Sands of Sorrow. Via YouTube, a 28 minute black-and-white documentary from 1950. “On the plight of Arab refugees from the Arab-Israeli war. Dorothy Thompson speaks on the refugee problem. Refugees live in tents in the Gaza Strip, are given blankets and food by Egyptian soldiers, and receive flour from UNICEF. A Lebanese priest conducts services. Refugees work as plumbers, carpenters, tailors, and shoemakers in the city of Jerusalem. Doctors vaccinate refugees against disease. Shows the squalid living conditions in refugee camps, starving children, and emphasizes the hopeless condition of the refugees. Producer: Council for the Relief of Palestine Arab Refugees”  ¶

Build Your Own Solar Cooker. Other instructions here and here.  ¶

A Case for Fare-Free Public Transit.  ¶

“Cartographers don’t lie, but they take a position”... “‘The problems of cartography are the same that exist in diplomatic relations’... For mapmakers like Nova Rico, disputes over geography are commonplace. For a Turkish customer, Cyprus is shown split in two, a division that Greek Cypriots do not recognize. In one globe, Chile gets parts of Antarctica that on another globe go to Argentina. And in much of the Arab world, Israel is nonexistent.”  ¶

The Road to Clarity. Long article in the NY Times about the orgins of Clearview, a typeface for improved legibility of roadside signage — particularly when letters are blurred by distance, weather, night, and physical impairment.  ¶

On the CIA’s “Black Sites”. “It’s one of the most sophisticated, refined programs of torture ever... At every stage, there was a rigid attention to detail. Procedure was adhered to almost to the letter. There was top-down quality control, and such a set routine that you get to the point where you know what each detainee is going to say, because you’ve heard it before. It was almost automated. People were utterly dehumanized. People fell apart. It was the intentional and systematic infliction of great suffering masquerading as a legal process. It is just chilling.”  ¶

Book Mules. In Venezuela, four-legged mobile libraries, bibliomulas, help distribute books in the foothills of the Andes. (thanks)  ¶

Non-Profits Embrace Web 2.0. A few brief cases of groups using blogs, maps, videos, and social networking to great effect.  ¶

Nissan adds feature to protect pedestrians in collisions. In a crash, the hood “automatically pops upward a few inches to put more distance between it and the hard engine components below, giving the hood more room to flex. The feature is among a growing number being designed to protect pedestrians, especially in low-speed mishaps they might survive. Driving the effort are tougher requirements taking effect in Europe and Japan for cars to be more ‘pedestrian-friendly.’” (via)  ¶