Amandla

http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snha-03391.pdf

FIRE Report: Public Universities Overwhelmingly Violate First Amendment
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)

Today the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has released its 2009 report on campus speech codes, revealing that American colleges and universities systematically violate students’ and faculty members’ right to freedom of expression.

Spotlight on Speech Codes 2009: The State of Free Speech on Our Nation’s Campuses reports on policies at 364 American colleges and universities. FIRE found that approximately 74 percent of schools surveyed maintain policies that clearly restrict speech that, outside the borders of campus, is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
…
FIRE’s report is the most comprehensive effort to date both to quantify the proportion of colleges and universities that restrict free speech and to assess the severity of those restrictions. The report surveyed publicly available policies at institutions ranked in the 100 “Best National Universities” and at the 50 “Best Liberal Arts Colleges,” as rated in the August 27, 2007, “America’s Best Colleges” issue of U.S. News & World Report, as well as at 207 major public universities. The research was conducted between September 2007 and September 2008.

All of the policies cited in the report are available online in FIRE’s searchable speech code database, Spotlight: The Campus Freedom Resource. People interested in drawing attention to their institution’s policies can easily do so by adding FIRE’s Speech Codes Widget to their blog or website. Easy instructions for adding the widget can be found here.

+ Full Report (PDF; 2.3 MB)

From Docuticker

New Issue Brief from The Century Foundation Reveals the Extent of U.S. Gender and Racial/Ethnic Inequality and Suggests Remedies
Source: The Century Foundation

An examination of the photos and names of those at the top of the political spectrum, from the presidential candidates to the appointees to the top spots in the past few, and next, administration provides a picture of a nation where gender and race/ethnicity do not matter. However, a new report from The Century Foundation shows that despite some progress, America is a nation in which neither minorities nor women have yet achieved anything approaching economic or social equality.

In The Long Wait for Progress: Women and Economic and Social Equality, Century Foundation Senior Fellow Beverly Goldberg analyzes the substantial gap in wages between men and women, and then measures that gap in the context of women’s educational achievements and the continuing discrimination against women in the workplace, with attention to the impact of the issues of health and child care. This analysis of the complex and interrelated problems facing working women reveals both that women are subject to pay discrimination and that the inequities between white women and women of color are as striking as those between women and men.

+ Full Document (PDF; 267 KB)

From Docuticker

From the news release:

The United States faces the potential for abrupt climate change in the 21st century that could pose clear risks to society in terms of our ability to adapt.

“Abrupt” changes can occur over decades or less, persist for decades more, and cause substantial disruptions to human and natural systems.

A new report, based on an assessment of published science literature, makes the following conclusions about the potential for abrupt climate changes from global warming during this century.

* Climate model simulations and observations suggest that rapid and sustained September arctic sea ice loss is likely in the 21st century.
* The southwestern United States may be beginning an abrupt period of increased drought.
* It is very likely that the northward flow of warm water in the upper layers of the Atlantic Ocean, which has an important impact on the global climate system, will decrease by approximately 25-30 percent. However, it is very unlikely that this circulation will collapse or that the weakening will occur abruptly during the 21st century and beyond.
* An abrupt change in sea level is possible, but predictions are highly uncertain due to shortcomings in existing climate models.
* There is unlikely to be an abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere from deposits in the earth. However, it is very likely that the pace of methane emissions will increase.

The U.S. Geological Survey led the new assessment, which was authored by a team of climate scientists from the federal government and academia. The report was commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program with contributions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation.

Direct to Full Text Report: Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 3.4

Source: USGS

 

From Docuticker

UNAIDS Q&A II : basic facts about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impact This document is one of a series providing information in a Q&A format on UNAIDS, its work and issues related to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Questions here are divided into sections providing basic facts on the causes and transmission of AIDS, and dealing with the impact of HIV/AIDS and issues relating to children orphaned by AIDS. Intute.ac.uk
http://data.unaids.org/Global-Reports/Bangkok-2004/UNAIDS_Bangkok_press/docs/QA_

