Sub-Saharan Africa: They're Conflict Minerals, Marie

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Sub-Saharan Africa: They're Conflict Minerals, Marie

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i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Tesseraction posted:

I do have to ask, is there anything positive Goodluck Jonathan actually achieved in office?

I pulled an absurd paycheck from him for a year.

South-south gettin' whiney since their dude is gone. I think this is more important than Boko Haram tbh

https://www.facebook.com/radiobiafra/?fref=nf

# ¿ Nov 19, 2015 08:15

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 16:24

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

being friends with Goodluck's family members and friends is really weird

i want that politoon of obama pulling the [economy] and [gas prices] levers except it's Buhari

edit that #20 is 20N for .5L in a bag, sold by children. on the black market the Naira is going 325 to the dollar which is loving nuts, so that N20 bag of water is, like, $.06. the person that made this post does not buy bagged water on the road, I guarantee you

i say swears online fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Mar 14, 2016

# ¿ Mar 14, 2016 06:24

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Speaking of, is that left wing youth movement that split from the APC the official opposition now?

# ¿ Mar 14, 2016 17:19

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Nigeria floats its currency on Monday, after being pegged at ~N200/$1 since the oil crash. It's expected to nosedive, and be worth roughly half what it was when I was there in 2012/2013.

I've been talking to friends and prices for local goods haven't increased in years (oranges, cashews and suya on the street, for instance). The next week will be interesting.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2016 19:08

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

If anyone wants a vacation in Lagos, now's the time.

# ¿ Jul 3, 2016 08:06

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

In Nigeria I experienced a strongly anti-Chinese sentiment specifically, people were totally cool with Indians. Turns out Chinese companies had a habit of half-finishing their projects, and I had a half-dozen railroads pointed out to me that were technically under construction but were already overgrown.

One train was recently completed though, and seems to be a successful project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El9HPgXoscY

A colleague told me the tickets are like two bucks? Seems fantastic.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2016 15:42

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

Is Abubakar Shekau dead or no? Reluctant to trust claims about Boko Haram from Buhari.

It just happened, give it time.

Man, I wish I were there for that Kerry visit. Kudos to him for going north, but it should have been Jos or Kano to inspire confidence, Sokoto is too safe

# ¿ Aug 23, 2016 17:49

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Didn't Buhari dispute the times he was a loser in 2003, 2007 and 2011? I hate Goodluck Jonathan, but he really belongs there more than Buhari as the only Nigerian leader to voluntarily step down after losing an election.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2016 01:57

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Sad Panda posted:

Perfect, I'll definitely give that first one a look. Being me (tall, white, British male) colours my travels so much it's great to read from such a perspective.

Long Walk to Freedom - abridged or unabridged? Abridged is 6 hours, unabridged 27:40.

Hey, you're back on the road! Congrats and I'm super jealous. Did you come all the way down East Africa?

What are your plans after possibly Angola, heading up the west coast? It's probably paved and traverse-able the whole way to Port Harcourt.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2017 15:49

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW_xEqCWrm0

pro-click

# ¿ May 26, 2018 10:51

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

a yoruba nigerian interviews a hausa nigerian, both UT phd candidates

https://www.mosibyl.com/podcast/zainab18

# ¿ Jan 17, 2019 14:45

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

it's nigerian election time, where my posters at? most of my contacts are igbo/ijaw with a few yoruba and hausa that worked directly for Jonathan, so I don't have a politically diverse facebook timeline. most posts i see are about christian farmer genocide, biafran independence, and buhari's declining mental faculties, which again come from biased sources. i'm friends with jonathan's sis-in-law who deliberately thinks up and reposts fake news because of her small but influential following

Saladman posted:

Huh, I had figured there was only a dry season there, but looking at climate stuff using Kidal's data, I'd guess Aguelhoc probably gets around 5 inches of rain a year -- similar to coastal Egypt but with the added bonus of a catchment area instead of flowing right into the sea. ~~I didn't realize there were some areas of the the central Sahara desert that had more Sahel-like climates. I guess it must be an unusual area that actually does turn savanna-like~~. I thought it was some weird bug with artificial coloration.

