BBC News - US flag ceremony to mark end of Iraq war role

BBC News - US flag ceremony to mark end of Iraq war role: "Some 4,500 US soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the war.

It has cost the US some $1tr.

Republicans have criticised the pullout citing concerns over Iraq's stability, but most Americans support the move."

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BBC News - Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped, study reveals

BBC News - Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped, study reveals: "Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped or suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives, a US study says.

Even more women, estimated at 25%, have been attacked by a partner or husband, the Centers for Disease Control said.

The findings form part of the first set of results from a nationwide study surveying sexual violence by intimate partners against men and women."

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Kenya's Samburu people 'violently evicted' after US charities buy land | World news | guardian.co.uk

Kenya's Samburu people 'violently evicted' after US charities buy land | World news | guardian.co.uk:

Members of the Samburu people in Kenya have been abused, beaten and raped by police after the land they lived on for two decades was sold to two US-based wildlife charities, a rights group and community leader have alleged.

The dispute centres on Eland Downs in Laikipia, a lush area near Mount Kenya. At least three people are said to have died during the row, including a child who was eaten by a lion after the Samburu were violently evicted in November last year.

The London-based NGO Survival International said the Samburu were evicted following the purchase of the land by two American-based charities, the Nature Conservancy and the African Wildlife Foundation.

The groups subsequently gifted the land to Kenya for a national park, to be called Laikipia National Park.

Survival International said the land was officially owned by former president Daniel arap Moi, although AWF simply said it bought it from a private landowner.

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BBC News - US Supreme Court to rule on Arizona's immigration law

BBC News - US Supreme Court to rule on Arizona's immigration law: "The US Supreme Court has said it will rule on the legality of Arizona's tough immigration law.

It requires police to demand proof of citizenship if they suspect anyone they stop is in the US illegally.

Key parts of the law were suspended last year after a challenge from the White House, which holds immigration to be a federal, not state, issue."

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BBC News - Gambia's Yahya Jammeh ready for 'billion-year' rule

BBC News - Gambia's Yahya Jammeh ready for 'billion-year' rule: "The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh has told the BBC that he will rule for "one billion years", if God wills.

He said critics who accused him of winning last month's elections through intimidation and fraud could "go to hell".

The West African regional body Ecowas said the electorate had been "cowed by repression"."

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Malaysia: UN experts warn new bill restricts right to peaceful assembly

Malaysia: UN experts warn new bill restricts right to peaceful assembly: "7 December 2011 – A group of independent United Nations human rights experts today warned that a new bill in Malaysia restricts the right to peaceful assembly with measures such as a ban on street protests and conditional access for media to public gatherings.
The Peaceful Assembly Bill, which has been approved by the Malaysian Parliament, also includes a prohibition on non-citizens and citizens under the age of 21 to assemble peacefully, according to a news release issued by the experts."

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U.S. Backs Gay Rights Abroad, Obama and Clinton Say - NYTimes.com

U.S. Backs Gay Rights Abroad, Obama and Clinton Say - NYTimes.com: "In a memorandum issued by President Obama in Washington and in a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here, the administration vowed to actively combat efforts by other nations that criminalize homosexual conduct, abuse gay men, lesbians, bisexuals or transgendered people, or ignore abuse against them.

“Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct,” Mrs. Clinton said at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, “but in fact they are one and the same.”"

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BBC News - Exodus: movement of rich people - a life at home abroad

BBC News - Exodus: movement of rich people - a life at home abroad: "The cross-border migration of highly-educated people from upper-middle income countries rose by 44% between 2000 and 2006, according to a recently published study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In low income countries the cross-border movements also jumped significantly, by 28%.

Intra-company transfers in developed countries rose 39% between 2005 and 2008, and this does not include intra-company transfers within the European Economic Area, says OECD policy analyst Jonathan Chaloff, even though the scale of those "can be considerable"."

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11 Myths About Global Hunger | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide

11 Myths About Global Hunger | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide:

"There isn’t enough food to feed the world, most of the world's hungry live in Africa, and it's mostly a question of droughts and other natural disasters. All of these statements are wrong. But they reflect a common set of misconceptions on hunger. Here are 11 of the most common myths - with the reality they mask."

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Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed - Bloomberg

Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed - Bloomberg: "Lim Guan Eng turned Malaysia’s second-smallest state into the nation’s biggest economic success after he bumped into two National Instruments Corp. (NATI) executives at the local airport in 2008.
Elected in March that year as Penang’s first chief minister from an opposition party in 36 years, Lim was struggling with the prospect of federal funding cuts. He convinced the managers to set up a research and production center in the state, and within two years the former British trading post was Malaysia’s top destination for foreign manufacturing investment."

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BBC News - Michael Petit: Why child abuse is so acute in the US

BBC News - Michael Petit: Why child abuse is so acute in the US: "Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that?"

'via Blog this'

Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise, Scientists Say - NYTimes.com

Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise, Scientists Say - NYTimes.com: "A few years ago the World Health Organization estimated that malaria killed one million people a year, and in 2008 it said that mosquito nets, DDT and newer artemisinin-based drugs paid for by donor nations were making a dent. But the estimates are controversial and change when new statistical methods are applied. Also, malaria can bounce back frighteningly fast as soon as control measures are relaxed or even in hotter, wetter weather.

It is far harder to make a vaccine against parasites like malaria than to make one against a virus."

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Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money | ThinkProgress

Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money | ThinkProgress: "But perhaps the most shocking idea to save money is being debated right now by the City Council of Topeka, Kansas. The city could repeal an ordinance banning domestic violence because some say the cost of prosecuting those cases is just too high:
Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.
Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, facing a 10% budget cut, announced that the county would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors, including domestic violence cases, at the county level. Finding those cases suddenly dumped on the city and lacking resources of their own, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing the part of the city code that bans domestic battery. [...]"

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Montclair's Peace Corps volunteers look back at their service : page all - NorthJersey.com

Montclair's Peace Corps volunteers look back at their service : page all - NorthJersey.com: "Weaver was shocked to be asked to join a special group of Peace Corps volunteers who were to train athletes in newly independent African countries with the goal of participating in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

He was going to Senegal, where athletes had competed internationally before, but not under their own flag; they ran for the French flag. Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960."

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Small Fixes - Volunteers Forge Better Health Care in Rural Thailand - NYTimes.com

Small Fixes - Volunteers Forge Better Health Care in Rural Thailand - NYTimes.com: "Thailand’s Village Health Volunteers, as they are known, have been a source of reliable caretakers in a country perpetually beset by military coups and changing governments. Health care has marched forward in Thailand even as its politics have been mired in conflict.

The volunteer system has helped even out inequalities in a society where wealth — and medical resources — are heavily concentrated in the sprawling metropolis of Bangkok. Volunteers, who number more than one million in a country of 65 million people, spread awareness of disease and screen for chronic illnesses. They have also helped bring down the infant mortality rate to one of the lowest levels in Asia by assisting pregnant women."

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In Thailand, an Innovative Fight Against Cervical Cancer - NYTimes.com

In Thailand, an Innovative Fight Against Cervical Cancer - NYTimes.com: "Nurses using the new procedure, developed by experts at the Johns Hopkins medical school in the 1990s and endorsed last year by the World Health Organization, brush vinegar on a woman’s cervix. It makes precancerous spots turn white. They can then be immediately frozen off with a metal probe cooled by a tank of carbon dioxide, available from any Coca-Cola bottling plant.

The procedure is one of a wide array of inexpensive but effective medical advances being tested in developing countries. New cheap diagnostic and surgical techniques, insecticides, drug regimens and prostheses are already beginning to save lives."

