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channeledhistory · 3 months

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There is an obscure mechanism by which fossil fuel companies maintain their global domination even as their products are destroying our futures. Most rank-and-file climate activists haven’t heard of it and most news media rarely discuss it in great detail. It is a tool that has its origins in colonialism and advantages corporate power over democracy. The technical term for such a tool is “Investor-state dispute settlement” or ISDS. And while it sounds boring and technical, it is crucial that we familiarize ourselves with it in order to dismantle it.

The Global ISDS tracker, a newly launched online database, describes these as “secretive corporate tribunals.” When nations enter into trade agreements with one another, they usually include a clause on using the benign-sounding ISDS to resolve corporate disputes with national regulators. In other words, if a corporation originating in one nation sees its profits threatened by regulations or nationalization in another nation, it can sue that second government.

When applied to curbing carbon emissions in order to save our planet’s ability to sustain life, one can see that such tribunals can be extremely problematic. Country A decides to transition away from the oil and gas industry toward green, renewable energy. However, an oil company based in Country B sues via an ISDS agreement to extract its lost profits. That’s precisely what is happening, to the tune of $327 billion, according to the Global ISDS Tracker. “[F]ossil fuel cases… can devastate public budgets or even bankrupt a country.”

For example, Nigeria is currently facing a massive set of damages determined by an ISDS tribunal to be paid to a UK-based company for a gas project to the tune of 30 percent of the entire nation’s foreign exchange reserves. And, foreign mining companies are demanding $30 billion from the Republic of Congo using ISDS tribunals. That’s twice the amount of Congo’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Former UN climate envoy and former Irish President Mary Robinson, who said she was “outraged” when she found out about oil and gas companies using ISDS to extort nations, explained that “if countries do the right thing on climate, they have to compensate fossil fuel companies.” Where did ISDSs come from and how are they remotely justifiable in an era when society broadly agrees on democracy as the best form of government? Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration explained in the context of the 2016 free trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that “ISDS is specifically designed to protect American investors abroad from discrimination and denial of justice,” and that it is a “more peaceful, better way to resolve trade conflicts” compared to the “gunboat diplomacy” of earlier eras. […]

According to a 2023 report by David Boyd, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, “[o]f the 12 largest ISDS awards to date, 11 involve cases brought by fossil fuel and mining investors.” The $95 billion they extracted from nations using ISDS “likely exceeds the total amount of damages awarded by all courts to victims of human rights violations in all States worldwide, ever,” wrote Boyd.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning media outlet Inside Climate News prefers to call ISDS “economic colonialism,” especially given that “the majority of cases have been filed by corporations from the United States, Europe, and Canada against developing nations.” Colonialism is a fitting descriptor. Gus Van Harten explained in his 2020 book “The Trouble with Foreign Investor Protection,” that ISDS treaties “originate in the efforts of former colonial powers and international organizations, especially the World Bank, to constrain newly independent countries.” In other words, ISDS is a means by which to extend colonialism after the end of physical occupation.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize-winning economist, prefers even harsher terminology. He called ISDS mechanisms “litigation terrorism,” because they “instill fear of environmental regulations, climate regulations because you know that it’s going to be costly” for governments.

British commentators had pressured the UK government to exit from treaties such as the “Energy Charter Treaty” (ECT) that require ISDS tribunals. In February 2024, the UK announced it would quit the ECT, following in the footsteps of France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most recently Members of the European Parliament also backed a proposal to end its ECT membership. It was called a “historic” vote against a treaty seen as a “climate killer.” It’s time for the U.S. to do the same. Last November, hundreds of climate justice and civil society groups signed on to a letter urging President Joe Biden to end ISDS mechanisms built into a trade agreement with nearly a dozen Latin American and Caribbean nations called Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity. The signatories explained that ISDS was “a global governance regime that prioritizes corporate rights over those of governments, people, and the planet.”

This was followed by a similar letter in December 2023 signed by more than 40 lawmakers from the Senate and House urging Biden to remove ISDS provisions from all trade agreements. The signatories, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse, lauded Biden for his “powerful action when he shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project, preventing the construction of a tar sands oil pipeline,” and pointed out that “TC Energy (formerly known as TransCanada)—the company behind the now-defunct pipeline—has filed an ISDS claim for billions of dollars to be litigated not in an American court, but in a shady international tribunal.”

What good does it do Biden and the U.S. for him to be a climate champion if any steps he takes to undermine fossil fuel domination are countered by a powerful and secretive corporate weapon? Momentum against ISDS provisions is growing. In April 2024, hundreds of academics in law and economics also wrote to Biden urging him to “eliminate ISDS liability from existing agreements,” and offering valuable expertise on how it can be done. Biden had said in 2020 that he was against ISDS provisions—in spite of his role as Vice President to the pro-ISDS Obama. In a letter to the United Steelworkers union, he said “I oppose the ability of private corporations to attack labor, health, and environmental policies through the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process, and I oppose the inclusion of such provisions in future trade agreements.” But what about current trade agreements? It’s troubling that multinational corporations from the U.S. launched the highest number of ISDS cases worldwide. The U.S. is currently the top producer of crude oil in the world. U.S. oil and gas companies are reaping extraordinarily high profits while taking advantage of billions of dollars of public subsidies in the form of tax breaks. The least Biden can do to curb a deadly industry that is threatening our entire species is to take action against ISDS provisions in existing trade agreements.

#usa #fossil fuels #fossil fuel industry #isds #global warming #joseph biden

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brookstonalmanac · 10 months

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Events 11.24 (after 1950)

1962 – Cold War: The West Berlin branch of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany forms a separate party, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin. 1962 – The influential British satirical television programme That Was the Week That Was is first broadcast. 1963 – Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is killed by Jack Ruby on live television. Robert H. Jackson takes a photograph of the shooting that will win the 1964 Pulitzer Prize in Photography. 1965 – Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seizes power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and becomes President; he rules the country (which he renames Zaire in 1971) for over 30 years, until being overthrown by rebels in 1997. 1966 – Bulgarian TABSO Flight 101 crashes near Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, killing all 82 people on board. 1969 – Apollo program: The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second crewed mission to land on the Moon. 1971 – During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (aka D. B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with $200,000 in ransom money. He has never been found. 1973 – A national speed limit is imposed on the Autobahn in Germany because of the 1973 oil crisis. The speed limit lasts only four months. 1974 – Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" (after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"), in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. 1976 – The Çaldıran–Muradiye earthquake in eastern Turkey kills between 4,000 and 5,000 people. 1989 – After a week of mass protests against the Communist regime known as the Velvet Revolution, Miloš Jakeš and the entire Politburo of the Czechoslovak Communist Party resign from office. This brings an effective end to Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. 1992 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3943 crashes on approach to Guilin Qifengling Airport in Guilin, China, killing all 141 people on board. 2009 – The Avdhela Project, an Aromanian digital library and cultural initiative, is founded in Bucharest, Romania. 2012 – A fire at a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, kills at least 112 people. 2013 – Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions. 2015 – A Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jet is shot down by the Turkish Air Force over the Syria–Turkey border, killing one of the two pilots; a Russian marine is also killed during a subsequent rescue effort. 2015 – A terrorist attack on a hotel in Al-Arish, Egypt, kills at least seven people and injures 12 others. 2015 – An explosion on a bus carrying Tunisian Presidential Guard personnel in Tunisia's capital Tunis leaves at least 14 people dead. 2016 – The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army sign a revised peace deal, bringing an end to the country's more than 50-year-long civil war. 2017 – A terrorist attack on a Mosque in Al-Rawda, North Sinai, Egypt kills 311 people and injures 128. 2022 – Five days after the general elections which resulted in a hung parliament, opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is officially named as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia.