E: Apparently I should not be surprised, as Aguelhoc is in the Sahel, which I had no idea extended into southern Algeria. I guess it is sub Saharan after all! Cat Mattress beats my pedantry by a couple hundred km.

christ, dude. do you think an equal amount of the population lives in the sahara? virtually all the settlements are in the sahel. due west, kano is one of the largest cities on the planet

(somewhat) comparable climates are found in south-central texas where it's traditional to burn your lawn every fall

# ¿ Jan 22, 2019 09:03

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

quote:

HOW TO KNOW A VIRGIN GIRL FROM HER FACIAL SKIN SIGNATURE.
A Chinese scientist who is based in the UK has published his claims in London Times magazine and Voice of London magazine too that his six years research has finally come out with an impressive result which has made it possible to recognize a virgin without having sex with her. According to his claims during an interview he can recognized a virgin from two poles away and he has publicly revealed the tricks to this awesome discovery on a live TV broadcast.
During a 30 minutes live interview on BBC which also was re-telecasted on CNN and other VIP world TVs like Channels TV, he has this to say through his interpreter:
"Against popular beliefs, sagged breasts don't really imply a lost virginity and torn hymen does not also mean virginity is lost. Pimples on the face is not an express way of knowing a virgin. The only way to know a virgin is this.
When a girl is coming from about 3 poles away, watch her direction of movement and tactically move to the left which would by impulse make her move to the right and quietly walk beside her, then pass and go your way. Her virginity is none of your business. Go and get your PVC.

We need you to vote and ensure The right people are voted into power.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2019 16:31

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

nigerian facebook is just a giant clickbait article

# ¿ Jan 26, 2019 03:42

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttgP_WJ3zqI

# ¿ Jan 26, 2019 16:43

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

the nigerian elections were supposed to start right about this hour but they've been delayed a week. things are getting a little chaotic

# ¿ Feb 16, 2019 07:31

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Grouchio posted:

Hypothetically, if Nigerians were to suffer a migration crisis, where would most of them go?

funny you should ask! after #election, #canada was the number 2 twitter hashtag from posts in nigeria

if buhari is re-elected, especially under dubious circumstances, you will see increased migration from the former biafra areas

# ¿ Feb 17, 2019 08:19

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

yeah they don't mean the cost of ballot printing, they mean the lost economic activity. election day is a day when everything shuts down, and like the article said, people need to travel. that's expensive for someone making $300/month

# ¿ Feb 19, 2019 08:13

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

https://www.foxnews.com/world/in-nigeria-vote-armed-vigilantes-work-to-keep-the-peace

:thunk:

# ¿ Feb 24, 2019 15:17

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

it's a shitshow! buhari crushed it, PDP turnout way down. nobody in the south-south believes the result. things could get bad

# ¿ Feb 27, 2019 07:08

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

how many 'dictators' are left in west africa anyway?

# ¿ Mar 11, 2019 06:52

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Blut posted:

On the one hand the ANC getting back in is horrible, after all the years of corruption. But on the other them getting 45%, and going into a coalition with the EFF, would have been even more horrifying. So its...not the worst possible result I guess?

this is literally the opposite of what i came here to post

the vote totals didn't shift nearly as much as i had expected. i guess voters gave ramaphosa the benefit of the doubt; i bet EFF would have done a lot better if zuma were still leading the ANC

# ¿ May 11, 2019 19:58

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTFD8NsUnl4

# ¿ May 14, 2019 01:38

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

lol

all i remember was that MTN was bullshit on speed and prices and was easily the third-best service in the 3g usb dongle era

# ¿ May 29, 2019 05:55

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Toplowtech posted:

I remember MTN being accused of bribery to win a mobile licence in Iran. So yeah, hardly a surprise.
edit: also isn't Nigeria like one third of their revenue or something like that?

it's gotta be. it was the biggest provider when i was there because of more rural penetration and nigeria is just an enormous market for phone data. i used etisalat because it sounded like an anagram for satellite but someone hosed it up, also the usb stick was cooler looking

# ¿ May 29, 2019 08:50

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

rip mugabe

# ¿ Sep 6, 2019 08:07

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

What's up with Nigeria trying to fine literally everyone? $5bn for MTN, $1.4bn credit penalty for lenders, now a $62bn claim against oil majors which everyone knows has zero chance of success. Not that I have a problem with fining big banks or oil companies out of existence, but

the "center-left" is in power at the moment but really the two big parties are regionally and ethnically based; the APC wants revenues to be spread from the south-south (biafra) to the rest of the country and the igbo ethnic group is again up in arms over it, as well as northern (muslim) herders encroaching upon southern (christian) farmland

# ¿ Oct 30, 2019 09:10

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

well poop, i thought the EFF was legit. some really good ideas in the article, but i bolded the unexpected stuff. seems like a CCP model but more explicit?

quote:

Floyd Shivambu: EFF job plan will rescue SA from a crisis

Floyd Shivambu

One of the biggest failures of the post-1994 government has been the inability to create jobs, in particular for able, willing and young people.

