Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Our Planet

 OUR PLANET 


 

42:48

Our Planet: Too Big To Fail

Our economy is fundamentally underpinned by the stability and the resilience of the natural world. But this stability is no longer guaranteed. Our Planet: Too Big To Fail is a 42 minute film that explores the risks of inaction, the impact of investing-as-usual, and the role the finance sector can play in powering a sustainable future. Contact us to find out how you can host a screening where you work: ourplanetourbusiness@wwf.org.uk

42:48

Our Planet: Too Big To Fail

Our economy is fundamentally underpinned by the stability and the resilience of the natural world. But this stability is no longer guaranteed. Our Planet: Too Big To Fail is a 42 minute film that explores the risks of inaction, the impact of investing-as-usual, and the role the finance sector can play in powering a sustainable future. Contact us to find out how you can host a screening where you work: ourplanetourbusiness@wwf.org.uk


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Our Planet: Our Business

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Posted By Hisamullah Beg SI(M) to HUNZA DEVELOPMENT FORUM at 12/30/2020 02:28:00 PM

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Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Political Action towards an Egalitarian Society

My proposal to all candidates contesting for a seat in legislative assembSources:

1. Book Titled Where Hope Takes Root
5. AKRSP
6. EXTRACT

Political Action towards an Egalitarian Society My proposal to all candidates contesting for a seat in legislative assembly in GB: I hope you concentrate on legislation to result in establishment of DISTRICT and VILLAGE governments in GB as a replication of what PTI has done in KPK - Necessary step in establishing an EGALITARIAN SOCIETY in our region. What is an Egalitarian Society: An egalitarian society is one where every person is entitled to equal rights, receive equal treatment and opportunities. These societies comprise of groups of people who agree to live together inthese societies as egalitarianism as one of their core values. Egalitarianism is the position that equality is central to justice. Egalitarians think, firstly, that unfair life prospects should be equalized. Secondly, that equality is the most or one of the most important irreducible intrinsic or constitutive worth(s) of justice. Thirdly, that welfare should be increased. Outline of an Egalitarian Society: Extracts: "An active Civil Society can open the door for an enormous variety of energies and talents from a broad spectrum of organisations and individuals. It means opening the way for diversity. It means welcoming plurality. ......three critical underpinnings of a quality Civil Society — a commitment to pluralism, to meritocracy, and to a cosmopolitan ethic. This means that initiatives cannot be contemplated exclusively in terms of economics, but rather as an integrated programme that encompasses social and cultural dimensions as well. Education and skills training, health and public services, conservation of cultural heritage, infrastructure development, urban planning and rehabilitation, rural development, water and energy management, environmental control, and even policy and legislative development are among the various aspects that must be taken into account.” “An important facet of modern development thinking is that societies can best strengthen themselves by mobilizing their own dynamic forces rather than relying on external support and direction.” Sources: 1. Book Titled Where Hope Takes Root 2. Civil Society Learning Material 3. Set of TALIMAT Publications. 4. Webcast dated 11th July 2017. 5. AKRSP: https://www.akdn.org/pakistan/akrsp 6. An extract from TALIMAT: In studying history, we come across accounts of nations that arose in various times and places. How societies become established and develop over time is an important area of inquiry. In the following as well as the posts that would follow this module, we are concerned with the question of development of societies in modern times. We examine the growth of modern civilization, and its impact on communities across the globe. We seek to become aware of the situation of the less fortunate who have not benefitted from modern advances. We try to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of progress by approaching this concept from a variety of perspectives. In short we will assess Dunya (the posts so far have dealt with Din as well as intellectual aspects of life) as it confronts human life, to day, i.e. 21st century. The following is a summary of the units we will cover in the series. Unit 1 - A divided world: We begin the module by comparing the standards of living in wealthy and poor countries, and the questions raised by this division. Unit 2 - The roots of poverty: We examine some of the outcomes of modern history that have led to the growing gap in wealth between the rich and poor nations. Unit 3 - The ethical spirit of Islam: In this unit, we study the ethical responsibilities placed by Islam upon Muslims, and how Muslim communities have sought to meet these responsibilities. Unit 4- Creating new pathways of care: In the second half of the module, we begin our exploration of the AKDN institutions. We examine the principles and approaches that guide their humanitarian work. Unit 5 - Lifelines of hope: This unit leads us to examine in greater detail the activities of the AKDN agencies in disaster relief, providing for basic needs in deprived communities, and creating opportunities for the less fortunate to earn their living. Unit 6 - Spheres of growth: We extend our exploration of the work of AKDN by turning to the issues of health, education and shelter. We study examples of projects undertaken in each of these areas by AKDN agencies. Unit 7- Choices and possibilities: In this concluding unit, we discuss the dilemmas of development facing humanity in the new century. We end by reflecting on the meaning of progress, and the choices open to human beings in creating their future.


