Virginia D. Abernethy, Population Politics: The Choices that Shape Our Future(New York: Insight Books 93):-an influential source, frequently cited for its study of human incentives. It takes now widely-held view that developing an informed motivation to lower fertility rates(e.g. perception of limited resources)must often precede active use of contraceptives. It also makes radical proposal: total US immigration ban.[In fact, current migration from poor to rich countries barely affects demographic pressures or trends, although short-distance, large-scale movements (such as from Bangladesh to Assam)can have local impact.] G. Pascal Zachary, "An Unconventional Academic Sounds Population Alarm" in Wall Street Journal 31 Jul 98, reports that Abernethy opposed most aid to poor countries since, contrary to "demographic transition" theory(that fertility falls as living standards rise), prosperity increases fertility.[Most experts probably feel that while" transition" is much more complex than once thought, perceiving its complete reversalwould:(1)confuse some immediate, with major long-term, effects of rising living standards (low OECD fertility);(2)ignore many other factors, e.g. female education; women's choice; cultural imperatives.]

Morton Abramowitz & Henri J.Barkey"Turkey's Transformers: The [Justice and Development Party] AKP Sees Big"(118-128) Foreign Affairs Vol.88/No.6 (Nov/Dec 09):-official summary:"US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Turkey is one of seven rising powers with which US will actively collaborate to resolve global problems. But Turkey has not yet become even the regional player that the ruling AKP declares it to be. Can the AKP do better, or will it be held back by its Islamist past and the conservative inclinations of its core constituents?" Emphasized extracts:"The AKP will live or die by its policies toward the Kurds". "Turkey's new activist diplomacy in the Middle East and beyond may be weakening its ties with US and EU". Abramowitz, a Senior Fellow at Century Foundation, was US Ambassador to Turkey in 1989-91. Barkey is a non-resident Senior Associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University.

ACCESS TO HIV PREVENTION: CLOSING THE GAP, A 40 page Report by Global HIV Prevention Working Group, (distributed after May 03 as Supplement to Foreign Affairs):-brief statement of Working Group's accomplishment states that it is region-by-region analysis of gaps in access to HIV prevention interventions; it examines current spending levels versus projected need; and it recommends funding and programmatic activities to avert 29m of 45m new HIV infections projected between 2002 and 2010.Worldwide comments; then analyses regarding regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe/Central Asia, Caribbean/Latin America, North Africa/Middle East. Conclusions: HIV Prevention Resource Gap; RECOMMENDATIONS. Latter(each followed by argumentation) are: Global spending on HIV prevention activities from all sources should increase three-fold by 2005 to $5.7b, and to $6.6b by 2007. Because prevention efforts currently fall short of what is needed in every region of developing world, prevention scale-up must be central priority in each region. In immediate future, prevention efforts should aggressively focus on bringing to scale especially cost-effective, high-impact interventions. As both prevention and treatment programs are brought to scale, these initiatives should be carefully integrated to create singlecontinuum of services. In addition to funding prevention interventions themselves, donors should, in collaboration with multilateral agencies, provide extensive additional support to build long-term human capacity and infrastructure. Development assistance and policy reforms should address social and economicconditions that increase vulnerability to, and facilitate rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. Research into newprevention strategies and technologies should be strengthened and accelerated. Substantial and sustained efforts by all donors should focus on improving data collection regarding magnitude and nature of HIV/AIDS spending in low- and middle-income countries.

AFRICA: CURRENT PROBLEMS, SOURCES, AND SUGGESTED CURES: MEDIA SELECTION

John Grimond "Africa's Great Black Hope: Survey of South Africa" (1-16); "Africa's Elusive Dawn" (Edit 17-8); "Aid to Africa" (59); "South African Governance: The End of Minority Rule" (Bus.66)The Economist 24 Feb 01:-these four pieces complement each other. Even if two concentrate on South Africa, its leading economic/political roles make it continent's bell-wether - in success or failure. Editorial bitter: "Africa's parlous condition dreadful condemnation of mankind's collective efforts to end poverty and promote freedom...[While]Millennium African Renaissance Programme[made South Africa's president Mbeki call firstfor]'critical examination of Africa's post-independence experience, and acceptance that things have to be done differently'" ,editor chastises rich world for its tariffs, quotas, farm subsidies, unfavourable terms of trade, weapons sales, debt inducement, tied/declining ODA - and for supporting corrupt Africanregimes/prohibitive drug prices. Africa deserves both more support/better leaders. ODA article stressesincreased British interest in helping poorest countries, i.e. mostly African which received about 1b poundsin bilateral/multilateral aid in 99-00. UK will concentrate on getting new technology/skills to students and would-be teachers, on debt relief, on police training and on peacekeeping. Business item notes although,when South Africa's present rulers still rebels threatened to nationalize big business; in power they have brought better corporate governance through greater efficiency and transparency. "Break-up of old conglomerates coincided with attempts to create new class of black businessmen" .Survey's analyses, whileconcentrating on South African economic, social and political situation, have much relevance for whole of Sub-Saharan Africa - and whole Third World. Two over-riding realities are:(1)elimination of very rich, long-entrenched and well-armed racist regime, in refined/orderly way, and without expected bloodbath(in continent only too experienced with ethnic dominations/bloodbaths);but(2) apartheid's replacement by equal or worse horror: AIDS(now threatening all Third World).In addition, relatively high (for Africa)average per capita income disguises "extremes of wealth and poverty rivalled only in Brazil: South Africa really both first world and third world country...Fortunately, long wait for freedom...provided time...to see how other countries coped with self-government. And it brought goodwill, not least because South Africa blessed with leadership of statesman of heroic proportions...Spirit of generosity seemed to characterise not just Mandela but new South Africa as a whole" .Survey discusses: (1)Land (Re)Distribution: with apartheid,white 15% of population effectively owned 87% of land, including all best;(2)Education: takes 21% of budget/5.7% of GNP, but still mixes some of best and worst schools in world;(3)Violent Crime: "threatensnot just South Africans' security but very basis of their society" mainly for socio-historic reasons;(4)HIV/AIDS: "makes most other problems seem trivial" with UNAIDS estimating 4.2m people HIV-positive; life expectancy expected to fall from 60 to 40 years by 08; social custom/ government policy at fault;(5)Racial Equality: affirmative action and "black economic empowerment" encouraged by law, butracial gaps are probably diminishing mainly through constitutional ban on discrimination; (6)Employment and Investment: both face major shortfalls, although policy aims at" growth, employment and redistribution"; "only40% of economically active population employed in formal" sectors;(7)Justice: made much apparent progress: Constitution aims high, but partly unenforceable; independent Supreme Court; Human Rights Commission against discrimination; novel Truth and Reconciliation Commission provided neither, butoffered "day in court" ;(8)Non-Blacks: about 250,000 whites(officially or unofficially)emigrated since majority rule, but those staying generally do not suffer: Afrikaners have adapted well; Indians have lost economically, and Coloureds complain they are "not black enough" ; Appraisal: is generally good, considering where things started and African comparisons; biggest problems social: continuing dominance of racial concerns and income gaps; catastrophe of AIDS and its socio-economic impact.

AIDS: THIRD WORLD: COST-PATENT DILEMMA; GLOBAL ASSISTANCE

AIDS: THIRD WORLD: INFECTION RATES AND SOCIAL-ECONOMIC ISSUES

AIDS: THIRD WORLD: MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND CHALLENGES

AIDS: THIRD WORLD: POLICY ISSUES AND CONFERENCES

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is viewed increasingly as the most serious challenge facing global society. Almost all material on this subject is found in the media and is included in RECENT DEVELOPMENTS. To reach all media selections relating to AIDS, click on AIDS Third World.

Fouad Ajami"The Ways of Syria: Statis in Damascus"(153-158)Foreign AffairsVol.88/No.3 (May/Jun 09):-Review Essay of Itamar Ravinovich: The View From Damascus: State, Political Community, and Foreign Relations in Twentieth-Century Syria(Vallentine Mitchell 08, 365pp. $49.95). Official summary:"As Washington [and Israel?] consider[s] a rapprochement with Bashar al-Assad's Syria, Itamar Ravinovich's commanding new book makes clear that change will not come quickly or easily - and, if the past is any indication, it may not come at all". Selected emphatic extract:"A big... book of history and diplomacy by the Israeli scholar takes readers deep into the world of the Syrian state - and into that mix of pride and injury that has shaped its modern history. [He] tracks the twists and turns of Syria's political journey in recent decades, its transformation from the plaything of outside powers into a player of consequence in the Levant. No other writer has dug as deep into such material as [author] has in this book, a distillation of a lifetime of concern with the ways of Syria". Ajami: Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins Univ School of Advanced International Studies and Adjunct Research Fellow at Hoover Institution.

Philip G.Altbach & Roberta Malee Bassett "The Brain Trade: Prime Numbers" Foreign PolicyNo.144(Sep/Oct 04):-among very influential "globalizing" events today are the growing millions of Third World post-secondary students attending universities in rich Western countries. Many gain access to key ideas of modern society and/or operate in English, so later lives will be influenced by "worldly" visions. Despite new global concerns with terrorism" there is no holding back the flow of students seekingeducation beyond their borders" ;Australia recently estimated the "total number of international students will increase to 8m by 2025." Regarding content," literature and arts take back seat[;] three fields dominate:business/management, engineering, mathematics/computer sciences." About 80% of world's foreign students are from Asian countries; the following states include universities with 100,000+ enrolled throughdistance education: China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey. Leadingreceiver countries(with the rough total of foreign students 2000/01): Australia(70,000), Britain(223,000),France(135,000), Germany(185,000), US(547,000). Since most foreign students pay for their own study/livingexpenses, first two depend on their income to help support public universities. "Many migrants maintainstrong ties from abroad, some eventually return home, and growing numbers of highly educated contribute to their home societies by providing expertise and investment. But loss of significant numbers of best and brightest remains problem for many poorer societies" . It may then be related to expenses that "increasingnumber[of potential foreign student payers is]looking for new options in developing world" ;emergence ofmega-universities in India and China may soon alter balance of'brain trade'forever.

Lawrence K.Altman "Study Finds Drop in H.I.V. Cases in South India"NYT 31 Mar 06:-"Prevalence of new HIV infections has fallen significantly in southern India, region of that country where the disease hasoccurred most often, scientists reported. Many health officials have predicted major increases in HIV in India, which has world's second highest number of infected people, after South Africa. But new infections among young aduts declined by more than a third from 2000 through 2004, according to astatistical study. [Article contains selected statistics from study and varied information about sources.]Authors attributed favorable trend to an increasing use of condoms by men and an insistence by prostitutes that their partners use them. That decline, in turn, reduced transmission of HIV to spouses.Experts cautioned against drawing too firm a conclusion from one study and added that the new findingsdid not mean India's HIV epidemic was over. Still, the study has two key implications, researchers said.One is that strategies that emphasize education about how HIV can be transmitted and the use of condoms offer the best hope for reducing the spread of the virus in India. Second is that routine monitoring of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are powerful and cost-effective ways to control AIDS in India. But experts urged constant vigilance for signs of a reversal of the favorable trend...Reductions were more modest in 14 northern states, where prevalence of HIV infections is about one-fifth that in the four southern states".

Lawrence K.Altman "Report Shows AIDS Epidemic Slowdown in 2005"New York Times 30 May 06:- "Newsurveys suggest that global AIDS epidemic has begun to slow, with decline in new HIV infections in about 10 countries, leader of UNAID program said. Outside of those countries,.. number of new AIDS infections continues to rise or hover at its current pace. Meanwhile, public health efforts are reaching only a small proportion of people at risk, Dr.Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said at news conference in UN NYC ...India has 5.7m infected people and South Africa 5.5m, but India's population far greater. Showing no sign of decline, South Africa has a prevalence rate of about 19% of 47m people.In India, rate is less than 1% of its population of 1.1b. Progress against AIDS in some regions represents dividends from a surge in financing since 2001, when UN pledged its commitment to stem epidemic by 2010. Declaration called for countries to report regularly on their responses to AIDS. This week, UNGAwill receive the progress that 126 countries have said they have made. Report(op.cit.), most comprehensive survey ever compiled from country data, pointed to the 2001 UN meeting as a turning point for AIDS financing. In 2005,.. world spent $8.3b on AIDS, compared with $1.6b in 2001. 'We areseeing the impact', Piot said. He cited increased condom use, a rise in postponement of sexual intercourse and a decrease in number of sex partners as factors in slowing of epidemic. Summarizing report's findings, Piot said '2005 was least bad year in the history of the AIDS epidemic'... Despite thepositive trends, Piot reported grim findings from China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Russia andVietnam(op.cit.), with signs of outbreaks in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ending the pandemic will depend largely on changing social norms like empowering women, reducing stigma of the disease andencouraging a greater reduction in the number of sex partners, report said. Most countries have strong foundations for building an effective response against AIDS, report said, but systems to carry out plansremain inconsistent. Thoroughness of the individual national reports varied, and many countries did not provide data for all categories... Still, replies identified significant weaknesses, he said. Fewer than 50%of young people achieved comprehensive knowledge levels about HIV, far fewer than the 90% goal. Only9% of gay men and fewer than 20% of intravenous drug users received any kind of HIV prevention help in 2005. Services to prevent HIV infections in infants have not scaled up as rapidly as programs to provide antiretroviral therapy. Just 9% of pregnant women were covered... Report shows that epicenterof the epidemic remains in sub-Saharan Africa. There epidemic has reached peak, but incidence remains unacceptably high, Piot said. Across most of Africa, HIV prevalence among pregnant women attendingclinics has remained roughly level for several years. UN disputed contentions by some observers thatthe leveling off showed a turning point in the AIDS epidemic in Africa... Piot said, 'actual number of people infected continues to rise because of population growth'" ; Lawrence K.Altman "U.N. Urges Tripling of Funds by '08 to Halt AIDS" NYT 01 Jun 06:- "Stopping epidemic of AIDS will require $22b/year by 2008 and possibly more in following years, officials of UNAIDS program said. The $22b is nearly triplethe $8.3b spent 05 by all sources, including governments and private sector. Urging that countries spend more, UNSG Kofi Annan said a costlier and more sustained effort needed because AIDS 'hasspread further, faster and with more catastrophic long-term effects than any other disease'... Of projectedfigure, half is needed for prevention and a quarter for treatment and care of infected people. Remainderis for care of orphans, children at risk of becoming infected and program costs. UNSG and Piot of UNAIDS spoke as UNGA began meeting aimed at renewing political commitment and setting new goals for expenditures and for measuring progress... Annan urged delegates to challenge countries trying to avoid goals that mention gay people, prostitutes, intravenous-drug users and others at high risk of becoming infected. 'Governments concerned need to be realistic and responsible', UNSG said. He also said that 'if we are here to try to end the epidemic, we will not succeed by putting our head in the sandand pretending that these people do not exist or they do not need help'... Report cards showed that most countries missed more goals than they met. More than 20m have become infected since 2001 meeting.Now countries must fundamentally change the way they think and deal with epidemic, moving from crisis management to 'sustained attention and the kind of "anything it takes" resolve that member states apply to preventing global financial meltdowns or wars' , Piot said... Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS released a study showing that private companies have become more likely to provide treatment for employees as cost of antiretroviral drugs has fallen over last six years, to $140-$300/year,from $10,000. In African countries with a high prevalence, more than 70% of companies surveyed arefully subsidizing access to HIV treatment, coalition said. Study...found increasing trend to expand such treatment to employees' dependents. Companies also offering access to voluntary testing/counseling" ; Lawrence K.Altman & Elisabeth Rosenthal "U.N. Strengthens Call for a Global Battle Against AIDS" NYT 02 Jun 06:- "[UNGA] adopted strongly worded declaration [02 Jun] aimed at pressing nations of the worldto strengthen their battle against AIDS, global pandemic [UNSG] called 'greatest challenge of our generation'. Language of document surprised even anti-AIDS groups, which said that while it did not satisfy all their objectives, they had feared it would be watered down... Nonbinding declaration reaffirms commitments made in 01, when UN defined AIDS as far more than a medical issue, framing it in terms of political/human rights/ economic survival... New document is political blueprint, not plan of action.Calls for strong commitment to bolster the rights of women/girls so they can protect themselves from infection with HIV... Declaration calls on countries to: use scientifically documented prevention strategies, including condoms;make clean needles accessible to drug users; take steps to provide universal access to prevention programs/ care/antiretroviral drugs. Includes politically charged terms like 'condoms' /'vulnerable groups' , though those groups not specified... Countries expected to measuretheir progress over next 5 years against targets to be determined by UN... Said world will need to spend up to $23b/year by 2010... Earlier in day, UNSG Annan delivered a gloomy assessment, saying world waslosing the battle. 'The epidemic continues to outpace us' , he told packed UNGA. 'There are more new infections than ever before; more deaths than ever before; more women/girls infected than ever before'... [US' s] Mrs.Bush speech steered away from many of the criticisms that have been labled against administration, notably that it promotes sexual abstinence over scientifically proven strategies,particularly condom use. Indeed, she said, 'ABC'model - initials stand for abstain, be faithful and usecondoms - had brought sharp declines in infections in Africa. Britain's international development[minister] said in interview: abstinence alone did not work ...Dr. Peter Piot [UNAIDS] said: while nodocument could make anyone '100% happy', final version was 'a major advance'and far stronger thanweaker drafts circulating earlier in week" .

Sudhir Anand and Amartya K.Sen Sustainable Human Development: Concepts and Priorities(New York: UNDP/ODS 96):-tries to provide rationale for bringing together narrowly environmental viewof "sustainable" world and case for eliminating "inequities" in living conditions. Argument for "human development" (pushed by UNDP/World Bank/this bibliography)made well, but its role in population controland easing pressure on the planet's carrying capacity mentioned only weakly and indirectly. Generaleconomic development( "overall opulence" )criticized as "partisan" for failing "to take note of need for impartiality in allocating entitlements" i.e.collective statistics hide unacceptable inequities. Imbalanced - or at least imperfect - defence of key imperatives.

Chris Anderson, "The Young(stressing Youth and Age)" The Economist 23 Dec 00(Survey 1-16):-explorescauses/ elements/global impact of major social trend, strong in North America, spreading through advanced/emerging societies and already changing poorer countries(Japan, Germany, China)." About...growing influence of young adults in world, and especially working world...thanks to convergence of forces that play to youth's strength -from technology to...pace of change to...tearing down of traditional...order.[T]hey are...first young who are both in position to change world, and are actually doing so.[Y]oung people increasingly make own environment, thanks to shift in power that gives them opportunity, responsibility and tools once reserved for their elders" .Rapid, relentless pace ofchange(technological/social)favours young, since they learn/relearn faster/easier/can afford to risk more to try new things(including jobs).In organizations, hierarchies of mature giving way to meritocracies in order to compete/ survive, initiate/adjust to change, and as knowledge/skill/even experience needs constant updating/replacement. Youth: welcome change; think flexibly/technologically; exploit(mobile)skills; riskfutures; prefer opportunity to wealth/ security; demand/deserve respect. "Youth and Government" in issue(61-2)reports youth's growing role/impact in decision-making.[ "W]ell-prepared input can be more influential than[votes - point often made about NGOs' power being in knowledge]Young people...are not only leaders of tomorrow; increasingly they are leaders of today" .

Kofi A. Annan, "UN Committed to Ensuring World Water Security and 'Blue Revolution', Says Secretary-General, in Message to World Water Forum" in UN Press Release SG/SM/7334 21 Mar 00:-urgent global problem is finding huge additional quantities of affordable water to meet increasing needs of population growth/concentration and rising agricultural/industrial demand, and to make up for global pollution andfalling water tables(see Worldwatch Institute: Lester R. Brown, "Water: Emerging Constraint on Growth" (123-5)in State of the World(1999)op.cit.). Hence "world's impending water crisis" was theme of UNSG's text. He reported that "every year, more than 5 million people[over 50% children]die as a result of poor water quality - 10 times the number killed in wars...[W]ithin 25 years two out of every three people on Earth will live in water-stressed conditions. Indeed, the declining state of the world's freshwater resources, in terms of quantity and quality, may well prove to be the dominant issue on the environment and development agenda of the new century" . UN Newservice 21 Mar 00: Klaus Toepfer, UNEP head, at the Forum: "The battle for the conservation of water will be won or lost in the mega-cities of the world" .[Technology can help:]Douglas Jehl, "Tampa Bay Looks to the Sea to Quench Its Thirst" in New York Times12 Mar 00:-US appears to be just reaching the stage when many high-density areas need, or find it economic, to desalinate sea or brackish water. Tampa Bay(2.3m residents)will be the first large urban areato do so, planning the largest(25m gallons/day)desalinization plant outside Saudi Arabia(whose economics are totally different). As of writing, five states(cheaply)desalinate brackish water, while two cities which built sea-water plants decades ago, now use them for backup due to cost. But Tampa cost estimates have fallen from $4-6 per 1,000 gallons to $2.08. With several cities planning desalinization, and many more facing the need, economics/technology may now produce a global cost breakthrough. [World FDI and ODA may soon include large expenditures on desalination.]

"Anonymous"Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror(DullesVA: Brassey's 04):-author is a senior US intelligence official with nearly 20 years experience in national security issues related to Afghanistan and South Asia. This strong critique of arrogant US/allies' policies towards Osama bin Laden/al Qaeda, and military action against Afghanistan/Iraq, proved quickly influential in many respects, and advocates less US loyalty to Israel/corrupt Muslim regimes or presence in Mideast. Motivation of Muslim terrorists is identified not as hatred/fear of Western national systems but of their broadly negative actions against Islamic peoples. All complex chapter titles: (1)Some Thoughts on the Power of Focused, Principled Hatred. (2) An Unprepared and Ignorant Lunge to Defeat - The US in Afghanistan. (3) Not Down, Not Out: Al Qaeda's Resiliency, Expansion, and Momentum. (4) The World's View of bin Laden: A Muslim Leader and Hero Coming into Focus? (5) Bin Laden Views the World: Some Old, Some New, and a Twist. (6) Blinding Hubris Abounding: Inflicting Defeat on Ourselves - Non-War, Leaks, and Missionary Democracy. (7) When the Enemy Sets the Stage: How US's Stubborn Obtuseness Aids Its Foes. (8) The Way Ahead: A Few Suggestions for Debate. Epilogue: No Basis for Optimism.

Reza Aslan No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam(New York: Random House 05):-The widely-read author defines his aim in the Prologue: "This book is not just critical reexamination of the origins and evolution of Islam, nor is it merely an account of the current struggle among Muslims to define the future of this magnificent yet misunderstood faith. This book is, above all else, an argument for reform"(xx). William Grimes, in his New York Times 04 May 05 review, quotes the book:"What is taking place now in the Muslim world is an internal conflict between Muslims, not an external battle between Islam and the West"(248). Grimes himself argues: "[Islam's] history, grippingly narrated and thoughtfully examined, takes up nearly all of 'No god but God'. Aslan... has written a literate, accessible introduction to Islam.,. carefully placing its message/rituals in historical context. Complete with glossary/annotated bibliography, it could easily serve as a college textbook". The 310-page book includes 21st century arguments: "[T]he attacks of 11 Sep 01 were not a defensive strike against a specific act of aggression against Islam. They were never sanctioned by a qualified mujtahid. They made no differentiation between combatant/noncombatant.,. indiscriminately killed women, children, and approximately 200 Muslims. In other words, they fell far short of the regulations imposed by Muhammad for a legitimate jihadi response, which is why, despite common perception in the West, they were so roundly condemned by the vast majority of the world's Muslims"(87). "Tragic events of 11 Sep... initiated a vibrant discourse among Muslims about meaning/message of Islam in 21st century... It may be too early to know who will write the next chapter of Islam's story, but it is not too early to recognize who will ultimately win the war between reform/counterreform... But the cleansing inevitable, and tide of reform cannot be stopped. Islamic Reformation is already here"(266).

Associated Press," U. N. Names Family Planning Official" in New York Times 11 Oct 99:-reports that UN Population Fund has appointed European Parliament member and 1997 runner-up in Ireland's presidential election, Mary Banotti, to be its goodwill ambassador and spokeswoman for the UNFPA's "Face to Face" campaign. As such she will publicize plight of women and girls denied access to reproductive health care and family planning services.

Associated Press, "Earth is Menaced by Fewer Killer Asteroids Than Previously Thought" in New York Times 12 Jan 00:- article deals with a real and major danger from space, not only to entire cities but to all life on earth, that is far from infinitesimal. Scientists have been estimating that 1-2,000 mountain-sized asteroids periodically cross the earth's orbit. This number produces about a 1% chance of one hitting the earth per millennium. Since asteroids are lumps of rock, iron and other material believed left over from the formation of the solar system, and those being counted have diameters between two-thirds of a mile to six miles, they are big enough to "wreak global disaster" . NASA has just lowered the estimated numberof such killers to about 700, or by half. New technology may find 90% within the next 20 years, but there are also lots of smaller asteroids able to destroy cities. Britain has just set up a risk assessment committee. AP, "Experts Mull Asteroid Risk" in NYT 18 Sep 00:-the committee mentioned above is reported to have urged the British government to seek international partners to fund a powerful new telescopeto be stationed in the southern hemisphere and governments should launch joint studies to assess how to destroy an object on a collision course with the planet. The committee estimated that a "wide object" crashes into our planet every 10,000 years with the force of a 100-megaton nuclear bomb. Government reacted:" it's sensible to put just a little[money]into making certain we know if there is a danger of an object hitting our very fragile planet" .

