haiti

Many Hands is now available on Amazon & iTunes, and at Whole Foods
You might not ordinarily associate “law school dean” with indie rock, but Bill Childs, professor and associate dean at Western New England College of Law, might force you to reconsider.  With his children Ella and Liam, Bill hosts “Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child,” a radio show (WRSI & Valley Free Radio) and podcast devoted to music that families might actually enjoy listening to.  A former record store manager,  his musical interests range considerably farther afield than most.
In August, Bill Childs and Dean Jones released the first record on Spare the Rock label: Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti, a compilation that raises awareness of, and funds for, the continuing needs of the Haitian people after January’s earthquake.  The compilation features mostly-all-new tracks from Jonathan Coulton, They Might Be Giants, Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lunch Money, Frances England, Secret Agent 23 Skiddoo, and many, many more.
In addition to the album, there are three upcoming shows featuring various combinations of the artists — in Brooklyn & Portland on September 11, and in Northampton, Massachusetts (Bill’s base of operations) on Sept. 26.  Tickets for each are available here.
It’s an amazing CD, in service to a worthy cause.  Bill Childs and I discussed “Spare the Rock” & Many Hands over e-mail:
GeekDad: What is “kindie music,” and why should my family listen to it?
Bill Childs: It’s a kind of precious name for an ill-defined sub-category of music for kids, and probably means as much for what it is not (not Kidz Bop, not Barney, not Miley Cyrus, but also not the sappiest of traditional kids’ music) as for what it is.  It’s not all literally independent music (They Might Be Giants is on Disney, as was Ralph’s World until recently).  For me, it is to the broader world of music for kids what the music on KCMP, KEXP, or WXPN is to the broader world of rock music.
GD: Is it wrong that my 7-yr-old’s concept of a sing-along song–for more than a year now — has been “Ask Her for Some Adderall” and “3 Dimes Down“?
BC: To me, it’s all about context.  My kids are pretty into a lot of stuff beyond what we play on the show — the not-for-kids Jonathan Coulton, Pixies, Avett Brothers, and so on, including a lot of stuff that’s not aimed at them and that some people might consider inappropriate.  Like I’m sure you do, we use it all as a way to develop media literacy.  I’m reminded of when I was wanting to watch MTV in the very early days of the station (1981 or 1982).  My parents let me watch, but asked me to keep track of how many acts of violence I saw in an hour and how many of those acts of violence were against women who were shown as weak.  That habit stayed with me.
GD: “Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child” celebrates its 5th anniversary this year.  What changes have you seen in kid’s music over the life of your show?
BC: Some of the core acts (TMBG, Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Justin Roberts, Milkshake) have stayed solid.  But the quantity of good stuff coming in the door has exploded.  Some of that, of course, is just that the show has gotten better-known.  But I think as the cost of entry has gone down, people are more willing to make a record even if it’s a fairly niche concept. And digital distribution has made it feasible for people without a lot of money behind them to get a record out there and to have it sound really good.  Frances England, Deedle Deedle Dees, Lunch Money, the Jellydots — the list of acts who have been able to make a significant splash without a big label or big money behind them goes on and on, and is much bigger than I ever would have predicted.
