It bears repeating, especially when the guy doing the repeating isn’t exactly “one of us”:
The federal government has made aggressive use of so-called data-mining tools since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as counterterrorism officials in many intelligence agencies have sought to analyze records on travel habits, calling patterns, e-mail use, financial transactions and other [...]...
I’m still on holiday, but I had to reference Daniel Davies’ points about government IT projects and the pernicious role of consultants (not consultants like me of course - the other kind of consultant):
Consultants are a bit like bindweed. When you’ve got bindweed in your garden, you don’t get rid of it just by getting [...]...
Hence, no posts. Normal service will be resumed at some point…...
The more expert you are in the area that somebody else is talking about, the more likely they are to be wrong.
The more expert you are in the area that somebody else is talking about, the less likely you are to recognise when you’re wrong.
When somebody else talks about how technology is going to change [...]...
BrightEarth Software Developer (call for interest)
The BrightEarth Initiative is looking for a highly competent and motivated software developer to join the Humanitarian Sensor Web (HSW) project.
Who we are:
The BrightEarth Initiative aims to promote appropriate use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to benefit the international humanitarian community. The Sensor Web will provide a dynamic ‘Web [...]...
We often fail to realize how little we know about a thing until we attempt to simulate it on a computer.
- Donald Knuth
(HT: John Nicol)...
Nigel Woof at MapAction has just circulated a briefing paper entitled Google Earth and its potential in the humanitarian sector [pdf], which outlines most of the key issues around the use of GE (and other geospatial visualisation tools). I was particularly pleased that Nigel recognises the way in which GE is a disruptive technology, something...
Earlier this week, Paul noted that computer network attacks could have an impact on future relief efforts. In the early days of NATO’s Kosovo air war in 1999, I remember chirpy NATO spokesman Jamie Shea saying that the NATO website was under attack by Serbian hackers. Who knows whether it was true, or just a ruse of some sort, but was it the first government-acknowledged mention of cyber-warfare? There are a few more interesting things to note about that story: the BBC still had an “Internet Correspondent”, reporting on events in that far-off planet of “cyber-space”, and it was filed on 1 April 1999. Hmm …
Anyhow, back to the important business of digital security. I prefer the blander term information assurance because the work we’re discussing has so many angles to...
I’ve just finished writing up the Lessons Learned from the cluster experience in Bangladesh (only a little bit late…). It was harder than I thought it would be, because I realised that there were a number of different potential audiences for the Lessons Learned, and each audience would be expecting something slightly different in terms of recommendations. Ironically this is quite a common problem that I have when trying to develop an information product - different people want different things from it and, as any fule kno, you can’t fool please all of the people all of the time.
What was depressing was that most - if not all - of the lessons that we identified are ones that we should already have learnt. Many of the things we were writing were things that I’ve...
Before we get back to the (frankly depressing) usual posts about humanitarian emergencies, disaster response and the like, let’s take a break with NetDisaster - now with “Led Zeppelin” option! Happy New Year, everybody!...
I just confirmed that I’ll be working with UNICEF for three weeks, supporting co-ordination of water and sanitation activities as part of the response to Cyclone Sidr. It’s the first time I’ve worked in the field since the 2005 tsunami response, so this will be an interesting test of my combat readiness, so to speak. I’m assuming that I’ll be extremely busy, but I’ll try to keep blogging some good stuff from Dhaka. This is cross-posted on The Unforgiving Minute and humanitarian.info....
… for one very good reason, and that’s because I’m not at the Global Sympsium +5 in Geneva. However it would be remiss of me not to blog about it, since it’s a pretty big deal. I’m also not liveblogging the NetHope Bi-Annual Summit in Panama, and that’s because I’m not there either. I’m sure that there are good explanations for my otherwise inexplicable absences, but that’s not important right now.
The Symposium +5 is being held five years after the Symposium on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Exchange (hence the +5 title - do keep up). That first symposium was a very mixed bag - it was the first time that the various actors in the sector had come together, so it was a very big deal. Because it was the first time,...
Recently, our field office in Haiti was burglarized. If you followed this nation in the news, you wouldn’t be surprised - criminal activity there is widespread, to say the least. What was surprising, however, is that the thieves were eventually caught and stolen equipment returned to CIPE (well, not really - for now its being held as evidence by police). Although this may be a rather insignificant story in the big scheme of things, it does bring up a question: “are things actually getting better in Haiti?”
Persistent crime in this Caribbean nation has been frequently linked to widespread poverty and lack of economic opportunities. Breakdown of governance insitutions has also been cited as a source of crime, but, as The Economist reports, the UN is becoming...
In six days, I will depart Afghanistan for the last time after three years and nine months as Chief of Party for CIPE’s programs in Kabul. Sitting here in my office with the summer sun streaming through the windows, it is hard for me to conceive not being here. This place has become so much a part of my life that the thought of letting it go is almost inconceivable, and yet it will happen in just a few days.
