Greenpeace response to the latest Egyptian Presidencies draft COP27 Cover note

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Yeb Saño, Greenpeace International’s COP27 Head of Delegation, said: “As climate impacts and injustice accelerate, lives, livelihoods, cultures and even whole countries are lost, the latest draft cover note from the COP27 Presidency pushes the pedal to the metal on the highway to climate hell.”“We came to Sharm el-Sheikh to demand real action on meeting and exceeding climate finance and adaptation commitments, a phase out of all fossil fuels and for rich countries to pay for the loss and damage done to the most vulnerable communities within developing countries by agreeing a Loss and Damage Finance Fund. None of that is on offer in this draft. Climate Justice will not be served if this sets the bar for a COP27 outcome.” “After initially failing to even mention fossil fuels, the draft text is an abdication of responsibility to capture the urgency expressed by many countries to see all oil and gas added to coal for at least a phase down. It is time to end the denial, the fossil fuel age must be brought to a rapid end.” -Language on fossil fuel phase out fails to make progress from Glasgow and rise to the call for a broad phase out of coal, oil and gas. -Recognising the serious deficit in funds made available to date for supporting developing countries with adaptation, mitigation or loss and damage, there is no credible path here for delivering the needed trillions. -While this was billed as both the ‘Implementation’ and ‘Africa’ COP, there is little on the table to implement. And, it is clear that the voices of vested fossil fuel interests and corporate lobbyists are dictating the drafts and not the needs and calls of the most vulnerable.

UroGen Delivers Updated Complete Response (CR) and Durability Data

UroGen Pharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: URGN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments to address unmet needs in the field of urology, today announced findings from a secondary analysis from the pivotal Phase 3 OLYMPUS trial which showed that UGN-101 (mitomycin gel) for instillation, an investigational mitomycin formulation, demonstrated a 59 percent complete response rate in a subset of patients with endoscopically unresectable low-grade upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC). Findings were presented by Seth Paul Lerner, M.D., FACS, Professor of Urology at Baylor College of Medicine, in an oral presentation during the plenary session at the 114th American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting in Chicago.The analysis showed that in the OLYMPUS intent-to-treat population, 71 patients had undergone PDE at the time of the analysis and 42 of the 71 patients (59 percent) achieved a CR. Forty-one patients entered follow-up. Of the evaluated complete responses to date, 27 patients have undergone a six-month evaluation, and 24 out of 27 patients (89 percent) have remained disease free at six months. Overall, 5 of 41 patients who achieved a CR have relapsed at any time during the study.Of these 71 patients, 34 were initially characterized by the treating physician as having endoscopically unresectable tumor at baseline, and 20 of 34 of these patients (59 percent) achieved a CR at the PDE.

An open letter to people fleeing war, persecution and poverty

As Europeans, WeApologise on behalf of our national and European leaders for their inexcusable lack of coordinated humanitarian aid to the situation you and thousands of others are in while crossing our borders to escape war, persecution and poverty.We understand that making this journey was not an easy decision for you and may have involved putting the lives of your loved ones at risk, or worse. We will continue to urge our decision-makers to provide safe and regular channels to the EU, so that your wellbeing does not rest in the hands of people smugglers.Civil society organisations and thousands of people across the EU are taking a stand despite many governments’ inaction by opening their homes, sharing their food and donating their clothes. We will keep pressuring our politicians to fulfil their humanitarian obligation to ensure the provision of such services rather than leaving it up to individuals or organisations to provide them without support.The decision you made that led you here to Europe required a lot of courage. We implore our leaders to demonstrate the same courage by coming together to find a pan-European response that respects each individual’s human rights regardless of their status
While several of our leaders seem to have forgotten the EU’s core values of solidarity and human rights, we have not. The EU has the capacity to welcome you with open arms, and the unwillingness to do so is an embarrassment to us. We acknowledge your right to seek refuge in safer regions and to be treated with dignity. We also recognise the contribution that you can make and we will fight to give you this opportunity. (photo: nigrants)

