packaging.

Crisp simple elegant design, very minimal but clever at the same time. Something minimalistic like this would work perfectly for my packaging, setting the tone of 'the rich list'.

Format: A Brief History of Data Storage (by Alan Warburton)

another clever infographic animation
Format: A Brief History of Data Storage from Alan Warburton on Vimeo.

Trillions (by MAYAnMAYA)

Maybe slightly too technical for something that i would hope to create, however the use of fast passed camera movements and the video transitions would work really well within my animations.

Pola Gruszka

brazil, the divide between the rich and poor.

I thought an interesting thing to look at while i was comparing the rich to the poor is the extreme divides between the rich and poor in countries such as india and brazil. You can actually see how the city is divided into to two groups of civilisation who live completely different lives, on one half the millions of people living in poverty while right next door to them the lucky few live in high class on the rich side of the country. The two sides rarely interact with each other, its like different worlds. Wrong really when you live with so much money and the people just next door are struggling to get a meal.

''As our capital city continues to expand wider and higher to cater for more sky scraping condominiums, the divide between the haves and have-nots is becoming more and more noticeable.

Perhaps it is something to be expected - our city is an old one, there plenty of old neighbourhoods with aging shophouses and urban villages that once housed the thousands of immigrants from the rural areas looking for employment back in the 60’s and 70’s.

But now, a new breed of towers have appeared around the KLCC, perhaps a sign of a deeping divide in the city. This of course is not an issue peculiar to KL, most other third world country face this reality too.''

up to date political achievements of the occupy movement.

What the occupy movement has managed to change up to now, with peaceful protests planned to keep going throughout the year and even more changes hopefully to be made..


''President Obama is moving to energize the Democratic base for his re-election campaign, but in the case of a dozen battleground states, he’ll have to work harder than four years ago to find it.

Since the heady days of 2008, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Swing States Poll finds the number of voters who identify themselves as Democratic or Democratic-leaning in these key states has eroded, down by 4 percentage points, while the ranks of Republicans have climbed by 5 points.

Republican voters also are more attentive to the campaign, more enthusiastic about the election and more convinced that the outcome matters.

The contrasting conditions of the nation’s two major political parties — discouraged Democrats and resurgent Republicans — underscore how different Obama’s re-election campaign is from the contest four years ago.

Consider the math: In 2008, when Obama carried the swing states by 8 percentage points, Democrats there swamped Republicans in party identification by 11 points. Now, that partisan edge has tightened to a statistically insignificant 2 points.

And the “enthusiasm gap” that helped fuel a Democratic victory last time has turned into a Republican asset. Sixty-one percent of Republicans say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting for president next year, compared with 47% of Democrats.

Among the most enthusiastic are some of the GOP’s core voters: conservatives, middle-aged men and those 50 to 64 years old. Those who are least enthused include core Democratic groups that were critical to Obama’s election in 2008, including minorities and younger voters.

An entire field of economics, known as “public choice,” studies how small, concentrated groups with similar interests generally prevail politically against larger groups of diffused interests. And, in our society, these concentrated interests – like unions, defense contractors, religious groups, farmers , etc. – are not necessarily part of the “one percent” Occupy talks about, and several have even joined or co-opted the Movement. But they are part of the broader one-percent problem.

I recently participated in a debate about the Occupy Movement at the university where I teach. The representative from Occupy Chicago claimed to be speaking on behalf of the 99 percent, but the problem is that there is no single coherent 99 percent.There are many 99 percents depending on the issue at stake, and any successful 99 percent movement must be more nuanced and draw finer lines than the Occupy Movement has so far.

When focused broadly on just income or wealth, the message of Occupy is too radical to represent anything close to 99 percent of Americans. The representative of Occupy in the debate identified himself as a Marxist,claimed that the American dream is dead and buried, and argued the only way to solve our problems is for the government to overturn Citizens United and dramatically regulate political speech. The problem with this, of course, is that 99 percent of Americans do not support any of these assertions, let alone all of them together.

