It is a funny feeling to live through historic times. I awoke today to more bank nationalisations on Radio 4 as our long-unquestioned economic rules are not just questioned but overthrown.
Our world feels in flux. Where have I heard those words?
In the aftermath of September 11th, Tony Blair addressed the Labour Party conference. In the midst of the chaos, he saw an opportunity: That opportunity died in the cold horror of Iraq. And yet, today the pieces are in flux again - what should we do before they settle?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
What the world needs is a crisis
There is a palpable sense of relief here in New York*, as news breaks that congress has finally passed the bailout bill which will provide a $700bn loan to US banks. But, how much is $700bn?
As Eddie Izzard noted, once you get past a million of anything our mind just flips; “You kill one man, you go to jail. You kill 10 men, they send you to Texas and shoot you. You kill 50 men and they put you in a round room with padded walls and give you a little round window to stare through. You kill a million people and … we just can’t handle it. We almost just say … ‘Well Done!’
Basically, it's a lot of money. It's what you get if you got a gun and stole $2000 from every single American man, woman and child.
It's also seven times larger than the total amount that the world spends on international aid every year. And that raises a question. Why were we able to find $700bn this week, but we could only find $100bn for the developing world? Why have we managed to find a bailout for the developed world's economy, but only words of goodwill for the developing's?
The answer the politicians will give is this; "This was a crisis. Something had to be done."
Which raises a more disturbing and personal question. How have we - who claim to care so much about the lives of those living in poverty - failed so completely to paint their plight as a crisis?
Time to call in the marketeers perhaps?
---
* Where I am completing my final days of debriefing with Acumen - an American non-profit.
As Eddie Izzard noted, once you get past a million of anything our mind just flips; “You kill one man, you go to jail. You kill 10 men, they send you to Texas and shoot you. You kill 50 men and they put you in a round room with padded walls and give you a little round window to stare through. You kill a million people and … we just can’t handle it. We almost just say … ‘Well Done!’
Basically, it's a lot of money. It's what you get if you got a gun and stole $2000 from every single American man, woman and child.
It's also seven times larger than the total amount that the world spends on international aid every year. And that raises a question. Why were we able to find $700bn this week, but we could only find $100bn for the developing world? Why have we managed to find a bailout for the developed world's economy, but only words of goodwill for the developing's?
The answer the politicians will give is this; "This was a crisis. Something had to be done."
Which raises a more disturbing and personal question. How have we - who claim to care so much about the lives of those living in poverty - failed so completely to paint their plight as a crisis?
Time to call in the marketeers perhaps?
---
* Where I am completing my final days of debriefing with Acumen - an American non-profit.
Monday, September 29, 2008
You may have wondered what happened to me ...
I was the guy who headed off to somewhere in Africa and started sending you emails about what I was doing. Remember, I was doing something faintly worthwhile which you suspect may have had something to do with business. I was the one with red hair. That's it, that's me. Well, that thing I was doing ... I've finished it.
In case you are expecting see me when I'm back and want to appear a bit more informed (!!), here's are some words you could drop:
Kenya: This the country I was living in for the last 9 months. It's a beautiful country, where you can get accidentally teargassed (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2008/01/arrival-of-irresistable-force.html), climb massive mountains (or just look at the photos of others doing so) and make great friends (including the woman who begs on our street who I accidentally invited round for lunch).
Acumen Fund: The organisation crazy enough to employ me. They're a non-profit investment fund (there seem to be a lot of those at the mo!!) who invest in businesses that could change the world - like the one that I helped which employs low-income farmers to make anti-malaria drugs or the one that wanted to make energy from rubbish (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-do-i-actually-do-all-day.html)
Lisa: This is my wife, who had the good will and good humour to travel with me, facing ludicrous shopping experiences (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2007/11/we-win.html), amazing school songs (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2008/05/5-things-that-happened-to-us-since-iast.html) and seeing her husband getting bullied by two little girls (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2007/12/kenyan-wedding.html).
And so - my year of adventure over - it's time to return to the UK. So, have I changed? Well, the hair's still the same colour (though I sometimes wonder if it's slightly receding). Maybe in one way. I feel inspired. Inspired by the entrepreneurs I have met. People no different from you and me apart from they are prepared to take a risk. Prepared to invest their time, money and effort to set up businesses in East Africa. Businesses that provide jobs, income and change - three things the region desperately needs.
