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ListsMaterials
- -Consequences of Global Warming (Awesome Library)
"Our greatest challenge today is to move the fresh, melting water in our polar caps and Greenland to safe land basins and water tables." 09-08
Multimedia
- News Feeds (BBC News)
"If you run your own website, you can use RSS feeds to display the latest headlines from other websites on your site." 09-08
News
- Michael Jackson's Top 10 Songs (Time.com)
Provides Time's choices of Jackson's top ten. 06-09
Papers
- -001 Editorial: "He Won What?!" (Time.com)
Regarding President Barack Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize: "Why the Norwegian Nobel Committee made such a decision barely nine months into his presidency was a worthy question. So instead of popping off, I wanted to go deeper, and there is no better explanation than the committee’s rationale."
" 'Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population,' according to text of the Nobel Prize citation."
" 'For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that ‘Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.' " 10-09
- -001 Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah (New York Times)
"A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult."
" 'This crack in the clerical establishment, and the fact they are siding with the people and Moussavi, in my view is the most historic crack in the 30 years of the Islamic republic,' said Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University. 'Remember, they are going against an election verified and sanctified by Khamenei.' " 07-09
- -01-07-09 Europeans Suffer as Russia Cuts Gas Shipments (MSNBC News)
"Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday — leaving more than a dozen countries scrambling to cope during a winter cold snap. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the move and urged that international observers be brought into the energy dispute." 01-09
- -01-18-09 Hamas Declares Cease Fire (CNN News)
"Palestinian militants declared Sunday that they would stop attacks on Israel for a week, a statement that came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced a unilateral cease-fire in the country's assault on Hamas in Gaza."
"The agreement appears to cover all Palestinian armed factions, not only Hamas." 01-09
- -01-26-09 Icelandic Government Falls (CNN News)
"Iceland's ruling coalition resigned Monday, three months after the collapse of the country's currency, stock market and several major banks, and following months of public protests, Kristjan Kristjansson, a spokesman for the prime minister told CNN." 01-09
- -02-04-09 Girl Granted Divorce at Age 10 (Time.com)
"It was only once the courthouse emptied during the lunch recess that the judge noticed her and asked why she was there. 'I came for a divorce,' she told him. Horrified, he took her to his house to play with his 8-year-old daughter, and granted the divorce two days later."
"Despite Yemen's laws against child marriage, about 52% of Yemen's girls marry before the age of 18, often as the second or third wives of far older men. Worldwide, child marriage has been slow to change, according to UNICEF's 'State of the World's Children' report released last month. About 49% of South Asian women in their early 20s were married before the age of 18, according to statistics gathered by UNICEF, which links early marriage to high rates of infant death and maternal mortality in very poor countries." 02-09
- -02-25-09 Editorial: Roy Bennett Imprisoned in Zimbabwe (HuffingtonPost.com)
"Roy Bennett remains in custody today, and authorities intend to hold him until at least March 4, it was said in an MDC press release. As Bennett is held on charges of 'terrorism,' Zimbabwe military police backed by Mugabe have tried to use him as a political pawn to ensure their own blanket amnesty, no doubt sensing that Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is bound to lose power in the near future."
"I know Roy Bennett from my time in the region, and can say without a doubt that he is one of the most courageous men I've ever met, with an unending determination to fight for a safe and prosperous Zimbabwe." 02-09
- -03-10-09 China: U.S. Navy Ship Broke Laws (CBS News)
"China has rejected an accusation by the United States that a U.S. Navy mapping ship was harassed by Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, saying the American ship was breaking international laws." 03-09
- -03-13-09 Summers: $50 Trillion in Global Wealth Erased (CBS News)
"Lawrence Summers, Director of the White House National Economic Council, at left, gave a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington this morning detailing why the economic crisis started and defending the Obama administration's strategy for combating it."
