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There is a coup going on in Lesotho http://www.voanews.com/content/lesotho/2433099.html
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# ? Aug 30, 2014 10:35 |
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 12:41 |
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Sheng-ji Yang posted:There is a coup going on in Lesotho drat, wrong small mountainous South African exclave kingdom. I wouldn't have minded seeing Swaziland's king's head roll down the block, anyway.
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# ? Aug 30, 2014 11:05 |
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How did Lesotho end up being an independent enclave within South Africa? It must be a pretty unlikely story.
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# ? Aug 30, 2014 12:02 |
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Randandal posted:How did Lesotho end up being an independent enclave within South Africa? It must be a pretty unlikely story. Apparently during the days when South Africa was still a straight up colony of Britain, the local government was unable to keep control of the territory of what is now Lesotho. So the British established that territory as a separate Crown Colony, independent of any South African control, and it stayed that way until the Brits granted the colony its own separate independence in the 60s.
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# ? Aug 30, 2014 17:04 |
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My Imaginary GF posted:the fact that for the first time more elephants are dying than being. What would happen if elephants went extinct? I watched a documentary that said there used to be a couple million a few decades ago, but are now only 400k. Has the consequences happened yet? It also said most tall trees would disappear, are elephants that big of an effect? Femur fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Aug 31, 2014 |
# ? Aug 31, 2014 14:08 |
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In Somalia news, America may have got Godane. This is a big drat deal, Godane had crushed dissent against his increasingly brutal leadership style and had solidified his position as the paramount leader of al-Shabaab. Without Godane the internal tensions between the more national minded faction and the intetnationally inclined faction could re-erupt, if it's true al-Shabaab has just been dealt a major blow.
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# ? Sep 2, 2014 14:18 |
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Femur posted:What would happen if elephants went extinct? You lose an ecosystem engineer species is what would happen. Elephants are big herbivores that eat lots of stuff, poop a lot, and aren't afraid to knock things over if they want to (though they can be surprisingly careful otherwise). All species that directly depend on elephants would die out or take a bad hit. That includes a bunch of parasites, dung beetles etc., big cats wouldn't give a poo poo since they don't usually eat elephants anyway. The trees dying out thing you mentioned will happen to tree species the seeds of which will only germinate after having been shat out by an elephant (plants can actually fine-tune their frugivores' digestive systems for their benefits - that's probably a reason why some kinds of fruit tend to speed up digestion). Tree species dying out means a bunch of specialised invertebrates will also die out. All trees that don't depend on elephants will be at a big advantage since elephants won't knock them over anymore. This means open spaces which are borderline suitable for trees but are disturbed by elephants often enough to keep tree populations sparse are likely to become forests. We wouldn't actually see much forest regrowth in Africa while there's lots of people around because people chop down lots of trees, but obviously the species composition would still shift. e: have the consequences happened yet? I don't know how the short term stuff is playing out precisely (though dung beetle populations probably correspond to the amount of available poop pretty well etc.), but the forest stuff will likely take at least a century or two to reach a new steady state even discounting climate change because we're talking about loving trees. e2: another point to consider: elephant numbers have decreased, but elephant habitats have also gotten way smaller. Africa isn't untouched wilderness anymore, so any sort of cultivated land is going to look quite different from the potential natural vegetation. In some national parks (e.g. Kruger), elephants per area is pretty high, and at high elephant population density we see stronger effects of elephants on the savannah. Some parks even have elephant culls once in a while to preserve sensitive habitats. suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Sep 2, 2014 |
# ? Sep 2, 2014 19:38 |
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In other news, a restaurant in Nigeria has been shut down for quote:A pastor, who was shocked to know that what he had eaten was human meat, complained to the police.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 13:01 |
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Jonad posted:In other news, a restaurant in Nigeria has been shut down for How to serve man...
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 13:27 |
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Jonad posted:In other news, a restaurant in Nigeria has been shut down for Puts the whole horsemeat scandal in perspective, huh?
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 13:44 |
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What the gently caress man?
