The Decline Of (Free) America

It's amazing that this story is hard to find and not being covered by the MSM:

"Indefinite Detention" Bill Passes Senate 93-7

The Senate last night codified into law the power of the U.S. military to indefinitely detain an American citizen with no charge, no trial and no oversight whatsoever with the passage of S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act.

One amendment that would have specifically blocked the measures from being used against U.S. citizens was voted down and the final bill was passed 93-7.

“The bill puts military detention authority on steroids and makes it permanent, American citizens and others are at greater risk of being locked away by the military without charge or trial,” said Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

As Spencer Ackerman highlights, the bill completely violates the sixth amendment in that it allows American citizens to be locked up indefinitely, including in a foreign detention center, without any burden of proof whatsoever. An American merely has to be declared a terrorist and they can be abducted off the streets and never seen again.

And don't be fooled by a token, meaningless amendment:

Feinstein was able to include a largely symbolic amendment which states that “nothing in the bill changes current law relating to the detention of U.S. citizens and legal aliens,” but this measure is meaningless according to Republican Congressman Justin Amash, a fierce critic of the bill.

“Some have asserted that Sen. Feinstein’s amendment, S Amdt 1456, protects the rights of American citizens and preserves constitutional due process. Unfortunately, it does not. It’s just more cleverly worded nonsense,” Amash wrote on his Facebook page.

Senate Wants The Military To Lock You Up Without Trial

Someone the government says is “a member of, or part of, al-Qaida or an associated force” can be held in military custody “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” Those hostilities are currently scheduled to end the Wednesday after never. The move would shut down criminal trials for terror suspects.

So despite the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to trial, the Senate bill would let the government lock up any citizen it swears is a terrorist, without the burden of proving its case to an independent judge, and for the lifespan of an amorphous war that conceivably will never end.

Senate Bill 1867 Would Allow U.S. Military To Detain And Murder Anti-Government Protesters In American Cities

Those who have been burying their heads in the sand over the coming police state need to wake up and face the music.

That U.S. Senators would knowingly and willfully attempt to pass a bill that legalizes the indefinite detainment, torture and killing of American citizens with no due process whatsoever -- and on American soil! -- is nothing less than a traitorous betrayal of the once-free American people.

"The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself," says the ACLU

And YES, it has now been confirmed that the indefinite detainment and murder provisions do apply to American citizens on the streets of American cities.

As Sen. Lindsey Graham explained in plain language on the Senate floor: "...1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland."

For some related articles - see below:

A Stern Vision Of America

Yesterday, in a lengthy op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Andy Stern laid out his vision of America's future in remarkably unambiguous, and chilling, terms.

That vision hinges on state planning and government control of a kind practically indistinguishable from that practiced in communist China.

The fact that Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), holds such opinions is not really surprising.

But the fact that he has been and remains a close confidant of President Obama should sound warning bells.

Stern makes it abundantly clear that in his view, the capitalist economic model that fostered American prosperity over the last two centuries is now obsolete. The "free-market fundamentalist, shareholder-only model," as he calls it, "is being thrown onto the trash heap of history."

Yikes. That alone is pretty scary and it gets worse:

What has replaced it is the centrally planned economy, with its 5-year plans and state allocation of resources, as practiced in China and other communist states.

In particular, Stern lauds the achievements of Chinese communist hard-liner Bo Xilai, mayor of Chongqing and popular spokesman for a resurgent Chinese nationalism.

Stern seems to have swallowed the Chinese communist hype hook, line, and sinker.

Not content to laud the achievements of the state-run economy, Stern seems to go out of his way to diminish the recent accomplishments of American capitalism. He sneeringly refers to "Team USA's results" of high unemployment, stagnant wage growth, trade deficits, and income inequality. All of this, he believes, is the consequence of America's inability to emulate China and other state-planned economies.

Worse still:

It is clear that Stern's thinking has had a profound influence on President Obama. No outside adviser has visited the White House more often than Stern during Obama's presidency, and no one has had freer access to the Oval Office.

Every major policy decision coming out of the Obama administration has had to be cleared with Big Labor, and Stern has been Big Labor's point man in this regard.

It is no accident that Obama's massive stimulus spending contained such largesse for states and municipalities to reward their public-sector employees. Nor is it accidental that ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, and other administration initiatives are designed to extend state control over major sectors of the economy.