Friday, June 26, 2020

My Fathers Manuscripts

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1W66we8rMsm0KehlfhlAVaOkB5rutI09K?usp=sharing

My father compiled a few books mostly in Dari (Persian) but could not publish in his life time. I hope to share these through this blog.


My fathers archive has been digitized by my nephew - Asadullah Beg son of Saadullah Beg TAMGHA-E-IMTIAZ and available to any and all researchers.


Friday, May 22, 2020

Distance Learning - Evaluation and Certification

A certificate is an academic document that provides proof of educational requirements. It may qualify a student for higher education or may indicate that the student is proficient in a certain subject or skill set.
Does distance education have value?
Yes, Distance education has more value than regular courses, it also depends on various other situations. If you have experience and you are pursuing higher education in the same line to enhance your degree, then it does count. For higher education people are mostly doing through distance education.
What is the difference between distance and correspondence education?
A major difference between these two forms of study is the pacing of classes or lessons. Correspondence is not in 'real time'. Assignments are sent to students, completed and then returned. ... These courses are also run over semesters, with a specific time required to complete the course and specific terms of study
Which type of evaluation is done in the ODL system?
Term-end examination (summative evaluation)
Almost all the ODL institutes give a higher weighing to the final or term-end examination, which is conducted annually.
Free Online Colleges
Looking for a college education that will cost little to nothing? Believe it or not, it can happen! There are several accredited colleges and universities that will allow you to take college courses and even some that will allow you to earn a degree for little to no money.
Some of these schools require you to have a natural talent in a specific area, such as music. However, there are universities that are open to religious studies, engineering and many other fields that may interest you. Free online schooling is available thanks to many people who donate to education and the founders of these schools who believe in higher education for everyone.

Digital learning management systems

  • CenturyTech – Personal learning pathways with micro-lessons to address gaps in knowledge, challenge students and promote long-term memory retention.
  • ClassDojo – Connects teachers with students and parents to build classroom communities.
  • Edmodo – Tools and resources to manage classrooms and engage students remotely, offering a variety of languages.
  • Edraak – Arabic language online education with resources for school learners and teachers.
  • EkStep – Open learning platform with a collection of learning resources to support literacy and numeracy.
  • Google Classroom – Helps classes connect remotely, communicate and stay organized.
  • Moodle – Community-driven and globally-supported open learning platform.
  • Nafham – Arabic language online learning platform hosting educational video lessons that correspond with Egyptian and Syrian curricula.
  • Paper Airplanes – Matches individuals with personal tutors for 12-16 week sessions conducted via video conferencing platforms, available in English and Turkish.
  • Schoology – Tools to support instruction, learning, grading, collaboration and assessment.
  • Seesaw – Enables the creation of collaborative and sharable digital learning portfolios and learning resources. 
  • Skooler – Tools to turn Microsoft Office software into an education platform.

