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Raj Shah’s Opportunity

So the long wait for Barack Obama to nominate America’s international development czar is over. Congratulations to Raj Shah, who should breeze through the confirmation process to become head of US AID, having already been approved for his current post in the Department of Agriculture. Shah, who is just 36, takes on this crucial job […]

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Celanthropy the Geldof Way

“Futility” was aid champion “Sir” Bob Geldof’s verdict on what he had achieved nearly a quarter of a century after the former Boomtown Rats vocalist organised the Band Aid song that mobilised a massive public campaign to help the starving people of Ethiopia. Geldof was speaking on a panel moderated by Michael at Forum 2000, […]

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Why Bother Saving a Life?

We should all be giving away at least 5% of our income and the rich should hand over up to a third, argues philosopher Peter Singer in his new book The Life You Can Save, that came out last week. While we don’t share Singer’s rather puritanical disapproval of the lavish lifestyles of the super-wealthy – he […]