" 'On a global basis, $50 trillion dollars in global wealth has been erased over the last 18 months. This includes $7 trillion dollars in US stock market wealth which has vanished, and $6 trillion dollars in housing wealth that has been destroyed,' he said. 'Inevitably, this has led to declining demand, with GDP and employment now shrinking at among the most rapid rates since the second World War.' "
"Summers, the former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton and former president of Harvard University, was professorial in describing the crisis and relating it to prior downturns. But to boil things down, he said it comes down to an 'abundance of greed and an absence of fear on Wall Street' that led to the bubble. The recession and crisis were in turn caused by the reverse of that." 03-09
- -03-13-09 U.S. and Europe Disagree on Financial Fix (MSNBC News)
"There's widespread agreement among the world's biggest countries that the current global financial and economic crises require global solutions. But as leaders from twenty of those countries gather this weekend in London, that may be about all they can agree on." 03-09
- -03-15-09 Clashes in Pakistan (CBS News)
"Pakistan agreed Monday to reinstate Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as chief justice, a move that could help defuse a political crisis that has sparked street battles and raised fears of instability in the country at a time of surging Islamist violence, a government official said."
"Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit-in at the parliament later Monday until the one-year-old civilian government reinstated Chaudhry, who is known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority. The capital has been barricaded with shipping containers and scores of extra police drafted in amid fears of violence." 03-09
- -03-20-07 Japan Vows to Lead in Fight Against Global Warming (USA Today)
"Japan aims to play a leading role in the post-Kyoto battle on global warming and will seek the full engagement of the USA and China, the world's top two polluters, officials said Tuesday."
"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will ask his cabinet ministers to develop a package of proposals to present to next year's Group of Eight summit of world leaders which Japan will host, they said." 03-07
- -03-25-09 EU Leader Criticizes U.S. Economic Policies (CBS News)
"Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told the European parliament in Strasbourg that the Obama administration's stimulus package and financial bailout risked undermining the stability of the global financial market." 03-09
- -04-02-09 G-20 To Give $1 Trillion to Fight Global Crisis (MSNBC News)
"World leaders pledged $1.1 trillion in loans and guarantees to impoverished countries and agreed Thursday to crack down on tax havens and hedge funds but failed to reach sweeping accord on stimulus spending that would directly attack the global economic decline." 04-09
- -04-05-09 North Koreans Launch Rocket (New York Times)
"North Korea defied the United States, China and a series of United Nations resolutions by launching a rocket on Sunday that the country said was designed to propel a satellite into space, but that much of the world viewed as an effort to prove it is edging toward the capability to shoot a nuclear warhead on a longer-range missile." 04-09
- -04-05-09 Obama Outlines Goal of Nuclear-Free World (Time.com)
"Declaring the future of mankind at stake, President Barack Obama said Sunday all nations must strive to rid the world of nuclear arms and that the U.S. had a "moral responsibility" to lead as the only country ever to use one."
"Even as a North Korean rocket launch upstaged his ambitious, if not realistic, call to action in the heart of Eastern Europe, Obama dismissed those who say the spread of nuclear weapons cannot be checked." 04-09
- -04-06-09 How Ahmad Batebi Survived Torture in Iran (CBS News)
"Asked if he feels free now, he told Cooper, 'No, I don't feel free. I have a responsibility to the people imprisoned in Iran whose human rights are being violated. I have to get their message out. And it’s a big responsibility that doesn't leave one free. But to an extent I do feel free. I live in a free country and I've left prison.' " 04-09
- -04-06-09 Obama Addresses the Muslim World from Turkey (Time.com)
"Addressing Turkey's parliament on his first visit to a Muslim nation as President, Barack Obama reached out to followers of Islam everywhere. 'Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not and will never be at war with Islam,' he said to applause. 'In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.' Obama said the U.S. has been enriched by Muslim Americans, including members of his own family."
