Africa, technology, media, humanitarian issues, Africa jobs.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

MiamiHerald.com | 02/12/2006 | A global event for everybody . . . in some parts: "THE LUGE: Competitors wearing Spider-Man costumes lie on their backs on tiny sleds and go down the bobsled run. The ones who survive (about 8 percent) are tested for drugs. If they don't contain any, they are declared legally insane."

ODI WebLog : Have I Got Old News for you? The 'leaked' DEC evaluation of the tsunami response: "The recent special report on the 'leaked' DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee: http://www.dec.org.uk/) evaluation report that appeared on the BBC television's Newsnight (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm), was not good news for public confidence in humanitarian agencies. Anyone who saw the programme was probably left with three main impressions. First, agencies had been greedy and had accepted much more money than they could spend properly. Second, in spite of the extra cash the job had not been done well and thousands of needy people were still living in temporary shelters. And third, and perhaps of most concern, agencies were not open to admitting their mistakes." [Question: Should aid agencies publish their evaluations and then get kicked by the media?]

Currently reading: Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers