Author: Serkadis

Chrysler Group LLC is so confident that you’ll like their minivans that it is offering a new incentive where you can return a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan after 60 days if you’re not happy with the vehicle.

Known as the “Minivan Pledge,” consumers can trade in a competitive vehicle for the purchase of a 2010 model year Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country minivan and can return it, no questions asked, within 60 days.

“Chrysler Group is confident we have the best minivans in the marketplace and are promising customers if they don’t think their minivan is great, we will take it back,” said Fred Diaz, President and Chief Executive Officer–Ram Brand and Lead Executive for the Sales Organization, Chrysler Group LLC. “Once a customer buys a Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan minivan, they love it. The ‘Minivan Pledge’ gives consumers peace of mind to know they purchased the best minivan for their families.”

The offer is valid through March 31.

Hit the jump for the press release for more details.

Press Release:

It’s Time To Drive Detroit Again: The Best Minivans In The Industry Just Got Better – Chrysler Group LLC offers ‘Minivan Pledge’

– Consumers who trade in a competitive product and purchase a 2010 model year Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan minivan can drive the vehicle ‘risk-free’ for 60 days
– ‘Minivan Pledge’ gives competitive owners the peace of mind to ‘try us again’

Auburn Hills, Mich., Feb 11, 2010 – Chrysler Group LLC today announced the “Minivan Pledge” in which consumers trading in a competitive vehicle for the purchase of a new 2010 model year Dodge Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country minivan can return the vehicle, no questions asked, within 60 days if they aren’t happy with the vehicle.

“The Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country have been purchased by more customers than any other minivan, and we want new buyers to see why,” said Fred Diaz, President and Chief Executive Officer–Ram Brand and Lead Executive for the Sales Organization, Chrysler Group LLC. “Roughly 67 percent of our minivan buyers are previous owners, and the Chrysler Town & Country has won the R.L. Polk Owner Loyalty award in the minivan category nine years in a row. That’s a testimonial that is earned by building the best minivan year in and year out,” Diaz said.

Effective today and valid until March 31, consumers who trade in a competitive vehicle qualify for the “Minivan Pledge.” If a customer isn’t completely happy with the purchase of their 2010 model year Dodge Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country minivan, they can return the vehicle to the selling dealer, no questions asked. Consumers should see their participating local Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge and Ram Truck dealer for full program rules.

A nicely equipped 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE has a starting U.S. manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $23,995, including the $820 destination fee. The 2010 Chrysler Town & Country LX has a starting U.S. MSRP of $26,745, including the $820 destination fee.

Chrysler invented the modern minivan in 1984 and the first luxury minivan in 1989, and has sold more than 12 million minivans. Since 1984, Chrysler has introduced 65 minivan-first innovations – more than any other company – including: front-wheel drive, standard driver-side air bag, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, child safety locks on sliding doors, integrated child safety seat, the first electric minivan (EPIC in 1995), dual zone temperature control, driver-side sliding door (fourth door), first to offer Flexible Fuel Vehicle (1998), power liftgate, power sliding door obstacle detection system when opening and closing, three-zone temperature control system, Stow ‘n Go® seating and storage system, six-speed transmission, dual DVD system that can play different media at the same time and rear back-up camera.

– By: Omar Rana

All those folks calling for a Treasury selloff are seeing their prediction come true.

The latest note from Waverley Advisors tells the story:

With an anticipated $2.4 trillion total issuance on deck for this year (1.7 net of maturities),
the US Treasury market has become the obvious focal point for global risk capital. 
Despite a staggering projected deficit and still weak overall economy, the recent concerns
about sovereign debt in Greece and other nations have helped extend the flow of money 
based on the perceived quality of US, helping to sustain the low yield environment.  Now
however, with faint tightening signals starting to emerge from the Fed, the speculative
opportunities presented by the yield curve are increasingly compelling. 
 
In the game of deciding when, not if, yields will rise, yesterday was significant.  The selloff
following the  $25 billion 10 year auction was a clear indication of how volatile the mood
is among investors. The notes garnered 3.692, higher than forecast with a bid-to-cover of
2.67, driving yields higher in tandem with Chairman Bernanke’s vague testimony before
the house regarding future increases in the discount rate. 
 
