Radar Readings

Could the Economist be any more patronising?

“I noticed that the doormat was at a slightly crooked angle. I reached down and moved the mat back into its correct place.” Thus began a recent entry on The dullest blog in the world. Although this publication is something of a satire on the internet’s inane blogs, scientists are finding—to their surprise—that useful information can actually be mined from the tedium of the blogosphere.

On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Maxine Waters’ bill, (H.R. 4573)- the Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act. It passed under what is known as ‘a suspended rule’ meaning that it is not considered controversial, so the vast majority of the House Members voted for it. This legislation directs the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to seek the cancellation of Haiti’s $1.2 billion debts to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other multilateral development institutions.

Big change is just one small step and a mouse click away. That’s the message from American Express and TakePart in their new project One Small Vote for Big Change.

Ann Putnam Marks and Karen Turney work in the development department at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. On Sunday, March 14, they leave for a four-day field trip with donors to visit UNICEF programs in Panama.

The countdown to Panama has begun. We are finalizing our plans and look forward to sharing what we learn about UNICEF’s lifesaving programs in FieldNotes.