America's North Shore Journal

My compilation of private American aid for tsunami relief, the Stingy List, went over a billion dollars. I was less than enthusiastic about the pledges of various governments, and it would seem, for good reason. BBC Newsnight Renewed civil war in the north of Sri Lanka has hampered the rebuilding effort there but it is does not explain the performance of governments in meeting their pledges. According to the UN DAD database Spain promised $60m and delivered less than $1m. France pledged $79m and came up with just over $1m. When we contacted them they said “all the figures are confirmed, therefore you can be sure they are accurate”. The Chinese promised even more – $301m – and delivered – just $1m. In the Maldives, Kuwait allocated just under $10m but they have yet to … Read entire article »

Sunday Times: Tsunami survivors given the lash Disaster donations help Islamic vigilante force impose punishments on women As the man who managed the Stingy List, I can say without fear that this story is tripe, balderdash, hooey. Readers of this blog have known for years that sharia is a growing menace in Indonesia. The formerly august Sunday Times of London conflates the growth of sharia with the donations for tsunami relief without producing one iota of evidence. Indeed, buried in the story is the good news. The peace between the rebels and the national government is holding. The first free election in Aceh history was just held successfully. And… a former rebel has been elected Governor. It doesn’t get much better than this. There is no evidence that any donations have been diverted to the … Read entire article »

Sunday Times: Tsunami survivors given the lash Disaster donations help Islamic vigilante force impose punishments on women Now, that’s alarming. But here are the paragraphs that support this assertion. blank space intentional Here’s what the story really says: International aid workers and Indonesian women’s organisations are now expressing dismay that the flow of foreign cash for reconstruction has allowed the government to spend scarce money on a new bureaucracy and religious police to enforce puritan laws, such as the compulsory wearing of headscarves. Some say there are more “sharia police” than regular police on the local government payroll and that many of them are aggressive young men. The irony is that sharia was first introduced into Aceh as part of a package of measures that ultimately succeeded in making peace in the long-running guerrilla war between … Read entire article »