Thursday, May 07, 2009
Neo-Colonial Aid
"When colonialists came ashore, they didn't say, 'We're here to steal your land and take your resources and employ your people to clean our toilets and guard our big houses.' They said, 'We're here to help you.' And then thety went and took their land and resources and hired their people to clean their toilets. And now there come the aid workers, who move into the big colonial houses and ride in high cars above the squalor, all the while insisting they've come to help." --Michael Maren
"Most of the countries in Africa had indigenous methods for dealing with food shortages. Somalia in particular had a well-established system for dealing with regular cycles of drought and famine. Farmers in the river valleys built secure underground vaults where grain was stored during the fat years. When drought threatened the nomads, animals that might die anyway were exchanged for grains. Though nomads showed very little respect for farmers, they were aware that their lives might one day depend on these sedentary clans. They were therefore generous with the bounty of their herds when times were good. The result was a mutual insurance system and a truce of necessity across the land." --Michael Maren
"Most of the countries in Africa had indigenous methods for dealing with food shortages. Somalia in particular had a well-established system for dealing with regular cycles of drought and famine. Farmers in the river valleys built secure underground vaults where grain was stored during the fat years. When drought threatened the nomads, animals that might die anyway were exchanged for grains. Though nomads showed very little respect for farmers, they were aware that their lives might one day depend on these sedentary clans. They were therefore generous with the bounty of their herds when times were good. The result was a mutual insurance system and a truce of necessity across the land." --Michael Maren
Labels: 2009, Diamonds, Fiction, nova scotia
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Gridwork
"The U.S. rail system, and I would be amazed if Europe's was any different, is wide open. There are tens of thousands of miles of unobserved track that could be taken out with nothing more than a crowbar." --hacker quoted by Derrick Jensen
"Not only is the electrical grid wide open but so is the natural gas supply line. Here's an example of just how easy it would be to safely take out a natural gas pipe. Buy a car battery, a piece of glass tubing, and some plastic gloves. First, pour the acid from the battery into a suitable container, then go to one of the millions of gas pipes or relay stations around the world, attach the tube to the pipe with tape molding putty or whatever, pour the acid into the tube, and then walk away and let the acid eat through the pipe. Your onsite time is maybe two minutes." --hacker quoted by Derrick Jensen
"Not only is the electrical grid wide open but so is the natural gas supply line. Here's an example of just how easy it would be to safely take out a natural gas pipe. Buy a car battery, a piece of glass tubing, and some plastic gloves. First, pour the acid from the battery into a suitable container, then go to one of the millions of gas pipes or relay stations around the world, attach the tube to the pipe with tape molding putty or whatever, pour the acid into the tube, and then walk away and let the acid eat through the pipe. Your onsite time is maybe two minutes." --hacker quoted by Derrick Jensen
Labels: 2009, Diamonds, Fiction, nova scotia
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Activists and Hackers
"Activists so often get burned out and frustrated because we're trying to achieve sustainability within a system that is inherently unsustainable." --Derrick Jensen
"I think that twelve hackers could take down the electrical grid of all of North America, a blackout lasting for months. That blackout itself would take out key components. Of course those in power would immediately start retooling, and because they have more resources than we do they'd eventually be able to come back online. We'd have to hit them again in the meantime." --Brian the Hacker, quoted by Jensen
"I think that twelve hackers could take down the electrical grid of all of North America, a blackout lasting for months. That blackout itself would take out key components. Of course those in power would immediately start retooling, and because they have more resources than we do they'd eventually be able to come back online. We'd have to hit them again in the meantime." --Brian the Hacker, quoted by Jensen
Labels: 2009, Diamonds, Fiction, nova scotia
