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Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts

US troops winning the hearts and minds of Afghans. Foxnews reports...

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I love the scene where they use helicopters to stop guys on a motorbike. I guess its one way to deal with traffic congestion in the Afghanistan country side. Sigh.

Discovered via Transitionland and Wired

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Science Fiction: Read a newspaper online (1981)

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A video from 1981 tells us from the 2,000 to 3,000 home computer users in the Bay area about 500 considered reading a newspaper online. "We can copy it and printing our own copy".
It took two hours at $5/hour to download the main articles...

Discovered via Weird News Files

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Customized humanitarian news

[i-humanitariannews.org]
I wrote before about Humanitarian News, which imports the latest updates from 600+ news sites and blogs.

Humanitarian News already featured an extensive set of RSS feeds, split up per section, but now you can generate your own RSS feed customized with the subjects YOU are interested in.

You simply execute any search, and click on the "XML" icon to generate a feed out of it. Check out the subscriptions page for more details.

I use it quite extensively at work, to check the latest updates of certain events or subjects I am following. As Humanitarian News keeps track of more news sources than any other site, and all sources are hand picked, the searches go deeper and are more relevant than what e.g. Google News Search would offer you.

Enjoy!

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Humanitarian News updates

[i-humanitariannews.org]
September was the first full month for my new site Humanitarian News. In our first month, it fetched and stored 13,000 articles from +- 600 different hand selected nonprofit sources:

  • news about humanitarian issues
  • news about the environment
  • blogs by aidworkers
  • the latest press releases by humanitarian agencies
  • updates from websites specializing in development
  • the latest posts from over 300 nonprofit blogs
The site fetches its updates automatically every 15 minutes and publishes a searchable summary with a link to the original article.

I spent a lot of time updating the 600+ sites I get the input from, to ensure the updates are relevant and up-to-date.

I split up the RSS feeds for each of the sections of Humanitarian News, and you can now subscribe to them individually, either using the site's RSS feed, or via Feedburner.

You can also get daily updates via Email for each of the sections individually, or for the whole site. Here is an example how an email update looks like.

Two nights ago, I made news widgets you can add to your blog or website, displaying the latest updates.

Humanitarian News - AidNews posts[i-Humanitarian News - AidNews posts]
If you are on Twitter, updates from the latest posts are published via @humanitynews.

Because of the vast quantity of articles being updates, it has proven to be quite a resource, even for us at work, as all content can be searched. As an example, check out the latest on the Philippines storms.

If you want an instantaneous overview of the latest posts, check out The Other World News or My Home on the Road.

Enjoy!

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CNN Heroes. Cast your vote now.

[i-Betty Makoni]
"I was raped when I was 6 years old," Betty Makoni, a lady from Zimbabwe, recalls. Her attacker was a local shopkeeper. Her mother would not allow her to report the abuse.

"She said, 'Shh, we don't say that in public,'. I had no shoulder to cry on."

Three years later, she witnessed her father murder her mother. In that moment, Makoni said she realized the potentially deadly consequence of a woman's silence.

"I told myself that no girl or woman will suffer the same again," she says.

Believing an education would provide her the best opportunity and means to speak out, Makoni earned two university degrees and became a teacher. While teaching, she noticed that girls were dropping out of school at an alarming rate. She approached her students with an idea.

"I said to girls, 'Let's have our own space where we talk and find solutions,' " Makoni said. Girl Child Network was born.

By the end of the first year, there were 100 GCN clubs throughout Zimbabwe where girls could find support. Makoni said she was not surprised: "Every woman and girl identified with the issues that we were raising," she said.

In 2000, she quit her teaching job to volunteer with GCN full time. "I decided to become an advocate because I walked my own journey to survival," she said.

The following year Makoni successfully procured a piece of land and opened the organization's first empowerment village, designed to provide a haven for girls who have been abused. Girls are either rescued or referred to the village by social services, the police and the community. The healing begins as soon as a girl arrives.

"In the first 72 hours, a girl is provided with emergency medication, reinstatement in school, as well as counseling," said Makoni.

It is important to her that the girls are in charge of their own healing. "It gives them the confidence to transform from victims to leaders," she explained.

