Salutory fact of the day
I have just learned from DFID’s Chief Economist, Tony Venables, that the grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol will feed one person for a year.
Odious debts and vultures
The British High Court has ruled that Zambia has to make substantial payments on its debt now held by Donegal International, based in the British Virgin Islands. Donegal International is a so-called vulture fund – that is, a financial organization that buys at a discount bonds that are very unlikely Read more…
What do they teach head teachers these days?
I heard Des Smith on the BBC this morning. He said: “I was literally hung out to dry by Tony Blair” It seems he said the same to the Scotsman. I find it hard to believe that he was literally hung out to dry. Metaphorically, perhaps? You would think a Read more…
BBC downloads to be restricted to Windows
The BBC is considering changing its “listen again” service to include Digital Rights Management so that it can only be used by people using a recent version of Windows: The only system that currently provides this security is Windows Media 10 and above. Further, the only comprehensively deployed operating system Read more…
The Economist on Ghana and on vaccines
This week’s Economist has a stupid article about vaccinations for diseases in poor countries. The print edition (page 67) says: Amid the figures cited in Rome, one stood out. It was Ghana’s per capita health budget, calculated by the World Bank at $31 per day. If only! Ghana’s public health Read more…
Canadian Senate challenges future of CIDA
The Financial Post reports that the Canadian Senate has challenged the future of the Canadian development agency “Given the failure of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in Africa over the past 38 years to make an effective foreign aid difference, the government of Canada should conduct an immediate review Read more…
On supporting African Governments directly
Chris McGreal has a piece in the Guardian today about DFID's work in Africa. (Disclosure: I work for DFID). Chris McGreal says: The result, say DFID officials in Africa, is that they are able to direct large amounts of money to areas of greatest need, including putting millions of pounds Read more…
Rogue development aid, pots and kettles
Rogue development aid by Moisés Naím: States like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have the cash and the will to reshape the world into a place very unlike the one where we want to live. By pushing their alternative development model, such states effectively price responsible aid programs out Read more…
Nobel prize winner Prescott on globalization
Ed Prescott, the joint winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Economics, writes in the Wall Street Journal today (behind paywall): Of all the thankless jobs that economists set for themselves when it comes to educating people about economics, the notion that society is better off if some industries are Read more…
Mediaeval superstition of the day
A man called Roy Jenkins, who calls himself "Right Reverend", was given an uncontested platform on The Today Programme this morning to peddle his wicked superstitions. He said that Kelly Taylor, the brave, terminally ill woman who is fighting for her right to die in dignity, should instead die a painful, Read more…