The Missionary Position

Foreign aid is often salve for the conscience, helping the donor rather than recipient

The Missionary Position

"Aid corrupts: money disappears into the pockets of the well-connected. Aid softens the need for a government to forge a bond with citizens by raising revenue and redistributing those funds as services."

-The Times of India, February 14, 2012 

'A case of the haves and have yachts'

"A Conservative Minister, close to Prime Minister David Cameron, suggested that the country, teetering on the edge of a new recession, its politics racked by 2.5 million unemployed people and harsh public spending cuts, give Queen Elizabeth II, one of the world's richest women, a gift of well, er, a yacht.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : 'A case of the haves and have yachts': And no ordinary yacht: a $90 million, high-masted, oceangoing yacht with staterooms and polished brass and a crisply uniformed crew to pipe Her Majesty aboard."

Prime Minister strongly supported the idea of a new royal yacht but one, they noted with a wary eye to the public gallery, that would be financed by private donations and that could double as a training ship for naval cadets from underprivileged backgrounds. The queen said nothing..!

Cameron risks the union

"David Cameron's proposal for a referendum on Scottish independence might have caught opponents as well as allies by surprise."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Cameron risks the union

"Constitutionally, only Westminster can legislate for Scottish independence, but it remains the case that no British parliament can bind its successor. That in turn means that even if the Prime Minister forestalls Scottish independence now, he could well generate enough opposition in Scotland to ensure the dissolution of the United Kingdom in the not inconceivable future."