A year ago, 30-year-old mother of six Brigitte Adassin was like many poor African farmers struggling to live on less than 2 US dollars a day. Now she’s financed her first real estate development – a four-unit apartment building. How did she do it? This short video looks at the positive impact that increases in global commodity prices has had on poor rice farmers in Benin.A year ago, 30-year-old mother of six Brigitte Adassin was like many poor African... more
You have the right as an individual to own a gun and defend yourself.
Prohibition didn't stop liquor use; the drug laws can't stop drug use. Making gun ownership illegal will not stop gun ownership.
The primary victim of these misguided efforts is the honest citizen whose civil rights are trampled as frustrated legislators and police tighten the screws.
Banning guns will make guns more expensive and give organized crime a great opportunity to make profits in a new black market for weapons. Street violence will increase in new turf wars. Criminals will not give up their guns. But, many law abiding citizens will, leaving them defenseless against armed bandits.
Rather than banning guns, the politicians and the police should encourage gun ownership, as well as education and training programs. A responsible, well-armed and trained citizenry is the best protection against domestic crime and the threat of foreign invasion. America's founders knew that. It is still true today.You have the right as an individual to own a gun and defend yourself.
Prohibition... more
The Countryside Alliance Crew have released a hilarious 4 track ep of 'rural' covers of hit tunes.
Dizzee Rascal's "Bonkers" becomes 'Wurzzi Rascal's' 'Conkers', Estelle and Kanye West's 'American Boy' becomes 'Astile ft. Cornye Westcountry'. On the flipside, Wileys 'Rolex' gets the country-fied treatment as 'Wellie' with 'Wearin' My Thermals', and the 'Cow Eyed Peas' get all meaty on 'Moo Moo Cow' - that's 'Boom Boom Pow' to those out of the rural loop.
"The scene is pure postcard Japan. Layered mountain peaks shrouded in forests capped with smoky wisps of clouds and tiered rice paddies, a dazzling shade of green. So far, so haiku-inspiringly perfect - apart from one unexpected intrusion on the landscape. Centre stage in the tableau of pastoral perfection is a square frame the size of a small house from which are suspended dozens of giant wooden pencils in a rainbow of colours.
Contemporary art may be a surprise find in a remote corner of the mountainous Niigata prefecture in central Japan, but the isolated rural region - famous for its heavy snowfall, rice paddies and declining elderly population - is the unlikely setting for the most innovative of art projects, the Echigo-Tsumari Triennial.
It is the world's biggest open-air art festival and the fourth Triennial opened last weekend with more than 350 artworks by artists from 38 countries. Sculptures, paintings and installations pepper the landscape and are set amid rice fields, forests, in abandoned schools and vacant wooden houses.
Visitors will stumble across trees with staring blue eyes in the heart of a forest and life-sized red figures dotting the rice fields, a postmodern zen garden fashioned from rusted steel refuse and a sea of psychedelic canvases in a school gymnasium.
The festival's geographical dimensions are as vast as its creative ambitions: the 760 sq km site spans a larger area than the 23 wards of central Tokyo, making an exploration of the region a giant art treasure hunt.
The best way to explore? Jump on a train in Tokyo for the two-hour ride to Tokamachi and join one of a number of daily group tours, or simply pick up a rental car at the station along with a festival "passport" that provides access to all the artworks, a much-needed art map of the region and an English-language guidebook.""The scene is pure postcard Japan. Layered mountain peaks shrouded in forests capped... more
The townsfolk of Boring, Oregon and Normal, Illinois show viewers what makes their communities live up to their respective namesakes.
To prove how everyday people can achieve extraordinary things, Toshiba decided to bring their laptops to a couple places that needed some excitement: Boring, Oregon and Normal, Illinois. The Boring vs. Normal campaign from Toshiba, tracks a cast of characters do everything from start an online business to record music, and lets users vote on which town is more interesting.
Starting Monday, July 27, 2009 you can follow the competition and cast your vote at BoringvsNormal.com.The townsfolk of Boring, Oregon and Normal, Illinois show viewers what makes their... more
Vinyl albums are so boring and normal. Test your DJ prowess with two cuddly kittens.
To prove how everyday people can achieve extraordinary things, Toshiba decided to bring their laptops to a couple places that needed some excitement: Boring, Oregon and Normal, Illinois. The Boring vs. Normal campaign from Toshiba, tracks a cast of characters do everything from start an online business to record music, and lets users vote on which town is more interesting.
Starting Monday, July 27, 2009 you can follow the competition and cast your vote at BoringvsNormal.com.Vinyl albums are so boring and normal. Test your DJ prowess with two cuddly kittens.... more
Two breakdancers display their smooth moves to establish who has the better skills on the dance floor-- Boring, Oregon or Normal, Illinois.
To prove how everyday people can achieve extraordinary things, Toshiba decided to bring their laptops to a couple places that needed some excitement: Boring, Oregon and Normal, Illinois. The Boring vs. Normal campaign from Toshiba, tracks a cast of characters do everything from start an online business to record music, and lets users vote on which town is more interesting.
