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Today’s black women don’t see love in colors

For many black women in America, finding love has become a serious issue.

Census data show that roughly 40 percent of black adult women in the U.S. have never been married. That’s nearly twice the percentage of white women.

Fleace Weaver, an L.A. socialite and the organizer of "Free Your Mind: The Black Girls Guide to Interracial Dating.One entrepreneur in Los Angeles is fighting the odds. Her mission: move black women from no man’s land to a diverse dating world.

Black Girl’s Guide To Interracial Dating

Fleace Weaver, an L.A. socialite and the organizer of "Free Your Mind: The Black Girls Guide to Interracial Dating.

More than 100 black women pack a small Italian restaurant near West Los Angeles. It’s standing-room only. They’re not there for the food; they’re there for a seminar called "Free Your Mind: The Black Girl’s Guide to Interracial Dating."

There’s no reason for us to believe we have to be alone. The only thing that’s keeping us from finding someone is that we limit ourselves.

 

Fleace Weaver, an L.A. socialite and the organizer of the night’s event, got the idea after noticing that many of her black friends had it all — a career, house, independence — but no man.

Weaver is black. She dates men of all colors — black, white, brown — and wants more black women to do the same. "I am an international lover. All right; I am an equal opportunity lover," Weaver says. "That means I love who is good to me. I don’t want anybody just because they’re a certain color."

Some black professional women say it’s harder to find a black man at their same education and income level. You can see the trend on college campuses. According to the Department of Education, in the fall of 2007, 64 percent of black students enrolled in college were women.

But Weaver argues that Mr. Right doesn’t have to be Mr. Black. "There’s no reason for us to believe we have to be alone. The only thing that’s keeping us from finding someone is that we limit ourselves," Weaver says.

Crossing Racial Lines For Love

Interracial dating is a sensitive issue in the black community. Blacks have a brutal history with race relations; some blacks see dating outside the race as betraying the culture.

Still, more black men are thinking outside the box. According to research from Stanford University, black men are nearly three times more likely than black women to marry interracially.

If black women are set on "black love only," Weaver says they may be passing up good men. "Some of you all out here have gotten some signals, and you all missed them. Or you got signals, and you all blew him off because he wasn’t chocolate," Weaver says. "But we’ve got to get over that — unless you want to be home with chocolate cats."

Let’s Talk Men

A dozen nonblack men — all of whom date or are married to black women — speak on a panel. They answer questions about crossing the color line. For instance: How do you know if a nonblack guy likes black women?

"If a white guy, Asian guy or Mexican guy — whatever race, irrelevant — likes you and he has skills, then he’s going to ask you out, just like a black man would. If you’re in a social setting and a man comes up to you, he’s interested. That’s it," says panelist Francisco Dao.

The panel also touches on that other sensitive topic for black women: hair. Are other men OK with the various textures and styles of black women’s hair? The entire panel agrees: short, long, straight or kinky, it doesn’t matter.

Christopher Rawley is white and is married to a black woman. After his wife burned herself with a curling iron, he told her: "Don’t do this because of what you think I want you to be like. Be you. And you’re beautiful natural. You’re beautiful however you want to feel," Rawley says.

Weaver also invited a few black men to speak to show that they support this cause — that the program is not to bash them. The group includes Ryeal Simms, a relationship coach who encourages his black female clients to expand their options — but to do it for the right reasons. "Because if you’re going in it thinking that if he’s not African-American, he’s going to treat me better, and I’m going to be really happy regardless, we’re all still men," Simms says.

Regardless of whom the women choose to date, Weaver hopes they leave the seminar with at least one thought.

"Dating is just dating. Men are just men. You know, it’s all the same at the end of the day," Weaver says.

(Source, NPR)

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Africa to Make a “Quantum Leap” Ahead in Forecasting Climate Change

Africa has struggled to make accurate and detailed predictions of the impact of climate change on its countries, but the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) which began earlier in 2010, will see the continent take a “quantum leap” in climate change projection, says Bruce Hewitson, the project’s Africa coordinator.

CORDEX, an initiative by the World Climate Research Programme, will help downscale the global climate model climate change projections being prepared for the next assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) so as to predict, for instance, what impact higher global temperatures might have on Lagos, Nigeria, until the end of this century.
This detailed information will feed into the IPCC’s fifth assessment report, expected to be published in 2013 or 2014.

“The priority area for CORDEX is Africa, as it is historically under-researched,” said Hewitson, who is also the co-lead author of the chapter on regional contexts in the report by IPCC Working Group II, which will look at impact, adaptation and vulnerability.

Projecting the impact of climate change requires studying changes in the long-term averages of daily weather patterns and many other factors, and can be a tricky business.

