Is humanitarianism in a post 9/11 world headed for a crisis?
The News Review:
- Is humanitarianism in a post 9/11 world headed for a crisis?
- Is Humanitarianism in a Post 9/11 World Headed for a Crisis?
- Teams, not stars, shine in this World Series
- Iran ‘expands centrifuge program’
- China sets multimedia broadcasting standard for mobile phone content …
- Classical Rock
- Dramas of courtroom may come to your TV
Is humanitarianism in a post 9/11 world headed for a crisis?
EurekAlert – EurekAlert (press release) – Oct 24, 2006
Because of the endemic nature of the violence, involving a combination of drug traffickers, armed insurgents, and criminal elements, a primary focus of humanitarian action in Colombia is physical security: that is, protecting citizens from war-related violence, human rights abuses, and crimes against humanity. The larger concept, however, is human security, which includes establishing and maintaining social, economic and cultural rights for citizens to protect their long-term welfare. ”
Analyzing responses from interviews, town hall meetings with communities of the displaced, municipal and regional officials, human rights groups, United Nations agencies and Colombian and United States military personnel, and others, Minear and colleagues examine the ways in which efforts by international aid agencies to one degree or another become caught up in the politicization which plagues Colombian society. They call on humanitarian organizations to examine the historical and political roots that underlie terrorism in Colombia, both home-grown and domestic and to adopt innovative approaches in such highly political environments. “We’ve documented some of the challenges faced by humanitarian action with respect to terrorism and hope to call attention to the need for humanitarians to maintain their independence from politics,” says Minear.
Is Humanitarianism in a Post 9/11 World Headed for a Crisis?
Newswise – Newswise (press release) – Oct 24, 2006
Because of the endemic nature of the violence, involving a combination of drug traffickers, armed insurgents, and criminal elements, a primary focus of humanitarian action in Colombia is physical security: that is, protecting citizens from war-related violence, human rights abuses, and crimes against humanity. The larger concept, however, is human security, which includes establishing and maintaining social, economic and cultural rights for citizens to protect their long-term welfare. ” Analyzing responses from interviews, town hall meetings with communities of the displaced, municipal and regional officials, human rights groups, United Nations agencies and Colombian and United States military personnel, and others, Minear and colleagues examine the ways in which efforts by international aid agencies to one degree or another become caught up in the politicization which plagues Colombian society. They call on humanitarian organizations to examine the historical and political roots that underlie terrorism in Colombia, both home-grown and domestic and to adopt innovative approaches in such highly political environments. “We’ve documented some of the challenges faced by humanitarian action with respect to terrorism and hope to call attention to the need for humanitarians to maintain their independence from politics,” says Minear.
Teams, not stars, shine in this World Series
Christian Science Monitor – Oct 24, 2006
It’s not really a one-size-fits-all formula. But both teams have general managers who have used scarce resources to great effect. Building on a base of home-grown talent from their minor-league farm system, the teams made shrewd use of trades, chose wisely where to invest in free agents, and reclaimed older or injured pitchers to create solid staffs. For example, while Kenny Rogers has fueled his team’s postseason ride, the performance gap among the Tigers’ rotation of starting pitchers during much of the season was not that great. On the hitting side, Detroit and St. Louis each have only one player who batted in more than 100 runs this season, although several came close. “It’s just a good balanced team,” former manager Sparky Anderson said this week of the Tigers.
Iran ‘expands centrifuge program’
NEWS.com.au – Oct 24, 2006
article-tools –> From correspondents in Vienna October 24, 2006 05:53am IRAN has launched a second batch of centrifuges at its pilot nuclear fuel plant despite possible UN security council sanctions, diplomats said. Tehran fired up the new cascade of 164 interconnected centrifuges, which can enrich uranium for either power plant or nuclear bomb fuel, earlier this month to go with an initial network of 164, they said. But Iran appeared to be only testing the second cascade, without feeding UF6 uranium gas into it, as it has generally done with the first cascade, which first yielded a tiny amount of home-grown enriched uranium in April. A senior diplomat familiar with UN nuclear inspections in Iran said Tehran remained a long way from "industrial scale" capacity that would signal its emergence as a nuclear power, as North Korea showed on October 9 by detonating an atomic device. "The second cascade was brought on line earlier this month but they appear to be just running it empty. That is, vacuum-testing to assess durability," said the diplomat, close to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. "What they are not doing is building a stockpile of enriched uranium that would give them a bomb breakout ability, something like 100-200kg.
China sets multimedia broadcasting standard for mobile phone content …
Forbes – Oct 24, 2006
The newspaper quoted a statement by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television as saying the home-grown standard ‘is very important for the growth of our indigenous industry and multimedia broadcasts for mobile devices. ‘ The statement did not give a name for the new standard, or provide further details, the newspaper said. But an official with the agency told the newspaper that the standard applies broadly to mobile devices, including mobile phones. The move comes as China tries to kick start the development of its own technologies, including third generation mobile-phone technology. Chinese mobile carriers are waiting for the Ministry of Information Industry, which regulates the telecommunications industry, to issue licenses for 3G mobile-phone service, which allows users to surf the Web at high speeds and also watch TV shows on their mobile phones.
Classical Rock
Times Picayune – Oct 24, 2006
Final clue: the concert’s conclusion, when dozens ofattendees rushed the stage, shouting their approval, pumpingtheir fists and waving bottles of beer. Such is not the typical response at a classical concert,but neither was this the typical classical repertoire. OnFriday, the LPO presented “The Music of LedZeppelin” in cahoots with a three-piece rock band andguest vocalist Randy Jackson (the Zebra singer, not the”American Idol” judge)… Havenshas hatched various “the music of” programs,including shows built around the Pink Floyd and Doorscanons. For nine years, Jackson has starred in most of them,fronting symphonies across the country. He essentiallytrained for the job during 30 years with Zebra, the popularhome-grown hard rock trio that issued four albums onAtlantic Records in the 1980s. Zeppelin material oftenturned up in Zebra sets; a version of “The Ocean”on a 1989 live Zebra CD helped land Jackson the gig withHavens. Jackson’s wail is not an exact reproduction ofRobert Plant’s, but it’s close enough, especiallyon such mid-tempo fare as “Ten Years Gone. ” And heis intimately familiar with the nuances of Plant’sdelivery and can, like Plant, maintain power even duringsteep ascents into falsetto territory. He is also a nimble acoustic guitarist, evidenced byprecise workouts on a 12-string guitar, and a personablefrontman.
Dramas of courtroom may come to your TV
The Age – Oct 24, 2006
The real-life drama ofMelbourne courtrooms could soon be beamed into your home. A Channel Nine camera crew has been moving discreetly throughthe Melbourne Magistrates Court in recent months in search ofdramatic court stories for a new reality television series. Chief Magistrate Ian Gray said the crew was granted access lastmonth to film a pilot after he was told a potential series would bemodelled on other home-grown “factual” reality television showssuch as Channel Nine’s RPA and Seven’s Border Security. “They’ve been doing a bit of filming to establish from theirpoint of view and our point of view whether court stories wouldmake an interesting television series,” Mr Gray said. “We’relooking for it to be an educative vehicle and they’re looking forit to be an interesting reality-type entertainment vehicle. Four magistrates, including Mr Gray and Deputy Chief MagistratePaul Smith, have been filmed presiding over six criminal cases sofar. Mr Gray said the idea of a “factual” television series, one thatfollows real people going about their daily personal andprofessional activities, appealed to him as a convenient way toeducate the public about the justice system and the hard work thatgoes into it.