First, the music video.
Second, my discussion of the issue.
After 9-11, people were wearing NYPD hats and shirts. Everywhere. Now that windfall of goodwill is nearly depreciated and gone.
Check out this link to a Slate article. Police in Toronto were buddy/buddy with local imams and this is how they caught the "alleged" bombers. http://tinyurl.com/cwyj9hl
Is some guy who got stop-and-frisked on his way to prom, going to go back to the same police to rat-out his cousin who raped somebody? Unfortunately, even for a rape, it's much less likely.
The same age-old lesson applies to crime in NYC as it does to bombers in Toronto. I've lived in different neighborhoods in Bushwick for four years, and it doesn't make me feel safer to see stop-and-frisk happening everywhere. It makes me feel much less safe.
Kudos to John Liu and Bill DeBlasio for bringing this up.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/05/bill-de-blasio-john-liu-unload-on-nypd-stop-and-frisk-and-no-show-rivals-at-ma
Third, action items.
Online Petition:
http://act.colorofchange.org/cms/thanks/stopandfrisk?action_id=12922631&akid=.1641905.jVkbzO&ar=1&form_name=act&rd=1&taf=1
Mayoral Candidate John Liu (current NYC Comptroller) has an Online Vote:
http://peoplesbudgetnyc.com/stopfrisk.asp
Mayoral Candidate Bill DiBlasio's Petition to Mayor Bloomberg:
http://actnow-advocate.nationbuilder.com/
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Fw: [Open-access] Pratham Books goes CC-BY
From: Laurent Romary
Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2013 14:06:21
Subject: [Open-access] Pratham Books goes CC-BY
A very nice CC-BY story... http://blog.prathambooks.org/2013/03/pratham-books-is-open-for-publishing.html
Laurent
Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2013 14:06:21
Subject: [Open-access] Pratham Books goes CC-BY
A very nice CC-BY story... http://blog.prathambooks.org/2013/03/pratham-books-is-open-for-publishing.html
Laurent
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
RPF cashing in on Crystal Ventures?
Looks to me like the Rwandan ruling coalition (the RPF) is liquidating a lot of assets. I wonder why.
First, note that the finances of the RPF are inseparable from the finances of Crystal Ventures. Then, check out this article detailing the RPF's sale of more than half its former 45% stake in MTN-Rwanda to the umbrella South African MTN. RPF is poised to sell more than half of its share in Inyange Industries, the country's leading food processing company. Some of Crystal Ventures' other investments may also be on the chopping block.
On the other side of the income statement, I can't find many new investments like this granite factory which opened mid-2012.
To further drive the point home, it seems that the RPF is calling in $9 million in debts from the Rwandan government itself.
Why is this happening? I suspect two reasons.
- Rwanda's government is heavily dependent on foreign aid, which has comprised more than half its national budget in direct aid alone, in recent years. But, following the M23 scandal, many donor governments have shut off the spigot, including Britain,
- In order to weather the coming storm, the RPF may be saving up a "war chest," for maintaining both political allegiances, as well as covering military contingencies.
Jennifer Cooke of the CSIS identifies two potential future narratives for Rwanda, one of rapid development, and another of spiralling political repression, resentment, and alienation of government from population.
Viewing events within this framework, the liquidation of RPF holdings and the OECD's move away from direct aid to Rwanda's government budget can be interpreted in two ways. Pessimistically and cynically, one could say the RPF is selling its country short, selling off in-country resources to external accounts in a move of calculated capital flight in an environment of declining FDI. More optimistically, one might say the ruling party is privatizing industries to spur growth. As usual, both are probably true.
Update: Now this is called raking in the cash! Hope the big push works.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/rwanda-eurobond-idUSL6N0DD3S920130426
First, note that the finances of the RPF are inseparable from the finances of Crystal Ventures. Then, check out this article detailing the RPF's sale of more than half its former 45% stake in MTN-Rwanda to the umbrella South African MTN. RPF is poised to sell more than half of its share in Inyange Industries, the country's leading food processing company. Some of Crystal Ventures' other investments may also be on the chopping block.
On the other side of the income statement, I can't find many new investments like this granite factory which opened mid-2012.
To further drive the point home, it seems that the RPF is calling in $9 million in debts from the Rwandan government itself.
Why is this happening? I suspect two reasons.
- Rwanda's government is heavily dependent on foreign aid, which has comprised more than half its national budget in direct aid alone, in recent years. But, following the M23 scandal, many donor governments have shut off the spigot, including Britain,
- In order to weather the coming storm, the RPF may be saving up a "war chest," for maintaining both political allegiances, as well as covering military contingencies.
Jennifer Cooke of the CSIS identifies two potential future narratives for Rwanda, one of rapid development, and another of spiralling political repression, resentment, and alienation of government from population.
Viewing events within this framework, the liquidation of RPF holdings and the OECD's move away from direct aid to Rwanda's government budget can be interpreted in two ways. Pessimistically and cynically, one could say the RPF is selling its country short, selling off in-country resources to external accounts in a move of calculated capital flight in an environment of declining FDI. More optimistically, one might say the ruling party is privatizing industries to spur growth. As usual, both are probably true.
Update: Now this is called raking in the cash! Hope the big push works.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/26/rwanda-eurobond-idUSL6N0DD3S920130426
"Rwanda plans to use half the proceeds from the issue to repay outstanding loans on the Kigali Convention Centre and on a development plan for the national airline, RwandAir.
The remaining funds will be used to pay for the completion of the convention centre and to finance a hydro power project."
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