The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 03 of August

EDITORIAL

It's August. I have not done the OMG-time-flies-so-fast routine in a lot of time so I think I'm entitled to one now. In August. OMG.

This edition is the first one of the second year of The Procrastinator (OMG), and we are starting with a new section named ABC, written by our great collaborator: Caroline Truyol. To describe the section I'll just quote Caroline: "The ABC for artists, books, and celebrities to fight against my name illiteracy through writing and creating an aide-memoire with emojis (inspired by the german game 'Stadt-Land-Fluss')." It couldn't be more clear, right?

In our News section a devastating chronicle by Richard Preston in The New Yorker describing the wake of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Also a couple of articles about the Tower of David mass eviction in Caracas, Venezuela. In our Design, Business & Innovation section, H.R. Hennessy share his thoughts on how we are being dragged towards a tech-utopia that nobody wants, and to accompany our new section a mini test to find out how fluent are you in 'emoji'. Our Culture & Entertainment section is packed with goodies: Dazed Magazine's summer project: State of Independence curated by Kenneth Goldsmith, BFI's list of the best documentary films, and 'Emoji Among Us'. Yes, this is an edition particularly filled with emojis, I should have written all the editorial with them. In Our weekly Procrastination we talk about the wonders of the Magritte Museum in Brussels where we went a week ago. And finally, In Dog We Trust introduce us to Franklin the Frenchie, whilst the video of the week show us how dogs react to humans barking.

Happy August, happy Sunday and happy reading!


NEWS

Graphic via Quartz.

Richard Preston, author of “The Hot Zone,” describes the tragic wake of the latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa. "This spring in West Africa, a muttering emergence of the Zaire species of Ebola virus turned explosive. As of this writing, more than thirteen hundred cases of Ebola-virus disease have been officially reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The virus is spreading, uncontrolled, in widening chains of infection, which include cities—something never seen before. In Liberia, parts of the medical system have effectively collapsed. Some hospitals and clinics have been abandoned, while others have become choked with Ebola patients. The hospitals of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, are full of Ebola patients and are turning away new patients, including women in childbirth. American Ebola experts in Monrovia are hearing reports that infected bodies are being left in the streets: the outbreak is beginning to assume a medieval character. People sick with Ebola are leaving Monrovia and going into the countryside to search for village faith healers, or to stay with relatives. In Sierra Leone, in the town of Kenema, eighteen doctors and nurses who had been working in the Lassa/Ebola ward have contracted Ebola, and at least five have died. They had been working in biological-hazard suits, yet they got sick anyway. People are wondering if the virus could spread to Europe or the United States, but the more immediate question is whether it could infect a whole lot more people in Africa." Read full article in The New Yorker. E.T.P. 3'

**UPDATE (Friday 8th August)**

WHO declares Ebola epidemic a global emergency. "The World Health Organisation on Friday declared the killer Ebola epidemic ravaging parts of west Africa an international health emergency and appealed for global aid to help afflicted countries. The WHO move comes as US health authorities admitted on Thursday that Ebola's spread beyond west Africa was "inevitable", and after medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that the deadly virus was now "out of control" with more than 60 outbreak hotspots. 

The scientists who discovered the virus in 1976 have called for an experimental drug being used on two infected Americans to also be made available for African victims. One of the three, Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said "African countries should have the same opportunity" to use ZMapp, which is made by US company Mapp Pharmaceuticals."

Read full article in Yahoo. E.T.P. 3'

You can also read:

Here are the 35 countries one flight away from Ebola-affected countries. Via Quartz. E.T.P. 6'

Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO. Via BBC. E.T.P. 3'

US Ebola victim arrives at Emory University hospital in Atlanta. Via The Guardian. E.T.P. 4'

The skyscraper known as the "Tower of David" is seen in Caracas January 31, 2014. Photo: Jorge Silva via Reuters.

View of the Tower of David. Photo: Elyxandro Cegarra via Les Inrocks.

La Torre de David (Tower of David), the world's higher slum situated in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, home to more than 3000 people that invaded the property is finally being vacated. Some have a very romantic vision of that building as a community that emerged in the ruins of the capitalism, others like the Urban Think-Tank architectural agency praise it as a new model of vertical circulation. I think that you have to be very foreign or very cynic to be able to romanticize the tower. My very own personal mini-opinion is that is a just a massive symbol of the country's decadence that incredibly continues to accurately represent Venezuela's government, as the main reason for emptying the tower is believed to be because (among some other things) it was sold to China.