Associated Press," Researchers Produce a Healthier Rice" in New York Times 14 Jan 00: -item reports that " scientists have genetically engineered a type of rice that could end vitamin A deficiency in the developing world" . About 14m children worldwide are deficient; so besides reducing widespread blindness, raising vitamin A levels could prevent 1-2m deaths a year. Swiss researchers successfully spliced three genes into rice to make it rich in beta carotene, a source of vitamin A. While tests are ensuring the original nutritional value is maintained, the famous International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) is working tobreed the trait into popular rice varieties. New developments are reported in David Barboza, "AstraZeneca to Sell a Genetically Engineered Strain of Rice" NYT 16 May(Note to Anthony DePalma," Super Seeds Sweeping Major Markets..." ).

Associated Press," China Refines Birth-Control Policy" in New York Times 07 May 00:-this report on a new government policy says China" hopes to limit its growing population to 1.4b people in 2010 by refining" its current policy. This is an unlikely feat, given that the present official figure of 1.25b may understate the real total by tens of millions, and experts believe the population will actually peak about 1.6b around 2050. Beijing claims:" A more perfect control system will be built and a better environment...created...[S]afe, effective and proper contraceptive methods should be made available to women...Nevertheless, thepopulation will increase by 10m a year in the next few decades" . Officials already worry this will outstripfinite supplies of water, farmland and other resources, requiring major grain imports, but an unintended population-control factor has developed: boys being preferred, China may already have 100m more males than females.

Associated Press, "Number of Refugees Grows Worldwide" New York Times 13 Jun 00:-World Refugee Survey 2000, issued by prestigious US Committee for Refugees, claims that at end of 20th Century there were35m people worldwide "uprooted and in need of protection." Conflict contributed 7m to this in 99 alone, and despite UN success in ending some long-term disputes following end of Cold War, this estimated total had risen from 29m in 90. Moreover, of these, 13.7m are found in Africa(4.4m in Sudan alone).Another trend has been continually growing number of refugees that for various reasons remain in their own countries:Internally Displaced Persons. Identified IDPs now number at least 4m, and clearly demand higher priority from UN-UNHCR since they are not afforded same legal protections and care as" international" refugeesunder Geneva Conventions. On other hand, there is hope that some sources of refugees and IDPs may bein sight of permanent solution. Elizabeth Rosenthal, "Famine in North Korea Creates Steady Human Flow into China" NYT 10 Jun:-report on motives and stratagems of North Korean refugees within/outside their country. Any moves towards Korean reconciliation could have major and rapid effect on this crisis. For evenlonger-term look at issue of unwilling migration, AP reports "Conference Addresses Migration" NYT 10 Jun:-experts Paris meeting organized by Universal Academy of Cultures concluded "globalization demands greater moral responsibility and intervening in sovereign nations is plausible response to misery that drives populations beyond their borders." Those seeking political asylum increased from 250,000 in 87 to 900,000 in 92, but then declined to 388,000 in 98,perhaps reflecting growing influence of such perceptionin UN. Meanwhile, if Europe's population falls 100m by 50, migration waves may become beneficial.

Associated Press "Nations Vow to Fight Urban Blight" New York Times 09 Jun 01:-results of five-year-review of progress in meeting UN Habitat Agenda, agreed upon at 96 global summit on urban issues in Istanbul. New York review conference produced UN Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium which reaffirmed commitment to Agenda principles regarding "adequate housing for all and sustainable development of world's cities" -no easy task since many countries" openly admit they have made little progress since Istanbul meeting. More than 1b...still lack adequate housing[out of 3b(50%)global urban population, and since f]ast-growing slums are common on outskirts of Asian, Africa and Latin American cities" .Textual crises overcome involved Palestinian proposal to criticize Israel, and US refusal to reaffirm adequate housing as "human right" .

Associated Press"AIDS Said Orphaned 1.5M Asia - Pacific Kids"New York Times 22 Mar 06:-"AIDS hasorphaned an estimated 1.5m children in Asia-Pacific region, but they are often overlooked in the mix of other issues surrounding a disease that has historically focused on adults, officials told a regional conference... About 121,000 children in the region have been infected by the disease, according to UNAIDS figures from 2004. Another 35,000 also need anti-retroviral drug treatment to survive. Three-day meeting has drawn some 250 delegates from UN agencies, governments and NGOs to Hanoi to discusswhat can be done to limit spread of the disease among youth and how to help children already infected or orphaned by it... UNICEF regional director... said there needs to be increased prevention efforts targeting youth, more focus on prevention of mother to child transmission, provision of drugs to children suffering from the disease, and creation of support groups for kids infected with the virus or orphaned by it... A Save the Children survey... found that many children cannot go to school becausesomeone in their family is sick with the disease, they are commonly ridiculed and ostracized by society and are sometimes forced to work as slaves or sex workers after becoming orphans"; AP"Group Warns of More Child AIDS Deaths"NYT 24 Mar 06:-"Number of children orphaned by AIDS in East Asia-Pacificregion could grow from 450,000 to 1.7m in less than a decade if resources aren't increased for prevention and treatment, UNICEF official said... Also said number of child deaths could reach nearly 20,000 a year during that time if more isn't done... It would take up to $5.5b annually until 2015 to lessen effects of HIV/AIDS on children in the region, in increasing to an estimated $6b a year after that, he said... [UNICEF epidemiologist also said] there are an estimated 450,000 children in the region who have lost one or both parents to the disease, and that could grow to 1.7m by 2015 without more funding... A documentreleased at end of conference called for reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV,boosting steps to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and enhansing care and protection for children. Other provisions included more pediatric HIV testing and greater access to anti-retroviral drugs for children.HIV/AIDS epidemic is growing faster in East Asia than anywhere else in the world. In many countriesepidemic still largely concentrated in high-risk groups.

Associated Press"EU Agency: Gypsies Suffer Discrimination"New York Times 07 Apr 06:-"Gypsies[henceforth Roma] remain among Europe's most discriminated-against people, European Union's racism watchdog agency said [07 Apr]... Roma routinely denied jobs/ housing/education/health care, saidVienna-based EU Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia. Center's director... said Roma living in many of EU's 25 member states suffer 'systematic discrimination', and called for more intensive effort/greater political will to eliminate the bias and help lift Roma communities out of poverty. Estimated 6.2m Roma live in Europe - 4.6m in central/eastern Europe - according to estimates by UN-affiliatedInternational Organization for Migration. Last year... EU monitoring center said unemployment ran as high as 90% among Roma in some new EU members such as Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, and that worst discrimination happened when Roma tried to rent/buy property. ['T]erritorial segregationis particularly acute', report said. Roma also tended to receive substandard medical care... A globalconference of Prague-based International Romani Union - coalition of organizations working to easethe plight of Roma - designated 08 Apr as International Day of Roma in 1990"

 Associated Press"AIDS Conference Ends With Appeals"New York Times 26 Apr 06:-"International AIDS conference [in Cape Town, of 1,000 scientists/researchers,] ended [26 Apr] with impassioned appeals to political/pharmaceutical industry leaders to fund development of a virus-killing [vaginal] gel to protect women from the disease and so save millions of lives. Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS,.. said safe/effective microbicides could be ready in 5-7 years, with only minimal additional funding, and thus turn the dream of saving millions of lives into reality... In the hard hit African countries, women account for nearly 60% of infections. Most are infected through heterosexual intercourse... UNAIDS/WHO have long promotedmicrobicides as a potentially valuable weapon in fight against the epidemic, not least because it allows women to protect themselves without having to rely on partners who refuse to wear a condom or befaithful. Yet despite this, research has proceeded slowly. [Piot] said investment in microbicide development should be doubled - and even then would still only reach about US$150m per year...Microbicides can take the form of a gel, cream, sponge or ring that releases an ingredient that can kill or deactivate HIV during intercourse. There are currently five different products being tested[, mainly in Africa on thousand of women]. Dozens of agents that could interrupt HIV transmission have so far beenidentified. There are also hopes that the microbicides could be used to prevent other sexually transmitteddiseases and unwanted pregnancies. One of the products, cellulose sulphate, has the potential to bea contraceptive and shield against HIV... Another microbicide, Carragard, coats vaginal cells and preventsthe virus from entering...Much of funding for research comes from Gates Foundation and US government... Trying to dismiss fears that microbicides would mainly be used in developing countries and therefore offer only low profit margins, [WHO] cited their potential for use in contraception in wealthy countries".

Séverine Autesserre"The Trouble With Congo: How Local Disputes Fuel Regional Conflict"(94-110)Foreign Affairs Vol.87/No.3(May/Jun 08):-official summary:"Although the war in Congo officially ended in 2003, 2m people have died since. One of the reasons is that the international community's peacekeeping efforts there have not focused on the local grievances in eastern Congo, especially those over land, that are fueling much of the broader tensions. Until they do, the nation's security and that of wider Great Lakes region will remain uncertain". Emphasized extracts:"Congo is now the stage for the largest humanitarian disaster in the world - far larger than the crisis in Sudan. [I]nternational actors must tackle situation in Congo from the ground up". Autesserre is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia Univ.

Scott Barrett Why Cooperate? The Incentive to Supply Global Public Goods (New York: Oxford Univ Press 07):-surprisingly well written -considering the complexity of issues- in: (1) describing the existing global challenges (e.g. climate change, nuclear proliferation, worldwide pandemics) and those that threaten the entire planet (e.g. terrorism, physical/chemical/biological instabilities, asteroids); and (2) reporting on how such problems have been successfully or badly handled in the past, the rationales involved, and the various cooperations that would/might work best in future. Barrett's "threat" approach differs from my item "EARTH MUST COOPERATE...", mainly in stressing "Global Public Goods" actions of the recent past (e.g.often successful United Nations; wonderful "Montreal Protocol" ozone treaty), whereas my gloomy and concentrated "page" is designed almost solely to identify: (1) the exploding scale/variety of global threats; (2) the human tendencies that have created/will create them; and (3) why we must change a number of very old human views/feelings. Both press broader global diplomacy as essential tool. Most chapters focus on distinct types of issue/solution. [Even a study of brief bit(s) of 275p would be valuable.] Titles: Incentives to Supply Global Public Goods [GPG]; (1) Single Best Efforts: GPG that Can Be Supplied Unilaterally or Minilaterally; (2) Weakest Links: GPG that Depend on States that Contribute the Least; (3) Aggregate Efforts: GPG that Depend on Combined Efforts of All States; (4) Financing and Burden Sharing: Paying for GPG; (5) Mutual Restraint: Agreeing What States Ought Not to Do; (6) Coordination and Global Standards: Agreeing What States Ought to Do; (7) Development: Do GPG Help Poor States?; Conclusion: Institutions for Supply of GPG.

Jean-Francois Bayart, Stephen Ellis and Beatrice Hibou The Criminalization of the State in Africa(Oxford:James Currey 99):-inevitably researched unscientifically, seeks to explain multiple political-economic crises of Africa(i.e.south of Sahara)as whole. "African specialists" after lamentingdemography/stagnation-acerbated poverty/hyper-urbanization, highlight certain developments: facade of democratic transition/structural adjustment/other reforms; armed conflicts' continuation or spread; above all, elites' massive involvement in corrupt/criminal activities(drugs/other smuggling; political-financial/other fraud; coercion/violence).While driven by change, these African reactions show historicalinfluence of approving accumulation of power and wealth through devious personal initiative. Thusnationalism, government and law are simply used; their criminalization culturally-rooted.

Barbara Beck "The Economics of Ageing: The Luxury of Longer Life" The Economist 27 Jan 96(Survey 1-16):-longer average lifespans worldwide are raising global, and not simply national, problems in fields like economics and finance, travel and migration, medicine and health care, social and cultural change, and even moral standards.

Barbara Beck, "A Survey of Women and Work: For Better, For Worse" in The Economist 18 Jul 98(1-16):-an excellent economic and social examination of the formal employment of women, including a human-rights-related analysis of why so few are found in the top levels of business. Most information is on OECDcountries - which have the best statistics and seem to lead a global trend. Subjects include: history, e.g. the combined impact of safe contraception and the transformation of labor needs; OECD employment trendsand their reasons; gender variation by job type, pay and unemployment; maternity and paternity leave,daycare, shared child care and housework, career-breaks, taxation and birthrate issues. All are UN issuesnow; its actively trying to improve its own employee gender balance.

Elizabeth Becker "Number of Hungry Rising, U.N. Says" New York Times 08 Dec 04:-UN agency Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)makes ominous report: for first time in almost decade, estimated number in the world going hungry has increased. Despite overall increase in global wealth, FAO states, after slow/steady decrease, chronically hungry rose to nearly 852m(18m increase since 00); 5m children aredying of hunger annually. FAO senior claimed world now producing more than enough food, so problemis access to jobs/resources/land/money to buy food. UN's International Labor Organization(ILO)reported that record 1.4b(half world's workers)earn less than $2 daily. Oxfam reported that global aid budgets now total half of level in 60. Yet UN's Millennium Development Goals, pledged by all the world's governments, set targets to halve extreme poverty/hunger by 15." At least 80% of world's chronically hungry live in rural areas and over half...subsistence farmers. Competition from world's wealthiest farmers, heavilysubsidized by rich governments,...blamed in part for the inequity. Trade ministers have promised to continueworking to reduce agricultural subsidies/supports at global trade talks next year[WTO].In measuring hunger [FAO]considers calorie intake/amount of food available/inequities in access to food supplies. Thirtycountries [Asia/ Africa/Latin America]cut percentage of hungry people at least 25% over last decade byreducing conflict/focusing ...programs on rural areas/small farmers.[This is fundamentally critical, since]children under three most vulnerable to disease/death. Without proper nutrition, it is difficult for these children to ever recover/lead productive lives."

Brian Beedham "The New Geopolitics: The Road to 2050" The Economist 31 Jul 99(1-16):-mainly Kosovo-inspired proposal: democracies(i.e. NATO)actively try to make(run?)better, more peaceful world through joint foreign policy "core of[which]would attempt to spread...democracy. Includes trying to help peoplesquashed under another people's heel...to govern itself." To this end "should be able to construct jointmilitary force that can be swiftly sent to distant parts." Other "great powers" may soon beChina/Japan/Russia/India. If China seems threat, any/all democratic three might want to join "Alliance for Democracy." Survey rules out "clash of civilizations" and credible alternatives to state sovereignty oreventual democracy.[My reaction: Who looks after increasing variety/number/ seriousness of other -oftenvery closely related- problems in same world? UN mentioned only in sarcastic sentence about few wanting international body to have standing army of its own; yet that's exactly what's being proposed! More important, might not 5b others in world have some democratic(sic)views/objections regarding self-selected/-deployed global police force? Also, if major aim of force liberation of minorities, likelythousands of such groups will demand both independence/help? Won't sovereignty continue devolving simply for global survival?]

Christopher de Bellaigue "THINK AGAIN: IRAN" Foreign Policy No.148 (May/Jun 05) (18-24):-like other FPissues, correction of nine public concepts; here: about Iranian nuclear weapons production/use or its positive response to stiff US pressure. Author first outlines widely-held views( "Under-lined Statements" ); states FIRM REACTIONS; and then provides his view of actual truth. He first provides summary: "Tehran's desire for nuclear bomb has put it in Washington's cross hairs. But neither President George W.Bush'srepeated condemnations of Iran's clerical rulers, nor the threat of military force will advance cause ofdemocracy there. When Iran reforms, it will happen because its youth - not the United States - demands it." "If Iran Gets a Nuclear Bomb, Iran Will Use It"-VERY UNLIKELY. "Iran almost certainly does not intendto brandish a nuclear bomb in an attempt to intimidate...Israel/US... Further, clerics have blessed a partial detente with their Arab neighbours and...EU.[Yet] there is plausible circumstantial evidence ...to suggestthat Iran's nuclear program is not civilian. [N]uclear ambiguity is calculated, a reaction to the vulnerability it feels. Iran probably intends to gather all the elements necessary for bomb making, so that it can gonuclear the moment that it feels an attack is imminent." "Iran Has No Use for Nuclear Power"-False."Energy needs are rising faster than [Iran's oil/gas] ability to meet them... Its capacity must nearly triple over 15 years to meet projected demand[,and the electricity cannot all come] from the oil sector. [Output] has stagnated at around 3.7mbd since late 1990s. Almost 40% of Iran's crude oil is consumed locally [and the natural] gas reserves are only just being tapped. It makes sense for Iran to free up its hydrocarbons for export [and] Iran contends that US may pressure foreign sellers into stopping the flow. [Hence] Iran'sdesire for a complete fuel cycle is most suspicious aspect of nuclear program"."The Iranian People Support Their Leaders' Nuclear Program"-NOT REALLY. "Iranians who vocally support...nuclearambitions...minority[;] never witnessed spontaneous discussion of nuclear program among average Iranians...Unlikely many Iranians willing to put up with economic/diplomatic isolation...if Iran insisted on enriching uranium"."Only the Threat of Force Can Dissuade Iran from Advancing with Its Nuclear Plans"-DOUBTFUL."Threat...could also...encourage Iran to leave NPT and develop a nuclear weapon ASAP...[N]ever abandons goal of achieving a nuclear fuel cycle... Iran is more flexible than it appears...[It might] revise its nuclear plans if US abandoned its [hard policies] ...Ultimately it might refuse to publicly relinquish nuclear goals, preferring instead to extend current negotiations indefinitely"."U.S. Military Action Would Embolden Dissidents to Topple the Islamic Republic"-WRONG. "Workers...keeping their heads down andmouths shut... Iranians don't want Iraq's wretched conditions... Iranians opposed to Islamic Republic lack a unifying ideology... Possible some Iranians would cheer a US invasion, but not for long". "Criticizing the Islamic Republic Helps Dissidents Inside Iran"-NO. "Bush's repeated statements of support for Iranian people do not help normal Iranians... Publicly defending beleaguered reformists simply allowed clerics to accuse reformers of being US lackeys...US criticism has perverse effect because US has no diplomatic or economic relations with Iran, and hence no leverage. EU and others [have] some modest leverage with Iran's clerical rulers". "If Iraq Becomes a Democracy, so Will Iran"-WISHFUL THINKING. "Border is about all they share...Few Iranians...question Iran's integrity within its current borders. Same is not true in Iraq...Iran set up a semi-democratic, anti-Western, Shia theocracy... Clerics today enjoy considerable prestige"."Iran Cannot Be Reformed from Within"-WRONG AGAIN. "Iran can and will be reformed from within.Demographics make that course inevitable. Some 70% of Iran's 70m citizens under age of 30, and young Iranians are more reform-minded than older groups... Young people resent existing political restrictions more than their elders, and are less religiously observant... Spread of material values and sexual freedom is palpable, as is desire for smaller families...Young people display little animus for once-hated US...[Yet]reform-minded millions lack common ideology/leadership... New generation will... spur further reform. Process would benefit from critical dialogue with US, rather than current, glowering standoff".

Pam Belluck "Will Longer Lives Be Different Lives? And Better Ones?" New York Times 01 Jan 00:-the biological, economic and ethical impacts of the probable major extension of human lifespans are often discussed; this addresses its social and personal impact. Since "genetic and medical steps needed to extend life [may halt] much of deterioration that comes with aging", life may include feeling like 60 at 110, attending college at 35 (five MAs [may be] needed), women bearing children in 50s, having six entirely separate careers and four marriages, physical sports at 112, vastly more life experiences (10-year holidays). With current progress on aging/terminal disease, many now born may live in 3 centuries. Parent/child may age far apart/"simultaneously". Marriage could last 80 years, or socially transform, with people raising several families. Energy-creativity-initiative "stimulated", but uneven access-adjustment must be minimized.

Jagdish Bhagwati"Banned Aid: Why International Assistance Does Not Alleviate Poverty"(120-125) Foreign Affairs Vol.89/No.1 (Jan/Feb 10):-Review Essay of Dambisa Moyo: Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa (Farrar, Straus & Giraux 09, 208pp. $24.00). Official summary:"The idea that foreign aid can be used to promote development seems reasonable. But as the Zambian economist Moyo argues, it is flawed - not just because corrupt dictators divert aid for nefarious or selfish purposes but also because even in reasonably democratic countries, aid creates perverse incentives and unintended consequences". [In other words, while the deeply experienced and global-level economist Bhagwati ultimately rejects Moyo's proposal to terminate all aid within five years, he shares many of her criticisms of its errant policies by identifying several unfortunate motives that drove the donations. He also feels that she does not assign sufficient blame to the terrible faults of many of the African leaders involved.] Bhagwati is Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and University Professor of Economics and Law at Columbia University. He served on the UN secretary-general's Advisory Panel on International Support for the New Partnership for Africa's Development 2005-06. For an annotated guide to this topic, see "What to Read on Foreign Aid" at www.foreignaffairs.com/readinglists/foreign-aid.

Nancy Birdsall "Life Is Unfair: Inequality in the World" Foreign Policy No.111(Summer 98):-ratio of average income of world's richest country to poorest grown from about 9 to 1 around century ago to at least 60 to 1 today; 80% of world's population in states generating only 20% of world income. National-income divide between well-educated elite and vulnerable/unskilled usually both evident/widening. Many causes: history; demography; access; policies(trade/ labour/services/investment).Now technology/computers play key role: information and skills are key assets. Hence essential to provide maximum of education/opportunity; states must use labour, and trade/equal access better. "The real danger...growing inequality may become lightning rod for populist rhetoric and self-defeating isolation" .

Nancy Birdsall and Arvind Subramanian, "Saving Iraq From Its Oil" Foreign Affairs Vol.83/No.4(Jul/Aug 04):-reports on essential poor-country assets that delay democracy. "Oil riches are far from blessing they are often assumed to be. In fact, countries often end up poor precisely because they are oil rich. Oil and mineral wealth can be bad for growth and bad for democracy, since they tend to impede developmentof institutions and values critical to open, market-based economies and political freedom: civil liberties, rule of law, protection of property rights, and political participation" .In both this and Fareed Zakaria The Future of Freedom(73-6)(op.cit.)oil/minerals criticized for "richness" .[In my view, serious fault relates not inherently to basic/processed elements(still essential to global economy; no harm to many states; maybe sole globalization starter locally available), but to any extremely narrow concentration of any local affluence, whatever produced it(slaves? elephant tusks? diamonds?)].Essay is (otherwise)useful in reporting how often developing countries badly run when they have local oil production, and hence all Iraqi oil profits should ideally be passed directly to all Iraqi citizens individually.

Matthew Bishop, "Social Insurance: Privatising Peace of Mind" in The Economist 24 Oct 98(Survey 1-22).-a matter of growing concern for the OECD states, the NICs and - in desperate terms - the LDCs, is how best to ensure basic social needs. The areas of greatest concern are health (and related social aid), pensions, help for the unemployed, and ensuring minimum living standards. Ever-growing dilemmas vary from finding thebasic funds and facilities in the LDCs to selecting the best ways, in terms of efficiency and financing, to organize the large-scale programs in the rich welfare states. Two major issues mainly in the latter relate to the growing demographic ratio of recipients to contributors, and the relative advantages of state and private schemes. Survey studies all these carefully.

Susan Blackmore, The Meme Machine(New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1999):-since Darwin's Origin of Species posited human evolution by natural means without metaphysical intervention, a heated debate has ensued over whether/how Homo sapiens is unique, e.g. by possessing a soul or free will. UN is affected, e.g. regarding technology, health care and law. This well-written book builds on many theories relating to theconcept of "memes" . Unique to Homo sapiens, like genes they are replicators but, unlike genes which replicate(copy)physical templates of parents in offspring, memes transmit words, ideas, beliefs and tastes, mainly by imitation, i.e. spread through peoples' activities. Author contends memes produced our large brains, language ability and altruism. Among less positive influences she includes sexual mores, myths(UFO, NDE, superstition, alternative medicine, religion(sic)). Soul/free-will are out.