Today’s $16 billion 30 year auction also saw weakness, with a yield of 4.72% and a
bid to cover of 2.36 providing more data to confirm deteriorating demand. 

Now don’t miss our 15 creditors who have us by the balls >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Ten Year Treasuries Nose Dive At Auction
• 80 Years Of History Says Treasuries Will Rally This Year
• Taleb: "Every Single Human Being" Should Short Treasuries

Dow: Up 106 points to 10,144.

NASDAQ: Up 29 points to 2177.

S&P 500: Up 10 points to 1078.

Commodities: Mixed. Oil is up $0.57 to $75.09 a barrel. Gold is up $19.20 to $1095.50 an ounce and silver is up $0.36 to $15.66 an ounce.

Futures remain mixed but generally positive, with metals, softs, and energy leading the pack.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Dow Up Over 100, As Bulls Gun For Two Big Days In A Row
• Mid-day: Markets Still Up, Oil Still On Fire
• Dow Closes Up Over 110 Points, Huge Day For Gold

GameStop has thrown in a new pre-order bonus for God of War III. Those who reserve the game will get a kickass poster signed by God of War III concept artist Andy Park. The Sony folks are

TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed Thursday that Iran has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level, saying his country will not be bullied by the West into curtailing its nuclear program a day after the U.S. imposed new sanctions.

Ahmadinejad made the announcement in a speech to hundreds of thousands of cheering Iranians at a rally to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Just two days earlier, Iran said it had begun enriching uranium to higher levels than before, raising fears it may be moving closer to the ability to produce material for a nuclear weapon.

But the president insisted Iran had no intention of building nuclear weapons and said if it intended to, it would say so openly.

Iran said Tuesday it had begun enriching uranium to 20 percent purity to power a research reactor for production of medical isotopes, up from 3.5 percent previously. But the international community has demanded a halt to all enrichment activity because the same process is used to produce weapons-grade material if it is enriched to a level of 90 percent.

Experts say that from 20 percent enrichment, Iran could make a quick leap to weapons-grade uranium.

Ahmadinejad did not say how much of the more highly enriched uranium had been produced. But David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said that any 20-percent enriched uranium produced just a few days after the start of the process would be “a tiny amount.”

“I want to announce with a loud voice here that the first package of 20 percent fuel was produced and provided to the scientists,” Ahmadinejad said. He reiterated that Iran was a “nuclear state,” something he has said before.

The claim of new progress in Iran’s nuclear program came a day after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions.

It froze the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of a Revolutionary Guard general and four subsidiaries of a construction firm he runs for their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction.

The U.S. said the elite Revolutionary Guard military force has consolidated control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders. It has also been the prime force leading a crackdown on internal opposition to the country’s disputed June 12 presidential election.

The international community also appears to be moving closer to imposing new U.N. sanctions on Iran over the nuclear program.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking at a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels, warned Iran that while the West and others still favor a dialogue with Tehran, “the patience of our countries is not inexhaustible.”

“Iran can either pursue a civilian nuclear program, respect human rights and earn the trust and respect of the international community, or it can move ahead with its nuclear weapons program, trample on human rights and be isolated and ostracized on the wrong side of history, outside the international community,” Brown said.

The United States and some of its allies suspect Tehran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build nuclear weapons but Tehran denies the charge, saying it has only has peaceful intentions.

Addressing the crowd, Ahmadinejad swore “the Iranian nation will never give in to bullying and illogical remarks” from the West.

“We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20 percent or 80 percent but we don’t enrich (to this level) because we don’t need it,” he added. “When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb.”

“If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it,” he said.

Tehran says it wants to enrich uranium to 20 percent as a part of a plan to fuel its research reactor which provides medical isotopes to hundreds of thousands of Iranians undergoing cancer treatment.

But the West says Iran is not capable of turning the uranium into the fuel rods needed by the reactor. Instead it fears that Iran wants to enrich the uranium to make nuclear weapons.

A confidential document from the U.N. nuclear agency shared Wednesday with The Associated Press said Iran’s initial effort at higher enrichment is modest, using only a small amount of uranium and a fraction of its capacities.