Greenpeace response: Final day at Bonn UN Climate talks

Greenpeace’s Climate Policy Director Martin Kaiser said: “Governments have failed us in Bonn. While renewables boom and climate impacts – from fires to storms and forced migration – are the lived realities of people all over the world, negotiators still weren’t dealing with the substance of the issue. We leave Bonn today with no long term goal to phase out coal, oil and gas by mid century, the only way to put an end to more and more climate catastrophes. Governments must know that their agreement in Paris will be judged by whether it is up to the task of delivering a safe planet for all. The only way to do that is to agree to move to a 100% renewable world with energy access for all.”“The climate pledges made so far are insufficient and it is therefore essential to have a mechanism for ratcheting up those pledges every five years. They cannot be allowed to stand as they are for the next 10 to 15 years. That is a recipe for further destruction and human misery.” “Heads of States who care about their children should be angry with their negotiators. If they want to rescue a meaningful agreement for Paris they must pack bold decisions into their bags when they head to New York for the UN Sustainable Development Summit later this month.”

State of the Union Address Condemns Europe’s Response to Migration

In his State of the Union Address delivered at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Professor Martin Scheinin condemned Europe’s “military response” to the Mediterranean migrant crisis, describing it as an idea “out of this world”. Scheinin’s words come after reports that more than 5000 migrants were rescued over last weekend by the Italian coastguard. He went on to call for Europe’s leaders to “please reject the idea of military action against civilian ships as it will not work and as it will only damage the reputation of yourselves and all us Europeans.”Martin Scheinin is Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the European University Institute (EUI). He is leading the European research project SURVEILLE (Surveillance: Ethical Issues, Legal Limitations, and Efficiency) which uses an interdisciplinary academic approach to explore debates on surveillance in Europe. The main results of the project are being presented at the State of the Union. He continued, “The main element of a sustainable solution is to create multiple and sufficient channels for safe and regular migration, including for low-skilled migrant workers, individuals in need of family reunification and people with special skills. With its changing demographics, Europe needs these people.”The State of the Union conference, organised by the EUI is an annual event for high-level reflection on the European Union. It takes place at the EUI campus in Florence and the Palazzo Vecchio in the city’s historic centre. The conference’s fifth edition will bring together leading academics, policy-makers, civil society representatives, business and opinion leaders to discuss four main topics, all confronting the future of Europe. These are the establishment of the Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre, Europe’s place in the world, a new Schuman Declaration for the 21st century and the impact of surveillance in Europe.

