Last month, ex-NBA basketball player, Dennis Rodman, did what many political leaders will never have the opportunity to do. He made the long trip over to North Korea and met with its mysterious and very powerful leader, Kim Jong Un.
North Korea is known for its isolation, yet, recently, has begun to make huge headlines in the United States. North Korea and the United States have never been allies and tension between the two countries have existed for years. North Korea’s nuclear test last month has only increased this tension, making new threats against American military bases in Japan and in Guam even more pressing and serious. The threat came earlier this month from a spokesperson for the Supreme Command of the North Korean People’s Army, who said “the U.S. should not forget that the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, where B-52s take off, and naval bases in Japan proper and Okinawa, where nuclear-powered submarines are launched, are within the striking range of the D.P.R.K.’s precision strike means.” Videos depicting the White House and Congress buildings being blown up have recently come out of North Korea.
Yet, even with all of this, communication between President Obama and Kim Jong Un has been very little. In fact, any communication on the matter, is made through the media. The spokesperson for the Supreme Command of the North Korean People’s Army made his statement to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The Pentagon retaliated by making a rare announcement about the missions nucelar-capable B-52 bombers have and will continue to take over South Korea.
Chances of any U.S. political official making his or her way to a police state, such as North Korea is very rare. And, yet, Dennis Rodman recently acted as an ambassador for the Harlem Globetrotters, flying to North Korea to meet and spend two days with Kim Jong Un.
Dennis Rodman has come back with a lot of insight into Kim Jong Un, making it seem as if the North Korean dictator is willing to speak directly with President Obama to meet some sort of peace agreement. He even offered advice to Kim Jong Un in talking to President Obama, saying, “[Kim] loves basketball. And I said the same thing, I said, ‘Obama loves basketball.’ Let’s start there.” While President Obama has not made any efforts to talk to Kim Jong Un, Dennis Rodman has been making his rounds to talk about his trip to North Korea, appearing on many talk and news shows. Recently he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and referred to Kim Jong Un as his friend and a nice guy. In an interview on “This Week,” Dennis Rodman on talking about Kim Jong Un said, “I love him. He’s awesome.”
Whether or not Dennis Rodman’s knowledge of North Korea and Kim Jong Un will be helpful to the United States in its dispute with North Korea is unknown as U.S. State Department officials have no plans to debrief the former basketball star. Former deputy assistant secretary of state, Col. Steve Ganyard, finds this ridiculous as “There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman.”
-Angela Hooks
Sources: CNN, NY Times, ABC News
Photo: CBS News
Dennis Rodman Travels to North Korea and Meets Kim Jong Un
Last month, ex-NBA basketball player, Dennis Rodman, did what many political leaders will never have the opportunity to do. He made the long trip over to North Korea and met with its mysterious and very powerful leader, Kim Jong Un.
North Korea is known for its isolation, yet, recently, has begun to make huge headlines in the United States. North Korea and the United States have never been allies and tension between the two countries have existed for years. North Korea’s nuclear test last month has only increased this tension, making new threats against American military bases in Japan and in Guam even more pressing and serious. The threat came earlier this month from a spokesperson for the Supreme Command of the North Korean People’s Army, who said “the U.S. should not forget that the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, where B-52s take off, and naval bases in Japan proper and Okinawa, where nuclear-powered submarines are launched, are within the striking range of the D.P.R.K.’s precision strike means.” Videos depicting the White House and Congress buildings being blown up have recently come out of North Korea.
Yet, even with all of this, communication between President Obama and Kim Jong Un has been very little. In fact, any communication on the matter, is made through the media. The spokesperson for the Supreme Command of the North Korean People’s Army made his statement to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The Pentagon retaliated by making a rare announcement about the missions nucelar-capable B-52 bombers have and will continue to take over South Korea.
Chances of any U.S. political official making his or her way to a police state, such as North Korea is very rare. And, yet, Dennis Rodman recently acted as an ambassador for the Harlem Globetrotters, flying to North Korea to meet and spend two days with Kim Jong Un.
