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The “bingo” strategy of development

August 10, 2009 by John Boonstra

I’m not sure how I feel about this…

The French government is considering introducing a special lottery for Africa to supplement development aid.

“It could be bingo for Africa, or a lotto,” said the French Secretary of State for Co-operation, Alain Joyandet.

It depends what you think of gambling, and what you think of development aid, I suppose.  On the former, I guess that old folks’ bingo money might as well be going to a good cause, though it would pretty much undo the benefit if obsessive lotto players are being impoverished to help un-impoverish Africans.  On the development side…well, I’d be interested to see what Chris Blattman and Bill Easterly would think of this scheme…

(image from flickr user klynslis under a Creative Commons license)

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Bill Clinton’s other job

by John Boonstra

You know, the one he is actually paid for (well, sort of). After rescuing journalists imprisoned in North Korea, Clinton is back to…talking about turning sawdust into fuel.

Electric power is scarce in rural areas and the cutting of trees to make charcoal has led to deforestation in Haiti.

As an example of projects rife for further investment, Clinton described a recycling program that turns paper and sawdust waste into cooking fuel that sells for one-fifth the cost of charcoal.

Seriously, though. Clinton’s role promoting international development and stability in Haiti might even be more difficult that freeing hostages taken by the equally impoverished — but decidedly less hospitable — regime in North Korea.

And while there may not be imprisoned journalists in Haiti, there is still some dangerous tension between Haitian protestors and UN peacekeepers, who have done much to calm and rebuild the country, but have  again found themselves in the midst of demonstrations turned violent. If Bill can mediate between a hostile regime and innocent Americans, then surely he can soothe animosities between everyday Haitians and the peacekeepers who, after all, are trying to improve their lives.

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UN Dispatch is a “Twitterati”

by Mark Leon Goldberg

A pat on our own back as UN Dispatch makes Foreign Policy’s list of top 100 “twitterati.“  Peter and I also made the list, but arguably the best Twitterer in the UN Dispatch family is Alanna.  You should definitely follower her.   

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UN Plaza: The Other Conflict in Sudan

by Mark Leon Goldberg

In this edition of UN Plaza, I talk to Maggie Fick of the Enough Project about the tenuous peace between Sudan and Southern Sudan.  We talk about Maggie’s new report on Abyei, a disputed border region that could be a flash point for renewed conflict ahead of the likely secession of southern Sudan, and about a divide in the Obama administration in how to approach Sudan.  Check it out.  

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We (Twitter users) are all Georgians now

August 7, 2009 by Mark Leon Goldberg

The massive Twitter and Facebook outages yesterday seem to be linked in some way to the Georgian conflict. As CNET reported, the rolling blackout of Twitter began with a DDOS attack on a Georgian blogger’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.  A Facebook spokesperson says, “The people who are coordinating this attack, the criminals, are definitely determined and using a lot of resources.”

To be sure, there is a big difference in the victimhood of the women in this video and those of us slightly inconvenienced yesterday.  Still, it’s fightening to see how instability and an unresolved conflict halfway around the world can impact my daily life in a pretty direct way. To the extent that DDOS attacks become a common feature of global conflict, those of us who think we have nothing to do with a conflict one way or the other may increasingly find ourselves smack in the middle of it. 

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Hillary Clinton: “If Obama walked on water, [Bolton] would say he can’t swim”

by Mark Leon Goldberg

 Via Kos Diarist LaurenMonica  a precious video of Hillary Clinton mocking John Bolton: 

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