"The President spoke strongly in favor of Turkey's effort to join the European Union — an issue that has divided the bloc, with heavyweight members like France and Germany firmly opposed to the prospect of a large, mainly Muslim member state." 04-09
- -04-15-09 Fiat Requires Union Concessions for Chrysler Deal (MSNBC News)
"Automaker Fiat Group SpA will walk away from a deal to take a 20-percent stake in Chrysler LLC if the U.S. automaker's unions don't agree to major cost cuts, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said in an interview published Wednesday." 04-09
- -04-15-09 Taliban Cleric Declares Judicial Independence in Pakistan Area (CBS News)
"The Taliban cleric in charge of Pakistan's Swat Valley has declared the area judicially independent from the country's federal government."
"Sufi Mohammad said Wednesday that Islamic law, or Shariah, decisions handed down by militants in the mountainous region will not be subject to appeal or overrule by the Pakistani Supreme Court or any other avenue of appeal in the justice system, reports CBS News' Farhan Bokhari." 04-09
- -04-19-09 The New Left in China (MSNBC News)
"Although Chairman Mao continues to be revered here as the visionary who founded the country and transformed it into a world power, the Communist Party has broken from many of his ideals through market-based reforms over the past three decades."
"The most influential critics, known collectively as the New Left, are not like the dissidents or political exiles of a previous generation. They are not calling for an overthrow of the Communist regime. Their recommendations and criticisms are, instead, based on a belief that state power can redress the injustices created by free markets, privatization and globalization. Their views are also characterized by a fierce nationalism and criticism of the West." 04-09
- -04-26-09 Swine Flu Kills 81 in Mexico (CNN News)
"No kissing to say hello. No large crowds. No close contact."
"That's the advice of the Mexican government as more and more people die of swine flu, which has turned into a 'public health emergency of international concern,' according to the World Health Organization." 04-09
- -04-27-09 Preventing the Flu (CDC.gov)
"The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent the flu."
Editor's Note: As of April 27th, a vaccine for "swine flu" had not been made available. 04-09
- -04-30-09 Experts: Too Late to Close Borders (Time.com)
"The data matches computer models run by biostatisticians like Longini, who found that even the strictest limits on air travel would only slow the start of a flu pandemic, not stop its spread."
"What works better are social-distancing actions on a local level — closing schools, having employees work at home and limiting public gatherings where the flu can spread easily. Such methods worked during the deadly 1918 Spanish flu — cities that acted quickly to close schools and theaters early in the pandemic had peak death rates 50% lower than cities that acted more slowly. Today doctors could also prophylactically administer antiviral drugs to the close contacts of any swine flu patients, a strategy that has been shown to help prevent the spread of the flu. 'Until you start to see really massive clusters, that can be a really effective method,' says Longini." 04-09
- -04-30-09 Specialists: Containing Flu Is Not Feasible (New York Times)
" 'Containment is no longer a feasible option,' Dr. Keiji Fukuda, deputy director general of the World Health Organization, announced Monday night in Geneva after a meeting of the agency’s emergency committee on the spreading swine flu virus. 'The world should focus on mitigation. We recommend not closing borders or restricting travel.' " 04-09
- -04-30-09 WHO: Swine Flu Epidemic Imminent (Time.com)
"The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent." 04-09
- -05-03-09 India's Teachers Use Corporeal Punishment (Time.com)
"Teachers say they resort to physical punishment because of the inherent problems of India's public education system, specifically, the immense challenge of maintaining control of huge classes of unruly children. 'Most children in my school are criminal-minded,' says Dr. S.C. Sharma, the principal of a government school in South Delhi. 'We have caught them stealing fans from classrooms and even the iron grills from the windows. How do you discipline such kids?' In Sharma's school the teacher-student ratio is 1:63, compared with a recommended ratio of 1:35." 04-09
- -05-14-09 Suu Kyi Faces Jail (Time.com)
"Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who's known in Burma simply as 'the Lady,' was dragged to the notorious Insein Prison on Thursday morning to face charges of disobeying the terms of her house arrest. On May 3, according to the Burmese state press, an American man illegally swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's waterfront villa and snuck into her compound for two nights." 05-09
- -05-18-09 Civil War in Sri Lanka Over? (Time.com)
"Firecrackers exploded around Colombo on Monday as Sri Lankans celebrated what they hoped would be the end to a civil war that has plagued the nation since 1983." 05-09
- -06-02-09 North Korean Successor Announced (USA Today)
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has picked his youngest son — the NBA-loving product of a Swiss boarding school — to succeed him as ruler of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state, South Korean media and legislators reported Tuesday."
