Niger - Drama

[MetroPornTour]

Niger is officially the poorest country on the planet and due to a UN screw up. These people are dying from starvation. Again what is suffering the most is children and most are less than 5 years of age.

I'm making plans to visit there and lend my hands to help. Please read the attached link and make a donation.

Save the Children

I suppose it goes without saying that a ton of supremacists, who are part of the Aryan race, and do NOT want to admit they share a similiar ideology to the Klu Klux Klan. Will now make an attack on this thread with stupid comments.

But if you're not one of those idiots. Please consider making a donation.
There are some people in this industry with deep pockets and what you consider change would go along way and may save the life of another humanbeing.

[Rob]

Donation made.

I'm such a sucker for charities. I just hope it goes to a good cause and not cause some jagoff wanted to upgrade his Benz.

[bliket]

Originally Posted by MetroPornTour

Niger is officially the poorest country on the planet and due to a UN screw up.

Actually Tokelau is officially the poorest country with a whopping 1.5million GDP

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/.../2001rank.html

Compare that to 9.7billion GDP niger has.

[Major (Tom)]

duke

[Spunky]

Please help the starving Nigerian peoples

[Mike Okitch]

Originally Posted by Spunky

Please help the starving Nigerian peoples

So Niger and Nigeria are the same to you?

I know someone who should buy an atlas.

[galleryseek]

aren't there areas in the US where people starve regularly?

[bhutocracy]

Originally Posted by bliket

Actually Tokelau is officially the poorest country with a whopping 1.5million GDP

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/.../2001rank.html

Compare that to 9.7billion GDP niger has.

So basically what you're saying is you're not the best mathematician. ;)

[xlogger]

done.

[CheeseFrog]

Originally Posted by DukeSkywalker

duke

ROFL

[bliket]

Originally Posted by bhutocracy

So basically what you're saying is you're not the best mathematician. ;)

?

137 Niger $ 9,716,000,000 2004 est.
232 Tokelau $ 1,500,000 1993 est.

No math here...

[bliket]

Originally Posted by bhutocracy

So basically what you're saying is you're not the best mathematician. ;)

Maybe you just made a fool of yourself, because I was right?

[bhutocracy]

Originally Posted by bliket

Maybe you just made a fool of yourself, because I was right?

Maybe you're digging an even deeper grave because you can't divide? It's the "/" button on your numpad fyi.

[Gunni]

I read this interesting book written by an ex top ranking charity guy, he claimed that Africas worst problem was charity. Not just the charity where the dirty politicians pocket all the money, or the "charity" where western countries "give" countires stuff like bridges or other large constructions, but only on the condition that they use a contractor from the donating country, but also the charity of giving food.
He says that until the people are educated, they will simply not work for their food because they get it given to them, there are hundreds of villages in Africa where the people do absolutely nothing, just sit and wait for their free food.

This guy was in Zimbabwe recently and said that it was the best place to be in Africa, and the reason was that there were hardly any charities, the people were hard working and everyone at least had something to eat. The infrastructure look great, and crime was almost non existing. It was the only country in Africa that he felt safe walking down the streets at night, and noone ever botherd him to beg for something (because they're not used to getting things for free he though)

Many Africans that I have met in Europe (my gf included) share this view.
The only way to help Africa is to allow free trade and remove tolls on African products, the western countries could also say spend 1% less on weapons every year and set up some proper schools in Africa, educate the people.

[bhutocracy]

ok i'll spell it out before things get too stupid.. are you really saying by your reckoning a country with a million people making a dollar a day each is richer than a country with 1000 people making $200k a year each because it has a bigger GDP lol? which country can afford to feed and clothe itself and buy access to medical technology?
You crazy kids.

[theking]

Originally Posted by galleryseek

aren't there areas in the US where people starve regularly?

No......

[MetroPornTour]

Originally Posted by galleryseek

aren't there areas in the US where people starve regularly?

The United States is the richest country in the free world. It has the wealth and power to solve it's own problems.

These poor nations have the deck stacked against them.
Sometimes it is:

1) Too much charity.
2) Corrupt politicians
3) War
4) Lack of education

And the list goes on and on.

But when you see a child of 3 years old coughing up a lung and starving to death. Rest assured that the explanations for why this is happening to them doesn't mean a hell of a lot.


If you are in a position to do something and don't to help that baby. Than you're a pretty shitty humanbeing.

No one is saying you have to fly to Niger to do hands on work or start an organization to help feed those people. Even if $0.95 of each dollar goes to some corrupt politician the little bit that gets there still helps.

Think about it...
For the price of going to a car wash you can put put a meal in the stomache of a starving child.

Even if that meal turns out to be the last meal they have on this earth. His/Her life was short and miserable, at least let them die with a full stomache.

[bliket]

Originally Posted by bhutocracy

ok i'll spell it out before things get too stupid.. are you really saying by your reckoning a country with a million people making a dollar a day each is richer than a country with 1000 people making $200k a year each because it has a bigger GDP lol? which country can afford to feed and clothe itself and buy access to medical technology?
You crazy kids.

We are arguing different arguments! I was just thinking of it as a whole! In that case I change my argument let's look at GDP-Per Capita (which is your argument):

Niger comes in a $900 GDP-Per Capita
and East Timor at $400 GDP-Per Capita

I still win, Niger is NOT officially the poorest country.

