06 Jun Big Brother for Good

By allowing people around the world to literally “watch over” and protect twelve intact, but highly vulnerable, villages in Darfur region of Sudan, Eyes On Darfur breaks new ground in protecting human rights. Using commercially available satellite imagery and posting them online to enlist help in preventing violence.

It also includes archive images showing villages destroyed since the conflict began and a petition urging Bush to stand with other world leaders to actively work to protect human rights .

For years computer users have accessed remote images from their desktops to monitor hot spots such as crime-ridden streets or rush-hour bottlenecks. “Now this is being tied to political, economic and social activism in really interesting ways” said Lars Bromley of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an international nonprofit group that publishes the journal Science and provided technical assistance for the project launched today in conjunction with a conference at the University of California, Berkeley by the Crisis Prevention and Response Center for Amnesty International whose hope is that the pictures will increase pressure for change.