What should we do about AIDS in Africa? The HIV/AIDS policy director for Christian Aid says that the $1-2bn that the UN may have to spend on the issue should be spent on research and most of all on basic infrastructure rather than expensive drugs (even if they’re at a discount). The bad news is that she estimates the cost of rebuilding Africa’s health and education infrastructure at $100bn. Of course if OECD countries gave 0.7% of their GDP for overseas aid as they pledged 30 years ago this wouldn’t be a problem…

… and after reading that you might want some light relief. Turns out there are a pair of towns in Utah which are thinking of creating a United Nations-free zone. They “would ban aiding the organization with town funds, displaying any U.N. symbols on town property and prohibit the “involuntary servitude” of any resident in U.N. peacekeeping activities.”

Click here to block those irritating “load under” ads for the X10 video camera (they appear when you view the New York Times and other publications).

A well-considered critique of the new anti-capitalistsThe chief economics commentator of the FT tackles the superficially appealling politics of Noreena Hertz. She (among others) claims corporations are more powerful than politicians and thanks to them we face an eroding tax base and crumbling public services, as our elected representatives kowtow to business. But tax is not decreasing and governments frequently stand up to corporations on many issues…

Salon – Memoirs of a western ex-‘hostess’ in Japan A fascinating 8 part series (we’re up to part 4 so far) about the strange world of the quasi-escort. I noticed hostess bars in Japan when I visited there and thought it sounded like easy money for the women there who aren’t expected to ‘put out’ though they receive handsome payment for their company. But it seems that feigning interest and even love for lonely older men has its own drawbacks…blackberry real ringtone 7100g8830 ringtones freeringtones a650motorola download alltel ringtonesjuke ringtone 2 boxoffice ctu ringtones 24a fine frenxy ringtonesringtones alltel lg free Map

A plan to spend £100m ($140m) on producing a kind of digitised storehouse of cultural treasures from across the UK has apparently been shelved. Of course I like the idea of such a dramatic public interest project, but I am stunned that even a hugely ambitious site could possibly cost that much and I hope that the idea will return when the process of digitisation is less expensive and when there are enough people online in the UK to make it worthwhile.

‘The Greens are hurting the poor in Third World’ It is important to note that although the costs of global warming are high the costs of reducing emissions may be higher – at least one environmentalist believes that they are. He suggests the first world should invest the money it would have spent on lower greenhouse gas emissions directly on improving the lot of the third world. And another example – according to this article about Dr Bjørn Lomborg of Aarhus University, “Well meaning and compassionate environmentalists are convinced that pesticides cause cancer. Yet the link is tenuous and these chemicals may well have decreased the incidence of cancer by boosting production of fruit and vegetables, the consumption of which cut cancer risk.”

Computer recycling overview Not only is it environmentally sound to recycle out of date electrical goods (which contain many heavy metals) it can also be profitable. According to this article in the Independent, there is, “gold in them there machines. And silver. And palladium. And tantalum. And copper. And aluminium.”

Of course if computers are powerful enough to run Windows or Linux they should probably be rescued and donated to the third world or domestic charities instead, but that still leaves millions of surplus machines.holding lenders home accreditedreligious schools accreditationcards doubling 2007 minimum credit lawwith 5000 credit check loan nomerchant card account california processing creditprior learning of accreditationcredit state alabama unioncredit visa instant card accept accept Map

Abandoned Places A Belgian air pilot shares his obsession with photographing disused factory complexes – something I too find fascinating (and his photos are artistic and evocative, to boot). In one place he unearths a “Graffiti Palace“. Also see a tour of an abandoned missile silo by Kevin Kelm and Dave Rodenbaugh.

BBC News Trial ‘warnings’ over cannabis use Instead of formally cautioning people caught with pot, police in Brixton will be able just to tell them to hand it over and wag their fingers at them. Surely the idea of the police trying to wipe out cannabis usage in an area like Brixton was always foolhardy?

Economist.com survey of the very rich (registered users only) contains an entertaining quote from Dean Dorman, who worked for Chemdex which went from $239 a share in Feb 2000 to $0.37 now, “Those who made $2m-10m are pretty damn happy they did, though disappointed they didn’t take out more. That sort of money allows you to take a sabbatical, clear your head for a year or two.”

A year or two? For the rest of us working stiffs that would set us up for life – or next to it…

Also here is an absurdly optimistic (but typically Economist) quote:

“Millionaires are not what they used to be. In industrial countries, almost anybody prepared to work hard, save diligently and live like Scrooge can become one.”

(Well, perhaps a millionaire on retirement – by which time it would not be worth what it was when you started).

And here is some specious reasoning on taxing the rich:

“The main consequence of the bash-the-rich rhetoric of much public discourse … may be to discourage them from putting their wealth to use for the common good… How much better to … debate constructively with them how best to put their resources to work … is most easily done under a fiscal regime that requires them to pay a fair but not excessive amount of tax.” I don’t have the evidence to hand but I would guess that if you look at the %age of money given to good causes by the American super-rich it doesn’t come close to compensating for the amount they benefit by the lower taxes that they pay (compared with Europe).

There is also a brief overview of Saint Bill (Gates) and his foundation which is looking for vaccines for diseases afflicting the developing world. Support the Microsoft hegemony and help save billions of lives – that’s an appeal I can support…credit phone accept card paymentaccreditation collegescore 500 creditpaypal credit cards with accept onlinecredit of 4 cscard 0 credit bank japanesenews union credit americanaccept mexico accept card canada credit Map