The problem with all of this is that Stern's vision of the future modeled on that of mainland China is not only fanciful, but dangerously misguided. It contains so many errors of interpretation that one hardly knows where to start.

At the risk of stating the obvious, we see this:

I find it striking that Andy Stern's paean to Chinese economic planning contains no mention of the fact that Chinese citizens do not enjoy even the most basic of human rights.

Do basic human rights matter to a communist?

Nor does there seem to be any realization on Stern's part that the freedoms enjoyed in America, including the protection of free speech and the rights of property, evolved within a free-market economy and are to a great extent intertwined with and dependent upon the continuation of capitalism.

The freedom to engage in business, to earn and retain profits, and to decide how and where to invest capital are inextricably bound up with basic human liberties of freedom of speech and assembly, religious freedom, the free conduct of marriage and family life, and other essential liberties. The fact that neither Andy Stern nor President Obama recognizes this fact is incredibly alarming.

Andy Stern: In Praise Of Communist China

Oh, the irony! If former SEIU Thug-in-chief Andy Stern tried to set up a union independent of the Chinese government, he would be thrown in prison for a very long time.

And yet, here he is on the pages of the (just whisper it, Andy) WALL STREET Journal, praising the Chinese "model" (whatever that is) and gloating over the "death" of free market capitalism:

Of course China has a "plan" - that's what Communists do. They can dictate where to invest, who wins and who loses - and the only way you're going to win is if you join the Communist party.

There is no freedom of action, little entrepreneurship (the hoops they make you jump through to start a business in China are mind boggling), and a regimented labor force who can't strike, can't lobby for worker safety (the coal mining safety record is appalling), and are forced to take what the government gives them and like it.

The 'funny' thing is - Stern doesn't even interpret what is happening in China correctly:

Stern has been taken in by the usual blather from Communists about how great they're doing. Andy evidently hasn't been paying much attention to what's happening in the world lately. This from the LA Times 3 days ago:

Backed by data showing a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, doomsayers have taken center stage. Unbridled optimism has given way to fears over widening cracks in the Chinese economic miracle.
The gloomy sentiment has spilled into financial markets, whose investors have been running for the exits.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index, which tracks the stock performance of major mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, is down 26% this year , making it the worst-performing market gauge in Asia.

Now China's housing bubble is deflating. Home prices reversed in October for the second consecutive month as cash-strapped developers became desperate to unload homes. An index of 35 major cities showed 29 had experienced a decline in sales from a year ago; sales plunged more than 50% in six of them, including Beijing.

Behind China's gleaming new high-rises, freeways and bullet trains, the bears see ghost towns, empty roads and superfluous rail lines. Public debt has exploded, raising fears of an overload that could weigh on China's economy.

See the article below for his (Stern) own words :

China's Superior Economic Model

We all know something has to happen to remove America as a world power, and we are watching it happen before our very eyes. Many of us believed that the Rapture of the Church would bring down America (and it may still represent the final blow), but it is becoming rapidly apparent that America's fall could occur prior to the Rapture. Right now, it's a work in progress.

Two main questions emerge:

Who would have ever guessed that a powerful and influential member of our White House "inner circle" would be a devout communist?

And

Will this new bill ultimately be used in the coming war against Christians and Jews - as expected during the Tribulation?

We know that draconian measures will be implemented against those who refuse to worship the antichrist, namely Christians and Jews. This bill would be a very convenient means to 'round up' such 'terrorists'.

The road to the Tribulation continues to be paved. This bill is simply one more step in that direction.

More War Preparations

Report: Russia Delivers Anti-Ship Missiles To Syria

Russia has delivered anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed military source as saying on Thursday, days after a United Nations commission of inquiry called for an arms embargo on Damascus.

Moscow has spoken out against further sanctions imposed by Western and Arab League states, and it has defended its right to sell Syria weapons -- tens of millions of dollars worth last year.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in February that Moscow was pressing ahead with the deal despite Israeli concerns, indicating the missiles might have been delivered earlier this year.

Earlier this week, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Russia planned to send its aircraft carrier and other ships to Syria.