"Choi and others suspect that, at best, Kim Jong Woon would emerge as the front man for someone wielding backstage power. 'If he is indeed the choice — a huge if — it might reflect the desire of some people to have a convenient but powerless figurehead,' Lankov says. 'So somebody is going to run the show, keeping the boy in front.' "
"The real power broker after Kim Jong Il dies might be his brother in law, Jang Song Taek, 63, Choi and other analysts say." 06-09
- -06-04-09 Obama Makes Major Speech in Egypt (MSNBC News)
"Using quotes from the Quran, President Barack Obama called for a 'new beginning between the United States and Muslims' Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East." 06-09
- -06-08-09 Pakistani Tribesmen Attack Taliban (Time.com)
"As many as 1,600 tribesmen have joined a citizens' militia in Upper Dir district — an indication of rising anti-Taliban sentiment in Pakistan as the military pursues its offensive against the militant group in the nearby Swat Valley."
"The militias, known as lashkars, were focusing on two villages known as Taliban strongholds, said Khaista Rehman, a local police chief. Officials said Sunday the tribesmen had managed to clear three other villages." 06-09
- -06-14-09 True Power in Iran (Time.com)
"Despite the convulsions in Tehran's streets in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election, Iranians — and the smart folks in Washington — know that Iran's presidency is not the seat of executive power. Unelected mullahs hold veto power over the decisions of the elected government, and their Supreme Leader, currently Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, must approve all political policies and make the key foreign policy and security decisions. No one can run for president without the approval of the clerics, and they routinely narrow the field to those deemed acceptable within the parameters of the Islamic Revolution."
"Yet Khamenei has now done something extraordinary to the regime's democratic apparatus. Even though Iran's Electoral Commission allows three days to hear challenges before presenting results to Khamenei for approval, the Supreme Leader rushed to put his seal of approval on the outcome, and warned all political factions to refrain from challenging it." 06-09
- -06-17-09 More Massive Protests Planned in Iran (MSNBC News)
"Iranian protesters planned to flood the streets of Tehran in the tens of thousands Thursday after opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi defied a government crackdown and called for another day of demonstrations against what he has denounced as a rigged election." 06-09
- -06-19-09 Chinese Mainstream Carries News of Iranian Protests (MSNBC News)
"So it comes as a surprise to see that China’s mainstream media coverage of the post-election crisis in Iran has been fairly thorough. The protests and resulting bloodshed were reported all week in newspapers and on Web sites, with vivid videos and pictures."
"The coverage included a healthy dose of analysis by Middle East experts, discussing the election results and the growing protests. But they did not say much about the events’ influence on China, despite the fact China is Iran’s biggest oil trading partner, as well as Iran’s biggest business partner in Asia." 06-09
- -06-19-09 Supreme Leader of Iran Warns of Violence (MSNBC News)
"Taking an unequivocal stand against days of mass protests, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly warned opposition supporters on Friday to stay off the streets and raised the prospect of violence if their defiant, vast demonstrations continued."
"Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped up his public criticism."
