Global Pulse Blog

Global Pulse Blog Global Pulse compares and contrasts news reports on key issues from around the world. Watch new episodes and follow the issues. http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog en-us Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:05:36 -0800 Afghanistan's Mineral Wealth: An End to Problems, or the Beginning of New Ones? http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/435/afghanistans-mineral-wealth-an-end-to-problems-or-the-beginning-of-new-ones ddb30680a691d157187ee1cf9e896d03 Afghanistan is one of the poorest nations on the earth, where the income per capita is only $446 per year. So when the US Department of Defense announced that Afghanistan may be holding more than a trillion dollars of mineral wealth under its soil, the future prospects of Afghanistan suddenly seemed a little brighter. Some have even stated that Afghanistan could be <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7149696.ece" target="_blank">the Saudi Arabia of minerals.</a> Great news, right? Not necessarily. First and foremost, Afghanistan will have to stabilize to even attract foreign investors. According to the <a href="http://www.unctad.org/templates/Page.asp?intItemID=2441&lang=1" target="_blank">UN Conference on Trade and Development</a>, Afghanistan, with a population of 27.2 million people, saw $300 million in foreign direct investment in 2008. That might sound like a lot, but Trinidad and Tobago, a much smaller country of only 1.3 million inhabitants attracted over $3 billion in that same year. Even if foreign countries and businesses eventually decide to heavily invest in Afghanistan (and that’s a big if) some examples from around the world show that an abundance of natural resources can create a lot of problems. These problems are often referred to as “the resource curse”. Nowhere is the resource curse more evident than in Africa. Nigeria’s resource curse is synonymous with its oil problems. Nigeria’s political instability and history of systematic corruption has left much of its oil wealth concentrated in the hands of the few. Rather than being a force for development throughout the country, Nigeria’s oil wealth has far too often fallen prey to government mismanagement or worse - outright graft. Corruption isn’t Nigeria’s only oil problem. Rebel groups in the oil rich Niger River Delta resent both the government and foreign oil companies who <a href="http://newsdesk.org/2010/06/niger-delta-oil-spills-dwarf-bp-exxon-valdez-catastrophes/" target="_blank">ignore the environmental and social problems</a> that come with drilling. Throughout the years, these rebel groups have kidnapped foreign oil workers, and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8124043.stm" target="_blank">attacked oil rigs</a> making investment by foreign countries less attractive. Elsewhere on the continent, the mining of diamonds have fueled deadly conflicts and activities of warlords throughout Africa. Charles Taylor, who faces charges of war crimes at The Hague, used diamond exports to <a href="http://www.charlestaylortrial.org/2010/06/18/ruf-used-diamonds-to-purchase-arms-and-ammunition-from-guinean-soldiers-witness-says/" target="_blank">fund his support of insurgency groups in Sierra Leone</a> while he was the president of Liberia. Thankfully, the practice appears to be on the decline due to sanctions by the UN, increased international visibility, and a conflict-free diamond certification process. While these problems may sound unique to a continent continually ravaged by war and prone to corruption, they also exist in abundance in Afghanistan. It’s not hard to imagine mineral wealth squandered by an already corrupt Afghan government. It’s equally easy to see a future in which minerals are used to fund tribal conflicts or even aid terror groups. It would be wonderful to believe that mineral wealth could create jobs, raise the standard of living, and solve many of Afghanistan’s problems. But in its current state, it may be more likely that the minerals would just create new ones. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East North America Soccer: America's Late to the Party http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/431/soccer-americas-late-to-the-party 66368270ffd51418ec58bd793f2d9b1b From cafes in Paris, to street markets in Nairobi, soccer (or football as its known in much of the rest of the world) is the topic of conversation for millions around the world. FIFA, soccer’s organizing body has enlarged the number of participating nations from <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1/index.html" target="_blank">13 at the first World Cup</a> in Uruguay in 1930 <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/10/2256264/epic-quest-fulfilled-32-teams.html" target="_blank">to 32 in the 2010 games</a>. The hosting of the World Cup in South Africa is testament to the growing accessibility that is soccer around the world. No other sport has as large of a reach as soccer, and it provides opportunities for players from around the world to excel. Soccer is perhaps the most widely globalized aspect of world culture. So why hasn’t it caught on in America? Soccer is perhaps the last real example of American isolation. . Sport is the one area in which American influence isn’t truly worldwide. America’s national pastimes, baseball and football have little reach across the globe. Although baseball and basketball stars have seen modest successes overseas, their fame is much more limited than global stars like Christian Ronaldo or <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/world/2003-05-08-beckham_x.htm" target="_blank">David Beckham.</a> It’s telling that a German, Ghanaian, and and a Guatemalan can all relate on a basic level about a subject that most Americans have little to no real awareness of. In a world where globalization has tied even the most improbable nations together, America stands alone yet again. This isn’t to say soccer is a completely foreign to Americans; it’s just that it’s viewed in a much different light. In a large number of nations around the globe, soccer is the national sport. In America, it’s best known as a popular afterschool sport for school aged children. For much of America’s history, soccer has been an afterthought, trailing far behind baseball, football and basketball in terms of commercial popularity. The fact that millions of American children play soccer hasn’t quite translated to enthusiasm for major league soccer events. That doesn’t mean Americans will always only associate soccer with AYSO (American Youth Soccer Association) games and SUV driving soccer moms. The phenomenon that is soccer is beginning to seep into the American psyche. The World Cup being staged in the United States in 1994, certainly helped bring Americans more awareness of the sport. The arrival of highly paid European players to the US’s Major League Soccer (including David Beckham’s $250 million five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy), show that investors believe that soccer can be a winner in America. Whether you’re a sport fan or not, it might a good sign that more and more Americans are following soccer. It might help us become more connected with the world, or at least give us greater exposure to those outside our borders. Sports have always been a <a href="http://www.balanceofculture.com/2010/04/a-brief-look-at-sports-diplomacy.html" target="_blank">source of quiet diplomacy.</a> America should use every chance it gets to engage other nations through peaceful means, and soccer is a great way to do that. Of course, soccer won’t bring world peace overnight but it’s a worthy goal. Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Sub-Saharan Africa North America North Korea's Dangerous Deceptions http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/425/north-koreas-dangerous-deceptions 25b2822c2f5a3230abfadd476e8b04c9 On the latest Global Pulse episode, <a href="/video/5493/korea-family-feud">Korea Family Feud</a>, host Erin Coker reviews world reaction to rising tensions between North and South Korea. