Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1787 that "The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them."
Monday, April 20, 2009
Oxfam
Please go to the website of Oxfam International. Spend a few minutes on it, going to links of your choice. Briefly, list some new information you learned from the site. Why is this information important for international relations?
While browsing Oxfam’s website I learned the following facts. Oxfam’s original mission was to fight global poverty. It now considers climate change to be an issue of such importance that it has added fighting climate change to its mission. Climate change is directly related to global poverty because it greatly affects lesser developed countries and their ability to deal with its effects. Climate related poverty has now become such a problem that it has been termed “climate poverty”. According to Oxfam “In six years time the number of people affected by climatic crises is projected to rise by 54 per cent to 375 million people, threatening to overwhelm the humanitarian aid system”. It is estimated up to a billion people will be forced from their homes by 2050 due to climate change, environmental degradation, and conflict. This alone is cause for alarm. Another issue that seems to be a common factor within most of the emergencies listed on their website is the lack of or lack of access to clean potable water. Why is this information important to international relations? First, let us ask the question, do the world’s richest countries have an obligation to help lesser developed and/or poorer countries deal with the environmental repercussions of climate change? According to Oxfam, the answer is yes. “Rich countries have benefited most from carbon-heavy industrialization, so they have a responsibility to use their greater capacity to assist and cut their emissions first and fastest. And, crucially, take the lead in supporting countries that are suffering the damaging effects happening now”. I will agree with this statement. I really wanted to put the numbers that were used earlier into perspective. In this way we might better be able to see how climate change could be important to international relations. It is estimated up to a billion people will be forced from their homes by 2050 due to climate change, environmental degradation, and conflict. I personally cannot relate well to one billion. There is nothing in my life that equals one billion, so I did some digging to put this number into perspective. according to the Cencus Bureau the total population of Maine is 1,314,780 people, if you multiply the total population of Maine by 760, then you now have 1,000,000,000 people. According to the CIA world factbook,the population of China is 1,338,612,968. One billion people equals three quarters of the population of China. Now matter you how you cut it, a group of people this large is bound to have an effect on international relations.
From Browsing their website I learned how thier mission has changed along with the times. At first they primarly focused on poverty all over the world. But now they are trying to fight the changes that are happen with the climate. It makes sense bacause the two go hand in hand. It's like a web and everything is connected to everything else in one form or another. Oxfam has said that if nothing is done to chnge what's happening, the poverty level will rise to 54%.These countries need all the suplies and resources that we take for granted. I think it is important for international relations because, I feel the richer countries have a duty to help out others in need. In kind of a big brother or sister type of way. And by doing this it can help resolve conflicts in war torn parts of the world and strenghten bonds with other countries. David Brown
After looking through this website and figureing out what this organizations mission is it's obvious to tell they are striving to relieve hunger and poverty in poor countries while at the same time trying to end climate change. When you look at where they are located you can see they only help extremly poor countries on almost all the continnents and even eastern Russia. This organization helps international relations by being a mainly American and European organization that relieves stress on povershed governments and makes up where others should help.