Reuters's article begins like this: "Venezuelan soldiers and officials began moving hundreds of families on Tuesday out of a half-built 45-story skyscraper that dominates the Caracas skyline and is thought to be the world's tallest slum". E.T.P. 3'

Les Inrocks article, like this: "This is the end of what has become a myth. On Tuesday, the skeleton of the Tower of David, known to be the highest squat in the world, down from its 45 floors, began to empty. Residents carry boxes and mattresses in front of journalists. They will be relocated by the government in new apartments. The evacuation could last several months. According to the last census, 1,740 families lived there, or at least 3,000 people, perhaps 5,000." Read the rest of the article in Les Inrocks (in French). E.T.P 8'

The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 04th of May Edition

EDITORIAL

Today is May the 4th, hope all my Star Wars fan friends have an excellent Sunday. This edition goes like this: in our News section we share the AFP's Annual Report of 2013 along with some news from Ukraine and Venezuela. In our Science section, Stephen Hawkins and other prominent scientists denounced the dangers of Artificial Intelligence, while others are more intrigued by kale. Good news for independent designers that use crowd-sourcing to finance their projects, read about it in our Design, Business and Innovation section. In Culture and Entertainment, the most loved book written in French in the past century, Antoine de Saint-Exúpery's The Little Prince via The New Yorker, and Fast Company about Canadian skate culture. Finally a short video about Eleanor Ambos via Nowness and our friend Carledonia in Our Weekly Procrastination.

Happy Sunday and happy reading.

NEWS

Image: Screenshot of the AFP Report Website.

The AFP published its report on the year 2013, this is how Emmanuel Hoog, CEO and President of Agence France Presse introduce it in his editorial: "As you read our annual report (online version available on afp.com), you will discover what 2013 was like for us day to day – how our committed, well-organised teams handled the most critical, most intense news stories." It is definitely an interesting reading. Have a look at the report in the AFP website. E.T.P. 90'

Photo via The Guardian.

The Guardian affirms that Ukraine moves towards civil war as Kiev hits back at pro-Russian activists: "Two days of chaos and violence in east and south-east Ukraine appeared on Saturday to be pushing the country ever closer to civil war, as the death toll rose to 42 following a military counter-offensive launched by authorities in Kiev against pro-Russia rebels." Read full article in The Guardian. E.T.P. 7'

Photo: Carlos Rawlins via Reuters.

These past week there was very few news about Venezuela in the international press. But the panorama is as follows: students protested about the sentence of the Constitutional Court that criminalized the right to protest in a pacific way; several foreigners were arrested under suspicion of conspiracy against the government, one of many conspiracy theories that as usual they claim without any real proof, but, who cares, they own the courts anyway; and one of the biggest food companies of the country stopped operations. Read more in the following links:

The Huffington Post: Venezuela's biggest food company is halting work at one of its facilities because of government delays in allotting it dollars to buy wheat from foreign suppliers.

Independent: President Nicolas Maduro is introducing a controversial shopping card intended to combat Venezuela's food shortages but decried by critics as a Cuban-style policy illustrating the failure of his socialist policies.

Reuters: Venezuela said on Friday that 58 foreigners had been arrested on suspicion of inciting anti-government protests and violence that have rocked the South American for the last three months.

La Patilla (link in Spanish): Law students reject the sentence of the Constitutional Court about the right to peaceful demonstration.

The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 20th of April Edition

EDITORIAL

Morning everyone! Hope you are enjoying your Easter holidays. In our news section we have one article about Narcissist in Chief, Valdimir Putin, and a couple of articles about Venezuela, mostly a  little follow-up from last week "dialogue", not very useful responses from the government, but well, that's no surprise. Among the articles though, there is an interesting piece of Moisés Naím, this time in the Financial Times about the under-reported influence/control of Cuba over Venezuela. In our Science section Adrianne Lafrance introduce us to Kepler-186f, Earth's closest cousin, and Maria Konnikova talks about the science of yawning. In our Business section, some accurate descriptions of media jobs, and the darknet of drugs and guns, disturbing! And of course our Culture Section is devote to one of our favorite Latin American writers of all times: Gabriel García Marquez, el Gabo. Finally, in our lovely section In Dog We Trust you get to meet Rio Blue that belongs to one of my favorite breed of dogs: the Boston Terrier!