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts! With a simple YouTube search you can find hundreds of North Korean karaoke videos featuring catchy pop tunes. Some show scenes of young couples on dates eating ice cream. Others highlight hydroelectric dams. Oddly, some mix both in the same video. The most popular of these videos is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Htyf0ZbQM" target="_blank">"Pangapsumnida."</a> It displays scenes of naval and air prowess spliced with images of families reuniting under North Korean flags. The bizarre imagery plays out as a sort of Northern fantasy in which Korea is once again reunited -- as a socialist Korea, of course. Watching "Pangapsumnida" is both fascinating and eerie. Who knew a song sponsored by a brutal dictatorship could be so catchy? It's eerie because the video allows the viewer to temporarily forget the horror that is modern North Korea. That suspension of reality is perhaps North Korea's biggest export. Desperate to sugarcoat the bleak reality of successive famines and international scorn, North Korea's propaganda machine pumps out some of the most elaborate deceptions on earth. Consider for example, the <a href="http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/10/06/100000-north-koreans-dazzle-at-mass-games-spectacle/7549/" target="_blank">Arirang Mass Games</a>. Imagine an Olympic opening ceremony in which every reference to sport is replaced with odes to the Great Leader and scenes of the industrial and technological wonders possible under socialism. Regardless of the contrived message, Arirang is quite possibly the most spectacular show on earth. It features up to 100,000 gymnasts and performers moving with razor-sharp precision.North Korea's deception machine doesn't stop at catchy songs and gymnastics routines. It extends all the way to its own Potemkin village, <a href="http://www.vestaldesign.com/blog/2006/10/north-koreas-propaganda-village/" target="_blank">Gijeong-dong</a>. Gijeong-dong is the only urban area in North Korea visible from the South Korean border. It features a small assembly of concrete buildings and the world's largest flagpole. What it apparently does not include are actual residents. Although no one can be entirely sure what happens at Gijeong-dong (commonly called Propaganda Village), many believe the village is actually unlivable and that the buildings are hollow. Electric lights turn on in unison as if by a flip of a switch, and few people walk around during the day.Luckily, very few outside of North Korea are fooled by the deception. North Korea's belligerent behavior and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003855.html" target="_blank">abysmal human rights record</a> continue to earn it well deserved scorn from around the globe. While it's difficult for a westerner to swallow any of the outlandish propaganda North Korea feeds us, it might amaze us that we too might be influenced by more subtle propaganda every day, whether by advertisements or our own societies. Propaganda can be powerful. Images and sounds stick to the mind easier than words do, regardless of how odious we find the message. If you don't believe me, try watching “Pangapsumnida” a few times. I guarantee you’ll start humming it when you least expect it. Fri, 28 May 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Asia Extremism: It Isn't Just Islamists http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/420/extremism-it-isnt-just-islamists b6f0479ae87d244975439c6124592772 Nearly ten years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the failed car bombing in Times Square has reminded Americans that terrorism is still a very real threat. It comes as little surprise to an American public used to Islamic terrorism that Faisal Shahzad is believed to have received training from terror groups in Pakistan. Shahzad <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2010/05/04/faisal-shahzads-life-in-america-and-path-to-citizenship/" target="_blank">lived in the US for more than 10 years</a>, but the influences and planning behind the attack are primarily foreign in character. With all the attention focused on Islamic foreign terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Pakistan's Tehrik-i-Taliban, little is said about another threat that is largely invisible and just as real: home-grown domestic terrorism. Two recent incidents confirm the reality of the threat. In February, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0218/Who-is-Joe-Stack" target="_blank">Joe Stack</a> penned an anti-government diatribe before flying a small plane into IRS offices in Austin, Texas. Little more than a month later, nine members of the Christian extremist group "Hutaree" were arrested in several mid-west states in connection to a plot to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304370304575151663088415470.html" target="_blank">target and kill federal law enforcement agents</a>. Of course domestic terrorism isn't new, and it isn't confined to the extreme right. In the 1960s and 70s, leftist organizations like the Symbionese Liberation Army and the Weather Underground targeted financial and government institutions in attacks on capitalism. By the 1980s <a href="http://terrorism.about.com/od/originshistory/a/LeftWingTerror.htm" target="_blank">attacks by leftist domestic terror groups had waned</a>. In the 90s, extremists on the right took their place. These groups surged with the type of anti-government rhetoric that fueled Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. Some experts believe the election of the first black president and uncertain economic times have spurred far-right extremist groups to a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/14/extremism.report/" target="_blank">level of activity unseen since the early 1990s</a>. So if there is a dangerous up-swing in domestic militias and terror groups, why has the media been largely silent on the issue? Why isn't there as large of a concern about the next Oklahoma City bombing as there is for the next 9/11? Perhaps it's easier to rationalize that foreigners would try to hurt us, but it's harder to come to terms with the fact that there are American-born citizens who want to do the same. Many were surprised to find out that Islamic radical Faisal Shahzad had lived a fairly <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126522908" target="_blank">typical American life</a> for years before he turned to extreme violence. Then again, so did <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/bg/mcveigh.htm" target="_blank">Timothy McVeigh</a>. While the threat from Islamic extremism is the most reported (and also, very real) threat, it's important that Americans realize that extremist violence doesn't just come from one religion or political ideology. Whether extremists are Islamic or Christian, radical or reactionary isn't as important as the threat itself - anything taken to the extreme can be deadly. Thu, 13 May 2010 15:08:26 -0700 Link Media, Inc. North America We Don't Know our Neighbor http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/411/we-dont-know-our-neighbor 17d63b1625c816c22647a73e1482372b On the <a href="/video/5405/the-drug-war-vs-the-war-on-drugs">latest Global Pulse episode</a>, host Erin Coker reviews world coverage of how the cross-border drug war is affecting the United States and Mexico. