Anna Sale here on the day shift.
We are continuing to follow the impact of the monsoon floods in Pakistan. We talked this morning to the host of the BBC's radio service called "Lifeline," which is trying to reach Pakistanis, offering a call-in for people who need important aid information, and also giving them a forum for telling their own story during the disaster. Tomorrow we will look at the scale of the international aid response, and it has its critics. British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called the effort so far "absolutely pitiful." We'll talk about how much has been pledged so far, the pace of the response and what's needed to address what United Nations Secretary General Bahn Ki Moon calls the worst disaster he's ever witnessed.
We will also wade into the complexities of mortgage financing as economists gather at the White House to discuss the future of mortage finance. And we just have a big basic question: does anyone know what it is? And when more than 90 percent of the mortgage market are backed by the federal government, how many options are there?
We'll also look again at how young people are faring in the job market, and whether they're doing enough to land a job in this tough economy. According to the International Labor Organization, of some 620 million economically active youth aged 15 to 24 years, 81 million were unemployed at the end of 2009. Between 2007 and 2009, the unemployment rate for young people increased from 11.9 percent to 13.0 percent. Numbers like this are certainly discouraging, but do you think the younger generation trying hard enough to find a job? We'll speak to someone who thinks young people are being too picky. What's your take?
Finally, as the debate about plans to build a mosque and community center near Ground Zero rages on, we'll take a step back and consider Graham Fuller's new book "A World Without Islam." Fuller, the former Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, imagines the geopolitical balance of the world as if the religion of Islam never existed. He concludes that the power struggles between Eastern and Western cultures would still look very familiar. We'll unpack this together tomorrow.
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