South Africa has more than 22.6 million people who can work, of which 16.4 million are employed and 6.2 million are unemployed.

These figures do not include the more than 2 million people who looked for work, could not find work and now have given up looking for work.

In expanded definition � the real definition � close to 9 million South Africans are jobless.

All aspects and sectors of the EFF�s election manifesto include a jobs dividend.

Historically � and now � the most effective way to create jobs is to build sustainable industries to produce things that people consume on a daily basis and involve people in all stages of production.

South Africa�s semi-colonial character has positioned the country as an importer of almost all finished goods, products and services and an exporter of natural and semi-processed products.

The massive and almost complete importation of finished goods and products is man-made.

The EFF carries the political and ideological will to change that fundamentally.

The post-1994 government�s industrial policy failed drastically because it did not pursue inward industrialisation, needed to build sustainable labour and absorptive factories for the production of daily consumables.

This failure was made worse by the movement of investors� money.

There was not sufficient regulation, resulting in a large component of foreign capital coming in as speculative capital, which did not have the much-needed jobs dividend.

In the past 25 years the ANC-led government has failed by establishing only five special economic zones (SEZs) that are functional.

The direct state investment in these zones is around R10 billion, insignificant for a country that spends more than R150 billion on social assistance annually.

Fewer than 14 000 jobs have been created by these SEZs which, if massively expanded, protected and supported, could end the socioeconomic crisis of joblessness.

As an interim measure of poverty alleviation, social grants are a progressive intervention, but they cannot and should not be a permanent solution to the country�s developmental, poverty and inequality challenges.

Social assistance programmes must be accompanied by an equally aggressive labour-absorptive industrialisation.

First, to create sustainable jobs the EFF industrial policy will focus on inward industrialisation with export capacity.

The policy will aim to depopulate high-density populated cities by creating labour-absorptive industries in parts of the country that have not realised any form of economic development.

To achieve this, the EFF government will declare zero company taxes in multiple SEZs in various regions, starting with 35 areas and including the whole of the Northern Cape.

These multiple SEZs will gain special benefits, such as tax incentives and a factory-building allowances.

The non-negotiable and legislated basis of each company gaining access to these SEZ benefits will be the employment of a minimum of 2 000 workers by each company in each investment area.

As the EFF we studied areas that have immense potential, either informed by historical infrastructure or markets and resources, to identify viable SEZs.

Any investor who can commit to a minimum of 2 000 sustainable jobs, pay employees a minimum wage and employee benefits will have access to these multiple SEZs zones� benefits.

The EFF government will spend a minimum of R100 billion annually in pursuit of massive inward industrialisation which will not be the same as those in many post-colonial societies, which substituted imports with inferior domestic products.

The inward industrialisation the EFF will pursue will have maximum quality controls with export capacity.

The underpinning belief of the EFF�s industrialisation policy is the creation of jobs. Any investment must clearly demonstrate commitment to accessing jobs in the SEZs.

These tax-free multiple economic zones have the potential to generate a minimum of 400 000 jobs by 2024 if each zone can attract an average of between five to 10 companies which will commit to 2 000 sustainable jobs for each investment area.

The industrialists in all these sectors should primarily be South Africans whom the state should incubate, guide and finance, with an appreciation that not all industries will be profitable immediately.

Developmental finance institutions must be positioned to finance and support no fewer than 30 000 initiatives annually.

A 60% success rate in this regard will create many jobs.

These industries will not be producing daily consumables only, but will leverage on the domestic beneficiation of natural resources, with a firm legislative framework that ensures a minimum of 50% of all natural resources are added value domestically.

Massive and decisive industrialisation will develop a financial and professional services sector and boost other household industries because many people will have work and more people will need consumables.

Second, the EFF government will use state procurement decisively in all spheres of government � including in state-owned entities � estimated at around R1 trillion yearly to enable industrialisation and localisation.

The EFF government will amend the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act to procure 80% of all goods and products from local producers, of which half should be owned and controlled by women and the youth.

The EFF government will ensure that products � such as glasses, cups, plates, spoons, tiles, energy-efficient building materials, furniture, washing products, electronics and textiles � that people use on a daily basis must be produced locally through labour-absorptive means.

