Global Economic Issues

Nicolas Kristof wrote a poignant op-ed in the New York Times about Greg Mortenson and the recent allegations surrounding his memoir and the CAI’s finances.

‘Three Cups of Tea,’ Spilled

I wholeheartedly agree with Kristof’s sentiment. Am I being too forgiving?

There’s no shortage of news outlets reporting on the charges made by 60 Minutes against Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute. While I do believe some valid concerns have been raised, it saddens me to think how these allegations might impact the children of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and charitable giving in general.

Here’s an article from the New York Times about the controversy, and a response from the Central Asia Institute’s Board of Directors. In addition, the CAI Board of Directors and Mortenson himself have issued a statement answering the questions raised by the 60 Minutes reports. Thoughts?

We’ve spent a lot of time over the past few weeks discussing the relationship between conflict and poverty in the developing world. Here is an interesting addition to the discussion from The Economist… are countries poor because they’re violent or violent because they’re poor?

Here’s an interesting post from the Economist blog revisiting the issue of Gendercide in India:

Where have India’s baby girls gone?

Looks the like Taliban have moved in on one of the areas where Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute is building schools.  NYT article here.