Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sunday Globe Special: Indian Coal Rush

It's on.

"In India, environmentalists and energy producers clash over coal" by Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post / September 18, 2011

MADANPUR, India - The forest provides Ran Singh Marpachi with the betel leaves he sells in the market, as well as the food and medicinal plants his family has depended on for generations. But officials say the coal fields underneath the lush, green trees could bring jobs and electricity to struggling farmers in the area....

“The solution is not to clamp down on coal production,’’ said Sriprakash Jaiswal, India’s coal minister.

Jaiswal tried to break the impasse by promising an aggressive reforestation campaign in the coal fields after they are mined....

Worried about delays in getting permission to mine, Indian businesses have begun acquiring coal mines in Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa, a trend many call India’s “coal rush.’’

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India’s dependence on coal will continue to grow for 30 years, experts say. Proposed nuclear power reactors will take many years to complete, and renewable energy sources can, at best, light up rural homes and streetlights but not power factories, Jaiswal said.

“We have solar energy for six hours a day. But it can light only two bulbs. If the coal can bring 24 hours of electricity to our homes, my children can study better, and I can buy a television,’’ said Amme Lal, from Morga village in Chhattisgarh, who was taking home logs on his bicycle from the forest for cooking fire. “But I have also seen how sad coal mines look - all black, no trees, fumes rising.’’

Not to mention the coal ash sludge pools that might burst and poison communities and the countryside. 

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Stinks here, too.  Smell is coming from my paper.

"11 people killed in explosion in India; New Delhi blast raises new fears" September 08, 2011|By Muneeza Naqvi, Associated Press

NEW DELHI - A powerful bomb hidden in a briefcase ripped through a crowd of people waiting to enter a New Delhi courthouse yesterday, killing 11 people and wounding scores more in the deadliest attack in India’s capital in nearly three years.

An Al Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility, though government officials said it was too early to name a suspect. The attack outside the High Court came despite a high alert across the city and renewed doubts about India’s ability to protect even its most important institutions despite overhauling security after the 2008 Mumbai siege.  

Yup, the STENCH of a FALSE FLAG!

“Have we become so vulnerable that terrorist groups can almost strike at will?’’ opposition lawmaker Arun Jaitley asked in Parliament....

An e-mail sent to several TV news channels claimed the bombing on behalf of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, an extremist group said to be based in Pakistan. The group has been blamed for numerous terror strikes in India, and the US State Department said some members have trained at Al Qaeda camps....

Yeah, I guess State would know where are the CIA-Duh camps.

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"Two questioned in connection with India courthouse blast" September 09, 2011|By Jim Yardley, New York Times

NEW DELHI - Investigators were trying yesterday to judge the credibility of two e-mails sent to different media outlets, each claiming responsibility for the attack. The first claimed to be from a Pakistan-linked extremist group, Harkut-ul-Jihad al-Islami. This e-mail led investigators to the cybercafe in Kashmir’s Kishtwar District, where police were interrogating suspects....  

Related: Kashmiris rally to call for independence

No, the Globe didn't cover that. 

Meanwhile, U.K. Bansal, an official in India’s Home Ministry, confirmed that authorities were also examining a second e-mail putatively from a domestic group, the Indian Mujahedeen. The Indian Mujahedeen is an Islamist militant group that has taken responsibility for several past attacks in India.

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Related: CIA AND MOSSAD HIT INDIA?

Next Day Update:

"A strong earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal last night, killing at least 16 people, damaging buildings, and sending lawmakers in Nepal’s capital running into the streets....

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