It May Sound Harsh, But The Only Way To Help Africa Is To Stop All Humanitarian Aid..

its just a saying to not believe 100% everything you see/hear from the news.
but just because you shouldnt believe it 100% doesnt mean you gotta be paranoid and wear a tinfoil hat.

Explain Ed Whitacre example.

Just because the Mass Media has opinions, it doesn't mean it doesn't report facts.

You just got to know what are facts and what are fictions.

It's funny because I'm an engineer. When I talk with people who have an arts background for the first time, they often say "wow you must be smart"....I just say that I know a little more about one area, just like how they know more about music/drawing/performing/etc. I couldn't draw a picture to save the life of me, nor could I dissect a painting for its meaning(s). Different people, different strengths.

That's a common reaction. I tell people I ran a nuclear reactor... they freak. Not really that hard with a little learning. Also not as interesting as it sounds at first. At least not to most people

Everyone should relax.

And watch "Ikuru" by Akira Kurosawa

Hey, I was just jumping on the sarcasm train.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw

check this out if you haven't seen it.
I'm not saying its the truth but just
something to think about. Funny thing
its not really about Obama its about
america

Even though its tinfoil hat stuff I really enjoyed it.

What if everyone said screw it, and stopped helping?

Your extremely ignorant, I suggest you do your research on African history and learn how we robbed, raped and pillaged there resources much like the rest of the world. You can't name a single African scholar, or scientific achievement that has come from Africa, this just goes to show the historical bias of the West in order to present themselves as the more advanced civilization, ('History is but the properganda of its victors') just as you can't name a single Arabian or Chinese scholar.

Don't forget, it was the Egyptian's, who were African, built the Pyramids and to this day we cannot replicate the stunning mathmatical precision and architecture and is the only world wonder out of seven to be standing still today. You have no idea the extent to which we are being lied to, money doesn't grow off tree's, but food does.

Futhermore, I suggest you do your research on Aids as to its origin.

Read 'Pawns in the Game' by William Guy Carr, military credentials and experience speak for themself. Stated the third world war would be that again'st Islam, this was a book published in 1958, not 2001. As I've said, you have no idea the extent to which we are being lied to and history distorted.

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)

If you can't see the resounding relevance that quote has today, your blind. Research the 'Greenbacks' and you'll understand the true reason why Lincoln was assinated, or the other several presidential assasinations.

Thomas Jefferson said banking institutions are more a threat to our nation then standing armies, I believe he knew what he was talking about. Of course, were in the 21st Century, our politician's do not commit such crimes. If there's anything, absolutely anything I have learned from history, it can repeat itself, we shouldn't be so arrogant and blinded by patriotism not to see we are being lied to. Nobody likes to admit they have been fooled, made to look an idiot and taken advantage of, I have and now I realise it.

It's not a conspiracy that 1% of the world's population controls 99% of its wealth, or the majority of the population to this day still lives in poverty and squalor. As I said, money doesn't grow off tree's, but food does.

@Sirseifer.

Read "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith. 1776.

Here is a famous quote about the benifits of charity:

This is what people have forgotten.

You can donate all the wealth you have, and all it will do is make you feel good.

But, if you take your wealth and give it meaning, give it worth, make it work to grow you end up doing everyone a much more charity by creating wealth than you would by giving it all away.

If you donate to Africa all the time, you won't be doing anyone a favor except making you feel good (look at how the money is spent).

Creating wealth in Africa, however, will help everyone in Africa, and it will help everyone in the world at the same time.

Creation of wealth is the best for everyone. Why do you think Capitalism works? Why can't anyone realize it? Why is everyone so gung-ho about punishing those who work for their wealth, when they should find out what creates their wealth and duplicate it for the greater good of humanity.....

This is why we should stop helping Africa in this fashion. Giving them money will do nothing but cause them to depend on us, like a child depends on their parent for food. Do you really want to be a parent who has to feed 6 billion children (don't know the actual pop of Africa, but this number seems reasonable).

