I have been excited about OLPC from the first day I heard about it.

It is just the type of project that I, as a technologist, have always advocated and wanted to see come to reality. OLPC is the type of project that could make a huge difference in a developing country like Costa Rica, or any of the other developing countries around the world.

I have said for years that if I could just manage to feed my family and take care of my own personal responsibilities in the process, that I would run away and just work to help the children of the developing world to make it a better place. It seems like OLPC is trying to do just that. I heard about Intel bowing out about a week ago, and today I read this...

In mid-December, in the hip, Frank Gehry-designed IAC (IACI) building in New York, Intel (INTC) held a small gathering for a dozen or so journalists to preview the corporation's planned showcase at this week's 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Curiously missing: any mention of a much-anticipated, low-cost laptop, called the XO, for children in developing countries, featuring an Intel microprocessor, with hardware designed by the Santa Clara (Calif.)-based nonprofit, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). The company had been planning to launch it at CES.

In hindsight, the omission seems prophetic. (Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy tells BusinessWeek that the company was still working on the prototype for the Intel-OLPC laptop and wasn't ready to show it to the press in advance.) But leading up to CES, a furious public spat between OLPC's founder, Nicholas Negroponte, a professor on leave from MIT and co-founder of the famed MIT Media Lab, and the chipmaker erupted when Intel first notified Negroponte via e-mail on Jan. 3 that Intel was bowing out of the project. The feud highlights the tumultuous history of OLPC, just as the nonprofit issued the official results of its recent "Give One, Get One" sales promotion, and as Negroponte prepares to give a high-profile speech at CES on Jan. 9 as the closing talk of CES's program, "Technology and Emerging Countries: Advancing Development Through Technology Investments."

Its a shame that corportate and personal egos have come into play, damaging this project. It would seem to me that Intel, Microsoft and others could give away these things and still make a huge profit. PERHAPS this is an opportunity for AMD to step in?

Crossposted to my Business Blog

It is because of people like this, who the letters help...

Dear Mr Anderson, I am a resident of India.A few days back my fiancee received an email from a so called Attorney from UK.He was not aware of the email scam's till now.Hence we thought that by sharing the funds of a deceased person who died in an accident without any "Kin " or "benificiary" we would be rich and achive our dreams. However this became a little creepy to me when the so called Attorney gave us details and we received a mail from the trust stating that they have received a claim from this guy.They also gave us an option to get the funds transfered by Diplomatic Cash Scheme of transfer. I must inform you that after ging thru your website,i found a similar scam and the most astonishing part is the words used by the Attorney(so called) in your report are exactly similar as the mails that this attorney is sending us.Thats when we went a further stage of the mails and we realised that this man is a scamster and we probed him in more details.Since he was online and we could chat with him we asked him what would happen next.And as i had already gone thru your mail i had expected our so called Attorney to ask us money and thats excatly what he did.I also cooked up a story and he asked me a handsome amount of 7000 USD i.e approximately 3,37,000 INR which is a huge amount.All this while i was talking to him as my finace.He dint know he was taking to me and not my fiancee. I shall soon post the entire mail on your website so that other victims know the truth.I wish these guys would understand that no easy money is good!!!! Thanks to you ,my finacee has realised that he cannot become a rich man overnight without any efforts. Warm Regards Renuka K

It is nice to know that one still has the power to touch lives in a positive way...

Today there is a new scam, or relatively new... The so called Job offer...

Greetings,

I am Harrison Blair and i work for Midland Pumps Ltd.Ours is a company
who's efficiency and effectiveness meets the demands of the Water,
Chemical, Pumping and Agricultural Industries in
Asia/Africa/Europe/America.

We are a company with our main factory in Asia.We have been receiving
orders from Northern America,Australia,and Europe which we have not
been able to process competently since we do not have a payment recieving
personnel in these Areas.We have decided to recruit payment officers
online hence we will be needing a representative to process our payments
due to delays in processing payments from these areas in Asia.

Listed below are some of the areas that we specialise in:-

Submersible borehole pumps installation, removal and repair.
Rising main pipework (flanged or screwed & socketed)
'Wellmaster' rising main.
Submersible transducers and low level cut-out electrodes.
Headwork’s and valving.
Surface booster pumps.
Hydraulic pressure vessels.
Installation of chlorine/chloros dosing equipment and controls.
Installation of control panels and associated equipment.
Control panels and automation of pumping processes.
Fully trained in the use of Autocad.

I would like to inform you that all transfers and anything that has to
do with payments are refered to Africa because the cost of coming to
your present location and getting payments is very expensive, we can
spend up to $1,300 only in buying tickets.we need a representative in your
location who will be handling that aspect,We are willing to pay 10% per
every payment you receive.You can still keep your regular job while you
work for us.
All you have to do is help us recieve payments from our customers in
your present location.These payments are in Cheques,Money Order and Bank
Transfers.As soon as you have been employed you will have access to the
company conference in NewYork,which is where you will eventually meet
the company, the problem we have is trust.But we have our way of getting
anyone that gets away with our money,I mean the FBI branch in
Washington DC USA gets involved.

IMPORTANT:You must be over 18 years of age.U.S,UK,CANADIAN OR
AUSTRALIAN Citizenship.If you meet these conditions and wish to apply send this
reference position number #3456234 and please contact us by replying at
this e-mail address(Job-Offers@midlandpumps.com) to receive a
Representative Contract agreement letter.