Response to the 2014 State of the Union Address

The American Chemical Society (ACS) applauds President ’s continued commitment to growing our economy and driving U.S.
“The federal investments we make in scientific R&D at our nation’s excellent universities and the cutting edge innovations that our companies are able to scale-up, produce and market benefit us all. We urge the president and leaders from both parties in Congress to cooperatively work together to enact policies that will deliver the sustainable economic growth that is so vital to our country’s future.”
“In the past two years, President Obama has emphasized the need to stimulate American manufacturing to create jobs and a downstream delta of prosperity for communities across our nation. Tonight he said again, that we need the right fit of new training for jobs that our companies currently have open — and want to fill.”“As the president of the world’s largest scientific society with over 163,000 members and as a scientist raised in a family of educators, I can assure you that the focus on STEM education is correct. This is where the opportunities lie for the future of our nation, but we need to sharpen our pencil.”“Furthermore, to realize the innovation economy our nation’s leaders envision, there are several key policies still pending on the congressional agenda that, if enacted, will help provide components additive to our nation’s economic growth. They are:
Science and Technology Investment through the FY 2015 Budget: Science and technology are the economic workhorses that pull our nation forward, and over decades, they have driven the creation of countless high-skill, high-wage jobs and can once again propel a vigorous U.S. economy and a prosperous way of life for our citizens. The president and Congress should take advantage of the opportunity presented by the return to regular order and bipartisan cooperation in budgeting to establish a predictable and sustained investment strategy focused on research and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education funding at the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the National Institute for Standards and Technology and other key agencies. America COMPETES Act: Originally passed in 2007 and reauthorized in 2010, the legislation has helped support the science, technology and innovation enterprise that underpins U.S. economic growth and job creation. COMPETES has authorized critical funding for basic scientific research through the federal agencies, fueling America’s research universities, developing discoveries and technological advances and leading to important new innovations. COMPETES has also provided the means to strengthen a wide range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs at all levels, from K 12 through graduate education. Sustained and predictable support for science, engineering and technology is essential for a healthy U.S. economy. It is important that Congress reauthorize COMPETES as soon as possible.
The Research and Development Tax Credit: The R&D tax credit is a crucial incentive for innovation, particularly in connection with fostering new technologies and expanding high-value manufacturing. Originally introduced in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the credit has been allowed to expire eight times and has been extended 14 times. The current extension expired on December 31, 2013. A tax credit that is unpredictable is not nearly as beneficial in stimulating the economy. Most other nations have a permanent R&D tax credit; ACS believes strongly that the U.S. needs a permanent R&D tax credit in order to be globally competitive
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013: popularly known as the Shaheen-Portman bill, this legislation would rewrite national building codes – voluntary standards that are generally used by states and municipalities – with the aim of fostering great energy savings. The bill would also establish education programs to train workers in energy-efficient building design and installation of energy-efficient products and technologies. The bill provides incentives for using highly efficient motors, transformers, and sets goals for the federal government – the single largest consumer of energy. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Last reauthorized in 2001, ESEA or No Child Left Behind funds K-12 education and established standards of learning to shorten achievement gaps and promote equal access to education in the U.S. The ACS strongly encourages effective policies to promote STEM education as a national priority within the ESEA. We urge the Administration to work together with Congress in a bipartisan effort to ensure programs like the Math and Science Partnership retain funding to support teacher recruitment and retention efforts, inquiry based curriculum and definitions of critical subject areas for our future workforce.

Need for International Response to Clergy Sex Abuse

Image by trp0 via Flickr

In light of a report released today by an official commission investigating clergy sex abuse throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) issued the following statement:
The extent of child rape and other sexual violence revealed in the commission’s report – as many as 20,000 Dutch children in Catholic institutions – is yet another example of the widespread and systematic nature of the problem of child sex crimes in the Catholic Church. If similar commissions were held in every country, we would undoubtedly be equally appalled by the rates of abuse. But, for every country in which such a commission is held, there are dozens of places in which there is no such investigation, no efforts at accountability, and no meaningful recourse for those who are abused. Moreover, the apologies offered by Dutch bishops are little help to past and future victims if those apologies do not materialize into concrete measures to stop the problem. Instead, as the Dutch commission noted, and as we have seen time and again, the goals of Church leaders including Pope Benedict XVI and other high-level Vatican officials are not to protect children and prevent abuse, but to cover up the sexual violence and avoid scandals. This is precisely why an international response to these crimes, such as CCR’s work with SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Vatican officials for crimes against humanity is critical. Piecemeal investigations and prosecutions simply cannot solve a systematic problem that is actively tolerated and enabled at the highest levels of Church leadership. As the New York Times noted today, CCR and SNAP’s ICC case is ‘the most substantive effort yet to hold the pope and the Vatican accountable’ for rape and other sexual violence.
The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lengthy and detailed complaint with the International Criminal Court September 13, 2011, on behalf SNAP, a survivor-led support group for clergy sex abuse victims, urging the prosecutor to investigate the Vatican for crimes against humanity for tolerating and enabling the systematic and widespread concealing of rape and sexual violence throughout the world. Together with the complaint, they submitted more than 22,000 pages of supporting evidence consisting of testimonies, police reports, findings of commissions of inquiry and grand juries and other evidence of the crimes by Catholic clergy committed against children and vulnerable adults. To learn more about the case, visit http://ccrjustice.org/ICCVaticanProsecution.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Visit http://www.ccrjustice.org and follow @theCCR.

