Originally

The world is more than I remember.

[ledecorquejadore]

Amazing calligraphy and inscription in mosque

[point-of-origin]

imam hussein shrine in karbala iraq

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_Husayn_Shrine

[datarep]

NASA released a simulation of all 2017s Hurricanes -

[mapsontheweb]

Pre-colonial cultures of Africa.

[did-you-know]

The Webber Natural Swimming Pool in Minneapolis is the 1st chemical-free, all-natural swimming pool in the US. The public pool is self-contained and uses plants and microbes from the nearby pond to keep the water clean. Source Source 2

[colchrishadfield]

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A shadow passed over North America. (What the eclipse looked like from space, via @NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite)

[datarep]

How long ago was the United States as rich as other countries around the world are today?

[mapsontheweb]

Most-used word in each US state.

[theatlantic]

One interesting dynamic that arose from the Inside Jobs project is how complex and varying one’s career path can be. Unsurprisingly, out of 100 interviews with American workers, each one offered a unique perspective on how life experiences can inform and shape one’s career, not the other way around.

Read this interview with Tucker Larson, who was pursuing a degree in environmental engineering when he decided to take a break from school and work as a butcher.

And here’s a note from one of our readers who, like Tucker, followed life’s twists and turns into a career that was different than the one he anticipated he would be in:

After many years in corporate America, I just…couldn’t anymore. I left to pursue a career in distilling (that’s a story in and of itself), but ultimately didn’t continue in that field.

Currently, I make a living serving/bartending and freelance writing. While the stress is different than my corporate job, it’s still there: will I make enough this week? Will I get sick and miss work because of the constant contact with glasses and utensils? (that happened just recently—I worked 2 days in two weeks as a result). I’m lucky to have a little bit of savings from my previous jobs—but that’s also my retirement, so I can’t exactly spend that freely. 

For more on life’s twists and turns, click through the Inside Jobs dashboard.

(illustrations by Rebecca Clarke) For more illustrations from @rclarkeillustrator, visit her tumblr page: http://rclarkeillustrator.tumblr.com/

[ibmblr]

Who knew you could hack diseases?  

Twenty young biologists in South Africa are hacking a deadly strain of malaria. Through machine learning, the strain-hacking team is trying to find out why it’s resisting certain medicine. Turns out the best way to stop the spread of malaria is to treat it like the other kind of virus.  

Know more about the research →

[interesting-maps]

These are the areas of the U.S. the climate change could empty out https://t.co/aDouEHuJQ9 https://t.co/goFrDKbbkw

Source: twitter / BBGVisualData

[datarep]

Arctic sea ice just saw its lowest October and November extents in the satellite record

by Geographist

[theartofanimation]

Sparrows     -     http://ofsparrows.tumblr.com/tagged/*

[spifczyk]

Black people in America still are at disadvantage in income when compared to other racial groups. Although some of it should be contributed to racism, a great share of this problem lies within the black society (specifically black men who often lack responsibility) as well. 

This map demonstrates how much are blacks earning in the contiguous United States, compared to whites. On average, black Americans earn only 60% of what white Americans earn but as you can see, this values greatly. 

The West Coast, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, as well as Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey seem to be best for job-seeking blacks. In California, New Mexico and Arizona this could be attributed to Hispanics, who probably lower median income of whites. This is certainly the case in Cameron County, TX, where black income is almost twice as high as white income, and where 88.1% of people is Hispanic or Latino. Virginia and Maryland, on the other hand, are heavily influenced by the federal government, which can not discriminate based on race (although it is worth to mention that in DC, whites earn twice as much as blacks). 

Surprisingly, the South is not that bad for black Americans, at least in terms of income. This is because states like Illinois, Wisconsin,  and supposedly progressive New York and Minnesota lead the infamous ranking of racial inequality in terms of income. The worst situation is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, though, where income of blacks do not exceed 10% of whites’ income. 

Also notable, the vast white areas, where there was not enough working blacks or whites to gather data by the American Community Survey. 

Note: I did not include Alaska and Hawaii because black (and white, in case of Hawaii) population is relatively small. In Alaska, only one county had enough blacks to compute results and in Hawaii it was just two counties. They were all in the 60-70% category. 

[thisweekinafrica]

October 21, 2016

Quote of the week

“I have stopped trying to argue that I have a right to this public space, because it means nothing. In this city, it’s about what you can appropriate, not what you have a right to.” –Uzodinma Iweala on Lagos

Habitat III and African cities

Mayors, policymakers, and development experts gather in Quito, Ecuador for Habitat III, the conference attempting to shape global urbanization. Habitat III provides a “critical opportunity for Africa.” Here is my take on the role of political science research in sustainable urban development.

This is what others say. Uzodinma Iweala dreams of public spaces and…Hernando de Soto for his Utopian Lagos. ODI calls for city governments to take center stage, while others call for local governments. Many suggest that land reform should be at the center of urban policies (check out the Special Issue). This is important because profiteering in land has contributed to deepening inequalities in many cities. Health care, financing, and housing matter too. Scientists want more science. These 25 experts point out the most transformative ideas in the New Urban Agenda.

One thing is clear: individuals and their communities matter. While the “party” in Quito goes on, Lagos residents are fighting eviction from their land, and slum residents are shaping their future. This new video game replicates one of these survival strategies: the experience of Angolan street hawkers running from authorities.

