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Before the British colonial government set up hospitals for native Nigerians, Catholic Missions not only set up hospitals but were responsible for the training and education of nurses while many doctors were educated in Europe. The British government set up hospitals but initially these hospitals were only for Europeans, It was not until after WWII that the British government tried to expand medical and hospital access to native Nigerians and medical education. After Nigerian independence a federal republic was set up and ownership of health facilities is distributed between the federal government, the states, and local governments. States hold the largest share of hospital beds at 43% and the federal and local governments at 13% and 11% respectively.

This is a really interesting article. It's weird to think that in order to farm more fish in advanced countries, we are hurting the fishermen in Africa.

Yeah I've heard about this before and how fish farming is the "future" of clean agriculture but thats not the case. The hard onto locals is so great that it should not be seen as a viable long term solution.

Relates to Story of Stuff where Annie Leonard says "According to companies setting up shop in the third world, the locals "don't own these resources even if they've been living there for generations, they don't oven the means of production and they're not buying a lot of stuff.  And in this system, if you don't own or buy a lot of stuff, dou don't have value."

The question I would have liked to look into is how the process my computer went through differs from the process a computer from apple or dell goes through

As Harrison said, I'm surprised that circuit boards and such are made by hand. I always assumed they were produced by machines. Maybe it's on a size scale where human work is better quality? For really tiny things, machines are of course much more accurate, and for big things it's more efficient to use machines. But on this scale, it's feasible for people to do it, and humans can perhaps do it better than machines can(?), since we can adjust things properly and take things case-by-case. Or maybe it's just cheaper.

Unfortunately it stops working for me after the first 40 seconds as well (I think that this is the end of the first slide). Like Greg, though, I am interested in the specifics of recycling computer parts and how exactly this takes place.

"The make-up of the flows has changed over the years. Migrants currently come mainly from west Africa, the horn of Africa and, since 2013, Syria. Last year, according to the UNHCR, 31% of arrivals were Syrians, and 18% were fleeing Eritrea. So far this year the flow to Italy is dominated by migrants from the Gambia, Senegal and Somalia. There are routes through the Sahara from both west Africa and the Horn of Africa; there are also some routes along the Mediterranean coast. For many of the communities along the way the traffic in would-be migrants is now a dominant part of the local economy. "

Hey y'all I wrote an opinion piece that was published in a local newspaper. Give it a read and tell me what you think!

The ferries that once shuttled tourists to and from the little islets in Iran's Lake Urmia sit rusty, unable to move, on what is rapidly becoming a salt plain. Just two decades ago, Urmia was the Middle East's biggest lake, its local economy a thriving tourist center of hotels and restaurants.

I have often heard about droughts here in California, but I feel like droughts in many places around the world remain under the radar, even when they have a much larger chance of affecting the political and economic situations of the countries they are in.

Good find, Kylan. I didn't know about this lake: "Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea". "endorheic" means there are no waterways going in or out of it. "closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, "

Ok bare with me...I saw the new James Bond movie and aside from the overt misogny in the earlier movies I really love this character as well as the revamped modernized Bond in this movie. When filming these high budget movies the crew has a few choices...build a set in LA or go to fun and exotic parts of the world supporting their local economies...because of this I felt like this article relating to some of the locations where the movie was shot would be good for a diigo post. If you take a look at Jamacia tourism and on scene filming comprise a hefty chunck of rev for the gov.

This is an interesting and entertaining article. One interesting thought relevant to comparative politics that struck me as I was reading was this: as globalization has increased, it seems like the more movies have actually been filmed in sets. Maybe this is because an increase in technology allows both -- or maybe certain industries are just growing more isolated.

A town in California protests the closing of their local prison, arguing that it destroy their town and economy. As inmate numbers decline, Governor Newsom announced the close of two prisons, and this town is taking it as an attack on their conservative political views.

This is so interesting! I've always wondered about this dynamic, between prison and prison town and state legislatures. I wonder if this holds true at San Quentin.

This is a great article! I sent it to my whole family to read because weirdly enough, we've been to Susanville 3 or 4 times. It's just such a difficult situation and its interesting to see the mindset of the people in the town. Although it is easier said than done, it's perplexing that the people are so devoted to preventing the closure rather than diversifying the economy or striking some kind of compromise. This article goes to show just how deeply prisons are ingrained into the structure of American society and how they function first and foremost as an industry.

I am always drawn to articles that highlight young people being involved in their local governments. They seem to be the most relevant to me and my peers' lives. This article is super interesting because it gave me a lot of information I didn't know regarding Chinese government. The main speaker/ activist at this riot was apparently a small 17 year old boy accompanied by hundreds of students fighting for a democratic election in 2017. You could tell from his words how passionate he was about the topic: "Hong Kong's future belongs to you, you and you..I want to tell C.Y. Leung and Xi Jinping that the mission of fighting for universal suffrage does not rest upon the young people, it is everyone's responsibility..I don't want the fight for democracy to be passed down to the next generation. This is our responsibility." This article was inspiring and reminded me how deeply current political decisions affect the youth; this is why I think it is important for us to at least be educated about all of the crazy world politics going on around us outside of this "American bubble" we continue to contently live in.

A deadly explosion near a Hindu shrine rocked central Bangkok on Monday, leaving scores of people injured and at least 12 people dead, the Associated Press reports. Local media reported 27 people may have been killed in the blast, according to the . This is from almost a month ago, but I never heard any press about it until happening upon this article.

An uncomfortable article about the UN in Congo. It talks about how the UN has spent billions of dollars and more than a decade on trying to keep peace, but they've accomplished very little.

