Saudi Arabia proposes economic reforms

Saudi Arabia has run a massive fiscal deficit in 2015, due to low oil prices. Now the Saudi Finance Ministry has announced plans to reduce subsidies on energy, and investments to try to diversify the economy.

Deutsche Welle, 28 December 2015

On Monday in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance released a 10-page report summarizing the state of the Kingdom's finances and economy, with government budget figures and estimates for this fiscal year and next. The report shows a staggaring fiscal deficit of 367 Saudi riyals (SR) for FY 2015 (about $98 billion or 89 billion euros) - nearly 38 percent of the government's total expenditures.

"Oil revenues are expected to reach SR 444.5 billion, representing 73 percent of [the government's] total revenue" for FY 2015, the statement said, highlighting the petrostate's continued extreme dependence on oil exports.

A barrel of Brent crude was trading at $36.73 on Monday, down 3 percent on the day - an 11-year low. The last time the price of oil was anywhere near this low was for a brief time in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, and before that, in 2004.

Saudi F15 bombers at Khamis Mushayt
airbase in November, whence targets
in Yemen have been attacked

Total Saudi government revenues were estimated at SR 608 billion, of which non-oil revenues such as customs duties, investment dividends, and documents fees totaled SR 163.5 billion. While non-soil revenues remain a small part of the budget, they've increased 29 percent compared to FY 2014, the report said.

Over budget

"Actual expenditure for the current fiscal year is expected to reach SR 975 billion," or 13 percent more than had been budgeted, according to the finance ministry. It attributed much of the overspending to increased expenditures for military and civil service salaries.

A large, unexpected spending contingency arose beginning in March 2015, when Saudi Arabia embroiled itself in an expensive military intervention in neighboring Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, against members of a non-Sunni tribe, the Houthi, which had launched a successful rebellion against Yemen's contested government.

Running down savings

The Saudi central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), has plenty of money set aside for a rainy day - or more accurately, for a few years of deficit spending. It owns a vast stock of foreign currencies, deposits with banks abroad, and investments in foreign securities, much of it dollar-denominated.

The oil refinery at Ras Tanura
is Saudi Arabia's biggest

SAMA reported the total value of its assets at the end of November as SR 2,441,282 million (about $651 billion). That's a lot of money, but the finance ministry knows it can't carry on spending it down at the current rate of fiscal deficits for many more years. That means it has to start thinking about increasing non-oil revenues and cutting wasteful spending, since oil prices are not expected to recover soon.

Reforms planned

That's why the finance ministry outlined an ambitious set of economic, fiscal and structural reforms in its new report. In addition to collecting more revenue from sources other than oil sales, it aims to become more systematic about controlling government costs - both by increasing the efficiency of major project expenditures and by reining in the growth of wages, salaries and allowances.

The government says it intends to introduce policies over the next five years to "achieve wide structural reforms in the national economy and reduce its dependence on oil," the statement said. This will include a range of privatizations, and efforts to reduce red tape and improve transparency and accountability.

The government also plans to focus spending on development projects and programs that "serve the citizen directly," listing education, health, security, social and municipal services, water and sanitation, electricity, roads, electronic transactions, and scientific research as planned investment categories.

Taxes and subsidies

Saudi Arabia does not collect income taxes, since it takes in so much money from oil sales through the government-owned oil company that it has not felt the need to do so. But Monday's statement suggests that the finance ministry realizes that this cannot go on forever.

Yemen's Houthi tribe follows a version
 of Shiite Islam that many of Saudi Arabia's
 Wahabi Sunni preachers consider apostasy

The statement says the ministry will review current levels of fees and fines, introduce new fees, and complete "the necessary arrangements for the application of the value added tax (VAT)... in addition to... additional fees on harmful goods such as tobacco, soft drinks and the like."

So it appears there are still no income taxes planned, but the general concept of collecting taxes is making headway in Riyadh. The finance ministry also plans to establish a unit responsible for public debt management, in order to improve the Kingdom's ability to borrow both domestically and internationally, "thus contributing to the market for sukuk and local bonds," Monday's statement said.

Another significant category of reforms mentioned in the document is a review of subsidies, including "revision of energy, water, and electricity prices gradually over the next five years, in order to achieve efficiency in energy use, conserve natural resources, stop waste and irrational use."