Please include your Full Names,Contact or Mailing Address and Phone/Fax
Numbers for quick delivery of payments.

Regards,

Harrison Blair
Client Engagement Manager.
Midland Pumps Ltd.
(pp:J.M Douglas Managing Director).
01527 598556
vat reg. no: 670 5063 48.

I am not exactly sure how these scams work since I have not had time to pursue them.

The traditional idiots are still around:

FROM MR MPOYO VICTOR SOUTH AFRICA +27 73 070 9662

Reply to:

Dearest In The Lord,

I know you will be surprised to read from me, but please consider this letter as request from a family in dare need for your assistance. Firstly, I must introduce myself which you have known Mr.Mpoyo Victor from Zimbabwe, I am the first and the only son of Mr. Charles Mpoyo, I am presently residing in South Africa.

On behalf of my Mother who is a widow Mrs.Grace Mpoyo. I decided to solicit for your assistance to transfer the sum of US$18M (Eighteen Million United States Dollars) in your personal or company account.

Before my father's death he was among the few Black farmers in Zimbabwe who was poisoned by the agents of the ruling government of President Robert Mugabe for his alleged support and sympathy for Zimbabwe opposition party controlled by the White Zimbabweans. For more information,please view these sites.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1063785.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2414713.stm

Before his death, he had taken me to Johannesburg to deposit this money to a Security and Finance Company. This money was deposited in a box as a gemstone to avoid much demurrage from the Security Company. It was also earmarked for the purchase of new machinery and chemicals for the farms and to establish new farms in Lesotho and Swaziland.

In his WILL he specially drew my attention to this sum of US$18Million (Eighteen Million United States Dollars) that he deposited in a safe box in a private Security and Finance Company here in Johannesburg, South Africa.

From the above, you will understand that the live and future of my family depends on this money as much as I will be very grateful if you can assist us. We are now living in South Africa as Asylum seekers and financial laws of South Africa does not allow Asylum seekers certain rights to such huge amount of money. In view of this, I cannot invest this money in South Africa; hence I am asking you to assist me to transfer this money out of South Africa for investment purpose. For your efforts, I am prepared to offer you 25% of the total fund, while 5% will be set aside for local and international expenses and 70% will be kept by my family and me. Finally, modalities on how the transfer will be done will be conveyed to you once we establish trust and confidence between ourselves. Kindly get back to me on my private e-mail address victormpoyo1234@myway.com

Best Regards

Mr.Mpoyo Victor

The fake lotteries are still popular as ever:

PROMOTIONAL AWARD WINNER!!!
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
CONTACT MR.DONALD VAN DICK.
FROM: EUROMILLION LOTTERY
PROMOTION PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
REF: DRF/933221523/542
BATCH: 21/532/8YPK/BE

Dear Winner,

Following official publication of results of the E-mail electronic online Sweepstakes organized by Euro millions Lottery International, the Slide circular award and the Euro millions prizes in conjunction with the foundation for the promotion of software products, (F.P.S.), held on the 23rd of April, 2007, in Brussels Belgium , wherein your electronic email address emerged as one of the online winning email in the 2nd category and therefore attracted a cash award of 601,000.00(Six Hundred And One Thousand Euros).
We write to officially notify you of this award and to advise you to contact the processing office immediately upon receipt of this message for more information concerning the verification processing and eventual payment of the above prize to you. It is important to note that your award information was released today the 31st of May, 2007 with the following particulars attached to it.

(I) EMAIL ATTACH NUMBER : TK390/12/67
(ii) SERIAL NUMBER: KG/1960/30/16
(!!!)LUCKY WINNING NUMBER : 2-20-29-41-49

Please contact the claim agents within 5 working days to facilitate the release of your prize, you are required to mention the above particulars of your award in every correspondence addressed to the processing agents.
----------------------------------------------------

MR. DONALD VAN DICK OF EUROMILLION AGENCY
NETHERLANDS OFFICE ADDRESS:HEMELRIJKEN 100,5612 LB EINDHOVEN - NETHERLANDS .
TEL: 0031-644-745-644 OR 011-31-644-745-644
FAX: 0031-847-151-754 OR 011-31-847-151-754
Email: europmillions@aim.com
----------------------------------------------------

The Euro millions Awards is sponsored by a consortium of software promotion companies. The Intel Group, Toshiba, Dell Computers, Microsoft and other international companies. Euro millions Internet draw is held periodically and is so organized to encourage the use of the Internet and promote computer literacy worldwide. We are proud to say that over ( 20.417.00 Euros) are won annually in more than 150 countries worldwide. Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than 15th of June, 2007.Please note, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch number in all correspondence.Once again on behalf of all our staff,CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Sincerely,

MRS.AGNES VAN GAAL
Promotions Coordinator

These morons think I speak German:

CHRISTIANA MEGAN,RAYMOND BUREN & ASSOCIATES SOLICITORS & ADVOCATES JOHANNESBURG, SUD-AFRIKA.

PRIVAT & VERTRAULICH

Sehr geehrter,

Mein Name ist Raymond Buren, bin ein 55 jähriger Anwalt aus JOHANNESBURG,
SUD- AFRIKA.Ich bin zur Zeit in Europa (Belgien).
Einer meiner 15 Jährigen Klienten ,ein Deutscher American Namens Peter
Lenze,
welcher über 18 Jahre für eine Diamanten Bergbaufirma ( Debsawna Diamond
Company Pty Limited) gearbeitet hat, ist leider im November 2003 mit
seiner Famillie an einem Planefall verunglückt.