GD:  Your children are an integral part of your show.  How important has that been?  Aside from having to get up to do the show, do they still enjoy it?
BC: Once we started doing the show on WRSI (a commercial station), we also started pre-recording.  So we no longer have to be up and at the station every Saturday morning, which is a nice change.
On the broader subject, it’s been a great experience for all of us.  They have grown up on the air, with Ella now seeing the show as something more than she does for littler kids than for her peers (though she still likes the music herself too).  And it’s been two hours every week where it’s just us three hanging out, sometimes just reading during songs, sometimes playing games, sometimes talking.  Plus, they’ve gotten to meet some amazing creative people, from up-and-coming acts to people like John Flansburgh, Michael Franti, and Billy Bragg.
GD: Many Hands is the first record on the Spare the Rock label.  What prompted you to start a label, rather than approach an existing one?
BC: I’d been vaguely thinking about it for a while.  Dean came to me asking for help contacting some potential artists, and over time, it just seemed to make sense for me to handle the business side of it.
GD: What surprised you about the process of compiling / recording / producing the record?
BC: I was mostly surprised at how smoothly it all went and how people were so willing to help out.  Just as one example, the Deedle Deedle Dees needed to record a new voice track for the song they were contributing.  I asked Marty Beller (drummer for TMBG and a terrific producer in his own right) if he’d be able to help out, and he immediately had Lloyd come to his home studio and record the vocals.  Every step of the way, people happily agreed to donate or drastically reduce their costs for us.
GD: What charities will Many Hands support?
BC: All profits go to the Haitian People’s Support Project, a long-standing non-profit based in Woodstock, New York, that Dean has supported for a long time.
GD: One can’t help but notice a certain overlap between the Many Hands track list and bands that interest GeekDad’s community (e.g., Jonathan Coulton, TMBG.).  Coincidence?
BC: I might be just a little bit of a geek.  You might be aware of that.
Coulton actually came on board by way of TMBG.  I’d asked Flans if the band would be interested in doing a track for the CD, and they were enthusiastically willing to do so.  He’s also producing Coulton’s next record (and Marty Beller is drumming for Coulton) so he asked Coulton if he’d want to contribute a track.  It’s been probably the biggest hit on the record, so it was a terrific surprise.
GD:  Do you see this as a one-off situation, or will Spare the Rock produce more records in the future?
BC: Maybe.  It’s been fun, but it’ll also be tough to come up with something to follow this up with.
GD: Can you recommend a few albums–family & not–for the new school year?
BC: On the family side: Frances England’s new record, Mind of My Own (out November 9), is amazing.  Terrific indie folk/pop, with a nice guest appearance from Mates of State.  Elizabeth Mitchell & Family’s Sunny Day is almost perfect, with its own cameos from the likes of Levon Helm, Jon Langford, Dan Zanes, etc.  Secret Agent 23 Skidoo remains, to me, the best (and one of the only) hip-hop acts for kids, and his Underground Playground is a strong followup to his debut from a couple of years ago.
Non-family: Not exactly obscure, but the new Arcade Fire CD just keeps sounding better and better.  I also keep listening to Cloud Cult’s older CD, and am looking forward to getting their new one; same thing with The Thermals — the tracks I’ve heard from their new one are pretty great.  And the Twistable Turnable Man tribute to Shel Silverstein (which is not entirely kid-friendly) is, if a little uneven, still a lot of fun.

MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology: Fall 2010 Monday Night Lecture Series — Give Me Shelter: Second Skin for Extreme Environments? :: Mondays 7:00-9:00 pm :: MIT Bartos Theater, Wiesner Bldg (E15) Lower Level, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA.
Give Me Shelter draws together speakers from different disciplines to discuss questions such as: How can bodywear function as an extension of the human body and support it under unusual conditions such as hot and cold climates? How can we expand our thinking about the boundary between body and environment? What kind of second skin would be required to survive walking through a volcano, or for living under water or visiting outer space? When does clothing become a contested cultural arena for endangered peoples and their environment?
September 13, 2010
Elke Gaugele — Climate Changes in Science Fashion
As future technologies of the modern augmented self and its geopolitical extensions, proactive clothing was first anticipated at the turn of the century in popular culture, science fiction and art. Since the 1960s, this question has become a fixed part of the cyborg discourse while “science fashions” were shifting from astronautics and military research to wearable computing and smart clothes. The political climate also changed since the Cold War. Artists, architects and fashion designers started to create climate capsules, green wearables and interactive research and communication tools for climate activists. Elke Gaugele will reflect upon these climate changes in “science fashion” and discuss different points of departure for its contemporary artistic research.
Elke Gaugele is a cultural anthropologist and professor of Fashions and Styles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria.
September 20, 2010
Regina Maria Moeller — com(ment)ic: wondersuits, fast skin, Poison Ivy
Comic superheroes dress in high-tech suits with magic powers. Are these “wondersuits” fictional? Or have they become models for current “second” skin developments, including survival and performance enhancement suits worn by astronauts, athletes, and others? Regina Maria Moeller will also discuss the power of nature as personified by the DC Comics supervillainess Poison Ivy, a key figure in her exhibitionembodiment - dress plot.
Regina Maria Moeller is a German artist, author, founder of the magazine regina, and creator of the label “embodiment.” She is a professor at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art / Faculty of Architecture and Fine Art at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
September 27, 2010
Laura Anderson Barbata — Twenty-First Century Living in the Amazon: In the Order of Chaos
Laura Anderson Barbata worked with the Yanomami people of the Venezuelan Amazon Rainforest. Barbata taught them to make paper and books so they could write their own history. Their first book Shapono tells the story of the gods Omawë and Yoawë who taught the Yanomami how to build their home as a communal dwelling. In her work with the Yanomami people, she was witness to the fact that contact with outsiders brought challenges and problems for their traditional tight-knit communities. Barbata will also discussMoko Jumbies. This project engages Haiti’s at-risk youth in the ancient tradition of stilt walking in community-driven cultural activities that support a strong sense of identity.
Barbata is a professor at the Escuela Nacional de Escultura, Pintura y Grabado La Esmeralda of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, México.
October 4, 2010
Bulbo — Tierra Brillante
Bulbo, a Tijuana- and Los Angeles-based media collective, explores cultural, artistic and everyday themes often overlooked or under-represented in mass media. Their documentary Tierra Brilliante spotlights lead poisoning suffered by practitioners of traditional ceramics in Mexico.
October 18, 2010
Dava Newman — Second Skin Bio-Suit
The BioSuit was developed to provide “second skin” capability for astronaut performance (developed with the support of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts and Trotti & Assoc. Inc., Cambridge, Mass.). The current iteration uses nylon, spandex and urethane layers along with electronics. The helmet uses materials with “smart textile” capabilities for comfort, communications and spatial orientation. This research can also lead to improvements in our quality of life through advances in orthotics.
Dava J. Newman is a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at MIT. She assisted NASA in developing the Bio-Suit.
November 8, 2010
Lauren Bon - Metabolic Studio
Lauren Bon will talk about her current projects with her Metabolic Studio, including Silver and Water, a film made out of the silver and water historically mined out of the Owens River Valley. The film—to be released in November 13, 2013, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Los Angeles River pipeline—is physically made out of the materials of the valley and developed with the trona excavated from the dry lakebed. She will also discuss The Anabolic Monument. The monument is at the site where Notacornfieldwas located—at the other end of the L.A. River, some 240 miles away. Her talk will address how these metabolic works use creative endeavor to galvanize social and political transition within complex bureaucracies such the Department of Water and Power and the State Park System.
Lauren Bon is an artist and MIT alumna. Her Metabolic Studio is based in Los Angeles.
Additional speakers to be announced.
The series is part of the MIT course, Second Skin / Bodywear: Advanced Workshop in Artistic Practice and Transdisciplinary Research taught by Professor Ute Meta Bauer and the Performance Workshop of Professor Joan Jonas.
Directions
The Wiesner Building is located in Kendall Square, Cambridge.
Take the MBTA red line to the Kendall/MIT stop. Follow Main Street west to Ames Street, turn left, and walk one block.
Ames Street has limited on-street parking. Visitors may park in MIT campus lots after 5PM. (The MIT Hayward Lot is on Hayward Street, off of Amherst Street.)

