August 27

Fighting For Justice: A Lifetime Of Political And Social Activism By Jay Naidoo. Centre For Conflict Resolutionon:

South Africa Protests and resistance Trackbacks (0)
THE CENTRE FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA INVITES YOU AND MEMBERS OF YOUR ORGANISATION TO A SEMINAR DISCUSSION OF THE BOOK
 
Fighting for Justice: A Lifetime of Political and Social Activism

by Jay Naidoo

 

AUTHOR AND SPEAKER:
   

Mr Jay Naidoo

Director and Chairman

 J&J Group Development

 

DISCUSSANT:
   

Professor Martin Legassick

Emeritus Professor

History Department

University of the Western

 

DATE:
   

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

TIME:
   

17h30 to 19h00

VENUE:
   

Centre for the Book, 62 Queen Victoria Street, Gardens, Cape Town

RSVP:
   

Lavenia Benjamin

TEL:
   

(021) 689 1005

E-MAIL:
   

lavenia@ccr.uct.ac.za

WEBSITE:
   

www.ccr.org.za

 

All are welcome and entry is free.

 

The book Fighting for Justice: A Lifetime of Political and Social Activism by Jay Naidoo

will be on sale at the event.

 

Kindly RSVP for seating purposes.
August 27

The Oil And The Glory, A Blog On The Geopolitics Of Energy, By Steve Levine

Energy Blogs Trackbacks (0)
http://oilandglory.foreignpolicy.com/
 

The Oil and the Glory looks at geopolitics through the lens of energy -- a frame of reference as important as politics, war, and economics to understanding why countries behave the way they do. The blog is a must read for those attempting to understand the course of events from Abuja to Baku to Houston, asking the big questions about the world’s energy supply and the countries whose fates are intertwined with it.

Reporting on the latest boardroom deals and oil-patch catastrophes, the pursuit of the resources of today and the technologies of the future, The Oil and the Glory is meant to invite debate and discussion. We welcome suggestions and tips.



Author Steve LeVine is a contributing editor at Foreign Policy and the author of The Oil and the Glory, a history of oil told through the 1990s-2000s oil rush on the Caspian Sea. He is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he teaches energy and security in the Security Studies Program.

 

LeVine, also the author of Putin's Labyrinth, a profile of Russia through the lives and deaths of six Russians, is a former chief foreign affairs writer for BusinessWeek and Central Asia and Caucasus correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, based in Almaty and Baku. He previously covered the same region for the New York Times and Newsweek. From 1988-1991, he was Pakistan-Afghanistan correspondent for Newsweek. From 1985-1988, he was Manila correspondent for Newsday.

 

 
August 27

Failed States Index 2010

Fragile and failed states Trackbacks (0)

The 10 states that fill out the top ranks of this year's Failed States Index -- the world's most vulnerable nations -- are a sadly familiar bunch. Shattered Somalia has been the No. 1 failed state for three years running, and none of the current top 10 has shown much improvement, if any, since FOREIGN POLICY and the Fund for Peace began publishing the index in 2005. Altogether, the top 10 slots have rotated among just 15 unhappy countries in the index's six years. State failure, it seems, is a chronic condition.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/the_failed_states_index_2010
August 25

Human Rights And The Millennium Development Goals

Human Rights Millenium Development Goals Trackbacks (0)

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has issued a new publication, Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals in Practice: A review of country strategies and reporting (full report, pdf). Its primary objective is to review the extent to which—and how—human rights are reflected in national MDG-based development strategies and policies in a selected number of African and Asian countries, to identify critical gaps and challenges, and to see what practical lessons can be learned from these experiences.

UN Pulse: 

Permanent Link: Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals

 

August 25

‘Food Security: Feeding The World In 2050′

Food, food supply and food security Trackbacks (0)
Open Access edition of Philosophical Transactions of the The Royal Society B

Food consumption trends and drivers (PDF)
Source: Royal Society (UK)