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Almost 1 in 6 Americans living below poverty line - Americas, World - The Independent

Almost 1 in 6 Americans living below poverty line - Americas, World - The Independent: "Last year an additional 2.6 million Americans fell below the poverty threshold, set at $22,113 for a family of four. Moreover, median household incomes dipped to a level not seen since 1997. The US has not seen such an extended period without growth in household income since the Great Depression.

The Census Bureau statistics amount to a study in gloom and lost optimism. The percentage of Americans living below the poverty threshold was the highest it has been since 1993 – 15.1 per, up from 14.3 per cent the previous year and 11.7 per cent in 2001."

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Development studies: Key first-year reads | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Development studies: Key first-year reads | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "What binds much of development studies together is a set of key debates about the relationships between history, culture, politics, economics and wellbeing. What kinds of public policies drive economic growth? Who benefits from growth, and in which ways? How have global economic structures – including the international aid system – impacted on local politics and key development outcomes? How have the recent food, financial and fuel crises affected developing countries? What will it take to meet the millennium development goals?"

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BBC News - Syria unrest: 'First woman dies in detention'

BBC News - Syria unrest: 'First woman dies in detention': "According to the London-based human rights group, the 18-year-old's body had been decapitated, the arms cut off and the skin removed.

"If it is confirmed that Zainab was in custody when she died, this would be one of the most disturbing cases of a death in detention we have seen so far," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa."

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Josh Fattal And Shane Bauer, Americans Freed From Iran, In Seclusion With Families In Oman

Josh Fattal And Shane Bauer, Americans Freed From Iran, In Seclusion With Families In Oman: "MUSCAT, Oman — Two Americans released from an Iranian prison spent their first full day of freedom Thursday in seclusion, enjoying a joyous reunion with their families in the Gulf State of Oman after being held for more than two years accused as spies.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer arrived late Wednesday night in Oman under a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal and were embraced by relatives."

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Troy Davis: Supreme Court justices unanimously reject last minute appeal | Mail Online

Troy Davis: Supreme Court justices unanimously reject last minute appeal | Mail Online: "Georgia officials stopped the process just before the scheduled 7pm death.

A last minute appeal by Davis' lawyers challenged ballistics linking the death row inmate to the 1989 murder of off-duty policeman Mark MacPhail and eyewitness testimony identifying Davis as the killer.

After more than four hours the appeal was denied by the Supreme Court Justices. Five of nine Supreme Court judges were needed to stay the execution. "

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Who Is the Peace Corps For: American Volunteers or Communities Abroad? - Culture - GOOD

Who Is the Peace Corps For: American Volunteers or Communities Abroad? - Culture - GOOD: "For its volunteers, the Peace Corps experience also promises personal transformation and through it, the promise of a brighter, more connected America.

“I think it’s a wanderlust combined with the sort of glamour of having done it,” says my friend Mia Farber"

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BBC News - India: Half a dollar a day 'adequate', says panel

BBC News - India: Half a dollar a day 'adequate', says panel: "India's main planning body has said half a dollar a day is "adequate" for a villager to spend on food, education and health.

Critics say that the amount fixed by the Planning Commission is extremely low and aimed at "artificially" reducing the number of poor who are entitled to state benefits.

There are various estimates on the exact number of poor in India.

Officially, 37% of India's 1.21bn people live below the poverty line.

But one estimate suggests the true figure could be as high as 77%."

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BBC News - 'Don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays in US military ends

BBC News - 'Don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays in US military ends: "A policy banning open homosexuality in the US military has been repealed after nearly two decades.

The dropping of "don't ask, don't tell" means service members can now reveal they are gay without fear of investigation or discharge.

"Repeal Day" parties have been organised across the country to mark the victory for gay rights."

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IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: No quick fix for the economy | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Economy | Food Security | Governance

IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: No quick fix for the economy | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Economy | Food Security | Governance: "ABIDJAN, 15 September 2011 (IRIN) - When banks and ports in Côte d’Ivoire reopened some five months ago it was a blast of oxygen for the economy, but many in the commercial capital Abidjan are seeing jobs vanish and food prices soar.

Higher food and transport costs coupled with the fallout of unprecedented post-election violence and economic stagnation mean it will be some time before relative political stability translates into better living conditions.

Pauline Brou and her family cannot afford to eat meat more than twice a month. “Milk and sugar prices have been rising all year,” the mother of four told IRIN. She said the price of a 50kg sack of rice has gone up twice since January, from the equivalent of US$29 to $35. Meanwhile her civil servant husband’s pay has stayed at $200 a month for the past four years."

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The Associated Press: Iran: Court to commute sentences for 2 Americans

The Associated Press: Iran: Court to commute sentences for 2 Americans: "TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's foreign minister said Saturday that the courts are willing in "the near future" to commute the prison sentences for two Americans convicted of spying. The Americans' lawyer, meanwhile, was in court trying to arrange a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal.
The release rests in the hands of the hard-line judiciary, and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi gave no clear timetable. He also raised the issue of Iranians held in U.S. prisons, suggesting the Americans' release might be drawn out to bring attention to inmates Iran wants freed.
In a case that has added to the acrimony and deep distrust between Iran and the U.S., Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend Sarah Shourd. Shourd was released last September with mediation by the Gulf nation of Oman after $500,000 was paid."

'via Blog this'

China Carmakers Told to Seek Fuel Efficiency, Not Sales - NYTimes.com

China Carmakers Told to Seek Fuel Efficiency, Not Sales - NYTimes.com: "A succession of government officials at a weekend conference called for China’s automakers to shift their focus from making ever more cars and toward producing more fuel-efficient and more advanced models, including gasoline-electric hybrids and all-electric cars.

“The government must take the leading role in controlling unrealistic growth” of the auto industry, Jiang Kejun, the influential director of the Energy Research Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning agency, said Sunday during a speech at the conference."

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BBC News - The cosy relations between France and Africa

BBC News - The cosy relations between France and Africa: "Allegations that African presidents secretly paid money to leading French politicians have recently burst into the mainstream media. But they have caused little surprise to those who follow the often tortuous course of relationships between Paris and governments south of the Sahara.

Unconfirmed rumours of such dealings have circulated for years.

However, the highly specific claims about the value and destinations of secret cash payments - claims made by Robert Bourgi, informal adviser on African affairs to President Nicolas Sarkozy - are new."

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The Greater Recession: The Real Reason Americans Feel So Squeezed - Yahoo! Finance

The Greater Recession: The Real Reason Americans Feel So Squeezed - Yahoo! Finance: "The core of our life -- gasoline, electricity, homes, health care and higher education -- is getting expensive faster than general inflation. Meanwhile, average wages are barely keeping up with the yellow line. When the middle class talks about feeling squeezed dry and sped-up, this is what they're talking about.

Committing the graph to memory is easy. Coming up with a theory is the hard part. Let me try. The reason why toasters are cheap and health insurance is not is that the productivity gains that made toasters -- not to mention computers, media*, durable goods, food, and clothes -- more affordable are not spilling over into health care. The next chart from McKinsey tells the story: More than half of total productivity growth comes from computers and information technology. Practically zero comes from health care and education. In fact, one reason why heath and education are adding the most jobs today is that employers can't meet new demand with technology or offshoring. They have to keep hiring people."

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The imperial delusions of the United States - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The imperial delusions of the United States - Opinion - Al Jazeera English: "Empires rarely learn in time, because power tends to dull people's capacity for critical self-reflection. While ascending to power, empires believe themselves to be invincible. While declining in power, they cling desperately to old myths of remembered glory.