Systems built for use on basic mobile phones

  • Cell-Ed – Learner-centered, skills-based learning platform with offline options.
  • Eneza Education - Revision and learning materials for basic feature phones.
  • Funzi – Mobile learning service that supports teaching and training for large groups.
  • KaiOS – Software that gives smartphone capabilities to inexpensive mobile phones and helps open portals to learning opportunities.
  • Ubongo – Uses entertainment, mass media, and the connectivity of mobile devices to deliver localized learning to African families at low cost and scale, available in Kiswahili and English.
  • Ustad Mobile – Access and share educational content offline.

Systems with strong offline functionality

  • Kolibri – Learning application to support universal education, available in more than 20 languages.
  • Rumie – Education tools and content to enable lifelong learning for underserved communities.
  • Ustad Mobile – Access and share educational content offline.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Platforms

  • Alison – Online courses from experts, available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
  • Canvas Network – Course catalogue accessible for free for teachers in order to support lifelong learning and professional development.
  • Coursera – Online courses taught by instructors from well-recognized universities and companies.
  • European Schoolnet Academy – Free online professional development courses for teachers in English, French, Italian and other European languages.
  • EdX – Online courses from leading educational institutions.
  • iCourse – Chinese and English language courses for university students.
  • Future Learn – Online courses to help learners study, build professional skills and connect with experts.
  • Icourses – Chinese language courses for university students.
  • TED-Ed Earth School – Online lessons about nature made available continuously during a 5-week period between Earth Day (April 22nd) and World Environment Day (June 5th).
  • Udemy – English, Spanish and Portuguese language courses on ICT skills and programming.
  • XuetangX – Online courses provided by a collection of universities on different subjects in Chinese and English.

Self-directed learning content

  • ABRA - Selection of 33 game-like activities in English and in French to promote reading comprehension and writing skills of early readers.
  • British Council – English language learning resources, including games, reading, writing and listening exercises.
  • Byju’s – Learning application with large repositories of educational content tailored for different grades and learning levels.
  • Code It – Helps children learn basic programming concepts through online courses, live webinars and other kid-friendly material. Available in English and German.
  • Code.org – A wide range of coding resources categorized by subject for K12 students offered for free by a non-profit.
  • Code Week – List of online resources to teach and learn computer coding, available in all EU languages.
  • Discovery Education – Free educational resources and lessons about viruses and outbreaks for different grade levels.
  • Duolingo – Application to support language learning. Supports numerous base and target languages.
  • Edraak -  A variety of resources for K-12 education in Arabic, targeting students, parents and teachers.
  • Facebook Get Digital - Lesson plans, conversation starters, activities, videos and other resources for students to stay connected
  • Feed the Monster – Android application in multiple languages to help teach children the fundamentals of reading, available in 48 languages.
  • History of Africa – A nine-part BBC documentary series on the history of Africa based on UNESCO’s General History of Africa book collection.
  • Geekie – Portuguese language web-based platform that provides personalized educational content using adaptive learning technology.
  • Khan Academy – Free online lessons and practice in math, sciences and humanities, as well as free tools for parents and teachers to track student progress. Available in 40+ languages, and aligned to national curriculum for over 10 countries.
  • KitKit School - Tablet-based learning suite with a comprehensive curriculum spanning early childhood through early primary levels.
  • LabXchange – Curated and user-created digital learning content delivered on an online platform that enables educational and research experiences.
  • Madrasa – Resources and online lessons for STEM subjects in Arabic
  • Mindspark – Adaptive online tutoring system that helps students practice and learn mathematics.
  • Mosoteach – Chinese language application hosting cloud classes.
  • Music Crab – Mobile application accessible for music education. 
  • OneCourse – Child-focused application to deliver reading, writing and numeracy education.
  • Polyup  – Learning content to build math and gaining computational thinking skills for students in primary and early secondary school.
  • Quizlet – Learning flashcards and games to support learning in multiple subjects, available in 15 languages. 
  • SDG Academy Library - A searchable library of more than 1,200 educational videos on sustainable development and related topics.
  • Siyavula – Mathematics and physical sciences education aligned with South African curriculum.
  • Smart History – Art history site with resources created by historians and academic contributors.
  • YouTube – Huge repository of educational videos and learning channels.

