The economic downturn is driving more and more families into the ranks of the poor and the “near poor” who barely make it from paycheck to paycheck. This pattern is chillingly clear from the rising numbers of formerly middle-class children now qualifying for free or low-cost meals under the federally financed school lunch program.
Author: WHES
Angola: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend
On 5 November 2010 the president of the Republic of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, authorised the minister of Mining and Industry to extend the terms of a diamond mining concession in Luanda Norte province, primarily to the benefit of his daughter Welwitschea José dos Santos, usually known as ‘Tchizé’.
It is official: Busan heralds the dismantling of the aid industry
The Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) was held in Busan, Korea, 29 November – 1 December 2011. It is an end of a long journey that began with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PDAE) in 2005. It was a misguided journey right from the beginning.
Class matters. Why won’t we admit it?
NO one seriously disputes the fact that students from disadvantaged households perform less well in school, on average, than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds.
Foreign energy policy fuels famine in Africa
PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Following your last set of reports, Oakland was looking to understand in greater depth the legal, social and economic implications of land grabs, in particular better data on land availability, better understanding of land deals, and issues around land rights.
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
Appearances often deceive. Steven Pinker’s “The Better Angels of Our Nature” landed on my desk in the immediate aftermath of that terrible massacre in Norway. As I read the book, Syrian forces slaughtered pro-democracy protesters, riots engulfed English cities, and murders punctuated the news. But, if we believe Pinker, all this violence is just the background noise behind a relentless paean of peace.
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
Most books about Congo’s war focus, understandably, on the victims. Perhaps 5 million have died in this central African inferno, though that is a guess — no one is counting the corpses. Some were murdered with clubs, knives or farm tools. Most died more slowly, of war-induced hunger and disease. Their stories beg to be recorded before they are lost
UNWARRANTED INFLUENCE Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Military-Industrial Complex
The history of the Victorian age, wrote Lytton Strachey, can never be written: We know too much about it. The wise historian ought rather to examine specimen
PROPHETS OF WAR Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex
The history of the Victorian age, wrote Lytton Strachey, can never be written: We know
We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People
Keep the lights on? How can it be that in 2011, blackouts are still part of daily life, drinking water remains a luxury, and only about a quarter of the population has sewage? If reliable utilities are fundamental to both the grand goal of nation-building and the narrower mandate of counterinsurgency, why didn’t the largest nation-building effort in history get those utilities back up and running?