Today, the United States is morally bankrupt and spiritually broken. The problem is not that we have strayed from our founding principles, but that we are still operating on those principles - delusional notions about manifest destiny, American exceptionalism, the right to take more than our share of the world's resources by whatever means necessary. As the United States grew in wealth and power, bounty for the chosen came at the cost of misery for the many."

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BBC News - Kenya fire: Nairobi pipeline blaze 'kills 100'

BBC News - Kenya fire: Nairobi pipeline blaze 'kills 100': "More than 100 people have died after a petrol pipeline explosion and fire in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, police say.

The blast took place in the city's Lunga Lunga industrial area, and police and troops cordoned off the area as firefighters battled fierce flames in the surrounding shanty town.

The pipeline runs through the densely populated Sinai slum area between Nairobi's city centre and the airport."

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BBC News - Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths

BBC News - Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths: ""The grim reality of Somalia today is we are not able to get to south and central Somalia, which we consider to be the epicentre of the crisis," he told the BBC World Service.

"What is needed is a better representation of the challenges that aid agencies, including MSF, face in delivering assistance in Somalia today."

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Yashar Ali: Men Will Never Truly Understand a Day in the Life of Women -- But Shouldn't We Try?

Yashar Ali: Men Will Never Truly Understand a Day in the Life of Women -- But Shouldn't We Try?: "Women not only deal with discriminatory behavior on a daily basis, but they are also loaded with the baggage of their social conditioning. We must recognize that, day in and day out, every hour, every minute, women face lives that we men will rarely see and never feel.

Women are constantly reminded that they are different from us. And while we will never fully understand or feel what it's like to deal with these issues, we also don't make any effort to ask, we don't inquire about their struggles. When we do hear about realities like street harassment, we dismiss the situations as just the way things are. Sometimes, as so often happens with street harassment, we diminish the impact it has on women, "Boys will be boys."

And therein lies the problem: if and when we think of sexism, it's about class-action lawsuits, wage fairness -- the big issues. We don't seem to pay attention to the minutiae of daily life and the discrimination that exists on an everyday level."

'via Blog this'

Charity president says aid groups are misleading the public on Somalia | Global development | The Observer

Charity president says aid groups are misleading the public on Somalia | Global development | The Observer: "According to Karunakara, agencies have been able to provide medical and nutritional care for tens of thousands in camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, which have been receiving huge numbers of refugees from Somalia. But trying to access those in the "epicentre" of the disaster has been slow and difficult. "We may have to live with the reality that we may never be able to reach the communities most in need of help," he said.

Karunakara said that the use of phrases such as "famine in the Horn of Africa" or "worst drought in 60 years" obscured the "man-made" factors that had created the crisis and wrongly implied that the solution was simply to find the money to ship enough food to the region."

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BBC News - US 'wasted $30bn on Afghanistan and Iraq' over decade

BBC News - US 'wasted $30bn on Afghanistan and Iraq' over decade: "The US government has wasted $30bn (£18bn) in contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last decade, according to a bi-partisan spending commission.

The commission on wartime contracting blamed an over-reliance on contractors, poor planning and fraud for the waste."

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BBC News - Guatemalans 'died' in 1940s US syphilis study

BBC News - Guatemalans 'died' in 1940s US syphilis study:

'via Blog this'

At least 83 Guatemalans are thought to have died not long after being deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhoea in the 1940s, a presidential commission in Washington has heard.

US government scientists infected hundreds of Guatemalan prisoners, psychiatric patients and sex workers to study the effects of penicillin.

None of those infected consented.

The promotion of global wellbeing can drive the development agenda | Allister McGregor | Global development | guardian.co.uk

The promotion of global wellbeing can drive the development agenda | Allister McGregor | Global development | guardian.co.uk: With pictures of starving children again on our TV screens nightly, the focus of current international development efforts is very much on the short-term imperative of saving lives. Talk of living "well" may seem over-optimistic just now, inappropriate even.

However, a focus on human wellbeing provides a new and powerful perspective on the challenges facing humanity today – and one with a greater potential to confront the roots of crises such as that experienced in east Africa today than is provided by the standard development agenda.

BBC News - Iran 'jails US hikers for eight years for spying'

BBC News - Iran 'jails US hikers for eight years for spying': Two US hikers accused of spying and illegally entering Iran have been jailed for eight years by a court in Tehran, reports say.

Iranian state TV's website said Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal each received three years for illegally entering Iran and five years for spying.

The two men deny the charges, saying they unknowingly crossed into the country while hiking in July 2009.

Fellow hiker Sarah Shourd was freed on $500,000 (£314,386) bail last year.

BBC News - Stanford prison experiment continues to shock

BBC News - Stanford prison experiment continues to shock: Forty years ago a group of students hoping to make a bit of holiday money turned up at a basement in Stanford University, California, for what was to become one of the most notorious experiments in the study of human psychology.

The idea was simple - take a group of volunteers, tell half of them they are prisoners, the other half prison wardens, place them in a makeshift jail and watch what happens.

The Stanford prison experiment was supposed to last two weeks but was ended abruptly just six days later, after a string of mental breakdowns, an outbreak of sadism and a hunger strike.

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com:

"OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors."

David Arquette Fights To Make Malaria No More On Trip To Senegal

David Arquette Fights To Make Malaria No More On Trip To Senegal: "Having learned of the relief organization Malaria No More while working with Idol Gives Back to support Feeding America, Arquette said that he was moved to take action when he found out that nearly 2000 Africans a day die of the disease, with a child passing away every 45 seconds.

The statistics, said, were 'mind boggling,' to the point that he was willing to do a lot more than just lend his name and perhaps a commercial shoot or two to the cause."

BBC News - Pfizer: Nigeria drug trial victims get compensation

BBC News - Pfizer: Nigeria drug trial victims get compensation: "In 1996, 11 children died and dozens were left disabled after Pfizer gave them the experimental anti-meningitis drug, Trovan.

The payouts were made to the parents of four of the children who died.

Their parents told the BBC they welcomed the payment, but it would not replace the loss of their loved ones.

The children were part of a group of 200 given the drug during a meningitis epidemic in the northern city of Kano as part of a medical trial comparing Trovan's effectiveness with the established treatment.

For years Pfizer maintained that meningitis - not the drug - caused the deaths and disabilities."

Penny Red: Panic on the streets of London.

Penny Red: Panic on the streets of London.:

"In one NBC report, a young man in Tottenham was asked if rioting really achieved anything:

'Yes,' said the young man. 'You wouldn't be talking to me now if we didn't riot, would you?'

'Two months ago we marched to Scotland Yard, more than 2,000 of us, all blacks, and it was peaceful and calm and you know what? Not a word in the press. Last night a bit of rioting and looting and look around you.'

Eavesdropping from among the onlookers, I looked around. A dozen TV crews and newspaper reporters interviewing the young men everywhere ‘’’

There are communities all over the country that nobody paid attention to unless there had recently been a riot or a murdered child. Well, they’re paying attention now."

BBC News - Black Hawk survivor 'would return to help Somalis'

BBC News - Black Hawk survivor 'would return to help Somalis': "The sole survivor of one of the US Army Black Hawk helicopters shot down by Somali militiamen in Mogadishu in 1993 says the deaths of 18 of his comrades should not have prompted the end of the military mission to restore order.


Michael Durant (pictured recovering in hospital) was almost beaten to death after the helicopter crash
Pilot Michael Durant told Radio 4's Broadcasting House that today's famine can be traced back to that decision to withdraw."

BBC News - Newsnight - Ethiopia 'using aid as weapon of oppression'

BBC News - Newsnight - Ethiopia 'using aid as weapon of oppression': "A joint undercover investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government is using billions of dollars of development aid as a tool for political oppression."