Election 2008 in review
This site provides free access to a 24 page briefing by the Pew Center on the States which was published in December 2008. It provides a concise summary of the conduct of the 2008 American presidential elections. Topics covered include voter registration and turnout levels. There are also some interesting summaries of events in individual states. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/ElectionInReviewPDF%20Final.pd

Understanding Conflict?...Maybe!/ Anthony P. Johnson, M.A., C.Phil, Nova Southeastern University Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences ( 2008) Vol, 1 No 1,16-32

Abstract: The premise of this paper is the study in the field of conflict and conflict resolution and that conflict and conflict resolution are useful areas of focus in order to better understand human behavior. Additionally, I will present data that will highlight the notion that conflict is not in itself
a bad thing and that conflict has the capability to be utilized as a vehicle for understanding the many contradictions

The South African Transition: A Holistic Approach to the Analysis of the Struggle Leading to the 1994 Elections  by Otto F. von Feigenblatt, M.A., Nova Southeastern University

Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences ( 2008) Vol 1, No 1, 48-80

Abstract: This paper deconstructs the conflict leading up to and shortly following the democratic transition in South Africa. A simple instrument is sed in order to identify the main components of the conflict. The nformation gathered by the instrument is then analyzed using three different theories: regime transition theory, norm socialization using the Spiral Model of Socialization developed by Risse and Sikkink (Kollman, 2008, p. 400), and finally a short comparison to John Duckitt and Thobi Mphuthing’s attitudinal study of pre- and post- electoral South Africa will be provided (Mphuthing & Duckitt, 1998). The explanations given by the three approaches are then compared and contrasted in order to gain a more holistic understanding of the South African transition.

An ad hoc story of America emerges from online posts to Change.gov

More than 3,500 comments posted at President-elect Barack Obama’s Change.gov Web site have been merged into a single document, creating a downloadable portrait of a nation in crisis that runs for more than 700 pages and nearly 500,000 words.

In merging the 3,572 comments, the Obama transition team has also utterly transformed them into something other than a series of disparate blog and e-mailed comments. They are now part of a searchable, portable and singular narrative that is, in many respects, an ad hoc story of America at this moment. It is, in sum, a collection of stories from a diverse group, written with emotion and passion by people — everyone from young adults worried about paying for college to young families worried about their children’s future, to people in their 50s afraid they are now too old to hire.

Many of the writers tell of hardship and fears, and some of the stories recount — in sometimes imperfect grammar — woes almost unimaginable…

From: The Resourceshelf

Resources for learning about and tracking the current financial crisis.

Home
       Welcome
      CLS Blog
People & Institutions
      Henry Paulson 
      Ben S. Bernanke
      Sheila C. Bair
      Warren Buffet
      Llyod Blankfein
      Stanley O’Neil
      Richard Fuld
      Barney Frank
The Crisis
      Overview
      Prior Crises
Bailout
      Why Bailout?
      Govt. Intervention
Regulation
      Regulatory Framework
      Regulatory Changes
Financial Instruments
      Derivatives
      Mortgage Securitization
      Financial Weapons?
Background Books
      Books
Foreclosures
      Foreclosure

 

Microfinance is the provision of financial services to the poor on a sustainable basis. Financial services that the working poor need and demand include different types of credit, savings, guarantees, insurance, transfer payments, remittances and other transactions. Microfinance is addressed to the poor and those excluded from market transactions. It seeks to broaden and deepen the market by emphasizing that ultimately microfinance institutions have to be sustainable, i.e. self-financing.

Microfinance that is oriented towards decent work is “social” finance. This emphasizes the finality and unique angle of the ILO’s interest and involvement. Social finance is the ILO’s accepted and recognized brand in this field, signalling its distinctive position and identity, andcommunicating to donors and the outside world in general the ultimate purpose of the ILO’s conceptual and policy work on microfinance.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/support/lib/resource/subject/microf.htm

