Spring then Winter and then Spring again

It snowed this past week, but within three days, all the Spring snow had disappeared. Now, it is a beautiful 65 degrees outside. The city is so green and after a tough winter, the sun is appreciated by everyone!
This picture is a view outside my office window.

On Second thought...Three (3!!!) Trillion Dollars??

Here is the most unusual and thought provoking
WEBSITE for TODAY
http://3trillion.org/
"What would you do with 3 trillion dollars?"

A Sign of Worse to Come

QUOTE for TODAY
"Capitalism without bankruptcy, it is said, is like Christianity without Hell. With recession looming, the air in America's bankruptcy courts is thick with brimstone and the coals are being heated in readiness for the many sad souls whose sin was to borrow too much." - The Economist, March 29, 2008

WEBSITE for TODAY
"Corporations and Human Rights" - The UN Position
http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/SRSG-report-Human-Rights-Council-19-Feb-2007.pdf
This is a report on corporate accountability and human rights. Corporations should have a human rights policy and assess their impacts.

New Amnesty International Press Release

According to Amnesty International's 4-15 Press Release

• At least 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries and at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries.
• Up to 27,500 people are estimated to be on death row across the world.
• Iran executed at least 317 people, Saudi Arabia 143 and Pakistan 135 – in comparison to 177, 39 and 82 executions respectively in 2006.
• Eighty-eight per cent of all known executions took place in five countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the USA.
• Saudi Arabia had the highest number of executions per capita, followed by Iran and Libya.
• Amnesty International has been able to confirm at least 470 executions by China – the highest overall figure. The true figure for China is undoubtedly much higher.

On the flip side, for some information about the innocent people who have been put to death, take a look at one of the webpages of the Death Penalty Information Center: "Executed but Possibly Innocent" at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?&did=2238

Early April News

A useful WEBSITE for today:
For all you history nerds out there, there is an ISN webpage that has a very good history review: It is an interactive timeline of 1945-1963:
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/edu/adl/standalone_obj/timeline/timeline.html

In news about me, I will be working with the Tajikistan Dialogue Project in Dushanbe as of May. I will be saying goodbye to full-time work as a profressor at the Kazakhstan Institute, although I may get the chance to teach some online courses. More news to come on this pending move later.
My friend Serguei will be visiting from Moscow this week, and I hope to get some sightseeing in - which means more pictures for all of you. The weather in Almaty has been perfect for almost three weeks, and I am delighted to be walking through the city on the weekends. You should come visit!