Crisis Policy Forum

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27660206139279913152011-07-28T08:20:31.085-04:00Crisis Policy Forumresearch & debate on crisis situations, strategies for a new way forwardj.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-58787018386403685912008-03-31T01:26:00.006-04:002008-03-31T01:53:04.308-04:00Demonstrations Against China's Tibet Policy Spread to Nepal, Police Attack Demonstrators

Demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet turned violent in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, yesterday, as police wielded bamboo clubs and beat demonstrators, including Buddhist monks and nuns. The UN has said Nepal's harsh clampdown on Tibetan demonstrators violates international human rights law, including the right to peaceful assembly, as embodied in treaties signed by Nepal.Demonstrations that

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-58719230443501677072008-03-29T11:30:00.006-04:002008-03-29T17:43:32.122-04:00Price of Rice Doubles on World Markets, Undermining Asian Stability

Rice is a basic food staple for nearly half the world's population. The world's two most populous nations, China and India, depend heavily on the grain for basic sustenance, and for economic stability. The price of rice has doulbed in the last 3 months, causing concern about potential for conflict along Asian border regions.The Philippine president has ordered government agents to investigate

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-56411377208146500822008-03-29T10:58:00.005-04:002008-03-29T11:29:47.467-04:00Nuclear Material Found in Andes Sign of Proliferation Threat

Reports out of Colombia cite government sources saying the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) acquired uranium on the black market. Colombian authorities claim to have recoverd 66 pounds of uranium. The radioactive material, which in some forms can fuel to a nuclear device, was said to have been recovered after information on 3 laptops seized led authorities to it.Colombian

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-49032308165060674902008-03-28T13:08:00.008-04:002008-03-29T00:58:28.608-04:00Moving Down the Food Chain

EXCERPT FROM PLAN B 3.0, CH. 9: "FEEDING 8 BILLION WELL"Lester Brown, EPI :: One of the questions I am most often asked is, “How many peo-ple can the earth support?” I answer with another question: “Atwhat level of food consumption?” Using round numbers, at theU.S. level of 800 kilograms of grain per person annually for food and feed, the 2-billion-ton annual world harvest of grain would support

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-84735725425552287242008-03-23T12:17:00.009-04:002008-03-23T23:21:02.853-04:00FOOD SUPPLY RESTORATION & SECURITY: AFRICA

As part of the Crisis Policy Forum, the HotSpring collaborative innovation initiative is now planning an effort to tackle the problem of food supply management and chronic food and water scarcity in Africa. The lessons from this experiment in collaborative research will be applicable in many cases to other situations around the world, and we are open to spurring dialogue in those areas as

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-15608905511584122882008-03-22T21:08:00.013-04:002008-03-22T21:52:36.207-04:00Tibet Crisis Deepens, Chinese State Media Say "Crush" Protesters

The Chinese government's military crackdown on demonstrators in Tibet and in neighboring Chinese provinces has been intense, though foreign media have been unable to confirm reports of mounting death tolls. In Sichuan province, there are allegations of 23 killed by security forces in one incident, including a 16-year-old. Reports of mounting fear among civilians in Tibet and Sichuan have become

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-33832778981877418082008-03-17T00:03:00.001-04:002008-03-16T23:41:55.639-04:00Witness.org Brings Truth of Human Rights Abuse to the Eyes of the World

A revolutionary web-based social networking project, Witness.org has created a platform for delivering evidentiary video documenting human rights abuses for the collective conscience of the online world. 'The Hub', as the video sharing platform is called, is designed to ensure that individuals who have documented potential human rights abuses, or who are able to give their testimony via video,

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-34044467314848796242008-03-16T18:09:00.003-04:002008-03-29T00:56:53.074-04:003rd Day of Clashes in Tibet Without Independent Media Being Permitted to Verify Death Tolls

Two days after peaceful demonstrations across Tibet turned violent in the capital Lhasa, the Reuters news agency has reported that the violent clashes between protesters and Chinese security forces have spread to neighboring provinces. Supporters of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, say they have confirmed at least 80 deaths among demonstrators.Xinhua, China's

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-15914231867537252022008-03-15T20:33:00.005-04:002008-03-29T00:57:51.970-04:00Chinese Security Forces Accused of Firing into Crowd of Demonstrators in Lhasa, Tibet

International media reports say that sources in the Tibetan exile community, from India to New York, have confirmed that at least 30 civilian demonstrators were killed by Chinese security forces as they moved to end a demonstration in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, on Friday. Demonstrations had begun on Monday, and for four days, reports suggest the majority of demonstrations were peaceful. On

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-72138335958011248362008-03-10T11:59:00.005-04:002008-03-12T17:27:53.302-04:00Pharmaceuticals Found in Drinking Water of 24 Major Metropolitan Areas in US

A new study has found that selective seratonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI, or anti-depressants), sex-hormones, painkillers and anti-biotics in significant quantities in the drinking water of 24 out of 28 major metropolitan areas in the United States. Though the term "trace amounts" appears multiple times in today's reporting of the findings, that term does not necessarily speak to