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)William Jefferson Clinton has worn many hats over the years. He served two terms as the 42nd President of the United States. He founded the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative to tackle problems like global health, poverty, education and climate change. He’s spent much of this year leading the recovery effort in Haiti through the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.And starting now, he’s taking your questions in our latest YouTube interview.To participate, visit www.youtube.com/citizentube and use the Moderator platform to upload your video question for President Clinton—and vote for the ones you like the best. You can also submit a text question if you can’t record a video.Later this month, at his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting, President Clinton will sit down with us and answer a selection of your top-voted questions in our interview.Submit your question and start voting early! The submission period closes on September 13.Posted by Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics

karmahasutra:

Yes. Those babies are lying on concrete.
Yes. That bottle is empty.
Yes. Those are mosquitoes & flies swarming their little bodies.
Yes. This is the condition of Pakistan, at the moment.
A couple of weeks have gone by since the floods in Pakistan have flowed and the number of people effected by this are staggering & record breaking.
Over 20 MILLION PEOPLE.
That is MORE THAN THE COMBINED TOTAL of the 2004 Tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the American Katrina disaster.
How many of you knew about this? It’s a shame at the extreme lack of coverage on this horrific disaster. Pakistan is getting MINIMAL help.
Ignorance never ends, a recent poll was taken in America on whether if they would donate or have donated to Pakistan or not. 67% DO NOT wish or want to help Pakistan. 67%.
And as for the donations that are being sent… 60% of aid needed now, has not been delivered. Who has them & why haven’t they reached the public?
I was born in Karachi, Pakistan. My city is located in the south region of Pakistan (Sindh province). I can not fathom the words….The amount of hurt I am feeling.
No one is helping.
I try to blog about it daily…only getting a few notes or so..I post a picture of myself and in come the notes and comments. What I’m trying to say is, Please…take note of this. These people are innocent and now they are homeless and sick. Children are dying quickly due to the lack of care. People have drowned, crops are ruined..animals are dead, & homes are gone. It is being speculated that my city will eventually drown since it’s already low. The floods haven’t hurt my region yet but they have affected my friends & families home and so many other innocent people.
This picture breaks my heart..I want you all to look at this picture. What do you see?
Do you see terrorists? Do you see future killers? Do you see another plot against America? Do you see that in those mosquitoes that can possibly and most likely have left diseases such as malaria? Do you see harm in that empty bottle?
Extremists are the ones to blame, not Muslims. Why should we be left hopeless? We didn’t do anything.
And as for the Qu’ran burning this weekend in Florida, I believe….
The thought of that night makes me cry. Do you all understand the severity and ignorance of that act? Why isn’t anyone stopping them? My religion, my faith didn’t hurt you. EXTREMISTS DID. They are NOT religious. My faith is NOT a cult.
I don’t know what to do. I honestly don’t know. I’ve never felt this helpless. No one is helping, no one cares. Fuck neither do my own best friends know much about this.
Just look at this picture and think about what you’ve just read.
Help. Please.
If you can…I’m not asking for a shitload of cash. But please, try to donate. Donating to UNICEF will send aid to children. Donate to the Red Cross & the UN Foundation. I trust the most in these three foundations, they’ve actually managed to send and successfully help the victims. 
One-fifth of the country is under water; 20 million+ people are homeless. All I ask is for you to help a little and spread awareness.

This painting by Frantz Zéphirin is being auctioned off to benefit the Smithsonian Haiti Cultural Recovery Project.
The painting that appears on the cover of the September issue of Smithsonian magazine portrays a harrowing experience but one that is infused with hope. Haitian artist Frantz Zéphirin was commissioned by the magazine to create an image that reflected his experience in Haiti in the aftermath of that nation’s devastating earthquake
The original painting is now available for purchase in a special charity auction with proceeds going to assist Haiti in its recovery. From now through September 15, you can bid on the original painting and help out artists such as Zephirin at the same time. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the Smithsonian Institution-Haiti Cultural Recovery Project and the other half will go to the artist and the Gallerie Monnin, which represents Zéphirin, and which plans to donate part of its proceeds to the Dallas Monnin Foundation, an organization devoted to Haiti’s environment and education .
While international relief groups have moved in to help Haiti, backed by $9.9 billion in donations, Smithsonian staffers are working hard on relief efforts of a different sort—preserving Haiti’s artistic legacy. Thousands of paintings and sculptures—valued in the tens of millions of  dollars—were destroyed or badly damaged in museums, galleries, collectors’ homes, government ministries and the National Palace. At least three artists, two gallery owners and an arts foundation director died.
In May, the Smithsonian Institution launched an effort to help restore damaged Haitian treasures. Led by Richard Kurin, under secretary for history,  art and culture, and working with private and other public organizations, the Institution established a “cultural recovery center” at the former headquarters of the U.N. Development Program near  Port-au-Prince.
“It’s not every day at the Smithsonian that you actually get to help save a culture,” Kurin says. “And that’s what we’re doing in Haiti.”
Kurin visited Haiti along with Smithsonian Secretary Wayne G. Clough to survey the damage to the city and its cultural heritage. In  an interview for a documentary produced by the Smithsonian Channel, Kurin compares the amount spent on projects like the Smithsonian’s to the greater contributions made to relief efforts, “This kind of investment is a few pennies, but it buys us the heritage and culture of a people.”

