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Marc F. Bellemare Posts

Published October 23, 2011

Earthquake in Turkey: Where to Give (Updated)

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Eastern Turkey today. You can read the the LA Times‘ account here. As of writing, 60 89 138 217 people are confirmed dead, but as many as 1,000 people may have died.

How and where to donate? Here is how you can contribute:

  • If you are in the US, you can text GIVE TURKEY to 80088 to automatically donate $10 to Global Giving’s Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund. Message and data rates may apply. Their terms of service are here.
  • You can also visit Global Giving’s Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund directly by clicking here.

UPDATE: On Yahoo! Answers, someone has questioned the legitimacy of this blog post or of Global Giving. Just so everyone knows: I am not getting anything out of this (other than the knowledge that I have provided a way for people to contribute and, of course, page views). And if you want to know more about Global Giving, see the Wiki entry here, and see the SourceWatch entry here.

I don’t know if the International Committee of the Red Cross will set up an option to give directly for Turkey over the coming few days. If they do, they are always a good option.

I’m sure there are many other good options. Please feel free to link to them in the comments.

UPDATE: And just to show that I put my money where my mouth is, here is a screen capture of the receipt for my own donation (click on the picture to see it in a readable size):

 

Published October 21, 2011

Friday Afternoon Musical Interlude

“The View,” by Lou Reed and Metallica:

 

This might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is certainly innovative. I hadn’t enjoyed the 30-second teaser of the song that was posted a few weeks ago, but I really like the full song. At any rate, they are bound to sell many copies of this, given Lou Reed’s hip factor and how innovative this is.

Published October 21, 2011

Health Insurance: Learning from Emerging Economies

Perhaps surprisingly, the most interesting incentives have been developed in an emerging economy: South Africa. The Discovery group, based in Johannesburg, has crafted a programme called Vitality that applies the “air miles” model to health care. You earn points by exercising, buying healthy food or hitting certain targets. You rise through various levels, from blue to gold, as you accumulate points (rewards are adjusted to your starting level of fitness to give everybody a chance of making progress). And you are given a mixture of short- and long-term rewards ranging from reduced premiums to exotic holidays.

Continue readingHealth Insurance: Learning from Emerging Economies