A wide ranging piece in Policy Review by Robert W. Han and Paul C. Tetlock examines current aid practices, suggests the implementation of “information markets,” and looks at how such markets might impact current policy analyses like the Copenhagen Consensus and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The MDG are the nearly exclusive focus of the ONE Campaign, and the failings of the MDG as such e closely tied to the failings of the ONE Campaign. The authors write of...

…You might be a Member of Congress: Members of Congress want to establish a new government-backed venture capital program… OK, but what’s the catch? …to replace one that’s being phased out because of sizable losses. I wonder if they’ve considered whether the Government should even be involved in the venture capital business in the first place? Hat Tip: Don Luskin ...

Pope Benedict’s highly publicized trip to Germany for this week’s World Youth Day stands as an opportunity for the event to, in the words of Kishore Jayabalan, engage “serious theological and intellectual work.” The pope’s ing means, “If there is a place to show how the Christian faith shaped Europe and formed heroic persons even in its darkest hours, this is it.” Read the full text of mentary. ...

In a FoxNews article, Jack Spencer of the Heritage Foundation reveals some interesting finds from their year-long study of the military industry: US Defense relies heavily on a global free market for its equipment. This may seem to fly in the face of the idea that if anyone ought to buy American, it is the American government. But as Spencer points out Congress has tried repeatedly over the years to steer defense contracts in directions that would supposedly shore up...

Brother Roger, founder of the ecumenical munity, Taize, was murdered yesterday while praying. Details here. Brother Roger founded Taize in 1940. ...

In the current edition of The Weekly Messenger (no longer active), John H. Armstrong examines the role of pastor in the Protestant church. In “Getting the Role of Pastor Right Again,” he writes, For a long time I have had serious doubts about many of the models of pastoral ministry used and promoted in the West. These models range from academic and biblical teacher models to chief counselor and care-giver. In my estimation they all fail the biblical test at...

Oh, your lion eyes…Check out the two articles from this week’s journal Nature as reported on . (There must be an editor at work here with a sarcastic sense of humor.) In the first article, mentary by Josh Donlan, a plan is proposed for fighting the loss of endangered species: repopulate the American Plains with (among other things) elephants, wild horses, cheetahs, and yes, lions. The “rewilding” of parts of North America’s heartland could restore some balance to an ecosystem...

Zimbabwe churches form body to help demolition victims Harare (ENI). Church groups in Zimbabwe have formed a coalition to help victims of a clean-up drive that left hundreds of thousands homeless and drew condemnation from the United Nations and international aid organizations. “Churches have formed a broad-based ecumenical body in the aftermath of the clean-up operation,” the Rev. Charles Muchechetere of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe told Ecumenical News International. The prises EFZ the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the...

News from Los Angeles: Two homeless men were attacked with baseball bats and one of them critically injured, allegedly by teens inspired by videos of homeless people brawling that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies over the Internet. The alleged attackers told officers they had recently seen the DVD “Bumfights” and wanted to do some “bum bashing” of their own, police Officer Jason Lee said. I examine the intersection between the market, technology, and violence in this mentary. In...

A piece in the American Prospect Online by Chris Mooney examines the recurring “Frankenstein myth,” and its relation to contemporary Hollywood projects and the state of modern science. In “The Monster That Wouldn’t Die,” Mooney decries the endless preachy retreads of the Frankenstein myth, first laid out in Mary Shelley’s 19th-century classic and recycled by Hollywood constantly in films from Godsend to Jurassic Park. I’m sick of gross caricatures of mad-scientist megalomaniacs out to accrue for themselves powers reserved only...

Acton Institute’s Center for Effective Compassion is offering an intensive one-day event in Ft. Myers, Fla., on Oct 28, where nonprofits munity leaders will get practical, how-to skills to help them increase the “return on investment” for charity programs. Foundation grantees, munity and faith-based service providers, students and volunteers won’t want to miss this event. Read more about the event here. ...

“Zero-energy homes” are a new trend in what might be called environmental charity, giving energy back to the grid, at retail prices. Details here in this Marketplace report. ...