Big ideas are important, and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York (CUNY) has created the Great Issues Forum in order to "explore critical issues of our time through a single thematic lens." The program was started in 2007, and the initiative includes free public conversations, online seminars, and a number of other features designed to bring these conversations to people around the globe. Visitors can get a sense of these conversations by clicking on the "Online Audio/Video Archive" to view past sessions. These sessions have included discussion on political power, economic power, and the African-American church and American politics. After checking one (or more) of these sessions out, visitors should then click on over to the "Seminars" area. Here they can read and comment on online discussions about subjects such as global natural resource conflicts and depictions of power in cinema. Along the way, visitors can also view participants' bios, and also learn about the upcoming seminar topics and public presentations and forums. [KMG] Scout Report

The [U.S.] Council on Foreign Relations publishes a wide variety of publications, and their "Expert Briefs" series is quite exceptional. Given the recent unrest in Mumbai, visitors with an interest in South Asian affairs and world affairs in general will find this brief particularly compelling. Authored by Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, this expert brief was released in December 2008. The piece looks at the political economy and relationship between India and Pakistan, along with offering some commentary on combating terrorism in the region. Additionally, visitors can view the "Related Materials" immediately to the right of the brief. Here they will find additional commentary on the subject from other persons associated with the Council. Finally, there's also a link here which allows interested parties to send the brief to friends and associates. [KMG]     http://www.cfr.org/publication/17981/   Scout Report

 

 

 Highlights
Countries in crisis requiring external assistance (total: 33 countries)
Food Emergencies Update
Global cereal supply and demand brief
National food price review
FAO global cereal supply and demand indicators
Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries’ food situation overview
Policy measures taken by governments to reduce the impact of soaring prices
Regional reviews

	Africa
	Asia
	Latin America and the Caribbean
	North America, Europe and Oceania

Special features

	Crop and Food Situation in Southern Sudan
	Nigeria Crop and Food Supply Mission summary
	Policy measures related to export restrictions are being relaxed

Statistical appendix
Note

http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/ai476e/ai476e00.htm

The task of addressing poverty, health and human rights cannot be handled by any single global institution and requires rigorous interdisciplinary and co-ordinated  action. This is why the WHO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have worked together with a range of stakeholders to develop this guide. It is intended as a tool for health policymakers to design, implement and monitor a poverty reduction strategy through a human rights-based approach. It contains practical guidance and suggestions as well as good practice examples from around the world.

http://www.who.int/hhr/news/HRHPRS.pdf

The final report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been issued (S/2008/773). The document reports on 12 weeks of field work in the region, in particular in the North and South Kivu provinces. The report makes recommendations and has annexed many examples of evidence.

UN Pulse permalink

The Security Council met yesterday to discuss Somalia and piracy off the coast (S/PV.6046 to be issued; see the press release). The resolution adopted at the meeting calls on states and regional and international organizations "to take part actively in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia" (S/RES/1851(2008)). Also recently issued is the report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia, mentioned in the resolution's preamble (S/2008/769).

UN Pulse permalink

The text of the decisions adopted by the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 14) held in Poznań, Poland, are available on the website. The summary of the informal round-table has also been posted (FCCC/CP/2008/CRP.1/Rev.1).

UN Pulse permalink

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released a final declaration (full-text, pdf) of the pan-African Ministerial Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa: The Challenges of Climate Change (conference website). According to an FAO press release, "the Conference agreed to foster research and development of renewable energy and agriculture in Africa in order to increase resilience and adaptation to climate change."

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World Bank : e-library
The World Bank e-Library is a portal that acts as a bibliographic database of over 4,500 World Bank documents. The collection consists of over 1,800 World Bank publications and over 2,700 policy research working papers. The e-Library covers all aspects of the Bank's work in the area of international development, including agriculture and rural development, commodities, pricing, and trade, globalization and public policy. Users can search the collection by keyword or browse resources by the date of addition to the database or by geographical region. Publications can be purchased through the portal. There is an email alerting service for new publications or an RSS feed of the latest additions. Users should check with their institution to see whether they have an active subscription to the World Bank e-Library. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.worldbank.org/elibrary

 

From CW: UCT Libraries does not appear to have a subscription.