For more details on the auction and to learn more about Zephirin and the painting itself, check out our auction page.

Actor denies drug allegations that rapper made while freestyling at a concert on Friday.By Gil Kaufman

Wyclef Jean and Sean Penn

Photo: Getty Images

Back in his Hollywood "Bad Boys" days, Sean Penn might have reacted to a harsh dis with his fists instead of his words. But Penn took the high road over the Labor Day holiday weekend, releasing a measured response to a harsh lyrical attack from former Fugees leader Wyclef Jean as the two continued their public sparring match over 'Clef's failed bid to run for the presidency of Haiti.
"Mr. Jean is clearly unfamiliar with the physical demands put upon volunteers in Haiti," read the statement, which was released by a spokesperson for Penn. "As aid workers there, the notion of depleting the body's immune system thru the use of illicit drugs is ludicrous."
The letter was in part a response to some new lyrics Jean threw down at Hot 97's On Da Reggae Tip concert in New York on Friday. He switched up the verses to his 2004 song "President" in order to take aim at Penn and his former Fugees bandmate Pras, who both questioned Wyclef's fitness to run earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
"I got a message for Sean Penn: Maybe he ain't see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine," Jean sang at the show on Friday, adding, "I got a message for Praswell, even though you don't want to support me, I got love for you, even though you only kicked eight bars in the Fugees."
Penn, who has lived in a tent in Haiti since just after January's earthquake, also used his statement to explain to 'Clef exactly what he's been doing on the ground and why the lyrical roundhouse failed to connect.
"More specifically, J/P Haitian Relief Organization (a.k.a. JPHRO) has a ZERO tolerance policy for any and all illegal drugs," Penn's statement said, referring to the non-governmental organization the actor co-founded to help the island just hours after the quake hit. "As the leader of this organization, Sean Penn has not only set this policy, but adheres to it. That Mr. Jean would make such a false accusation is reckless and saddening, but not surprising."
When Jean spoke about his plans to run for Haiti's head of state on CNN's "Larry King Live" in August, Penn, who was also a guest on the show, expressed concerns about the singer's motivations for seeking political office.
"Right now, I worry that this is a campaign that is more about a vision of flying around the world, talking to people. It's certainly not one of the youth drafting him. I would be quite sure that this is an influence of corporations here in the United States and private individuals that may well have capitalized on his will to see himself flying around the world," Penn said.
The actor also wrote in a Huffington Post column that despite Jean's public support for the island nation, the MC wasn't around during critical moments after Haiti's devastating January earthquake.
"I was there for those six months after the earthquake and so many of us on the ground wondered where he was when that kind of attention was so necessary and absent, and why he was NOT helping to keep this desperate situation in the news," he wrote. "None among us felt or expressed anger toward it, but rather a universal sadness for his silence, as he is America's most admired cultural link to Haiti."

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Wyclef Jean

Filed under: News, Celeb Updates

Wyclef Jean is now out of the running for president of Haiti, but he's still unhappy with some of the celebrities who spoke out against his bid.

The former Fugees rapper/singer, who was declared ineligible to run by Haitian electoral officials for not meeting the five year resident requirement, has now lashed out against Academy Award winner Sean Penn and his former band-mate Pras, who both criticized his experience in politics.Jean, born Nel Ust Wyclef Jean, remixed his 2004 song 'President' to reflect his disdain for the two men.

"I got a message for Sean Penn: Maybe he ain't see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine," Jean charged at the Hot 97's On The Reggae Tip concert in New York over the weekend.

He sang, "I got a message for Praswell, even though you don't want to support me, I got love for you, even though you only kicked 8 bars in the Fugees."

Despite the fact that Jean raised millions of dollars for earthquake relief efforts through his Yele Haiti foundation, Penn was vocal over the past two months about the Grammy winner's actual presence on the ground in the weeks following the tragedy.

