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Fulfilling Basic Human Needs
"India is no stranger to protest movements, hunger strikes, and the mass mobilization of citizens for a popular cause. But the recent fast by the Gandhian leader Anna Hazare, culminating in an extraordinary Saturday session of Parliament to pass a resolution acceding to his main demands, marked a dramatic departure in the country's politics." -- from Article
Ever since the British philosopher Thomas Malthus wrote "An Essay on the Principle of Population" in 1798, we have been concerned that human population growth will outstrip the available food supply. While the current crisis in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya would appear to be perfect proof of the Malthusian scenario, we must be careful not to make overly simplistic assumptions.
April 1995 Cambodia is a still deeply scarred by Pol Pot's holocaust. More than a million people may have died during his reign. The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot were at the heart of the circumstances which brought the USA into the Vietnam War - one of the cruellest of the Cold War disputes. This feature paints a picture of a people still struggling to forget the devastation of Pot's own special brand of social reform. Mental illness is rife and neighbour still fears neighbour.
This paper outlines a theoretical framework through which social transfers reduce poverty and inequality as well as generate important growth and development impacts in developing countries.
In this article six propositions on direct and structural violence are advanced, including the proposition that a just and sustainable peace will require, at a minimum, the equitable satisfaction of human needs for security, identity, well-being, and self-determination.
"Donors have failed to provide sufficient resources and support to the education of children and youth in these fragile and conflict-affected states. This Policy Outlook outlines seven challenges that need to be addressed and recommendations for a way forward for donors and the international community."
"Amid the wreckage of the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, an agreement that rich countries would, by 2020, furnish developing ones with $100 billion a year to help them mitigate and adapt to global warming looked like a rare achievement. This commitment will also be a big talking point at the next annual UN summit, due to start in Durban on November 28th. With almost no hope of a big new pact, many expect progress on the formation of a global Green Climate Fund to be one of its few successes. Yet there is huge uncertainty about how developed countries will deliver on their promise, including what role the fund will play." -- from Article
Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee-shop operator, plans to add 200 more drive-through stores across the U.K. in an expansion that will create 5,000 jobs.
Ghanian women have come together to discuss post-conflict militarism and the role of women in changing the approach to militarism in West Africa. Currently, women have no role in post-conflict response, and their needs are largely ignored. Getting more women to the table can not only improve the lives of women in West Africa, but it can improve the chance of peace overall, as they don't share the culture of violence and militarism so often relied on by men.
