Cross-posted from The Global Sociology Blog.

What happens when a small island African country discovers oil in its territorial waters? (Via Der Spiegel) In a perfect world, it should be the way out of poverty and to development and higher living standards for all. But this is not a perfect world. And this is not a hypothetical situation. It is the story of what happened to Sao Tome and Principe (See the BBC country profile for Sao Tome and Principe for general background information on this country.).

And it is a textbook example of how power differentials and resource curse combine to create a situation where a few will benefit tremendously and the many will be left in the same abject poverty as they were before and where transnational corporations and richer and more powerful countries can throw their weight around with the help of corrupt officials.  Read more 

Since this is Mother’s Day in the US, let’s note that the NGO Save the Children has created an index of the best and worst places to be a mother. Also check out their great multimedia presentation. It’s a great resource. Save the Children based their index on the following criteria:  Read more 

I have already blogged extensively on the current food price crisis affecting mostly poor countries. Now, via Le Monde, we learn, unsurprisingly, that riots have exploded in parts of Africa in response to the cost of food.

L’Afrique piégée par la flambée des prix des aliments
LE MONDE | 04.04.08

©  Read more 

Via the Independent,

“A deal has been agreed that will place a financial value on rainforests – paying, for the first time, for their upkeep as “utilities” that provide vital services such as rainfall generation, carbon storage and climate regulation.  Read more 

When she was first lady of Arkansas, Hillary Clinton did not just organize tea parties (contrary to what passes now for “common knowledge”). She had heard of a Bangladeshi economist who had introduced a great idea to help people out of poverty in Bangladesh and she thought his ideas might help the poor in Arkansas. The economist was Muhammad Yunus and the idea was microcredit. She was instrumental in introducing Yunus to Bill Clinton and they developed a program of microcredit in Arkansas. Yunus mentions her in every one of his books (with photos).  Read more 

So Big Blue and lots of other number-inclined bloggers have been telling us all about the housing market crash, or I guess I should call it “multiple markets crash” because it’s affected banks, Wall Street, insurance and credit card companies, and a whole lot more. Been to Home Depot lately? So many looking so suicidal. I came across a term I didn’t know, and so I went off and did a little casual reading about “undevelopment.” Now, before I say anything, read this:

When I was a child I went to school in Kalemie. It was a great honour for one from our village to go to the big town and I was chosen because I was the son of the chief. My family walked with me through the forest to the place not far from here where the bus passed. I will never forget that first bus journey.” He fell silent for a moment, staring into the fire.
“I was still at school when independence came in 1960, and in Kalemie I remember almost all of the white families fled across the lake because they were scared. I came home and since then I think I have been to Kalemie maybe two times.

“Our village here, the one you are sitting in, used to have cars come through it every few days. Just a few kilometres away is one of those guest houses the Belgians built. They called them gites and they were always open for travellers coming through by car. But all of that went with the fighting.

“Now when we hear the fighting coming our way, my people and I just flee into the bush. We have learned it is the safest place for us. We know how to survive there. And when we come back, our village is almost always destroyed and we have to build it again.

“Over the years, things have got worse and worse. We have lost the things we once had. Apart from what we can carry into the bush, we have nothing. I think the last time I saw a vehicle near here was 1985, but I cannot be sure. All these children you see around you are staring because I have told them about cars and motorbikes that I saw as a child, but they have never seen one before you arrived.”  Read more 

Gee, I’m so shocked. Not. There is a limit, to graft, to cronyism, to the false narratives which speak of easy profit for some, but not all, at the expense of most. So many things play into this, not the least of which is that a lot of people must be starting to think about the end of various gravy trains, and asking themselves if a 1.5 hour commute to and from a “community” with no community is really worth the $2,467/mo mortgage. Also: building standards, anyone? Compare your average bungalo in Chicago’s classic 1920s ’hoods with your average exurban development, and it’s more than clear which one isn’t going to last 35 years without significant decay and rot. Yes, I’m having a schadenfreude moment, because so many of our environmental problems are a direct result of the madness that made these communities desirable, at the expense of so much. Perhaps now some of these communities will listen when people like me speak of such “unimportant” or “irrational” issues like the water table, public transportation, integration of schools, moderated development schedules, etc:

Exurbs hardest hit in recent housing slump  Read more 

So Congress just passed another $95 billion appropriation for Iraq. What have we spent now, as we pass the (no doubt to be largely ignored) milestone of 2500 dead soldiers? And how little a dab of that $95 billion would have taken to hire a few more folks to mow grass and do maintenance at parks that honor victims of previous wars? Per the NPS Morning Report:

On the evening of Saturday, June 10th, after working in the park all day, Don Turner, a maintenance employee at Manassas National Battlefield Park, died from a massive heart attack. As the maintenance staff in the park dwindled because of tightening budgets, Don worked harder to make sure that the park always put forward its best appearance for its visitors. He was so dedicated that when we had to bring our employees in from the field during heat advisories, we had to go out and find him and get him off his tractor.

Any of you in northern Virginia have any idea how much 5000 acres of open, pristine landscape would go for in that market if it were put on the auction block to developers?  Read more