Friday, February 12, 2010

"Whistle-Blower Accuses JM Eagle of Deception" - NYTimes.com

I am struck when I read this, and then this tragic tale, by how many problems there are around us that could be solved if there were more transparency, and if people used that transparency to stay on top of their own issues and cooperated with others.

Imagine if we could all inquire abot the origin and safey records of things used by our localities. I don't mean going on long, frustrating treasure hunts on the web - I mean simple pages that allow us to do for projects what Patagonia does for its merchandise.

And in the case of the ENCALADA family, imagine if they could have accessed more information in a more timely fashion. What price would we have been willing to pay to save Sr ENCALADA's life? Surely, a few keystrokes and clicks would have been a fair sum, no?

Think about all that we don't know about our world from local government to health to our food and just life around us. If we had easier and better - and more comprehensive access to all of it, I think we would all live qualitatively better lives.

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