But for Makoni, speaking out came with a high personal cost. In 2008, she was forced to flee her native country. "I left Zimbabwe because my life was in danger as a result of my project being interpreted politically."

Today, she lives with her family in the United Kingdom. She still serves as executive director of her organization and shows no signs of slowing down.

Betty is one of the ten people chosen by CNN as "CNN Heroes". Look at their profiles and choose the one you find the most inspirational here.

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Text adapted from Betty's profile page on CNN. Picture courtesy Davison Makanga/IPS

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The heart is what counts

In what seems to become an ongoing series about humanitarian advocacy ;-)... Here is another video which spoke to my heart.
Compare this piece of (he)art with the MSF video we discussed earlier, and you will see what I mean when I say "you don't have to fake stories to move a public"

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Added to inspirational video collection.

Video courtesy the Strongheart Fellowship Programme

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Advocacy, the other way: "Why Congo Matters"

The discussion around MSF UK's controversial video sparked quite a lot of comments around the topic 'How do you portray aid and poverty' or 'How do you make people think about these subjects'.

So I thought it is a good idea to show another way. A way that touched me. Meet Emily Troutman.

[i-Emily Troutman]Emily Troutman is a writer and photographer living in Washington. She just came back after a month travelling around Kivu, in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She made a video collage of her pictures, mounted it with some gripping music and appropriate text. Its simplicity took me in, and contrasted sharply with the MSF video we talked about a few days ago. Have a look for yourself:

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I contacted Emily, and we had an interesting exchange:

Why did you make this video?
Emily: It was a rare opportunity to give voice to an issue that at this moment only exists at the fringes of the mainstream media.

Was this your first trip to rural Africa?
Emily: I also traveled with UNOCHA in the Gulu area of Uganda in 2006. I took some wisdom and knowledge from that trip into Congo. For example, I already knew what real poverty and starvation looked like, so I was able to pay attention to what could maybe be called higher-level needs, but are still urgent: space, pots to cook in, blankets. Of course in Congo, the biggest issue is safety.

What was different in the experience between the two trips, Congo and Uganda?
Emily: In Congo, I generally saw less hungry people, but still some malnutrition, and a whole new complexity of issues facing internally displaced people (IDPs). In Congo, IDPs are still running in a way that they were not in Uganda in 2006. I was also profoundly impacted by the enormity of the jungle in Congo. My four day trip to Pinga, through an area where civilians and aid workers have been shot, really brought home the sense of danger that the Congolese face in simple day-to-day tasks like gathering wood, or walking to market.

These are areas where the authorities or even the people, are not always happy to see a photographer
Emily: The DRC was a very frustrating place to take photos because the work I was doing was technically illegal.
It is exceptionally difficult to get permission to take photos there, so most of the time when I shot, it was in IDP camps or traveling with UN MONUC escorts. I have a profound respect for those photographers who risk their lives to take photos of the military or shine light on issues like child soldiers.

But DRC.. So many have published stuff about the DRC?
Emily: I recognized that Congo, like so many intractable problems, has a way of receding into the noise of daily life. Even for me, it became one of these world crises that are too far away and too foreign to matter on a daily basis. It becomes hard to summon the energy to pay attention. Like, why even look at the issue if I can’t do anything to help?

And did you? Did you help?
Emily: I wanted to go, just so I could see. And ultimately, to decide if that experience of seeing and sharing what I saw could transform how all of us think about Congo, and more generally, the problems of “other people.” Although I have written and photographed similar issues in the past, Congo seemed uniquely overlooked, especially in light of the scale of its tragedy.

People talk a lot about “awareness” and “action” and “making a difference.” But honestly, this was not an aspiration of mine. I only wanted to be open to the moment and encourage those I photograph to also be open to me. The next part is like a witnessing, seeing what happens when two people enter a silent pact to tell the truth. I wanted to make the video because it is an easy way to draw people in; a photo doesn't ask anything of us except our attention.


You can find the stories behind the pictures, on Emily's blog. More of her work, you can find on on her website.

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MSF video: An ad too far?

The UK branch of MSF - Doctors without Borders - launched a new advertisement campaign in the movie theaters. On their website, they asked for feedback, claiming "It is our attempt to make a deliberate move away from some traditional charity advertising which can tend to focus on images of starving children."