A picture of food consumption (availability) trends and projections to 2050, both globally and for different regions of the world, along with the drivers largely responsible for these observed con- sumption trends are the subject of this review. Throughout the world, major shifts in dietary patterns are occurring, even in the consumption of basic staples towards more diversified diets. Accompanying these changes in food consumption at a global and regional level have been considerable health consequences. Populations in those countries undergoing rapid transition are experiencing nutritional transition. The diverse nature of this transition may be the result of differences in socio-demographic factors and other consumer characteristics. Among other factors including urbanization and food industry marketing, the policies of trade liberalization over the past two decades have implications for health by virtue of being a factor in facilitating the ‘nutrition transition’ that is associated with rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Future food policies must consider both agricultural and health sectors, thereby enabling the development of coherent and sustainable policies that will ultimately benefit agriculture, human health and the environment.via Docuticker

+ Direct link to special   entitled ‘Food security: feeding the world in 2050′

August 18

"Towards An Alliance Of Civilizations: Bridging Cultures To Achieve Peace And Development" Global Model UN 2010

United Nations Peace and Peacekeeping Trackbacks (0)

The second(GMUN) was officially launched on 14 August in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The conference will run until 18 August. The theme of the conference is "Towards an Alliance of Civilizations: bridging cultures to achieve peace and development". Four hundred students are in attendance. The students, aged between 18 and 24, come from over fifty countries and are engaged in a realistic simulation of a UN General Assembly summit meeting. The conference is making use of a wide variety of online social media, in keeping with the youth-oriented theme, with regular updates being made to the conference blog, the conference twitter feed as well as to the conference online slide show.  More information on the Global Model United Nations Conference and on the student leaders can be found on the Conference website: www.un.org/gmun.

UN Pulse : Permanent Link: Global Model UN 2010 - Kuala Lumpur

August 18

2nd Follow-Up To The Report Of The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission On The Gaza Conflict

Israel-Palestine Conflict and conflict resolution Trackbacks (0)
The Secretary-General has just released the Second follow-up to the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (A/64/890) as requested in General Assembly resolution 64/254 (A/RES/64/254).

The first follow-up report was issued as document A/64/651. The report of the Fact-Finding Mission, better known as the Goldstone report was published as document A/64/490

UN Pulse Permanent Link: Second follow-up to the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict

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August 17

Climate Change Adaptation. OXFAM

Poverty Climate Change Trackbacks (0)

Enabling people living in poverty to adapt

Climate change is fast pushing communities, particularly the poorest and most marginalized, beyond their capacity to respond. Across the world, subsistence crops are approaching the limits of their viability as temperatures change; erratic rainfall patterns and changing seasons are upsetting agricultural cycles and leaving many struggling to feed their families; and rising sea levels are causing the inundation of crops and the contamination of water supplies with salt water.

This report draws on case studies from around the world and Oxfam’s experience working with rural communities to set out what is needed and a range of interventions that are available, to enable people living in poverty to adapt to climate change. Nonetheless, there are limits to adaptation, and without rapid and significant global mitigation, these options will be quickly lost.

Oxfam’s approach brings together experience in the areas of livelihoods, natural resource management, and disaster risk reduction. Uncertainty and risk can be managed using robust decision making in order to build adaptive capacity from household to national and global levels. Climate change forces us to draw the strands together, not only to lift people out of poverty, but also to enable them to manage risk and uncertainty and to shape, create, and respond to changes throughout their lives.

Poverty, more than any other factor, determines vulnerability to climate change and limits adaptive capacity. This report identifies the combined need for a combination of bottom-up and top-down processes in order to create the enabling
 
Climate Change Adaptation (summary)
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Climate Change Adaptation (full report)
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August 08

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers... Minority Rights Group International

Poverty World Bank IMF Trackbacks (0)

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: failing minorities and indigenous peoples

When they were first introduced more than a decade ago, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) were roundly welcomed. PRSPs were initiated in 1999 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for the eradication of poverty in Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) and other low-income countries.

Supported by the United Nations (UN), donor governments and civil society alike, they signalled a much greater role for those countries’ civil society organizations and community representatives in policymaking. Symbolically, the PRSPs represented a move towards a more just form of progress, and the recognition that economic growth alone is not sufficient in overcoming poverty. 

August 08

State Of The World's Minorities And Indigenous Peoples, 2010.

Minorities Trackbacks (0)

Religious intolerance has now joined racism in many parts of the world as the leading cause of the persecution of minorities, a new global report from Minority Rights Group International reveals.

