Writings on the Wall

Updates from bloggers and new media LIVE from Copenhagen

United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) 2009 or COP15 has been one of the most hyped multilateral event on the radar in recent times. The conference has gained unprecedented attention, both political and sentimental. The print media and NGOs coming together have resulted in mass public awareness and generated sentiments across the planet.

If we take an unbiased view of it, it appears to be a tussle between developed countries led by US and developing countries led by China. If we go deep, it appears to be a clash of two world powers with larger than life egos. While in earlier times, United States could have had it their way by the leverage they had on other countries and world politics, not to mention, EU rarely breaks away from United States official policy. Since it came to the term 'developed countries', it actually helped bind EU and US. While it might appear China along with India is leading the massive block of developing countries, in reality, both these countries have nothing in common and their wide ranging differences haven't helped the position of developing countries.

What may conspire in Copenhagen is a farce, a game, a show-off that world leaders are coming together and trying to reach a consensus on the climate change issue. But in reality, the gulf between the two blocks is wider than most see. It’s not just about binding or voluntary emission cuts, as the general positions suggest. It’s more political. China wants a stronghold in world politics and wants a bigger say for itself. While India is still coming to terms with its new found importance and certain leverage, more moral than political, it has on certain countries around the world. Whereas the economic turmoil around the world have deeply hurt US and EU positions, both politically and influentially. Countries around the world no longer look at the developed nations for cheaper loans or grants. Asian giants such as China and India have spread their wings far and wide in Africa, which though politically, have marginal say on world scene but have far higher number of people being affected by the perils of climate change than Western world. The ongoing economic turmoil has resulted in a shift of power and Asia is clearly the driving force on the road to recovery. But differences among themselves, China - Japan, China - India, have resulted in US taking advantage. China did announced a voluntary target of 40-45% emission cuts from their 2005 levels, while India announced 20-25%, its still upon US (17% emission cuts announced) and EU to do more. China and India will be looking for deeper emission cuts from developed countries and also for financial compensation.

The truth is that COP15 is a glimpse in the future. A preview of things to come, where no single country or group of countries hold absolute majority or say in decision making when it comes to UN. It is also a reminder that the world politics is getting multi-polar or at least bi-polar from uni-polar.

What good have you done for someone else today?

You have a well paid job, a fancy car, a decent place to live in and almost everything that makes your life comfortable. You can easily spend an average East African resident's  monthly earning on your daily evening entertainment. On top of that, you complain! Complaints about trivial things- Oh my, the grocery store next door is selling Evian for 7 dhs!! That's wrong! - without realising that clean drinking water, forget evian, is still a dream in many parts of this world!

It's not just about how much money you have in your bank account or what cigar you smoke? At the end of it all, you aren't taking nothing with you. It all ends right here, right then. All the materialism dies with you. What leaves behind is how you lived. What good you did for someone else for them to remember and preserve your legacy? What difference you made in the lives of those unfortunate and suppressed, whom you could have or perhaps should have helped?

To complain about something and not doing anything about it, is called HYPOCRISY. And slowly, but surely, we are all moving towards that point.

Take time to think what good you did today for someone else. The realisations might just give a meaning to your life.

Today, I am revisiting a topic which was probably the most sensitive of all in the 20th Century. But I want to revisit it from Professor Robert Langdon's point of view or for those of you who don't follow Dan Brown, symbolical point of view.

Swastika a symbol in existence in world for more than 5,000 years, have often been seen as a legacy of Adolf Hitler's Nazi era by many around the world, till they opened their eyes to the reality, the world existed to their east as well.

What has often been referred to as a symbol of hatred and racism is actually a very lucky and auspicious religious symbol. Ask any follower of Hinduism, Buddhism or Jainism, the Swastika is one of the holiest symbols in all these faiths.

[caption id="attachment_53" align="alignleft" width="278" caption="The Indian Swastika"][/caption]

Swastika originated from the Sanskrit word Svastik - "????????". The earliest evidences of Swastika appear as early as 10,000 BCE, in the upper paleolithic age, in the Indus Valley Civilisation. Indian Swastika is different from those used by sun worshippers. Perhaps the usage of Swastika by Nazi party as their political symbol can be explained by the Aryan descent of Germans. But Swastika is a symbol used by civilisations all across the planet and is generally used as a lucky charm for prosperity.

In, India, the two symbols represent the two forms of the creator: facing right it represents the evolution of the universe (Devanagari: ?????????, Pravritti), facing left it represents the involution of the universe (Devanagari: ????????, Nivritti)

On the eve of 26/11, A tribute to the victims of terrorism, not just in Mumbai, not just in India, around the world.



When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;

I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,

I did not speak out;

I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,

I remained silent;

I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,

there was no one left to speak out

May their souls Rest In Peace. AMEN.

"What is passion? It is surely the becoming of a person. Are we not, for most of our lives, marking time? Most of our being is at rest, unlived. In passion, the body and the spirit seek expression outside of self. Passion is all that is other from self. The more extreme and the more expressed that passion is, the more unbearable does life seem without it. It reminds us that if passion dies or is denied, we are partly dead and that soon, come what may, we will be wholly so."

An interesting discussion led me to ask this question to my few followers on twitter. The replies were vastly different, both in wave-lengths and in approach towards the question:

For a high school student, "Passion is the look In a hungry lover's eyes when they first lay on their soulmate. passion is when u blv tht you're done searching for love. when u blv that u've finally found urself in ur soulmate.."

For an under-graduate, through last year of studies, "Passion is a strong feeling of desire. Your driving point. The reason you live."

For a career-woman ,"Willing and believing to be able to live, breathe, sleep ur core desire."

For someone fresh off the hackles of college life, "Passion is the diplomatic synonym for obsession."

And For someone who had seen it all, "Passion is the food for soul."

For an aspiring career woman, look in lover's eye might not be passion and for a high school graduate, Passion is anything but food for thought.

Passion depends on what stage of life you are at, passion is what your priorities are, passion is what keeps you going, passion is anything that YOU ARE, PASSION IS WHAT YOU ARE. Live it up, go, live your passion.

An interesting discussion on Global Warming yesterday took my thought process to a complete new journey which had nothing to do with Climate Change or anything related to that. Its pretty strange how the western paranoia and insecurity of losing the Super Power position is now taking fore in almost all global issues. While discussing Global Warming, a western yesterday complained how world doesn't bother about actual issues like "nuclear proliferation, extreme poverty, infectual disease etc etc etc China." Now apart from the last "so called problems" were pretty much general or non-country specific. But what about calling CHINA a problem?

Now, to make things clear, I am an Indian, a proud one, and its a very well know fact that India lost a border war with China back then in 1962 and the two countries are not the best of friends or neighbours. I also acknowledge that there is no comparison between India and China in any aspect. China is miles ahead let it be its Economic Strength, Military, Infrastructure Development and many things. But at the same time I myself am a critic of poor standards of human rights in China and the frequent unlawful executions.

