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France unveils 'harshest budget in 30 years'

Sat, 2012-09-29 20:18 — Maeryn Obley

François Hollande has described the 2013 plans as a 'combat budget'. Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA

Image: François Hollande has described the 2013 plans as a 'combat budget'. Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA

guardian.co.uk - September 28th, 2012 - Kim Willsher

To the dismay of a swath of French bankers, business leaders and the wealthy, President François Hollande has remained true to his word and unveiled €20bn (£16bn) in new taxes, including a 75% "supertax" band that will hit the rich.

In what Hollande has described as France's harshest budget in 30 years, business and personal taxpayers were asked on Friday to make an "unprecedented effort" to slash the country's public spending deficit.

However, the Socialist government sidestepped swingeing cuts in public spending, including pensions and state salaries, in its 2013 budget, which aims to find €36.9bn in savings.

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Obama uses UN speech to condemn extremism

Thu, 2012-09-27 10:02 — Maeryn Obley

Barack Obama paid a personal tribute to Chris Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya who was killed in the attack on Benghazi. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP

Image: Barack Obama paid a personal tribute to Chris Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya who was killed in the attack on Benghazi. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP

guardian.co.uk - September 25th, 2012 - Julian Borger

President Barack Obama today sought to reset US relations with the Arab world in the wake of anti-American riots triggered by an amateur video insulting the prophet Mohamed, that led to the death of the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens.

Obama used his speech to the UN general assembly, expected to be his last major foreign policy address before the November elections, to pay a personal tribute to Stevens, highlighting the murdered diplomat's passion for Arab culture and support for democracy, and present it a model for American-Arab relations.

The president also restated the US position on the Iran nuclear programme: that there was still time for diplomacy, but not "unlimited time".

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The G-20 and Food Security

Wed, 2012-09-26 18:11 — Maeryn Obley

Farmer with corn.Image: Farmer with corn.

submitted by Robert G. Ross

stanleyfoundation.org - September 2012

Spikes in the price of staple food commodities are pushing the issue of food security higher on the G-20 agenda. The Mexican finance ministry confirmed that the topic will be prominent for the next meeting of deputy finance ministers and central banks on September 23–24. The officials are mindful of the 2008 global crisis that sparked food riots in some 30 different countries, as well as the G-20’s own commitments to tackle price volatility. Prices rose by an alarming 10 percent earlier this summer, though the most recent reports have shown them stabilizing.

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What's the long-term impact of the EU’s carbon market crisis?

Wed, 2012-08-08 00:22 — Maeryn Obley

greenbiz.com - Bruce Kennedy - July 31st, 2012

The European Union’s new plan to shore up its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) following a plunge in carbon prices underscores just how volatile – and vulnerable – the carbon emissions trading market has become.

Battered by global economic uncertainty, an overuse of allowances and political polarization, the ETS will probably remain in limbo until at least September. That’s when the EU’s climate change commission next meets.

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4 Videos: Failed States Index 2012 Launch

Sun, 2012-07-22 16:42 — Kathy Gilbeaux

fundforpeace.org

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Resilience Alliance

Sat, 2012-01-28 13:29 — mdmcdonald

There are many definitions of resilience from simple deterministic views of resilience anchored in Newtonian mechanics to far more dynamic views of resilience from a systems perspective, including insights from quantum mechanics and the sciences of complexity.  One baseline perspective of resilience sees it in terms of the viability of socio-ecological systems as the foundation for sustainability.  For those that are ready to look beyond resilience as the ability to return to the "normal state" before a disaster, take a look at:

http://www.resalliance.org/

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Mesh Cities

Sat, 2012-01-28 12:54 — mdmcdonald

 

What does it take to become a smart city?  Why are mesh cities important to sustainability?

 

For more information:

<http://www.meshcities.com/>

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USUN - Passage of the Fifth Committee Regular Budget for the 2012-2013 Biennium

Wed, 2012-01-04 22:33 — Kathy Gilbeaux

        

New York, New York - December 29, 2011

The United States is proud to have negotiated, alongside our international partners, a strengthened, more efficient, and more effective United Nations budget that saves the American taxpayers millions of dollars and sets the United Nations on the path of real fiscal discipline and continued reform. Highlights of the 2012-2013 biennium budget include:

· A 5% overall cut in the size of the UN budget. The total budget of $5.153 billion represents the first time in 14 years – and only the second time in the last 50 years – that the General Assembly has approved a regular budget level below the previous biennia’s final appropriation ($5.41 billion in 2010-2011). When factoring in the difference between the likely budget level based on historic patterns and the budget approved last week, this budget represents a savings to American taxpayers of as much as $100 million.

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"The Arab Spring: A New Era in a Transforming Globe" -- What is the Catalytic Role of Social Media?

Wed, 2011-11-09 07:56 — mdmcdonald

This article by Alon Ben-Meir at NYU's Center for Global Affairs brings to light a globalizing transformation being driven by youth using social media, which he predicts has long-lasting world-changing implications. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-benmeir/the-arab-spring-a-new-era_b_1082577.html

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Guardian: Maps and Lists of Occupy Everywhere Sites

Mon, 2011-10-24 07:42 — mdmcdonald

 

The below Guardian article provides a map and lists of where Occupy Everywhere protests are emerging.  They are primarily, but not exclusively in the U.S. and Europe, in countries where the economy is in significant decline and inequities are significant.  In most of these places, the youth fear that their future will be worse than their parents, due to the greed of a global elite insensitive to the destruction they have caused economically and environmentally.

 

The list includes 951 cities in 82 countries.

 

To see the story and full list, go to:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/17/occupy-protests-world-list-map

 

 

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