The UNEP report on Environmental Food Crisis noted that the ensuing crisis has resulted in a 50–200% increase in selected commodity prices, driven 110 million people into poverty and added 44 million more to the undernourished. Key causes of the current food crisis are the combined effects of speculation in food stocks, extreme weather events, low cereal stocks, growth in biofuels competing for cropland and high oil prices (full report, pdf).
Breaking in and moving up: New industrial challenges for the bottom billion and the middle-income countries is the title for the 2009 Industrial Development Report. Released by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the report is about the opportunities and constraints faced by two groups of countries: the countries of the "bottom billion" trying to break into global markets for manufactured goods, and the middle-income countries that are striving to move up to more sophisticated manufacturing. Visit the UNIDO website to read more about it's work and download the report in full (full-text, pdf 7.9MB).
A new guide for civil society actors - Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society has been issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The handbook explains how the different United Nations human rights mandates and mechanisms work, and how members of civil society, such as human rights defenders, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, can engage with them most effectively. Download the handbook in full, (pdf) or by chapters and also get information on how to order a hardcopy from the website.
Guantánamo Bay : Amnesty International UK resources
This site was created by Amnesty International Uk to provide coverage
of campaigns to close the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It
includes press releases reports of the British detainees (including
Binyam Mohamed ), interviews with prisoners and their lawyers, full
text reports detailing torture suffered by the inmates and other
Amnesty International campaign materials.There are also links to
YouTube videos which give accounts of alleged human rights abuses and
torture. Technical and copyright information is displayed on the
website.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10226
Inside Guantanamo Bay: Time photographic essay
This site provides free access to a small collection of materials
relating to the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which were
original published in TIME magazine in 2005. They include photographs
of the interrogation rooms at Camp Delta and Camp x-Ray, pictures of
military police and detainees. There are also links to other TIME
essays and articles on alleged human rights abuses at the prison.
Copyright information is displayed on the website.
http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/guantanamo/
http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/G8_paper_08.pdf/$file/G8_paper_08.pdf
Thanks to Fareeda Jadwat for this. Celia
Created in 1966, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is headquartered in Manila. Their operations extend across 67 countries, and their primary mission is "to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people." In order to achieve this goal, ADB offers loans, technical assistance, grants, advice, and knowledge. Along the top of their homepage, visitors can make their way through the following sections: "Projects", "Countries", "News & Events", "Topics", and "Publications". The "Topics" area is a good place to start, as it contains information about some of their signature programs, which range from work on preventing bird flu outbreaks to law and policy reform throughout the region. Moving on, the "Publications" area is a real treat for policy types, and visitors can look at recent documents like "Revitalization of Historic Inner-City Areas in Asia". http://www.adb.org/ [KMG]
From The Scout Report
Wikileaks
http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Wikileaks
"an
uncensorable system for safe mass document leaking and public analysis.
Our primary interests are in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Latin
America, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we expect to be of
assistance to peoples of all countries who wish to reveal unethical
behavior in their governments and corporations." Searchable, and
browsable by country and language. The site has added nearly 7,000
Congressional Research Services Reports that Congress doesn't think the
public that paid for them needs to have access to. Scroll down past the
donation link for links to the most recently added material.
From:
Click on this link for the flyer for GlobalIssues_1.pdf
For Username and Password, phone or email the Humanities Reference Desk:
Phone: 021-650-3703
Email: celia.walter@uct.ac.za
Global Economic Monitor (GEM)
http://www.worldbank.org/gem is a one-stop
portal for analysis of current economic trends, and economic and financial
indicators.
Global Economic Monitor features up-to-date analysis on global
economic conditions, including a daily brief and event-driven focus reports,
direct access to high-frequency datasets via Quick Query, forecasts for
commodity prices and main macroeconomic indicators for over 150 countries. It is
updated each business day.
Please go to http://www.worldbank.org/wbgemtrial
Click
ENTER, no username or password required.
We done good! We are second!
South Africa’s score on the Open Budget Index shows that the government provides the public with extensive information on the central government’s budget and financial activities during the course of the budget year. This gives citizens tools to hold government accountable for its management of the public’s money.
About the Open Budget Initiative:
The Open Budget Initiative (Initiative) is a global research and advocacy program to promote public access to budget information and the adoption of accountable budget systems... [more]
The Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (full report, pdf) launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provides new information on a crime that shames us all. According to the report, the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls. The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour which amounts to 18% and worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children.
Read more:
The Summary of plenary meetings of the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, held in Doha 29 November - 2 December 2008, has been issued (A/CONF.212/6/Add.1). Other documents are available from the Conference website.
