Why the Fight against Poverty Is Failing: A Contrarian View

Published: October 31, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton

Abraham George is the founder of The George Foundation, an NGO engaged in humanitarian work in India, and the author of India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty. In this contrarian essay, he explores why the current strategies that governments and development agencies are employing to reduce poverty are not working the way they should. Among his arguments: Microcredit programs, as they are now practiced in India, do little to help the poor.

By the World Bank's broad definition of poverty ($2.00 or less a day per person), there are more poor people in the world today than a quarter century ago. Nearly half the world's population, over three billion people, lives in poverty. In India alone, two-thirds of its one billion-plus population is poor. Yet, the strategy for alleviating poverty across practically every developing nation has remained essentially the same for the past several decades. continue...

Microfinance 2.0 - Forbes.com

Microfinance 2.0
Knowledge@Wharton 04.10.07, 3:50 PM ET

Some of the major misconceptions about microfinance--small loans of under $100 that enable Third World residents to become entrepreneurs--can be summed up by what happened roughly a decade ago, when the pioneering Grameen Bank decided to help female villagers in Bangladesh enter the mobile phone business. continue...

Corn-based ethanol: the biggest greenwash ever?

Posted by Tom Philpott at 6:51 AM on 29 Mar 2007 

It's hard to imagine what politicians and corporate chiefs are intending to do by crafting a corn-based ethanol boom, beyond rigging public policy (and raiding the public purse) to generate huge private profits.

But whatever their intentions, they're methodically creating environmental and social disasters -- while brazenly brandishing the "green" flag. continue...

On the peculiar American habit of demonizing food

On the peculiar American habit of demonizing food
By Tom Philpott  |  10 May 2007

Not long ago, a reader wrote in with an interesting response to one of my many articles condemning industrially grown corn.

Yes, you can buy it!

Photo: iStockphoto

"When sweet corn appears at the farmers' market next summer, can I buy it in good conscience?" she wanted to know. "Or is it bad for me and bad for the land?"

I can see why she might be confused. Even as U.S. farmers prepare for what will almost certainly be the largest concentrated corn harvest in world history, criticism has rained down like fertilizer on an Iowa corn patch. Michael Pollan placed corn at the center of what he called "our national eating disorder" in his best-selling Omnivore's Dilemma. I've personally joined the chorus tying corn to everything from the obesity epidemic to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, and to the "biggest greenwash ever," ethanol. continue...

Speaking of fake 'butter' and industrial corn ...

Posted by Tom Philpott at 6:23 AM on 11 May 2007

My latest Victual Reality column looks at how perfectly wonderful foods like corn and butter get twisted up by food-industry marketers and flavor engineers, confusing people and often sending them scurrying in search of dubious, unhealthy, artificial substitutes -- which the food industry is only too willing to provide.

As if on cue, out comes a New York Times piece on the horrors of microwave popcorn. Those unpleasant fumes that cloud the office when one of your co-workers pops a bag of Orville Redenbacher into the microwave? They really are noxious. continue...

Shake, rattle, ride: What effect does a white-knuckle ride have on your body?

A roller-coaster ride may be the ultimate cheap thrill - but what does it do to your body? Guy Adams climbs aboard Britain's latest white-knuckle ride to find out.

Published: 09 May 2007

It takes a shade over 30 seconds to complete a journey on Infusion, a new ride that gives Blackpool Pleasure Beach the distinction of owning "the world's first suspended looping roller-coaster running entirely over water". continue...

Sex on the couch: The therapists who abuse their clients' trust

For a therapist, seducing a client is a wanton abuse of trust. Yet it's far from rare.
By Julia Stuart
Published: 08 May 2007

When Jo Adams was referred to the counsellor at her GP's surgery, she expected to be given help for her severe depression. But that was not all she received. During the six sessions, her counsellor paid her a number of suggestive compliments. In her desperately ill state, they gave her a boost. "They put me on a false high, even though I'm happily married," says the 35-year-old, who works in sales. "He made me laugh when I was suicidal. I felt I couldn't do without him and if he went out of my life I would go back to the hell of depression I had known."  continue...

