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[1] From: rkurian@bgl.vsnl.net.in Date: Mon Mar 6, 2006 Subject: A Dream Come True for Indian Americans? Monday, March 06, 2006 National Network Nuclear deal: A dream come true for the Indian-Americans LALIT K JHA New York, March 5 "It is a dream come true for all of us that President George W Bush's trip has opened doors for new Indo-US relations. Many have compared his trip to Nixon's first trip to China, and I tend to agree," sums up Sampat Shivangi, one of the few Indian-Americans with access to the White House under the Bush regime. He is among the many Indians here who have for long been working behind the scenes to see this day. Sampat and others like him have been tireless in their efforts, lobbying hard for a better and improved relationship between the two countries. The result is there for all to see. "We were all preparing for this day. Now there will be no looking back." he said. The President acknowledged the Indian-Americans' contribution in his various speeches and interviews before and during his visit to India. Bush highlighted the community's contribution, both in building bridges between the nations and towards the development of the US. A section of the community was initially unhappy when told that, unlike Bill Clinton's visit in 2000, none of them would be on board the Air Force One to India. Now, they say the visit has exceeded their expectations. Applauding the civil nuclear deal, Sanjay Puri of the US Indian Political Action Committee (USINPAC) termed it a historic step for both. For the past eight months, USINPAC has aggressively worked to get key members of the Congress on board. "We will not rest until this agreement is signed into law," he said. The USINPAC has been working with members of the House and Senate International and Foreign Relations Committees which have broad jurisdiction for examining the provisions of this agreement. The results have been positive, he said. Quite a few Indian organisations and individuals have started writing letters to Congressmen urging them to support the nuke deal when it comes for approval. Indian American Forum for Political Education said it will use its contacts with lawmakers in the Congress to help pass the Bill supporting the transfer of civilian nuclear technology to India. Its president, Nilesh Mehta, urged all Indians to contact their local US House representative and Senator to support the Bill. Thomas Abraham, chairman of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, said the new ties will bring better things for people in India and America. URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=89071 --------------------------- [2] From: "C.K. Vishwanath" <ck_vishwanath2000@yahoo.com> Date: Mon Mar 6, 2006 Subject: Re: [RisingIndia] Mercy killing: Ray of hope for TN boy india's case is a total neglect of it's citizens' health.it's a criminal offence.indian business class has never paid it's tax properly.in india,the social darwinism is the policy of the state. --- "D.D." <hermanngoe@yahoo.com> wrote: > - the other side of the story; the danger of > legalizing euthansia in a poor country such as India > WITHOUT PROPER SAFEGUARDS. > > What the Indo-Pak governments spend on the Siachen > Glacier Dispute on a day-t-day basis alone would > probably be enough to save the poor boy's life. All > the more reason for both governments to either sit > down at the negotiating table and solve their > problems or for India to finish what it started in > 1971 completely. > > sincerely, > d.d. > ---------------- > > Mercy killing: Ray of hope for TN boy > > --------------------------------- > > > Sam Daniel > > Saturday, February 25, 2006 (Chennai): > > > A 16-year-old boy in Tamil Nadu sought a court's > permission for mercy killing or euthanasia. > > Surya Prakash told the Dindigul district court that > his poor parents had no money for his treatment. > > Following an accident, his hemoglobin count went > down and he required frequent blood transfusion. > > His condition worsened further, and needed at least > two transfusions a month, which his father could not > afford. > > Expensive treatment > > Even though it was a battle between life and death, > philanthropists failed to respond. And the family > says it was left with no option but to seek > permission to end Surya's life. > > "In government hospitals they provide only temporary > relief. I can't afford treatment in private > hospitals. And if I do something I will be guilty of > murder," explained Muthu Pandi, Surya's father. > > Fortunately, there is some ray of hope for Surya > now, as a Chennai hospital has come forward to treat > him free of cost. > > Following overwhelming public support, a corpus fund > is being established to take care of his life long > treatment. "Now I want to recover and live," said > Surya. > > While this has brought a smile on the face of a > young boy, thousands of poor people with congenital > diseases suffer in silence. In fact most of them die > quietly as they cannot afford quality treatment. > > On their part, doctors want the government to > enumerate such cases across the country for a > concerted effort to save the lives of similar poor > patients. > ---------------------- [3] From: rkurian@bgl.vsnl.net.in Date: Mon Mar 6, 2006 Subject: Threat to Third World farmers.. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article349331.ece from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday 6 March 2006 18:12 Ministers back 'terminator' GM crops Website reveals plan to scrap prohibition on seeds that threaten Third World farmers with hunger By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor Published: 05 March 2006 Ministers are trying to scrap an international agreement banning the world's most controversial genetic modification of crops, grimly nicknamed "terminator technology", a move which threatens to increase hunger in the Third World. Their plans, unveiled in a new official document buried in a government website, will cause outrage among environmentalists and hunger campaigners. Michael Meacher, who took a lead as environment minister in negotiating the ban six years ago, has written Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for the Environment, to object. The Government is to push for terminator crops to be considered for approval on a "case-by-case basis" at two meetings this month; its position closely mirrors the stance of the United States and other GM-promoting countries. Terminator technology, so abominated even Monsanto will not develop it, would stop hundreds of millions of poor farmers from saving seeds from their crops for resowing for the following harvest, forcing them to buy new ones from biotech companies every year. More than 1.4 billion poor Third World farmers and their families pursue the age-old practice. The technique is officially known as genetic use restriction technology (Gurt), making crops produce sterile seeds. It could be applied to any crop, including maize and rice, widely grown in developing countries. The UK working group on terminator technology, a coalition of 10 British environment and development groups, says: "It could destroy traditional farming methods, damage farmers' livelihoods and threaten food security, particularly in developing countries." In 2000, the world's governments imposed a de facto moratorium on developing, or even testing, the technology under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, an agreement largely brokered by Britain under Mr Meacher's leadership. But pro-GM nations such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, largely orchestrated by the US, have been pressing for the moratorium to be lifted, and for Gurt crops to be approved after "case-by-case risk assessment". They, and biotech companies, claim the technology is a green solution to a serious drawback of GM crops, the way their genes spread, through pollen, to create superweeds and contaminate conventional and organic crops. But environmentalists say this is an illusion because terminator plants will still produce pollen, and their genes would pose a particular hazard by threatening to make non-GM sterile as well. Yet ministers have refused to meet environmental groups to discuss their policy and failed publicise their position, posted two weeks ago on the website of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Britain will be pushing for this approach first at a meeting of EU ministers on Thursday, then at a meeting of the convention in Brazil in two weeks. Mr Meacher said: "For the first time in the history of the world, farmers would be stopped from using their own seeds. This would undermine food production and cause starvation." How it works: Sowing the seeds of starvation Gurts may be an ugly acronym, but environmentalists believe that the genetic use restrictions technologies they stand for are even uglier. There are two types: v-GURTS, called terminator technology. Developed by the US Department of Agriculture and the Delta Pine and Land Co, it makes seeds sterile so they cannot be cropped and resown. Before they are sold, seeds are treated with a compound which activates a gene introduced into the plant from bacteria. The gene allows the crop to be grown normally, but takes charge just as it becomes ready for harvesting and stops its seeds from manufacturing any of the protein it needs for germination. t-GURTS, dubbed traitor technology. These are linked to a particular trait of a plant such as good growth , germination and other desirable characteristics. The genes governing these can be activated only when the plant is sprayed with a proprietory chemical, which is sold separately. Big biotech companies want to make the plants dependent on their own chemicals so they can make profits by selling first the seed, then the chemical needed to make it work properly. Ministers are trying to scrap an international agreement banning the world's most controversial genetic modification of crops, grimly nicknamed "terminator technology", a move which threatens to increase hunger in the Third World. Their plans, unveiled in a new official document buried in a government website, will cause outrage among environmentalists and hunger campaigners. Michael Meacher, who took a lead as environment minister in negotiating the ban six years ago, has written Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for the Environment, to object. The Government is to push for terminator crops to be considered for approval on a "case-by-case basis" at two meetings this month; its position closely mirrors the stance of the United States and other GM-promoting countries. Terminator technology, so abominated even Monsanto will not develop it, would stop hundreds of millions of poor farmers from saving seeds from their crops for resowing for the following harvest, forcing them to buy new ones from biotech companies every year. More than 1.4 billion poor Third World farmers and their families pursue the age-old practice. The technique is officially known as genetic use restriction technology (Gurt), making crops produce sterile seeds. It could be applied to any crop, including maize and rice, widely grown in developing countries. The UK working group on terminator technology, a coalition of 10 British environment and development groups, says: "It could destroy traditional farming methods, damage farmers' livelihoods and threaten food security, particularly in developing countries." In 2000, the world's governments imposed a de facto moratorium on developing, or even testing, the technology under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, an agreement largely brokered by Britain under Mr Meacher's leadership. But pro-GM nations such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, largely orchestrated by the US, have been pressing for the moratorium to be lifted, and for Gurt crops to be approved after "case-by-case risk assessment". They, and biotech companies, claim the technology is a green solution to a serious drawback of GM crops, the way their genes spread, through pollen, to create superweeds and contaminate conventional and organic crops. But environmentalists say this is an illusion because terminator plants will still produce pollen, and their genes would pose a particular hazard by threatening to make non-GM sterile as well. Yet ministers have refused to meet environmental groups to discuss their policy and failed publicise their position, posted two weeks ago on the website of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Britain will be pushing for this approach first at a meeting of EU ministers on Thursday, then at a meeting of the convention in Brazil in two weeks. Mr Meacher said: "For the first time in the history of the world, farmers would be stopped from using their own seeds. This would undermine food production and cause starvation." How it works: Sowing the seeds of starvation Gurts may be an ugly acronym, but environmentalists believe that the genetic use restrictions technologies they stand for are even uglier. There are two types: v-GURTS, called terminator technology. Developed by the US Department of Agriculture and the Delta Pine and Land Co, it makes seeds sterile so they cannot be cropped and resown. Before they are sold, seeds are treated with a compound which activates a gene introduced into the plant from bacteria. The gene allows the crop to be grown normally, but takes charge just as it becomes ready for harvesting and stops its seeds from manufacturing any of the protein it needs for germination. t-GURTS, dubbed traitor technology. These are linked to a particular trait of a plant such as good growth , germination and other desirable characteristics. The genes governing these can be activated only when the plant is sprayed with a proprietory chemical, which is sold separately. Big biotech companies want to make the plants dependent on their own chemicals so they can make profits by selling first the seed, then the chemical needed to make it work properly. |
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