The video stirred up quite a bit of noise on the "aid watch dog" blogs: Aid Watch and Aid Thoughts. Also the esteemed Philantrophy gave a pitch (Update: see further below for the other "usual suspects" joining in ;-) ). While the commentary has now been disabled on the MSF website (I wonder why, Mr and Mrs MSF, as you "would really appreciate your feedback on the ad." - Update: this is incorrect.. apparently there were never any comments possible on the MSF website.. Confusing.. - see updates below and Marc's comments), the discussion continues on Osocio. The MSF web editor also joined the discussion on DuckRabbit...

By coincidence, just a few days ago, I published a post about an effective UNICEF ad campaign, and praised MSF for their simplicity of this ad. As usual, BBC picked up on the trend we set on The Road (eh), and published a whole picture series about "Branding" humanitarian aid.

So, the discussion of publicity around humanitarian aid is on... Let's have a look at this (in)famous MSF video then:

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My train of thoughts were (in sequence):

  • clearly studio work mixing a faked video image with the sound of a child crying and artificial gunfire. Update: a friend of a friend ran the audio of the video through a sound analyser. The cries of the child were cut and remixed. Obvious for the maximum effect. The sound of the guns was mixed on top of it. Need I to say more?
  • Then I saw the comments of the MSF web editor saying the child cries were real.
  • I read the rest of the comments, where it was clear that it was unclear: no answer if the stuff was all cut and mixed by an over-eager "UK's leading advertising agencies, McCann Erickson" (dixit MSF UK). How much was faked, and how much was for real? No answer from MSF, to me, means, bad news: faked.
  • I thought.. well, if an ad stirs up that much noise, it must be an effective ad...
  • Soon after that, the thought: "Hmmm, nope.. That is not right" in how far does it differ from the cheap pictures of starving children, so often featured in ad campaigns?
  • then again I thought back on what MSF UK said on their website: "It is our attempt to make a deliberate move away from some traditional charity advertising which can tend to focus on images of starving children.".. Beh.. clearly worked: they moved away from the images of starving children! They broadcasted the sound of a starving child. Cheap.
  • Then my ethics started to work... What if it was my child being recorded while in real pain, and mounted in a faked video, shown to millions? No matter for what reason, humanitarian or not. I would not take it that my child's misery is commercialized, publicized, vulgarized. So why would I accept someone else's child is?
My verdict: MSF: you went an ad too far. Realism is one thing. Faking circumstances just for the effect to shock, is another. And publicly claiming "the child's cries are real, but I don't see what the point is", clearly shows you guys indeed have no freaking clue what the point is. Which makes me then think: who are these people who claim to be humanitarians if they don't see the human aspect of it all?

My verdict: humanitarian ad trash.

Beeeeeeeeh!

Update 1:
Aidworkers joining the discussion: Aidworker Daily and Martyns in Africa, In Development, Humanitarian Relief.

Update 2:
I wrote to Marc Dubois, Executive Director MSF UK this morning:
Marc,

As an aidworker, as a humanitarian, and as a human being, I deplore MSF UK's poor judgement and even worse, poor taste in a airing a clearly faked and sensationalistic video "The Boy".

I regret even more MSF's handling of the communications around this video:
- putting it on your website as "our attempt to make a deliberate move away from some traditional charity advertising which can tend to focus on images of starving children."..
Well, you did better than showing images of starving children. You aired the sound of it.
- Asking for feedback and then disabling comments (and deleting them) from your website
- Half-assed "I don't speak on behalf of MSF" of your web editor on different blogs, with a clear poor judgement in responses, and not seeing "the point".

What will be next? Will you broadcast live the image of a child dying? "MSF-Aid-Cam: See Children Die Unless You Donate Now"

Poor quality, poor judgement of an organisation who was judged by many to be 'different'... And up and above, I take offense of the hypocrisy of your communications. Don't ask for feedback unless if you want it. Don't claim to be un-sensational if you are.

