> if they want to fix third world countries they should start with the
> governments, this seems more like a marketing excercise
Unfortunately, fixing the government while maintaining the universal
democracy that is practically insisted upon by the USA as world
uber-cop makes that a very difficult task. Democracy gets you the
government you "deserve", not the govenment that will fix your
problems, and this is natural. If the electorate is hungry and ill
educated they will vote (or help) the first and best alternative to
stop that and the hell with any long term consequences. (The same
is still true in the west just on a grander scale..)
While the west got to get "working" "democratic" government
up and running while effectively preventing the unwashed masses from
voting, thereby giving them time to get things in place to
educate the same before allowing it. The same is typically
frowned upon in third world countries when the "you must have
democracy" stick has the carrot hung to it or is shoved up
the victim's nether regions as the case may be. Education is
the only thing that mitigates the manipulation of the electorate
by those seeking office.
Personally, I think big chunks of Africa growing up motherless and
fatherless due to aids, war, and hunger is a hell of a lot more of a
problem than whether or not they have a laptop. You can get a perfectly
good technological education without a computer. I did. You can't
learn worth a shit if you're sick, starving, or being shot at.
-Bob
