Development 3.0: is social accountability the answer? ; Accountability comes in many forms, and social accountability looks tempting. But where is the attention for building the institutions for empowering the beneficiaries and give them a voice beyond a simple vote of confidence? Is getting a heap of individuals screaming (or sms-ing) for their individual rights the way forward? A future where you are never safe, because somebody might complain about you for not giving privileges? In some way the old-fashioned way with womens’ organisations, unions, Chambers of Commerce, was very apt to give feedback too. These membership based civil society organisations have disappeared from the development narrative. Replaced by donor-sponsored NGOs.
The end of hunger – Aid Thoughts; This cake has gone viral on the development blogs, and perhaps beyond. It cuts my appetite only by looking at it.
U.S. Diplomats Aren’t Stupid After All – By Joshua Kucera; Interesting take. Who reads all this stuff on Wikileaks? Who really cares? Indeed, who needs a foreign service if everything they say is already in the newspapers (except for the petty spying, explaining why the diplomats are often distracted about their priorities during negotiations)
3D Action: Hillary orders US government staff to spy at UN – Aid Watch; “Thanks to Wikileaks, we have a new appreciation how seriously Clinton takes that whole 3Ds thing (Defense/ Diplomacy/ Development). We all should work together, which apparently means all work for Defence”
They Are Not Like Ireland. Really. – NYTimes.com; What amazes me most is the lack of understanding of the effects of a serious devaluation in the US. This is probably becasue most of the spending in the US is national, while European countries are more inter-linked. and devaluation has a direct effect on prices for the consumer. With a devaluation the investors and rich can shelter themselves, while in a globalised country the poor become just as much poorer as the devaluation rate.
