The NonProfit Blogs

Design Education – A Catalyst for Prosperity

peter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:00:00 PST

From Design Magazine:

Image via interior-zine
Design is all around is. Try and black out everything that has been designed and you will be left with a black hole. It is the building block of our society, culture and even the most humble existence, past and present and will be the pacemaker and indicator of progress and changes to come...Design education should be a catalyst for prosperity for all, not just for a talented or elitist few

Prioritising design education and including design thinking in general and business education will have a far-reaching impact than just addressing challenges and obstacles that the design world is currently facing.

On its criticality:

The advocacy and importance of the creative industry as a vital building block of any society and contributor to the economy should never be underestimated and asks for serious consideration and inclusion. (...)

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Given Gugulethu Nkuna-Designer

peter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:00:00 PST

Africa Creative features Given Nkuna whose:

Image courtesy of africacreative

...Le2 designs originates from the word gugulethu which is the middle name of the founder, given nkuna (28). lethu (le2) means 'ours' and gugu means 'pride.' given founded le2 designs in 2007...le2 designs specialises in felt making and creates colourful, quirky products such as handbags, hats, scarves and jewelry. (...)

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Bri in Ethiopia: February plans

peter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:37:30 PST

I almost started this post with “January was a whirlwind,” but that implies that it was chaotic and went by really quickly. As chaotic as it was for my life, it wasn’t so much on the day to day basis here in Addis, and I cannot honestly say that it went by very quickly. What a month, though. I don’t need to recap on that. I’d rather just talk about the exciting things that are coming up for month two. (...)

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We are tired of pictures with starving children

peter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:24:28 PST

By Carlos Pérez del Castillo Chair of the CGIAR Consortium Board Last week, Oxfam and Save the Children published a report titled “A Dangerous Delay”. The report details how, despite clear early-warning indicators of an upcoming drought and consequent famine in [...]

[...] Read more on http://consortium.cgiar. (...)

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Human Rights Ads (69): Tienanmen Tank Man Spoof

peter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:46:10 PST

(source)

The original is here. For the story on the Tienanmen Square protests and the violent crackdown, see here. More on freedom of the press here.

(...)

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The iHub in 2012: Freelancers and Presentations

peter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:04:33 PST

This weekend the iHub Advisory Board met with the managers (Tosh and Jessica) to discuss the future direction of the space and what our focus should be for the coming year. The meeting was facilitated by my friend Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studios, who is in town as a part of the PopTech Lab.

The iHub Advisory Boards is made up of 5 people who come from the Nairobi tech community, and represent the community when important, or difficult, decisions have to be made. (...)

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The cultures that is Italy

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:12:03 PST

Responsible for one of the most stupid shipping accidents of all time, not to mention the death of thirty or so passengers, Schettino was nevertheless greeted in his home town of Meta di Sorrento (on the south side of the bay of Naples) by a crowd waving banners in his favor and complaining, priest included, that the man’s bad press was the result of a general prejudice against their community. “Every Italian,” Giacomo Leopardi dryly remarked in 1826 “is more or less equally honored and dishonored.”

Here is more, interesting throughout. (...)

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Interest Aggregation and Military Political Authority in Egypt

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:10:17 PST

Egyptian security forces are undoubtedly the center of headlines for the region. Some blame them for not doing more to protect the people and preventing violence. However, upon closer inspection, we may realize that in of themselves a military power is not suited for the role of an interest aggregator. In order to resolve the problems facing Egypt, perhaps those protesting should take an initiative to understand why security forces are not able to do more to help. The purpose of my blog today is to explain why the military power needs to step aside and voluntarily withdraw from the political presence in Egypt. (...)

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Sun bears- the tree loving bears

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:45:45 PST

In the tropical forest of Southeast Asia, live a bear species call sun bears. These bears are small, the smallest of all the eight living bear species, and have black fur that are not easy to be spotted when they forage on the dark forest floor under the multi-layers forest canopies.

(...)

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World-System 2.0 – In Time

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:11:26 PST

Sorry about the lack of recent posts, guys. Between the beginning of the term and the massive amount of academic writing I have foolishly and irresponsibly agreed to do, I will be swamped until February 15th.

That being said, while taking a break from The Writing, I watched this film, scifi fan that I am:

(...)