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts! Growing up I never lived more than an hour and a half’s driving distance away from Mexico. I’ve never been there. Although the geographical distance was short, Mexico felt a million miles away. I suspect I’m not the only American who feels this way. That’s not to say I don’t know anything about Mexican culture. I grew up in Moreno Valley, a far-flung suburb of Los Angeles where nearly half of the population is of Hispanic heritage. Yet my brushes with Mexican culture turned out to be…well, more American than anything else. I vividly remember the tragic death of Tejana singer Selena being a huge news event where I lived. Selena sang in Spanish phonetically, because she didn’t speak it until she learned it much later in her career. Her primary fame was here in the US: immortalized in an English language film starring the Puerto Rican-American Jennifer Lopez. Mexico in the American imagination is either a play land or warzone, not a place where people live and work. Americans who visit Mexico on cruise ships and spring break also get an incomplete picture. Outside of the resorts and beaches, many real <a href="http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/inthenews/archives/2005/12/061206AZrepublic.cfm" target="_blank">Mexicans live in conditions unseen</a> by casual tourists. If we don’t try to understand Mexico beyond Taco Bell and Cancun, and the only exposure we have to Mexicans and Mexico is through our stereotypes, we’ll continue to treat our southern <a href="http://www.racialicious.com/2008/01/31/count-the-stereotypes-taco-bells-fiesta-platters-ad/" target="_blank">neighbor as an offensive caricature</a>. With drug related violence <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/us/23border.html" target="_blank">crossing the border</a>, and the never ending <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20003708-503544.html" target="_blank">debate about immigration</a>, we really need to know what were talking about when we deal with Mexico. It’s not just that America owes it to Mexico to better understand it (we do), it’s also that we owe it to ourselves. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. North America California's Budget Crisis and Higher Education http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/405/californias-budget-crisis-and-higher-education bbcbff5c1f1ded46c25d28119a85c6c2 On the <a href="/video/5358/debt-greece-vs-california">latest Global Pulse episode</a>, host Erin Coker reviews world coverage of the budget crises in both California and Greece. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts! Going to the DMV is never a joyful experience. Due to the budget crisis the trip has become even more excruciating. The State of California has closed DMV offices on the first and third Friday of every month in an effort to save money. This means the offices are more crowded on operating days. This also means it takes even longer for the staff to call your magic number. This might not sound like much, but when you’ve been flipping through a tattered three month-old edition of Better Home and Gardens for two hours, it can feel like a lifetime.Californians are having to learn to get used to these inconveniences. The budget crisis has affected virtually every interaction citizens have with the state. Bus schedules are slower. State employees are getting their salaries cut. And while all Californians are affected to one degree or another, perhaps the most impacted are students of the state's public universities.When I started attending San Francisco State in 2004, semester student fees for residents was $1,256.00. In the past six years that number has nearly doubled to $2,370.00. The problem isn’t just that <a href="http://www.10news.com/news/20134149/detail.html" target="_blank">students are now paying more for their education</a>, but that they’re getting less in return. Luckily I had finished school by the end of 2008, before most of the effects of the budget cuts had really been felt. However, for many of my friends still studying at SFSU the budget cuts have taken a toll.Nicole Dixon is a Cell and Molecular Biology major who started work on her degree in 2004. She’s found it impossible to complete her degree within four years due to budget cuts. “I haven’t been able to get the classes I need each semester. When I did get into classes it was because I had to fight my way in and plead with professors to let me crash them.” She’s also noticed that the budget cuts have affected the quality of her education, “We’ve had fewer classes. Professors have to get all the material crammed into a semester with five less instruction days due to furloughs.” Even the classrooms themselves have been impacted by the budget crisis. “There aren’t enough chairs in classes. Professors won’t print handouts anymore. There aren’t even markers in some classes to write on the whiteboard,” Dixon said. When asked if she would do it all again she remarked, “Knowing that I couldn’t graduate in at least six years seems unacceptable for a four-year degree. I would have rather gone somewhere where I knew I could get my classes. I thought I’d be in dental school by now.” Nicole isn’t alone. <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14658653?nclick_check=1" target="_blank">Many Californians are beginning to look for education elsewhere</a>, as the public universities in California continue to face budget cuts.With <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-14-college-admissions_N.htm" target="_blank">attendance being capped at many Cal State Universities</a>, many students don’t even have access to the educational opportunity I had only a few years ago. As bad as California’s economy is now, how will California look twenty years down the line when it doesn’t have the same educated workforce that made it such an innovative place to begin with? The deficit is huge and cuts have to be made, but education is an important investment. It’s not only an investment for students who want better jobs, but also for a state that must continue to nurture its human capital. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. North America Blame Anyone but the Abuser http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/398/blame-anyone-but-the-abuser b7b16ecf8ca53723593894116071700c <a href="/video/5308/is-the-pope-to-blame-sex-abuse-and-the-catholic-church">On the latest Global Pulse episode</a>, host Erin Coker reviews global coverage of sexual abuses in the Catholic Church. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts!It seems some Catholic commentators who refuse to criticize the Catholic Church are using the myth that homosexuality and pedophilia are one in the same. While researching the subject for this week’s “Global Pulse,” I expected to find outraged Catholics lashing out against the church’s handling of allegations of sexual abuses by priests. While I did find many <a href="http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/divided-loyalties-incredible-situation" target="_blank">Catholics who were appalled by these crimes</a> and how the church has often hidden them, I also found former Senator Rick Santorum and the advocacy group The Catholic League, who have taken a different route. Instead of seeing the crisis as an opportunity to root out elements of abuse in their church, they have used the scandal in an effort to cynically link pedophilia and homosexuality.Back in 2002, <a href="http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=30" target="_blank">in an article for the website catholic.org</a>, Santorum admitted his dismay at the long string of sexual abuses, but saw it as a reflection of the liberal corruption of society. “It is startling that those in the media and academia appear most disturbed by this aberrant behavior, since they have zealously promoted moral relativism by sanctioning ‘private’ moral matters such as alternative lifestyles.” There should be no confusion as to what Santorum means when he says “alternative lifestyles." Somehow, the senator reasoned that homosexuality was the primary motivating force in pedophilia. As an argument, it benefited his agenda in two ways. By equating homosexuality with pedophilia