Barak: No Iran Strike - Yet

"We have no intention of acting for the moment... We should not engage in war when it is not necessary, but there may come a time or another when we are forced to face tests," Barak said.

"Our position has not changed on three points: a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, we are determined to stop that, and all options are on the table," he added.

Barak said he was confident that military action against Iran would not be devastating for Israel. His comments came just one day after former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned striking Iran would have catastrophic consequences for Israel's home front.

Barak stressed Israel would do what was necessary to protect itself.

"It must be understood that Israel is sovereign. The government, the army and the security services are the only ones responsible for the security and the existence of Israel," he said

Are The West And Iran Headed For War?

EU officials are also said to be considering an oil embargo on Iran, preventing the shipping of Iranian oil to the West. The idea has been slowly gaining support since the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran's drive for nuclear weapons.

Now, the occupation and sacking of the British embassy has pushed the idea to the forefront of the EU's agenda.

Analysts say the move could be the first step towards open military confrontation between Tehran and the West. Were Tehran to view strong sanctions on its critical oil exports as an "act of war," which is how some Iranian officials are already defining such a move, it could lead to a dramatic escalation.

And below we see the scenario that many have predicted:

Should that happen Tehran might seek to drive up oil prices in retaliation by moving to close the Straits of Hormuz, through which 40% of the world's oil supplies flows into the global market. Such an eventuality, analysts say, is something Iranian military planners have long-been preparing for.

If so, the West and its Gulf Arab allies will find themselves forced to open the Straits of Hormuz up by force – which could spread into a broader war in the Gulf region.

Meanwhile:

Muslim Brotherhood Takes Elections By Storm

Judges overseeing the vote count in Egypt's parliamentary elections say Islamist parties have won a majority of the contested seats in the first round. The judges spoke on condition of anonymity because official results are expected to be released later Thursday.

The liberal Egyptian bloc coalition and the ultra-fundamentalist Nour party are competing for second place.

Together, Islamist parties are expected to control a majority of parliamentary seats by March. This week's vote was the first of six stages of parliamentary elections that will last until then.

Continued success by Islamists will allow them to give Cairo's government and constitution a decidedly Islamist character. It could also lead Cairo to shift away from the West towards the Iranian axis.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which birthed the virulently anti-Israel Hamas terror militia, might also seek to effectively annex Gaza. Should Hamas be triumphant in future PA elections, they would also gain a foothold in Judea and Samaria.

It's all lining up exactly as we would expect.

Hukum yang Berjarak

Hukum yang Berjarak

Arswendo Atmowiloto, BUDAYAWAN

Sumber : SINDO, 2 Desember 2011

Bahasa hukum adalah bahasa harap maklum. Masyarakat awam diandaikan mengerti apa yang dituliskan dalam pasal, ayat, dengan kalimat dan anak kalimat yang ditandai dengan koma.

Bukan kalimat pendek yang diajarkan di sekolah, cukup dengan 12 kata tanpa menghitung kata sandang atau kata sambung. Dengan demikian masyarakat umum bisa bingung untuk hal sederhana. Misalnya perlu dihapus atau tidaknya remisi bagi koruptor. Yang mencuat dan berkelebat di permukaan adalah berkutat soal pasal, soal ayat, soal undang-undang, soal peraturan dengan nomor, dengan strip atau garis miring dan tahun.

Padahal masyarakat selama ini sudah linglung dengan peristiwa yang demikian jelas: ada jaksa menerima suap di kantor kejaksaan, tersangka koruptor bebas, pemilihan pimpinan Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) yang tak kunjung tuntas, pelanggaran hak asasi manusia (HAM) yang daftarnya makin panjang sampai dengan keadaan dalam rumah tahanan atau penjara masih ada yang istimewa. Keadaan semacam ini akan berulang sehingga muncul istilah adanya pembiaran, serangan balik para koruptor.Pergulatan yang terjadi seolah hanya ada di panggung, hanya untuk mereka yang mampu mendemonstrasikan kutipan ayat tanpa melibatkan masyarakat.

