hlanthorn

pirates & seasteads (islands of good institutions?)

well, this is all new to me. “off the coast of East Africa is environmentally a very favorable location [for sea-steadng] but the issue of piracy makes it forlorn,” says the institute for ethics and emerging technologies. sea-steading was a new concept to me but, apparently, it involves ” creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outsideContinueContinue reading “pirates & seasteads (islands of good institutions?)”

how is the body doing?

from a letter home from chennai in 2008, when i was there studying diabetes. drs. s & b, i hope it is OK to include this photograph! To help add context to my research, I have undertaken a series of interviews with doctors and dieticians at the hospital to see how “biomedicine” in India “talks”ContinueContinue reading “how is the body doing?”

used against pirates and tornadoes

the crew of a greek oil tanker resisted hijacking in the gulf of guinea by hiding in the ship’s safe room. evidently, safe rooms are increasingly being used as anti-piracy measures. unlike in hijackings off the coast of Somalia on the opposite side of the continent, west African gangs have not sought ransoms, instead unloadingContinueContinue reading “used against pirates and tornadoes”

middle east gulf piracy expected to actively continue for a minimum of 10 years

report (Managing Supply Chain Risk: Understanding Piracy Threat) released from the 4th ‘Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association Supply Chain Conference.’ this year marks a turning point in piracy activities. the number of vessels captured in 2011 compared to 2010 reduced by over 50 per cent and further reductions are expected in the coming years. however, as theContinueContinue reading “middle east gulf piracy expected to actively continue for a minimum of 10 years”

i am not sure that means what you think it means (origins of metaphors in development, german folk-stories edition)

thanks to having professors who are curious about the origins and use of phrases, i have recently had the occasion to consider two phrases in common use — and likely mis-use. these would be hilarious mid-understandings as the basis of a sit-com or, as here, folklore. as the basis of policy, not so much. 1.ContinueContinue reading “i am not sure that means what you think it means (origins of metaphors in development, german folk-stories edition)”

altered definition of piracy

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday on the legal definition of piracy, saying an armed attack on a U.S. vessel can be considered piracy even if no one ever boards or robs the ship. Read more.

pyrates: this has a familiar ring

a small excerpt from ‘a general history of the robberies and murders of the most notorious pyrates,’ likely by daniel defoe (published under the name of captain charles johnson) (1724). more prescient on the issue of employment than on the bottomless fish supply, of course. We have given a few Instances in the Course of this HistoryContinueContinue reading “pyrates: this has a familiar ring”

a few pirate tidbits from an exibition i did not attend

but this nice woman did. some highlights of her highlights: slave ships ‘pirates liked to steal slave ships (en route from Africa), since they were built to carry large numbers and could be remodeled to fit their needs. ‘the ships included craftsmen, including people who could remodel captured ships to fit the pirate crew’s needsContinueContinue reading “a few pirate tidbits from an exibition i did not attend”

pirates make UN sexy — but at high price

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-16/war-on-somali-piracy-needs-rules-and-impregnable-citadels.html key points: pirates (as a topic, apparently, not as guests) make a meeting sexy 219 piracy incidents in 2010 cost “the shipping industry, insurers, navies and law enforcement more than $7 billion” speeding may not be the answer but impregnable citadels are (?). shockingly, “it may be futile to expect shippers to run at full speed throughContinueContinue reading “pirates make UN sexy — but at high price”

i know – but couldn’t we have asked, too?

things i know & understand: this is cool research from @poverty_action it’s fun and important to show and know that ‘we’ (development types) have poor assumptions about what will work time and budgets are always constrained this comment is super-predictable coming from me. but… when i read this: our results showed that although the consultingContinueContinue reading “i know – but couldn’t we have asked, too?”