Tag Archives: East Timor

When a Country Goes Dark

Ministers’ homes at the new capital, Pyinmana Burma has shown us that we’re not as clever, or free, as we thought we are. It’s a sign of how the Burmese generals don’t really understand things that it took them so long to cut off the Internet: Reporters without Borders and the Burma Media Association reported… Read More »

Helping the World, Ripple by Ripple

God, I love simple ideas. This is great one (tip of hat to Lifehack) because it’s already working. By doing your search through Melbourne-based ripple, and looking at an ad, you direct the cents your eyeballs earn to charity. A few hours after launch the difference is already being felt: In our first 48 hours… Read More »

An Unlikely Blogger Expelled

Although it’s not good for Sudan, I think it’s good for blogging: CNN reports that  The government of Sudan on Sunday gave the top U.N. official in the country three days to leave, marking the latest hurdle in international efforts to bring peace to the nation torn apart by civil war. Sudan expelled Jan Pronk,… Read More »

The Consultant Scam

This is nothing to do with technology but it’s something close to my heart: the waste of money that are many aid projects. British charity organisation ActionAid UK has issued a report which reveals the high cost of consultants: Aid provided by rich governments needs to target poverty. Instead, one quarter of their aid –… Read More »

Internet Darkness Over Timor

Timor-Leste is, sadly, again exploding into violence as disgruntled former soldiers have turned on their former bosses. Australian and New Zealand troops have been deployed in the country in a sad echo of what happened in 1999. This after billions of dollars of aid from the West to rebuild a nation that survived a quarter century… Read More »