What on Earth is Going On?: A Crash Course in Current Affairs
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Arthur House. What on Earth is Going On?: A Crash Course in Current Affairs
TOM BAIRD. and ARTHUR HOUSE. What on Earth is Going On? A Crash Course in Current Affairs
INTRODUCTION
Table of Contents
Afghanistan. Some basic facts
Has it always been a war-torn country?
What happened?
Who are the Taleban?
What happened after 9/11?
How successful have the coalition forces been?
What other problems face Afghanistan?
Aid. What is aid?
What is humanitarian aid?
What is development aid?
Which countries supply the most aid?
What are the Millennium Development Goals?
How does the UK government spend its aid budget?
How effective is aid?
Why?
Al-Qaeda. What is it?
How is it run?
What are al-Qaeda’s aims and beliefs?
Apart from 9/11, which other attacks have been attributed to al-Qaeda?
What are its roots?
How is it funded?
Banking. What do commercial banks do?
What do investment banks do?
What was the Glass-Steagall Act?
What does the Bank of England do?
How do interest rates affect inflation?
Basque Country/ETA. Where is it?
How is Spain governed?
How did the Spanish Civil War affect the Basque Country?
What is ETA?
What did the Spanish government do?
Does ETA have public support?
Guernica
Basquetball
Blogging. What is a blog?
What do bloggers write about?
Are they popular?
Who came up with the term?
Dirty laundry
Sleazy does it
Diplomatic own goal
Burma. Where is it?
What happened after Burma became independent?
What’s in a name?
Is there any opposition from within?
Have the Burmese people protested against the regime?
Cyclone Nargis
Sly saves the day
CERN. What does it stand for?
Where is it?
What’s the point of it?
What is the Higgs boson?
What is antimatter?
What are dark matter and dark energy?
Is the Large Hadron Collider going to destroy the world?
A modest proposal
Chechnya. Where is it?
Struggle for independence
What happened after the USSR fell?
And then?
What happened at Beslan school?
Journalist silenced
What does the future hold?
Civil Liberties. What are they?
What civil liberties do we have in the UK?
Stop and Search
Freedom to protest
Freedom of speech
Habeas Corpus
The right to a fair trial
The right to privacy
A British Bill of Rights?
Climate Change. Is it really happening?
How do greenhouse gases cause climate change?
Which human activities create greenhouse gases?
Positive feedbacks
How does global warming cause the climate to change?
What could be the effects of climate change for life on earth?
What could be the human costs of climate change?
Are there any positives?
Colombia. When was the country formed?
Conservatives vs Liberals
Rebels with a cause
Coca-Colombia
El Presidente
Gabriel García Márquez
Congo. Where is it?
What is going on there?
How did the war start?
What happened then?
Then what?
Which groups are fighting there still?
Is this the worst suffering the Congo has ever seen?
Credit Crunch. What does it mean?
What caused it?
What about sub-prime mortgages?
Why on earth would the mortgage lenders want to offer mortgages to these people?
…and it all ended in tears
What’s going to happen next?
Cuba. Columbus claims Cuba
When was independence established?
Viva la Revolución!
Getting through the Cold War
From one brother to another
What is Guantánamo Bay?
The Mojito and how to make one
You’re Havana laugh
Darfur. Where is it?
Some background on Sudan
What caused the war in Darfur?
Which are the main rebel groups in Darfur?
What has been the international response?
What is the African Union?
Devolution. What does it mean?
How did the United Kingdom come to be?
Devolution in the UK
Northern Ireland
Wales
Scotland
He wants to break free
What about England?
Divvying up public funds
Energy. What are the world’s current energy sources?
What is it used for?
What is energy independence?
What is peak oil?
How much energy will the world need in 20 years’ time?
What is renewable energy?
What are biofuels?
What about nuclear power?
What about coal-fired power stations?
What is the Kyoto Protocol?
What are flexible mechanisms?
What is voluntary offsetting?
What can I do to help reduce my carbon footprint?
EU. What is it?
What was the EEC?
What is the single market?
How does the EU work?
What is the Lisbon Treaty?
What about the euro?
How is the EU funded?
Which European countries aren’t members of the EU?
What is the Council of Europe?
A bridge too far
Euthanasia. What is it?
How is it carried out?
What is the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide?
Is it legal in the UK?
Where is it legal?
Has anyone challenged the UK law?
Fairtrade. What is it?
How does it work?
Why was it invented?
What are the criticisms of Fairtrade?
…and some rebuttals
A Rush of Mud to the Head
Free Trade. What does it mean?
What are the advantages of free trade?
And the disadvantages?
Is protectionism a good idea?
What does ‘balance of trade’ mean?
What does the WTO do?
What is globalisation?