#Events

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tvguidancecounselor · 1 year

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 591: Matt Jatkola and JP DiSciscio

August 24-30, 1996

This week Ken welcomes singer/songwriter and frontman of his name sake band "Jatk", Matt Matkola, and the director of Jatk's "Don't Come Knocking", JP DiSciscio.

Ken, Matt and JP discuss central Mass, rural internet, body swapping movies, rediscovering (or discovering for the first time) the 60s and 70s talk show era, Ed Sullivan, vintage technology, video cameras, building things to last, cable access, local news stations, R&B, VHS, Arlington Mass, how sometimes you cannot recreate the magic of a piece of analog technology, ghosted images, being on mushrooms, why talk shows are irrelevant now, The Doors, middle school, Summer birthdays, the prime years of Summer TV watching, Star Trek, Tek Wars, 90s Comic collecting, uniformed professions on TV, MTV's Singled Out, Hallmark Christmas Ornaments, five easy payments of $39, adjusting for inflation, My So-Called Life, SNICK, growing up without cable, Showgirls, Rambo, Columbo, Shelly Duval's Tall Tales, Swayze Crazy, WWF vs WCW, George Hamilton, The Simpsons, Mind Ripper, Ghost Hunting, Sightings, Unsolved Mysteries, Alien Autopsy, Dropdead Fred, T2, casting days, Rescue 911, Home Improvement, Drew Carey Show, The Bob Barker Years of Price is Right, Supermarket Sweep, celebrating your Sweet 16 with Apocalypse Now, The Bradford Exchange, Elvis Beer Steins, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy block, Carnosaur, Bringing Up Baby, horny Party of Five, watching Karate Kid over and over again, Italian American love of Goodfellas, Kobra Kai, WGN, Superstations, heist movies, Congo, Boy Meets World, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Disclosure, Summer School, Rob Morrow, the Bewitched that never was, Cheers within Cheers, and David Letterman's Olympic Level Disrespect.

Check out this episode!

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lightdancer1 · 3 years

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One of the things that makes the Ukraine War unlike anything since the Congo Wars

Is that it's the first war since them or 1991 that has two sides of approximate technological parity in a war. This isn't Iraq or Somalia where one side is locked in a time-warp of old model weaponry that spirals further down where the other evolves in tech and methods by economic shackles. This is a war with three countries facing each other, all of them technological and military equals.

Both sides have drones and equal-quality weaponry at the levels of combined arms war. This hasn't been a factor outside the Congo Wars in any of the recent larger wars. This is among the reasons why Russia went from casually depopulating Syria in an exercise in monstrous barbarism that deserved to see their elite get the very sanctions and iron-fisted punishments they're getting now then to....this.

They're not blowing up Syrian militias that want Assad out and don't have a prayer of fighting back, they're trying to fight people with the money to afford full-scale weaponry on par with their own and experience just as good as any garden variety Ivan and apparently more than equal to their elite.

And no, the Russians aren't sending in the C-team to soften up the Ukrainians and deploying the elite. This is real war, not Peter Jackson's Tolkien films. Russia has been sending its best and brightest, such as they are, into repeated failure and straight up butchering its airborne troops in a string of failed operations that prove why you should never send light infantry to do the job of a full-strength combined arms army.

And if this first few days is their best then the actual B- and C-team are going to do immensely worse.

And no, the Russians are really not playing fifth dimensional chess here and holding secret Wunderwaffen in deployment. The only tricks they have left are to raze Ukraine as they did Syria to global apathy, be it by conventional or worse, nuclear means. They are entirely capable of doing this even with the damage their air force is taking and continues to take.

What happens when, not if, they do this is an open question. If they go so far as to unleash nuclear weapons and to be the first people since Hiroshima and Nagasaki to wield them in war then things will turn very bad, very, very fast and the prospect of a general nuclear exchange shoots up dramatically.

At the same token this is straight up USA uses nukes at Dien Bien Phiu territory. Using nukes because your conventional forces fail is a sign of weakness and defangs the nuclear taboo in the worst possible fashion. That said I strongly suspect if Putin does give this order he'll get Romanov colic and the new boss will do everything he can to try to prevent 1991 redux.

#ukraine war #military matters have laws and logic like everything else #Russia is teaching people how not to do it #Russia is cruising for 1991 II Electric Boogaloo #and that's going to be unpleasant #that's what happens when rulers willingly initiate catastrophes #it has consequences

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elektroskopik · 3 years

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Visualizing The Most Widespread Blood Types in Every Country

The Most Widespread Blood Types, by Country

Blood is essential to the human body’s functioning. It dispenses crucial nutrients throughout the body, exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide, and carries our immune system’s “militia” of white blood cells and antibodies to stave off infections.

But not all blood is the same. The antigens in one’s blood determine their blood type classification: There are eight common blood type groups, and with different combinations of antigens and classifications, 36 human blood type groups in total.

Using data sourced from Wikipedia, we can map the most widespread blood types across the globe.

Overall Distribution of Blood Types

Of the 7.9 billion people living in the world, spread across 195 countries and 7 continents, the most common blood type is O+, with over 39% of the world’s population falling under this classification. The rarest, meanwhile, is AB-, with only 0.40% of the population having this particular blood type.

Breaking it down to the national level, these statistics begin to change. Since different genetic factors play a part in determining an individual’s blood type, every country and region tells a different story about its people.

Regional Distribution of Blood Types

Asia

Even though O+ remains the most common blood type here, blood type B is relatively common too. Nearly 20% of China’s population has this blood type, and it is also fairly common in India and other Central Asian countries.

Comparatively, in some West Asian countries like Armenia and Azerbaijan, the population with blood type A+ outweighs any others.

Americas

The O blood type is the most common globally and is carried by nearly 70% of South Americans. It is also the most common blood type in Canada and the United States.

Here is a breakdown of the most common blood types in the U.S. by race:

Africa

O+ is a strong blood group classification among African countries. Countries like Ghana, Libya, Congo and Egypt, have more individuals with O- blood types than AB+.

Europe

The A blood group is common in Europe. Nearly 40% of Denmark, Norway, Austria, and Ukraine have this blood type.

Oceania

O+ and A+ are dominant blood types in the Oceanic countries, with only Fiji having a substantial B+ blood type population.

Middle East

More than 41% of the population displays the O+ blood group type, with Lebanon being the only country with a strong O- and A- blood type population.

The Caribbean

Nearly half of people in Caribbean countries have the blood type O+, though Jamaica has B+ as the most common blood type group.

Here is the classification of the blood types by every region in the world:

Unity in Diversity

Even though ethnicity and genetics play a vital role in determining a person’s blood type, we can see many different blood types distributed worldwide.

Blood provides an ideal opportunity for the study of human variation without cultural prejudice. It can be easily classified for many different genetically inherited blood typing systems.

Our individuality is a factor that helps determine our life, choices, and personalities. But at the end of the day, commonalities like blood are what bring us together.