" 'We are with others, including the whole of the European Union unanimously today, in condemning the use of violence, in condemning media suppression,' he told a news conference after a European Union summit in Brussels. He said it was up to Iran to show the world that the elections were fair and that 'the repression and the brutality that we have seen in these last few days is not something that is going to be repeated.' " 06-09
- -06-22-09 Neda of Iran (Awesome Library)
Provides the picture of the young woman purported to be the person shot to death by Iranian military as she attended a protest. She has become the "face" of the protests of election irregularities in Iran. Note: This is an earlier portrait picture of Neda, not the video depicting her death. 06-09
- -06-24-09 Neda: An Iconic Image to Inspire (CNN News)
" 'Every revolution needs icons and symbols -- an image that embodies a sense of universality of blight and at the same time innocence,' said Roya Hakakian of Connecticut, a writer, poet and journalist who was born and raised in Iran. 'The image of Neda does both.' "
- -07-01-09 Coup in Honduras (CNN News)
" 'Foreign governments misunderstand our situation,' Congressman Juan Orlando tells TIME. 'Once they learn that this was really a legal change of power, they will change their position.' Yet it could be tough to persuade the international community of the legality of exiling a President at the barrel of a gun."
"On July 1, the Organization of American States gave Honduras 72 hours to reinstate Zelaya or face suspension of its membership, and Zelaya has said he plans to return to Tegucigalpa anyway if his foes don't comply. In response, Micheletti has sworn that he will arrest Zelaya if he sets foot in the country and that he is ready for anything Venezuela — or anyone else — can throw at him. With neither side showing signs of compromise, the risk of a violent clash rises — a prospect that worries many in Tegucigalpa." 07-09
- -07-07-09 Clinton: U.S. Backs Mediation in Honduras (CNN News)
"The United States will support an international mediation effort to restore democratic order in Honduras, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday." 07-09
- -07-08-09 Chinese Government Still in Conflict With Citizens (Time.com)
"Three days after ethnic clashes left 156 dead in the city of Urumqi, the Chinese government is still struggling to bring calm and order to the Xinjiang capital. On July 8, Communist Party leader Li Zhi announced that the government would seek the death penalty for anyone found responsible for the killings as President Hu Jintao flew home from Italy, cutting short his visit to the G-8 summit. While the city hasn't seen a return to fighting on the scale it witnessed on July 5, scattered outbursts are stoking fears that violence could erupt again, and tensions on all sides of the conflict are still high." 07-09
- -07-09-09 G8 Summit to Tackle Food Supplies (BBC News)
"Leaders of developed G8 nations are to unveil new efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, during the final day of their summit in Italy."
"They are expected to commit as much as $15bn (£9.2bn) to efforts to help poor nations develop their own agriculture."
"On Thursday, the second day of talks, the summit focused on climate change."
"Leaders from both developed and developing nations agreed that global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels."
"That is the level above which, the UN says, the Earth's climate system would become dangerously unstable." 07-09
- -08-23-09 Drought Strikes India Again (Time.com)
"Even if it can't buy rain, there is still time for the government of India to rethink how it can start to prepare for the next drought. Sunita Narain of the Centre for the Study of the Environment in New Delhi advocates a new, national water policy to make farmers less vulnerable to the vagaries of the monsoon, encompassing more effective use of groundwater, better monitoring of weather patterns and water supply, implementing village water-security plans, and encouraging conservation and water recycling in the cities. In a recent editorial she wrote, 'We must learn, fast, how to reinvigorate our water policy keeping in mind the two big changes — more variable rainfall and desperately growing water needs.' Seth believes farmers need not just more handouts, but better access to low-interest credit, so they don't have to rely on moneylenders in every lean year." 08-09
- -09-07-09 U.N. Worker Tried for Wearing Pants Faces Fine, Not Flogging (CNN News)
"A woman put on trial for wearing clothing deemed indecent by Sudanese authorities was fined Monday, but will not get the 40 lashes she could potentially have faced, her lawyer said."
"Al-Hussein, a journalist who worked in the media department of the United Nations mission in Sudan, is fighting to have the law declared unconstitutional. She resigned from her U.N. position in order to waive her immunity as an international worker."
" 'The manner in which this law has been used against women is unacceptable, and the penalty called for by the law -- up to 40 lashes -- abhorrent,' Tawanda Hondora, deputy director of Amnesty International's Africa program, said in a statement."
"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is concerned about al-Hussein's case."