Mobile reading applications

  • African Storybook - Open access to picture storybooks in 189 African languages.  
  • Biblioteca Digital del Instituto Latinoamericano de la Comunicación Educativa – Offers free access to Spanish language works and book collections for students and teaching staff in schools and universities
  • Global Digital Library – Digital storybooks and other reading materials are easily accessible from mobile phones or computers. Available in 43 languages.
  • Interactive Learning Program – Mobile app in Arabic to advance reading, writing and numeracy skills created by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
  • Reads – Digital stories with illustrations in multiple languages.
  • Room to Read – Resources to develop the literacy skills of children and youth with specialized content to support girls.
  • StoryWeaver – Digital repository of multilingual stories for children.
  • Worldreader – Digital books and stories accessible from mobile devices and functionality to support reading instruction. Available in 52 languages.

Collaboration platforms that support live-video communication

  • Dingtalk – Communication platform that supports video conferencing, task and calendar management, attendance tracking and instant messaging.
  • Lark – Collaboration suite of interconnected tools, including chat, calendar, creation and cloud storage, in Japanese, Korean, Italian and English
  • Hangouts Meet – Video calls integrated with other Google’s G-Suite tools.
  • Teams – Chat, meet, call and collaboration features integrated with Microsoft Office software.
  • Skype – Video and audio calls with talk, chat and collaboration features.
  • WeChat Work – Messaging, content sharing and video/audio-conferencing tool with the possibility of including max. 300 participants, available in English and Chinese.
  • WhatsApp – Video and audio calls, messaging and content sharing mobile application.
  • Zoom – Cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat and webinars.

Tools for teachers to create of digital learning content

  • Thinglink – Tools to create interactive images, videos and other multimedia resources.
  • Buncee – Supports the creation and sharing visual representations of learning content, including media-rich lessons, reports, newsletters and presentations.
  • EdPuzzle – Video lesson creation software.
  • EduCaixa - Courses in Spanish language to help teachers develop the skills and competencies of learners in areas such as communication, entrepreneurship, STEM and big data. 
  • Kaltura – Video management and creation tools with integration options for various learning management systems.
  • Nearpod – Software to create lessons with informative and interactive assessment activities.
  • Pear Deck – Facilitates the design of engaging instructional content with various integration features.
  • Squigl – Content creation platform that transforms speech or text into animated videos.
  • Trello - A visual collaboration tool used by teachers and professors for easier coursework planning, faculty collaboration, and classroom organization.
  • Online Video Tools -  All-in-one easy-to-use online video tools

External repositories of distance learning solutions

  • Brookings – A catalogue of nearly 3,000 learning innovations. Not all of them are distance learning solutions, but many of them offer digital education content.
  • Common Sense Education – Tips and tools to support school closures and transitions to online and at-home learning.
  • Commonweatlh of Learning – List of resources for policymakers, school and college administrators, teachers, parents and learners that will assist with student learning during the closure of educational institutions.
  • Education Nation – Nordic countries have opened up their learning solutions for the world for free, supporting teachers and learners during the school closures.
  • EdSurge – Community-driven list of edtech products, including many distance learning resources for students, teachers and schools, covering primary to post-secondary education levels.
  • European Commission Resources – A collection of online platforms for teachers and educators, available in 23 EU languages. 
  • Global Business Coalition for Education – List of e-learning platforms, information sharing platform  and communication platforms.
  • Keep Learning Going – Extensive collection free tools, strategies, tips and best practices for teaching online from a coalition of USA-based education organizations. Includes descriptions of over 600+ digital learning solutions.
  • Koulu.me – A collection of apps and pedagogical solutions curated by Finnish edtech companies to facilitate distance for pre-primary to upper secondary learners.
  • Organisation internationale de la Francophonie: Resources for primary and secondary school students and teachers for learning and teaching French.
  • UNEVOC Resources – Tools, guides, MOOCS and other resources collected by UNESCO’s International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training for continued learning in the area of TVET.
  • UNHCR – An extensive list of over 600 distance learning solutions from the United Nations agency for ref
  • EDUCATIONAL YOUTUBE CHANNELS FOR HOMESCHOOLING
  • OER
  • ONLINE CERTIFICATES - EXAMPLES