Western powers say Iran has rejected an internationally endorsed plan to defuse the situation by having Iran export its low enriched uranium for further enrichment abroad and returned as fuel rods for the Tehran reactor.

Iran, in turn, asserts it had no choice but to start enriching to higher levels because its suggested changes to the international plan were rejected.

The president said Iran will triple the production of its low-enriched uranium in the future.

“God willing, daily production (of low enriched uranium) will be tripled,” he said.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz

Underneath that sparse camouflage is the all-new 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that the update is only skin deep.

As the current CLS is based off the older E-Class platform (W211), the 2011 model is set to swap to the updated architecture (W212) and gain a few new stylistic updates inspired by its siblings. Although the coupe-like roofline will remain, the rear fenders will gain the blisters originally seen on the new E, along with the upright grille pulled from the SLS and more angular head- and taillamps.

Power is likely to be provided by Mercedes’ new range of direct injected and turbocharged engines, available in both six- and eight-cylinder configurations and topping out in the mid-400 horsepower range. There’s talk of a CLS 400 BlueHybrid variant and within a year of its debut – likely at the Paris Motor Show this fall – we can expect a 5.5-liter twin-turbo’d AMG version.

Spy Shots: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

According to a new advertising industry survey, the recent tarnishing of the Toyota image for quality is good for the American automakers, as their quality reputations have increased in the eyes of consumers.

58.9% of respondents considered Toyota vehicle to be of a higher level of quality than American cars before the recall, but that figure has plummeted to 23.3%. Also, 26% of respondents considered Toyota to be of lower quality than the domestic brands post-recall, while only 6% shared that opinion before the recalls.

The brand still holds the image of being reliable among loyalists for the most part, but damage has been done; there is no question about that. Industry professionals feel however, that Toyota caused more trouble for itself than was necessary through their delayed silence on the topic, and perceived dishonesty with regard to the original ‘floor mat’ recall of November.

Toyota has seen a decrease in their client base among those owners who would consider buying another Toyota from 75.6% to 59.6%. Many owners however have expressed that they are open and willing to having their faith restored in Toyota, once the company’s worthiness has been demonstrated. “I want the problem to be fixed quickly and right. And I want to have my faith restored in Toyota again,” said one respondent.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: AdAge

I guess it’s fitting that this happens in early February. Slashdot points us to the news that, as was widely expected, the record labels have opted for a third trial of Jammie Thomas-Rasset, rather than accept the reduced award of $2,250 per song, as set by the judge. Not surprisingly, the labels are doing this because they disagree with the precedent of a judge changing the jury award, and the new trial is limited solely to the damages question. But, honestly, the whole thing is a bit weird. If the judge can reduce the older jury award, and a new jury sets a higher rate, can the judge just reduce it again, and we go through this entire process for the fourth time? The Slashdot post, written by Ray Beckermann claims that the labels “could only win a verdict that is equal to, or less than, $54,000,” in the new trial, but I’m not sure why he says that. Is it because the judge would reduce it again? This is not at all clear.

Still, the actual filing from the RIAA’s lawyers has some interesting claims (pdf):

While Plaintiffs do not believe that either verdict was improper under the law, or
that the second verdict should be remitted, they would have considered accepting a
remittitur simply so that this case could finally come to an end. However, any remittitur
must otherwise be consistent with the law and be guided by what actual juries have
awarded under similar circumstances. Unfortunately, Plaintiffs find it impossible to
accept a remittitur that could be read to set a new standard for statutory damages —
essentially capping those damages at three times the minimum statutory amount of $750
(or $2,250) for any “noncommercial individuals who illegally download and upload
music.” (Id. at 2, 25.) This far-reaching determination is contrary to the law and creates
a statutory scheme that Congress did not intend or enact.

It’s a bit of a stretch to claim that this would be a cap on “any” unauthorized noncommercial file distribution. I would imagine that any court still has the right to take into account the specific circumstances to make sure the award is proportionate to the rights being violated. The labels’ lawyers are stretching what the judge said here.

Indeed, Congress has spoken on this very topic. Congress deliberately and
purposefully established a range of statutory damages that applies without regard to the
commercial motivation of the defendant.