Even during the height of the recent financial crisis, about 60 percent of Americans still supported capitalism. Most Americans believe the American dream is still alive, and in a 2009 Gallup poll, nearly 60 percent agreed with the Supreme Court that spending on political issues is political speech. At best, about 40 percent of Americans share some of the views of Occupy.

The timing of the Movement is also a bit too convenient to be inclusive of Republicans and Democrats who make up the 99 percent. In 2009, the top one percent took a smaller share of national income than in each of the four years of President Clinton’s second term.''

These changes dont really amount to much so far but with the movement still going strong hopefully a bigger change will be made soon. The occupy movement has still given serious people no reason to believe that it possesses any special insights into the socioeconomic system, and has provided no workable answers to the pressings challenges of the day. It really doesn’t get any lamer than this.

what is occupy london?

Occupy London is an ongoing peaceful protest and demonstration against economic inequality, the lack of affordability of housing in the United Kingdom, social injustice, corporate greed and the influence of companies and lobbyists on government taking place in London, United Kingdom, which started on 15 October 2011. The protests began in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, United States. In October protesters established two encampments in central London: one outside St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London and the other in Finsbury Square just to the north of the City. In November a third major site was opened in a disused office complex owned by UBS. Named by protesters as the Bank of Ideas, the site is located in Hackney. A fourth site was established in late December, at the unused premises of Old Street Magistrates Court in east London.

The Occupy London protests are backed by the tax avoidance protest group UK Uncut.

news article from the beginning of occupy london

Really interesting article showing what the protesters hope to achieve from these occupy movements and their demands behind the protests. 

Activists who have occupied the grounds of London's St Paul's Cathedral have published their first list of demands, calling call for the democratisation of the Corporation of the City of London, the effective local authority which controls the UK's financial centre.

The attack on the square mile which has a series of ancient prerogatives including a "lobbyist" in the House of Commons follows Thursday's resignation of the canon chancellor, Giles Fraser, who also attacked the power of the City in an interview with the Guardian.

The statement has been signed by over half of the hundreds of activists at the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest.

The page-long list of demands says that democratic reform of The City Of London Corporation is "urgently needed" and describes City institutions as "unconstitutional and unfair".

The statement, which has been authored by 17 people over the last six days, also calls for an end to the corporations's own police force and judicial system which affords the square mile vast amounts of freedom to run its own affairs.

"The risk-taking of the banks has made our lives precarious – they are accountable to no one but themselves, unduly influencing government policy across the centuries both at home and abroad. This is not democracy," the statement adds.

The list, which is expected to be ratified before publication at a general meeting at 1.30pm on Friday, also called for:

• An end to business and corporate block-votes in all council elections, which can be used to outvote local residents.

• Abolition of existing "secrecy practices" within the City, and total and transparent reform of its institutions to end corporate tax evasion.

• The decommissioning of the City of London police with officers being brought under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan police force.

• Abolition of the offices of Lord Mayor of London, the Sheriffs and the Aldermen.

• And a truth and reconciliation commission to examine corruption within the City and its institutions.

The statement has garnered support from authors and Blue Labour thinker Lord Maurice Glasman.

Glasman said: "Until today, the reclamation of the public space around St Paul's by protesters has been confused … It was better theatre than politics and that was frustrating because the backdrop, props and themes were superb."

Glasman said that St Paul's Cross was the site of the most ancient known democratic practice in the UK and it was the most appropriate spot to make a claim for the extension of citizenship.

"By declaring that the point of their protest is the democratisation of London the meaning of the occupation is transformed. It opens a prospect for civic renewal and the challenging of unaccountable power elites.

"The protesters have stumbled upon the source of financial power within the British state. This could get interesting," he added.

Nicholas Shaxson – the author of Treasure Islands, a book about the world of tax evasion – described the demands as "incredibly powerful".

"The City is something that has flown under the radar for so long, people have occasionally noticed the pomp and ceremony of the City but never really grasped what it is. This is a medieval commune dating back 1,000 years which represents the interest of international finance."