he was able to demonize all homosexuals, a group he clearly sees as abhorrent. More importantly, by using this argument he was able to portray the priests not as perpetrators of heinous crimes but as victims of a society gone wild. After all, he stated, “Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected.” More recently, the Catholic League, a far-right advocacy group, took up the theme. The group recently took out an <a href="http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2010_03_30_Donohue_GoingFor.htm" target="_blank">ad in the New York Times</a> responding to an earlier Times article stating that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/europe/25vatican.html?hp" target="_blank">helped cover up the abuse of over two hundred deaf boys</a> by a priest in Wisconsin. The League ad countered the Times article by saying, “The Times continues to editorialize about the ‘pedophilia crisis,’ when all along it's been a homosexual crisis,” and justified its denial of pedophilia by stating, “most of the victims were post pubescent.” So let me get this straight. Because some of the abuse victims were 13 or 15, instead of 7 or 9, it’s not pedophilia? Of course it is…but are pedophiles gay? According to one of the <a href="http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/HTML/facts_molestation.html" target="_blank">few studies</a> that has attempted to understand the sexual orientation of pedophiles, the answer is, mostly no. “…child molesters cannot be meaningfully described as homosexuals, heterosexuals, or bisexuals…because they are not really capable of a relationship with an adult man or woman. Instead of gender, their sexual attractions are based primarily on age.” In any case, the hetero-homo debate is meaningless in this context. Instead of focusing on the mental illness that is pedophilia, commentators like Rick Santorum of the Catholic League are confusing the issue by framing it in terms of homosexuality. With this kind of denial and blame shifting, the chances of constructive action are diminished. I guess we should expect they will continue to make excuses for church officials, lash out at legitimate media attention, and blame homosexuality (not pedophilia and church secrecy) as the root of the problem. Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. North America Europe Exercises in Futility: Dress Codes in Iran and France http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/392/exercises-in-futility-dress-codes-in-iran-and-france f73b76ce8949fe29bf2a537cfa420e8f <a href="/video/5253/muslim-fashion-cover-me-beautiful">On the latest Global Pulse episode</a>, host Erin Coker talks about the evolving world of Islamic fashion. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts!When I was studying in France a few years ago, I taught at a high school in a largely Muslim suburb. One of the most profound rituals of daily life at Voillaume high school happened during the few minutes immediately before and after the school day. Many Muslim girls would arrive at the school gate wearing the traditional Islamic head covering called the hijab, (Arabic for “scarf”). Seconds before entering the gate, they would whip off their hijabs, and they would just as rapidly reapply them as they exited through the gate when the school day ended. The speed and grace with which these girls would take off and put on their hijabs, within feet of the school entrance, fascinated me.But, why did they have to take them off? Because restrictions passed in 2004 disallow <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3619988.stm" target="_blank">religious head coverings</a> in public schools in France. The French government argues that the wearing of hijabs in public schools is an affront to the concept of “<a href="http://frenchwindows.hautetfort.com/archive/2008/01/02/what-is-laicite.html" target="_blank">laïcité</a>,” and threatens secular government. The vast majority of Muslim youth I encountered in France, many recent immigrants, cherished the personal liberties that France gave them. In fact, students I spoke with who objected to the policy didn’t frame the headscarf controversy in terms of the government suppressing Islam, but rather as a kind of hypocrisy - the French government limiting the same personal freedoms it claimed to defend. Nonetheless, they understood the secular nature of the French government and would find the idea of replacing it with an Islamic version as preposterous. Compare this to Iran, where the hijab is compulsory. A new generation of Iranians wants increased freedom from a stifling dress code that has been in place since the Islamic revolution. Simply put, many young women in Iran are <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090617/FOREIGN/706179978" target="_blank">sick of religious modesty laws and other limitations</a> on their personal freedoms. Some women are fighting the dress code by following it to the bare minimum. As opposed to wearing the chador – a traditional loose garment covering the entire body (and still worn by Iran’s most religious women), many young Iranian women have adopted modifications that comply with the law but allow a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/08/opinion/those-sexy-iranians.html?pagewanted=1" target="_blank">degree of fashion and mobility.</a> These modifications include jackets that sufficiently cover the body but are form fitting and stylish. Some wear hijabs in bright, lively colors instead of traditionally modest monotones. An Iranian journalist who has worked for increased rights for women in Iran, responded to these newer fashions by saying, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/lipstick-revolution-irans-women-are-taking-on-the-mullahs-1632257.html" target="_blank">"It signals that we obey the law, but nothing more than that."</a> The objectives of women who want to wear hijab in France, and those who would like to moderate it in Iran, are different. But the desire to have freedom to dress as one sees fit is essentially the same. When governments mandate how people can and can’t dress, they aren’t just trying to control what people wear, but how they feel. But does the Iranian government really think that easing restrictions on Islamic dress would instantaneously lead to a rise of Paris Hilton clones, promiscuous activity and the forsaking of Islam? Does the French administration really believe that allowing Muslim schoolgirls to wear the hijab will lead to a sort of “Franganistan,” where women lose all rights and Islam replaces secular governance? The fact that many French girls reapply the hijab as soon as they leave the gates of school, and that many Iranian women see modesty laws not as a symbol of their relationship with God but as an imposed annoyance, shows the ultimate failure of the social engineering schemes in these two countries. While governments can dictate how people dress, they ultimately can’t change how people feel. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East Europe China: The U.S. Balancing Act http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/386/china-the-us-balancing-act 39461a19e9eddfb385ea76b26521ea48 <a href="/video/5209/chimerica-us-china-and-the-global-economy">On the latest Global Pulse episode</a>, host Erin Coker examines media coverage of the evolving relations between China and the US. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts!While this week’s Global Pulse, called “Chimerica,” looks at what the two nations share, there are plenty of points of friction between them. The U.S. regularly criticizes China’s human rights record, and now China has published a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/12/world/AP-AS-China-US.