The Second Sudanese Civil War, lasting more than twenty years and killing an estimated two million people in Sudan before a peace accord was reached in 2005, is not as well-known as the more recent conflict in Darfur, Sudan. But the effects of the war are still being felt throughout southern Sudan. One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of the war were the nearly 27,000 boys orphaned or separated from their parents, known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” Many of the Lost Boys traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles by foot to escape to refugee camps in neighboring countries, with little hope of seeing their families or their homeland again. The award-winning 2006 documentary God Grew Tired of Us
tells the story of a few of the Lost Boys selected to relocate to the United States. One of the Boys featured in the film, John Dau, not only adapted to this new culture, but also excelled, putting himself through school and earning a college degree. Determined to make a difference, John then focused his attention on helping the people of southern Sudan, both in American and in his homeland.

In a country with a population of an estimated 11 million, there is only one trained doctor for every 100,000 people.

The John Dau Sudan Foundation works to build and support medical clinics and health care programs throughout southern Sudan. One clinic has already been built, and serves an estimated 20,000 patients.  Still, the health care needs of the region remain critical. I highly recommend renting God Grew Tired of Us and checking out the foundation’s web site to learn more.

The past few trips to the supermarket, I’d seemingly noticed a shortage of my favorite brand of orange juice, Tropicana’s Pure Premium (pulp free, of course), and an increase in the number of generic store brands for sale. Without giving it too much thought, I assumed the recession had made it difficult for families to afford luxuries such as premium juice, and moved on to the next aisle. Apparently, I wasn’t alone.

Tropicana recently announced that it was reversing its decision to change the long-time labels, including the iconic straw-in-orange logo. Although the new packaging had been in use for less than two months, the period saw sales plummet by 20%. While the company denies any connection, my personal experiences would indicate otherwise.

Anyone who denies the subtle effectiveness of branding would be hard pressed to argue with these results. Especially with a commodity-type product like O.J., nuances such as placement on a shelf, packaging or logos can be the difference between a sale and the next aisle.

Have you had similar experiences with Tropicana, or another product? What other brands have such a powerful “zombie loyalty” effect on shoppers?

This article from the Wall Street Journal examines a growing trend of states inviting residents to submit suggestions on how to spend nearly $800 billion in stimulus funds. While some suggestions may have merit, such as expanding a transit line in Virginia, others border on excessive and selfish. Two items stood out:

• Ohio expects to receive about $3 billion that has not yet been allocated to current programs. Wasn’t the point of stimulus to jump start current projects that were ready to go, but for the financing? Why are states receiving funds if they don’t know what to do with them? At what point does stimulus become spending just to spend?
• A number of the suggested uses are merely requests for government hand-outs, under the guise of “stimulus.” Mary Kay make-up might help job seekers feel better about themselves, but it’s not going to pull the country out of global recession.

It seems that overspending and greed are two things that got the country into a mess to begin with. Now, we’re expected to believe that overspending and greed will help get us out?

On what types of projects do you think the government should spend funds to stimulate the economy?