But, in this blog post, I will write only about the paranoia and insecurity that breeds in the mind of many in the western world. China, the world's most populous country is now the second largest economy (GDP-PPP) in world, second only behind USA. But the important thing is that during the worst recession after 1930s, China is still growing, though at a relatively slower pace whereas USA is contracting. China currently holds a foreign currency reserve equivalent to more than $2 Trillion. China is world's largest exporter of non-defense products and the second largest outsourcing destination in the world. All this combined would definitely make China the world leader if we lived in a conflict free, unmilitarized world. But that said, we don't. And unfortunately thats the only thing which always decides the balance of power in geo-politics.

That is only why USA is still considered the most powerful nation in world. But they know that China is catching up fast and they are doing everything to delay, if not halt, the progress. But, its inevitable and even Obama acknowledged it by visiting China before a Chinese state visit.

The balance is shifting towards the west of west.

An interesting discussion on Global Warming yesterday took my thought process to a complete new journey which had nothing to do with Climate Change or anything related to that. Its pretty strange how the western paranoia and insecurity of losing the Super Power position is now taking fore in almost all global issues. While discussing Global Warming, a western yesterday complained how world doesn't bother about actual issues like "nuclear proliferation, extreme poverty, infectual disease etc etc etc China." Now apart from the last "so called problems" were pretty much general or non-country specific. But what about calling CHINA a problem?

Now, to make things clear, I am an Indian, a proud one, and its a very well know fact that India lost a border war with China back then in 1962 and the two countries are not the best of friends or neighbours. I also acknowledge that there is no comparison between India and China in any aspect. China is miles ahead let it be its Economic Strength, Military, Infrastructure Development and many things. But at the same time I myself am a critic of poor standards of human rights in China and the frequent unlawful executions.

But, in this blog post, I will write only about the paranoia and insecurity that breeds in the mind of many in the western world. China, the world's most populous country is now the second largest economy (GDP-PPP) in world, second only behind USA. But the important thing is that during the worst recession after 1930s, China is still growing, though at a relatively slower pace whereas USA is contracting. China currently holds a foreign currency reserve equivalent to more than $2 Trillion. China is world's largest exporter of non-defense products and the second largest outsourcing destination in the world. All this combined would definitely make China the world leader if we lived in a conflict free, unmilitarized world. But that said, we don't. And unfortunately thats the only thing which always decides the balance of power in geo-politics.

That is only why USA is still considered the most powerful nation in world. But they know that China is catching up fast and they are doing everything to delay, if not halt, the progress. But, its inevitable and even Obama acknowledged it by visiting China before a Chinese state visit.

The balance is shifting towards the west of west.

Ever since I read about Climate Change negotiations, there is one particular term which keeps attracting my attention on the internet- Kyoto Protocol.

So what is this Kyoto protocol and what is its significance in the climate change negotiations. In one line- Kyoto Protocol is the problem and perhaps also the solution.

Kyoto Protocol is a framework for United Nations Climate Change Conference proposed by Australia aimed at tackling global warming. The highlight of the protocol is that the developed countries take binding CO2 and hazardous gases emission cuts while the developing countries be let on themselves to decide the extent of emission cuts. Sounds fair.

But, Kyoto Protocol was introduced in 1997 and ratified in 2005. The arguement that goes against Kyoto is that the Kyoto Protocol doesn't reflect the current realities. At the time when Kyoto was introduced, countries like India, Brazil and South Africa were no where in the global economic picture. China was considered a developing country but had no real strength or say in world politics and policy making.

Come 1009, the situation is completely changed. The United States of America (which is the only country in world which never ratified neither have any intentions of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol) is no longer the only country that exclusively call shots in the working of UNO. Countries like China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, South Korea, Indonesia have see multiple growth in their economies. The global economic scenario have completely changed. The recent Financial Crisis have actually shifted the balance towards east or rather Asia. With Japan, China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia growing at a slow but sturdy pace while the economies in Europe and America shrinking, the final say in global issues no longer lies with the west.

All said, the Kyoto is an outdated frameworks agreement which was introduced at a time when the current major economies were evolving the needed the space to grow, which they did. But not its time to sit down and reassess the ground realities. The world is actually divided right now between those who wants Kyoto to be dropped (led by US and EU) while those who wants to continue with it (China and India). An interesting development last month was that the developing countries led by China agreed to drop Kyoto in lieu of adequate compensation citing the example that the developed countries already had their economic prosperity achieved by the exploitation of resources and would lose almost nothing even if they were to take binding emission cuts now, whereas the economies of developing countries will suffer a massive blow. EU declared a $200 Billion compensation package, but the developing countries weren't satisfied with that.

In the coming times, during COP15 and UNCCC, Kyoto will feature dominantly all over the media and blogging community. We must accept the world have changed and move on, but also must remember that we cannot continue our forward march on fellow human's corpses.

Ever since I read about Climate Change negotiations, there is one particular term which keeps attracting my attention on the internet- Kyoto Protocol.

So what is this Kyoto protocol and what is its significance in the climate change negotiations. In one line- Kyoto Protocol is the problem and perhaps also the solution.

Kyoto Protocol is a framework for United Nations Climate Change Conference proposed by Australia aimed at tackling global warming. The highlight of the protocol is that the developed countries take binding CO2 and hazardous gases emission cuts while the developing countries be let on themselves to decide the extent of emission cuts. Sounds fair.

But, Kyoto Protocol was introduced in 1997 and ratified in 2005. The arguement that goes against Kyoto is that the Kyoto Protocol doesn't reflect the current realities. At the time when Kyoto was introduced, countries like India, Brazil and South Africa were no where in the global economic picture. China was considered a developing country but had no real strength or say in world politics and policy making.

Come 1009, the situation is completely changed. The United States of America (which is the only country in world which never ratified neither have any intentions of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol) is no longer the only country that exclusively call shots in the working of UNO. Countries like China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, South Korea, Indonesia have see multiple growth in their economies. The global economic scenario have completely changed. The recent Financial Crisis have actually shifted the balance towards east or rather Asia. With Japan, China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia growing at a slow but sturdy pace while the economies in Europe and America shrinking, the final say in global issues no longer lies with the west.

All said, the Kyoto is an outdated frameworks agreement which was introduced at a time when the current major economies were evolving the needed the space to grow, which they did. But not its time to sit down and reassess the ground realities. The world is actually divided right now between those who wants Kyoto to be dropped (led by US and EU) while those who wants to continue with it (China and India). An interesting development last month was that the developing countries led by China agreed to drop Kyoto in lieu of adequate compensation citing the example that the developed countries already had their economic prosperity achieved by the exploitation of resources and would lose almost nothing even if they were to take binding emission cuts now, whereas the economies of developing countries will suffer a massive blow. EU declared a $200 Billion compensation package, but the developing countries weren't satisfied with that.

In the coming times, during COP15 and UNCCC, Kyoto will feature dominantly all over the media and blogging community. We must accept the world have changed and move on, but also must remember that we cannot continue our forward march on fellow human's corpses.