" 'The United Nations will make every effort to ensure that the rights of its staff members are protected,' Ban said in July. 'The flogging is against the international human rights standards. I call on all parties to live up to their obligations under all relevant international instruments.' " 09-09
- -09-23-09 China, Not U.S., Stars at Climate Summit (MSNBC News)
"Although some 100 world leaders met Tuesday for a U.N. climate summit, most of the attention was on just two — President Barack Obama and China's Hu Jintao. Both vowed to take the threat of rising seas, drought and deforestation seriously, but only one had some momentum behind him and it wasn't Obama."
" 'China and India have announced very ambitious national climate change plans,' Yvo de Boer said. 'In the case of China, so ambitious that it could well become the front-runner in the fight to address climate change,' de Boer said. 'The big question mark is the U.S.' " 09-09
- -10-09-09 Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize (New York Times)
"President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his 'extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,' a stunning honor that came less than nine months after he made United States history by becoming the country’s first African-American president." 10-07
- -10-13-09 Gaza's Tunnel Economy (Time.com)
" 'There is only one economy — there's a tunnel economy,' says John Ging, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip. 'You have zero exports and zero commercial imports through the [Israeli-controlled] crossing points.' "
"Under the blockade, Gaza's unemployment rate has become the highest in the world."
" 'It's accurate to say that the economy has been destroyed. All aspects of the commercial sector are in tatters, including the physical infrastructure,' says the U.N.'s Ging. 'But what we have here is a phenomenal entrepreneurial spirit, and the only thing we need to revive the economy of Gaza is the creation of opportunity, which means lifting the siege.' " 10-09
- -10-14-09 U.S. and Chinese Interests in Afghanistan (MSNBC News)
"In making the case for converging U.S. and Chinese interests in Afghanistan, Robert Kaplan wrote last week in a New York Times opinion piece that, 'The problem is that while America is sacrificing its blood and treasure, the Chinese will reap the benefits. The whole direction of America’s military and diplomatic effort is toward an exit strategy, whereas the Chinese hope to stay and profit.' " 10-09
- -10-17-09 Children Are Victims of Churches in Africa (MSNBC News)
"The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire."
"Nigeria is one of the heartlands of abuse, but hardly the only one: the United NationsChildren's Fund says tens of thousands of children have been targeted throughout Africa." 10-09
- -10-28-09 A "Trial of the Century" for Muslims (Time.com)
"The killing of Marwa el-Sherbini provoked outrage among Muslims for its sheer brutality and brazenness. According to witnesses, the pregnant mother was stabbed to death in front of a courtroom full of people in Germany by a man with an apparently deep-seated hatred of Muslims. Thousands marched in Egypt, Iran and other Muslim countries against what they perceived as a disturbing rise of Islamophobia and racism in Germany, as well as the scant attention the attack received in the German media." 10-09
- -11-01-09 Abdullah Pulls Out of Afghan Runoff (Time.com)
"Afghan opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah prepares to leave following a press conference on November 1, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdullah announced that he would pull out of this week's run-off presidential election in Afghanistan due to concerns over widespread fraud and abuse of power by the governmment." 10-09
- -11-15-09 World Leaders Agree to Delay Agreement on Climate Change (New York Times)
"President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement at a global climate conference scheduled for next month, agreeing instead to make it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific 'politically binding' agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future." 11-09
- -11-18-08 Obama Poised to Rebrand USA to the World (CNN News)
"President-elect Barack Obama is poised to restore the United States' image in the international community, but experts say the president-elect must show the world that his actions will live up to his rhetoric." 11-08
- -11-27-09 China Proposes to Reduce Rate of Emissions (ABC News)
"The Chinese propose, by 2020, to reduce so-called carbon intensity — or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output — by 40 to 45 percent compared with 2005 levels. By that measure, emissions would still increase, though the rate would slow."