No laughing matter: the downfall of Mr Comedy

Once he was the golden boy, who produced hit television shows such as 'The Sopranos' and 'Sex and the City'. But now Chris Albrecht is in disgrace, forced to resign from his post as chairman of Home Box Office following revelations of a drunken assault on a female companion. By Andrew Gumbel
Published: 11 May 2007

We still don't know the biggest secret in American television - whether Tony Soprano is going to get whacked before the small screen's quintessential mob drama reaches the final episode of its final season next month. But we do know about someone else whose professional career - if not his life - has just been rubbed out with the kind of cold, business-like efficiency that corporate America and the mafia have always had in common: the man who did more than anyone else to bring The Sopranos (and a host of other culture-changing hit shows) to television audiences around the world. continue...

William E. Odom

Senior Fellow
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters

Areas of Expertise

• Military and strategic issues
• Intelligence issues
• Asian economic and security issues
• Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian studies
• European politics and military issues

Biographical Highlights

Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army (Ret.), is a Senior Fellow with Hudson Institute and a professor at Yale University. As Director of the National Security Agency from 1985 to 1988, he was responsible for the nation's signals intelligence and communications security. From 1981 to 1985, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, the Army's senior intelligence officer.

From 1977 to 1981, General Odom was Military Assistant to the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs, Zbigniew Brzezinski. As a member of the National Security Council staff, he worked upon strategic planning, Soviet affairs, nuclear weapons policy, telecommunications policy, and Persian Gulf security issues. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1954, and received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1970. continue...

Know When to Fold 'Em

From the January 11, 2007, New York Daily News
January 11, 2007  by William E. Odom

The military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said that war is always a gamble. President Bush stepped up to the Iraqi poker table in the spring of 2003 and won a couple of big hands. Flush with the cash and a cry that, "In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed," he failed to pick up his chips and go home. Instead, he has hung around for the last 3½ years, betting on lousy hands - pairs of twos and threes and numerous inside straights. continue...

Figuring Out Blogs, Podcasting, Wikis, and Whatever's Next

WHEN Monday, May 21, 6:30-9:30 pm
WHERE mediabistro.com, 494 Broadway (Spring & Broome), New York, NY 10012

DIRECTIONS subway directions, map

Course Details: There is much confusion about blogs, bloggers and blogging. Is this the end of journalism as we know it? Or is it just another small step in the evolution of media? Are any worth following? You will get answers to these and other questions at this workshop. You will go home with plenty of useful ideas from this fun, informative, fast-paced seminar.

In this seminar, you will learn about:

• Blog basics
• The best blogs for and by media professionals
• Blogs that are changing America and the world
• How to read blogs without drowning in too much info
• How to create a blog and raise your Google rankings
• Why journalists should and should not be blogging
• What to expect next: photoblogging, videoblogging, tagging, podcasting, wikis, RSS, XML

PRICE: $65

Instructor Bio

Figuring Out Blogs, Podcasting, Wikis, and Whatever's Next – New York (Seminar on May 21)

Sree Sreenivasan is a leading technology expert and WNBC-TV's tech reporter. He is also Dean of Students at Columbia University's journalism school, where he runs the new media program. His tech reports can be seen on Thursday morning at 6:40 am on Channel 4. He previously spent six years as WABC's Tech Guru. His work explaining technology has appeared in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Rolling Stone, and Popular Science (where he's a member of the "Geek Chorus"). In March 2004, Newsweek magazine named him one of the 20 most influential South Asians in the nation.

http://www.mediabistro.com/courses/cache/crs2689.asp

Men who tried to leak Bush memo jailed

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
Published: 11 May 2007

A civil servant and an MP's researcher were jailed for disclosing the contents of a secret memo recording discussions between Tony Blair and George Bush about the war in Iraq.

David Keogh, 50, a Cabinet Office communications officer, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for copying the four-page document and passing it on to Leo O'Connor, 44, a researcher for an anti-war Labour MP, Tony Clarke. O'Connor, who passed the memo to Mr Clarke, was jailed for three months for breaching the Official Secrets Act. continue...

