Discussing Abiy's "Big Vision" ~ by TPO

 

Discussing Abiy's "Big Vision" 

~ by TPO ~

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G A ===> Selam Hénock!  I, like you, was always proud of growing up in ስድስት  ኪሎ area;  there has been no place in Addis with greater prominence for the past century.  Going down from ሽሮ ሜዳ to መስቀል  አደባባይ  makes my point. The Abiy video you posted will reinforce our neighborhood's first class status.  Cheers.

Hénock ===> Wonderful !!!  ...
Big and ambitious.  However I don't care for some of the "westernization" ideas like golf courses, etc.  When you still have homeless and others wasting away elsewhere, Abiy seems to be catering to the affluent and to foreign tourists.  
- Abiy does not talk in depth about changing the culture and habits of the people, e.g. in the areas of health and hygiene!  Contrast that with the situation in Asmara (in Eritrea) ... how Eritreans are obsessed with keeping their city clean and beautiful!  
- What is the point of building boulevards if you don't have anti-littering laws?  Where are sidewalks on streets?  Where are traffic laws and signs?
- So many pre-fab skyscrapers by/from China but very scant water for public utility !  And electric power is in poor supply and not equitably distributed as far as usage goes.  Imagine how much electricity is deployed leaving the common man with little or no service.  
- Abiy seems to be enamored with shiny and superficial face-lifts, but priorities and a down-to-earth, reality-based value system needs to be the foundation of all development projects.  Above all, focus should be aimed at all the citizens and how their lives could be affected.  
- The municipalities of the many precincts of Addis still have to learn and enforce "zoning principles".  For instance,  Residences and Businesses should not be side by side.  

G A ===> Your concern is well-taken.  I was in Asmara two years ago, impressed by the neatness and orderly lifestyle.  One other thing that vexes me is the Amharic signs on businesses [in Addis] are being replaced in English.  Tourists looking at that may wonder if we were colonized by the British.

Hénock ===> Not to sound too political, but the reactionary Oromos may have something to do with that.  They have simmering resentments despite the fact that they don't have an alternative language script of their own.  So instead they prefer a "ferenji" script.

Billionaires Playing Space Astronauts ! ~ by TPO

 

Billionaires Playing Space Astronauts !

 ~ by TPO ~  

    FB Post --- " I can't imagine having enough money to end hunger in the U.S. and deciding that all  I wanted to do was play space tourist ." 

~ Annie Gabston-Howell (The Talk on Main St.)     

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     F C M ===> It would only be temporary .... Ending hunger is out of human reach.  Humans are not very good at determining what's good for them.
       S R ===> No lie !!
      Hénock Gugsa ===> They certainly won't be able to end anything even their low self-esteem ... or self-hate as you referenced in your earlier post today, titled I think, "S'aimer".
      J S ===> Hénock Gugsa - so true.
      F C M ===> Hénock Gugsa - I understand what you're saying, but feeding everyone is impossible, not to say detrimental, in the dogmatic contexts in which we humans are living .... We are simply too many, and no system, even ecosystems, can support our self-centered madness seen throughout the social spectrum .... Humans are the problem, all of them.
     Hénock Gugsa ===> That sounds a bit defeatist.  Are we surrendering the battle before it is even joined?  I understand our historical record is dismal, but still ...!  If we can arrive at a tough and incontrovertible conclusion that humans are the problem, couldn't we strive toward a constructive solution to the problem ... or is there no solution at all ?!  I am not thinking (or saying) feed everyone, feed only those who cannot feed themselves for reasons beyond their power to overcome, such as natural calamities and wars.  But then we see, on the other side, wealthy countries  already wasting and throwing away surplus crops and food products?  I'm not being a soft non-pragmatist or a non-realist here.  I know and understand the laws of economics.  We are given to asking what is the value of this and what is the cost of that ?  But for the most part, we are short-sighted and lack wisdom.  So a country in Africa undergoes starvation from drought or civil war.  So a practical, two-pronged assistance should be made to that country: 1) immediate palliative assistance of food and health care;  2) infrastructural assistance with meaningful long-term results, i.e water wells, irrigation, forestation, roads and bridges, and electric power.
The "charity trap" should be avoided because it could end up in fatigue and disappointment.  But certain types of investments although high-risk on the surface could be labeled "good-will".  Their returns-on-investment may not be immediate but they are beyond valuation for sure.  

     F C M ===> Hénock Gugsa - To make this simple, we reproduce too much, and grow at a faster rate than ecosystems can heal ....  Humans are too stupid, too much attached to their cultural values and religions to accept evidences.  If one wants to reduce poverty, he'll have to accept the fact that reproduction is no longer a right, but rather a privilege.