Bahasa Melindungi

Penggunaan bahasa atau istilah pun terkesan lebih memihak dan melindungi pelaku yang bersalah. Istilah jaksa nakal, hakim nakal, polisi nakal yang jelas terbukti kesalahannya adalah contoh sederhana yang dipergunakan. Dan bukan jaksa jahat, hakim jahat atau polisi jahat.Padahal kita tahu benar perbedaan kata nakal dengan jahat. Juga aparat atau pejabat yang jelas tertangkap tangan masih bisa dibela dengan gagah: harus ada praduga tak bersalah, biarlah pengadilan yang membuktikan.

Kalaupun terbukti, masih ada berbagai upaya banding-membanding yang kadang kala diakhiri dengan hal itu terjadi karena khilaf. Bahkan kredo yang dianggap sakti, ”hukum harus ditegakkan walaupun langit runtuh”, hanyalah permainan bahasa k a r e n a kita tahu sejak zaman dulu yang nam a n y a langit tak pernah runtuh. Pada sisi ekstrem lain, masyarakat yang bukan tak tahu hukum menemukan penyelesaiannya sendiri sehingga pencuri ayam—sekarang lebih banyak pencuri sepeda motor— langsung dihajar hingga jontor. Pencopet kabur yang tertangkap langsung dihajar hingga babak belur.

Masyarakat yang berbuat dipersalahkan karena main hakim sendiri karena diadili massa dan bukan aparat dan atau institusi yang mendapat kehormatan menangani. Dua sisi yang berseberangan, dua bentuk pendekatan yang bertolak belakang ini menggambarkan kutub berbeda dengan tujuan sama. Semangat menyelesaikan persoalan makin cepat makin baik dan semangat sesuai dengan koridor hukum barang kali bisa disatukan pada titik tertentu, kasus tertentu.

Dengan demikian keinginan masyarakat mendapatkan tempat dan mata rantai proses hukum tidak menjadi lelet. Makna lain yang berharga adalah masyarakat terlibat—melibatkan atau dilibatkan— dan dengan demikian upaya penegakan hukum menjadi gerakan dan gebrakan kebersamaan. Bukan hanya pada elite hukum semata.

Bahasa Menuntaskan

Keikutsertaan masyarakat akan terjadi jika idiom-idiom yang dipergunakan mudah dimengerti dan ada bukti. Istilah rule of law,bahkan istilah penegakan hukum, terasa berjarak dengan perbendaharaan kata-kata yang dipergunakan sehari-hari. Barangkali dengan menggunakan istilah ereksi hukum lebih mudah dimengerti.Sebab kata ereksi mudah dipahami. Juga kalau dikaitkan dengan kata “tidak ayo” atau loyo.

Juga akan mudah diasosiasikan kenapa terjadi tidak ayo.Apakah karena ada penyakit, pikiran tak bisa konsentrasi, atau kurang rangsangan,atau memang sudah impoten. Keikutsertaan masyarakat akan menemukan wujudnya jika bahasa yang dipergunakan adalah bahasa yang menuntaskan. Bahasa yang menyelesaikan. Bukan yang mengambang dan abu-abu menunggu permainan, mengulur waktu. Bahasa tuntas adalah bahasa hitam atau putih.

Apakah dugaan korupsi yang terjadi di kementrian tertentu itu benar terbukti atau tidak.Apakah prosesnya terbuka dan bagaimana hasil akhirnya. Sesungguhnya sangat sederhana. Sama sederhananya ketika menangkap penjahat dan menggunduli rambutnya seketika. Di sini dalam kasus begini hukum sebab-akibat menjadi membumi di mana reward dan punishment bukan wacana semata. Keikutsertaan masyarakat dalam ereksi hukum akan lengkap dengan adanya tokoh-tokoh yang menjadi contoh suri teladan.

Di kalangan penegak hukum nama-nama Bismar Siregar, Yap Thian Hiem, Baharuddin Lopa, Hugeng Iman Santosa tetap harum dan didamba. Pada saat yang sama, masyarakat awam juga menemukan jawaban tuntas apa yang terjadi pada dirinya.Merekalah sebenarnya korban ketidakberdayaan, merekalah yang sebenarnya membutuhkan keadilan berdasarkan KetuhananYang Maha Esa. Ereksi hukum karenanya tidak hanya berhenti sebagai retorika, sebagai bahasa niat atau ayat semata,tidak juga pada satu waktu tertentu masa pemerintahan siapa.