Freedom Of Information: Government could be forced to publish secrets of Iraq memo

What did Tony Blair tell George Bush when they discussed Iraq? Robert Verkaik, Law Editor, considers how the Freedom of Information Act might provide the answer
Published: 11 May 2007

A civil servant and an MP's researcher were yesterday sentenced by an Old Bailey judge for being involved in the disclosure of the contents of a top-secret Iraq memo which recorded conversations between Tony Blair and George Bush during a 2004 meeting in Washington. The same memo has been the subject of an 18-month inquiry under the Freedom of Information Act.

A request made to the Government for the memo's formal disclosure under the right-to-know legislation is now with the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, who has the power to order release of the four-page document. Such a move would be extremely embarrassing for the Government and undermine the decision to prosecute the two men under the Official Secrets Act of 1989. continue...

Man for hire: ex-PM seeks meaningful (and lucrative) employment

By Andy McSmith
Published: 11 May 2007

One thing is for sure: this time next year, Tony and Cherie Blair will be richer than they are today. No longer will they have to struggle by on Tony's annual salary of £187,611, Cherie's earnings as a barrister - estimated to be about £100,000 a year - plus the £30,000 a time she receives on the international lecture and the knockdown rent of £96,000-a-year, minus fees, from their house in Connaught Square. Soon they will be able to make serious money.
However, on the day Mr Blair goes to Buckingham Palace to hand in his resignation on 27 June, his income will first of all take a dip as he becomes a £60,675-a-year backbench MP.

The family will lose the flat over 11 Downing Street, and Chequers in Buckinghamshire - their weekday and weekend homes for 10 years - and will move to Connaught Square. They bought the house in 2004 for £3.5m, saddling themselves with mortgage payments of up to £16,000-a-month.

To tide them over, Mr Blair will be entitled to redundancy of £31,734. Retiring prime ministers are also entitled immediately to a £63,468 pension for life. In 2013, when he is 60, he will be eligible for another pension for his long service as an MP. Assuming that he has been paying the maximum contributions since he entered Parliament in 1983, it will be worth about another £40,000 a year. continue...

Endgame emerges as Wolfowitz fights to stay on at World Bank

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 11 May 2007

Paul Wolfowitz's fight to save his job is set to continue until at least early next week. Notwithstanding repeated declarations of support from the White House, intense diplomatic manoeuvring between the US and Europe still seems likely to end with the departure of the beleaguered World Bank president.

In a small concession, the bank's executive board has extended until tonight its deadline for Mr Wolfowitz to explain himself, after a special committee found that he had violated ethics rules by arranging a promotion and big pay rise for his partner Shaha Riza when she moved from the bank to the State Department in 2005. continue...

Stifling summers forecast by Nasa for US east coast

By David Usborne in New York
Published: 11 May 2007

Researchers at Nasa have warned that unless growth in greenhouse gas emissions can be successfully curbed, large areas of the eastern United States, from Washington DC to Florida, can expect to suffer through catastrophically hotter summers within just a couple of generations.

A study released by Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Columbia University finds that by 2080 average summer high temperatures in parts of the east will be about 10F higher than now, pushing them from the low to mid-80s to the low to mid-90s. continue...

Moore 'breached embargo on Cuba' in film production

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 11 May 2007

The Oscar-winning director Michael Moore is being investigated by the Bush administration after he took a number of rescue workers to Cuba for medical treatment - allegedly breaching a US embargo on travelling to the Caribbean nation.

Moore travelled to Cuba earlier this year with a number of ailing workers who had toiled at Ground Zero in New York. He took them to film a segment for his upcoming film Sicko, which he hopes will confront the US health industry in much the same way that his 2002 film Bowling for Columbine took on the gun-rights lobby. continue...

Sinking Italian hill town appeals to architects for help

By Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 11 May 2007

The mayor of a 2,500-year-old Italian hill town that is listed as one of the world's 100 most endangered monuments has appealed to the world's architects to save the town from being cut off from the outside world.