Dennis Rodman has come back with a lot of insight into Kim Jong Un, making it seem as if the North Korean dictator is willing to speak directly with President Obama to meet some sort of peace agreement. He even offered advice to Kim Jong Un in talking to President Obama, saying, “[Kim] loves basketball. And I said the same thing, I said, ‘Obama loves basketball.’ Let’s start there.” While President Obama has not made any efforts to talk to Kim Jong Un, Dennis Rodman has been making his rounds to talk about his trip to North Korea, appearing on many talk and news shows. Recently he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and referred to Kim Jong Un as his friend and a nice guy. In an interview on “This Week,” Dennis Rodman on talking about Kim Jong Un said, “I love him. He’s awesome.”
Whether or not Dennis Rodman’s knowledge of North Korea and Kim Jong Un will be helpful to the United States in its dispute with North Korea is unknown as U.S. State Department officials have no plans to debrief the former basketball star. Former deputy assistant secretary of state, Col. Steve Ganyard, finds this ridiculous as “There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman.”
-Angela Hooks
Sources: CNN, NY Times, ABC News
Photo: CBS News
USAID Funds Partnerships for Women’s Leadership
The partnership between universities aims at encouraging women’s status in a number of vital sectors for economic development, including agriculture, business, and education. The goals of the program also fall in line with previous goals laid out by USAID as part of the Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy, which was released in 2012.
HED will be in charge of administering the programs, which will total one in each country and two in Rwanda. Funding for the program from USAID will total $8.75 million.
Some of the more specific goals of the Women’s Leadership Program will include increased access to higher education and advanced degrees for women, increases in foreign universities research on women’s leadership, and encourage women’s leadership through advocacy in struggling communities. The American universities that are participating in the program are Arizona State University, Michigan State, Indiana University, UCLA, and the University of Florida.
USAID Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Carla Koppell, said “USAID is very excited to be collaborating with academic institutions in the United States and abroad in advancing women’s leadership. These partnerships offer a meaningful and important opportunity to ensure women are empowered and advance in economies and societies globally.”
– Christina Kindlon
Source: USAID
World Water Day: Palestine Edition
In honor of the World Water Day, March 22nd, the Thirsting for Justice Campaign has called for solidarity with the Palestinian people and children who lack sufficient clean and safe water. The campaign suggests to all supporters to organize “community teach-ins” to gain factual insight and spread awareness regarding the Palestinians’ challenges under Israeli occupation, specifically their challenges when trying to access clean water since water supply is controlled by the Israeli army. The teach-ins would also push for discussion on the courses of action that must be taken to achieve Palestinian water rights.
As a Thirsting for Justice initiative, along with the Jenin Freedom Theater, “hundreds of Palestinians and internationals in the West Bank” occupied the Jordan Valley and walked leaving their footmarks on this global Water Day; the West Bank demands to be heard and is taking action through its people’s “walk for water justice.”
To join the teach-in action, check out Thirsting For Justice
–Leen Abdallah
Source: Thirsting for Justice
Photo: Thirsting for Justice: Visualizing Palestine
What Is The Poverty Line?
Stefen is a photographer while his wife Hui-yi is an economist. From their frequent traveling, both had become affected by the vast differences between not only the rich and poor but the differences between the poor in each country. The question and this mission became to document what it really meant to be poor.
Although calories are the same around the world, how much can $4.91 buy-in America compared to 64 cents in Madagascar? Through their investigation, the couple spoke with the poor, trying to gain real insight into how they shop for their food. They took into account the basic essentials such as grains, fish, and vegetables but also included food such as candy and more extravagant meats to see how much could be bought in each country.
Going through the markets, Stefen Chow would photograph each amount of food against a newspaper. When asked why he chose this specific setting, he responded that as a photojournalist, the newspaper was merely a product of the artistic process. His focus was on poverty and before visiting each country, they only had in mind the set currency amount they had to work with and nothing else.
Recently, their website received a makeover. It is absolutely amazing how interactive it is with all prices listed in USD. Site visitors can easily see how much meat could be bought in Switzerland, a country whose food allowance for those at the poverty line is $10.25, compared to Nepal, where the poor are expected to survive on 45 cents per day. Images are separated based on developed countries, developing countries, food groups, and even processed or unprocessed foods.
Simple awareness through such well-assembled visual representation will no doubt bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the site. It may shock some while confirming the assumptions of others. It can also exemplify a need for policy changes in certain countries where controversy exists whether the set caloric intake as well as money allocated to food is enough for someone to survive on.
