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21 Nov 2011 23:32

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World: UN greenhouse gas study: Carbon dioxide levels reach new high

  • 2.3 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 2009 and 2010, a big leap from the last decade’s average of 2.0 ppm
  • 64% of climate warming is due to carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and changes in land usage, a UN study says source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 14:58

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World: United Nations agency admits Palestine as member; US cuts funding in response

  • A step forward for Palestine? Today, the United Nations agency UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) admitted Palestine as a full member. In response, the United States is cutting off all funding to the agency. This will effectively gut one-fourth of UNESCO’s budget. The move is in accordance with US law, which prohibits the government from funding any organization that includes Palestine as a member, prior to the reaching of an Israeli-Palestine peace agreement. Nevertheless, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas hailed the decision. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2011 10:23

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World: Wangari Maathai, African sustainable development advocate, dies at 71

  • She will be remembered as a committed champion of the environment, sustainable development, women’s rights, and democracy.
  • Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan • Speaking about Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, who died Sunday of ovarian cancer at age 71. Maathai, a Kenyan, founded the Green Belt Movement, an organization that encouraged methods of sustainable development. Her work with the Green Belt Movement, which spanned over 30 years, led to her winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. “We need people who love Africa so much that they want to protect her from destructive processes,” she noted in a 2005 speech. “There are simple actions we can take. Start by planting 10 trees we each need to absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale. Get involved in local initiatives and volunteer your time for services in your community.” This world needs more people like her, not less. Based on the strong response on Twitter today, lots of people agree. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Sep 2011 10:14

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World: Mahmoud Abbas: “The Palestinian Spring has been born”

  • We have told the world that there is the Arab Spring, but the Palestinian Spring has been born. A popular spring, a populist spring, a spring of peaceful struggle that will reach its goal.
  • Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas • Drawing a comparison between his push for a Palestinian role in the United Nations and the Arab Spring movement. Abbas’ popularity has leaped in his home country after he boldly submitted an application to the United Nations for membership, despite loud protests by the U.S. and Israel. The U.S. has promised to veto any opportunity for Palestine to gain full UN membership, but Palestine would be willing to settle for lesser observer status in the general assembly, which would still give them a way to continue to push for their agenda in the United Nations. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Sep 2011 16:07

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World: New Wikileaks cable suggests UN peacekeepers dealt food for sex

  • Sex exploitation by UN peacekeepers: A 2010 UN embassy cable released by Wikileaks indicates that U.N. peacekeepers traded food and basic supplies (mobile phones, as well) for sex with destitute underage girls in the Ivory Coast. The cable concerns the actions of Beninese peacekeepers in the town of Toulepleu, sixteen of whom a UN spokesman has now acknowledged were barred from UN service following a year-long investigation. Said a protection officer with Save The Children: “…sexual exploitation and abuse problem among (United Nations) personnel is more extensive than is recognized.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 10:20

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World: Muammar Gaddafi: A man of many contrasts losing his grip on power

  • More than any of the region’s autocratic leaders, perhaps, Gaddafi was a man of contrasts. He was a sponsor of terrorism who condemned the Sept. 11 attacks. He was a brutal dictator who bulldozed a jail wall to free political prisoners. He was an Arab nationalist who derided the Arab League. And in the crowning paradox, he preached people power, only to have his people take to the streets and take up arms in rebellion.
  • The Associated Press • In a lengthy piece glancing over the long rule of Muammar Gaddafi. It’s a good read that goes a long way to explain the often-confusing nature behind a man who gave North Africa fits for decades, and even occasionally showed up in the West to offer up a little bit of fresh weirdness. No place was that more obvious than when he went to the United Nations to speak in 2009. It was a weird, rambling speech that left more that a few world officials bewildered. In some ways, though, it proved the leader’s last big gasp. Less than two years later, it appears that his regime has been all but taken away. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Aug 2011 22:48

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World: UK study: Cutting salt intake should be a global priority

  • 15% amount of salt the study suggests we should cut source
  • » Are food companies are pulling a fast one on us? According to the study, they’ve been adding extra salt to food to trick us into eating more. “They train your taste buds — the more salt you eat, the less salt you taste, the more salt you want, to get that saltiness,” notes Professor Francisco Cappucio of the University of Warwick, one of the authors of the study. He notes that this extra salt makes us want to eat more, leading to higher food industry profits. By cutting salt intake worldwide, we could save thousands of lives each year in the U.S. alone, the study notes — and 8.5 million lives in the next decade. The study suggests that the UN get involved.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Apr 2011 10:36

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World: French Prime Minister: Ivory Coast presidential crisis nearing end

  • As we speak we are speaking to two generals to negotiate President Gbagbo’s surrender.
  • French Prime Minister Francois Fillon • Explaining what’s currently happening in the Ivory Coast, after days of increasingly violent fighting between forces loyal to presidential stickler Laurent Gbagbo and forces who favored Alassane Ouattara, the man who won November’s election but was held from office by Gbagbo. Months later, the fighting got extremely violent, and the UN and France eventually got involved. Now, it appears, Gbagbo is close to surrendering the leadership he long fought to keep. “We are in a situation where everything could be resolved in the next few hours,” said French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2011 16:00

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World: UN could be hours from vote on Libyan no-fly zone

  • A critical few hours for Libya: The U.N. Security Council will be meeting (Britain claims at 22:00 GMT, which is a little over two hours from now) to consider a resolution approving the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya. The resolution was drafted by, and therefore obviously receives strong support from the U.K., Lebanon, and France. The U.S. has spoken in support of the measure, hinged on a reluctance to act unilaterally, but China and Russia might not be so keen. It should make for a fascinating scene that will critically change the future of the Libyan people. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Mar 2011 12:11

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World: The Arab League wants a no-fly zone in Libya. But will it fly?

While the U.S. and Britain approve of the latest push, the move needs to be approved by the larger international community at the UN, and it may not even be effective. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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