im reluctant to post in no win situations
lest we forget..the somalie fishermen..were outfished by big multinational stealing their fish...then they turned to piracy
[bying arms to survive..but arms has the karmic payback]

next we have things like well building
allowing people to be shunted to the never never
then the well dries up...instead of digging a deeper well
the equipment needed to dig it has moved on

we hear of why dont religeon help
well then we hear why are they bible bashing
next we get to the stage where we need to appoint some 'authority'
to democritize..

then come in miners digging for resources..poluting waterways..and corrupting poluting their way to corrupting officials...and moving on the locals

so whats the solution
give us money..[knowing that only cents in the dollar get to where its intended to go]..and so we get filled with guilt blame and shame]

so why dont we give them birth control
why dont we go in with innoculations
why dont we do this..or talk about doing that

in the end we talked plenty..but did little..
and this changed not much

do we feel helpless

yes
we are meant to
cause it gets our minds off the current news cycle

once it gets out of the news and we move on to the next item..to give us continual collective hopelessness..[cch]..while the rich get ritcher..and the poor get taxed back into our propper place

how do we fix it
appoint omnipotant dictraiters
tell them to fix it..if they dont fix it..they loose everything

start with the richest of the rich..right at the top of the list
tell them fix this...'or else'..loose your wealthy privledges
and your wealth

next problem..get the next ritchest person
tell them fix this..or loose your wealth

wealth must be seen
as having burdens as well as obligations
fix it or go to the bottom of the barrel

radical...yes i agree
but the cure apparently is cash money
so make the moneyed elites fix it now

or else..!

individual,

You are comparing two radically different situations.

Are you comparing infrastructure, agricultural and educational aid in a third world African country to the plight of indigenous people in an advanced industrial nation like Australia?

In any case, I wasn't downplaying the significance of overpopulation, corruption and events such as famine. These countries have huge problems with overpopulation...but what is the answer? You decry aid and generalise (where is your integrity?) I was pointing out that your sweeping assumption that no technical aid was implemented was wrong.

I get a bit weary of the Princes peering out of the palace windows pontificating on the parlous state of humanity while simultaneously gobbling up all the goodies of the world...shaking their heads and fingers while indulging in gluttony. It's the West's standard hypocrisy.

we all hold a self image of ourselves
but we must be noting things like this topic

..re corperate social responsability..

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12398&page=0

from this article
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12398

that suggests we read this
http://web-docs.stern.nyu.edu/old_web/economics/docs/workingpapers/2011/Altman%206-13-11.pdf

[ok i admit i havnt read it]
but see the parrable of the good steward
where those who succeded were given more...to fix[by service]

if we have a muslim billionare
then send him[or her]..into the land
telling him his honour and wealth depends on fixing this

we hear that some corperations have bigger gdp than many countries
well we need to fix a problem..why not let the biggest fix it

and the succes of it..will be in the health wellbeing freedom and sustainability of their charged trust...the lands resources and its flora/fauna..

soon the current system will fail
and a new way will be sought

if jesus came here today
he would group together..those who done the succes thing
and they would be given more to be done...clearly its needs doing

so lets say the prophets are waiting
for us to fix it

if we dont
we insult our own heavenly messengers
cursing our own acestors..and our own yet unborn

[CHOOSE to..cast ourselves out of the heavenly rewards
of a life lived..for others..and the eventual words..'well done']

welcome home

UOG,
One of the questions we need to ask & answer ourselves re aid is that how much more suffering has aid brought about ? More babies staying alive for longer, desperation merely being prolonged instead of being prevented, depressive regimes are given more time to inflict more suffering & so the list goes on. If the rest of the world really wants to help then in my view there is no other alternative than birth control. Ask yourself, what's better, two fed babies or six starving ones ?
then consider the result. Fewer people more food. Less misery more content. End result a better world.
I don't know about others but to me it's a no brainer.

individual,

Your 100% correct and this is the reason i do not contribute to most of these types of threads. I asked on another thread but nobody answered me- what was the name of the Australian PM yonks ago that spoke out about giving aid.

He was at the time a very popular PM who landed in a bit of hot water by some of his faithfuls when saying Australia should not give aid to Indonesia.

It sparked a huge debate way back then. My Mother used to speak about his wisdom and tell me a great deal about what he predicted long term.

He said we shouldnt interfere with nature and Australia would be very sorry one day if they didnt see the long term results of giving aid.

Nobody likes to see people starve but this feel good lobbying for more aid only brings more and more suffering.

Give them birth control and if they dont want it walk away because we can not help those who refuse to help themselves.

Kerryanne,

You're idea of "not interfering with nature" is remarkable in its denial of the West's colonial and now globalised interference in the third world. Many of the countries now treading water were relieved of their self-determination and self-sufficiency at the hands of the "benevolent" West - benevolent to itself, that is.

It continues today under the auspices of the IMF and the World Bank in cahoots with whichever corrupt regime is in power - it's a "partnership".

I'd like to think that international aid wasn't required - and I have my own misgivings at the level of interference in indigenous culture throughout the world. But let's not deny the West's responsibility in helping itself to these countries and the disruption that has, and continues to ensue.

One thing about the West is it's very adept at "helping itself" to whatever it thinks it can get.

http://globalenvision.org/library/23/1524