Ereksi hukum akan terus diupayakan karena begitulah kehidupan ini berkelanjutan. Hukum saja mematikan, tapi roh menghidupkan. Begitulah yang tertuliskan. Dan roh itu juga ada pada masyarakat awam yang dianggap buta hukum. Mengabaikan keberadaan mereka berarti mengkhianati sumber kehidupan dan mematikan roh. ●

Memperkuat Undang-Undang KPK

Memperkuat Undang-Undang KPK

Roby Arya Brata, ANALIS ANTIKORUPSI, HUKUM, DAN KEBIJAKAN

Sumber : KORAN TEMPO, 2 Desember 2011

Bagian Pertama

Ketidakmampuan Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi menangani kasus korupsi akbar (grand corruption), seperti kasus Bank Century, cek pelawat, dan Wisma Atlet, secara

adil, tuntas, serta obyektif terus menuai sinisme publik. Apabila hal ini dibiarkan, kepercayaan publik (public trust), yang krusial bagi eksistensi dan efektivitas kinerja KPK, akan terus menurun. Tanpa tindakan yang strategis dan komprehensif, masyarakat suatu saat nanti akan memandang KPK tidak berbeda dengan institusi

penegak hukum lain yang korup, tidak memiliki kredibilitas, dan tidak berdaya memberantas korupsi.

Tapi ketidakberdayaan KPK tersebut sesungguhnya (sebagian) disebabkan oleh kelemahan kebijakan (policy defects) Undang-Undang KPK Nomor 30 Tahun 2002.

Karena itu, revisi dalam arti penguatan undang-undang itu adalah suatu keniscayaan.

Sebagai perbandingan, undang-undang yang mendirikan Komisi Independen Antikorupsi (Independent Commission Against Corruption atau ICAC) Hong Kong, yang

menjadi model komisi antikorupsi di banyak negara, termasuk Indonesia, telah mengalami beberapa kali perubahan. Begitu juga dengan ICAC Act 1988, yang mendirikan ICAC New South Wales (Australia).

Tulisan ini mengusulkan revisi untuk memperkuat UU KPK. Bagian pertama membahas kelemahan (Undang-Undang) KPK. Bagian terakhir mendiskusikan mekanisme akuntabilitas, penguatan fungsi pencegahan, dan penindakan KPK (preventive and investigative power).

Kelemahan

Kelemahan mendasar KPK, sebagaimana tersirat dalam diktum menimbang UU KPK, adalah sifat ad hoc dari KPK itu sendiri. KPK didirikan karena “lembaga pemerintah yang menangani perkara tindak pidana korupsi belum berfungsi secara efektif dan efisien dalam memberantas tindak pidana korupsi”. Artinya, KPK tidak diperlukan lagi atau dibubarkan bila lembaga pemerintah itu, dalam hal ini kepolisian dan kejaksaan, sudah berfungsi dengan efektif dan efisien dalam memberantas korupsi.

Hal ini tentu saja membuka peluang bagi kekuatan korup menggalang kekuatan politik

di eksekutif ataupun legislatif untuk membubarkan KPK kapan saja. Mereka bisa saja beralasan KPK tidak diperlukan lagi, karena kepolisian dan kejaksaan telah “berfungsi dengan baik”, atau beralasan KPK justru telah “mengganggu berfungsinya sistem peradilan pidana dalam suatu negara hukum”. Sifat ad hoc KPK juga dapat menimbulkan ketidakpastian masa depan dan ketidaktenangan pegawai KPK dalam bekerja.

Karena itu, dalam berbagai tulisan saya berdasarkan pengalaman berbagai negara yang berhasil memberantas korupsi, saya mengusulkan agar KPK ditetapkan sebagai

institusi independen permanen dalam pemberantasan korupsi, meskipun kepolisian dan kejaksaan telah berfungsi dengan baik.

Bahkan, dalam tulisan saya,“(Sekali Lagi) Menyelamatkan KPK!”(Koran Tempo, 26 Agustus 2011), karena peran KPK yang sangat besar dan strategis bagi berfungsinya

demokrasi dan pemerintahan, the rule of law, kesejahteraan rakyat, dan kemajuan serta eksistensi bangsa dan negara, saya berpendapat KPK hendaknya ditetapkan menjadi lembaga konstitusional (constitutional body) seperti halnya Mahkamah Agung dan Komisi Yudisial. Dengan mengamendemen Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 menjadi UUD antikorupsi, seperti UUD Thailand, KPK dengan fungsinya yang strategis seperti penyidikan dan penuntutan, termasuk penyadapan, hanya dapat dibubarkan dengan referendum.