These rapings are atrocious, and I'm surprised that its coverage on the media has been so meagre, considering the long history of the crisis in the Congo. While the U.N. has not been able to improve the Congo significantly, I'm wondering if the problems lie in the desolateness of the area (no lines of communication, etc) or in the management of the U.N. bases there. I believe that the U.N. could be doing more, but I don't think they should be the only solution; the local economy and infrastructure must improve as well so that better communication and control can be established.

What was most shocking to me about this article was the scale on which this is happening in Congo and how open the attackers are about it- raping an 80 year old woman, raping women with UN peacekeepers right up the street. The rapists have absolutely no limits. Scary and very sad. It was equally shocking that the Congo government (police, law enforcement etc) has been unwilling or unable to do anything about this (the article cited them as often "too drunk" to do much about it). It's sad and heart wrenching that the UN has so far been unable to come up with a plan to help these people, and perhaps even more sad that their own government hasn't done anything. It's notable that Congo is being called the "UN's crowning failure" and their greatest failure so far.

An interesting perspective on what transnational means from the IEEE, world's oldest association of electrical engineers!

This article intelligently reveals the difficulties of bridging many different countries, which vary politically and culturally, under one goal or line of thought. The specific laws within each country (and each region of each country) must hinder uniform implementation to a notable extent, but I admire the organization's dedication to its vision. However, I wonder if, with the various global regions and political orientations into which the IEEE is divided, interpretations, and not just implementations, of the organization's vision may be different. With that in mind, can implementations change not only according to local laws, but also according to personal biases?

I found the part about regulations in certain countries especially interesting. It seems ridiculous that a country would ban the import a technical journal. The fact that the author never gives specifics about which country he is referring to further backs his points about what it means to maintain a transnational organization. And while I'm sure that the IEEE is committed to its goal, I am not sure how committed its members might be and if they might bring about international disputes despite the IEEE's best efforts.

This is an article about the conflicts between the National Transitional Council and political and military local leaders in Libya.

In order to remedy Ebola, Nations most affected by the virus, namely Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, must allow their leaders to calm and heal the general public. If political and social leaders fail to eradicate the disease, the number of people infected will quickly rise from 3000 to 20,000. So far, several countries have mismanaged the outbreak. Governments quarantined rural and urban areas of aforementioned African countries; a slum in Monrovia, the Capitol of Liberia, was one of the blocked off places. Instead of helping the people, as intended, the quarantines trap people. These people feel disregarded and sentenced to death. Fear causes people to run from the spaces and further spread Ebola, defeating the purpose of the quarantine. Even if African governments take necessary steps to prevent the spread of the disease, Western aid is still essential. Western countries should not supply weapons to help contain quarantines, but rather provide medicine and experienced medical personnel. Unfortunately, the pay is not high enough for many medics to risk their lives treating a disease that is the highest risk to doctors and nurses. The solution to Ebola is not an obvious one; the entire process is experimental. However, U.N. experts say a medical center need be established in West Africa where representatives of every African country can convene to discuss the disease.

Very interesting article. It is interesting how psychology must be considered in giving aid to African countries infected with Ebola (for example, the article mentions that soldiers shouldn't brandish their weapons so Ebola patients won't be afraid of the quarantine). The quarantines seem like an extra cause for panic. Imagine a Liberian seeing a quarantine being set up. Do you think they would act calmly and happily admit themselves to the quarantine, or just simply run away and spread the virus further?

Great analysis--see quotes below--but my question is, can the widespread response that is needed actually be pulled together? Especially, can it be pulled together fast? "Most agreed on many basic principles. All, for example, were sure the outbreak could be stopped without experimental drugs or vaccines. None expected it to take less than six months." "Pay is also an issue, experts said. Health workers taking huge risks must be compensated, and so must their families if they die." "Also, this outbreak is like SARS in that doctors and nurses are in the highest risk group. Training must be extra-thorough - especially in taking off protective gear that might be smeared with virus. Nigeria, for example, does not let anyone near victims without three days of training on wearing protective gear, said its health minister, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu." "The new W.H.O. road map calls for 12,000 local health workers and 750 expatriates." ""There's no part of this you can't break down and make work," Dr. Aylward said. "But it took us 20 years to build the polio response, and this has to be done in 20 days."

This article not only touches upon the dangerous and negative effects of the Ebola outbreak, but calls into questions an ethical controversy regarding preferential treatment when it comes to medical care. As the need for a cure escalates, the time allotted for the testing and developing of an anti-Ebola drug diminishes. Thus, medicine that has not been thoroughly tested has been distributed to two white Americans infected with the virus. This begs the question: Why these two? Does it have to do with their race or anti-African biases? And once the drug is fully developed, who will receive the treatment first? Who will be prioritized? Additionally, this contentious matter has added to the already distrustful African view of Western pharmaceuticals and relief efforts.

I found it interesting that not only did the article touch on the ethical questions of who to give the first available drugs to, from a standpoint of where it would be most effective rather than just where it would be most convenient. The part of the article where acceptance of the drug came into question was another touchy matter. The attempt to administer the drug as a solution to the Ebola break out is difficult because of the nature of the illness and the apprehension towards Western Medicine. Even though the medicine is available there's no telling if this quick fix will actually contain and solve the crisis just as Arthur Kaplan says at the end of the article.

The article brings to light interesting conflicts between African countries and the western industries of medicine. I feel like it would be effective to offer medical education to the local inhabitants in the infected african countries. That way their knowledge can help them avoid getting the disease. Furthermore, they would have more knowledge to help them decide whether or not they would like to take the drug that is possibly a functioning vaccination, rather than just not giving the sick African patients the option. The complexity of this problem is interesting because it deals with issues of ethics and trust.