– Deena Dulgerian
Source: BBC
Photo: The Poverty Line
More US Aid to Jordan to Help With Syrian Refugees
The Civil War in Syria has driven thousands of people out of the country and into Jordan. This has resulted in major problems in Jordan as they try to figure out what to do with all of the Syrian refugees. Recently, President Barack Obama made a public announcement offering $200 million in U.S. aid to help with the Syrian refugees in Jordan.
This pledge from Barack Obama for foreign aid money comes at an interesting time as it follows the extensive budget cuts recently put in place by the United States Congress. However, President Obama seems adamant on offering aid money to Jordan for basic services to help place and educate displaced Syrians, saying he will work with Congress to find a way to give $200 million extra dollars in U.S. aid. According to Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whom Obama met with on Friday, March 22, more than 460,000 Syrians have fled their country in search of refuge within the Jordanian borders. This number is estimated to double in the upcoming months if the turmoil in Syria continues.
Putting these numbers into perspective: 460,000 people make up approximately a tenth of the Jordanian population. Doubling the number of Syrian refugees causes an almost 25% increase in the number of people in Jordan.
This increase in people will have serious effects on the economic situation in Jordan. Some economists predict a nearly 30% unemployment rate by the end of the year as more and more Syrians pour into the county. These many refugees are also predicted to cost over $1 billion. Yet, King Abdullah pledges to not turn away any refugees, asking “how are you going to turn back women, children or the wounded?”
The Obama administration seems committed to helping end the fighting in Syria, pushing for the current Syrian president Assad to step down. Yet, Obama absolutely refuses to provide U.S. military assistance for the Syrian opposition movement, saying that interference may discredit the message the Syrian rebels are advocating or may lead to even larger security issues. Financial support in Jordan to take care of the many Syrian refugees seems to be a substitute solution for showing its support for bringing peace to Syria without getting directly involved in the civil war.
Obama pledging the extra aid money is only half of the equation. Congress must now scrape together this money, which may be a difficult task, as evident from the inability for Congress to come to an agreement over budget cuts.
– Angela Hooks
Sources: CNN, Wall Street Journal
Photo: UPI
Abu Dhabi at the Forefront of Solar Energy Development
The energy produced by the plant, called Shams 1, will increase Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy source consumption to 7% of its total energy consumption. The plant is part of what the head of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co., Ahmed al Jaber, called a “strategic plan to diversify energy sources in Abu Dhabi.” It is the first of several plants scheduled for development in the coming years.
Shams 1 has a similar design to California’s Solar Energy Generating System (SEGS). Even though Shams 1 is the largest single plant, the nine SEGS plants combined generate three times as much energy.
The irony of Abu Dhabi’s use of its oil money cannot be overlooked: by investing in solar energy development for its own electricity needs, Abu Dhabi will be able to export even more of its bountiful oil resources. Shams 1 will eliminate 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent carbon dioxide production of 15,000 cars.
But how many more cars across the globe will the city’s oil reserves enable to run, even as Abu Dhabi cleans up its own energy usage?
– Kat Henrichs
Source: NPR
Photo:Giz Mag
5 Reasons Africa May Be A Future Leader in Science and Technology
Despite the widespread struggle with governmental stability, Africa continues to make big contributions to global science and technology. Literacy and higher education development seem to be at the forefront of problems in Africa, but there are many positive developments as well which foretell an optimistic future for African scientific and technological development. Here are 5 reasons Africa may be a future leader in science and technology.
1. The Square Kilometre Array
The Square Kilometre Array is a current collaborative international radio telescope project that involves Australia as well as eight sub-Saharan African countries. Once completed in 2024, the telescope will be the largest and most sensitive on the planet allowing scientists to address the most pressing unanswered questions of the universe.
2. The Next Einstein Initiative
Since its creation in 2008, the Next Einstein initiative, created by Neil Turok, has been establishing centers of excellence in African nations with the intent of providing a nurturing environment for budding scientific minds. The goal of the organization is to help create the world’s next great scientist.
3. Previous Contributions to HIV Research
Since the 1980s when Africa became a hub for research regarding HIV, Africa has further contributed to research and breakthroughs regarding the virus. Among these breakthroughs was the understanding of mother-to-child transmission.
