MetaFilter posts tagged with europe and africa

Struggles to think of a title

infini — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 05:20:24 -0800

Can non-Europeans think? So the question remains why not the dignity of "philosophy" and whence the anthropological curiosity of "ethnophilosophy"?

Border crossings and shifts

the man of twists and turns — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:12:22 -0800

Who Draws The Borders Of Culture?(NYTimes) Cultural border, as opposed to national borders, are funny things. One country can contain many (Coke vs. Soda. Vs. Pop, previously and previously-er). Cultural borders often appear as food and drink choices, like sweet tea, forms of alcohol, or BBQ sauce. Different types of borders can run together and separate, like Protestant vs. Catholic vs. Orthodox and Romance vs. Germanic vs. Slavic, or climate and the extent of vineyards, or prevailing family structure. A region, like Brittany, can be defined in more ways than one. The place where zones meet gives rise to the edge effect in ecology, and source of conflict for humans. National borders can be odd things, slicing through people's lives. Even national borders that no longer exist bear down on the present - in what used to be the Habsburg Empire or the colonial divisions of Africa. Borders are not static, not even the ones on the map.

Grabbing A

infini — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:59:15 -0800

The California—based Oakland Institute released a report earlier this year that documents some of the problems caused by the acquisition of land by foreign firms, including Indian ones, in Ethiopia and other African countries. Putting this global trend of ‘land grab’ under the spotlight, the report highlights the social and environmental costs of this phenomenon that have been largely overlooked by the media. Outlook interviewed Anuradha Mittal, the India—born—and—educated founder and executive president of Oakland Institute, to find out why she thinks India ought to share part of the blame of causing “depravation and destitution” in Ethiopia. text via Outlook American universities’ trusts (including Harvard’s) are also buying up land, reportedly displacing millions of farmers in the process. Advocates say the land is being taken from indigenous communities by often violent means, and that land rights are handed over without proper contracts after closed-door deals. A lack of regulations in these countries allows foreign firms to purchase or lease large tracts of arable land, leaving little recourse for displaced residents. Investors claim to be growing food for the global market that will indirectly alleviate food shortages in Africa, but land is very often used to grow non-edible export commodities such as flowers and biofuels. Defendants of the deals say local farmers who are employed by foreign firms earn more working the land than they otherwise could, and that infrastructure developments (like clean water facilities or improved irrigation systems) are there to help them. ~ Al Jazeera has a conversation. Christian Science Monitor highlights the tribes, the archeological and anthropological heritage of the region the most recent Ethiopian sugar deal will displace and disrupt (mentioned in interview above) African nations are also concerned - Kenya just hosted a regional forum on the problem of foreign land investments resulting in the Nairobi Action Plan. Note: Local comments in many links are worth reading for a variety of perspectives on this issue.

We call this "dislocated polygamy".

divabat — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:04:11 -0800

The Tribes of Darkest Austria - or: if Africans ruled Anthropology. (slyt)

Mythundersthood

infini — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 02:45:10 -0800

Why Africa is leaving Europe behind: Africans are relishing something of a reversal in roles. The former colonial powers in Europe are wrestling with debt crises, austerity budgets, rising unemployment and social turmoil. By contrast much of sub-Saharan Africa can point to robust growth, better balanced books and rising capital inflows. There is an opportunity in this novel scenario: for Africa to assert itself on the global stage, and for European countries to take advantage of their historic footprint in Africa by stimulating commercial expansion to their south. But it is far from clear either side will grasp it. Recently.

Genetics, PR, and meeting new people.

dglynn — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:06:29 -0800

Non-Africans Are Part Neanderthal, Genetic Research Shows. And Razib Khan of Gene Expression notes the power of PR and that this is old news. Old enough in fact for him to confirm Neanderthal genes in his own family. Cause everyone's had their family genotyped, right? Neanderthal Genome sequenced previously.

Welcome to the Evil Federated Empire of Europe

desjardins — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:05:57 -0800

Europe according to... is a project to map stereotypes of European countries according to other countries and groups of people. Similarly themed, less pretty: The World According to... America Americans (another) The United States of America George W. Bush Ronald Reagan (another) France India Canada Finland Singapore Taiwan China Australia The United States According to... Europe The Rest of the World (another) Japan Californians New Yorkers Utahns Miscellaneous North America According to Canadians Europe According to Sweden How Americans See Europe How Americans (?) See Australia Africa According to the Rest of the World

The Economist: The World in 2010

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:09:43 -0800

In 2010, Obama will have a miserable year, NATO may lose in Afghanistan, the UK gets a regime change, China needs to chill, India's factories will overtake its farms, Europe risks becoming an irrelevant museum, the stimulus will need an exit strategy, the G20 will see a challenge from the "G2", African football will unite Korea, conflict over natural resources will grow, Sarkozy will be unloved and unrivalled, the kids will come together to solve the world's problems (because their elders are unable), technology will grow ever more ubiquitous, we'll all charge our phones via USB, MBAs will be uncool, the Space Shuttle will be put to rest, and Somalia will be the worst country in the world. And so the Tens begin.

The Economist: The World in 2010. Previously: 2009, 2008, 2007. How did we do last time around? Guest contributions: President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso lines up Europe's priorities President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev argues for dialogue and cooperation President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed wants his island nation to remain above water President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would like for Islam and the West to live in harmony President of South Africa Jacob Zuma says Africa should rise to the occasion Director-General of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan predicts the development of the flu pandemic Managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn explains how to prevent another crisis CEO of Yahoo! Carol Bartz believes business leaders should tap into the information flood Chairman of HSBC Stephen Green argues that the financial sector should welcome emerging economies CEO of Fiat Group and Chrysler Group Sergio Marchionne thinks greener cars require bolder action CEO/CTO of SpaceX Elon Musk says the private sector should handle space travel

Middle East Travel Photography

netbros — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:46:38 -0800

Momentary Awe ― travel photography from more than 20 countries by Catalin Marin. Also in flash format.

Stuck in the middle with everyone

Kickstart70 — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 19:45:51 -0800

In Europe, it's debated whether it's Suchowola Poland, the village of Krahule near Kremnica Slovakia, Dilove in western Ukraine, or Bernotai Lithuania. In Asia, there are more disputes, but Kyzyl put up an obelisk and stages tours. Various places claim that the Central African Republic is at the geographical centre of Africa, but that seems more likely based on looking at a map than measuring anything. On January 9 1956, Admiral Byrd flew over the geographical center of Antarctica. Alice Springs is pretty close to the centre of Australia. The center of North America is at latitude 48°21'19" north, longitude 99°59' 57" west in Rugby North Dakota. South America's center is officially Chapada dos Guimaraes in Cuiaba Brazil.

vicarious travel - photography and narratives

madamjujujive — Tue, 08 Jul 2003 19:13:26 -0800

Photos by Martin - a gem of a site for vicarious travelers, it features wonderful, charming photos and fascinating stories from a guy who quit his job three years ago to travel the world. He credits global photojournalist Steve McCurry as an influence. I am such a fan of these photo travel narratives, professional and amateur alike - has anyone else discivered some special favorites?