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Monday, July 19, 2010

[ALOCHONA] The Army, UN Peacekeeping Mission & Democracy in Bangladesh by Nurul Islam [PDF aatached] [1 Attachment]

<*>[Attachment(s) from Robin Khundkar included below]

The Army, UN Peacekeeping Mission and Democracy in Bangladesh
Nurul Islam
Economic & Political Weekly
VOL 45 No. 29 July 17 - July 23, 2010
http://epw.in/epw/user/viewAbstract.jsp

This article examines the role of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bangladesh in pushing the army in a certain direction with regard to holding elections and supporting political parties. It analyses the reasons why the un peacekeeping mission has such a strong influence on the Bangladesh army and assesses the implications for future political developments of such foreign involvement. It further argues that whatever the limitations and excesses of democracy, army rule is no solution, rather it is necessary to strengthen democractic institutions and let democratic processes play themselves out. In this sense, the recourse to the army to bring in democracy in Bangladesh was not the best solution to the political impasse witnessed in 2007.

Author - Nurul Islam was successively Professor of Economics, Dhaka University, Director of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (later Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies), Deputy Chairman of the first Planning Commission of Bangladesh. From 1975 onwards he was a Fellow at St. Antony's College at Oxford University, Assistant Director General of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, and Advisor and later Emeritus Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.[1]
He held several visiting academic appointments at Yale and Cambridge Universities and both the London and the Netherlands School of Economics. He was a member and later the Chairman of the UN Committee of Development Planning Policy


To read the article in full see attached PDF Document


<*>Attachment(s) from Robin Khundkar:


<*> 1 of 1 File(s) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/attachments/folder/1323398544/item/list
<*> The Army, UN Peacekeeping &amp; Democracy in Bangladesh.pdf

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[ALOCHONA] Load shedding



Load shedding
 



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[ALOCHONA] Farhad Mazhar on contempt of court



Farhad Mazhar on contempt of court
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Fwd: Economy passing to alien hands





---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Jul 19, 2010 11:26 PM


Alarming situation: Comment
 
By Zoglul Husain, UK 
 
London 19 July 2010. I wholeheartedly thank the editor and the special correspondent of the New Nation for the following report , which clearly shows how India is gradually swallowing up our economy:

 
Economy passing to alien hands
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/07/19/news0714.htm
 
I also wholeheartedly thank all other media, which overcome difficulties to inform the public of the realities of the state we are in, in the interest of the country.
  
The imperialist globalisation was hit hard, indeed basically and intrinsically destroyed, through the world financial crisis of 2008-09. The new nations, i.e. the developing nations, must save their home grown positive economic set-ups from being swamped by powerful foreign corporates, and must expand those in the interest of their economic development. We must strike the right balance between the national interest and our international relations. We must not surrender to the conspiracies of East India companies and their local lackeys. Also the country, which desertifies our country through Farakka and other dams and barrages, amongst other harms such as border killings, can never be our friends, until and unless they refrain from doing those harms and compensate for all the damages done. Any one, who does not understand this, is either a lackey of India or is a victim of Indian propaganda. 
 
Bush administration set up the evil US-Israel-India axis for the neocon scheme of occupying about 60 countries, starting from Afghanistan and Iraq. But just these two wars gave the Bush admin a bloody nose, and the Obama admin now is trying to change the policies, - how successfully is yet to be seen.  
 
It is through the support of the Bush admin that the conspiracy of 1/11 2007 was launched in Bangladesh by India in order to subjugate Bangladesh in India's interest, to plunder our natural resources and to trample our national interest. Their 'minus two' formula, however, failed because of Khaleda's firmness in resisting forced exile, against heavy odds. Then they, as a second choice, connived with Hasina, and totally rigged the election of 29 Dec 2008 with the help of the army, as Jalil and Ershad exposed later. The army was misguided by Moeen and his cohorts, who were committed to India. Was it in exchange for just six horses, for which Bangladesh paid 6 crore Taka (?), or a bit more in their own interest at the cost of the country??
 
Through 1/11 2007, and in the main through the support of the Bush admin, India made inroads to our government, administration, defence, judiciary, ACC and a host of other institutions of political, military, economic and cultural affairs. They now want to establish military control over Bangladesh with ulterior motives.
 
It is thus imperative that all the patriots across the spectrum (Right, Centre and Left) unite and resist Indian hegemony over Bangladesh. This is a must if we do not want to be a vassal state of India or be a new Kashmir, a victim of genocides after genocides. All patriots, please wake up, unite and stand up!! The vast majority of the people are against Indian hegemony over Bangladesh and they are looking forward to the unity of the patriots.
 
Writer: Zoglul Husain
Email:
zoglul
@hotmail.co.uk

 
 

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:29:42 +0600
Subject: Economy passing to alien hands
From:
bdmailer@gmail.com


Economy passing to alien hands

In the business front, the country's fragile political situation is being utilised to use Bangladesh as the gateway to northeast

The economy is slowly but steadily passing hand to the aliens at a time when the country's ruling elite remained deeply embedded to new found strategic allies to beat back nationalist and Islamist forces in domestic politics.In the business front, the country's fragile political situation is being utilised to use Bangladesh as the gateway to northeast and Indian businessmen are out to capture the key service sector and manufacturing industries.