Saturday, February 22, 2020

No Weapon Left Behind: The American Hybrid War on China

Pepe Escobar (born 1954) is a Brazilian journalist. He writes a column – The Roving Eye – for Asia Times Online, and works as an analyst for RT, Sputnik News, and Press TV. ... Please help to establish notability by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it
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The New Silk Roads – or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – were launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013, first in Central Asia (Nur-Sultan) and then Southeast Asia (Jakarta).
One year later, the Chinese economy overtook the U.S. on a PPP basis. Inexorably, year after year since the start of the millennium, the U.S. share of the global economy shrinks while China’s increases.
China is already the key hub of the global economy and the leading trade partner of nearly 130 nations.
While the U.S. economy is hollowed out, and the casino financing of the U.S. government – repo markets and all – reads as a dystopian nightmare, the civilization-state steps ahead in myriad areas of technological research, not least because of Made in China 2025.
China largely beats the U.S. on patent filings and produces at least 8 times as many STEM graduates a year than the U.S., earning the status of top contributor to global science.
Independent geopolitical analyst, writer and journalist
A vast array of nations across the Global South signed on to be part of BRI, which is planned for completion in 2049. Last year alone, Chinese companies signed contracts worth up to $128 billion in large-scale infrastructure projects in dozen of nations.
The only economic competitor to the U.S. is busy reconnecting most of the world to a 21st century, fully networked version of a trade system that was at its peak for over a millennia: the Eurasian Silk Roads.
Inevitably this state of things is something interlocking sectors of the U.S. ruling class simply would not accept.
Branding BRI as a “pandemic”
As the usual suspects fret over the “stability” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Xi Jinping administration, the fact is the Beijing leadership has had to deal with an accumulation of extremely severe issues: a swine-flu epidemic killing half the stock; the Trump-concocted trade war; Huawei accused of racketeering and about to be prevented from buying U.S. made chips; bird flu; coronavirus virtually shutting down half of China.
Add to it the incessant United States government Hybrid War propaganda barrage, trespassed by acute Sinophobia; everyone from sociopathic “officials” to self-titled councilors are either advising corporate businesses to divert global supply chains out of China or concocting outright calls for regime change – with every possible demonization in between.
There are no holds barred in the all-out offensive to kick the Chinese government while it’s down.
A Pentagon cipher at the Munich Security Conference once again declares China as the greatest threat, economically and militarily, to the U.S. – and by extension the West, forcing a wobbly EU already subordinated to NATO to be subservient to Washington on this remixed Cold War 2.0.
The whole U.S. corporate media complex repeats to exhaustion that Beijing is “lying” and losing control. Descending to sub-gutter, racist levels, hacks even accuse BRI itself of being a pandemic, with China “impossible to quarantine”.
All that is quite rich, to say the least, oozing from lavishly rewarded slaves of an unscrupulous, monopolistic, extractive, destructive, depraved, lawless oligarchy which uses debt offensively to boost their unlimited wealth and power while the lowly U.S. and global masses use debt defensively to barely survive. As Thomas Piketty has conclusively shown, inequality always relies on ideology.
We’re deep into a vicious intel war. From the point of view of Chinese intelligence, the current toxic cocktail simply cannot be attributed to just a random series of coincidences. Beijing has serial motives to piece this extraordinary chain of events as part of a coordinated Hybrid War, Full Spectrum Dominance attack on China.
Enter the Dragon Killer working hypothesis: a bio-weapon attack capable of causing immense economic damage but protected by plausible deniability. The only possible move by the “indispensable nation” on the New Great Game chessboard, considering that the U.S. cannot win a conventional war on China, and cannot win a nuclear war on China.
A biological warfare weapon?