The International Criminal Court

Whoa: South Africa is reportedly leaving the ICC. This is a major blow to the international legal system. South Africa claims that its membership in the ICC creates a situation where it is supporting “regime change” abroad, a policy incompatible with its policies at home. Follow Geoffrey York for updates. Burundi’s President has also signed a law withdrawing the country from the ICC. If Burundi leaves the Court, can it still investigate past crimes? Stay tuned.

Decolonizing the university

Peace Medie suggests what is needed to foster collaboration and debate in African universities. Meanwhile, Protests continue in South Africa. This editorial outlines some of the problems with the FeesMustFall movement.

Struggle for rights and freedom

Mai Hassan’s interesting new article provides a glimpse into Kenya’s authoritarian government under Daniel Arap Moi. This is an interesting interview about battling sexual harassment in Kenyan matatus. What does exam cheating tell us about distrust in Kenya? Where is the global hashtag movement to save Nigeria’s starving children? To deal with this crisis, more attention must be paid to how bureaucrats profit from the mismanagement of humanitarian aid. The Chibok girls reunite with their families. And Somalia elects first woman leader of its Upper House.

Ghana’s presidential elections

Living with Dumsor: This is a pretty cool interactive piece about what electricity outages mean for Ghana. This is a good investigation into Ghana’s debt. Ghana’s government gives approval for coastline development. I love this story about how a fruit juice stunt backfired in Ghana’s presidential campaign. And if you vote for Henry Lartey, Ghanaians will party every weekend.

Big men in Africa

In line with other leaders like Kagame and Museveni, Tanzania’s president John Magufili is trading democracy for development. What would Nyerere do? In Zimbabwe, many analysts are predicting another Zanu-PF victory in 2018. If Mugabe lost, would he even admit defeat? And it was not smart for Buhari to make sexual remarks–they are no joke. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie takes him and his failed promises down. Now we have our own big man, and Africans are quick to mock him.

But let the people decide: Kenyans want to select their own leaders.

State of emergency in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has admitted that more than 500 protesters may have been killed in the last year in the demonstrations against the government. In response, Ethiopia has instituted a state of emergency. Facebook posts are not allowed in the country. Will Ethiopia be forced to make significant changes to its politics?

Congo from below

This Congolese island with an organized civic life can tell us a lot about the necessary conditions for peace. Go watch “Kolwezi on Air,” a film showing Congolese “coping with power outages, making ends meet, or having to pursue multiple obligations simultaneously.” Is the “most dangerous cup of coffee in the world” in the Congo? There’s a lot to “digest” in the politics of coffee in the Congo.

The week in development

Africa’s rapid economic growth has slowed, and now analysts are suggesting that the narrative of “Africa Rising” was overblown and came too soon. Even its manufacturing appears to be struggling. Jeffrey Gettleman suggests that “Africa Reeling” might be more fitting. Grieve Chelwa explains: “Africa rising was really good for some crackpot dictators. But in some ways, it was a myth.” Howard French never liked the term, while Ory Okolloh Mwangi says “Don’t blame us for simplistic journo-ism.” At TWiA, we’ve consistently taken a middle road. This is what the economic downturn might mean for Africa’s elections.

Check out these two books about the politics of inclusive development. A Ghanaian activist leads the fight to protect small farms in Africa. Farming is cool again in Kenya. Western donors are supporting “Big agriculture,” a new report by the Oakland Institute says.

Extended military presence in Africa

The United States is involved in a “shadow war” in Somalia, while AMISOM struggles to counter the IED threat there. Here is a look at the US and French military presence in Africa.

Africa and the environment

Mozambique has appointed a new energy minister ahead of huge gas deals. Tanzania confronts climate change, and GMO crops. South African minister signs water cooperation agreement with Italy. The world’s poorest are most at risk of drought and conflict. Livestock helps farmers become more resilient to climate change. And the Green Climate Fund approves $745 million for projects.

Daily life

Read the bizarre story of the last king of Rwanda, who recently lived on public assistance in Virginia. He has passed away at age 80. This is amazing coverage of the gris-gris wrestlers of Senegal. What does it mean to be an African writer? I wish I could have gone to New York’s Mali Music Festival. This new series tries to change how Africans think of superheroes. Colonialism is not over in Africa as this new film about Western Sahara demonstrates. These are stunning photos of life in South Africa. This monopoly tournament in Nigeria is just like the real thing. I love this video of the Chale Wote festival in James Town, Accra. And African women are on the big screen in more ways than one.

Congrats to Catherine Boone for winning the Luebbert Book Award for “Property and Political Order in Africa.”

[maptitude1]

Cities that were at one point the largest in the world

[sabattons]

Nitáimixtsinaki, “I Braid,” is a short, wordless comic I made to illustrate and process the experiences of native girl children who have become victims of sexual assault. How do we reconcile our pain with our culture? How do we process the inter-generational trauma? How do wash away the feeling of disappointing our ancestors? It is not our fault, we are not to blame. Our bodies and minds are holy, and together, we can overcome. You are not alone. 

[science]

Mythbusters Physics: Relative Velocity

The Mythbusters tested what would happen if a ball was shot at 60 mph off the back of a truck travelling at 60 mph to see what would happen.

It became a perfect example of the relative nature of physics - showing that velocity can vectorially add together. 60 mph in one direction cancels the 60 mph in the other, meaning a net velocity of zero.

[point-of-origin]

I nerd-ed out over this so hard.