Tony Blair "A Year of Huge Challenges" The Economist 01 Jan 05(By Invitation 44-6):-British PM presents two major global initiatives, to urge G8 to organize and substantially pay(Britain: 05 president).Essay makes strong cases in favor since, "with threat from international terrorism and spread of weapons of mass destruction.,. they are most serious problems facing world today [and] problems beyond power of any single country...Solution requires co-ordinated international action, and above all leadershipwhich G8 is uniquely placed to give. The two initiatives relate to solving African issues and attacking climate change. Here the only material summarized is on Sorting Out Africa. "[P]lagued with problems - debt, disease, conflict, corruption, weak governance - so embedded/widespread that no continent, no matter how prosperous, could tackle on its own.[Details of problems provided.]Should this matter to rest of world?For democratic governments, it should, because it matters to our citizens.[I]t can't be morally right, in world growing more prosperous/healthier,..that one in six African children still die before fifth birthday. Worldwide campaign to make poverty history rightly challenges us to act...We must now all accept utter futility of trying to shut our borders to problems abroad.[Famine/conflict]create conditions for terrorism/fanaticismto take root and spread[to globe.]Prosperous Africa, where people have chance to fulfil their talents, is in all our interests[while] sheer scale of Africa's problems can induce understandable sense ofhopelessness. Governance been improving faster...than in many other areas[,and]Africa Union playingincreasing role in settling conflicts.[B]est way to reduce poverty is through economic growth.[This]can be increased by aid[that involves greater donation/effectiveness.] But to help Africa continue progresswe need...coordinated global effort[,including]concerted action to improve opportunities/growth, reduce debt, tackle HIV/malaria/TB, fight corruption, promote peace/security. We also need to tackle trade barriers...I hope G8 will agree not only to plan of action but also to its implementation, a process of monitoring and review. We all need to be accountable for carrying out commitments we have made." Changing Climate is on "twin" item, to keep their lengths reasonable. Starts are similar, but theirmain texts/distributions differ.

Christopher S.Bond & Lewis M.Simons "The Forgotten Front:Winning Hearts and Minds in Southeast Asia"(52-63)Foreign Affairs Vol.88/No.6(Nov/Dec 09):-official summary:"US [Western?] policymakers can no longer afford to ignore Southeast Asia. Islamic militants pose a threat to stability in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. But rather than relying on miltary power alone to do the job, US should use trade, aid, and education to alleviate poverty in the region and win the hearts and minds of Southeast Asian Muslims". Bond is a Republican Senator from Missouri. Simons s a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. They are the co-authors of The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace With Islam.

Keith Bradsher & David Barboza "The Energy Challenge: Clouds From Chinese Coal Cast a Long Shadow"NYT 11 Jun 06:-particularly excellent/worrying 9-page report on one of the world's worst activities/killers."One of China's lesser-known exports is dangerous brew of soot, toxic chemicals and climate-changing gases from the smokestacks of coal-burning power plants... The cooling effect from the sulfur [dioxide byproduct] is short-lived. By contrast, the carbon dioxide emanating from Chinese coal plants will lastfor decades, with a cumulative warming effect that will eventually... deliver another large kick to global warming, climate scientists say... Already, China uses more coal than US, EU and Japan combined. And it has increased coal consumption 14% in each of the past two years in the broadest industrialization ever. Every week to 10 days, another [major] coal-fired power plant opens somewhere in China... To make matters worse, India is right behind China in stepping up its construction of coal-fired power plants - and has a population expected to outstrip China's by 2030... The difference from most wealthy countries is that China depends overwhelmingly on coal. And using coal to produce electricity and run factories generates more global-warming gases and lung-damaging pollutants than relying on oil or gas... China knows it has to do something about its dependence on [pollution-heavy] coal".

Simon Briscoe & Hugh Aldersey-Williams Panicology :Subtitle on Book Cover Only: What Are You Afraid Of? Two Statisticians Explain What's Worth Worrying About (and What's Not) in the 21st Century (London: Viking 08):-after a brief Introduction, the 300-page book offers essays on 42 specialized subjects in hopefully objective terms and the most up-to-date statistics. Each essay is inclined to lampoon deliberately-scary headlines that were inclined to raise excessive worries on the subject. My main/chronic criticism is that many essays apply solely to the UK situation or primarily to the West, whereas most issues are clearly of global concern - and are studied globally by UN (multiple UN summaries op. cit.). The chapter titles are followed by my own subjects of the relevant essays. (1) Sex, Marriage and Children: Population Issues; Family Units and Children; Getting Married; Sexual Attitudes. (2) Health: Obesity; Salt Consumption; Bird Flu; Hospital-Acquired Infections; Kids' Triple Vaccines; Sudden Infant Death Syndromes. (3) Passing the Time: Accidents from Physical Art; Heavy Drinking of Alcohol; Cinema Admissions; Collection of Sports Cards. (4) Social Policy: Pensions; Household Debts; House Prices; Immigration; Deaths Through Transport; Accidents Through Mobile Phones; (5) The Workplace: Globalization's Effects on Employment; Women's Pay; Work-Related Stress; Repetitive Strain Injury; (6) Law and Order: Terrorist Threats; Military Threats; Numbers in Prison; Crime Figures; (7) Natural World: Ozone Depletion; Hurricanes; Climate Change; Sea-Level Rise; Earthquakes and Volcanos; New Ice Age? (8) Our Declining Resources: Extinctions; Fisheries Issues; Languages. (9) Modern Science: Genetically Modified Food; Nanotechnology; Nuclear Radiation. (10) They're Coming to Get You: UFO Reports; Asteroids.

William J. Broad," Maybe We Are Alone in the Universe, After All" in New York Times 8 Feb 00:-in one SETI(search for extraterrestrial intelligence) project alone, 1.6m people in 224 countries have donated 165,000 years computer time to analyse signals from space picked up by one radio telescope. The Economist 29 Jul 00"Divide and Conquer" (77-8):brings the project up-to-date by reporting that over 2m computers are involved and that in the 15 months since its launch 345,000 years' worth of computer time have been put in. This article is more detailed on the enormous technical and economic potential of "distributed computing" . For instance, the machines involved are" collectively the equivalent of a computer operating at around ten million million calculations a second, about ten times faster than any conventional supercomputer. Meanwhile, planets of one sort or another are being located at an accelerating rate by astronomers, while astrobiologists estimate our galaxy could include a million advanced societies; the universe: 10 trillion. On the other hand, in their book "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe" (New York: Copernicus, 2000), Drs. D.C.Brownlee and P.D.Ward claim recent scientific data imply humans may be alone in the cosmos. They do not question that "life is an inherent property of matter,as most scientists believe" , and" strongly encourage" SETI work to test their hypothesis, but argue Earth's "composition and stability are extraordinarily rare. Most everywhere else, the radiation levels are too high, the right chemical elements too rare.., the hospitable planets too few...and the rain of killer rocks toointense for life ever to have evolved into advanced communities" , though microbes may survive in many places. Debate is lively and fascinating.

Harry G.Broadman"China and India Go to Africa: New Deals in the Developing World"(95-109) Foreign Affairs Vol.87/No.2 (Mar/Apr 08):-official summary: "Economic activity between Africa and Asia, especially China and India, is booming like never before. If the problems and imbalances this sometimes creates are managed well, this expanding engagement could be an unprecedented opportunity for Africa's growth and for its integration into the global economy". Broadman is Economic Adviser for the Africa Region at the World Bank, and author of Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier(World Bank 07). Views in FA are his own.

Stephen G.Brooks & William C.Wohlforth"Reshaping the World Order: How Washington Should Reform International Institutions"(49-63)Foreign Affairs Vol.88/No.2(Mar/Apr09):-official summary :"The current architecture of international institutions is so out of sync with the modern world that it must be updated. But skeptics question whether US is up to the task. They need not worry: US still possesses enough power and legitimacy to spearhead reform". Emphasized quote: "In a 2007 address to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, [Barack Obama, now US president,] stressed that 'it was America that largely built a system of international institutions that carried us through the Cold War... Instead of constraining our power, these institutions magnified it'. 'Today it's become fashionable to disparage the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international organizations', he continued. 'In fact, reform of these bodies is urgently needed if they are to keep pace with the fast-moving threats we face'"(50). Brooks is Associate Professor of Government, and Wohlforth is Daniel Webster Professor of Government and Chair of Department of Government, both Dartmouth College. Article adapted from their: World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy(Princeton Univ 08).

Lester R. Brown and Hal Kane, Full House: Reassessing the Earth's Population Carrying Capacity (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1994). - Brown, President of the Worldwatch Institute, is an expert on the world's food-carrying capacity. He sees China nearing its maximum production, but soon rich enough to import its shortfall; India can increase production but cannot afford to import its shortfall -assuming enough is left over. More detailed arguments are found in Lester R. Brown, Who Will Feed China? Wake-Up Call for a Small Planet (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1995).

Lester R.Brown"Feeding Nine Billion"(115-32)in State of the World(1999)(New York: W.W.Norton, 99):-main points: World grain harvests grew from 400m tons in 1900 to nearly 1.9b in 1998, aided by massiveirrigation (40% of food), chemical fertilizers, huge plant-breeding advances, short-stem wheat/rice, hybridcorn - such cropland assets being globally available. Yet 840m people are hungry/malnourished(19,000 children die daily from effects of malnutrition). Other two basic food-supply systems - oceanic fisheries andrangelands - appear to have reached global carrying capacity, and per capita grain production hasdecreased 7% since 1984. Meanwhile the current 6b world population is expected to grow to 9b about 2050, during which period net global harvested area is expected to be almost unchanged, and to continuedropping per capita to 0.07 hectares(1950=0.23). Mounting water scarcity has reduced irrigated area per capita by 6% since 1978, simultaneously lowering fertilizing capacity - and levelling off for lack of further benefit. Remaining route to increased food productivity - plant breeding - could raise drought-, disease-, insect-resistance and salt-tolerance, but now little gain is physiologically possible for wheat, corn and ricein terms of further raising crop yields. It all means that eradication of hunger and malnutrition now may depend heavily on demand-side initiatives: slowing population growth and using grain and water more efficiently.

Lester R.Brown Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization(New York: Earth Policy Institute 08):-brilliant accounts of: (I)climate change crises; (II)needs/means to take counter-actions; (III)urgent worldwide programs. Any of 400pp could be consulted individually. Here are Chapters(plus sub-headings): 1. Entering a New World (A Massive Market Failure; Environment and Civilization; China: Why Existing Economic Model Will Fail; Mounting Stresses, Failing States; Civilizational Tipping Point; Plan B - Plan of Hope); (I) 2. Deteriorating Oil and Food Security (Coming Decline of Oil; Oil Intensity of Food; Changing Food Prospect; Cars/People Compete for Crops; World Beyond Peak Oil; Food Insecurity and Failing States); 3. Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas (Rising Temperature - Its Effects; Crop Yield Effect; Reservoirs in Sky; Melting Rice and Rising Seas; More-Destructive Storms; Cutting Carbon 80% by 2020); 4. Emerging Water Shortages (Water Tables Falling; Rivers Running Dry; Lakes Disappearing; Farmers Losing to Cities; Scarcity Crossing National Borders; Water Scarcity Yields Political Stresses); 5. Natural Systems Under Stress (Shrinking Forests -Many Costs; Losing Soil; From Grassland to Desert; Advancing Deserts; Collapsing Fisheries; Disappearing Plants and Animals); 6. Early Signs of Decline (Our Socially Divided World; Health Challenge Growing; Throwaway Economy in Trouble; Population and Resource Conflicts; Environmental Refugees on Rise; Mounting Stresses, Failing States); (II) 7. Eradicating Poverty, Stabilizing Population Universal Basic Education; Stabilizing Population; Better Health for All; Curbing HIV Epidemic; Reducing Farm Subsidies/Debt; Poverty Eradication Barrier); 8. Restoring the Earth (Protecting and Restoring Forests; Conserving and Rebuilding Soils; Regenerating Fisheries; Protecting Plant/Animal Diversity; Planting Trees to Sequester Carbon; Earth Restoration Budget); 9. Feeding Eight Billion Well (Rethinking Land Productivity; Raising Water Productivity; Producing Proteir More Efficiently; Moving Down Food Chain; Action on Many Fronts); 10. Designing Cities for People (Ecology of Cities; Redesigning Urban Transport; Reducing Urban Water Use; Farming in the City; Upgrading Squatter Settlements; Cities for People); 11. Raising Energy Efficiency (Banning the Bulb; Energy-Efficient Appliances; More-Efficient Buildings; Restructuring Transport System; New Materials Economy; Energy Savings Potential); 12. Turning to Renewable Energy (Harnessing Wind; Wind-Powered Plug-in Hybrid Cars; Solar Cells and Collectors; Energy from the Earth; Plant-Based Sources of Energy; River/Tidal/Wave Power; World Energy Economy: 2020); (III) 13.The Great Mobilization (Shifting Taxes and Subsidies; Summing Up Climate Stabilization Measures; Response to Failing States; Wartime Mobilization; Mobilizing to Save Civilization; What You and I Can Do).

Bill Bryson A Short History of Nearly Everything(New York: Broadway Books 03):-pre-bestseller author of many/widely-varied books, undertook "informative journey into world of science,.. his greatest challenge yet: to understand - and, if possible, answer - oldest, biggest questions... about the universe and ourselves... Result is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear/entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge"(publisher). Even new "lavishly illustrated" Nov 05 hardcover edition of 624pp available from Barnes & Noble to all @US$28.00. Favourable Ed Regis NYT review(18 May 03)states:"Bryson achieved exactly what he'd set out to do, and, moreover, [did] it in stylish, efficient, colloquial and stunningly accurate prose... The basic facts of physics, chemistry, biology, botany, climatology, geology - all these and many more are presented with exceptional clarity and skill". My own reaction is that this easily available/readable reference on all not-personally-specialised scientific subjects should ideally be read - or at least be used for topic-reference - by all in this very unstable world.

Robert Buckman, Can We Be Good Without God? An Exploration of Behaviour, Belonging and the Need to Believe (Toronto: Penguin 01):-while author both medical doctor/atheist, not designed to criticize religionor to scientifically support atheism. One major concern: religions generate specific/competinginterpretations of "goodness" , developing critical link between "good and god." Also offers perspective "onconnection between behaviour and belief - connection between ethics and religion." Such diversified convictions held by each faithful group have produced unrealistic and unjust frictions. "The world will be better place if we all believe whatever we wish, but behave as if there is no deity to sort out humankind's problems." Global issues described may indeed become worse or easier and may indeed relate to population issues.

Jason Burke"THINK AGAIN: Al Qaeda"Foreign Policy No.142(May/Jun 04):- summarizing (global)public (mis)concepts about current capacities and aims of al Qaeda forces and ideas, and its future strength, Burke, chief reporter of Britain's Observer and author of Al Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror(New York: I.B.Tauris 01),offers nine widely believed views about issues, and then denies accuracy of each. "Al Qaeda Is a Global Terrorist Organization" -NO. "It is less an organization than an ideology...Today, structure that was built in Afghanistan has been destroyed... There is no longer a central hub for Islamic militancy. Butal Qaeda workview...is growing stronger every day." "Capturing or Killing Bin Laden Will Deal a Severe Blow to Al Qaeda" -WRONG "If...he surrenders without a fight, which is very unlikely, many followers will be deeply disillusioned. If he achieves martyrdom in way that his cohorts can spin as heroic, he will beinspiration for generations to come. Either way, bin Laden's removal from scene will not stop Islamic militancy. "The Militants Seek to Destroy the West So They Can Impose a Global Islamic State" -FALSE "Islamic militants' main objective is not conquest, but to beat back what they perceive as anaggressive West. [S]econdary goal is establishment of...single Islamic state, in lands roughly corresponding to furthest extent of Islamic empire." "The Militants Reject Modern Ideas in Favor of Traditional Muslim Theology" -NO "Islamic hard-liners...have little compunction about embracing tools that modernityprovides...[M]ilitants are framing modern political concerns ...within mythic and religious narrative. They donot reject modernization per se, but...resent their failure to benefit from that modernization." "Since the Rise of Al Qaeda, Islamic Moderates Have Been Marginalized" -INCORRECT "Al Qaeda represents lunatic fringe of political thought in Islamic world. While al Qaeda has made significant inroads in recent years, onlytiny minority of world's 1.3b Muslims adhere to its doctrine." "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Is Central to the Militants' Cause" -WRONG "Televised images...reinforce militants' key message that lands of Islam under attack and that all Muslims must rise up and fight. However,...resolution...would not end threat of militant Islam...Two-state solution...would still leave'Zionist entity'intact." "Sort Out Saudi Arabia and the Whole Problem Will Disappear" -NO "Inequities of Saudi system...continues to create sense of disenfranchisement that allows extremism to flourish...Saudi Arabia is one of many causes of modern Islamicmilitancy, but it has no monopoly on blame." "It Is Only a Matter of Time Before Islamic Militants Use Weapons of Mass Destruction" -CALM DOWN "Although Islamic militants...have attempted to develop basic chemical or biological arsenal, efforts have been largely unsuccessful due to technical difficulty...Islamic militants far more likely to use conventional bombs or employ conventional devices in imaginative ways." "The West Is Winning the War on Terror" -UNFORTUNATELY, NO "If countries to win war on terror,must eradicate enemies without creating new ones...Invasion of Iraq...has made task more pressing...Ben Laden's aim to radicalize/mobilize. He closer to achieving goals than West to deterring him.

Mayra Buvinic and Andrew R. Morrison "Living in a More Violent World" Foreign Policy No.118(Spring 2000):-valuable survey of steeply rising global rate of combat-unrelated violence, its probable causes, likely trends, economic and social costs, and possible control policies. Average global homicide rates, naturally the most complete, and derived from a 34-country sample over various regions, rose from5.82/100,000 in 1980-84 to 8.86/100,000 in 1990-94, a more than 50% increase in a decade(OECD:15%; Latin America:80%; Arab world:112%). Limited victimization (assaults/threats)trends seem similar. Moreover rate of increase appears to be accelerating: latest rates include Latin America 23/100,000; sub-Saharan Africa 40/100,000, with Johannesburg 115/100,000. Causes include: aggressive cultures orupbringing; ineffective justice systems; high ratio in LDCs of persons 18-24(group most inclined to violence)perpetuated by reduced social inhibitions; high population density, anonymity, poverty and urban social disintegration; greater(awareness of)national/local income inequalities through globalization;media emphasis on violence or at least aggression; the increased quantity and availability of drugs and guns. Costs include: significantly lower economic growth through foregone investment, less tourism, reduced productivity, higher security/medical expenses. Policies include: prevention programs throughbetter and focused social care/policing/education, urban regeneration, handgun and alcohol controls. Above all, local initiatives.

Lucius Caflisch "Regulation of the Uses of International Waterways: The Contribution of the United Nations" (3-35)in Martin Ira Glassner edit. The United Nations at Work(Westport: Praeger 98):-Charterrequires UNGA "initiate studies and make recommendations for purpose of:..encouraging progressivedevelopment of international law and its codification." Much effective work done by expert 34-memberInternational Law Commission whose drafts passed to UNGA for decision. This greatly increased body of international law at time when need for it expanding. Describes in lay terms how newly explosive issue, "development, apportionment and use of water resources[and]one of world's major economic and social problems" handled in UN. Growing demand, hence rising competition for scarce resource made it delicate exercise.

Roy Calne, World in Crisis: Too Many People (London: Calder, 1994). - a unusual look at the population crisis by a distinguished surgeon who emphases the role of science in creating it, what science knows about it, and the responsibility of scientists, working through a UN research effort, to help ease it. Contains the text of the 1993 joint "population statement" by the Scientific Academies.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace/FP Special Report"China Rising: How the Asian Colossus Is Changing Our World" Foreign Policy No.146(Jan/Feb 05):-in fall 04, Carnegie "convened some of world's leading thinkers on China to take stock of political/economic consequences of country's rapid ascent [www.CarnegieEndowment.org/ChinaProgram]. FP asked seven of these experts to weigh in on implications of Middle Kingdom's return to greatness". Jonathan D.Spence"The Once And Future China":-investigates: What of China's past could be a harbinger for its future? Concludes "These are the memories and the territorial histories [including Taiwan] that China has to juggle as it embarks on its myriad new challenges and opportunities". Zbigniew Brzezinski & John J.Mearsheimer engage in Debate on"Clash of the Titans":-Is China more interested in money than missiles? Will US seek to contain China as it once contained Soviet Union? ZB and JM go head-to-head on whether these two great powers are destined to fight it out. Titles of thoughtful sequence: ZB: Make Money, Not War. JM: Better to Be Godzilla than Bambi; i.e.powerful China is likely to try to push US out of Asia. ZB: Nukes Change Everything. JM: Showing the US the Door. ZB: US's Staying Power. JM: It's Not a Pretty Picture. Martin Wolf"Why Is China Growing so Slowly? :-For all its success, China is still not living up to its potential."Do not think China's rapid growth is either extraordinary or a flash in the pan. It is neither. Social and political obstacles to China's rapid growth are considerable. But the opportunity remains enormous. China's economic boom could well be in its middle, not its end." Ashley J.Tellis"A Grand Chessboard" :-Beijing seeks to reassure the world that it isgentle giant; it knows that US is casting a wary eye in its direction."Strategy of emphasizing peaceful ascendancy in word and deed will likely satisfy Chinese interests until it becomes a true rival of US." Homi Kharas"Lifting All Boats":-Why China's great leap is good for the world's poor. China has become the center of a virtuous regional trade cycle."For the developing world, it's something to emulate, not fear." Minx Pei "Dangerous Denials":-China's economy is blinding the world to its political risks. "The only thing certain about China's... risks is that they are on the rise." The Economist"China: No Sign of a Landing"29 Jan 05(39-40):-supports FP views by emphasizing that "China... continues to grow at breakneck speed". National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had declared that economy grew by 9.5% in 2004,"its fastest clip in eight years", and probably an accurate or low figure for a change. NBS in fact "put a brave face on the figure, attributing quickened pace of growth... to stronger than expected performances in agriculture and services - the parts of economy China still wants to boost... Encouragingly, government's cooling measures... do not appear to have affected consumer spending. Growth of retail sales of consumer goods remained strong during the year...This offers some hope investment can be curbed without a sharp slowdown... First results from the census are due in August, and complete data by the middle of next year. Whatever they reveal, it is unlikely to be that China has been wildly overstating its GDP growth figures". Jim Yardley "Fearing Future, China Starts to Give Girls Their Due"New York Times 31 Jan 05:-reports on an important cultural concern. "Government credits [so-called one-child] policy for sharply slowing China's population growth [300m less], but critics say it is a major reason many families now use prenatal scans and selective abortions to make certain their child is a boy. [Hence] reversing birth imbalance between boys and girls cannot be postponed... Nationwide ratio has reached 119 boys for every 100 girls. [I]n a few decades China could have up to 40m bachelors unable to find mates. [Reason:] most Chinese parents, particularly in rural areas, prefer sons. [A]ll parents, worried about their old age, know Chinese tradition holds that a son must care for his parents. A daughter, on the other hand, marries into husband's family. In countryside, where no real social safety net, a son is considered equivalent of pension. [Recently,] fiscal incentives [are] intended to give monetary value to girls and, by doing so, reduce incentive to abort them. Even so, limited scope of program has reduced its impact. [Also,] attitudes hard to change in male-dominated China. Joseph Kahn "China to Cut Taxes on Farmers and Raise Their Subsidies"NYT 03 Feb 05:-"Chinese officials are promising to reduce taxes on peasants and increase farm subsidies to improve the lot of 800m rural residents left behind in the fast-growing economy. Measures... are intended to slow the surging wealth gap between urban/rural residents, major source of social discontent and perhaps the greatest challenge for governing Communist Party... Last year average urban income 3.2 times as much as average rural income, one of the biggest urban-rural divides in the world. [G]overnment has injected hundreds of billions of dollars into developing urban coastal areas while maintaining tight controls over farmland and peasants to ensure steady supplies of grain and surplus labor. [O]ne potential key lies in creating a market for farmland that resembles the one for urban land".

Ted Galen Carpenter edit. Delusions of Grandeur: The United Nations and Global Intervention (Washington: Cato Institute 97):-Cato aims to further "traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, and peace." Libertarian view inclines it to oppose multilateralism(it inter alia limits US global freedom of action)and all constraints on free enterprise. Topics: UN in Perspective; Peacemaker-Peacekeeper; Bureaucracy-Funding- Corruption; Social and Environmental Agenda; Economic Development Role. 18 essays clearly stress Cato views. Only five sympathetic to UN aims/activities; 10 or so reasonable, even if bit selective or broad, in criticism. Last deliberately distort, and in their narrow-minded, selfish jingoism, exhibit true "delusions of grandeur": John Bolton: " [Clinton] forgot that UN was instrument to be used to advance America's foreign policy interests, not to engage in international social work..." (51; his emphasis)! Provides rationales of many US anti-UN views.

Nayan Chanda Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization(New Haven: Yale Univ Press 07):-this fascinating survey of the development of globalization since 6000BCE is valuable as a unique reminder - to specialists in history, politics, economics, religion, movement, technology, science, etc - of how their own knowledge relates to other specialized information, and to the present/future of the intense/expanding relations across this planet. (This aim corresponds exactly with my purpose in this information source.) Style is amusing, and novel in all areas but one's expertise, so it is delicious/constructive in all unstudied fields and hence globally constructive. Final para offers view that fits closely with that in Christopher Spencer Oct 06(op.cit.):"We benefit from all that the world has to offer, but we think only in narrow terms of protecting the land and people within our national borders - the borders that have been established only in the modern era. [All that separates us] from the rest of the world... cannot change the fact that we are bound together through the invisible filament of history. [W]e know how we have reached where we are and where we may be headed. We are in a position to know that the sum of human desires, aspirations, and fears that have woven our fates together can neither be disentangled nor reeled back. But neither are we capable of accurately gauging how this elemental mix will shape our planet's future. Still, compared to the past... we are better equipped to look over the horizon at both the dangers and the opportunities ...There is no alternative to rising above our tribal interests: over the centuries to come, our destinies will remain inextricably bound together. [W]e can attempt to nudge our rapidly integrating world toward a more harmonious course - because we are all connected".