It seems Oxfam has an ever expanding number of issues to deal with. I was not aware how closely tied together the issues of global poverty and climate change were tied together. I also wonder if the worlds rich countries will ever be able to reach the emission standards of the G77. It would also seem that some of these developing countries such as China need to take a look in the mirror as well as pointing the finger. their is no doubt that developed countries are going to have to deliver more aid to endangered areas. Yet it is going to take a global effort in switching over to alternative energies that could eventually save the human race. co2 emissions are not going away until we have the alternative energy sources to switch over to. Shane Heathers
In researching Oxfam's website, I discovered how severe the humanitarian situations in Africa really are. I was, of course, aware of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, but I also discovered that over a million people in Zimbabwe have been affected by cholera and nearly half the population is not getting enough to eat. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well, the war that so far has killed an estimated 5.4 million people continues. While I had heard of Oxfam before, I was unaware of the scope of their work. Their stated goal is to "reduce poverty and injustice", and to that end they are involved in providing emergency aid as well as community development, advocacy, and education. It sounds like a noble and anbitious goal, and while it will likely take decades to accomplish these aims, every life that is impacted through their work is a small step toward that end. -Timothy Myer
As to how the humanitarian crises and Oxfam's work relate to international relations, we have studied how war and hunger often motivate people to flee to other areas, often other countries, which then creates potential conflicts for whatever country receives them, as the host country must provide food and housing for potentially millions of non-citizens. The war and political instability in Somolia also directly impacts the international community, as the ongoing situation with pirates illustrates. Even in Zimbabwe, the ecomonic instability makes it unlikely that other countries will invest in its development, thus creating a spiral of even more economic instability and perhaps the need for greater government intervention. Oxfam's work itself has an effect on international relations, as its work to provide justice and reduce poverty for millions worldwide may conflict with the wishes of those country leaders who prefer to keep the people poor and ignorant so they can be more easily controlled. -Timothy Myer
I learned a great deal by exploring the Oxfam website. Since i was previously unaware of Oxfam International, I discovered that their ultimate mission statement is basically to work directly with communities and influence the rich and powerful to cooperate and assist in improving the lives and livelihoods of the worlds poor and impoverished, and also to reduce injustice on the global scale. Oxfam currently has many many active projects and aid-delivery missions, everything from; fighting HIV and AIDS to climate change to protecting the rights of indigenous people. Although these are obviously all very important and relevant issues, the project that inspires me the most is the push for the universal right to a free, good-quality primary education. I learned from the site that 72 million kids can not attend school (two-thirds of which are girls), sadly women make up 64 per cent of the 771 million illiterate adults in the world, and that an estimated 15 million teachers will be needed by 2015 to achieve education for all. On the same note, I also discovered that Oxfam is an active member of the Global Campaign for Education which seems to be a very noble cause. The importance of accessible education for children in poverty-stricken regions is pretty obvious; education and freedom go hand in hand so in theory the more underprivileged children you educate and give opportunities the more life-skills and coping-skills you give them, the less dependent they become on their government and and other welfare systems. -Cameron McIntosh, International Relations
I had never heard of Oxfam, until you asked us to review the site. I am glad that I had the opportunity to do so. I had no idea that I was going to learn that this organization is incredibly diverse in what they do in order to achieve their ultimate goal of lifiting people out of the poverty level they may be in. I like that the organization is so diverse in their actions however because not all communities are suffering from the same reasons that keep them in poverty. This organization is important to international relations or it effects it greatly because they cross multiple borders in order to help those impovershed peoples. Not all countries are as open to people going in and out of their country's borders and it would take a great skill and finagling I'm sure to be allowed in. Not all countries want to admit that their people are suffering, I am sure most would prefer to ignore it. Because possibly by admitting they need help it could be looked on as a sign of being weak, because most third world countries are stereotyped as being not as powerful as other countries. I liked some of their points as well.. teaching or educating the people of the country they are in will only help them become a stronger group, and hopefully this will allow them to push themselves away from the poverty level they are in. Jess Jacobs
on my research i have learned alot on how oxfam can really help and create development programs and emergency response to poverty and injustice. oxfam is really doing great job on finding relieve and providing food to the poor regions of the world. and also assiting those who are immediately affected my conflict and natural disasters. I think this is a great mission and wonderful idea. also oxfam really needs the support of those who can donate and help others who are servering from disseases and poverty. Somalia right now is under a big crisis and poverty is getting worse. i think poverty is becoming a mojor problem in parts of america. but the question is does this have to do with anything international relations.i think the world richest countries are doing a great job by finding ways of helping the poorest and poverty countries. this will increase relations and reduce conflicts in the entire world. a part from food and medicine oxfam also provide tools tools to enable people to become self supporting and this opens markets of international trade. oxfam is also taking great chance on how to reduce climate change. this is a wounderful misssion which everybody needs to be helped and do not want to be affected by climate related poverty. all this great ideas i think oxfam is really doing an excellent work. omar farah.