The original bridge joining Civita to the rest of Italy was destroyed by German bombing in the Second World War. A long, steep, narrow concrete bridge replaced it in the 1960s, but like the rest of the town this is threatened by subsidence.

At a meeting on Wednesday the mayor, Erino Pompei, told the handful of remaining villagers: "We've posted an international tender on the internet, inviting the world's best architects to come up with an innovative and eco-friendly solution to our problem." continue...

Electronic tags used to beat the A-level cheats

By Richard Garner, Education Editor
Published: 11 May 2007

Exam papers will be tagged this summer in a crackdown on cheating, one of the country's biggest exam boards reveals today.

Edexcel, which marks 13 million question papers a year, will install a radio-controlled device in bags of exam papers held by schools.

The tag will tell it how many papers should be inside and whether there has been an attempt to open the bag before the exam starts.

In addition, the board's name is written in microtext (invisible to the naked eye but detectable through a special magnifying device) around individual papers, to deter photocopying of the paper - and its sale on the open market. A paper can fetch £200 the day before an exam, officials said. continue...

Miles Kington: Are you a novelist stuck in the past? I can help you

 
And with trembling fingers, hardly able to believe his luck, he digs out the old 'AA Guides', which have been sitting there for 30 years
Published: 11 May 2007

The cleverest notice I ever saw in a pub was a handwritten sign, which said: "We have been invited to join Les Routiers, but we have refused to pay the exorbitant signing-on fee."

At one stroke the pub had conferred on itself the honour of having been enrolled in a famous outfit, and the common sense of not getting involved in a commercial set-up. It was the equivalent of letting it be known that you have been offered a knighthood, and turned it down. continue...

Deborah Orr: He failed to stand up for the people most in need

Children's playgrounds are so neglected that they mock the very notion of 'childsplay'
Published: 11 May 2007

Blair's departure, fittingly enough, leaves us with one last awesome choice. These 10 years in Britain have been intense and tumultuous, full of contrast and paradox. They have been, if the wisdom can be found to learn their lessons, quite astoundingly vivid and instructive. We have the chance now to map our future. The shape and the significance of Blair's much-touted legacy is in that sense in our own hands.

Britain's great wealth is now blindingly and obviously apparent, most of all in London, of course, which has emerged as arguably the most powerful, and actually the most expensive, city in the world. From the start Mr Blair declared himself relaxed about wealth, and nobody can deny that he has held the line on that one.

There is a glittering, volatile sense of accelerating opulence in the capital that is seductive and enervating, thrilling and unsettling. The strain of euphoria in the capital sits on the edge of hysteria, and feels dangerous enough to be addictive. But the signs of comfort and plenty are by no means concentrated there. All round England, there are manicured country towns, with stylish shops, clued-up delis, smart private dentists and smart private schools, servicing rural lives of casual, relaxed, informal luxury. No matter what complaints abound as to the dreadful cost of upper-middle-class living, the numbers of people who seem able to afford such lives are steadily growing. continue...

Zogby Poll on MSN: 48% say "I'm the mom I expected to be"

Other exclusive survey findings: Majority says foreigners' perceptions of U.S. determines attitudes about Americans; most think being sexy is all about attitude

Nearly half of American moms (48%) say they ended up being the type of mother they thought they'd be, a MSN-Zogby Poll finds. But one in four (25%) says they aren't. Younger moms, age 18-29, are more likely (31%) than older moms to feel surprised by the mom they've turned into.

The interactive survey of 10,642 adults nationwide - 3,556 of whom are mothers - was conducted March 5-8, 2007, and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.0 percentage points.

This wide-ranging exclusive poll also explores perception - public and personal. It finds the vast majority of Americans believe foreigners' perceptions of Americans are based on how the U.S. is viewed, not on their experiences with individual Americans. The poll probes Americans' views on body image and what's sexy, too.
The results from this survey, as well as previous MSN-Zogby Polls, are posted across relevant MSN sites at http://www.msn.com. Every month, MSN and Zogby team up to conduct surveys aimed at discovering what Americans really think, on topics ranging from current events to entertainment and everything in between.

