Comments

It's amazing to think that just a few weeks back, people loved to heap c*** on Blair for his 'role' in the Iraq war, and he has accomplished this tremendous achievement on third world debt.

I think he's the ultimate comeback kid..

Go Blair!

Posted by Arun Sadhashivan at June 13, 2005 9:32 AM

Tom:

Not sure if you would choose to comment on this, but I thought I might as well try: have you heard about the Landmark Education, and if so what are your thoughts about their philosophy?

Thanks,

S.

Posted by sharona at June 13, 2005 11:03 AM

I seriously believe Tony Blair will go down as one of our greatest ever political leaders - let history be the judge.

I realise I am probably in a minority in my own country (England)- but hell why should I change the habit of a lifetime?

Tont Blair - a modern leader for modern times in my view - I am proud of his leadership and statemanship.

He represents Britain brilliantly.

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 13, 2005 11:18 AM

balanced contrast card.

come on!
do not leave me standing here all alone.
anybody with yoga experience maybe...

Posted by jens at June 13, 2005 11:20 AM

ok. found it. c.rice in kennedy center was a charity grand piano performance.

so, now... even more.

balanced contrast card.
tell me that i am talking boring old stuff here, if you have to...

Posted by jens at June 13, 2005 11:38 AM

Jens - I get the balanced deal - physical - emotional - mental - spiritual [PEMS] via a book that escapes me right now is a base for me - interesting how one must exercise emotionally also [and spiritually].

Trevor - Mr. Blair is indeed a genius - and apparently just the IRAQ distaste has reflected a bit negatively on some. The Africa deal though is far sighted in that many nations need raw materials = Africa in the near future.

Sharona - I just checked out Landmark Education last week - est and Werner Erhard descended apparently. I read an article in GQ - then went on the Landmark website and decided it wasn't for me - seemed a bit immature. Personally a really long Landmark weekend/days with few breaks - 9 am to midnight - isn't my learning/transforming style ... plus their course outline was vague, plus the article read like pressured groupthink to "get it".

The awesome transformation technology to me is a spiritual quest - a relationship with Universal power and/or Creator and/or Higher Intelligence - whatever you want to call it. A challenge though to get past religion to get there - this from a born Roman Catholic.

JoelOsteen.com may be of interest - Lakewood - Houston, TX.

Posted by Sean at June 13, 2005 12:51 PM

Good job Mr. Blair!
Sadly, it will not add up to anything with out good government though. It will merely end up as another patronising attempt to assuage the colonial guilt lumbered by the West.
Deal not with the symtoms but with the causes. I trust the G8 has an equally startling set of plans to engage Africa in sustainable trade and encourage great government!

Posted by Nigel Dorward at June 13, 2005 4:40 PM

Wiping off Africa's debts is necessary, but must be done in conjunction with reform. We must be careful that we don't just do the same things again.

Some African businessmen are saying that aid breeds dependance, that aid breeds corruption. It certainly makes sense to me.

African nations need the political structures in place that foster small business growth. Get rid of the corruption and the dictators. Allow business formation to be more rapid.

Right now, it seems that African business is almost entirely driven by natural production. Coffee, Oil, Tourism. Is there software coming out of Africa, cars or DVD players? Do Nike make goods in Africa? It seems to me that China and India's gains have been not through their natural assets, but by getting into the value-added areas based on people. China now lends money to the USA.

And if we really want to make sure that African farmers get a good deal, we need to reform the subsidy system.

Maybe we should all do something to help African businesses in our buying choices?

Posted by Tim Almond at June 17, 2005 7:11 AM