Scientists use climate models that simulate the possible impact of variables like radiation, moisture content, and the movement of air and temperature over a given period of time to help project what could happen.

To make forecasting the possible effects of climate change as comprehensive as possible, and also make the connection between current events and future consequences clearer, scientists and academics have been expanding the list of variables to include sea level rise and even food price increases and malnutrition statistics.

A climate model works by calculating what the climate is doing, say, in terms of wind, temperature and humidity at a number of points on the earth’s surface and in the atmosphere or ocean, according to an explanation on the website, climateprediction.net. The website is backed by the University of Oxford, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and The Open University, all based in the UK.

“These points are laid out as a grid covering the surface of the Earth, dividing it up into a lot of little boxes. The more boxes there are, the finer the resolution of the model and the smaller-scale climate features it can represent. From this point of view, the best climate model would be the one with the finest resolution.”

Previous climate change models for Africa have typically worked at 200 km resolution – the distance covered by each box in the grid – said Hewitson, who heads the Climate Systems Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa.

The target for Africa is to predict climate changes for every 50 km, but some modellers might take it down to even 25 km, said Hewitson.

Fourteen climate modelling groups have already begun work, taking into account climate data from as far back as 1950 and looking beyond into 2100. Because of a lack of capacity in Africa, only two groups – one at UCT, led by Hewitson, and the other being the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa – are based on the continent

Climate models are systems of differential equations based on the basic laws of physics, fluid motion, and chemistry.To “run” a model, scientists divide the planet into a 3-dimensional grid, apply the basic equations, and evaluate the results. Atmospheric models calculate winds, heat transfer, radiation, relative humidity, and surface hydrology within each grid and evaluate interactions with neighboring points
The 12 other groups are led by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, the Danish Meteorological Institute and the University of Iowa, which are among the world’s foremost climate modelling institutions.

The climate data generated by the modelling groups will be processed by regional teams in Afrca led by African scientists, as part of the CORDEX initiative. They will be mentored by top global climate modellers such as Bill Gutowski of Iowa State University, who has been involved in efforts to build a climate research community in Africa for the last decade.

The regional teams will then use the data from the 14 climate modelling groups to develop projections, for instance, of flood frequency in a particular catchment area.

“The focus [of the modeling in Africa] is on areas that are urban, agricultural, water catchments, and other regionally important aspects,” said Hewitson.

The mentors will assist the regional teams in developing projections and writing analyses that will meet the requirement of countries wanting information on the effect of climate change on their food security, health, economic growth and a host of other sectors.

The regional teams will be finalized by the end of 2010 and data processing will start in 2011.

(UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
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Surviving as an International Student, Part 1

International student survival

Patrick Coomer

Pursuing your education in a foreign land poses a mix of positive and negative feel. On a good note studying abroad will open up a lot of new opportunities. You will need to meet new friends and experience diverse cultures. However, timid students may consider this idea unenthusiastically. Certain types see this point as something awkward, lonely and tangled. Whatever the case, international students will naturally feel the pressure and anxiety of living their student lives away from their families and usual lifestyles. Nevertheless, here are the ultimate tips that will equip you in surviving international school amidst the lack of monotony.

  1. There are many things you have to get used to when you live in another country. With this experience, you will find out that there is something more to what you used to see back in your hometown. One adjustment that must be made is the change in weather conditions. If you were raised in a tropical country and is migrating to a chilly land, might as well prepare for it. Gear up with winter tools and proper acceptance of the change. Also, you have to take into consideration the new work culture you need to live by. Understand that different people have different attitudes in fulfilling their tasks. Adapt to the local customs but stay focused on your true values.
  2. To help you function well in this new environment, you have to in shape holistically. This means that you are well-nourished physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Even if you are drowning from school works and deadlines, you still have to attend to your other necessities. The key to achieving all that’s needed to be done is balance. You can excel in school and still join an interest club of your choice; deadlines could be met without sacrificing a 30 minute meal time. Maximize your time and energy wisely. You can make it happen.
  3. You are what you think. Even if you are faced with a troublesome situation, look up and smile! Sulking in one corner will further enhance your negative feeling. Rise above the situation and be positive. Problems must be faced with solutions, not by crying or cursing. A kind nature will always maintain you wavering. Keep your attitude to its amiable quality and see your luck dash through and through.
  4. not by crying or cursing. A kind nature will always maintain you wavering. Keep your attitude to its amiable quality and see your luck dash through and through.
  5. Your work will never be productive if influenced by a deep sense of hatred. If you have personal issues, resolve them first before working on your term paper. You will see that thought and ideas will easily come to you if you are worry-free. To help you gain that relaxed state, seek help. You could go to a trusted friend and ask for advice. If you feel like, you need a professional, go to your infirmary doctor or subject supervisor involved. Sometimes, all you need is a listening ear to ease the issues.
  6. Before you start with anything drastic, know how your school system works first. It will only be a waste to spend too much time on preliminary quizzes if it only amounts to 5% of your whole final grade. Know the distribution of grades, methods of computations, requirements, student rights, etc. It pays to be informed.
  7. Be a planner. Have yourself a daily or weekly calendar where you can jot down all your schedules. Organize your tasks and set time tables. It doesn’t matter if you accomplish little as long as you are following your time frames. Before you know it, your planner will be filled with check marks.
  8. As a promising professional-to-be, you have to keep in track at all times. Set short and long-term goals. Make them realistic, specified and time bound. Be clear with the following things:

