“We have given the Iraqi people the chance to have freedom, to have their own country. It is up to them to decide whether or not they’re going to take that chance,” said Senator Clinton.
Estimated number of Iraqi civilians killed by military intervention so far: 65,000
Come on Iraq, what’s the matter with you? Jesus, they don’t even have a rotary club yet!
Laurie David and Sheryl Crowe question Karl Rove about climate change…
We felt compelled to remind him that the research is done and the results are in (www.IPCC.ch). Mr. Rove exploded with even more venom. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Mr. Rove launched into a series of illogical arguments regarding China not doing enough thus neither should we. (Since when do we follow China’s lead?)
At some point during his ramblings, we became heartbroken to think that the President of the United States and his top advisers have partially built a career on global warming not being real… In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, “Don’t touch me.”
Fed up with just paying your Oxfam subscription and never seeing where it goes? Help is at hand! Kiva.org uses partnerships with micro-credit lenders all over the world to allow you to browse specific micro-loan applications, and choose which ones you want to lend money to.
Every credit applicant has submitted a photo and a business plan, and you can lend direct from your credit card. Then, during the life of the loan (usually 6-12 months) you get email updates on how the business is faring. And when your funds are returned to you, you can either withdraw them or re-loan them. Neat, huh?
But the site also sends an important message to people in the aid industry: proof of aid effectiveness is increasingly going to shift from a ‘trust us’ to a ‘show me’ model. Kiva’s key selling point, after all, is its transparency – it’s no accident that one of the strap lines is “we show you where your money goes”.
This evening I went to see Yeltsin’s body lying in state at the Church of the Saviour in central Moscow. At first, I thought there wasn’t any queue at all, which would have been harsh but appropriate. But actually the police had lined up the queue on the other side of the church. It was big, but not that big. Maybe 500 people in the line at any one time, being constantly re-filled with new arrivals. The queue was just as big when I walked past again at 11pm. We only had to queue for 20 minutes or so before we were in, filing past his coffin with his pale pig-like face peaking out. A small crowd had gathered at the end of the church, some old ladies with tears in their eyes, but on the whole, this was a dry-eyed and reflective affair.
He oversaw such a painful and humiliating time in this country’s history. And for many, he was part of that humiliation, with his drunken tomfoolery on the international stage.
Farewell, then, to the late, great Boris Yeltsin. And by way of a last raising of the glass, here’s the story of when he visited John Major at Chequers (the UK Prime Minister’s country residence)…