i think there is a subtle shift in the psychology of many in the high income world with their responsibility to those who are born into poverty. a decade ago, there was a belief that spending oceans of money would allow some of it to trickle down and float boats for even the poorest. it was easy. business as usual. we’re doing something by doing nothing. now with the wisdom of overconsumption in question, i sense a change in belief, one that allows us to keep our actions unexamined, to conduct business as usual, to ignore a true responsibity to those who suffer, then die young. it is this: does the world really need any more humans?

“thanks,” i said.  the boy smiled, proud of  his english compliment, and skipped down the cobblestone road, towards town.
i like to think he meant “strong”, but i have been eating a lot of injera.  like, a lot.  at least two times a day.  i haven’t been able to work it into my breakfast plans yet, [...]

i flew into ethiopia 2 weeks ago to better understand the state of emergency medicine in addis, particularly at the postgraduate teaching hospital of Addis Ababa University, the “black lion”.  though it might be better to draw out the suspense, i’ll cut it:  there is none.
nor did i expect to find any.  there are no [...]

oct 3 2009
addis, yo.
i second hand smoked two ethiopian taxi-cabs yesterday.  actually, more like two thousand.
one of them, however, was well worth the asthma.  its driver was 75 years old, ancient by ethiopian standards.  he was once a priest, and one of the few remaining scholars who could translate the ancient language of gees.   on [...]