Gate's Humanitarian efforts taken advantage of

A program funded by the Gate's foundation pays third world countries $20 for every child that receives vaccination from several diseases. This program has had a huge effect on the children of countries like Niger, Mali, Cambodia, Sierra Leon, and Uganda. A study conducted by another Gate's funded organization showed that these countries where over reporting the number of children vaccinated to make more money off of this generous effort made by the Gate's foundation. The study showed that many developing countries were receiving 140 million dollars more then they should have been. This article from the Seattle Times explains this issue more in depth.

Cell phones now used for financials in Kenya

A fellow classmate of mine presented on one of the cell phone services provided in Kenya today. M-Pesa is a system that allows cell phone users to transfer money, receive payments, make deposits, purchase items, and get cash all with the use of the text feature on nearly all cell phones today. Not only was it a great presentation, but this new technology is doing wonders for the citizens of Kenya. This service is offered by the cell provided Safaricom. This service also allows money to be sent from countries like the UK to people in Kenya even if the person outside of Kenya does not have Safaricom, there is just a small fee. This article by the BBC explain this further.

Polish Street Racing

In the city of Lodz Poland street racing has been booming in popularity. With Poland's Economy doing better then it has in years and the joining of the European Union the importation of foreign cars has dramatically increased. The need for speed has been felt among Poland's youth and now that the car market has grown tremendously that need is being fulfilled. For a while street racing was a big problem in the city of Lodz, but now the Police commissioner and other city officials have set up sanctioned races by barricading streets and setting up drags strips for special events. The events take place quite frequently and are relatively inexpensive to compete in. This forward thinking on the governments part has reduced driving accidents and fatalities dramatically in the city. In the united states the there are very few options for fulfilling ones desire for performance driving, one can either take the risk and do it on public roads, or pay large amounts of money to attend track days at a race track, or buy a membership to a driving club with access to one. Something like what has been pioneered in Poland would be a great thing for the car enthusiasts int the United States.

More Tragedy in Zimbabwe

Cholera has swept through Zimbabwe and is now making its was to other surrounding countries. An estimated 16,000 have gotten it and nearly 1000 reported dead. President Mugabe has done nearly nothing to solve this problem and declared the epidemic over right around the same time the World Health Organization said that over half the countries population is in danger. This article by the New York Times Address the Cholera epidemic and other tragedies in Zimbabwe that are a direct result of extreme corruption and horrible governing.

Piracy

With piracy of the cost of Somalia now getting international attention from the media, and governments concerned with protecting its citizens and products it is surprising how little seems to be being done to defend against pirates. In the past week an American cruise ship in the Gulf of Aden was attacked by two pirate skiffs but managed to escape. The major difference between this attack and other is that the cargo was people, not oil or military hardware like the recent attacks that have been in the media. To a pirate a cruise ship offers a vastly more profitable catch then a cargo ship. People are much more likely to pay high ransom demands when the things they are buying back are families, not just goods. Taking people hostage on a ship also provides more people to make the demands too, instead of just making demands to the ship owners, loved ones of people taken hostage could also pay. It does not seem like many precautions are being taken to defend against pirate attacks, and cruise and cargo ships still sail in what are considered pirate infested waters. This Article from the New York Times speaks more to piracy and the near capture of the American cruise ship.

Photos From around Campus

Here at Fort Lewis in Durango, CO we live in a very beautiful place. The mountain setting gives us something pretty to look at regardless the season. I tried to take some photos to try to show my friends and family back home just how nice it is here. I did not manage to fully capture the beauty of this place, but I tried, and here are some of the photos.

Holidays

Many Holidays in the United States and around the world have strayed far form their original intent, especially if the people celebrating them are not religious, like my self. Thanksgiving for instance was created as a coming together of different people to celebrate prosperity. Now Thanksgiving is celebrate mostly in groups of people that know each other well, like family and friends. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I believe that Holidays serve a new purpose in society today then they did 50, 100, or even 1000 years ago. An example of this would be what I believe to be the new purpose of Thanksgiving. Several hundred of years ago when Thanksgiving was just starting to be celebrated families in the United States where probably much closer, they spent more time working together because of a mostly agricultural economy, and in those times, it was difficult to survive on this continent with out a close group of people that could trust and depend on each other. Now days families do not spend nearly as much time together and it could be argued that many are not as close. What I think to be the new purpose of a holiday like Thanksgiving is to take the time for people to get in touch with the important people around them and the ones who are not, it is to reinforce the community that can be lost in modern society. No aspects of our society are left behind as it develops as a whole.