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-57108178121877607512008-02-04T03:30:00.001-05:002008-02-13T05:02:41.748-05:00Polar Bear May Be Listed by US as Endangered by Global Warming

The global climate change crisis may soon enter a new phase in terms of human society's reaction, efforts to curb harmful activities that exacerbate the problem. The United States Dept. of the Interior is considering a proposal to list the polar bear as the first species facing extinction specifically as a side-effect of global warming.The move would fall under the regulatory powers of the

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-81795578616459066292008-01-24T11:13:00.002-05:002008-02-17T13:25:40.474-05:00Hyper-convergence of Media & Services Necessitates New Paradigm for Securing Personal Data

The potential for broad-scope "electronic agents" —preprogrammed service aggregators and self-organizing databases with proactive marketing capability—, aiding in everyday information-related activities, will require a new security standard to prevent identity theft, which could become one of the gravest threats to economic performance and individual liberty.Digital IDs will have to be maintained

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-40616920456146398352007-12-30T15:12:00.000-05:002007-12-30T15:22:48.642-05:00Stability Key Goal Shared by Top Rivals in Pakistan

In the wake of the assassination of Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto, stability seems to be the key goal among top rivals in secular political leadership. The PPP has announced that in keeping with Ms. Bhutto's wishes, her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a 19-year-old student at Christ Church College, Oxford, will take the helm of the party, with her husband, Bilawal's father, managing

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-65391048151533062642007-12-28T10:22:00.000-05:002007-12-28T10:51:33.127-05:00Bhutto Assassination Signals Deep-running Political Rift that Could Destabilize Pakistan

Fmr. Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose father was executed in the process of a military coup in the 1970s, and who has said she remained "broken" by what had happened to her during 5 years in military prison, was assassinated Thursday, while campaigning to restore free elections to her country. She had been the first woman elected PM in a Muslim country and had sworn she would combat

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-40662245934330426712007-12-16T10:01:00.000-05:002007-12-16T10:30:34.529-05:00Overcoming Acrimony, Bali Conference Brings Concessions, Start of a 'Roadmap'

The UN climate change policy conference on the Indonesian island of Bali has ended in dramatic fashion, as EU and US delegates found themselves in a war of words over differences in how to reach long-term reductions in "heat-trapping gases" emitted by human societies, essentially: carbon emissions. The International Herald Tribune reports on the confrontations and final dealmaking as follows: In

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-77121611086991646892007-11-18T06:08:00.000-05:002007-12-16T10:11:06.548-05:00The Time is Now, an Action Plan for Global Emissions Reduction

Due to the science we already have, the laws we have to govern our own activity and to force government to act for the public health, we face the real possibility of being forced, in American courts, in the future, to pay for damage done to the most affected populations in other parts of the world, as a result of inaction by our government. And if not in court, then as a matter of the de facto

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-27423070247234489352007-11-13T17:01:00.001-05:002007-12-28T10:50:42.818-05:00Liberty & Security Wrestle in Pakistan, as Elsewhere: What Does this Mean for 21st Century Democracy?

In many parts of the world, people are presently facing the question, on a societal scale, of whether or not free and open democracy can coexist with measures taken to protect against extremism. The question is an old one and goes to the root of whether it is possible, as a matter of natural law, to vote away one's rights or to vote against democracy.To take a serious look at this question, we

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-54501323580795403632007-10-14T14:28:00.001-04:002007-12-16T10:11:38.175-05:00Nobel Peace Prize Awarded for Work to Raise Awareness About Global Climate Change

Sentido.tv :: Climate change is no longer controversial; it has been accepted as scientific fact by a global consensus of researchers and policy makers, including the Bush White House, which resisted acknowledging human activities were a vital contributing factor, until recently. Now the Nobel committee selecting the Peace Prize laureate has raised the issue of warming posing a major

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-29087211367730417012007-10-08T13:28:00.000-04:002007-10-08T14:42:26.190-04:00Project Quipu: Integrated Economic Atlas for the 21st Century

. . . INTRODUCTIONExamining the manner in which financial news is reported in the popular media, THINK proposes to create a system whereby live-update, rss-technology, and financial and editorial expertise, come together to produce a reliable up-to-the-minute resource for evaluating broad economic trends and engagements, without limiting analysis to single-parameter references like GDP or

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-78817641192079238452007-10-04T09:17:00.001-04:002007-10-04T20:15:35.146-04:00Darfur Scene of Ongoing Ethnic Cleansing, Largest UN Peacekeeping Force Deployed

Sentido.tv :: Darfur, beset by years of bloody internecine violence, with the Khartoum-backed janjaweed militia killing civilians in numbers the US government has officially declared to be genocide, is still struggling to find a real beginning for peace. For years, human rights groups have pleaded with the international community to intervene, with or without the support of the Khartoum

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-11812044836617962342007-09-30T07:00:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:37:40.011-04:00The Elders Initiative, an Effort to Infuse Wisdom into Global Policy & Conflict Resolution