More about mothers and Mother's Day
Most Americans (65%) say they would describe their mom as "traditional." But for 17% of respondents, "modern" is a more apt description of their mom, while just 4% peg their mom as "alternative."
Most moms can expect a card or a gift this Mother's Day, which is how 65% of those who plan to celebrate Sunday will recognize their mother's special day. But another 22% say they'll take their mom to brunch or some other local activity, while 13% say they aren't sure what they'll do with their mom come Sunday, May 13. Women (7%) are more likely than men (2%) to say Mother's Day causes them the most stress of any holiday or celebration. To see the complete Mother's Day poll results, visit  continue...

For teens, too much TV can impair learning later, study says

Those who watched at least three hours a day reported poor performance in school.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Los Angeles - If your 14-year-old is sitting in front of the TV for hours a day, your concerns about your teenager's education may be borne out.

That's because watching three or more hours of television a day leads to poor homework completion, negative attitudes toward school, bad grades, and poor performance in college, according to a study published this week.

Click to enlarge

Source: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Psychiatry/Rich Clabaugh – Staff

"We found a very clear correlation between higher levels of TV watching by 14-year-olds and subsequent attention and learning problems developed during the remainder of their years," says Jeffrey Johnson, lead author of the study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Psychiatry.

"This is very persuasive evidence that confirms other large studies concluding that parents worried about their kids going to college and being successful beyond should make sure their teenagers are not watching too much TV," he adds.

Whether watching a lot of TV sharpens people's mental skills or shortens their attention spans, zaps energy, and fosters violent behavior has been the source of much debate over the years. Hundreds of studies have come down on both sides of the argument.

This one is considered valuable by many experts because it has followed 700 families for 19 years. The same people were interviewed at the ages of 14, 16, 22, and 33 in upstate New York. continue...

Afghan lawmakers urge ceasefire, talks with Taliban

The motion came hours before a US strike that local officials say killed at least 21 civilians, a charge the US does not confirm.  By Eoin O'Carroll | csmonitor.com

Amid claims of mounting civilian deaths, including an official tally of 21 civilians killed in a US-led airstrike, the upper house of Afghanistan's legislature passed a motion Tuesday calling for a military ceasefire and negotiations with the Taliban.
The Associated Press writes that NATO called the resolution, which requires passage by the lower house and approval of the president to become law, a "warning shot."
The proposal from the upper house of parliament, which also calls for a date to be set for the withdrawal of foreign troops, suggests that Afghan support for the 5-year international military mission is crumbling amid a series of civilian deaths. continue...

AIPAC on Trial

May 7, 2007 Issue
Copyright © 2007 The American Conservative

The lobby argues that good Americans spy for Israel.
by Justin Raimondo

Is there a First Amendment right to engage in espionage? Dorothy Rabinowitz seems to think so. Describing the actions of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, two former top officials of AIPAC, the premier Israel lobbying group, who passed purloined intelligence to Israeli government officials, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist characterized them as “activities that go on every day in Washington, and that are clearly protected under the First Amendment.” If what Rabinowitz says is true—if passing classified information to foreign officials is routine in the nation’s capital—then we are all in big trouble. continue...

Plastic printer that offers a 3D glimpse of the future

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 09 May 2007

Forgotten your toothbrush? Never mind, just print out a new one.

What may seem like science fiction is scientific fact and these 3D printers are just a couple of years from being affordable home accessories, according to industry insiders. Using halogen lamps that melt powdered nylon, and technology that allows customers to download designs online, it will soon be possible to produce everything from a toothbrush to flip-flops.

Such printers have been used in industrial design stores for the past decade where they have been used to test designs for parts before being sent for manufacture en masse. But such machines used to cost around $100,000 (£50,000). In recent years that price has fallen to around $15,000 but in a matter of a year or two such printers are expected to be available for about $2,000. continue...

Leading article: The flight from reason

Published: 09 May 2007

Flying has never been so popular. According to figures released yesterday, a record number of flights will be taken around the world this month. Some 2.51 million flights are scheduled for May 2007, breaking the previous record of 2.49 million taken in August 2006. The number of people flying has been substantially boosted by the dramatic growth of budget carriers. Of the 17.7 million extra seats available this month, 12 million are on "no-frills" airlines. But while this is all good news for the airline industry, it is very bad news for the environment. continue...