Leaders of BGMEA and BKMEA, two apex bodies of the garment sector slowly speaking out the truth. They said Indian investors are now buying major garment factories in Bangladesh.News reports meanwhile said many British, US and Canadian businessmen of Indian origin have already bought at least 50 key garment factories of the country including the famous SQ group, Crystal, Mustard, Hollywood, Shanta, Rose, Fortune, Trust, Ajax and such other manufacturing plants which have the record of earning billions of dollars in export earnings annually.

Businessmen of Indian origin are also negotiating the buying of another 100 garment factories at the moment, senior BGMEA sources are quoted to have said in talks with the local press. In addition to this, there are 140 garment factories now being laid off and they may eventually end up at the hands of foreign buyers.BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy reportedly said such passing of hand is taking place as part of free market economy in certain situations. He said many Indians are engaged here at managerial levels.

Former BKMEA president Fazlul Haque reportedly said the question is not who is buying, the truth is that it is going contrary to the country's interest.The garment sector is treated as the major contributors to the nation's economic fortune generating tens and thousand of jobs mainly to the poor in addition to expansion of banking, insurance, transport, ports, shipping and such other services,Now these engines of fortunes are passing hand to aliens mainly by way of violence, arson and vandalism.

Foreigners are also working to take control of the country's telecommunication sector by buying big telecom companies and sharing the submarine cable system. The country's domestic consumer market is already in the Indian hand with over US$ 3.5 billion trade deficit and Delhi is not willing to open its market to substantive duty free exports from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has agreed to open the connectivity under the joint declaration with India in Delhi in January this year.In this background, a 21-member strong business delegation visited Bangladesh last week to hold talks with government and business leaders about how to use the mutuality to set up new infrastructure facilities in Bangladesh to open the transit gateway from western India to its northeast.

Influential Congress parliamentarian and former minister responsible for development of northeast Moni Sankar Iyar led the delegation. During the visit he also has urged Bangladesh businessmen to invest in the northeast.The Indian trade delegation visited Ashuganj where India seeks quick mobilisation of resources to set up its port of call and develop port handling facilities. It is also in a hurry to build the 40 km long Ashuganj-Akhaura road to add new capacity to run heavy Indian transport vehicles.

Delhi has sought initial permission to carry equipment for a 1000 MW power plant to the Tripura state. The delegation also visited Chittagong port, assessed its present and future handling capacity and expressed the Indian desire to make investment in port facilities. It also talked about expansion of highway from port city to Tripura and Mizoram and developing infrastructure of the Mongla port to connect it with Indian business.

There is no study or configuration about it. Moreover, what is the security arrangement or sovereignty guarantee that Bangladesh will not become a vassal state at the end.
The Indian delegation has reportedly explored to build every bit of connectivity network by road, railway and water ways, by building bridges and dredging rivers.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/07/19/news0714.htm


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[ALOCHONA] Ramsar Convention on Wetlands



Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
 
 

Water is the source of life. All organisms contain water and depend on it for survival. Water is crucial for all biodiversity including mankind. In a wide range of ecosystems water is a dominant component.

 

The Ramsar definition of "wetlands" is a broad one, encompassing not just marshes and lakes, but also coral reefs, peat forests, temporary pools, even underground caves, and all sorts of other systems everywhere from the mountains to the sea, including man-made habitats.

 

Naturally-functioning wetlands provide a range of under-appreciated benefits and services for people's livelihoods and well-being, including food, fibre, flood protection, water purification and cultural values, as well as water supply. However, these wetlands are often extremely vulnerable. The use of water by people has strongly affected almost all wetlands on Earth. The construction of dams changes the course and ecology of rivers; pollution, water-extraction, development and tourism activities threaten the biodiversity of lakes; fens, mires and bogs are being exploited industrially or converted into agricultural land; and climate change has large implications for many wetland areas.

 

Wetlands and biodiversity

Wetlands are extremely important for many taxa e.g. fish, terrapins and dragonflies. Waterbirds such as herons, egrets, swans, ducks and geese, and waders, use wetlands during the majority of their lifetime.

 

At least 12% of all Globally Threatened Birds, (146 species) depend on wetlands. The most important types of wetlands for these birds are lakes and pools; rivers and streams; bogs, marshes and swamps; and coastal lagoons. Due mainly to their importance for large congregations of waterbirds, wetlands make up a high percentage of Important Bird Areas (IBA). 69% of all European IBAs contain wetlands. Of those, 57% include freshwater lakes or ponds, 44% rivers and streams, 19% fens or mires and 13% mudflats and sandflats.

 

The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention)

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, adopted in 1971, entered into force in 1975 and as of August 2006 has 152 Parties. The Convention provides a framework for international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Parties are to designate suitable wetlands for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance, to formulate and implement their planning so as to promote the conservation of wetlands included in the List and the wise use of all wetlands in their territory. This also means that the Convention is concerned not just with isolated sites, but the management of the entire catchment of river-basins.

 

As of August 2006, 1,610 Wetlands of International Importance, totaling 145.2 million hectares, have been designated. For a comprehensive approach to the national implementation of the Convention, many countries have developed National Wetland Policies.

