Old Maps Online, just launched this week, is the reportedly the largest collection of historical maps online.
You can do a text search, or browse around on an interactive map for locations for which you’d like to find older maps. You can filter the results by year. Above is the oldest map of the entire continent of Africa that I could find – from 1717.
(via Ars Technica)
See also:
Strange Maps blog
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/RN0ww17_5SM/
Very sad:
Child witchcraft allegations are increasing in parts of Africa, as thousands of children have been attacked, beaten or killed, according to a new report.
The accused children are mostly boys, ages 8 to 14 — with orphans, street children, albinos, and disabled as the most at risk, said the United Nations Children’s Fund in its report.
The accused children often suffer from extreme physical or psychological violence as a result of being branded a “child witch,” the report said.
CNN: Report: Accusations of child witchcraft on the rise in Africa
(Thanks Bill!)
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/7jQM1MA88BA/
European Union countries must drop their biofuels targets or else risk plunging more Africans into hunger and raising carbon emissions, according to Friends of the Earth (FoE).
In a campaign launching today, the charity accuses European companies of land-grabbing throughout Africa to grow biofuel crops that directly compete with food crops. Biofuel companies counter that they consult with local governments, bring investment and jobs, and often produce fuels for the local market. [...]
Producers argue they typically farm land not destined, or suitable for, food crops. But campaigners reject those claims, with FoE saying that biofuel crops, including non-edible ones such as jatropha, “are competing directly with food crops for fertile land”. [...]
Sun Biofuels, a British company farming land in Mozambique and Tanzania and named in the report, criticised the charity’s research as “emotional and anecdotal” and said that its time would be better spent looking into ways to develop equitable farming models in Africa.
Guardian: Friends of the Earth urges end to ‘land grab’ for biofuels
Anyone know more about this situation?
(via Chris Arkenberg)
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/D0xW0GzsIas/