11 comments:
While browsing Oxfam’s website I learned the following facts. Oxfam’s original mission was to fight global poverty. It now considers climate change to be an issue of such importance that it has added fighting climate change to its mission. Climate change is directly related to global poverty because it greatly affects lesser developed countries and their ability to deal with its effects. Climate related poverty has now become such a problem that it has been termed “climate poverty”. According to Oxfam “In six years time the number of people affected by climatic crises is projected to rise by 54 per cent to 375 million people, threatening to overwhelm the humanitarian aid system”. It is estimated up to a billion people will be forced from their homes by 2050 due to climate change, environmental degradation, and conflict.
This alone is cause for alarm. Another issue that seems to be a common factor within most of the emergencies listed on their website is the lack of or lack of access to clean potable water.
Why is this information important to international relations? First, let us ask the question, do the world’s richest countries have an obligation to help lesser developed and/or poorer countries deal with the environmental repercussions of climate change? According to Oxfam, the answer is yes. “Rich countries have benefited most from carbon-heavy industrialization, so they have a responsibility to use their greater capacity to assist and cut their emissions first and fastest. And, crucially, take the lead in supporting countries that are suffering the damaging effects happening now”. I will agree with this statement.
I really wanted to put the numbers that were used earlier into perspective. In this way we might better be able to see how climate change could be important to international relations. It is estimated up to a billion people will be forced from their homes by 2050 due to climate change, environmental degradation, and conflict. I personally cannot relate well to one billion. There is nothing in my life that equals one billion, so I did some digging to put this number into perspective. according to the Cencus Bureau the total population of Maine is 1,314,780 people, if you multiply the total population of Maine by 760, then you now have 1,000,000,000 people. According to the CIA world factbook,the population of China is 1,338,612,968. One billion people equals three quarters of the population of China. Now matter you how you cut it, a group of people this large is bound to have an effect on international relations.
From Browsing their website I learned how thier mission has changed along with the times. At first they primarly focused on poverty all over the world. But now they are trying to fight the changes that are happen with the climate. It makes sense bacause the two go hand in hand. It's like a web and everything is connected to everything else in one form or another. Oxfam has said that if nothing is done to chnge what's happening, the poverty level will rise to 54%.These countries need all the suplies and resources that we take for granted. I think it is important for international relations because, I feel the richer countries have a duty to help out others in need. In kind of a big brother or sister type of way. And by doing this it can help resolve conflicts in war torn parts of the world and strenghten bonds with other countries.
David Brown
After looking through this website and figureing out what this organizations mission is it's obvious to tell they are striving to relieve hunger and poverty in poor countries while at the same time trying to end climate change. When you look at where they are located you can see they only help extremly poor countries on almost all the continnents and even eastern Russia. This organization helps international relations by being a mainly American and European organization that relieves stress on povershed governments and makes up where others should help.
