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i think this falls into the category of ‘so?’… must be a slow news day…
I knew Africa was “big” but had forgotten “how big.” A picture really is worth a thousand hectares?
Like South America is huge also. Imagine if those contiguous nations could “federalize?” Get around to about 12 Nations/Countries in the world competing with each other or would internal markets be sufficient for all?
Anybody for a game of Risk?
Given that Africa is so much bigger than the industrial nations combined, and
that people have been in Africa much longer than anywhere else, then
why is Africa so messed up?
Uhhhh… That’s why Africa isn’t a country, it’s a continent.
#5, so what?
Western Europe isn’t a country either.
Why is Africa so screwed up? Why Indeed?
Why is South America so screwed up?
Why is Asia so screwed up?
Is Europe screwed up?–in the same way we think of Africa being screwed up?==No.
So, its not the poverty, or lack of technologically advanced culture. Hmmm. Genocide? I think that is the capstone: tyrannical leaders/failed governments that opporess their own people and then often go across nation borders to do the same to their neighbors. Kinda whats happening right now to the USA as Mexico collapsed from its Narco Terrorists.
Yes, what makes one area different from another. Mostly, its what “the people” make of it–heavily influenced by religion, history, politics, tribalism etc, but still the people.
It might even be as simple as whether or not they have postal services/internet to each citizen as a matter of right? Hah, hah. Pro’s and con’s to all we do.
Silly Hoomans.
#3, it all comes down to oppressive or volatile governments. People cannot make something of themselves when they live in fear or know that tomorrow everything my be seized or destroyed. Any one person from Africa living in a hut can make something of themselves when they arrive in a country with fair and predictable laws that allow them to profit from their own work without fear of retaliation or government seizure.
#9–Ready==cities are the way to go. Why not spread the cpu out all over the motherboard? Quicker, faster, cheaper to get things closer together.
Plus–we really do need “empty land” for bio diversity, water management, food, recreation, etc.
Cities need to be planned for mixed use of living/working rather than slanted more for one or the other. Business on the bottom, homes on the top. “Cities” within one building.
Its the future. When we recognize it, as in all things, the future will be brighter with minimum planning.
#4 Animby.. RE: India
What is even more mind boggling about India is when you look at a population map, most of those people live in the Ganges River valley. The density of people along band in the NE of the country is amazing. I think it is greater than 1000 people per square mile.
Most of the most dense cities on earth are in India. Mumbia has over 30,000 people per square kilometer. You can’t help but imagine these people sitting on top of each other.
Once has to wonder how India does it. How many square feet of earth does it take to feed a human over 80 years?
#7 because man kind hasnt made a great government system yet
That’s a lot of cannibals.
#3
Northern Africa and South Africa are not that screwed up when it comes to living a life similar to either Europe or the Middle East. Most of that is due to industries built around their riches.
The other parts are the way the are for the same reasons Central and South America and Southeast Asia are.
Long years of having been colonies or nations under the thumb of Europe or the US made them dependent of others and not self-sufficient. Couple that with the developed world’s assistance to despotic leaders in the region and you will get this kind of problem.
Now add to it cultural clashes and you get why it is so bad in many of these areas. It all adds up.
Africa was the cradle of life and had great cities while Europe was still in mud and straw huts. But society will go down the toilet when another comes in and enslaves it. Look how long it has taken India to get anywhere and it STILL has too many issues.
Cambodia, Peru, Mexico, Ethiopia. All once great civilisations, now shadows of their former selves, struggling due to conquest, imperialism and bad rulers.
Cursor_
The population of Africa has gone from 550 million in 1985 to just over 1 billion today. This is also the time period during which HIV was becoming “epidemic” in Africa. What do you suppose the population of Africa would be today if HIV had never appeared?
>I think it is greater than 1000 people per square mile.
That’s 27000 square feet per person.
>What do you suppose the population of Africa would be today if HIV had never appeared?
About the same.
Africa’s geography also is a contributing factor. Despite its size, it has a shorter coastline than Europe, with few natural harbors. So big ships anchor offshore and come in with small boats. The internal rivers are not good for navigation either.