I remember vividly the day I arrived in Afghanistan, October 8, 2003. On our approach toKabul International Airport, I was shocked by the number of blown up airplanes that lay like rotting corpses next to the runway. I still remember the chaos inside the airport as our luggage was literally thrown through a hole in the wall, causing a free-for-all to see who could get to...
News about multinational companies paying different types of demand-side bribes – such as the protection money that Chiquita paid to Colombian paramilitary groups – has raised people’s awareness about the problems that companies face when working in high-risk environments. Demand-side bribery often puts companies in a very difficult position (ethically and practically): Should they pay corrupt officials to, for example, allow their goods through customs or should they refuse to pay the bribe and risk losing those goods? Regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley make paying bribes under any circumstances illegal, but companies working in places where rule of law is weak regularly encounter situations that make them choose between compliance with the law and moving their businesses forward....
Sometimes it’s hard for an honest person to fathom the extent to which people will go to take advantage of each other. As details emerge in the sordid saga of Zimbabwe’s economic implosion, government officials figure prominently in personally exacerbating the hardships created by their preposterous policies.
The New York Times reports that the government is following up on its price cap policy — which has already created shortages of basic food items, gasoline, and medicine — by sending inspectors to force merchants to mark prices to below cost. But first they tip off their buddies.
The lines of officials in their swanky sedans form early at the predetermined locations and swarm in behind the inspectors to snap up all the goods at marked down prices, filling...
Just two years ago, Honduras was believed to have one of the best anti-corruption campaigns in the world. The country was taking a serious stand against corruption. Laws were passed that significantly increased transparency and also denied immunity for anyone implicated in corruption, including current and formers presidents. While the laws were on the books, enforcement proved to be much harder.
In her blog in last Friday’s Washington Post, Marcela Sanchez writes in detail about how Honduras’s anti-corruption campaign has faltered. The attempt was genuine, but ultimately corruption continues practically unabated. Sanchez points out that only 2.2 percent of the 1,925 corruption cases that reached the Supreme Court between 2002 and 2006 ended in a conviction.
This is just...
There’s a fabulous piece on Kenya in this month’s Vanity Fair magazine. Written by BINYAVANGA WAINAINA, the piece draws you into the heaving, thriving marketplace of Kenya. I highly recommend you read the entire 5-page piece, but it’s so well done I can’t resist a good-sized excerpt here. I think it speaks for itself, capturing as it does the fits and hopes of being in the informal market and the huge impact of rule of law, political development, and clean government — all issues near and dear to us at CIPE, of course.
… [After Kenyan independence in 1963] we were building an economy on top of a crumbling colonial infrastructure and sensibility. In the late 80s, roads fell apart and water pipes burst, and we were being held hostage by the tyranny of small...
Quite a long time ago, I posted the story of a starving tribesman who emailed a bunch of people to try and get assistance. The Economist has finally caught up, as it opens this article on technology in humanitarian relief with a similar story.
“MY NAME is Mohammed Sokor, writing to you from Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab. Dear Sir, there is an alarming issue here. People are given too few kilograms of food. You must help.”
A crumpled note, delivered to a passing rock star-turned-philanthropist? No, Mr Sokor is a much sharper communicator than that. He texted this appeal from his own mobile phone to the mobiles of two United Nations officials, in London and Nairobi. He got the numbers by surfing at an internet café at the north Kenyan camp.
The rest of the article then...
“Cars no longer line up at gas stations because there’s no fuel for sale. Gone are the meat, bread and cornmeal that Zimbabweans count on for their meals.”
This is the economic landscape two weeks after the government ordered 50% price cuts in a desperate move to curb out-of-control inflation (official rate of 4,500%; estimates by independent financial institutions put it closer to 9,000%).
There is no question about the fact that Zimbabwe’s economy is coming to a standstill. It is also clear to an objective observer that unsustainable government policies led directly to the current sad state of affairs. First, agricultural output suffered drastically from the disruptions caused by seizures of thousands of white-owned farms in 2000. Then, in response to growing...
Investing in foreign markets can be risky, especially in countries where rule of law is weak and the economy is less than stable. However, investment is a major driver of economic growth, both for countries and individual firms. Fortunately, in environments where the institutions to protect investors do not exist, there is another mechanism available: international arbitration. In CIPE’s latest Economic Reform Feature Service article, “Expanding Business Opportunities through International Arbitration,” David Baron, Partner at McDermott, Will & Emery LLP and Adjunct Professor of International Law at American University discusses the importance of arbitration and the way the process works. The article is based on a presentation Mr. Baron made at CIPE in 2006, and you can...
Last Sunday marked a decade since Hong Kong’s return under the Chinese rule, accompanied by two seemingly contradictory events: a huge celebratory parade and a thousands-strong street protest calling for democratic reforms. Those two events underscored the lingering ambivalence of Hong Kongers about Beijing’s rule, but also shed a light on even greater ambivalence of China’s Communist Party about the future of not just Hong Kong but the country as a whole.