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=china%20human%20rights&st=cse" target="_blank">report</a> equally critical of the U.S., for “destabilizing the world economy and meddling in other countries' affairs.” The United States is in a tricky situation. On the one hand, the U.S. wants to encourage human rights and increased democracy in China; on the other hand it fears alienating China, its most prominent trading partner, which holds upwards of $800 billion of <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/16/markets/thebuzz/index.htm" target="_blank">American debt</a>. So how has the U.S. walked this delicate tightrope so far? Not very well. Perhaps the best recent example of the awkward U.S.-China relationship is the controversial meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. Most in the west see the Dalai Lama as a man of peace who dares to stand up to the might of the Chinese government. Not surprisingly, China considers him to be a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/world/asia/21china.html" target="_blank">threat to a unified China</a>, due to his advocacy for the independence of Tibet. They also see him as a pawn of western nations bent on embarrassing the Chinese government. Even some western media sources have criticized the motives of the Dalai Lama. In an <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/29/downwiththedalailama" target="_blank">editorial</a> from the UK’s Guardian, Brendan O’Neill describes the Dalai Lama as a poseur who “once auctioned his Land Rover on eBay for $80,000 and has even done an advert for Apple.” He also charges that the Dalai Lama “has [been] used as a battering ram by western governments in their culture war with China.”But celebrities like <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/13/entertainment/et-cause13" target="_blank">Richard Gere and Sharon Stone</a> are prominent followers of the Dalai Lama who advocate his return to Tibet, and American Buddhists have made some of his books pop-religion <a href="http://www.hundredmountain.com/Pages/readingroom_pages/dalai_bestseller_bass.html" target="_blank">best sellers</a> in America, so there was tremendous pressure on Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama. Although the meeting was carefully planned to try to not offend either side, it ended up offending both. Initially Obama refused to meet, citing the need to meet with China’s Hu Jintao first: human rights activists and western media <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/06/dalai-lama-barack-obama-washington" target="_blank">called it a snub</a>. When the meeting finally did happen it took place in a <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/dalailama-obama-meeting-china/2010/02/20/id/350431" target="_blank">closed room without cameras</a>. The Chinese were angry that the meeting took place at all. Whether this and other rights issues are geat walls that will ultimately divide the two nations, or just side roads on the long march to cooperation remains unknown. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Asia North America The Culture of Obesity vs. The French Paradox http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/378/the-culture-of-obesity-vs-the-french-paradox 8bf1211fd4b7b94528899de0a43b9fb3 <a href="/video/5120/obesity-going-global">On the latest Global Pulse Episode</a>, host Erin Coker examines media coverage of rising obesity rates around the world. Watch the episode below and share your thoughts! I, like many (well, most) Americans have had issues with my weight. After going off to college in 2004, I noticed my weight beginning to climb until I started feeling unhealthy. I tried dieting and adding more exercise to my daily routine, but the extra weight stayed on. Then something miraculous happened: I left the country. During my year of study abroad, my waistline shrunk. Was I beating myself up about keeping to a certain number of calories a day? Did I take up an intensive exercise schedule? Not at all. So, what explains the weight loss?In a word, culture. Although diet, exercise, and body chemistry are the critical factors in determining body weight, there is evidence that one's culture plays a huge role (pardon the pun) when it comes to obesity. While America is known worldwide for obesity problems, it isn't technically the most obese nation on earth. According to Forbes, that distinction <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-countries-forbeslife-cx_ls_0208worldfat_2.html" target="_blank">goes to the tiny island nation of Nauru</a> with a remarkable 94.5 percent of its population overweight. In fact 8 out of the top 10 overweight nations are located in the South Pacific. Part of the reason for this may be genetic, but part of the cause is the widespread poverty on these islands and the dependence on imported foods. Highly processed foods imported from the west are a cheap sources of calories; unfortunately they're also the unhealthiest. Cultural factors, including, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1682477.stm" target="_blank">"[the] notion that 'bigness' is a sign of wealth and power" </a>also contribute to a culture of obesity which has left the South Pacific the fattest region in the world. Is America, like the South Pacific, a victim of having a culture of obesity? We certainly don't equate 'bigness' with wealth and power - quite the reverse, if our celebrities and icons are any indication.Which brings me to France, the country in which my weight-loss miracle occurred. While the United States and the South Pacific are two of the world's fattest regions, France is championed for its low national obesity rate. How do the French, with a diet rich in carbs, fats, and oils, stay so thin? Researchers have called this <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mindful-eating/200903/mindful-eating-the-french-paradox" target="_blank">the French paradox</a>.But the French paradox really isn't much of a paradox at all. When it comes to how French citizens stay thinner than Americans, both the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19055377/" target="_blank">quantity and quality of food</a> consumed makes the difference. French consumers typically eat less processed food than their American counterparts, and when they do indulge in fats and sweets, they generally eat smaller portions. In my personal experience, I found processed junk foods to be more expensive in France than fresh fruits and vegetables - where in American supermarkets, the situation is often the opposite. America also has a <a href="http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/fast-food-nighttime-trend" target="_blank">24 hour fast food culture</a> with opportunities to eat just about anything at anytime, anywhere. In France, the majority of supermarkets are closed by 9PM - and you can't get a decent burrito anywhere.So do I really attribute my weight loss to a geographical change? In many ways, I do. When I was surrounded by a culture whose values about food and eating promoted a healthier way of life, I found myself behaving like those around me. Think of it as positive peer pressure. This is not to say that all is perfect in the land of foie gras and baguettes. The French, like many cultures worldwide, are beginning to grapple with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/world/europe/03iht-obese.html" target="_blank">their own obesity problem</a> as the fast-food culture spreads. So how is my weight now that I'm back in the US? In 1.5 years, I've gained back most of what I lost in France. I can't blame America, though. In France I was able to change my lifestyle so I could eat fresher, smaller, and more slowly. I learned the right way to eat, but I just started to get lazy once I returned to a culture where it's a little harder to do so. Oh well, I gotta go... the pizza delivery guy is here. Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:44:59 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Europe Oceania North America Presidential Illness: How to Respond? http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/370/presidential-illness-how-to-respond d709f38ef758b5066ef31b18039b8ce5 While Former President Bill Clinton's hospitalization is currently the focus of much media attention, the health of political leaders has recently been an imperative topic in Nigeria. On Feb 9th, Nigeria's parliament <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/0209/Nigeria-lawmakers-vote-to-make-VP-acting-president" target="_blank">transferred temporary presidential power</a> to VP Goodluck Jonathan, ending almost 2 1/2 months of political uncertainty after President Umaru Yar'Adua refused to cede power during his hospitalization in Saudi Arabia. The image of a nation is inextricably related with the image of its leader, so the situation in Nigeria raises a larger question. When a leader becomes seriously ill, is it best for a government to come clean and share the gravity of the situation, potentially leading to a worried population? Or to remove the President from power and install a leader who is more physically fit? Is it unethical to hide the full extent of the leader's illness, or to even deny that there is any illness at all?By their very nature, totalitarian regimes seek to limit information considered damaging to the nation, and promote an often quasi-religious cult of personality around their central leaders. It is believed by American sources that Kim Jong-Il, North Korea's leader, is extremely ill. North Korea's government <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/10/north.korea.60th.anniversary/index.html" target="_blank">vociferously denies any claims</a> that Kim is sick, and accuses western sources of creating such rumors to undermine the government. Curiously, South Korean government and media officials have also downplayed allegations that Kim Jong-Il is ill, in hopes of maintaining an image of a strong North Korea for their own political purposes.Totalitarian regimes hardly have a monopoly on lack of disclosure when it comes to the illness of a President. Democracies, including the United States, have downplayed the full extent of a President's illness: FDR's battle with severe polio restricted his ability to walk, although the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/05/opinion/05iht-edcurl.t.html?pagewanted=1" target="_blank">vast majority of Americans were unaware</a> of his illness. This was partly due to a media that shied away from detailing the disability of a wartime president, an act unthinkable today with an American media fixated on every detail of a president's personal life. The secrecy surrounding FDR's illness was <a href="http://www.healthmedialab.com/html/president/deception.html" target="_blank">far from unique in American history</a>. So, how well did Nigeria handle the crisis? On one hand, there was a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/08/crisis-nigeria-president-missing" target="_blank">noticeable lack of information from the government</a> about the state of Yar'Adua's health. There was also a nearly two month period in which the Nigerian political apparatus failed to come to an agreement on how to handle the president's absence. This lack of action led to allegations that politically powerful pro-Yar'Adua factions were stalling to keep him in power.On a positive note, the fact that the presidential handover was accomplished without a coup d'état is notable for a nation that has seen no less than 8 coups during its 50 years of independence. Unlike Cuba's undemocratic transfer of power from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/31/cuba.castro/index.html" target="_blank">one brother to another</a>, at least Nigeria's transfer was within parliamentary procedure (Max Siollon's blog gives an excellent overview of <a href="http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/yaraduas-illness-and-nigerias-constitution-all-you-need-to-know/" target="_blank">Nigerian legislative procedure</a>, showing the nation's commitment to its democratic infrastructure and the rule of law. Perhaps most importantly, opposition groups were not prohibited from <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201001110022.html" target="_blank">demanding to know</a> the full extent of their president’s illness, which is a positive sign in any democracy. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:33:09 -0800 Link Media, Inc. North Africa For Haiti Earthquake Coverage, Would Less Have Been More? http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/365/for-haiti-earthquake-coverage-would-less-have-been-more 9be40cee5b0eee1462c82c6964087ff9 In the latest Global Pulse Episode, host Erin Coker looks at media coverage of the Haiti earthquake. Watch the episode and share your thoughts below! Does the excessive coverage of Haiti’s earthquake – not to mention the <a href="http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2010/01/an-examination-of-the-ethics-of-md-reporter-involvement-in-haiti.html" target="_blank">questionable journalistic and medical ethics involved</a> when doctor/reporters can’t decide whether to operate or do interviews — give the viewer a better understanding of the disaster? Or is it little more than the casting of journalists as action heroes? The New Republic’s Chief Editor, Noam Scheiber, in his recent <a href="http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/the-disaster-pool" target="_blank">article</a> taking the news establishment to task, wrote that “in Haiti the dozens of redundant dispatches are stressing an already perilously fragile situation.” In a follow-up interview with Global Pulse featured in <a href="http://linktv.org/globalpulse" target="_blank">this week’s episode</a>, Scheiber says, “More information is great. But if an airport is being taxed with a volume way above its normal capacity and as a result aid workers, doctors and nurses can’t get in, then I think we have gotten to the point where one good—information—is trumping another good—relief workers…to the detriment of the people we are trying to help.” The solution, Scheiber thinks, is a so-called “disaster pool.” Comprising a limited number of reporters in country, the disaster pool would share information with news outlets in a similar manner that White House correspondents share “pool reports” with the dozens of journalists unable to attend a briefing. You can <a href="/sitecontent/pages/noamscheiberinterview.mp3.zip" target="_blank">download an MP3 of the complete Scheiber interview here</a>.This might preclude scenes like those we used in this episode, of Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric aiding wounded children, but it may give networks more time for in-depth stories that discuss <a href="http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/history.htm" target="_blank">Haiti’s tumultuous history</a>, the roots of its abject poverty and <a href="http://www.rte.ie/tv/ahundreddeadpeople/" target="_blank">what day-to-day life was like for the average Haitian pre-earthquake.</a> Journalist Marc Cooper, characterizing the coverage as “myopic” and “disaster porn”, on his <a href="http://marccooper.com/cnn-in-haiti-disaster-porn/" target="_blank">blog</a>, wrote, “It's a totally legit news story for CNN or anyone else [to] zoom in on this or that dramatic and heart-rending rescue of one or another victim trapped in rubble. But every one of those stories is also a stark and rather sickening reminder of how the daily pre-earthquake deaths, starvation and deprivation were considered SO non-newsworthy.”This reminds me of my own trip to Haiti in the fall of 2008, as part of a disaster response team after a series of hurricanes killed hundreds of people and badly damaged the city of Gonaïves. While the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/world/americas/08ike.html" target="_blank">storms made headlines</a>, the fallout apparently wasn’t on a large enough scale to warrant widespread news coverage. Looking back, what I remember most is the darkness. There is little electricity in Haiti, and the nighttime’s dim storefronts and weak candlelight gave the impression of a city that was a relic of another age. Will Port-au-Prince once again become a forgotten city? As this article from the Columbia Journalism Review reminds me, there was once, and is likely to be again, only <a href="http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/the_undercovered_country.php?page=1 " target="_blank">one full-time American journalist in Haiti</a>. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Central America Stalled START: A New Arms Race? Or Not. http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/358/stalled-start-a-new-arms-race-or-not- aa942ab2bfa6ebda4840e7360ce6e7ef In this week's episode of Global Pulse, host Erin Coker asks if the U.S. and Russia could be entering a new arms race. Watch the episode and share your thoughts below! As a young child in the mid-1980s, thoughts of total nuclear annihilation at the hands of the Russians would occasionally prevent me from sleeping. On one family holiday to Maine, I actually wondered if we were far enough away from major cities to be safe from an atomic blast. Looking back on the decade it is easy to see why a little kid would be so uneasy. The threat of nuclear war was ingrained in popular culture, lurking in everything from <a href="http://cominganarchy.com/2009/06/17/early-1980s-nuclear-armageddon-films/">movies</a> to <a href="http://www.inthe80s.com/nuclearwar/index.shtml">songs</a>. In 1982, Time Magazine devoted nearly 3,500 words to an article entitled, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953406,0.html">"thinking the unthinkable."</a> Today such fears seem nearly as dated as the all-out nuclear panic that resulted in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4s7TETtJA">this 1950s public service announcement</a> that acknowledged the imminent threat of the bomb, while advocating questionable albeit, hilarious, blast survival techniques. Picnic blankets and newspapers, anyone? However, with negotiations on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) stalling in recent months, the <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/12/20091218211629217734.html">global media have taken notice.</a> As Ariel Cohen points out in a New York Times editorial, the failure to agree on a new treaty by the December 5 deadline, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/opinion/09iht-edacohen.html?scp=1&sq=start%20treaty&st=cse">has left the two countries in "uncharted waters."</a> Or has it? Calling Cohen's argument "alarmist and misleading," <a href="http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2010/01/a-new-start-on-arms-control.html">William D. Hartung argues that despite the delay in sorting out the new START agreement, Russia and the U.S. are still “abiding by the basic principles of the agreement” as they craft a new one. </a> The director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the <a href="http://www.newamerica.net/">New America Foundation</a>, Hartung notes that even if both sides chose to ignore START's provisions, "it is absurd to suggest that either side could gain a strategic advantage in the few weeks (or in the absolute worst case, months) it will take to hammer out a new treaty." Hartung is also quick to dismiss what he terms the "unsupportable notion that there is a resurgent Russian bear out there, and that it cannot be trusted and should not be cooperated with in any substantial way." Such thinking, according to Cohen, is obsolete—the detritus of the Cold War—and is no longer relative today. So are the media overreacting, then? Is it only a matter of time before the U.S. and Russia iron out the details of the new START, or is Hartung being cavalier about the whole thing? In today's world, how crucial is U.S.-Russia arms control to global security? Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:42:12 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Europe 10 Bright Spots in a Pretty Bad Year http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/347/10-bright-spots-in-a-pretty-bad-year c5ff2543b53f4cc0ad3819a36752467b In this week’s special edition of Global Pulse, host Erin Coker reviews 2009 news stories that will matter in 2010. <a href="/programs/global-pulse-once-and-future-news-2009-2010">Watch the episode</a>, and share your thoughts, below! Between the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an upsurge in violence in Pakistan, Iran’s political upheaval and the global financial crisis, 2009 has been tumultuous to say the least. Even for someone immersed in global media, it was difficult at times not to hit the cheap (and the not-so-cheap) wine just to get through the daily barrage of bleak news. Which is why I took it upon myself to drum up 10 of the year’s more positive stories. Some were widely reported, others warranted only a fleeting mention, but all stand out as bright spots on an otherwise challenging year. A good reminder that even in the darkest of times, a silver lining can be found if you look hard enough. I’ll drink to that! 1. A Different Kind of Hotel RwandaFollowing the instability and brutal civil war that plagued the central-African nation in the late-1990s, tourists are returning to the country to marvel at its mountain gorillas and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewsquirespictures/260827137/" target="_blank">lush landscapes.</a> <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE55303E20090604" target="_blank">Tourism revenues rise 11 percent in the first quarter of 2009,</a> compared to the same period last year. Even better, the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8388822.stm" target="_blank">announces that Rwanda is officially “landmine free”</a> – a distinction that is doubtless welcomed by tourists and residents alike. 2. Afghanistan and Pakistan Get More SchoolsNon-profit activist Greg Mortenson and his <a href="https://www.ikat.org/" target="_blank">Central Asia Institute (CAI),</a> continue to <a href="https://www.ikat.org/projects/regional-map/" target="_blank">build schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan, even in Taliban areas.</a> Because CAI schools rely heavily on community involvement, militant groups have largely avoided destroying or damaging what are perceived as locally-backed projects. To date, the CAI has built <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34238313/ns/us_news-giving/" target="_blank">130 schools in the two countries.</a> To learn more about CAI or to get involved, visit <a href="https://www.ikat.org/." target="_blank">www.ikat.org.</a> 3. Aceh RebuiltFive years after the Indian Ocean Tsunami devastated communities in Aceh, Indonesia, rebuilding efforts in the <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=87522" target="_blank">hardest-hit province are wrapping up.</a> In November, aid group CRS announces that it has <a href="http://crs-blog.org/five-years-after-tsunami/" target="_blank">met its reconstruction goals in Aceh.</a> 4. Karadzic Faces the International Criminal Court. Sort of.<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-10-26-karadzic_N.htm" target="_blank">Although the alleged Bosnian Serb war criminal boycotts the opening of his trial,</a> claiming that he did not have sufficient time to examine the evidence against him – 10 years on the lam wasn’t enough time? – <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fae04e36-c892-11de-8f9d-00144feabdc0.html. " target="_blank">Radovan Karadzic does appear in court on November 3.</a> The trial is expected to resume in <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5A43C420091105" target="_blank">March of next year.</a> 5. Kidnapped Aid Workers Released After being seized by Somali gunmen in Kenya, three aid workers with Action Against Hunger <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8288386.stm" target="_blank">are released three months later.