Negosiasi Durban

Negosiasi Durban

Fachruddin Mangunjaya, KANDIDAT DOKTOR PROGRAM STUDI LINGKUNGAN IPB

Sumber : KORAN TEMPO, 2 Desember 2011

Tidak ada konvensi internasional paling krusial sifatnya yang setiap tahun membawa banyak negara beserta para negosiator dan aktivis lingkungan, kecuali konvensi Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa tentang perubahan iklim (UNFCCC). Pertemuan Conference of the Parties (COP) ke-17 di Durban, Afrika Selatan, yang diadakan pada 28 November hingga 9 Desember 2011, diikuti oleh 20 ribu peserta dan peninjau yang datang dari minimal 194 penanda tangan konvensi serta negara lainnya.

UNFCCC sesungguhnya telah hampir menjadi sebuah konvensi universal yang diikuti oleh mayoritas negara di muka bumi. Mereka yang tergabung dalam konvensi tersebut adalah pemerintah negara yang berkomitmen untuk: pertama, mengumpulkan dan berbagi informasi tentang emisi gas rumah kaca, kebijakan nasional, dan praktek terbaik yang mereka lakukan; kedua, berkomitmen membuat strategi nasional untuk mengatasi emisi gas rumah kaca dan dalam rangka mitigasi perubahan iklim serta—tentu saja termasuk—pemberian dukungan keuangan dan teknologi untuk negara-negara berkembang. Ketiga, bekerja sama dalam mempersiapkan adaptasi terhadap dampak perubahan iklim dan upaya mengurangi emisi gas rumah kaca yang akan terus

meningkat.

Adapun COP merupakan pertemuan tertinggi antarnegara anggota untuk menilai kemajuan dalam berurusan dengan perubahan iklim.Tahun ini ada dua agenda penting dalam negosiasi tersebut yang diperdebatkan. Pertama, perjuangan mereduksi emisi yang selama ini berbasis pada kesepakatan antarbangsa (global accord) Protokol Kyoto akan berakhir pada 2012, sehingga langkah berikutnya akan membahas apakah protokol ini akan diganti atau diperpanjang menjadi Protokol Kyoto II. Kedua, bagi negara berkembang —termasuk Indonesia—adalah agenda penting mengikutkan agar skema REDD+ mendapat pengakuan legal dari dunia, sehingga kredit karbon akan didapatkan guna menjamin mekanisme finansial untuk tetap mempertahankan hutannya. Beberapa praktisi—termasuk banyak NGO—berupaya dan mendesak supaya hal ini bisa diwujudkan dengan kesepakatan yang mengikat (legally binding).

Sebab, bagaimanapun mempertahankan hutan yang ada sama dengan berupaya secara preventif mencegah kerusakan yang lebih parah.

Kerja Sama Global

Upaya negosiasi untuk mencapai penurunan emisi karbon di tiap negara sudah tentu sulit dilakukan tanpa adanya kerja sama antarnegara yang berkomitmen menurunkan

jumlah emisinya dan bantuan pasti untuk menahan laju kerusakan hutan. Diperkirakan sumber emisi global yang berasal dari kebakaran hutan serta pembukaan lahan dan hutan adalah 20- 25 persen emisi global. REDD+ memerlukan kesepakatan internasional yang mengikat (legally binding international agreement), dengan penurunan target emisi yang akan mendorong skema kredit karbon dalam upaya menurunkan pembukaan lahan dan hutan di negara berkembang.

Beberapa skema sukarela telah dilakukan untuk mencoba REDD+ di lapangan,

termasuk upaya pemerintah Indonesia berniat menurunkan 26 persen emisinya.

Karena itu, Indonesia telah mendapatkan komitmen bilateral dari Norwegia dan berbagai partisipasi tidak mengikat lainnya dari berbagai pemerintah untuk mencoba

REDD+ di lapangan.

