Is your iPhone responsible for the war in Congo?

November 8, 2008

I first heard about coltan on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.  Here is a podcast of the story.  The mineral is a key source of revenue for the warring factions and is critical in the manufacture of laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras.  Here is an excerpt from a BBC article about ‘blood tantalum’: […]

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‘Waiting for the Next Tsunami’

November 6, 2008

An early warning system for Indonesia.  Good stuff.  From the Spiegel Online article: German scientists have designed a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. The project aims to protect Indonesians by giving them enough time to escape the danger. The ultimate goal is speed. Nils Goseberg is very worried about the Siti Nurbaya […]

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HydrAid BioSand Water Filter

November 4, 2008

Very cool stuff.  I’d love to get my hand on one of these.  The HydrAid BioSand water filter is the latest/greatest version of the traditional BioSand filter.  Check out this Dow/International Aid promo video.  It’s a bit slick but also easy on the eyes: For those of you into the quick and dirty version check […]

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“..so the world would be better off if the OLPC project had never existed.”

November 4, 2008

I found this article by Richard Stallman on Reddit.  Good stuff, although at times a bit over the top: Teaching children to use Windows is like teaching them to smoke tobacco—in a world where only one company sells tobacco. Like any addictive drug, it inculcates a harmful dependency. (Bill Gates made this comparison in a […]

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Mini-UAV’s used to collect HIV/AIDS and TB samples in remote areas of South Africa

November 3, 2008

This is about as wild and innovative as it gets.  Another great project being developed locally.  The National Health Laboratory Services of South Africa is using mini-UAV’s to collect HIV/AIDS and TB samples from remote health posts in the region.  Here is the complete write-up from the NHLS website and a New Scientist video: Read […]

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The Congo is ‘Falling apart, again’

November 3, 2008

I have been following the news coming out of the Congo for some time but just came across this Economist article which provides a good overview of the situation.  From the article: Another humanitarian disaster is unfolding in eastern Congo THE war that raged in the Democratic Republic of Congo, mostly in the east of […]

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The Road to the Horizon

November 2, 2008

For some time I have been following the posts of WFP Peter on his blog ‘The Road to the Horizon‘.  He’s got some great stuff and I strongly encourage you to take a look.  One page that I only recently read, strangely enough, is the About page.  (I am not sure how I missed this […]

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Want a job?

November 1, 2008

I just came across this NGO job site.  I know nothing about it but it has a truckload of positions listed.  If you are in the market for a new gig be sure to take a look.  Let me know if you land a job so that I can link to it from my jobs […]

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‘Baghdad’

November 1, 2008

My former colleague and now fellow blogger has a wonderful write-up covering her brief visit to Baghdad.  It is a short, personal account of the experience one can have in Baghdad and the impact that working in such an environment can have on an individual. The line about about seeing Baghdad briefly from the bedroom […]

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More Open Street Map vs. Google Maps – Kabul and Tbilisi

November 1, 2008

Kevin Toomer over at Patronus Analytical commented on my last post that he had spent a fair amount of time updating Kabul for OSM.  Kabul is another fantastic example of the difference in accuracy between OSM and Google Maps.  Thanks to OSM community members like Kevin Toomer that are making our job that much easier.  […]

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