Arctic 2007 - Friends and Family Adventure Opportunity

From time to time a few cabins remain available at the last minute. When they do, we are pleased to offer them at a special rate to our friends and family. Our 2007 icebreaker expeditions in the Arctic are no exception.

THE NORTH POLE

In the 16 years of our history, we have seldom been able to offer a Friends and Family rate to the top of the world. There are a few cabins on the July 8 to 23, and July 21 to August 4, 2007 departures still available, so we are happy to offer them at a per person rate of US$7,500, based on twin occupancy. (The per person brochure rate is US$21,000.) Some of the available cabins may be booked at a single occupancy rate of US$12,750 (Brochure rate is US$35,700.)

TANQUARY FJORD

The limited number of cabins available on this expedition to Ellesmere Island's western shore are available at the per person rate of US$5,900, based on twin occupancy. (The per pereson brochure rate is US$15,500.) Some of the available cabins may booked at a single occupancy rate of US$10,030. (Brochure rate is US$26,350.)

ARCTIC ADVENTURE: CANADA AND GREENLAND

The limited number of cabins remaining on this expedition to Ellesmere Island's eastern shore and Greenland are available at the per person rate of US$5,900, based on twin occupancy. (The per person brochure rate is US$14,500.) Some of the available cabins may booked at a single occupancy rate of US$10,030. (Brochure rate is US$24,650.)

SPECIAL CONDITIONS APPLY

Please note that a limited number of cabins are available on a first come, first served basis. As ususal these rates are non-commercial, non-commissionable, and cannot be advertised to the general public.

To reserve a berth or cabin, call 1-800-356-5699 or +1-203-656-0499 and mention that you would like the Friends and Family rate.

Best regards,

The Quark Expeditions Team

 

Former weed may fill world's fuel tanks

In the world's most arid agricultural environments, jatropha is emerging as an alternative to ethanol.

Germinal industry: A woman tended a jatropha plant last October northeast of Mumbai. Foreign firms are contracting villagers to grow the oil-rich plant. Reuters/Newscom

By Mark Sappenfield | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Reporters on the job: Mark Sappenfield shares the story behind the story .

JAGDALPUR, INDIA - In an overgrown corner of Moolchand Sethia's plantation, runty and unloved, stands what could be the next revolution in the world's search for renewable fuel.

From China to Brazil, countries have begun setting aside tens of thousands of acres for the cultivation of jatropha – a plant many experts say is the most promising source for biodiesel. At the same time, companies from Europe and India have begun buying up land throughout Africa to establish jatropha plantations.

Victorious Sarkozy seeks sanctuary to ponder his policies

By John Lichfield in Paris
Published: 08 May 2007

France's president-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, vanished yesterday. After being inescapable for months, and after winning a crushing victory in Sunday's presidential election, M. Sarkozy departed for a three-day retreat in an undisclosed location. Some reports suggested that he had gone to a monastery. If so, the future president had much to ponder - and to pray for. continue...

Mary Dejevsky: Don't be fooled that Sarkozy will be good for us

The notion he will suddenly become a committed globaliser is fantasy
Published: 08 May 2007

No one in France can claim that Nicolas Sarkozy's election victory was compromised in any way: he won 53 per cent of the vote on an 85 per cent turn-out in a glitch-free poll. There are few national leaders - not Tony Blair, not Angela Merkel, not George Bush, and certainly not Gordon Brown - who can lay claim to so clear a mandate. continue...

Arts students will be £50,000 poorer than other graduates

By Richard Garner
Published: 08 May 2007

Arts graduates are doing little to shake off their 1960s reputation for being less than hard-working, as research suggests they are likely to earn £50,000 less than other graduates during their first five years of employment. continue...

All-white schools to be forced to find multi-ethnic twins

By Richard Garner, Education Editor
Published: 08 May 2007

All-white schools will be legally obliged to twin with multi-ethnic schools as part of a new government drive to promote better community relations.