Amy Chua WORLD ON FIRE: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability(New York: Doubleday 03):-this easy-to-read 350page survey of special political/economic/social problems in many parts of the world has generated good reviews and more influence. Its strong warning is not against either globalization trade or pure democracy in developing countries, but against pressing these ideas too quickly when rich but unpopular minorities dominate their economies - widely common situation that is carefully described. She concludes by first naming three goals: "[1] the best economic hope for developing and post-socialist countries lies in some form of market-generated growth; [2] thebest political hope for these countries lies in some form of democracy, with constitutional constraints,tailored to local realities; [3] avoiding ethnic oppression and bloodshed must be a constant priority. But if these goals are to be achieved - if global free market democracy is to be peaceably sustainable - thenthe problem of market-dominant minorities, however unsettling, must be confronted head-on. [Finally, four specific "tonics" are addressed:] (1) the possibility of 'leveling the playing field'between market-dominant minorities and the impoverished 'indigenous' majorities around them; (2) ways of getting thepoor, frustrated majorities of the world a greater stake in global markets; (3) ways of promoting liberalrather than illiberal democracies; and (4) approaches that market-dominant minorities themselves might take to forestall majority-based, often murderous ethnonationalist backlashes". Chapter sub-titles showwhere and how these major challenges exist and must be addressed: (1)Chinese Minority Dominance in Southeast Asia; (2)'White'Wealth in Latin America; (3)The Jewish Billionaires of Post-Communist Russia; (4)Market-Dominant Minorities in Africa; (5)Ethnically Targeted Seizures and Nationalizations; (6)Crony Capitalism and Minority Rule; (7)Expulsions and Genocide; (8)Assimilation, Globalization, and the Case of Thailand;(9)From Jim Crow to the Holocaust;(10)Israeli Jews as a Regional Market-Dominant Minority; (11)US as a Global Market-Dominant Minority; (12)The Future of Free Market Democracy.

Andrew Clarke "Food and Population: The Approaching World Crisis" Canadian World Federalist Jul 96":-speech to Annual Symposium of Canadian Association for the Club of Rome. Summarizes currentpessimists' views: shrinking grainland area; already declined plant yield gains; falling per capita irrigation; ceiling reached on world fish catch.

Walter J. Clemens, Jr, Dynamics of International Relations: Conflict and Mutual Gain in an Era of Global Interdependence (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield 98):-well-organized introductory text on IR, helpful to students or those first looking at global issue(s). Chapters:(1)Is IR "Winner-Take-All?" Can It Be Mutual Gain?(2)How to Win at Peace: Creating New World Orders;(3)Foreign Policy Decision Making: Do Individuals Count?(4)Why Wage War? Does It Pay to Fight?(5)Power and Influence:What Wins?(6)Why Arm?Can Swords Become Plowshares? (7)Negotiating Conflict:How Can Foes Become Partners?(8)Nationalism and World Order: Peoples at Risk? (9)Intervention and Mediation: How Can Outsiders Help?(10)Democracy and Authoritarianism: What Impact on International Peace and Prosperity?(11)Wealth of Nations: West Meets East(12)Challenges of Development: South MeetsNorth(13) Transitions: Can Second World Join First?(14)Ecopolitics: Health of Nations(15)Organizing for Mutual Gain:UN, Europe and Nonstate Actors(16)International Protection of Human Rights:Sham orRevolution? (17)Alternative Futures.

Charles Clover The End of the Line: How Over-Fishing is Changing the World and What We Eat(Ebury Press 04):-book not yet available here but got very favourable review: The Economist 02 Oct 04 "The Fishing Industry: Heading For the Final Fillet" (83-4):-theme about world fishing industry: "fish...ever more scarce;greed, crime, cruelty, waste, folly, destruction, hypocricy, ignorance, pusillanimity, deception and possibility of extinction all becoming ever more abundant. Problem with fishing: Fish are wonderful source of protein, not just for the swelling populations of poor...As man's appetite for fish has grown, sohas ability to catch them. Modern gadgets...enable today's vast fishing boats to find and kill their prey as never before.[But]signs of growing scarcity everywhere[,and]most efforts to manage fish stocks or controloverfishing failed.[Hence fishermen]moved on to deplete stocks in world's last waters to be exploited.[D]emand grows and grows, and with it plunder of the seas. Though some kinds of fish...can nowbe farmed, industrial fishing still largely matter of hunting or...mining.[I]nternational agencies monitoring, suggesting and complaining, but to little avail.[Lots of unneeded]'by-catch'generally flung back into sea. Thewaste is appalling; the cruelty equally vile. Trawlers...wreak destruction across seabed. All laid out inClover's excellent book...He exposes follies of fishermen, politicians and celebrity chefs[and]anyone withaccess to common resource has interest in over-exploiting it...In time farming may help" [but also morecareful supervision and management].

Richard Cockett"Chasing the Rainbow: A Survey of South Africa"The Economist 08 Apr 06(1-12):-official summary of Survey: "Since end of apartheid, South Africa has moved closer to becoming the 'rainbow nation'of Nelson Mandela's vision. But not nearly close enough yet". Highlights of broad introductory essay: "South Africa has plotted its own course to relative stability, democracy and prosperity[, and is even] beginning to lead continent in entirely new way. [P]ost-apartheid government [African National Congress(ANC) now under President Thabo Mbeki] has managed to build 1.9m new homes, connect 4.5m households to electricity, provide 11m homes with running water. Targets for raising living standards aremost ambitious on the continent. However, South Africa still deeply scarred by legacy of apartheid[- with that] geography very much intact... Now sense of impatience over pace of change[:] for many...'rainbow nation'has slowed to a crawl[,so] government well aware of this, and now intervening in more areas of national life to try to speed up change. [Yet] from education to foreign policy to crime-fighting, people have found creative solutions to many of their problems. That creativity is South Africa's most impressive asset, and increasingly comes from poorest and historically most disadvantagedof communities - nowbuilding their own ladders out of poverty. [F]or all the good economic news, government is lookingpolitically more vulnerable than at any time since 1994 [defeat of apartheid] for simple reason: little [GDP]growth has benefited [ANC's] core supporters - poor and black. [U]nemployment [formally up to] about 27% [as new jobs] not enough to keep pace with number of new entrants into labour market. [O]ther big problem is rising inequality[:] number of people living on poverty line may be rising. [ANC economic]prudence paid off, bringing economic stability and launching consumer boom. But [it] did not create enough jobs[/investment]. So now ANC looking... at disgruntled activists who feel let down. [It plans]more money for program of social grants[mainly child support/pensions to about 10m out of 47m, plus]370b rand over next 3 years on public works, mainly infrastructure/tourism, to boost jobs and create more [leveling] demand. Longer-term aims: growth rate to 6% by 2010; halve unemployment/poverty by 2014. [Dangers] twin bottlenecks.:. severe skills shortage and failure to deliver services at local level".Final points, also in Editorial"Term Limits in Africa: When Enough Is Enough"(18):"With many leading politicians discredited, continent needs a strong South Africa. Also needs South Africa prepared to go beyond its strickly African agenda, and to deliver on its commitments to good governance, human rightsand democracy enshrined in new vision of African Union and Nepad [New Partnership for Africa's Development]. These are very much South Africa's creations. It is time for Africa's leading democracy to cast off its humility and diffidence - and perhaps even to throw its weight around for these causes".

Joel E. Cohen, How Many People Can the Earth Support? (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995). - with many controversies surrounding population issues - and their major re-focus since the 1994 UN Conference in Cairo - this extremely thorough and authoritative but non-polemical study by a renowned biologist is particularly useful. Its essential approach is that of the world's ecological "carrying capacity". All views are reported without reaching any overall conclusion. The background implication seems to be that the earth'scarrying capacity changes with the technological capacity of humans. For a fully unified biological approach to the earth's capacity, see J. E. Lovelock, Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1991); he views all life as one organism.

Isobel Coleman "The Payoff From Women's Rights" Foreign Affairs Vol.83/No.3(May/Jun 04):-three points strongly: women's full rights critically important not just for women alone but for entire societies; most negative women's areas of world are both curbed by old-style religion/culture and blocked economically;US can and must do more to improve this. First point:" Over past decade, significant research has demonstrated what many have known for long time: women critical to economic development, active civil society, good governance -especially in developing countries. Focus on women often best way reduce birth rates/child mortality; improve health/nutrition/education; stem spread of HIV/AIDS; build robust/self- sustaining community organizations; encourage grassroots democracy... Women's status advanced in many countries: gender gaps in infant mortality rates/calorie consumption/school enrollment/literacy levels/access to health care/political participation narrowed steadily. These... benefited society at large/improving living standards/increasing social entrepreneurship/ attracting foreign direct investment." Second point: "[S]ignificant gender disparities continues to exist, and in some cases to grow, in three regions: southern Asia, Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa. [C]onstraints on women living in areas [are] conservative/ patriarchal practices, often reinforced by religious values." Third point: "[Deep tensions] between religious extremists and those with more moderate/progressive views...evident in Saudi Arabia/Iraq/Afghanistan...to lesser extent Nigeria/ Pakistan/ Indonesia. Resolution critical to progress...,for those that suppress women likely to stagnate economically/fail to develop democratic institutions/become more prone to extremism." So urges US to intensify women's rights much more.

Isobel Coleman"The Better Half: Helping Women Help the World"(126-130) Foreign Affairs Vol.89/No.1 (Jan/Feb 10):-Review Essay of Nicholas D.Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn: Half the Sky:Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Knopf 09). Official summary:"Efforts to provide the world's women with economic and political power are more than just a worthy moral crusade: they represent perhaps the best strategy for pursuing development and stability across the globe. [The $27.95 HC 320pp. book] is an insightful and inspiring call to action". [The review is very persuasive.] Coleman: Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Director of Women and Foreign Policy Program at Council on Foreign Relations. Her book Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women Are Transforming the Middle East to be published by Random House this spring. For annotated guide to this topic, see "What to Read on Gender and Foreign Policy" at www.foreignaffairs.com/readinglists/gender.

Paul Collier The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It(New York: Oxford Univ Press 07):-reviews praise this brilliant description of the world's poorest states and how they need unprecedented forms of aid to escape their chronic dilemmas. Essence of argument by author in Preface (xi):"The problems these countries have are very different from those we have addressed for the past four decades in what we have called 'developing countries' - that is, virtually all countries besides the most developed, which account for only one-sixth of the earth's people. For all this time we have defined developing countries so as to encompass five billion of the six billion people in the world. But not all developing countries are the same. Those where development has failed face intractable problems not found in the countries that are succeeding. We have, in fact, done the easier part of global development; finishing the job now gets more difficult. Finish it we must, because an impoverished ghetto of one billion people will be increasingly impossible for a comfortable world to tolerate... But to do so we will need to draw upon tools - such as military interventions, international standard-setting, and trade policy - that to date have been used for other purposes.. To build a unity of purpose, thinking needs to change, not just within the development agencies but among the wider electorates whose views shape what is possible". Text (200pp) is essential.

Paul Collier "The Politics of Hunger: How Illusion and Greed Fan the Food Crisis"(67-79) Foreign Affairs Vol.87/No.6(Nov/Dec 08):-official summary:"The food crisis could have dire effects on the poor. Politicians have it in their power to bring food prices down. But doing so will require ending the bias against big commercial farms and genetically modified crops and doing away with damaging subsidies - the giants of romantic populism, bolstered by both illusion and greed". [Criticism is particularly aimed at US and Europe.] Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of Center for Study of African Economics at Oxford Univ. and author of Bottom Billion.

Commonwealth Consultative Group on the Special Needs of Small States, Vulnerability: Small States in Global Society(London: Commonwealth Secretariat Pubs. 85):-UN now includes many small and indeed micro-states(latter having populations of less than 100,000).Almost any UN additions likely to be small in population and/or power, particularly if "Wilsonian" dictum strictly followed: that all "nations" have right to self-determination. Report by global group of senior personalities one of few authoritative sources focusing specifically on particular security problems of such states. It makes almost 80 realistic recommendations; large number involving UN System.

Steven A.Cook"Adrift on the Nile: The Limits of the Opposition in Egypt"(124-130) Foreign Affairs Vol.88/No.2 (Mar/Apr 09):-careful review of : Bruce K.Rutherford Egypt After Mubarak: Liberalism, Islam, and Democracy in the Arab World(Princeton Univ Press 08, 292pp):-official summary of review:"An ambitious effort to explain how the Muslim Brotherhood, the judiciary, and the business sector can work in parallel, if not exactly together, to influence Egypt's political future". Cook is Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Robert Cottrell"Meet the Neighbours: A Survey of the EU's Eastern Borders"The Economist 25 Jun 05(1-16):-a cautiously optimistic -and particularly economic - look at European Union's future, particularly as regards keen but poor countries to its east. The very useful Introduction is summarized:"EU has been expanding by leaps and bounds. [Author]asks what happens if it stops". The seven mostly-geographicchapters are carefully identified. "Transformed: EU membership has worked magic in central Europe". "Climate Change: What post-communist countries need to flourish". "Taming the Balkans: Could EU accession do the trick?" "A Bearish Outlook: EU's relations with Russia are bad and may get worse". "Too Big To Handle?: Turkey's application to join EU is causing anxiety on both sides". "The 4% Solution: Getting closer to Europe is good for economic growth". "The Shape of Things to Come: EU should go its different ways". Final section includes: "This survey has argued for best-case result in which EU goes on using the power of membership to change the countries around it for the better. But Europe is much less likely to find the energy/generosity for that strategy, now that it has lost its sense of purpose/confidence in itself."

Chester A. Crocker and Fen Osler Hampson, Managing Global Chaos: Sources of and Responses to International Conflict(Washington: US Institute of Peace Press 96):-42 expert/practical essays(675pp)offeringnew facts/thinking regarding global challenges, and how resulting conflicts might be met(e.g. byUN).Challenges include: many weak(or failed)states; ethnic conflicts; religio-cultural militancy; population pressures; resource crises(shortages, disputes);global competition; radical military technology(Adams op.cit.);mega-terrorism. Stress on preventive action.

Barbara Crossette, "Rethinking Population at a Global Milestone" ;Nicholas Wade, "Now, You Can Have 5,999,999,999 Friends" ; "Why Malthus Was Wrong" New York Times 19 Sep 99:-article and notes offeringfacts/ideas on world population. UN says pass 6 billion about 12 Oct 99; growth rate: 1.31%(about 80m)/year or 148 people/ minute; life expectancy: 65 years; current projected world total in 2050: 8.9 billion. Regarding Malthus, substantive point is that innovation has enabled food production to increasemuch faster than was anticipated in 1798. (While population growth cannot produce global famine, seriouslocal food/people imbalances cause 40 million a year to die of hunger.) Article compares population problems/policies of autocratic China(1.2b)and democratic India(1b, but faster growth). China more successful improving human conditions, but many factors affect policy choice/impact.

Barbara Crossette, "Europe Stares at a Future Built by Immigrants" New York Times 02 Jan 00:-probes effects of a decreasing EU population. "To survive economically and socially, Europe may have to...change its racial and ethnic face through mass migration of labor from around[world, finding]itself debating movestoward a social structure that looks more like[North]America's" . In latter" whole idea of citizenship is thatanyone from anywhere can become naturalized" . In Europe, citizenship is usually" still linked to ethnic heritage, or at least to language and culture" . UN experts suggest logical response to declining size is "replacement migration" . To maintain population size, EU would need 35m immigrants by 2025; to maintain pensioner-worker ratio would require 135m. Surplus(skilled) Third World labor is plentiful; so is North American competition for it. Dilemma for Europe(and Japan)is that such mass immigration would at least change, and probably diversify, culture of receiving country. Economist 06 May "Europe's Immigrants: A Continent on the Move" (25-7)looks at situation from economic rather than sociological point of view. Essay sees political problems, but is more sanguine. Western Europe has been absorbing migrants since WWII. Trend now is for seasonal migration, and new source is East Europe.

Barbara Crossette, "U.N. Warns That Trafficking in Human Beings Is Growing" New York Times 25 Jun 00:-DG of UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention claims that trade in people is "fastest growing criminal market in ...world because of...number of people...involved,..scale of profits being generated for criminal organizations - and...its multifold nature. We don't have just sexual exploitation. We don't have just economic slavery[forced labor and debt enslavement]. We have also a lot of exploitation of migrants. And we have classic slavery. If you put all this together...you get the biggest violation of human rights in[world. R]eliable estimates indicate that 200m people may now be in some way under the sway or in the hands of traffickers of various kinds." UN urges possibly giving temporary residence to would-be immigrants who assist in identifying criminals and reintroduction of anti-slavery laws. Economist 24 Jun "Drugs and Slavery in Myanmar" (48):-according to ILO, many of 1m Burmese refugees along Thai border reportincreasing reliance on slavery by Myanmar regime. While ceasefires have been arranged with most ethnic rebel groups, military keeps control only by "using slaves to build defences, roads and bridges. Locals are forced to clear land, act as porters for the army and provide housing. Refugees claim that forced labourers are even made to march along[mined]roads...800,000 or so people...thought[by ILO]to beexploited in this way" . Roger Cohen, "Europe Tries to Turn a Tide of Migrants Chasing Dreams" NYT 02 Jul:-motivated by death of 58 Chinese illegal immigrants in truck container in Dover, England, this article explains how and why EU has replaced North America as the principal destination of asylum-seekers(and unnumbered illegal immigrants). In 1999 30,000 people applied for asylum in US(compared with 127,000 in 1993), while more than 365,000 sought asylum in EU. Main change has been collapse of USSR, opening up of new land routes to Europe from Asia. Moreover "increasingly well-organized criminal groups...have emerged to coordinate smuggled passages into Europe largely closed to legal immigration" . Also: "[P]enaltiesare far less severe than for drugs, the up-front investment much smaller, and the evidence has legs and tends to run away" explains DG of International Organization for Migration. Finally, Europe is relatively cheap to reach illegally - from China about half cost of transport to US. Economist 24 Jun "The Last Frontier" (63-4)adds that about 30m people are smuggled across international borders every year(up to 500,000 into EU; 300,000 into US). This trade is worth $12-30b, most world traffic being handled by about 50 specialized gangs. UK Immigration concludes: "[G]angs have infrastructures, communications and surveillancecapabilities far in excess of anything that...law enforcement agencies in transit and source countries can muster, and...chances of their activities diminishing is negligible" . Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Chinese Town's Main Export: Its Young Men" NYT 26 Jun:-gives detailed firsthand description of how 80% of 20-40 year oldmen of one town, by working illegally in US, have made it very prosperous, although full of "widows" .

Richard Dawkins The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life(London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson 04/Phoenix of Orion Books 05):-author's description of the 700 pages describing this planet's living history since life began: "Tale is a pilgrimage: a journey of four billion years. We, modern human beings, are the pilgrims, and we are travelling back in time to seek out our ancestors. Simultaneously every other living creature is setting off on its own journey with the same mission. Each pilgrim tells its tale along the way, and covers the processes involved in the unfolding of life on Earth". The 40+ chapters describe in turn the form(s) of life progressively in or from more distant periods, offering the best available scientific knowledge/theory, including of course many fossils, and their estimated dates. While much of the necessary vocabulary used is complex, Dawkins writes generously - and often amusingly - for non-scientist readers. Among the many favourable reviews carried in the introduction is one by John Cornwell of Sunday Times: "Beautifully written... Dawkins's account cites a stunning array of biologists past and present. No other book gives such an impression of sheer intellectual vitality and pluralism among the past century's evolutionary scientists. Virtually every page exemplifies a memorable insight into the strangeness and prodigality of nature, its culs-de-sac and its extraordinary leaps". I have read the long text, but each chapter can be read alone.

Richard DawkinsThe God Delusion(New York: Houghton Mifflin 06):-as with 06 Dennett/previous Dawkinsitems, many books related to the controversial global roles of science vs religion are now becomingincreasingly critical - and influential(?). They may ease or contribute to serious violence if the growing factual issues are not compromised in some manner. Dawkins is not only 'a preeminent scientist'but offers an extraordinarily thorough critique of mainly Christian/Jewish theology as supported by the Bibleand fundamentalism. Press outline includes:"With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms. [E]viscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. [S]hows how religion fuels war/foments bigotry/abuses children, buttressing his points withhistorical/contemporary evidence. [M]akes compelling case: belief in God not just wrong but potentially deadly. [A]lso offers exhilarating insight into advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not least of which is clearer/ truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever master". Highlight(282):"Fundamentalists know they are right because they have read the truth in a holy book and they know, in advance, that nothing will budge them from their belief. [I]f evidence seems to contradict it, the evidence must be thrown out, not the book. By contrast, what I, as scientist, believe(for example,evolution)I believe...because I have studied the evidence. It really is a very different matter. Books about evolution...believed because they present overwhelming quantities of mutually buttressed evidence. In principle, any reader can check evidence. When science book wrong, somebody eventually discoversthe mistake/it is corrected in subsequent books. That conspicuously doesn't happen with holy books".

Daniel C.Dennett Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (New York: Viking 06):-very carefully drafted by professor of philosophy, Tufts University and well-known author (particularly Darwin's Dangerous Idea 95), aims of 450p volume are the questions:"Is Religion Good For You? Should It Be the Basis for Morality?". Accurate, if full, summary of the book's aim on its dust-cover:"For many people around the world - perhaps most people - there is nothing more important than religion. It has comfortedthem in their suffering, become an integral part of their marriages and child rearing, and encouragedgroup cooperation to achieve ends both magnificant and terrible. Religion plays such a powerful rolein the world that we should try to understand it in all its complexities, but most adherants bristle at anyone who wants to investigate their practices and beliefs in a scientific manner. In this daring and important new book, Daniel C.Dennett seeks to uncover the origins of this remarkable family of phenomena that mean so much to so many people, and to discuss why - and how - they have commanded allegiance, becomeso potent, and shaped so many lives so strongly. Where does our devotion to God come from? Wherewas the psychological and cultural soil in which religion first took root? Is it an addiction or a genuine needthat we should try to preserve at any cost? Is it the product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Do those who believe in God have good reasons for doing so? Are people right to say that the best way to live a good life is through religion? In a spirited argument that ranges widely through biology,history, and psychology, Dennett explores how religion evolved from folk beliefs and how these early 'wild'strains of religion were then carefully and consciously domesticated. As the motives of religion'sstewards entered this process, such features as secrecy and systematic invulnerability to disproofemerged. Dennett contends that this protective veneer of mystery needs to be removed so that religions can be better understood, and - most important - he argues that the widespread assumption that they arethe necessary foundation of morality can no longer be supported. Breaking the Spell is not an antireligiousscreed but rather an eye-opening exploration of the role that religious belief plays in our lives, ourinteractions, and our country. With the conflict between science and 'intelligent design'becoming ever more impassioned, Dennett has written a calmly reasoned and timely book that will be read and debated by believers and nonbelievers alike".

J. Raymond DePaulo and Leslie Alan Horvitz, Understanding Depression: What We Know and What You Can Do About It(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002):-UN's World Health Organization has stressed that mental illness is an overwhelming global crisis against multiple humans' active lives and even survival. WHO's "study estimates that in the coming decade depression will rank as the number two leading cause of death in the world; most of those deaths will be primarily in the form of suicide and secondly from coronary artery disease" (133). The book, by one of the world's foremost authorities on depression, and coming from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US, concentrates on the technically improving but widely undeveloped situation in that country. However, the clearly written and up-to-date text is among the most advanced and ideally relevant anywhere on earth. It includes a thorough, accessible guide to depression's nature, causes, effects, and treatments, and also provides essential advice tothose responsible for handling those suffering. Depression trends are inheritable.

Jared Diamond Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies(New York: W.W.Norton 99):-brilliant and fascinating book seeks to explain dangerously unequal societies in world. Taking a long-term view, Diamond rejects racism and sees cultures as reactions to environments (cf Sowell, op.cit.). Divergence of societies(by geographic area)reflected: (1)"[C]ontinental differences in... wild plant and animal species as starting materials for domestication [compared to hunting-gathering, since]food production was critical for accumulation of food surpluses that could feed non-food-producing specialists, and for buildup of large populations enjoying... military advantage... even before they had developed any technical or political advantage; (2) [R]ates of diffusion and migration, which differed greatly among [and between] continents [depending on climates, barriers, distances]; (3) [C]ontinental differences in area or total population size" which affect numbers of inventors, competing societies, and innovations available/adopted, and disease immunity. Environment is therefore critical.