The Elders is a humanitarian initiative led by South African archibishop Desmond Tutu and former South African pres. Nelson Mandela, designed to bring the African "village elders" concept to the global village, in an effort to defuse flashpoint crisis situations and speed responsible policy-making. Its foundations are the basic principles of human rights and the experience and credibility of the

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-37611712404550756232007-09-26T19:47:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:37:40.012-04:00Clinton Global Initiative Brings Together 1,300, Including 52 Current or Former Heads of State

Former US pres. Bill Clinton's Global Initiative (CGI) holds a major international stakeholders' and donors' conference each year in conjunction with the UN's General Assembly, in New York City. This year's convention brings together 1,300 delegates from 72 countries. 52 active or former heads of state are participating, in only the 3rd year of this no-nonsense charity initiative.'Members'

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-35941691569830500412007-09-26T10:00:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:37:40.013-04:00Population, Land & Conflict

Lester R. Brown, EPI :: As land and water become scarce and as competition for these vital resources intensifies, we can expect mounting social tensions within societies, particularly between those who are poor and dispossessed and those who are wealthy, as well as among ethnic and religious groups. Population growth brings with it a steady shrinkage of life-supporting resources per person. That

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-35693010403798240542007-09-23T16:29:00.000-04:002007-09-23T16:43:25.214-04:00Geothermal Energy Creates Hope for Global Energy Solution

Sentido.tv :: Steam-driven process using deep underground vents to super-heat water could be 'nearly inexhaustible' resource...The race to tap large quantities of underground, geothermal energy is heating up. In a recent bid to solve their country's demand for clean energy, the Swiss are digging deep, and the Earth is responding. A scientist at MIT, in the US, says 40% of US geothermal sources

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-4318240824892684812007-09-22T06:40:00.000-04:002007-09-27T19:53:23.762-04:00World Creating Food Bubble Economy Based on Unsustainable Use of Water

Lester R. Brown, EPI :: On March 16, 2003, some 10,000 participants [met] in Japan for the third World Water Forum to discuss the world water prospect. Although they [would] be officially focusing on water scarcity, they [would also] indirectly be focusing on food scarcity because 70 percent of the water we divert from rivers or pump from underground is used for irrigation.As world water demand

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-9994228813676908942007-09-22T06:30:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:37:12.110-04:00Mozambique's 'Tree of Life' Project Turns Used Weapons into Signs of Hope

Sentido.tv :: In the wake of Mozambique's long civil war, lasting from 1976 to 1992, a group of artists, sponsored by Christian aid, set up the Transforming Arms into Tools (TAE) project in the nation's capital, Maputo. Sculptors use decomissioned weapons, and parts of weapons to make art, expressing the possibility of finding new ways to secure and advance civil society.The TAE project

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-83534374341770708202007-09-22T06:24:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:37:40.013-04:00Amnesty Reported in 2006: International Arms Trade 'Out of Control'

Sentido.tv :: Human rights group says 'opaque chain' of private interests increasing shipments of dangerous arms, with little supervision...Amnesty International (Amnesty/AI) has published a new report examining the international arms trade, and its findings indicate there is little control on the expanding web of private interests seeking to profit from a proliferation of dangerous weapons. The

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-50666287885047499082007-09-19T21:07:00.000-04:002007-09-23T16:58:33.561-04:00Water Resource Stress: Global Economic-Ecological Factor for the 21st Century

Sentido.tv :: More than 1 billion people already face fresh water scarcity, figure expected to double in 20 years' timeWater is one of the "fundamental building-blocks of life", as is often said in science, in biology classrooms, in medicine, theology, environmental policy debates, and in cosmology and space exploration. It is also a commodity whose economic reality is increasingly defined by

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-35407159657173164242007-09-19T09:50:00.001-04:002007-09-22T13:03:53.503-04:00Dirty Air Tied to Economic Growth

The world is facing a major environmental crisis, with multiple serious battles to fight on various fronts, if we are to avert crippling long-term environmental degradation. One fundamental problem is that post-industrial societies have not sufficiently divorced their economic activity from extreme contaminants like carbon-based fuels, so that special cases of exorbitant economic growth continue

Jocavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05089928709441039820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-25028892541671638852007-09-13T07:39:00.000-04:002007-09-30T07:27:33.777-04:00Introducing the Crisis Policy Forum, a Casavaria discursive community project

The Crisis Policy Forum is an online community project with a view to fomenting open debate and discourse on humanitarian, political and economic crises across the world. CPF aims to highlight and bring about new research and policy-proposals, to produce viable, locally-relevant solutions to pervasive crises such as fresh-water scarcity, chronic poverty, access to technology and education, voting

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2766020613927991315.post-88875297242896656952007-09-13T03:59:00.000-04:002007-09-20T05:54:36.071-04:00THINK: a new research project evolving solutions for smarter living

Through the 'Think' project, Casavaria aims to develop major new technologies to help bring the costly aspects of everyday post-industrial life in line with what the planet, and civilization itself, can sustain. The project seeks to reduce instability in technology for communication and to develop an entirely new sort of renewable "fuel" source.Both of these inaugural projects are at present in

j.robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09527235774184798999noreply@blogger.com0