Ubuntu & the underdeveloped world

[Eric Dunbar]

David, as an FYI -- you didn't post this to the list (@!#$!@#$!
reply-to-sender BS).

PS I agree with what you write -- though, it's hard to see who will
replace Tony Blair. I can't stand him given his disgraceful behaviour
on the international stage but am equally disgusted by your Tory
party... it's as if they're still trying to cling to Thatcherism and
the shame she brought upon them (what a democractic farce that was...
she _nearly_ makes America look like a democracy) and the Lib Dems
seem to be too much of an unknown for people to support. Tragically,
the twist in all of this is that both Canada and the UK are *still*
slightly more democratic and responsive to the will of the electorate,
even with their primitive electoral systems (all the Americans need to
do to see how bankrupt their electoral system is is to note that _NOT
ONE_ novel democracy has adopted the American model... it is a shame
because I love the balance that *in theory* could come from the define
separation of executive-legislative-judical powers (of course, in
pratice you see the judiciary (the most important element to protect
society from rogue gov'ts) thoroughly politicised...).

Ah well, politics. Fun and games. It'll be interesting to see where
the Canadian and UK experiments in electoral reform go. With any luck
we'll enter the 20th and perhaps even 21st centuries sometime before I
die. I'm hopeful that there will be some "democratic renewal" in the
US and of A in my lifetime but given that it's a 1.5 party system I
highly doubt anything will happen unless there's another revolution
(and, I don't think the conditions exist yet for a full blown
revolution)... of course, all the US demopublican leaders have to do
to stay in power and keep the citzens from exercising their franchise
is to look at the example set by China on its path to the religion of
freemarket capitalism...

Eric.

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 07:05:07 +0000, david wrote:
> On Tue, 2004-12-21 at 00:04, Eric wrote:
> > > > Sure, the American people are responsible for their leaders BUT close to
> > > > 50% of America didn't vote for Bush in the last election. Americans are
> > > > to blame, but not ALL Americans.
> > >
> > > I think you forget about the people that didnt voted to anyone, which is
> > > in the almost all democratic countries the biggest group of population.
> > > So i guess if you check which porcentage of all the people who has USA
> > > citizenship and voted Bush it will come down to a rather small number
> > > ... maybe 15% (i am guessing, i know that last elections in USA had the
> > > biggest number of votes ever)
> >
> > The overwhelmning number of democracies actually have > 50% voter
> > participation rates... of course, in the overwhelming number of
> > democracies your vote actually does get heard.
> >
> > > and then, when you say "americans" do you mean too people from canada,
> > > brazil, mexico, nicaragua, uruguay, haiti etc...? America is a huge
> > > continent, well you probably know that better than me i live on the
> > > other side of the atlantic sea.
> >
> > This is predominately a British thing (appropriate since there are a
> > lot of Brits on the list given that it is an UK-based distro ;-). They
> > call the US America. As a Canadian I'd never describe myself as an
> > "American", or even a "North American" for that matter. Come to think
> > of it, I highly doubt _any_ (or many) Canadians would describe
> > themselves as North American -- most likely they'd say they were
> > European, Asian, Japanese, Scottish, etc. Some might even describe
> > themselves as Canadian but not too many, not even multi-generation
> > Canuks (I trace my roots back 10 generations on this continent on one
> > side, yet I'm Scottish, Dutch & European first and Canadian second
> > (and, nothing North American)).
> >
> > Eric.
> 
> Yupp,
> We English call the US America. Which is the correct name - sort of.
> We do NOT call Canadians Americans but would probably be hard put to
> tell the accents apart unless the American accent was spoken by a New
> Yorker or a Californian or Texan (most immediately obvious accents).
> The political process in America and this country too, is hopelessly
> corrupt. To call it democracy requires a degree of mental gymnastics not
> needed since the Thatcher/Reagan years. Democracy is one man one vote -
> you count ALL the votes and the man with the most wins. The system in
> America does not work this way nor does the one in the UK. In America
> without a lot of money you can't enter the race. Well that's nice and
> fair then isn't it? In the UK if the bloody CBI and the papers aren't
> behind you, you have no chance. This also is not democracy. Voter turn
> out is the UK is terribly low, but then again it's no surprise. Nothing
> changes for the better. The country is run by liars and murderers and
> adulterers. They lie and lie and lie and the truth got executed for
> being inconvenient long long ago. The roads are breaking up, the
> hospitals are breaking down, the education system is mostly ruined and
> the top few percent of society pay themselves more and more and more
> money while they squeeze the poorer harder and harder and harder.
> Multi-nationals run the planet. Politicians are a side show to distract
> the masses and to fool them into thinking they have a voice that's
> listened too.
> OK, enough ranting already.
> 
> Anybody want a British prime minister??
> Any takers?
> Please?
> We don't want him anymore!
> 
> P.S. Do NOT give this man any soldiers to play with or they'll end up
> where they didn't ought to be.
> 
> regards
> 
> David