Some days which you just discard from your life diary can turn out to be probably the best ones of your life. I say this with profound knowledge and experience. Had a terrible day dealing with a Kazakh who didn't know a word of english or arabic neither to read properly. Left office at around 9.30 compared to usual days when I wind things up by 6 or 6.30 at the max. Was so tired by the time I reached home that I just wanted to sleep- sleep, sleep and sleep. Logged on to twitter to check if there is any buzz about Oprah Winfrey and her antiques, well, yeah, but subtle, dying bits, after all, the UAE twitter community cannot stand against a huge celebrity like Oprah, regardless of her insensitive and unverified rheotric.

Ever since I got an iphone, my usual email communication has taken a massive hit. No, I don't say iphone doesn't have a very good email client or lagging push services, infact iphone does pretty good task of pushing your emails through in real time. But, iphone doesn't have as better email integration as a BlackBerry do + the touch screen keyboard makes it even unattractive to reply immediately.

Because of all above reasons, I didn't check my emails all day and was left to deal with them for the later part of evening. One by one, i started reading/answering the emails and amidst of all that replying/forwarding crazy business, I received a couple of emails, which I wasn't expecting to come so soon. First one's a little sketchy and can't be discusses right now, but the second one was probably one of the most exciting 4 sentence email I ever got in my whole life:
 

For someone like me, it was an absolutely breath-taking moment. To blog from the same platform as Greenpeace, Oxfam, 350, World Wildlife Federation etc is nothing sort of unbelievable for a 24 year old from a small city of Rajasthan, India.


What I want to do from Fresh Air Centre is to take the climate change problem to semi-urban, rural households in third world countries. I want people to think about climate change before they think about the threat eminating from a neighbour or from a country situated half way across the planet. No, its we ourselves who is the greatest enemy of human-kind, of our sustainable future. Let's work to get our goal, let's work to get our rightful place in history, as the nurtures of this planet, not as the destroyers.


Appeal: Please check out http://www.350.org/animation to learn more about 350 and how you can help. Remember: Our planet is burning and we need to act, act fast.

Some days which you just discard from your life diary can turn out to be probably the best ones of your life. I say this with profound knowledge and experience. Had a terrible day dealing with a Kazakh who didn't know a word of english or arabic neither to read properly. Left office at around 9.30 compared to usual days when I wind things up by 6 or 6.30 at the max. Was so tired by the time I reached home that I just wanted to sleep- sleep, sleep and sleep. Logged on to twitter to check if there is any buzz about Oprah Winfrey and her antiques, well, yeah, but subtle, dying bits, after all, the UAE twitter community cannot stand against a huge celebrity like Oprah, regardless of her insensitive and unverified rheotric.

Ever since I got an iphone, my usual email communication has taken a massive hit. No, I don't say iphone doesn't have a very good email client or lagging push services, infact iphone does pretty good task of pushing your emails through in real time. But, iphone doesn't have as better email integration as a BlackBerry do + the touch screen keyboard makes it even unattractive to reply immediately.

Because of all above reasons, I didn't check my emails all day and was left to deal with them for the later part of evening. One by one, i started reading/answering the emails and amidst of all that replying/forwarding crazy business, I received a couple of emails, which I wasn't expecting to come so soon. First one's a little sketchy and can't be discusses right now, but the second one was probably one of the most exciting 4 sentence email I ever got in my whole life:
 

For someone like me, it was an absolutely breath-taking moment. To blog from the same platform as Greenpeace, Oxfam, 350, World Wildlife Federation etc is nothing sort of unbelievable for a 24 year old from a small city of Rajasthan, India.


What I want to do from Fresh Air Centre is to take the climate change problem to semi-urban, rural households in third world countries. I want people to think about climate change before they think about the threat eminating from a neighbour or from a country situated half way across the planet. No, its we ourselves who is the greatest enemy of human-kind, of our sustainable future. Let's work to get our goal, let's work to get our rightful place in history, as the nurtures of this planet, not as the destroyers.


Appeal: Please check out http://www.350.org/animation to learn more about 350 and how you can help. Remember: Our planet is burning and we need to act, act fast.

Hello!

All around the world communities are taking action to spread the number 350, the safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere measured in parts per million, and make sure world leaders are on course to reach that target.

Sounds weird right? Well, there's an animation that explains everything in just 90 seconds. Check it out here: http://www.350.org/animation.

It's urgent that we act together and build a movement that will solve the climate crisis and ensure a safe and just future for the world.

Please join me, and help build this movement at 350.org

-----------


The plan is to deliver photographs of destruction by climate change and the action people took till date to respective embassies and consulates. We need to reach out as many embassies as possible before November 30th. We need to take photographs as well when we deliver the pictures to embassy/consulate officials.

Then on December 12, we need to gather at JBR to form a human chain with the numericals 350 and join the united effort with our fellow human beings all over the world.

Remember the world is burning and we need at act, act fast.

Hello!

All around the world communities are taking action to spread the number 350, the safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere measured in parts per million, and make sure world leaders are on course to reach that target.

Sounds weird right? Well, there's an animation that explains everything in just 90 seconds. Check it out here: http://www.350.org/animation.

It's urgent that we act together and build a movement that will solve the climate crisis and ensure a safe and just future for the world.

Please join me, and help build this movement at 350.org

-----------


The plan is to deliver photographs of destruction by climate change and the action people took till date to respective embassies and consulates. We need to reach out as many embassies as possible before November 30th. We need to take photographs as well when we deliver the pictures to embassy/consulate officials.

Then on December 12, we need to gather at JBR to form a human chain with the numericals 350 and join the united effort with our fellow human beings all over the world.

Remember the world is burning and we need at act, act fast.

What? Shufi? What are you looking at? Kya hai?

Sounds familiar? Well, almost. A friend once famously mentioned, "If you murder someone in front of a 16 year old who grew up here, they won't even blink an eye and pass by coldly." Some of you might disagree, but most won't.

Now before you read further, I am not talking about any particular nationality, race or religion. For god's sake, Dubai is an International City where people from more than 150 nationalities live in almost perfect harmony equilibrium. People from all over the world come to this place in search of a better life, and most of them, well almost, even get one. But it’s a quite disturbing pattern which I have noticed on uncountable occasions here - lack of compassion!

On the road, driving in the fast lane at max speed, errant teenagers coming from behind will flash their vehicle headlights continuously until you clear way AND if you are a split second late, be ready to hear a word or two of abuses from the 'in-hurry' pilot driver. Well, one can always argue these are driving habits, so, let's just move on.

Just the other night, I parked my car in a municipal parking lot, came back to find some hip-hoppers/rappers camping all over my vehicle. Pulled out my keys and pressed the unlock button, the headlights flashed and the car was unlocked. Now I assume that all the teenagers were deaf so obviously they didn't hear the car unlocking and continue to make themselves comfortable. I reached the parked vehicle, gave a glance to the guys, opened the door and put the keys in the ignition. As I did that, one of the guys still didn't bother to get up, so I just lowered the window and said ' "Excuse me". Just call me and ask for $100 if you can guess the reaction of that guy, no questions asked! Instead of getting up and making way, the guy peeped in and asked arrogantly - "WHAT?" What? What? Get your f***ing a** moving you douche bag, but no, as a matured and law abiding resident, I just said, "I need to go." Of course none of them cared to say or even think about any sort of apology.