Aus seiner Tätigkeit als Bergbauunternehmer und Contractor ist ein
ansehnliches Vermögen angewachsen und betrug bei seinem Ableben rund
14.5 Mio US$.Während der Jahre unserer Zusammenarbeit hat sich ein grosses
Vertrauen
zu mir gebildet und nach seinem Tode konnte ich sogar seine Prokuristin
anstellen.

Todtraurig hat sich bis zum heutigen Tag kein Verwandter oder
Angehöriger gemeldet um das Vermögen zu übernehmen.
Bei uns in Sud- Afrika besteht ein Gesetz , dass Vermögen welche nicht
innert 3 Jahren in Anspruch genommen werden an die Regierungskasse
übergehen.
Dies möchte ich mit allen Mitteln verhindern.Aus diesem Grund habe mich
bemüht über eine Security Company und einem Sperrkonto ( Safe Deposit Box )
das
Vermögen zu sichern damit es nicht an die Regierung zurückfällt.

Ich suche ferner aus diesem Grund, einen europäischen Partner mit
welchem ich einen Vertrag abschliessen kann und über ihn
(Firma,Name,Adresse,Tel,Fax etc,) diese Geldtransaktion abwickeln zu
können.

Dieser Partner würde für seine Dienste mit 30% Provision belohnt.
Gerne würde ich von ihnen erfahren ob sie an so einem Projekt interessiert
wären? Sie koennen mich unter diese E-mail erreichen
raymondburen@aim.com ;

Herzlichen Dank ,ich würde mich über ihre Koorperation freuen.

Mfg,

Raymond Buren

And more Lottery Scams:

YOU HAVE WON!!! CONTACT CLAIM OFFICE REFERENCE NUMBER: LSLUK/4034/8161/04 BATCH NUMBER: 15/011/IPD

RESULT FOR CATEGORY A

Dear Winner,

We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the First Category of the Staat Lottery Promotion,Winners were picked by computerized system, drawn from company and individual e-mail addresses worldwide.The draws is officially announced today 31ist of May, 2007.You are therefore been awarded alump sum pay out of €500,000(Five hundred thousand Euros), which is the winning payout for Category A winners.

NOTE: For easy reference and identification,find below your Reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in your correspondence with your claims Department.

REFERENCE NUMBER: LSLUK/4034/8161/04
BATCH NUMBER: 15/011/IPD
LUCKY NUMBERS:52-6-39-15-36-1
SERIAL NUMBER:2197/03
Please contact staatclaim department immediately for due processing and remittance of your prize money to a designated account of your choice:

United Kingdom National Lottery,
2 Lansdowne Row,
Berkeley Square,
London, W1J 6H,
United Kingdom.

CONGRATULATIONS!
United Kingdom National Lottery,
We happily announce to you the Draw (#942) of the BRITISH NATIONAL
LOTTERY, online British National Lottery program held on 30th
May,2007.Your e-mail address attached to Ticket Number:
8603775966738 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the Winning
numbers:05,08,11,27,30,46
(bonus no.34),which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd
category i.e
match 3 plus bonus. You have therefore been approved to claim a total
sum of
£1,000,000.00 (One Million pound Sterling) in cash credited to
your
file. This is from a total cash prize of £20,350,000.00,shared
amongst
the
Winners with different amount won in this category i.e Match 3 plus
bonus .All participants for the online version were selected randomly
from World Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted
from over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are
listed
online.
Please contact our Fiduciary Agent for VALIDATION.
Barrister Ashley Richard.
Email:fiduciary_claim13@yahoo.co.uk
Tel:+447045706754

Mrs Caroline Andrews
UK ONLINE COORDINATOR
British( UK ) National Lottery,
OCEANIC B.T COMPANY,
UNITED KINGDOM

More Idiots

Fidelity Investments International United Kingdom. --------------------------------------------------

I am Mr.John. Fisher, The Fund Manager of Fidelity Investment
International.The World Largest Fund Management Company with over
?1.2Trillion Capital Investment Fund.

Neverthless, as The Fidelity Fund Manager, I handle all our Investor's
Direct Capital Funds and secretly extracted 1.2% Excess Maximum Return
Capital Profit (EMRCP) per annum on each of the Investor's Marginal
Capital Fund.As an expert,I have made over £45, 745, 000, 00 from the
Investor's EMRCP and hereby looking for someone to trust who will stand
as an Investor to receive the fund as Annual Investment Proceeds from
Fidelity Marginal Capital Fund.

All confirmable documents to back up the claims will be made available
to you prior to your acceptance. Meanwhile,I have worked out the
modalities and technincalities whereby the funds can be claimed in any
of our 6 Clearing Houses without any hitches.

Our sharing ratio will be 50-50. If you are interested,you should send
your direct email contact so we could discuss more on the deal as
regard the
transaction. N:B; Do not contact my office number or email for any
reason,mainly for security purposes,all correspondence must be through
this private box:jonyfisher2007@yahoo.es

Sincerely,

Mr.John Fisher

And can you believe people are still responding to this nonsense???

