STWR - Share The World's Resources

Some 541 politicians, academics and business leaders from Europe and around the world have signed an appeal for the creation of a UN parliamentary assembly to overcome the "democratic deficit" in global affairs and give citizens a bigger voice.

It was first proposed, as far as I can discover, in 1842, by Alfred Tennyson. Since then the idea has broken the surface and sunk again at least a dozen times. But this time it could start to swim. The demand for a world parliament is at last acquiring some serious political muscle.

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future

WASHINGTON, Forty U.S. non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are calling on Congress to fully fund Washington's share of U.N. peacekeeping operations, many of which have been promoted by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.

Is an adequate living a human right? It is, and many in the U.S. are stepping up to claim it.

Throughout the twentieth century, the list of the world's great powers was predictably short: the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and northwestern Europe. The twenty-first century will be different. China and India are emerging as economic and political heavyweights: China holds over a trillion dollars in hard currency reserves, India's high-tech sector is growing by leaps and bounds, and both countries, already recognized nuclear powers, are developing blue-water navies. The National Intelligence Council, a U.S. government think tank, projects that by 2025, China and India will have the world's second- and fourth-largest economies, respectively. Such growth is opening the way for a multipolar era in world politics.

The US uses its aid budget to bribe those countries which have a vote in the United Nations security council, giving them 59 per cent more cash in years when they have a seat, according to research by economists.