Types of governmental trade restriction
Free trade agreements
G8/G20. What is the Group of Eight (G8)?
How did it come about?
Who else is involved?
How are the summits organised?
Does anyone care?
What about G20?
What do they talk about?
Yo, Blair
Georgia. Where is it?
Under Russia’s shadow
What happened when the USSR collapsed?
What about the breakaway regions?
So what have they done about it?
Cosying up with the West
What happened in August 2008?
We don’t wanna put in
GM Food. What is it?
What are genes?
Is genetic modification anything new?
How does it work?
What are the characteristics of GM crops?
Do GM crops give higher yields?
So what’s all the fuss about?
Hedge Funds. What are hedge funds?
How do they differ from other investment companies?
What do they actually do?
The credit crunch and its aftermath
Hezbollah. What is it?
What are its origins?
What are its aims?
Where is it based?
Who are its allies?
What major attacks has it carried out?
What is its military capability?
How powerful is Hezbollah in Lebanese politics?
Do they ever get a bit carried away?
Human Rights. What does it mean?
What are they?
How are human rights enforced?
Have all countries signed up to the six core treaties?
Do the signatory countries always comply with the treaties?
Is there an international court of human rights?
Where are the rules of war written down?
What is the ICC?
Miami Vice
Immigration. What are immigrants?
What are asylum-seekers and refugees?
What are internally displaced people?
When did immigration to the UK start?
A rise in racial tensions
European neighbours
What are the latest UK immigration figures?
Is immigration of economic benefit to the UK?
Sleepwalking to segregation?
A matter of shame
Brits abroad
Famous literary immigrants
Iran. Some basics
Why did the revolution happen and what were its effects?
What happened after the revolution?
Who holds the power in Iran?
Who is the president now?
Does Iran have nuclear weapons?
The next revolution
Rock the Casbah
Iraq. Between the rivers
When did Islam arrive in Iraq?
What did Saddam do when he came to power?
What is the Sunni/Shi’a split in Iraq?
Why did Iraq invade Kuwait?
Coping in the aftermath
What about those Weapons of Mass Destruction?
Life after Saddam
By the Rivers of Babylon
Islam. What is Islam?
What are the five pillars of Islam?
Which are the holy cities of Islam?
What are the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar?
What is the difference between Sunni and Shi’a Islam?
What is Sharia?
What is jihad?
Muslims in the UK
Israel/Palestine. When was Israel founded?
What happened then?
What was the Six-Day War?
And the Yom Kippur War?
What is the PLO?
What is Hamas?
What is going to happen next?
Why does the US give so much military aid to Israel?
IVF. What does it stand for?
What does IVF treatment involve?
Who can benefit from IVF treatment?
What are the risks?
What does it cost?
When was the first successful IVF baby born?
What are the attitudes of the major world religions towards IVF?
Early theories
Kashmir. Where on earth is Kashmir?
When was Kashmir unified?
What did the Maharaja eventually decide?
What happened then?
Is that the only territorial dispute in the region?
What’s happened since 1948?
Salman Rushdie on Kashmir
Cashmere jumpers
Kosovo. Where is it?
What happened then?
Ethnic cleansing
The road to independence
Yugoslavia’s last years
Hope for a brighter future?
Passing judgement
Microfinance. What is it?
Can’t they just go to the bank?
What sort of financial needs are these?
How do MFIs ensure loans are repaid?
Positive Equity
What does the future hold?
MRSA. What does it stand for?
What is it?
What infections does MRSA cause?
How did it build up resistance?
Why is it such a problem in hospitals?
So how is it treated and prevented?
Is there a cure?
Leslie’s cash
NATO. What does NATO stand for?
Which countries are members?
What are its goals?
Does NATO have its own armed forces?
Where have NATO forces been deployed?
How are decisions made by this group of countries?
Being Blunt
Neuroscience. What is it?
The workings of the brain
Is the brain a muscle?
Is there a difference between the brain and the mind?
What does the conscious mind do?
Does neuroscience have medical implications?
What were the beginnings of modern neuroscience?
Lobal warming
NHS. What is it?
How did it come about?
Controlling the beast
What is primary/secondary/tertiary care?
How is healthcare regulated?
No magic tooth-fairy in sight
North Korea. In brief
How did it separate from South Korea?
Who is North Korea’s leader?
What’s it like to live there?
What about the nukes?
Northern Ireland. When was Northern Ireland created?
Which counties are in Northern Ireland?
How and why did partition come about?
What happened next?
Did conflict cease after Northern Ireland was created?
What is the religious make-up of Northern Ireland?
Was Northern Ireland given a guarantee that it would remain part of the UK?
What were ‘The Troubles’?
What is the Good Friday Agreement?
A new era?