#blood #human blood #blood type #rhesus factor #maps #global #blood types #genetics #regional #medicine

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brooklynmuseum · 4 years

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Join us as we take you on a tour of African Arts—Global Conversations. Curated by Kristen Windmuller-Luna and presented by Bank of America.

African Arts—Global Conversations puts African arts where they rightfully belong: within the global art historical canon. This exhibition pairs diverse African works with objects from around the world in groupings throughout the Museum.

These groupings explore how shared themes such as portraiture, faith, modernism, and origins developed independently in different parts of the globe and fill in the blanks of decades of art history teaching.

Beginning in our introductory gallery, two idealized portraits of African rulers made centuries apart greet visitors.

These portraits respect cultural norms about how a ruler is expected to look, often combining distinctive individual features with visual concepts such as divinity or rulership.

Kuba artist (Bushoong clan). Ndop figure depicting Nyim Mbó Mbóosh (reigned circa 1650), Nyim Mishé miShyááng máMbúl (reigned circa 1710), or Nyim Kot áNée (reigned circa 1740), circa 1760–80. Mushenge (Nsheng), Kasai Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, tukula, 19 1/2 x 7 5/8 x 8 5/8 in. (49.5 x 19.4 x 21.9 cm). Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, Mrs. Donald M. Oenslager, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Blum, and the Mrs. Florence A. Blum Fund, 61.33.

Kuba ndop (commissioned royal portraits) represent the concept of leadership and contain a ruler’s life essence.The hand on this drum identifies this ruler as one of three Kuba nyim (kings): Mbó Mbóosh, Mishé miShyááng máMbúl, and Kot áNée.

Other royal indicators include his long-brimmed headdress, cowrie belt and armbands, and calm expression.

Egyptian artist. Ptolemaic Prince, 51–30 B.C.E. Egypt. Quartzite, 12 1/2 x 5 5/16 x 3 3/8 in. (31.8 x 13.5 x 8.5 cm). Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.117.

Ancient Egyptian sculptures use hieroglyphic text to identify subjects by name, but a blank back pillar suggests this sculpture is unfinished.

Although this figure is unidentified, his youth, crown, and Hellenistic hair and face suggest that he is Caesarion, son of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar.

Warriors hold a valued place in many societies across time and place. Warriors’ memorials reflect what societies think these figures “should” look like, often representing ideals rather than individuals.

Huastec artist. Warrior Figure, circa 1440–1521. Xico Viejo, Veracruz, Mexico. Sandstone, 65 3/16 x 14 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (165.6 x 37.5 x 19.1 cm). Frank L. Babbott Fund, 39.371.

Wooden stelae (left/middle) memorializing powerful Konso warriors in Ethiopia were grouped with additional sculptures of weapons, slain animals, and defeated foes. The stelae memorialize specific male Konso ancestors, emphasizing his individual deeds as well as his connection to shared experiences and values.

The stone Huastec warrior figure (right) from Mexico is adorned with fearsome symbols of death such as the human skulls on his skirt and bead-and-human-heart necklace. Huastec viewers who saw these elements knew he was likely Micoatl-Camaxtle, the god of hunting and warfare.

Nestled amongst our European paintings and sculpture collection are three Ethiopian processional crosses.

Beginning in the medieval period, the Christian Ethiopian Kingdom and numerous Italian states enjoyed a lively relationship that included travel and exchange of religious art and ideas between the two regions.

Ethiopian Orthodox priests carried these copper alloy crosses atop staffs (right).

just as their Italian Catholic counterparts carried wooden ones like this (left).

Amhara artist. Processional Cross (qäqwami mäsqäl), late 15th or early 16th century. Possibly Lalibela, Ethiopia. Copper alloy, 11 1/2 x 7 3/16 in. (29.0 x 18.3 cm). Gift of George V. Corinaldi, Jr., 81.163.2.

An Ethiopian artist incised Mary holding the Christ child, archangels, and saints on this fifteenth- or sixteenth century cross.

Master of Monte del Lago (Italian, School of Umbria, second quarter of the 14th century). Double-Sided Processional Cross, second quarter of the 14th century. Umbria, Italy. Tempera and gold on panel, 39 1/16 x 16 9/16 x 4 5/8 in. (99.2 x 42.1 x 11.7 cm). Gift of Mary Babbott Ladd, Lydia Babbott Stokes, and Frank L. Babbott, Jr., in memory of their father, Frank L. Babbott, 34.845.

While the Master of Monte del Lago painted Crucifixion scenes on this fourteenth-century gilded Italian cross.

A trio of ceramics made by living artists born in Kenya, Korea, and Nigeria shows the ways that modern ceramicists can choose to draw inspiration from their own regional heritage, or not.

Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo DBE (British, born 1950, Kenya). Symmetrical Reduced Black Narrow-Necked Tall Piece, 1990. Farnham, Surrey, England. Terracotta, 16 x 10 x 10 in. (40.6 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm). Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. Sidney Clyman and the Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1991.26. © Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo

Dame Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo fires her dramatic pots multiple times to create glossy, iridescent surfaces.

Born in Kenya, she learned ceramics in Britain (where she lives today), citing pottery traditions from multiple other countries as her primary influences, drawing ideas from Nigerian Gwari ceramics, Native American Pueblo pottery, European Modernism, and even ancient Cycladic art.

Kang Suk Young (Korean, born 1949). Untitled, 1992. Korea. Unglazed porcelain, 24 13/16 x 6 x 6 in. (63 x 15.3 x 15.3 cm). Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes, 2006.20. © Kang Suk Young

Kang Suk Young uses porcelain, a medium that is traditional in his home country of Korea, but he creates forms using slip casting, a method he learned in France. He pulls the porcelain from its mold when it is still somewhat soft and twists and bends it to create something that is lively and anthropomorphic.

Ranti Bam (Nigerian, born 1982). Antafi, 2019. London, England. Terracotta, 15 3/8 × 8 1/4 × 8 1/4 in. (39 × 21 × 21 cm). Gift of Anne Goldrach in honor of Anne Pasternak, 2019.25. © Ranti Bam

Ranti Bam has created a very complex object, contrasting a heavy clay slab with delicate painting, and a rough surface with areas of shiny glaze.

The painted surface references woodgrain, but in an unlikely color of dark pink that gives the vessel its name, Antafi, a word that the artist derived from the Greek word for “rose” (triantafyllo).

Although these artists participate in the multinational field of contemporary ceramics, their work has until now been categorized by the museum according to their place of birth.

Grouping these ceramics highlights how museums (including Brooklyn!) tend to leave artists born outside of Europe and the U.S. out of conversations about contemporary art.

Kongo (Yombe subgroup) artist. Power Figure (nkisi): Woman and Child, 19th century. Lower Congo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, glass, upholstery studs, metal, metal and glass buttons, resin, 11 x 5 x 4 1/2 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.4 cm). Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1138.

This sculpture is linked to a Kongo fertility-focused women’s cult that flourished during the height of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. During this period, women both raised children and took on customarily male agricultural roles. Made into an nkisi (power figure), it underscores how Kongo women supported future generations during a time of widespread social upheaval and trauma.

Louis Rémy Mignot (American, 1831-1870). Niagara, 1866. Oil on canvas, 61 1/2 × 104 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (156.2 × 264.8 × 11.4 cm). Gift of Arthur S. Fairchild, 1993.118.

