The world according to The Economist (1)

Each week I will chose some interesting articles from recent issues of The Economist.

From number 8596 (september 6th 2008):

Lexington (the weekly column about USA) wrote about Sarah Palin and the frustrating fact that John McCain continues the Republican habit of chosing candidates based on their views on moral issues and especially abortion, which they of course must be against, and not based on their competence.

In an article about aid, the theme was the fact that there are so many aid organisations working in poor countries that it has gone out of hand and become counterproductive. They are competing with each other and doesn't co-ordinate the ground work and the countries they are supposed to help are simply swamped. For one thing the bureaucracy is overwhelming recieving countries and the article qoutes African health workers that has to spend their days sitting in meetings with western delegates instead of doing there job, working with those that are sick.

Another article, a report from the West Bank, tells about how the Palestinians are more and more cut of from their land and their neighbours by Israel's security barrier. The reasons for building it is to stop suicide bombings in Israel, but the way it zigzags deep into Palestinian areas and not along the pre-1967 border suggests another reason. Grabbing land for settlers, which will make peace even more difficult to achive.