1. Not surprisingly, Canada is slashing its foreign aid budget. Can we really blame them? As one less than eloquent Canadian said:
The less Canada has to do with the u n , the better. As near as can be see, the u n is bagman for various propaganda machines designed to redistribute western wealth by any means possible to corrupt governments with no desire to do any thing for anyone other than themselves.
2. And maybe we are better off withdrawing. William Easterly gives us a snapshot of the “worst kept secret in aid” – the recipient corrupt government controls the donor.
3. But, one of these corrupt governments is now being investigated by the ICC. Ocampo now has permission to investigate senior Kenyan politicians.
4. And there are ideas for how to improve aid. Owen lists Lawrence Haddad’s (IDS) top priorities. So where are these priorities being implemented?
Siena, enjoying your blog….
I enjoy Owen’s, Bill’s and Duncan Green’s
Bill Gates’ blog is interesting and One.org is always good value
Also, shamelessly, check out mine — developmenthorizons.com
Best, Lawrence
Hmm,
Your development reading list is quite the statement…
Kindly let me know if there is anything else you think I should be reading. Always looking for new voices and sources.
Does google have an aid news feed that you can recommend? It would be very useful.
Hmm… Good question, but I’m not sure. My aid-specific google reader is mainly (just google the names): Blood and Milk, Texas in Africa, Owen Abroad (Owen Barder), Aid Thoughts (Matt), Aid Watch (Bill Easterly), From Poverty to Power, & Mo’Dernity Mo’Problems. I strongly recommend Owen Abroad and Aid Thoughts (Watch is good too, but I find Aid Thoughts much more in-depth). I also keep an informal eye on the Globe and Mail (Canada) which has more and more aid-related news with our government slashing aid funding and CIDA’s faltering reputation. The Guardian UK’s Katine site is also quite dynamic. Law-related, which sometimes plays into the aid feed: Opinio Juris, Law is Cool and Legal Frontiers (McGill).