mnbcvx

Drop some generators then too! I live in Cambodia, and spend a lot of time out in the provinces where everyone meets up daily to charge their phones and other electronic devices around the single generator in a village.

And need I mention that massive bombing campaigns don't exactly facilitate having a reliable power grid.

Everything I'm saying would cost peanuts compared to what the US spends on weapons and war.

I do realize that drones are not the optimum delivery method for something like this. A big C-130 would probably be better for most all cases.

You already argued why handing out big sums of cash is a bad idea. As you said, shrewd people will be quick to take it. Foreign aid is already little more than a bribe, usually entirely siphoned off by the country's elite. Centralizing the goods in a warehouse or truck makes them easier for a bad actor to steal as well. And as you said, you'd have to grease some palms to get anything happening at all.

As for the rest of what you said, I don't agree at all. A water purifier (or perhaps I should have said a water filter) can be the size of a straw, with no electrical component or moving pieces, and will last for decades[1]. The medical care to accompany the medicines will come with education, and foreign doctors will no longer fear their hospital being blown to pieces. Your cobbler example makes no sense -- as far as I know Afghanistan does not have a thriving computer manufacturing economy. Obviously seeds will be chosen appropriately for the climate of the region they are delivered to.

[1] https://trendguardian.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/lifestraw_...

So, I didn't necessarily mean my initial comment literally. The core of the idea is that direct aid is a much better solution than bombs and military occupation.

If we provided these areas with internet access too via satellite or balloon, you would likely have a whole legion of educated young people fixing problems from within their own society, rather than an outside force mostly wreaking havoc despite its intentions. I don't know if the average American would scoff at the idea, but I am dead sure that it would turn out better for everyone than the path we took.

Does it clearly imply religious affiliation, or cultural affiliation? Either way, it's such a petty and arbitrary distinction and I'd guess that a Muslim girl in a French school wearing a regular head scarf would still get hassled and forced to remove it.

I'm actually having trouble finding any exact law, so in the interest of accuracy, I'll admit I could be wrong about French law here. This Wikipedia article says

"Chest and private parts must be covered except near bathing zones. Burqa banned."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country

Another article I read mentioned that a particular city recently explicitly banned male toplessness, which seems to imply that the above statement about covering the chest only applies to women.

Another Wikipedia article here states that the activist group Topfreedom has protested in France, also implying that the covering the chest only applies to women.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topfreedom#France

Can anyone point to the specific law? The Wikipedia article on clothing laws doesn't have a source. I was going off what I've been told by French friends, but I'd like to know conclusively.

Wrong, the head dress is banned in schools.

"The wearing of all conspicuous religious symbols in public schools was previously banned in 2004 by a different law"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ban_on_face_covering

For most Muslim immigrants, their facial features and skin color are probably as much an indicator of their background as a head dress, not to mention things like accent that will ultimately give someone away. I really don't buy any argument for these policies. Being realistic, it was definitely a move to antagonize the Muslim population in France.

Absolutely, I was talking about this with my wife yesterday.

It's illegal for a women to go topless in France (but not a man), so how is a women covering her breasts any different than a woman covering her head? I can't imagine anything less welcoming than being a recent refugee or immgrant, and then in order to receive an education you are forced to break with a core tenet of your religious and cultural beliefs, and as a poster below pointed out, feel naked in your new school.

The idea of using drones to drop something helpful...

What would the world look like now if for the past 15 years drones had been dropping computers, medicine, water purifiers, seeds, etc.? How many millions of parachute-fitted, protective boxes worth of these things could we have dropped for the same amount spent on war?

Seriously, HN has a huge problem in this regard. Stuff that is most controversial should be pushed to the top, especially if the discussion remains civil.

What? So let's kill drug addicts everywhere?

Here's an idea... those Filipinos over there have such a violent country! They just can't get there act together! I guess Filipinos are prone to violence, and they DO pose a direct, physical threat to everyone in the world! So, go ahead and kill a Filipino if you see one -- you'll just be putting them out of their misery -- and of course we're so benevolent, we offer free rehabilitation (AKA prison) for any Filipino that turns themselves in.

This whole thread is ludicrous. Two right-wing foreigners make hateful top level comments tacitly endorsing the execution and forced rehabilitation of drug users, and HN upvotes it why?

Phnom Penh. It's a really nice city if you stay away from places where expats congregate. Lack of open spaces and fields though are something that I miss. It's dirty too, but its other charms make up for it. Every day I buy the best fruits and vegetables I've ever tasted at the market near my apartment.

Yep. That's the kind of thing you look up at a young age when you discover you're the recent product of second cousins. Some interesting quotes from the "Cousin Marriage" Wikipedia article:

"According to Professor Robin Fox of Rutgers University, it is likely that 80% of all marriages in history may have been between second cousins or closer."

"Worldwide, more than 10% of marriages is between first and second cousins."

"In some countries it is seen as incestuous and is legally prohibited: it is banned in China and Taiwan, the majority of U.S. states, North Korea and South Korea."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage

> second cousins

Didn't stop my great grandparents :) My mom's side is Mennonite, which is also a very tight knit community. When my grandma sends random pictures from in and around Goshen, Indiana, my wife has commented multiple times "whoa that guy in the background really looks like you!"

Somehow I doubt that any of that has too much effect on quality of life. I live on less than 400 USD per month and I bet I'm happier than the average Bay Area resident. I also know that I eat far better. Via the internet I have access to all the arts I could ever want. My transit is a bicycle, which is ideal for me. My city is FAR more diverse than anywhere in the US and I'm a few hours from the sea. Weather is a bit hot but I like that. But like I said, pretty sure whether I'm happy vs. sad derives from something else entirely.

But keep in mind that the black market around drugs, and the difficulty and expense of obtaining illegal drugs, creates violence.