Another one and this one happened more than a hundred times, even today. As soon as you come out of a elevator, instead of making way, youngsters, the gum chewing generation, just walk-in straight, rather arrogantly. Forget an any apology, just hope they don't yell, "Watch it".

Remember the times when there used to be friendly smiles or courtesy greetings, even short conversations with unknown people? Well, today's teenager, you would be better off asking them- How are you?, because in all certainty you will get - NONE-OF-YOUR-DAMN-BUSINESS- sort of reply.

Honestly, I've met a lot of fabulous, amazing people here in Dubai, but all of them are matured, grown up career-holics. Teenagers here are a really cold, unfriendly bunch. But the question is - WHY? Compassion? Well, it’s solely missing and till the time we look into ourselves, we will never discover it, PERIOD.

What? Shufi? What are you looking at? Kya hai?

Sounds familiar? Well, almost. A friend once famously mentioned, "If you murder someone in front of a 16 year old who grew up here, they won't even blink an eye and pass by coldly." Some of you might disagree, but most won't.

Now before you read further, I am not talking about any particular nationality, race or religion. For god's sake, Dubai is an International City where people from more than 150 nationalities live in almost perfect harmony equilibrium. People from all over the world come to this place in search of a better life, and most of them, well almost, even get one. But it’s a quite disturbing pattern which I have noticed on uncountable occasions here - lack of compassion!

On the road, driving in the fast lane at max speed, errant teenagers coming from behind will flash their vehicle headlights continuously until you clear way AND if you are a split second late, be ready to hear a word or two of abuses from the 'in-hurry' pilot driver. Well, one can always argue these are driving habits, so, let's just move on.

Just the other night, I parked my car in a municipal parking lot, came back to find some hip-hoppers/rappers camping all over my vehicle. Pulled out my keys and pressed the unlock button, the headlights flashed and the car was unlocked. Now I assume that all the teenagers were deaf so obviously they didn't hear the car unlocking and continue to make themselves comfortable. I reached the parked vehicle, gave a glance to the guys, opened the door and put the keys in the ignition. As I did that, one of the guys still didn't bother to get up, so I just lowered the window and said ' "Excuse me". Just call me and ask for $100 if you can guess the reaction of that guy, no questions asked! Instead of getting up and making way, the guy peeped in and asked arrogantly - "WHAT?" What? What? Get your f***ing a** moving you douche bag, but no, as a matured and law abiding resident, I just said, "I need to go." Of course none of them cared to say or even think about any sort of apology.

Another one and this one happened more than a hundred times, even today. As soon as you come out of a elevator, instead of making way, youngsters, the gum chewing generation, just walk-in straight, rather arrogantly. Forget an any apology, just hope they don't yell, "Watch it".

Remember the times when there used to be friendly smiles or courtesy greetings, even short conversations with unknown people? Well, today's teenager, you would be better off asking them- How are you?, because in all certainty you will get - NONE-OF-YOUR-DAMN-BUSINESS- sort of reply.

Honestly, I've met a lot of fabulous, amazing people here in Dubai, but all of them are matured, grown up career-holics. Teenagers here are a really cold, unfriendly bunch. But the question is - WHY? Compassion? Well, it’s solely missing and till the time we look into ourselves, we will never discover it, PERIOD.

There couldn't have been a better and more important topic to be chosen for this year's Blog Action Day campaign - Climate Change.

For starters, here is an example of climate change simplified: Glaciers grow when climate cools and shrink when it gets hotter. The World Glacier Monitoring Service collects data annually on glacier retreat and glacier mass balance. From this data, glaciers worldwide have been found to be shrinking significantly, with strong glacier retreats in the 1940s, stable or growing conditions during the 1920s and 1970s, and again retreating from the mid 1980s to present. Mass balance data indicate 17 consecutive years of negative glacier mass balance.

The glaciers are in fact one of the most sensitive indicators of climate change around the world. To put it into context, if glaciers continue to melt at this pace, the water level in our oceans (which some nations term as "THEIR OCEANS") will rise exponentially resulting in submerging of land near the coasts and gradually growing further.

In essence, climate change is not a problem that would be talked around in the semi-urban or rural households of Africa or Asia and that's where the problem lies. If we would have to put the problem in terms of stages of a critical illness where First stage being symptoms, Second being diagnosis, Third being the period when its curable and Fourth being the incurable stage, then we are more than half way through. The symptoms were evident- loud and clear, the diagnosis was rather delayed, and perhaps already in the Third Stage of the illness which is curable period. But for this particular illness, there is one more stage, somewhere between the third and fourth and that’s exactly where we stand- its curable, strings (no, not the super cool pop band from Pakistan, I wish they could have solved this) attached.

The climate change problem has entered a phase where it’s curable but with a lot of precautions and needs an urgency not shown ever before by anyone. Some wrong steps and it will enter the fourth stage without warning - the point of no return.

So the question arises how can we solve it? Now I won't go listing down the number of things that we can and we must do in order to help fight the devil. Instead I would name the culprits who are NOT doing what they should be doing - cooperate.

Remember there was an assembly of some important and powerful world leaders in the steel-turned-green city of USA? The so called 'LEADER'S' statement of G-20 Pittsburgh Summit said the following:

"We will spare no effort to reach agreement in Copenhagen through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations."

Do you know where the above commitment was placed in the communiqué? At number 29 out of 31 declarations- that’s where it stands in the priority list of our LEADERS. It might not be as forthcoming as Iran's nuclear bomb (seriously, you people think they can build one?) or North Korea's list of long range missiles (impressive, I tell you), but it definitely deserves univocal commitment, urgency and unrelenting commitment from our REPRESENTATIVES (the leaders actually seems to forget that after elections).

Unless and until the leadership shows their seriousness towards this problem and start a campaign to educate the masses, the masses would not be even aware of the effects and catastrophic situations that awaits them.

Climate change is not a national threat, (No, don't worry, Bush's gone, thank god!), it’s universal. The efforts to tackle this needs to be taken collectively and should be binding, regardless of the clout of a country and its bank balances. We cannot have countries like India and China always in disagreement with the world and US always trying to stamp its authority. There must be a solution and we must learn to cooperate.

As they say- You can run, but you can't hide!

There couldn't have been a better and more important topic to be chosen for this year's Blog Action Day campaign - Climate Change.

For starters, here is an example of climate change simplified: Glaciers grow when climate cools and shrink when it gets hotter. The World Glacier Monitoring Service collects data annually on glacier retreat and glacier mass balance. From this data, glaciers worldwide have been found to be shrinking significantly, with strong glacier retreats in the 1940s, stable or growing conditions during the 1920s and 1970s, and again retreating from the mid 1980s to present. Mass balance data indicate 17 consecutive years of negative glacier mass balance.