Ministers are placing a new responsibility on all schools to promote "community cohesion" between racial and religious groups. But the move, announced yesterday, was condemned by headteachers' leaders last night as "unnecessary" and "bureaucratic". continue...

London residential property is the most expensive in the world

By Jane Padgham
Published: 08 May 2007

It has long been suspected by disappointed house-hunters, and now it's official: London has the most expensive residential property in the world.

New research shows that the cost of £1m-plus homes in the capital's swankiest areas outstrips even that of glitzy Monaco and New York. And with too much money chasing too few properties, prices are still soaring. continue...

Raising a glass to curry: The wine that's proving to be a hit with spicy food

Ashraf Sharif's entrepreneurial career had a few false starts, but his range of wines to go with Indian food is proving to be a winner.
By Kate Hilpern  Published: 08 May 2007

One in four people in Britain eats a curry at least once a week. Couple this with British people's growing love of wine and you'll see why Ashraf Sharif's business idea has been such a hit. Balti Wine, his simple range of five wines to complement spicy foods, is already revolutionising the drinking habits of curry lovers and the company looks set to grow from strength to strength.

"It's no gimmick," insists Sharif, 53, whose headquarters are in Newton Heath, Manchester. Indeed, it took four years of extensive research in collaboration with Manchester University's food science department, and samples from around the globe, before Sharif and his advisers were happy with the grape selections. continue...

Me And My Partner: 'One of the first decisions we made was not to get an office'

Brian Quinn and James Anderson set up historic maps publisher Cassini Maps in 2005. Turnover this year was £375,000. Next year it is on course to exceed £1m

Interviews by Gareth Chadwick  Published: 08 May 2007

BRIAN QUINN

I'd best describe myself as an entrepreneur by accident. I've been involved in several companies that were entrepreneurial, on the production and editorial side. But I realised that I was not going to achieve some of the ideas I had - not just about wealth but about building a business - unless I took more of an entrepreneurial role myself. continue...

Wolfowitz adviser plans to resign due to 'poor working atmosphere'

By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Published: 08 May 2007

A top adviser to World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is leaving the institution, citing the continuing controversy surrounding Wolfowitz' handling of a pay package for his girlfriend.

"Given the current environment surrounding the leadership of the World Bank Group, it is very difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution. Therefore, I have decided to leave for other opportunities," Kevin Kellems told The Associated Press yesterday. continue...

Blair uses YouTube to salute 'strong leader'

By Ben Russell
Published: 08 May 2007

Tony Blair took to the Internet yesterday to deliver his bi-lingual congratulations Nicolas Sarkozy after his presidential win this weekend .

Mr Blair posted a message on the video-sharing website YouTube, complimenting Mr Sarkozy and apologising for his own imperfect French. However, his fluent-sounding performance in the traditional language of diplomacy contrasted with the halting and accented forays into French by previous prime ministers.

In the broadcast, the Prime Minister heaped praise on M. Sarkozy, who is known to be a great admirer of Mr Blair and visited Downing Street during the presidential campaign.

Mr Blair said: "Nicolas Sarkozy is somebody who I know well, I like him very much, I respect him. continue...

Bruiser who was happy to do Tony Blair's dirty work

By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent
Published: 07 May 2007

Whenever Tony Blair had a problem he turned to John Reid, with the result that the ultimate political troubleshooter has held nine ministerial posts in a decade.

Such was the bond between the two that he eventually established himself as the Prime Minister's most senior cabinet ally. Combative, intellectually self-confident and straight-talking, he provided a useful counterweight to a hugely powerful Chancellor. continue...

Infant mortality in Iraq soars as young pay the price for war

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 08 May 2007

Two wars and a decade of sanctions have led to a huge rise in the mortality rate among young children in Iraq, leaving statistics that were once the envy of the Arab world now comparable with those of sub-Saharan Africa.

A new report shows that in the years since 1990, Iraq has seen its child mortality rate soar by 125 per cent, the highest increase of any country in the world. Its rate of deaths of children under five now matches that of Mauritania.