Mumbai attacks 2008:BBC indepth report
This site was created by the BBC to cover the December 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. in addition to news stories and analysis from BBC reports, it also includes video footage and interactive maps of the incidents. There are also video films of interviews with eye witnesses, timelines of events and background information on security and terrorism in India. Copyright and technical information is displayed on the website. Intute.ac.uk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/south_asia/2008/mumbai_attacks/default.stm

The United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) has issued a new report proposing developments in nanotechnology, ocean energy and forestry as potential solutions in responding to climate change. The report questions why innovations in these areas have not yet reached the stage of mass commercialization (summary, full-text).

UN Pulse permalink

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its latest report on the food crisis, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008. According to the press release accompanying the report, "another 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year primarily due to higher food prices."

UN Pulse permalink

Resources of the Week: Modern-Day Piracy
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor

No, we’re not talking about downloading “illegal” media. We’re talking about piracy on the high seas — something that has lately bubbled to the surface in the news media. 2008 has been a good year for pirates, judging by this Live Piracy Map from UK-based ICC Commercial Crime Services (CCS), the anti-crime arm of the International Chamber of Commerce.

This map shows all the piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre during 2008. If exact coordinates are not provided, estimated positions are shown based on information provided. Zoom-in and click on the pointers to view more information of an individual attack. Pointers may be superimposed on each other.

IMB stands for International Maritime Bureau, “a specialised division of the International Chamber Of Commerce…established in 1981 to act as a focal point in the fight against all types of maritime crime and malpractice.” The IMB’s Piracy Reporting Center is an excellent place to read up on the problem.

Before 1992, shipmasters and ship operators had nowhere to turn to when their ships were attacked, robbed or hijacked either in port or out at sea. Local law enforcement either turned a deaf ear, or chose to ignore that there was a serious problem in their waters.

The International Maritime Bureau aware of the escalating level of piracy, wanted to provide a free service to the seafarer and established the 24 hour IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The main objective of the PRC is to be the first point of contact for the shipmaster to report an actual or attempted attack or even suspicious movements thus initiating the process of response.

The main aim of the PRC is to raise awareness within the shipping industry, which includes the shipmaster, ship-owner, insurance companies, traders, etc, of the areas of high risk associated with piratical attacks or specific ports and anchorages associated with armed robberies on board ships.

The PRC works closely with various governments and law enforcement agencies and is involved in information sharing in an attempt to reduce and ultimately eradicate this crime. Besides the piracy map, the agency offers other current information, such as:

+ Weekly Piracy Report
+ Piracy Prone Areas and Warnings
–
Over on the other side of the pond, you’ll find the United States Maritime Administration Advisories

Maritime Administration Advisories rapidly disseminate information on maritime danger, safety, and government policy, and other time sensitive matters pertaining to U.S.-flag vessel operations. Maritime Administration Advisories are issued by the Office of Security to vessel masters, ship operators, and other U.S. maritime interests. Advisories are communicated via telex or other message formats, and published on the Maritime Administration’s web site and the National Imaging and Mapping Agency’s Weekly Notice to Mariners.

Also available: Worldwide Threats to Shipping Reports (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency)
–
Reports and other resources
+ Noonsite, which bills itself as “the global site for cruising sailors,” offers reports and links to piracy information.
+ Don’t overlook the State Department’s Current Travel Warnings if you’re planning to venture to someplace dicey — i.e., Somalia, where you “are urged to use extreme caution…as merchant vessels, fishing boats, and recreational craft all risk seizure by pirates and having their crews held for ransom in the waters off the Horn of Africa…”
+ House of Commons Library Standard Note SN/BT/3794, Shipping: piracy (PDF; 139 KB)
+ Increase In Piracy And Terrorism At Sea; Little Evidence Supports Fear That The Two Crimes Are Merging (RAND Corporation)
+ International Maritime Organization: Information resources on piracy and armed robbery at sea (November 2008) (PDF; 376 KB)
+ Peril on the High Seas (Economist.com)
+ Piracy in Somalia: Threatening global trade, feeding local wars (PDF; 820 KB) (Chatham House)
+ Piracy – Threat at sea: A risk analysis (PDF; 2.5 MB) (Munich Re)
+ Piracy attacks in the Malacca Strait (PDF; 1.1 MB) (South China Sea Research Guide/Middlebury College)
+ Weak States Off-Shore - Piracy in Modern Times (PDF; 225 KB) (Hanns Seidel Foundation, Kenya)
+ Various satellite maps of hijacked vessels (UNOSAT)
+ International Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea: 1997-2006 (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2008 Pocket Guide to Transportation)

Resourceshelf permalink

A new publication Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide was launched in Paris at the International Seminar on Business and Human Rights. The guide is a joint product of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), and the UN Global Compact Office. The main purpose of the guide is to explain the universal human rights in the language of business through the use of case studies and suggested practical actions. Section One covers International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Section Two - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Full text, 3.83 MB or download through UN OHCHR press-release.

