Intel has an interesting goal in its 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report: They want to make sure that none of their chips have materials from conflict zones.

shortformblog:

To address the issue of conflict minerals, through the end of 2011, Intel had identified 98 smelter sites and visited 48 of them in 16 countries to lay the groundwork for third-party audits. Intel’s goal is to demonstrate that its microprocessors are validated as conflict-free for tantalum by the end of 2012, and to manufacture the world’s first microprocessor fully validated as conflict-free across all four minerals (gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten) by the end of 2013.

The result of this? Intel, if successful, would produce the world’s first conflict-free processor by the end of 2013. The phrase “conflict-free” generally gets used in terms of diamonds and other rare materials, but by doing this, Intel is shining a light on a problem few think about. Intel also has a number of other goals for itself that it hopes to reach by 2020 — including “zero chemical waste to landfill” and reducing water usage. We wish them luck. (ht Geek.com)

If you’re a development economist- at least, in my view- you realize there are many, many, many hundred-dollar bills lying on the sidewalk. There are efficiency gains waiting everywhere
Esther Duflo, director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at M.I.T., who uses randomized experiments to assess the effectiveness of different poverty alleviation strategies. From The Poverty Lab by Ian Parker.

Source: newyorker.com

UK Aid Helps Fund Forced Sterilisation of India's Poor

ideoclast:

deus—ex-machina:

Tens of millions of pounds of UK aid money have been spent on a programme that has forcibly sterilised Indian women and men, the Observer has learned. Many have died as a result of botched operations, while others have been left bleeding and in agony. A number of pregnant women selected for sterilisation suffered miscarriages and lost their babies.

When will we learn that people without as much money as we have are deserving of the same amount of respect and autonomy? If we’re going to make decisions for other people to solve our planet’s problems, we’d do more good taking away wealthy Westerners’ money so they have to consume less.

Source: deus--ex-machina

No one asked their names.

soupsoup:

mehreenkasana:

In the days following the rogue US soldier’s shooting spree in Kandahar, most of the media, us included, focused on the “backlash” and how it might further strain the relations with the US.

Many mainstream media outlets channelled a significant amount of  energy into uncovering the slightest detail about the accused soldier – now identified as Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. We even know where his wife wanted to go for vacation, or what she said on her personal blog.

But the victims became a footnote, an anonymous footnote. Just the number 16. No one bothered to ask their ages, their hobbies, their aspirations. Worst of all, no one bothered to ask their names.

In honoring their memory, I write their names below, and the little we know about them: that nine of them were children, three were women.

The dead:
Mohamed Dawood son of  Abdullah
Khudaydad son of Mohamed Juma
Nazar Mohamed 
Payendo
Robeena
Shatarina daughter of Sultan Mohamed
Zahra daughter of Abdul Hamid
Nazia daughter of Dost Mohamed
Masooma daughter of Mohamed Wazir 
Farida daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Palwasha daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Nabia daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Esmatullah daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Faizullah son of Mohamed Wazir
Essa Mohamed son of Mohamed Hussain
Akhtar Mohamed son of Murrad Ali 

The wounded:
Haji Mohamed Naim son of Haji Sakhawat
Mohamed Sediq son of Mohamed Naim
Parween
Rafiullah
Zardana
Zulheja

A prayer for all sixteen martyrs. May their souls rest in peace and may justice be served one day, some day. Amin.

I’d like to see less stories about the shooter and more about the people whose lives he took.

Source: aljazeera.com

In this talk from RSA Animate, bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways it has shaped human development and society.

Cunning farmers in Tanzania are outwitting hawks by dying their chickens pink and purple. Farmers in Tanzania, sick of losing their chickens to hungry hawks, have taken drastic, if creative action, thanks to an innovative programme funded by UK aid and a little bit of pink dye. It all started when farmer Wameiri Mpwanbao, who was losing two chickens a day to hawk attacks, was visited by an advisor from an organization called FIPS-Africa. Over a two-month period, she had lost 36 chickens. In a country like Tanzania, where one in three people live on less than £7 a month, this is a huge loss. Not only this, but her chickens were also dying from a deadly bird disease, called Newcastle disease. The FIPS-Africa advisor told Wameiri to vaccinate her chickens and use a common antiseptic called Gentian Violet to dye them pink or purple. “At first I thought it was a joke, but the chicks move about freely within the compound while the hawk is up in the trees, and he has never taken any since I tried it,” says Wameiri. So far this year, FIPS-Africa’s advisors have helped over 3,700 farmers to increase the number of chickens they own through these simple but clever methods. More chickens mean poor families have more birds to sell, raising money to buy food, or pay school fees. A mature chicken is worth around £3 and dying and vaccination costs only 10p.
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Cunning farmers in Tanzania are outwitting hawks by dying their chickens pink and purple.

Farmers in Tanzania, sick of losing their chickens to hungry hawks, have taken drastic, if creative action, thanks to an innovative programme funded by UK aid and a little bit of pink dye.

It all started when farmer Wameiri Mpwanbao, who was losing two chickens a day to hawk attacks, was visited by an advisor from an organization called FIPS-Africa. Over a two-month period, she had lost 36 chickens. In a country like Tanzania, where one in three people live on less than £7 a month, this is a huge loss. Not only this, but her chickens were also dying from a deadly bird disease, called Newcastle disease.

The FIPS-Africa advisor told Wameiri to vaccinate her chickens and use a common antiseptic called Gentian Violet to dye them pink or purple.

“At first I thought it was a joke, but the chicks move about freely within the compound while the hawk is up in the trees, and he has never taken any since I tried it,” says Wameiri.

So far this year, FIPS-Africa’s advisors have helped over 3,700 farmers to increase the number of chickens they own through these simple but clever methods. More chickens mean poor families have more birds to sell, raising money to buy food, or pay school fees. A mature chicken is worth around £3 and dying and vaccination costs only 10p.

(via thecreativelymaladjusted)

Source: plutot-la-vie

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