The failure to fix electricity infrastructure in Afghanistan. IEEE Spectrum published a
damning investigation into the ongoing incompetence, corruption, and waste of the
USAID and its murky
cost-plus contracts, some 'so vague that it did not require the contractor to provide "specific deliverables with concrete delivery dates."' [from
here] Not surprisingly, they spend a
lot of money.
previously
posted by thandal
on Oct 8, 2011 -
5 comments
Muppet Diplomacy - USNews and World Reports has a new must-read article:
"The White House has approved a classified new strategy, dubbed Muslim World Outreach, that for the first time states that the United States has a national security interest in influencing what happens within Islam. Because America is, as one official put it, "radioactive" in the Islamic world, the plan calls for working through third parties--moderate Muslim nations, foundations, and reform groups--to promote shared values of democracy, women's rights, and tolerance." This means surprising US-funded initiatives such as restoring historic Sufi (i.e. moderate, non-Wahhabist) mosques, saving 11th Century Uzbek Korans, and convincing Pakistani madrassah teachers to quietly add science and math to the curriculum. Oh, and it means we're funding secular and independent media, including
"in what boosters are calling Muppet Diplomacy", an Arabic version of
Sesame Street. Can cultural revitalization, increased educational access, nascent democratic movements, and adorable lil' Elmo--all paid for with US tax dollars--be an effective innoculant against the tentacles of Radical Islam?
Daniel Pipes,
The Progressive Muslims' Union, and
Reason magazine weigh in. See also a related
RAND Corporation report from March, 2004.
posted by Asparagirl
on Apr 28, 2005 -
28 comments
"They do not use Western means to tell time. They use the sun. These drugs have to be administered in certain sequences, at certain times during the day. You say, take it at 10 o'clock, they say, what do you mean, 10 o'clock?" They, of course, refers to "Africans" and the above logic from the
head of USAID was used an explanation for why it's tough to extend AIDS treatment to Africa. The only problem with this argument is that
it's wrong. People with HIV in developing countries are in better compliance with drug regimes than in the US as
new research is showing [RealAudio]. As we've seen throughout the epidemic, it's a lot easier to get funding for researchers in lab coats than for actual treatment . . .
posted by donovan
on Dec 1, 2003 -
1 comment