BBC News - Kenya drought: Starvation claims 14 lives in Turkana

BBC News - Kenya drought: Starvation claims 14 lives in Turkana: "At least 14 people have died in Kenya's north-eastern Turkana region - the first hunger-related Kenyan deaths in the current regional drought.

The MP for Turkana, John Munyes, said the deaths were in three remote villages after the government failed to transport food to drought victims.

The UN says more than four million Kenyans are threatened by starvation in the region's worst drought in 60 years.

Other countries affected are Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti."

BBC News - Somalia's al-Shabab rebels leave Mogadishu

BBC News - Somalia's al-Shabab rebels leave Mogadishu

Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist rebels have pulled out of all positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, government and rebel spokesmen say.

President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed declared the rebels defeated after they left overnight on trucks.

However, al-Shabab described the move as a "change of military tactics".

BBC News - In Steinbeck's footsteps: America's middle-class underclass

BBC News - In Steinbeck's footsteps: America's middle-class underclass: "In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck describes the harrowing journey of the Joad family - migrant workers forced to leave their home during the Great Depression - a story still relevant to those facing the realities of America's current economic crisis.

'To the red country, and part of the gray country of Oklahoma the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth…' That is how Steinbeck begins The Grapes of Wrath.

This year the last rains came in May to western Oklahoma. They lasted long enough to produce the last alfalfa crop but the winter wheat was already lost."

BBC News - Somalia famine: WFP begins aid airlift to Mogadishu

BBC News - Somalia famine: WFP begins aid airlift to Mogadishu: "Millions in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa face dire food shortages in the worst regional drought for decades.

The Islamist al-Shabab militia, which controls much of Somalia, has banned the WFP from its areas.

The delivery was to have begun on Tuesday but was delayed from leaving Kenya by bureaucratic hurdles."

IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: The downside of "free" health care | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Governance | Health & Nutrition

IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: The downside of "free" health care | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Governance | Health & Nutrition: "'The problem with free health care is it was not prepared - we've all just fallen into this new system,' said pharmacist Binaté Nouho. 'At the beginning [when the policy was just announced and donors had given supplies] we had medicines, but they've all run out. We can do the consultations free but we don't have money to buy medicines... The system is jammed.'"

BBC News - Pentagon to certify the end of US military gay ban

BBC News - Pentagon to certify the end of US military gay ban

BBC News - Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade bans demonstrations

BBC News - Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade bans demonstrations: "Senegal has banned political demonstrations in central Dakar ahead of protests planned to oppose President Abdoulaye Wade's re-election bid.

His plans to seek a third term in office have sparked widespread criticism."

Beckhams a 'bad example' for families | Life and style | The Observer

Beckhams a 'bad example' for families | Life and style | The Observer: "Lucas said: 'We need to have a far greater public debate about population, whether it focuses on improving family planning or reducing global inequality – and looking again at how we address the strain on our natural resources. The absence of an open and honest discussion about this issue means most people don't give much thought to the scale of global population growth in recent years. In 1930, just one or two generations ago, the world's population stood at around two billion. Today it is around seven billion, and by 2050 it is projected to rise by a third to 9 billion."

BBC News - Texas death row killer forgiven by shooting victim

BBC News - Texas death row killer forgiven by shooting victim: "'What Mark Stroman did was a hate crime, and hate crimes come from ignorance,' said Rais Bhuiyan, 37, the only man to survive the shooting.

'His execution will not eradicate hate crimes from this world, we will just simply lose another human life.'"

BBC News - Can America's genius for invention endure?

BBC News - Can America's genius for invention endure?: "America's dominance of innovation and technology is being challenged by other countries.

Figures from Battelle show that China's spending on research and development is second only to the US because its unprecedented investment in education has created a highly skilled workforce.

The company warns that America's under-investment in Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) will spark an innovation crisis for the nation in the years to come."

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle: "The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century."

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle: "The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century."

Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory : Shots - Health Blog : NPR

Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory : Shots - Health Blog : NPR: "The Institute of Medicine report is out earlier than expected, after an embargo was broken. Among other things, it recommends that the federal government consider putting 'the full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods' on the list of services for women that would be covered by insurers without a copay."

U.N. Women’s Agency Publishes Sobering Report on Lack of Gender Equality - NYTimes.com

U.N. Women’s Agency Publishes Sobering Report on Lack of Gender Equality - NYTimes.com: "Gender equality is increasingly enshrined in laws, but many millions of women still have no access to justice, said Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile who was appointed as executive director of U.N. Women, the global body’s first agency for gender equality and female empowerment, which published the report.

“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” she said. “And even where the laws exist, the implementation and enforcement of those laws can be poor — even in the most progressive countries.”"

Peter: Citizenship is not amnesty, I realized, but a reward for their incredible work ethic and perseverance

Peter: Citizenship is not amnesty, I realized, but a reward for their incredible work ethic and perseverance: "I have been a conservative Republican my entire life. In 1964, I drove 27 miles from UCLA to my home to vote in my first election for Barry Goldwater. I am a former prosecutor, and the 33 years I worked for a private law firm were mostly spent representing large corporations. Yet, contrary to many conservatives, I have come to strongly support the Dream Act as a new and innovative path to becoming a US citizen. I decided to blog because Jose's story reflected the lives of many young people who society needs as citizens."

BBC News - Is India's population policy sexist?

BBC News - Is India's population policy sexist?: "The good news is that India's birth rate has dropped by more than half in 35 years - from 5.7 children per woman in the mid-1960s to 2.7 in 2010. Nearly a third of India's people have lowered their fertility to replacement levels.

The bad news is that India is still set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2030. A Planning Commission report points to a 'chilling' fact: the wide geographical disparity in the projected population growth. The four northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh will alone account for 44% of the expected addition of 370 million people to India's population between 2001-26, the report says."

How Should you Cover Africa? Better Question: How Should we Consume Media?

How Should you Cover Africa? Better Question: How Should we Consume Media?: "This is a picture of the “world” news navigation menu at foxnews.com. Africa, the second largest continent and home to 1 billion people, is nowhere to be found. I realize Fox is not a credible news source, but that doesn’t explain this omission. There isn’t an Africa link because Fox News knows that their audience wouldn’t click on it. Likewise, CNN rarely features stories from sub-Saharan Africa on their front page, unless the stories involve violence (preferably sexual violence) or cultural oddities like the one featured in the photo at the start of this post: Insect trappers profit from Uganda’s taste for grasshoppers."

BBC News - Texas execution 'violated international law', UN says

BBC News - Texas execution 'violated international law', UN says: "The US breached international law when the state of Texas executed a Mexican citizen convicted of raping and killing an American girl, the UN's senior human rights official has said.

Navi Pillay cited 'particular legal concerns' whether Humberto Leal Garcia, 38, had access to consular officials and a fair trial.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said she was 'disappointed' that Texas carried out the lethal injection."

BBC News - Horn of Africa drought: Survival of the fittest

BBC News - Horn of Africa drought: Survival of the fittest: "'It's ironic. There is relative peace in Somalia where I live. But we are still fleeing.

'It's because of the drought. We have lost everything now other than these two camels. There is no need to hang on.''

There are actually three camps at Dadaab, which are already overcrowded with more than 370,000 refugees - way more than the 90,000 capacity they were built for.

Aid organisations say they are over-stretched. It can take between seven and 12 days to get the first food rations to the camps"

BBC News - South Sudan becomes an independent nation

BBC News - South Sudan becomes an independent nation: "South Sudan became the 193rd country recognised by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa."

