Ubuntu & the underdeveloped world

[Shango Oluwa]

I have opened a thread 'Politics and GNU/Linux' on the Sounder list:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/sounder/2004-December/thread.html

if you want to subscribe then follow:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/sounder

The issues under discussion in the present thread are vital, but have
departed from user-list specifications... 

See you all in Sounder!

Regards,
Shango


On Mon, 2004-12-20 at 07:40 +0000, david wrote:
> > . Nike existing as 
> > a giant corporation is not a problem.
> 
> Name me one "giant corporation" that isn't built on the blood, sweat and
> tears of those who do NOT benefit from the profits.
> Name me one giant corporation that should be allowed to continue
> trading. And please don't say at this point - "well it would be chaos if
> we stopped them all." They buy scientists and politicians and they rig
> markets, they tell lies and more lies and more lies, they are
> effectively above the law because there is no international law worth
> the paper it's printed on.
> If you aren't enraged by this then you're asleep at the wheel.
> 
> If a man breaks into your house and you catch him would you accept him
> saying "well, I've started so I might as well finish" ?
> When (if we don't trash the place first) our children or children's
> children look back on these days they will marvel that we put up with so
> much corruption, so much blatant abuse of power and privilege and they
> will say "why didn't they do something about it?" (Too busy killing
> bot's, getting wasted, watching telly and eating pizza!)
> Not that corruption is a new thing, but that so many willingly buy into
> it. Falling for the false hope every single time. "Maybe this
> politician/product/celebrity will be different from all the others."
> Followed by more broken promises and lies and then a new
> celebrity/politician/product appears and the process starts all over
> again.
> 
> It's very simple, in as much as an individual can do anything - refuse
> to go along with it. Refuse to wear designer labels. Not just some of
> the time- all of the time. Refuse to buy from the big food market
> manipulators - nestle, coca cola et al. If you can't get what you want
> without giving your money to these companies - go without. (When less
> than 10 companies control most of the worlds food supply this is
> increasingly difficult.)
> These companies are, by and large, evil. We know they are evil, we know
> they force appalling poverty on to those who make/grow the goods and we
> know they make obscene profits from selling these goods on to us. Yet we
> barely notice - too busy anticipating the next
> installment/version/release/album/model.
> We should be embarrassed at our life styles, ashamed to drive a car
> (personally I don't drive nor will I ever), ashamed to own designer
> labels etc. Aware that every single mobile phone has blood on it from
> the (oh so convenient) situation in the congo - currently the only place
> on earth that one of the minerals needed in mobile phone manufacture
> comes from. Where the big companies play on the chaos and finance
> warlords to ensure safe shipment. Not that you should necessarily never
> use one, just don't change the damned thing every time a new model comes
> out.
> 
> Phooee!
> There are certain words that press the big red button in me. Nike is one
> of them.
> 
> Capitalism doesn't work - ever. It is a redundant model and only those
> who enjoy it's "rewards" strive to maintain it. It rewards greed. It
> rewards deceit. It rewards another mans loss. "Sink or swim" is not an
> acceptable business policy just as it is not an acceptable social
> policy.
> 
> "The love of money is the root of all evil."
> 
> regards
> 
> David
> 
> Apologies for the non technical nature of this post.
> 
> 
>