Since its return to China, Hong Kong has been governed under a “one country, two systems” principle allowing it to keep capitalist economy, British-style legal system, and civil liberties. However, the commitment negotiated between Britain and China under the handover agreement that the territory will eventually...
Recent protests by thousands of Chinese in the city of Xiamen show that armed with today’s technology even government censors can not fully stop the flow of news and information. The protesters took to the streets after several scientists raised concern about a new chemical plant but were dismissed by government officials. Most of the coordination and reporting on the protest was done through text messaging (SMS) and the blogging community.
“[The] Chinese tuned in to the blogosphere in great numbers, viewing written accounts and cell phone photographs. Sites carrying the live reports recorded thousands of hits. Some sites were knocked out by security monitors. But by then their reports had bounced to other sites around the country, keeping one step ahead of the...
HOPE BROKERS via June 26th, 2007 at 17:25
What I remember most was the heat. At 46 degrees Celsius, the heat was so intense that it rose in shimmering pools from the pavement, giving Jalalabad, Afghanistan an otherworldly glimmer. All along our route on to the local industrial park, children were diving into the Kabul River as a way to overcome the torrid heat. More than once, I considered joining them as any relief would have been welcomed, but there was work to do and not much time to do it. Since Jalalabad has only three or four hours of electricity a day, mostly in the evening, a dip in the river was the only relief most of these children had, as a great majority of the population is too poor to afford a generator.
In addition to the scalding temperature, we had to contend with a profoundly uncomfortable ride along...
Crime show fans would not need a full ½-hour show to see the case’s flaws: there is unused DNA evidence available, several corroborators for the alibi of the accused, and disparities galore in the confession used to convict the alleged murderer. Even the Supreme Court recommended a retrial. But there have been 5 retrials, and the accused is still in jail – 13 year later. Why?
Well, like most stories in China, this one is a long one. Time magazine’s Asia edition highlights the gory details here. A legal system in transition, the Communist Party’s prehensile grasp on the judicial system, unaccountable local officials, corruption, poor pay, poor training – the usual litany of reasons – are all played out in the story.
Along the way, however, come some interesting...
This morning I came across an interesting article on the effects of China’s one-child policy.
Since 1978, Beijing has instituted a one-child policy. The policy was set forth to encourage late marrying and late childbearing, allowing families in the densely populated cities to have one child, and those in the more rural areas to have two children. Because male children are considered more valuable in China than their female counterparts, the act of infanticide became a somewhat common practice. Now, with the onset of technology like the ultrasound and amniocentesis, sex-selective abortions have become the alternative to being stuck with a healthy baby girl.
According to the article, the normal sex ratio is about 105 males for every 100 females. In China the numbers are less equal and...
Bangladesh has long been lauded as an example of a Muslim democracy. A poor and corrupt Muslim democracy, but democracy nonetheless. Earlier this year, a new military-backed government took control, promising the clean up the country and rid Bangladesh of the title as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Now
[n]early every morning, Bangladesh wakes up to reports of more politicians jailed overnight, and more stories of their bank accounts, mansions and fleets of SUVs. After years of rampant graft, Bangladesh’s military-backed government is trying to crush corruption in one of the world’s most corrupt nations - and weaken the two powerful politicians whose bitter rivalry has brought this poverty-battered country to the edge of political anarchy.
It seems...
Utopia is a beautiful place, where harmony prevails and socio-economic injustices are no more. But trying to implement it can be a precarious experiment more likely to end in disillusionment than paradise. The people of Venezuela are about to find out which one it’s going to be for them, as President Hugo Chávez proceeds with the implementation of his controversial land reform.
As the New York Times describes it, the reform consists of “building utopian farming villages for squatters, lavishing money on new cooperatives and sending army commando units to supervise seized estates,” also known as “paving stones on the road to socialism.”
Let us briefly examine the rationale and assumptions behind these policies.
The cause
Prior to the current land reform, which started in 2002,...
CIPE’s 2007 International Youth Essay Competition is quickly drawing to a close – but it’s not over yet. We’ve been receiving essays from around the world and we’re looking forward to reading what their authors have to say.
There’s still a week left before the deadline – May 31, 2007 – and we hope to hear from more young people. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 30 and have ideas about ways that young people can promote reform in their countries, write them down! CIPE is going to publish the best 3 essays in each category, (1) citizenship in a democratic society, (2) educational reform and employment opportunities, and (3) entrepreneurship and leadership, so this is an opportunity to share your thoughts with the world.
For more information, please visit...
Most people have heard horror stories about hapless investors being taken in by fraudulent construction companies. Investors provide funds that are spirited off by the would-be builder, and the land on which the building should have been built remains an empty lot. These corrupt practices hinder investment and development in many countries, especially in countries where property rights are not protected and there is no recourse when a contract is broken.
This is where the real estate appraiser comes in. Honest and competent real estate appraisers play a vital role in making real estate transactions fair and transparent in both developed and developing countries. In his interview with CIPE, Bill Endsley of the Appraisal Institute discusses many of the issues – like corruption –...