Going back to Africa

This is an exception to the posts here recently and harks back to my time in Africa, but The Atlantic had a long article about elephant poaching that is worth a perusal.  The article in parts evokes anger at massive illegal killing, but then at other parts the emotion turns to myopic hysteria.

What resonated for me: the scale of the poaching, some of which I heard about from a doctoral student at a lodge in Kenya.  The majesty of watching these animals up close.  The impact of China's partial colonization of East Africa, and the realization by many there that, in the end, they signed a Faustian bargain with China.

What turned me off: the not-even-veiled contempt for hunters and those who would argue for market-based plans to preserve the animals.  At one point he explicitly muses that hunters may be more vile than poachers.  Say what you will about hunters and their motivations, they are at least willing to respect the law and are killing only what governments let them, and the governments are entirely in control of this side of the equation.  The entire problem with poachers is that, by definition, they do not respect the law and kill en masse, and use fearsome tactics.

Which leads me to the biggest thing I found missing from the article: a focus on corruption.  He discusses corruption here and there, but I think the real problem here (like for many other issues in Africa) is rampant corruption.  It limits resources for legitimate protection of animals, it makes it easy to smuggle ivory, it lets imported Chinese workers do whatever they will, and ultimately it makes governments in Africa loathe to invest the resources to do something.

I do like the author's point that "one-time" sales are not read as "one-time" by buyers, and each one whets the appetite for more.  The biggest hope here, I think, is that that appetite is starved back to returns to its dormant state -- hopefully made easier by the fact that this is not an addictive substance.

Costa Rica in pictures

This post is pretty simple: a lot of pictures that I took of something interesting at the time, and keep reminding me of things I wanted to mention.  For those of you who have been looking for the kid's picture-book version of this blog, this is for you.

 Yes, they are wearing hats with cow heads and horns.

I want to introduce you to the person who might be the San Jose version of Leslie, Austin's cross-dressing homeless man who was their unofficial mascot.  I have been to a good number of concerts in San Jose, which has been wonderful.  They do a very good job of using the parks on the weekends for art, music, and all sorts of other fun family-oriented activities.   Well, at every single concert -- and, when there is no concert, the weekly Saturday drum circle -- this lady in blue has been there "dancing."  I say "dancing" because it's more like bad, high-speed, tai chi in motion.  She walks around a big area waving her hands.  After a while you can see that she has about 10 moves, which she does repeatedly and to any music.  Salsa?  Jazz?  Drum circle?  Rock?  Apparently this is the most versatile dance style out there.




I found this gem on the highway.  Rather than fix the road, someone decided it would be better to just pay the money to install a permanent sign that says "bad road ahead."  Well, I have to give them credit for being honest.

"Road is in bad condition."

Here is a typical casado from a soda, or local restaurant.  all of this plus drink for $4.  It's tough to leave McDonald's for less than that.  It even comes with a ripe, fried plantain for a sweet and yummy dessert.

And no, canned spaghetti is not standard casado fare.  Fortunately.

China everywhere

This past weekend the Chinese president visited Costa Rica, roughly 3 weeks after Obama's visit.  I have no idea whether that was a coincidence or a deliberated move, but it is symbolic of the wrestling for influence.

Costa Rica is special for China because it is the only Central American country that recognizes China: all the others recognize Taiwan as the rightful "China."  But, at least according to some quick digging, it may be as much because China has bigger fish to fry than because these countries are truly giving China a cold shoulder.

China is doing what it seems to do best: showering a country with gifts and credit and infrastructure.

China built a new national soccer stadium for CR in 2011.  This is quite symbolic when you think about the fact that it is the largest and official national stadium in the biggest park in San Jose for the most popular sport.  Everyone knows about it and can credit China.  When I discuss China's relationship with East Africa with people and the growing tensions over China's standard policy of bringing its own workers, people pointed out that China brought its own workers for the stadium, too -- ~800 in all.  This means that CR is left with a stadium, but not any new knowledge or skills (or even 800 salaries).  A law was passed specifically barring the Chinese from staying since many wanted to.  I'm not sure if China or CR didn't want them to stay, though I suspect the answer is both.

Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica.

As a side note, I was interested in the number of English-language Chinese-based articles that came up with some quick searches.  Clearly this is more important in China that it is in the U.S., but the press was also putting out a lot of good publicity about the visit and the deals.  My favorite might have been this one entitled, "National stadium brings locals happiness."  This is a very Chinese slant to the article.  I also was amused that one of the ways in which it is "making the locals happy" is by being a landmark in a city without street names and numbers.

Market penetration: The insidious drug invasion in Costa Rica

This article that I read today prompted me to write a bit about drugs here.

Fortunately for Costa Rica, gangs and drugs are not nearly as bad as in other countries in the region. However, the problem is getting worse.

I had a long conversation with a retired guy who worked for the Coast Guard. He said that for a long time drugs bypassed CR by sea. However, increasingly successful campaigns to stop those shipments made cartels shift their focus toward overland routes. In a genius, but sad, move, the drug cartels paid people partially in cash and partially in drugs. Basically, if you did something for the cartel and just took the cash, then you made OK money. The real payoff, though, was in the drugs you received. However, drugs are of no value unless you… sell them. So the drug cartels got their shipments through while spreading corruption, creating a user base/increasing demand, and limiting the headache of money laundering by paying with drugs.

Here is another article that is unrelated to Liberty Reserve, but likely related to drug violence that has crept into Costa Rica.