Shaxson added: "If you go to the City they will say, 'We're just a poor little local authority with a few thousands souls – don't worry about us.' But their influence runs far and deep both in the UK and overseas and they have supporters all over the place. They're not going to go away any time soon."

In an earlier interview with the Guardian, the St Paul's canon chancellor Giles Fraser said: "A great many people think that something has gone wrong in the City of London and that the wealth generated by the City does not exist for the benefit of us all."

Bryn Phillips, 28, a camp member who works in PR and is a co-author of the statement, said he hoped this would be "the beginning of the restoration of our democracy".

"It was drafted by 17 of us over six days and it has gathered even more signatures since we last spoke. We refuse to be evicted without first landing a blow to the corporation."

occupy london.

Occupy London is still going on today, my flat mate went down st. Pauls for a week to protest. He said it was basically a group of around 1000 living in their own civilisation separated from the rest of the world, proving that they can come together as a community and live without money. People worked for food and helped other when they needed help, a real sign that people can pull together and the way the world is run these days isnt right.

Here is the mission statement for occupy London, showing the reason behind the protests and what they hope to achieve...

Initial statement.

This initial statement was collectively agreed by over 500 people on the steps of St Paul’s on 26 October 2011. Like all forms of direct democracy, the statement will always be a work in progress and is used as a basis for further discussion and debate.

1. The current system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards them.
2. We are of all ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, generations, sexualities dis/abilities and faiths. We stand together with occupations all over the world.
3. We refuse to pay for the banks’ crisis.
4. We do not accept the cuts as either necessary or inevitable. We demand an end to global tax injustice and our democracy representing corporations instead of the people.
5. We want regulators to be genuinely independent of the industries they regulate.
6. We support the strike on the 30^th November and the student action on the 9^thNovember, and actions to defend our health services, welfare, education and employment, and to stop wars and arms dealing.
7. We want structural change towards authentic global equality. The world’s resources must go towards caring for people and the planet, not the military, corporate profits or the rich.
8. The present economic system pollutes land, sea and air, is causing massive loss of natural species and environments, and is accelerating humanity towards irreversible climate change. We call for a positive, sustainable economic system that benefits present and future generations. [1]
9. We stand in solidarity with the global oppressed and we call for an end to the actions of our government and others in causing this oppression.
10. This is what democracy looks like. Come and join us!

infographics

info graphics using imagery similar to my topic, looking at wealth, statistics, comparisons.. 

more animation.

An interesting animation using mainly kinetic type about the 99%, again very similar to the sort of things i want to produce; simple, smooth and very informative. 

Mario Balotelli - strange guy but generous

This guys seems to be pretty mental but it has been reported that he has done some pretty spontaneous acts of kindness along with some very strange ones.
Before christmas he took to the streets of manchester dressed as father christmas handing out 20 pound notes to everyone who walked passed him, it was also said that on his way out of a casino he gave a homeless man £1,000 of his winnings and paid for a group of other to stay a night in the hilton hotel.

Footballers earn a ridiculous amount of money for what they do so i feel that Balotelli is definitely doing the right thing and giving back.

Rich Vs Poor

i found this interesting and mind blowing article comparing the wealth between the rich and the poor..

DEFINING POVERTY...

Absolute poverty is defined according to an absolute minimum standard, often called the ‘poverty line’. Relative poverty means that you are poor in relation to those around you. Income poverty (‘less than a dollar a day’, for example), means that you are poor if you have less money than the defined poverty line for your country. Human poverty takes into account other factors, such as life expectancy, infant malnutrition, illiteracy and lack of food or clean water. Basic needs definitions also go beyond money, to include all the things that a person needs in order to survive – including employment and participation in society.

MEASURING POVERTY...

Measuring poverty is always a problem, especially if you recognize that just using money is not enough. There are a number of new measurements emerging, like the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare.¹ This measures ‘quality’ economic activity by, for example, making a subtraction for air pollution and an addition for unpaid household labour.

Another method is the Human Poverty Index. This is ranked according to three main areas of deprivation: survival; knowledge and a decent standard of living. In the industrial world, where the Index also includes social exclusion, some 7 to 17% of the populations are classified as poor. The higher the percentage figure, the greater the poverty in that country.

