Public Discussion

From: The Observer

Written by MOSES KHISA

In two articles last month, I attempted to show that, notwithstanding the large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), our civil society remains rather weak and incapable of countering the excesses of a militaristic and highly-authoritarian regime.

This, I argued, is due to two inherent fundamental problems.

First, because NGOs are overly dependent on external donors, they lack independent existence. Secondly, most NGOs have no sizeable membership they can legitimately claim to represent and on whose behalf they engage in advocacy.

From: Forbes

BY JULIA HANNA

The corporate histories of Apple, Coca-Cola, and Honda are well-documented stories that offer a window into the nuances of business in a particular place, at a particular time. As such, they’re invaluable resources for research that influences future generations of leaders.

Until recently, however, that body of knowledge was derived primarily from companies in the United States, Europe, and Japan. But as emerging markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America continue to grow, so does an interest in how they came to be and what can be learned from the experiences of business leaders who managed to navigate their organizations through unpredictable social, political, and regulatory environments.

From: The Guardian/PovertyMatters Blog

Despite concerns about who would turn up, nearly all countries were represented and discussions were interesting and relevant

The first High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) drew to a conclusion last week in Mexico. Many coming into the meeting were somewhat confused about how it would play out. The chairman of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) development assistance committee, Erik Solheim, a leading progressive voice in official development circles for some years, admitted in his closing speech that he, too, had been nervous about the meeting.

From: LiveMint and The Wall Street Journal

Anil Paranjape

Rockefellerian entrepreneurs first made money and then gave back to society—a practice followed by Buffets and Gateses but with more business discipline

In the good old days, the Rockefellerian entrepreneurs first made their money and then gave back to society. Their newer avatars, the Buffets and Gateses of the world (or closer home, the Premjis and Murthys) brought more business discipline to the giving back part. Along the way, big businesses discovered opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid. The social and environmental problems and their awareness became more acute and the world suddenly realized that making money and making meaning do not have to be mutually exclusive any more (borrowing phrases from Silicon Valley marketer Guy Kawasaki).

Russian investigators say they have found what appear to be hard drugs on board the Greenpeace ship seized during a protest in the Arctic last month.

“During a search of the ship, drugs (apparently poppy straw and morphine) were confiscated,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

Source: BBC News Oct 9, 2013
Poppy straw, or raw opium, can be used to produce morphine or heroin.

The Multinational Regulatory Forum  is a discussion forum consisting  of organizations interested in improving the regulatory process.  Program participants include NGO’s, think tanks and those private sector firms who have or had a business relationship with Multinational Business Services,  a Washington, DC  based consulting firm. 

Projects Underway or Completed

 —    Review of Independent Agencies

 —    Passage of the Data Access and Data Quality Acts

—     Creation of the Interactive Public  Docket

—     Assist in the Establishment of a Centralized Regulatory Review Process in the Executive Office of the President of Brazil

 Tim Johnson

From: Bend Bulletin

OJO DE LIEBRE LAGOON, Mexico — When scientists fired a cigar-sized satellite tag into the blubber of a western gray whale off Russia’s Sakhalin Island in September, they expected to track her along Asia’s Pacific shoreline down to the South China Sea.

To their surprise, the young female turned up off of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.

The sudden travel bug that infected Varvara, the 9-year-old female now meandering in waters near Baja’s Magdalena Bay, has deepened a mystery that has scientists the world over pondering what is happening to a tiny population of critically endangered western gray whales. Only 130 of the whales remain, feeding off of Sakhalin Island, not far from two offshore oil platforms.

From: Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University

Some two dozen legislative proposals to improve the regulatory process are under consideration by the Congress.  Nonetheless, the immediate relief needed for job creation can come though OIRA.

Accordingly  we have launched an interactive public docket (IPD), OIRA Watch,  aimed at demonstrating the need for OIRA to act on particular issues of interest.

The impact of any “Watch” site is heavily depending upon the credibility of its sponsor; please view CRE’s credentials, giving particular attention to the information contained in this link.

Historically, federal civil servants played a critical role in developing and implementing federal policy. The attached article in the Administrative Law Review,published by the American Bar Association in conjunction  with the Washington College of Law of the American University, sets forth in Section D on page 54  the critical role career federal employees had in the establishment of centralized regulatory review in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Administrative Law Review-Tozzi