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Category Archives: General Commentary
The Olympics I don’t watch
Although I have a TV, with lots of channels including sports channels , I don’t watch the 2014 winter olympics in Sochi . Some of my reasons: I cannot see the athletes I know and I see a lot of … Continue reading
Posted in General Commentary
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Thinking fast and slow about disaster preparedness
Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow Author: Daniel Kahneman Getting back to my notes from “Thinking Fast and slow” by Daniel Kahneman, I am still amazed by the diversity of new insights the book provides on how (most) humans think . … Continue reading
The hunger games, the Paris agenda and political sciences.
I read the 3 parts of the Hunger Games trilogy in only a few weeks. A book that captivates so well its readers cannot be all bad. What amazes me most is how “fantasy”writers seems to be better at captivating the realities of the … Continue reading
The silent revolution: is the electric bike a black swan?
The media and the public are staring at the lacklustre growth in the sales of the electrical car, and meanwhile it seems they miss the revolution happening under their nose. For mobility in the city or the suburbs, the ideal … Continue reading
Posted in General Commentary, News, Political Commentary
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Busan Aid Effectiveness, Power Impact Analysis and the Rights Based Approach
The use of big words and capitals in capitals I just used a title where most of the words seem to call for capitalization. It just shows how the development bingo is still in full swing, and we take ourselves … Continue reading
Posted in development, General Commentary, Political Commentary
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Peak Oil, the problem or the solution?
I was reading the three futures black swan posting by Paul, and wondered whether Peak Oil would really be such a disruption to the way we work. It seems indeed that Peak oil is now mainstream in the public debate, … Continue reading
Posted in General Commentary, News
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Admitting Failure: Join the Posse (Only for real Men)
I am all in favour of evolution in development practice and thinking, where normally, it is more important to cull downright dismal failures than to select only the best, as evolution needs variability to work its magic. Admitting mistakes or … Continue reading
Galileo Day Campaign: 29 February 2012
Reposting, because it only gets more actual: The day to celebrate the Earth and Science Leap day is the single day we all think about our place in the universe, and how we know that place; it honors the earth … Continue reading
A new year, a new donor budget and the fallacy of additional resources
Donor budgets are annual and modular. The legislation ruling these budgets covers normally all expenditures in all departments. This means expectations on donor flexibility are often unrealistic. While the role of parliaments in poor countries might be taken into account, … Continue reading
Sunday Paper
Some articles to remember: What Makes Good Aid *Good Aid*? – I like very much his take on “local”. New study shows humans are on auto pilot nearly half the time You were saying? Tom Chatfield: 7 ways games reward … Continue reading
Posted in development, General Commentary, humanitairan, News
Tagged development, humanitarian, News
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Ethical eating in a diverse world: where angels fear to thread (final part of a series)
I am sitting on a terrace in the shade of a vine in the South of France invited by some friends. Not the kind of like-minded buddies we mistake for friends, but the kind of neighbors you know you can … Continue reading
Farming systems: from exploitation to stewardship and back; ethical eating in a diverse world (part 6 of a series)
Farming system analysis is at the core to what food really is. It describes the ecology of men in nature, or the place of nature in the human environment. This is why this chapter is central in our series. As … Continue reading
Posted in food and nutrition, General Commentary, Submission
Tagged food and nutrition
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Ethical eating in a diverse world: at the table (part 3 of a series)
Dining together to create a common identity and as an educational tool Dining together, is an important community-building institution. Extended family and community are less defined by bloodlines than by sharing a meal on a regular basis or on special … Continue reading
Posted in food and nutrition, General Commentary, Submission
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Ethical eating in a diverse world: our biological identity is cooked (part 2 of a series)
The cooking hunter-gatherer Humans should not return to their “cave man diet” to be healthy. What a creature eats in the wild is not necessarily the best option. In the wild, the full potential of a species cannot be developed … Continue reading
Ethical eating in a diverse world: an introduction
The relationship to food is at the heart of the culture which we learn from our parents. Eating is–with its do’s and don’ts and its daily rituals–a central cultural institution like literature, songs, architecture, or music. Since eating has been … Continue reading
Posted in food and nutrition, General Commentary, Submission
Tagged food and nutrition
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Believing in the electric car
Electric cars are finally breaking through – perhaps. The electric car is ready for it, but a bump must be taken to get to acceptance: changing habits and making the initial investments in infrastructure before the success is possible. In this article, it is argued that it is important to make this choice rather sooner than later, and live up to it. Continue reading
My dog, COVID-19 and me
I have been working from home since the lockdown. So I wake up, tend my milk kefir (and drink a glass of it), walk my dog briefly in the countryside behind my house where she tries to chase some ducks, … Continue reading →