"If it continues to be business as usual in Africa, it could set the stage for Resource Conflict 2.0. [...] the struggle we are witnessing -- workers and local communities against corporate giants and in some cases their own governments -- is not just unfolding in South Africa. There is a new corporate scramble for Africa's natural resources. [...] Conflict exists at two levels. Across the continent governments are stirring, feeling that now is the time to increase their take. [...] But it's the community level where the conflict is more explosive. [...] Local communities are more assertive and more connected -- mobile phone penetration is expected to top 70 per cent across the continent by the end of the year, and even casual visitors cannot but be struck by their ubiquity. The companies have noticed this too. Surveys consistently show resource nationalism is their biggest concern, and their literature now makes much of obtaining a "social license to operate" and the need to get the message of all their community activities out there. But the typical big extractive company's view of corporate citizenship is about as evolved as a Victorian gentlewoman's programme of good works. For many, corporate social responsibility departments are window dressing and, deeper in the bowels of the company, closer to its real power centres, the view persists that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and the more they can fly under the radar the better. [...] Three things are needed: levelling up the playing field when African governments negotiate with Big Oil or Big Mining so that agreements are fairer; commitment by the companies to radical growth of the local skills base; and by governments to radical transparency, of a kind not seen before."Read the whole thing, please.
30 August 2012
Resource Conflict 2.0? ~ Corporate Grab for Africa
AlJaz OpEd piece by OpenOil founder Johnny West spots The corporate scramble for Africa, arguing that...
29 August 2012
28 August 2012
27 August 2012
Getting Better ~ Kenny Writes In Praise of Slums
"...slums are better than the alternative. Most people who've experienced both rural and urban poverty choose to stay in slums rather than move back to the countryside. That includes hundreds of millions of people in the developing world over the past few decades -- and 130 million migrant workers in China alone. They follow a well-trodden path of seeking a better life in the bright lights of the city [...] Moving to cities makes economic sense -- rich countries are urbanized countries, and rich people are predominantly town and city dwellers. [...] all things considered, slum growth is a force for good. It could be an even stronger driver of development if leaders stopped treating slums as a problem to be cleared and started treating them as a population to be serviced, providing access to reliable land titles, security, paved roads, water and sewer lines, schools, and clinics. As Harvard University economist Edward Glaeser puts it, slums don't make people poor -- they attract poor people who want to be rich. So let's help them help themselves."That's centrally why we have MIT Media Lab City Science Initiative.
Ultimate Propagandist ~ Bernays, Father of PR...
Thanks to Karl Smallwood, Jack Hall, Sara Ohlms for their piece in Cracked on The 7 Sneakiest Ways Corporations Manipulated Human Behavior. They spotlight...
"Edward Bernays, aka the godfather of spin and the forefather of modern PR"
26 August 2012
Scenic Rails ~ Palmerston, NZ's Esplanade RR!
I love specialty rail systems, for example, the boutique mini-train Palmerston North Esplanade Scenic Railway in New Zealand! Here's timelapse first run of the day to set up crossing signs... And examples of normal tourist use!
Big Dig ~ Boston's Translogistics Gigaproject
People complained while it was under construction -- and it certainly had its share of accidents, overruns, delays, and disasters -- but when you look at the ginormous nature of Boston's Big Dig gigaproject, you realize just how remarkable an engineering feat it has been!
25 August 2012
R.I.P. Neil Armstrong ~ The First Man on Moon...
"That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind."
"With computer alarms sounding and fuel running low, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility as millions around the world watched. Six hours later, Armstrong made his "giant leap for mankind", stepping onto the surface of the moon. He was soon joined by Buzz Aldrin, who described the scene as "magnificent desolation". They explored the surface for two and a half hours, collection samples and taking photographs. After their historic moonwalk, they successfully docked with the command module Columbia, reuniting with crewmate Michael Collins."
The Armstrong family says...
"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”Indeed, left behind on the Moon is the ultimate epitaph...
24 August 2012
Insane in the Membrane ~ BBrains Cephalo-iPod!
Kottke spots hilarious Backyard Brains Cephalo-iPod...
"[They] hooked an iPod up to a squid in such a way that when the music played, it was converted into electrical impulses that triggered color changes on the squid's skin, thereby creating the world's first cephalo-iPod. Here's a video of the squid's skin pulsing along to Insane in the Membrane by Cypress Hill"More details...
"During experiments on the axons of the Woods Hole squid (loligo pealei), we tested our cockroach leg stimulus protocol on the squid's chromatophores. [...] The video is a view through an 8x microscope zoomed in on the dorsal side of the caudal fin of the squid. We used a suction electrode to stimulate the fin nerve. Chromatophores are pigmeted cells that come in 3 colors: Brown, Red, and Yellow. Each chromatophore is lined with up to 16 muscles that contract to reveal their color."Lovely scientific and experimental beauty!-)
23 August 2012
22 August 2012
21 August 2012
Upper Limits? ~ Exploring Skyscraper Constraints
Paul at GeekPress spots Atlantic piece by Nick Berg asking Is There a Limit to How Tall Buildings Can Get?
"The responses [...] tend to focus on the pragmatic technicalities of dealing with funding and the real estate market or the lack of natural light in wide-based buildings. "The predominant problem is in the elevator and transportation system," says Adrian Smith, the architect behind the current tallest building in the world and the one that will soon outrank it, the kilometer-tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. [Structural engineer William Baker says] "We could easily do a kilometer. We could easily do a mile," he says. "We could do at least a mile and probably quite a bit more."
Flocksourcing ~ User-Driven Bus Nets in Dhaka
Newly done MIT alum Albert Ching shares his Flocksourcing thesis!
20 August 2012
Old Ironsides ~ Constitution Sails Again on 200th!
"...to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over a British frigate during the War of 1812. The battle earned Constitution her "Old Ironsides" nickname."
18 August 2012
ANC Hypocrisy? ~ Bloody Rulers of Modern SA...
Al Jaz reveals the hypocrisy of today's ANC rulers of South Africa...
17 August 2012
Perfectly Round ~ Sun Natural Sphere sez BBC
Gripping revelation from the BBC's CBBC -- The sun is the most perfect natural sphere, study shows!
"Scientists measuring the sun were shocked to find it's the most perfectly round natural object in the universe."
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