Russell McOrmond wrote: > > On Wed, 29 May 2002, Manas Laha wrote: > > > > Russell McOrmond wrote: > > > > On Fri, 10 May 2002, Manas Laha wrote: > > > > A difficult question to answer! The "first" world thinks first and > > foremost about maximizing benefits for itself. In order to do that, it > > certainly exploits the "third" world's resources. But, in its own > > interests, it also tries to see to it that the "third" world does not > > sink into utter chaos because of hunger and want, by helping out with > > material assistance, .... > > Do things ballance out - does the "good" that is done (In self interest > rather than for the benefit of others) outweigh the harm (also in > self-interest).
Its difficult to put numbers to it but the "haves" help the "have-nots" when the latter are in dire straits because in the long run they hope to get more than they give. If that actually happens then the "have-nots" stand to be the ultimate losers, don't they. > > > What I am really unhappy about is that we, in India particularly and in > > the "third" world in general, are not doing much to help ourselves. > > It is interesting, but my outsider perception has been different. I get > the impression that the Indian Government, and especially state > governments like WB, are doing pretty good given the resources they have. Let's hear what the LUG has to say on this one! > > Here, computers have just begun to touch the lives of the common people: > > for example, computers have made a world of difference to long-distance > > railway travel and the telephone system. But we're not yet at the stage > > where the average Indian is very much aware about computer issues, or > > even about computers themselves. > > I believe this is an important time. If computers are to have a > positive (rather than negative) influence on India, then ensuring that the > dependencies that exist elsewhere with computing (IE: the various > monopolies) are not simply adopted by India. > > The more people who use computers, the harder it is to change things - > this is why you want to try to have the large adoption happen using > liberated/liberating information/software. > I think you are right, there. Unfortunately this is exactly what seems to be happening. There has been a hurry to embrace computers here -- the "we have to catch up with them" syndrome -- and a tendency to grab at whatever bait is on offer without first checking if there is a hook attached to it. > I am aware of this. Canada claims to feel hurt by some so-called "Brain > Drain" of the highest skilled workers to the USA. I have always found > this frustrating given where many of Canada's doctors and engineers come > from (IE: India). Canada has been the net benefactor of this "brain > drain", and yet still complains. > > It is a hard ballance for people from India to try. Some of the people > I know here may have been selfish, but the vast majority of immigrants to > Canada from India that I know are helping their families back home. They > work in Canada at the much higher Canadian labour rates, and then send a > large amount of this money back to India. I often joke that my own > mother-in-law commutes to Canada (IE: she works here, but her heart and > her home is in India). Oh! well, people will go where they can get the best value for their skills. Nothing wrong with that. And the money they send back home certainly helps. But more than their money we need their brains, we need their hands. Do you get my point? > > > I would like to hear more, and to hear any analysis on the Peru bill. > > > I am not that connected with Indian IT outside of ilug-cal at the moment. > > > Is there good news that I could be passing on to government reps here? I > > > am hearing so much more about Peru these days than I hear about India. > > > > It takes a great deal of courage and vision to be able to introduce a > > Bill like that to a nation's Congress. I have learnt a lot from the > > reply of the Pruvian Congressman to Microsoft. I wish him success in > > seeing his Bill passed into Law. Beyond that, I don't have much to say > > about the Bill now. > > > > No, there isn't much that's happening in the Indian software scene to > > write about. > > Are there forums for this type of thing? My main connection back to > India is through ilug-cal so I tend to ask questions here, but this may > not be the best place. Not to my knowledge. What do the other LUG members say? My personal feeling is that we are not yet very clear about *what* we should be advocating. - Manas Laha -- To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the body "unsubscribe ilug-cal" and an empty subject line. FAQ: http://www.ilug-cal.org/help/faq_list.html