Happy 04/20 people, good Sunday and good reading!


NEWS

Narcissist in Chief. Joseph Burgo writes in The Atlantic about Vladimir Putin's narcissistic behavior. Some insights obviously can be extended to other more tropical messianic leaders, if you ask me. Here's a fragment of Burgo's piece: "Is it accurate to describe Putin as a narcissist in the clinical sense of the word? Can an understanding of the psychological roots of narcissism help us to gain deeper insight into the man and how we should respond to his aggression, rather than using the label to deride him? Maybe." Read full article in The Atlantic. E.T.P. 11'

Photo via Voz de América.

Venezuela students add Easter twist to dwindling protests. Venezuelan students are marching barefoot, building crucifixes and planning to burn effigies of President Nicolas Maduro to try and breathe new life into their protest movement over Easter.
The religious-themed demonstrations are the latest tactics in anti-government protests since early February that have convulsed the South American OPEC nation and led to 41 deaths. Read full article in Reuters. E.T.P. 3'


Cuba fed a president's fears and took over Venezuela. The enormous influence that Cuba has gained in Venezuela is one of the most underreported geopolitical developments of recent times. It is also one of the most improbable. Venezuela is nine times bigger than Cuba, three times more populous, and its economy four times larger. The country boasts the world’s largest oil reserves. Yet critical functions of the Venezuelan state are either overseen or directly controlled by Cuban officials.Read full article by Moisés Naín in Financial Times. E.T.P. 6'

Venezuela's military admit excesses during deadly protests. The military in Venezuela has admitted it committed "some excesses" during weeks of political unrest that have left more than 40 people dead. The military's strategic command chief, Vladimir Padrino, said they were investigating 97 officers and police staff for "cruelty and torture". Read full article in BBC. E.T.P. 3'

Venezuela rejects amnesty for jailed protests leaders. The Venezuelan government has dismissed calls by the opposition for an amnesty for jailed protest leaders. Government and opposition representatives met for a second time on Tuesday to try to put an end to two months of anti-government protests.

Following the meeting, Ramon Aveledo of the opposition MUD coalition said his proposal for an amnesty law had been rejected.Read full article in BBC. E.T.P. 5'

The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 13th of April Edition

EDITORIAL

Hello everyone! In our News section there is an interesting article written by Moisés Naím in The Atlantic about why big protests generate so little achievements, another one about the inspiring collective project "Not A Bug Splat!", and we continue with our small coverage of the Venezuelan crisis. Google's robots and nano-organisms in video in our Science section. In our Design, Business & Innovation section we have a interesting article about consumption trends in China and the end of Facebook as we know it (and hate it). Good news in our Culture & Entertainment section: Milan Kundera and Mad Men are back! Finally In Dog We Trust share with us some dog's secrets and the tricks to handle anxiety.

Hope you have a great Sunday and a happy reading!


NEWS

Photo via The Atlantic.

"A new project, initiated by a collective of artists from around the world including the French JR, has tried to reach the people pulling the trigger in America's drone wars—the drone operators themselves.
It’s called “Not A Bug Splat,” and its gets its name from the term drone operators use for a successful “kill,” because—in the pixelated grayscale of the drone camera—ending a human life looks like squashing a bug". Read full article by Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic. E.T.P. 5'

Photo via The Atlantic.

This week Moisés Naím published an article in The Atlantic with some interesting reflections about why street protests don't work or seem to achieve minor -and definitely insufficient- political reforms. "Street protests are in. From Bangkok to Caracas, and Madrid to Moscow, these days not a week goes by without news that a massive crowd has amassed in the streets of another of the world’s big cities. The reasons for the protests vary (bad and too-costly public transport or education, the plan to raze a park, police abuse, etc.). Often, the grievance quickly expands to include a repudiation of the government, or its head, or more general denunciations of corruption and economic inequality.
Aerial photos of the anti-government marches routinely show an intimidating sea of people furiously demanding change. And yet, it is surprising how little these crowds achieve." Read full article in The Atlantic. E.T.P. 7'

Opposition supporters held a rally late on Thursday as the talks began. Photo Reuters via BBC.

