Kiva.org Update: Furkat Sultonov

From kiva.org
Loan has been disbursed

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Furkat Sultonov by MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan in Tajikistan. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 10 - 16 months, MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Posted by Madina Umarova from Khujand, Tajikistan
Sep 6, 2007

Kiva.org Loan Update: SANFO ISSIAKA

From Kiva.org
Loan has been disbursed

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to SANFO ISSIAKA by Afrique Emergence & Investissements in Cote D'Ivoire. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 15 - 21 months, Afrique Emergence & Investissements will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

How can people believe something that isn’t true?

We've been talking a lot about 9/11 in class and have discussed various conspiracy theories and the publics perception of 9/11 & the Iraq War.
Looking through Google News I found this interesting article from CBS News (9/12/07):

Polls, Truth Sometimes At Odds
CBS' Kathy Frankovic: Political Views, Psychology Can Make People Believe In Falsehoods

How can people believe something that isn’t true?

A significant number of Americans say Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That number rose above 50 percent in the run-up to the war in Iraq in 2003. While that belief has since declined somewhat, for many Americans it still exists. In the latest CBS News/New York Times Poll 33 percent said they believe Saddam was personally involved in the 9/11 attacks. As has been repeated over and over, there was and is no evidence of any such link. So why do so many people believe something that just isn’t true?

What do you think?
You can read the rest of the article here.

Kiva.org, "A little goes a long way" Update

With the great popularity of Kiva.org since being featured on Oprah we have managed to loan money to three people. Not all classes have been able to do it and so far there have been a lot fewer student donations than I would have liked. Therefore, I think that we will be tracking the loans as a school rather than as individual classes.
More info to come.
In the meantime, here's the rundown on who we've lent money to(click on the pictures to find out more):

SANFO ISSIAKA from Cote D'Ivoire in Africa

Fukart Sultonov from Tajikistan

Martha Álvarez from Ecuador

There is also more info about Kiva.org at the PBS's Frontline World site. There is an article, a video link, and more if you click here. Or the video link is here.

Check it out.

Kiva.org: Scooped by Oprah & Bill

From Kiva.org: Due to a recent surge in support ignited by viewers of the Oprah Winfrey Show , there is currently a shortage of businesses in need of loans. The Kiva.org staff and our Field Partners are working overtime to get more businesses on the website.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience!

I was really excited about getting my classes involved in Kiva.org this year. I was home sick on Wednesday when Oprah & Bill Clinton told the whole world about the site. Now it’s inundated with givers—so much so that there is often no one to lend to and lenders who are up there stay up for minutes at a time. While I’m happy that so many people are participating it looks like some of my classes will have to hold off for a while. I was able to make loans with 1B & 2B classes though.

More updates in the future.

Microlending with Kiva.org

Over the next week we'll be looking into making a few small loans using Kiva.org. You can find out more on their website (click on the picture).
Normally you would get your money back if the person pays the loan, but since some of the loan terms are over 12 months, the money will instead be rolled over into the next lending cycle and/or next year's class. If classes fall short of the $25 necessary for a loan, I'll kick in the rest of the money. Any class that raises more than $30 I'll help them to the next level of $50.
As a class we'll decide who to sponsor and we'll track the loans in class.
Thanks!

School’s just around the corner

School starts next week for another exciting year. I’ve been busy this summer finishing up my masters in reading at NEIU, traveling the Midwest and taking a short trip out to the east cost, attending lots of weddings, and reading for pleasure.

In Chicago my wife and I have been hosting guests, cycling around, and enjoying the city. We also attended Lollapalooza for all three hot and sunny (and sometimes rainy) days.

I’m currently working my way through the novel Shogun by James Clavell. I love historical fiction and am quite a Japanofile (since I lived and taught there for two years) so I don’t know how it took me so long to finally read this book. I often have a short attention span and while I read a lot there are few authors that can keep me interested for 1200 pages but I’m over 800 pages in and can’t put the book down. The personal stories, culture clash, and political intrigue are all interwoven so well that you’re immersed in the story.

In addition to reading some historical fiction novels I’ve also been reading some graphic novels, including the often recommended Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It’s an autobiographical coming of age story set in turbulent Iran of the 1980s.

Ken Burns on WWII

Famous documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has a new sprawling documentary on WWII coming out this fall. WTTW Chicago has been running half-hour previews of it this July. Can anything more really be added to one of the most documented events (ever?) in human history?
One one hand, what more can be said? On the other Ken Burns is a masterful filmmaker and will undoubtedly add something to our insight and understanding.

From the website: THE WAR, a seven-part series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four quintessentially American towns. The series explores the most intimate human dimensions of the greatest cataclysm in history — a worldwide catastrophe that touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America — and demonstrates that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

The trailer on the PBS website certainly looks compelling but as with most contemporary retellings of the war, Burns wants it both ways: war is hell but what a great war it was.

I also notice that the History Channel has been rerunning the excellent Band of Brothers series this summer.

UPDATE: Well, after watching the half-hour preview I don't think that this series will overly romanticize the war. I'm really looking forward to seeing it this spring.

Dunce-Cap Nation?

You can take a global IQ quiz here at the Newsweek website, but with 150 questions of mostly trivia, it's not going to make you feel very smart. (I stopped at question 50)

Since we're on the subject of not feeling so good about yourself, there's yet another poll that "found many gaps in America's knowledge." While I'm not so concerned with Americans being able to know the first five presidents, there are some more troubling statistics. 41% thought that Saddam had something to do with 9/11. More of the adults polled knew the winner of American Idol than the Current Supreme Court Chief Justice. I think that it's almost more generational if you know the answer. I know the Chief Justice but I have know idea who won American Idol. You can read more here.

Update: I just asked my wife figuring that she would know both, but she didn't know who won American Idol. Has she moved on into my demographic?

Blagojevich the Fanatic

Over at the on-again-off-again-but-always-funny The Daley Show Blog (a play on words: The Daily Show + Mayor Richard M. Daley) they’re having some fun with the Governor and Photoshop.

Besides being an avid runner, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is quite the Chicago sports enthusiast. In recent weeks, he's been seen cheering and even participating at various contests.

Here, he helps Luol Deng track down a loose ball in a game against Detroit. The governor was whistled for a moving pick violation.


Check out rest of the post by clicking here.