The Humanitarian Chronicle

Social Welfare and Corporate Crims

Frank — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:32:51 +0000

Following on from the general election just held here in Aotearoa/New Zealand I have been reflecting on many of the discussions I had the pleasure of being involved in during the lead up to it and directly following it. In many of those conversations there was one topic that consistently made itself known - social [...]

Interview: Paul Childers - PhotogenX (Audio)

Frank — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:53:33 +0000

Earlier this week I had the privilege of interviewing Paul Childers. Paul, along with Susanne (his wife), runs PhotogenX. The purpose of PhotogenX is to advocate for those who do not have a voice by using photography as a means to tell stories. Susanne is mostly responsible for the photography. The imagery is absolutely stunning. If [...]

Stuff iPods! Give a Goat!

Frank — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:03:39 +0000

Christmas is looming up fast and with it, the usual pressures of gift giving amongst people who already have everything they need. So once again you’re going to be wracking your brains about what to give your loved ones and chances are, you’re going to spend more than you can afford. Welcome to the ghost [...]

Smackdown ‘08

Frank — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:59:45 +0000

The following was sent to the Humanitarian Chronicle by someone who shall use the pseudonym, Jon Shannow. When they vote tomorrow, far too many Christians in Aotearoa/NZ will allow their choices to be influenced by a single issue – the so called “anti smacking” bill. Voting on the basis of a single issue is always [...]

A Foreign Policy of Respect

Frank — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:51:08 +0000

I am not American, but yesterday I watched the U.S election with interest, with my chief concern as someone from outside of the U.S, being foreign policy. There were two very different approaches to international relations on offer. American foreign policy interests me because it influences the world greatly. Over the last 8 years, under the [...]

Palestinians and Christian Reductionism

Frank — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:25:55 +0000

Warning - this post may offend many. The situation I am about to address is a firebrand that causes high emotion for many people. I am not seeking to make any friends with this, I have just decided that for the first time, I wish to air publicly, some of my privately held opinions on [...]

Blog Action Day - How I Missed It + Poverty Sexed Up

Frank — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:50:23 +0000

There is an irony in the image I’ve used for this article. Here I was thinking I was a serious blogger… clearly not. When they go away on holiday, people operating serious internet sites cue up material and date stamp it to publish on the days they are not around and they remain committed to [...]

The Strength of Co-operatives

Frank — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:50:19 +0000

When discussing Fair Trade and the use of co-operatives as a healthy business model in developing areas, I often get asked what a co-operative (co-op) is. Allow me to give an explanation here for people who may not have grasped an understanding of this business model before, and allow to me to share why I [...]

Film Review - Shoah

Frank — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:41:43 +0000

Many of us have grown up hearing stories about the holocaust through school, television, film, books and museum trips. There is a sense where sometimes it feels too familiar; that the horror of the event is just another of those tales we hear of the past and thus the horror of the catastrophe of the [...]

Bailout for Wall St? What About the Poorest?

Frank — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:43:13 +0000

WITH the meltdown of international banking and credit filling investors with dread, developed nations are using the crisis to legitimise backing away from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), said TEAR Fund Executive Director Stephen Tollestrup. The MDGs signed by 189 nations promised to halve poverty for the poorest of our planet’s people by 2015 and increase [...]