The most important thing that happened in Venezuela this past week was the meeting of some opposition leaders held with President Nicolás Maduro and other members of the Govermenment on Thursday in a possible first step toward ending two months of anti-government protests and street clashes, which have left at least 40 people dead.

The beginning of this 'dialogue' (yes, in inverted commas, removal pending) process between opposition and government, of course, raised a series of critics about the high political cost the opposition is paying by attending the 'dialogue'; the pertinence of some outdated arguments like the past presidential elections; the absence of representatives of the student movement; and more over about the inefficacy and doubtful authenticity of the 'dialogue' mechanism altogether, that for some is just another government charade to keep its (almost invisible) democratic mask.

I agree -we all do I guess- that the opposition's representation should had included students leaders, mostly because is thanks to them, to their determination, their bravery and their strength, that any hope of negotiation/dialogue with the government is possible (this point was addressed by Andrés Velasquez at the beginning of his intervention though). But I also think that the 'dialogue' can have a positive impact in the Venezuelan situation. After all, this is the first time in 10 years or more that something like this happens. Do I think that the Venezuelan government is a repressive and authoritarian dictatorship of some very weird hybrid nature? Yes. But maybe because of that precisely, this 'dialogue' (still in inverted commas) is even more important.

The following 3 points summarize my super personal, prone to change/evolve, humble opinion about the 'dialogue', in case someone cares. If not, you can just check the articles at the end ;)


- At the insistence of the opposition the meeting was broadcasted live on Venezuelan television and radio, and there were mediators from Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and the Vatican. That means that massive audience that usually don't have access to a version different than the official one, had the chance to listen to the opposition's point of view; their arguments, their concerns and their demands. This is relevant internationally of course, as the support of the region to the government allowed government's repression to escalate without consequences; but is also key for Venezuela, as the country is been suffering from a media blackout where most people don't have TV access to anything that the opposition says or do. Ever.

- It might not be the right time, the right crowd, or the perfect arguments the ones that are being exposed. But something is happening. As the previous Moisés Naím article points out it is a real danger of massive protests not being able to capitalize real achievements. The government might be, as some say a good old semi-military dictatorship, or a communist regime, or any kind of hybrid you want, but the opposition and a lot more than half the population of Venezuela is democratic and the resolution of this conflict has to be democratic too. Democracy is politics, and politics are slow,  and more often than not, exasperating and frustrating, not only in Venezuela, but everywhere, have a look! You won't find out a country that is not in a political crisis of some sort. But we have to play by the rules that we choose and that we champion... and move forward. If it doesn't work, so be it. We tried it. We will find another way to move on.

- Some people is afraid that the 'dialogue''s objective was to halt pacific protests, but it was said repeatedly that the 'dialogue' won't stop the street protests, that these are two sides of the same strategy. I think is important for the people that categorically rejects the 'dialogue' arguing that is useless under a dictatorial regime to think if that very same argument doesn't invalidate the streets protests. Or do they really think that the admirable, honorable effort of unarmed students alone will end the most corrupt oil-powered regime that controls with every single governmental institution, that counts with the support of every country in the region and of the military and their faithful and outrageously armed paramilitary? If so, they are a lot more optimistic and massively less cynic than me. I honestly don't see that happening, not in isolation at least, and that's why I don't think than any effort made towards improving the country's situation and promoting a national reconciliation (not political, but social), shouldn't be frowned upon, but supported. Even if it goes against what we -political analysts wannabe- believe is the best strategy. We should stand together, period.


If someone wants to share his/her opinion, please do so, I am open to the dialogue (no inverted commas). If you want to write something for the next edition, welcome!

Here (link in Spanish) are the videos of all the interventions made in this the first round of the 'dialogue'. And below a photograph of the setting of the debate, for those of you into semiotics and discourse analysis.

Photo: Santi Donaire / EFE via Prodavinci.

Related articles:

Reuters: Venezuela's Maduro meets opposition as death toll from protests rises
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro cautioned opposition leaders to keep their expectations modest on Thursday as he hosted them for mediated talks intended to stem two months of deadly political unrest.
 