Jared Diamond Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed(New York: Viking Penguin 05):-globally relevant/influential 600-page heir to Guns, Germs.... Describes how and why societies have survived or collapsed on basis of five factors: environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbours, friendly trade partners, and society's responses to its environmental problems. Essence of entire text is well-outlined in the Prologue, so if your time or preliminary dedication are brief, at least read that. You could then read any of 16 chapters individually, although your hunger or concerns may become overwhelming. Parts/Chapters titles as follows: Part One: Modern Montana: (1)Under Montana's Big Sky; Part Two: Past Societies: (2)Twilight at Easter; (3)The Last People Alive: Pitcairn and Henderson Islands; (4)The Ancient Ones: The Anasazi and Their Neighbours; (5)The Maya Collapses; (6)The Viking Prelude and Fugues; (7)Norse Greenland's Flowering; (8)Norse Greenland's End; (9)Opposite Paths to Success; Part Three: Modern Societies: (10)Malthus in Africa: Rwanda's Genocide; (11)One Island, Two Peoples, Two Histories: The Dominican Republic and Haiti; (12)China, Lurching Giant; (13) 'Mining' Australia; Part Four: Practical Lessons: (14)Why Do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decisions? (15)Big Businesses and the Environment: Different Conditions, Different Outcomes; (16)The World as a Polder: What Does It All Mean to Us Today? Final five pages of text are entitled Reasons for Hope, followed by Further Readings.

Peter Dicken Global Shift: Transforming the World Economy:Third Edition(New York: Guilford Press 98):-500p of well- researched/immensely valuable text. Read through, offers broad/objective look at globalized world production, trade, financial and corporate realities; complex and inter-related driving forces(e.g. intensified competition and technology); huge and changing impact on corporate vs state power, onknowledge, income, employment; net gains/costs for different societies, individuals and institutions; inexorable but variable futures. Consulted selectively, it offers specific analyses of: history, nationality(sic), structures, liaisons, activities of transnational corporations; trends in production, trade and investment; different state powers and policies; technology's many roles; textile/clothing, automobile, electronics, serviceindustries; effects: jobs, LDCs, environment and equity; global governance.

Philippe Douste-Blazy & Daniel Altman"A Few Dollars at a Time: How to Tap Consumers for Development"(2-7) Foreign Affairs Vol.89/No.1 (Jan/Feb 10):-official summary:"This year, consumers purchasing airline tickets will have a chance to at the same time contribute to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. This initiative is part of a new movement called innovative financing, which seeks to share a tiny fraction of globalization's enormous gains with sick people in poor countries". Final sentence of impressive text:"The backers of innovative financing mechanisms, such as UNITAID, have two main responsibilities: to help fight diseases through novel ways of raising money and also to ensure that their success does not undermine the existing efforts [-government aid budgets-] they set out to strengthen". Douste-Blazy, who served as France's Foreign Minister 2005-07, is currently the United Nation's Special Advisor for Innovative Financing for Development and Chair of UNITAID. Altman is President of North Yard Economics, a not-for-profit consulting firm serving developing countries. Article is adapted from their book on innovative financing, which will be published in Jan 10 by PublicAffairs.

Celia W.Dugger"U.N. Panel Urges Doubling of Aid to Cut Poverty"New York Times 17 Jan 05:-announces that an"international team[has]proposed a detailed ambitious plan...that it says could halve extreme poverty and save the lives of millions of children and hundreds of thousands of mothers each year by 2015. Report[claims that]drastically reducing poverty in its many guises - hunger, illiteracy, disease - is 'utterly affordable', [but that]to fulfill this goal industrial nations would need to double aid to poor countries, to 0.5% of national incomes from 0.25%".'Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals[MDG]'also urges the easing of trade and"sweeping investments in health, education,rural development, road building, housing and scientific research".Jeffery D.Sachs(op.cit.),appointed head of this UN Millennium Project by UNSG Annan to revive the 2000-agreed 'MDG'promises, is"known ascrusader for the idea that within a generation, rich and poor countries together can end extreme poverty afflicting more than a billion".Other elements are described: the serious diversity of essential program-related policies among both the rich and poor nations, and the surprisingly varied analysis of the plan's realism that is found among aid experts -and British PM Tony Blair(op.cit.). Reuters"U.N. Report Offers Plan to Halve Extreme Poverty by 2015"in NYT 17 Jan 05:-covers same major proposals, although with natural variations in emphasis. Again, divergences among both aid donors and seekers are stressed. It also reports that in Jul 05 G8, and in Sep 05 UNGA will, spotlighting global poverty, set a development agenda.The Environment 22 Jan 05"Development: Recasting the Case for Aid"(69-70):-even longer than the NYT and Reuters analyses of the Sachs-led UN report, but again offering an objective analysis of its critically-important aims and prospects. Initial description of report includes:"Document in full runs to ten supporting volumes and more than 3,000 pages...Overview paper is packed with high-octane analysis andrecommendations, no waffle, not a sentence wasted. Aim is no less than to dispel prevailing pessimism on aid - a deeply entrenched attitude, based on years of disappointment - and to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars in new help for developing world. In this, it might succeed. Whether it deserves to is another question." Later:"Question now - and it is the right question - is what policy inputs will be required to hit the targets[i.e.MDG final goals]...Given what is at stake, Sach's passion and ambition are entirely warranted - but does approach he advocates make sense?...Looking only at development aid, report argues, you find that aid works: it spurs growth...Good-government precondition is crucial, however, and causes team some difficulty...Poorest countries, including basket-cases of sub-Saharan Africa, aremost deserving by test of need, but tend to be worst governed".Report challenges problem by plugging poorer recipients that nevertheless have good government and by claiming aid itself can improve bad governments, but quick success appears unrealistic in Africa. Warren Hoge"African Crises Take Back Seat to Tsunami, U.N. Relief Chief Says"NYT 28 Jan 05:-Jan Egeland, UN emergency relief coordinator, complained to UNSC that impressive aid being given to those countries suffering from earthquake-produced Indian Ocean tsunami was in fact no more seriously needed than the unmet African needs. Alan Cowell"Pressure Grows for Rich Nations to Redouble Efforts to Aid Africa"NYT 28 Jan 05:-report fromWorld Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, records many more pro-African aid demands than usual.

Celia W.Dugger"U.N. vs Poverty: Seeking a Focus, Quarreling Over the Vision"NYT 14 Sep 05:-this itemleads a discouraging collection of inter-related historical articles, most inevitably summarized by a bit more than their strong titles/introductory sentences. All relate to a globally critical summit of some 170 heads of state/government. They marked seriously the 60th anniversary of the United Nations 14-16 Sep 05 when, vital reforms and international poverty commitments having been discussed, some are adopted- in full or vague status - but many more are both left required and postponed. Dugger:"The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) meeting today was to have been a rare moment when quest to relieve crushing poverty of a billion people took center stage. But so far that goal has been overshadowed by [current disasters] and squabbling over reform of UN itself. Even debate about world's common agenda on global poverty began on an unexpectedly sour note, centred around goals for healing world's deepest poverty that were to be in meeting's final document. US ambassador, John R. Bolton, initially proposed expunging any reference to specific goals for reducing poverty, hunger and child mortality andcombating pandemic of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Known as Millennium Development Goals[MDGs], they emerged from UN conference five years ago. He favored instead citing broad declaration from which goals were drawn. US subsequently relented, but not before US administration's opening in negotiations left some African leaders dismayed... Negotiations at UN got absorbed by issues around UN reform... It is not clear that much new will emerge at UN. World leaders are likely to affirm commitment to push forward with MDGs to halve extreme poverty and hunger, cut child mortality by two-thirds and ensure basic education of each child by 23015, among other things.Those are same broad goals agreed to five years ago"; Warren Hoge"U.N. Adopts Modest Goals on Reforms and Poverty"NYT 14 Sep 05:-"UNGA unanimously approved scaled-down statement of goals [13 Sep] that Secretary General [UNSG] Kofi Annan said would still give world leaders gathering [14 Sep] basis for recommendation to reform organization and combat poverty. Loud cheers from delegates, however, could not disguise widespread disappointment at weakening of 35-page document"; David E.Sanger & Warren Hoge"Bush Thanks World Leaders and Takes Conciliatory Tone"NYT 15 Sep 05:-President Bush, facing array of world leaders who are deeply divided on how to define terrorism or act against nuclear proliferation/poverty, struck conciliatory tone at UN [14 Sep], describing himself as grateful leader of superpower in recent days... Speech...came hours after UNGA greatly watered down what had once been ambitious plans for institutional change and for commitments to fight terrorism/nuclear arms... He balanced his discussion of need to chase down terrorists with his endorsement of set of antipoverty objectives... 'No nation canremain isolated/indifferent to struggles of others' ... He pressed for UNSC resolution commiting countriesto prosecute - and extradite - anyone seeking fissile materials or technology for nuclear devices... But Bush did not repeat his previous calls to bar any new country from producing enriched uranium orplutonium. In references to goals for poverty reduction, he cited not only MDGs but also another initiative that grew out of summit meeting in Monterrey, Mexico. There, poor nations agreed to fight corruption and improve governance, and rich nations commited to 'make concrete efforts' toward giving 0.7% national income in aid. Bush did not address aid issue, but advocates said they hoped endorsement of Monterray would make harder for US to continue to oppose such aid targets"; Reuters"World Leaders Seek to Invigorate UN at Age 60"NYT 14 Sep 05:-"Leaders explore ways to revitalize UN at summit, buttheir bluepoint falls short of UNSG vision of freedom from want, persecution and war... [S]ession marking60th anniversary of world body suffering from corruption scandals and sharp divisions among memberson how to tackle international crises... UNSG in 85p paper in Mar entitled 'In Larger Freedom', addressed challenges for 21st century that required collective action: alleviating extreme poverty, reversing AIDS pandemic, global security, terrorism and human rights. But after bitter negotiations over last few weeks,nearly every bold initiative suffered cutbacks in final 38p document approved by UNGA for endorsementat summit... Still, somewhat emasculated document saved summit from failure. UN officials highlighted initiatives, including new human rights body, Peacebuilding Commission to help nations emerging from war and perhaps most significantly, obligation to intervene when civilians face genocide/war crimes... Butnegotiators failed to agree on how to tackle nuclear proliferation or on definition of terrorism sought by Western nations, and fell short of commitments to greater aid and tearing down trade barriers developing nations wanted"; AP"Annan Appeals to World Leaders at Summit"NYT 14 Sep 05:-"UNSG Kofi Annanappealed [14 Sep] to world leaders...to help restore confidence in world body and act together to meet challenges of new century... Annan said document they will adopt at end of 3-day summit was 'good start'but not 'sweeping and fundamental reform'he proposed. He called for urgent action on tough, unresolved issues. 'Because one thing has emerged clearly from this process on which we embarked two years ago: whatever our differences, in our interdependent world, we stand or fall together', UNSG said.'Whether our challenge is peacemaking, nation-building, democratization or responding to natural or man-made disasters, we have seen that even the strongest among us cannot succeed alone'... In what he call 'a high-risk gamble', UNSG and incoming/outgoing presidents of UNGA decided to drop issues where there was no agreement, choose language for which they thought they could win consent, andpresent clean text to member states. It worked"; AP"Bush Focuses on Terror in Speech to U.N."NYT 14 Sep 05:-"Before skeptical world leaders, President Bush [14 Sep] urged compassion for the needy and pressed global community to 'put the terrorists on notice'by cracking down on any activities that could incite deadly attacks. Bush... was seeking to sell his blueprints for spreading democracy in Iraq and elsewhere, overhauling UN and expanding trade"; AP"Chiefs of U.N. Agencies Appeal to Donors"NYT14 Sep 05:-"UN refugee and food agencies' chiefs said [14 Sep] that international donors are not doing enough to help alleviate shortages of survival rations in refugee camps across Africa. Because of lack of funds, World Food Program has been forced to cut rations for hundreds of thousands of refugees, particularly in West Africa and Great Lakes region in east of continent"; AP"Mexico's Fox OK With U.N. Reform Document"NYT 14 Sep:-"Mexican President Vicente Fox said [14 Sep] that he and the rest of theGroup of 15 developing nations think UN reform document approved this week is a step in the right direction, but stressed it is only first step... The 35-page document is supposed to launch a major reform of UN itself and galvanize efforts to ease global poverty. But to reach consensus, most of text's details gutted in favor of abstract language. UNSG had hoped that in addition to addressing UN overhaul, document would outline specific actions for improving the lot of the poor and tackling genocide, terrorism and human rights. But nations couldn't bridge their difference during negotiations. Group of 15developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America was set up to foster cooperation in dealing withinternational groups such as World Trade Organization and the Group of Seven rich industrialized nations"; AP"Annan Seeks to Restore U.N. Credibility"NYT 14 Sep 05:-"After a year of mounting criticism,UNSG Annan defended UN [14 Sep] and urged global leaders to restore organization's credibility by adopting broad reforms needed for world to act together to tackle poverty, terrorism and conflict...Instead of a celebration of UN achievements since its founding in ashes of WWII, summit was much more a somber reappraisal of its shortcomings and a debate about how to meet the daunting challenges ofa world becoming moreand more interlinked"; Reuters"World Leaders United on Terrorism"NYT 14 Sep 05:-"World leaders united [14 Sep] on need to ban incitement of terrorism but fell short of ambitions forfundamental reform of UN...Negotiations on the summit document world leaders are to endorse dropped disarmament proposals from Norway and South Africa, backed by about 80 nations. US objected to calls for nuclear disarmament but stressed danger of terrorists and rogue states obtaining unconventional weapons... In veiled criticism of US, world's richest nation, Dutch PM... said Europeans had agreed to boost development aid spending but 'we need to see more equal burden-sharing'"; AP"Annan Seeks to Restore U.N.'s Credibility"NYT 15 Sep 05:-"Bitter differences among UN member states have blocked many crucial UN reforms, and nations must act boldly to restore the world body's credibility, UNSG told summit of world leaders... Coming into the summit, diplomats had to dilute a document on goals for tackling rights abuses, terrorism and UN reform because they couldn't settle their disputes"; Financial Times"Shifting Positions at the UN World Summit"NYT 15 Sep 05:-"Fact that US and China have both become simultaneous aid donors and recipients says much about changing global society. World ismuch more diffuse in power than traditional stereotypes allowed... US is rich, and its military power iscommanding, but US ability to impose its will on world is limited... China, as well as India, Brazil and some other developing countries, is gaining economic power, especially through rapid absorption ofadvanced technologies and emergence of home-grown scientific prowess... [E]verything points to vastinternational diffusion of scientific expertise in coming decades... US will likely become more rather than less engaged as donor country in Africa and elsewhere... [I]dea of a US empire astride the world in 21st century will go... [C]ertainly the most important issue, hardly noted at [UN] world summit, is that rise of China, India, and other regional powers will intensify growing and multiple pressures on global environment and resource base... As a crowded world of 6.5 billion on its way to 9 billion people by mid-century, and with rising risks/complexities all around us, we are all both donors and recipients now. We are all in this together, and we had better get used to that reality"; The Economist 15 Sep 05"United Nations Reform: Better Than Nothing"(p.33 in 17 Sep NA issue):- "Annan sought to explain why a draftdeclaration on UN reform and tackling world poverty, to be endorsed by some 150 heads of state/government... has turned into such a pale shadow of proposals he himself put forward. 'With 191 member states' , he sighed, 'its not easy to get agreement'. Most countries put the blame on US, in the form of its abrasive new ambassador, John Bolton, for insisting at end of Aug on hundreds of last-minute amendments and line-by-line renegotiation of a text most others had thought was almost settled. Buta group of middle-income developing nations... also came up with plenty of last-minute changes of their own. Risk of having no document at all... was averted only by marathon talks... The 35-page final document not wholly devoid of substance. It calls for creation of a Peacebuilding Commission to supervise reconstruction of countries after wars; replacement of discreditied Commission on Human Rights by supposedly tougher Human Rights Council; recognition of a new 'responsibility to protect'peoples from genocide and other atrocities when national authorities fail to take action, if necessary by force; and 'early'reform of UNSC. Although much pared down, all these proposals have at least survived.Others have not. Either...so contentious they were omitted altogether, such as sections on disarmament/non-proliferation/ICC, or they were watered down to little more than empty platitudes: no longer evenmentions vexed issue of pre-eminent strikes. [M]eanwhile, section on terrorism condemns it 'in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes' , but fails to provide clear definition US wanted... Now up to UNGA to flesh out document's skeleton proposals and propose new ones. But its chances of success appear slim"; Steven R.Weisman"A Frustrating Week at the U.N. for the White House Team"NYT 16 Sep 05:-"[R]ebellion by countries outside the ambit of Europe and US appears to have thwarted some of the changes sought at UN. Bush officials insist that they arepleased with some of the changes adopted by UNGA, notably a broad definition of terrorism. They saytried to address wishes of developing world by agreeing at last minute to endorse specific goals to increase foreign aid. But when it came time to adopt stringent budgetary changes at UN,cementing fiscaland personnel authority with Secretariat under Kofi Annan and taking some of it away from UNGA, thevotes were not there. Neither were there enough votes to scrap UN Human Rights Commission and replace it with a council that would not be led by countries like Sudan or Cuba, which US and its allies consider bad actors in human rights sphere. The scandals of last couple of years in oil-for-food problem in Iraq, with favoritism and corruption in awarding of contracts, might have been avoided if UNSG's office had exercised greater control over the budget and personnel, now in hands of a committee made up of all members of UNGA. 'The way UN is run, the vast number of less developed countries sitting in UNGA hold the power of the purse', a diplomat at UN said. 'A lot of developing countries see giving moreauthority to UNSG as ploy by US and Europeans to take more control of UN'"; AP"Rice Urges 'Revolution of Reform'at U.N."NYT 17 Sep 05:-"UN must make itself more relevant to tackle 21st century problems... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said [17 Sep]. 'In this new world, we must again embrace challenge of building for the future'. World leaders...adopted watered-down version of proposed reforms...'Time to reform UN is now', she said. 'And we must seize this opportunity together'... 'No cause, no movement, and no grievance can justify intentional killing of innocent civilians and noncombatants. This isunacceptable by any moral standard'. UNSG [had] said condemnation of terrorism must be unqualifiedand that... should 'forge a global counterterrorism strategy that weakens terrorists and strengthens international community'... Rice called on rich countries to help poor ones with development assistance... She said new [human rights] council... should have more credibility. [That] means should 'never, never empower brutal dictatorships to sit in judgement of responsible democracies' ... Rice has locked arms with Annan on reform, declaring him an effective manager, with whom she can work closely. 'I havenever had a better relationship with anyone than Kofi Annan', Rice said, thereby separating US concerns about management flaws and corruption from world body's top diplomat"; Warren Hoge"Bolton and U.N. Are Still Standing After His First Test"NYT 17 Sep 05:-"Fellow ambassadors say they are impressed with[John] Bolton's work ethic, his knowledge of his brief, clarity in declaring it and his toughness as anegotiator... Some delegates, however,faulted him for emphasizing what US would never accept, saying it ended up encouraging more active opposition to US positions. They complained he devoted too much time to talking about US 'red lines' and about the red pen he had in his pocket at the ready. Those who feared Bolton came with devil's horns thought they saw them spring forth 3 weeks ago when he submitted more than 400 substantive amendments and deletions, and ordered up a line-by-line renegotiation of summit document. One of recommendations was to eliminate all mention of a series of antipoverty measures called MDGs. Surprise attack on cherished standard sent shock waves across UN where officials had grown hopeful that Bush administration's hostility to UN had significantly lessened,particularly after supportive comments from [Rice] and State Department opposition to calls for US to withhold its UN dues. A week later, phase was restored at Rice's direction, and Bush declared in his speech to UNGA, 'We are committed to MDGs' . So a question arose about whether Bolton had beencarrying out traditional mission of executing State Department policy or originating his own more assertive view... John G.Ruggie,...Harvard... said he thought Bolton's approach had emboldened opponents of US priorities, like reforming UN management structure to give more power and flexibilityto UNSG. 'After Bolton's bombshell, they were able to make case that this is why we have to stand firm, because if we give great discretionary authority to UNSG, danger US will roll over him, and behind him always stands Congress willing to withhold funding', he said. Bolton said purpose in calling for line-by-line renegotiation was to avoid having text by 'nameless, faceless textwriters' , a reference to writing staff of UNGA president Jean Ping of Gabon. But in the end such a text proved to be only way to get consensus. Three weeks of wrestling with language had left document on [13 Sep a.m.] with 27 unsolved issues and 149 phrases in brackets, meaning they were still in dispute. Decision was made to presentambassadors with final version refined by Ping, and it was that text UNGA endorsed [13 Sep p.m.], just hours before arrival of world leaders. Much of positive reaction to Bolton has come from how he did not live up to his negative reviews"; AP"Chavez Criticizes U.N. Reforms in Speech"NYT 17 Sep 05:-"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized UN reforms [17 Sep] saying they [section of Peacebuilding Commission] would permit powerful countries [to] invade developing ones whose leaders are considered a threat"; Reuters"Annan Defends Summit"NYT 17 Sep 05:-"UNSG put brave face on [17 Sep]on modest reforms to the work of UN, but [Rice] said world body needed nothing short of revolution to become real force... Annan sought to highlight the positive... 'Scale of this achievement seems to have been missed by some...So let's make sure we live up to our promises to the world's poor'. Among gainswere unprecedented agreement on international responsibility to intervene to protect civilians from genocide, establishment of peace-building commission to help nations recover from war and areaffirmation of goals set in 2000 to halve poverty by 2015. But the document fudged definition of what constitutes terrorism, reached no agreement on how to deal with spread of weapons of mass destructionand did little on far-reaching reforms to UN's bureaucracy or its decision-making. 'UN must launch lasting revolution of reform', [Rice] said. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who chairs 53-memberAfrican Union, said terrorism could not be 'justified under any circumstances' . But he said a dangerous correlation existed between grinding poverty and political instability"; Reuters"Like Fixing the Weather, Council Reform Eludes UN"NYT 18 Sep 05:-"Closest UN came to expanding 15-member UN Security Council(UNSC) was considered a plan by Germany, Japan, India and Brazil last spring. But moment came and went without a vote. National rivalries across and within each regional group run high, although...pledged to do something by end of year... Leaders from four candidates, known as Group of Four(G-4)... decided to put their resolution back on table. But participants at the session said there was no strategy of how or when to do this... UNSG, after decade of debate, urged UN members in Mar to come to decision world leaders could endorse, arguing that UNSC, which decides on war and peace, sanctions and peacekeeping, still reflected balance of power at end of WWII. But 35-page document world leadersendorsed on UN reforms had only one sentence on need for 15-member UNSC to become 'more broadly representative, more efficient and transparent'. On this, compromise nearly impossible as UNSC seats meant winners and losers, with each candidate having drawn enough opposition to prevent resolution from gaining two-thirds vote in 191-member UNGA. UNSC currently has 10 nonpermanent seats, rotating for two-year terms, and five permanent members with veto power - US, Russia, Britain, China, and France, considered WWII victors. To begin UNSC expansion, 191-member UNGA must approve a framework,without names of candidates, by two-thirds vote, with each member casting one vote. Last step in process is UN Charter change, which must be approved by national legislatures, and here current five permanentmembers have veto power... Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, whose plan also called for two permanent seats from Africa [Egypt? South Africa?], had hoped for deal with 53-member African Union, which has a similar proposal. But Africans insisted new permanent members have veto power, which the four aspirants dropped because of opposition from current five UNSC powers"; AP"Leaders at U.N. Seek Anti - Terror Treaty"NYT 19 Sep 05:-"Leaders at UNGA urged quick adoption of comprehensive global treatythat would put words into action. But one issue in particular is causing trouble - how to define terrorism amid concern independence struggles would be targeted. [R]esolution accepted unanimously by UNSC on sidelines of UN summit last week also called upon all states to prohibit and prevent terrorism and deny a safe haven to anyone considered guilty of such conduct. But delegates stressed need for abroader convention that would serve as a framework for governments to work together to curtailinternational terrorism"; AP"U.N. Assembly Focuses on World's Poor"NYT 19 Sep 05:-"Leaders fromdeveloping nations took speaker's platform on second day of annual UNGA debate to criticize rich countriesfor not doing enough to ease plight of world's poorest people. Speakers from Africa, Asia and Latin America said [18 Sep] they were encouraged by document adopted at three-day summit renewing commitments to alleviate poverty, but said they would withhold final judgment until rich nations make good on their vows... Leaders of poor nations made clear that they were not impressed with progress made so far. A week ago, UN report said about 40% of world's people still struggle to survive on less than $2/day. Jamaica's PM, speaking on behalf of Group of 77 developing countries, repeated what has been largely acknowledged by many UN and outside officials: world nowhere close to meeting the development goals"; Reuters"UN Refugee Boss Says World Tackling Past Failures"NYT 27 Sep 05:-"International community has woken up to tragedy of the millions who are refugees in their own country and begun to act, head of UN refugee agency[UN High Commissioner for Refugees] said. Internal refugees - known as internally displaced people (IDPs) - number 20-25million, more than double the nine million refugees who are recognized as such because they have crossed a border, and their plight is often just as bad, said UNHCR... UN was finalizing a more vigorous approach to a problem which is particularlyacute in sub-Saharan Africa... Crux of the new policy was that for first time UN agencies, and otherhumanitarian organizations, given specific roles and responsibilities - for which they could be held to account - in handling any IDP crisis. In case of UNHCR, which already handles some IDP situations on an ad hoc basis, it would manage camps, provide shelter and tackle issues of protection for those considered to be in danger of persecution. Move should also be seen in context of changing international attitudes to sovereignty, with recent UNGA resolutions stressing obligations governments had to protect their citizens - indicating a more assertive stance on the part of global body"; AP"U.N. Envoy Says Reforms Have Started"NYT 28 Sep 05:-"President Bush's hard-charging ambassador to UN, [John R.Bolton,] told skeptical members of Congress [28 Sep] US 'didn't get everything we wanted'in agreement to reform UN bureaucracy, but it is a start... Bolton cast US vote for watered-down reform document with obvious disappointment after weeks of wrangling. Document backed off bureaucratic and other changes... Bolton is expected to follow up with new resolutions, but it is not clear how muchappetite UN diplomats will have for subject now. The House has passed measure... that establishes a timetable for reform and ties progress to payment of US dues. Senate has not passed measure. Bushadministration does not want to use dues as leverage"; AP"Japan Rethinking Plan for Security Council"NYT 30 Sep 05:-"Japan has warned Congress that US legislation seeking to withhold UN dues could lead Japanese lawmakers to take similar action, possibly resulting in loss of millions of dollars to world body...Japan pays 19.5% of annual UN budget of about $2billion, second only to US, which pays about 22%".