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UPDATE: Security Council Resolution on Syria Vetoed

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:31:17 PST

After last minute bid for amendment fails, Russia and China veto the Security Council's draft resolution on Syria.

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Voice and Exit

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:38:13 PST

As I understand the basic theory of voice and exit in groups (and I know that Hirshman’s thought went much further than this) the idea is that if you are unsatisfied with any aspect of the group you are in you can either express your discontent in the hope of changing it (voice) or you can exit it (exit). Between the two options members can prevent the group from treating them poorly.

This make sense, although often enough it seems to me that something which is almost the reverse of this is at play in many entities/organisations. Here the cost of exit for the individual is high enough — loss of friends and family, loss of property or wages, lack of social alternatives — that it stifles voice. (...)

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The West Rt. 50-Gallows feed

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:39:57 PST

There are three lanes, with the left two lanes narrowing into one. A slight bit further ahead, the traffic from Gallows Road merges into the right lane, map here.

Many people from the far left lane merge “unethically,” driving ahead as far as they can, and then asking to be let in at the near-front of the queue. (...)

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Red Cross responds to McMinnville Apartment Fire

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:41:00 PST

Oregon Red Cross volunteers responded to an apartment fire on Sesame Street in McMinnville, OR. They provided humanitarian assistance to 15 people displaced by the fire. All services were provided free of charge and may have included comfort kits, lodging, food, clothing and mental health services.

As reported by KWG news, two young children, a 5-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy, were home alone when a fire started in a McMinnville apartment and spread to three other units Friday morning, authorities said. A neighbor pulled the girl to safety from the burning apartment. (...)

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Remembering Mike deGruy

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:34:52 PST

We are saddened by the news that ocean photographer, filmmaker and storyteller Mike deGruy died yesterday in a helicopter crash in Australia. Mike was truly one of the great teachers and advocates for the oceans, as you can see in his TEDTalk, filmed aboard Mission Blue in 2010:

In this talk, as in his photography and his many films, you can sense Mike’s infectious humor, his passion for the oceans — and his example of a life well and richly lived.

(...)

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Anti-Desertification Project of OISCA in Alashan, Inner Mongolia (Google / OISCA)

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:11:30 PST

Read at : Google Alert – desertification http://www.oisca-international.org/news/default.aspx?nid=91 Mr. (...)

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Photo Gallery: Guatemalan highlands, Feb 1 & 2

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:09:20 PST

A small group traveled post-delegation to the highlands of Guatemala to meet with women who have been negatively impacted by mining taking place near their community. They told us about damaged houses, contaminated water, communities divided, health problems, and violence.

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Maintaining the desert’s resources while securing its sustainable growth is everyone’s responsibility (Google / Gulfnews)

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:06:22 PST

Read at : Google Alert – desertification http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/khalifa-calls-for-greater-desert-conservation-efforts-1.975607 Khalifa calls for greater desert conservation efforts President stresses sustainable development In a speech marking the 15th National Environment Day under the theme ‘The living desert’, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan … Continue reading →

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M.I.A’s Bad Girls

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:00:06 PST

I’m feeling a little puzzled by M.I.A’s video for Bad Girls (which originally appeared on her Vicky Leekx mixtape). In what I suppose is intended to be edgy imagery, M. (...)

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Reverse Engineering the Nissan Leaf’s Range Display

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:58:00 PST

Geeks are textbook early adopters. We can't resist a new gadget, or pushing the envelope to find out what's really possible!

I'm no exception to this rule. Recently, our family took delivery of a new Nissan Leaf, a completely electric vehicle. I now breeze by gas stations with $4 per gallon prices and think how I'll never pull into one of these places and spend dozens of dollars to fill up. (...)

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How to get people to pay an overdue cable bill

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:12:27 PST

Many types of private-order mechanisms arise in market economies. [...] A New York cable television company, Paragon Cable, has a novel strategy to get its customers to pay their overdue bills. It does not unhook the cable. Instead, using what is supposedly a far more effective bill-collection measure, Paragon runs C-SPAN, with its political speeches, debates, and hearings, on all seventy-seven channels. (...)