I MAKE THIS APPEAL WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT ANY FACTS OR OPINION EXPRESSED BY ME ARE GIVING IN CONAFIDENCE AND SOLELY FOR YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND USE. Meanwhile I had already sent you this same letter two weeks ago, but I am not sure if it did get to you since I have not heard from you, i am Mr: karimmichael The manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of my Bank.

In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US$8.5M, (Eight Million,
Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with account number 14-2558-5976 that
belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his wife and
only daughter in a plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight number 261 which
crashed on January 31, 2000. You shall read more about the crash on visiting
this site http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/The owner of
this account is Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great industrialist and
a resident of Alaska.
It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business
proposal to you and for our bank to release the money to you. You have to
follow the instruction which I will be send to you as the next of kin or
relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody
is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into our bank treasury as
unclaimed bill. The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such
money remained unclaimed after nine 9 years, the money will be transfered
into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The money has now stayed more than
seven to eight years and I am preparing documentaion to prove that this
money has been transfered to our bank treasury. It will be between me and
you only that will know that the money is not transfered into our treasure.
This request of foreigner as next of kin in this transaction is occasioned
by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabé cannot stand
as next of kin to a foreigner. In appreciation of your assistance, I am
offering you 30% of the total sum. 5% for contingencies (cost of
transfer/other charges) likely to be incurred during the course of
transaction, while the remaining 65% is for me.Upon receipt of your reply.
I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application which you
will complete and forward to our bank asking for this money to be paid to
you as the next of kin to Mr;Morris Thomson. I will not fail to bring to
your notice that this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not
entertain any fear as all required arrangements have been made for the
transfer.
You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this mail through
the above email. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY SHOULD YOU
CONSIDER MY URGENT REQUEST.
Yours Faithfully,
I Mr karimmichael

I got this in email today, thought I would pass it on. Please link to it or post it on your blog, you never know if you too might save a life.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION
During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the! hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.
It only takes a minute to read this
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S*Ask the individual to SMILE .
T *Ask the person to TALK . to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)
R*Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue! ... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke - Also give the individual 2 Aspirins as they will help to thin out their blood...

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

(I hate chain mail, but I am sure that this will reach more than 10 people!)

I mean, after winning this honor, all the others seem so trivial!

You need further convincing that the Web is the new Forum? It is the communal hearth arround which all of us gather. Web 2.0 is not just a catch phrase any more. The sale of You Tube to Google, the Rise of Google itself... The phenomenon of My Space... It's a new world, and indeed a new story:

But look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.

The tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web. Not the Web that Tim Berners-Lee hacked together (15 years ago, according to Wikipedia) as a way for scientists to share research. It's not even the overhyped dotcom Web of the late 1990s. The new Web is a very different thing. It's a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. Silicon Valley consultants call it Web 2.0, as if it were a new version of some old software. But it's really a revolution.

And we are so ready for it. We're ready to balance our diet of predigested news with raw feeds from Baghdad and Boston and Beijing. You can learn more about how Americans live just by looking at the backgrounds of YouTube videos—those rumpled bedrooms and toy-strewn basement rec rooms—than you could from 1,000 hours of network television.

And we didn't just watch, we also worked. Like crazy. We made Facebook profiles and Second Life avatars and reviewed books at Amazon and recorded podcasts. We blogged about our candidates losing and wrote songs about getting dumped. We camcordered bombing runs and built open-source software.

Some of us are pioneers in this new world... Our friends ragged on us about our blogging, and for our personal web pages... Those same friends now quietly create their own blogs, or sign up for my space.

We have built massive repositories of information, created virtual worlds and communities, sold billions of dollars in merchandise, created candidates and helped win elections. We have faced down major media operations, and raised millions to help victims of natural disasters.

Netcitizenship has become a common ground, bringing citizens of the world closer together.

But it has also spawned some bad...

Terrorist use the internet to communicate and dispense propaganda.

Scammers from Nigeria, other parts of Africa and Europe, farm tens of thousands of emails a day, to send their ridiculous scam emails, and attempt identity theft through phishing attacks.

Hate Groups use the internet to spread their message of hate.

Scammers of every ilk use the internet as their virtual office...

It's not perfect, but perhaps that is why Time is so RIGHT. The Internet IS the new world, it is a place where all of us can participate Rich and Poor, and where access to a connected computer is all it takes to be heard. A friend of mine and fellow blogger, used to run his popular blog from Library computers... He was homeless and did not own a computer, so he logged on at his local library and contributed to the debate. He inspired me... With all the wants and needs a person in his position must have had... Having a voice in the debate was a priority. It is HIS picture that should grace the cover of time, because despite the contributions of hotchick@xxx.com, and her lingerie shows from her bedroom... It is people like my friend who has led this revolution...

So thank you Time Magazine, for acknowledging us. I have taken the liberty of preparing my cover... After all, all of us would not fit!

Help give a Merry Christmas to a Costa Rican Orphan

Hi everyone,

We are in NEED OF YOUR HELP!

A couple of us are coming together to help abused, abandoned and orphaned children that live in an orphanage called La Aldea S y S in Tres Rios. We are asking you to please dig deep into your hearts pockets to donate money or presents for these children in need.

We will also be giving gifts to children in La Carpio whose parents cannot afford to give them a proper Christmas. Please help us, we will be needing all the help we can get! We will be getting presents, buying candy and apples for stocking stuffing, making the stockings with their names on them, and filling them up.