Displayed in a gallery devoted to Civil War and Reconstruction-era (1861–1877) American art, this sculpture provides a poignant Central African perspective on the widespread repercussions of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

On the fifth floor, you’ll find a pairing of two great leaders: Wóót and George Washington. Artist-made images created before the invention of photography, they show how two artists represented their society’s founding fathers.

Kuba artist. Mask (Mwaash aMbooy), late 19th or early 20th century. Kasaï Province (former Kasaï-Occidental Province), Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rawhide, paint, plant fibers, textile, cowrie shells, glass, wood, monkey pelt, and feathers, 22 x 20 x 18 in. (55.9 x 50.8 x 45.7 cm). Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1582.

The Mwaash aMbooy mask personifies Wóót, mythical ancestor of the D.R. Congo’s Kuba peoples. Kings performed this mask during initiations and funerals. One performance tells the story of Wóót’s role in the Kuba kingdom's founding and his ties to its first ruler.

Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755–1828). George Washington, 1796. Oil on canvas, 96 1/4 x 60 1/4 in. (244.5 x 153 cm). Dick S. Ramsay Fund and Museum Purchase Fund, 45.179.

Gilbert Stuart’s larger-than-lifesize portrait of George Washington reminds a young republic of the soldier who led them to victory and the statesman who stepped down from power for the country to flourish for some.

Both works rely on extensive symbolism and create enduring images of “founding fathers.”

While Stuart’s portrait turned an individual into an icon, the Kuba artist’s Wóót mask connected a current ruler to his dynastic past.

Beauford Delaney began including African artworks in a series of compositions from the 1940s as he deepened his engagement with the African American cultural movement called the Harlem Renaissance.

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901-1979). Untitled (Fang Sculpture, Crow and Fruit), 1945. Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. (63.5 x 76.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Fund for African American Art in honor of Arnold Lehman, A. Augustus Healy Fund and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 2014.73. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2014.73_PS9.jpg)

In this dynamic and brightly colored still life, a bird of spirit figure hovers over a bowl of lemons, presenting them as an offering to Fang ancestors represented by the reliquary sculpture seen at right.

An Ntem River Valley Master. Reliquary Guardian Figure (Eyema-o-Byeri), mid-18th to mid-19th century. Wood, iron, 23 × 5 3/4 × 5 in. (58.4 × 14.6 × 12.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 51.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 51.3_overall_PS9.jpg)

By showing this painting alongside its specific source and acknowledging the contributions of Fang master artists, this grouping brings to life a transatlantic cultural dialogue and exchange.

This is just a small glimpse of the works on view in this groundbreaking exhibition. Come see for yourself as soon as we reopen our galleries!

Thank you for joining us on our tour of African Arts—Global Conversations. Join us next Sunday for another tour of our galleries!

Installation views of African Arts—Global Conversations by Jonathon Dorado.

#Virtual tour #virtual #virtual programming #Brooklyn #Brooklyn Museum #arthistory #bkmafricanarts #global conversations #african art

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clcvers · 4 years

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who: evelyn & clover (@yundays) what: a discord thread when: friday, october 2nd (the night before the festival) where: some trendy club in brooklyn

evelyn: the night started very similarly to how every friday night goes for evelyn — pregaming on alcohol and drugs for two hours straight and not heading to the club until right before midnight. but this time felt more special as clover joined her, an event that only happens a few times a month due to conflicting schedules. and honestly, she was going to need her best friend and their shenanigans if she was going to get through this all nighter. after all, there was no way she was going to sleep before her 7am shift. it just didn’t make sense. admittedly, maybe things felt a little blurry as she arrived to the club, but it was almost like everything came into hyper focus as she stumbled on to the dancefloor, the neon lights and sharp snares electrifying her right down to her bones. evelyn instantly turns to the other woman already raising her arms in the air and dancing, shoulders and hips moving in tandem to the beat. ❝ oh my god, clover. the music… it’s like in my fingertips, wow… ❞ she releases a giggle at that, fingertips gently touching her own face. and for some reason, in that moment, it’s like she had the greatest epiphany ever. ❝ i literally love you. i’m like… so glad you’re here with me, clove. ❞ she says, bringing her into an embrace and swaying the two of them together.

clover: it had been ages since clover had been in the middle of a sweaty, crowded club instead of staring down at one from the dj platform. something about being out with evelyn made it feel even more right. she hadn't seen her best friend in what felt like months, and getting to dance with her again tonight felt almost euphoric. she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't disappointed that she hadn't pregamed as intensely as evelyn, but it wasn't hard for her to track down her old dealer for some molly. back in the day, one little pill would hardly have an effect on her, but outside of the occasional joint, it'd been almost two years since she'd touched anything. it was just one pill, she figured, how bad could it be ? besides, it was a special occasion. when evelyn's giggling starts to echo in her ear, she knows that something's happening. looking back at her friend, she can hardly bring herself to do anything but smile. ❝ i can't feel my face ! ❞ she exclaims, letting out a breathy laugh as evelyn pulls her close. ❝ dude... you're like my best friend. have i ever told you that you're like... my best fucking friend? ❞mall>

evelyn: ❝ clover, i am literally so honored i can cry. ❞ and for a moment, it’s almost like she is going to as her eyes water up slightly. though, it could be partially due to the smoke machine, if anything. ❝ you’re going to like, make me cry… in the club. ❞ realizing she just quoted a meme, any tears that might’ve welled up in her eyes quickly dissipate as she begins laughing into clover’s shoulder. she eventually does pull away, though, feeling as though the music itself is behind the wheel as she closes her eyes and lets the euphoric beats and her best friend’s voice guide her. jumping to the rhythm, a large smile appears on her face as she reopens her eyes, elated to see that her friend’s face is still there, the drugs making it seem like her face is closer than it actually is. the image makes her laugh as she peers past her friend’s shoulder, looking into the abyss of neon-lit moving bodies as her vision becomes a bit wavy. ❝ um… i’m going to like… go on a limb here and say like, i think the drugs are kicking in. ❞ she giggles at her state, acutely aware of just how fucked up she is, the experience feeling more fun and fantastical than scary.

clover: as she moves to the music, clover leans into evelyn and laughs along with her, losing herself in the moment shared between them. when evelyn pulls away, clover can feel the heat rising in her body, propelling her to move in sync with the music as she begins to lose herself in the crowd. evelyn's voice brings her back into reality and she slowly floats back to their position in the crowd. ❝ you and me both, ❞ she says dreamily, closing her eyes as she sways to the melody. ❝ i feel like i'm a mermaid right now. ❞ her realization makes her giggle and she quickly inches closer to evelyn to embrace her once again. ❝ i'm really happy these days, you know? ❞

evelyn: evelyn’s giggle reflects her friend’s own as she welcomes the embrace and sways the two of them once more. ❝ you literally look so happy, clover, i just knew it... i’m like so happy for you and your best life, wow. ❞ she scream-whispers into her ear over the loud bass as she brings them back to arm’s length and continues dancing in this form, truly just vibing. ❝ oh my god, should we like, get drinks? ❞ the realization brings her hands to her mouth in exaggerated shock, genuinely shocked they haven’t made a b-line to the bar immediately. “yeah, i think we are gonna need drinks like… asap.” she restates, as she glances back trying to remember where it was in the cloudy haze of her intoxicated state. taking clover’s hands and resting them on her own shoulders, she congo-dances her way out of the crowd, hoping that going against the current of the crowd will lead her to the pot of gold that was the bar counter. eventually it does and after getting the bartender’s attention by leaning in and shouting, he comes over. ❝ hi, so i’m going to need a gin and tonic and… bitch, what are you feeling right now? ❞ she turns to the other, asking the question in her ear.

