Voluntary Offsets , So we've gone off for a visit to a resort area in Arizona, staying with a friend. What's the expenditure of GHG as a consequence of our trip? The short answer is: I have no idea. However, if I choose to "offset" the carbon "cost" of the round-trip flight from Newark to […]
The LA Times seems to have appointed itself the official Gates Foundation watchdog. Last week they printed a scathing report on the negative effects of the investments the Foundation makes with its endowment funds. To give you the flavor of what it says: “The Gates Foundation has poured $218 million into polio and measles immunization […]
It was pointed out to me offline that I neglected to mention the controversy that surrounds (RED). The campaign has been accused of spending too much money on marketing, and not enough on donations to the Global Fund. (RED) disputes the estimates, believing that their critics count the marketing budgets spent by their corporate partners. […]
Submit your essay to UNICEF and you could be attending the Junior 8 Summit in Japan! Last year a group of 74 youths from 18 countries participated in the Junior 8 Summit in Wismar, Germany. Presenting their recommendations on how we can build a better world for future generations, they gave participated in discussions about […]
(Product) RED has now raised $50 million dollars from the sale of specially-branded, socially-conscious merchandise. This money has gone to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tubercuosis, and Malaria to help with their projects in Rwanda, Swaziland, and Ghana. If you haven't given (RED) a look, you should, because it's an interesting idea. Yes, the […]
I just watched a video at Quimera.tv about the global USAID healthcare project, Private Sector Partnerships (PSP-One). This video is about 15 minutes long (I didn't time it, though) and is pretty clearly a PR piece meant to calm fears about public-private partnerships, but does an overall fair job presenting the issues. Two thoughts: – […]
Officials in the Rwandan capital of Kigali decided to hold a civilian trial examining the role of former Sen. Anastase Nzirasanaho in the 1994 genocide there. Nzirasanaho is classified in the “first category” of alleged planners of the genocide in Rwanda. He is also accused in the April 1994 murder of Theoneste Gafaranga, a leader […]
It is within the eyes of a child that hope lies, look into them and you will see the dreams of peace and freedom. Children are born to see hope and possibility, it is us as adults, who give them doubts. It is us, as leaders who give children the reason to believe that hope […]
Willingly no one chooses the yoke of slavery. – Aeschylus Child slaves in Ghana Tomorrow is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and I ask you all to take a moment to look into the seriousness of this problem, and realize that is effects all countries, all races, all religions, all ages and sexes. It is […]
I'm not entirely sure how, but I seem to have avoided one of the several six-hundred pound gorillas in the climate change room for nearly a year: nuclear power. It might have something to do with the fact that , full disclosure time , I started my environmental activist life a good long time ago […]
The United States faces numerous challenges abroad looking ahead into 2008. On the diplomatic front few loom larger then Israeli-Palestinian relations. In December, the Annapolis Conference opened the door for direct negotiations, with the United States and the international community urging for progress on the sidelines. President Bush landed in Israel earlier this week in […]
I recently came across this photo, which was taken at a Refugee camp in Baghdad on November 16 2004. While I am very used to seeing images of children who are victims of violence, this image struck me harder than many of the bloody photos of war I have seen. The reason it took me […]
There are a lot of XO laptop reviews out there. David Pogue's in the New York Times is very good, as is the one in Laptop Magazine (which features commentary by an 8-year-old). Either of these reviews will give you an excellent rundown of the XO's technical capacities. My son's has been in the house […]
Intel is no longer on the board of the One Laptop Per Child initiative (OLPC). They are pulling all support and cooperation with the project – meaning that the next issue of the OLCP's XO laptop will not be using an Intel processor. The two organizations won't be collaborating on any new educational software, either. […]
The war crimes tribunal for former Liberian president Charles Taylor proceeded for its third straight day at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone seated at The Hague, Netherlands. The court heard Wednesday details from one of Taylor's associates in the Special Security Service who said he had direct evidence suggesting Taylor financed and armed […]