I find this statement funny, because they then cite what Congress said way back in 1999. Fair enough, Congress (which basically just took RIAA talking points and put them into the Congressional record) did make those comments — but these are the same entertainment industry lawyers who supported a “secondary liability” or inducement standard in the Grokster case, even though Congress had specifically rejected an attempt to put an inducement standard into the law. And when confronted, how does the RIAA explain that? Well, they say “the situation changed.” Ah, so it’s okay to have the courts change copyright law when the situation changes in one direction, but not the other?

What the judge was doing here was recognizing that the amount the jury awarded was clearly out of proportion to the actual infringement — just as the courts in Grokster supposedly recognized that an inducement standard made sense in shutting down third parties (something I disagree with, but it’s how the court felt). It seems that the RIAA and its lawyers have a massive double standard here.

A rule that the maximum permissible award in cases involving so-called
“noncommercial” infringers is three times minimum statutory damages also ignores the
harm caused by such infringers. From an economic perspective, individuals who give
away copyrighted works illegally can cause as much harm as those who sell those works
illegally, particularly when the so-called “non-commercial” infringer uses a P2P service.
The notion that an infringer who does not make a profit should automatically be entitled
to better treatment than an infringer who does make a profit is found nowhere in the law.
The “not for profit” infringer is hardly entitled to special protection, which is why
Congress conferred no such protection.

Again, Congress also conferred no such thing as an inducement liability, but the courts — at the urging of the RIAA — conferred exactly that via the courts. Why such a double standard?

The Court’s cap would set a
new ceiling such that no copyright owner could effectively enforce their rights unless
they could and did sue on numerous works. No copyright owner would be motivated to
enforce its rights where it could only sue on a handful of works because the potential
recovery would be too limited. Congress set a wide range of statutory damages for
copyright cases precisely because plaintiffs need to be incentivized to bring appropriate
cases to enforce their rights — even those who own a small number of copyrights or those
who only have a limited number of works infringed. Conversely, the Court’s artificially
depressed cap compels parties with a large number of copyrights at stake to sue on all of
them, rather than a more modest number. This serves only to increase the discovery and
trial burdens on parties and courts. Yet the Court’s inflexible “three times” cap would
invariably penalize plaintiffs with a small number of works at issue, and would force
those with a lot of works to add to their complaints unnecessarily.

Woe is the RIAA. If the awards for unauthorized sharing of a $1 song that might help promote their artists and help them make more money (if only the RIAA were to adapt to a changing market place) might “only” be 2,250 times the market price of the song? Cry me a river. And, even more ridiculous is the claim that this is some undue burden on the RIAA that it might have to actually sue over all of the songs someone distributed in an unauthorized manner, rather than just selecting a handful as it does now. This is a major issue. Technically, the RIAA has been able to just pick a couple dozen songs and sue over those, knowing that the totally disproportionate statutory damages will “cover” the rest. But does that seem right to anyone? The idea that rather than proving the actual harm done by the actual distribution, the RIAA is allowed to just pick a “sampling” and without proof get back many times the price without even presenting any actual evidence of the wider damage or the wider distribution of more files?

It seems perfectly reasonable to expect the RIAA should have to actually include what they claim was infringed, rather than being able to just pick a handful, knowing that the totally out of proportion statutory damages will “cover” the rest.

In fact, the paragraph above is effectively the RIAA admitting that it knows the statutory damages are out of proportion, but it believes it’s fair because the RIAA is too cheap and too lazy to actually sue people for what it claims they infringed on.

Talk about a sense of entitlement.

Still, as we’ve said for a while now, this is a really bad case all around. It’s pretty clear that Thomas-Rassett was involved in widespread infringement, and then lied about it. If people are going to challenge ridiculous statutory rates and other aspects of copyright law, this is really bad case to do that (ditto for the Tenenbaum case). This is one where it seems like she really might have been better off settling early and moving on. And the oddity of the judge reducing the jury award just makes this whole case into something of a circus…

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Speaking at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, Honda’s assistant vice president of product planning Vicki Poponi says that the Ridgeline pickup will upgraded for the 2011 model year. The Ridgeline, which has not been upgraded for five years, will see a redesign in 2011, says Poponi.