clover: the mention of drinks awakens her from her dreamy state, and she follows closely behind evelyn as they make their way through the crowd. ❝ let's run up the tab, ❞ she giggles as they finally reach the bar. her hands are still perched on evelyn's shoulders as she inches closer to the counter to shout her order to the bartender. ❝ i'll take a jack and coke. ❞ as the bartender disappears to fetch their drinks, she leans her back against the counter comfortably before looking back at her friend. ❝ i swear, this is like, the best night ever. ❞

evelyn: evelyn hands the bartender her card as the drinks appear in front of them, passing it to her best friend. ❝ clink, clink, bitch. ❞ she brings her glass to meet the other’s own, smirking at its rim before taking a long sip, the liquid going down like it was water for the woman. ❝ oh my god, like, to be honest though… it literally is, wow. ❞ she giggles into her glass, instinctually taking yet another sip. ❝ honestly like these past few weekends have been so lame, no joke… it was missing clover magic, like it’s been soooo long, what the fuck. ❞

clover: ❝ remind me to venmo you later, ❞ clover whispers loudly to her friend, taking the glass from her before clinking it against hers. ❝ cheers, bitch! ❞ she yells excitedly, almost downing her drink in one sip. ❝ you think i'm magic? ❞ she practically gasps, looking at her best friend with gleaming eyes. ❝ you're so fucking cute, evie! ❞

30 MINUTES LATER

evelyn: returning back to the dancefloor, evelyn is genuinely enjoying herself as she takes the last sip of her drink, already eyeing a few people — with a few returning the glance. she brings her attention back to her best friend but keeps her gaze on someone else across the room as she chuckles to herself. ❝ oh my god, okay, clover fucking slap me if i try to go home with someone tonight okay. like… you have my permission. my cheek can take it, okay. ❞ she slurs into clover’s ear, bringing a hand to her face, the memories of awful drunken hookups coming to mind.

clover: when the two finally make their way back onto the dancefloor, clover could be less preoccupied with the people dancing around them. she's too busy having the time of her life with her best friend and vibing to one of the best sets they'd ever been to together. so when evelyn all of a sudden gives her permission to get violent with her if she tries to get laid, she's taken aback. ❝ girl, ❞ she says, her voice raising in pitch from all of the liquor she's had. ❝ you know i'm not one to judge, but i lowkey hate how you'll just sleep with anyone when you're drunk enough. ❞ clover laughs tipsily as she pulls away from evelyn, shaking her head a bit as she remembers all of the stories they'd exchanged about their drunken hookups.

evelyn: ❝ oh my god, i know it’s seriously soooo bad. ❞ evelyn chuckles into her hand, flushing from embarrassment and as the alcohol digests further and further into her system. ❝ ugh, i’ll never forget how fucking messy my birthday was. like... i woke up to dylan of all people, oh god. ❞ she groans at the memory, rubbing her eyes as her intoxicated state only increases from here. as it does, the dj moves gracefully into the next song, causing evelyn to drop her jaw at the selection. ❝ fuck, this song is sooo beautiful, clover, wow… i might cry. ❞

clover: the song changes before clover has time to respond to what her friend says, and with the whiskey and molly clouding her thoughts, it takes her a moment to process what evelyn even means. she'd left early with one of evelyn's friends on the night of her birthday, and come to think of it, she'd never actually heard how the rest of evelyn's night went. ❝ wait, ❞ she pauses, turning to her friend as she leans in to speak to her. ❝ why did you wake up next to dylan? ❞ the thought of them together feels unnatural to her, but she can't think of another explanation as to why she would say such a thing. ❝ you didn't... ❞ she pleads, trailing off as tears begin to stream slowly down her face, hoping that this was all some big misunderstanding. ❝ evie, ❞ she says forcefully, grasping evelyn's wrist, ❝ tell me you didn't. ❞

evelyn: ❝ ow, that hurts… ❞ evelyn pouts, eyebrows stringing together as her gaze lingers a little too long on her friend’s grip on her wrist. ❝ what didn’t i do? ❞ she eventually asks, already forgetting the words coming out of her lips as soon as she says them. noticing her best friend’s tears though makes her heart drop nonetheless, believing it has to be because the song playing feels so visceral. ❝ oh god, clover please don’t cry… the song is almost over. i think so. should we ask him? ❞ she proposes, glancing back to the dj stand, and deciding internally that it’s much too far away and she’s honestly much too lazy.

clover: clover hadn't realized that she was applying pressure on evelyn's wrist until she cries out, and she lets go as she turns back to look evelyn in the eyes. ❝ what didn't you do? ❞ she repeats furiously as more tears begin to cloud her vision. ❝ what the fuck is wrong with you? ❞ the room suddenly starts to spin around her as she backs away from evelyn, disgusted at her nonchalant attitude. the admission alone was enough to send her spiraling, but the lack of compassion evelyn had for her — her supposed best friend — made her even more on edge. ❝ I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FUCKING SONG! ❞ she screams as the tears fogging her eyes finally fall and smudge her heavy eyeliner. ❝ i can't believe you would do this to me. ❞ she almost chokes on her words as she sobs, walking straight through the crowd and hoping evelyn doesn't catch up to her.

evelyn: as soon as evelyn saw clover get worked up, she can feel her chest clenching, doing her best to focus on hanging on to reality just a little bit longer to see what was happening with her best friend. before she realizes it, clover is leaving and all she can do is follow after her. ❝ clover, wait. clover… ❞ she calls after her, worming through the crowd to catch up. ❝ where are you going? did i do something wrong? i didn’t mean it, i promise. ❞ she says more out of a knee jerk than sincerity, still trying to catch up with what exactly was going on.

clover: she doesn't wait for evelyn to catch up with her, but when she hears her voice calling out, she can feel her eyes welling up again. ❝ did you do something wrong? ❞ clover scoffs as she stops in front of the bar, turning towards evelyn as they meet face to face again. ❝ you slept with dylan when you knew that i liked him! ❞ her face heats up as she speaks, swallowing what was left of her pride after she sobbed in the middle of the club. ❝ you are un-fucking-believable, ❞ she says as her jaw tightens and her fists clench. ❝ you know what? i hate you. ❞

evelyn: evelyn’s heart drops at clover’s declaration of hate, feeling her sense of reality slip from her consciousness, growing more and more spaced out as the tremendous guilt and intoxication pull her down. ❝ no, no, no clover, please. it wasn’t like that, i don’t like him, i promise. fuck, please, please don’t hate me, clover. i’m so sorry, fuck. ❞ and it all leaves her lips as a slippery, slur-induced rambling mess because all she knows is she’s fucked up, the one thing she never wanted her to know coming out and now she’s feeling like she’s losing it all rapidly. as it all crashes down, all she could do is plead as she feels her breathing speeding up.

clover: all clover can do as her best friend pleads with her is sob. she never imagined that evelyn would be capable of betraying her — especially after she had been so supportive when it seemed like she and dylan had finally made some progress after all these years. she can feel her chest heaving as she looks back at her former best friend, shaking her head at her empty words. ❝ don't ever speak to me again, ❞ she manages to say, her words slurring through her tears. turning away from evelyn, she stumbles through the crowd to get some fresh air. all she wants to do is go home.

#𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆 ▸ threads.#𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 ▸ evelyn.

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whileiamdying · 4 years

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Africa State of Mind

Ekow Eshun’s project offers a kaleidoscopic view of Africa, highlighting over 50 contemporary photographers from the continent and its diaspora.

“In the last 10 years there has been a real increase in exceptional photographers either based on the continent or of African origin. It’s incredibly interesting to see them exploring what it feels and looks like to live in Africa today.” Ekow Eshun (b. 1968) is a British writer, journalist, broadcaster and former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. His most recent project, Africa State of Mind, is a large, ambitious book.

The publication collects a wide range of images as a platform for expression and exchange around the continent, boasting over 50 exciting names. These next generation artists are providing unique insights into Africa, or, rather, they each offer one of many perspectives. As Eshun points out, there can be no monolithic view. “In the past there were attempts to corral Africans. It’s important to take a broader, much more kaleidoscopic approach. The book presents an overview of recent photographic practice – all the works included were shot in the 21st century, mostly in the last decade. It is an exploration of how contemporary artists of African origin are interrogating ideas of “Africanness” by highly subjective renderings of place, belonging, memory and identity that reveal the continent to be a psychological space – a state of mind – as much as a physical territory.”

That psychological state is complex. Eshun looks back – to the distinguished history of Malick Sidibé (1935-2016) and Seydou Keïta (1921-2001), and even further back to pioneers such as Francis W. Joaque (1845-1900), but also back to the much less illustrious history of photography as practised in Africa by European colonisers. Carving up Africa at the same time photography was being invented, these invaders used images to take stock of what they had seized – via dubious ethnographic studies – and also to create a picture of a “dark continent” that “lent rationale to the apparently civilising mission of Empire.”

Untitled, 2012. © Nobukho Nqaba.

That rationale still contributes to the 21st century image of Africa, says Eshun, from white adventurer movies like Congo (1995), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) to “the footage of famine-swollen bellies and fly-covered faces that punctuates charity telethons.” This colonial history and resulting hangover of public perception is something with which photographers must engage. “Every time you pick up the camera you are dealing with the legacy of the African figure,” argues Eshun. “That context and history mean that the images aren’t passive. If you’re photographing someone in Africa, you have to ask yourself ‘How is it I think about what it is to do that?’ because you are now in some sort of dialogue with those earlier images.”

However, this extra layer of thought also points to the finesse and refinement in these pictures, he adds – concepts which have always been part of the African experience, though reductive western conceptions have attempted to deny it. There’s often an assumption that these image-makers are somehow catching up with the west, he points out: in fact, Africa has always been “fundamentally cosmopolitan.”

“The west hasn’t historically acknowledged that when you live in Africa, you grow up with this real sense of sophistication, not isolation,” he says. “The art world is opening up, belatedly, to the quality of artists outside the west. Take Zanele Muholi (b. 1972) – the first African photographer to have a major solo show at Tate Modern – something that has nothing to do with anything other than the calibre of the work. Muholi’s practice explores issues of identity, of how individuals can choose to self-identify. Hassan Hajjaj (b. 1961) is a similar example but from a very different place [he’s from Morocco, Muholi from South Africa]. He also uses dynamic portraits as a way of looking at cosmopolitanism and globalisation, gender, identity, masculinity – many different things.”

Mutjope Kavari, Kunene Region, Namibia, 2015. © Kyle Weeks.

Eshun traces similar themes in other photographers’ work. He points to Sethembile Msezane (b. 1991), who uses self-portraiture to address the lack of positive representation of black women in South Africa, and recognition for their part in the country’s liberation. A Zulu woman, Msezane photographed herself dressed as the Zimbabwe Bird in front of a statue of Cecil Rhodes – the Victorian businessman and mining magnate who once ruled South Africa (and elsewhere). This image works in the context of the Rhodes Must Fall protests of 2015, Eshun adds, in which statues of the colonial ruler were removed. “She is inherently very interested in dynamics of power and representation – how we recognise history, point of view and power.”

He also picks out Nobukho Nqaba (b. 1992), another South African who works with self-portraiture, but whose images are most recognisable because of their adornment of cheap, checked bags. “One of her points is that these bags are associated with migration and people on low income, and they are global,” points out Eshun. “They’re made in China, and in South Africa they’re known as ‘China bags,’ but in the USA they’re associated with Mexicans and in Germany with Turkish people. Ultimately, she’s using them as a totemic symbol, using them not just in terms of the relationship that she, as an African woman, has to them, but as how some of these dialogues recur around the world with different sets of people. “These items are a marker of marginalisation, and these images therefore have an implication of the globalisation of capital, or production taking place around the world – there’s a much bigger picture that she’s trying to speak to and interrogate.”

Zakaria Wakrim (b. 1988) is from Morocco. Eshun picks up on a similar sense of “cosmopolitanism” in his work, and in particular an image showing a red-robed individual looking out over the North African coast. The photograph hints at the paths of migration – and forced migration – but also evokes western art history, in its similarity to Casper David Friedrich’s Romantic painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (c. 1818). In fact, other images in Wakrim’s series depict the same figure looking over the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert. The artist has another westerner in mind – Antoine de Saint Exupéry, the aviator and author who drew on his own experience of crash-landing in the Sahara when writing The Little Prince (1943). “We come back to the decision to shoot an image,” comments Eshun. “These photographers are weighing up their portfolios and placing them within a broader political, cultural and social context.”

Untitled, 2012. © Nobukho Nqaba.

Kyle Weeks’ (b. 1992) practice, meanwhile, engages with what it means be a white Namibian taking pictures of young, black Himba men. Africa State of Mind includes pieces from the series Palm Wine, which shows men following the ancient practice of tapping palm trees for sap; it follows another project with Himba men, in which Weeks set up a portrait studio which allowed them to take photographs of themselves “to give agency to the people in the photographs, and acknowledge his own complicated position … His work highlights the complicated notion of a visual representation of African people,” comments Eshun. “There’s no passive relationship between photographer and subject and context.”

Thinking through these complex ideas, Eshun noticed four themes that seemed to crop up repeatedly. These then became the key chapters of the publication – Hybrid Cities; Zones of Freedom; Myth and Memory; and Inner Landscapes. Hybrid Cities looks at the idea of the metropolis, on a continent that includes three megacities – Lagos, Cairo and Kinshasa – and includes artists such as Thabiso Sekgala, George Osodi, Emeka Okereke and Guy Tillim.

Zones of Freedom considers sexual freedom and identity, and features work by Eric Gyamfi, Hassan Hajjaj, Sabelo Mlangeni, Zanele Muholi and Ruth Ossai. Myth and Memory looks at work that draws on and subverts existing aesthetic traditions, and includes pieces by Omar Victor Diop, Lalla Essaydi, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Pieter Hugo, Namsa Leuba, Sethembile Msezane and Lina Iris Viktor. Inner Landscape focuses in on pictures of people that emphasise the personal and subjective, and highlights names such as Leila Alaoui, Atong Atem, Lebohang Kganye, Youssef Nabil, Nobukho Nqaba, Zakaria Wakrim and Kyle Weeks.