UN Pulse permalink

The World Bank has issued Global Economic Prospects 2009: Commodities at the Crossroads (full text, pdf, 4 MB). According to the press release, the report examines the impact of the financial crisis on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth across the world. It finds a marked slowdown everywhere, including in formerly resilient developing countries. The website offers various options to download the data and the Outlook Summary and the Forecast Summary.

UN Pulse Permalink

Right of Rights 1948-2008: Centre for the Study of Human Rights public debate
This site provides free access to a podcast of a public lecture hosted by the Centre for the Study of Human Rights, London School of Economics on Thursday 4 December 2008, 6.30-8pm. The event commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and featured a panel of speakers debating which is the greatest right. They include Shami Chakrabarti, Jonathan Cooper, Professor Conor Gearty, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Professor Francesca Klug, Professor Peter Townsend. The debate can be downloaded in MP3 format (approx 85 minutes). Technical and copyright information is displayed on the website.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEPublicLecturesAndEvents/events/2008/20080821

Popular attitudes to democracy in Ghana 2008
This site provides free access to Afrobarometer briefing paper no.51, published in June 2008. Afrobarometer is a series of public attitude surveys conducted in African nations. It is a cross-national survey research project, coordinated by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), and the Institute for Research in Empirical Political Economy (IREEP, Benin). This 7 page report considers how satified Ghanaians are with the state of democracy in their nation, what threats they see and their attitudes towards popular democracy in general. It is a useful background on the run up to the 2008 elections.
http://www.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfrobriefNo51.pdf

National Democratic Congress (Ghana)
The National Democratic Congress is a leading political party of Ghana. Its website provides information on its aims, history, membership and recent activities. It includes access to recent press releases, party maniestos and other political policy documents. It also contains coverage of involvement in recent elections in Ghana.
http://www.ndc.org.gh:8080/ndc/home.do

New Patriotic Party (Ghana)
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a major political party of Ghana. Its website provides information on its political policies, membership and recent activities. It includes press releases, political policy statements and current manifestos as well as calendars and photographs of recent events. These include coverage of involvement in recent elections in Ghana.
http://www.npp-ghana.org/

Ghana elections 2008: web dossier
This site has been created by the African Studies Centre, University of Leiden. It provides free access to a web dossier of information and materials relating to the December 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections in Ghana.It includes some background on the context of the elections, the full text of the constitution, a bibliography of references to selected journal articles and books, and links to important websites and blogs monitoring the events.
http://www.ascleiden.nl/Library/Webdossiers/GhanaElections.aspx

European Union Election Observation Mission to Ghana
This is the official website of the European Union delegation which monitored the December 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections in Ghana. It provides information on the aims of the mission, its composition and methods as well as background details on the electoral system of Ghana. Users may access press releases, photographs, and full text monitoring election reports from the website.Thes einclude statement on the conduct of the elections and state of democracy in Ghana.
http://www.eueomghana.org/EN/default.html

Ghana: Carter Center resources
This site is maintained by independent research organisation, the Carter Center. It provides free access to information about its development and peace and democracy programmes in Ghana. Users may access press releases and full text reports. These include parliamentary and presidential election monitoring reports from approximately 1992 onwards.
http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/ghana.html

Transatlantic slave trade and the evolution of mistrust in Africa: an empirical investigation
This site provides free access to the full text of Afrobarometer working paper no.100 by Nathan Nunn and Leonard Wantchekon which was published in June 2008. Afrobarometer publications report the results of public opinion surveys on the attitudes of citizens in selected African countries towards democracy. It is coordinated by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD, Ghana), the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), and the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IREEP). This 47 page report considers the long term impact of the slave trade on the trust of local instutions and governments by the population. a key question is whether whether individuals belonging to an ethnic group that was heavily impacted by the slave trades in the past are less trusting of political leaders and others today. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfropaperNo100.pdf

