Hot Air For Africa - Page 2

andyfox · #11 12-06-2005, 12:49 PM

I know someone who knows Gates a bit, and he tells me it was Gates's wife and mother-in-law that changed Gates's attitude about doing something with his money for other people. And that, contrary to his nerdish image, Gates is quite charming and articulate in conversation, knowledgable about politics and history, and not at all boorish or show-offy. FWIW . . .

MMMMMM · #12 12-06-2005, 03:00 PM

Good to hear, Andy.

By the way, I don't think Taki was necessarily panning everyone at the meeting in Davos.

Cyrus · #13 12-06-2005, 03:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
From the website: "Taki was educated in New Jersey, at the Lawrenceville School;..."

[/ QUOTE ]Lawrencevill is college. Taki's formative years were spent in his native country. He finished high school in Greece and then his father sent him to "Amer'ka" for some "college education" -- which did him NOT do him a whole lot of good!

[ QUOTE ]
The cocaine incident, leading to three months in Pentonville, took place in 1984.

[/ QUOTE ] I was relating from memory but memory did not serve me well this time: Yes, Theodoracopoulos spent (only) three months in jail in 1984 for cocaine possession and not "some two years, a few years ago" as I wrote.

Incidentally, he was a black belt at the time, which presumably helps when in prison.

vulturesrow · #14 12-06-2005, 04:53 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Lawrencevill is college.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Cyrus · #15 12-06-2005, 06:01 PM

I may be missing something here. I know for a fact that Takis finished school in Greece.

And he is not the type to pretend otherwise.

MMMMMM · #16 12-06-2005, 06:41 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I may be missing something here. I know for a fact that Takis finished school in Greece.

And he is not the type to pretend otherwise.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe, good Cyrus, he finished grammar school in Greece?

vulturesrow · #17 12-06-2005, 07:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I may be missing something here. I know for a fact that Takis finished school in Greece.

And he is not the type to pretend otherwise.

[/ QUOTE ]

Im not sure either. I went to the Lawrenceville School website that was linked from his bio and it is a private high school. However I did see something about post-grad on there, so perhaps they have a prep school as well. That would probably explain the disconnect.

andyfox · #18 12-07-2005, 01:14 AM

"By the way, I don't think Taki was necessarily panning everyone at the meeting in Davos."

Well you wouldn't know it from the article. But part of that, I'm sure, is his writing style. He did mention Gates by name.

Cyrus · #19 12-07-2005, 03:06 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe, good Cyrus, he finished grammar school in Greece?

[/ QUOTE ]

What's with the "good Cyrus"?

FYI I'm past the age where a paedophile would take a fancy at me.

MMMMMM · #20 12-07-2005, 03:11 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"By the way, I don't think Taki was necessarily panning everyone at the meeting in Davos."

[/ QUOTE ]

Well you wouldn't know it from the article. But part of that, I'm sure, is his writing style. He did mention Gates by name.

[/ QUOTE ]

Generally speaking first, he panned the idea that Africa would be transformed without first: a) getting rid of the criminal/incompetent African leaders, and b) having better government. He also panned the overblown rhetoric at Dacos (if indeed it was overblown--I wasn't there nor did I read transcripts).

As for individuals, he strongly panned the African potentates, King Fahd, and Jacques Chirac. He had lesser criticism for the purportedly airheaded celebrities, and for those who think that castigating the U.S., U.K., and Japan for not giving more aid is appropriate, despite the far more significant and insurmountable effects of horrid government and rulers in Africa.

Taki is strongly suggesting that not much good will be achieved despite efforts (and rhetoric), because the African problems run so very much deeper. And he's lambasting the deeply ironic demands for aid made by some of the very villains (potentates) who have caused the problems in the first place.

I don't view all that as being really an attack on Gates.

Taki probably does think Gates' efforts will be largely wasted, and views the public trumpeting and backslapping surrounding such quixotic causes as hot air. I hope he's wrong, but I wouldn't be too much surprised if he's right.

What are the chances that the African despots find a new way to steal most of the aid somehow?--or turn it to their personal advantage (such as the story of the aid that went to North Korea, which ending up bolstering Kim's army, and being sold for profit by his soldiers, while peasants starved).

Hopefully, Gates et al will find a way to prevent such shenanigans, but despots usually have a cunning beyond the ken of other mortals. Look at the oil-for-food scandal with the U.N.--a scandal bigger in dollar terms than Enron and Worldcom combined. Gates is well-meaning and good-hearted to do this, and a brilliant man indeed, but the despots make stealing and manipulating such things their life's very work. Well, we'll see.