State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2010 reports that the rise of religious nationalism, the economic marginalization of religious minorities and the abuse of counter-terrorism laws have all led to a growing pattern of persecution against religious minorities globally.

On every continent, religious minorities are facing attack, detention, torture and the repression of their fundamental freedoms.

August 05

Achieving Sustainable Health Development In The African Region, And Malaria Newsletter, June 2010

Africa Health Trackbacks (0)

Achieving Sustainable Health Development in the African Region
Strategic Directions for WHO 2010–2015

WHO/AFRO Malaria Newsletter - La Toile Vol. 2, No. 2

 

As World malaria Day is celebrated on 25 April, some Member States in the African Region report  progress in tackling malaria.

:: Read the Newsletter
August 04

WikiLeaks

Freedom of Information Freedom of the Press Trackbacks (0)
A project of the Sunshine Press, WikiLeaks serves as an anonymous global venue for the dissemination of documents for public viewing. A self-described “public service,” the site is designed to utilize the combined technology of the Internet and cryptology to provide protection for individuals, such as whistleblowers, journalists and activists, who wish to communicate sensitive materials to the public. The website is based on the premise that “transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies,” and that access to information is necessary to this end. According to its site, “WikiLeaks accepts classified, censored or otherwise restricted material of political, diplomatic or ethical significance. WikiLeaks does not accept rumour, opinion or other kinds of first hand reporting or material that is already publicly available.” Under the rationale of “principled leaking, “Wikileaks in turn distributes the information across multiple jurisdictions, organizations and individuals with the accompanying claim that, “once a document is published it is essentially impossible to censor.” The site is supported by a network of defense lawyers who presumably rely on the principle of freedom of the press. It is interesting to note that all submissions made online are routed via Sweden and Belgium to benefit from their journalist-source shield laws. All documents submitted to WikiLeaks are tested for authenticity by various methods such as forensic analysis, a review of means, motive and opportunity, consideration of cost of forgery, contemplation of the nature of claims made by the authoring organization, input from the collective wisdom and expertise of interested users, and more. WikiLeaks asserts that they have never made a mistake thus far. Source documents cannot be modified or edited by users. Summaries of documents are written by WikiLeaks staff, occasionally in collaboration with the submitter. The site is careful to note that “all staff who deal with sources are accredited journalists,” and “all submissions establish a journalist-source relationship.” Although blocked by the Chinese government, WikiLeaks suggests a number of ways around this block to their users. Their technological expertise also enables them to boast that none of their thousand of WikiLeaks sources have been exposed to date. Several suggestions for how to protect one’s identity are included on the site. The site is available in 15 languages and includes a search feature that queries both titles and summaries of documents. Materials may be sorted and browsed by country, region, language or year. Documents are available in various electronic formats, and the size of the document is always noted. Users may follow WikiLeaks via RSS, Twitter, Facebook, etc. With the exception of its presentation style, WikiLeaks is unrelated to the website Wikipedia.

 Review from:

InSITE, a Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library

http://library2.lawschool.cornell.edu/insiteasp/public/display_browse.asp?style=st_browse&id=1718&prevpage=3ccls

August 02

A Fractured Nation: Operation Murambatsvina – Five Years On

Zimbabwe Trackbacks (0)

A Fractured Nation: Operation Murambatsvina – five years on

 

In this report, Solidarity Peace Trust outlines the effects of Operation Murambatsvina or "Drive out the Filth" in Zimbabwe. This operation involved the demolition of all informal housing in urban and peri-urban areas across Zimbabwe and a total clampdown on the informal trading sector, including the destruction of official vending areas and confiscation of all wares.

August 01

Solidarity Peace Trust

Africa Democracy Human Rights Trackbacks (0)
The Solidarity Peace Trust is a non-governmental organisation, registered in South Africa. The Trustees of the Solidarity Peace Trust are church leaders of Southern Africa, who are all committed to human rights, freedom and democracy in their region.

The chairperson is: Bishop Rubin Phillip; Anglican Bishop of KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa

The objectives of the Solidarity Peace Trust are to assist individuals, organisations, churches and affiliated organisations in southern Africa, to build solidarity in the pursuit of justice, peace and social equality and equity in Zimbabwe.

It shall be the special concern of the Trust to assist victims of human rights abuses in their efforts to correct and end their situation of oppression.

http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org/