MetaFilter posts tagged with UN

We admire your work

cimbrog — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:42:04 -0800

We know the NSA is watching. They have corporate buddies to help them out. But now they've found a true ideological soul mate - China While there are significant hurdles to be overcome for Q6/17's plans to become a reality, it doesn't make people feel any better when they are using justifications like this. [Via]

Saved and Depoliticised at One Stroke

geoff. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:06:13 -0800

"The most startling features of Kosovo, now that the cleansing of the Serbian minority is on hold, are the poverty of the province ... and the pitiful economy that keeps it locked in."

Once a supplier of farm produce to other parts of Yugoslavia, Kosovo now brings in almost all its food, along with fuel and building materials. Its leading ‘export’ is scrap metal, a harvest of rundown plant from the Milosevic era and Nato bomb damage. Kosovo’s trade gap is dramatic: imports account for 90 per cent of legal cross-border trade ... The ambiguous status of the territory has been a large disincentive to foreign investors. Who can tell where their capital will be tied up or their taxes levied ten years from now? In a largely autonomous part of Serbia? A protectorate run by a handful of jaded international bodies? Or Europe’s latest sovereign state?

A Changing Neighborhood

Kronos_to_Earth — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:14:49 -0800

Before and after sattellite photos (along with much more information) of the effects of climate change over the past 30 years are available through UNEP's (the United Nations Environment Programme) Atlas of Our Changing Environment (Via)

Mugabe Attempts to Beat Zimbabwe into Submission

shivohum — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:57 -0800

"'If voters fail to return Mr. Mugabe to office...Prepare to be a war correspondent.' Mugabe's party in Zimbabwe spasms into mass repression and political violence to prevent Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change from winning power. The African Union dithers, as does the UN (as it gives Zimbabwe leadership positions). Many Chinese rationalize their government's weapon shipment. According to the government-published Herald, everything's just fine. What are the options?

World Governments & Accountability

Rykey — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:05:46 -0800

Social Watch monitors the progress of efforts, articulated in numerous international agreements (1 2 3), to end poverty and increase equality worldwide. By coordinating the reports of a network of citizens' organizations, Social Watch aims to keep tabs on progress toward specific initiatives in each country, lobbying national governments as appropriate. Search by country for a snapshot of social and economic progress. Browse various measures of stability and meaningful development. Lots more, including meaty, well-documented reports and statistics, and holy crapola, nice graphics.

Victor Bout, the Merchant of Death, has been caught.

krautland — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:05:26 -0800

NYT Article The man who served as inspiration for the 2005 Nicolas Cage's 2005 flick "Lord of War," arms trafficer Victor Bout, has been arrested in Thailand. "the world’s most efficient postman" is said to have owned his own fleet of aircraft to ferry small arms into embargoed conflict zones. old articles about him: The Embargo Buster: Fueling Bloody Civil Wars, Arms and the Man (NYT Mag).

I for one welcome our new "Controllers"

monospace — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:00:21 -0800

It's official. The aliens are coming. In 2017. Turns out they might like The Beatles after all. The UN is on the case. The Hindus are going to be especially upset.

Global Development By The Numbers

StrikeTheViol — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:26:22 -0800

The new UN Human Development Report is out. Lots of interesting stuff on climate change. But for me, nothing beats the Human Development Index, a number that means different things to different people.

Scientists are getting a bit nervous.

salvia — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:23:23 -0800

In what it calls "the final wake-up call to the international community," a UN report (press release, website, 21 MB PDF) warns that damage to the environment is reaching a "point of no return" and now threatens "humanity's very survival." Oh, c'mon, tell us what you really think.

Ahimsa

infini — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:35:20 -0800

On June 15th, 2007, the UN unanimously adopted a resolution declaring October 2 to be the "International Day of Non-Violence." October 2 is also Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi,a national holiday in India in honor of the man called the "Father of the Nation". Previously on Mefi, Gandhi's heirs - five champions of non violence and Everything you wanted to know about Gandhi. As an aside, Mahatma Gandhi and the ruling Gandhi family of India are neither related nor from the same caste or community. This little known fact causes much confusion outside of India - Indira Gandhi, nee Nehru - was a Kashmiri Pandit, and married a Parsi gentleman called Feroze Gandhi. MK Gandhi was from the state of Gujurat and belonged to bania or vysa caste.