Month: July 2005

There’s no nice way to say this: The world’s richest countries are deliberately, and as a matter of policy, promoting poverty and starvation in the world’s poorest countries.

That’s a quote from Tim Bray’s The Hunger Barrier, posted back in 2003. He goes on to describe the ridiculous lengths that governments go to to ensure that the poorest people of the world can’t get a break. They’re unable to trade because we just can’t bear to force our farmers to compete honestly.

Yesterday’s concert was performed for a purpose: to create and maintain awareness of world poverty. It’s only fair that, in exchange for such a great free concert, we hold up our side of the deal and make sure we know what’s going on. A good way to start is to read that article. Of the three main aims of the Live 8 organisers (increase aid, cancel debt, and make trade rules fair) guess which one isn’t going to happen? Let’s just hope that, eventually, we can make it happen.

I spent pretty much all of yesterday in my sitting room wishing (more than usual) that I was in London. Specifically at Live 8. Despite the cynics and the people who didn’t want to be there, I would have loved to see that concert live. Didn’t The Who just kick the big giant ass? If We Won’t Get Fooled Again was the only song played in the whole 10-hour gig it would have been worth it. And Pink Floyd, and R.E.M., and… Man I’m going to be griping to my grandkids about having missed this.

If you’re in any way interested in gentics you’re going to want to read this piece on genetics in Wasmannia auropunctata by Paul Myers. The genetics of the social insects have long fascinated me as non-biologist, but the war of the sexes going on in these fire ants adds another twist. Haplodiploid: no longer just for scrabble-players.