Google Exec Marissa Mayer Explains Why There Aren't More Girl Geeks

Google Exec Marissa Mayer Explains Why There Aren't More Girl Geeks: "

“The number one most important thing we can do to increase the number of women in tech is to show a multiplicity of different role models,” Mayer said. “The stereotype of that very complete and rigid picture of what being a computer scientist means really hurts people's understanding and ability to identify with the role and say, ‘Yes, this is something I can be in and want to be in.’”"

BBC News - UNHCR in Somalia 'human tragedy' warning

BBC News - UNHCR in Somalia 'human tragedy' warning: "The levels of malnutrition among children fleeing Somalia's drought could lead to a 'human tragedy of unimaginable proportions', the UN refugee head Antonio Guterres has said.

Young children are dying on their way to or within a day of arrival at camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, the UNHCR says.

It estimates that a quarter of Somalis are either displaced within the country or living outside as refugees."

Happy Dependence Day, America! Love, China – Business 360 - CNN.com Blogs

Happy Dependence Day, America! Love, China – Business 360 - CNN.com Blogs:

"The U.S. China-Business Council’s website highlights America’s burgeoning trade imbalance over the last decade. In 2001, the U.S. ran up a deficit with China of $83 billion. By 2010 however, that number had more than tripled to $273 billion – the largest trade imbalance the U.S. has ever had with a single country.

So as the U.S. suffers from a trade deficit, how does China enjoy its trade excess?

Well, a good deal of that money is found in its domestic infrastructure projects. As an old China hand, I can tell you that around the country China is building out everything from its national road network and subway systems, to its airports, trains and bridges."

Weaning countries off aid | Jonathan Glennie | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Weaning countries off aid | Jonathan Glennie | Global development | guardian.co.uk:

"Reducing aid dependence is not the same thing as reducing aid. Aid dependence can be reduced without reducing aid (if other sources of money increase). And reducing aid doesn't mean reducing aid dependence – it might well mean the opposite. It is the dependence not the aid that is the problem.

Dependency on aid can only be reduced if the equivalent financial resources (and more) are found elsewhere. That requires action at the international level on issues such as trade policy, illegal capital flight and commodity pricing. And at the national level it requires a coherent set of policies to gradually increase resource mobilisation from untapped areas of the economy."

Father of Brazilian food programme to lead FAO - FT.com

Father of Brazilian food programme to lead FAO - FT.com:

"The new head of the FAO was in charge of Brazil’s Zero Hunger programme, created by former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2003. The plan, which has been widely praised, reduced hunger in Brazil by half in six years."

Africa moves to ban female genital mutilation - The Times of India

Africa moves to ban female genital mutilation - The Times of India: "MALABO: Prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is part of the agenda of the 19th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Executive Council which has opened here.

The item on FGM was proposed by Burkina Faso, to educate African States on the need to fully support the draft resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations to ban FGM in the world, because it is considered harmful to women's health."

Rebels disarm in Central African Republic - Africa - Mail & Guardian Online

Rebels disarm in Central African Republic - Africa - Mail & Guardian Online:

"President Francois Bozize of the Central African Republic has launched an operation to disarm hundreds of rebels at Bocaranga in the northwest, the president's office announced on Monday."

Jun2611 Deepening Democracy

Jun2611 Deepening Democracy: "Mr Wade, who is 85 years old, is planning to contest next year's presidential election with his son, Karim Wade, as his running mate. To prepare his son's political career, he had made him the major contractor for all major projects in the country over the past five years. He was also the organiser of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting a couple of years ago and received all the foreign donations to prepare Dakar for the conference.

Immediately after the OIC conference, the younger Wade, with his fat war chest, contested to be the mayor of Dakar. He was disgraced at the polls and lost his deposit. His father then compensated him by merging five ministries together and appointing him super minister. The constitutional proposal aimed at making Karim Wade Vice President was therefore aimed at preparing the father-to-son political succession.

Part of the reason for Karim's unpopularity is that he does not even speak Wolof, the country's lingua franca, but speaks French with his mother's French accent."

The Breast Milk Cure - NYTimes.com

The Breast Milk Cure - NYTimes.com: "When we think of global poverty, we sometimes assume that the challenges are so vast that any solutions must be extraordinarily complex and expensive. Well, some are. But almost nothing would do as much to fight starvation around the world as the ultimate low-tech solution: exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of life. That’s the strong recommendation of the World Health Organization."

The Center for Public Integrity: Badly Flawed Background Check System Fails To Contain Firearms Sales

The Center for Public Integrity: Badly Flawed Background Check System Fails To Contain Firearms Sales: "Like many states, Maine depends on the FBI to conduct background checks of people who want to acquire firearms from the state's federally licensed gun dealers.

And like many states, Maine is a slacker in supplying the records that the FBI depends on to run those checks.

That's how Raymond Geisel got his guns, including a Glock Model 17 pistol and a semi-automatic version of the AK-47 assault rifle. Geisel had previously been committed to a psychiatric hospital in Bangor, which made him ineligible under federal law to buy or possess a gun. But because state officials had not supplied records of his commitment to the FBI, Geisel passed background checks without being flagged. "

The Center for Public Integrity: Badly Flawed Background Check System Fails To Contain Firearms Sales

The Center for Public Integrity: Badly Flawed Background Check System Fails To Contain Firearms Sales: "Like many states, Maine depends on the FBI to conduct background checks of people who want to acquire firearms from the state's federally licensed gun dealers.

And like many states, Maine is a slacker in supplying the records that the FBI depends on to run those checks.

That's how Raymond Geisel got his guns, including a Glock Model 17 pistol and a semi-automatic version of the AK-47 assault rifle. Geisel had previously been committed to a psychiatric hospital in Bangor, which made him ineligible under federal law to buy or possess a gun. But because state officials had not supplied records of his commitment to the FBI, Geisel passed background checks without being flagged. "

Death penalty: Exhaustive study finds death penalty costs California $184 million a year - latimes.com

Death penalty: Exhaustive study finds death penalty costs California $184 million a year - latimes.com: "Taxpayers have spent more than $4 billion on capital punishment in California since it was reinstated in 1978, or about $308 million for each of the 13 executions carried out since then, according to a comprehensive analysis of the death penalty's costs."

BBC News - California stops lawmakers' wages until budget balances

BBC News - California stops lawmakers' wages until budget balances: "Elected representatives in California have been told their wages and expenses have been stopped and they will not be paid until the state budget balances.

State Controller John Chiang took the step after determining that the budget approved last week was not balanced.

It is the first time a law brought in last year, to stop California constantly missing its annual budget deadline, has been brought into effect."

N.C. Man Allegedly Robs Bank for $1 to Get Health Care in Jail - ABC News

N.C. Man Allegedly Robs Bank for $1 to Get Health Care in Jail - ABC News:

"Police arrested Verone where he sat. He was unarmed.

Verone said he asked for $1 to show that his motives were medical, not monetary, according to news reports. With a growth in his chest, two ruptured disks and no job, Verone hoped a three-year stint in prison would afford him the health care he needed."

AFP: Africa's tree belt takes root in Senegal

AFP: Africa's tree belt takes root in Senegal:

"TESSEKERE, Senegal — An ambitious plan to build a vast forest belt straight across Africa to contain desertification has taken root in Senegal, greening huge tracts of land with drought-tolerant tree species.
From west to east, the 15-kilometer-wide Great Green Wall (GGW) will span the continent from Senegal to Djibouti, passing through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In all, the coast-to-coast forest will run 7,600 kilometers (4,750 miles)."