It's a long overdue acknowledgment of the pernicious effects of supplying petrol and electricity nearly for free to Saudi residents, leading to notoriously wasteful habits such as leaving cars idling for extended periods with air conditioners on while people shop at the mall. Petrol in Saudi Arabia costs around 15 cents per liter - far too little to motivate conservation.

Dutch climate champion brings 'case for hope’ to Australia

Lawyers Weekly, Felicity Nelson, 24 July, 2015

     

Marjan Minnesma

The refreshing 'can do’ attitude of Marjan Minnesma goes a long way to explaining a momentous victory in the Dutch courts last month.

Ms Minnesma (pictured), director of the Urgenda Foundation, interrupted her holiday to deliver talks around Australia.

Urgenda (an NGO whose name combines the words “urgent” and “agenda”) made history in June when the District Court of The Hague ruled that the Dutch Government must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020.

The court found the government’s present target of 14-17 per cent by 2020 was unlawfully negligent.

Ms Minnesma said the case was viewed by the Dutch press as a publicity stunt and no one really believed Urgenda, together with the 886 plaintiffs they were representing, could actually win. 

“The reaction of most lawyers was, 'this is not possible’,” said Ms Minnesma, speaking at an event hosted by EDO NSW in Sydney this week.

Urgenda and its supporters marched to the courts to launch the case in November 2013 after engaging in polite correspondence with the government, as is required by Dutch law before civil proceedings.

“[We were essentially] just putting papers on a desk, but we were there with hundreds of people – children, balloons, everything,” Ms Minnesma said. “We had a lot of fun.”

Urgenda’s case was led by Roger Cox, a partner at the Dutch law firm Paulussen Advocaten and the author of Revolution Justified, which lays out the legal thinking behind the case.

The first meeting of the two parties took place in April this year.On June 24 the court was again packed with hundreds of people and more than 50 journalists to hear the verdict, which was handed down in Urgenda's favour.

“We were all dressed up in white,” Ms Minnesma said. “The people of the state were dressed all in black, so it was very easy to see who was good and who was bad,” she laughed.

“What I found very special was that the court had decided to translate everything in English,” said Ms Minnesma.

Holding the government to its own standards

The most remarkable aspect of this case is its relative simplicity from a legal perspective, according to Ms Minnesma.

“It is important for people to realise that this is civil law,” she said. “This is not environmental law or international law.”

The way the case was constructed meant that the legal team could draw on other parts of the law indirectly, while focusing on the government's duty of care of government.

“In duty of care there is a so-called ‘open norm’,” said Ms Minnesma.

Open norm allows duty of care to change over time, according to the standards of the era. This is known as the ‘reflex effect’.

It allows the court to judge action (or inaction) as lawful based on the various principles, treaties and bodies of knowledge that the government has already recognised.

“[The open norms] would be different in the 1800s than they would be now – I even think 15 years ago it would be difficult for us to fight this case,” said Ms Minnesma.

While the state has a lot of discretionary power, there is a minimum level of care that must be met to protect citizens, she said: “A government cannot do everything it likes.”

This minimum obligation is determined by what the government has already established itself, through treaties and policies.

“The judge is not inventing policies,” Ms Minnesma said. “It is only looking at what the government has declared itself up to now, what have they signed.”

The Netherlands is a signatory of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which produces a scientific report every five or seven years.

“The report is not from scientists alone,” Ms Minnesma said. “In the end, 195 countries sign it and say, ‘this is the body of knowledge that we acknowledge’.”

As the Dutch Government did not dispute the science in the most recent report in the case, the judge concluded that this was part of the accepted norms.

“The judge simply said 'well, you should now live up to your own principles. That is part of your duty of care’,” said Ms Minnesma.

Ms Minnesma said the arguments of the state were not very convincing: "I think the lawyers were not really very good. We were happy about that."

Changing the conversation

Ms Minnesma recalled the joyous moment that erupted in the courtroom when the decision was read out.

“There was yelling and crying and hugging and it was really a very strange court.

“[The news travelled] within an hour all over the world. I was surprised how quickly it went.

“There were so many people that called us to say they were crying in front of the TV.”

Since this “case for hope”, the media in The Netherlands have stopped focusing on whether climate change is real or not, she continued.

“Suddenly, climate change is a fact … and we are finally now acting on the solutions.”