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Domestic Violence PSA

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:52:00 PST

Strong traditions have always kept domestic violence hidden behind closed doors.
We know that only a few want to talk about it. It’s a vicious circle where the history of violence in many cases ends with murder. It is easy to judge from the outside and say: why did not the woman leave the man ... how it could happen, they looked so happy ... (...)

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This Week in Middle Eastern Conflict… January 25th-February 3rd, 2012.

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:45:13 PST

This Week in Middle Eastern Conflict... January 25th-February 3rd, 2012. Posted February 4, 2012. Compiled by Rebecca Sargent

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Of Football Underdogs and Politricks

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:04:44 PST

Written by Elliot Ross
The knockout phase of the Cup of Nations started this weekend and by next Sunday we’ll have a new champion. Events in Port Said, along with the Zimbabwean match-fixing scandal have made it a dreadful week for African football–but there has not been any question of postponing the remaining fixtures. The quarter-final line-up is without the tournament’s biggest losers, Senegal. Morocco and Angola also miss out. Earlier today red-hot Zambia played Sudan (in the end, Sudan came up short) and hosts Equatorial Guinea take on favorites Côte d’Ivoire now. (...)

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Nibbles: Ancient animal DNA, Augustine Henry

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:17:04 PST

Big grant for TC Dublin to create DNA matrix of ancient livestock, will identify parchments too.
Kew unites Augustine Henry’s letters with the objects and specimens he collected; agrobiodiversity included.

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Updates on Pottery

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:42:00 PST

My name is Bruno Sanga I am working to one 0f MSABI project known as pottery.I am a core subproject manager, the project is going on well. We are producing the filter pots with the mixture of clay and rice husk and water. We produce them by using two moulds, a female mould and a male mould, also we use a workshop press with a jack of thirty tons. The filters take about ten days to dry but this depending on air condition because sometime they dry up to two weeks. (...)

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Why does Arnold Bread have forty different kinds of bread?

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:22:10 PST

100% whole wheat, 12 Grain, 7 Grain, German Dark Wheat, Health Nut, Healthy Multi-grain, Honey Whole Wheat, Oatnut, Country Oat Bran, Country Wheat, Country White, Country Whole Grain White, Healthfull 10 Grain, Healthfull Flax and Fiber, Healthfull Hearty Wheat, Healthy Nutty Grain, Double Fiber, Double Protein, Grains & More Flax and fiber, Triple Health, Dutch Country 100% whole Wheat, Butter Split Top, Extra Fiber, Premium Potato, Premium White, Rye Everything, Rye and Pump, Pumpernickel, Rye Seedless, Melba Thin, Rye with Seeds, Soft Family 100% Whole Wheat, Soft Family Classic White, Soft Family Honey Wheat, Soft Family Whole Grain White, Brick Oven Whole Wheat, Brick Oven Premium White, Premium Italian, Stone Ground, Light 100% Whole Wheat.

Here is more, from William Gadea. The hypothesis:

(...)

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Two US Delegations Endorse BDS and Call for Action in the US

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:20:00 PST

The Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel has been endorsed by two US delegations recently returned from fact finding missions to occupied Palestine and Israel.

US Campaign member group US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) organized a delegation of five distinguished scholars for a trip to Palestine and Israel in January. The delegation, composed of professors working at US universities, witnessed firsthand how Israel routinely denies the academic freedom of Palestinian scholars and students. According to a press release issued by USACBI, the delegation noted:

… Israel has consistently closed Palestinian universities under security pretexts and restrictions on freedom of movement mean that it is often very difficult for students to attend universities; international and Palestinian scholars living abroad are denied visas for faculty appointments in the occupied territories. Furthermore, some 80 students from Birzeit University are held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, 10 of whom are currently being held without charge or trial. (...)

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Border Security: Congressman Cuellar of Texas to host meeting between Defense Department and local politicians and law enforcement

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:02:00 PST

MexicoBlog is on Congressman Cuellar's email list. We received this announcement of his setting up a meeting between the Deparment of Defense and local political leaders and police forces as part of his effort "to transfer technology and equipment from the Department of Defense to federal, state and local first responders."

Dear Friends of the 28th District of Texas:

I am honored to host a meeting with the Honorable Paul N. Stockton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs at Laredo Community College on Friday, February 10, 2012.

