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Navajo Nation Losing Internet Access
An anonymous reader writes "Due to contracts that are allegedly FUBAR, and associated wrangling, the Navajo Nation is being cut off by its satellite ISP. This is the final stage of the process, which already deprived chapter houses of access last April. While the business mechanisms play themselves into the expected ludicrous snarl, the real question may be: Is there a place for an inexpensive ham/technogeek/FOSS solution that could bypass the antics of the for-pay providers?"
Those native bastards, charging you a tax. Its a crime, really, isn't it?
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
Way to idealize the past. By any reasonable interpretation of the evidence most Natives Americans lived short, brutish miserable lives especially compared to the lives of luxury we live.
In a harsh winter in modern day America we worry about high heating bills but we don't worry about starving to death. If your child gets pneumonia you can get medicine for them instead of just praying that they don't die like an incredibly high percentage of children did in that time period. Also, lets not pretend that before the Europeans arrived that the Americas were some peaceful paradise since in many areas tribal warfare was rampant.
Would you honestly rather live their life then rather than now?
As a comparison...
Would you rather live in: Typical modern American house or a teepee?
Its snowing outside. Whichever of the above abodes you chose would you rather:
Go chop firewood with a stone axe or turn up the dial on your thermostat?
Your child just tripped and broke their leg. Would you rather:
Bring them to a hospital or an Indian herb woman?
You're hungry. There has been a drought in your region recently. Would you rather:
Go to a grocery store where food has been imported from a region of the world that isn't experiencing drought or...starve?
Life wasn't paradise back then however much you wish it was.
And the education comment. Sure, maybe the US doesn't have the highest primary school standards in the world but most of us still learn to read and write and do some basic math which is more than most people throughout history and is certainly more than Native Americans learned as they didn't, for the most part, even possess written language.
Cheers,
Greg