The government has been ordered to pay Urgenda’s legal bills, estimated at €13,522, and (so long as an appeal is unsuccessful) the government will have to pay large fines to the NGO if it does not comply with the court ruling.

Urgenda supporters celebrate at the Hague after court ruling requiring Dutch

government to slash emissions. Photograph: Chantal Bekker/Urgenda

Related Article:

Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling

Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling

Dutch court orders state to reduce emissions by 25% within five years to protect its citizens from climate change in world’s first climate liability suit

The Guardian, Arthur Neslen, The Hague, Wednesday 24 June 2015

Urgenda supporters celebrate at the Hague after court ruling requiring Dutch
government to slash emissions. Photograph: Chantal Bekker/Urgenda

A court in The Hague has ordered the Dutch government to cut its emissions by at least 25% within five years, in a landmark ruling expected to cause ripples around the world.

To cheers and hoots from climate campaigners in court, three judges ruled that government plans to cut emissions by just 14-17% compared to 1990 levels by 2020 were unlawful, given the scale of the threat posed by climate change.

Jubilant campaigners said that governments preparing for the Paris climate summit later this year would now need to look over their shoulders for civil rights era-style legal challenges where emissions-cutting pledges are inadequate.

“Before this judgement, the only legal obligations on states were those they agreed among themselves in international treaties,” said Dennis van Berkel, legal counsel for Urgenda, the group that brought the suit.

“This is the first a time a court has determined that states have an independent legal obligation towards their citizens. That must inform the reduction commitments in Paris because if it doesn’t, they can expect pressure from courts in their own jurisdictions.”

In what was the first climate liability suit brought under human rights and tort law, Judge Hans Hofhuis told the court that the threat posed by global warming was severe and acknowledged by the Dutch government in international pacts.

“The state should not hide behind the argument that the solution to the global climate problem does not depend solely on Dutch efforts,” the judges’ ruling said. “Any reduction of emissions contributes to the prevention of dangerous climate change and as a developed country the Netherlands should take the lead in this.”

After a legal campaign that took two and a half years to get to its first hearing in April, normally dispassionate lawyers were visibly moved by the judge’s words. “As the verdict was being read out, I actually had tears in my eyes,” Roger Cox, Urgenda’s lead advocate, told the Guardian. “It was an emotional moment.”

Young activists in court said that the ruling had gone some way to restoring Dutch national pride, which has been dented as Denmark, Germany and even the UK overtook the Netherlands, once seen as a European climate leader, in the green economy race.

The Dutch Socialist party MP Eric Smaling cautioned though that “some people will feel proud but others are more unhappy about the influx of refugees. So far climate action has too much been the last baby of a relatively leftist elite.” He called for a wide coalition to spread the climate action message before elections in early 2017.

The Dutch government has not decided whether to appeal the court’s decision yet, but opposition politicians are steeling themselves for the prospect.

Stientje Van Veldhoven, an MP and spokesperson for the D66 Liberal opposition in parliament noted that the government had yielded to a comparable, if more limited, ruling ending gas extraction in part of the giant Groningen gas fields earlier this year.

“The government has never ignored a court ruling like this one before, but there has never been a ruling like this before either,” she said. “Everybody has a right to appeal.” Veldhoven has requested a parliamentary debate on Wednesday’s court ruling.

In a statement on behalf of prime minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet, the Dutch environment minister Wilma Mansfeld said that the government’s strategy was to implement EU-wide and international agreements.

“We and Urgenda share the same goal,” Mansfeld said. “We just hold different opinions regarding the manner in which to attain this goal. We will now examine what this ruling means for the Dutch state.”

Some 886 plaintiffs organised by Urgenda had accused the Dutch government of negligence for “knowingly contributing” to a breach of the 2C maximum target for global warming.

Their legal arguments rested on axioms forbidding states from polluting to the extent that they damage other states, and the EU’s ‘precautionary principle’ which prohibits actions that carry unknown but potentially severe risks.

A UN climate secretariat article obliging states to do whatever is necessary to prevent dangerous climate change was also cited. So was the UN climate science panel’s 2007 assessment of the reductions in carbon dioxide needed to have a 50% chance of containing global warming to 2C.

Several legal sources said that ideas outlined in the Oslo principles for climate change obligations, launched in the Guardian in March, appeared to have been influential in the judge’s reasoning.