I extend an invitation to local first responders and community leaders including: mayors, judges, sheriff’s departments, police departments, constables and fire departments. (...)

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Another bush hunting orphan arrives at Tacugama

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:52:34 PST

We received an urgent call last week from Addax Bioenergy to say that a young, injured chimpanzee had been seen at a village close to their operations and that they were enlisting the help of the police to have the chimp confiscated and brought to Tacugama. After lengthy discussions with the community and the police, Addax were finally able to take possession of the chimp and arrange to bring him to the sanctuary. Named Nico, after the security manager who was heavily involved in securing his namesake’s transfer from the community, he urgently needed medical attention.

An exhausted Nico on arrival at Tacugama

(...)

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Canada’s Rush For Gold

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:44:39 PST

Canada may be one of the world's largest gold mining nations, but both its overseas and domestic mining activities are controversial. In this Earth Focus report: 1) Human Rights Watch looks at the allegations of gang rapes and other violent abuses at the...

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State of the X: Stats on TEDx and TEDxTalks in January

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:33:11 PST

The new feature “State of the X,” on the TEDx Tumblr, runs the numbers on TEDx and the great video coming from these worldwide independently produced events.

To start — how many TEDx events happened in the past month?

TEDx events by the numbers: January

(...)

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Kidnap and Theft Charges

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:23:52 PST

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) Leaders Williams and Mahlangu appeared before Magistrate Sengweni on 3rd February 2012 for continueation of Trial.

The Defense team now including Advocate Perpetua Dube and Kossam Ncube applied for the matter to be ‘stayed’ pending the outcome of a review of the Magistrates decision to refuse discharge. The review process was submitted on 1st February to the High Court in Bulawayo.

(...)

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Gates Foundation Visitor Center: An Interview with Therese Littleton

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:00:00 PST

A chat with the curator of the foundation's new Visitor Center, Therese Littleton.

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Is microcredit insane?

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:59:00 PST

First off, a lot of microcredit programs operate under the assumption that there are large populations of entrepreneurs in countries with long histories of poverty who just need a tiny push in the form of a microloan to unleash their wealth creating power. A lot of EAWs can say with a straight face that their microloans empower people who may be illiterate, innumerate and own no productive assets to start “microenterprises”.

The problem with this belief is that it’s insane.

http://stuffexpataidworkerslike.com/2012/01/23/132-microcredit/

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East African etiquette

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:59:00 PST

One of my favourite Juba-things, which is apparently also a Kenya-thing, is hand-shaking. You always shake hands with the people you meet, all the time, every person in the room, no matter how long it takes.

There's also a great rule for when you are eating, or your hands are otherwise dirty - just offer a wrist instead. Simple, and avoids that English awkwardness where you don't know what to do. I'm bringing it back to England. (...)

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India police arrest dozens of villagers for protesting against new toxic dump

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:58:26 PST

A total of 47 indigenous people were arrested and another 5 needed hospital treatment after hundreds of Indian police and Vedanta security guards confronted a peaceful demonstration two weeks ago in the state of Orissa, India. On January 21, a group of...

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Feb. 10: Operation Broken Silence Benefit Show

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:57:55 PST

Hosted by Fat Sandwich Records

Event Details:

Date: February 10th, 2012
Time: 8:00PM
Location: Hi-tone Cafe, 1913 Poplar Avenue Memphis, TN 38104

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Ugandan billboard of the day

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:42:00 PST

The UN has declared that internet access is a human right. So we’re [MTN] giving you that access for free.

via Brian Swartz

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Immigration Crackdown: Arizona Immigration Law’s Supreme Court Oral Argument Set For April

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:31:00 PST

Huffington Post: "The Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear oral arguments over Arizona's controversial immigration law on April 25, the Court's final day of hearings for the term." read more

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This Week’s Edition of the Global Food for Thought News Brief

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:26:54 PST

Please click here;to view this week's edition of the Global Food for Thought news brief.

If you have not signed up to receive Global Food for Thought by email, please do so by clicking here.

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Immigration Politics: Arizona candidate says English challenge an abuse of power

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:21:00 PST

Reuters: "An Arizona city council candidate struck from the ballot over her limited English skills concedes she isn't fluent in the language but called the legal challenge an abuse of power that could keep her from serving a poor border community where most residents speak only Spanish.