AN UNEQUAL WORLD

Inequality is on the increase. In 1976 Switzerland was 52 times richer than Mozambique; in 1997, it was 508 times richer. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the richest countries were only five times richer than the poorest, and Europe only twice as rich as China or India.

The rich...

In 1960, the 20% of the world’s people who live in the richest countries had 30 times the income of the poorest 20%; by 1995 it was 82 times. The world’s 225 richest people have a combined wealth of over $1million million. Only four per cent of this wealth – $40 billion – would be enough for basic education and healthcare, adequate food and safe water and sanitation for all the world’s people.

• the 15 richest have assets that exceed the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of sub-Saharan Africa.
• the assets of the 84 richest exceed the GDP of China, which has 1.2 billion inhabitants.

and poor...

More than a thousand million people still live in poverty, a tenth of them in the industrialized world.

• Of the 4,400 million people in the Majority World, nearly 60% lack basic sanitation and more than 30% have no access to clean water.
• 25% do not have adequate housing.
• 20% have no access to modern health services. Two thousand million women are anaemic (including 55 million in the industrial world).
• 20% of children in the world do not attend school to grade five.

THE GOOD NEWS:

in the past 50 years poverty has fallen more than in the previous 500. Since 1960 child-death rates have been halved and malnutrition has declined by a third. Developing countries have covered as much distance in human development during the past 30 years as the industrial world managed in over 100.

THE BAD NEWS:

one in four of the world’s people still live in severe poverty. It’s worse for women than for men; and for black people than for white. Even in the so-called ‘rich’ world increasing numbers of people do not have enough to live on.

The ‘FOOTPRINT’ of a small number of people in a rich community – or in the rich world – will take up a lot more space than that of a large number of people in a poor community – or the poor world. So the rich have bigger houses, gardens and physical space, but they also have greater access to a wider range of resources – schools, shops, banks, health services, for example. A rich community may have many doctors or schools or shops to choose from – a poor one just one of each. But the latter can increase its space by having a place to meet or by setting up its own credit union or other social group.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LIFE?

The percentage of Americans calling themselves happy peaked in 1957 – despite the fact that consumption has doubled since. Having more does not then mean we enjoy life more – and yet consumption is increasing everywhere except in Africa, where the average household consumes 20% less than it did 25 years ago.

GHANA

‘Being poor’ in this survey meant being unemployed, unhealthy, unable to take care of your family, not being able to afford clothes or proper food, not being listened to, and being ‘lazy’.

AIDING THE POOR?^3^

The UN has set the target for overseas aid at 0.7% of a country’s GNP. Only the Netherlands and Sweden currently meet this target and the US aid budget is the lowest of all. Overall, aid is 0.22% of GNP. If it had stayed at its 1992 level of 0.33%, it would today be $24 billion more than it is.

The majority of aid is not spent on direct poverty alleviation. Some is ‘tied’ to trade deals, or debt servicing. In 1997, debt-service payments from sub-Saharan Africa amounted to 80% of aid. Only 24.3% goes to the poorest countries.

CONSUMING NEED, CONSUMING GREED

The 20% of the world’s people who live in the highest-income countries consume 86% of the world’s resources. The bottom 20% in the lowest-income countries consume less than 10%. The average protein consumption is 115 grams a day in France but only 32 grams in Mozambique. And the less money you have, the greater proportion you must spend on food rather than health or education.

occupy - the reasons.

An interesting video explaining the reason behind the movement.



The 99 Percent Movement is spreading, and their gripes are legitimate. How did we get to a place where the richest 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of the country's wealth, own 50 percent of U.S.-owned stocks and bonds, and earn 24 percent of total income? Where the middle class is shrinking, to the point that the share of income going to the middle 60 percent of Americans fell five percentage points in the last 30 years. And where many millionaires pay less in taxes than their employees? In this video, the Center for American Progress identifies three factors that contributed to the creation of two Americas, one for the top 1% and one for the rest of us.