Dogs

Zuma's has gone too far. I mean the whole rape trial, arms deal corruption and the hollowing out of our democracy was bad and so I guess this was just the final straw. He said that owning dogs and looking after them (taking them to the vet and for walks) is part of "white culture" - whatever that is. He also said that people who spend more money on their dogs than their domestic workers "lack humanity".

There is a lot in this and it's got me thinking - which I guess is one positive. Being a dog owner, I reacted very strongly when I heard what JZ had said. The first bit - about white culture - I don't think much can be said about in terms of arguing the point. I don't know what white culture is, but referring to it is an example of JZs leadership style. Well, calling it leadership is a bit too generous. His career or survival skills. It is so very divisive. Playing groups off against each other to win votes - I think Not what I'd expect from the leader of a democracy. 

On to the "lacking humanity" bit. This gets a bit trickier. Comparing an employee who cleans your house or tends your garden to a dog is not easy. One is an employee and the other a dependant, and to suggest they are both dependant would, I would think, be insulting. So to simply look at your budget and say I spend R1000 on my dog every month (I actually spend about half that) and R500 on having my house cleaned (I actually pay R200 for one day a week at the moment, but would prefer not to have any domestic help - more on that later) and therefore I value my dog twice as much as the person who cleans my house, is very problematic. 

This is not to say that some people's monthly budgets aren't seriously out of whack, or that people don't pay the people who clean their houses or tend their gardens enough. It also doesn't mean that JZ can not talk about that or actually DO something about it (shock horror). If he really has a problem with dogs, how about making dog food more expensive? Or even better taking on the WTO and raising huge import tariffs on imported dog food? After all most of the brands of expensive dog food are imported from the US or EU - now that is crazy! 

Going beyond dogs, and if humanity was something JZ really wants to get serious about, how about getting a task team or the National Planning Commission to look into some standards that everyone in SA could live sustainably by and then encourage people to live according to these (whether that would allow people to own dogs or not, I don't know). That might mean JZ would have to live according to those standards too though - something he seems incapable of doing, rather setting the worst example of fiscal responsibility for the rest of the nation. 

I reacted to JZs utterances emotionally, because I own a dog. However I really think that there is far more going on behind what he is saying that warrants outcry, whether you are a dog owner or not. We should want change, we should want to discuss these things and we should want more social stability and equality. Trying to approach these questions through the off hand comments of a career politician who is in it for the cash is not the way to go about it.

JZ using these sorts of issues as a way to entrench his grip on power sickens me. 

What did I think of Tanzania?

Let me tell you. It was hot. I'm talking 31 degrees on my way to the airport at 4am this morning hot. Most of my clothes are still sweaty, and I'm wondering if my Earthsap washing powder is up to the job. One thing I lost is my concern for walking into a meeting with sweat patches on my clothes. To hot to care. Often I couldn't get more than those four words through he fug of my brain.

Not that this was a bad thing. I wallowed in the heat at times - especially when I could. That was normally just before getting to another wave of air conditioning or the Sunday morning I had on Kipepeo (butterfly) beach. The city itself is really friendly with everyone willing to go out of their way for you. From the guy at breakfast who always looked like he was super happy to see me, to Taxi drivers telling me about "their" Dar.

That is probably one I the best memories of my trip - I managed to use every form of public transport there was, except cycling. I took taxis, a couple of Dala dalas, piki pikis a bus, bajaj and of course walked quite a bit. The dala dalas are very similar to minibus taxis in SA, just bigger and cheaper. Crazy cheap. R1.50 for pretty much any ride. The piki pikis are motorbike riders who'll take you where you want to go in the bliss of the open air. Bajaj are tuk tuks in various states of repair.

The other great thing was the fruit - everywhere, big and sweet. On the trip to Morogoro to speak to some professors of agriculture, there were mangoes dripping off the trees, and when I got to taste them, they were goooood. I also bought a big pineapple and some Jamul - a new fruit for me. I could have racked up way more than one new fruit - if only I'd had a kitchen a fridge that didn't freeze everything that went near it. That said, I had THE best banana and pineapple ice cream ever. Oh the bananas - so good, they have that tang you only really get in bananas grown not for supermarket - almost like they have a hint of guava. Guess this is one of the reasons I do what I do.

The work itself was great - nice and flexible and without too much pressure. Getting to know the country and the issues around agriculture here. It's a place where 80% of farmers are small holders (about an acre or less) and 98% of the ag is rainfed. It's also a place were stunting is rife - in 42% of children under 5. Scary stuff. Especially when most of the big ag initiatives are pushing production of commodities and monoculture a of the staples, maize, rice, sorghum, etc. I think the solution to this "hidden hunger" is a diverse diet. Your mom was right when she told you to eat your greens.

There is a lot to do, and the sector has the feeling of a good rush, with land grabbers and big agri-business rushing to get a piece of the pie, which is often already on someone else's plate. There is a big job ahead, to tell the story of a different model of agriculture, one that is farmer centric and knowledge intensive as opposed to merely technology intensive. I've got a much better idea of the challenges ahead now, and I've also learnt, that if I can learn to love the heat, Tz is a country I would love to come back to.

Plastic rhino horns

I think wanting to help the rhino avoid extinction is a very noble cause. In exactly the same way as I think wanting to help the Ethiopian wolf (<500 left) Sumatran tiger (<400 left) Cape Leopard toad, African wild dog and every other threatened species is a very good idea.