I welcome your response which will be published on the web via http://www.theroadtothehorizon.org

Kindly,

Peter

Update 3:
I got some offline comments via Email questioning if I was not too hard on the MSF webeditor, who clearly stated to 'act on his own behalf, and not representing MSF' on different blogs...
My answer: I don't want to target anyone in particular and certainly not personally. However, I think it is a bit of poor judgement if someone enters a discussion clearly stating they work for the organisation, and expecting not to be seen as "representing that organisation" as such... If I am in the field, wearing a Tshirt of an organisation, and speak to the press, I can expect the 'general public' to link my comments to my organisation...
I also want, from my personal perspective, add that sometimes, as aidworkers, we are in a bit of a bind as to up to where we are representing (and are loyal to) ourselves, our values, our beliefs and up to what point the organisation's. Up to what point we should speak up or be quiet if we don't agree. Certainly if there is a situation which is not right, or goes against our convictions... A particularly tricky point if it involves media or any other public means of communicating.

Update 4:
Quite a bit of offline comments going around via Email. A correction/adjustment is in place: Apparently there were never comments enabled on the MSF UK webpage with the video. Even though the blog on which MSF asks to leave comments says: "You can give your comment here on Osocio or on this page at the MSF website." Beh...
It seems originally MSF requested for feedback by Email to their head of communications directly, but the pure volume of response was too high. See also the comments on this blog.
Anyways, if you want to call or email anyone at MSF UK, you can find all their details here.
But let's not diverge from the main topic of the discussion: "Did this ad go too far or not?"

Update 5:
Paul @humanitarian.info and Amanda @feucontinu, Transitionland and Stop Genocide also joined the discussion on their blogs.

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Picture of the Day: MSF in a message

[i-link]

I previously posted how a UNICEF ad gave a clear, simple and hard message. This -almost blank- ad for Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without borders beats anything on simplicity.


More Pictures of the Day on The Road

Picture courtesy La Cocina Creativa and Agencia McCann-Erickson.

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Picture of the Day: Unicef in a message

[i-UNICEF Mickey Mouse advertisement Los suenos de los ninos no pueden morir - Children's dreams can not die]

"Los sueños de los niños no pueden morir" means "Children's dreams can not die"
This UNICEF ad is so simple and powerful, it hurts.


More Pictures of the Day on The Road

Picture courtesy Ads of the World and advertising agency OUT (Santiago Chile)

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Humanitarian aid and the power of the media

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During major humanitarian crises, 13 British charities often raise money jointly under an umbrella organisation called the Disasters Emergencies Committee (DEC), with appeals shown on all the major television networks.

But the DEC had its fingers burned when the BBC and Sky decline to cooperate on its last appeal for the Gaza conflict, fearing the media's involvement would compromise their political neutrality as news organisations, a story we reported previously on The Road.

The consequence of the BBC's Gaza decision seems to have a deeper impact then we anticipated: it was a precedent of how the media could "make or break" a humanitarian appeal effort. The Gaza media incident spilled over into the current humanitarian catastrophes in Sri Lanka and Pakistan as now DEC is still contemplating whether or not to launch appeals for Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

"The issue is whether the broadcasters will support an appeal and my impression is that they won't, for perceived reasons of (aid) access in either case, and for perceived reasons of political complexity in either case." (Full)

So, let me get this straight: because the media decide not to provide coverage for an appeal, a humanitarian organisation decides NOT to launch an appeal? Eh? Would that make DEC's decision not to appeal for Sri Lanka and Pakistan as revolting as the BBC's decision not to provide media coverage for the appeal? Are soon humanitarian organisations 'picking and choosing' which operations to support, based on 'the possible support by the media'?

Current balance: Humanitarian organisations' resources already stretched because of the current economic crisis, are left close to depleted. Not because the need was not there - Pakistan's war in Swat Valley uprooted close to 3 million people - but because of lack of support and attention from the media.

The phenomenon is known amongst aidworkers as "The CNN Effect": If an emergency gets the spotlight on CNN, humanitarian wheels start rolling. If it is not featured on CNN, the emergency is forgotten and hushed in a corner. You might just as well not start an emergency operation if you feel you won't be able to fundraise for it, right?

Which turns the Rupert Murdochs and Ted Turners of this world the Gods deciding between life and death for thousands.

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The H1N1-swineflu news hype ratio

In the time 31 people died of H1N1 (swineflu), 60,000 died of tuberculosis. Reason enough for Prof. Hans Rosling to prove his "news hype"-point by calculating the ratio of news article coverage versus H1N1 casualties.