Jeff MacAskey, head of health for the Save the Children charity, which published the report, said: "Iraq, Botswana and Zimbabwe all have different reasons for making the least amount of progress on child mortality. Whether it's the impact of war, HIV/Aids or poverty the consequences are equally devastating. Yet other countries such as Malawi and Nepal have shown that despite conflict and poverty child mortality rates can be reversed." continue...

The First Post : Neighbours arm their proxies in Iraq's civil war

Now the Saudis tool up for war. The White House line that Iraq’s extremists are all backed by Iran is a myth, writes robert fox

T his weekend, buyers from across the Gulf states and the Middle East will descend on a huge arms fair in Dubai. Sheikhs, emirs, princes and kings will be buying anything from specialised sniper ammunition by the ton, to the highest-tech surveillance gear and even the odd British Aerospace gunboat or Eurofighter.

The Arab world will use the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX), to tool up for a coming confrontation with Iran, and to arm Sunni insurgents to fight Iran's allies in Iraq, the Shia militias.

Even the Bush administration will now admit, under its collective breath of course, that Iraq is in the throes of a full-blown civil war between armed groups of its Sunni and Shia Arab communities, triggered a year ago by the destruction of the al-Laskar mosque in Samara, a revered Shia shrine.

‘The growth of Saudi and Jordanian support for the militants is one of the most worrying developments’

What the American authorities are reluctant to admit, however, is that there are signs that the Sunnis of Saudi Arabia and their allies - including Jordan - have been equipping and training Sunni extremists in Iraq for some time now. Critically, not all the weaponry and munitions have been used against the militants' Shia and Kurdish Iraqi enemies. Some of them - including lethal roadside bombs - have been aimed at US forces.

"The growth of the official and unofficial Saudi and Jordanian support for the militants is one of the most worrying developments," a senior British officer has told me privately after a visit to Iraq.

The Bush administration has kept mum about this while it tries to concentrate the minds of America and the world on their new public enemy number one, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the region's chief sponsor of terrorism and nuclear proliferation. continue...

The First Post : The Navy's controversy over the two 100bn carrriers

The Navy’s £100bn flight of fancy Are two new aircraft carriers being built for all the wrong reasons, asks ROBERT FOX

Just when the Army is complaining about the critical need for new Land Rovers in Afghanistan, a row is developing behind the scenes over plans to spend a fortune on two aircraft carriers for the Navy.

The expense is so high - possibly £100bn in all - that it dwarfs the controversy over the Trident replacement programme. And, just as with Trident, senior defence experts are asking whether the carriers are even necessary.

For once the Government cannot blame the media for the controversy, because the project has been almost entirely concealed from public gaze.

The row dates back to the Strategic Defence Review of 1998, when the Government declared its intention of acquiring two full-size aircraft carriers for the fleet.

The government cannot blame the media for this controversy, because the project has been concealed from public gaze

Nine years down the line, it was planned to place contracts to build the two 60,000 tonne ships, to be named HMS Queen Elizabeth II and Prince of Wales, with a new streamlined consortium headed by BAe and Thales UK. The initial build would cost £3.6bn, though the second vessel would cost about 12 per cent more because it wouldn't be ready until 2020.

Report: Israel's Shin Bet uses torture illegally in interrogations | csmonitor.com

posted May 07, 2007 at 11:40 am EDT - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0507/p99s01-duts.html

Two human rights groups say Palestinian prisoners routinely abused, though Israel dismisses the charges.                                      

By Arthur Bright | csmonitor.com

                   
The Israeli security service agency Shin Bet routinely violates international law by torturing Palestinian prisoners, according to a new report released by two Israeli human rights organizations.

B'Tselem and HaMoked, both of which work to fight violations of Palestinians' human rights, write in their joint report that their findings came from interviews with 73 West Bank Palestinians who were arrested and interrogated by Shin Bet, also known as the Israel Security Agency (ISA), between July 2005 and January 2006. The report, published Sunday, found that Shin Bet's interrogations, which averaged 35 days long for the 73 Palestinians interviewed, routinely included physical and mental abuse that approached torture, as well as outright torture in many cases. continue...