A Yuma County Superior Court judge touched off a furor last week when he disqualified Alejandrina Cabrera, a candidate for city council in San Luis, Arizona, from running for office over what he called a "large gap" between her English proficiency and that required to serve as a public official.

Cabrera's lawyers have appealed the decision, made in response to a lawsuit by the town's mayor, and the Arizona Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case on Monday -- in time for the city to print ballots the next morning." read more

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Border and Immigration: Couple rides bikes across entire US-Mexico border for immigration reform

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:18:00 PST

You can learn more about Katy and Eric’s travels at http://borderbybicycle.blogspot.com/

ValleyCentral.com: "For five long and educational months a couple from New York and Minnesota have been on a quest to learn about border realities. ... (...)

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shameless self-promotion

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:18:00 PST

I've got a couple of public speaking events coming up:

New York City - Thursday, February 23 at 6:15pm at Bard College's Globalization and International Affairs Center in Midtown. The topic is "Building Capacity? NGO's and State Reconstruction in the DRC." Details and free (required) registration here.

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Border Control?: Border Patrol Overtime up as arrests drop

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:02:00 PST

San Jose Mercury News: "Border Patrol agents have racked up daily overtime at a cost of about $1.4 billion in the past six years while the number of arrests of illegal border crossers has fallen to the lowest level in nearly 40 years, an Associated Press analysis of agency records finds." read more

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Sex And The Super Bowl: Indianapolis Puts Spotlight On Teen Sex Trafficking

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:57:30 PST

From Forbes:

“…Super Bowl weekend is considered to be the largest sex trafficking event in the United States each year, a number estimated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children who says the 2010 Miami Super Bowl brought 10,000 prostitutes to the city. By the same group’s measure 2011’s Dallas Super Bowl resulted in 133 underage arrests for prostitution.

But with renewed focus on the sexual trafficking of underage girls in the New Year—including a month-long campaign by the White House, the focus at Super Bowl XLVI will be the protection of girls and the prosecution of the men and women who specialize in their sale for sex. (...)

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Drug War: Violence in Mexico

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:45:00 PST

Mexican embassy spokesman, Ricardo Alday, responds to a New York Times article .

NYTimes.com: "“Mexico Drug War Bloodies Areas Thought Safe” (front page, Jan. 19) provides a sensationalist vision of what is actually happening in Mexico. I disagree with the essential premise of the article: that criminal violence has expanded geographically. (...)

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Iran: Leader’s website blocked in Saudi Arabia

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:37:47 PST

Iranian sources say [fa] that Saudi Arabia has blocked Iran Leader's site Khamenei.ir. This sources says this website is blocked because of Ayatollah Khamanei's remarks on “Islamic Arab Spring”. Iranian user on Friendfeed believes [fa]: This could be a start for a cyber-war between Iran and Arabia.

(...)

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Mudaharaad looga soo horjeedo qaadka oo ka dhici doona London ee dalka Ingariiska

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:05:49 PST

Ogeysiis: Waxaa si sharaf iyo xurmadi ku dheehan tahay loo ogeysiinayaa dhamaan umada soomaaliyeed eek u nool dalkan ingariiska inuu maalinimada Arabacada ee taariikhdu tahay-15/02/2012 u dhici doono mudaharaad aad u balaaran oo looga soo horjeedo qaadka, Kaasoo ka dhici doona kazoo horjeedka aqalka looga taliyo dalkan ingariiska ee loo yaqaano-Number 10 downs street.

Hadaba waa fursad mudo dheer la sugayey eek u aadan sidii keenista qaadka looga cirib tiri lahaa dalkan ingariiska oo qaarada yurub keligi uu uga harey cunida iyo ka ganacsiga qaadku,taasoo dalka Holland-na uu u qabtay inuu joojiyo cunida iyo ka ganacsiga qaadka dhamaadka bisha meey ee sanadkan. (...)

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How they make cheese

peter — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:33:05 PST

This Sunday, an estimated 58 percent of Americans will order pizza for Super Bowl parties around the country. To celebrate Game Day classics like pizza, cheese dips and nachos, we went to Wisconsin — the American dairyland that produces 35 percent of the country’s cheese — to find out the chemistry behind cheesemaking.

(...)

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