Sales of the Ridgeline have declined over the last year as new trucks have softened the pickup’s appeal.

“The customers love the Ridgeline,” Poponi said. “It’s really a unique truck. It’s its own segment. But because it’s a niche vehicle, they’re really aren’t many people out looking for it. It’s also a bit older than we like.”

Honda sold 16,464 units of the Ridgeline last year, down 33,875 a year earlier, a decline of 51.4%.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: PickupTrucks.com

WHISTLER, British Columbia  — Lindsey Vonn says she “took a bunch” of painkillers and used “some creams” to numb her bruised and swollen right shin before an Olympic downhill training run.

Vonn says on her Twitter feed Thursday that “warmup was still very painful” but she thinks she will be able to try the training run.

She was on the mountain Thursday morning for course inspection. The start of the later training run was delayed because of fog that made it hard to see the slope.

It would be the first time Vonn has skied since hurting herself during pre-Olympic training in Austria on Feb. 2. She revealed the injury Wednesday and was questioning if she would be able to ski.

Thursday’s training is the first for women at these Winter Games.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

NEWS RELEASE
Feb. 10, 2010                                                          Contact: Erica Jesberger, 544-4916

A lecture about geography, civil society, and development in Pakistan will be held Tuesday, February 16 at 7 p.m. in the HUB on the Columbia Basin College Pasco campus.

Dr. Craig Feeney, a local radiologist who recently completed a two-week tour of the mountains of Pakistan, will speak about the geography of the region and show slides of his trip up Biafo Hispar in Pakistan and Biafo Glacier in Kashmir. This part of the lecture will inform people about how foreboding and unforgiving the landscape is in the region.
CBC Sociology instructor, Dr. Omar Chaoura Bourouh, PhD, will then speak about the development of society in Pakistan and its complex culture. The lecture will be followed by a question and answer session.

This event is one of several events hosted by the CBC Reads committee. CBC Reads has chosen the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin to feature this year.

Aired Feb. 10, 2010
Adam Harding, KNDU TV

PASCO, Wash–  There’s a revitalization effort going on in downtown Pasco.

“It’s a great notion for the city of downtown Pasco,” Ronaldo Garcia with Columbia Basin College says.  “And the need is there, so we’re here to provide support for them.”

Columbia Basin College has teamed up with the Pasco Downtown Development Association  and the city to revamp the area between Third and Fifth avenue.  Together they took pictures of the old spots, then did a total re-design.

“Not necessarily a uniform look, because we want each one of the buildings to be distinctive, but to give it some sort of theme or flavor,” explains Dennis Gisi, President with the Pasco Downtown Development Association.

The project is funded through more than $600,000 in grants.  The goal is to transform as many businesses as possible with the thought it’ll attract consumers.

“There’s so many small business owners downtown that are looking for an opportunity like this to really bring in more money downtown,” says Gilbert Mendoza with the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

And for students, it’s not only a chance to learn but also give back to the community.

“This invaluable experience our students are gaining through this project allows them to take what they’re learning in the classroom and actually put it on from theory to practical,” says Garcia.

Published Feb. 11, 2010
By Tri-City Herald staff

PASCO — A Black History Month event featuring Andrea Ivory is scheduled for 5 p.m. today on the HUB main stage at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

The event will focus on breast cancer awareness. Ivory is a breast cancer survivor who started the Florida Breast Health Initiative. She’s been named a CNN Hero.

The event also will include performances by Curtis Nettles and Alexandra Adams. A reception will follow.

Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.

NEWS RELEASE
February 10, 2010                                                       Contact: Frank Murray, 542-4835

Columbia Basin College Foundation scholarship applications for the 2010-2011 school year are due at the Foundation office by February 22.

Any potential student or currently enrolled student may apply. Most scholarships are for full-time students maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.5., but a few scholarships may be awarded to part-time students. The application is available here.

Applications are due by 4 p.m. February 22 to the Foundation office on the CBC Pasco campus.