Banyak kemajuan dan juga uji coba kesiapan REDD+ sudah dilakukan, debat publik sering terjadi—di mailing list lingkungan —terutama dalam upaya penerapan insentif bagi masyarakat yang ada di pinggiran hutan, di antaranya bahwa REDD+ sesungguhnya tidak dikehendaki mengulang kapitalisasi hutan menjadi keuntungan para elite pengusaha hutan yang “berganti baju investasi” menjadi penjaga hutan dengan mengambil rente karbon yang dimilikinya tanpa dapat mengubah keadaan masyarakat pinggiran hutan. Disadari pula bahwa selama ini pengusahaan hutan produksi dan pembukaan lahan untuk pertambangan ternyata tidak mampu mengentaskan masyarakat miskin di sekitar hutan yang bahkan hanya mendapat bencana ketika hutan ditinggalkan, seperti sisa lahan yang tercemar tambang dan tidak lagi subur, banjir, tanah longsor, kekeringan, serta kekurangan air bersih.

Bagi keuntungan global, sesungguhnya cost and benefit sebuah hutan alam yang

produktif: dari segi penyerap karbon, layanan ekosistem, penahan kesuburan lahan,

penyedia plasma nutfah, penghasilan langsung masyarakat dari hasil hutan bukan kayu, sesungguhnya dapat dihitung dalam jangka panjang.Kebijakan jangka pendek tentu tidak akan dapat menolong hutan kita. Sebab, sudah pasti kebutuhan akan kayu, bahan tambang, dan hasil yang instan akan lebih menarik serta terlihat menguntungkan. Di sinilah diperlukan pemilihan pemimpin yang mempunyai wawasan ke depan, yang tidak hanya memikirkan kantong pribadi, partai, atau kelompoknya, tapi memikirkan masa depan anak-cucunya dan masa depan bumi.

Demikian pula sesungguhnya adaptasi dapat dilakukan dengan upaya mempertahankan alam—hutan dan penataan ruang yang tepat—sebagai barier alami atas perubahan iklim. Misalnya, tanpa disadari pemerintah Indonesia telah menghabiskan jutaan dolar untuk membangun jalan ke Bandar Udara Soekarno-Hatta untuk mengatasi kenaikan genangan air laut (rob)—ketika terjadi banjir besar—tapi

lupa bahwa kawasan tersebut dulu merupakan hutan mangrove yang telah diubah menjadi lahan gudang, pabrik, dan perumahan.

Bagaimanapun upaya mempertahankan lingkungan harus dapat mengubah perilaku kebijakan dengan berbagai upaya dan pendekatan. Perubahan iklim memerlukan kesadaran kolektif dari tingkat individu (warga negara) hingga kebijakan negara. Karena itu, tumpuan perubahan perilaku (gaya hidup) hendaknya tidak hanya dilakukan dalam negosiasi global, juga dalam skala nasional, lokal, tingkat organisasi kolektif masyarakat (misalnya organisasi kemasyarakatan), bahkan tingkat perusahaan. Misalnya, perusahaan—yang telah berkomitmen untuk go green—perlu mendorong karyawan mempunyai kebanggaan moral, bahkan memberi insentif, jika mereka bisa menggunakan sepeda ke kantor dalam upaya mereduksi emisi karbon individual mereka. ●

Holocaust Survivor: "It's Happening Again"

And how sad that realization must be for a holocaust survivor.

Holocaust Survivor: "It's Happening Again"

Renowned international speaker Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis warns that once again, "the dark days" are returning and Jews are surrounded by those who want to destroy us -- "and they don't hide it."

Speaking at the recent Long Island New York Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Dinner, the Holocaust survivor and renowned educator and speaker said it’s very easy to forget what it was like when the Jews were singled out for torture, murder, and slaughter.

"The whole world was ready to consume us, and today… once again, we are surrounded on every side by those who want to destroy us - and they don't hide it", she noted.

This is accurate and exactly as the prophet Zechariah foretold.

Jungreis bemoaned the fact that Iranian President Ahmadinejad was invited to Columbia University campus by students: “Do you understand this? We are seeing it even with our own eyes. The world has become dark again.”

Nily Falic, National Chairman of the FIDF and the driving force behind it, explained in simple words what the magic of the organization is in attracting such a variety of Jews: “For us, FIDF is actually synonymous with the State of Israel. There is no State of Israel without the IDF, and there is no IDF without the State of Israel. This is of primary importance in all of our lives.”