4. The MeerKAT Radio Telescope
Predicted to be operational in 2016, the MeerKAT radio telescope will be the largest and most powerful radio telescope until the completion of the Square Kilometer Array in 2024. The possible areas for MeerKAT research will be cosmic magnetism, galactic evolution and dark matter research.
5. Silicon Savannah
Konza City, nicknamed Africa’s ‘Silicon Savannah,’ will be an entire city in Kenya dedicated to research and technological development. The city will be roughly 5,000 acres, 64 km south of Nairobi, and is projected to create 100,000 jobs by 2030.
While these developments foreshadow a positive progression of the African contribution to science and technology, one problem still exists. Many African communities still struggle with making higher education available to students. The previous developments have occurred despite this setback and, as a higher educational infrastructure begins to come to fruition, more progress is certain to be on the way.
– Pete Grapentien
Source BBC
Scientific Breakthrough in Stressed Free Crops
Researchers from Cornell University in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research have been conducting fascinating studies into the high aluminum tolerance of Ethiopian Maize and Brazilian Sorghum. Why aluminum? Well to start, the aluminum present in the clay of soils with a highly acidic pH dissolves, which is toxic when absorbed by nearby root systems. Amazingly, researchers were able to break down the genome of the aluminum tolerant species of maize and identify key gene copies known as MATE1 that were linked to the unusual trait. Moreover, by isolating and identifying the genes that enable crops to thrive in lands regarded as non-arable, stress-free crops can be grown in all types of climates and soil compositions.
In regards to stressed free crops, USDA Director of the Agricultural Research Service Leon Kochian remarked that “Aluminum tolerance in Maize is associated with higher MATE1 gene copy number. This could be a key factor for other traits of agricultural importance.”
The prospect of farmers being able to grow stress-free crops in areas that were once written off as unusable gives pause for optimism in nations that have been plagued with chronic food shortages and low soil efficacy. By unlocking the amazing potential of stressed free crops, remote areas that were once dependent on foreign aid can now reach the goal of sustainable development through aluminum tolerant maize.
– Brian Turner
Source: Science Daily
Photo:Nation Sydication
Author Chinua Achebe Dies at 82
Living in London in the late 1950s, Achebe struggled to find a publisher for his first work. “Things Fall Apart” was finally published in 1958, and its influence cannot be overstated. It has been described as “among the most important books of the 20th century, [and] a universally acknowledged starting point for postcolonial, indigenous African fiction.” A story about a tribal Nigerian man’s troubles with British colonialists, Achebe’s novel influenced famous authors like Toni Morrison and Junot Diaz.
After catapulting into the center of the debate over Nigerian democracy, Achebe had found himself at times being labeled an enemy of the state, and at other times refusing prestigious literary awards from what he considered to be an illegitimate government. A tireless critic of authoritarianism, he claimed that it stifles individuals and creates mediocrity, which “destroys the very fabric of a country as surely as a war.” He urged Nigerians and all Africans to be passionate about the future and to use that passion to work to bring their visions into reality. Achebe lived much of his life in the United States, mostly for his own safety. He had taught at Brown University since 2009, previously working at Bard College. He leaves behind a legacy that will undoubtedly stand the test of time and inspire millions more.
– Jake Simon
Source: Washington Post
UN’s Conversation on Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals have served as an overarching global framework for improving the lives of the billions who do not benefit from (and sometimes are actively harmed by) today’s globalized economy. Several categories have benchmarks designed to measure and improve the factors which contribute to poverty and development traps, like poor maternal health, a lack of education, and preventable diseases. Projects all over the world are ongoing every day to help bring everyone forward, even if it is only a little bit at a time.
“The Global Conversation Begins” report will be distributed to over 100 Member States, which take part in the negotiations which cover the creation and implementation of these goals. Major findings called for an acceleration of progress, while also pointing to the desire of people all around the world to help oversee and implement programs that work towards the MDGs. John Hendra, Co-Chair of the MDG Taskforce, explains that he sees “huge energy and appetite to engage in these global consultations,” and for that reason, many at the UN are optimistic about humanity’s ability to coalesce around development goals for the benefit of our common future.
– Jake Simon
Source: UNDP