GLOBAL FOOD UPDATE: PRICES REMAIN HIGH!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Here’s the bad news for everyone across the globe: global food prices remain high. In the Horn of Africa particulary, food crisis remains as the calamity that recently hit the area bordered a catastrophe of drought cum famine.

As Zoellick of World Bank had contended, the food crisis is far from over. Calamities after calamities have struck different parts of the…

BLUEPRINTING OCEAN & COASTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Effective ocean governance, ocean & coastal sustainability, blue-green development seem to be among the new clichés formed by experts in the development circles notably the international organizations. Westerners are particularly prone to ‘fetishism of the concept’ as the late sociologist C.Wright Mills noted the phenomenon (in his critique of Talcott Parsons), so…

NORWAY TOPS 2011 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, CONGO IS LAST

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

The United Nations Development Program had released the 2011 report on Human Development. Gladly, the peace-sponsoring nation of Norway topped the human development ranking worldwide. Sadly, the struggling republic of Congo was the last.

Let me express my own Big Kudos! to the people of Norway and all of the stakeholders involved that made…

DOES G-20 PROTECT PEOPLE?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Does G20 protect people? If so, up to what extent do people matter to the aggrupation of the world’s wealthiest nations? If in case the G20 does protect its own people, does such protection apply to the people of its aid clientele countries?

People not things matter most, says a famous line from the legendary  Mao Tsetung of China’s revolutionaries. A populist line, it has…

LATIN AMERICANS BREEDING LESS, YET SERVICES SLOW IN COMING

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Latin America’s population growth has been slowing down. This could be part of the broad trend of demographic transition, where population growth finally slows down as economic growth moves up.

The bad news though is that Latin America’s peoples don’t seem to get access to services as quickly as one gets in economically growing countries.…

WHERE GOES EGYPTIAN MIGRANTS RETURNING FROM LIBYA?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

It seems that Egypt has become a catch basin for expatriates who were chased by the ghosts of the conflicts in Tunisia and Libya. The latter conflict has been particularly traumatizing, so a little empathy from any observer will lead to the conclusion that any migrant that sought shelter in neighboring countries wouldn’t eye going back to the source of that…

DO PEOPLE’S CHOICES COUNT IN DEVELOPMENT GOALS?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Do people’s choices count at all in the setting of development goals, whether these be the broadest compass of change or the typical short-term palliatives by erstwhile technocrats? This is a big question in today’s globalizing context where over 7 billion people are spread out across a rapidly urbanizing planet.

Expanding people’s choices is a matter of…

CASH-STRAPPED G20 RAISES FUNDS VIA FUN SHOW

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

It seems cash-strapped wealthy nations are desperate in raising funds to use for development aid or related sweeteners in the group’s dealings with poor nations. Their officials, who have targeted to raise $50 Billions for development aid, just may be running out of fresh ideas precisely on how to raise funds for the largesse.

No wonder that the said power…

GLOBAL OPEN ACCESS PORTAL

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

A recent exciting development in shared information systems was the launching of the Global Open Access Portal. Through this system, scientific information can now be disseminated and mutually shared by enthused stakeholders across…

TIMEGUARDS

The „timeguards“ are five mystical sculptures who are travelling the worls’ museums and exhibitions. Exclusively for FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS they made their journey to the German capital. Each night they show up on a different spot in Berlin. This unique light project is created by Manfred Kielnhofer.

http://kielnhofer.com

http://timeguards.com…

BRAZIL’S POOR NORTHEAST GETS DEVELOPMENT BOOST

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Brazil is a bustling middle income country that possesses its own complexities, from socioeconomics to cultural diversity. Though redistribution has been fairly appreciative as over half of its population are…

WORLD ENVIRONMENT ORGANIZATION NEEDED, SAYS MALAYSIA

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Couples of countries are now calling for the formation of a world environmental organization. The most resonating call so far has been coming from Malaysia, one of the most prosperous nations of the ASEAN. Germany, France, and Brazil are among the resonators of the call.

As far as adopting green technologies are concerned, the developing countries…

CHILDREN DISPLACED BY WAR: SHOWCASING IRAQ’S KURDISTAN

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

What had happened to the children badly affected by wars across the planet? Those conflicts that are relentlessly fomented by insurgents wishing to establish mini-states rage like wild bushfires, conflicts that are orchestrated by the…

A ‘WRETCHED OF THE EARTH’ SURMOUNTS HUNGER & POVERTY

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

The narratives from poor communities in developing countries about folks thriving on a mere once-a-day meal is classic story of the ‘wretched of the earth’. Getting to know them closely through participant observation could make one feel…

UK CONSUMERS TO HELP END HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Gracious day from the Pearl of the Orient!

12.3 Millions of laborers work under severe, forced labor conditions at any given time today. Such conditions are akin to the involuntary servitude of the colonial heydays of Western imperialism. Come think of it, the slave trade hasn’t really ended, it only mutated into a new form.

During the…

UKRAINE DOWNPLAYS HUMAN TRAFFICK RISKS, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Ukraine, that once mighty component state of the Soviet Union, hasn’t seen much of the light of day of the new republic post-USSR. The once imperious and grand USSR was the world’s 2^nd largest economy during its heyday, but historical mills have rolled on and the rugs under the feet of the Union peoples had drastically…

US AID BUDGET CUTS, SIGNS OF THE TIMES!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Overall budget appropriation pattern in the US Congress has shown an increasing cuts of aid to other countries. The US $4 Billions given each to Egypt and Israel were squeezed down a mere $3 Billions for both countries.

The rationale given by the mentally bankrupt US legislators is that priority for allocations should be domestic needs rather than those that fit…

REBEL CAPTIVES TURN ENTREPRENEURS IN CONGO

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

A rebel army called the Lord’s Resistance Army or LRA operates in Uganda and neighbors, inflicting damages on ordinary folks there. LRA rebels casually rape women they get across with, much like those ‘comfort women’ of Japanese Imperial Army troops…

WEST AFRICA TRANSNATIONAL POLLUTION PREVENTION: SHOWCASING GUINEA CURRENT MARINE ECOSYSTEM

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Beware! Other countries might pollute your own country’s waters and ecosystems!

This is the thematic message being highlighted to the global community by…