 

Nowadays the Convention's activities include everything from groundwater modelling to sustainable fisheries, climate change, disaster mitigation, economic incentives and indigenous culture. But these are not changes to its original scope - they were all in fact already implied by different parts of the original far-sighted text. Hence in recent years Ramsar has been active in a very broad range of policy and technical areas, and it's certainly no longer mainly focused on waterbirds. Nevertheless the bird dimension is still a crucial aspect of its work, partly because birds have huge public appeal, there is a long-established and strong science-base on birds, and they have high ecological indicator value.

 

BirdLife and the Ramsar Convention

BirdLife International has been working with the Ramsar Convention from its early days, and this is reflected in BirdLife's status as one of the Ramsar International Organisation Partners, with IUCN, Wetlands International, the International Water Management Institute, and WWF being the others. This status carries with it advantages and responsibilities, enabling as it does close contact with the decision-making bodies of the Convention. BirdLife has made many crucial contributions to the development of the Convention over the years and regularly attends and actively contributes to the Conferences of the Parties, the meetings of Ramsar's Standing Committee, as well as Ramsar regional meetings. BirdLife is a key member of the Ramsar Scientific & Technical Review Panel, and has led a number of areas of its work.

The Ramsar Convention has become perhaps the most important global mechanism for BirdLife Partners in their national work. Many Partners have contributed to the designation of IBAs as Wetlands of International Importance in their countries, and many help to monitor these sites. A wide range of birdwatching and awareness-raising activities of BirdLife Partners are centred on wetlands. A number of Partners assist Parties with their implementation of the Convention, for example through participation in National Wetland Committees and in the development of National Wetland Policies.

 

THE CONVENTION ON WETLANDS

(The Ramsar Convention)

1. The Ramsar Convention

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (or commonly known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international treaty signed on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The mission of the Ramsar Convention is the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands by national and international co-operation as a means of achieving sustainable development throughout the world.

The Convention came into force on 21 January 1975 and it provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. UNESCO serves as Depository for the Convention, but its administration is entrusted to a secretariat known as the Ramsar Bureau, which is housed in the headquarters of IUCN (the World Conservation Union in Gland, Switzerland), under the authority of the standing committee of the Convention and the conference of parties.

There are presently 118 contracting parties (including South Africa, who became a member on 12 March 1975). The benefits derived from being a member to the Ramsar Convention includes:

  • An endorsement of the principles that the Convention represents, facilitating the development at national level of policies and actions, including legislation, that helps nations to make the best possible use of their wetland resources in their quest for sustainable development;
  • Presents an opportunity for a country to make its voice heard in the principal intergovernmental forum on the conservation and wise use of wetlands;
  • Brings increased publicity and prestige for the wetlands designated for the List of Wetlands of International Importance, and hence increased possibility of support for conservation and wise-use measures;
  • Brings access to the latest information and advice on application of the Convention's internationally-accepted standards, such as criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance, guidelines on application of the wise-use concept, and guidelines on management planning in wetlands;
  • Brings access to expert advice on national and site-related problems of wetland conservation and management through contacts with Bureau personnel and consultants and through application of the Management Guidance Procedure when appropriate; and
  • Encourages international co-operation on wetland issues and brings the possibility of support for wetland projects, either through the Convention's own Small Grants Fund or through the Convention's contacts with multilateral and bilateral external support agencies.

The obligations of the parties joining the Ramsar Convention are:

  • to designate at least one wetland for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar List),
  • to promote the wise use of all wetlands,
  • to stem the loss of wetlands,
  • to promote the training of personnel,
  • to promote the implementation of parties obligations under the Ramsar Convention.

The 118 member countries to the Ramsar Convention have designated more than 1014 wetlands on the Ramsar List, covering a total of almost 80 million hectares. Criteria have been developed for determining which wetlands should be considered internationally important based upon their ecological and hydrological values, and their importance for conserving biological diversity. Member countries have an obligation to formulate and implement their planning so as to preserve the ecological character (the good health) of their listed sites. The benefits of a Ramsar status for a wetland include:

  • recognition at a national level and by the international community as being of significant value not only for the country, or the countries, where they are located, but for humanity,
  • better protection by government, through high level political commitment to maintain the sites ecological character,
  • increased opportunities for tourism,
  • greater access to expertise and training opportunities,
  • implementation of management plans which include wise use of resources, and development of monitoring programmes
  • and lastly the profile of the wetland raised through its promotion as a focal point or flagship for demonstrating conservation, good management and wise use of wetlands in the region.

There is also the Montreux Record, which is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference. It is maintained as part of the Ramsar Database. The Montreux Record is employed to identify priority sites for positive national and international conservation attention. Guidelines for the Montreux Record indicate the procedures for including Ramsar sites on the Montreux Record and removing sites from it. As of December 1999, 58 sites (of which two from South Africa: Blesbokspruit and Orange River Mouth) were registered in the Montreux Record.

 

The implementation of the Ramsar Convention is a continuing partnership between the Contracting Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Convention Bureau, with the advice of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) and the support of the partner non-governmental organisations. Every three years, government representatives of the Contracting Parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the Convention which reviews National Reports on the preceding triennium and adopts decisions to improve the way in which the Convention works. The programme of each meeting of the Conference also includes a series of technical sessions that analyse issues of importance in the field of wetland conservation and wise use, including further interpretation and development of the key Convention concepts.
 