This site provides access to four databases (Voyages, Estimates, Images, and African Names) with "information on almost 35,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries." Data includes summary statistics, timelines, graphs, and maps. Site also includes introductory essays, lesson plans, and links to related material. An Emory University Digital Library Research Initiative, with support from international partners.
URL: http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27172

The situation in Zimbabwe is spiraling out of control. The government has made clear it can't end the humanitarian crisis and won't end the vicious pursuit of its opponents. Regional and international leaders need urgently to respond.

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch

Related Materials: 

Zimbabwe: Investigate Whereabouts of Abducted Human Rights Activist

Zimbabwe: End Ruling Party’s Abuses

“Our Hands Are Tied”

The UNODC, WHO and UNAIDS launched a toolkit on HIV and AIDS in places of detention at the 15th International Conference on AIDS and sexually transmittable diseases in Africa (ICASA) in Dakar, Senegal on 5 December 2008 . The toolkit is designed to assist countries to mount an effective national response to HIV in prisons and to improve and, if necessary, reform their prison systems (full report, pdf).

UN  Pulse Permalink

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has posted some new publications to its website. These include:

• UNEP Climate Change Strategy (full text, pdf, 971 KB);
• UNEP and Partners: United to Combat Climate Change (full text, pdf, 600 KB); and
• Vital Water Graphics.

UN Pulse permalink

Chronic Failures in the War on Terror - From Afghanistan to Somalia
The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS), formerly known as The Senlis Council is an international think tank known for its work in Afghanistan and other conflict zones. It is a project of the Network of European Foundations' Mercator Fund. This site provides free access to the full text of its report published in May 2008.ISBN0-9555008-4-2. The 81 page report compares and contrasts insurgencies in Afghanistan and Somalia. It then considers American foreign policy toards the regions and possible future trends. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/chronic_failures_war_terror

Unfinished Business: A Comparative Survey of Historical and Contemporary Slavery

Author(s): Joel Quirk, Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE) 

An analysis of the relationship between the global history of slavery and abolition and modern forms of human bondage.

...the first ever comparative analysis of historical slave systems and modern forms of human bondage. From this standpoint, recent concerns over human trafficking, debt-bondage, child labor and other related problems are analyzed in view of the historical strengths and weaknesses of the legal abolition of slavery.

By bringing together a range of studies on different aspects of slavery, both past and present, this publication provides an innovative platform for promoting dialogue about ways of addressing both contemporary slavery and the enduring legacies of historical slave systems.

The OFFSTATS database provides access to free statistics from official sources on the web. Web links are arranged by country, region or subject. The database can be searched by a single category, or a combination of categories.

All of the content of the database is held in the public domain and is available through the Internet.

http://www.offstats.auckland.ac.nz/

WHO : health economics
Part of the World Health Organization (WHO) website, this page draws together descriptions of activities, reports, news and events, contacts and cooperating partners in the various WHO subdivisions working on this topic. It covers subjects such as health systems financing, national health accounts, health financing policy, the economics of financing reproductive health and spending on health. It includes links to press releases, projects / programmes, publications, fact sheets, features and relates links / websites. The site is available in a range of languages. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.who.int/topics/health_economics/en/

Serial blasts in India 2008: Times of India
This site is maintained by the Times of India. it provides free access to a special report on the December 2008 terrorist attacks in mumbai written by the newspaper's journalists. It includes news stories, photographic images, interviews with survivors and comment in general on the terrorist risks faced by India. Intute.ac.uk
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/specialcoverage/3296778.cms

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are co-organizers on the latest ICASA conference in Dakar, Senegal, where "international and African experts will evaluate the current state of the HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) ..., assessing political commitments, scientific progress and challenges, community actions, and leadership" (UNAIDS press release). The conference started on 3 December and runs until 7 December. The official conference site features live webcasts, conference programs, and message boards. The UNAIDS conference site includes downloadable presentations and a photo gallery.