Giving aid to poor countries is hardly a great act of generosity | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Giving aid to poor countries is hardly a great act of generosity | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "But the main point is that giving aid is not actually a great act of generosity. Aid buys things donors want (such as political support and economic advantage, whether directly for donor businesses or indirectly through policy change). The other things rich countries need to do to really show solidarity with the poor will require if not more generosity (as we can turn them to our economic advantage) then certainly greater risk: accept fairer trade rules, adapt rapidly to climate change and resource scarcity by limiting our consumption, accept the employment consequences of a more just arms trade, clamp down on tax havens and force our international companies to abide by social, environmental and accounting norms (to name a few)."

Build a Bigger House - NYTimes.com

Build a Bigger House - NYTimes.com: "When the House met in 1789 it had 65 members, one for every 60,000 inhabitants (including slaves as three-fifths of a person). For well over a century, after each census Congress would pass a law increasing the size of the House.

But after the 1910 census, when the House grew from 391 members to 433 (two more were added later when Arizona and New Mexico became states), the growth stopped. That’s because the 1920 census indicated that the majority of Americans were concentrating in cities, and nativists, worried about of the power of “foreigners,” blocked efforts to give them more representatives."

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy: Islamophobia's Implications for the United States

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy: Islamophobia's Implications for the United States: "Whatever your scriptures of authority may be, if you have any at all, the U.S. Constitution calls for all American citizens to recognize the dignity and worth of all people and summons us to live as civil peacemakers in this world. No exemptions exist for Muslims. Patriotically applying the priorities of our Constitution to the present situation could enable us to see the remarkable opportunity that we have to increase the spread of democracy and to forge alliances that can make the world a better place in which to live."

Three Words of Omission When It Comes to Torture | Human Rights Now - Amnesty International USA Blog

Three Words of Omission When It Comes to Torture | Human Rights Now - Amnesty International USA Blog: "Since the killing of Osama bin Laden last month in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the torture supporters have been out in full force to credit the success to Bush Administration policies such as torture."

The fashion model the media can't handle - Media Criticism - Salon.com

The fashion model the media can't handle - Media Criticism - Salon.com: "There are always those who'd prefer gender to run in neat lines, as clearly delineated as the icons on a public bathroom door. But for many, it's more fluid. It doesn't mean that a pretty boy necessarily longs to be a girl, nor does it sabotage the heterosexuality of anybody else. And Pejic's lingerie model joke was an obvious bit of sarcasm directed at a reporter who asked – with a straight face -- if he'd 'consider a complete sex change.' 'If I was offered a Victoria's Secret contract… you'd kind of have to, wouldn't you?' he'd joked. And then he added, significanly, 'I'm comfortable with the way I am.' It doesn't matter if you're wearing a dress or trousers. Pejic -- unlike the clowns at B&N and FHM -- knows what counts most in life is how secure you are in your own skin."

Why is America the 'no-vacation nation'? - CNN.com

Why is America the 'no-vacation nation'? - CNN.com: "A big reason for the difference is that paid time off is mandated by law in many parts of the world.
Germany is among more than two dozen industrialized countries -- from Australia to Slovenia to Japan -- that require employers to offer four weeks or more of paid vacation to their workers, according to a 2009 study by the human resources consulting company Mercer.
Finland, Brazil and France are the champs, guaranteeing six weeks of time off."

'Genderless' Child Ignites Firestorm in Canada - FoxNews.com

'Genderless' Child Ignites Firestorm in Canada - FoxNews.com: "A Toronto couple raising their 4-month-old without identifying the child as a boy or a girl have created a media firestorm in Canada, where some have likened the scenario to a 'bizarre lab experiment' that seeks to undo thousands of years of social evolution.

Kathy Witterick, 38, and David Stocker, 39, are raising their third child, Storm, to be free of societal norms regarding gender. Is Storm male or female? The parents won't say, so no one knows except Storm's older brothers, Jazz and Kio, as well as a close family friend and two midwives who helped deliver the baby, according to the Toronto Star."

BBC News - Yemen: Anti-Saleh Hashid rebels seize public buildings

BBC News - Yemen: Anti-Saleh Hashid rebels seize public buildings: "Members of Yemen's most powerful tribal group have taken control of several public buildings in Sanaa, say reports.

Witnesses say hundreds of people are fleeing the capital on the third day of violence between the Hashid tribal fighters and security forces."

BBC News - Nigeria population: Sachs' three-baby plan 'tricky'

BBC News - Nigeria population: Sachs' three-baby plan 'tricky': "A Nigerian family planning expert has told the BBC it would be difficult to implement the suggestion that Nigerians should only have three children.

Isaac Ogo pointed to the tradition of polygamy and the belief that the children were seen as a 'gift from God' in a male-dominated society.

Recent UN figures suggest Nigeria's population could jump to 730 million by 2100 - behind only India and China."

Glaxo to reinvest £3.5 million of Africa profits in healthcare | Society | guardian.co.uk

Glaxo to reinvest £3.5 million of Africa profits in healthcare | Society | guardian.co.uk: "Andrew Witty, CEO of the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline, is making good on his promise to reinvest 20% of the corporation's profits from LDCs back into African healthcare. It's a small pot of gold, but growing. Should other big companies that are active in Africa follow suit?"

FT.com / Global Economy - OECD looks to measure the ‘better life’

FT.com / Global Economy - OECD looks to measure the ‘better life’:

"By Chris Giles in Paris
Published: May 24 2011 09:05 | Last updated: May 24 2011 09:05
It is time to move beyond gross domestic product when measuring the success of societies, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has concluded in a change of mission for the international organisation."

America's $24bn subsidy damages developing world cotton farmers | Glenys Kinnock | Global development | guardian.co.uk

America's $24bn subsidy damages developing world cotton farmers | Glenys Kinnock | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "President Obama will no doubt focus on many matters of great international importance. I think cotton should be one of them. I have seen for myself just how vital cotton is for millions of farmers in west Africa and the damage caused to their livelihoods by developed country subsidies. I have pressed for EU reform, but action from the United States is critical.

President Obama could, and should, take a lead in addressing this.

The US government continues to subsidise its cotton farmers – $24bn (£15bn) over the past 10 years – despite the World Trade Organisation ruling some of these subsidies illegal. And when the WTO backed Brazil's case that the subsidies were damaging, the US government simply offered to pay subsidies to Brazilian farmers too."

BBC News - Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara inaugurated

BBC News - Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara inaugurated: "Alassane Ouattara has been inaugurated as the president of Ivory Coast in the capital, Yamoussoukro, after months of violence and political turmoil."

For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage

For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage: "PRINCETON, NJ -- For the first time in Gallup's tracking of the issue, a majority of Americans (53%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. The increase since last year came exclusively among political independents and Democrats. Republicans' views did not change."

African economic growth fails the hungry

African economic growth fails the hungry:

"Bill Gunyon
OneWorld Guides
Posted 5/16/11

Latest world polls conducted by Gallup find that 57% of sub-Saharan Africans periodically lack sufficient money to feed their families. Gallup says the recent surge in global food prices could make matters worse.

This assessment will disturb the perception that African economies are performing well. “Growth in sub-Saharan Africa rebounded strongly in 2010,” declared Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Bank Managing Director, at the MIT Sloan Africa conference on Friday. “There are serious investors who are seriously interested in Africa. It is now Africa’s time!” she said.

Polling results for Ghana and Malawi in particular will baffle experts. Ghana is considered to be an African tiger. Last month’s IMF mission predicted that 2011 economic growth could rocket to 13%. Yet the Gallup poll found 53% of Ghanaians to be in difficulties with basic food security."