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More on the swineflu hype on The Road.

Video discovered via Infosthetics and @aidworkerdaily on Twitter

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Why the hype about swine flu? Is there any reason to be concerned?

[i-pig]

In a previous post, I compared the amount of swine flu (or Influenza A(H1N1) as WHO has decided to call it) and a regular flu. In short, every year, seasonal flu kills 36,000 people in the US. Influenza A(H1N1) has killed 17 people up to the moment I write this (May 2 16:00 GMT).

Seeing the media hype, the traffic peak on social media like Twitter, I had to find out more. Was the fear rounded on real facts or creative inventions? Was it really only a media hype, a blib on the screen of international attention. A bright star or news focus, to faint as soon as another mediaworthy event took place. Like Russian troops deciding to make another weekend trip to an ex-USSR satellite state, the US closing all tax-heavens, Obama making his first trip abroad or the Pope appearing in public with a condom over his head.

So.. Swine Flu (Influenza A(H1N1) -sorry): "Hype or Threat? That Is the Question!"

I googled it, scanned many different news sources, dug into the CDC and WHO sites, and asked colleagues who are 'in the know'.. Information was hard to find, which is a sign by itself. If swine flu was that deadly, details of the actual threat would be all over the media. And they were not. [Hype: 1 - Threat: 0]

Sure, it spreads fast (any flu does), it kills people (any flu does), it transmitted from pigs onto humans (which is not the first time), and WHO raised its pandemic threat levels (not the first time neither).. So what made it exceptional? What other facts can fuel the fear?

Yesterday morning, I was on a bus between the boarding gate and the plane, flying to Belgium for the weekend, and saw a few pages of a newspaper someone had left behind, the business pages from the Daily Telegraph apparently. And there it was: the best summary I could find on the actual threat of swine flu. (which apparently can also be found in Breaking Views)

Swine flu is still an unknown adversary, there's no knowing how it will behave.
Robert Cyran

Swine flu has come to stay, but it is unclear how our unwelcome guest will behave. We don't know how dangerous it is or will become, because the virus will mutate. We will simply have to wait and see. In the meantime, it would be wise to brace for multiple waves of market panic in the run-up to the flu season.

The virus has been easily transmitted. The fact that it is occurring in the spring is also unusual - flu epidemics almost always occur in the winter.

The key question is how virulent the flu could be. In Mexico, the virus has displayed an alarming tendency to kill young and healthy patients, most likely from an overreaction by the immune system. Scarily, this is not all that different from the way the 1918 Spanish flu kicked off, eventually killing tens of millions. Cases in the US haven't displayed a similar pattern. It's simply too early to say how dangerous the disease is.

While a new strain of flu is horrible news, there are several reasons to be hopeful. Antiviral medication still works, although that could change as the virus mutates. Unlike 1918, we now have antibiotics to help fight the secondary infections. And, unlike avian flu, there probably aren't inherent problems with vaccine production.

Still, there's plenty to worry about. Swine flu will mutate over the summer, because flu viruses make lots of errors when they copy themselves. And people and animals will also come down with two forms of flu at once, allowing the viruses to swap some genetic material. This could make the virus more deadly and render vaccines made over the summer ineffective by winter. Alternatively the virus could mutate into a perfectly innocuous bug.

The only thing that is clear is that bits of information will surface piecemeal. Some will be true, some false. All will be subject to misinterpretation. Few things are more contagious than rumours and panic on Wall Street.

Let's expand this just a bit. For the moment, you have more chances of being killed while driving your car to work in the morning, than by swine flu or Influenza A(H1N1). However, unless the virus genetically mutates into a killer for which we have no vaccine, the most probable impact you will see, IF swine flu continues to spread fast, is on an economic or hysteria level.

- If swine flu continues to spread, travel will be restricted, trips will be cancelled. Multinationals Nokia, Samsung, Hon Hai, Adidas and Swiss Re already restricted travel for their employees. Honda simply cancelled all trips for the time being. This affects not just the travel industry (airline shares dropped for a third consecutive day yesterday) or the tourist industry, but the economy as a whole. People travel to do business. Less travel is always less business.

