http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/un/ en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:34:46 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415311/posts UN Under-Secretary-General Ameerah Haq said on Saturday as a global citizen she was disappointed at the outcome of the Copenhagen climate conference that ended without binding deals for helping out the victims of climatic calamities. Ameerah, the first woman from Bangladesh to reach this highest-ranking position in the world body, told reporters in Dhaka that more could have been done and achieved in terms of reaching a legally binding agreement at the global summit on climate change in the Danish capital Copenhagen. “We’re all disappointed… we could have seen and done more for our future generation,” she said, adding that... The Daily Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415311/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:34:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414336/posts The announcement by the United Nations this week that it will license the minting of silver and gold bullion coins bearing the UN logo may be the button that launches metal prices into orbit. In its wide-ranging report this fall, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated that the system of currencies and international banking practices within today’s economies were inadequate, and responsible for the present economic crisis. The report advocates that the present monetary system, wherein the dollar acts as the global reserve currency be re-examined “with urgency”. The UNCTAD Report was the first time a major... Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414336/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:55:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412781/posts "OIC Slams ‘Demonic’ Portrayal of Islam, But Support for Religious ‘Defamation’ Measures Continues to Erode" SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – An Islamic-led campaign against religious “defamation” has taken another blow the United Nations, where support among member states has dropped to a new low amid escalating concerns that defamation resolutions endanger non-Muslims in Islamic societies and harm freedom of expression. While much of the world’s attention was focused on Copenhagen late last week, the U.N. General Assembly passed a range of human rights-related resolutions. For critics of the world body the results were mixed. The latest in a string of religious defamation... CNS NEWS.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412781/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:27:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412362/posts There is scope for debate – and innumerable newspaper quizzes – about who was the most influential public figure of the year, or which the most significant event. But there can be little doubt which word won the prize for most important adjective. 2009 was the year in which "global" swept the rest of the political lexicon into obscurity. There were "global crises" and "global challenges", the only possible resolution to which lay in "global solutions" necessitating "global agreements". Gordon Brown actually suggested something called a "global alliance" in response to climate change. (Would this be an alliance against the... Telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412362/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:17:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411917/posts The head of the UN's climate change panel - Dr Rajendra Pachauri - is accused of making a fortune from his links with 'carbon trading' companies, Christopher Booker and Richard North write. No one in the world exercised more influence on the events leading up to the Copenhagen conference on global warming than Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and mastermind of its latest report in 2007. Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411917/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:14:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411647/posts When the new West is won, will there be cowboys? In light of what her neighbors are up to, Double O Ranch owner Vicki Olson isn’t so sure. “I guess the point that I keep hammering at is that if they succeed, that means all of us third- and fourth-generation ranchers are gone,” Olson said. She is the average Montana rancher, 56 going on 70, working a spread gouged from the pebbly soil by her grandparents 100 years ago. Her neighbor, the nonprofit American Prairie Foundation, is methodically acquiring ranches and crafting a 3.5-million-acre wildlife reserve out of private property... The Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411647/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:40:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411706/posts The head of the UN's climate change panel - Dr Rajendra Pachauri - is accused of making a fortune from his links with 'carbon trading' companies, Christopher Booker and Richard North write. No one in the world exercised more influence on the events leading up to the Copenhagen conference on global warming than Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and mastermind of its latest report in 2007. Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former... telegraph Uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411706/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:34:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411579/posts President Obama reportedly was re luctant to attend the final day of the UN's Copenhagen climate-change summit unless it was front-end wired to be a major political success. But he went anyway, was twice humiliated in public by the Chinese premier and then finally settled for what the White House hailed as a "meaningful agreement." Really? A top aide admitted that the deal was basically just "an important first step" that was "not sufficient to combat the threat of climate change." Then Obama himself dropped the other shoe: The agreement contains no specific commitments on carbon emissions, only pledges that... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411579/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:10:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411544/posts Iran's president says he will soon write to the UN Secretary-General asking for his country to be compensated for World War II damages. "We will seek compensation for World War II damages. I have assigned a team to calculate the costs," Ahmadinejad said. "I will write a letter to the UN Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] asking for Iran to be compensated for the damages," he added, pointing out that such a move was necessary to ensure that justice was served. "During this period, the Iranian people were subjected to a great deal of pressure and the country suffered a great deal... Press TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411544/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:21:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411404/posts President Obama returned to the White House from the U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen in the wee hours of this morning, having secured a modest, non-binding, three-page deal aimed at combating global warming. After getting a wee bit of rest, Obama by early afternoon had set his sights on getting a climate bill out of the Senate that, he claims, will curb carbon emissions and, to boot, create new jobs by fostering new industries. In a statement, Obama first lauded his accomplishments in Copenhagen and then focused his attention on Capitol Hill. "For the first time in history … the... npr http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411404/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:20:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411043/posts WASHINGTON -- After a day spent frantically darting around Copenhagen trying to locate world leaders, getting snubbed by China's premier and crashing a meeting where he had initially been kept out, President Obama heralded a last-minute, largely toothless UN global-warming summit deal that drew fast fire from all sides as a sham. Almost no one was happy with the outcome of the two-week confab and even the president, who was slammed by liberals and Republicans alike, along with other world leaders, admitted that the pact doesn't legally commit any of the nations involved -- the point of the summit in... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411043/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:15:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411030/posts Journal-Post.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411030/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:55:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410762/posts President Barack Obama declared Friday a "meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough" had been reached among the U.S., China and three other countries on a global effort to curb climate change but said much work was still be needed to reach a legally binding treaty. "It is going to be very hard, and it's going to take some time," he said at the conclusion of a 193-nation global warming summit. "We have come a long way, but we have much further to go." The president said there was a "fundamental deadlock in perspectives" between big, industrially developed countries like the United States... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410762/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:29:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410023/posts As the Copenhagen climate conference staggers toward the finish line of a star-studded plenary of political leaders on Friday, a number of influential countries — including France and Britain — have been calling for the creation of a new, global regulator to act as the world's environmental steward, equipped with still unspecified powers. Similar discussions, it appears, have also been taking place for several months inside the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the world's current environmental watchdog. According to documents obtained by Fox News, a high-level group of dignitaries from 38 countries, including a bevy of environment ministers and other... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410023/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:11:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410523/posts The United Nations has asked world leaders to stay overnight at the climate change summit in Copenhagen, as the talks become increasingly fraught. Stavros Dimas, the European Union Environment Commissioner said that heads of state will be expected to stay another 24 hours in Copenhagen. "The Secretary-General of the United Nations (Ban Ki-moon) has asked people not to leave tonight," he said. But he remained confident that leaders would eventually reach a deal. "I cannot imagine 120 leaders going back to their countries with empty hands. Everyone expressed commitment to fight climate change. OK, do it," he said. It is... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410523/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:29:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410236/posts The United Nations (UN) has licensed the minting of gold bullion coins bearing its logo to provide a "public option" world savings currency. According to the Vancouver Examiner, Oro gold coins are hoped to contribute to making the UN better funded by 2015, with revenue rising by ten to 15 per cent. The coins are set to be produced in Europe and then distributed globally, with any licensee able to produce such bullion under contract. Armand Dufour of the European Bank says that he welcomes the introduction of the gold coins. However, he goes on to add that there is... Gold.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410236/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:26:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409955/posts Large pieces of a climate deal fell into place Thursday with new offers from the U.S. and China, but other tough issues remained before President Barack Obama and other leaders can sign off on a political accord to contain the threat of an overheated world. An announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States would contribute to a climate change fund amounting to $100 billion a year by 2020 was quickly followed by an offer from China to open its books on carbon emissions to international review. The U.S. delegation did not immediately react to the... Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409955/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:16:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409919/posts “Too Many Births Said to Threaten the Climate” read the headline in the November 19 edition of the French daily Le Monde. The headline refers to the new “State of World Population 2009” report published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The document is called a “report,” but in light of the unabashed and unrelenting advocacy of which it consists, it might be better described as a “pamphlet.” Subtitled “Facing a Changing World: Women, Population and Climate,” what it advocates is combating “global warming” (“There is no time for delay; we are already on the precipice”) and its novelty... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409919/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:35:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409855/posts A leaked UN document emerged last night that shows the current proposals for a deal at Copenhagen will ‘put at risk the very viability of our civilisation on Earth’. The document is an internal briefing paper drawn up by the UN Framework Committee on Climate Change that is in charge of the talks. It says that even the most ambitious emission reduction targets currently offered by developed and developing countries, including the EU and US, would set the world on course for warming of around 5.4F (3C). The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409855/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:46:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408942/posts The clean-coal industry has been shut out of the global emissions trading scheme at the Copenhagen climate change talks, dealing a blow to the UK, US and Australia. The three Western countries and Saudi Arabia had strongly argued that advanced new clean-coal plants, which trap emissions underground, ought to earn credits for being a low-carbon source of energy. But a United Nations committee decided not to include the industry in its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which rewards companies that invest in green energy. Ed Miliband, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, is a strong supporter of the fledgling technology, which attempts... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408942/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:40:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407882/posts UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged countries to redouble efforts to reach a final deal against climate change in Copenhagen, in an effort to rescue failing talks at what has been dubbed the 'Last Chance Summit'. World leaders began arriving at the UN climate summit Tuesday, seeking to give a shot in the arm to the floundering talks after warnings that the whole event was at risk of ending in failure. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were among the heavyweights expected in the Danish capital where officials and... France 24 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407882/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:28:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2407351/posts Forget the dire economic consequences of a Copenhagen climate change treaty for a second and think about the fraud involved. Carbon Trading Fraud Take the European Union, for instance, which implemented a carbon trading scheme analogous to a cap and trade system. And it has been fraught with fraud. French officials are investigating a $230 million carbon trading fraud scheme and this is only the tip of the iceberg in what is a startling revelation and huge blow to the climate talks in Copenhagen: Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement arm against organized crime, announced on Wednesday that carbon-trading fraud... The Heritage Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2407351/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:29:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2407218/posts The White House on Monday announced a new program drawing funds from international partners to spend $350 million over five years to supply developing nations with clean energy technology to curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce global warming. The program will contribute to distribution of solar power alternatives for homes, including sun-powered lanterns, supply of cleaner equipment and appliances and a push to fund and put in place renewable energy systems in the world's poorer nations. The funding plan grew out of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) established among the world's top economies earlier this year, with a decision to... newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2407218/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:35:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407085/posts Copenhagen Climate Talks Suspended after Africa Walk Out2009-12-14 15:01:17 Negotiations at the UN climate summit have been suspended after the African group withdrew co-operation. African delegations were angry at what they saw as moves by the Danish host government to sideline talks on more emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol. As news spread around the conference centre, about 200 activists responded with chants of "We stand with Africa - Kyoto targets now". It is unclear how matters will proceed now, though informal talks are likely, the BBC reported. Blocs representing poor countries vulnerable to climate change have been adamant that... Novinite http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407085/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:17:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406918/posts With proceedings at the international court of justice (ICJ) now firmly under way, the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is once again under the spotlight. With an advisory opinion expected within the next six months, the outcome of the case will have an important impact on Kosovo's status. Should the judgment favour Serbia, the impetus for further negotiations will continue to grow. Should it affirm the legality of Kosovo's declaration, however, the currently stalled process of recognition will be revitalised..... The Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406918/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:20:04 GMT