Of potential interest...
1. The Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Created in 1982, The Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE)is an interdisciplinary research project that focuses on “…international economic competition and the development and application of advanced technologies”. Moving between the worlds of the private sector to interactions with fellow scholars and policymakers, BRIE has created a number of thought-provoking documents for the web-browsing public and placedthem on this site. Visitors who require a bit more background material may want to first visit the “About BRIE” area which includes information ontheir objectives and research mission. After taking a look at the materials there, interested parties should proceed to the “Publications” area, which contains a very nice working papers area. Here visitors can download such intriguing titles as “Transforming Politics in a Digital Era” and “BoomBoxes: Shipping Containers and Terrorists”. [KMG]
2. Early U.S.-Korea Diplomatic Relations
Many aspects of history can be examined through the use of visual materials, and certainly the emerging relationship between the United States and Korea is no exception. Drawing on a collection of photographs and sketches executed by Willard Dickerman Straight in 1904 and 1905, this comprehensive exhibit from Cornell University uses these materials to create “a visual and contextual narrative of Korea at a most critical juncture in its more recent, modern history”. First-time visitors will want to peruse the Flash-enabled timeline offered here to get a sense of the emerging relationship between these two nations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Interestingly enough, Straight himself was a graduate of Cornell, and he also helped found The New Republic magazine. Additional information about Straight can be found in the biographical essay offered here, and offers a bit of helpful background before delving into the photographic database.[KMG]
5. The Deadly Virus: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
The history of human civilizations is rife with disastrous epidemics and plagues, a fact that is sometimes lost on modern-day pundits and commentators. Fortunately, the National Archives hasn’t forgotten about one of history’s more recent tragedies, namely the influenza epidemic of 1918. They recently created this engaging and fascinating collection of documents and photographs that offer a first-hand perspective on this epidemic. All told, the collection offered here contains several dozen primary source materials, including a directive from the Navy in order to educate sailors about the health risks of the disease and a photograph of Seattle police officers clad in protective face masks. One special feature of the site is that visitors can also order copies of the documents, if they are so inclined. Overall, this is a well-designed site that offers a glimpse of theAmerican perspective on this rampant epidemic which eventually killed 20 million people across the world. [KMG]
9. Institute for Global Ethics
A number of organizations and think-tanks have taken on the most pressing questions of our day, but relatively few have addressed such quandaries as basic as “Are there a core of shared, moral values?” In 1990, the Institute for Global Ethics started with this crucial inquiry and expanded their scope to work towards understanding these values. From the homepage, visitors can read through their online resources, which include the Ethics Newsline (a weekly electronic newsletter), letters from their president, and a number of topical white papers. Some of these papers have rather compelling titles, such as “Ethics and the Learned Professions” and “Corporate Social Responsibility and Peacebuilding: A Case for Action in Israel and the Palestinian Territories”. Finally, users of the site may also wish to take alook at their calendar of upcoming seminars and lectures. [KMG]
====== In The News ====
15. Forum draws attention to water supply in the developing world
- World’s poor rely on bottled water
- Big water companies quit poor countries
- 10,000 protest at water summit
- 4th World Water Forum
- World Water Day
It goes without saying that water is an essential aspect of everyday life, but for literally billions of people in the world, securing even small amounts of water is tremendously difficult, if not impossible. As the 4th World Water Forum concluded this week in Mexico City, there were a number of questions that remained on the minds of a number of organizations, policy groups, protestors, and other concerned parties. One question that was particularly vexing was the fact that in recent years, a number of large private multinational companies had been purchasing municipal water systems, particularly in the developing world, and then making significant rate increases. This development was not one lost on concerned citizens and activists either, as close to 10,000 demonstrated in Mexico City, chanting,“Water is not for sale!” While well intended, the chant might have been a bit inaccurate, as bottled water is frequently for sale in the developing world, and often it is the only kind that is drinkable. Of course, as one official pointed out at the Forum, bottled water is exponentially more expensive than providing tap water through a municipally held water facility. [KMG]
The first site will take visitors to a good article on the provisioning of water by multinational companies to the world’s poor from this Wednesday’s San Jose Mercury-News. The second link leads visitors to a piece from The Guardian, which reviews a recent report from the UN that discusses how a number of companies have withdrawn from the business of supplying water inthe developing world. The third link leads to a piece from Al-Jazeera on the recent protest at the World Water Forum in Mexico City. The fourth link whisks visitors away to a trenchant opinion piece about the lack of safe water supplies in the developing world authored by Joanne Green, a public policy adviser at the Tearfund organization. The fifth link leads to the homepage of the 4th World Water Forum. Here, visitors can learn about the different sessions offered at the Forum, and also review a number of working papers and archived webcasts. The final link leads to the homepage of World Water Day, where visitors can learn about the event, and examine a number of fact sheets on the state of the world’s water. [KMG]
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