- If the virus continues to spread and changes its genetic code, countries can close their borders for people and/or goods, in an attempt to protect themselves. This will have quite an impact on trade as certain countries might not accept goods from others, ships will refuse to sail to certain countries and insurance premiums will take a hike if you fly anything or anyone to an infected area, or close to an infected area.

- When an area gets infected with swine flu, even in its current -hardly deadly- genetic code, schools might close, public transport will be restricted or any transport -goods or people- might cease all together, effectively grinding the local economy to a hold, as we saw in Mexico city.

- When an area gets infected, and movement of people is restricted, there will be a rush to local shops to hamster food and other supplies. People's coolheadedness will decide if they will react calmly, or if they will just raid and loot shops. Rioting is likely.

- Even if swine flu is hardly deadly at this moment, it is transmitted fast, easily and effectively. If it continues to spread, many people will be infected. Once infected, even if not life threathening, people become economically unproductive, as they have to recover while staying home. One could imagine entire companies' workforce being affected, or companies closing down temporarily just as a precautionary measure. Bad for the economy again.

- Governments hardly reveal their national pandemic preparedness plans. Those I have been involved in, were limited to passing mass quantities of Tamiflu vaccins around, isolating travellers from/to infected areas, isolating infected populations,.. but there was not much done in terms of 'how this country will function with 40-50-80% of the workforce staying home'. 'How can we ensure critical services -water, electricity, communications- to continue working?'
Contingency plans have been made when everyone was gearing up for an Avian Flu pandemic back in 2005-2006, but since then these have since been shelved and gathered dust rather than momentum. In short, most government will be caught with their pants down. If we get a real pandemic, that is.

And as a closure: at this moment, there are not enough flu vaccins for the entire world population, and the production will not cope with an expected sudden peak in demand. The worst off, of course, are developing countries, which hold no or hardly any stock, where vaccine prices are beyond the reach of people, and the local distribution and storage systems simply can not cope. Because the quality of life, poor people are less immune to illness. Poor nations have less advanced health services, and populations live in more isolated areas. It is expected, if indeed swine flu will continue to spread as fast as it does, most of the victims will be in developing countries.

More on The Road about Swineflu

Picture courtesy ESL

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A Super Bowl surprise...

[i-Super Bowl]US sports fans in Arizona got a surprise when their TV coverage of American football's Super Bowl was interrupted by a porn movie.

Tucson-based KVOA-TV said it was "dismayed and disappointed" after some cable viewers had their match coverage disrupted towards the end of the game.

The clip showed a woman unzipping a man's trousers, followed by a graphic act between the two.

"I just figured it was another commercial until I looked up," viewer Cora King told the Arizona Daily Star. "Then he did his little dance with everything hanging out."

The interruption happened just after the last touchdown by the Arizona Cardinals, who lost the match to the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Full)

[Ed: Dismayed or not, rumour has it KVOA-TV's subscriptions went up by 1,230% in one day...]

Picture courtesy AP (the real interesting Super Bowl picture was sensored)

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The power of the masses: online polling at Davos

[i-Facebook at Davos]

Something to make you think of the power of the Internet:

Facebook's marketing manager Zuckerberg arranged for Facebook polls to be conducted during twelve key sessions at the Davos World Economic Forum.

In one poll, during a session called "Advice to the US President on Competitiveness", Facebook users were asked if the stimulus package is on target.

120,000 responses were recorded in twenty minutes (!). 59% of respondents said “no,” 15% said “yes” and 26% said unsure.

The poll results were displayed prominently above the panelists, including Rupert Murdoch (CEO News Corp.), Ellen Kullman (CEO DuPont), Duncan Niederauer (CEO NYSE Euronext), David Rubenstein (Managing Director, Carlyle Group) and Ronald Williams (CEO Aetna).

The panelists largely approved of the stimulus package in their comments before the poll results came in. Facebook users obviously disagreed. (Full)

While I am not sure how much this poll will steer to better target stimulus packages, it shows one thing clearly: the 'masses' are watching, have an opinion, and will speak out. This should make "those at the helm" more responsive, and hopefully more conscientious.