Smellfast
Nuclear Weapons. Which states possess nuclear weapons?
Have nuclear weapons ever been used?
What is nuclear fission?
How do you make a nuclear weapon?
What is a ‘nuclear deterrent’?
What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
Are the nuclear states ever going to disarm?
Why do some people oppose disarmament?
Does anyone oppose non-proliferation?
What is the Trident programme?
Doh!
Organic Food. What is it?
Why is it more expensive than non-organic food?
Is it healthier?
Does it taste nicer?
Is it more sustainable?
Pakistan. When was it founded?
What happened to East Pakistan?
Has Pakistan fought other wars with India?
Who runs Pakistan?
What has happened in Pakistan since 2001?
And as if that wasn’t bad enough…
Itching to play
Pandemic. What is the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?
Have there always been pandemics?
Besides flu, have many other diseases caused pandemics?
How do we know a flu pandemic has officially begun?
How many flu pandemics were there in the 20th century?
What recent flu threats have there been?
So how do I protect myself?
Philanthropy. What is it?
How much do Britain’s big earners donate?
What about the rest of us?
Mr Nasty turns Mr Nice
The Gates’ guide to giving
What about the kids?
Lend us a tenor
Pirates! In this day and age?
Where?
Where else?
What should I do if pirates attack my ship?
How do I commit an act of piracy?
The fourth emergency service?
Russia. Just how big is it?
End of the Empire
Back in the USSR
From Cold War to collapse
What happened then?
What about the future?
Stalemate
Who are the oligarchs?
‘Let’s drink to all the Russian gas’
Social Networking. What is it?
How do I get started?
Why do people join these sites?
Obamamania
Some of the big players
Counterfeit Kates
Pri-mates
Sri Lanka. Where is it?
Why did ethnic tensions escalate?
Who were the Tamil Tigers?
How long did the ceasefire last?
What is the human rights situation in Sri Lanka?
Tigers lay down their arms
Sri Lankan refugee goes M.I.A
Stem Cells. What are stem cells?
Where are they found?
What is all the fuss about?
Could this sort of treatment be dangerous?
Can human embryonic stem cells be used for research in the UK?
Is embryonic stem-cell research controversial?
Supercells
Stocks and Bonds. What is a stock?
What are bonds?
Which are better to invest in, stocks or bonds?
Tax. What are taxes?
What are the main types of tax in the UK?
What is the Budget?
Famous tax evaders
Notable tax havens
One for you, nineteen for me
Tibet. Where is it?
What is the historical background?
What happened next?
Free Tibet
The first Dalai Lama—and the last?
Seven Years in Tibet
UK Elections. How often are general elections held and who decides when they happen?
How many MPs are there?
What is the voter turnout in general elections?
When did women get the vote?
When was the voting age reduced to 18?
What is a hung parliament?
What is a minority government?
What is a coalition government?
How are MPs elected?
What is Proportional Representation?
Apart from general elections, what other elections happen in the UK?
What is the Electoral Commission?
Things can only get better
UK Political System. What system of government operates in the UK?
What is the difference between government and parliament?
Is there a constitution in the UK?
How are new laws made?
Who are the Lords and what do they do?
How powerful is the Queen?
What are political parties?
What do MPs do?
UN. What is it?
Why was it established?
How do countries become members?
Who is the boss?
Does it have its own army?
How is it funded?
What is the structure of the UN?
How about other UN organisations?
How effective is the UN?
Has it been caught up in controversies?
White House, red face
US Elections. Who can vote?
How is a president elected?
The primaries
Party conventions
More campaigning
Election Day
How often are representatives and senators elected?
What is gerrymandering?
Who would get your vote?
US Political System. How did the United States gain its independence?
How did the Constitution come about?
A Bill of Rights?
How does the federal government work?
How are laws made?
Judicial branch
How are the States governed?
Before they were president…
World Bank/IMF. When were they established?
What does the World Bank do?
What does the IMF do?
What do the critics say?
When did the IMF get it wrong?
How about the World Bank?
Calls for a new framework
Zimbabwe. Where is it?
Cecil the colonialist
How did Zimbabwe gain its independence?
Land reform
A nation crippled
Hope for change?
Copyright
About the Publisher
Отрывок из книги
We wrote this book with a shared conviction that a) most people’s knowledge of current affairs is a lot worse than they would like to admit, b) it wouldn’t hurt to start filling in the gaps, and c) while many of these issues are dauntingly complex, they would never-theless benefit from a clear and concise introduction.
Keeping up with the news is an interminably tall order. The media deluge us with so much content each day that by the time we’ve digested the headlines, a new day arrives and we have to start all over again. It’s not surprising that many of us choose to stick our heads in the sand and avoid it completely.
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Islam
Israel/Palestine
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