Four non-government organisations work very closely with the Ramsar Convention and are recognised as the "partner organisations": they are BirdLife International, IUCN, Wetlands International and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

 

2. What are wetlands and why are they important to us?

According to the Ramsar definition wetlands areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. Wetlands include marshes, swamps, vleis, pans, bogs, ponds, reed beds and estuaries.
 
Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems that provide resources that are of economic and social importance. They provide significant benefits to humans in general because of the ecological functions they perform in the global ecosystem. People may benefit directly from wetlands products such as fish, rice, timber, fuel-wood, reeds, and medicine or indirectly from their functions such as flood control, nutrient cycling, erosion control, storm protection and ground water recharge. The most important resource from wetlands is water that is needed for the survival of all kinds of life. Wetlands can also be utilised for recreational activities such as game viewing, hunting and fishing or just to be appreciated for their mere existence and scenic beauty.
 

Wetland loss is due to ignorance and misunderstanding of their role. Many wetland areas have been lost. Direct losses are due to their conversion to intensive agricultural, industrial and residential uses, while indirect losses are due to changes in their hydrological regime.

 

3. South Africa and the Ramsar Convention

South Africa became the fifth contracting member of the Ramsar Convention on 12 March 1975, and designated two wetlands (Barberspan and De Hoop Vlei) to the List of Wetlands of International Importance. Presently we have a total 16 Wetlands of International Importance, located at different provinces around the country.
 

They are: De Hoopvlei, Barberspan, de Mond State Forest, Blesbokspruit, Turtle beaches/Coral reefs of Tongaland, St Lucia System, Langebaan Lagoon, Wilderness Lake System, Verlorenvlei, Orange River Mouth Wetland, Kosi Bay System, Lake Sibiya, Natal Drakensberg Park, Ndumo Game Reserve, Seekoeivlei and Nylsvley Nature Reserve.

 

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is responsible at the national level for implementing the Convention. More information about the South African Wetlands and related publications can be obtained from the website of South Wetlands accessible at http://www.ccwr.ac.za/wetlands/. Other websites addresses on wetlands related issues can be obtained from the above mentioned.

 

3.1 Baberspan (designated 12 March 1975) is located in the Barberspan Nature Reserve, which also houses one of the most important bird ringing stations in South Africa. Approximately 40 000 birds of 190 species are ringed annually in order to study their distribution and migration. Situated in the North-West Province, Barberspan is one of the few permanent water bodies on the western Highveld and provides food and shelter during the dry months for large numbers of waterbirds, with over 320 recorded species.

 

3.2 De Hoop Vlei (designated 12 March 1975) is situated within the De Hoop Nature Reserve, 65 km from Bredasdorp in the Western Cape. The wetland is highly productive, with 75 wetland-dependent bird species recorded in the area, many of which are found in large numbers. Significant populations of yellow-billed duck, representing 71% of the South African population, are found, along with 15% of the world population of Cape shoveller. Both of these species are known to breed in the vlei. The wetland is also well known as one of very few South African breeding sites of the greater flamingo. Other bird species such as the white pelican black stork, lesser flamingo, Caspian tern, little bittern and chestnut-banded plover also make use of the wetland habitats.

 

3.3 Blesbokspruit (designated 2 October 1986) is situated close to the town of Springs in Gauteng. Blesbokspruit is one of the larger wetlands in the Highveld and is a high conservation priority because it forms an important component of one of the tributaries of the Vaal River, which provides water to the highly industrialised and densely populated Gauteng.

 

The value of the system lies in its ability to purify industrial and domestic effluent discharged into the Blesbokspruit River from local industries, sewage works and mines, thereby reducing pollutant loads entering the Vaal River. In addition, the wetland acts as an important refuge for many waterbird species, particularly in the context of the highly industrialized urban environment of the Far East Rand where most of the wetland habitats have been lost .

 

Blesbokspruit was listed on the Montreux Record of the Convention in 1996 in response to a decline in the ecological character of the site, brought about primarily by the discharge of large volumes of polluted water from an adjacent gold mine. As a result of this and other impacts, the Ramsar site does not at present meet all of the criteria under which it was designated to the List of Wetlands of International Importance. Processes are underway to restore the site and manage it towards a desired future state.

 

3.4 De Mond State Forest (designated 2 October 1986) is situated within the De Mond State Forest in the Western Cape, at the estuary of the Heuningnes River that extends approximately 12 km across the flat coastal plain of the Zoetendals Vallei farm area before breaking out to sea through a double dune ridge.

 

It was designated a Ramsar site primarily for its importance as one of the few confirmed South African breeding sites of the Damara tern. This species is endemic to southern Africa, is listed as rare and vulnerable and is possibly the rarest resident sea bird in South Africa. Other breeding birds include African black oystercatcher, blue crane, Kittlitz's plover and Egyptian goose. As the most southerly estuary in Africa, the site is scientifically important for species distribution extremities, including the southernmost records of tropical species like the ginger prawn, giant mud crab and a gastropod. The seahorse Hippocampus sp. also occurs here.