We need each kid accounted for, so if you're interested, we will assign you a child. If you wish to donate money, you can make a deposit in Bac San Jose account #905158945, Banco de Costa Rica account #921-25581-5, or Citibank account #3195164535 located in the United States. The name on the accounts is Barbara Fields.

Ariela Fernández
849-8066
arielacr@yahoo.com

or

Barbara Fields
228-4034
barbariuxf@yahoo.com

We need to raise a minimum of $2500 for this. Please ask if your Company is willing to donate to the good cause. We will be taking pictures of the kids receiving their gifts and will send them your way. That way you can see what your generosity has accomplished.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

If you are interested in helping and you live outside of Costa Rica, let me know and I will see what I can do to help.

Read on for version in Spanish

Hola a Todos!

Necesitamos su ayuda! Un grupo de nosotros nos hemos reunido para ayudar a traerle la Navidad a un orfanatorio llamado La Aldea S y S en Tres Rios. Aqui hay niños abusados, abandonados y huerfanos de edades 8 meses hasta 21 años. Tambien hay otros niños en la Carpio cuyos papas no pueden comprarles nada. Necesitamos su ayuda y colaboracion para comprar regalos, hacerles botines con sus nombres y llenarlos de confites, manzanas y demás. Tenemos que recaudar un minimo de $2500 dolares para que este proyecto sea exitoso. Por favor, busquen profundo en sus corazones y sus bolsillos y ayudennos a traele esperanza y alegria a estos niños en esta epoca.

Cada niño va contado, asi que si quieren donan regalos, nosotros les asignaremos un niño/niña. Si quisieran donar dinero, pueden hacerlo depositando en las siguientes cuentas a nombre de Barbara Fields: Bac San Jose cuenta #905158945, Banco de Costa Rica cuenta #921-25581-5 o en los Estado Unidos en Citibank cuenta #3195164535.

Les enviaremos fotos de las preparaciones y la entrega de los regalos, para que puedan ver lo que sus donacion ayudo a lograr.

Si tienen alguna pregunta, no duden en avisar.

Ariela Fernández
849-8066
arielacr@yahoo.com

or

Barbara Fields
228-4034
barbariuxf@yahoo.com

Muchas Gracias y por favor ayuden a traerle alegria y esperanza a los necesitados, especialmente en esta epoca del año!

I just received this from one of my fraternity brothers this morning... Well worth passing on! Thanks Greg for sharing.

A friend came to my dorm room just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two young freshman came by. One of the boys wanted to "talk" to my friend (as in date). She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old. After my friend left the young men were still hanging around and he wanted to know how he could gain the interest of her. The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants. He asked why, then said he like saggin' his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin' backwards. S-A-G-G-I-N N-I-G-G-A-S I told him the origin of that look was from prison. Men in prison wore their pants low when they were spoken for. The other reason their pants looked like that was because they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide. We as young black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media has made a mockery of the Black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves. We need to love and embrace each other. No one is going to do for us. It all comes down to perception. What people perceive, is what is reality to them. We have to change not only the media's perception of us, but we need to change the perception of ourselves. Remember all eyes are on you Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on you Black Child. People are waiting for us to mess up. We have let not only the media, but the government and the world taint the pure essence of us. They have stripped our culture down to the point where we only believe we can become rappers and sports athletes. We are so much more. To all my black men, Its time to stand up. There are billions of Black Women who want to do nothing more than worship the ground that you walk on. We are so in love with your potential. We want to have your back, we want to love, support and cherish every ounce of your being. But with that you have to show that you are willing to be the head of our households. You have to prove yourselves worthy of our submission. We need you to be hard working...Not a hustler. We need you to seek higher education, to seek spirituality. We need you to stand! And trust us, we will have your back. We know that it gets hard, we know you get weary. Trust and believe that there is nothing that a Black Woman and a Black Man can't handle with God on their sides. To all my Black Women: It is also time for us to stand up. It is time for us to stop using our bodies as our primary form of communication. It is time to be that virtuous woman that Proverbs spoke of. We can not sit by the way side, while our men our dying by the masses. We are the epitome of Black Love. It starts within us. We need to speak with conviction to let not only our Black Men know, but the world know that we are the Mother's of this world. We are so powerful. We are so beautiful. We need to love and embrace every blessing God has given us physically emotionally and spiritually. For all My Black Children: We need to love them. We need to teach them. We need to stand up for them. We need to protect them. We need to show them that there is no "get rich quick." We need to tell them that they WILL die trying if the submit to a life of crime and deceit. We need to teach our children to that no one will love them the way we can. And being a basket ball player or a rapper is not reality, its not realistic and a small percentage of people ever make it that far. We need to teach our children that we can be better than the rappers and athletes. We can be the owners of these sports teams, we can be the CEO's of our fortune 500 companies. We need to believe in literacy. I am almost certain if we were to look back to the 1930's and 40's, the literacy rates for Black American Children are probably still the same.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, provides voice-controlled laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at home or in military hospitals. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse. The experience of CPT Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered severe hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important this voice-controlled software can be to a wounded servicemember's recovery.

This is a worthy cause, please give!

