This past week has been a whirlwind of news as President-elect Obama prepares for his move to the White House. Every decision Obama makes as president-elect is being analyzed: from his choice of Rep. Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff, to his push for a new stimulus package for the economy, to the puppy he’ll buy his girls (who knew the choice of the White House dog could be so significant? it’s even the subject of the Teen Ink poll).

People all over the world are reacting to Obama’s election, especially those from Indonesia and Kenya, where Obama has ties (he went to school in Indonesia and his father was born in Kenya).

One.org summarized President-elect Obama’s plans for fighting world poverty, including doubling foreign assistance by 2012 and making progress on the Millennium Development Goals.Comprised of eight objectives, the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) pledge to alleviate poverty extensively by 2015. The eight goals are:

1. “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”
2. “Achieve universal primary education”
3. “Promote gender equality and empower women”
4. “Reduce child mortality”
5. “Improve maternal health”
6. “Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases”
7. “Ensure environmental sustainability”
8. “Develop a global partnership for development”

Read more on the specific targets and progress of the MDGs on the UN web site.

Africans are hopeful for U.S. assistance from Obama, but Obama has said that his goals for foreign aid might be delayed in light of the financial crisis, according to one.org. The financial situation creates an unfortunate conflict: is it right for a superpower to double foreign aid when the country itself is in economic danger? Is 2012 still a realistic date for doubling foreign aid?

The 2008 MDGs report said some MDGs seemed reachable by 2015, but others were unlikely to be met. For example, from 2005 to 2007 the number of deaths from AIDS decreased, but carbon dioxide emissions have continued increasing.

In the foreword to the report, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon commented on the success of the MDGs thus far and elaborated on the challenges the MDGs face, including skyrocketing food prices and the financial crisis (in some countries, inflation is ridiculously high–231 million percent in Zimbabwe!).

“These developments will directly affect our efforts to reduce poverty: the economic slowdown will diminish the incomes of the poor; the food crisis will raise the number of hungry people in the world and push millions more into poverty; climate change will have a disproportionate impact on the poor,” Ban Ki-Moon said. “The need to address these concerns, pressing as they are, must not be allowed to detract from our long-term efforts to achieve the MDGs.

“On the contrary, our strategy must be to keep the focus on the MDGs as we confront these new challenges.”

Expectations are high for President-elect Obama, but the financial crisis, health care reform, the Iraq war, and a variety of other problems will be waiting on Obama’s White House desk. As the Los Angeles Times showed this week, President-elect Obama has expressed foreign policy goals that will be a challenge to meet, especially considering complex new developments in conflicts, politics, economies.

One leader can’t fix everything, especially in light of today’s problems, so the question is: how close can the world get to accomplishing the MDGs, and how long will it take?

Proposition 8, a law in California that bans same-sex marriage, also passed this week. I know you have opinions on this law. Jump in and tell me about it.

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