"In a sense, the Chinese offer is less ambitious than the American proposal because China is already well on the way to its target with existing energy efficiency initiatives, while the American offer would require changes in many government policies. American efforts, though, have been mired in Congressional infighting."
"Yet the offers by the United States and China both amount to politically safe opening bids in what is likely to be a long, tough process of negotiations on concrete steps that the two countries should take to address climate change."
Editor's Note: Neither the U.S. nor China are planning reductions in emissions in relationship to the actual dangers of emissions for the climate; rather, both are using political goals that have no relationship to the dangers. 11-09
- -12-12-09 Lawmakers Urge Myanmar Probe (CNN News)
"More than 400 lawmakers from around the world have urged the United Nations to investigate Myanmar's military junta, accusing it of committing crimes against humanity."
"In a letter sent to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, the lawmakers -- from 29 countries, including France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States -- also pressed for a global arms embargo against the regime." 12-09
- -12-20-09 Agent Orange Poisons New Generations in Vietnam (Time.com)
"After years of meetings, signings and photo ops, the U.S. held another ceremony in Vietnam on Dec. 16 to sign yet another memorandum of understanding as part of the continuing effort to manage Agent Orange's dark legacy. Yet there are grumblings that little — if anything — has been done to clean up the most contaminated sites." 12-09
- -12-28-08 U.N.: Gaza Plight Disastrous (CNN News)
"Israeli airstrikes pounding Gaza are deepening the humanitarian crisis in an area that was already in deep distress, according to a United Nations aid official."
" 'People are suffering and dying because of shortages of medical equipment,' said Dr. Mahmoud el-Khazndar, who works at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital. 'The hospital is not accustomed to accept mass casualties like this.' "
"Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said the agency has been unable to get needed medical supplies into Gaza for more than a year, because of Israel's blockade of border crossings." 12-08
- Chechnyan Leader Dies Fighting for Justice (Time.com)
"Indeed, [Natalia] Estemirova's determined efforts over the past decade to uncover and document extrajudicial killings, torture, disappearances and kidnappings in Chechnya have made her many enemies, including Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, the republic's Kremlin-backed president. She had also become a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who, as former president, had presided over the Second Chechen War, which began in 1999 and ended in 2002." 07-09
- -05-15-09 World's Happiest Places (ABC News)
"According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based group of 30 countries with democratic governments that provides economic and social statistics and data, happiness levels are highest in northern European countries."
"Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list, ranking first, second and third, respectively. Outside Europe, New Zealand and Canada landed at Nos. 8 and 6, respectively. The U.S. did not crack the top 10. Switzerland placed seventh and Belgium placed tenth." 05-09
- -Editorial: $40 Billion from Gates and Buffet May Change World Health (WorldPress.org - Akukwe)
"The recent announcement by multibillionaire investor Warren Buffet that he will give a substantial part of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has the makings of a watershed moment in global health. By giving what Fortune magazine estimates to be $37 billion in today's value, Buffet is beefing up the already deep pockets of the Gates foundation, which had more than $30 billion as of June 2006. Since more than 60 percent of the Gates foundation programming is in the area of global health, the implications of a steady source of funds for many years to come cannot be overestimated." 07-06
- -Outlook in Gaza Is Grim (Time.com)
"Until now, the U.S. has backed an economic blockade of Gaza in the hope of toppling Hamas. Now, the State Department is offering to pump something in the range of $900 million in humanitarian assistance into the enclave, but there is probably no way large amounts of aid money can be distributed in Gaza without, at least indirectly, helping Hamas. No other Palestinian organizations have the infrastructure to put that money to use, and the international agencies that operate there have often found themselves shaken down by Hamas. Given the Islamists' political control of Gaza, there's little prospect of any administrative authority functioning there without the consent of Hamas." 03-09
- Leaders Claim Iran Building a Secret Nuclear Facility (New York Times)
"President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France accused Iran on Friday of building a secret underground plant to manufacture nuclear fuel, saying the country has hidden the covert operation from international weapons inspectors for years." 09-09
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