Every year The Utopia Group tries to commit to one social action project that will benefit the children of Costa Rica. Our company is committed to Social Action, and we are one of the few companies in Costa Rica, that has a social action commitment built in to our mission statement.My own commitment to social action goes back to my membership in Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, who's motto is "Culture for Service and Service for Humanity."

I was recently made aware of a very poor elementary school in my own barrio. The school is called Escuela la Pueblo and it is in San Pablo de Heredia. The school, is in desperate need of money and every dollar helps. I am reaching out to friends, Fraternity Brothers, business associates and others who might consider donating a few dollars/colones to the school. ANY help will be appreciated.

If you live in Costa Rica, and would like to make a donation, you can do so through Banco Nacional at the following account:

100-1-004-0000-684-7
The account is under the name:
Tesoreria Cantonal Heredia Centro
Escuela la Puebla

If you don't live in Costa Rica, and are interested in making a donation, please contact me and I will try to get information on how you can contribute. To my Brothers of Phi Beta Sigma, if you can help as a chapter, individual brothers, etc, I would appreciate it.

As we approach the holiday season, all of us having giving on our minds. For the price of a decent lunch, you can invest in the future of some children who really need your help.

Note: If you wish to help, please let us know that you made a donation. Since this is a Cantonal Account with many schools, we want to make sure the money goes to the right school. The school is also looking for a copy machine. If anyone would like to donate one, even a used one, it will be appreciated.

Thank you,

David Anderson

For international donations, see the following:

Send a wire transfer to Banco Nacional Account Number

100-1-004-0000-684-7
The account is under the name:
Tesoreria Cantonal Heredia Centro
Escuela la Puebla

SWIFT Number: BNCRCRSJ
ABA Code: 019462

Every year The Utopia Group tries to commit to one social action project that will benefit the children of Costa Rica. Our company is committed to Social Action, and we are one of the few companies in Costa Rica, that has a social action commitment built in to our mission statement.My own commitment to social action goes back to my membership in Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, who's motto is "Culture for Service and Service for Humanity."

I was recently made aware of a very poor elementary school in my own barrio. The school is called Escuela la Pueblo and it is in San Pablo de Heredia. The school, is in desperate need of money and every dollar helps. I am reaching out to friends, Fraternity Brothers, business associates and others who might consider donating a few dollars/colones to the school. ANY help will be appreciated.

If you live in Costa Rica, and would like to make a donation, you can do so through Banco Nacional at the following account:

100-1-004-0000-689-7
The account is under the name:
Tesoreria Cantonal Heredia
Centro Esquela la Pueblo

If you don't live in Costa Rica, and are interested in making a donation, please contact me and I will try to get information on how you can contribute. To my Brothers of Phi Beta Sigma, if you can help as a chapter, individual brothers, etc, I would appreciate it.

As we approach the holiday season, all of us having giving on our minds. For the price of a decent lunch, you can invest in the future of some children who really need your help.

Thank you,

David Anderson

To my other blogger friends, would appreciate any trackbacks on this.

I love it when we can do something possitive in the Blogsphere:

At the time of this writing, $1,636.00 in donations have poured in. This level of support is overwhelming and I am truly thankful for it. A few purchases have been made with your gracious donations. The priority one purchase was obviously the hotel room; that authorization is pending with a price tag of $130.59. Priority number two was making sure enough supplies could be acquired to sustain a much smaller than expected child. Yesterday, before I went to the hospital, I picked up a Sam's Club/Wal-Mart gift card in the amount of $300.00 but thanks to two ATM fees (one from the ATM and one from PayPal) the total transaction amount came to $302.40. The last purchase I made was a small bouquet of pink and purple (her favorite colors from what I gathered) flowers from the hospital gift shop for her room that she just moved into. The bouquet was quite inexpensive given its quality and I'm sure it brightened her day a little, which is well worth $27.69. When you tack on $60.36 of PayPal fees then you're left with $1,115.96.

I wrote about this the other day, and hope that some of you guys made the jump to Chris's blog and helped out. To all those who did, thank you. Sometimes it is just good to put the politics aside and try and help someone.

I have been in meetings all day today. Just got home a few hours ago, stuffed my face and watched the repeat of The Sopranos first season.

Got a chat from Chris Short of Conservative thinking. He runs a post today about an Airman who needs help.

I have a young Airman that has a tremendous family emergency on his hands. I can't give out all the details but essential his wife and two-day-old son are in critical condition.

I'm trying to get three of the Airman's family members and his immediate family some assistance with airline tickets (already bought) and hotel rooms (already paid for). I'm calling in every favor I can to help this family out in their darkest days and now my call is going out to you.

Help out if you can.

I didn't even know this was still going on... While Jeff is not someone I consider a friend, he is a member of the blogging fraternity, and does not deserve this...

I don't think I have ever agreed with anything Goldstein has written, but he is a great blogger and a fantastic writer. And what has happened to him sucks, and it can happen to any of us. The Nigerians have tried to shut me down a couple of times. Anyway, my point is, put asside the political bullshit and make a donation to help him. I am sure it will be appreciated. I just did, and I hope we can all come together and help a fellow blogger.

DA

This is what it's all about. My fraternity Brother sent me the link I posted in this post today. Latter I got an email about David's adventures, including this PDF file. Amazing... Anyway, the story of the Kevin L. Bowser Scholarship, is a story of people fighting to make a difference. Take a moment from the political bickering and give this cause some Love.