Celia W.Dugger"Overfarming African Land Is Worsening Hunger Crisis"NYT 31 Mar 06:-"The degradation of farmland across sub-Saharan Africa has accelerated at an ominous rate over past decade, deepening hunger crisis that already afflicts more than 240m Africans, according to a study released [30 Mar].Three quarters of Africa's farmland severely depleted of basic nutrients needed to grow crops, compared with 40% just a decade ago, study found. African farmers can afford only fraction of fertilizers needed to replenish their increasingly barren fields. Traditionally, farmers cleared land, grew crops for a few harvests, then let fields lie fallow for 10 or 15 years to rejuvenate as they moved on to clear more land... But as they try to feed rapidly growing population, farmers instead grow crop after crop, sapping soil's fertility.'Topsoil is blown away by wind and washed away by rains' , said president International Fertilizer Development Center, nonprofit agricultural aid organization which produced study. If this process continues unabated, crop yields in Africa will fall as much as 30% in next 15 years, even as region'spopulation continues to grow rapidly... Africa... likely to face more frequent famines and become evermore dependent on food aid/imports. Farmers... increasingly clearing forests as well as savannas...Already, farmland in Africa yields less than a third amount of grain of that in Asia and Latin America... 'Wemust feed our soils' , said Nigeria's president... Jun meeting on Africa's fertilizer needs expected to drawleading experts... as well as donors. Foreign aid aimed at improving agricultural productivity in Africadeclined sharply in 1990's and has begun to recover only in recent years. About two-thirds of Africa's750m people depend on agriculture for income/employment. Fertilizer... far too expensive for Africa's small and often impoverished farmers - costs two to six times world average. African farmers use less than 10% as much as Asian farmers do. Lowering price no simple task... Roads make transportation difficult/costly... Green revolution to Africa would require: functioning road network/credit for farmers/ extension agents to teach new methods/ better irrigation/ retailers to sell fertilizers/ improved seed varieties... Would also mean combating corruption". Wealthiest countries have pledged to increase aid to Africa.

Gwynne Dyer Climate Wars (Random House Canada 08):-the number of substantial essays and broad publications being written on climate change globally by either science-specialists or policy-concerned writers has become large in 2009. The widely-known author of this book, however, argues that the military impact of a warmer world has not been discussed publicly, even if analyses have been probed. The following is therefore his rationale of publication: "In a number of the great powers, climate change scenarios are already playing a large and increasing role in the military planning process. Rationally, you would expect this to be the case, because each country pays its professional military establishment to identify and counter 'threats' to its security, but the implications of their scenarios are still alarming. There is a significant probability of wars, including even nuclear wars, if we ever reach the range of +2 to +3 degrees Celsius hotter. Once that happens, all hope of international cooperation to curb emissions and stop the warming goes out the window"(from second page of his Introduction and dust-cover). The text contains two elements of special interest. The first consists of seven short but credible and worrisome scenarios, each dated some time in the future, and describing violent events in a region suffering from the experience of climate change. The other is the author's carefully quoted experts' views on technical details, obtained at his many 2008 personal interviews.

Gregg Easterbrook A Moment on the Earth: The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism(New York: Penguin 95):- environmentalist concerned with rate of population growth etc. nevertheless argues: those who overstate likelihood, scale or imminence of eco-disaster will ultimately hurt their own case. For somewhat tongue-in-cheek argument that doom scenarios come in predictable cycles, plus Simon/Club of Rome debate(Meadows op.cit.)see "Environmental Scares" The Economist 20 Dec 97(19-21).For later/more objective books on history of man's effect on environment, and related US political developmentsrespectively, favourable Reviews in Economist 18 Nov 00 "The Environment: Earth Shattering" (101-2).Books: John R. McNeill Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World(New York: Norton 00);Philip Shabecoff Earth Rising: American Environmentalism in the 21st Century(New York: Island Press 00).Both expect major eco-activity now.

The Economist 20 Feb 99 "Europe's Smuggled Masses" (45-6):-illegal "economic" migration has been UN concern for many years. Increasing divergence between standards of living in "rich" and "poor" countries andwider awareness of this fact has been expected to increase problem. Article describes what may be world's largest and potentially most vexing flow; estimates: at least 400,000 now smuggled into EU each year. Several routes are used by professional smugglers: by sea from Morocco to Spain, or from Albania or Tunisia to Italy; by land from Sarajevo via Slovenia to Italy or Austria, from Istanbul via Ukraine and Poland, or via Rumania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic to Germany; alternatively from Greece into Macedonia and on, or from Russia into Finland. "Many" smuggled are Albanians, Kurds, Afghans, Bangladeshis, Iraqis, Iranians. Organized "trade" often ends in asylum demands.

The Economist 27 Mar 99: "No School, No Future" (45-6):-a gloomy essay, contrasting the critical importance of education for raising living standards in the Third World with recent negative trends in illiteracy and lack of primary schooling in many countries, particularly Africa. The value of education is now understood almost universally: its elevating and enriching effects for individuals; the health, nutrition, productivity and fertility-rate improvements for families; and its developmental and multiplying impact on economies. Yet UNICEF reports 40m children in sub-Saharan Africa get no basic teaching, with per-child spending only half that of 20 years ago. The uneducated may reach 75m by 2015. The principal reasons: reduced/misallocated resources. Proposal: transfer funds from debt-servicing, defence, and higher education, and change attitudes on girls' education. Cost: $2b/year more would get every African child in school.

The Economist 19 Jun 99 "Go Forth and Don't Multiply" (62):-while discusses condoms from business point of view, directly relevant to key social, developmental, and - since AIDS - health roles. Although sales flat in Europe and US, demand in some emerging markets, such as India/Indonesia, rising 15%/year. Population experts anticipate world market could grow fourfold, to 24b condoms/year. Since selling condoms often socially -sometimes politically- tricky, and both AIDS and family planning roles stressed, many companies distribute via charities or governments.

The Economist 10 Jul 99 "Children Under Arms: Kalashnikov Kids" (19-21):-describes horrors and scale of problem of child soldiers and difficulty of dealing with it. UN Convention on Rights of the Child defines those under 18 years old as children, but permits recruitment at 15. Estimated that 300,000 children in over 60 countries currently soldiers. Vast majority - as young as 11 - are mostly forced or cajoled into formal or informal Third World fighting units, from west/central Africa to Balkans/Latin America/Sri Lanka/Afghanistan.Reasons: children are plentiful(half Sub-Saharan Africa's population under 18); easier to attract, abduct and mould than adults; often brave; always cheap. Score: perhaps 2m killed in combat post-87, perhaps 6m seriously injured, almost all brutalized. UN System: now attacking issue from several directions.

The Economist 04 Sep 99: "Let Old Folk Work" (Edit.23); "Ageing Workers: A Full Life" (65-8):-while Peterson (op.cit.)warns of a global crisis in pension costs and declining GNP as fertility rates drop, these texts argue that aging populations give opportunities to improve both human rights and the work force, simply by letting people retire when and how they choose. Current trends and practice in developed countries must change: retirement now begins so early that men spend only half their lives in work. Combined with falling fertility, longer and healthier life-spans, and replacement of physically-demanding jobs with thosebased on knowledge/ experience, this constitutes an enormous waste of human resources (lowering economic growth) and frustrates the one-third of retirees who, even with pressures/incentives to retire early, would rather be working. Such laws/rules, mistakenly designed to lower unemployment, must be redesigned.

The Economist 18 Sep 99 "Pay Up and Play the Game" (Edit.20):-this may well be toughest criticism Economist has ever levelled against US for ignoring its UN debt of $1.69b. After noting US "has hard time with supra-national organizations" (League, ICJ, WTO),and insults them, editor stresses its bad behaviour to UN [having as usual written most of its rules],which will cost its UNGA vote unless it pays its arrears before 2000. While most US-UN frictions have eased, and Clinton wants to pay, House tied payment to restrictions on US(sic)family-planning programs abroad, making US "look like bigot and fool on the world stage" .Senate passed bill "festooned with brattish conditions" far beyond SG's authority. To be approved and implemented they would have to reflect somehow wishes/acceptance of majority of all world's states. While Congress' motive may be to mollify those noisy Americans who see "the UN" as an independent entity busily seeking "world domination" , paranoid minority would then be forcing [a particularly law-conscious and proudly democratic state] to refuse to pay its debts.

The Economist 25 Sep 99 "Too Many or Too Few" (Edit.19) "Unshapely World, Too Old or Too Young" (56):-inspired by UNFPA report "6 Billion: A Time for Choices" which gives thought to population problems. Globaldemographic trends are diverse and diverging. In industrialized world(except for immigrant-receivers)plus China, fertility is now at or below replacement level. In LDCs, average fertility rate has dropped from 6 per woman in 1969 to 3 today. But population still grows(about 80m/year)due to lower infant mortality, longer lifespans, population momentum. So authors see two issues:(1)resource pressures of high growth rates in poorest areas(most of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa)in spite of soaring death rates from AIDS;(2)economic/fiscal problems of top-heavy age structure where too-rapidly-lowered birth-rates createmore dependents than workforce can support.

The Economist 20 Nov 99 "Don't Ask for More, Mr. Annan" (47):-strong critique of forced payment by US of only portion of legally-bound debts to UN, and with strict unilateral conditions. For details of Clinton-Congressional "compromise" ,see Wren(op.cit.).Among barbs: "[US]still owes UN some $600m, and deal includes sort of constraints no national government would even dream of accepting, [but]barely registered.[I]dea that world's richest country can unilaterally cancel its debts is something that even US' s closest allies find hard to stomach. If US can walk away from its debts why not others?.[I]dea of Congress unilaterally deciding what happens to a multilateral organization (without even bothering to go through formality of letting other countries vote)marks new step[in US strong-arming]" .[My two bits: there seems to be no recognition in Congress that in berating "UN" for stupidity, waste, errors, etc., it is in fact insulting every government on earth, but especially US. We all made UN what it is.]

The Economist 29 Jan 00 "The Rules of Secession" (22):- Editor raises hot question: Is there right to secede?If "sophisticated states are no longer neurotically attached to bits of territory" , but would not welcome "new profusion of tiny tribal states" it offers four principles with which to judge demands:(1) "Secession should neither be encouraged nor discouraged...it is in itself neither good nor bad" . [Even, like Editor, ignoring violent emotions/ greed as dangerous/bad motives for secession(see 4 Mar Economist: "War and Money..." )there are other inherently serious "bad" secessions, particularlycreation of non-viable states: East Timor?apartheid's" Bantustans" ?Bosnia? Kosovo?rump Canada minus Quebec?.](2) "It should be carried out only if clear majority(well over 50%-plus-one of voters)have freely chosen" .[Ducks absolutely critical question of who gets to vote: all in Ireland?Ulster?Cyprus? Bosnia?Canada?;all(but only?)ethnic group members of which some want to secede:Quebecois?francophones in Canada?in Belgium?Kurds?Punjabis?Kashmiris?;all deeply affected by secession: all Canadians?](3) "Secessionist territory must offer guarantees that any minorities it drags along will be decently treated" .[One's "decency" is another's "oppression" so who sets/judges/imposes guarantees?; what if some refuse to be "dragged" :change borders?secessions within secessions?resettlement(i.e. "cleansing" )?](4) "Secessionists should be able to make reasonable claim to be national group" .[Since" Bosnians" could not, cannot, and for long will not be able to do so, who decides?when and how much should numbers/history count(Palestine)?latest inter/intra-state/ethnic borders often produce fatal new units(Tito's mis-divided Yugoslavia?Quebec?)so how(much)respected?]

The Economist 11 Mar 00 "Floods and Their Damage: After the Deluge" (52):-describes global flood disaster threat, and warns of worse to come. Approximately 100,000 people 1999 were killed in natural disasters, highest toll since 1991. Normally half are victims of floods. Moreover in 1998 300m people were affectedby floods, and annually about 3m lose their homes. In future, as population increases, more people live in vulnerable areas, so global flood damage is expected to increase. Already 50% world lives on/near coast -10m(mostly very poor)at constant sea risk. Millions in hillside slums subject to mud-slides; others inovercrowded flood-prone river valleys. Settlement itself increases flood danger through erosion, deforestation, water diversion, damming. Global warming will make half LDCs' population vulnerable to floods/storms. Better safety-measures/aid must be long-lasting.

The Economist 25 Mar 00 "Water: A Soluble Problem" (Edit.20); "Nor Any Drop to Drink" (69-70):-both argue that growing global shortage of fresh water reflects massive and unnecessary waste-which can be eliminated if it is simply priced realistically. Some facts(see also Annan): more than billion people haveno access to safe water and 3b lack adequate sanitation. This threatens all with disease and drought. Meanwhile, water tables overused, with many falling by meter or more/year. "[W]orld demand for fresh water will grow sharply, by 70%(for household use)by 2025. Shortages seem inevitable -and even war" (20). Yet much is wasted: most domestic water use not metered, while subsidies worth billions positively encourage waste in farming/industry. Instead, price water(just)above cost of provision and disposal, aiding only poorest. Private investment($180b a year)will come.

The Economist 01 Jul 00 "The Poor Who Are Always With Us" (46):-UN/World Bank/IMF/OECDissued "situation report" on commitments made at World Summit for Social Development. "A Better World for All: Progress Towards the International Development Goals" , four's first joint report, fromwww.paris21.org/betterworld/ or free in booklet form from OECD BookShop. Economist's summary contains bad news. In 1998 there were 1.2b people in dire poverty, same absolute number as in 1990, and make upnearly 1/2 population of sub-Saharan Africa and more than 550m in South Asia. World school enrolment has risen slightly, but girls' attendance remains almost as low as 1990. Infant mortality shows only tiny improvement(AIDS). Since 1990, global ODA has dropped from $60b+ to $55b a year while private capital flow to LDCs, though increased to $100b+ in 1998, includes much short-term spending and rarely goes to neediest. Trade lost to LDCs through restrictions and subsidies equals $700b annually. Report also criticizescorrupt or incompetent government/military spending for most of needy countries' problems, and urges reduced inflation and public spending.

The Economist 02 Sep 00 "South Africa's Role in the World" (Edit:17-8); "South Africa's Migrant Workers: A Ticket to Prosperity" (21-4):-stresses economic/political importance of Africa's "mini-superpower" to continent. South Africa "already region's motor; if it could grow faster, would pull its neighbours along.[Further,]obvious country ...to help out with Africa's peacekeeping" .Health, role, future therefore have global influence, so essay takes positive view of massive labour migration(temporary/permanent)into South Africa from all continent. Arguments: (1) migrants' economic/social conditions, though generally bad, and worse than locals' , are better than home, or migration would not continue;(2)indispensable to all southern African economies. Estimates of total illegal migrants in South Africa range 2-8m. Even if closer to 2m, this is major part of work force in country of 46m(almost none bring family). Employers gain lowerwages, harder work and often better education (skilled South Africans of all colours also keen emigrants.)Mines employ 120,000(Mozambique/Lesotho)as more skilled, less militant than locals; farm pay is unattractive to locals. Migrants find more/cheaper goods - many brought home; others come to trade - often exchanging home/local products; others create businesses. Migrants have high HIV rates; take virus home; but also take what seem like fortunes. On balance, African migrants help themselves, hosts, and homes.

The Economist 07 Oct 00 "Morocco: Children in the Boiler-Room" (55):-reports on perhaps extreme example of child labour, but well illustrates its causes/effects/excuses. UNICEF "child-free" certificates on carpetswere never used in Morocco because" handicraft sector, second-largest employer, would have been crippled" .Children do wide variety of jobs, including up to 1m child-maids. This is not slave labor only in that $14($10 for 10-hour days at carpet-weaving)is paid per month, usually to parents. "Abuse is rampant, murder occasional. But government resists regulation for fear of revealing extent of its child workforce to[ILO]" .Poor parents keep having children - for income; if there is no work, they are sent to beg; if peasantscannot feed them, they are(preferably)sent to work in cities. Morocco has highest proportion of homeless children in Arab world, many addicted to glue-sniffing. US estimates that, inter alia to finance this habit, there are more than 10,000 child prostitutes in Casablanca alone. While education is compulsory(since 1963)at least 2.5m children are out of school, and half of Morocco is illiterate. Government advisors claim child labor is better than the streets:" What is point of education [if] current system produces 100,000 jobless graduates a year" .City unemployment is 25%. New king, Mohammed, recognizes" that his uneducated workforce is one of biggest obstacles to growth" ; he is turning mosques into schools, fines parents if theirchildren miss class(enforcement is weak)and declared a jihad to educate his subjects.

The Economist 28 Oct 00 "United Nations and Refugees: Ruud Surprise" (43-4):-Ruud Lubbers, former Dutch PM (82-94),unexpected choice to succeed Mrs. Sadako Ogata as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "Refugee agency, which has annual budget of more than $1b, is most politically active of UN's agencies. [Having played critical, life-saving role in all-too-many wars and humanitariancrises, its] importance will continue, and perhaps expand. Displacement of civilians, once semi-accident of war, has now become one of main goals of warring parties. Worldwide now 14m refugees...and 21m internally displaced people[under UNHCR care]" . Global total unknown but much larger. Priority of refugee over IDP may end, since latter often need more urgent help. Controversial distinction is between( "threatened" )refugees and(up to billions of)economic migrants. Barbara Crossette "Dutch Figure Seen as Choice for U.N. Post With Refugees" NYT 25 Oct 00:-picked up appointment in advance and addedother details. Term is five years(Ogata held for nearly ten),job is viewed as one of most important in UN system, being responsible for staff of about 5,000 working in more than 120 countries. Lubbers, like WHODirector-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland(former PM of Norway)and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson(former president of Ireland), is another high-level political leader added to UNSGAnnan's team of administrators. Reuters "Ogata Says UN Council Is Too Slow And Inflexible" NYT 10 Nov 00:-Sadako Ogata, in farewell speech as UNHCR to Security Council, gave piece of her mind to only body in world on which every government has conferred "primary responsibility for maintenance of international peace and security" (Charter Art.24).Among her criticisms: Nature of war has changed, sincemuch is now civil strife conducted by undisciplined guerrilla armies. "In spite of discussions on wider approaches, peace operations continue to be country-based, and reflect neither internal nor regional nature of many of today's wars." Moreover, Council dispatched peacekeepers far too late to protectuprooted citizens or even UN staff in field[UNHCR has suffered more fatal casualties than any other UN agency]. "We at UNHCR have become used to being called to confront refugee emergencies, literally at few hours' notice. We have no choice: delays in our work inevitably means that lives are lost." Council alsoinflexible in expanding operations across borders to aid trapped refugees(terrible examples of Rwanda-Zaire and East-West Timor).Currently Guinea has requested security aid to help half-a-million trapped refugees in its areas bordering Liberia and Sierra Leone; yet only presence of international community ishumanitarian." Ogata contended that governments are receptive to "ladder of options" to improve local security in refugee-inhabited areas. She also argued gap between short-term aid and development programs too large once emergencies ended.(UNSC going to discuss peacekeeping reforms next day..)Economist 27 Jan 01 "A New Deal For Refugees: Changed Course" (48):-negative report on UNHCR Lubbers' commitments and plans. It notes many maintaining/benefiting from UNHCR operations found his selection process "murky and undemocratic" , suspecting he gained post "along with" orders from major donors to cut organization back. In any event, he announced 24 Jan that budget would drop well below its recent $1b annual level, in hope that funding levels would at least become reliable. He proposes thatmuch UNHCR relief work(giving refugees food, shelter, other services)be assumed by NGOs, WFP,businesses. Lubbers also wants to reverse Ogata's special interest in 25m IDPs, arguing they areresponsibility of "their own governments" (if any).Regarding asylum-seekers, he takes tougher line, however: Europeans(sic) "must take seriously responsibility of giving asylum" .

The Economist 23 Dec 00 "Shrinking Families: The Empty Nursery" (95-7):-essay on below-replacement fertility rates implies:(1)population decline anywhere would be "worrying" ,presumably since current huge/unprecedented human numbers are "just right" or even too low, but no explanation why; (2)rich countries' population trends/totals can/should be totally divorced from both their unsustainable consumption levels and any concerns about global population growth/consumption levels;(3)large-scale/balancing migration is useless. Extracts:" [Is an]only child pattern of the future? Of all questionsabout our new century, few are as important as this...Too few babies is emerging as bigger worry in many countries...than too many[globally? i.e. how we support global population still growing at 80m/year]...Of 35of world's richest countries, in only three[Iceland, New Zealand, US]are women producing enough babies...to replace existing population.[Trends in US, Europe, China, South Korea.]Motherhood is becoming a mid-life digression[and]postponing childbearing[mainly for educational/career reasons]leads to many more single child families.[L]ong-run trend will surely be for people to have rather fewer children, on average, than replacement of human race requires. As result, 21st century will probably see...humannumbers stop rising and begin to decline...[W]hile environment may gain, society may well lose[not enough pension contributors; kinship a weaker force; old people with no immediate relatives; majority are first-born/only offspring" .In addition, thoughtful theme Editorial on "Tales of Youth and Age" (17-8)relates to notingimplications of aged forming increasing percentage of world's population over course of century. There is also highly relevant/amusing essay in same issue: "Prolonging Life: Who Wants To Live Forever?" (23-4). Partly historical/philosophical, it also offers information and food for thought. Neanderthals lived about20 years; mid-18th century average lifespans were only up to 30. Today's world average life expectancy is 65 years, with those in rich countries 75-80, result of improvements in living conditions, public healthand medical care. Individual lifespans are not huge by historical standards: 122 years is longest documented. Two life-lengthening methods have been successful with animals: semi-starvation (unpopular with humans)and selective breeding(would require centuries/heartache for humans). Genetic manipulation, however, now seems feasible, although ageing process involves many genes. Life would remain an invariably fatal disease, but age researchers claim that if people were able to preserve their maximum health and vigour, they would on average live for about 1,200 years, with about 0.1% lasting for 10,000. Short of instant over-population, world would soon consist of extremely old, and tiny, "dwindling, resentful" group of younger people. [Economist's opposition to lower birth-rates in rich countries was explained later as producing short-/mid-term economic stress in advanced states. Its older populations cannot be supported by relatively smaller numbers of young personnel and not yet handled by obvious longer-term solutions. These include:(a)economic participation/ generation of workers for progressively more years;(b)entire assets needed for pension-funds totally pre-generated/ saved before retirement;(c)less-labor-dependent economies modified by gains in human-progressiveness.]

The Economist 06 Jan 01 "Rights and Refugees" (Edit.17-8); "The Palestinian Right of Return" (41-2):-why refugee-return issue is probably most difficult Israeli-Palestinian issue. Some 3.6m, 50%+of all Palestinians, are refugees registered by UNRWA. They were originally those who were either expelled or fled in 1948 from their homes in what UN recognized as Israel. Most(plus their descendants)still live -many in refugee camps- in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza. None has been compensated; they depend on UNGA resolutions for restitution: Res.194/948 states: "refugees wishing to return to their homes...should be permitted to do so" .Israel does not acknowledge this "right of return" but recognizesneed for substantial compensation(by somebody)and expects refugees to be settled elsewhere(at most .5mmight gradually be absorbed in poor/tiny new Palestinian state).Israel's essential problem is demographic:addition of millions of Palestinians to Israeli population would end any Jewish state. Editor suggests(contradictory)solution lies in mutual acknowledgement of both refugees' right of return to Israel and Israel's right to determine when, and who must be refused on grounds of national security.

