I feel I must respond to Perry Morrison's Comments. > It may be naive to think that ICTs in developing countries will suddenly > make it matter when the West has a much greater ability to tune the > message out, to corrupt it or just turn up the volume on its own orgy of > self interest.
Whilst it is clear that Information Handling Technologies can be used by powerful parties to mis- or dis-inform, I think it is important not to view the "west" as a homogenous lump. Whilst it is true that the emerging picture of the global power structure is being effectively blocked out in the majority of mainstream media outlets, it has to be remembered that awareness of these issues is greater than it ever was. Whilst this does not neccessarily shift the decision makers of today, it may affect the decision makers of the future. Some have said that old ideas tend to die with those that hold them, and certainly change may require a long view. This is especially true when it comes to the material division of the spoils on a global scale. But to forget the impact that information has, is to forget what governments, and for that matter all buerocracies are made up of and how they operate. They are staffed with real human beings and they will have to recruit from an increasingly aware pool of educated young people. The more accurate and relevant information that value driven groups have at their disposal, the more that they will be able to influence important decisions. And for that information to be accurate, and relevant and to carry a certain legitimacy, it needs to be seeded from input "at the grass roots." Certainly it is important to focus on practicalities, but it is also important to have the endurance to commit to longer term objectives. And information handling capacity at, or at least nearer to, the grass roots seems integral to this. Daniel Taghioff ------------ ***GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org>