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Recalls, Safety, Videos, Toyota, Humor

You know you’ve hit a certain level of notoriety (for better or worse) when hacks with video editing software and a sense of humor post a video on YouTube that pokes fun at you or your situation and people actually watch. Toyota’s recall of over 8 million vehicles for throttle, floor mat and brake issues has spent so much time in the headlines that the Japanese automaker appears to be at that dubious juncture.

Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show have taken their cracks at Toyota, but they’re professionals and they make fun of everybody. Beyond the jump is something different. It’s definitely not professional and the quality of production just isn’t up to par, but it does have one thing that helps it stand out: It’s funny. Hit the jump to watch the video for yourself.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Hastily made homebrewed Toyota recall commercial parody

Video: Hastily made homebrewed Toyota recall commercial parody originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Matthew Bishop, U.S. Business Editor, The Economist

The Road From Ruin: How To Revive Capitalism And Put America Back On Top

Should We Worry About The Deficit? (4 min)

• Bishop: Government needs to reflate the economy after a liquidity crisis
• Bishop: America already had serious fiscal problems before the crisis
• Bishop: It would be catastrophic if ratings agencies downgrade American debt
• How would The Economist run the U.S.?

Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei

Don’t miss this Matt Bishop clip:
The Road From Ruin: This Was A Global Crisis And No One Has The Slightest Interest In Doing Anything About It >

More Video: Click HERE >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The Road From Ruin: This Was A Global Crisis And No One Has The Slightest Interest In Doing Anything About It
• There’s A 40%-50% Chance Stocks Will Crash To A New Low, Says Gary Shilling
• U.S. Consumers Finally Getting Religion About Debt

Last month, Chrysler, Hyundai General Motors and Ford starting offering incentives taking advantage of Toyota’s recall troubles. Honda was the only automaker that decided not to offer any incentives to Toyota drivers and said that it “will not react in a predatory way toward either Toyota or Toyota customers.”

Well, it seems like Honda has changed its mind. While Toyota’s Prius hybrid is going through a recall for brake problems, Honda is offering a sub $200-a-month lease deal on its Insight hybrid, obviously to go up against the Toyota’s pride and joy.

Honda is offering a lease payment of $200 a month that combines 12,000 mile/36-mph limit with a residual of 63 percent and a lease rate of .00141. A $750 cash rebate can also be combined with the special lease rate.

The deal, which lasts through March 1, is so good Edmunds.com has named the promotion its lease deal of the week.

Click here for our review of the 2010 Honda Insight.

Review: 2010 Honda Insight:

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Omar Rana – egmCarTech.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoObserver

By Ann Hellman CAPE TOWN, Feb 11 (IPS) Africa needs urgent action on global warming. The consensus position adopted by African leaders ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen failed. African environmental activists are now debating their way forward.

Samantha Bailey, Africa coordinator for the 350 Campaign, said activist organising had been a success.

In the framework of the international "TckTckTck" campaign, 350 held an international day of action on Oct. 24, 2009, which it says was "the biggest single day of political action ever to happen". It involved 5,200 actions in 181 countries demanding a fair, ambitious and binding deal.

The 350 Campaign, founded in the United States by author Bill McKibben, was established to pressure governments to agree that 350 parts per million is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided.

For the day of action in October, 40 activists from across Africa attended a climate change training camp in South Africa's economic hub Johannesburg, and photographs of the worldwide protests were delivered to South African leaders, including president Jacob Zuma and Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

Bailey conceded that in Africa it was "much more difficult to get the message out". She ascribed this to Africa not having an established climate change movement, as India and Australia do.

"In Africa it was a struggle because of the AIDS money dynamic. A lot of people have got lazy and were waiting to be paid money instead of doing things for themselves," she said.

But in an indication of a divide between civil society movements from North and South, Bailey's statements provoked a fierce debate.

"I don't know whether it's because 350 is American, but 'tck tck' is not easy to understand. People couldn't relate to the messages," said Thabang Ngcozela. "Messages that people have derived themselves would have been much more easier for them to relate to."

Ngcozela heads several civil society projects for the group which hosted a January meeting of climate change activists in Cape Town, the Environmental Monitoring Group. He said EMG's most successful climate change activities have taken place in poor communities like Cape Town's Khayelitsha, and not in seminar rooms in the suburbs.