The Economist 27 Jan 01"A New Environmental Index: Sustainable Growth - Green and Growing" (74-5):-serious global controversies(e.g. Kyoto Protocol)reflect widespread (mis)perception that environmental and economic improvements are incompatible, and present zero-sum alternatives. While in many cases these aims are in fact mutually reinforcing (non-polluting processes often improve efficiency)there has beenno organized attempt to clarify/ quantify overall relationship perhaps because many key terms involved are "woolly" [e.g. "sustainable", "environmental" ," growth" vs" development" ];most environmental data are "poor quality". 2001 Davos World Economic Forum was presented first attempt to meet this need: Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)created by expert team working carefully with available data. It had first made "detailed assessment of dozens of variables that influence environmental health" of 122 national economies(from pollutants to corruption). These then used to select 22 "core indicators" grouped in five broad areas: (1)Environmental Systems: air quality; water quantity & quality; biodiversity [threats]; terrestrial systems [e.g.soil degradation]; (2)Reducing Stresses: reducing air pollution; reducing water & ecosystem stresses; reducing waste and consumption & population pressures; (3)Reducing Human Vulnerability: basic human sustenance; environmental[ly-related] health; (4)Social and Institutional Capacity: science and technology [strength]; capacity for debate; [eco-]regulation and management; private sector [eco-]responsiveness; environmental information; eco-[i.e.energy] efficiency; reducing public choice distortions [gasoline prices, usage subsidies, corruption]; (5)Global Stewardship: international commitment [eco-participation & compliance]; protecting international commons[ e.g. CO₂, SO₂, CFC]; global-scale [eco-]funding & participation. Indicators were quantified for each individual country, making it feasible to rank them in terms of "sustainability" (ES). Among results: Finland(1); Norway(2); Canada(3); Australia(7); US(11); France(13); Germany(15); Britain(16); Japan(22); Brazil(28); Russia(33); Italy(37); South Africa(45); Mexico(73); India(93); China(108); Nigeria(117); Haiti(122). Team's key findings were: (a)ES can be measured; "Index proved to be surprisingly powerful, useful and robust" .(b)ESI created comparative benchmarks of national environmental conditions and possibility of making decisions on more fact-based foundations. (c)Economic conditions affect, but do not determine, environmental conditions; ESI suggests that decisions on how vigorously to pursue ES and economic growth are in fact two separate choices. (d)Serious data gaps limit ability to measure ES. Much of above derived directly from ESI Main Report downloaded (using Adobe Acrobat Reader since it is in PDF format) at: http://www.ciesin. colombia. edu/indicators/ESI.

The Economist 24 Feb 01 "Foreign Direct Investment: The Cutting Edge" (80):-recent FDI trends (particularly massive global increase)are of "crucial importance...for far-reaching economic change" especially in those LDCs that can attract. "Benefits are so great that [political] reservations...have been put aside. [FDI]is far more than'capital': it is uniquely potent bundle of capital, contacts, and managerial and technological knowledge. It is cutting edge of globalization" .Given this perspective," great interest" in first-ever report: World Investment Prospects(London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2001)available for $595 via http://store.eiu.com. Undertakes to forecast up to 2005 FDI flows into 60 countries(virtually all actual/projected flows)blending70 separate indicators to estimate "business environment" . "Political" indicators (e.g. quality of bureaucracy)derived from views of current investors. Forces driving FDI are drawn from econometrics(market size, growth, input costs, geography, natural resources, policy). Then "conventionalforecasts of relevant economic aggregates" [presume global price/market/growth trends]are added. Finally applied:qualitative/speculative ideas about changes in "non-economic" conditions[e.g. new laws, technology, governments, violence?]. Forecast: Report projects FDI flows to "shrink markedly" from $1.1 trillion in 2000 to less than $800b in 2001, most in FDI to rich countries, with flows to LDCs staying about$220b. By 2005 global FDI stocks will exceed $10 trillion($6 trillion in 2000)with flows to LDCs rising slightly faster than others(to 29%).Ten top FDI recipients 2001-5(annual average in $b):US236.2;Britain82.5;Germany68.9;China57.6;France41.8; Netherlands36.1; Belgium30.2;Canada29.6;Hong Kong20.5;Brazil18.8. Essay concludes:both FDI and globalization are gathering momentum.[Although dated by 2001 copy, some ideas remained true, others seem modified.]

The Economist 31 Mar 01 "Poverty and Property Rights: No Title" (20-2):-most works on global poverty and development emphasize the importance of land redistribution from the few to the many, but examples of resulting national prosperity are rare: the aim is justice. This essay, drawing mainly on the situation in Malawi, deals with a closely-related problem that does have major economic potential. In many LDCs poorfarmers know precisely the borders of their own plots of land. Their families may have passed the land down through many generations, and be recognized as owners by the local elders and the whole community. But in a(mostly)illiterate and "customary" society, they have no legal proof of ownership. Theeconomic significance is that, however firm their assets of land and what is on it, they cannot use it as collateral to obtain a loan(except from local loan sharks)-and in a near-subsistence" informal" society, there is often no other way to raise cash. Yet a recent book(Hernando de Soto, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else(Basic Books))claims" the total value of the fixed property held but not legally owned by the poor of the third world and former communist countries is at least $9.3 trillion" . Property rights offer many advantages: the assets become fungible, kept whole or divided in parts, for any chosen purpose; inter(national)property systems offer knowledge e.g. who owns what; what anything is/was sold for; addresses/assets/credit of relevant strangers; ownership ofunseen(or uncreated)goods; employ specialists. Effectively, no poor country has secure property rights. The challenge for their governments is to fashion a "clear and enforceable set of laws. The alternative is to stay poor" . As the rural population in LDCs forces division of family land into smaller plots, action becomes increasingly urgent.

The Economist 14 Apr 01 "Perfect?" (Edit.15-6) "The Politics of Genes: America's Next Ethical War" (21-4):-problem already raising issues in US and bound to rapidly become global: vast implications of genetic science, through which humans can be created "to order" - and rapidly cease to be humans as we know them. Deals with how question has arisen in US, various views and problems faced, and how will probably be handled - series of specific Supreme Court decisions. But this bibliography deals only with global issues -well addressed in Edit. It first notes genetic science does not pose just "normal" questions of how to regulate new technology; also presents ethical and political challenges both extraordinary/imminent. In positive terms biotechnology allows medicine tailored to individuals, some diseases to be prevented before they occur; childless to be given children. Yet governments need expert, regular, independent advice: ifproposed major genetic innovations are "necessary and desirable" . For safety should also be moratorium on reproductive human cloning, at least until odds of success much higher than now. Meanwhile those whooppose cloning can try to prove case for banning. Good arguments both ways: in favour, say, form ofbenign(even life-saving)and individual eugenics, or against, lifetime loss of dignity or autonomy for reasons reflecting no more than cosmetics or parental hubris. Be open-minded but cautious.

The Economist 12 May 01 "Economics Focus: On the Move" (78):-economic factors uppermostthroughout history of migration. "[Up to WWI,]migration of labour was consistently one of biggest drivers of economic change. Since[WWII,]international movement of labour proving[again]of greatest economic and social significance[despite] efforts of rich countr[ies]to constrain migration" .Emigration, both legal and illegal, from poorer countries has expanded rapidly" as economics had its way" .Migration in clear interests of migrants, but "also very much in overall interests of receiving countries" though there are losers. "Economic conditions now seem propitious for enormous further expansion of migration" .Rising incomes in migrants' sources enable emigration. In receiving economies, falling demand for unskilled labour, plus unskilled immigration, lowers wages, increasing union pressure to restrict unskilled. Hencemore skilled migrants(+" brain drain" ); fewer or more illegal-unskilled migrants.

The Economist 09 Jun 01 "Mr Bush Goes to Europe" (Edit.9); "Special Report - America and Europe; Wanted: New Rules of the Road" (25-7):-in connection with Bush II's first official visit to Europe(EU/NATO)essays cite many US-European disputes and divergent attitudes(in terms of global perspectives, preoccupations, and images of each other)but conclude common values/interests will overcome. Defence raises genuine differences over US missile defence proposal(with prefix" national" now being downplayed)and its threat to ABM Treaty. Europeans' "worries might recede" if they(and Russia)could be persuaded its sole purpose/use would be against "rogue" regimes. Also" lurking disagreements" overconventional forces: prospect of US redeployments from Europe to Pacific and real effects(on NATO)and motives of EU rapid-reaction force. Trade disputes: chronic, moving into(previously-domestic)regulatoryissues, sometimes bitter and reflecting even cultural differences(GMO).Behind all lie major worries about prospects for new WTO trade round. Serious perceptual problem: if things go badly, both sides" fall back on some surprisingly negative stereotypes.[US]stereotype is of Europe that is economically sclerotic, psychologically neurotic and addicted to spirit-sapping welfare schemes and freedom-infringing state. European stereotype is of gun-slinging, Bible-bashing, Frankenstein-food-guzzling, behemoth-driving, planet-polluting[US]in which politicians are mere playthings of mighty corporations" .Most striking, Europeanassessments of Bush himself(prior to visit)were "strongly hostile" ,though not unprecedented. "More important, structural changes in world politics are driving wedge between Europe and US" . Among Europe's four big powers, only Italy's new government shares Bush's conservatism. In terms of security, US and Europe each need the other less than in past(even Clinton past). "Upshot of consolidation of Europehas been to tug Europe and US in opposite directions[and to]look at world in increasingly different ways" .US looks at Asia/ Americas; Europe looks at Europe. Europe inclined to apply principles ofmultilateralism; US(Bush in particular)" tend to see world in traditional great-power terms. National interest/diplomatic leadership/protection of military might are what matter. International treaties/global norms merely constrain US' s sovereignty" .Europeans see this as unilateralism, while Americans oftensee Europeans as" grandstanding free-riders, willing to lecture US about death penalty but less willing than they should be to spend money to make their troops effective" .[For example of worry that antagonism towards US also helps Europeans define their own identity, Economist cites Kissinger. Up-to-date: Gregg Easterbrook "Europe Builds Itself Up at Bush's Expense" New York Times 17 Jun.] "At this point,transatlantic relationship at point of divergence[but unique]institutional, economic and cultural ties..set limitto further deterioration" . May be further drift, or revival of transatlantic alliance as "partnership of equals" .Remember how much US-Europe "still have in common, and what they could do together if they put their minds to it" .

The Economist 10 Apr 04 "South Africa: A Town Like Alice" (37-9):-unusually informative about successes, failures and prospects of South African situation after first decade of democracy. Most material drawn from current status of Alicedale, once relatively successful apartheid society/economy built on providing watering-stop for steam trains, but closed in 96. Description that not only has relevance to republic, but history that can be applicable in numbers of other cultures in world. Issues discussed include general policies ofAfrican National Congress(ANC),liberation movements that ruled country since apartheid finally ended;employment trends/serious problems of black and white inhabitants; important yet inadequate welfare,education/training, housing, legal situations; fastest-growing/valuable tourism industry. End describesinadequate - but widespread - local policy falling totally behind HIV/AIDS situation. For good account ofstatus and prospects of South African railway system and national airline(Transnet, state transport monopoly),see Economist 17 Apr 04 "Face Value: Getting Africa Moving" (64)on Maria Ramos.

The Economist 17 Apr 04 "AIDS in India: When Silence is Not Golden" (10); "AIDS in India: Abating, or Exploding" (21-3):-clear-worded Editorial and well-researched Special Report offer masses of facts on a expanding epidemic and a still imperfect official Indian policy. According to" the most conservative of estimates,600,000 Indians already have the disease and 4.58m are infected with HIV[- totals]second only to South Africa.[O]ne UN agency thinks the number of Indian infections will rise to 12m by 2015. Thegovernment itself...has said that even if it achieves its own objectives 9m Indians will be infected by 2010...CIA predicts 20m-25m by that date." Although the country gets substantial funds and experiencefrom abroad and domestic sources," India's campaign needs more money, and... stronger political commitment." Moreover, India's globally famous companies producing HIV/AIDS drugs see their cheap domestic role still constrained. On balance" forecasts of millions more infections seem horribly possible" ..

The Economist 24 Apr 04 "Israel and the Palestinians: Gaza Isn't the End of It" (Edit.12-4); "Special Report: Has Something Really Changed?" (25-7):-all chronic issues analysed and delays or outcomes discussedoffered with much thoughtful information about current possibilities.[So worth reading, even if your own views differ.]Major point relates to Gaza. "Belligerent" Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's "plan to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza strip, lesser (and grimmer)part of future would-be-independent Palestinian state, seems to be winning backing both of his own Likud party and of most Israelis.[From George Bush]he got just about everything he had hoped for, including annexation of chunks of territory in West Bank" (25)i.e.includes Gaza but not all remainder to Palestinians. Moreover "'Long-term interim agreements' have been favourite ploy of[Sharon:i.e.]making tactical concessions to preserve stalemate in battle against Palestinian nationalism, in hope that Palestinians will eventually give up. On paper... Sharon now accepts idea of two-state solution...But sort of Palestinian state that might emerge if security barrier now being built follows route that digs deep into Palestinian territory would hardly be viable entity that Bush, let alone other involved outsiders, would accept as bare minimum...Bush and Sharon did, however, accept that fence may be temporary" .(26) This is most important subject but items also discuss such tough issues as Palestinian refugees continuing bilateral deaths, Arafat's role, need to re-establish negotiating table, changing views of Arab/European states, and international aid to Palestinians. Related article, "Israel's Nukes: Vanunu's Story" (26), describes chronic Israeli view on having nuclear weapons, reminded by "whistleblower" 's jail release. Economist 03 Jul 04 "Israel and Palestine" (37); ":Who's Winning the Fight?" (38):-items on conflict almost weekly, but these see past, present and future, and predict movement. "[Sharon]may once more push ahead with his plan to leave Gaza, while seeking to consolidate Israel's hold on bigger swathe of West Bank than Palestinians are wont to accept in overall peace package.[US]seems keen to clinch Gaza withdrawal first, then move on later to negotiations over West Bank. No less hopefully, Egyptians ...seem to be going along with that idea too. Jordanians warily approve.[Israel]made it clear that reprisals and incursions could continue before, during and after a withdrawal.[Sharon]would like Egyptians to have degree of control over Palestinians in Gaza, just as he may still hope for similar Jordanian co-operation in West Bank. [A]t least diplomacy is no longer frozen" (37). Other item has chart of Palestinians/Israeli civilians/Israeli forces deathseach month since 2000. Comments: no lack of potential suicide-bomber recruits; ICJ may declare barrier illegal. Economist 14 Aug 04 "Israel's Far Right: Ariel Sharon Is a Sissy" (42); "Israel and Palestine: Blaming Arafat" (73-4):- both items are filled with information about why situation has been long-term chronic mess. First is up to date, but describes some of history, capacities and murder carried out byJewish terrorists. They may try to kill Sharon and/or make movement out of Gaza even more difficult. Second item consists of reviews of two new and well-written books about failure of almost-successful peacemaking. Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace(Farrar, Straus and Giroux);and Yossi Beilin, The Path to Geneva: The Quest for a Permanent Agreement, 1996-2004(RDV Books).Both are inclined to see final negative role by Yasser Arafat. Ross book also commented on in detail/ praise by Samuel W.Lewis "The Receding Horizon" Foreign AffairsVol.6/No.5(Sep/Oct 04).Economist 02 Oct 04 "Palestine and Israel: Break That Bloody Stalemate" (Edit.14-5); "Palestine: A Bloody Vacuum" (23-5):-both items offer well-researched information on Palestinians - their recent past, painful present(in Gaza and West Bank)and possible future. Items specifically include thoughtful comments on current and possibly future role of Yasser Arafat, and those who are hoping/liable to replace his central position. Summary of the Special Report is: "Stalemate between Palestinians and Israelis looks total, but internal rows on both sides offer a shred of hope." Economist 23 Oct 04 "Israel's Unlikely Dove" (Edit.11); "Israel and Palestine: Leaving Gaza, Maybe, and To an Uncertain Fate" (22-4):-Summary of Special Report is: "Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate Jewish settlements from Gaza is causing outrage in Israel and slipping beyond its author's control." Key excerpts:(1) "Sharon's lawyer and adviser says plainly beauty of disengaging from Gaza is that Israel is thereby doing'minimum possible',while removing Palestinian statehood'indefinitely'from its agenda. But however much they mistrust him, Palestinians cannotbe seen to be asking Sharon to prolong any part of occupation. So Palestinian diplomacy now focuses ontrying to connect Israel's Gaza plan to larger questions of statehood and West Bank...Since neither Israel/US will deal directly with Arafat, Palestinians need mediator. Enter, backstage, Omar Suleiman,Egypt's head of intelligence. President Hosni Mubarak has asked [him]to co-operate with both Israelis and Palestinians in order to help Israel leave Gaza, make its leaving consistent with[US]road map, andpersuade Israelis and Americans that Palestinians are indeed reliable partners." (2) "Israel already tackleswith talk of violent opposition, military disobedience and even civil war if Sharon takes on settlermovement without clear mandate from people..Sharon seems..warmed to idea of national referendum -even though this would ensure further delay without ensuring final victory." Summary of Editorial: "The world is entitled to suspect his motives. But Ariel Sharon's plan to leave Gaza still deserves support." Economist 30 Oct 04 "The Palestinians: After Arafat" (Edit.11); "Israel's Withdrawal From Gaza: Round One To the Doves" (51-2); "The Palestinians: Adieu, Arafat?" (52):-inter-related discussions: effects of Yasser Arafat's serious illness(death)& Ariel Sharon's hard political options after winning positive Gaza-withdrawal vote in Knesset. Khalil Shikaki "The Future of Palestine" Foreign Affairs Vol.83/No.6(Nov/Dec 04):-author Director of Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, and wrote with bothexpertise and concern about Arafat's outdated views before he became ill/died. Varied Palestinian leaders/ personalities/youth, experiences, and groups identified/described, as well as improvable outcome of a Palestinian election if Israel were willing to permit one. Fair election strongly advocated in interest ofsolving crisis with Israel. "Q&A: Henry Siegman on Yasir Arafat" Council on Foreign Relations 10 Nov 04:-offers interview with CFR director of US/Middle East Project. He said that Abu Mazen, who opposes terrorism, "presents opportunity for resuming Middle East peace talks if Israel and US, both of which refused to negotiate with Arafat, drop their opposition to negotiations aimed at permanent Palestinian-Israelipeace." "Q&A: David Makovsky: Prospects for Middle East Peace" Council on Foreign Relations 15 Dec 04:-offers interview with director of Project on Middle East Peace Process at Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He said "changes in Israel and in Palestinian Authority(PA)opened'windows of opportunity that have not existed for many years' . There is now chance to end violence between the two sides and 'revive trust between Palestinians and Israelis' ." Steven Erlanger "A Modest Proposal: Israel Joining NATO" New York Times 19 Dec 04:-" one of most intriguing[new ideas]is suggestion that Israel...consider joining NATO. Idea, at least, is that closer ties to NATO - and perhaps eventual membership - would embed Israel in West and, by providing security guarantees, give it more confidence to make comprehensive peace...Of course prospect of closer ties with Israel would create debate within NATO, especially in absence of a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement. But first Israel itself needs to talk through military and political pros and cons."

The Economist 01 May 04 "IDENTITY CARDS: Dangerous Data" (Edit.15); ":Will They Work?" (57-8):-someglobal dilemmas are being quickly amplified by two related trends:(1)new threats, and good or critical expansions, always created by accelerating technology e.g. modernized terrorism; (illegally)transferred beings and goods; rapidly accumulating health knowledge; financial movement/credits/debts/taxes; many types of committed/planned crime; etc.;(2)rapid but correct identification of individuals; valued property;dangers/ rules/answers; knowledge transfer/creation, etc. Both multiple trends have pressured governments(and large companies)to design and make essential sophisticated "cards" . These articles report, with some detail and lots of complications, British government plans to create/issue "the most ambitious and intrusive national identity card scheme in Europe...Britons want cards to help stop illegal immigrants from working or using public services, and to fight terrorism and reduce fraud. They will compromise on personal privacy" (57). Economist is more cautious:" The real danger lies not in small plastic cards but in huge databases" (15). Material transits can be inhibited in cards/databases by strict jigsaws.

The Economist 08 May 04 "ECONOMICS FOCUS: Feeding the Hungry" (74):-Copenhagen Consensus createdstudy of the relative effectiveness of ways to correct hunger and malnutrition. "Around a billion people(say authors)are malnourished, and around a sixth of these are children. That is not only adeplorable human tragedy in its own right. It also leads to measurable economic losses - further poverty.Lives are shortened, causing lost output and income. Those who survive...malnutrition may be less productive, perhaps throughout their lives. Hunger also often leaves people more susceptible to disease, so...more output has to be devoted to health care" . "Benefits" are then analysed. Better-fed people are likely to contribute longer to GDP. Malnutrition at early age influences labour productivity since it affects size and strength. Children can perform better in school if improved nutrition, while the malnourished may getless education since weaker investment. Hunger is not caused only by lack of food. Children's qualitynutrition relates to women's education and status. Diseases(AIDS, malaria)can cause/worsen hunger, in part by shortening breadwinners' lives;" families...fail to pass down farming skills to future generations.Poor transport infrastructure can make it difficult for food to reach the people who need it most. [T]rade barriers... keep farmers mired in poverty by depriving them of export markets" . Authors caution there is no single "magic bullet" for hunger. Raise birth-weights via reduced infant mortality, savings on health costsand lost output due to illness, improved growth and lifetime productivity. Costs: medicines, trackingmothers' health, and providing food/mineral supplements. Improve nutrition in young children via encouraging breast-feeding, educating mothers about "weaning foods" . Costs: hard to pinpoint but less than benefits. Reduce deficiencies in key "micronutrients" (iodine, zinc, vitamin A, iron). Improve agricultural technology via higher-yielding crops, controlling pests better. Costs: high rates of returns from improvements. Key types of technology/teaching yield the most.

The Economist 15 May 04 "ECONOMICS FOCUS: The Stuff of Life" (75):-Copenhagen Consensus project examines the serious problem of hundreds of millions of poor people lacking access to two essential services: clean water and basic sanitation. According to study, improving the delivery of clean water and sanitation to the poor would be a highly cost-effective way to use additional aid to developing countries. Global "water crisis" refers to: (1) supply of water for domestic purposes, which makes relatively tiny demands; but (2) in many poor countries available supplies" very often fail to reach the poor...because supplymust also meet the demand for water for productive purposes, notably farming...Where supplies fail to get through, it is usually the poor who suffer most" . Global burden of illness from dirty water, bad or non-existent sanitation and poor standards of hygiene" is remarkable" . "[C]lose to half the population in the developing world are suffering from one or more diseases associated with inadequate provision of water and sanitation services" . Improving sanitation gives better value for money than improving water delivery. InSub-Saharan Africa, sanitation benefits alone" might be some $16 billion a year".

The Economist 05 Jun 04"SPECIAL REPORT on COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS: Putting the World to Rights"(63-5):-a panel of distinguished economists met in Copenhagen to study high-quality analyses of global challenges to improve very serious lives of people in developing countries, and to determine relative costs. "The organizing idea was that resources are scarce, and difficult choices among good ideas therefore have to be made". Aim of the panel was to reach agreement on the best Priorities that should be given to 17 Projects. Panel members agreed surprisingly closely in this orderof the priorities: (1)Diseases: Control of HIV/AIDS. (2)Malnutrition: Providing micro nutrients. (3)Subsidies and Trade: Trade liberalisation. (4)Diseases: Control of Malaria. (5)Malnutrition: Development of new agricultural technologies. (6)Sanitation and Water: Small- scale water technology for livelihoods. (7)Sanitation and Water: Community-managed water supply and sanitation. (8)Sanitation and Water: Research on water productivity in food production. (9)Government: Lowering cost of starting a new business. (10)Migration: Lowering barriers to migration for skilled workers. (11)Malnutrition: Improving infant and child nutrition. (12)Malnutrition: Reducing prevalence of low birth weight. (13)Diseases: Scaled-up basic health services. (14)Migration: Guest-worker programs for the unskilled. (15)Climate:"Optimal" carbon tax. (16)Climate: Kyoto protocol. (17)Climate: Value-at-risk carbon task. The priority list is based essentially on economics/finances, not on the relative urgency of the challenges, nor on a clear implication that items with higher numbers can or should be ignored for the time being. Economist items of 08 and 15 May 04 above give summaries of two subjects that were analysed. For details on the analyses, an authoritative 650-page book is available: Bjorn Lomborg edit., GLOBAL CRISES, GLOBAL SOLUTIONS (Cambridge/New York/Melbourne/Madrid/Cape Town: Cambridge Univ. Press 04):-ISBN 0 521 84446 0 hardback and ISBN 0 521 60614 4 paperback.

