News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:People of Africa (1921) by astrodust on Monday April 11, 2016 @11:30PM (#11477042)
Africa has more than its fair share of important historical achievements, and given time to recover from the mess that colonial influence has caused, it may likely contribute a whole lot more.

You really need to read Guns, Germs and Steel to realize how handicapped Africa has been historically speaking. Going forward they're very well situated. The economic power of sub-saharan Africa could very well eclipse Europe if it has a chance to develop.

Re:People of Africa (1921) by cb18 on Tuesday April 12, 2016 @12:13AM (#11477207)
Going forward they're very well situated. The economic power of sub-saharan Africa could very well eclipse Europe if it has a chance to develop.

And that's why you have the vast majority of your money invested there, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0C4_88ub_M&t=72m45s

http://i.imgur.com/BO5YwQl.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuNYOwKlDIE

Re:People of Africa (1921) by cb18 on Tuesday April 12, 2016 @12:23AM (#11477249)
Africa has more than its fair share of important historical achievements

Really? More than it's fair share?

What are we basing the proportions of 'fair share' on? Land size? Population size?

Would care to name just one or two of these important achievements?

But if you can't, don't worry. We all know what you said is a ridiculous empty statement.

Another thing to consider, all peoples and species are free to exist without need of 'important historical achievements.' Nobody needs to justify their existence. But we don't need to pretend things that aren't true.

Re:People of Africa (1921) by astrodust on Tuesday April 12, 2016 @05:28AM (#11478192)
> But we don't need to pretend things that aren't true.

Apparently you do. I'm not sure why you need to celebrate Europe simply because it achieved industrialization before Africa did. Cultures rise and fall.

Sub-Saharan Africa alone has tremendous mineral and fossil fuel wealth, huge amounts of land ranging from desert to jungle, and a large population. With those ingredients it's only inevitable something comes of it. It's a messy process of industrializing, Europe should serve as an example of how painful that transition can be, but it's happening.

China is flooding money into Africa to be the first in line for these resources and as a supplier to that exploding economy. Even if not every single project of theirs is successful, which by the way just adds to the list of wildly unsuccessful colonial projects over the last two centuries, they'll eventually get what they want.

If you're going to judge Africa by the last hundred years of post-colonial rule, ignorant to its history, we might as well judge Europe by the Dark Ages when Spain and France were being colonized by Africans.