I’ve added our first-ever banner ad, over on the right over the search bar. If it’s not totally obvious:

1. It’s unpaid.
2. It’s for charity.

This blog started with several strict policies about user metrics, ads, and freedom of speech, but in our almost five years all of those have been modified. This is proper — the buddha-dharma shows that rules cannot skillfully encapsulate reality.

The banner is a reminder of the East African Drought Crisis, which Western nations aside from Canada are not handling skillfully (it’s up in the air if Canada is as well) — not an endorsement of the linked supercharity.

Typically a charity should be analyzed for the amount of money it spends on itself versus the amount it spends on its cause, and, for example, the Oxfam charities are a source of contention (as are all organizations). MSF/DWoB was, last I checked, the best-of-breed non-religious charity in terms of utility.

Still, while I fap around with utilitarianism and math people are starving because, perhaps, Westerners like Winter vacations.

I’m not in a position to donate because I’m a cash-strapped student, but I do have a blog which a couple of people read. Some of you have bought products on our recommendation in past, so I thought I’d put this in front of you all and ask for your consideration.

Each time you text ‘haiti’ to 45678 anywhere in Canada you’ll donate $5 to the Red Cross. If half the population does this once we’ll beat America.