While this Is true, the Spanish, Germans, Portuguese, Dutch and British also exported their cultures and governments, and although they were put in place to rule, they also allowed for widespread cultivation of the land.

Wait, what? Just because you aren't able to name Chinese, African or Arabian Scholars doesn't mean nobody else can.

Off the top of my head, there's Sun Tzu who wrote the Art of War some two thousand years before the West even began to use it, and it is still widely used to this day. Also Confucius, who's teachings and work have had and still have a major impact on the majority of SE Asia. And of course Imhotep, you're beloved architect of Step Pyramids.

The mathemematical precision may have been stunning 4 or 5 thousand years ago, but i think you will concede any 5 year old can achieve the same results (albeit on a much smaller scale) with plastic building blocks.

As Korpg and others have said, while it may not be up to us to teach them how to be self sufficient, we should help them to do so, as it is our Aid that does more harm than good.
Why should a villager pay for grain, when they can walk 15 miles to an Aid centre and get it for free from the UN? After a while, the farmer can't afford to grow more crops, as no one is buying his grain, and becomes just another hungry mouth to feed, and more self-sufficiency is lost.

Hmm, can't remember where i was going with all that. But yeah. :D

So we should be telling them we are sorry and give reparations? luls

You all make very valid arguments on this page, I like this discussion. ^^

Just want to comment on this, though:I agree with Ludo that there is no such thing as an objective point of view; it's hard to trust the media because a LOT of stuff goes into the presentation of certain "facts" that tends to skew many perspectives--those of people who agree or disagree with what they're saying.

Then again, to argue Korpg's point, the media is actually quite informative; though I would make a note that it's not a matter of discerning fact from fiction, but more of making an effort to read between the lines instead of just taking in every single word the media states without applying judgment.

Give a man fire, and he's warm for one day

Set a man on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life (albeit a short one)

Just thought I'd throw that out there :3

lol
Where did that come from?
and yeah he is warm for the rest of his life since he died warm.

Yes, that's good and everything, capitalism works nicely in theory, but when the human part of the equation is applied, it tends to screw up all those great theoretical possibilities.

Doling out "capitalism"--as we know it--wouldn't necessarily help them. Sure, it'd enhance a great number of people's lives, but a greater number still would live in poverty due to the lack of proper implementation of infrastructure, and the inevitable corruption: "people" and "corrupt" just go so well together. Morality is fine when you're mouthing niceties to your peers and followers, but the reality doesn't have much room for it, at least not in a capitalistic society.

Then there's the issue of globalism. Yes, in theory--if we had proper infrastructure--everyone could go through life with some quality of life. All "population" problems that we face are due to the limitation of the current technologies that's allowed to us. Do you think a population of 7,000,000,000 people could've existed a thousand years ago without modern tech?

Technology may be available to allow seven billion people to exist on the planet, in a varying degree of conditions, but the technology/infrastructure is not there to allow everyone to live decently; group A has to suffer to sustain group B's way of life.

Just as the growth of global market weakens the american market, so would "modernizing" africa. There's only so many fish available to us at this current time, and we're not at the point where we have the tech to afford the world an unlimited supply of fish: you're teaching that man how to fish, and he's now catching a portion of the supply of fish. Now he's teaching others how to fish, too. Soon, the number of people that "know how to fish" is too large to sustain and the supply of fish is exhausted. You're to do with less fish now, or none at all.

All of us think it, try to push it to the back of our minds. Disregard it, but it is the reality of the situation, it is the unadulterated truth, the core of "us": It is better that misfortune fall upon you than I.

Lets make 1 thing clear:
There is 3 "AFRICAS"

Northern africa around the mediterainian sea. Egypt, lybia. Developed countries, rich past, influential in the old ages.

Sahara: Sand. I can't begin to understand HOW it is possible to survive/live there. freezing point at night, blazing sun at day, no water and barely any plants. IMPOSSIBEL to live there!

Southern africa: AIDS, Warlords, Wichcraft, War, Drugs, Pirates. As long as the "white man", the DICTATOR, ruled, it was a blooming part of the earth, than all the "good-people" in the west shouted: STOP SUPRESSING THE AFRICANS. All right, whites pull out and blacks take over, look at the state of it.