And for those, who want to know what I am doing next (that's you, mum!). Here's a hint: http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2008/09/Ian_Wright_backs_National_Citizen_Service_plans.aspx
(I'm helping to set this thing up, by the way, not standing as an MP, joining the Conservative Party or becoming an Ian Wright groupie)
Looking forward to catching up soon,
Jon
PS I am vaguely planning to keep the blog going, with shareable news of the National Citizen Service and other entrepreneurial hopes. Hopefully see you there: www.jonyates.blogspot.com
In case you are expecting see me when I'm back and want to appear a bit more informed (!!), here's are some words you could drop:
Kenya: This the country I was living in for the last 9 months. It's a beautiful country, where you can get accidentally teargassed (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2008/01/arrival-of-irresistable-force.html), climb massive mountains (or just look at the photos of others doing so) and make great friends (including the woman who begs on our street who I accidentally invited round for lunch).
Acumen Fund: The organisation crazy enough to employ me. They're a non-profit investment fund (there seem to be a lot of those at the mo!!) who invest in businesses that could change the world - like the one that I helped which employs low-income farmers to make anti-malaria drugs or the one that wanted to make energy from rubbish (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-do-i-actually-do-all-day.html)
Lisa: This is my wife, who had the good will and good humour to travel with me, facing ludicrous shopping experiences (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2007/11/we-win.html), amazing school songs (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2008/05/5-things-that-happened-to-us-since-iast.html) and seeing her husband getting bullied by two little girls (http://jonyates.blogspot.com/2007/12/kenyan-wedding.html).
And so - my year of adventure over - it's time to return to the UK. So, have I changed? Well, the hair's still the same colour (though I sometimes wonder if it's slightly receding). Maybe in one way. I feel inspired. Inspired by the entrepreneurs I have met. People no different from you and me apart from they are prepared to take a risk. Prepared to invest their time, money and effort to set up businesses in East Africa. Businesses that provide jobs, income and change - three things the region desperately needs.
And for those, who want to know what I am doing next (that's you, mum!). Here's a hint: http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2008/09/Ian_Wright_backs_National_Citizen_Service_plans.aspx
(I'm helping to set this thing up, by the way, not standing as an MP, joining the Conservative Party or becoming an Ian Wright groupie)
Looking forward to catching up soon,
Jon
PS I am vaguely planning to keep the blog going, with shareable news of the National Citizen Service and other entrepreneurial hopes. Hopefully see you there: www.jonyates.blogspot.com
Friday, May 23, 2008
What do I actually do all day?
In writing my list of things not to write about on a blog (Your bank details, Your secret membership of the Klu Klux Klan, Your addiction to alcohol/drugs/tea/highjinks*, How you used to fancy Maggie Thatcher, How you still do fancy Maggie Thatcher, How you think you are Maggie Thatcher), I noticed that nowhere on that list was talking about what you actually do at work. But I actually never do. So ...
Rubbish in Nairobi is a problem. Well, rubbish anywhere is a problem - but there's a lot of it in Nairobi. Unlike trees which there are increasingly less of as people keep cutting them down to turn into charcoal. A couple of weeks ago I met a Kenyan who wants to set up a recycling plant which will turn rubbish into charcoal. Neat idea huh. So today, I tried to work out how he could do it profitably. And if so, we might be able to invest.
*Delete as appropriate
Rubbish in Nairobi is a problem. Well, rubbish anywhere is a problem - but there's a lot of it in Nairobi. Unlike trees which there are increasingly less of as people keep cutting them down to turn into charcoal. A couple of weeks ago I met a Kenyan who wants to set up a recycling plant which will turn rubbish into charcoal. Neat idea huh. So today, I tried to work out how he could do it profitably. And if so, we might be able to invest.
*Delete as appropriate
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Five things since I Iast blogged
(1) Jon invites a work colleague round for lunch. "Can I bring my sister?" "Course you can." Friend and sister arrives. Sister looks very familiar. "Hang on, aren't you the woman who sits and begs on our street?" "Yes." "Great. Tea of coffee?"
(2) Jon decides to cook a pancake. I wonder what happens if you accidentally drip hot oil in the blue flame. Oh look a massive fireball.
(3) Lisa visits school with NGO she is volunteering with. Attends session on sex and relationships. Session starts with a rendition of 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes'. Turns out there's a second verse. "These are my private parts, private parts, private parts and no-one should touch them, no-one should see them, no-one should play with them." With actions.
(4) Lisa and Jon hire a 4*4 and Jon drives it round an almost deserted gamepark. Oh look a massive bit of mud. Oh well, how sticky can mud actually be. Apparently, very sticky. Car stuck. Fleeting idea of proceeding on foot abandoned due to wild - possibly man and woman eating - animals. Lisa half way through count of number of days food supply will last when spinning wheel suddenly gets traction. Huge sigh of relief as car launches forward. At least we're through it now and on our way. Five minutes later: "Crap. I've read the map wrong. This isn't the right road after all."
(5) Jon starts providing management assistance at a new firm. With company that grows artemisinin leaf and converts it into anti-malarial treatments. Not such a funny story - but feels kinda significant.
So, what have you been up to?
