"The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan have shown how quickly natural disasters turn into engineering disasters that ultimately become humanitarian disasters," says Dean Geoffrey Orsak. "Our engineering students need to engage these tough global issues early in their professional development so that they are well prepared to take on these challenges when they enter the workforce."
The second in a new series introduced by the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, these public debates engage the student population in current events while reinforcing big-picture engineering that incorporates business, economics, ethics, and public policy. The first debate in Fall 2010 addressed offshore drilling policy in the wake of the gulf oil disaster.
More than 150,000 displaced persons in Japan live in temporary structures not unlike the one SMU students built and callnike running shoes online home this week on the Dallas campus. Part of The Hunt Institute's Engineering and Humanity Week, makeshift tents and huts in a "Living Village" simulate what it's like to live, cook, and sleep in temporary shelters, much like those surrounding the Fukushima power plant.
SMU Director of Debate Ben Voth will moderate the debate that brings world news to life for students. Students, faculty, alumni, and friends of SMU are invited to gather from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Hillcrest Foundation Amphitheatre at Caruth Hall.
"Debate is an important part of any educational process," Voth says. "These public debates provide a way for strong ideas to emerge with regard to key global problems engineers face such as with nuclear power."
SMU students participating in the nuclear power debate include Chris Dawkins, a sophomore from Fort Smith,nike running shoes online Arkansas with a triple major in political science, public policy, and economics, and Sean Tabbert, a junior from Austin pursuing a computer science degree.
John Kiser, Associate Dean and Executive Director for the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, says the public debates groom future engineers for collaborative, multidisciplinary environments in which they will put technical expertise and theory into practice to make a difference in the world.
"These public forums, in conjunction with extensive Hart leadership development programs, give students a voice and the confidence they will need to influence others and speak up for what they believe in," Kiser adds.
The Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, officially opening on October 13, 2010, was created to help engineering students think and act strategically about their professional development. The Center was founded on the belief that leadership and professional development of students should be done by design and with purpose. This new vision challenges students to proactively sharpen their leadership skills as they build their deep technical knowledge.
Following the recent accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, Ban will discuss measures on toughening Buy nike running shoes onlinenuclear safety standards with Russian and Ukrainian officials.
Australia and New Zealand will grow at a slower pace than previously forecast this Buy nike running shoes onlineyear as floods and earthquakes disrupt their economies before higher investment spurs expansions in 2012, the International Monetar Fund said.
Australia’s gross domestic product will increase 3 percent in 2011, half a percentage point lower than an October estimate, the IMF said in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook. New Zealand’s GDP will rise 0.9 percent, down from last month’s prediction of 1 percent and last year’s 3.2 percent, it said.
“In Australia, flooding in key mining and agricultural regions is expected to subtract from growth in early 2011, but over the year this will be offset by stronger private investment,” the Washington-based IMF said in today’s report. While “earthquakes will slow activity in New Zealand this year,” growth will strengthen in 2012 as reconstruction of the South Island city of Christchurch intensifies.
Australia’s central bank paused interest-rate increases this year to allow Queensland state to recover from torrential rains and storms, and New Zealand cut borrowing costs to a record last month to help shore up confidence after the Feb. 22 quake leveled parts of Christchurch and killed at least 170 people. In contrast, policy makers from Beijing to Frankfurt are trying to stamp out inflation with higher rates.
Swan in Washington
Treasurer Wayne Swan travels to Washington today to attend a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting and IMF and World Bank gatherings, his office said in a statement.
“The tragic events in Japan, political instability in North Africa and the Middle East, and persisting sovereign debt concerns in Europe continue to cloud the global economic horizon,” Swan said in today’s statement. He said the Treasury’s analysis showed the impact of natural disasters at home and abroad may cut Australia’s economic growth by as much as 0.75 percentage point in 2010-11.
Australia’s terms of trade, a measure of income earned from exports, are at a 60-year high as Chinese and Indian demand forBuy cheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 iron ore and coal surges. New Zealand’s exports are also gaining on increased Asian demand for the nation’s dairy products.
