What are your political tendencies?

Post Reply New Topic

ignorance is not a solution to any of the world's problems and i don't find anything "natural" about turning a blind eye to the suffering of human beings.

oh sean, what tosh. there isn't a job centre where you can hire casual agricultural labour in the developing world, you know. neither is there the sort of medical care which guarantees survival of all kids., nor readily available contraception, especially in countries where the dear ol' pope says they couldn't use it anyway, or they go straight to hell (do not pass go, do not collect £200).

i'm all for the idea of "give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life". however, if the man is starving, give him the bloody fish, cos he won't be alive to learn tomorrow.

as for the countries where they send GM food aid, which then requires massive use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, etc., etc., or may even be sterile, so they have to buy it again the next growing season... well, you can imagine how useful that isn't.

these people are starving, through no fault of their own - disasters like katrina don't just happen once in a lifetime, they happen every year (i'm talking drought, locust swarms etc., as well as hurricanes and floods). while we sit working ourselves into a tither, trying to decide what flavour of fizzy drink we should have, they are dying. yes, the solutions should be long term rather than short term. but, as i said, people have to be kept alive so that they can take on the responsibility for their own survival, with the support they really need.

Unsurprisingly I agree with vetivert...

Does it strike anyone else as ironic to see a conservative Christian advocating Social Darwinism?

Not very subtle, Sean, but true. The only people who can solve the problems in those countries are the people who live there. Continually bailing them out of each predictable crisis can never be a long term solution. Indeed, perhaps there isn't a solution: we are brainwashed in Western society to believe that money and goodwill can solve all. It doesn't and can't.

--- EDITED ---

----------------------------------------------------------------------

You two will get on like a house on fire.

There are lots of reasons why Aid is failing Africa at the moment. One is internal squabbles which the Africans are going to have to grow out of if they want to help themselves. Of course, a lot of the problem lies with us, and we actually owe Africa a huge debt!! ! For over 3 centuries now foreign powers have plundered Africa for all its wealth that it once had, and it is still continuing with Big Corporations wanting to make a quick buck out of the people that live there, and take advantage of their awful situation.

DO NOT see it as "Oh we are so terribly kind giving all this cash to Africa".

SEE IT as "We actually owe them a huge debt for hundreds of years of pillage of their continent".

Last edited by RobertN on 06 Oct 2005, 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Flames, screams, People running away. yep, House on fire all right.

Indeed.

Actually, I was hoping Sean would fly over for the annual wassailing ceremony down on the edge of the moor. Perhaps he get his hands on some XM8s — you know, firing shotguns into the trees is something of an anachronism, don't you think?

After the wassailing, the Lodge erect a large cross on yonder knoll, douse it with petrol, and set it alight. Quite a spectacle! Perhaps you could join us?

To be honest, I think you could say they've been paid back 100 times over (if you choose to believe there is some debt owed, which I don't). They have access to all the benefits of 21st century science and technology — benefits accrued by the "exploiters". If they choose to live in some superstition ridden, civil-war ravaged form of hell, then there's not much we can do about it, is there RobertN? How many centuries did it take us to get to some reasonably stable form of government? Their continent must go through the same process, we can't force it on them: we can, of course, do something in maintaining fair terms of trade with them, but continually giving — writing off debt — is not sustainable, and not conducive to the development of a socially and economically stable continent. All that does is make rich westerners feel better. It's purely cosmetic.

How exactly do they have access to 21st Century technology when they can't afford it, Ascan.

What do Sudan, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and Cote d'Ivoire all have in common?

Clue: 3 letters, starts with "o".

It may be ironic, but it's unavoidable because the Earth's population is many times greater than it's capacity for food production. Lots of people are going to die, it's only a matter of choosing who will die and figuring out where and how many people can be helped.

please could any comments about other members which are more personal than they need to be, be removed. (you know who you are, waggy finger). they aren't adding to the debate, people are offended by them, and they are undermining any political arguments.

thank you.

Vivi
(as Mod)

If you are referring to me, I will remove them. However, how else is one to argue against a *****EDITED**** such as Sean when he keeps on coming out with his scarcity mentality arguements that have been invalidated by numerous people, including yourself, Vivi.

And on who's authority is he a now a Moderator??? I don't want that ***EDITED***** moderating me, thank you!! !!

I will comply, but I am NOT happy!! !!

Last edited by RobertN on 06 Oct 2005, 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

sean isn't a Mod - it was a slip of the keyboard (as it were), and will be rectified as soon as an Admin is around.

as for how to argue - attack the argument, not the person.

sorry you're not happy, robert, but the guidelines are clear about personal comments (which also goes for the post above).

OK, Vivi, I'll back down.

I respect both the rules of the board and your judgement as a moderator.

However, you know what I think of Sean, Ascan, and their views. These views are disgraceful. You cannot get me to like them, and I hope if they insult me, you will treat them in the same manner.

I can't speak for Ascan, but it's your views, not you that I have the problem with. Maybe try talking to Bec about agreeing to disagree.


I asked the mods about that too. At least I got a screenshot of it.