With the continuing violence and wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, now we are hearing loud noises and threats of attack on Iran. There is a dire need to expose the bogus calls of war propaganda and work for a safer environment in the Middle East.



Just after the protests outside the British Embassy in Tehran recently, William Hague, the UK Defence Minister put forward a plan to attack Iran (another Muslim country) which will open up another venue for the military to engage in future…

INDIA GEARS UP AS SCIENCE SUPERPOWER

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

India is gearing up to become a science superpower. Millions of youth are being urged to take up science careers, and there’s sufficient reason to forecast the success of this expectation.

Federal institutions have already allotted no less than US $8B for science R&D to bring science to the next level. Do note that at this juncture, certain industrial sectors have…

When I was a girl, I wanted a horse, sooooo bad. Every Christmas, every birthday, I had but one request.

“Please, Dad, I just want a horse.”

“There are no horses on pig farms,” my father would flatly respond.

But maybe my cowgirl dreams have finally come true. Because now…this farmer’s daughter is working for the cowboys.…

KENAF BUILDS BUILDINGS!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Can plants coming from the cotton species suffice to build buildings?

Here’s one for the great news: kenaf, which belongs to the cotton plant, had successfully been demonstrated to serve as construction material. Mixed with sand and clay, the fibrous plant works wonders for places where it is in abundance.

The appropriate technology has become a wave in Burkina Faso, as…

TRAVAILS OF AFRICAN SCIENCE RESEARCHERS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Bad news for the development stakeholders!

African science researchers are having a hard time sustaining their professional careers. These are not just ordinary run of the mill researchers or those pretenders out there, but PhD degree holders.

The situation calls for greater linkage between universities and end-users in the noblesse continent. In the Asian…

Solome Lemma (@InnovateAfrica) and I hosted a live discussion today to reflect together on the issues that came up from our posts on #StopKony. Sharing an excerpt below. Photo below by Joop…

SWEDISH HUMANITARIANISM EXPANDS NGO AID

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Good news for global citizens: Sweden is expanding its funding of NGO operations across the globe. This is in far contrast to the USA which has constricted funding for aid, funding that includes NGO partners across the…

Reposting this in honor of International Women's Day and to welcome new readers wanting the think deeper about Invisible Children's #StopKony Campaign...Check out the great graphic from See Africa Differently at the end!

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When girls are educated, healthy, and safe, their own life prospects are transformed. And importantly, they transfer those benefits to their future families and their communities. When girls have access to…

US BUDGET CUTS FOREIGN AID: ISOLATIONISM RETURNS!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

The US Congress has cut down budgetary allocations for foreign aid, an act that had caused chagrin on many developmentalist circles across the globe. The bad thing about the allergic congressional aid constriction is that even health research & aid funding for poor countries is also shrinking.

News has come out openly about the voting patterns…

There’s still time to apply to the 2012 Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI). Come take from one to four courses in development, humanitarian assistance,…

INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVENESS IN VIETNAM

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Industrialization is the crux of Vietnam’s development agenda. This is the signal being beaconed by the first industrial competitiveness report of the same country.

Among the high-growth economies of East Asia, Vietnam’s growth has been truly remarkable. Vietnam’s policy makers have hinged their growth goals on physical economy frameworks as a way to growth and…

Do you have a colleague that just won’t shut up about the fight he’s having with his sibling over their family's vacation home? Or one who dressed way too provocatively when you were on that field visit last week? What about the person who constantly blames everything that doesn’t go their way on the incapacity or corruption of “the locals”?

We have all worked with these people. Perhaps we have even been these people at times. We didn’t know any better…until we did.…

CONGO FRESH VIOLENCE BODES ILL FOR 2012

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Another round of violence recently erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Over 100,000 affected residents have fled their homes and are sheltered in makeshift tents.…

1. ergh: used when in a state of disgust, confusion, frustration, or convulsion. "ergh, I just threw up all over the keyboard." "ergh, that's wrong." (from Urban Dictionary)

It’s proposal purgatory time at the aid agency where I’m currently working. And one of the joys, the inescapable joys of this time, is completing the accompanying …

CITIES DRIVE GLOBAL GROWTH

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

The world is going urban and no force whatsoever, save for geological cataclysm of a planetary scale, can wreck the social phenomenon of urbanization. My own country PH is now 70% urban population-wise, which is in far contrast to what it was once during my birthyear of 1958 when 85% of people were rural peasants and fisherfolks.

Cities were the ones that drove the domestic…

Re-posting this series from the early days of how-matters.org…

GLOBAL FOOD PRICE INDEX DECLINE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Global food price index ended up with a general decline, as per report from the FAO. This was a quick reversal of the year-long trend that saw food prices rising as a whole.

The FAO reported in the mid-phase of last year that food prices were rising, and rising alarmingly. Famine struck the Horn of Africa, while calamities damaged to food base of other countries, events…

CAN SMART FARMING REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Can smart farming equalize or even totally reverse the deleterious impact of climate change? What parameters and factors (soil? seeds? water? skills? technology?) need to have some control altogether to see the positive effects of the interventions?

That question is the subject of intense response today by stakeholders in Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia that…

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION: SHOWCASING PHILIPPINES

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

The government decentralization that has been going on in the Philippines for the duration of the post-Martial Law/Dictatorship era (dictatorship deposed in 1986) seems to have caught the attention of urban observers worldwide.

As a gesture of interest on the Philippine experience, the United Nations recently published a book showcasing the same…