    a. Aspired career after graduating

    b. Ways on achieving the specified aspiration

    c. Your education’s role in helping you reach your goal

    d. Other actions to take

    e. Impediments to reach your goals and how to manage them

 

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Swelling Cities

Nairobi, Kenya

The number of people living in African cities will triple over the next 40 years and by 2050 60% of Africans will be city dwellers, a UN report has said.

In five years Lagos in Nigeria is set to overtake the Egyptian capital Cairo as Africa’s biggest city.

Some 199.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live in slums, the highest number in the world, the UN said earlier this year.

According to UN-Habitat’s State of African Cities 2010 report, urbanisation is happening faster in Africa than anywhere else in the world.

By 2030 the continent will no longer be predominately rural, it says.

Mr Clos, UN-Habitat’s executive director, said that cities were attractive places for those wanting to relocate.

In 2015 it is estimated Lagos will have 12.4 million inhabitants.

The UN also forecasts that the population of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will increase by 46% over the next 10 years to become the fast-growing city.

By 2050, Africa’s population is expected to reach 1.23 billion.

The report warns that climate change is causing a serious problem for some cities.

With many of Africa’s cities built by the sea, millions of people risk losing their homes in the coming decades because of coastal flooding.

It says the West African coastline is retreating by between 20m and 30m every year.

African Cities key facts (UN-Habitat)
  • Lagos to be Africa’s largest city in 2015 with 12.4 million inhabitants
  • Kinshasa to overtake as biggest city in 2020
  • Ouagadougou’s population is set grow by 81%, from 1.9 million in 2010 to 3.4 million in 2020
  • Africa’s population will be 1.23 billion by 2050
  • 60% of all Africans will be living in cities in 2050
  • Slum dwellers in Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia fell from 20.8 million in 1990 to 11.8 million in 2010
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Never mind the volatility, feel the vitality

These are hardly easy markets: there are good reasons why they are underexplored. Mexico is wracked by a drug war. Saudi Arabia is a closed society. Frontier markets are by their very nature unpredictable—prey to the wiles of dictators and the whims of nature. But they present numerous things that are irresistible to the West’s growth-starved companies. They offer huge opportunities for investment in infrastructure. General Electric wants to provide Africa with the machinery that it needs to grow: any young GE-er who wants a chance to rise to the top has to spend some time working in Africa. IBM wants to provide the computing power.

Africa contains a disproportionate share of the world’s mineral wealth at a time when mineral prices are soaring. It also contains a disproportionate share of the world’s young people at a time when the West faces a demographic squeeze: by 2040 it will be home to one in five of them. Many local stockmarkets are booming: Egypt’s market produced annual returns of 39% between 2000 and 2008, in a period when the average return was 2%. True, this growth is volatile. But in 2011 an increasing number of companies, looking at the West’s flat markets, will decide that volatility is at least a sign of life.

Above all, the overlooked and frontier markets offer businesses a chance to get in on the ground floor. Companies that move first will enjoy lots of advantages. They will be able to forge deals with aggressive young companies: companies such as Angola’s Banco Africano de Investimentos, which is expanding in Europe and Brazil, and Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, which is expanding across the Middle East and beyond. They will be able to strike infrastructure deals with local governments. And they can shape the tastes of future consumers.

Companies that succeed in these neglected emerging markets are not only putting down roots in the world’s most fertile soil. They are giving themselves a chance to establish business habits for years to come.

Adrian Wooldridge The Economist (from the The emerging emerging markets)

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As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap

As you sow, so shall you reap

GERD = Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (It’s how much countries are spending on research and development)


Contribution to peer-reviewed scientific publications by various countries.

Development, progress, recognition: these do not come  accident.

Conclusion:

Robust R&D spending is necessary in order to make any significant contribution to the 21st century world we live in.