The glaciers are in fact one of the most sensitive indicators of climate change around the world. To put it into context, if glaciers continue to melt at this pace, the water level in our oceans (which some nations term as "THEIR OCEANS") will rise exponentially resulting in submerging of land near the coasts and gradually growing further.

In essence, climate change is not a problem that would be talked around in the semi-urban or rural households of Africa or Asia and that's where the problem lies. If we would have to put the problem in terms of stages of a critical illness where First stage being symptoms, Second being diagnosis, Third being the period when its curable and Fourth being the incurable stage, then we are more than half way through. The symptoms were evident- loud and clear, the diagnosis was rather delayed, and perhaps already in the Third Stage of the illness which is curable period. But for this particular illness, there is one more stage, somewhere between the third and fourth and that’s exactly where we stand- its curable, strings (no, not the super cool pop band from Pakistan, I wish they could have solved this) attached.

The climate change problem has entered a phase where it’s curable but with a lot of precautions and needs an urgency not shown ever before by anyone. Some wrong steps and it will enter the fourth stage without warning - the point of no return.

So the question arises how can we solve it? Now I won't go listing down the number of things that we can and we must do in order to help fight the devil. Instead I would name the culprits who are NOT doing what they should be doing - cooperate.

Remember there was an assembly of some important and powerful world leaders in the steel-turned-green city of USA? The so called 'LEADER'S' statement of G-20 Pittsburgh Summit said the following:

"We will spare no effort to reach agreement in Copenhagen through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations."

Do you know where the above commitment was placed in the communiqué? At number 29 out of 31 declarations- that’s where it stands in the priority list of our LEADERS. It might not be as forthcoming as Iran's nuclear bomb (seriously, you people think they can build one?) or North Korea's list of long range missiles (impressive, I tell you), but it definitely deserves univocal commitment, urgency and unrelenting commitment from our REPRESENTATIVES (the leaders actually seems to forget that after elections).

Unless and until the leadership shows their seriousness towards this problem and start a campaign to educate the masses, the masses would not be even aware of the effects and catastrophic situations that awaits them.

Climate change is not a national threat, (No, don't worry, Bush's gone, thank god!), it’s universal. The efforts to tackle this needs to be taken collectively and should be binding, regardless of the clout of a country and its bank balances. We cannot have countries like India and China always in disagreement with the world and US always trying to stamp its authority. There must be a solution and we must learn to cooperate.

As they say- You can run, but you can't hide!

For someone who hasn't even heard of TED till a month back, to attend, in fact to be a part of TEDxDubai was an enlightening experience.

I precisely remember it started as a passing mention by Masarat Daud during my first meeting with her. I came back home not even vaguely remembering the name of organisation or event.A week passed and then I stumbled upon a red coloured pigeon on twitter - @TEDxDubai. I have a twitter id since 28th November, 2008 but was never really posting or what I now call Tweeting. Then after some mouse maneuvers, I landed on TEDxDubai website. Ahhhh, another offline event for the online community, doesn't interest me, though no harm in registering. So I clicked on a subsection titled 'Attend'. Downloads another page which looks like any other registration form vastly common for someone who had 8 email addresses when he was just 16.

But here I got the first good vibe for TEDxDubai! It wasn't a simple Name, Date of Birth, Email, Cell blah blah blah kinda form! The questions were simple yet clear like- why do you wanna attend TEDxDubai? To answer this, one would have to know what the event is about, so I went to the top right box in my browser window and typed TED and go! Google never disappoints you, on came a string of results in less than a second which eventually took me to official TED website. What I saw on the website was not what I expected. There were videos, videos of people, ordinary people who had their ideas of changing, impacting the world. I got so engrossed in the videos that I forgot the primary task in hand- to register for TEDxDubai! So, I went back to face the next question in the form- what's your idea to change the world? This wasn't really difficult, I had it in the back of my mind ever since I came to Dubai, so I fill that in, answered the other questions and submitted the form.

And then began the wait. The wait for an invitation to the event. Time passed and then came the first list of attendees. Only 30 attendees, I surely didn't expect to be the top 30, but still, I jumped in, checked the names out, not mine. Then came the next batch, not there, then the 3rd batch, again disappointed. Along came the Eid holidays. As everybody else, I was on road, in the desert, in a camp when I decided to switch on my BlackBerry, 4th and 5th batches released. Anxiousness, am I in? Am I gonna make it? Somehow the holidays passed and I came back to find my name in the 5th batch. I froze the video and kept starring at the screen, it’s my name!!! That's me! I got selected as an attendee! Great!!!!

Than came an announcement asking for help from volunteers. Okay, here are two enthusiastic gentlemen - James Piecowye and Giorgio Ungania trying to pull-off a huge event, they can surely do with some help.

I sent in my details for the volunteers call. To my surprise, received an email from Habiba Hamid, someone I knew from Dubai Cares time and here she is, trying to contribute to social causes as always! Great, the good feeling started taking me hostage, something told me it’s gonna be big, huge!

Friday, 9th of October, the dry run for TEDxDubai. My first thought when I saw the Palladium was - this is no joke, it’s not some offline geek-get-together, these guys mean business! I entered the Palladium with one of the speakers and my inspiration - Masarat Daud and I saw a lot of friendly faces eager to help, eager to be a part of the revolution! Got our briefing as the volunteers, met the speakers and tada! - Let the show begin!

Big Day, 10-10-09, and couldn't have had a better start to the day than James telling me - "Look at this, people around the world stereotype Arab women and here, they sit behind these registration desks, eager to be the part of a change! Wonderful!!"

Went through the brief pep talks with fellow volunteers - Let's rock and roll! Everything was so perfectly managed that none of the volunteers even had to ask the organisers about anything at all! Saturday morning, up early, people started coming in and settling down!

Then comes the moment I have been waiting from past month or so. James starts with the humorous no-mobile-phones policy of TED! The two mandatory presentations from TED and Bruno Giussani, TED Europe director with his inaugural TEDxDubai talk!

Next were the TEDxDubai specific speakers. The total data available on the internet from evolution of mankind till 2003 - 5 Gigabytes and the data for the year 2008 alone - 487 Gigabytes, I surely don't know how to put it into context but I can understand the difference as a student of Mathematics! That’s amazing and it applies for the speaker also who presented this fact - Mohammad Gawdat.

The speakers were awesome, Leo Laporte and his signature style of mixing humor with reality, specially the 'Torches of Freedom' part, and so were Ian Gilbert, Ernst Van Der Poll and others.

Paul Bennett kept the audience interested with a very intriguing question - What is your dream for Dubai throwing back equally interesting replies!

Then came the rock stars of Dubai- the Al Awadhi Brothers or as the twiteratti call them- the Wild Peeta Bros! Entrepreneurship = Persistence, the words were so common yet when they were put together, it was a Eureka moment!

Dr. Naif Al Mutawa- a name I had never heard before, but one I will never forget. Frankly, my sense of religious understanding evolved manifolds after I heard him. The 99 - Hey, when's it releasing? Now this is someone trying to clear a lot of misunderstandings in the world through a relevant medium! He deserved the standing ovation he got after the world premiere of the trailer.

Frankly, it was only because of Masarat that I wanted to attend this conference and when I saw her entering the side stage from the green room, I could actually feel butterflies in my stomach. I have been telling here all the while she's gonna be fine, she doesn't have to prove anything to anyone and so on, but here I was praying myself, God, let's hope everything goes well. What she said & what she presented was summed-up by the standing ovation she got and by many attendees going up to her after the presentation with tearful eyes!

Samar Jodha and his passion to save the marginalised Buddhist community in Phaneng was evident in his work.

Then there was a 13 year old girl who wanted to win the Oscars (best wishes, you surely will). Dubai Abdulla Abulhoul was not just another 13 year old; she was the youngest animation film director in the Gulf Film Festival. After her presentation, almost everyone was convinced - age is just a number!!

The standup comic of Arab World Jamil Abu-Wardeh reminded everyone what they have sorely forgotten - laugh at yourselves first and to take responsibilities seriously and themselves! Then the face of modern Emirati women - Khulood Al Atiyat and her innovative way of binding people together - Unleash was another example of development of mindset in the UAE.

What began as a passing mention was a fulfilling experience; I was forced to reflect on something I had almost abandoned. NO, I AM GONNA DO IT, I AM GONNA MAKE IT HAPPEN, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES and as James summed it up, Let the discussions begin, start something new and finish it up in a month, let the spirit of TED live on!

P.S. I have been trying to work for the betterment of the construction labourers in Dubai from sometime. The group's called : The Help Humanity Foundation. After attending TEDxDubai, I am motivated to take the cause forward and will try all that I can to make their lives better. I need your help, please visit the website and learn how you can help!!

For someone who hasn't even heard of TED till a month back, to attend, in fact to be a part of TEDxDubai was an enlightening experience.

I precisely remember it started as a passing mention by Masarat Daud during my first meeting with her. I came back home not even vaguely remembering the name of organisation or event.A week passed and then I stumbled upon a red coloured pigeon on twitter - @TEDxDubai. I have a twitter id since 28th November, 2008 but was never really posting or what I now call Tweeting. Then after some mouse maneuvers, I landed on TEDxDubai website. Ahhhh, another offline event for the online community, doesn't interest me, though no harm in registering. So I clicked on a subsection titled 'Attend'. Downloads another page which looks like any other registration form vastly common for someone who had 8 email addresses when he was just 16.

But here I got the first good vibe for TEDxDubai! It wasn't a simple Name, Date of Birth, Email, Cell blah blah blah kinda form! The questions were simple yet clear like- why do you wanna attend TEDxDubai? To answer this, one would have to know what the event is about, so I went to the top right box in my browser window and typed TED and go! Google never disappoints you, on came a string of results in less than a second which eventually took me to official TED website. What I saw on the website was not what I expected. There were videos, videos of people, ordinary people who had their ideas of changing, impacting the world. I got so engrossed in the videos that I forgot the primary task in hand- to register for TEDxDubai! So, I went back to face the next question in the form- what's your idea to change the world? This wasn't really difficult, I had it in the back of my mind ever since I came to Dubai, so I fill that in, answered the other questions and submitted the form.

And then began the wait. The wait for an invitation to the event. Time passed and then came the first list of attendees. Only 30 attendees, I surely didn't expect to be the top 30, but still, I jumped in, checked the names out, not mine. Then came the next batch, not there, then the 3rd batch, again disappointed. Along came the Eid holidays. As everybody else, I was on road, in the desert, in a camp when I decided to switch on my BlackBerry, 4th and 5th batches released. Anxiousness, am I in? Am I gonna make it? Somehow the holidays passed and I came back to find my name in the 5th batch. I froze the video and kept starring at the screen, it’s my name!!! That's me! I got selected as an attendee! Great!!!!

Than came an announcement asking for help from volunteers. Okay, here are two enthusiastic gentlemen - James Piecowye and Giorgio Ungania trying to pull-off a huge event, they can surely do with some help.

I sent in my details for the volunteers call. To my surprise, received an email from Habiba Hamid, someone I knew from Dubai Cares time and here she is, trying to contribute to social causes as always! Great, the good feeling started taking me hostage, something told me it’s gonna be big, huge!

Friday, 9th of October, the dry run for TEDxDubai. My first thought when I saw the Palladium was - this is no joke, it’s not some offline geek-get-together, these guys mean business! I entered the Palladium with one of the speakers and my inspiration - Masarat Daud and I saw a lot of friendly faces eager to help, eager to be a part of the revolution! Got our briefing as the volunteers, met the speakers and tada! - Let the show begin!

Big Day, 10-10-09, and couldn't have had a better start to the day than James telling me - "Look at this, people around the world stereotype Arab women and here, they sit behind these registration desks, eager to be the part of a change! Wonderful!!"

Went through the brief pep talks with fellow volunteers - Let's rock and roll! Everything was so perfectly managed that none of the volunteers even had to ask the organisers about anything at all! Saturday morning, up early, people started coming in and settling down!

Then comes the moment I have been waiting from past month or so. James starts with the humorous no-mobile-phones policy of TED! The two mandatory presentations from TED and Bruno Giussani, TED Europe director with his inaugural TEDxDubai talk!

Next were the TEDxDubai specific speakers. The total data available on the internet from evolution of mankind till 2003 - 5 Gigabytes and the data for the year 2008 alone - 487 Gigabytes, I surely don't know how to put it into context but I can understand the difference as a student of Mathematics! That’s amazing and it applies for the speaker also who presented this fact - Mohammad Gawdat.

The speakers were awesome, Leo Laporte and his signature style of mixing humor with reality, specially the 'Torches of Freedom' part, and so were Ian Gilbert, Ernst Van Der Poll and others.

Paul Bennett kept the audience interested with a very intriguing question - What is your dream for Dubai throwing back equally interesting replies!

Then came the rock stars of Dubai- the Al Awadhi Brothers or as the twiteratti call them- the Wild Peeta Bros! Entrepreneurship = Persistence, the words were so common yet when they were put together, it was a Eureka moment!

Dr. Naif Al Mutawa- a name I had never heard before, but one I will never forget. Frankly, my sense of religious understanding evolved manifolds after I heard him. The 99 - Hey, when's it releasing? Now this is someone trying to clear a lot of misunderstandings in the world through a relevant medium! He deserved the standing ovation he got after the world premiere of the trailer.

Frankly, it was only because of Masarat that I wanted to attend this conference and when I saw her entering the side stage from the green room, I could actually feel butterflies in my stomach. I have been telling here all the while she's gonna be fine, she doesn't have to prove anything to anyone and so on, but here I was praying myself, God, let's hope everything goes well. What she said & what she presented was summed-up by the standing ovation she got and by many attendees going up to her after the presentation with tearful eyes!

Samar Jodha and his passion to save the marginalised Buddhist community in Phaneng was evident in his work.

Then there was a 13 year old girl who wanted to win the Oscars (best wishes, you surely will). Dubai Abdulla Abulhoul was not just another 13 year old; she was the youngest animation film director in the Gulf Film Festival. After her presentation, almost everyone was convinced - age is just a number!!

The standup comic of Arab World Jamil Abu-Wardeh reminded everyone what they have sorely forgotten - laugh at yourselves first and to take responsibilities seriously and themselves! Then the face of modern Emirati women - Khulood Al Atiyat and her innovative way of binding people together - Unleash was another example of development of mindset in the UAE.

What began as a passing mention was a fulfilling experience; I was forced to reflect on something I had almost abandoned. NO, I AM GONNA DO IT, I AM GONNA MAKE IT HAPPEN, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES and as James summed it up, Let the discussions begin, start something new and finish it up in a month, let the spirit of TED live on!

P.S. I have been trying to work for the betterment of the construction labourers in Dubai from sometime. The group's called : The Help Humanity Foundation. After attending TEDxDubai, I am motivated to take the cause forward and will try all that I can to make their lives better. I need your help, please visit the website and learn how you can help!!

It was London's big chance to pull the world out of the hole it has dig itself in. It was historic given the fact that the top 20 world leaders sat around a table, trying to find a solution, which wouldn't have been any where near possible 2 years back. Although they were split in opinions, but united in resolve. Though for better measures, they did achieve something atleast.

The IMF restructuring is a good sign, especially for countries like China and India. They have got the attention they deserved. Moreover the world have now realised that the pre second world war structures of financial institutions like IMF and World Bank needs a massive overhaul. The countries like China, India and Brazil, which were no where in the picture than, have overtaken many of the top 5 then. Its a good sign, perhaps the beginning of end of West's domination on world politics and policy formation.

There were calls for transparency in banking system of certain countries. The 18th century clandestine traditions of Swiss Banks have no place in the 21st century. Infact most of the countries would benefit beyond doubts if the Swiss Banks are exposed. Another co-related issue was of Tax Havens. The Tax Havens of world were named and shamed by OECD, in a clear message to the world- the black money will become defunct if not accounted for in future. This might perhaps prove to be the most significant achievement of London Summit, if implemented thoroughly.

Looking at country basis might perhaps be difficult, if not impossible, so i'll stick to the continents, for wider audience.

Africa got what it called for. US$ 6 Billion will be raised by the dilution of gold reserves of IMF. Perhaps the desperation and inability to put in more money by the wealthier nations resulted in am embarrassing consensus of doing away with the proud gold reserves of IMF. That said, the resourceful continent needs as many helping hands to get itself out of the terrible hole, dug by the mighty, but the poor are left inside to rot for life. It is the responsibility of all those countries who exploited Africa for years to get this continent out of trouble, but sadly, they got nothing, but a raw deal. US$ 6 Billion raised by gold reserve dilution might help perhaps a bustling city of Addis Ababa at the max, forget even the whole of Ethiopia, though its just a reference.

America's (In both horizontal hemispheres) doesn't deserve a mention here, solely because the culprit lies in close proximity with them and they stand beside him, even after the whole mess is created by it. Mexico's promise to borrow more from the World Bank won't do any good to many other countries, crying for help.

Asia, perhaps the mightiest as it might look. With China, Japan, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, looks like taking the charge for future calls of the International FI's. With huge foreign reserves and budget surpluses/controlled budget deficits, the next century will belong to only and only Asia. China have already over taken Germany and is in top 3 nations of world in GDP(PPP). The might of Asian countries and fall of European and American countries was correctly described by BBC saying - While the west will start contracting, China and India will still grow, perhaps at a slower pace. That itself is a huge statement.

Europe, pity, the over-reliance on US of A and low local demand, have done them in. Perhaps the biggest loser in recession game and might be the last one to get out of this hole. Sarkozy remained defiant in face of a very strong opposition (USA and UK), supported by the ever stubborn Merkel. Perhaps the NATO-affiliated countries are to be blamed partially for the slowdown in Europe. The huge sums to both wars, just on the wink of an eye by master, have resulted a huge hole in there pockets.

Australia, well, are they a continent? Even a passing mention won't do any good.

Conclusion? Well, simple, there are so many US dependent economies in the world, infact many of them US nourished and nurtured, that it will all depend on there master. If the US of A stops playing its dirty games, perhaps the world would be a better place to live. The 'first world' doesn't seem to be far from the 'second and third' after all.

It was London's big chance to pull the world out of the hole it has dig itself in. It was historic given the fact that the top 20 world leaders sat around a table, trying to find a solution, which wouldn't have been any where near possible 2 years back. Although they were split in opinions, but united in resolve. Though for better measures, they did achieve something atleast.

The IMF restructuring is a good sign, especially for countries like China and India. They have got the attention they deserved. Moreover the world have now realised that the pre second world war structures of financial institutions like IMF and World Bank needs a massive overhaul. The countries like China, India and Brazil, which were no where in the picture than, have overtaken many of the top 5 then. Its a good sign, perhaps the beginning of end of West's domination on world politics and policy formation.

There were calls for transparency in banking system of certain countries. The 18th century clandestine traditions of Swiss Banks have no place in the 21st century. Infact most of the countries would benefit beyond doubts if the Swiss Banks are exposed. Another co-related issue was of Tax Havens. The Tax Havens of world were named and shamed by OECD, in a clear message to the world- the black money will become defunct if not accounted for in future. This might perhaps prove to be the most significant achievement of London Summit, if implemented thoroughly.

Looking at country basis might perhaps be difficult, if not impossible, so i'll stick to the continents, for wider audience.

Africa got what it called for. US$ 6 Billion will be raised by the dilution of gold reserves of IMF. Perhaps the desperation and inability to put in more money by the wealthier nations resulted in am embarrassing consensus of doing away with the proud gold reserves of IMF. That said, the resourceful continent needs as many helping hands to get itself out of the terrible hole, dug by the mighty, but the poor are left inside to rot for life. It is the responsibility of all those countries who exploited Africa for years to get this continent out of trouble, but sadly, they got nothing, but a raw deal. US$ 6 Billion raised by gold reserve dilution might help perhaps a bustling city of Addis Ababa at the max, forget even the whole of Ethiopia, though its just a reference.

America's (In both horizontal hemispheres) doesn't deserve a mention here, solely because the culprit lies in close proximity with them and they stand beside him, even after the whole mess is created by it. Mexico's promise to borrow more from the World Bank won't do any good to many other countries, crying for help.

Asia, perhaps the mightiest as it might look. With China, Japan, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, looks like taking the charge for future calls of the International FI's. With huge foreign reserves and budget surpluses/controlled budget deficits, the next century will belong to only and only Asia. China have already over taken Germany and is in top 3 nations of world in GDP(PPP). The might of Asian countries and fall of European and American countries was correctly described by BBC saying - While the west will start contracting, China and India will still grow, perhaps at a slower pace. That itself is a huge statement.

