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Africa, Clooney, and an Unlikely Space Race
MightyMait writes "There's a plan underway to build a space agency run by African nations, and there is a (non-fictional) George Clooney connection. This BBC article details the history of space exploration in Africa as well as current efforts. Quoting: 'To Western eyes, it may seem rather inappropriate to launch space programs in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 70% of the population still lives on less $2 a day. Yet Joseph Akinyede, director of the African Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Nigeria, an education center affiliated with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, says that the application of space science technology and research to "basic necessities" of life – health, education, energy, food security, environmental management – is critical for the development of the continent.'"
Good, it's about time someone did some non-fictional space travel. Might as well be Clooney.
I am Joseph Akinyede, director of the African Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Nigeria.
Having consulted with my colleagues and based on the information gathered from the Nigerian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry, I have the privilege to request your assistance to transfer the sum of $47,500,000.00 (forty seven million, five hundred thousand United States dollars) into your accounts. The above sum resulted from an over-invoiced contract, executed, commissioned and paid for about five years (5) ago by a foreign contractor. This action was however intentional and since then the fund has been in a suspense account at The Central Bank Of Nigeria Apex Bank.
We are now ready to transfer the fund overseas and that is where you come in. It is important to inform you that as civil servants, we are forbidden to operate a foreign account; that is why we require your assistance. The total sum will be shared as follows: 70% for us, 25% for you and 5% for local and international expenses incidental to the transfer.
The transfer is risk free on both sides. I am an accountant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). If you find this proposal acceptable, we shall require the following documents:
(a) your banker's name, telephone, account and fax numbers.
(b) your private telephone and fax numbers —for confidentiality and easy communication.
(c) your letter-headed paper stamped and signed.
Alternatively we will furnish you with the text of what to type into your letter-headed paper, along with a breakdown explaining, comprehensively what we require of you. The business will take us thirty (30) working days to accomplish.
Please reply urgently.
Best regards,
When you have tens of millions in abject poverty, a few billions won't change their fate. Better to use it to advance your technological prowess and the spill over from that can eventually help the poor.
Guys, this is a scam, do NOT reply to him!
Mr Joseph Akinyede, if that's your real name, I have already contacted the police and they are on their way!
Curiously yours, crip.
This will be very positive for regional telco prices. As more efforts like Regional African Satellite Communication Organization (RASCOM) move forward, Africa will enjoy much lower call cost and more bandwidth.
As Ethiopian jet maintenance shows, Africa will enjoy the benifits of its own space science technology advancements over time.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
The thing is, they can and do live on 50c a day, but you cannot. The whole situation is different there. I'm not saying that living on 50c a day is pleasant, but if you would try to live on that, you would die of starvation within 10 days or so, but they will still be there and be happily making even more babies to live in even worse conditions later.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Poverty is the oldest profession...
I disagree. Poverty is very unnatural. Many natural professions predate even the possibility of poverty: Hired muscle, Prostitute, Priest, Slaver.
You're mistaken, it really is $2 / day, exactly like if you lived on $2 / day. You THINK you'd starve. In fact, you'd find out rice is 8 cents per serving. Potatos are slightly more. You've probably bought ramen noodles at 12 cents. You can eat on 30 cents per day. You're not eating at Olive Garden or drinking Starbucks, but you're eating.
At that, some people in Africa DO starve because they don't jhave the 30 cents per day. You could live off three packs of ramen per day, so can they - it's exactly the same. The only difference is that you and I complain about overdone pizza, they would rejoice over the same pizza.
Giving everyone $2/day:
1.033 billion people * $2/day * 365 days/year = $754 billion
That's assuming that, because of local scarcity, the influx of cash doesn't just inflate the cost of everything, leaving everyone in exactly the same place they are today, only unable to afford food next year.
About the best aid we could possibly send to Africa would be to hire a bunch of Academi assassins to take down the corrupt politicians who are causing food aid to rot on the docks while the people the politicians want to oppress starve so that they can't rally sufficient effort to stage a violent overthrow of their corrupt governments.
What you have to ask yourself now is: What if the first woosh was the actual meta-woosh.
And just like that I invented the quantum woosh pair. The entangled meta woosh states now exist in super positions of themselves.
Poverty is the oldest profession...
I disagree. Poverty is very unnatural. Many natural professions predate even the possibility of poverty: Hired muscle, Prostitute, Priest, Slaver.
This begs the question. Are the apes not poor by human standards? If we gave them jobs wouldn't they be impoverished prior, and haven't they been since before humans had jobs? Additionally: Have you never considered the first Hired muscle, Prostitute, Priest, and Slavers took up the job because they were too poor not to turn it down?
He went on to have his own department at the local University.
Of course, because of his good work, his nation rewarded him with threats to the lives of himself, his wife and his family so I won't state his name or other information about him here.
*** Don't be dull.***
Yet Joseph Akinyede, director of the African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Nigeria, an education centre affiliated with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, says that the application of space science technology and research to “basic necessities” of life – health, education, energy, food security, environmental management – is critical for the development of the continent.
Yea, send more UN money. I'm confident that the leaders of those countries will spend it wisely.
Why would pointing out the corruption of African govts be racist? It is a testament to the degree of indoctrination suffered by many westerners that they feel the need to carefully examine any negative statement involving blacks in any context for possible racial insensitivity. A crook is a crook. Africa didn't invent (well, maybe Africa did, depending on human origins) and doesn't have a monopoly on political corruption. The white countries of the west are wealthy and function well because they developed the cultures and institutions that create wealth and provide security in body and property for the individuals in those countries. There is no reason to feel guilty about coming from a well-functioning society and no reason to feel guilty about pointing out how screwed up other countries are. Such attitudes of excessive self-examination can lead to self-loathing which will inevitably result in Detroit.
" it may seem rather inappropriate to launch space programs in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 70% of the population still lives on less $2 a day"
Only to the fools.
A space program creates jobs, develops technology and gives people somethig to be proud of and aspire towards. It will always be easy to count the money that goes into any space program but the benefits and money coming out will outweigh the cost. It's harder to count that though so the fools will always be around holding manking back.
I don't care what you are working towards, wherever you set your goals you will almost always fall a little short. If their goal is just to provide everyone the minimal basics, food, clean water and shelter then they will fail to do even that. If their goal is to make continual progress and achieve great things the outcome will still be less than the goal but the basics will be more than covered.
We don't need to convert populations living off of $2 into populations living off of $3. We need to convert them to healthy, prosperous and advancing communities everywhere and in every way.
My theory is that it's whooshes all the way down.
"If anyone needs me, I'm in the angry dome."
I think Africa has larger issues to deal with first, before sending someone into space...but that's just my viewpoint
Investment in space investment in Africa (which is a big place) is also investment in infrastructure in Africa, because you can't achieve it otherwise.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"