Starting Monday, July 27, 2009 you can follow the competition and cast your vote at BoringvsNormal.com.
Boring vs. Normal, Illinois, Oregon, Boring, Normal, Toshiba, Toshiba Laptops, crazy, funny, silly, competitive, college, high school, popular, small towns, contest, philanthropy, rural, cows, cow town, breakdancing, dancers, hip hop, hip hop music, 80s, boom box, head spin, smooth moves, dance off, midriff, corny, try to hardTwo breakdancers display their smooth moves to establish who has the better skills on... more
Two bodacious bodybuilders flex it out to justify who is more buff - Boring, Oregon or Normal, Illinois.
To prove how everyday people can achieve extraordinary things, Toshiba decided to bring their laptops to a couple places that needed some excitement: Boring, Oregon and Normal, Illinois. The Boring vs. Normal campaign from Toshiba, tracks a cast of characters do everything from start an online business to record music, and lets users vote on which town is more interesting.
Starting Monday, July 27, 2009 you can follow the competition and cast your vote at BoringvsNormal.com.Two bodacious bodybuilders flex it out to justify who is more buff - Boring, Oregon or... more
A sud delle nuvole è un documentario auto prodotto che abbiamo realizzato nel 2003, dedicato alle minoranze etniche che popolano lo Yunnan, una esotica regione cinese. Quest'opera si avvale della colonna sonora di Acid Mothers Temple, di Makoto Kawabata e di Felix L'amour.A sud delle nuvole è un documentario auto prodotto che abbiamo realizzato nel 2003,... more
Ohhhhh, the pitfalls director So Yong Kim faced in making the protagonists of her film, TREELESS MOUNTAIN, two young children. One false move, and the effort could’ve turned into a sloppy, mawkish mess. Fortunately for her, the nonprofessional actresses she cast in the roles — Hee Yeon Kim as Jin and Song Hee Kim as younger sister Bin — deliver natural, unselfconscious performances. It also helps that director Kim herself favors a stripped down, documentary-like shooting style — in a story where the children are abandoned by their mother to their less-than-doting aunt, and spend their days wandering around the junk piles of their neighborhood while praying for their mother’s return, the spare treatment helps to make the emotional impact all the more powerful.
I interviewed Kim in a studio at New York’s Oscilloscope Laboratories, where it appears the staff really likes their Guitar Hero. (They refrained during the interview, fortunately).Ohhhhh, the pitfalls director So Yong Kim faced in making the protagonists of her... more
Experts told the meeting that around 150,000 Chinese women take their own lives annually across China, while at least 1 million attempt it.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for Chinese women, and China is the only country in which the suicide rate for females is higher than that for males.
"There are around 2 million attempted suicides by Chinese women every year, with the most common reason being long-term financial problems," Xu Rong, project director at the Beijing Rural Women's Education and Development Center, said.
"A lot of suicides take place as the result of sudden conflicts. Then there's another kind, which has to do with the system of marriage we have in China, where the women goes to live with her husband's family," said Xu, who is directly involved in suicide prevention work.
Rural women enjoy no independent status, no independent personality, so we can see that the pressure on Chinese women is extraordinarily great.Experts told the meeting that around 150,000 Chinese women take their own lives... more
A new government scheme in Tanzania has implemented a loaning system that allows farmers to receive a secure profit from their crops.
The success of this project demonstrates that small farmers can become an asset and part of the solution to growing the food that we need globally.A new government scheme in Tanzania has implemented a loaning system that allows... more
Market spies and modern communication technology join forces in an innovative IFAD-supported project in Tanzania. This short documentary features "spy" Stanley Mchome, whose activities have not only helped to empower local farmers but to substantially increase their incomes.Market spies and modern communication technology join forces in an innovative... more
A innovative government program supported by IFAD attempts to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit in one of the world's poorest countriesA innovative government program supported by IFAD attempts to unlock the... more
An IFAD-supported project in the south of Jordan helps poor farmers better manage soil and water resources in one of the world's top ten water-poor countries.An IFAD-supported project in the south of Jordan helps poor farmers better manage soil... more
Mayan honey producers in Mexico's Southern Yucatan switch to organic production and tap into lucrative international marketsMayan honey producers in Mexico's Southern Yucatan switch to organic production and... more
Believing it may be their last chance to profit from the production of traditional straw hats, a group of Mayan artisans calling themselves 'la última esperanza' receives assistance and marketing advice from an IFAD-supported project.Believing it may be their last chance to profit from the production of traditional... more
An IFAD-supported project in Mexico helps a women's group set up a sheep farm. One participant tells her story.An IFAD-supported project in Mexico helps a women's group set up a sheep farm. One... more
The people of Burundi are heading to the polls to elect their first parliament and president since a civil war began in 1993. This report explores how IFAD-initiated Community Development Committees contribute to democratic processes and peace building by putting economic decision-making power in the hands of poor villagers.The people of Burundi are heading to the polls to elect their first parliament and... more
Nine Latin American entrepreneurs, representing artisans from poor rural communities, attempt to sell their goods in one of Europe's toughest fashion capitals.Nine Latin American entrepreneurs, representing artisans from poor rural communities,... more
