Monthly Archives: March 2014

Crucial meeting to take call on 53 varieties of GM crops tomorrow

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NEW DELHI: Almost a year after holding its last meeting, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) - government regulatory body on genetically modified organisms - will meet on Friday to take a call on "confined field trials" for 53 transgenic varieties of GM crops.

The move is a step forward after the environment ministry's recent decision to give its go ahead to field trials of over 200 varieties of genetically modified crops which had got the GEAC's nod in its last meeting in March, 2013.

Though the GEAC has circulated agenda of the Friday meeting among its members, it preferred not to bring it in public domain - contrary to the ministry's earlier stand to do such clearance exercise in transparent manner.

Besides considering applications for "confined field trials" of different transgenic varieties of GM crops, the meeting is also scheduled to take a follow up action on the decision taken in its March, 2013. Field trial is an important step to know the bio-safety details of a particular variety.

Among the applications which are to be considered by the GEAC in its Friday meeting include transgenic varieties of maize, sorghum, rice, wheat, cotton and groundnut.

Besides private seed companies, government research institutions and Universities are also among the applicants which have applied for "confined field trials" of their respective transgenic varieties of GM crops. Applications relating to pharmaceuticals will also be considered by the appraisal committee.

The move and the manner in which the GEAC has called the meeting are, however, strongly resisted by anti-GM activists who felt that any decision to allow field trials would not only go against the spirit of the ministry's earlier stand (under the former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan) but also violate the 'model code of conduct' which has been in force in the country ahead of general elections.

The Coalition of GM Free India - an umbrella organization of all anti-GM activists - on Thursday even wrote the Central Election Commission, requesting it to stop the permissions for field trial of GM crops by GEAC as it violates the model code of conduct.

In a letter to chief election commissioner V S Sampath, the Coalition's convenor Rajesh Krishnan said, "We strongly believe that this is being done at the instruction of the current government and there is quid pro quo benefits that the ruling party and the minister in charge (M Veerappa Moily) might accrue during the election period. Needless to say, this will have an impact on the purity of the election process".

The Coalition urged the CEC to direct GEAC and the ministry of environment and forest "to withhold permissions for those field trials that have been granted and also to stop granting of permissions for any field trials in the upcoming meeting (on Friday) until the election process are over and results declared".

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Crucial meeting to take call on 53 varieties of GM crops tomorrow

Pingtung Agriculture Biotechnology Park blends aquaculture and greenhouses – Video

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Pingtung Agriculture Biotechnology Park blends aquaculture and greenhouses
The Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park has created Taiwan #39;s first integrated aquaculture farm and greenhouse. It uses an ingenious process where wastew...

By: Formosa EnglishNews

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Pingtung Agriculture Biotechnology Park blends aquaculture and greenhouses - Video

A look into the future of libraries with futurist Garry Golden and Tech Guru Al Car – Video

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A look into the future of libraries with futurist Garry Golden and Tech Guru Al Car
Join Garry for this follow-up webinar, along side tech guru Al Carlson, where attendees will have an opportunity to hear from Garry, and then to interact wit...

By: TBLibraryConsortium

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A look into the future of libraries with futurist Garry Golden and Tech Guru Al Car - Video

Embracing Future Trends to Be Addressed by Global Futurist Jack Uldrich at TEXPERS 25th Annual Conference

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Fort Worth, TX (PRWEB) March 20, 2014

The TEXPERS 25th Annual Conference will be held at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel from March 23-26, 2014 and best-selling author and futurist, Jack Uldrich, will be delivering the keynote speech, Foresight 2020: The Ten Trends Transforming the World of Tomorrow, Today.

The Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS), formed in 1989, is a statewide voluntary nonprofit association that provides quality education to trustees, administrators, professional service providers and employee groups and associations engaged or interested in the management of public employee retirement systems. TEXPERS mission is to provide training, support, and advocacy for public pension plans of Texas.

The focus of this years TEXPERS conference is Learn, Connect, Promote and Protect. The Association provides the highest quality education and services to its participating retirement systems and affiliate members. They have selected Uldrich, a highly sought after presenter, to deliver their keynote speech regarding future trends, which will specifically touch on each of the 25th Annual Conference themes.

The presentation is based on a combination of Uldrich's best-selling books, "Foresight 2020: A Futurist Explores the Trends Transforming Tomorrow" and Jump the Curve: 50 Essential Strategies to Help Your Company Stay Ahead of Emerging Technologies.

