Pakistan chairs IAEA board

The South Asian nation took over the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board of governors, according to a statement by the Vienna-based agency. Pakistan will chair meetings http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=iObiA1tzNHwg where IAEA inspectors deliver reports on Iranian and Syrian nuclear activities and oversee approval of atomic- technology aid.

“All of our civil installations are under IAEA safeguards and we are an abiding member” of the organization, Pakistan’s envoy to Vienna, Ansar Parvez, said after today’s meeting. “We can try to mediate in some of the things in which the IAEA has been engaged over the last years.” More >>>

This is what climate change looks like

This is what Global Warming looks like from NRDC Broadcast Videos on Vimeo.

CIA Directs and Funds Terrorism In Pakistan CIA’s Afghan Kill Teams Expand U.S. War in Pakistan

September 21, 2010 "Wired" -- Let there be no doubt that the U.S. is at war in Pakistan. It’s not just the drone strikes. According to insider journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, the CIA  manages a large and lethal band of Afghan fighters to infiltrate into Pakistan and attack al-Qaeda’s bases. What could possibly go wrong?

Woodward’s not-yet-available Obama’s Wars, excerpted today in the Washington Post and the New York Times, unveils a CIA initiative called the Counterterrorist Pursuit Teams, a posse of anti-Taliban and al-Qaeda locals who don’t respect the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The teams are practically brigade-sized: a “paramilitary army” of 3000 Afghans, said to be “elite, well-trained” and capable of quietly crossing over in the Pakistani extremist safe havens where U.S. troops aren’t allowed to operate. The CIA directs and funds the teams. More >>>

Nuclear Power, the Best Answer to the World's Need for Clean, Inexpensive Energy

You don't have to look far beyond the recent news to see the dangers and costs of the energy we depend upon.  

The last year has brought fatal oil rig explosions, massive spills and coal mining tragedies have killed miners and polluted streams. Meanwhile, searing heat and fires in Russia, catastrophic floods in Pakistan, and the long-running Australian drought are glimpses of the troubled future we might face from climate change if we keep spewing emissions from fossil fuels into the Earth's atmosphere.

Sure, it would be ideal if we could replace oil, gas and coal with renewable energy, but it's not going to happen for decades, if ever. As Germany has discovered with wind and Spain with solar, renewable sources of power are still hugely expensive with capital costs, maintenance costs and land requirements that far exceed any other method that produces equivalent amounts of power.

However, an even bigger problem is reliability, as renewables only work between 10 to 20 percent of the time (when the wind blows or the sun shines). That makes it fiendishly difficult to balance supply and demand as these sources cycle off and on randomly, thus destabilizing the electrical grid.

So what's left? The answer is obvious: Nuclear power.

A Possible Solution for Pakistan's Destroyed Bridge Infrastructure

The Bailey bridge is a portable pre-fabricated truss bridge, designed for use by military engineering units to bridge up to 60-metre gaps (200 ft). 

It requires no special tools or heavy equipment for construction, the bridge elements are small enough to be carried in trucks, and the bridge is strong enough to carry tanks. It is considered a great example of military engineering. Bailey bridges are also extensively used in civil engineering construction projects to provide temporary access across canals, rivers, railway lines, etc
More >>>

Call to Cancel Pakistan's International Debt

Dear Friends,

As Pakistan struggles to rescue families from flood waters and fend off disease and starvation before winter sets in, it is scrambling to pay out a shocking 30% of its annual budget revenues to foreign creditors on debt incurred by previous dictatorships.

If Pakistan is obliged to make these debt payments, rescue efforts for tens of millions of people whose lives have been devastated could be crippled. Earlier this year, we persuaded creditor governments to drop Haiti's debt after it was devastated by an earthquake -- and now we could do the same for Pakistan.

Right now international financial institutions and donor countries are assessing how to assist Pakistan. Let's come together and call for life-saving debt relief for the people of Pakistan. Sign the petition below to stop these stifling debt payments and let Pakistan rebuild, and it will be delivered directly to ministers and senior officials attending the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

http://www.avaaz.org/en/pakistan_cancel_the_debt97.php?cl_tta_sign=22923291adad0a709a43651304156e43

Pakistan's staggering $55 billion debt burden comes from decades of reckless spending, matched by irresponsible lending on the part of Western creditors and banks.

But 60% of Pakistanis still live below the poverty line. It is a tragic irony that these tens of millions of Pakistanis whose lives have been destroyed in these floods and who have received little or no benefit from these massive loans, are the ones now footing the bill of such unjust debt.

In the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake, Hurricane Mitch in Central America, and the Asian tsunami, the world responded by suspending and cancelling debt payments from affected countries. Pakistan's debt is too vast to cancel in one swoop, but a two year moratorium with accountability mechanisms to ensure that the released funds are spent on relief is a first step and now is the moment to push for it.

Together we have donated a stunning $1 million which is already making a difference to desperate Pakistani flood victims. But if we win this debt campaign, we can make billions available for relief and reconstruction. Let's make sure the international community does the right thing. Sign the urgent petition below and share this message with all your friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/pakistan_cancel_the_debt97.php?cl_tta_sign=22923291adad0a709a43651304156e43

With hope and solidarity,

Luis, Iain, Paula, Ricken, Alice, Pascal and the entire Avaaz team

PS - Over the last 2 weeks, thousands of us have contributed US$1 million for relief and recovery from the Pakistan floods, which has been sent to support the Sungi Development Foundation, Hirrak Development Centre (HDC), Participatory Welfare Services (PWS) and other outstanding local organisations provide life-saving food, water, shelter and medical care across the country.

Sources:

# Race against winter in Pakistan's north-west:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11128880

# Reuters, IMF talks: all options being explored to help Pakistan:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN26195747._CH_.2400

# "Fuelling Injustice: Debt and Muslim countries", Report by Jubilee Debt Campaign and Islamic Relief UK:
http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid=6302&bid=13

# Jubilee USA Network Calls for Immediate Debt Service Moratorium in Response to Disaster, Assistance in Grant Form:
http://www.jubileeusa.org/press/press-item/article/new-debt-for-disaster-for-pakistan.html?tx_ttnews[backPid]=170&cHash=02e62f133f

# EURODAD, "Pakistan needs debt cancellation, not new IMF loans":
http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4220

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Avaaz.org is a 5.5-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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