The Bold
Serchilo is a new tool that allows a user to navigate several search engines at once and quickly be taken to the final destination. The website works by allowing you to place short commands before your search to tell the engine where to look for what you want. For example, users interested in searching wikipedia will type a "w" before their search terms, and be taken directly to the wikipedia page on that topic. The simple commands don't save you much more time than going to the website itself - Serchilo really shines when it comes to more sophisticated functions.  For example, someone wanting to quickly search an exchange rate need only type in "eur-usd 115," and they will get a currency conversion.

With almost 300,000 employees, the DC area surpasses Silicon Valley in number of high-tech jobs, according to a report released by the American Electronics Association.  Adding over 6,000 jobs in 2006, the DC area also had the second-largest growth in the US after The Big Apple.  Other leading metro areas by high-tech employment were the New York City region (#1), Boston (#4) and Dallas-Fort Worth (#5).   
 
The study’s definition of “high tech jobs” encompassed a variety of fields.  While New York City’s is a hub of internet services, Silicon Valley remains the national leader in semiconductor manufacturing.  Washington DC’s tech cluster is based around computer system design.        
 
The first city-level report created since the burst of the dot com bubble, the study also warned that stringent visa requirements barring skilled foreigners to work in the United States and lack of qualified American graduates would hinder high-tech competitiveness in the long-term. 
 
Further Reading
American Electronics Report releases Cybercities 2008 
Cybercities 2008 on the Business Innovation Technology Society blog

The United Kingdom will need to attract highly-skilled foreign workers in order to maintain a competitive economy, said the London–based Work Foundation this week.

Their report, which highlighted key trends in migration and future obstacles for British companies, warns that a hostile environment towards migrants could harm the ability of firms to attract skilled, talented workers that are desperately needed in the UK.  National debates about immigration combine low-skilled and highly-skilled migrants, forcing politicians into the precarious balance of being open to talent and growth while not appearing weak on national security.  

Formerly tools of tech-savvy, two new social networking trends are becoming mainstream – and changing how citizens react to crisis situations. Moblogging (short for “mobile” and “blogging”) and microblogging allow for instant updates via cell phone to a web interface. During the recent Kenyan elections and Myanmar cyclone relief efforts, moblogging has been used to provide valuable on-ground information to circumvent autocratic governments.

In the aftermath of the Kenyan elections, the formerly free press was suddenly under the control of the state.  Leading Kenyan bloggers (including Kenyan Pundit and White African) gathered and created a mashup, Ushahidi.com, to gather real time reports of major events.  Updates included reports of police brutality, bonfires, and peaceful events (such as meetings or candlelight vigils).  The blogs then used information to report on the post-election crisis.  A good summary of this coverage can be found at Global Voices Online.    

As the value of the dollar continues to decline relative to other currencies, some of those most affected don't even live in the United States. Instead, they are citizens of developing countries who receive remitted dollars from family and friends working abroad. For them, the weakening dollar is particularly crippling because it either converts into less local currency or, for those in countries with pegged currencies, can't keep up with local inflation.

It's a situation roughly similar to American travelers in Europe discovering that it now costs $4.77 for a Big Mac, whereas a year and a half ago the cost was only $3.77. The dollar is no longer going as far as it once did, and the decline is pinching the incomes of remittance recipients -- often the poorest -- and prompting shifts in international migration patterns. Policymakers in developing countries need to act soon to reduce the costs and unpredictability of remittances and ensure that social safety nets cover those who are harmed.

Since the inception of the Marshall Plan post World War II, the United States has been one of the most active and generous aid donors to the developing world. Unfortunately, over the last few decades, our aid and trade policies have become increasingly fragmented and, at times, even contradictory. In order to increase aid effectiveness and best serve the interests of the U.S. and aid recipients, we must work towards harmonizing aid and trade policies towards developing and least developed countries.

The aid debate often centers around two primary approaches: increasing versus decreasing foreign assistance. However, as the recently released HELP Commission report has highlighted, we must also consider national aid harmonization. In order to ensure maximum impact for U.S. taxpayer’s investment, we must look beyond the stale aid budget questions and address harmonizing and rationalizing the U.S. aid system. The U.S. government currently has over 20 different agencies working on various foreign assistance-related issues. The U.S. has already begun streamlining efforts though through the establishment of coordinating bodies such as the “F Process” at the State Department and the HELP Commission; it is imperative these efforts continue to be explored. By finding ways to align these agencies we will be better positioned to effectively implement programs to the neediest countries.

WASHINGTON, Mar 28 (IPS) - Ballooning food prices around the world are prompting a reevaluation of the underpinnings of aid practices that many analysts consider to be inefficient and, in some cases, counterproductive.

And while many hope rising prices will force changes in the way food aid is administered, it also appears this could further entrench current practices.

At least two key food aid providers, the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), warn their current budgets can't keep up with rising costs. The WFP says it is short more than 500 million dollars and has issued an emergency appeal to donors, noting that the cost of its food purchases has risen 55 percent since June 2007.

Over the weekend the World Food Programme (WFP), the U.N.'s food aid agency, sent out an “extraordinary emergency appeal” to donor countries asking them to help make up for a $500 million shortfall in its budget. The agency is strapped for cash thanks to rising food and fuel prices--and the world’s poorest people are about to be dealt a serious punch to the stomach unless the WFP is able to come up with supplemental income by May 1st.

On any given day the WFP may feed up to 70 million hungry mouths in the world. Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of WFP, reports that the cost of their food purchases “has risen 55 percent since June 2007.” Transportation prices are also increasing, and in an effort to cope the agency has been buying more and more food from sources close to the areas receiving aid. But these efforts have not been enough to make up for the blistering rate of food inflation. Unless it receives additional money to make up for the higher prices it must pay for both food and transportation, Sheeran warns the WFP will be forced to cut rations--dealing a devastating blow to those who need food the most.

Late last month, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) told the Financial Times that the U.N. agency would soon be forced to consider "cutting [its] food rations or even the number of people reached." This comes as soaring inflation in staple food items such as wheat, corn, rice, and soybeans has produced hunger riots in developing countries and left governments grasping at straws for a solution. Over the past eight years, the price of food worldwide has increased 75 percent; the price of wheat has gone up a dramatic 200 percent. Struggling to keep up with inflation, the WFP must now pick between two unsavory choices: cut back on the amount of food it gives each person or reduce the total number of people it aids. The U.S. Agency for International Development also says it now faces a similar dilemma.

Journeys to Shangri-La; An analysis of the neo-orientalism of Tibetan culture
Elizabeth Ann Bovair

I. Introduction

We may be disillusioned to learn that Tibet is not the place we have dreamed of. Yet to allow Tibet to circulate in a system of fantastic opposites (even when Tibetans are the “good Orientals”) is to deny Tibet its history, to exclude it from a real world of which it has always been a part, and to deny Tibetans their agency in the creation of a contested quotidian reality (Lopez 1998: 11).

Tibet is one of the few remaining places in the world, the mere mention of which evokes notions of peace, tranquility, and utopia. It is no wonder that explorers referred to it as the “lost nation of Shangri-La.” The idea of Tibet conjures up images and stories evoking mystery, fantasy, and a utopian sense of harmony. This cultural exaggeration is often mistaken as an authentic representation of the Tibetan culture. Myths are created, images fabricated, and the true nature of the Tibetan people is lost amidst common misperceptions.