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Ben Harper of the AP reports on Israel's recent struggle with Sudanese refugees escaping the genocide in Darfur and trekking through Egypt and the Sinai desert to enter Israel, a country without mechanisms for harboring the refugees. WAITING by Marie-Claude Harvey chronicles the situation in Sudan in the early days which has gotten worse, with now nearly 2.5 million who have fled the violence in Sudan.

This news follows on the heels of World Refugee Day on June 20th when the United Nations refugee agency reported there are nearly 10 million refugees world-wide.

Labels: Africa, articles, Darfur, Israel, refugees, Sudan

Anna Politkovskaya was an independent journalist working in Russia reporting mostly on the conflict with Chechnya. Her writing frequently condemned the government and police for corruption. She was assassinated in 2006 and her murder, among many murders of journalists there, remains unsolved. As reported in the Times, Colleagues Honor Slain Russian Journalist With a Book and Demand Justice, her son Ilya, former editor Dmitri Murtov and Mikhail Gorbachev, owner of the paper she wrote for, Novaya Gazeta, have released a volume of Politkovskaya's writings in an effort to renew attention to the shrinking voices of independents in Russia.

DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE explores working reporters, including Politkovskaya before her death, working around the world as they defend journalistic principles against commercial pressures, deal with censorship or government constraints, as well as dangerous and even life-threatening conditions.

Labels: Anna Politkovskaya, articles, Chechnya, independent media, journalism, Russia

Michael Kimmelman reports recently on the work of architect Shigeru Ban, calling him an "accidental environmentalist," as Ban's use of recycled, easily available and inexpensive building materials has been part of his repertoire since long before it was cool to be "green." From temporary housing for refugees in Rwanda and later for victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake and later in Turkey, to multi -million dollar corporate buildings such as a new Swatch office building in Ginza and a new design that will sit on New York City's West Side highway next to Frank Gehry's recent contribution, Ban maintains his commitment to thrift.

SHIGERU BAN, a film by Michel Quinejure, goes in depth with Ban through interviews and tours of his most significant structures to reveal that an emphasis on issues of conservation, economy, and accessibility does not necessarily involve a sacrifice in architectural beauty.

Labels: architecture, articles, Japan, shigeru ban, urban studies

The New York Times reports today that the world's largest particle accelerator, being built 300 feet underground in Switzerland, is nearing completion. After 13 years under construction, it could be done in just 3 years. "A Giant Takes on Physic's Biggest Questions" by Dennis Overby explores how such a span of time might seem long, but the discoveries that the Large Hadron Collider, based at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland, might yield could lead scientists to understand the origins of the universe.

Filmmaker Samy Brunett is a former employee CERN laboratory where the accelerator is being built, and he returned to make SCIENTISTS AT THE RIM OF REALITY. The film is an insider's guide to the project that could provide huge discoveries shortly.

Labels: articles, CERN, Europe, physics, scientific discovery

As reported in a recent NY Times article, Even as Africa Hungers, Policy Slows Delivery of U.S. Food Aid by Celia W. Dugger, the delivery of food to starving people can take 4 to 6 weeks because government policy requires that all donated food be grown in the U.S. and shipped to where it is needed. This stimulates American agribusiness and shipping, but there are no provisions for emergencies like the current situation in Zambia where the UN's World Food Program that delivers the food to the needy is dangerously low in supplies. Those who are starving may die before the aid reaches them.

THE PRICE OF AID explores the relationships and policies that make up current United States food aid program. With interviews from Zambian officials, nonprofit aid workers and U.S. government officials, the film is an in-depth exploration of this continuing problem.

Labels: Africa, articles, food aid, politics, Zambia

Egypt's chief archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass recently took journalists on a tour of a newly unearthed military fort foundation in Egypt's North Sanai region. As reported by Michael Slackman in the NY Times yesterday, Did the Red Sea Part? No Evidence, Archaeologists Say, the find is significant because it is the oldest fort on the Horus military road and pieces of volcanic rock confirm an eruption in 1500 B.C. But on the eve of Passover, the reporters preferred to question Hawass about the veracity of the Exodus story which is set in this part of the world.

THE BIBLE UNEARTHED is a 4-part series that delves into current Biblical archaeological evidence and its correspondence (or not) to the ancient texts. Episode 2 of the series specifically investigates history of the Exodus. Of the series, Dr. Jim West of Biblical Studies Resources says, "A genuine work of scholarship as well as film art...These 4 episodes are excellent...It is the best done of all its genre that I have yet seen."

Labels: archaeology, articles, Bible, Egypt, Exodus

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