Picture courtesy TechCrunch

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Tony Benn: "People in Gaza would die because of the BBC"

The row over the BBC's decision not broadcasting the aid appeal for Gaza (see my earlier post) is not over yet. Tony Benn takes on the BBC in this video:

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Tony Benn is not just anyone: as a former UK Minister of Technology and Secretary of State for Energy, he is the second longest serving member of parliament.

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Rumble: Others Do It So Much Better Than Me #5: Jonathan Dumont

In one of my previous lives, I made two video documentaries about the expeditions we did to the Antarctic. Well, to be precise, for one I did the camera work and script, and Bart did the studio work (which was probably 90% of the sweat!). For the other one, James took the shots, Bart did the studio work, and I did the bossing around. It taught me some of the art of videography. Or at least made me appreciate the technology, efforts and creativity behind videography.

Jonathan Dumont once was a senior producer for CNN and a TV news producer for the BBC. He won several Emmy Awards for his work. But now, he is the videographer-cineast-script writer-cameraman-celebrity chaser at WFP. He makes/supervises all the video productions WFP does. Once I received permission to run a free video informercial (PSA) on the big displays at the Dubai airport. I called Jonathan in the morning, and he emailed me a custom made clip in the afternoon. Talking about fast! I think that spot is still running today, by the way..

Jonathan has an eye for beauty. He must have, looking at the video-pearls he produces for WFP. I wished I had an eye for video shots like he has, but He Does It So Much Better Than Me... Most of the raw video footage (VNR) and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) he released for WFP can be found in the
WFP newsroom. Here are a couple of example: (click once to select the video, and once again to run it)


with Penelope Cruz (ay... I really wished I made that clip! :-) )

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And... for the ladies: Heerrrreee issss Colin Farrellllll!

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Paul Tergat, Kenyan, ex dependent-on-food-aid-child,
and now marathon world record holder:

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Feeds and Tools

An extensive list of syndication and feed readers for our blog, you find here

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My Ebook Short Stories

In the past 15 years, I travelled through, lived or worked in over 100 countries. I met many people, lived through memorable moments which I captured in these stories:
Reader's Digest of "The Road"
Introduction to "The Road to the Horizon"
Nights on Deserted Islands
The Children of Ambriz
The Real "Out of Africa"
Goma, the Scent of Africa
How Cigarettes Once Saved My Life
Ambush
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Links

As the years went by, I collected a large amount of blogs and websites I like:

● The largest collection of blogs by fellow aidworkers you'll find anywhere Subscribe to the AidBlogs RSS Feed[i-Subscribe to the AidBlogs RSS Feed]
Resources for aidworkers Subscribe to the RSS Feed of For Those Who Want to Know[i-Subscribe to the RSS Feed of For Those Who Want to Know]
News sites specialized in aid, humanitarian work and nonprofit causes Subscribe to the AidNews RSS Feed[i-Subscribe to the AidNews RSS Feed]
● Expats, travellers, adventurers and people with their heart in the right place, you can find here

Other interesting blogs to add? Let me know!
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My Inspiration

Click to see the videos that inspired me[i-Click to see the videos that inspired me]Check out the videos clips that inspired me over the past years: Videos about aid work and advocacy.
Check out my favourite music[i-Check out my favourite music]Music always was a main source of inspiration for me. This is a list of my all time favourites.
A selection of the books I read lately[i-A selection of the books I read lately]Here is a selection of my favourite books, or browse through my library. I frequently comment on books I read.
My pictures on Flickr[i-My pictures on Flickr]Travelling makes me wiser. All the pictures I collect along the Road of Life, I store in my Flickr library.
Humanitarian news[i-Humanitarian news]I collect, scan, read, browse, absorb, digest and discuss news topics to learn, understand and broaden my views.
icon18_wrench_allbkg[i-icon18_wrench_allbkg]

About Me

[i-link]Peter. Flemish, European, aid worker, expeditioner, sailor, traveller, husband, father, friend, nutcase. Not necessarily in that order.


Click to see my social media network[i-Click to see my social media network]
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The Legal Bla-Bla (Just in Case)

This blog expresses my personal opinions, and not those of my current or past employers.
Creative Commons License[i-Creative Commons License]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License: Please re-use any material for non-commercial purposes, but link back to this blog.
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