[MetroPornTour]

Originally Posted by bliket

We are arguing different arguments! I was just thinking of it as a whole! In that case I change my argument let's look at GDP-Per Capita (which is your argument):

Niger comes in a $900 GDP-Per Capita
and East Timor at $400 GDP-Per Capita

I still win, Niger is NOT officially the poorest country.

GDP, etc has no effect on standard of living or how many people die of starvation.

With that said,
The which country is "more broke" contest is kind of silly. The end result is these people need some help.

[who]

Ship them some contraceptives... that will stop them making unfeedable babies..

[sexyclicks]

we are sponsoring a kid from Africa with my gf

[pussyserver - BANNED FOR LIFE]

very very impressive thread metro

I will definitely donate this weekend

its threads like this and people like metro who make me feel good to be human again. Just when I just about give up hope on my fellow Americans a man or woman like metro steps up to the plate and makes me proud to be an American again and show the world what our country is really all about

Metro I salute you and pledge my 1000% support and respect to your company

[PlugRush Sascha]

Of course this thread had to turn into complete retardation and silly little arguments. Good job. Hopefully some donations were made!

[MetroPornTour]

Originally Posted by pussyserver

very very impressive thread metro

I will definitely donate this weekend

its threads like this and people like metro who make me feel good to be human again. Just when I just about give up hope on my fellow Americans a man or woman like metro steps up to the plate and makes me proud to be an American again and show the world what our country is really all about

Metro I salute you and pledge my 1000% support and respect to your company

I'm not that great of a person. I tend to be very opinionated, militant and a condenscending bitch. However, I do like to help people.

But thank you sincerly for the compliment.

[chodadog]

Niger what?

[Libertine]

Originally Posted by MetroPornTour

GDP, etc has no effect on standard of living or how many people die of starvation.

First of all, the type of GDP he was referring to (probably without knowing it, but that doesn't matter) was PPP, or Purchasing Power Parity, rather than nominal. PPP is a term which has explicitly been conceived to compare standard of living rather than pure financial wealth. PPP takes into account both differences in wages as well as differences in costs of living.

So, yes, GDP per capita in terms of PPP actually does have an effect on standard of living. In fact, it's exactly what it describes.

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by Gunni

I read this interesting book written by an ex top ranking charity guy, he claimed that Africas worst problem was charity. Not just the charity where the dirty politicians pocket all the money, or the "charity" where western countries "give" countires stuff like bridges or other large constructions, but only on the condition that they use a contractor from the donating country, but also the charity of giving food.
He says that until the people are educated, they will simply not work for their food because they get it given to them, there are hundreds of villages in Africa where the people do absolutely nothing, just sit and wait for their free food.

This guy was in Zimbabwe recently and said that it was the best place to be in Africa, and the reason was that there were hardly any charities, the people were hard working and everyone at least had something to eat. The infrastructure look great, and crime was almost non existing. It was the only country in Africa that he felt safe walking down the streets at night, and noone ever botherd him to beg for something (because they're not used to getting things for free he though)

Many Africans that I have met in Europe (my gf included) share this view.
The only way to help Africa is to allow free trade and remove tolls on African products, the western countries could also say spend 1% less on weapons every year and set up some proper schools in Africa, educate the people.

Very interesting.

[Libertine]

Originally Posted by Gunni

I read this interesting book written by an ex top ranking charity guy, he claimed that Africas worst problem was charity. Not just the charity where the dirty politicians pocket all the money, or the "charity" where western countries "give" countires stuff like bridges or other large constructions, but only on the condition that they use a contractor from the donating country, but also the charity of giving food.
He says that until the people are educated, they will simply not work for their food because they get it given to them, there are hundreds of villages in Africa where the people do absolutely nothing, just sit and wait for their free food.

This guy was in Zimbabwe recently and said that it was the best place to be in Africa, and the reason was that there were hardly any charities, the people were hard working and everyone at least had something to eat. The infrastructure look great, and crime was almost non existing. It was the only country in Africa that he felt safe walking down the streets at night, and noone ever botherd him to beg for something (because they're not used to getting things for free he though)

Many Africans that I have met in Europe (my gf included) share this view.
The only way to help Africa is to allow free trade and remove tolls on African products, the western countries could also say spend 1% less on weapons every year and set up some proper schools in Africa, educate the people.

The real problem with charity is not that it makes people lazy, but that it actually kills local business by creating unfair competition. No business can compete with free stuff, after all. By killing off local businesses, charity thus forces reliance on charity.

Another big problem with charity is that it is often very untargeted. Rather than being focused on productive projects, it often throws around money indiscriminately. That creates a culture of waste, and once again often creates unfair competition for businesses that do actually work, forcing those businesses that could otherwise be self-reliant out of business.

Meanwhile, non-selective aid also encourages corruption by rewarding it. It helps corrupt regimes stay in power, and shows officials that corruption pays.

The wrong kind of aid is, bluntly put, completely destructive. The only good types of aid are emergency aid, strongly targetted structural aid, and - very important - aid that isn't aid: performance-based microcredits that help serious, viable businesses emerge and grow.

The main thing the west has to do at the moment, though, is to destroy all the current trade barriers. There is no point whatsoever in giving aid while at the same time destroying any possibility of long-term solutions.

[OG LennyT]

Sudan is in worse shape, by far. The Christian blacks are in concentration camps.

Africa is one fucked continent.