Public Radio International: Venezuela's opposition gets talks with the government — on national TV "It was an interesting journey," says BBC Mundo's Daniel Pardo in Caracas. "It was a six-hour meeting between people who never met, and they used to insult each other almost every day."
While the meeting did not produce any concrete solutions to the South American country's many issues, it did signal the chance for change to come soon.

AlJazeera: Article and video Venezuela's Maduro hold talks with opposition
Business Week: Crime Hobbles Venezuela's Economy Venezuela says the country’s murder rate is 39 per 100,000 people, but the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, a nongovernmental organization, says the official figure is too low; it estimates that 24,763 people were killed last year, or 79 per 100,000 people. Along with kidnappings, thefts, and extortions, that’s earned Venezuela the No. 3 spot, after Honduras and Guatemala, as the economy most damaged by violence, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014. The country is also the worst in the world for attracting talent and second worst after Myanmar for retaining it, according to the survey.

The Wall Street Journal (photos): In Venezuela, Youths Form the Backbone of Protests 

El Universal: On charges of "systematic" violation of the human rights of Venezuelan demonstrators against the Venezuelan government, a group of Latin American lawmakers has requested the International Court of Justice to sue President Nicolás Maduro.

En español:

Prodavinci: ¿Quién ganó el debate del #10A? “El viejo mundo se muere. El nuevo tarda en aparecer.
Y en este claroscuro es cuando surgen los monstruos” Antonio Gramsci --Lectura recomendada.

El Universal: Vargas Llosa: "La resistencia en Venezuela es épica."

El País: La represión cabalga en Venezuela (Galería de fotos).

El Mundo: La Fiscalía del Tribunal Penal Internacional (TPI) tiene en sus manos una denuncia contra el presidente venezolano, Nicolás Maduro, por crímenes de lesa humanidad. Un total de 198 parlamentarios de ocho países de América Latina exigieron esta semana ante la Corte de La Haya la apertura de una investigación sobre "la represión masiva, generalizada y sistemática contra protestantes pacíficos y desarmados" en Venezuela.


On français:

Le Figaro: Venezuela opposition et gouvernement dialoguent

The Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 23rd of March Edition

EDITORIAL

This week's edition is quite compact, as we are talking a post-dissertation break(-ish). Venezuela and Turkey are in our news section. In our Science section, climate section is the topic. Cloak, the most anti-social app is featured in our Design, Business & Innovation section, as well as the favorite books of 50 famous designers. In our Culture and Entertainment section there is a nice video about Wes Anderson carefully symmetric composition and an interesting article about the future of reading. In Dog We Trust shares Charlie's adoption story and introduce us to the incredible Riley. And finally our friend and fellow procrastinator/collaborator Marie, invite us to draw a dream.

Happy Sunday and happy reading!


NEWS

Image via Gigaom.

"Some users trying to open the twitter.com website are apparently being redirected to a statement by Turkey's telecommunications regulator.It cites a court order to apply "protection measures" on the website. This comes after PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to "wipe out Twitter" following damaging allegations of corruption in his inner circle. The BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul reports that he is unable to access Twitter. "I don't care what the international community says at all. Everyone will see the power of the Turkish Republic," Mr Erdogan said earlier on Thursday." Read full article in BBC (E.T.P. 2') and a more complete summary in Gigaom (E.T.P. 7').

Mashable: Turkey Tightens Twitter Ban, Blocks Access to Servers. (Added Monday 24th)

Photo via Al Jazeera.

This past 21 of March, María Corina Machado, a prominent Venezuelan opposition lawmaker, was schedule to participate in an Organization of America States session. She was accredited by Panama to its delegation so she could speak about the situation in Venezuela where 31 people (then, and 33 people by the time I'm writing this) have been killed anti-government protests since February 4. A student representative, an union leader and the mother of one of the students that have died in the past month (when the National Guards shot rubber bullets at her face) accompanied Machado.

There were high expectations about this session. It was going to be the first time to really share the other side of the story to the press gathered, to the diplomatic representatives of all America, to the world. But when it was the turn to discuss Venezuela's situation, with 22 votes in favor, 11 against and one abstention the OAS decided to close to the session to the press, and the world, as my friend and fellow journalist Leila said, couldn't listen the side of the story that belongs to the opposition, the unions, the students, and the victims.