What is the primary reason for most of these species threatened status? Habitat destruction. And by habitat, I mean the web of life and ecosystems they and all species depend on, not just the geographic area the species inhabit. Oh, and incidentally I include humans in that "all species". The dominant way of life of most of humanity is destroying that habitat - in short, civilisation. The idea that the soon-to-be-majority of us can live completely disconnected from our land base and off the work (and what corporate environmentalists like to call "eco-system services") of others.

Of course poaching plays a part, but this is a part of the cause, not the cause itself. Let's be clear - our use of electricity and the pollution and very real habitat destruction it causes is MUCH more of a threat than poaching. That is just one example. Our increasing reliance on plastic is another. Look at the pacific garbage patch and the amount of sea birds (and countless fish that are never found) that it kills.

So while I love the idea that many people are concerned for the fate of the rhino, strapping a purpose built plastic rhino horn to their car (and in many cases their 4x4) is part of the problem. It is however indicative of our separation from nature. We are so far divorced from that which we love and which we rely on that we are killing it to try and save it.

I know I know, there is no pleasing some people.

Cut plastic out of your life. Reconnect with your land base. Reconnect with your community. Those are some places to start.

Why I mac

This is something I feel I need to explain. I own an Apple Mac laptop. Not only that, I also own an iPhone, I bought both of those, and I was given an iPod. That's quite a bit of Apple.

I often want to explain having those gadgets - after all, they are much more expensive than other tech gadgets that do essentially the same job. Yes, Apple products are nice and in some ways easier to use, but they still crash, they still have problems running some programs - they are still computers, made by humans, not perfect. So why would I buy an expensive computer or phone?

Well, first reason was environmental, and if you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know environmental issues are often the first thing I consider. Apple was a target of  a Greenpeace campaign I worked on, and together with my amazing colleagues, won. Apple committed to remove all the PVC and BFRs (Brominated Flame Retardents - nasty chemicals that do all sorts of bad things including messing with our hormones) from their products. It started with one - the MacBook Pro I'm currently working on (that aluminium body isn't just for looks), and now most if not all of Apples products are PVC and BFR free.

The second reason is also environmental - I hope as it was one of the fastest laptops it will last longer than the normal 3 years laptops are supposed to last. It also has a better battery life than most of the laptops I have had or my friends have - another reason I won't have to buy another laptop soon. Yes, the battery cannot be removed, but I haven't had to yet, and if I do, my argument will fall down, but speaking of that...

Another reason I've heard that people don't like Apple is that their products tie you into their "eco-system". I'm purposefully trying to avoid that by using other companies products such as a Kindle and a PC at work. Let's not lie though, every company is trying to tie you in -I'm probably more tied into Google than Apple. Google owns most of my data, even this blog is written on a oogle platform.

So, no I don't think Apple is the most amazing company in the world. If I could really follow my ideals, I would not buy a computer at all - I think they separate us from the natural world. I have chosen a life that requires these tools though, and as such I will make the most environmentally sound decisions I can, in full knowledge that buying any product mined from the earth and whose production pollutes the earth is not sustainable.

Patrolling the hood

It's another dark, and this time rather stormy, night. 20:05 and I pull myself off the comfortable couch and get on my walking shoes and some warm clothes - it's patrol time. I meet up with 3 other volunteers from my community and together we brave the wind, walking around our neighbourhood for an hour.

Every Tuesday I patrol Muizenberg with friends from the Muizenberg Community Safety Initiative. There are usually 4 of us guys, and sometimes Jane joins us. We all wear hi-vis vests with the MCSI logo on them, and one of us carries a radio - our only defense against the night. Our job is to patrol the neighbourhood, and to report any suspicious activity. It is a passive patrol and we will never engage with "trouble", but rather call it in to the local security company, who can in turn call the police. So far we've only uncovered one daring raid on the metal of the railway tracks for scrap. Or so we thought. Turned out is was just a late night gang repairing the railway line.

We only patrol for an hour, but similar patrols go out every other weekday, and we take random routes. Perhaps not stopping crime, but hopefully making the streets a little safer and ideally easier for other citizens to take back.

More on why I'm doing this and a little bit about the others who walk with me next time. Maybe even a photo...

Vertical integration and Robots

So VI (vertical integration) is normally more a concern for government regulators, but in this case it means something more than anti-competition.

The Economist's Babbage podcast reports that Amazon is buying a company that develops and sells robots that run around warehouses and pick bouquets of products a customer has bought for shipment. This is obviously a clear example of VI as Amazon clearly needs these sorts of robots to make their business more profitable (they have been described as too labour heavy by investors).

Hang on a second. An online retailer being described as labour intensive? Who's point of view is this? With an unemployment rate (what it actually is is irrelevant) in the US, it can't be the person on the streets, or the governments surely? So who are these people? Crazies, that's who. The type of person who believes in endless growth on a finite planet. These type of people:

As if Amazon hasn't hoovered up enough jobs from traditional retailers, they're now looking at getting rid of their own. What's next? Virtual CEO? I wish, then we could unplug him.

People want to work. I have a sneaky suspicion that they would prefer to do work that makes the planet a better place and improves our environment.

P.S. Next time I won't be lazy and will actually look up the unemployment rate in the US.