Category: Freedom

UN Primary Reason for Decline in Armed Conflicts

peace
Since the end of the Cold War armed conflicts around the globe have decreased, thanks mainly to the United Nations being able to launch peacekeeping operations. Altogether the planet has seen a decrease in conflicted-related deaths including a decrease in human rights abuses.

The report, financed by five governments, also states that major conflicts with 1,000 or more deaths have seen an 80% decrease since 1992. The average amount of deaths created by a single war has decreased dramatically as well.

Royal Society Issues IP Charter

Slashdot has a great short post about a good proposition for dealing with intellectual property from the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce in Britain.

Essentially they feel that intellectually property is helping the few, opposed to helping the public good, and that this needs to be changed – in fast. Power to them!

Thanks, Ben Powers!

A Bee Plus for Finding Landmines

Bees can now take the sting out of land mines – kinda. Bees can be trained to track down buried land mines without risking the lives of humans or trained dogs.

By making the bees associate the smell of explosives with food swarms of bees will be attracted to land mines. The bees hover around for a few seconds looking for food, then fly off disappointed. But by following swarms of bees land mines can be found.

Of course a human will have to defuse the device. Regardless, trained bees can help in the predicted 450 year time frame it will take to discover and diffuse all the land mines in the world today.

Afghan Women Learn

Learn, ladies, learnSchooling is very important for everyone, a better educated population makes for a better country. Afghanistan has opened up its school system to women and at first many were afraid to go since they were banned by the Taliban from schools previously. Many young women were worried about being beaten. Today women are attending schools and Afghan society is benefiting.

Recently women ran in the nation’s election. A giant step since they were banned from all but existing under the Taliban.