1) they require help, it is absolute rubbish to say "STOP HELPING THEM"
2) all ressources that are send there are "Stored" by the good "Leaders" for "Hard times". absolutely NO humanitarian aid reaches the ones who need it. if it does, its less than 1% of what we send them.



3) So we should help, but NOT WITH MONEY, NOT WITH CLOTHEs. Give them crop to plant. That is all

Anyone who sais we have to teach them "Water management" when they dont have any water there, good thinking.

Just a few things that might have already been said about AIDs in Africa.
Firstly the comment about not sleeping with someone who has AIDs. Unfortunatly us lovely white folk went over there and introduced catholicism to them. By doing this a lot of the native Africans were converted to Catholics. Although their view on condoms is changing the Catholic churchs stance is that condoms offer no use. I have watched a documentary a few years ago about a young girl who was married off to an older man, whom had AIDs. She had no choice to sleep with him as it was her marital duty and caught HIV from him. Because they also use no birth control (another yay catholic moment) she'll probably have HIV infected children too, thus creating another generation.
So as much as not sleeping with someone who has AID's is a good idea in theory, in practise its not going to cut the mustard.
Secondly about the world AIDs map. Developed countries like the UK and USA have good health care and can offer numerous treatments to slow down HIV turning to AIDs. I wonder if the world map would remain the same with poorer countries having so many AIDs victims if they also had these medicines?

I think you'll find there are a lot of charities that are helping people learn to live on their own two feet. Providing wells, crops, tools etc. However theres only so much they can do as its the public who are asked to fund these charities, and we only have so much money.

Rate up ^^ , for Branwen. Bravo /clap , Splendid.

Whats the point of teaching them how to substain themselves if they won't have a central government that can work?

Or an economic system?

If you want to give a country the ability to be self-sufficent, you have to teach them what works. Teach them what works, then force them to do it (force them in a way meaning stop giving them aid period).

I'm not just talking about the educated few there, I'm talking about the entire nation. Educate everyone so they can live by themselves.

I'd somewhat like to respond to this part of your post. The only reason why you cannot name any African scholars is because there is no academic growth or freedom whatsoever in Africa. There is no budget, there are no scholarships... nothing but famine.


I don't really understand your point about Arab scholars. During the Islamic Golden years(800-1450AD) Arab scholars made numerous important scientific and technological advances in mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, metallurgy, architecture and textiles. Many techniques they developed like distillation, crystallisation and the use of alcohol as an antiseptic are still used to this day.


@ everyone else: Thanks for the great input. I think many of you have great ideas about how Africa could be helped but many of these solutions still smell of one thing mainly: Naivity.

Most of Africa is in civil war, with different tribes vying for power. The government feeds these wars. They use rape as a weapon and most of them people are terrible scarred by this lifestyle. It's not really as easy as to go and tell them how to live when the land is in such disarray.

And helping a continent such as Africa getting rid of the corruption? Well, you're looking at the Afghanistan war x 20.

An economy needs a government that claims taxes from the civilians. Right now in Africa there is barely a system of taxing.

In the western world, the government claim taxes from us every month. They have somehwat a responsibility to take care of our basic needs because of this.

Since African governments don't claim taxes(there is none to be had) they don't give a ***about their people.

This is a vicious circle that needs to be broken.

lol like america?

America, the laughing stock of the entire world.

With the way the states handled the economic crisis...re started the friggen thing, why on earth would any country on the planet take adivce from them?

pot, kettle, black

so true, so true!

Give a man a ***sandwich
and feed him for a day
but teach a man how to make
corn logs and you can feed
a village ~.^

give a man a sandwich and feed him for a few hours, kill the *** afterward, and you won't have to worry.

What would your country do then, when put into the same situation that America has been put into?

You think this economic crisis is entirely USA's fault?

or do you not see past your own bias against anything that isn't Australia?

BTW, have you guys found your Prime Minister yet?