 

3.5 St Lucia System (designated 2 October 1986) forms a large part of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. Situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal, the St Lucia System is the largest estuarine system on the African continent, and forms a critical habitat for a large number of species and several communities.The St Lucia Wetland Park was inscribed in December 1999 as a World Heritage Site. The area is home to the largest, southern-most population of hippos and 1 000 crocodiles, a wealth of plant and animal life including a great richness in bird life. The Park is already a fast-growing premier tourism destination and offers a wide range of tourist activities that range from fishing, boating and bird-watching, to scuba-diving, hiking and camping as well as offering outstanding photographic opportunities to the amateur and professional alike. Through tourism the park offers growing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to business and local rural communities alike.

 

3.6 Turtle Beaches and Coral Reefs of Tongaland (designated 2 October 1986) stretches from south of Cape Vidal on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal to the Mozambique border. The Ramsar site comprises two contiguous protected areas, the St Lucia Marine Reserve and Maputaland Marine Reserve. This section of coastline is the only true subtropical part of South Africa's coastal waters, and with its associated coral reefs, intertidal zone and turtle breeding areas in a natural and undisturbed state, making it of particular conservation significance. Conditions favour the growth of corals, reef fish and a variety of Indo-Pacific fauna and flora, but true coral reef formation does not occur to a marked degree at this latitude.

 

3.7 Langebaan (designated 25 April 1988) is situated approximately 100 km northwest of Cape Town and includes the islands Schaapen (29 ha), Marcus (17 ha), Malgas (18 ha) and Jutten (43 ha), the Langebaan Lagoon (15 km long and 12.5 km wide), and a section of Atlantic coastline. The lagoon is entirely marine with a relatively stable salinity and supports dense populations of molluscs and crustaceans as well as 71 species of different marine algae. The lagoon also serves as a nursery for the development of juvenile fish, and gobies (Gobiidae), klipfish (Clinidae); pipefish (Syngnathidae) skates, rays and small sharks are common. The extensive intertidal area of the lagoon supports up to 55 000 waterbirds in summer, most of which are waders (23 species), including 15 regular Palaearctic migrants.

 

3.8 Kosi Bay System (designated 28 June 1991) is a complex of six large lakes, two lesser lakes and an estuary, is undoubtedly the best preserved large estuary along South Africa's Indian Ocean coastline. It is little degraded and supports a great diversity of fish and other aquatic fauna. The system is characterised by undulating grassland interspersed with lakes, pans, streams, marshes and swamps.As well as being largely dependent on the surrounding flora, the rural people in the area use traditional fishing methods to harvest the numerous fish species in the estuary. This provides an important protein source to local families and a tourist attraction to Kosi Bay's many visitors. The utilisation of resources from the system, and its regulation by the authorities, provides an excellent example of the concept of wise use in action.

 

3.9 Lake Sibiya (designated 28 June 1991) is one of the most complex of Ramsar sites situated on the coastal plain that makes up north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal and is the largest natural fresh water lake in the country, with an area of 60 to 70 km2. Surface water in the surrounding coastal plain often disappears completely during dry years, making the lake the only source of permanent water for birds and mammals.The wetland also supports rural people of the region, who in many cases are totally dependent on the water resource and its associated flora and fauna. Sibaya is also an important link between Kosi Bay and St Lucia, providing a stepping stone for the extension of tropical elements down the East Coast.

 

3.10 Orange River Mouth Wetland (designated 28 June 1991) is the mouth of South Africa's largest river and is located on the Atlantic coast and forms the border with Namibia. As a result of its transborder position, and the fact that Namibia has also designated its part of the mouth a Ramsar site, processes are underway to declare a jointly managed transboundary Ramsar site.The wetland plays an important role as one of a limited number of wetlands along the arid Atlantic coastline of southern Africa. The river mouth, mudflats, intrafluvial marshlands, islets near the mouth and adjacent pans provides a sizeable area of sheltered shallow water suitable for concentrations of wetland birds, which use these habitats for breeding purposes or as a stopover on migration routes. In 1995 the site was placed on the Montreux Record of the Ramsar Convention following the collapse of the salt marsh component of the system, which was the result of a combination of impacts, both at and upstream of the wetland. As a result of the decline in ecological character of the wetland, there has been a significant decrease in the number of waterfowl utilizing the system

 

3.11 Verlorenvlei (designated 28 June 1991) is one of the most important estuarine systems in the Western Cape and one of the largest natural wetlands along the West Coast. It is also one of the few coastal fresh water lakes in the country. The wetland is regarded as one of the 10 most important wetlands for wading birds in the south-western Cape, being a particularly important feeding area for the white pelican and supporting a number of threatened bird species.

 

3.12 Wilderness Lakes (designated 28 June 1991I) is one of only a few coastal lake systems in southern Africa. It comprises a lagoon and the flood plain of the Touws River, linked by a natural channel (the Serpentine) to the three lakes Elandsvlei, Langvlei and Rondevlei, which are fringed by coastal fynbos and evergreen forests. These lakes are classified as warm-temperate and together with the nearby Swartvlei system are the only warm-temperate coastal lakes having a marine connection in South Africa. Situated between George and Knysna in the Western Cape, the Lakes form an important wetland for several species of waterbird during the winter months as conditions deteriorate at the inland wetlands where they breed.
 

