There is a new publication out on Developing Local Democracy in Kosovo. It is published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Read on for more. -Thom   more »

"OneWorld South Asia (OWSA) invites grassroots civil society organisations to join in the formation of a Grassroots Caucus to mainstream the voices and concerns of grassroots communities in the World..." Read on for more. -Thom   more »

WorldChanging has an excellent post about a plan to build Knowledge Centres to serve all villages in India.   more »

"BAGHDAD - U.S.-led forces, insurgents and criminal gangs have killed nearly 25,000 civilians, police, and army recruits since the war began in March 2003, according to a survey by Iraq Body Count, a U.S.-British non-government group." Read on for more. -Thom   more »

"Two new studies, one by the Saudi government and one by an Israeli think tank, which "painstakingly analyzed the backgrounds and motivations of hundreds of foreigners entering Iraq to fight the United States" have found that most foreign fighters in Iraq were not terrorists before the Iraq war..." Read on for more about this story from CSMonitor. -Thom   more »

Marc Fisher has an excellent article on how one community is trying to do what it can to help new immigrants get work and fit into society - despite the objections of some. Read on for more. -Thom   more »

Here is an article explaining concerns over where the 6 million people of a major urban area will go in the event of a terrorist attack using nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Read on for more.   more »

Here is an article about how a couple local governments are implementing their own "foreign policy". Read on for more. -Thom   more »

A few days ago I came across a Wikipedia page for Diaspora Studies, which contained the following definition ...    more »

With world oil prices continuing to be high, I seem to be one of the few people who thinks that is - generally speaking - a good thing. Read on for more. -Thom    more »

"While I feel sympathy for the victims of the London bombings, I am more saddened by the principles of this country and the world. The media has covered these deaths so much. Yet, on a daily basis, similar attacks happen in Iraq many times ..." Read on for more of this quote from Raquel Ortiz. -Thom   more »

Yahoo! News has an informative article about how lack-of-rain is not the only reason for the persistent food shortages in Africa. Read on for more. -Thom   more »

Yesterday I say an article that began ...

A simple question changed the course of Jared Diamond's career. The UCLA professor of physiology and environmental health sciences -- who is also an avid bird lover -- was in Papua New Guinea 30 years ago when a native acquaintance challenged him: "Why do you white men have so much cargo (possessions) and we New Guineans have so little?'

Read on for more info. -Thom   more »

I came across a rather amusing article today on a guy (Gregory Green) who wants to found a new country. Apparently he actually succeeded in doing just that back in 1994. Read on for more info. -Thom   more »

I wrote-up a review of this fun little book that offers a sampling of interesting words and expressions from around the World. Read on for more info. -Thom   more »

I first heard of Civiblog a couple of weeks ago. As someone who previously attempted to start a not-for-profit organization, who is getting back involved in the not-for-profit arena, and who has a strong International-orientation - Civiblog seems like a perfect community for me to join. I look forward to the coming weeks and months as I share what I've learned, what I know, and about the Civil Society related areas with which I'm still involved. I also look forward to learning from others in the Global Civil Society community with whom I have the chance to interact.

I thank the people at Civiblog and The Citizen Lab - as well as their sponsors at the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation and Tucows for providing the resources to make this virtual community possible.