It is in two parts, with chapters that do not exactly coincide with the 17 Projects identified above: PART I THE CHALLENGES (1)Climate Change; (2)Communicable Diseases; (3)Conflicts; (4)Access to Education; (5)Financial Instability; (6)Governance and Corruption; (7)Malnutrition and Hunger; (8)Migration; (9)Sanitation and Access to Clean Water; (10)Subsidies and Trade Barriers. PART II RANKING THE OPPORTUNITIES Expert Panel Ranking. Epilogue: Youth Forum: Human Benefit Analysis. The INTRODUCTION by Lomborg is only 9 pages long, and contains the following main subtitles: The Focus for the Consensus; Why was This the First Explicit Economic Prioritisation?; Thinking Outside the Box; Where Does the Copenhagen Consensus Prioritise?; How Does the Copenhagen Consensus Prioritise?; What Does the Copenhagen Prioritise?; The Copenhagen Consensus Process; Conclusion.

The Economist 12 Jun 04 "India's Economic Reforms: Can India Work?" (67-9):-excellent Special Reporton present and future prospects of state that is not only growing at major rate but may also have larger population than China soon. Compares potentials faced now by Manmohan Singh, new Congress prime minister, with his tough reform role as finance minister in 1991. This time he inherits economy growing at more than 8% a year and far from crisis. Current(and 91)figures displayed: Population - billion: 1.06(0.87);GDP$trillion(ppp): 2.86(1.23); GDP per person $(ppp): 2,690(1,420); Consumer prices,% increase on year ago: 3.8(13.9); Exports, $billion: 56.0(17.7); Imports, $billion: 71.0(20.4). But" two reasons toworry[essential] reform may be under threat" : (1)" Congress owes its victory in part to dissatisfaction with incumbent state governments and in part to support of populist parties from two big states, West Bengaland Bihar" .States have role on reform contents/application. (2)" Congress has only 145 of 545 seats in parliament. [I]t is in coalition with parties identified with narrow regional interests, hostile to reform, and[it]also relies on'outside'support of India's communist parties. Last situation has forced concessions onreforms of privatisation/ labour laws/power sector. Admirable/realistic goals include: annual growth of 7-8%, alleviating poverty, helping farmers, empowering women, raising spending on health/education; but "reform is about removing obstacles" .Bulk of report is then about prospects. Economist 10 Jul "India's Budget: High-Wire Act" (37):-new government's budget is described as balanced but hardly inspiring compromise between Congress, communists, and parties that represent India's poorest. It may not have upset anyone, but it has also done little to advance reform. Finance minister has promised to shrink deficit, but has introduced no action on privatization, subsidy slashing, or radical reform of labour laws.Agriculture(livelihood of 70%)and rural areas were provided support and incentives, "including doubling ofagricultural credit...,widespread water schemes, and help for diversification into new farm products and foodprocessing" .On industry, new commission announced to boost both foreign and domesticinvestment." Increases should help to boost India's poor record on investment inflows, which fell 2003-04from $4.7b to $4.5b(tiny fraction of what China takes). Limits, though, are only part of it: foreign investment is mostly restricted by foreign companies' frustrations with India's bureaucracy.,.poor public services andinfrastructure ...This is not end of reform in India, nor is it inspiring start for new government's efforts to advance it" . Economist 17 Jul "India: Closing the Gap" (42-3):-Palaniappan Chidambaram, new finance minister, and top-level staff, already "starting work on reforms for his full annual budget" in Feb, even though government is facing attacks on interim budget(above). "Reforms in next budget...will focus on taxation, subsidies and development expenditures" . Economic/social scale/complexity/impact of proposals are outlined in articles, but may be changed before budget. Yet global magnitude of Indian prosperity soimportant(1b+ people),whole world may hope major reforms succeed. Economist 25 Sep "India and America: Joining the Big Boys' Club" (54):-meeting of PM Manmohan Singh with US President Bush took place during joint Sep visit to UNGA in New York. Just prior to meeting, certain US sanctions on India were lifted; they were originally imposed when it exploded five nuclear bombs in 98, as a declared nuclear power that had not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. According to statement, Indian relations with US "had never been as close" ,and US is now "expanding co-operation...in civilian nuclear power, spaceprogrammes and high technology trade, and discussing missile defences. Indian officials...were keen to portray this as evidence that US now accepts India as serious international partner." Indeed India seems to have achieved its hope that its nuclear test would force US to pay it "serious, sustained and respectful attention." Meanwhile India is submitting joint bid for permanent UNSC membership with Brazil, Germany and Japan. Economist 09 Oct "India: Cohabiting, For Now" (37-8); "India's North-East: The Terror Spreads" (38); "Nuclear Proliferation: A Game For All To Play" (38-9):-all 3 items make above key/positive reports on India more complex. Inserted together, in order, under Economist 09 Oct 04.

The Economist 19 Jun 04 "AIDS in Haiti: H For Hope" (39):-in encouraging contrast to nation's terrible political and economic situations, it has pretty good record in tackling HIV/AIDS -reversal of disaster which hit Haiti both hard and early. In 1980s, with little knowledge, "HIV was associated with four Hs:haemophiliacs, homosexuals, heroin addicts and Haitians. By 1993, over 6% of adult Haitians were thought to be infected - highest rate outside Africa. AIDS is the leading cause of death in the country, killing about 30,000 people a year, and it has orphaned 200,000 children" . However, over last decade, proportion of adults with HIV/AIDS may have halved, and 2,000 people now receive anti-retroviral drugs. In five years maybe 25,000 get drugs. Meanwhile 75% know how virus is transmitted and condoms are more widely used. Substantial funds are received and honestly spent; apparent success" stems mainly from close partnership between government, private donors and charities" . UN peacekeepers also cared for. Relativelysuccessful handling of very poor and heavily diseased state hints at repeating lessons elsewhere.

The Economist 19 Jun 04, "Arab Women: Their Time Has Come" (13-4); "Out of the Shadows, Into the World" (Special Report 26-8):-most useful sources; here are virtual extracts: "Slowly,..female half of population beginning to find a voice.[R]ecommendations that went to[ruler of Saudi Arabia]would change matters somewhat, if they are ever enacted...Slowly but surely, too, the lot of Saudi women is improving, just as it has been for women in most Arab countries...Now, some 55% of[Saudi]university students are female. Similar trends can be seen elsewhere... [F]emale education has improved faster in Arab countriesthan in any other region...Arab performance in improving women's health is also unmatched. Female life expectancy is up from 52 years in 1970 to more than 70 today... Number of children borne by average Arab woman has fallen by half in past 20 years, to a level scarcely higher than world norms...In large Arabcities, high cost of housing, added to need for women to pursue degrees or start careers, is promptingmany to delay marriage into their 30s...In all but three of 22 countries in Arab League, women have right to vote and run for office...Arab women also work as ambassadors, government ministers, top business executives and even...army officers...Yet[they]should not rest complacent. It is for good reason that UN's devastating, and much-quoted, Arab Human Development Report cites women's rights...as main challenge facing region.[Also]do not adequately measure...destructive social impact of habits such asfemale circumcision, ..polygamy,..or "honour killings" ...Across Arab region...only a third of adult women have jobs.[As]disturbingly, movement towards equality in some Arab countries has shunted into reverse...Rise of[Iraqi]religious radicalism has prompted many to adopt veil, out of fear as much asconviction...Aside from giving them short stick on inheritance, and having their testimony in law consideredhalf as weighty as men's and letting husbands marry up to four wives, whom they may beat if they are disobedient, Koran itself is not unkind to women...Trouble lies more in how holy text-as well as...Prophet's sayings...-are interpreted.[Yet]Arabs, even men...acknowledge need for improvement...Reformers will eventually get their way. For report on Iraqi situation see Swanee Hunt(op.cit.).

The Economist 24 Jul 04 "Local Resources and Global Assets: Saving the Rainforest" (Edit.12); "The Brazilian Amazon: Asphalt and the Jungle" (33-5):-previous items by E.O.Wilson and Eugene Linden et al.(op.cit.)have both addressed need to preserve/restore huge areas of tropical ecology - rainforests - tomaintain natural lives and prevent vast release of carbon dioxide(CO2),major global climate change source. Long article describes serious deforestation, being partly corrected, on long/extensive north-south route through Amazon regions; Editorial is inciting, globally. "World's rainforests are owned bymainly poor countries they cover - but at same time they are global asset. Cutting them down for profit, orto free land for farming, is tempting source of income for their owners. Left intact, on other hand, forests are sinks that withhold carbon from atmosphere, mitigating problem of man-made global warming; they arerich storehouses of biodiversity, another global resource, as well. Plainly, balance between local and global interests must be struck...Tropical countries...should not be denied benefits of any and alldeforestation...Yet deforestation that is optimal...still likely to be greater than what would suit humanity as whole. It makes sense, therefore, to come up with ways to make maintaining forest as rewarding for[owner]as it is for world, once broader benefits and opportunity-costs are taken into account. When...calculation...made, rest of world should foot its share.[W]orld has begun to recognize that itneeds...tropical forests. Time has come to start paying for them" . Economist 14 Aug "Tropical News" (16):-includes 3 letters' texts in reaction to above, all positive and well-informed.

The Economist 24 Jul 04 "China: Eating Disorders" (40):-for decades Chinese cereal consumption/capacityhave raised global development concerns since richer 1b+ population might choose/have to import huge availability of both need/expense of others. Item hints future options. "[E]arlier this year...PM Wen Jiabaocalled for more grain output and warned...peasants...grain security...concerning nation's livelihood and social stability...China has not suffered famine for 40 years. It is more or less self-sufficient in grain, ricebeing biggest component, along with large quantities of wheat and maize[,and]readily able to import any shortfall. But surge in domestic grain prices[revived fear]if attention to grain production slips; then inflation, chaos and hunger will follow sooner or later.[China]has relatively little arable land and...water to spare[,yet]policy has long been to keep imports to no more than 5% of consumption" .Concerns are international grain market and US influence, but domestic price rose as farmers move to other crops or cities, and inflation hit long-term high. Government reacted with direct subsidies/floor prices/ control onurban spreads/lowering taxes. Also "moving towards greater acceptance of role of market in regulating grainsupplies and prices. Some now suggest imports could rise to 10% of consumption.[Harvest likely]to bounce back to[help ease inflation, but]will still be well short of historic high...If China seeks to maintain high degree of self-sufficiency, it will have to increase yields considerably to meet demands[by more people, maybeeating lots more grain-fed meat].But yields are low compared with those in developed countries, suggestingample room for growth.

The Economist 31 Jul 04 "Global Hunger: Empty Bowls, Heads and Pockets" (Edit.12); "Nutrition: Food For Thought" (67-9):-most shocking global fact is that 800m people do not have enough to eat. Human lifetimes of so many, suffering from seriously low nutrition, means their bodies cannot develop properly. "Those who are ill-fed tend to end up both physically shorter and less mentally agile than they otherwise would have been. Hunger also spurs millions of children to drop out of school in order to scavenge for food, and those who manage to attend school despite empty bellies find it excruciatingly hard to concentrate. Malnourishment is thus both cause and consequence of poverty. Weak make unproductivemanual labourers, and global labour market is not exactly clamouring for dim or feeble workers." Major S&T report provides much detail about how free and enriched school lunches greatly improve healths,heights, brains, indeed whole lives, of children - particularly disadvantaged girls - in Malawi example. Yet FAO estimates 17% of those in developing world were undernourished in 1999-2001, their absolute number climbing to 798m, in spite of more food available, because of continued population increases. Africans are eating less well. Also, "malnutrition is largest single contributor to disease" since hunger weakens immune system. "Inadequate nutrition of mothers and young children alone is responsible for 9.5% of global burden of disease...Underweight infants much more likely to succumb to diarrhoea, malaria orpneumonia...[M]any lives are blighted for want of tiny amounts of iodine, iron, vitamin A and zinc...Both hungry and mineral-deficient people tend to be weaker, more prone to illness and less intelligent. This must in turn make them poorer" .

The Economist 14 Aug 04 "The Latinobarometro Poll: Democracy's Low-Level Equilibrium" (35-8):-similar surveys of political and social attitudes in 18 Latin American countries(published exclusively by Economist) have been carried out since mid-90s, so system captures shifts in opinion. Valuable 8 charts of poll-collected statistics form major addition to comments." Roughly half of Latin Americans continue to support democracy, though few think it is working well...Support for democracy has edged up since last year...But in most countries it remains lower than in 1996, and in a dozen greatly so. Past year has seen sharp falls in support for democracy in[Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru].[T]here has been significant rise in backing for democracy since last year in[Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela].Underlying attitudes towards democracy in region are complex and not without contradiction. Some 55%(up from 50% in 2002)of respondents say they 'wouldn't mind non-democratic government if it could solve economic problems' ...Fact that 71% of respondents think that their country 'is governed for benefit of few powerfulinterests' rather than 'good of everyone'gives some support to view[lamenting failure to develop so-called 'democracy of citizens' ]and may reflect popular perceptions of region's abiding inequalities...63% say they would never support military government and 72% believe that only democracy can bring development. [C]lear majority favour market economy...Anti-US that surged over war in Iraq has not yet subsided. Jennifer McCoy "By Invitation: What Really Happened in Venezuela?" Economist 04 Sep 04(38-40):-McCoy led Carter Center's election observer mission(together with OAS)in deciding (dis)honest status of a nationwide constitution-based referendum carried out to remove or retain President Hugo Chavez. (Dis)approval vote officially required by a numerous/proven number of citizens who questioned his allegeddemocratic/radical policies. Venezuela's election agency declared that Chavez won re-approval by 59% to 41%. Article offers interesting details confirming legitimacy of emotional support. Economist 17 Sep 05"Poverty in Latin America: Not Always With Us"(Edit.13); "Poverty in Latin America: New Thinking About an Old Problem"(36-8):-these two items relate directly and seriously to Democracy's Low-Level Equilibrium described just over a year earlier. The Editorial immediately emphasizes:"Social programs that are good for democracy as well as for the fight against poverty". It argues:"Latin America is less of a stain on the world's conscience [than Africa]. Yet it has another trait: a hugely unequal distribution of income and wealth. A disproportionately large number of Latin Americans are poor - some 222m or 43%of total population, of whom 96m (or 18.6% of the total) live in extreme poverty, according to UN. Behind those figures lie not just human suffering but also an unfairness that is inimical to democracy - makingmany question its value. Fortunately, there are some reasons to think those figures will soon improve - and not just because many Latin American economies are growing strongly again... Region's democratic governments have started to make big and innovative efforts to tackle poverty. These center onprograms that offer poor families cash payments on condition, for example, that they keep their children in school and take them for regular health check-ups... Above all, they show democracies are responding to the needs of their poorest citizens. And that gives more Latin Americans a stake in democracy too".

The Economist 21 Aug 04 "China's Growing Pains" (Edit.11-2); "China's Health Care: Where Are the Patients?" (20-4); "Business In China: Manacling the Mandarins" (52); "China's Environment: A Great Wall of Waste" (55-7); China's Economy: Dim Sums" (60-1):-five articles are both diverse but complementary in their key subjects. They offer a careful and globally-important analysis of what seems today's largest, fastest-growing/-changing state. Its role/policies/problems are now relevant not only to its billion-plus people, plus billions affected by Chinese global trade/finance, but also to future needs/hopes/threats of bothsimilar/poorer societies/economies/environments. Editorial notes "China has witnessed probably most dramatic burst of wealth creation in human history...But as with any vast transformation there has been price to pay[and]kinds of problem will..need imaginative policy changes to correct.[S]tate health-caresystem...has in effect collapsed.[L]ife-expectancy in parts...may actually now be falling. Diseases...are making their return...Pollution...is reaching scandalous proportions...China is home to 16 of world's 20 most polluted cities...Only two of growing pains that affect China as it continues its breakneck growth[yet]clear signs that government starting to shoulder its new responsibilities too...Still, solvingthese problems cannot be fast, easy or free of cost...[C]itizens will surely want greater say in how their money is spent... But of democracy...there is so far not slightest sign." Special Report on health careconcludes inter alia "whyChina's ...system is in such a mess is that central government's share of tax revenue has dropped in past 20 years...Strong incentives, such as tax breaks, will be needed to encourage privatebusiness to run hospitals on not-for-profit basis...In poor areas, including much of countryside,government will need to remain primary provider...China is beginning to discover that market forces alone cannot produce good health care." Article on business in China predicts: "courts could end up providingindependent check on the almost unfettered power of bureaucrats, transforming legal landscape for firms...China's bureaucrats will no longer be law unto themselves" .Special Report on environmentconcludes inter alia: "problems and their huge costs will dog China for many years.[I]t will be hard to knowof government's avowedly green policies are being implemented. But China deserves credit for its attempts to clean itself up. Balance between sustainable development and economic growth will have to becontinuously adjusted in future. Right now China probably moving in right direction." Article on economystresses: "Chinese economic statistics notoriously unreliable.[They]may be getting a bit better but rawofficial data still not much help.[Western experts conclude] measures aimed cooling China's economy over past year have worked" .

The Economist 21 Aug 04 "The Tutsis: The'Jews' of Africa" (37-9):-article both substantial and useful. Offersmuch information about complex history involving Tutsis, including their 94 suffering of genocide in Rwanda, soon afterwards their overthrowing of terrible Congo(Zaire)government of Mobutu Sese Seko, andright up to current governments in area. Extracts here only include some special'social attitude'information affecting security." Central Africa could be stumbling towards another disastrous war.[I]t helps to examine Tutsis' relations with...neighbours ...Who are Tutsis? Some...argue that label is meaningless. But everyone in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo understands it. Stereotypical Tutsi looks like Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame:tall and thin, with a long thin nose. Other cliche about Tutsis is that they live by herding cattle, whereas theirsquat, flat-nosed neighbours(this includes Hutus) subsist by growing crops. In reality, differencesbetween...groups are blurred, and...plenty of intermarriage... Because insecurity makes people turn to theirtribe for protection, faultlines of war quickly become tribal. In this region, that often means Tutsis versus rest. Everywhere they live, Tutsis are small minority. In Rwanda, where they are perhaps 15% of population of 9m, they have been firmly in charge since 94...Public discussion of ethnic differences is, in effect,banned...In Burundi, Hutu-Tutsi relations have been improving, albeit from wretched base.[R]oughly same ethnic mix as Rwanda, but Tutsi elite has run it for much of its 40-odd years of independence, keeping majority down...Situation in Congo is most complex. Because it is so vast and thinly populated, refugees from its crowded, violent neighbours have been thronging there for over century. Some 5% of the 20m people in eastern Congo are now Tutsis. In all three countries, Tutsis feel besieged. Some Tutsis liken themselves to Israelis: they may be few in number and surrounded by enemies, but they survive because they are clever and well-organised, whereas those who would annihilate them are corrupt and incompetent. Many non-Tutsis take a less favourable view. Street talk is that Tutsis are cunning, duplicitous and bent on regional hegemony.

The Economist 28 Aug 04 "Third-World Water and the Private Sector: How Not To Help Those in Need" (Edit.11); "Water in Poor Countries: A Billion Thirsts Quenched" (42); "International Water Companies: The Flood Dries Up" (57-8):-all relate to problem that public/political opinion in poor countrieshas widely seen available/safe water/ sewerage as services to be provided/maintained free by governments. But latter[90%]often inadequate providers, while free consumers are very wasteful. Privatefirms face unfriendly/losing experience, although should be popular. Editorial:" In poor countries drinkingwater comes...irregularly, at some times and places not at all. Then some people die. Vastly more die in many poor countries from non-existence or inadequacy of sewerage systems. [Where firm seeks consumers' payment,]affair has become classic among those[NGOs/]anti-capitalists who argue that water falls free from sky, is basic human need and right, and so no one should profit from supplying it. All of which is true, except conclusion. Rain falls free, but someone has to spend money and deploy skills in getting it to tap, and removing it in sewer. Best organization to do this may well be profit-driven water company[but it is strongly criticized]...Such woes are common in developing world. So is shortage of capital. No wonder World Bank has long called for private-sector skills and money to be brought in" . Second item says WHO claims" sicknesses caused by dirty water and poor sanitation kill about 4,000 children globally each day.[While UN claims]between 90 and 02, extra 1.1b started to enjoy regular supplies of safe water[,b]ecause water infrastructure has not been self-funding,..not been extended to poorest areas, sopoorest have ended up paying inflated prices to black-market water-sellers" .Third item reports manypolitical/business/financial problems faced by private water firms in Third World.

The Economist 28 Aug 04 "China: The Great Leap West" (38):-fine report on scale/impact of "Hanification" (Chinese race and rule)in vast, extreme-western Chinese Xinjiang province, historic area of Uighurs: Muslin Turkic people. Kashgar, Uighurs' key/most western city, forcefully resembling Shanghai/Shenzhen in Han population, structure, even economy, since area now offers new railway, oil pipeline, and large state subsidies. Worse," since 11 Sep 01, Beijing...link[ed]Uighur nationalist groups to al-Qaeda, even announcing...1,000 Uighur trained with Osama bin Laden. [F]ew Uighurs did indeed fightfor Taliban...but most support non-violence[;]little evidence of significant al-Qaeda links.[While]Chinaonce tarred all Uighurs as terrorists.,.now defines terrorist in Xinjiang as anyone who thinks' separatist thoughts' ...and recently detained tens of thousands.,.executed many[AI report. R]ecently said crackdownwould continue indefinitely. [S]mall-scale clashes break out nearly every day.;.instability scares off foreign investors[e.g.pipeline. M]oderate Uighurs, who want autonomy but not necessarily independence, worrythat repression and Chinese immigration are playing into hands of most hardline, conservative elementsin Uighur society. Though Uighurs historically were among world's most liberal/pro-western Muslims,fundamentalist Islam gaining sway among young Uighur men. Still, there is hope. Recognizing threatposed by hardliners, leading moderate... diaspora[united]behiind one leader, Erkin Alptekin.[S]on of pre-1949 president of independent Xinjiang, can become their Dalai Lama, promoting Uighur case in West and serving as moderate, unifying force for nation." Economist 06 Nov 04 "China: Mayhem, Martial Law and Mobiles" (45):-hostility/clash between Chinese of Han majority and Muslim minority may reflect government's above-noted terrorist propaganda against Uighurs or much more varied threat of mayhem. "In Henan province.,.traffic accident[generated majority-minority clash]. Officials confirmed 7 deaths/42 injuries in four days fighting before paramilitary police imposed martial law.[Reports claim]thousands of Hui travelled to scene of riot...to take part in clashes, and that death toll may have been far higher.[F]or China...ethnic discord between Han and Hui is not directly related to deepening hostilitybetween Muslims and non-Muslims in rest of world[,but]that could be changing...Han have been more suspicious and disdainful of China's own Muslims, who in response have turned more defensive.[Also, recent]reports about other incidents of unrest across China. In Sichuan...100,000 farmers took part in violent protests against meagre compensation received after being forced to make way for new dam.In...largest city, quarrel among locals turned violent, with reports of police cars burned and government buildings looted. In[other]provinces labour disputes also turn violent. While those episodes were not connected, Chinese authorities terrified at prospect that future incidents might be. Tension, after all, is rife in China. Unpaid wages are common flashpoint for urban workers, as are arbitrary land grabs by authorities in countryside. Economic hardship and unchecked corruption are facts of life throughout China, and ethnic strife never far below surface wherever minorities live.[F]ear of seeing isolated incidentsturn into prairie fire, guides China's handling of unrest. In Henan, outsiders were barred from region,phone lines swiftly cut, and local media...scrubbed.[Yet]modern communications - mobile phones, text messaging, e-mail - make it easy for malcontents anywhere in China to spread news and link up with others."

The Economist 04 Sep 04 "Reproductive Health: Ten Years' Hard Labour" (74-6); "Genital Mutilation: The Unkindest Cut For A Woman" (75):-International Conference on Population and Development(ICPD)was held by UN in Egypt a decade ago, so both items mainly designed to assess effectiveness of ICPD's new style, but optimum agreed-on, plan. It was "wide-ranging - from more contraception and fewer maternal deaths to better education for girls and greater equality for women. But more than just setting targets...also aimed to change way those at sharp end of making policy and delivering services thought about reproduction. It wanted to move away from focus on family planning...towards broader view of sexual health, and systems and services shaped by individual needs...According to UN Population Fund(UNFPA)61% of married couples now use contraception(11% increase since 94).This has helped pushglobal population growth down from 82m to 76m people/year over past decade. But in some places -particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia- birth rates remain high...Sometimes, high birth rate is result of people wanting large families. But often it is due to lack of affordable contraception...estimated 137m women who want to use contraception cannot obtain it...Poor women still die in huge numbers from complications of pregnancy and childbirth...920 women die for every 100,000 live births in sub-Saharan Africa...Many women go uncounted because they never reach health-care system for treatment in first place...Another subject that needs to be tackled more effectively is youth sex. Largest generation of teenagers in history - whopping 1.3b 10-19-year-olds -now making its sexual debut. How it behaves, and what it learns, is crucial...Few poor countries have earmarked enough of their budgets to meet citizens' reproductive-health needs. Nor have donors lived up to expectations. In 2003, they spent estimated $3.1b on reproductive health...Other causes competing for international funding...AIDS threatens to derail ICPD strategy... What field of reproductive health lacks in resources however, it makes up in ideology. Over past 10 years