Uldrichs interactive speech, which has been tailored to TEXPERS goals, and their quest to learn and embrace what 2014 holds in store, is designed to provide the non-profit with a solid and thought-provoking foundation upon which to continue shaping the associations future. An overview of some of Uldrichs ideas can be found in this YouTube clip of his presentation, "Why Future Trends Demand Unlearning," which originally aired on WFYI in Indianapolis.

Uldrich will also provide an overview of how technological change is upending long-standing business models and discuss in depth why future technological trends demand unlearning. Uldrich's use of dynamic stories and analogies, drawn from a wide spectrum of industries, will ensure his message of unlearning makes a lasting impression on his TEXPERS audience.

Spanning a vast array of industries, Uldrichs most recent keynotes have been delivered to the American Medical Association, the Idaho Technology Council, Wells Fargo, the Allan P. Kirby Lecture Series at Wilkes University, and The Million Dollar Round Table.

Other clients of Uldrich include General Electric, IBM, Cisco, United Healthcare, PepsiCo, Verizon Wireless, General Mills, the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Pfizer, Healthcare Association of New York, Southern Company, St. Jude Medical, Dressbarn, AG Schering, Imation, Lockheed Martin, Fairview Hospitals, Touchstone Energy, The Insurance Service Organization, and hundreds more.

Parties interested in learning more about Jack Uldrich, his books, his daily blog or his speaking availability are encouraged to visit his School of Unlearning website. Media wishing to know more about either the event or interviewing Jack can contact Amy Tomczyk at (651) 343.0660.

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Embracing Future Trends to Be Addressed by Global Futurist Jack Uldrich at TEXPERS 25th Annual Conference

Museums seek a new generation of donors

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Already anticipating this generational changing of the guard, some museums are racing to pursue younger donors and trustees.

At the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, 75 percent of the board membership has turned over in the last seven years. That has brought new life to the Walker, which focuses on modern and contemporary art. But it has also meant the loss of several stalwarts who could be relied on for big checks and sage advice.

"Most of the oldest generation has completely gone off," said the Walker's director, Olga Viso. In its place, Ms. Viso said, a group of trustees in their 50s and 60s has moved into senior leadership roles and begun giving at higher levels, while a younger group of trustees in their early 40s and even late 30s has joined the board.

Among the more youthful members Ms. Viso has recruited of late are John Christakos, founder of the furniture company Blu Dot, who is in his late 40s and serves as the Walker board's treasurer, and Monica Nassif, the founder of the fragrance and cleaning companies Caldrea and Mrs. Meyers Clean Day.

As well as being proactive, another way to attract young donors and trustees is to be a cultural powerhouse. Many prominent art museums in major metropolitan areas, in particular, are so far navigating this transition with ease.

"The very big institutions are doing very well," said Ms. Robinson of the Museum Group. "They have a gravitational field."

Take the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which has well-oiled machinery for cultivating young patrons and turning the exceptional ones into trustees at MoMA or its sister institution, PS1.

"We've been doing this since 1949," said Todd Bishop, MoMA's senior deputy director of external affairs. That was the year that it set up the Junior Council, a group for young patrons. MoMA refreshed the effort in 1990 with the founding of the Junior Associates, a membership group open to those 40 years old and younger.

At a recent Junior Associates event, about 50 young patrons gathered to sip white wine in the museum's lobby after work, giant Brice Marden paintings looming over the makeshift bar. The occasion was a private tour of MoMA's retrospective of the German sculptor Isa Genzken, hardly the most accessible show.

After 45 minutes of schmoozing, the Junior Associates dutifully followed Laura Hoptman, the curator, on a walk-through of the sometimes jarring exhibition. Ms. Hoptman spoke of Ms. Genzken's "physicalization of sound waves" and the artist's battles with depression.

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Museums seek a new generation of donors

Dunya News-Punjab govt pays fine securing freedom of 84 prisoners released after completing sentence – Video

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Dunya News-Punjab govt pays fine securing freedom of 84 prisoners released after completing sentence
Punjab govt pays fine securing freedom of 84 prisoners released after completing sentence https://www.youtube.com/dunyanews1 Don #39;t forget to "LIKE" and "SHAR...

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Dunya News-Punjab govt pays fine securing freedom of 84 prisoners released after completing sentence - Video