Gay rights are human rights | Philip Dayle | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Gay rights are human rights | Philip Dayle | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "When it comes to human rights protection for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, the gap between western liberal democracies and the countries of the global south is widening. Uganda has put its infamous anti-homosexuality bill on hold, which at one point sought the death penalty for certain offences. At the same time, same-sex civil partnerships are by and large the norm within the countries of the European Union."

Unintended Pregnancies Cost Government $11 Billion a Year - WSJ.com

Unintended Pregnancies Cost Government $11 Billion a Year - WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- To the list of hot-button ideas for reducing the federal government's budget deficit, add one more: stopping unwanted pregnancies.

Unintended pregnancies likely cost the federal and state governments more than $11 billion a year, estimated a study published Thursday from the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public-policy organization."

The War on Contraception Goes Viral | RH Reality Check

The War on Contraception Goes Viral | RH Reality Check: "Not that there haven’t been attempts at using “pro-life” arguments to fight not just abortion but contraception. Some anti-choicers have floated the idea that contraception leads to abortion---claiming that women wouldn’t have abortions if they didn’t get it in their silly heads that they should be able to have sex for pleasure instead of procreation. (Never mind that women throughout history have attempted abortion by all sorts of means, whether their cultures had contraception or not.)"

AFP: US legislation would slash subsidies to oil companies

AFP: US legislation would slash subsidies to oil companies: "'It's really a no-brainer,' Reid continued. 'Let's use these savings from the taxpayer giveaways to drive down the deficit, not drive up oil companies' profits.'"

Guernica / Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death

Guernica / Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death: "We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic."

Measles Outbreak Triggered by Unvaccinated Child - US News and World Report

Measles Outbreak Triggered by Unvaccinated Child - US News and World Report: "MONDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- What began as a family trip to Switzerland in 2008 ended up as a public health nightmare in California.

The family's 7-year-old boy, who was intentionally unvaccinated against measles, was exposed to the virus while traveling in Europe. When he returned home to San Diego, he unknowingly exposed a total of 839 people, and an additional 11 unvaccinated children contracted the disease."

Five Steps to Make Our Aid More Effective and Save More Than $2 Billion : Center for Global Development : Publications

Five Steps to Make Our Aid More Effective and Save More Than $2 Billion : Center for Global Development : Publications: "This brief details how the new Congress could save more than $500 million annually by eliminating unnecessary regulations currently in place that are incredibly wasteful, anticompetitive, and make it harder to carry out effective development programs abroad."

Food insecurity means few would mourn the death of Doha | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Food insecurity means few would mourn the death of Doha | Global development | guardian.co.uk:

"Officials at the WTO and leaders of several governments have launched what is said to be a 'last-ditch effort' to save the Doha development round of trade negotiations from what is seen as imminent collapse. Will it collapse? And does it matter if it does? Or in other words, what is the likelihood of such a deal, and how much would it benefit developing countries? The brief answers are: low and very little.

So far, the finger-pointing for the failure has been directed either at the US (in which domestic politics suggests little appetite for external trade negotiations), or the newly significant large emerging economies such as China, Brazil and India (that are less willing to accept what are seen as unequal terms), or the overall impact of the 'Great Recession' (which has made more countries wary of trade openness that could undermine domestic production and employment)."

U.N. Forecasts 10.1 Billion People by Century’s End - NYTimes.com

U.N. Forecasts 10.1 Billion People by Century’s End - NYTimes.com: "The population of the world, long expected to stabilize just above 9 billion in the middle of the century, will instead keep growing and may hit 10.1 billion by the year 2100, the United Nations projected in a report released Tuesday."

Time to avoid the dictatorship v democracy debate in Africa | David Booth | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Time to avoid the dictatorship v democracy debate in Africa | David Booth | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "Thanks in part to Iraq and Afghanistan, we are, decades later, backing off from this self-confident universalism. Warnings against, for example, staging elections when an inclusive elite bargain has not yet been established are now getting a hearing. In and around the World Bank, there is recognition of the dangers of a one size fits all approach to reforming institutions. We are getting accustomed to the idea that countries need to discover their own routes to progress, and that well-wishing outsiders should start by understanding country systems better"

Osama bin Laden is dead. One Buddhist’s response. — Susan Piver

Osama bin Laden is dead. One Buddhist’s response. — Susan Piver: "“…when you do not produce another force of hatred, the opposing force collapses.”– Chogyam Trungpa"

“In the Shambhala warrior tradition, we say you should only have to kill an enemy once every thousand years.” –Chogyam Trungpa

So, Osama bin Laden is dead. We killed him. There really was no choice. We were clearly in an “us or them” situation and if we didn’t kill him, he was going to continue to do everything in his power to kill us.

As Buddhists, we are supposed to abhor all killing, but what do you do when someone is trying to kill you? Obviously great theologians have pondered this question for millennia and I’m not going to try to pile on with my point of view, which would be totally useless.

Instead, I’ll pose this question: How do you kill your enemy in a way that puts a stop to violence rather than escalates it?

Strangely, I keep coming back to the same rather ordinary conclusion: the answer is in our ability to face our emotions. When we know how to relate to our anger, hatred, despair, and frustration fully and properly, they self-liberate. When we don’t, when we can’t tolerate them and therefore act them out, we create enormous sorrow and confusion.

Look at your own reaction this morning.

Was there even a hint of vengefulness or gladness at Osama bin Laden’s death? If so, that is a real problem. Whatever suffering he may have experienced cannot reverse even one moment of the suffering he caused. If you believe his death is a form of compensation, you are deluded.

There has been an outpouring of misdirected jubilation, as if a contest had been won. Nothing has been won. Unlike winning a sporting event, this doesn’t mean that our team has triumphed. Far from it. There is only one team and it is us.

One of us is gone, one apparently horrific, terrible, vicious one of us…is gone. I don’t feel regret for him or about this. I’m regretful for the rest of us who are now left thinking that this is a cause for celebration. It is not. It is a cause for sorrow at our continued inability to realize that there is no such thing as us and them; that whatever we do to cause harm to one will harm us all.

When we hate, we cause hate. When we think we have won by vanquishing our enemy, we have lost. In killing Osama bin Laden, “they” lose because one of their leaders is gone. But we lose too, because we have deepened the causes and conditions that lead to more hatred and its consequences. This is not over.

Then, what to do? I don’t really know, but for me, rather than cheering on this day, I’m going to rededicate myself to the idea of brotherhood towards all, even those that want me dead—and not because I’m some kind of really good person. I’m not. Because I know it’s the only way to stay alive—in the only kind of world I want to inhabit.

Perhaps the way to kill your enemy as a way of putting a stop to violence rather than escalating is to shift our view of “enemy” altogether. Our enemy is not one person or country or belief system. It is our unwillingness to feel the sorrow of others—who are none other than us.

So take aim at this enemy completely and precisely. Feel your sadness for us and them so fully and completely that all boundaries are dissolved and we are left standing face to face, human to human, each feeling the other’s rage and despair as our own, one world to care for.

response

“I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

BBC News - Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden dead - Barack Obama

BBC News - Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden dead - Barack Obama: "Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan, President Barack Obama has said.

Bin Laden was killed in a ground operation outside Islamabad based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged last August."

World Bank Faults Itself as East Timor Struggles - NYTimes.com

World Bank Faults Itself as East Timor Struggles - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — A frank evaluation by the World Bank’s internal auditors of a decade of efforts to help East Timor underscores the challenges facing international organizations trying to assist struggling nations.

The draft report, not yet released publicly, assigns much of the blame for slow progress in East Timor, which emerged in 1999 after a quarter-century struggle for independence from Indonesia, to the World Bank itself.

But it also illustrates the problems that arise as development agencies try to meet urgent needs while ensuring that donors’ money is not misspent."