On the surface, coronavirus is a dream bio-weapon for those fixated on wreaking havoc across China and praying for regime change.
Yet it’s complicated. This report is a decent effort trying to track the origins of coronavirus. Now compare it with the insights by Dr. Francis Boyle, international law professor at the University of Illinois and author, among others, of Biowarfare and Terrorism. He’s the man who drafted the U.S. Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 signed into law by George H. W. Bush.
Dr. Boyle is convinced coronavirus is an
“offensive biological warfare weapon” that leaped out of the Wuhan BSL-4 laboratory, although he’s “not saying it was done deliberately.”
Dr. Boyle adds, “all these BSL-4 labs by United States, Europe, Russia, China, Israel are all there to research, develop, test biological warfare agents. There’s really no legitimate scientific reason to have BSL-4 labs.” His own research led to a whopping $100 billion, by 2015, spent by the United States government on bio-warfare research: “We have well over 13,000 alleged life science scientists… testing biological weapons here in the United States. Actually this goes back and it even precedes 9/11.”
Dr. Boyle directly accuses “the Chinese government under Xi and his comrades” of a cover up “from the get-go. The first reported case was December 1, so they’d been sitting on this until they couldn’t anymore. And everything they’re telling you is a lie. It’s propaganda.”
The World Health Organization (WHO), for Dr. Boyle, is also on it: “They’ve approved many of these BSL-4 labs (…) Can’t trust anything the WHO says because they’re all bought and paid for by Big Pharma and they work in cahoots with the CDC, which is the United States government, they work in cahoots with Fort Detrick.” Fort Detrick, now a cutting-edge bio-warfare lab, previously was a notorious CIA den of mind control “experiments”.
Relying on decades of research in bio-warfare, the U.S. Deep State is totally familiar with all bio-weapon overtones. From Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Korea, Vietnam and Fallujah, the historical record shows the United States government does not blink when it comes to unleashing weapons of mass destruction on innocent civilians.
For its part, the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has spent a fortune researching bats, coronaviruses and gene-editing bio-weapons. Now, conveniently – as if this was a form of divine intervention – DARPA’s “strategic allies” have been chosen to develop a genetic vaccine.
The 1996 neocon Bible, the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), unambiguously stated, “advanced forms of biological warfare that can “target” specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool.”
There’s no question coronavirus, so far, has been a Heaven-sent politically useful tool, reaching, with minimum investment, the desired targets of maximized U.S. global power – even if fleetingly, enhanced by a non-stop propaganda offensive – and China relatively isolated with its economy semi paralyzed.
Yet perspective is in order. The CDC estimated that up to 42.9 million people got sick during the 2018-2019 flu season in the U.S. No less than 647,000 people were hospitalized. And 61,200 died.
This report details the Chinese “people’s war” against coronavirus.
It’s up to Chinese virologists to decode its arguably synthetic origin. How China reacts, depending on the findings, will have earth-shattering consequences – literally.
Setting the stage for the Raging Twenties
After managing to reroute trade supply chains across Eurasia to its own advantage and hollow out the Heartland, American – and subordinated Western – elites are now staring into a void. And the void is staring back. A “West” ruled by the U.S. is now faced with irrelevance. BRI is in the process of reversing at least two centuries of Western dominance.
There’s no way the West and especially the “system leader” U.S. will allow it. It all started with dirty ops stirring trouble across the periphery of Eurasia – from Ukraine to Syria to Myanmar.
Now it’s when the going really gets tough. The targeted assassination of Maj. Gen. Soleimani plus coronavirus – the Wuhan flu – have really set up the stage for the Raging Twenties. The designation of choice should actually be WARS – Wuhan Acute Respiratory Syndrome. That would instantly give the game away as a War against Humanity – irrespective of where it came from.
The views of individual contributors do not necessarily represent those of the Strategic Culture Foundation.