Slashdot Mirror
MIT Helps Third World With Hands-On Approach
Hugh Pickens writes "About 60 people from 20 nations will descend on the MIT campus July 14th for the second annual International Development Design Summit to begin an intensive month-long process of creating technological solutions for the needs of people in the world's developing nations. The goal of the program is to develop simple, inexpensive devices that in some cases can be produced locally and make a real difference for people and communities. The event is the brainchild of MIT Senior Lecturer Amy Smith, a returned Peace Corps volunteer and a past winner of the MacArthur 'genius' grant. Previous products of Smith's design class include a bike-powered corn sheller, a metal press that can make clean-burning fuel out of agricultural waste, and an electricity-free incubator. The workshop promotes a shift in focus among companies, universities, investors and scientists toward attacking problems that hamper development in the world's poorest places. 'Nearly 90 percent of research and development dollars are spent on creating technologies that serve the wealthiest 10 percent of the world's population,' Ms. Smith said. 'The point of the design revolution is to switch that.'"
What if the USA stops helping to create wars and manipulating the markets around the world, and helping to create unstable and volatile political situations, that are the conditions that eventually lead all this so called 'third world countries' to be in the terrible situation they are now ... ?
I mean, the USA became RICH thanks to this countries!!. Kill democracy, create wars, sell weapons to both sides, then use it's puppets in the World Bank to get this countries in debt with everyone, Help to create dictatorships, and then go and buy oil and other natural resources really cheap. Corrupt the local cultures and then sell Mc Donalds and stupid movies around the world ...
You know, all the Shit the USA has been doing for the last century to get rich a the expense of the rest of the world.
No, we don't need your stupid help MIT. We need you to stay home, and stop playing to be the world police.
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
The solution is to eliminate those who produce the technology used to effectively plunder third world nations and keep the first world in comfort. The knowledge and the old boy network is produced by the Oxfords, the Harvards, the MITs, and unlike the figureheads, these people all claim to be "only following orders".
Disclaimer: I recently turned down places at Oxford and Imperial. I refuse to be part of the problem.