Untitled, 2014. © Zakaria Wakrim.

This decision to organise the book by theme rather than geography is interesting, for at least a couple of reasons. First, it raises the idea that these artists are important because of what they have to say, not because of where they come from. As Eshun puts it, whilst he’s “not averse” to exhibitions and books that focus on particular locations (after all, he has just created one), he doesn’t want it to be the only place to see their work. Instead, he hopes that by throwing the spotlight on under-represented names, this project will help them take their rightful place in the wider canon – as has already happened with Muholi, and with Kiluanji Kia Henda (b. 1979), whose work is currently on show at the Barbican’s, London, Masculinities show, until 17 May.

The second reason for the book’s order hints at Eshun’s own position within this project. He is a London-based man of Ghanaian heritage. Eshun was nominated for the Orwell Prize for the memoir Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa(2005) – which deals with a return trip to Ghana, Ghanaian history and issues of identity and race. He isn’t based in Africa, but says that’s not the point. “There is no singular, authentic version of the continent; there are multiple, individual perspectives,” he expands. “Africa encompasses 54 countries! My perspective comes from being of African origin and living in London. I have an inevitably diasporic point of view, but I think it’s valid. I’m not claiming to take a singular fixed view, and I don’t claim to come from some singular version of truth.”

“I want to get away from the idea that ‘This is Africa.’” he continues. “I want to give as much room to the photographers as possible, putting together a book and a show that sees from their point of view. I’m interested in how individual artists, or how I, as a writer, can explore notions and ideas. The photographers are world-present – most of them travel quite often, or, if they don’t, they have an artistic approach and reach that allows them to expand out internationally. It’s not necessarily accurate to think of it as ‘me here, them there’ – it’s more about the flow and exchange of ideas, images and influences.”

— Diane Smyth

#Aesthetica Magazine #Africa #Institute of Contemporary Arts #Ekow Eshun #Photogaphy

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congo-b-exchange-blog · 6 years

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MOKOKOLi new incoming

#cosmetics #produitsnaturels #beauté #nature #karité olives #karité avocat #karité amande douce #karité argan #savons #be natural be beauty be wild #Nzolawild #instagood #afriquedel’ouest #importation #e commerce #congo b exchange #paris #amiens #berck sur mer

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tvguidancecounselor · 1 year

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 591: Matt Jatkola and JP DiSciscio

August 24-30, 1996

This week Ken welcomes singer/songwriter and frontman of his name sake band "Jatk", Matt Matkola, and the director of Jatk's "Don't Come Knocking", JP DiSciscio.

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jimmywoodriff-blog · 6 years

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Slacktivism

CAN WE BUY OUR WAY OUT OF POVERTY?

That was the headline for the Vivid ideas exchange event I attended yesterday, as part of the Vivid Sydney festival. For those that don’t know about it, Vivid is major three weeks long Sydney event where colourful lights are blasted on to iconic buildings around the city, making them dance to esoteric soundtracks.

The ‘Vivid Ideas’ event, hosted discreetly by Huddle (A community-minded insurance company) was filled with a crowd of… Let’s just say, if the crowd was bread it would be a bespoke organic sourdough from Sydney’s upper-middle-left-leaven suburbs.

There were three-panel speakers. A reasonably unprepared, but clearly passionate, James Dunlop from Oxfam Australia, Dr Stuart Palmer, Head of Ethics at Australian Ethical (superannuation fund) and ‘reformed fashionista’ Clare Press, of Wardrobe crisis.

There was also beer and representation from 4 Pines Brewing Co. I didn’t at all mind having a couple of free beers at midday (Don’t be judgey with me, they are a certified B corp after all).

SO… CAN WE BUY OUR WAY OUT OF POVERTY?

Short answer: I’m still not sure.

We certainly can’t hope to, if we don’t get a concrete answer from a room full of like-minds and industry-leading business representatives.

The vague conclusions made by the panel was typical of these kinds of events and conferences. Powerful and responsibly-minded organisations keep telling everyone how their organisation is empowering change. Through their various collaborations and projects, they have provided water to such and such village, or micro-finance a group of women to do something cute like ‘basket making for a fair wage’.

Dr Stuart Palmer of Australian Ethical was the only speaker who had a good crack at answering the question, and associating real-world examples of Australian Ethical’s spending decisions and how they affect poverty… He used the example of their investment in Tesla being challenged by the fact that Cobalt (used to make batteries) is often mined in conflict zones of the Congo. He told us not to punish ourselves for being perfect when it comes to conscious consumption. Instead, like Australian Ethical does, we must focus on being GOOD. Because perfect production and perfect products and perfect people are a myth.

Agreed.

Still not answering the question however because the ‘we’ in this discussion isn’t your CSR team, it’s my neighbour Wayne, the everyday consumer.

Hearing about how Big Business does good can be nice. Don’t get me wrong. But it won’t actually provide any practical tools or advice to everyday people, to understand the impact of their consumer behaviour on millions of less fortunate others around the world. We’ll get a big pat on the back for buying our organic, fair trade, conflict-free bespoke tea cosy from the Oxfam shop. Literally being rewarded for our contribution. But if we really wanted to make a difference,

WHY DON’T WE JUST DONATE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY TO OXFAM?

This ‘I deserve recognition’ mentality is precisely why so many businesses are using socially and environmentally responsible initiatives to greenwash their image. On an individual level, our slacktivist ego will inflate when we participate in a fun-run, faux famine or retail scenario that makes us feel like we are doing something. Something that we can share on social media or get a thank you ‘gift’ for.

In the last few moments of the panel discussion, Claire Press gracefully pointed out a big hole in the days’ discussion, urging the room to consider whether events like this are simply “preaching to the converted”? Yes Claire, they are. They are if the speakers don’t embrace the opportunity to offer advice to the educated and motivated audience who have travelled, paid and taken time to see them.

In my mind, the outcome of an impassioned conversation about ‘Buying our way out of Poverty’ should be focused on helping people to make informed decisions about what they buy. By “others” I mean the Helgas, the Tip-Tops and the Light Rye Cobs.

Specifically, the ‘everyday Australians‘ who simply don’t have the resources (time, disposable cash for event tickets, motivation or education) to care or effect change. The single parents who simply need to clothe their kids and don’t care if the school uniforms are made from organic cotton. The pensioner who can’t walk to the shops can’t be expected to get a taxi across town to buy organic groceries.

But those people in the room at this particular event (including myself) have the ability to set up grass-roots services for organic food delivery, encourage industry reform in uniform manufacturing or tell their mates that it is possible to get cost-effective, high-quality clothing that will last, instead of the cheap fall-apart bargain bin stuff.

CAN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR DIRECTLY HELP PEOPLE IN NEED?

#activism #vividideas #slacktivism #armchairactivism #socialfeed #preachingtotheconverted

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jackjaysblog · 3 years

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List of African currencies

Among the different national currencies in circulation in this region the notable are two, the West African CFA franc, used in 8 independent countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in 6 other nations. Their relative stability is guaranteed by means of the fixed exchange rate, currently both are pegged to the Euro.

The only local currency ranked among the most-traded in the international forex market, is the South African rand, which is placed at the end of the top 20.