The Issue of Abortion Returns to Center Stage in U.S. Politics - NYTimes.com

The Issue of Abortion Returns to Center Stage in U.S. Politics - NYTimes.com: "Since abortion services make up a small fraction of its services, no federal funds are used for abortions, and 65 percent of Americans support it, according to a CNN poll, why are conservatives up in arms about it?

“The fact is that 95 percent of the contraceptives on the market kill the baby in the womb,” said Jim Sedlak of the American Life League in a column last week by the New York Times columnist Gail Collins. In other words, some in the anti-abortion camp regard birth control as a form of abortion."

Now You Can't Be Catholic and Support Planned Parenthood? | RH Reality Check

Now You Can't Be Catholic and Support Planned Parenthood? | RH Reality Check: "As if denying communion for those who support a women's right to choose wasn't enough, a Catholic Bishop in Nebraska has announced that the church should go even further. He proposes anyone who supports Planned Parenthood should be denied communion, too."

BBC News - France blocks Italian trains carrying migrants

BBC News - France blocks Italian trains carrying migrants: "Authorities in France have blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop north African migrants from entering the country.

Trains carrying migrants and political activists have been stopped at the border - prompting Italy to launch an official complaint with its neighbour."

The 'Business' of International Aid / Printful

The 'Business' of International Aid / Printful

What if Marriott operated without any revenue, room-rate or other meaningful customer-usage data from its individual hotels? Suppose it remitted money to cover salaries and other expenses, without knowing if any of it was producing a product for which customers were willing to pay. Imagine further that Marriott asked only for self-graded quarterly "report cards" from its managers, and that, as its only act of supervision, it simply audited its hotels' expenditures.

You don't need to run a Fortune 500 company to know how quickly such a system would run amok. Absent accountability, managers and staff would have no incentive to provide a reasonable service. They'd have to be somewhat honorable to even bother showing up to work. In short order we'd find employees buying $10,000 worth of furniture for $20,000 and splitting the difference with the vendor. Come audit time: $20,000 expense item, $20,000 vendor receipt, "check and check, all looks clean here."

If you think that no business would operate this way, then you're evidently not familiar with the "business" of international aid. International nongovernment organizations get their funding from governments and other donors, not the men, women and children they are supposed to be serving. Without revenue or other quality customer-satisfaction metrics, NGO executives and donors have no way of measuring whether employees on the ground are providing a product of value to their impoverished "customers."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo party urges 'end to war'

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo party urges 'end to war': "The party of deposed Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivorian Popular Front, has appealed for an end to fighting by armed groups.

Party leader Pascal Affi N'Guessan said the 'war' had to end in order to allow Ivory Coast a chance to rebuild."

The Great African Land Rush - Drew Hinshaw - International - The Atlantic

The Great African Land Rush - Drew Hinshaw - International - The Atlantic: "Whoever this land once belonged to, it's just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of square miles of farmland that have been procured -- some bought, some leased, some stolen -- from the villagers of the tropics. The speed and scale at which ground in the developing world is being auctioned up is extraordinary: between 2008 and 2009 alone, the World Bank catalogued 174,000 square miles of land acquisitions in poor countries -- an acreage the size of Sweden. The lion's share of it, 124,000 square miles -- the size of Norway -- sits in Africa, in nations like Sudan, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Mali. All are famous for their famines. None, not incidentally, are famous for good governance."

Five myths about Planned Parenthood - The Washington Post

Five myths about Planned Parenthood - The Washington Post

Apple Finally Releases ‘It Gets Better’ Video | MoveOn.Org

Apple Finally Releases ‘It Gets Better’ Video | MoveOn.Org

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation | Life and style | The Guardian

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation | Life and style | The Guardian

The War Behind the Abortion War - NYTimes.com

The War Behind the Abortion War - NYTimes.com

Senator Patty Murray, one of the leaders of the defense of Planned Parenthood in the Senate, says that she doesn’t remember any of the lawmakers who wanted to strip Planned Parenthood’s funds mentioning that they supported contraception services. “They just lump everything into one big basket with the word ‘abortion,’ ” she said.

This is important because it speaks to a disconnect in the entire debate we’ve been having about women and reproduction. For eons now, people have been wondering why the two sides can’t just join hands and agree to work together to reduce the number of abortions by expanding the availability of family-planning services and contraception.

The answer is that a large part of the anti-abortion community is also anti-contraception.

Cecile Richards: Holding Women's Health Hostage: The Sequel

Cecile Richards: Holding Women's Health Hostage: The Sequel: "The greatest nation on earth nearly had to turn off the lights last week. Please take note of the reason. It wasn't because of terrorism. It wasn't the aftermath of a tsunami or an earthquake. And it certainly was not -- despite some claims -- because of a financial crisis. No. The most powerful nation on the planet nearly went out of business because a few fringe members of Congress wanted to show off their spite for Planned Parenthood."

On Equal Pay Day, Busting 4 Top Myths About the Wage Gap : Ms Magazine Blog

On Equal Pay Day, Busting 4 Top Myths About the Wage Gap : Ms Magazine Blog

This year’s Equal Pay Day falls on April 12, marking how far into 2011 the average woman must work in order to earn what the average man had by the end of 2010. In the 15 years since Equal Pay Day was established, the gender wage gap has barely budged, moving from 74 percent in 1996 to 77 percent in 2010. This amounts to a three-cent increase in women’s wages for every dollar earned by men. Given that women make up half of the workforce, the gender wage gap does not generate the outrage that it should, as is clear from the failure of the Paycheck Fairness Act last November.

Polls confirm that most people believe women and men doing the same job should receive the same pay. But many are unaware of the extent of the problem, believe the wage gap is a result of women’s choices or think that the gap is a relic of the past. Thus, Equal Pay Day is the perfect time for some myth busting.

Duflo and Banerjee take the guesswork out of policies that help the poor | Madeleine Bunting | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Duflo and Banerjee take the guesswork out of policies that help the poor | Madeleine Bunting | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "There is much to praise in Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee's book that suggests new ways to fight global poverty. But their lack of understanding of how power works is a glaring omission"

Libyan rebels reject African Union peace plan - Africa, World - The Independent

Libyan rebels reject African Union peace plan - Africa, World - The Independent: "Libyan rebels swiftly rejected an African Union peace initiative today, saying there could be no deal to end a two-month-old civil war unless Muammar Gaddafi left power.

The initiative collapsed hours after South African President Jacob Zuma, head of an African Union mission, said Gaddafi had accepted the plan, including a ceasefire proposal."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo held after French troops move in

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo held after French troops move in: "Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo has been detained, after being snatched from his besieged residence in the country's main city, Abidjan.

News that he was being held was broken by a Gbagbo aide and confirmed by France's ambassador and forces loyal to his rival Alassane Ouattara."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: New air strikes near Gbagbo residence

BBC News - Ivory Coast: New air strikes near Gbagbo residence: "Helicopter gunships have begun a new operation to destroy heavy weapons near Laurent Gbagbo's residence in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan.

UN and French helicopters were attacking near the presidential residence and palace as well as military bases, a UN spokesman said."

BBC News - Laurent Gbagbo's survival strategies

BBC News - Laurent Gbagbo's survival strategies

BBC News - Libya: Gaddafi government accepts peace plan, says Zuma

BBC News - Libya: Gaddafi government accepts peace plan, says Zuma: "South African President Jacob Zuma says the Libyan government has accepted an African Union peace plan to end the eight-week-old conflict.

Mr Zuma and three other African leaders met Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, in Tripoli on Sunday. An AU team is now going on to the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi."