| G8 fails to meet aid pledges to Africa
British Prime Minister Tony Blair had hoped that the G8 summit to be held in Heiligendamm, Germany, in June would provide a booster shot to the campaign hailing his supposed legacy before leaving office. He is to stand down as British prime minister in June. Blair created an Africa Commission, and at the G8 summit held in Scotland in 2005, he won commitments from the assembled heads of state to increase aid and debt relief to some of the worlds poorest nations, which includes most sub-Saharan African countries. The 2005 G8 summit was to be the culmination of a campaign by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and church groups to Make Poverty History. The campaign was fronted by the rock musicians Bob Geldof and Bono. Geldofs assessment at the summits end was 10 out of 10 on aid relief and 8 out of 10 on debt relief.
Lessons of the Marshall Plan
Sixty years ago on June 5, US Secretary of State George Marshall publicly called for a grand aid package that would transform European postwar politics. The European Recovery Programme, or Marshall Plan as it became known, was crafted to accomplish three priorities of the Truman administration: help restabilise the European economy, encourage European postwar integration, and, ultimately, stave off the westward spread of communist ideology. That all three objectives have been largely realised is beyond question. Historians may question how much credit the Marshall Plan deserves for these accomplishments, but it is unlikely that Europe would stand now as an ideologically integrated economic world power without it. Today, transatlantic relations are marked by a mix of obvious successes and abundant challenges.
Two ways how ending a credit card account can hurt your credit history
If you have many credit cards and are seriously into credit card debt, chances are good that you must be thinking of getting rid of few credit cards. The strange fact is that if you get rid of a credit card without giving thought to the points listed below, you could be shooting yourself in the foot. Yes, it could damage your credit history further. Here is how this happens. Assume that you have 3 credit cards with the following data .
Anticipating the Palm “iPhone”
This week there was a big announcement from Palm, one that could dramatically change what you see from that company. The result could have a big impact on Apple and the cell phone industry. Not only did they get a large influx of private capital, allowing them to significantly enhance their ability to design and build new products, but the former head of Apple’s iPod Division, Jon Rubinstein, who also ran hardware for Apple through some of their best years, will take over as Executive Chairman of Palm’s board. What is unique here is not only will Jon have the very highest position in the company (the CEO effectively reports to him), he will be the head of development. This is very similar to the role Bill Gates had when he was both Chief Architect and chairman of the board for Microsoft. This may also explain why the iPhone is not as good a product, comparatively, as the iPod has been.
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