blessed britons

From 1757 to 1947 during British rule in India, there was no increase in India's per capita income for almost two hundred years. Indeed, in the last half of the nineteenth century, income probably declined by more than 50 per cent. In effect, there was no economic development at all in the usual sense of the term.

— Mike Davis

mad world

Recently, I heard a rather sinister story, which sadly tends to be illustrative, about a project for health education for Romani children. This project, probably funded by European money, wanted to educate Romani children how to properly wash their hands and use soap. The only problem encountered in that project was the total absence of water supply in those settlements, the first pre-condition for Roma to be able to wash their hands.

— Joaquin Cortes

Speech to the European Parliament

$20bn in consultants' fees

Submitted by antarchi on July 15, 2007 - 02:24.

Consultants are creaming off a staggering $20 billion from hard-won global aid budgets. The $20bn total is 40 per cent of the international communities' overseas development pot of $50bn - money that is meant to relieve poverty in developing countries.
The World Bank has confirmed the figure for the first time: ... it admitted that money spent on 'technical assistance' and consultants had increased by $2bn on last year's $18bn total.

mostly nuggets

blessed britons

mad world

$20bn in consultants' fees