MBA programs

In response to the large number of requests from MBA candidates, QS has extended their deadline for scholarship applications from 30th April to 15th May. This was done to give more MBA candidates the opportunity to apply for the maximum number of scholarships available from the $1.6million scholarship fund. Statistics taken from fifteen years of registration data collected from the QS World MBA Tour have consistently indicated greater levels of interest in MBA programs during times of recession. In response to this trend, QS has increased the number of scholarships available in 2010 as well as extended the application deadline. Zoya Zaitseva, Senior Operations Manager of the World MBA Tour said, “We know that more and more people are considering using the economic downturn as a chance to further their education and to put themselves in a stronger position on the other side of the recession. The majority of the MBA candidates around the world would like to get scholarships to help them pay for their studies, which is why we work with top business schools together to offer these opportunities.” The scholarships are designed to help MBA candidates who have already been offered a place for the 2010 intake at their chosen business school, and have attended a QS World MBA fair from 2009-2010. Applications are received online (www.topmba.com/scholarships) where they will need to answer a series of questions and submit the relevant application essay.

To reach flood victims in Laos

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rapidly expanding its   operations   in   the  Lao  People’s  Democratic  Republic  to  reach flood-affected  populations  following  a destructive typhoon which hit the southern  part  of  the  country  on Wednesday, destroying crops, depleting vital food stocks and impacting some 250,000 people. This is the latest natural disaster in South East Asia after weeks of heavy rains  and  tropical  storms  continue  to plummet several countries in the region, including the Philippines, where an estimated 3 million people have been affected  by  severe flooding and more than a million have fled their homes. WFP  has  scaled  up  its operations in Laos to provide rations of rice and canned  fish  to the hardest-hit communities in the provinces of Sekong and Attapeu,  where  more than 90 percent of land has been flooded and hundreds of houses are submerged under water. Meanwhile,  rains  continue  to pound the Philippines, and mass evacuations are taking place as the country braces for a powerful typhoon – expected to make landfall on Saturday morning, adding to the devastation caused by last weekend’s  tropical  storm.   WFP  is currently aiming to provide food to 1 million  flood-affected people  in  October  as  part of WFP’s three-month emergency response.

Popularity up for grabs

First it was popularity on social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon that was being sold and now Twitter is in the sights of those looking to have their fame and status artificially increased. Web traffic and promotion company uSocial.net – who famously received and ignored a Cease & Desist order from Digg after selling votes on the site – have just launched a service allowing Twitter users to purchase packages of followers if they are having trouble attaining them on their own. Starting in packages of 1,000 and going up to 100,000 followers, the company launched the buy Twitter followers service not long ago with what they say was a massive response. uSocial themselves own three of their own Twitter accounts which have all been active for only seven weeks and each of them number between 8,000 and 14,000 followers, totaling over 30,000 people following their activities. It was the methods they used to create this large follower base in such a short amount of time that they now use on their clients accounts. The service is the second offered by uSocial that works on unnaturally increasing rankings or popularity on a social site. Upon their launch in December of 2008 the only service the company offered was their paid social bookmarking services which allowed clients to purchase votes on sites like Digg and StumbleUpon. While they do now offer other services such as press release distribution, it seems their artificial popularity services are by far the most sought after. uSocial no longer offer the paid social bookmarking services on their site as they state they have a large number of regularly contracted corporate clients who fill all their available slots. Despite this, Hill says they will be reopening this service for new clients very soon. The company’s new Twitter services can be viewed by going to http://usocial.net/twitter_marketing, or for more information the company can be contacted via the form on their site.