Politics

We can win in the struggle to avoid climate chaos, we can win in terms of economic recovery and we can win when it comes to promoting development and justice. All we need is the political will.

Environmental activist & former Executive Director of Greenpeace International

We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we'll have to take an economic hit of some kind… Or, we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives.

Environmental activist & former Executive Director of Greenpeace International

Pakistan has sought to reassure international donors that funds to help victims of its devastating flooding will not fall into extremists' hands. The Taliban would not be allowed to take advantage of the crisis to increase its support.

Former Interior Minister of Pakistan & Security Advisor

These unprecedented floods demand unprecedented assistance.

Former UN Secretary-General, served two five-year terms.

These revised capital adequacy guidelines will shield banks from another crisis in the format we have seen but provide little or no protection against events which could occur such as systemic capital disruptions from terrorism and conflict.

Basel III effectively means putting thicker gloves on this boxer, without fixing the fundamental problem (they cannot cope with unexpected punches, from a highly developed adversary- the economy).

Saying people have the ability to participate in decisions, and actually ensuring they can, should not be mutually exclusive. Our nations, economies and companies can perform far better where we genuinely allow and encourage participation in governance and policy from all stakeholders.

Other components of liberal democracy—civil liberties, rule of law and free markets—may play a larger role as long-term deterrents than simply having free elections. If the country goes all the way to a more complete liberal democracy, then it is likely to significantly decrease terrorism and political violence.

When the main participants in an economy (the general population not the investment banks) are struggling to survive- no amount of economic stimulus applied at arms-length from those participants- will inject growth.

What we have seen here is a pseudo-nuclear war. An unwind of misused financial instruments created a huge economic shock- which will fundamentally change the next quarter century of our economic story.

In reality- the financial markets are a critical part of our global infrastructure, as much as energy, food, and communications. For any country to remain globally competitive, their financial industries must be so- as they provide the lifeblood (money) for investment in the ideas and infrastructure which will build a nation.

By creating public scapegoats of an entire industry- politicians are doing more to harm the future growth of our nation than any other economic policy.

The people in the advanced countries now face a choice: we can express justified horror, or we can seek to understand what may have led to the crimes. If we refuse to do the latter, we will be contributing to the likelihood that much worse lies ahead.

Renowned Linguist & Political Activist, Critic of US Foreign Policy

Nuclear weapons continue to be built for basically two reasons: power and prestige. In almost every case where a country has decided to acquire a nuclear weapon they have done it either for power—the power to protect their country from external threats or a desire to project their power in the region.

Nuclear weapons expert and president of the Ploughshares Fund.

Even though we still have approximately twenty thousand hydrogen bombs in the arsenals of the United States and Russia (many of them ready to use at a moment's notice) the two risks that most experts think are the greatest and most likely are the risks of a single bomb being used by a terrorist group or the risk of a regional war involving dozens of weapons.

Nuclear weapons expert and president of the Ploughshares Fund.

By the time the bomb was completed, that kind of carnage had become common place in World War II and the atomic bomb was then seen as little more than a bigger firebomb—the kind that been used on Tokyo and Dresden.

Nuclear weapons expert and president of the Ploughshares Fund.