Water Resources that the GoM should visit Piplud, Awalda and Nisarpur so that GoM could ascertain properly whether the oustees from these submergence villages had been settled or not.

Piplud

Nearly 2,000 people had gathered at Piplud to state their tales of woe. They pointed out that not a single PAF had been offered cultivable agricultural land anywhere in Madhya Pradesh as per the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) Award. At this place, 10 representatives explained in detail that the NWDT Award had been flouted and even land acquisition proceedings had not been completed. They narrated that many of the oustees had not been offered compensation for their houses. They also said that many of those who had been pressurized to accept cash compensation, had been given amounts of money with which they could not purchase even 2 acres of land, let alone 5 acres of land to which they were entitled. A tribal named Kailash from Bhikheda explained that more than 300 persons from Manavar Tehsil had been shown in records to have been offered one plot of land measuring 7 hectares in Borgaon and strangely enough, the land was not cultivable. The representatives of these oustees gave details how people were pressurised to accept cash compensation and how people had to pay bribes for receipt of cheques.

Awalda

The GoM next proceeded to Awalda, a far flung village inhabited mostly by adivasis and tribals. The GoM felt that, by any standards, the entire population in the village lived below the poverty line. A group of 1,500 people met the GoM there and the youth there were restive and narrated their tales of woes in a very emotional manner. It was here that people said that they had not been given land for land and that they had been pressurized to accept cash and an oustee Shri Motilal Patidar of village Chhota Barde said that he had been given Rs.5,53,000/- whereas he needed to purchase 5 acres of land for Rs.13 lakhs and this cash award was not adequate at all and he was forced to accept it. The entire crowd raised slogans against cash compensation and they said it was a fraud and officers insisted on this because they received bribes. It was in this crowd, that a woman Sajan Bhai Yadav, who had come from Pipri Gaon, narrated most pathetically how they (the oustees) had lost their home and hearth, their Khaliyan and Shamshan and they were now on the roadside. The crowd said that the Gram Sabha was never consulted and every thing was happening “Zabardasti”. The crowd said that they had no money to travel to Bhopal and seek redressal of their grievances. The people at Piplud and Awalda had categorically stated that no member of R & R Sub-committee or the Grievance Redressal Authority (GRA) ever visited these villages. It was stated in good detail that Chairman of the Redressal Authority was headquartered at Bhopal and he once in a while visited Indore and never did Justice Sohani, Chairman of the Grievance Authority visit these villages.

Nisarpur

The GoM finally came to Nisarpur where a crowd of 4,000 people voiced its grievances through 18 representatives which included four women. The administration had succeeded in telling the crowd that they must allow the representatives to present their case in an orderly manner.

So, M/s Parasmat Kanawat (having been Sarpanch of Nisarpur for 30 years) Pradeep Kumar, Bagirath Rathore, Mangti Bhai & others narrated pathetic tales of extreme high-handedness on the part of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA). They categorically stated that not a single family of the PAFs in Nisarpur had been settled as per orders of the Supreme Court. They said in one voice that until they were rehabilitated, there was no question of allowing the height of the dam to be raised. They said that the R & R sites at Nisarpur which is supposed to settle 700 families of oustees did not have any infrastructure and the house plots for building their houses were located at the depressed land which gets water logged and one of the essential needs of the site was drainage, which was missing. The people said that NVDA officials claimed that R & R sites would be ready by 30th of June, 2006 and it was a rude joke to the oustees. The oustees said that these claims were absolutely false. They claimed that R & R sub-group and the GRA had never visited the Narmada Valley for the last six years. They rejected cash payments as a fraudulent practice. The crowd vociferously demanded that their Rehabilitation & Resettlement should be a pre-condition for raising the height of the dam.

General Observations

1. The complaints from various quarters that the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of oustees of Sardar Sarovar Dam has not taken place in consonance with the orders of the Supreme Court have been found to be correct.

2. In spite of the extreme shortcomings in respect of Rehabilitation and Resettlement of oustees, the Madhya Pradesh Government can organize proper effort for rehabilitation, say, within a year from now. The leadership there has to show its political will to accomplish this gigantic task.

3. The Chief Minister of Gujarat had assured the Water Resources Ministry, in a recent letter, that Rehabilitation and Resettlement in Madhya Pradesh could be fully ensured in accordance with the orders of the Supreme Court. It will have to be ascertained as to how Gujarat Government could come to the rescue of the Madhya Pradesh Government in this behalf.

4. The outcry against the SRP (cash award) must be responded by stopping this practice as it has bred corruption and thousands of people the GoM met in the valley, have rejected the same as a practice breeding corruption. Besides, this practice has been adopted by the State Government with the approval of the GRA. It is yet to be seen whether the Supreme Court would find this practice to be in line with its specific instruction which said: “every displaced family whose more than 25% of agricultural landholding was acquired would be entitled to be allotted irrigable land of its choice to the extent of land acquired subject to the prescribed ceiling with a minimum of two hectares land and that project-affected families (PAFs) would be allotted a house/plot free of cost”.

5. The GoM found that there was no moral and legal justification for deducting Rupees One lakh by way of Income Tax for every unit of Rupees Ten lakhs that is to be given to an oustee as a settlement under SRP.

6. In due course of time, the Government must explore a better system of redressal of grievances than what is sought under the present GRA. It is a fact that 5000 petitions for redressal of grievance are pending before the GRA. The Chairman of the GRA is headquartered at Bhopal and his visits even to Indore are few and far between which has meant a great hardship for the oustees.

7. The position of the adivasis (oustees), particularly in the areas like Kakrana and Kharia Bhadal, which the GoM could not visit, is reportedly very bad. The GoM will pay a visit there if required, in due course of time.

8. The Ministry of Water Resources had been insisting that Madhya Pradesh Government should adopt the mechanism of referring ATRs to Gram Panchayats according to the previous Government’s assurance given in the then Chief Minister’s letter of 29th August, 2003. Since the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has finally responded positively on this issue recently, the ATRs will now be sent to Gram Panchayats, as stated by the Chief Minister in his meeting with us on April 7, 2006. That will, however, not have any effect on the problems at hand.

9. The GoM felt concerned about SCs & STs for whom there doesn’t seem to be any special provision in respect of Rehabilitation and Resettlement.

10. The reports of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Sub Group and the GRA on the basis of which Narmada Control Authority (NCA) granted permission for raising the height has been largely paperwork and it has no relevance with the situation on the ground.