Colored Backgrounds

[John Thompson]

On Mon, 13 Dec 1999 22:42:56, David Gaskill wrote:

>Thanks for the explanation but I'm still not convinced that there are any physical 
>limits  to capacity which cannot be overcome with appropriate funding. 

Leaving aside for the moment the naivity that allows you to think
abstractions such as "money" can remove inherent physical limitations,
don't you think that throwing money at the problem is rather an elitist
approach?  What about the countries that barely have enough money to
provide appropriate physical infrastructure to meet only the most basic
food and shelter needs of their populations?  Is it just "too bad, so sad"
for people in those countries that may feel a need to communicate with
those of us in the richer countries, but can't afford the communications
infrastructure needed to carry our gussied-up emails and such? Or are
"we" going to buy it for them?  Yeah, right, and with what strings
attached?  And remember, the biggest energy shortage facing the world
today isn't a shortage of petroleum or electricity; it's a lack of
*FIREWOOD* for cooking and heating.  That's right, even now at the end of
the 20th century the vast majority of the earth's human population still
relies on wood fires for their heating and cooking needs!

Something to keep in mind, anyway, as you consider how and if problems can
be solved by throwing money at them...

I'll get down off my high-horse now.

John (john.thompson@attglobal.net)