As a culmination of his work over the last 18 months, since winning the TED prize, Nachtwey has assembled a striking essay on the effects of exteme drug resistant tuberculosis around the world. Go here to see the photos and read the text that explains the work and what we, as world citizens, can do to affect change on this front.

There has been a bit of grumbling around the interent about how the project was announced, too commercial, too hyped, etc. but I think Nachtwey's reputation and the work itself ought to shut the gates on that. It is so hard to get this type of story into the public consciouness these days, that I think any photographer who uses the power and influence they possess to bring awareness to the issue at hand should be commended. Yes, there are probably types of marketing that could be deemed to heavy handed or offensive to be used to promote this kind of story, but the Nachtwey effort is does not, in my mind, fall anywhere close.

I have heard criticism of Nachtwey's supposed personal detachment and practically obsessive devotion to his trade, but to produce the body of work he has made over the last 20 years may indeed take the single minded focus he exhibits when talking and acting in relation to his projects. His devotion seems pure and the attention he has brought to ignored topics around the globe can not easily be equaled. You decide, but I find the tuberculosis project to be yet another example of what photojournalism can and should be.

XDRTB.org is an extraordinary effort to tell the story of extremely 

drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and TB through powerful photographs 

taken by James Nachtwey.  XDR-TB, or extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, 

is a new and deadly mutation of tuberculosis. Similar in creation to 

multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) but more extreme in its manifestation, 

it arises when common tuberculosis goes untreated or standard TB drugs are 

misused. James’ photographs represent these varying strains. Learn more about TB, MDR-TB and XDR-TB, and learn how you can take action to stop this deadly disease.

James Natchwey gives a photo presentation of a new extreme form of TB that is highly resistant to drugs.

XDRTB.org is an extraordinary effort to tell the story of extremely
drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and TB through powerful photographs
taken by James Nachtwey.  XDR-TB, or extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis,
is a new and deadly mutation of tuberculosis. Similar in creation to
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) but more extreme in its manifestation,
it arises when common tuberculosis goes untreated or standard TB drugs are
misused. James’ photographs represent these varying strains. Learn more about TB, MDR-TB and XDR-TB, and learn how you can take action to stop this deadly disease.

Photographer James Nachtwey has been covering war and human rights
stories for 30 years, traveling from Northern Ireland to Iraq, from the
orphanages of Romania to the deadly killing grounds of the Sudan. He knows
the power of news photographs to raise awareness and make real change.
In 2007, he was awarded the TED Prize, which comes with $100,000 and one
wish to change the world. These photographs and this project are his wish.
Learn more about James Nachtwey and the TED Prize and the conference
that started it all, TED.

Interesting book project by design maestro Stefan Sagmeister. Watch this 5 minutes talk on what Sagmeister has to say of his journal. The 20 maxims that you will find in the book is indeed enlightening and the bolded ones are my favourite.

1. Helping other people helps me.

2. Having guts always works out for me.

3. Thinking that life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now.

4. Organising a charity group is surprisingly easy.

5. Being not truthful always works against me.

6. Everything I do always comes back to me.

7. Assuming is stifling.

8. Drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on.

9. Over time I get used to everything and start taking for granted.

10. Money does not make me happy.

11. My dreams have no meaning.

12. Keeping a diary supports personal development.

13. Trying to look good limits my life.

14. Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses.

15. Worrying solves nothing.

16. Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.

17. Everybody thinks they are right.

18. If I want to explore a new direction professionally, it is helpful to try it out for myself first.

19. Low expectations are a good strategy.

20. Everybody who is honest is interesting.

Accepting his 2007 TED Prize, James Nachtwey talks about his decades as a photojournalist and (anti)war photographer. He shares and explains a slide show of pictures covering a variety of armed conflicts and social issues throughout the globe.

"I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated." (James Nachtwey)

Links English:

• jamesnachtwey.com (official Webpage incl. portfolio)
• James Nachtwey - video seach
• War-Photographer (Moviepage)
• XRRTB.org

Links Deutsch:

• g26.ch - James Nachtwey warphotographer (deutsch)
• James Nachtwey - Wikipedia
• War-Photographer (Film)
• "Ich bin unwichtig. Meine Bilder zählen" (Tagesspiegel)

Hace un par de días un buen amigo me preguntó cual sería la mejor manera de bajar series fácilmente, y sin lugar a dudas la mejor opción es ted.

ted es un programa gratuito de código abierto que sirve para buscar tus series favoritas; la última versión es la 0,95 y está totalmente traducida al castellano.