</a> In a similar bit of good news, assailants also <a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B681011.htm " target="_blank">free kidnapped aid workers snatched in Sudan’s Darfur region.</a> 6. U.N. Demands Halt to Rape as War Weapon Unanimously voted in, resolution 1888 reflects the 15-member body's <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i9dQnIKuqYh7sVZvms4E4elwq0uQ" target="_blank">"demand for the complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence with immediate effect."</a> Plans are in the works to create a special U.N. post to front the effort. 7. Detained Journalists Freed in Iran, Iranian Writers Honored Following domestic and international protests, jailed U.S./Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi is released from a Tehran prison. <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/good-news/roxana-saberi-released-jail-iran-20090512 " target="_blank">Saberi had been originally sentenced to eight years in prison for “having collaborated with a hostile state.”</a> Newsweek journalist <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/good-news/roxana-saberi-released-jail-iran-20090512" target="_blank">Maziar Bahari is also released</a> after being held for nearly four months following Iran’s June elections. In November, Human Rights Watch honors four Iranian writers with prestigious Hellman/Hammett awards <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/09/iran-four-journalists-receive-hellmanhammett-grants " target="_blank">for their courage in the face of political persecution.</a> 8. Latin America Takes Steps Towards Equality Mexico City backs a gay marriage bill, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8425269.stm" target="_blank">making the city the first in Latin America to legalize gay marriage.</a> In another first, Uruguay passes a same-sex adoption bill, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/10/uruguay.gays/index.html" target="_blank">granting same-sex couples the right to adopt children.</a> 9. Zimbabwe Slowly (Very Slowly) Improving Following political instability, runaway inflation and a devastating cholera outbreak, Zimbabwe is making some inroads to recovery. <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=86332 " target="_blank">HIV prevalence rates continue to fall</a> and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=7297319" target="_blank">inflation is dropping.</a> After months of fruitless negotiations, Zimbabwe’s rival leaders reach an agreement on commissions for human rights, election and the media, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/21/ap/africa/main6006452.shtml" target="_blank">possibly putting an end to ongoing political deadlock.</a> 10. Child Brides Take a StandA Saudi court rules in favor of an 8-year-old girl seeking to divorce her 47-year-old husband. Soon after the decision, the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/30/saudi.child/index.html" target="_blank">Saudi justice minister announces plans to enact a law protecting young girls from marriages.</a> In rural India, <a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DEL511342.htm" target="_blank">young girls follow the lead of Rekha Kalini, who attracted widespread attention after refusing a forced marriage.</a> For more news highlights from 2009, catch the Global Pulse year-end special <a href="/programs/global-pulse-once-and-future-news-2009-2010">Once and Future News 2009-2010.</a> Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. North Africa Oceania Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East Asia North America On Climate Change: An Open Letter to World Leaders http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog/post/331/on-climate-change-an-open-letter-to-world-leaders 6da37dd3139aa4d9aa55b8d237ec5d4a In this week’s Global Pulse Episode, host Erin Coker asks whether Africa deserves reparations for climate change damage from the developed world. <a href="/video/4707/africa-cash-for-climate-change">Watch the episode</a>, see <a href="/realconversations/8/">how others responded</a> and share your thoughts below! To the world leaders en route to Copenhagen for the U.N. Change Conference – Today, December 2, climate change resulted in the deaths of some 1,000 people. By the end of the year, the figure will be around 300,000. To put this in perspective, this is equivalent to the number of people killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and 100 times the number of people killed in 9/11. Each year. If you haven't already, I suggest reading through the <a href="http://ghfgeneva.org/Portals/0/pdfs/human_impact_report.pdf">Global Humanitarian Forum’s (GHF) Human Impact Report on climate change</a> – perhaps on the plane to Copenhagen – to get a sense of the human cost of climate change. Next, I suggest some face time with Maldives president’s envoys. <a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/maldives-seeks-carbon-neutrality-by-2020/">President Nasheed is among the more vocal supporters of carbon neutral development,</a> a position I imagine many of you would likewise adopt if rising seas threatened to <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=maldives-drowning-carbon-neutral-by-2009-03-16">wipe your entire country off the map.</a> Speaking of rising seas, Greenpeace’s <a href="http://iht.greenpeace.org/berlusconi-confounds-critics/">mock IHT article on Italian Prime Minister Burlusconi’s new sweeping climate change initiatives</a> would have been funny, if <a href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1863044_1808417,00.html">these images of a severely flooded Venice</a> did not offer a real glimpse of <a href="http://www.insidescience.org/research/global_warming_threatens_venice_italy">what could become of Italy’s historic city a few decades from today.</a> As the leaders of two of the world’s largest polluters, international focus will be on U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao. Both Washington and Beijing have been slow to act on climate change, and the U.S. refusal to sign the <a href="http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php">Kyoto protocol</a> is an embarrassment. I am aware as no doubt you are, of t<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042601515.html">he arguments in favor of inaction</a> – the loudest among them citing the <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jQ_IXP6DZV_pEhouxIuT4oztHM6Q">high cost of emissions reductions.</a> Before your arrival in Copenhagen, I recommend reading a recent <a href="http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Climate%20Change%20and%20The%20Economy%20-%20Expected%20Impacts%20and%20Their%20Implications.pdf">National Commission on Energy Policy report</a> [PDF link] analyzing the risks, economic and otherwise, of unmitigated climate change. The 36-page report recalls a similar publication put out by Tuft’s University a few years ago that likewise <a href="http://ase.tufts.edu/gdae/pubs/rp/climate-costsofinaction.pdf">confirms the frightening cost of inaction.</a> [PDF link] In the several hours it takes to read through these documents, climate change will kill another 150 people. An estimated 5,000 more will die between now and the opening session of the Copenhagen Climate Change summit. This is unacceptable. To do justice to their memory and to the future of our planet, you must embark on a cohesive international agreement to slow and reduce global warming. As Kofi Annan remarked in GHF’s impact report, "If political leaders cannot assume responsibility for Copenhagen, they choose instead responsibility for failing humanity." Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Sub-Saharan Africa http://www.linktv.org/rss/linktv_rss.gif http://www.linktv.org/globalpulse/blog