Penn wrote in a Huffington Post column, "I was there for those six months after the earthquake and so many of us on the ground wondered where he was when that kind of attention was so necessary and absent, and why he was NOT helping to keep this desperate situation in the news."

He added, "None among us felt or expressed anger toward it, but rather a universal sadness for his silence, as he is America's most admired cultural link to Haiti."

Pras did not point fingers at his former friend for not being around during the disaster relief clean-up, but he did say that he thought Jean had lost sight of the bigger goals he should be fighting for as president.

In a recent interview with MTV News last month, questioned, "He talks about health care, he talks about education, he talks about infrastructure...But how are you gonna get to that point?"

He added, "There's a short-term goal that needs to be addressed and there's a long-term goal. To be honest with you, the short term is probably more important than the long term. And he didn't even mention the short term."

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"This is somebody who's going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I'm very suspicious of it, simply because he, as an ambassador at large, has been virtually silent. For those of us in Haiti, he has been[ Read More - Wyclef Jean Calls Sean Penn a Cocaine-User! ]

Even with the assistance of her main squeeze Brad Pitt and perhaps a few highly trained nannies, Angelina Jolie must still on occasion succumb to the mind-numbing exhaustion that accompanies being the matriarch of a six child household. In spite of what can only be a perpetually frenetic pace of making meals, wiping noses and being a constant source of mom-u-tainment, the Oscar winner regularly fulfills her humanitarian calling by jetting off to third world countries plagued by environmental and social issues. (It must, at the very least, be comforting to know that Brad is holding down the fort.)
Jolie’s latest mission has involved drawing international attention to northern Pakistan’s post-monsoonal flood, which is now considered to be their worst natural disaster on record. Affecting well over 20 million people, the UN Refugee Agency ambassador — who personally donated $100,000 to aid victims – also met those directly affected by the tragedy face-to-face.

Just a few facts to bear in mind:

The portion of Pakistan that is flooded is equivalent to the size of England (yes, the country).
Compared to the 290,000 homes damaged/destroyed following the tragic Haiti earthquake, Pakistani victims have lost 1,500,000 homes to the flood.
$2 billion worth of farm crops covering 2.5m acres (994,642 hectares) are now destroyed.
500,000 cows succumbed to the flood.
Fortunately, less than 2000 people have died as a direct result of the flood, but experts fear that water-borne illness, epidemics and starvation might take their toll.

Despite what seems like a hefty $294 million in emergency funds being dispersed thus far, as with countless other global tragedies, funds end up drying up once the media finds a new story to report about. Unfortunately, that’s the case with the Nowshera region of Pakistan, so if you can find a little bit of money to spare, please consider donating it in support of flood victims.

Via Celebitchy

When numbers get washed away, everything falls apart.
The Pakistan flood crisis has caused the death and destruction of thousands and as aid efforts pour through the country, a critical component becomes managing data--data of the flood itself, where people are going, how many are displaced, water levels, food amounts, and on and on. A new report from SciDev.net indicates that data from such crucial sources as the Pakistan Meteorological Department's flood forecasting division, which measures the flow of the floods, is being mishandled and poorly managed, as part of a general miscoordination of information flow and management of Pakistan's flood disaster.

Pakistan has the necessary weather radars and other technical equipment to monitor its floods closely, but in the face of the crisis, the one thing that has been forgotten is management. Of the data now being generated, "Much of it is being rendered useless in the absence of a sound and integrated flood management strategy and information dissemination," National Disaster Management Authority member Ahmad Kamal said. But what's the use of technological know-how when basic leadership and management skills are not employed to benefit from such technology and from all the data available?