Por defecto tiene incluidos varios sitios de búsqueda, pero se pueden agregar más y lo mismo sucede con las series, ya que se encuentran las mas populares, sin embargo es posible personalizar la lista con tus propias preferencias.

Una vez seleccionada la serie, ted es capaz de buscar periódicamente los nuevos capítulos y automáticamente bajar el enlace.

Es muy importante contar adicionalmente con un software de descarga de torrents, como podría ser azureus, BitTorrent o Transmission. Yo en lo personal utilizo transmission ya que es un cliente muy ligero y eficiente (próximamente comentaré algo de este software).

Enlace | ted|

What these self-styled experts would have you believe is that there is a fundamental disconnect between debt and equity. But anybody who has run a business knows that, at their roots, both instruments emanate from the same value drivers: in the briefest of terms, under a logically constructed business model, the impact of the same valuation premises which are attributed to equity must form the basis for debt pricing.

Whatever happened to the concept of weighted average cost of capital, essentially incorporating equity, debt and hybrids? Well, for the present, the concept itself has been discarded, perhaps conveniently, and for very obvious reasons.

Firstly, those in control of the marketplace have succeeded in largely under-pricing debt and over-pricing equities since the late 1980s. Secondly, there is a widespread reluctance to recognize that quoted share prices, which are conditioned by options, shorts, futures, day-trading and leverage, over and above the credibility of business models, are not an adequate reflection of inherent risks. Finally, corporate balance sheets prepared under existing regulatory regimes are incapable of disclosing whether debt service compliance and dividend capability is actually being generated by the core components of a business model or by residual surpluses from debenture or share issuances.

The assessment of risk, moreover, is severely constrained, in a qualitative manner, by the failure to understand the global economy on one hand and by the dynamics shaping the fate of the poor countries on the other. For instance, the economic reality of the developing world (where both fascism and despotism are on the rise) is that real family incomes are declining and growth numbers are being artificially fuelled by credit and government spending; the prism of the so-called tiger economies is now turning out to be an illusion. For instance, given the substantial recourse to offshore jurisdictions of convenience in the previous two decades, the full material facts pertaining to international asset and cash transfer mechanisms are simply not on the table. For instance, western analysts are devoid of the perspective needed to grasp the true impact on the international matrix of the surge in underground wealth, driven by tax evasion and systemic criminal activity throughout the third world.

Which brings us to the critical question of the day: If risk spreads on debt have risen by 35-50% in recent weeks, where are equities headed?

In the same context, it is important to draw the distinction between market capitalization and verifiable corporate value. For far too long, spin masters have collectively succeeded in ensuring that the gap between perception and reality is skewed heavily in favour of the former. But, this time around, the ground has shifted, in more than one respect.

Hopefully, retail investors will realize that professional players on Wall Street are already arbitraging between the spreads on debt and the price of equity, by insisting on significant dilution when granting bailouts. While Washington lawmakers fret about what is going to happen next, knowledgeable hedge fund and capital pool mangers are already engaged in re-pricing assets right across the spectrum; the deals concluded on Goldman Sachs and General Electric by Warren Buffet are useful examples in this regard.

As far as the impact of the bailout package is concerned, there is one key indicator which will assist you in cutting through the thick fog to be created by an excess of information through next week: the spread between 3-month US treasuries and 3-month LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), commonly called the TED spread by inter-bank traders.

That LIBOR-against-treasury differential, priced well over 3.80% yesterday, is perhaps the best indicator of the crisis within the credit markets. Since US treasuries are considered “risk free” and LIBOR reflects the interest rate for borrowings by commercial banks, the TED spread is generally acknowledged as the best mirror of perceptions of default risk on bank-to-bank loans. To place default risk in perspective, the TED spread averaged less than 0.50% through this decade, until the start of the US economic downturn around this time last year. It does not take a genius to figure out who is ultimately bearing the costs, as if higher energy and food prices were not enough.

www.creditdefaultswapslimited.com www.quoteplatform.com www.uralmountainshedgegroup.com

Gracias a mi amiga Laëtitia [foto-reportera francesa radicada en Québec], quien respondió a mi estado de Facebook en donde comentaba que estaba viendo esta película, hice una búsqueda para obtener antecedentes actuales de este renombrado fotógrafo. James Nachtwey ganó el premio TED 2007 [video] que otorga USD$100,000 y un deseo para cambiar el mundo.

Ya ha pasado el tiempo y los frutos de ese premio y ese deseo fueron publicados hoy 3 de octubre en XDRTB.org en donde Nachtwey presenta una serie de 37 imágenes en 3 minutos con gente que padece una nueva variante de la tuberculosis que es ampliamente resistente a los medicamentos [XDR-TB: extreme drug resistant - tuberculosis] responsable de la muerte de 1 persona cada 20 segundos y que amenaza con transformarse en una pandemia.

Hasta ahora 49 países han reportado XDR-TB entre ellos:

• Africa del Sur
• Camboya
• Suazilandia
• Tailandia
• Siberia
• Lesoto
• India

QUÉ VAS A HACER ?

XDRTC.org

DanCL
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DanCL » Blog por Daniel Fuentealba
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One of the things I miss most from my days as a student is the simple joy of being in a classroom. Passionate discussions. Challenging thoughts. And an exposure to raw, unfiltered Academia.

So the first time I stumbled across TED, I thought I struck scholastic gold. I began attending 'class' without ever leaving my apartment with a world class roster of professors. But I still craved the discussion component of the learning process.

A couple months ago, I proposed spending a half hour per week watching a TED talk with our team at work. And to make a long story short, it's been extremely successful. Selfishly, I like the collegiate-like atmosphere it provides in the workplace. But I also constantly hear rave reviews from my coworkers. I can't say I'm surprised - after all, I have yet to see anything on TED.com that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed - but it's nonetheless a delight that everyone else enjoys our weekly 'guest speaker' as much as I do.

This week, we listened, on the edges of our seats, while Ben Saunders told the tale of his solo trip the North Pole. His humility, courage and perseverance inspired us all to tackle those long-standing-yet-seemingly-unachievable goals we tend to file away when reality sets in. Towards the end of his presentation, he showed a report card from his childhood that essentially said he wouldn't amount to anything in life. It's funny now. And the irony is apparent. But it made me wonder how many people - kids and adults, alike - give up on their dreams or ambitions because someone bigger/smarter/older/louder/bossier than you said so.

I encourage everyone to watch his charismatic talk - and renew the sense of confidence in yourself. I'll leave you with the video clip and a quote from our TED guest this week:

'No one else is the authority on your potential.' - Ben Saunders

The photographer, James Nachtway, has taken these photos on TB wards around the world, and his site highlights the problem:

"XDRTB.org is an extraordinary effort to tell the story of extremely
drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and TB through powerful photographs
taken by James Nachtwey.  XDR-TB, or extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis,
is a new and deadly mutation of tuberculosis. Similar in creation to
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) but more extreme in its manifestation,
it arises when common tuberculosis goes untreated or standard TB drugs are
misused. James’ photographs represent these varying strains. Learn more about TB, MDR-TB and XDR-TB, and learn how you can take action to stop this deadly disease."

There is a great talk on TED from James Nachtway here, as he receives his TED Prize:

His movie, War Photographer, is great - and even has a section in Indonesia!

“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”
James Nachtwey

Today, this major TED Prize wish is coming true.

I urge you to take three minutes out of your day, and click on this link:

www.xdrtb.org

(I recommend clicking on the arrow at bottom right of the screen to enlarge it.)

Tonight these pictures will be projected in some 50 cities all over the world.  We wanted you to see them first.

I will follow up shortly with another note about this extraordinary story.

Chris Anderson, TED Curator

That stands for Extremely Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis, an epidemic that has appeared in 48 countries around the world. TB is curable. Keeping it contained is do-able. But not if we don't act. Learn more here:

As you'll see, this is serious. And stoppable. Give them a few bucks. 

Thanks to the amazing folks at TED for getting this initiative a level of visibility that may actually be able to stop this disease before it kills millions.

powerful photography in action to build support and knowledge to fight extremely drug resistant TB.

my initial reactions are mixed. the photographs are beautiful and tragic. they do everything powerful documentary photography should.. i cannot see the images and not be affected. however, the presentation comes across as less than the photography. in some ways it feels forced and almost marketed. this enters my own inner argument of discovering how to let a story speak for itself. you need outlets. you need the funding to put the work in front of people. but for anyone that has seen nachtwey's work on a wall, with no pretense or forcible context, you understand the social and global issues at stake.

don't confuse this with criticism, consider it as a processing of developing story telling that allows the issue and subject to speak as loudly as it needs to be heard. i know there is a lot of organized fundraising and infrastructure surrounding this project. it will be interesting to see the reaction in the photographic community and the public over the next weeks and months.