UN Pulse permalink

http://www.worldbank.org/sixthemes

The World Bank works to combat poverty and to increase development opportunities around the world, but they also have selected six strategic themes that focus in on global development. First-time visitors to the site can listen to World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick talk about these themes, and they may also wish to follow along with the accompanying slideshow. Themes include global public goods, the Arab world, and middle-income countries. By clicking on one of these themes, visitors can read comprehensive reports, working papers, or take a look at presentations that explore these areas in greater detail. Many of these information sources are contained within a "Highlights" area. Visitors with a penchant for economic development, international political economy, or international affairs will find this site very useful. It's also easy to see how these materials might be used in a classroom setting to spark discussion or debate about some of these very timely matters. [KMG] Scout Report

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has issued two reports on its work concerning climate change. The UNEP Climate Change Strategy is built on the analysis of UNEP’s political mandate, the existing portfolio of climate change activities and the areas of distinctiveness. The Strategy provides the foundation for transforming the organization’s engagement on climate change and for developing a results-oriented programme of work (full report, pdf).
UNEP and Partners: United to Combat Climate Change shows how UNEP is building partnerships and momentum to combat climate change (full report, pdf).

UN Pulse permalink

2008 Yearbook on Peace
This website proivides free access to a annual report published by the Escola de Cultura de Pau (School for a Culture of Peace) Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The 200 page textbook provides a detailed snapshot of the current state of conflicts (wars, civil wars and territorial disputes) in which peace negotiations are taking place. Entires include details on the background to the conflict, main actors, state of negotiations and timelines of key events in 2008. Also provided are mappings of the relationship between groups involved in the conflict plus links to related organisations and websites montoring the situation. [Includes African countries] Intute.ac.uk
http://www.pangea.org/unescopau/img/programas/procesos/08anuarii.pdf

India: Human Security Gateway
The Human Security gateway is a joint project of the Human Security report project and School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. It aims to provide researchers with a searchable database of links to key websites, full-text reports, journal articles, news items and fact sheets relating to human security worldwide. Human security is defined as the protection of individuals from wars, civil wars and violence. It website enables users to search or browse by country or topic. Topics covered include: peace keeping operations, children and armed conflict, international humanitarian law, gender and security and refugees. Each resource has an added description of content. The section on India includes materials relating to Indian defence and security, terrorism and terrorist attacks in India, nuclear weapons, relations with pakistan and the conflict in Kashmir. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.humansecuritygateway.info/search.php?advanced=yes&regions[]=151

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has issued a press release on the preliminary findings of CarboAfrica, "an international research project of 15 institutions from Africa and Europe that includes FAO." According to Riccardo Valentini, project coordinator, "evidence so far indicates that Africa seems a 'carbon sink', meaning that it takes more carbon out of the atmosphere than it releases." The preliminary findings are the subject of "Africa and Carbon Cycle: the CarboAfrica project," a conference currently being held in Accra, Ghana.

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AIDS Outlook is a new report from UNAIDS that provides perspectives on some of the most pressing issues that will confront policymakers and leaders as they respond to the challenges presented by AIDS in 2009. The report begins by highlighting some recent achievements and challenges in addressing HIV. It provides examples of how countries are applying modelling techniques to better understand HIV incidence, with the aim of reinvigorating HIV prevention. Download report in full (pdf, 608Kb).

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Children and AIDS: Third stocktaking report (full-text, 1.94 MB), jointly prepared by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), was released on World Aids Day. The Third Stocktaking Report calls for several actions that can bring changes in the next one to three years:

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions have released the “Global Outlook” chapter (full-text, pdf) of the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2009 report due out in early January 2009. According to the highlights,

"The report analyzes in detail the evolution of the global financial crisis during 2008 and the more fundamental factors that led to its build-up. It further assesses the impact on global economic activity, especially in developing countries. The synchronized slowdown in both rich and poor countries is further evidence that the until recently widely held belief that developing country growth would have been ‘decoupled’ from that in the United States and Europe was dangerously misleading. The report also reviews the policy actions so far taken worldwide in response to the global financial crisis."

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