New Zealand central bank Governor Alan Bollard last month lowered his 2011 growth forecast to 1.3 percent from 2.7 percent and cut borrowing costs to 2.5 percent. Ten of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast the rate will be unchanged until 2012. Four predict a fourth quarter rate rise.
Central Bank OutlookAustralia’s central bank in February raised its forecast for 2011 growth to 4.25 percent, from a November prediction of 3.75 percent, saying flood rebuilding will accelerate in the second half. The IMF’s growth forecast is an annual average, while the central bank’s is measured from the fourth quarter to a year earlier.
Traders see a 26 percent chance Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens will raise interest rates in September, bank bill futures trading yesterday showed.
The IMF forecast Australia’s growth will accelerate to 3.5 percent in 2012, driven by a resource-investment boom and higher commodity prices. New Zealand’s economy will surge 4.1 percent next year, the report showed.
Hiring by mining companies helped drive Australia’s jobless rate down to 4.9 percent in March, matching a two-year low set in December and approaching what government officials view as full employment.
Inflation ForecastsThe IMF forecast Australian consumer prices will increase 3 percent this year and in 2012, the top of the central bank’s target range of 2 percent to 3 percent. It estimated New Zealand’s inflation Reebok ZigTech will accelerate to 4.1 percent this year before slowing to 2.7 percent in 2012.
New Zealand’s central bank aims to keep inflation in a range of 1 percent to 3 percent.
The IMF predicted Australia’s jobless rate would average 5 percent this year and 4.8 percent next year, while New Zealand’s unemployment rate was forecast to decline to 6.2 percent in 2012 from 6.7 percent this year.
In New Zealand, 6.8 percent of the labor force was unemployed in the fourth quarter.
Australia’s currency has risen about 13 percent over the past 12 months, the third-best performer among the 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. New Zealand’s has strengthened 9 percent, the eighth-best performer.
* Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley on Monday warned against preparing toBuy nike running shoes online tighten the U.S. monetary policy too early, maintaining his previous dovish tone about the outlook for central bank policy. Dudley told a question and answer session after a speech in Tokyo that he does not expect a sharp acceleration in the U.S. inflation rate in the near term because the recent rise in international commodity prices will be "temporary" and wage pressures in the U.S. are "extremely benign." U.S. inflation expectations are "not unanchored" and there is no reason to believe that this confidence in future price stability will be lost, Dudley said. [08:38 ET]
* In its semi-annual World Economic Outlook report, the IMF expects the U.S. and the world economy to keep growing this year, but it is worried about mounting risks to its relatively conservative forecast. The WEO projects 4.5% global growth this year and next, a bit less than last year. But it warns that "downside risks have risen." The "key downside risk to growth" is "the potential for oil prices to surprise further on the upside because of supply disruptions," it said, estimating that if oil goes to $150 per barrel, it could cut growth by at least three quarters of a percent. [10:00 ET]
* Lingering fragility in the financial system and moderate underlying inflation call for a "slower pace" of monetary policy normalization by the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook, released on Monday. Any further tightening moves in the advanced economies of Europe should be slow since economic conditions warrant "low policy rates for now to support the recovery and help offset the dampening short-term effects of fiscal consolidation on domestic demand," the IMF said. [10:00 ET]
* Given the stronger than expected demand for energy, compared to the "sluggish" response from suppliers, the International Monetary Fund Monday projected average oil prices to remain above $100 per barrel this year and next. The IMF also described the outlook for the oil market as"uncertain," and warned that food prices could rise further if governments, in an effort to placate their disenchanted citizenry, ramp up grain purchases to subsidize local markets. [10:00 ET]
* Among the biggest risks to the global economy, in addition to yet higher oil prices, is the threat which record U.S. budget deficits pose to bond markets, according to the International Monetary Fund Monday. The IMF said the Federal Reserve and other major central banks need be in no hurry to raise short-term interest rates or withdraw "unconventional" forms of monetary stimulus, and fears that rates could rise independent of central bank tightening if the United States does not take more meaningful action to restrain deficit spending. [10:00 ET]