James Thornton, the chief executive of the environmental law group ClientEarth, hailed what he said had been a “courageous and visionary” ruling, that would shape the playing field for future suits.

“There are moments in history when only courts can address overwhelming problems. In the past it has been issues like discrimination. Climate change is our overwhelming problem and this court has addressed it. The Dutch court’s ruling should encourage courts around the world to tackle climate change now.”

Serge de Gheldere, the president of Klimaat Zaak, which is pursuing an almost identical case to Urgenda’s in Belgium said: “This gives us a lot of hope as it sets an incredible precedent. The government in Belgium will take a lot of notice of whats happened here today. This could be the first stone that sets an avalanche in motion.”

Professor Pier Vellinga, Urgenda’s chairman and the originator of the 2C target in 1989 said that the breakthrough judgement would have a massive impact. “The ruling is of enormous significance, and beyond our expectations,” he said.

The court also ordered the government to pay all of Urgenda’s costs.

Related Articles:

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More than 10,000 people call on Dutch pension fund to divest from fossil fuels

Pope urges world to act before climate change destroys planet

G7 leaders agree to phase out fossil fuel use by end of century

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet.

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”

Xi stresses Marxist approach to deepening reforms

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-01-25

Chinese President Xi Jinping. (File photo/Xinhua)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed dialectical materialism as a way to deepen reform.

Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a meeting attended by members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday.

Xi recalled that in 2013, the bureau convened for a meeting on historical materialism, and said "studying dialectical materialism and historical materialism will help CPC members get better understanding of Marxist philosophy."

Xi reiterated that China will remain at the primary stage of socialism for a long time to come. Through 30 years of reform and opening up, China has made historic breakthroughs in productivity, comprehensive national strength and people's living standards, but the situation and challenges both domestically and abroad are changing.

"We should grasp new traits in new phases of development, and stipulate guidelines in accordance with reality," Xi said, adding ideology should be the heart of the Party.

All CPC members, Xi said, should value ideological work and promote "core socialist values," taking a direct and positive attitude toward contradictions in development.

China should not be judged by GDP alone, said the president. China should be judged by its transition in economic development, restructuring, dissolution of overcapacity and by the strength of the nation's commitment to an ecological society.

In a complicated situation with many heavy tasks, the CPC should take a holistic view, completing construction of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, ruling the country by law and running the Party strictly.

Dialectical methods can deal with complex problems, and make strategic decisions by avoiding disadvantages. "Experience is the best teacher," Xi said.

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"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader. Remember where you heard it... in a strange, esoteric meeting with a guy in a chair pretending to channel. [Kryon being factious... Kryon humor] Then when you hear it, you'll know better, won't you? "Maybe there was something really there," you'll say. "Maybe it was real," you'll say. Perhaps you can skip all the drama of the years to come and consider that now? [Kryon humor again]

These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes. .."

".. Many years ago, the prevailing thought was that nobody should consider China as a viable player on the economic stage. They were backward, filled with a system that would never be westernized, and had no wish to become joined with the rest of the world's economic systems. Look what has happened in only 30 years. Now, look at Africa differently …”

"The Time Capsule of Gaia" – Feb 9, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“…  Tesla the Man

There was a point in time when humanity almost stumbled, by the way. You were having a hard time with electricity. So a man came along who was way ahead of his time and was available and his name was Nikola Tesla. He gave you a principle that today you call alternating current. Dear ones, I challenge you to understand this principle. Most of you can't, because it is not in 3D. The attributes are still considered "genius-level thinking" to this day. The whole idea of the kind of electricity you use today comes from this man's quantum mind.

That was all he was allowed to do. Tesla himself was a kind of time capsule, delivered at the right time. He had more, but alternating current was all that was allowed to be given to the planet at that time. Oh, he tried to give you more. He knew there were other things, but nothing was able to be developed. If I told you what else he had discovered, you might not be aware of it at all, since it was never allowed to get out of the box. Earth was not ready for it.

Tesla discovered massless objects. He could alter the mass of atomic structure using designer magnetics, but he never could control it. He had objects fly off his workbench and hit the ceiling, but he couldn't duplicate or control it. It just wasn't time yet. Do you know what else he was known for? It was seemingly the failure of the transmission of electricity. However, he didn't fail at all.

