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Communities speak out : hear our voice : the vitality of official language minority communities

In the fall of 2006, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages undertook a study on the vitality of official language minority communities. This study incorporated two previous studies conducted in the fall of 2006 regarding health care and immigration (House of Commons, Canada, May 2007).

http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10472&Lang=1&SourceId=206228

(Added: Fri Oct 05 2007   Hits: 81)

Cote d' Ivoire: Cabinet resigns over toxic fumes scandal

President Laurent Gbagbo has accepted the unprecedented resignation of Cote d'Ivoire's cabinet as anger mounts over the dumping of toxic waste in the main city, Abidjan, that made hundreds ill. The waste, which was discarded in various residential areas, is residue from gasoline cargo shipped to Abidjan's port last month. The health scandal adds to an already tense atmosphere in Cote d'Ivoire as talks on Tuesday to break a deadlock over the country's peace process failed. (IRIN News, September 7, 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55451&SelectRegion=West_Africa

(Added: Wed Sep 13 2006   Hits: 200)

Crossing The Line: The Bush Administration's Efforts To Expand Its Powerful Reach

This report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) details efforts by the Bush administration to establish case law that equates the power of the vice presidency with the power of the presidency; and how the Bush administration is intent on expanding the power of executive privilege well beyond constitutional bounds by repeated constitutional overreaching and abuse of executive power and prerogative. (CREW, 3 July 2007).

http://www.citizensforethics.org/files/Crossing%20the%20Line.pdf

(Added: Wed Jul 04 2007   Hits: 127)

DRC: Lead-up to elections - backgrounder

The general elections due on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are billed as the first fully democratic vote to be held in the country since Patrice Lumumba became prime minister in 1960. Beginning with his murder a year later, and the coup in 1965 staged by Mobutu Sese Seko, who introduced a one-party system, the past 40 years have witnessed the systematic impoverishment of one of the potentially wealthiest countries on the African continent (IRIN News, 25 June 2007).

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=59726

(Added: Tue Jun 26 2007   Hits: 124)

Ecuador: Overcoming Instability?

Ecuador has been Latin America's most unstable democracy for a decade. Starting with the ousting of President Abdala; Bucaram by Congress and street protests in 1997, weak, temporary governments have been the rule. In 2000, Jamil Mahuad was toppled by a civilian-military coup, and in 2005 protests brought down Lucio Gutierrez, who had helped oust Mahuad. The government of Rafael Correa of the Alianza Pais (AP) movement, who took office in January and enjoys record-high approval ratings, is applying "shock therapy" to overwhelm the discredited opposition and pave the way for a constituent assembly (CA) intended to produce "profound, radical and fast change". This triggered one of the sharpest clashes between branches of government since the return to democracy in 1979, including the Electoral Court's firing of 57 opposition members of Congress in March, accompanied by street violence. To restore stability to the troubled country, Correa will need to pay more attention to upholding the rule of law, ensuring a level CA playing field and building consensus for fundamental reforms.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/latin_america/22_ecuador__overcoming_instability.pdf

(Added: Wed Aug 29 2007   Hits: 107)

Fair trade and development- International Development Committee, 7th Report

A report from the House of Commons International Development Committee. It considers the growth and increased awareness of fair trade in the UK, government's approach to fair trade, impacts on producers, consumers and companies, challenges and limits to fair trade and the future role of government and donors (House of Commons, 2007).

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmintdev/356/35602.htm

(Added: Fri Oct 05 2007   Hits: 74)

Five Yearly Report on New Zealand's Progress in Complying with the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

This is New Zealand's 15th, 16th and 17th Consolidated Periodic Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Report covers the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures adopted in the review period which give effect to the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. (Ministry of Foreign Afairs and Trade, 8 March 2007)

http://www.hrc.co.nz/hrc_new/hrc/cms/files/documents/08-Mar-2007_18-22-19_CERD__FINAL_v1.doc

(Added: Tue Apr 03 2007   Hits: 167)

Ministry for the Environment- Manatu Mo Te Taiao

The New Zealand Ministry for the Environment is charged with developing New Zealand's policies on climate change.

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/

(Added: Fri Oct 12 2007   Modified: Thu Oct 18 2007   Hits: 85)

Taking Democracy Global: assessing the benefits and challenges of a global parliamentary assembly

Increasingly the world's diverse political communities - local, provincial and national - have at their common core a popularly elected legistative body. This booklet is dedicated to the proposition that the increasingly powerful internationl system should no longer stand apart from the movement to democratise planetary social life. Justifying this proposition are the twin realisations that a Global Parliamentary Assembly (GPA) is becoming increasingly desireable and is now possible.

http://www.oneworldtrust.org/documents/taking%20democracy%20global.pdf

(Added: Thu Sep 21 2006   Hits: 169)

The deepening of Venezuela's Bolivarian revolution: why most people don't get it

The radical project led by Hugo Chávez in Venezuela can't be understood through the distorting lens of its inveterate opponents, says Julia Buxton. This is a politics for the future with emancipation, participation - and popular support - at its heart. (Julie Buxton, Open Democracy)

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/deepening_revolution_4592.jsp

(Added: Thu May 17 2007   Hits: 128)

The Role of Government in Agricultural Innovation: Lessons from Bolivia

This brief presents the results of a study on the role of the Bolivian government in guiding and managing the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System (SIBTA). The study found that despite a number of weaknesses related to the design of the system and the government's limited commitment, the regional foundations have been able to effectively identify the demands of small farmers, set priorities, and provide transparency and accountability with regard to funding and decisionmaking (IFPRI, October 2007).

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/rb08.asp

(Added: Mon Nov 12 2007   Hits: 58)

Turkey and Europe: The Way Ahead

Turkey and the European Union have been talking about Turkey's prospects of joining. This report discusses what needs to happen before that time comes, what benefits could be reaped, and the challenges that await (International Crisis Group, 17 August 2007).

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/europe/184_turkey_and_europe___the_way_ahead.pdf

(Added: Wed Aug 29 2007   Hits: 99)

Women and Food Crisis: How US Food Aid Policies Can Better Support Their Struggles

Over the last few decades, food crises have become distressingly common phenomena. Women are often at the center of these emergencies, though the disproportionate impact of hunger on women is too often hidden within the dire aggregate statistics. But the role of women in providing solutions to these crises is also too often overlooked. This discussion paper from ActionAid USA's Karen Hansen-Kuhn suggests how such oversights may be corrected to the benefit of entire communities in crisis. Illustrated by case studies from Kenya and Malawi (Karen Hansen-Kuhn, ActionAid USA, 2007).

http://www.actionaidusa.org/pdf/Report-Women_and_Food_Crisis_Paper300.pdf

(Added: Tue Oct 02 2007   Modified: Fri Oct 05 2007   Hits: 122)

Worldwide Governments on the WWW

Links to the websites of national governments worldwide.

http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/world.html

(Added: Thu Jul 10 2003   Hits: 385)

Zimbabwe: Zanu PF, MDC Talks Must Aim for Common Good

The mediation process between the main political parties Zanu PF and MDC that is being brokered by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has torched debate not only among ordinary men and women but at very important global forums as well. It is a process whose outcome will claim a place in global geo-politics, with special reference to Africa as a continent and the SADC region in particular. (Webster Zambara, All Africa , 1 July 2007).

http://allafrica.com/stories/200707021106.html

(Added: Thu Jul 05 2007   Hits: 123)