April 2010
55 posts
The Road to the Horizon: Suicide bombers going on... →
Muslim suicide bombers in Britain are set to begin a three-day strike on Monday in a dispute over the number of virgins they are entitled to in the afterlife. Emergency talks with Al Qaeda have so…
War Games: The Story of Aid and War in Modern... →
Now comes a book from the Dutch writer and journalist Linda Polman that shines a light on the multibillion dollar juggernaut that is today’s global humanitarian aid network. War Games: The Story of…
Does humanitarian aid prolong wars? | The Observer... →
Linda Polman believes the business of international aid - from Ethiopia to Rwanda to Afghanistan – is only helping gangsters and fighters, while innocent victims suffer on
BBC World Service Trust - Left in the dark: The... →
When crisis or disaster strikes, people need help. They need, shelter, food, water and safety. They need these things rapidly and effectively. This policy briefing argues that people need information…
Joe Rosenthal & Iwo Jima: The Story behind the... →
Fifty years ago this month, a young Associated Press photographer named Joe Rosenthal shot the most memorable photograph of World War II, a simple, stirring image of five Marines and one Navy…
BBC News - The virginity industry →
Young Arab women wait in an upmarket medical clinic for an operation that will not only change their lives, but quite possibly save it. Yet the operation is a matter of choice and not necessity. It…
Reuters AlertNet - 100 terrific twitter feeds for... →
Twitter has increasingly been used to spread awareness about humanitarian issues and to raise funds to help people affected by disasters. But it can be hard to find the right feeds in the flood of…
Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - Death by... →
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was shown a PowerPoint slide in Kabul last summer that was meant to portray the complexity of American military…
The Voice of the Affected: How the media are... →
A team of media-development experts that has been working with radio stations in earthquake-damaged Haiti to provide critical information to people in need is, in the process, fundamentally improving…
Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations’ Go-To... →
Samantha Power’s new film offers a gut-wrenching portrait of the late Sergio Vieira de Mello, a man whose loss the United Nations is still struggling to overcome today.
Somalia — National Geographic Magazine →
Mogadishu is ground zero for the failed state of Somalia, a place where pirates and terrorists rule. Yet to the north, the breakaway region of Somaliland is stable and at peace. What happened?
Good camp, bad camp: The shortfalls of Haiti aid -... →
The organized relocation camp at Corail-Cesselesse has thousands of spacious, hurricane-resistant tents on groomed, graded mountain soil. The settlement four kilometres down the road — named after…
Donors’ three mistakes in fragile states – Chris... →
You’re the Finance Minister in a country just coming out of conflict. Or maybe you’re disaster-struck like Haiti. Donors line up and make big pledges. UN agencies arrive and occupy whole blocks of…
Most French want burqa law, but not total ban |... →
Two-thirds of French people want a law limiting the use of face-covering Islamic veils such as the niqab and the burqa, with only a minority backing the government’s plan for a complete ban, a poll…
Haiti's earthquake death toll revised to at least... →
Haiti’s devastating January earthquake killed between 250,000 and 300,000 people, the head of the United Nations mission in the country has said, at least 30,000 more than previously thought.
Women to blame for earthquakes, says Iran cleric |... →
A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
Dramatic Advances Sweep Iraq According to New Poll... →
Dramatic advances in public attitudes are sweeping Iraq, with declining violence, rising economic well-being and improved services lifting optimism, fueling confidence in public institutions and…
Why street photography is facing a moment of truth... →
It took root in New York in the 60s and 70s with compelling images of street life that captured the heart of the city. But anxieties about privacy, terrorism, and paedophilia have conspired to make…
Stages of a photographer’s life in graph form |... →
Knowledge vs quality of photos vs how good you think you are
In Focus: Self-immolation – Plog Photo Blog →
The issue of female self-immolation is increasing in prevalence in the Herat region close to the border with Iran, as tensions rise between the traditional subordinate role of women and the increased…
Art Nation - George Voulgaropoulos - ABC Arts →
George Voulgaropoulos mixes his day job as photographer for a local newspaper with capturing the daily life of the locals in Sydney’s west.
The Iraq war: still a massive mistake /... →
The Iraq war is now being declared a success by some who point to recent progress. But the March 7 elections won’t change the tremendous cost in lives, money, US image, and geopolitics.
Chimp In Cocaine Study Starts Lying To Friends |... →
Concerned workers at the National Primate Research Center said Bobo, a 5-year-old chimpanzee participating in a 16-month cocaine study, was observed this week lying to the faces of friends, family,…