There are pictures of his tower, but every time a Human Being sees a tower, there is a biased assumption that something is going to be broadcast through the air. But in the case of Tesla, he had figured out how to broadcast electricity through the ground. You need towers for that because they have to pick up the magnetics within the ground in a certain way to broadcast them and then collect them again from the nodes of the planet's magnetic grid system. We talked about this before. He was utilizing the grid of the planet that is in the earth itself! He was on the edge of showing that you could use the whole grid of the planet magnetically to broadcast electricity and pick it up where you need it, safely, with no wires. But the earth was not ready for it.

Tesla died a broken man, filled with ideas that would have brought peace to planet Earth, but he was simply not allowed to give any of them to you.

Now I'll tell you why he was stopped, dear ones, and it's the first time we have ever told you – because these inventions were too easy to weaponize. Humanity just isn't ready for it. You're not ready for massless objects, either, for the principles are too easy to weaponize.

"So," you might say, "when will we be ready for it?" I think you already know the answer, don't you? At the time when Human consciousness reaches a point where that which is most important is unification and not separation, it will happen. A point where conquering and power are not desirable ideas or assets. A point where humanity will measure the strength of its population by how healthy they are and not by economic growth. A point where coming together with your neighbor is the main objective to social consciousness, and not conquering them or eliminating them. That's coming, dear ones. It's a ways away, but it's coming. Look around the planet at the moment. The old energy leaders are obvious, are they not? It's like they are relics in a world of thinking that is passing them by.  ….”

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Protests as traditional chiefs linked to landgrab

Villagers in Cameroon have filed a petition to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights protesting the alleged seizure of over 100,000 hectares of land by influential traditional leaders.

Deutsche Welle, 31 Oct 2014

In the office of Cameroon's National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, a villager from South West of Cameroon is shouting at the top of his voice. He has come here to complain that chief of Bokwai village in South West Cameroon has seized and sold about 100,000 hectares of land that was ceded to them, a claim that the Chief Kaka Rudolph Mosoke disputes. "It is not true. We were given 11 hectares of land. We came out with about 190 plots and we gave it to families inside the whole village," said Chief Mosoke.

There was not enough land for everyone, Mosoke said, "We promised that when we have other lands we will give it to those who did not have." The land in question was formerly occupied by German colonial masters and then later by the British. After independence the government of Cameroon took it over and created an agro-enterprise called the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). 40 years later, the CDC handed over the land to the traditional leaders to distribute to the people.

Villagers in South West Camaroon are determined to fight against landgrab

Land not for sale

But local residents believe that the chiefs, who were supposed to distribute the land to the villagers, have been selling it instead. "Administrative officials have taken that land from the people and are selling to individuals who are not indigenes of Fako Division," said Lyonga Marty, a local citizen. "Some administrative officials are grabbing and they are making enormous sums of money," she complained.

Bokwai villagers for whom the land was intended, have now forwarded the issue to Cameroon's Commission on Human Rights and Freedom. Christopher Tambe Tiku, who is an official with the commission in South West Cameroon says they will investigate the matter and recover the peoples land. "Land which is a subject of surrender from CDC can not be the subject of any sale. It is for people who have need for it but were never given the opportunity because the land had been sold," said Tambe Tiku and vowed to investigate the matter and recover the land. "The chiefs are mere trustees holding community land for the benefit of their respective subjects and therefore they have no such power to give or to sale land meant for the various communities," Tambe Tiku said.

Rights organizations in the country have vowed to deal with the matter
and recover the land

Investigation in progress

Following pressure from the national human rights commission and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in Banjul, the government of Cameroon has now set up a commission to probe the land seizure. Fritz Nassako, secretary general in Cameroon's ministry of state property, land tenure and survey, is also a traditional ruler in the area. "It is being investigated. We suspended all transactions on formerly surrendered land, but this suspension does not mean that we have stopped working," Nassako said. The struggle to recover the land continues with street demonstrations.

Beijing pilots expanded property rights for farmers

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-10-20

A happy corn farmer in Changchun, Jilin province. (File photo/Xinhua)

China will pilot a set of reforms aimed at giving farmers greater property rights to allow them to enjoy more benefits of the country's urbanization drive.

In an interview with Xinhua on Saturday, vice minister of agriculture Chen Xiaohua said the pilot plan, recently approved by the central authorities, will explore diversified forms of collective ownership of rural land to better protect the interests of farmers.