Last year, the TED Prize went to acclaimed war photographer James Nachtwey his powerful work documenting war, disease and conflict around the world for the past quarter century. Winners of the TED Prize are given $100,000 to make a "wish" come true. Nachtwey enticed us with saying his wish was to bring to the forefront an issue that had been overlooked - but he never indicated which overlooked issue he wanted to cover.

But now we know. At a special screening in New York tonight, Nachtwey will unveil a series of photographs depicting the struggle against drug resistant tuberculosis.

XDR-TB (Extremely Drug Resistant TB) is a new and deadly mutation of TB. It comes from cases of TB that go untreated for long periods of time - and it is a growing problem.

Go to www.xdrtb.org to learn more and help.

Susan Blackmore's TED talk was released online recently.  She introduces the concept of Universal Darwinism (based on the ideas of Richard Dawkins), the core concept of which is that any system that has variation, selection, and heredity MUST evolve such that subsequent generations are better adapted than previous ones.  She argues that this doesn't only hold for living things, it applies to any system.  In other words, in such systems order inevitably arises from chaos.  Strong stuff succeeds, weak stuff fails.

She goes on to develop the idea of meme machines (meme = that which is imitated), ideas that get copied and thus improve themselves over time.

We see this kind of thing in the start-up space all the time, and the trick for investors is to try to predict which teams will be able to nurture their ideas into memes which survive and become dominant.

Trade Me is a good reference example - great idea (thanks, ebay), great team (Sam Morgan and friends), vacant niche (New Zealand) = viral growth.

But even more exciting and potentially rewarding is taking our local ideas, backing them with great teams and resources, and exporting them to the world.  When you have a game-changing idea, the world is your vacant niche.  The challenge then becomes to evolve yourself rapidly enough to beat out the competition.

How fast are you evolving?  Are you making the most of a rapidly changing environment?

The issue under debate is a huge mistake by the prosecution who failed to turn over, until this morning, key documents relating to Bill Allen’s testimony.

The documents were certain FBI reports relating to Allen which were produced during the bribery investigation in Alaska.   Apparently in these particular documents, Bill Allen admitted that he thought Ted Stevens would have paid for the renovations [I am assuming this means would have paid had he gotten a bill.]   These statements apparently directly contradict what Allen is saying now, which is that Stevens would not have paid for the renovation.

The arguments on both sides this morning were impassioned.  The prosecution, while humbly admitting that they made a mistake, insisted that it was just a mistake and that everything is now out on the table – before Allen’s cross exam.  They insisted that the defense is not prejudiced.

Obviously, the defense had a different take.  They maintained that this document would have changed a great deal, starting with their opening statement.  Furthermore, they feel as though their inability to cross the witness immediately after his direct is a huge pitfall in and of itself.  The defense lawyer even went as far to say that in all of his years of trying cases, he has never left the courtroom feeling as though a trial was unfair.  But if there is not a mistrial, he will feel that way about this case.

Apparently, Judge Sullivan was convinced enough to bring it up for a mistrial hearing.  While both sides are scrambling to put together their arguments, we are awaiting a very interesting afternoon.

- Posted by Kristen

His theory is that we are all 'heroes-in-waiting'.  We focus too much in our hero worship on extraordinary people and not enough on ordinary people taking extraordinary action.  He thinks the latter is much more typical of heroes than the former and we need to cultivate these 'heroes-in-waiting' to increase our acts of heroism.

He quotes Dostoevsky that the line between good and evil runs through each one of us. And notes that the same situation that inspires the evil imagination in some (or more typically the innocent bystander) can inspire the heroic action in others.

He says that most people are innocent bystanders who claim to be following their parents' “mind your own business” advice; we need to teach that humanity is our business and always worthy of intervention

He is now working on developing Hero Workshops with Matt Langdon.  He is teaching students that to be a hero you have to be a deviant, moving beyond the more typical ego-centric behavior to social-centric behavior (concerned about others).  And getting people to focus on acting to defend a person or an ideal.

He points to Wesley Autry (a black man who jumped onto NYC train tracks to hold down white flailing person who had fallen onto tracks).  Autry said: “I did what anyone could do; I did what everyone OUGHT to do.”

Zimbaro notes that there may be only one situation in your life for your heroic imagination to take hold of you and if it doesn't you may regret it for the rest of your life.  So we need to be prepared.

See TED talk of Philip Zimbardo.