In an effort to further awareness of the Darfur genocide, which has killed an estimated 400,000 people and created 2 million refugees, Google Earth, in partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, has produced the Grisis in Darfur initiative. Google Earth has been updated to include recent images of the Darfur region of Sudan; paired with downloadable interactive features this enables users to view in stunning detail over 1,600 destroyed villages, zoom in on over 133,000 structures that have been burned, and view pictures and video that have been uploaded from specific geographic locations. You can download Darfur layers for Google Earth from USHMM directly by clicking here, as well as browse those created by the American Association for the Advancement of Science by clicking here. To learn more about Darfur take a look at the Human Rights Watch resources Darfur Destroyed and Crisis in Darfur, or the Wikipedia entry on the Darfur Conflict.

Is NOT, repeat NOT hunger, according to the Committee on National Statistics. Instead, 35 million Americans last year experienced “low food security” and 10.8 million experienced “very low food security” per the 2005 Household Food Security in the United States report by the USDA. “Hunger” has been banished from the federal government lexicon as “too amorphous.” The U.S. Conference of Mayors, however, continues to count hungry people as “hungry.” Look for their new report in early December. Speaking of banished words, check out the annual lists of banished words from Lakes Superior State College.

The Community Collaborative of Washtenaw County has published
Community Needs Assessment 2006 , a comprehensive look at the socio-economic well-being of county residents. Data on unemployment, health care, child poverty, homelessness and more are presented in the report. A Plenary Session for the public to discuss the findings will be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 7:30 a.m. – Noon at the Morris Lawrence Building, Washtenaw Community College.