In Haiti, the World Bank and Ushahidi got on the ground immediately to monitor data associated with aftershocks and the recovery needs of survivors. OpenStreetMap played a crucial role as well. So is that what Pakistan needs? An external service specializing in the collection and coordination of data, rather than relying on its own internal government resources?"Many of the problems we have with information dissemination to ordinary
people during a crisis situation (all over the world) comes from the
same root problem: Crisis information has generally been a top down
approach by governments, large humanitarian organizations and the media.
It should come as no surprise to us that those who don't know how to
gather information from ordinary people also don't know how to
disseminate it," Ushahidi's Erik Hersman tells Fast Company.Perhaps the next aid package from the United States government will include provisions for Pakistan's very own Ushahidi or OpenStreetMap or some other native data-collecting system that thrives off data generated from the people, rather than collected by a hierarchical agency.[Top image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team; bottom image via flickr/United Nations Development Programme]

When numbers get washed away, everything falls apart.
The Pakistan flood crisis has caused the death and destruction of thousands and as aid efforts pour through the country, a critical component becomes managing data--data of the flood itself, where people are going, how many are displaced, water levels, food amounts, and on and on. A new report from SciDev.net indicates that data from such crucial sources as the Pakistan Meteorological Department's flood forecasting division, which measures the flow of the floods, is being mishandled and poorly managed, as part of a general miscoordination of information flow and management of Pakistan's flood disaster.

Pakistan has the necessary weather radars and other technical equipment to monitor its floods closely, but in the face of the crisis, the one thing that has been forgotten is management. Of the data now being generated, "Much of it is being rendered useless in the absence of a sound and integrated flood management strategy and information dissemination," National Disaster Management Authority member Ahmad Kamal said. But what's the use of technological know-how when basic leadership and management skills are not employed to benefit from such technology and from all the data available?

In Haiti, the World Bank and Ushahidi got on the ground immediately to monitor data associated with aftershocks and the recovery needs of survivors. OpenStreetMap played a crucial role as well. So is that what Pakistan needs? An external service specializing in the collection and coordination of data, rather than relying on its own internal government resources?"Many of the problems we have with information dissemination to ordinary
people during a crisis situation (all over the world) comes from the
same root problem: Crisis information has generally been a top down
approach by governments, large humanitarian organizations and the media.
It should come as no surprise to us that those who don't know how to
gather information from ordinary people also don't know how to
disseminate it," Ushahidi's Erik Hersman tells Fast Company.Perhaps the next aid package from the United States government will include provisions for Pakistan's very own Ushahidi or OpenStreetMap or some other native data-collecting system that thrives off data generated from the people, rather than collected by a hierarchical agency.[Top image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team; bottom image via flickr/United Nations Development Programme]

When numbers get washed away, everything falls apart.
The Pakistan flood crisis has caused the death and destruction of thousands and as aid efforts pour through the country, a critical component becomes managing data--data of the flood itself, where people are going, how many are displaced, water levels, food amounts, and on and on. A new report from SciDev.net indicates that data from such crucial sources as the Pakistan Meteorological Department's flood forecasting division, which measures the flow of the floods, is being mishandled and poorly managed, as part of a general miscoordination of information flow and management of Pakistan's flood disaster.

Pakistan has the necessary weather radars and other technical equipment to monitor its floods closely, but in the face of the crisis, the one thing that has been forgotten is management. Of the data now being generated, "Much of it is being rendered useless in the absence of a sound and integrated flood management strategy and information dissemination," National Disaster Management Authority member Ahmad Kamal said. But what's the use of technological know-how when basic leadership and management skills are not employed to benefit from such technology and from all the data available?

In Haiti, the World Bank and Ushahidi got on the ground immediately to monitor data associated with aftershocks and the recovery needs of survivors. OpenStreetMap played a crucial role as well. So is that what Pakistan needs? An external service specializing in the collection and coordination of data, rather than relying on its own internal government resources?"Many of the problems we have with information dissemination to ordinary
people during a crisis situation (all over the world) comes from the
same root problem: Crisis information has generally been a top down
approach by governments, large humanitarian organizations and the media.
It should come as no surprise to us that those who don't know how to
gather information from ordinary people also don't know how to
disseminate it," Ushahidi's Erik Hersman tells Fast Company.Perhaps the next aid package from the United States government will include provisions for Pakistan's very own Ushahidi or OpenStreetMap or some other native data-collecting system that thrives off data generated from the people, rather than collected by a hierarchical agency.[Top image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team; bottom image via flickr/United Nations Development Programme]