If you want to send these currencies online use transfy money transfer app. Best and safe app

Country or territory

Currency

ISO-4217

Algeria

Algerian dinar

DZD

Angola

Angolan kwanza

AOA

Ascension Island (UK)

Saint Helena pound

SHP

Benin

West African CFA franc

XOF

Botswana

Botswana pula

BWP

Burkina Faso

West African CFA franc

XOF

Burundi

Burundi franc

BIF

Cabo Verde

Cabo Verdean escudo

CVE

Cameroon

Central African CFA franc

XAF

Central African Republic

Central African CFA franc

XAF

Chad

Central African CFA franc

XAF

Comoros

Comorian franc

KMF

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Congolese franc

CDF

Congo, Republic of the

Central African CFA franc

XAF

Cote d’Ivoire

West African CFA franc

XOF

Djibouti

Djiboutian franc

DJF

Egypt

Egyptian pound

EGP

Equatorial Guinea

Central African CFA franc

XAF

Eritrea

Eritrean nakfa

ERN

Eswatini

Swazi lilangeni

SZL

Ethiopia

Ethiopian birr

ETB

Gabon

Central African CFA franc

XAF

Gambia

Gambian dalasi

GMD

Ghana

Ghanaian cedi

GHS

Guinea

Guinean franc

GNF

Guinea-Bissau

West African CFA franc

XOF

Kenya

Kenyan shilling

KES

Lesotho

Lesotho loti

LSL

Liberia

Liberian dollar

LRD

Libya

Libyan dinar

LYD

Madagascar

Malagasy ariary

MGA

Malawi

Malawian kwacha

MWK

Mali

West African CFA franc

XOF

Mauritania

Mauritanian ouguiya

MRU

Mauritius

Mauritian rupee

MUR

Mayotte (France)

European euro

EUR

Morocco

Moroccan dirham

MAD

Mozambique

Mozambican metical

MZN

Namibia

Namibian dollar

NAD

Niger

West African CFA franc

XOF

Nigeria

Nigerian naira

NGN

Reunion (France)

European euro

EUR

Rwanda

Rwandan franc

RWF

Saint Helena (UK)

Saint Helena pound

SHP

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe dobra

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#money #africa

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vymun · 6 years

Text

[FAO] Resolution 1.1

Committee: Food and Agriculture Organization

Topic: Increasing Resilience of agricultural livelihoods in the conflict-prone areas

Sponsors: China, United Kingdom, Nigeria

Signatories: Israel, Russia, Venezuela, Canada, Nigeria, Brazil, Russia, Somalia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam.

The Food and Agriculture Organization,

Recognizing the devastating impacts on civilians in the countries affected by conflict, as well as the urgency of improving agricultural sustainability to the people in areas having armed disputes,

Reminding all nations of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which have helped to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience; and of the World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian agency, aiming to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, and feeding almost 80 million people in around 75 countries,

Reiterating the commitment of all member countries to pursue all possible avenues to prevent armed conflict and to give fully support to fulfill humanitarian goals,

Reaffirming the past in-depth research on this specific issue regarding the resilience of agricultural livelihoods in conflict areas,

Noting further that the prone-conflict areas require urgent humanitarian assistance from the international community,

1. Calls for the introduction of appropriate measures to maintain sustainability regarding both short-term humanitarian and long-term developmental assistance in ways but not limited to:

a. Suggesting customized agriculture-related policies in response to crises differing in nature and geographical characteristics to ensure flexibility with FAO as a direct advisory, b. Assuring the productivity and risk-sensitivity of national food systems with the purpose of feeding presently displaced locals and reserving food in case of future conflict outbreaks, c. Promoting the implementation of prevention, risk-reduction and emergency-preparedness responses in this order of priority;

2. Urges transparency within the deliveries of foreign aids through methods such as but not limited to

a. Suggesting the adoption of grievance redress mechanism to ensure responsible committees be held responsible for their actions in case of corruption,

b. Calling for the cooperation with other UN organs to create checks and balances by placing UN-approved investigators from United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) within the territories of receiving nations to cooperate specifically with regional associations of anti-corruption agencies,

c. Tracing the pathways of foreign aids that are supplied in conflict-prone areas through the standards of Transparency International (TI),

d. Urging the aforementioned official bodies to report back quarterly with receipts verified by UN-approved investigators that display the utilization of foreign aid distributed to distinct agriculturally vulnerable sectors,

e. Suggesting the seizure of foreign aids temporarily in case of detecting maldistribution to domestic sectors until the verification of transparency and equality in distribution stated in the previous subclause;

3. Calls for providing humanitarian assistance to newly recovered areas in ways including but not limited to:

a. Properly checking and approving only registered NGOs wishing to provide aid to the local people,

b. Providing with inputs of suitable agricultural products, good quality of seeds and crop planting materials in correspondence with the population density;

4. Suggests member states which are on the receiving side to follow the guidelines including but not limited to:

a. Providing information on humanitarian situation in conflict-prone areas,

b. Reporting immediately when the risk of famine and food insecurity escalate;

5. Wishes for assistance from Top Agricultural Producing Countries to the conflict-prone areas to make timely agricultural rehabilitation and create a sustainable framework of maintenance in ways such as:

a. Providing consultation concerning technology transfer and trainings such as sufficient farming and livestock management,

b. Suggesting strategic model guidelines regarding infrastructures required for policy implementation,

c. Conducting quarterly checking and verification processes to make sure the technology is not abused for other purposes,

d. Encouraging countries without active conflicts in similar regions to apply initiatives and follow the legacies set by Israel such as drip and micro-irrigation;

6. Calls for the establishment of the Cooperation and Aid Exchange Commission (CAEC) in consultation with FAO under the permission of the UN Regional Economic Commision at the aim of:

a. Setting partnerships between countries listed in the Fragile States Index (FSI) for exchanges of agricultural products,

b. Utilizing natural resources which are of competitive advantages on a sharing basis with members of the CAEC,

c. Acting as an intermediate point between members for the assessment of statistics and data to distribute flows of agricultural products appropriately to conflicted nations in respective need,

d. Consisting of experts from the respective conflict-neutralized parties in the , NGOs and mandated UN officials to take charge of operations with term limits approved by official members;

7. Urges involved parties and U.N. representatives to cooperate with the aim of reducing vulnerability in active conflict areas:

a. Creating an institutionalized framework to guarantee the bureaucratic transparency and credibility of aid-delivering delegations through signed treaties and agreements,

b. Considering granting permission for border-crossing humanitarian aid deliveries adhering to the aforementioned documents to cross the territories,

c. Protecting the delegations to safely accomplish the delivering mission;

8. Suggests the initiation of economic incentives to maximize the agricultural sector potentials through:

a. Promoting the purchases for Progress Programme which connects smallholder farmers to markets in cooperation with WFP,

b. Encouraging member states to import agricultural good produced by conflict-prone areas;

9. Recommends countries in active conflict to consider the implementation of policies such as but not limited to:

a. Providing subsidies to the agricultural sector by the local governments,

b. Suggesting talks-brokering between local governments and rebellion groups to conduct negotiations in consultation with FAO with the purpose of solving the increasing food insecurity situation,

c. Urging the creation of official agreements between multilateral parties to refrain from waging damage on food production plants and leveraging food as a means of coercion to civilians.

#resos #fao

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