This is nice that some US group is giving all Libyan kids a laptop.....

[LynneSin]

But what the hell? You know how many kids in American don't have a laptop. Hell, you know how many kids in American don't even have a roof over their heads! Let's assume that the cost of the laptop + shipping + education runs about $200/laptop - that's $24million (they say 1.2mil Libyan kids) that could be used to help the children right here in the US get some food, housing and healthcare. But no, it's more important that every Libyan child has a laptop as oppose to taking care of the thousands of children still displaced by Katrina. Oddly enough it's the brother of John Negroponte working this deal and let's face it, Qaddafi is playing nice with us but he's also another powerhungry leader and quite cabable of turning his backs on us in a heartbeat.

Finally, if you really want to help Africa - they don't need laptops for each of their kids - they need food, they need medications, they need AIDs education & treatment, they need family planning and they need a host of other things out there too.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/africa/11laptop.html?ex=1318219200&en=84038e9be5403091&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rssU.S. Group Reaches Deal to Provide Laptops to All Libyan Schoolchildren

By JOHN MARKOFF
Published: October 11, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10 — The government of Libya reached an agreement on Tuesday with One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit United States group developing an inexpensive, educational laptop computer, with the goal of supplying machines to all 1.2 million Libyan schoolchildren by June 2008.
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One Laptop Per Child

Libya has ordered 1.2 million of the laptops being produced by One Laptop Per Child, wireless models that will cost about $100 each.
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William B. Plowman/Associated Press

Nicholas Negroponte wants to provide inexpensive laptops to children in developing nations.

The project, which is intended to supply computers broadly to children in developing nations, was conceived in 2005 by a computer researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nicholas Negroponte. His goal is to design a wireless-connected laptop that will cost about $100 after the machines go into mass production next year.

To date, Mr. Negroponte, the brother of the United States intelligence director, John D. Negroponte, has reached tentative purchase agreements with Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria and Thailand, and has struck a manufacturing deal with Quanta Computer Inc., a Taiwanese computer maker.

Mr. Negroponte, who was in Tripoli this week to meet with Libyan officials, said he discussed the project extensively with the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, in August.

[rpannier]

1. The idiotic thing about this is...

the diseases and most of the depravation you speak of doesn't exist in Libya.
Libya is an oil rich nation with a small population.
They have good quality health care in the larger cities.
I think there's quid pro quo happening. Negroponte meeting with the leader of an oil rich nation.

[LynneSin]

3. Why do I get visions of a variation of this picture in my head?

I'll admit that I'm more knowledgeable about other African Countries that have been prominently mentioned in the news with their problems with poverty, disease and AIDs.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

8. I don't get it.

A non-profit is selling cheap laptops to Libya. What does that have to do with the photo?

[LynneSin]

13. Qaddafi has never been a stable leader of Libya

Here's the brother to someone high up in the Bush administration working with a Leader of a country that has in the past engaged in terrorism and has shown some unstableness in his manner of rule. That picture is back when Saddam Hussein was our friend. Fast forward about 20 years and now he's our enemy, mainly cause he was sitting on a big puddle of oil that we wanted.

Just seems too, I don't know - deja vu?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

14. Oh jesus, is that it?

This isn't John Negroponte. His brother has a long and distinguised career in the technology field. Please stop with the paranoia. It's cheap laptops for kids. I, for one, am glad to see that he's not being prevented from doing this because Qadaffi is an asshole.

[pampango]

2. America first. Until all problems in the US are solved, no help for

Africans or any other foreigners. If this is my government spending my money, then I have a problem with their priorities. If it is a private group spending their own money to help Africans in a way that they see fit, then God bless 'em.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. Umm...

I would suggest that on the whole we do far more damage than good in Africa. But hey, they're furners, so fuck 'em!

[pampango]

9. Sorry I forgot the sarcasm tag. :sarcasm: on my previous post.

You're probably right about the more harm than good, but optimism dictates that I hope that changes in the future. Anyway, doing a little good, in Libya, is better than doing nothing or harming Africans further.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. Apologies.

My sarcasm meter is broken. :)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. Nothing is stopping Americans from buying these laptops.

Libya is paying for those laptops.

[notadmblnd]

5. and they'll just hook up to the internet via the WIFI down at the local

coffee house? This is rediculous. Especially since I know a local politician that knocks door to door on businesses begging them for their old computers to donate to our inner city school kids. We are fortunate that our city recieved free wireless service from some governmental pilot project, but it'll do no good if our kids don't have computers.

[LynneSin]

7. I always questioned that

Actually, I asked someone in our desktop repair what happened to our old computers and they all get donated to a non-profit organization, but for many companies, well there is alot of waste out there that could be turned around to do much good

[acmejack]

11. Wireless mesh networking

look it up, they make their own network, they are quite innovative and designed specifically for environments such as the ones to which they are being exported.Our kids don't have computers? We spend half a trillion on weapons a year and anybody can be surprised we lack for anything socially?



Liberals are you?

[KoKo]

12. Ha.....laptops to hook kids on American Propaganda. Get them into

using charge cards and being grateful to the Negroponte's for this.