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 13:52 |
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That's not even expensive for what youre getting but it seems funny that the pastor only raised a fuss due to the price.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:07 |
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Randandal posted:That's not even expensive for what youre getting but it seems funny that the pastor only raised a fuss due to the price. N700 for human flesh is quite a bit overpriced
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:08 |
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My Imaginary GF posted:N700 for human flesh is quite a bit overpriced Maybe its overpriced in Nigeria but a 2-for- deal is what it costs to eat at Chipotle here. I wonder why the gently caress the restaurant was doing this, surely chicken is cheaper even in Africa.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:12 |
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Randandal posted:Maybe its overpriced in Nigeria but a 2-for- deal is what it costs to eat at Chipotle here. Human doesn't taste like chicken, we taste like monkey and pig. If you pay for monkey meat, you expect the correct monkey meat. Further, in some regions of the world, human is used as a cheaper substitute for pork.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:15 |
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My Imaginary GF posted:human is used as a cheaper substitute for pork. I guess it's easier to kidnap a shantytown child than it is to catch a monkey in the jungle but I still just can't even process the economics of this at all Randandal fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Sep 12, 2014 |
# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:17 |
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What. The. gently caress.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:20 |
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Ah look a flurry of posts in the sub-Saharan Africa thread, maybe it's something other than Ebola or lurid ooga-booga tales oh.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:22 |
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Randandal posted:
You're thinking about it too much. Someone comes to offer you "pork" and "ribs" at below-market prices. Do you ask them who's pork it is, and who's ribs they belonged to? Do you really want to hear the honest answer to that question, or do you want Nigerian pork at below-market prices while reporting market prices to your supervising agency and pocketing the difference? E: Seriouspost its cheaper to buy fresh meat from the coroner than it is to kidnap a child for meat. Kidnapping the child requires additional bribes if caught by whom, and sometimes results in Boko Haram kidnapping the child from you and executing you. Much cheaper to buy meat from the coroner. E2: Assuming there is a coroner to serve as a de facto meat inspector. Sometimes, there isn't, and this kind group will come along and offer to bury the body out of "health obligation" and "religious duty." Sometimes, they'll come dressed as doctors in the most ostentatious PPE or dressings one can buy at the market. Other times, they could come claiming to be a traditional official from tribe over yonder, and this person was really from their tribe and should be buried in their tribal burial plot. Point is, because cannibalism is a real occurance in Africa, it has actual impact on implementation of public health policy. My Imaginary GF fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Sep 12, 2014 |
# ? Sep 12, 2014 14:23 |
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Randandal posted:
There's over 7 Billion humans on earth now, the time when all human life was rare or precious ended in roughly 1804. By contrast, monkeys are getting pretty loving rare.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 17:01 |
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Hey morons, I'm not really buying in to this cannibal business thanks. I suppose it was inevitable that goons would eventually post "it's cheaper to buy fresh meat from the coroner than it is to kidnap a child for meat" but nonetheless, gently caress you; gently caress you.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 18:18 |
SedanChair, it might be productive to take a look at Imaginary GF's other posts to get an idea of his credentials on the subject. Do you generally have a policy of defaulting to serial "gently caress you"s when something is new, or disturbs your senses? You must be very difficult to plan a surprise birthday for.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 18:38 |
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Discendo Vox posted:SedanChair, it might be productive to take a look at Imaginary GF's other posts to get an idea of his credentials on the subject. I don't care (and it seems there's nothing for which My Imaginary GF doesn't have credentials). quote:Do you generally have a policy of defaulting to serial "gently caress you"s when something is new, or disturbs your senses? You must be very difficult to plan a surprise birthday for. Yes and yes. I'm aware that cannibalism exists in Africa, but come on. This is a news story that has traction because it gives racists pleasure and smug amusement.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 18:49 |
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SedanChair posted:I don't care (and it seems there's nothing for which My Imaginary GF doesn't have credentials). Look, I'm not saying its common. I'm not saying that its done widespread and organized. I am saying, 'this is what I was told to watch out for when sourcing once-a-week meat for a rural school in Uganda' and that individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, in various regions, do have to deal with the side-effects of weak states with little regulatory environment. Meat is a luxury good, and throughout the world, less scrupulous or more desperate individuals are known to counterfeit luxury goods.
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 22:01 |
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SedanChair posted:I'm aware that cannibalism exists in Africa, but come on. This is a news story that has traction because it gives racists pleasure and smug amusement. I'm literally half-West African (Wolof). Africa is weird sometimes, dude. Nothing racist about that.
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# ? Sep 13, 2014 11:04 |
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My Imaginary Girlfriend wasn't even the one who posted the story about cannibalism, but in other Sub Saharan Africa news, how was your day in Uganda? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/13/us-embassy-uganda-warns-citizens-shelter-terror quote:Reuters
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# ? Sep 13, 2014 14:25 |
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Randandal posted:My Imaginary Girlfriend wasn't even the one who posted the story about cannibalism, but in other Sub Saharan Africa news, how was your day in Uganda? Yeah, there's worry of another Entebbe or Westgate as Al-Shabab leadership try to show their bona fides to claim top slot. Power abhors a vacuum, and sometimes you order South Sudanese suicide attacks against American & Commonwealth targets to resolve that vacuum.