3.13 Natal Drakensberg Park (designated 21 January 1997) on the border between western KwaZulu-Natal and the Kingdom of Lesotho, is regarded as the most important mountain catchment in South Africa because of the high yield and quality of water it produces. The three largest rivers in KwaZulu-Natal, the Tugela, uMkhomazi and uMzimkulu, originate in the Drakensberg and support rural, agricultural, urban and industrial consumers in both KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The value of water produced is estimated at over Rl50 million per annum. The wetlands are also of major importance for nature conservation because of the diversity of endemic and Red Data plants and animals they sustain.

 

3.14 Ndumo Game Reserve (designated 21 January 1997) is situated at the junction of the Usuthu and Pongola flood plain systems. Ndumo is a good example of a flood plain ecosystem relatively unaffected by human activities. The reserve is characterised by a diversity of animal and bird species, many of which are classified as rare or vulnerable.The reserve provides a relatively safe haven for thousands of migrating waterbirds as it sits astride an important north-south migration route. The Pongola flood plain is of great importance to the local subsistence economy in the region, providing an estimated annual yield of up to 55 tons of fish in the early 1980s. Overfishing in the area outside the reserve has resulted in breeding stocks being greatly reduced while those in the reserve have remained relatively stable. The wetland areas in the reserve provide refuge for fish, some of which migrate upstream during flooding. The reserve thus plays a valuable social role by acting as a reservoir to replenish fish stocks and securing the breeding stock for the entire flood plain.

 

3.15. Seekoeivlei (designated 21 January 1997) bears the Afrikaans name for hippopotamus, the last of which was shot in the area in 1894, and consists of a flood plain ecosystem containing numerous small seasonally-flooded oxbow lakes. The wetland stretches northwards for approximately 20km, of which about two thirds is protected in the Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve. Seekoeivlei is of particular importance because it is one of the largest wetlands on the Highveld. The wetland is valued for its ability to regulate streamflow and enhance water quality. The Klip River, which drains the system, is a tributary of the Vaal River, upon which the highly industrialised and densely populated Gauteng depends for its water supply. The wetland supports a large number of resident and migratory waterbirds. The wetland has recently been the focus of a large-scale rehabilitation project which aimed to restore the hydrological functioning of part of the system which had been drained in previous decades for agriculture.

 

3.16 Nysvley Nature Reserve (designated 7 July 1998) is South Africa's last Ramsar site. Situated in the upper reaches of the Nyl River near the town of Naboomspruit in the Northern Province, it includes part of the largest flood plain vlei in the country. The reserve is well known for its exceptional avifaunal diversity, with 370 species recorded, of which 102 are waterfowl. During good rainy seasons the flood plain becomes a hype of activity, with the best estimate for water bird numbers being approximately 80 000. The system also plays an important role for frogs and fish, which gather in large numbers to breed when the flood plain becomes flooded. Nylsvley is regarded as one of the premier birdwatching localities in the country. Most of the 10 000 visitors who visit the reserve each year are birdwatchers. Scientific research is also an important component of the reserve, making it one of the most intensively studied sites in the world. Various international scientists still conduct scientific research in the reserve and surrounding areas of the flood plain.

 



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Re: [ALOCHONA] The Fall of Obama



This article was from a left leaning author who is not even popular in mainstream America. One can argue if Obama will be "Falling" or not but reasons behind would be different than what this authors trying to sell.
 
Counterpunch is a popular publication among coastal communities (East and west coasts), immigrants and minorities but it is NOT a mainstream publication.
 
What Obama achived was beyond imagination of his own people (Having a black looking commander-in-Chief---Obama is actually bi-racial not black). His accomplishments are already heading for the history books (Health care plan, Wall street reforms, reestablishing American leadership in the world etc). Even Bill Clinton failed with health care and gave up on it. It would be foolish to discount this genius.
 
Many people like Cokburn were looking for a rebel in Obama. However Obama was never a rebel. Obama played along the American capitalist system ( Which is not perfect by any means) and trying move the country away from disaster. But there is no silver bullet or quick fix!!
 
Americans spend more than they produce and eat more than they burn. So if (collectively)they have more debt (And gain more weight) at the end of the day, Obama (Or any mortal human beings) cannot help them. Making individuals accountable for their success and failure is the genius of capitalist system and it is beyond anyone to change the unavoidable........
 

 




-----Original Message-----
From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Sent: Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:16 am
Subject: [ALOCHONA] The Fall of Obama

 

The Fall of Obama

By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
The man who seized the White House by fomenting a mood of irrational expectation is now facing the bitter price
 
