Ben Parker
@benparker140.bsky.social
Humanitarian policy and practice, news, data and tech. Previous: UN South Sudan, CEO at The New Humanitarian, Chief of Staff at the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Reposted by Ben Parker
Something intensely frustrating which I've seen across academia, NGOs, media orgs and corporations (I mean, just, every professional space in the world) is "WHAT IF WE JUST DIDN'T" is **never** considered an option, and it's the same for this report.
Error rates like that, 3 years in? Ditch it ffs
Error rates like that, 3 years in? Ditch it ffs
October 22, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Something intensely frustrating which I've seen across academia, NGOs, media orgs and corporations (I mean, just, every professional space in the world) is "WHAT IF WE JUST DIDN'T" is **never** considered an option, and it's the same for this report.
Error rates like that, 3 years in? Ditch it ffs
Error rates like that, 3 years in? Ditch it ffs
More gloom (mainly) as budget cuts in the humanitarian sector bite. Postings on aid job board ReliefWeb continue to show steep declines in new hiring.
The change of government and more permissive aid environment probably explains why there were 1000+ new aid jobs posted for Syria.
The change of government and more permissive aid environment probably explains why there were 1000+ new aid jobs posted for Syria.
October 9, 2025 at 9:52 AM
More gloom (mainly) as budget cuts in the humanitarian sector bite. Postings on aid job board ReliefWeb continue to show steep declines in new hiring.
The change of government and more permissive aid environment probably explains why there were 1000+ new aid jobs posted for Syria.
The change of government and more permissive aid environment probably explains why there were 1000+ new aid jobs posted for Syria.
Update: only one major aid agency is posting more job ads this year compared to 2024.
September 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Update: only one major aid agency is posting more job ads this year compared to 2024.
Off again: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-j...
Breaking: Judge issues administrative stay stopping South Sudan deportations
An administrative stay on Friday morning blocks the Trump administration's efforts for now. A hearing is ongoing in D.C. this Fourth of July. Read the new claims at Law Dork
www.lawdork.com
July 4, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Off again: www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-j...
It’s on again: www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme...
Supreme Court clears the way for Trump administration to deport migrants held in Djibouti
The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport a group of migrants with criminal records held at a U.S. naval base in Djibouti.
www.cbsnews.com
July 3, 2025 at 9:27 PM
It’s on again: www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme...
WFP’s UNHAS: uk.news.yahoo.com/un-air-slash...
UN air service slashes fleet by nearly a quarter
The UN's air service which flies humanitarian workers and cargo to hard-to-reach corners of the world has been forced to slash its global fleet by almost a quarter due to funding cuts, the World Food ...
uk.news.yahoo.com
June 27, 2025 at 7:19 AM
WFP’s UNHAS: uk.news.yahoo.com/un-air-slash...
“Fogbow acknowledges glitches in mastering aid drops, including one last year in Sudan’s South Kordofan region that ended up with too-thinly-wrapped grain sacks split open on the ground.”
apnews.com/article/isra...
apnews.com/article/isra...
Firms led by US military veterans deliver aid in Africa and Gaza, alarming humanitarian groups
In Gaza and Africa, U.S. contracting firms led by former American intelligence and military officers are taking on aid delivery in conflict zones.
apnews.com
June 19, 2025 at 11:54 PM
“Fogbow acknowledges glitches in mastering aid drops, including one last year in Sudan’s South Kordofan region that ended up with too-thinly-wrapped grain sacks split open on the ground.”
apnews.com/article/isra...
apnews.com/article/isra...
Contractor Fogbow in South Sudan: www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...
Fogbow operations in South Sudan and beyond raise red flags for faltering aid system
The for-profit US firm is coordinating airdrops that critics say transgress humanitarian principles.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
June 19, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Contractor Fogbow in South Sudan: www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...
Reposted by Ben Parker
The scientific journals already have multiple articles talking about vegetative electron microscopy a thing that doesn't exist theconversation.com/a-weird-phra...
A weird phrase is plaguing scientific papers – and we traced it back to a glitch in AI training data
Once errors creep into the AI knowledge base, they can be very hard to get out.
theconversation.com
April 28, 2025 at 2:35 AM
The scientific journals already have multiple articles talking about vegetative electron microscopy a thing that doesn't exist theconversation.com/a-weird-phra...