* China is expected to turn in another strong year of growth in 2011, but inflation is spreading and the authorities need to take action to ensure that "disconcerting" credit and asset price trends cheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 don't result in an asset price bust, the International Monetary Fund warned in its latest World Economic Outlook. It left its forecasts for the pace of China's economic expansion this year and next unchanged from its January projection at 9.6% and 9.5%, respectively. [10:00 ET]
* Prospects for Eurozone economic activity have improved in recent months, but rising price pressures will continue to weigh on private consumption, three top EMU statistical research groups said Monday. The joint projections by the national statistics office of France and Italy and the leading private institute in Germany expect no slowdown in inflation in coming quarters from annual rate of 2.6% hit in March. Quarterly GDP growth in 1Q is now estimated at 0.5%, 0.2 point more than forecast in January. Growth would slow somewhat to 0.4% in 2Q and 3Q after a rebound in construction investment in 1Q. [10:00 ET]
* The German Finance Ministry, in its new stability program to be forward to the European Commission, projects that the country's deficit will fall to below 3% of GDP this year, a senior ministry official said Monday. The ministry forecasts Germany's public deficit at 2.5% of GDP this year, down from last year's 3.3%. It projects a further narrowing of the shortfall to 1.5% in 2012, 1.0% in 2013 and 0.5% in 2014, the source said. In 2015, the deficit is seen stagnating at 0.5%, he remarked. [10:00 ET]
* The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for UK GDP growth in 2011 to 1.75% in the latest World Economic Outlook, published Monday. That was down from a previous projection of 2.0% projection in its January Outlook. The growth downgrade was due to the fact that "necessary front-loaded fiscal consolidation dampens domestic demand," the IMF said. [10:00 ET]
* The Latin America and Caribbean regions have weathered the global recession well and continue to post solid growth rates but is now facing two strong tailwinds: rising commodity prices and surging capital inflows, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. In the semiannual World Economic Outlook, the IMF warned of the potential bust in the region if China, Brazil or the United States see a sharp downturn, or if an oil price spike causes a global slowdown. [10:00 ET]
* The International Monetary Fund Monday said the economies of energy exporters from the Middle East and North Africa will receive a massive boost from soaring prices, further widening the gap between them and other countries in the region that are classified as oil importers. However, these same energy prices, along with other rising commodity prices, will push inflation in the region into double digits in 2011, the fund said. [10:00 ET]
* Policymakers in Sub-Saharan African nations mustremain alert to inflation pressures from rising commodity prices, cheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 even as they enjoy a rate of growth second only to developing Asia, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. [10:00 ET]
* A decision on adjusting the interest rate charged on EFSF bailout loans is "urgently" needed to help support fiscal sustainability, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook on Monday. The IMF also said that European leaders should quickly clarify the mechanism by which the effective lending capacity of the EFSF will be increased to E440 billion from the current E250 billion. [10:00 ET]
* MNI's U.S. retail trade index fell three points in the April 9 period to 60.1, above 50 to indicate year-on-year growth but below trend to indicate slowing growth, according to the results of Market News International's weekly survey released Monday. [10:30 ET]
* The European Central Bank said Monday no bond purchases were settled through its Securities Market Programme for the second consecutive week. The bank also reported that E55 million in securities purchased through the SMP had matured. As a result of the ECB remaining on the sidelines, the total amount of funds that the central bank will seek to drain is unchanged at E77.0 billion. [09:33 ET]
Iran Sunday accused Jordan and Saudi Arabia of being behind the wave of anti-government protests in Syria.nike running shoes online
"A probe into the root causes of the latest events in Syria shows that the revolt is mainly supported by Saudi Arabia and Jordan," Iran's Press TV said.
In an effort to justify the accusations, Press TV noted the anti-regime protests began in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, which is located near the border with Jordan.
"Daraa is the birthplace of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, which has close ties to the people in the Syrian city," the report said.
"Saudi Arabia and Jordan continued their attempts to cause unrest in Syria," the report said. "Saudi Arabia, which often bows cheap nike mens acg sandals 2011 to U.S. and Israel's policies in the region, tried to destabilize Bashar Assad's government by undermining his rule."
Meanwhile, Israel Radio reported clashes erupted in the Syrian port city of Baniyas on Sunday between anti- and pro-regime protesters. Five people were injured, the radio said.