In China, urban land is owned by the state and rural land is normally under collective ownership. While gradual reforms since the 1980s saw the trading of urban land evolve into a robust property market, land in the countryside has remained largely static as farmers generally have the right to use the land but cannot directly trade or mortgage it.

This scenario has put farmers in a vulnerable position and a key reform meeting last year pledged to gradually change the situation.

While implementing the most strict policies to protect arable land, the country will grant farmers rights to possess, use, benefit from and transfer their contracted land, as well as the right to use land ownership as collateral or a guarantee, said a document released after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee held last November.

As a follow-up to the document, the latest policy specified procedures to allow farmers to transform their collective rights into a shareholding system.

Chen said the key is to accelerate registration and confirmation of land rights. China started a pilot registration program in 2008, and the country aims to roll out the scheme nationwide in 2015.

Meanwhile, China will actively grant farmers the right to possess and benefit from their contracted land, allow them to give up or inherit land use rights under certain conditions, as well as cautiously roll out experiments on the leasing and mortgaging of the rights, according to Chen.

Giving consideration to the differentiated conditions in east, central and west China, authorities will select several counties to pilot the reforms and aim to complete the work by the end of 2017.

Taiwan committed to developing renewable energy: President Ma

Want China Times, CNA 2014-09-01

Ma Ying-jeou speaks at the Youth Policy Forum in Taipei, Aug. 31.
(File photo/Fang Chun-che)

President Ma Ying-jeou reiterated Sunday that Taiwan remains committed to the development of renewable energy and will continue pursuing new energy resources.

"This is an era when people should not give up any energy options," Ma said, speaking before the national conference of the annual Youth Policy Forum held by the Ministry of Education. "Taiwan must spare no efforts to develop renewable energy," he said.

Ma added that Taiwan must determine what combination of energy resources are best for Taiwan and have the public's support.

He also said that the nation's renewable energy policy often faces a dilemma, since plans to build renewable energy-generating systems on land draw opposition from farmers, while creating sea-based power generation results in objections from fishermen.

Therefore, he has found that for a renewable energy development plan to be successful, the developer should first try to learn what local residents want and sign a mutually-beneficial agreement with local communities, Ma said.

In Taiwan, wind and solar energy are the main sources of renewable energy. The installed capacity of renewable energy-generated electricity accounted for 8.7% of the total, as of the end of 2013, according to the state-run Taiwan Power Company.

More than 300 young people attended the Sunday national conference of the Youth Policy Forum, for discussions on various issues ranging from culture, education and environmental protection to international and social matters.

Related Article:

Food banks in Taiwan launch alliance to share resources

Food banks in Taiwan launch alliance to share resources

Want China Times, CNA 2014-08-30

Food provided by 1919 Food Bank. (Photo/Kuo Chia-jung)

Six food banks in Taiwan launched an alliance in Taipei Thursday to share their resources and logistics more effectively and to push for legislation that encourages donations to food banks.

The founding of the Cozy Food Bank Alliance in Taiwan is aimed at "saying no to wasting resources," the alliance said in a statement.

Its members include the Taiwan People's Food Bank Association, the 1919 Food Bank, the Andrew Food Bank, the Chinese Youth Peace Corps Food Bank, the Southern Airport's Jen Ji Shiang Food Bank and the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China's Taichung branch, which operates a food bank in the central municipality.

"We hope to send the supplies to people in need in the fastest and most efficient way," Lawrence Liu, president of the Taiwan People's Food Bank Association and the first secretary-general of the alliance, said at a press conference.

Members of the alliance will share resources, information and logistics with each other, and cooperate in disaster relief assistance, community development and care services, Liu said.

They will also push for legislation that gives tax breaks to individuals and companies that donate to food banks, allows food banks or the public to purchase excess farm produce at discounted prices to give to the needy, and better ensure the safety of the food being distributed, Liu said.

He said Taiwan wastes 2.75 million tons of food each year, enough to feed 260,000 low-income households for 20 years.

Anthony Kitchen, manager of network programs with the US-based Global FoodBanking Network, stressed that food banks create a "win-win" situation for all involved.

In addition to helping people in need, food banks benefit businesses and organizations that have a problem with surplus food, which could otherwise cost time and money to deal with, he said at the press conference.

