Children of Conflict - Afghanistan

Children of Conflict looks at the misery, poverty and never ending internal conflict that is the lot of Afghan children.

Children of Conflict - Afghanistan Part 1



Children of Conflict - Afghanistan Part 2



Source:AlJazeeraEnglish

Country Brief: Pakistan

Enjoy, little brief of Pakistan.





Pakistan

Important Dates:

August 14, 1947 - Indian Independence Act was passed by The British Parliament. As a result, Pakistan and India were born.

October 1947 - First Pakistan - India War. (Reason for War: Pakistan invaded Kashmir). The territorial dispute over Kashmir, has not been resolved yet. (conflict started 62 years ago, and still they're unable to solve it.) It's time to move on.!
learn more about the conflit @:
Kashmir


1971 - East Pakistan broke from Pakistan, to became Bangladesh (independent state).


Government

Pakistan is on the edge of becoming a failed state. However, according to Richard Holbrooke (U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan)
Pakistan Not A Failed State


He argues that the weak gov't of Pakistan, needs US help ($$$) to fight Talibans. Therefore with US dollars Pakistan would not become a failed state.
But wait, as far as I remember, US gave Pakistan $10 billion !!! since 2001. Where did it go? Well, when you give $$$ to the corrupt gov't, it can't be good. One, can't blame Pakistan's officials for taking this aid. US (under Bush), could at least track such large amount of cash, and see if it was used properly. Not this time !.

$6 billion in aid to Pakistan poorly tracked



Geography

Population: ~ 172 mln.

Divided into four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and North West Frontier Province.
- they fight constantly over ownership and distribution of revenues from oil and gas resources.

Punjab province is the largest, (55% of the population lives there)

largest ethnic group: Punjabi (44.7)

Muslim Population: Sunni (85%), Shia (12%)



Military

Army size: over 500000 soldiers

Military of Pakistan supports extremist organizations.

Nuclear arsenal: 80 - 100 weapons.

Pakistan conflict map

According to BBC, 38% of the North Western Pakistan remains under full government control, the rest 62% is controlled by guess who the TALIBANS!.

The UN estimates that about 1.4 million people have been displaced since fighting in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) started at the end of April.

Politcs / Economy

Current President: Ali Zardari

GDP per capita: ~ $2000

GDP $454.2 billion

Sources:

CFR
BBC
NPR
CNN

Brookings Institute: Climate Crisis, Credit Crisis: The Quest for Green Growth

As the global economy struggles to sustain its recovery from the deepest recession in sixty years, another challenge looms large: preventing the Earth from warming more than 3.6 °F, widely considered by climate experts as the acceptable level to reduce the risk of irreversible global damage resulting from climate change. To meet these challenges, we must look beyond our national borders, recognize that we face an uncertain future, and collaborate to ensure our collective well-being. Our success or failure will depend both on our timeliness and resolve—and will shape the fate of our planet for years to come.


Although tentative signs of recovery from the global financial and economic crisis are gaining strength, policymakers around the world are still grappling with the effects of the crisis on the real economy. In the United States, unemployment is still historically high and credit is still constrained. The International Labor Organization predicts that employment levels in those countries with a high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita will not return to pre-crisis levels before 2013. And social protection programs are suffering as nations must find ways to cover budget shortfalls.


Download The Report



Source: Brooking Institute

Inside Iran

Documentary presented by Rageh Omaar which reveals the lives, hopes and fears of the young generation of Tehran, the most intriguing, talked about but least understood city in the world today.

Omaar and director Paul Sapin spent a year arranging the permissions and contacts for the film, who include a renowned female photojournalist, a woman who is the CEO of an international transport company, the editor of a youth magazine, the staff at a drug rehab centre and a pop star.







Also, don't forget to rad Omaar's article, This is Iran, but not as you know it

World’s Worst Polluted Places

The 2009 report presents 12 examples of areas where solutions or cleanups have either been completed or are currently underway. They include 10 programs, alphabetically listed by location, which have been successful in reducing the toll of pollution on human health.

In addition, two initiatives with worldwide impact—the leaded gas phase out and the obsolete chemical weapons treaty—are highlighted here as models of how the international community can work together to make meaningful progress on pollution and health.

* Some projects were chosen because they represent a technology or engineering innovation that has been successful in reducing pollution and improving health indicators.
* Other sites were chosen because they represent a problem that is found in many locations and showcases a successful strategy for implementing the cleanup on a widespread scale.
* There are a few examples, where a policy or a social movement has been the turning point for dealing with a specific toxin, such as the leaded gasoline phase-out.
* The approaches cover remediation, education, legislation and innovation (technological and social).

In each case, it is important to recognize that this is not a ranking based on comparable criteria. Rather, sites were chosen to give us an idea of the way forward, to tackle one of the largest public health threats of our time. The examples are seemingly disparate because the issues are equally as different as they are deadly.


DOWNLOAD THE REPORT


Source:Blacksmith Institute

CFR Special Report - Strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime

Overview

Nuclear technology has long been recognized as capable of both tremendous benefits and tremendous destruction. With this in mind, countries have devised international arrangements intended to promote peaceful nuclear applications while preventing the spread of materials, equipment, and technologies useful for producing nuclear weapons. Today, however, it is clear that this global nonproliferation regime is falling short. North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003 and has since tested two nuclear devices. Iran, while still a party to the NPT, has developed the capacity to enrich significant amounts of uranium; many believe it is seeking to build nuclear weapons or at least attain the ability to do so. In addition, there is the challenge of facilitating the expansion of nuclear energy, something that could help reduce carbon emissions, while preventing countries from using related technologies for military purposes. Finally, the prevalence of nuclear materials only intensifies the fear that terrorist groups could acquire them through theft or a deliberate transfer from a state.

DOWNLOAD The Report

The China Strategy by Edward Tse

1.The China Strategy by Edward Tse


Tse, chairman of Booz & Co., Greater China, offers a comprehensive and worthwhile roadmap for doing business in China, a burgeoning market that can't be ignored. Tse argues convincingly that even companies that are already successfully doing business there will find themselves inadequately prepared for the new China, which is generating great scale change. Business leaders around the world who want to be successful will need a new strategy, which includes devising a long-range development plan for doing business as a global enterprise in which China is a central and integrated component. Tse shows how China has restructured its entire economy within the past few years and offers a holistic, invaluable view of the Chinese business environment, looking at consumers, competitive enterprises, the government, and more. Given the great complexities of the Chinese market, the wealth of knowledge Tse imparts will be indispensable to executives looking to enter in the Chinese marketplace.

Read Chapter one: The China Strategy Chapter 1

Check maps and the interview with Mr.Tse:
China for the World