The EFF government will leverage the economies of scale to buy commonly used products, such as motors, linen and garments for hospitals, clinics and correctional services� facilities, food and other consumables, to expand on value for money, using the government budget to maximise the effect on industrialisation and job creation.

At the core of the EFF industrial policy, underpinned by employment dividends, is the call for quality work and a living wage.

There are South Africans who have work but continue to live in poverty because they are paid low wages.

They are as good as unemployed. Any industrial policy that intends to create jobs but does not emphasise quality of work and a living wage will fail to address South Africa�s problems of unemployment, inequality and poverty.

HISTORICALLY � AND NOW � THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO CREATE JOBS IS TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIES TO PRODUCE THINGS THAT PEOPLE CONSUME ON A DAILY BASIS AND INVOLVE PEOPLE IN ALL STAGES OF PRODUCTION.

This is why the EFF in Parliament objected to a R40 an hour ($2.75/hr) national minimum wage across all sectors and strongly called for sectoral determinations.

For far too long the value of wages has continued to decline unabated, while companies have continued to make millions in profits for the shareholders.

The EFF government will marry closely the need to create jobs through inward industrialisation with quality export capacity, using state procurement capacity to fast-track the process of industrialisation.

At the same time the quality of work and a living wage will be key priorities.

The EFF�s plan on jobs is a cogent and decisive departure from what the post-1994 government has been doing.

South Africans should give the visionary EFF political power. The people will gain economic power as a result.

Shivambu is EFF deputy president and parliamentary chief whip

it's certainly better than the status quo but i thought they were revolutionaries like the ANC 25 years ago

# ¿ Oct 30, 2019 09:25

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

goodluck jonathan's relatives are freaking out on facebook, apparently some gunmen got close to his house

looks like they came up on motorboats and were trying to steal a gunboat at the guard station protecting the ex-prez. jonathan lives in bayelsa which is a lot like the southern louisiana of nigeria

# ¿ Dec 24, 2019 17:40

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

rip

# ¿ Apr 8, 2020 06:26

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

this is about as US-centric and neoliberal as you're gonna get

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/war-mozambique-natural-gas-blessing-turned-curse/

# ¿ Jul 6, 2020 06:53

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

I'm listening to the video on the Biafran war and by his accent I can tell he went to college and maybe high school North America

edit so far, dude is legit. no red flags that i've seen, and in fact I strongly recommend giving this a view if you're in any way interested in the immediate postcolonial history and basic demographics of the country

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JCvIvb8PpY

:siren:

if you have just a minute, skip to the interview at 9:55.

nigeria's changed a lot since then, but the ethnic stereotypes are still there. what i saw people express about others in 2012-2013 was remarkably similar to attitudes fifty years before

i say swears online fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Jul 6, 2020

# ¿ Jul 6, 2020 07:43

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

now that i've watched more, he's taking a pro-igbo slant. he doesn't go into any material basis for these events. the poor, undeveloped north wanted a strong central government to direct revenue across the whole country, while the oil-rich and colonially-developed southeast resisted any sharing of the wealth. he's giving one side a short shrift

# ¿ Jul 6, 2020 08:13

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Spacewolf posted:

I beg, links please. I believe what you're saying, but for the kind of reader that I am it's actually hard to figure out where to look for news updates that aren't months old.

apologies in advance for being insensitive, but are you nigerian? I beg, (abeg) is a signficiant vocal tic there that i picked up and can't kick

# ¿ Nov 6, 2020 07:50

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

ethiopia's really fertile and at a pleasant altitude, its small towns are probably a lot closer together and more populated than other areas

# ¿ Nov 10, 2020 13:49

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

yeah those tiny places add up. there are places in central-western nigeria where i could spin around and not see a sign of people, but it was rare. the rift valley and nile continuation to the north definitely have a higher rural population than other areas of the continent

# ¿ Nov 14, 2020 17:48

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

that's a bonus! I had all the oregon trail diseases in nigeria

edit i was confronted with people i know experiencing infant mortality because of class differences more than once, which was pretty devastating

i say swears online fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Nov 14, 2020

# ¿ Nov 14, 2020 18:25

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

falz is so cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ieglAgBsbc

# ¿ Nov 15, 2020 10:55

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

falz made a video about the nigeria protests in like three weeks. it's good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ieglAgBsbc

# ¿ Nov 21, 2020 03:39

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 16:24

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

I haven't seen the comparison made but I get it

# ¿ Nov 24, 2020 07:49

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Sub-Saharan Africa: They're Conflict Minerals, Marie

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