A food bank collects and distributes surplus food to people too impoverished to adequately feed themselves and their families. The first food bank was established in the United States in 1967.

The Taiwan People's Food Bank Association became the 24th member of the Global FoodBanking Network in 2012.

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First 'boycott tomatoes' arrive at Dutch food banks

'Tokyo should no longer be inhabited,' Japanese doctor warns residents regarding radiation

Natural News, David Gutierrez, staff writer, July 21, 2014

Tokyo City View Buildings Roads

(NaturalNews) In an essay addressed to his colleagues, Japanese doctor Shigeru Mita has explained why he recently moved away from Tokyo to restart his practice in western Japan: He believes that Tokyo is no longer safe to inhabit due to radioactive contamination caused by the March 11, 2011, meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The essay, titled "Why did I leave Tokyo?" was published in the newsletter of the Association of Doctors in Kodaira, metropolitan Tokyo.

Soil tests prove contamination

Dr. Mita opens his essay by contextualizing his decision to leave, noting that he had a long history as a doctor in Tokyo.

"I closed the clinic in March 2014, which had served the community of Kodaira for more than 50 years, since my father's generation, and I have started a new Mita clinic in Okayama-city on April 21," he wrote.

Dr. Mita notes that, for the past 10 years, he had been working to persuade the municipal government of Tokyo to stock iodine pills to distribute to the population in the case of a nuclear accident. Dr. Mita's concern had been that an earthquake might trigger a meltdown at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant. All of his requests were rejected, however, under the excuse that there was no reason to expect such an accident.

When the disaster did occur -- albeit at a different plant than Dr. Mita had feared -- Tokyo did not act to protect its population, and still has taken no measures. Yet, based on soil surveys, Dr. Mita noted, "It is clear that Eastern Japan and Metropolitan Tokyo have been contaminated with radiation."

Dr. Mita compares radioactive contamination of the soil (measured in becquerels per kilogram, Bq/kg) in various parts of Tokyo with that observed in various portions of Europe following the Chernobyl disaster.

Prior to 2011, Shinjuku (the region of Tokyo that houses the municipal government) tested at only 0.5-1.5 Bq/kg. Today, levels at nearby Kodaira are at 200-300 Bq/kg.

"Within the 23 districts of Metropolitan Tokyo, contamination in the east part is 1000-4000 Bq/kg and the west part is 300-1000 Bq/kg," Dr. Mita wrote.

For comparison, Kiev (capital of the Ukraine) has soil tested at 500 Bq/kg (Cs-137 only). Following the Chernobyl accident, West Germany and Italy reported levels of 90-100 Bq/kg, and both experienced measurable health effects on their populations.

Dr. Mita notes that the radiation situation in Tokyo is getting worse, not better, due to urban practices of concentrating solid waste in small areas such as municipal dumps and sewage plants. That is why, he says, radiation levels in Tokyo riverbeds have actually been increasing over the prior two years.

"Tokyo should no longer be inhabited, and... those who insist on living in Tokyo must take regular breaks in safer areas," Dr. Mita writes. "Issues such as depopulation and state decline continue to burden the lives of second and third generation Ukrainians and Belarusians today, and I fear that this may be the future of Eastern Japan."

Patients showing radiation-induced sickness

Dr. Mita's essay also chronicles the many cases he has observed of patients presenting with radiation-induced health problems. He notes that, since 2011, he has observed while blood cell counts declining in children under the age of 10, including in children under one year old. In all of these cases, symptoms typically improve if the children move to western Japan. He has similarly observed persistent respiratory symptoms that improve in patients who move away.

Other patients have shown symptoms including "nosebleed, hair loss, lack of energy, subcutaneous bleeding, visible urinary hemorrhage, skin inflammations, coughs and various other non-specific symptoms." He also notes high occurrences of rheumatic muscle symptoms similar to those observed following the Chernobyl disaster.

"Ever since 3.11, everybody living in Eastern Japan including Tokyo is a victim, and everybody is involved," he wrote.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.save-children-from-radiation.org

http://science.naturalnews.com

Japanese farmers bring a cow to the front of the agriculture
ministry in Tokyo, on June 20, 2014

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Angry Japan farmers bring Fukushima cow to Tokyo

"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution and a warning about nuclear  (> 20 Min)

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”