The Fifth Annual United Nations’ Web4Dev conference is hosted by UNICEF
from 11-13 February 2009. Created by the World Bank in 2003 the Web4Dev
is a community that is focused on applying Internet related
technologies towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Main themes of the 5th conference:
The report of the Secretary-General on the World demographic trends has been issued (E/CN.9/2009/6). According to the report summary, today's world population stands at 6.8 billion and is projected to reach 9 billion in 2045, if fertility continues to decline in developing countries. In addition, the report notes that:
Life expectancy is estimated at 67.2 years globally, averaging 76.5 years in developed countries and 65.4 years in developing countries. In the least developed countries, two thirds of which are severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, life expectancy averages a low 54.6 years.UN Pulse Permalink
United Nations University (UNU) has released documents and materials from its 26-27 November 2008 workshop, Capacity Development through E-learning. The workshop focused on how to respond to the needs of the African region and how to build a consolidated approach to e-learning. The agenda, a list of participants, minutes, a concept note, e-learning survey results, presentation notes, and a summary of main outcomes are available on the conference website.
Thanks to Fareeda Jadwat for this.
Israel National Election Studies
The Israel National Election Studies project commenced in 1969. It aims
to collect data on voting patterns, election behaviour and political
participation in Israel. Its website provides information on its aims
and methodology. It also allows free access to data files, code books
and survey reports from 1969 onwards (free registration required).
These include materials which relate political attitudes and voting
behaviour to the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Other features
of the site include a bibliography of texts which cite the Israel
National Election Studies.
http://www.ines.tau.ac.il/
Israel votes 2009: BBC report
This site was created by the BBC to provide coverage of the 2009
parliamentary elections in Israel. In addition to news stories, it
includes blog style diaries from BBC journalists covering the run up to
the elections (these include text and film clip reports) , interviews
with Israeli voters and profiles of the main candidates and parties.
Also provided are some basic facts on the operation of the Israeli
electoral system. Copyright and technical information is displayed on
the website.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7880487.stm
From Intute.ac.uk
South Africa’s policy towards Zimbabwe: A nexus between foreign policy and commercial interests?
SPEAKER: Mills Soko
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Time: 12:45
Venue: Board Room 1
ENTRANCE FREE
Please RSVP for seating purposes.
RSVP: Contact:Cathy Taffinder
Tel: (021) 406-1473
Email: cathytaf@gsb.uct.ac.za
TOPIC ABSTRACT
This paper examines the extent to which South Africa’s policy towards Zimbabwe under the Mbeki administration was shaped by economic and commercial considerations. Given the extensive involvement and growing influence of the South African business sector in Zimbabwe, the potential link between the South African government’s policy stance towards Zimbabwe and South Africa’s commercial interests in Zimbabwe is intuitively appealing. The paper argues, however, that although South African firms have exploited the commercial opportunities that have emerged from the political and economic crises in Zimbabwe, it is not clear from the available evidence that commercial interests have been a primary consideration in South Africa’s policy towards Zimbabwe. It concludes that the Mbeki government’s policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ towards Zimbabwe was not principally shaped by economic objectives, but was instead driven predominantly by political and ideological concerns, which related closely to perceptions about South Africa’s role on the African continent.
Thanks to Lara Skelly for this information.
The Brookings Institution has a number of centers that specialize in urban policy, the economy, and foreign policy. Their "World" site brings together research, commentary, policy reports, and working papers that deal with a broad set of issues with a global reach. First-time users can browse around some of the "Recent Research and Commentary" area, and they may also wish to sign up for a Brookings account. With this account they can create their own online portfolio that will allow them to receive email updates about different topics and programs. The page also features a "Top Topics" area that brings together papers and op-ed pieces on subjects such as Afghanistan, terrorism, energy security, and Arab-Israeli relations. Additionally, visitors can sign up to receive their RSS feed and their newsletter. [KMG] From The Scout Report
Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
"Trustworthy information on Thomas Jefferson and his world by Monticello researchers and respected Jefferson scholars." Search, or browse by topics such as agriculture and gardening, legends, Sally Hemings, science and exploration, and slavery. Provided by the Thomas Jefferson Library at Monticello.
URL: http://wiki.monticello.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27596
Presidents of the United States: Resource Guides
These presidential resource guides "compile digital materials that are available throughout the Library [of Congress]'s Web site. In addition, each resource guide provides links to external Web sites and a bibliography containing selected works for both a general audience and younger readers. This site will be updated on a regular basis." As of early 2009, guides are available for 20 presidents, the most recent being Franklin D. Roosevelt. From the Library of Congress.
URL: http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/presidents/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27126
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