Irish Times: Creative accounting suspected in ‘Barroso billion’ aid effort
A look at whether the EU’s billion dollar aid package and some “doubts over whether the full aid package constitutes brand new money or is simply existing cash already pledged by the EU or member states repackaged.” ONE estimates that €760 million of the €1 billion is additional money at the EU level. Oliver Buston, European director of ONE, welcomed the deal and applauded those who made it happen. He also stated, “we know that the real test on additionality is yet to come – when national treasuries write the cheque they must not take this funding from their bilateral aid programmes.”

Wall Street Journal: Big Players Scale Back Charitable Donations
The WSJ takes a look at how the current economic conditions are affecting charitable giving. Overall, donations are down significantly as “billionaires and large banks are pulling back on commitments or scaling back pledges.” Some donors, such as Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. have folded or been bought out. Others are simply scaling back. But it’s not all bad news. Yesterday, the Financial Times reported that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged to expand annual disbursements.

FoxNews.com: If You Live In This Great Country, You Have a Lot To Be Thankful For
Governor Mike Huckabee reflects on his trip to Rwanda with ONE this past July. He recalls some of the extreme poverty he observed and asks his readers to be thankful this holiday season for what they have.

-Chandler Smith and Chris Scott