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# ? Sep 13, 2014 20:30 |
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There was a big protest in Morocco against racism recently: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dozens-demonstrate-morocco-racism-25436015 quote:Dozens of activists demonstrated Thursday in Morocco's capital in a rare protest against racism following the murder earlier of a Senegalese migrant. This is notable and heartwarming because Moroccans are quite racist towards their fellow Africans: http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/are-moroccan-gangsters-being-paid-to-beat-up-african-migrants-803 quote:“gently caress Africa,” snarls the young Moroccan kid as he pushes past the café table, spitting on the ground and sticking his middle finger up at my Senegalese translator, Babs. My first taster of racism in Tangier happens within five minutes of us sitting down, but 34-year-old Babs appears utterly unphased. This has been your Morocco update.
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# ? Sep 14, 2014 05:44 |
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quote:The Last Piss-Up at One of London's Doomed Local Pubs Oh yeah, Vice is getting super serious.
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# ? Sep 14, 2014 18:55 |
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SedanChair posted:Oh yeah, Vice is getting super serious. My local newspaper does beer roundups every week. It's almost as though a media outlet can't make money covering nothing but heavy brutality 24/7.
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# ? Sep 15, 2014 01:22 |
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I actually read the pub article out of curiosity. It was equally terrible, missing the point, and barely scraping an important topic (the sanitizing of cities via relentless developer churn). Not their finest hour.
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# ? Sep 15, 2014 03:54 |
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I broke down once in south-central Nigeria near sundown, and everyone else in the vehicle flips the gently caress out and starts wailing or praying for deliverance, warding off against attacks from cannibals out in the forests on either side of the road. Being the only non-local, this didn't phase me much because I was with city folk and they're probably just as guilty as otherizing rural people just as I would if I broke down in the middle of nowhere Dixie. Maybe I should have taken them more seriously.
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# ? Sep 15, 2014 04:59 |
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If anyone has any questions on Angola, feel free to ask. I've only been in the country for 2 months so I'm far from an expert.
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# ? Sep 15, 2014 22:41 |
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Senor P. posted:If anyone has any questions on Angola, feel free to ask. I've only been in the country for 2 months so I'm far from an expert. Please, do tell! Whereabouts are you/get out to the bush often? I hear expat life in Luanda is pretty fun and nice, but a bit less in-contact and more expensive than expat life in Kampala/Entebbe, much less Kasese. My Imaginary GF fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Sep 16, 2014 |
# ? Sep 15, 2014 23:07 |
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Senor P. posted:If anyone has any questions on Angola, feel free to ask. I've only been in the country for 2 months so I'm far from an expert. Is Ice-Cream really $30 a litre?
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# ? Sep 16, 2014 03:21 |
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My Imaginary GF posted:Please, do tell! Whereabouts are you/get out to the bush often? I hear expat life in Luanda is pretty fun and nice, but a bit less in-contact and more expensive than expat life in Kampala/Entebbe, much less Kasese. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2183616/Luanda-The-capital-Angola-expensive-city-world.html http://hubpages.com/hub/Living-in-Luanda I work in a compound in one of the north west provinces by the coast, we are typically not allowed to leave except for a few hours on weekends. We can leave for a trip to beach, church, or one of the restaraunts nearby. I wish we could visit the country side more, but there may be some issues getting through things like police check points. Lord Windy posted:Is Ice-Cream really $30 a litre? I have not bought ice cream over here, let alone in Luanda. I could easily see it costing that much if not more. The place we drink beer at has a can of shaving creme for sale for $20 USD. As has been mentioned many of the items in Angola have to be imported. Except for some things made in the country like beer. Hopefully in another ten years food security will improve, Angola will have more ports, more roads and rail transportation, and corruption will decrease.
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# ? Sep 16, 2014 06:23 |
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What's the local vibe about the Kilamba development?
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# ? Sep 17, 2014 20:00 |
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I have the opportunity to hear President Mahama of Ghana speak in about two weeks. All I know about him is that he took over after his predecessor died and he's big into environmentalism. Here's the blurb:quote:In his address, “The Promise of Africa,” President Mahama will discuss recent and current growth and development on the African continent and the need for the international community to support and encourage these new development achievements. He will highlight Ghana’s efforts to attain economic growth and reduce poverty in charting a sustainable course as a stable middle-income country. It sounds like it could be interesting but I have two classes then so I guess I'm asking for more info about him and whether it would be worth it.
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# ? Sep 17, 2014 20:33 |
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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/ebola-vaccine-ready-year-end-25721068 Why is this behavior tolerated, and why aren't aid workers armed?
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# ? Sep 24, 2014 18:08 |
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 12:41 |
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Probably because armed aid workers in full-on ebola safety gear are going to be even more frightening for the people they're trying to help and even more likely to breed rumors and foster noncompliance with quarantine and safety standards.
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# ? Sep 24, 2014 19:32 |