(2) Jon decides to cook a pancake. I wonder what happens if you accidentally drip hot oil in the blue flame. Oh look a massive fireball.
(3) Lisa visits school with NGO she is volunteering with. Attends session on sex and relationships. Session starts with a rendition of 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes'. Turns out there's a second verse. "These are my private parts, private parts, private parts and no-one should touch them, no-one should see them, no-one should play with them." With actions.
(4) Lisa and Jon hire a 4*4 and Jon drives it round an almost deserted gamepark. Oh look a massive bit of mud. Oh well, how sticky can mud actually be. Apparently, very sticky. Car stuck. Fleeting idea of proceeding on foot abandoned due to wild - possibly man and woman eating - animals. Lisa half way through count of number of days food supply will last when spinning wheel suddenly gets traction. Huge sigh of relief as car launches forward. At least we're through it now and on our way. Five minutes later: "Crap. I've read the map wrong. This isn't the right road after all."
(5) Jon starts providing management assistance at a new firm. With company that grows artemisinin leaf and converts it into anti-malarial treatments. Not such a funny story - but feels kinda significant.
So, what have you been up to?
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Nairobi Village
Lisa is singing in a concert today (and yesterday actually - and yes, I am going to both). As you may have guessed from this, she's joined a choir - the Nairobi Music Society to give it its full name.
Watching the choir perform yesterday I had three revelations. Firstly, my wife has a great voice. Secondly, all you really see of a conductor during a performance is his butt. Thirdly, in some ways - as an expat or middle-class Kenyan - Nairobi is a bit like a village.
For at the concert not only did my friends manage to spot (in an audience of 300) 'that woman from the gym', 'a teacher at my school' and 'that dutch guy I met the other day'. To add to the village fete feeling, we also spotted the UK Ambassador to Kenya and the head of the ongoing Peace Talks. Not bad considering this is a choir which doesn't pay any of its singers or even hold auditions. Having said that, they probably all just came to hear my wife.
Watching the choir perform yesterday I had three revelations. Firstly, my wife has a great voice. Secondly, all you really see of a conductor during a performance is his butt. Thirdly, in some ways - as an expat or middle-class Kenyan - Nairobi is a bit like a village.
For at the concert not only did my friends manage to spot (in an audience of 300) 'that woman from the gym', 'a teacher at my school' and 'that dutch guy I met the other day'. To add to the village fete feeling, we also spotted the UK Ambassador to Kenya and the head of the ongoing Peace Talks. Not bad considering this is a choir which doesn't pay any of its singers or even hold auditions. Having said that, they probably all just came to hear my wife.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tribalism, bad. Nationalism, good?
"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind." [Albert Einstein]
"We need to put tribalism behind us and remember that we're all Kenyan" [The leader at my church, in the height of the troubles]
It's funny how allegiances can look very different in different circumstances. In 1918, after the loss of a generation of Europe's young men, an unquestioning allegiance to one's country - so praised in the years proceeding - began to look unmodern, dangerous and ignorant.
Following the crisis in Kenya, it is tribalism that is under attack, and nationalism suddenly seems the hero of the day.
In today's world where rationality rules, any allegiance is an easy target. For a rational allegiance isn't an allegiance at all - it's a contract. And yet, who wants their friendships reduced to contracts? I believe I am a richer person for feeling a debt of duty to my family, my friends, my university college, my church, my faith, my fellow red-heads, the first firm I ever worked for and - yes - even to my country. Preventing conflict by destroying my allegiances feels akin to creating equality by destroying wealth.
Perhaps who we ally with isn't what matters. Perhaps what matters is how we perceive those outside the allegiance - the 'others'. In which case, maybe the solution isn't less allegiances, but more. Until there are no 'others'.
What do you think?
"We need to put tribalism behind us and remember that we're all Kenyan" [The leader at my church, in the height of the troubles]
It's funny how allegiances can look very different in different circumstances. In 1918, after the loss of a generation of Europe's young men, an unquestioning allegiance to one's country - so praised in the years proceeding - began to look unmodern, dangerous and ignorant.
Following the crisis in Kenya, it is tribalism that is under attack, and nationalism suddenly seems the hero of the day.
In today's world where rationality rules, any allegiance is an easy target. For a rational allegiance isn't an allegiance at all - it's a contract. And yet, who wants their friendships reduced to contracts? I believe I am a richer person for feeling a debt of duty to my family, my friends, my university college, my church, my faith, my fellow red-heads, the first firm I ever worked for and - yes - even to my country. Preventing conflict by destroying my allegiances feels akin to creating equality by destroying wealth.
Perhaps who we ally with isn't what matters. Perhaps what matters is how we perceive those outside the allegiance - the 'others'. In which case, maybe the solution isn't less allegiances, but more. Until there are no 'others'.
What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