Soon after the session was over, in social networks it started to circulate a copy of the video that María Corina Machado was prepared to show in the OAS session. This keeps being our only way to tell our story to the world I would really recommend you to see it and share it.

Meanwhile, according to the Foro Penal Venezolano, from February 4th until the March 22nd, 8pm, there's been 1823 students arrested. 


Here more articles:


DW: Opinion: Venezuela Trapped in Violent Stalemate  (Added Monday 24)

Reuters: Venezuela protest death toll rises to 33   "Two Venezuelans died from gunshot wounds during protests against socialist President Nicolas Maduro, witnesses and local media said on Saturday, pushing the death toll from almost two months of anti-government demonstrations to 33."

The Economist: Venezuela's protests: Inside the barrios. "For the past six weeks Venezuela has been gripped by unrest that has left around 30 people dead. In most cities the violence and the barricades have been focused on middle-class districts. "This is an upside-down country,' says Kelvin Maldonado, a chavista activist. "The rich are protesting and the poor are content." The contentment, however, is more apparent than real."


The Star: Venezuela unending tale of murder and sorrow. "Think of Mexico, a country notorious for its drug-fuelled carnage — 80,000 dead in just seven years — then multiply the Mexican murder rate by four. That’s Venezuela."

Al Jazeera: Venezuela: the end of a revolution? "The Bolivarian project has failed to provide for Venezuelan citizens on the political, social and economic fronts."

Español:

DW: Venezuela ha caido en una trampa. (Añadido Lunes 24)

Caracas Chronicles: “Ese sentimiento, que me puedo imaginar, que siente alguien que va a ser asesinado y se ve acorralado.” (Añadido Lunes 24)

El Club de Madrid: El Club de Madrid se adhiere a la Declaración sobre Venezuela de sus Miembros Arias, Cardoso, Lagos y Toledo (Añadido Lunes 24)

Últimas Noticias: Video: Especial Bombas Lacrimógenas  (Añadido Lunes 24)

BBC Mundo: Venezuela: Más protestas  y más muertos.

CNN en Español: Video: María Corina Machado en la OEA. 

El País: La cesión del asiento a la Nicaragua Sandinista, un precedente en la OEA.

El País: Video: ¿Acabará Maduro con los líderes opositores?.

Français:

The Huffington Post: La tragique solitude des étudiants vénézuélienes. (Added Monday 24)


Liberation: Venezuela portraits masqués (Added Monday 24)

Procrastinator (some) Times Sunday 10th of November Edition

EDITORIAL 

The sun is shinning and everyone obviously have the urgent need to leave everything we are doing or planning to do and just go outside and catch some of those warm, glorious rays in our faces. My advice, DO IT! As soon as I finish writing this I'll be outside doing nothing more than facing the sky. When you come back have a look at this edition of the Procrastinator as it has some very interesting stuff, from Patti Smith writing about Lou Reed, to that satellite that will be crashing Earth any minute now and Google's future house (it's the end of the world, I know).

Happy reading and happy Sunday!


NEWS

Photo via The Independent

The Independent reports on the results of a a leading think tank that advice voters to ignore Russell Brand and just vote. "The report gives a sobering focus to Russell Brand's call for people not to vote because, he claims, it "changes nothing". In fact, older and richer voters have "disproportionate influence at the ballot box". The IPPR says Brand, and Jeremy Paxman, who also admitting to not voting, are from sectors over-represented in our democracy, but the danger is that younger, less well-off people might take their advice." Read full article here.

TIME Magazine created an interactive tool that let you know how much money Twitter owes you. "Now that Twitter has a market capitalization of at least $24.9 billion, more than a few of the social network’s 230 million users have noticed their tweets are making other people rich. So what would that be exactly? TIME has crunched the numbers. Plug in your username  below to find out how valuable your Twitter feed is." Read full article here.

Helicopters hover over the damaged area after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban city, central Philippines.Via Reuters.

"One of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall devastated the central Philippines, killing more than 1,000 people in one city alone and 200 in another province, the Red Cross estimated on Saturday, as reports of high casualties began to emerge". Read full report in Reuters, have a look at the aftermath in pictures in The Guardian, and learn how you can help in The Huffington Post.

*Sunday 10:00am update of the Philippines typhoon: At least 10,000 reported dead. Read article in The Guardian.