To all of my blog followers may you all have a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year 2012.

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"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."- Roy L. Smith

Press Release: Pro-Zuma Supporters Physically Attack Civil Society at Durban Townhall Meeting on Climate Change

President Zuma watches as Supporters Assault Peaceful Demonstrators
Twenty minutes ago and in a meeting designed for engagement between President Zuma and communities & civil society, violence broke out when peaceful civil society demonstrators silently held up signs asking “Zuma to stand with Africa”. Pro-Zuma supporters, many wearing the uniforms of COP17 volunteers then attacked the demonstrators in an act of mob violence.
Demonstrators were roughed up and some had to flee the hall.
While all of this went on, President Zuma sat up on the podium and remained quiet. Furthermore, it took nearly ten minutes before police entered the hall to restore order.
Siziwe Khanyile of groundWork states, “This was our event, organised to communicate with President Zuma. We were then abused, kicked out, robbed, and manhandled by Zuma supporters disguised as COP17 volunteers.”
Tristen Taylor of Earthlife Africa Jhb states, “This was a terrible display of mob violence that aim to suppress the democratic rights of citizens of this country. It happened in front of the President of this country, and disgraces this country in front of the eyes of the world at time when we should be solving the problem of climate change.”

source:www.earthlife.org.za

C17 Civil Society Committee for COP17

In January 2011, a civil society committee (C17) was established to coordinate civil society activities during the COP.

C17 intends to establish an alternative civil society space (The People's Space) to serve as an open and inclusive civil society venue providing the base for organisations to network and define their own responses to COP17. This gun-free zone, promoting non-violence, provides a secure venue in which people's rights to free speech and assembly are sacrosanct.

The People's Space provides an autonomous location in which civil society can meet, organise and socialise. Participating organisations can decide their own agendas and plan their own events including:

• Seminars, workshops, conferences and discussions;
• Organisational or movement caucuses;
• Music and entertainment;
• High profile public events;
• Mobilisation rallies.

Participants are invited to bring their issue/event to Durban and use the space as an opportunity to build solidarity and a movement that will lead us into the next phase of the climate justice struggle.

When will The People's Space be available?

The People's Space is being planned for 26 November to 12 December, 2011, and is intended to host a wide range of national and international civil society events. Civil society representatives at COP17 are likely to arrive during the weekend of 25-27 November 2011 with a significant peak around the Global Day of Action from 2 to 4 December 2011. It is likely that teach-ins, public events and entertainment will peak during the second week of the COP

COP17: Working Together,Saving Tomorrow Today

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol, will be held in the sunny city of Durban, South Africa, from the 28 November to the 9 of December 2011.

Global Day of Action

The Global Day of Action (GDA) is a traditional and important event at UNFCCC COPs. The primary action is a mass march of international and national community, labour, women, youth, academic, religious and environmental organisations and activists. It demonstrates civil society's common determination to address climate change.

Volunteers Needed

C17 is calling on participating organisations to provide volunteers for the Global Day of Action. The event will require marshalls, security personnel, medical practitioners (doctors and nurses), float builders, puppeteers, artists, performers, musicians and cultural activists. Volunteers will be organised, trained and coordinated well in advance of the march.

You can register to volunteer at :

http://www.c17.org.za/global-day-of-action/volunteer.html

Extreme

The longest animal living and ever lived, is said to be the bootlace worm or ribbon worm Lineus longissimus, it reaches lengths of 60m. Its almost twice as long as a blue whale. The bootlace worm, can be found along the coast of Britain.

Creature of the month: Hawaiian honeycreeper

Hawaiian honeycreepers are small passerine birds endemic to Hawaii.

The male Hawaiian honeycreepers are more brightly coloured than the females in the Psittirostrini, but in the Hemignathini, they often look very similar. The flowers of the native ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) are favoured by a number of nectarivorous honeycreepers. Many species of this subfamily have been noted to have a plumage odor that has been termed the Drepanidine odor and suspected to have a role in making the bird distasteful to predators.

The wide range of bills in this group, from thick finch-like bills to slender downcurved bills for probing flowers have arisen through adaptive radiation, where an ancestral finch has evolved to fill a large number of ecological niches. Some 20 species of Hawaiian honeycreeper have become extinct in the recent past, and many more in earlier times, between the arrival of arrival of the Polynesians who introduced the firstrats, chickens, pigs, dogs, and hunted and converted habitat for agriculture.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org

Gadget of the month: Muvi Atom Sport Camcorder

Muvi Atom sport camcorder - Extreme size for extreme sports!

The Muvi Atom camera is a mere 4 cm tall and can record movies at a resolution of 640 x 480. The kick is that included with the Atom are numerous sports mounts, including straps and mounts to easily fit the device to a mountain bike’s handlebars or your helmet for instance. The Atom can also capture still photographs via its two megapixel snapper, which considering its size, is fair.

The Muvi Atom comes with a 2 GB Micro SD card included in the box, enabling users to record up to 48 minutes of footage. Alternatively, they can opt for an 8 GB Micro SD card, boosting the recording time to more than three hours. Users then simply connect the device to their PCs via USB, in order to review and save their images and video.

Available from The G.A.D.G.E.T. Shop on 012-346-2726 or 011-792-4912 for R1199.

Source: http://www.techsmart.co.za