Sidibé Obit

A thoughtful obituary for Malian photographer Malick Sidibé is in the New York Times this evening. Sidibé's work was also covered in an exhibit review that appeared in Slate last fall. Both articles are worth the read.

Announcing GovRank.org

Last week my organization, US Common Sense, launched our public finance sustainability website, GovRank*. Screengrab of the GovRank landing page Here's hoping the site will foster good research, debate about our methods, and more public awareness of the state of local finance. Here's our description of GovRank: We want all citizens, journalists, and public officials to have … Continue reading Announcing GovRank.org

Big Continent

Later this month I start teaching my own class for the first time. It'll be an undergraduate international affairs lecture course at USC. I'm looking for images to grab my students' attention. The image below shows how big the African continent is. The map's creator titled it "The True Size of Africa: A small contribution … Continue reading Big Continent

Map of Iran

This map running in The Economist provoked a head smacking "ah-hah" moment for me. I've been thinking about the fact that both the ideological right and the left in Iran think obtaining a nuclear weapon is a good idea. I'm used to seeing Iran on the eastern fringe of a Middle East map or the … Continue reading Map of Iran