DARYL TYSON
Case Type: Endangered Runaway
DOB: Jan 18, 1990
Sex: Male
Missing Date: Dec 31, 2005
Race: Black
Age Now: 16
Height: 5′9″ (175 cm)
Missing City: PEORIA
Weight: 140 lbs (64 kg)
Missing State : IL
Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States
Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1034916

Circumstances: Daryl may still be in the local area or he may have traveled to the Chicago, Illinois area. He may go by the alias first name Nicolas.

For more info, check here.

And if you are a blogger, especially in the area where Daryl went missing, please post on this. In the past, this has been one issue that all of us bloggers could join together on. Drop a link to this post or the original one. Please...

Blogging is an expensive proposition. There have been a number of things I have wanted to do with the blog that I just cant justify due to expense. For all of you who enjoy ISOU, or those of you who have perhaps escaped being robbed by one of the lottery scammers or Nigerian 419 scammers, this is a chance to give something back. If you are so inclined, drop a buck or two into the tip jar, it will be appreciated. I have also restarted my Blogads, so if you would like to advertise on the resurgent ISOU, please do so. Just click on the link on the right sidebar.

Business is going to be slow over the next couple of months, as I finish the project in Guatemala and retool in preparation for a new business model and possibly a new company. Things will be a bit "interesting," during that period so I am looking to cut expenses and focus on the business. ISOU is my baby and I love it. I love the great relationships I have formed and you the great readers who come here day after day. I hope that you will support me in this effort by either buying an ad, or contributing to the cause. Thank you and I look forward to continuing to build ISOU.

But this video is so powerful it made me weep.

Hat Tip MiaCulpa

This is a cause I can join in on. Help out if you can. Regardless of how you feel about the war, helping it's veterans is a noble and should be a bipartisan cause.

I know LT SMASH is a sailor (arr, matey) but Mrs. SMASH is heading up the fundraising efforts on behalf of the Navy for a good cause; Project Valour IT. Head on over to The Indepundit and if you can spare a few pennies donate to their efforts (it helps all services, not just the US Navy).

My good friends over at The Mudville Gazette is heading up efforts for my US Air Force

so I'd really like you to donate money there. I'm a military guy and
gave $25.00 to the cause; I'm sure you can spare a ten spot or
more.

Help out now!

Like Latoyia Figueroa, who remains missing, another young woman has went missing on the East Coast.

Her name is Mia Carter.

She is about 5' 7 and 117 lbs
She has long wavy black-brown hair usually up in a ponytail or bun. She was las seen on June 19 2005 in Glenarden Maryland

She has a light mole on the left side above her lip.
If you have ANY info about her please call Megan Battle at:301-773-3799

If you have a blog and read this, especially if you are on the East Coast, please give it some attention. It only takes a moment and could save a life.

She could get a whole new set of teeth for a tenth of this:

From Kevin:
I've always been amazed at the power of the blogosphere to pitch in when a blogger is in dire financial distress. Nearly two year ago one of the first people to come to my aid when I was downsized weeks before Christmas was Venomous Kate. She's been a long-time friend, and is truly one of the good people of the blogosphere.

Earlier this week she was involved in a bicycle accident that left her in need of serious dental work (to the tune of over $8000), at a point when she'd already maxed out her dental coverage for the year.

Go help now...

Anyway, I always liked Kate, so if you can help, do so.

I got this in an email today. These are the kind of stories we don't often hear about in the U.S.. It is surprising that this one has not gotten more attention, considering our Government's position on the Chavez regime in Venezuela:

Four years ago when Venezuelan police rescued 18-year-old Linda Loaiza from her kidnapper's apartment, she was bruised and cut inside and out and severely malnourished.  One nipple had been cut off, her earlobe destroyed, her lip cut off, her skull fractured, and her entire body was covered with cigarette burns.

Nearly three years later, the courts had still not set a trial date and Linda's case was in danger of being dismissed so she held a two-week hunger strike on the steps of the Supreme Court until finally a judge was assigned and a trial date set.  After all that the judge let the man who'd raped and tortured Linda (the son a very influential man who was president of one of Venezuela's major universities at the time) off scot-free, citing a "lack of evidence." 

Today, Linda is still waiting for justice to be served.  That’s why FreeChoiceSaveLives.org has launched an online campaign -- www.JusticeForLinda.org to make sure that the Venezuelan justice system does not continue to drag its feet on setting a trial date or let her attacker go free again.  

Click here to visit our online action center now.

This April, Linda and her supporters succeeded in getting the courts to reopen her case and request a retrial with the hope of convicting her attacker, Luis Carrera Almoina.  After several more anxious months Linda is still waiting for a trial date to be set.

We need your help to let the Venezuelan government know the world is watching.  Will you help us reach our goal of getting the court to set a trial date by the middle of August by sending at least 10,000 messages to the Venezuelan government in the next two weeks demanding a fair trial?

The incident occurred in Venezuela, but it is representative of the immense difficulty faced by women in many parts of the world when they seek justice in the face of violence and abuse.  Your support will mean a great deal to Linda and to women everywhere. 

Below I’ve pasted a sample blurb about the case and JusticeForLinda.org that you’re welcome to use if you’d like. There is also a full explanation of Linda's story available at http://www.freechoicesaveslives.org/campaign/Linda/explanation that includes some photos (some graphic) of her story. 