By contrast, Britain had her coal and iron deposits nearby, and plenty of water for cheap transport.
Well that just blows my mind.
Two answers to my question, one Barely ok, and the other Excellent.
Bobbo’s answer, Barely ok. Lot’s of blather barely touching on even a glimpse of an answer. The bare glimpse? “its what “the people” make of it” with no further meaningful elaboration. My 14 year old could have given a better answer. So what did “the people” make of it and why? Faux intellectualism. Fill the room with empty words answering nothing.
Cursor’s answer, Excellent. Well thought out and clearly presented.
He actually provides an answer to “the people” with meaning and insight. Good job.
And MikeN’s answer is also pretty good. I had not considered this viewpoint but it’s obviously valid.
Ha, Ha. Ah Yea wants ANSWERS!!!
Why all the hatin’?
I agree Cursor’s answer is excellent and Mike throws in another significant element.
But I’ll bite: so what does your 14 yo kiddie think?
We’ll all wait to see how that home schooling is working out.
While we wait for Ah Yea to manufacture some response from his kiddie:
#18–craig==excellent link to the distortion of the Mercadian Projection Maps we all learned from.
Good stuff.
Perhaps intellectual inferiority has played a role.
#23
Hard to have well educated people when you have outside nations maintaining poor uneducated cheap labour and despots that control you with the same method.
That’s why inner cities in developed nations have the same issues and why rural areas in other nations do as well.
Perhaps if the upper end of the haves would stop supporting despots that make deals for mineral wealth and instead support free republics where they can also add to mineral wealth a hungry consumer base to profit from, we could get education going there and have them come up to more modern standards.
But you see that means a commitment to long-term financial growth and not the make a fast buck form of capitalism.
These asses did the same in the dot com boom and then the housing boom. Make it fast and then watch it burn.
Cursor_
This is why everybody should have a globe. Anybody who has a globe would already be aware of how large the continent of Africa was.
Cities are good for commerce but unsuitable for living. Homes need to be spread as far apart as possible. Driving a SUV on a freeway is one of the highest activities of Man. Just think of the driving vacations you could take in Africa if they could build some enormous freeways and issue SUVs to everyone.
Free Men do not live in cities (unless they own them).
If we spray the whole continent with Roundup all those new and exotic diseases that are popping up would be erradicated in one day.
#27,
aNGEL..
I DONT THINK SO..
More Colds/diseases are a combination of 2 things.
1. CRAMPED, human activity, and animal interaction(farming/Animal raising SMALL areas)
2. TRANSPORTATION.
You will find more of BOTH, in Asia, then any other nation.
You really dont get it, do you.
what WILL/IS happening in Africa, is that Small towns failing/wars/farms failing/crops dying and NO STATE support to get MORE crops. MONSANTO(if you dont know this, LOOK IT UP)..
The people are rushing to the larger Cities for WORK/FOOD/HELP..
Where a SMALL contagion would of been ISOLATED in a small town/area..They are all rushing to the city. HAVe you seen the SLUMS??
Hate cities. I am a firm believer in population density and its detrimental effects on behavior.
All that land and they’re still stuck in the stone age…
#3. Ah-Yea. Yes, Africa isn’t Switzerland, and this is mostly because of colonialism, disease, war, institutionalised mineral exploitation and wholesale resource theft. I recommend that you read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel
#30
“If you’re talking latin america there, might I remind you that a lot of countries there are celebrating 200 years of independence? So that colonialism and foreign exploitation excuse got old a long time ago for latin america.”
Really?
So Panama breaking away from Columbia so the US can make the canal was more than 200 years?
Baby Doc in Haiti was more than 200 years?
Castro in Cuba?
Pinochet in Chile?
Noreiga in Panama (another US puppet)
Somoza in Nicaragua and his ties to US gold and rubber
Salvadoran Civil War more than 200 years ago?
Batista
Need I go on and on about the region that the US and European interests from Germany to the USSR?
All within the past 200 years?
And NONE of that had any impact?
Cursor_