Today, over 26,500 children died around the world. This daily tragedy, from poverty and other preventable causes, rarely makes headline news.
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- Politics-Thailand: Town and Country Divide Runs Deep Saturday, January 10, 2009
- Europe: Caught in Freezing Crossfire Saturday, January 10, 2009
- Mideast: Tehran Opts for 'Moral Support' in Gaza War Saturday, January 10, 2009
- Mideast: Israel Fighting Also the UN Saturday, January 10, 2009
- India/Pakistan: Lowering Temperatures Saturday, January 10, 2009
- India: Satyam Scam Questions Corporate Governance Friday, January 09, 2009
- Politics: In Washington, All Roads Lead to Tehran Friday, January 09, 2009
- Politics-Us: Obama Intel Picks Send Mixed Message Friday, January 09, 2009
- Rights: Aid Groups Dispute Israeli Claims in Gaza Attacks Friday, January 09, 2009
- Mideast: Mourn the Cat That Died Friday, January 09, 2009
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Global Financial Crisis 2008
Last updated Saturday, January 03, 2009.
Following a period of economic boom, a financial bubble—global in scope—has now burst. The extent of this problem has been so severe that some of the world’s largest financial institutions have collapsed. Others have been bought out by their competition at low prices and in other cases, the governments of the wealthiest nations in the world have resorted to extensive bail-out and rescue packages for the remaining large banks and financial institutions.
Some of the bail-outs have also led to charges of hypocrisy due to the apparent socializing of the costs while privatizing the profits.
Furthermore, the institutions being rescued are typically the ones got the world into this trouble in the first place. For smaller businesses and poorer people, such options for bail out and rescue are rarely available when they find themselves in crisis. There is the argument that when the larger banks show signs of crisis, it is not just the wealthy that will suffer, but potentially everyone because of the ripple effect that problems at the top could have throughout the entire economy.
This problem could have been averted (in theory) as people had been pointing to these issues for decades. However, during boom, very few want to hear such pessimism. Does this crisis spell an end to the careless forms of banking and finance and will it herald a better economic age, or are we just doomed to keep forgetting history and repeat these mistakes in the future?
Read “Global Financial Crisis 2008” to learn more.
Conflicts in Africa—Introduction
Last updated Saturday, January 03, 2009.
There have been over 9 million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of people have been slaughtered from a number of conflicts and civil wars. If this scale of destruction and fighting was in Europe, then people would be calling it World War III with the entire world rushing to report, provide aid, mediate and otherwise try to diffuse the situation. This article explores why Africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are.
Read “Conflicts in Africa—Introduction” to learn more.
COP14—Poznań Climate Conference
Posted Thursday, January 01, 2009.
An overview of the Climate Change Conference (also known as COP 14), held in Poznań, Poland, at the beginning of December, 2008. As with past conferences, this too was not without its controversies. For example, while the Adaptation Fund was launched the funding of it caused lots of disagreements. The conference came at a time when Europe seemed to weaken their usually strong stance on climate change action and on news that in recent years, emissions from industrialized nations had risen.
Read “COP14—Poznań Climate Conference” to learn more.
A Code of Conduct for Arms Sales
Last updated Sunday, November 30, 2008.
The arms trade is one of the most corrupt trades in the world, fueling conflict and poverty. Since the early 1990s there has been efforts to review and develop arms-transfer principles and codes of conduct to ensure that arms are not sold to human rights violators. The US, EU and others have developed some codes, but they are fraught with problems, loopholes, lack of transparency and are open to corruption. There is a proposed international arms trade treaty to overcome these limitations. However, for various political and profit reasons, some nations seem unwilling to agree to a code of conduct. Proposals are growing stronger for an arms trade treaty. Will that suffer the same problem?
Read “A Code of Conduct for Arms Sales” to learn more.
Poverty Around The World
Last updated Saturday, November 22, 2008.
Around the world, in rich or poor nations, poverty has always been present. In most nations today, inequality—the gap between the rich and the poor—is quite high and often widening. Whether the cause is a lack of individual responsibility, bad government policy, exploitation by people and businesses with power and influence, or some combination, many feel high levels of inequality will lead to problems such as increasing crime and violence, and risks social cohesion.
The latest World Bank figures for world poverty reveals a higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought. For example, the new poverty line is defined as $1.25 a day. 1.4 billion people live on or below that line. Furthermore, almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day:
Read “Poverty Around The World” to learn more.
The Arms Trade is Big Business
Last updated Sunday, November 09, 2008.
Each year, around $45-60 billion worth of arms sales are agreed. Some two-thirds of sales are made to developing countries. The 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China), together with Germany and Italy account for over 80% of the arms sold between 2000 and 2007. Some of the arms sold go to regimes where human rights violations will occur. Corruption often accompanies arms sales due to the large sums of money involved.
Read “The Arms Trade is Big Business” to learn more.
“If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence.” — Bertrand Russell, Roads to Freedom
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