(UNESCO Science Report 2010 & The Economist)

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Using Africa as a Test-Bed for Sustainable Technology

Joshua Keyak, Political science student at Yeshiva University and PresenTense ’09 Greening Fellow

Generally when people talk about needing to slow down and stop climate change they point to the world’s most egregious emission offenders. While countries like the United States and China have the ability to make the largest impact on emission reduction, every country must do its part. Africa has one of the lowest carbon emissions per-capita largely due to its status as underdeveloped. In fact, by using African counties as a test bed for sustainable technologies, we can both help bring sustainability to the forefront and aid developing countries.

To make real progress we need a massive investment in sustainable infrastructure in Africa. Part of the major carbon emitters responsibility is to help developing countries ease into industrialization, but in a sustainable manner. At the same time Africans must take it upon themselves to come into the future with sustainability in mind. I do not mean to gloss over this and pretend this is going to be easy. This will necessarily be a long process with a need to address political and security issues. While there are stable African governments, there are many with dictatorial regimes and even more that are that are war torn. These forms of government certainly stand in the way of the progress of sustainability.

The use of Africa as a test-bed for sustainable technology, albeit on the periphery of its mission, has been tried by the Earth Institute. One of the biggest problems I believe this institution strives to solve, as should the powers of the world if they are serious about this issue, is how to approach Africa. For years, Africa has been looked upon as a continent riddled with tribal war dating back to ancient times. Many do not hesitate to classify this society as primitive and thus, believe that the “solution” to the “problem” is supplanting infrastructure and industrialization. If we can see that Africa is a continent which was controlled through colonization and was demoralized, split up and forced to hate, we can see that the “solution” is not so clear. Aid to Africa is not a mere imposition of our beliefs on their culture, but it is working together with their culture to bring sustainable technology to them. Once we set them on the path, they will have the tools to “fish” for themselves.

In my coming posts I will address specific factors that make Africa ripe for sustainability and the challenges to why this may never happen. At the same time I will try to suggest ways to help develop African countries in a sustainable matter.
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The Currency wars: when two elephants engage in a wrestle fight…

 Governments across all continents are doing whatever they can in order to avoid ever using the ‘R’ word in any briefing. I mean the RECESSION.

That itself is not a bad thing. They way they do it could have damning unintended consequences on developing nations, especially those in Africa.
The US and China have been in a tug of war for a while regarding currency manipulation by the latter. Perhaps in order to show its disapproval of the Chinese policy, the US Federal Reserve announced it was pumping over $600 billion into the US economy. Several countries were swift to register their disapproval of the US move but similar or alternative policies with similar effects are being employed by all big economies.
Let us call it  the Cold ‘International Currency’ War. The big guys will surely find a way to resolve it among themselves either by sitting around the table or by indirect punitive measures as is already happening.
We often say that ‘when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers’. If Africa’s fragile economies get caught up in the middle of this tug of war, the consequences are obvious. And it would not be the first time Africa will have to suffer the consequences of a currency war. In fact currency war indirectly led to the rise of Hitler and hence the second world war in which 1000s of African military were drafted to fight for their colonial masters and never came back home.
This time, I doubt it will be a war of the armies. It will be a war around kitchen tables and markets across Africa. My fear is that if policies that allow cheap money to flood the markets are unguarded and go viral, they may leave African countries with no borrowing power, less export potential, and dependent on imported goods. A few days ago, I wrote my opinion here on what is needed to really lift the African economies to the level always talked about: it is open access to western markets of African goods and services. Cheap western money will have the direct opposite effect.
Currently, the Bank of Japan, the US federal Reserve, the Bank of England the European Central Bank are competing with one another in pumping out billions of electronic money into their economies. This is no different from the race to build the first nuclear bomb. This policy which they call quantitative easing [The term quantitative easing (QE) describes a monetary policy used by some central banks to increase the supply of money by increasing the excess reserves of the banking system] is flooding fragile economies with the wrong kind of investors leading to unexpected rise in exchange rates, again. African economies are caught up in the middle of the war among the giants.
Many African countries have made significant progress in creating a more business-friendly environment to promote local investment as well as foreign direct investment. Undeniably, many African countries have made impressive progress towards political and economic stability, too. I applaud the World Bank’s move to promote the African economy with press releases and even YouTube videos. Currently some analyst rate the African economy with the highest return on foreign investment. Annual foreign direct investment flow in Africa rose from $9 billion in 2000 to 62 billion in 2008. Currency policies that will be at war with such an enviable trend are very unwelcome.
By the way, is it not about time that we got a globally empowered body to police financial policies of all nations: the US, Europe, China, and others, to ensure a uniform playing field?