Europe, pity, the over-reliance on US of A and low local demand, have done them in. Perhaps the biggest loser in recession game and might be the last one to get out of this hole. Sarkozy remained defiant in face of a very strong opposition (USA and UK), supported by the ever stubborn Merkel. Perhaps the NATO-affiliated countries are to be blamed partially for the slowdown in Europe. The huge sums to both wars, just on the wink of an eye by master, have resulted a huge hole in there pockets.

Australia, well, are they a continent? Even a passing mention won't do any good.

Conclusion? Well, simple, there are so many US dependent economies in the world, infact many of them US nourished and nurtured, that it will all depend on there master. If the US of A stops playing its dirty games, perhaps the world would be a better place to live. The 'first world' doesn't seem to be far from the 'second and third' after all.

From Buckingham Palace t0 10, Downing Street to ExCeL Centre, the metropolis of London is abuzz with the frenzied arrangements for the top 20 world leaders. The world is watching: Can London pull the world out of this fast developing depression? Can the 'G-2' (USA and China) emerge as the joint leaders of new age? What is developing at the ExCeL Centre today is a game of Monopoly and the big question is 'WHO PLAYS THE BANKER?'



All of us in the sane world have reached a common conclusion, this recession is the worst 'Made in USA' product. But there's the catch, its exported by demand, the choice always lies with the importer. The huge US budget deficit has done everyone in. Sarkozy put it bluntly, its made in America and its burning our homes and cities, atleast correct on his part. Asking for stricter regulation of Banks is no sin, specially to avoid any such crisis in future. So why is US & UK opposing it? Quite simple, these two always believed in splurging more to get out of the less - deficit. The French and German stand is crystal clear, the mess is created by US, it cannot run away from the responsibility to clean it up. Calls for collective deterrence will be heeded only if it involves major contribution from the US and its allies (Japan and Saudi Arabia), rather than asking from EU or China. Although China will most probably take this opportunity to stamp its financial clout on the world. Still keeping with its pride, the CNN called the meeting between Hu Jintao and Barrack Obama as the G-2. The answer is clear, the US wants China to bail out the world, which China will most probably do, strings attached. Although, the Chinese ambitions to replace US Dollars as de facto reserve currency of IMF won't do any good for the Trillions in its own vaults.



Another thorn in American collective ambitions is the issue of Tax Havens. The financial crisis made the governments realise that they can no longer turn blind eyes on the 'letter-box' companies in Liechtenstein and to the super-secretive banking system in Switzerland. But this issue might not be resolved as easily as it seems like. The problem- Many of the politicians are the major beneficiaries of the banking system of the Alpine nation. For a country like India, the return of money sitting in the ultra modern vaults of Swiss Banks will easily take it past all the major European economies, if not China. That will create a huge political turmoil in countries with high-red tapism or if unclaimed, will dramatically increase the per capita income. Thats not a bad idea to eradicate poverty in India. The same applies for the English and American hot shots who have all there black unamounted money sun-bathing in the Cayman Islands and Bahamas. These money, if not belonging to the Politicians, belongs to the major donors of the political parties in both US and UK.



The demand of developing nation, represented by Brazil, India and South Africa will be more funds for the emerging economies. Although the trio will perhaps see the period through, but remains fearful of the fact that many won't, without help from the West. The poor of the world shouldn't be made to pay for the mis-deeds of the filthy rich, this will be the motto of all three.



Africa, represented by Commission of the African Union, is clearly disappointed by the lack of resolve by the developed nations to help the continent. Instead of asking for a help, getting an assurance and given nothing, the African Union is asking for IMF's vast gold reserves to be diluted in part to help the fledgling ecomony of most African nations. Although seems highly unlikely, the resourceful continent is surely set to get a deal, exclusively for itself.



The summit, unlike other highest level meetings, is sure to deliver. And for a change, this time not for themselves, its for the world. The winner?? Only one as it stands, China is coming and world better watch out; RESPECT: it commands.

From Buckingham Palace t0 10, Downing Street to ExCeL Centre, the metropolis of London is abuzz with the frenzied arrangements for the top 20 world leaders. The world is watching: Can London pull the world out of this fast developing depression? Can the 'G-2' (USA and China) emerge as the joint leaders of new age? What is developing at the ExCeL Centre today is a game of Monopoly and the big question is 'WHO PLAYS THE BANKER?'



All of us in the sane world have reached a common conclusion, this recession is the worst 'Made in USA' product. But there's the catch, its exported by demand, the choice always lies with the importer. The huge US budget deficit has done everyone in. Sarkozy put it bluntly, its made in America and its burning our homes and cities, atleast correct on his part. Asking for stricter regulation of Banks is no sin, specially to avoid any such crisis in future. So why is US & UK opposing it? Quite simple, these two always believed in splurging more to get out of the less - deficit. The French and German stand is crystal clear, the mess is created by US, it cannot run away from the responsibility to clean it up. Calls for collective deterrence will be heeded only if it involves major contribution from the US and its allies (Japan and Saudi Arabia), rather than asking from EU or China. Although China will most probably take this opportunity to stamp its financial clout on the world. Still keeping with its pride, the CNN called the meeting between Hu Jintao and Barrack Obama as the G-2. The answer is clear, the US wants China to bail out the world, which China will most probably do, strings attached. Although, the Chinese ambitions to replace US Dollars as de facto reserve currency of IMF won't do any good for the Trillions in its own vaults.



Another thorn in American collective ambitions is the issue of Tax Havens. The financial crisis made the governments realise that they can no longer turn blind eyes on the 'letter-box' companies in Liechtenstein and to the super-secretive banking system in Switzerland. But this issue might not be resolved as easily as it seems like. The problem- Many of the politicians are the major beneficiaries of the banking system of the Alpine nation. For a country like India, the return of money sitting in the ultra modern vaults of Swiss Banks will easily take it past all the major European economies, if not China. That will create a huge political turmoil in countries with high-red tapism or if unclaimed, will dramatically increase the per capita income. Thats not a bad idea to eradicate poverty in India. The same applies for the English and American hot shots who have all there black unamounted money sun-bathing in the Cayman Islands and Bahamas. These money, if not belonging to the Politicians, belongs to the major donors of the political parties in both US and UK.



The demand of developing nation, represented by Brazil, India and South Africa will be more funds for the emerging economies. Although the trio will perhaps see the period through, but remains fearful of the fact that many won't, without help from the West. The poor of the world shouldn't be made to pay for the mis-deeds of the filthy rich, this will be the motto of all three.



Africa, represented by Commission of the African Union, is clearly disappointed by the lack of resolve by the developed nations to help the continent. Instead of asking for a help, getting an assurance and given nothing, the African Union is asking for IMF's vast gold reserves to be diluted in part to help the fledgling ecomony of most African nations. Although seems highly unlikely, the resourceful continent is surely set to get a deal, exclusively for itself.



The summit, unlike other highest level meetings, is sure to deliver. And for a change, this time not for themselves, its for the world. The winner?? Only one as it stands, China is coming and world better watch out; RESPECT: it commands.