Organising using online petitions and flash mobs – groups gathered quickly to collective action via cellphone – could exclude many local communities in South Africa and elsewhere because the mobilisation is organised via a medium most people don't access, said another participant.

"Climate change is bigger than the problem of HIV. It is not going to affect (just) a selected few those who have been exposed – it is a threat to humanity and there is nothing complex about that. We need robust political intervention in communities… not a strategy targeted at the selected few" said Nkwame Cedile from the Alternative Information and Development Centre.

He said global campaigns should avoid mobilisation "just for awareness raising, because government also does that"; he urged people not to see climate change as a scientific issue too complex to explain to the poor.

Ngcozela said the way forward after Copenhagen must be to "build democratic movements on the ground" rather than arrange isolated events.

"There is no way we can hold our government accountable in (forums like) Copenhagen if we can't hold it accountable at home" he said.

But Tony Brutus, who works for the South African government's Department of Water Affairs, disagreed. He told the seminar that even non-binding statements against climate change by governments are significant and can put into motion "certain processes".

South Africa broke ranks with the rest of the continent and the Group of 77 countries pushing hard for binding emissions reduction targets and significant funding to poor countries to mitigate the already unavoidable effects of global warming, and joined 25 countries which hammered out a non-binding "Copenhagen Accord" at the end of the summit.

The accord committed South Africa to "adopt and report on national mitigation actions to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases". Developed nations agreed to try to raise 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to help developing countries cope with climatic changes.

"South Africa was part of a small group who wanted change. President Jacob Zuma went ahead and made those statements and that got him into trouble with some of our neighbouring countries. I assume that action plans will follow," Brutus said.

Brutus did not elaborate on what action plans the government might be working on.

But 1500 kilometres away from Cape Town, Desmond D'Sa says non-binding agreements have not worked for the people of South Durban.

D'Sa is the co-ordinator of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) and has long demanded that government enact tough laws against polluting industries.

For him, the allegedly cancer-causing pollution from three oil refineries and dozens of chemical factories in the area goes hand in hand with the deadly phenomenon of climate change.

D'Sa said industry will not clean up its act unless it is paid by government to do so. "Industry is asking for more handouts, more incentives from governments. They want more of the taxpayers' money before they will do anything.

"We have industries which have been operating for 100 years still wanting sympathy from the people of this country, and yet masses of people are affected by their toxic emissions and continue to suffer."

He hit out at government for allowing the industries to expand, instead of introducing new laws to restrict them, and force them to reduce their polluting emissions.

"South Durban bears the mark of apartheid, but even under the democratic government, industries are allowed to expand and their emissions are increasing rapidly," said D'Sa.

Government's reluctance to regulate polluting but profitable industry showed itself in South Africa's alignment with the Copenhagen Accord's voluntary commitments to reduce emissions. In addition to its work with people affected by the petrochemical industries, SDCEA is now mobilising communities outside the South Durban basin who are suffering the effects of climate change.

One of these is the Clairwood Ratepayers Association. Richard Singh, who represents subsistence farmers growing spinach and cabbages near the Durban airport, told IPS that climate change had led to scorching heat and frequent floods which destroy his crops.

He says in 1976, he was able to plant crops according to the four seasons. "Today I can't do the same because you find different weather even on the same day, and more insects than ever. My money and plants go down the drain," says Singh.

Claribel Mthembu of KwaMakhutha, near the large Durban township of Umlazi, says climate change affects her community because "there are four seasons in one week".

Mthembu points to a killer storm that hit Molweni, near Durban in 2008. The freak storm killed five people and destroyed 400 houses.

"Residents depend on their crops for food, but all the crops were destroyed and they never got help rebuilding their houses," she said.

Ngcozela warns that for a global anti-climate change campaign to succeed, it must veer away from seminars and internet activities that preach to the already converted, and focus on working with people like D'Sa, Mthembu and Singh.

Echoing Mthembu, he said "South Africans in the rural areas are already  aware of how the increasing sun is impacting on their mielie (maize) fields. They are aware that when there is a drought their cattle and pigs die."

"What we need now is for grassroots activists to be trained and sent out, with the necessary support, to campaign against climate change" Ngcozela said.