Gyanendra in Delhi

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the George W. Bush administration clearly enjoys rotating the world on its own axis. So when it recently walked out of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change without as much as a by-your-leave, the rest of the world could only throw up its hands in disgust. After all, the US continued to be responsible for 36 per cent of the world’s emissions (Russia is second with 17 per cent) and not having it as part of the key agreement on climate change made that particular treaty somewhat fragile. Seems now, though, that the US may have just set the bad boys of pollution a good example. Canada, for one, seems to be straining at the leash, asking why it should spend as much as $10-12 billion in safer technologies, since that would stymie growth. The premier of Canada’s richest oil province, Alberta, seems to be leading the anti-Kyoto march, arguing that it would affect production of energy, consequently jobs and ultimately impact the high standard of living. Germany, for one, is already seeing red at Canada’s dissolute ways. Still, if Canada refuses to ratify Kyoto and other countries, including Russia, follow suit, then the sexiest agreement on the environment may just come apart — not at the hands of the developing countries, but at the feet of the Big Developed.

Meanwhile, the big Conference of Parties that India is hosting in the end of October may just turn out to be a whimper.

Soli and Sattar

Attorney General Soli Sorabjee and Pakistani foreign minister Abdul Sattar may yet walk off into the sunset together. Both have recently been elected to the UN sub-commission on human rights, on what is called a ‘‘clean slate,’’ which means that since there were only three candidates for the three seats in the Asia group, there was no contest. Herein, though, hangs a tale. Seems that at the start of the contest there were actually two other candidates, Lebanon and Cyprus, and that the Pakistanis put great pressure on these two nations to withdraw, so as to ensure Sattar’s win. New Delhi, meanwhile, all set and sewn up to fight it out, watched the pleasure of beating their arch-Pakistani rival evaporate. That’s how Sattar and Sorabjee won the chance of getting to know each other better.

8 candidates, one post

There are, believe it or not, eight candidates for the post of OSD (public relations) in the External Publicity division. The post is one of a deputy secretary, but it seems that even a director-level officer seems to have applied. The applications certainly speaks volumes for the highly coveted job. Its the chance of a lifetime to travel the world, certainly where the Prime Minister is planning to go, to reconnoitre each place on his programme. Seems it is also the opportunity to break the invisible thread of hierarchy that must exist in any bureaucracy and get noticed by the bosses.