In other news from around the world:

Iran is a rabid rogue state that could tip the world into a new dark age

As Britain orders the closure of Iran’s embassy in London and expels its diplomats after frenzied mobs attack the UK’s diplomatic compounds in Tehran, MICHAEL BURLEIGH sees in Iran a desperate regime that is lashing out - and dangerous.

That rampaging mob of ‘students’ storming the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, lobbing petrol bombs, ransacking the building, burning the Union Jack and threatening to hold hostage terrified members of staff inside the compound, was a deeply worrying spectacle for those of us who have studied the Iranian regime over the years.

These protesters were clearly orchestrated by the Iranian regime, for the mayhem could never have taken place without sanction in a country where secret police stalk the streets, torture is endemic, criminals are executed in public and foreign embassies are closely guarded and monitored.

Far from being students, many of the thugs involved were elite members of Iran’s paramilitary Basiji brigades, a hard-core volunteer outfit under the control of the country’s Revolutionary Guards, who answer to the country’s top cleric, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The reasons for this assault on the embassy?

The fact is that Iran is furious about Chancellor George Osborne’s order for all British credit and financial institutions to cease trading with Iranian banks, including the nation’s Central Bank.

What we are witnessing is a desperate and sclerotic regime which feels increasingly cornered and is lashing out

Indeed, many believe that Iran’s behaviour is so outrageous, and its nuclear capability now so dangerous, that a military strike is the only option left to the international community to bring the renegade nation into line.

The worrying truth is that, today, Iran is a rabid rogue state.

Unless the international community acts in concert to neutralise this danger, there will sooner or later be an Israeli strike to frustrate Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

If that happened, the world really would be in a new dark age.

Iran is developing low-flying cruise missiles

Iran is developing an advanced low-flying cruise missile that could potentially carry a non-conventional warhead, Arieh Herzog, director of the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency, said on Wednesday.

"The Iranians are developing a capability that within several years, they will have cruise missiles that can fly at low altitudes and carry non-conventional warheads," Herzog said.

"We can't wait until Iran declares it has a nuclear bomb"

Major US-Israel differences surfaced suddenly Thursday, Dec. 1, over the timing and circumstances of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, when Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff, said:

"I don't know whether Israel would alert the United States ahead of time if it decided to take military action against Iran." Three hours later, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak maintained US policy would enable Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon without the possibility of attacking it.

Barak added: “The difference between us and the Americans is this: We say that because the Iranians are busy moving their nuclear program to underground facilities, they can announce this (that they have a nuclear weapon) after it is no longer possible to attack it."

He went on to warn that If Israel is pushed into a corner, “it will have to act.”

In other words, Israel is not willing to wait, as the Obama administration proposes, until diplomatic moves and sanctions against Iran have achieved their aim, mostly because Israel is not ready to let Iran complete the transfer of its nuclear facilities to underground facilities and so make them safe from attack.

According to DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources, Israel gives Iran no more than six to eight months to complete this transfer, i.e., by June to August, 2012.

This is very interesting - it appears that for the first time, we have a definitive timeline from Israel.

And below, we see more news that is completely consistent with biblical prophecy (as usual):

In his interview Thursday, Defense Minister Barak also answered former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's persistent arguments against an Israeli military strike against Iran on the grounds that it would immediately trigger a regional war: Syria, Hizballah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad would launch attacks on Israel, seriously battering the country and inflicting heavy casualties, in Dagan's view.

The defense minister concluded this comment by saying: I have no idea what may happen tomorrow morning in Syria, or in Egypt.” DEBKAfile’s military sources interpret this as meaning that the danger of a new Middle East regional war is already present - unrelated to a possible Israeli attack on Iran, but rather as a result of the volatility set up by the uprising in Syria and the predicted rise to power in Egypt of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi Islamists

This scenario described is coming; it's just a matter of time. We know this from the prophetic scriptures.

The pieces of the puzzle are all in place, the coalitions have formed, the arms build-up is complete, the motives for war are in place and the world-wide hatred of Israel has occurred.

There is nothing left at this point in terms of the "set-up", as everything is in place. All that is needed now - is for the match to be lit in the powder-keg also known as the Middle East.