exacted by reality. The reality is that there can be no "good" American president. It's an impossible hand to play. Obama is close to being finished.
The nation's first black president promised change at the precise moment when no single man, even if endowed with the communicative powers of Franklin Roosevelt, the politic mastery of Lyndon Johnson, the brazen agility of Bill Clinton, could turn the tide that has been carrying America to disaster for 30 years.
This summer many Americans are frightened. Over 100,000 of them file for bankruptcy every month. Three million homeowners face foreclosure this year. Add them to the 2.8 million who were foreclosed in 2009, Obama's first year in office. Nearly seven million have been without jobs in the last year for six months or longer. By the time you tot up the people who have given up looking for work and the people on part-time, the total is heading toward 20 million.
Fearful people are irrational. So are racists. Obama is the target of insane charges. A hefty percentage of Americans believe that he is a socialist – a charge as ludicrous as accusing the Archbishop of Canterbury of being a closet Druid. Obama reveres the capitalist system. He admires the apex predators of Wall Street who showered his campaign treasury with millions of dollars. The frightful catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico stemmed directly from the green light he and his Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, gave to BP.
It is not Obama's fault that for 30 years America's policy – under Reagan, both Bushes and Bill Clinton – has been to export jobs permanently to the Third World. The jobs that Americans now desperately seek are no longer here, in the homeland, and never will be. They're in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Indonesia.
No stimulus program, giving money to cement contractors to fix potholes along the federal interstate highway system, is going to bring those jobs back. Highly trained tool and die workers, the aristocrats of the manufacturing sector, are flipping hamburgers – at best – for $7.50 an hour because U.S. corporations sent their jobs to Guangzhou, with the approval of politicians flush with the money of the "free trade" lobby.
It is not Obama's fault that across 30 years more and more money has floated up to the apex of the social pyramid till America is heading back to where it was in the 1880s, a nation of tramps and millionaires. It's not his fault that every tax break, every regulation, every judicial decision tilts toward business and the rich. That was the neoliberal America conjured into malign vitality back in the mid 1970s.
But it is Obama's fault that he did not understand this, that always, from the getgo, he flattered Americans with paeans to their greatness, without adequate warning of the political and corporate corruption destroying America and the resistance he would face if he really fought against the prevailing arrangements that were destroying America.  He offered them a free and easy pass to a better future, and now they see that the promise was empty.
It's Obama's fault, too, that, as a communicator, he cannot rally and inspire the nation from its fears. From his earliest years he has schooled himself not to be excitable, not to be an angry black man who would be alarming to his white friends at Harvard and his later corporate patrons. Self-control was his passport to the guardians of the system, who were desperate to find a symbolic leader to restore America's credibility in the world after the disasters of the Bush era. He is too cool.
So, now Americans in increasing numbers have lost confidence in him. For the first time in the polls negative assessments outnumber the positive. He no longer commands trust. His support is drifting down to 40 per cent. The straddle that allowed him to flatter corporate chieftains at the same time as blue-collar workers now seems like the most vapid opportunism. The casual campaign pledge to wipe out al-Quaida in Afghanistan is now being cashed out in a disastrous campaign viewed with dismay by a majority of Americans.
The polls portend disaster. It now looks as though the Republicans may well recapture not only the House but, conceivably, the Senate as well. The public mood is so contrarian that, even though polls show that voters think the Democrats may well have better solutions on the economy than Republicans, they will vote against incumbent Democrats in the midterm elections next fall. They just want to throw the bums out.
Obama has sought out Bill Clinton to advise him in this desperate hour. If Clinton is frank, he will remind Obama that his own hopes for a progressive first term were destroyed by the failure of his health reform in the spring of 1993. By August of that year, he was importing a Republican, David Gergen, to run the White House.
Obama had his window of opportunity last year, when he could have made jobs and financial reform his prime objectives. That's what Americans hoped for. Mesmerized by economic advisers who were creatures of the banks, he instead plunged into the Sargasso Sea of "health reform," wasted the better part of a year, and ended up with something that pleases no one. 
What can save Obama now? It's hard even to identify a straw he can grasp at. It's awfully early in the game to say it, but, as Marlene Dietrich said to Orson Welles in Touch of Evil, "your future is all used up."
Ben Sonnenberg: Farewell to A Friend
Ben Sonnenberg died on June 26, at the age of 73, and with his passing CounterPunch has lost its long-time counselor. The world has lost a true humanist in the full Renaissance strength of that word, one in whom refinement of taste, wideness of reading mingled with political passion. I mourn a very close friend.
His greatest literary achievement was Grand Street, the quarterly he founded in 1981, and edited till 1990, when multiple sclerosis was far advanced and his fortune somewhat depleted. His friend Jean Stein took the magazine over and it ran till 2004. As he put it laconically, "I printed only what I liked; never once did I publish an editorial statement; I offered no writers' guidelines; and I stopped when I couldn't turn the pages anymore." As another great editor Bruce Anderson, of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, wrote after Ben's death, "Grand Street under Sonnenberg was the best literary magazine ever produced in this doomed country. His Grand Street was readable front-to-back. If you've never seen a Grand Street, the last literary quarterly we're going to have, hustle out to the last book store and get yourself one and lament what is gone."
When I first came to New York in 1973, I went to a couple of parties thrown by Ben's father, Ben Sr., one of the trailblazers in public relations who gave elaborately staged parties to advance the interests of his various clients, at 19 Gramercy Park. He looked a bit like a comfortably retired Edwardian bookie in London of the 1890s, with enough knowingness in his glance to deliver "fair warning" to the unwary. Though he publicly prided himself on never have taken a dime from either Howard Hughes or the Kennedys, Ben Sr. certainly milked big clients like General Motors of plenty of moolah, a satisfactory chunk of which he left to Ben.
Ben Jr. detailed his somewhat raffish and caddish youth in his 1991 memoir, Lost Property, but I had already known for almost a decade the tastes that he listed on the first page and that endeared me to him: "My favorite autobiographers in this century are Vladimir Nabokov, Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin." A paragraph later he cited "my friend Edward Said," whose savage essay "Michael Walzer's 'Exodus and Revolution' – a Canaanite Reading," Ben had published in Grand Street in 1986. There was no other cultural periodical at that time that would have given the finger so vigorously to polite New York intellectual opinion.  The finger could be prankish. In January of 1989 he faxed me his offer – which I promptly published in The Nation -- on behalf of himself, me and others, to Marty Peretz….
You want to know what Ben wrote to Peretz? My full tribute to Ben is in our latest newsletter, along with wonderful  pieces about Ben from JoAnn Wypijewski and Daniel Wolff. And also in this newsletter, hot off the presses: Part two of Jeffrey St Clair's superb, path-breaking investigation of how BP and the Obama administration have been joined at the hip in the creation and handling of the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Find out here how Obama and Interior Sec. Ken Salazar put a top BP exec in charge of deep sea drilling in the Gulf.
How much does it cost to be driven past a corrupt border patrol agent at an official port of entry to the U.S. from Mexico? Frank Bardacke reports from Watsonville on the real border-crossing economy.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Re: Economy passing to alien hands