It seems Oxfam has an ever expanding number of issues to deal with. I was not aware how closely tied together the issues of global poverty and climate change were tied together. I also wonder if the worlds rich countries will ever be able to reach the emission standards of the G77. It would also seem that some of these developing countries such as China need to take a look in the mirror as well as pointing the finger. their is no doubt that developed countries are going to have to deliver more aid to endangered areas. Yet it is going to take a global effort in switching over to alternative energies that could eventually save the human race. co2 emissions are not going away until we have the alternative energy sources to switch over to. Shane Heathers
In researching Oxfam's website, I discovered how severe the humanitarian situations in Africa really are. I was, of course, aware of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, but I also discovered that over a million people in Zimbabwe have been affected by cholera and nearly half the population is not getting enough to eat. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well, the war that so far has killed an estimated 5.4 million people continues. While I had heard of Oxfam before, I was unaware of the scope of their work. Their stated goal is to "reduce poverty and injustice", and to that end they are involved in providing emergency aid as well as community development, advocacy, and education. It sounds like a noble and anbitious goal, and while it will likely take decades to accomplish these aims, every life that is impacted through their work is a small step toward that end. -Timothy Myer
As to how the humanitarian crises and Oxfam's work relate to international relations, we have studied how war and hunger often motivate people to flee to other areas, often other countries, which then creates potential conflicts for whatever country receives them, as the host country must provide food and housing for potentially millions of non-citizens. The war and political instability in Somolia also directly impacts the international community, as the ongoing situation with pirates illustrates. Even in Zimbabwe, the ecomonic instability makes it unlikely that other countries will invest in its development, thus creating a spiral of even more economic instability and perhaps the need for greater government intervention. Oxfam's work itself has an effect on international relations, as its work to provide justice and reduce poverty for millions worldwide may conflict with the wishes of those country leaders who prefer to keep the people poor and ignorant so they can be more easily controlled. -Timothy Myer
hi from your son and from devon this is kinda boring
I learned a great deal by exploring the Oxfam website. Since i was previously unaware of Oxfam International, I discovered that their ultimate mission statement is basically to work directly with communities and influence the rich and powerful to cooperate and assist in improving the lives and livelihoods of the worlds poor and impoverished, and also to reduce injustice on the global scale. Oxfam currently has many many active projects and aid-delivery missions, everything from; fighting HIV and AIDS to climate change to protecting the rights of indigenous people. Although these are obviously all very important and relevant issues, the project that inspires me the most is the push for the universal right to a free, good-quality primary education. I learned from the site that 72 million kids can not attend school (two-thirds of which are girls), sadly women make up 64 per cent of the 771 million illiterate adults in the world, and that an estimated 15 million teachers will be needed by 2015 to achieve education for all. On the same note, I also discovered that Oxfam is an active member of the Global Campaign for Education which seems to be a very noble cause. The importance of accessible education for children in poverty-stricken regions is pretty obvious; education and freedom go hand in hand so in theory the more underprivileged children you educate and give opportunities the more life-skills and coping-skills you give them, the less dependent they become on their government and and other welfare systems.
-Cameron McIntosh, International Relations
I had never heard of Oxfam, until you asked us to review the site. I am glad that I had the opportunity to do so. I had no idea that I was going to learn that this organization is incredibly diverse in what they do in order to achieve their ultimate goal of lifiting people out of the poverty level they may be in. I like that the organization is so diverse in their actions however because not all communities are suffering from the same reasons that keep them in poverty. This organization is important to international relations or it effects it greatly because they cross multiple borders in order to help those impovershed peoples. Not all countries are as open to people going in and out of their country's borders and it would take a great skill and finagling I'm sure to be allowed in. Not all countries want to admit that their people are suffering, I am sure most would prefer to ignore it. Because possibly by admitting they need help it could be looked on as a sign of being weak, because most third world countries are stereotyped as being not as powerful as other countries. I liked some of their points as well.. teaching or educating the people of the country they are in will only help them become a stronger group, and hopefully this will allow them to push themselves away from the poverty level they are in.
Jess Jacobs
on my research i have learned alot on how oxfam can really help and create development programs and emergency response to poverty and injustice. oxfam is really doing great job on finding relieve and providing food to the poor regions of the world. and also assiting those who are immediately affected my conflict and natural disasters. I think this is a great mission and wonderful idea. also oxfam really needs the support of those who can donate and help others who are servering from disseases and poverty. Somalia right now is under a big crisis and poverty is getting worse. i think poverty is becoming a mojor problem in parts of america. but the question is does this have to do with anything international relations.i think the world richest countries are doing a great job by finding ways of helping the poorest and poverty countries. this will increase relations and reduce conflicts in the entire world. a part from food and medicine oxfam also provide tools tools to enable people to become self supporting and this opens markets of international trade. oxfam is also taking great chance on how to reduce climate change. this is a wounderful misssion which everybody needs to be helped and do not want to be affected by climate related poverty. all this great ideas i think oxfam is really doing an excellent work.
omar farah.
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