At least 37 people have been killed in Syria in violence that began following Friday prayers in Damascus, Daraa, Homs, Reebok ZigTech online Harasta, Latakia, Baniyas and Tartous, The Washington Post reported.
Prior to the weekend protests, Amnesty International estimated 171 people died in the three weeks of unrest in Syria
IN all my 50 years, I have never held a passport. Other than visiting Lebanon, I’d never left Syria when, Buy nike running shoes onlinein the fall of 2004, I was barred from leaving the country. I tried many times afterward to get a passport, but to no avail.
I spent 16 years of my youth in my country’s prisons, incarcerated for being a member of a communist pro-democracy group. During the recent protests, many more friends have been detained — most of them young — under the government’s catch-all emergency laws.
The state of emergency, under which Syria has lived for 48 years, has extended the ruling elite’s authority into all spheres of Syrians’ public and private lives, and there is nothing to stop the regime from using this power to abuse the Syrian population. Today, promises follow one after the other that these all-pervasive restrictions will be lifted. But one must ask, will it be possible for the Baath Party to rule Syria without the state of emergency that has for so long sustained it?
The official pretext for the emergency laws is the country’s state of war with Israel. However, restricting Syrians’ freedoms did no good in the 1967 war, which ended with the occupation of the Golan Heights, nor did it help in any other confrontations with the Jewish state, nor in any true emergencies. Because in the government’s eyes everything has been an emergency for the last half-century, nothing is an emergency.
Syria’s struggle against an aggressive Israel has encouraged the militarization of political life — a development that has been particularly favorable to single-party rule. And the suspension of the rule of law has created an environment conducive to the growth of a new ruling elite.
In 2005, the Baath Party decided, nike mens acg sandals without any serious public discussion, to move toward what was dubbed a “social market economy.” It was supposed to combine competition and private initiative with a good measure of traditional socialism. In reality, as the state retreated, new monopolies arose and the quality of goods and services declined. Because local courts are corrupt and lack independence, grievances could not be fairly heard. Add to that a venal and idle bureaucracy, and the supposed economic reforms became a justification for the appropriation of economic power for the benefit of the rich and powerful.
Economic liberalization was in no way linked to political liberalization. After a half-century of “socialist” rule, a new aristocratic class has risen in Syria that does not accept the principles of equality, accountability or the rule of law. It was no accident that protesters in the cities of Dara’a and Latakia went after the property of this feared and hated aristocracy, most notably that of President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, a businessman who controls the country’s cellphone network and, more than anyone else, represents the intertwining of power and wealth in Syria.
Today’s ruling class has undeservedly accumulated alarming material and political power. Its members are fundamentally disengaged from the everyday realities of the majority of Syrians and no longer hear their muffled voices. In recent years, a culture of contempt for the public has developed among them.
Although some argue that the demonstrations are religiously motivated, there is no indication that Islamists have played a major role in the recent protests, though many began in mosques. Believers praying in mosques are the only “gatherings” the government cannot disperse, buy Reebok ZigTech onlineand religious texts are the only “opinions” the government cannot suppress. Rather than Islamist slogans, the most prominent chant raised in the Rifai Mosque in Damascus on April 1 was “One, one, one, the Syrian people are one!” Syrians want freedom, and they are fully aware that it cannot be sown in the soil of fear, which Montesquieu deemed the fount of all tyranny. We know this better than anyone else.
A search for equality, justice, dignity and freedom — not religion — is what compels Syrians to engage in protests today. It has spurred many of them to overcome their fear of the government and is putting the regime on the defensive.
The Syrian regime enjoys broader support than did Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia. This is a source of strength, and one that Mr. Assad appears not to consider when he relies on the security forces to quell protests. If the regime is to keep any of its deeply damaged legitimacy, it will have to answer the protesters’ demands and recognize the popular longing for freedom and equality.
Whatever the outcome of the protests, Syria has a difficult road ahead. Between the pains of oppression and the hardships of liberation, I of course prefer the latter. Personally, I want to live nowhere but in Syria, although I am looking forward to acquiring a passport to visit my brothers in Europe, whom I have not seen for 10 years. I also want, finally, to feel safe.