Dear Alochoks

No wonder AL activists are never outraged when the BSF kills a Bangladeshi citizen. They automatically assume that the dead citizen must have been a smuggler. It really is an impossible situation. why would it be politically difficult for them to be upset to see such border killings? They are as blind and as blinkered as those who can't complain when BNP does not stand up to religious radicals.

What an absurd situation.

- India'r shatheh parajabena
- Kuthai India! India'r kotha bole kunu laab nai
- What is good for India is good for Bangladesh
- Best to keep quiet and hope for crumbs from India's table

AL's absurd policy towards India will be it's undoing.

Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Isha Khan <bdmailer@...> wrote:
>
> Economy passing to alien hands
>
> In the business front, the country's fragile political situation is being
> utilised to use Bangladesh as the gateway to northeast
>
> The economy is slowly but steadily passing hand to the aliens at a time when
> the country's ruling elite remained deeply embedded to new found strategic
> allies to beat back nationalist and Islamist forces in domestic politics.In
> the business front, the country's fragile political situation is being
> utilised to use Bangladesh as the gateway to northeast and Indian
> businessmen are out to capture the key service sector and manufacturing
> industries.
>
> Leaders of BGMEA and BKMEA, two apex bodies of the garment sector slowly
> speaking out the truth. They said Indian investors are now buying major
> garment factories in Bangladesh.News reports meanwhile said many British, US
> and Canadian businessmen of Indian origin have already bought at least 50
> key garment factories of the country including the famous SQ group, Crystal,
> Mustard, Hollywood, Shanta, Rose, Fortune, Trust, Ajax and such other
> manufacturing plants which have the record of earning billions of dollars in
> export earnings annually.
>
> Businessmen of Indian origin are also negotiating the buying of another 100
> garment factories at the moment, senior BGMEA sources are quoted to have
> said in talks with the local press. In addition to this, there are 140
> garment factories now being laid off and they may eventually end up at the
> hands of foreign buyers.BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy reportedly said
> such passing of hand is taking place as part of free market economy in
> certain situations. He said many Indians are engaged here at managerial
> levels.
>
> Former BKMEA president Fazlul Haque reportedly said the question is not who
> is buying, the truth is that it is going contrary to the country's
> interest.The garment sector is treated as the major contributors to the
> nation's economic fortune generating tens and thousand of jobs mainly to the
> poor in addition to expansion of banking, insurance, transport, ports,
> shipping and such other services,Now these engines of fortunes are passing
> hand to aliens mainly by way of violence, arson and vandalism.
>
> Foreigners are also working to take control of the country's
> telecommunication sector by buying big telecom companies and sharing the
> submarine cable system. The country's domestic consumer market is already in
> the Indian hand with over US$ 3.5 billion trade deficit and Delhi is not
> willing to open its market to substantive duty free exports from Bangladesh.
>
> Bangladesh has agreed to open the connectivity under the joint declaration
> with India in Delhi in January this year.In this background, a 21-member
> strong business delegation visited Bangladesh last week to hold talks with
> government and business leaders about how to use the mutuality to set up new
> infrastructure facilities in Bangladesh to open the transit gateway from
> western India to its northeast.
>
> Influential Congress parliamentarian and former minister responsible for
> development of northeast Moni Sankar Iyar led the delegation. During the
> visit he also has urged Bangladesh businessmen to invest in the
> northeast.The Indian trade delegation visited Ashuganj where India seeks
> quick mobilisation of resources to set up its port of call and develop port
> handling facilities. It is also in a hurry to build the 40 km long
> Ashuganj-Akhaura road to add new capacity to run heavy Indian transport
> vehicles.
>
> Delhi has sought initial permission to carry equipment for a 1000 MW power
> plant to the Tripura state. The delegation also visited Chittagong port,
> assessed its present and future handling capacity and expressed the Indian
> desire to make investment in port facilities. It also talked about expansion
> of highway from port city to Tripura and Mizoram and developing
> infrastructure of the Mongla port to connect it with Indian business.
>
> There is no study or configuration about it. Moreover, what is the security
> arrangement or sovereignty guarantee that Bangladesh will not become a
> vassal state at the end.
> The Indian delegation has reportedly explored to build every bit of
> connectivity network by road, railway and water ways, by building bridges
> and dredging rivers.
>
> http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/07/19/news0714.htm
>


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