All of this information, including our online action center, is also available in Spanish at www.JusticiaParaLinda.org. 

Please feel free to contact me at this address or the phone number below if you have any questions or need more information. 

Thank you for all your help,

Best,

Katelyn Sabochik
JusticeForLinda.org Outreach Coordinator
ksabochik@mrss.com
202-478-6305

Sample Blurb

Linda Loaiza's waking nightmare began 4 years ago when she was kidnapped by Luis Carrera Almoina.  Almoina held Linda, then 18, prisoner in his home in Venezuela where he raped and beat her repeatedly until she was rescued by police 4 months later.  Linda's case was then passed over by the Venezuelan judicial system 29 times and a total of 59 judges declined to prosecute on her behalf!  After waiting 3 years for a trial, the judge finally appointed to the case let Almoina go free! 

This spring, Linda managed to get her case reopened and after more anxious months she is still waiting for a trial date to be set. Join an online campaign at www.JusticeForLinda.com to demand that the Venezuelan justice system ensure a fair and timely trial, free from the corruption and irregularities that plagued the last one! 

Linda's experience is deeply disturbing - both for the violence she suffered and for the corruption and the injustice she has faced in her quest to put her attacker behind bars where he can't hurt her or others.  Click here to join the Justice for Linda campaign now!

Also available in Spanish at http://www.JusticiaParaLinda.org

For my blogging budies out there, please pass this one along!

I have been involved with Jane and her fight for the Freedom of Yememi Journalist al-Khaiwani almost since the begining. Jane informs us today that his newspaper has been shut down and may be planning to assassinate him. She askes that we click on the link below to write emails to key people with the subject:

"In support of al-Khaiwanii and al-Shoura" or "in support of a Free Press in Yemen" or to really want to annoy them "regarding my cousin al-Khaiwanii" maybe "Waiting for the next issue of al-Shoura" and then send it.

click here

Jane has been out front on this issue for a long time. Do some good and support the effort.

I just came across this on MVRWC. A sad story... I believe very strongly in supporting these kinds of efforts in the Blogsphere. So help out if you can.

I've spent a long time since last night trying to figure out a way to report this, but I can't seem to find a way to do it without it seeming weird, newsy, fakey.

My friend Carol, a.k.a. An American Housewife, (a fellow Bama blogger) emailed Tammy yesterday to tell her that her husband had just died. Those of you who read An American Housewife regularly know about her husband's illness, and how she had worried so much lately about it, but no one expected THIS.

There's a Paypal button at her site, if you would like to help her and her children out during this horrible time. Please. She's not asking I am. Obviously, money won't bring back her husband, but maybe we can give her one less thing to worry about.

Update: Apparently her hosting service is having issues and her site has been inaccessible for some time today.

Donations for Carol and her children

Like I said yesterday, I dont usually run complete post from other blogs, but this is another worthy cause.

Charlotte Observer/The State

For now, Isabel Jurado walks and runs, plays and laughs like most 3-year-old girls.

But only for now - because if she doesn't get medical help, her world likely will go silent, speechless and immobile in a matter of years.

A day after her third birthday on May 22, doctors first diagnosed Isabel with a rare, 1-in-70,000 disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome, or MPS III.

She needs a stem-cell transplant to block the advancing disease. Duke Medical Center's pediatric bone marrow division has performed more transplants for MPS children than any other hospital in the country.

The problem is the Duke division is not a network provider for the Jurados' insurance company, and the operation and treatment could cost more than $1 million.

So as Isabel's parents, Jimmy and Leslie, negotiate with their insurer, their friends and relatives - and strangers - are coming to the rescue, unwilling to wait for bureaucratic decisions.

A website (including a blog authored by Isabel's mom) has been set up at HelpIsabel.com. There is donation information here including Paypal (click on the handprint graphic near the bottom of that page.)

I usually dont post whole post from other blogs, but this is a worthy cause that all of us should be willing to help on. From Wizbang:

I've mentioned in passing the story of Manuel Gehring, the New Hampshire man who killed his two children, then hanged himself in his jail cell before his trial.

But for some reason I kept neglecting to mention what may be the most tragic element. Gehring shot the children in his minivan, then started driving across the country. Somewhere along Interstate 80 between Pennsylvania and Iowa, he pulled off the highway and buried his son and daughter. But their bodies have never been recovered.

Authorities are convinced that the Gehring was telling the truth before he killed himself. They report that all the details are accurate, and all the physical evidence (the purchasing of the shovel and other materials he says he used to bury them, the overwhelming evidence in the van that it was a murder scene, and so on) backs it up. Gehring himself retraced his path several times with law enforcement officials, but couldn't find the scene.

Terri Knight -- Gehring's ex-wife and mother of the missing children -- has been to the Midwest several times, and is planning yet another trip soon. She's hoping that this time she will find the bodies of her son and daughter, and bring them home for a proper burial.

The FBI has taken a most unusual step. They have posted transcripts and audio clips of Gehring's account on their web site here and here.

Please do the trackback dance and get this story noticed.

To all you mothers out there, enjoy this special day. For me, every day is mother's day. Your contributions to our lives are probably the most significant influence on who we become as people.

I was blessed to have a wonderful mother, and ironically her Birthday often fell on Mothers day. Its not the case this year, but I will be thinking about her nonetheless...