Tom, the angle I’m coming from is that unfitgeezers original premise is wrong.

he was under the impression that google will be giving internet to tribes that never interact with humans, and have lived that way for thousands of years.

my point is merely that this isn’t the case, and there are towns and villages in the amazon that have other ‘western’ amenities, but not the internet, these are the areas that will be provided with internet.

I really can’t be bothered to get into the rights and wrongs of logging in the Amazon (which, FWIW I double don’t agree with, especially illegal logging, or the way gangs use high power hoses to search for gold….)

he internet is a tool that is generally for good. It gives people a voice.

Bollocks. The Internet promised a vision of the world becoming connected with the common goal of sharing the human condition, united in one social universe. What did we do? Instead of exploring say.. the issues that effect Inca culture in South America? We instead watch Gangnam Style for the 10 billionth time, send nude selfies to each other, then we whack off to some porn and finally spend all day at work browsing cat memes or singletrack.

Whoo yeah….they’re getting teh internetz….everyone rejoice….their lives are going to be so much better!

Its just a shame that some parts of the world can’t be left alone to go about their business without the rest poking its nose in.

What if they want to actually start a business that needed internet access?

We instead watch Gangnam Style for the 10 billionth time, send nude selfies to each other, then we whack off to some porn and finally spend all day at work browsing cat memes or singletrack.

who are we to tell people they can’t do that?

I’m not saying they can’t do it.

I just think they’re all deluded morons, the Flynn effect is in reverse and humanities headed for extinction, that’s all.

Some of these people may also benefit

Scientific researchers
medical types
wildlife enforcement
the police
local government
schools
NGO’s

Ya kna?

rich westerner with an easy life, thinks is important.

you have the wrong person I’m afraid

Type your salary into here: http://www.globalrichlist.com/ and have a think about that.

Whilst you’re doing that I’ll pop round to your town and disconnect the ‘leccy and internet to make it nice and quaint and whatnot.

I just think they’re all deluded morons

nice. 😯

wildlife enforcement
the police
local government

Who are by and large utterly corrupt to the core.

I just think they’re all deluded morons, the Flynn effect is in reverse and humanities headed for extinction, that’s all.

Gosh, aren’t you free thinking and insightful.

School: can we have Internet access to improve education and knowledge, maybe it will help break the cycle of children having to work in illegal logging?

Tom: no, you are a deluded moron. Know your place

I guess the internet could be used for good in the Amazon rain forest Warton, personally I just feel it will be used to make corrupt practices more convenient.

Tom,

serious question:

should all people in the world have access to the internet, if they so desire to use it?

That’s the question here, not the politics of the Amazon (I don’t think anyone would argue it’s a massively corrupt place)

Isn’t the internet the last thing the amazons got to worry about?
I thought pollution and everyone trying to chop it down to grow Bigmacs is what’s destroying it..

The internet is a double-edged sword. As well as being a tool for enlightenment it also makes possible the sort of orwellian surveillance and enforcement that we used to dread, but now some sheeple have become so innured to it that they are no longer bothered. Yes, let’s bring to one of the last few places on earth that doesn’t have it, and snare everyone in the net. After a while they’ll come to understand it was for their own good… Indigenous culture vs globalised cultural pollution; I wonder which will triumph?

That’s going to happen anyway, the internet won’t make any difference..
Ask a Native American, or an Aborigine,

Warton, of course I feel everyone should have the internet. I just don’t think we’ll ever use it for anything really good. Have things changed? Are the elites of the world still running things? The internet appears to be a lot of white noise and very little else… apart from the easy access to academic journals and easy communication between academics and philanthropists…what else has it really amounted to that is wholly good? The occupy movement? Ohh yay!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84A5OQSmvMQ[/video]

With that note, I’m flouncing. Otherwise I’d have to have a strong opinion on something I know nothing about.

Indigenous culture vs globalised cultural pollution; I wonder which will triumph?

No idea, I wonder if anyone’s looked into it.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/none/internet-and-indigenous-groups –
Currently, it seems that indigenous peoples are eagerly using the Internet when they have the opportunity to do so. It obviously helps them to communicate with each other and to coordinate the international movement that has grown up to defend indigenous rights. Furthermore, the Assyrian example discussed in this issue shows how the Internet can help a scattered and persecuted people to maintain a sense of their culture and community. In a less dramatic, but equally vital fashion, peoples as far apart as the Sami of northern Scandinavia and the native Hawaiians have found the Internet a valuable tool for teaching and preserving their languages. Meanwhile, the Oneida of New York state have taken the lead among Native Americans in using the Internet to tell the story of their nation. This process of informing and educating is aimed at other Americans and has reached the White House itself, but it is also importantly aimed at the Oneida and other peoples of the Iroquois Confederacy. In Jean Polly’s article there is a telling quotation from Brian Patterson of the Oneida Men’s Council who remembered that when he was a little boy, he had an aunt who was always asking him “Do you know your treaties? You must know your treaties.” He did not know his treaties and did not know where to find them. He remembered his aunt when the Oneida were viewing the White House website and they noticed that it listed treaties between the United States and other nations, but omitted the treaties with Indian nations. The Oneida notified the White House and put their own archive of treaties up on the Internet in 1994. Now the Oneida and everybody else can know their treaties; but their experience with the Internet indicated a possible problem in the future. As they searched for an appropriate way to give an abbreviated name to their Internet domain, they suggested `.sov’ (for sovereign) but quickly discovered that raised a lot of difficulties. An international debate currently rages over sovereignty, how the local autonomy of indigenous peoples should be defined and whether it should be tolerated. In the meantime, many indigenous groups are finding that the Internet helps them to define it for themselves.

But for each positive result there are indigenous children growing up wanting to emulate Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus…

Interesting link.

Semi Counter-point. Kind of something to think about in regards to that link.

http://blog.okfn.org/2012/03/22/will-technology-boost-the-fight-against-corruption-in-the-post-soviet-region/

I couldn’t help it.

That link appears to argue flatly against your position…

Freely accessible data is becoming a must for transparent and accountable states and their institutions. Data presentation online is inherent to its publicity. It is important to identify the local communities that can constantly come up with ideas on how to achieve greater government transparency and increase civic participation in public decision-making. Such multi-stakeholder communities could more than ever contribute to a further democratization of the post-Soviet region.

There is clear potential to better use the information and communication technologies to increase the public transparency and encourage e-participation in the country

While one can argue about whether demand or supply should come first, an open government that is willing to increase public transparency ideally should do more to pro-actively promote e-services.

I read that as stating that you can’t just give people access to the internet an expect it to be a force for good. There are other requirements.

I don’t think the Brazilian government can provide that openness and accountability even with wide access to the internet.

But for each positive result there are indigenous children growing up wanting to emulate Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus..

But, WHO ARE YOU to say they shouldn’t be able to if they wanted? Any pop star admiration in your younger closet?

http://www.giswatch.org/sites/default/files/GISWatch12_web.pdf

This makes for very interesting reading, especially page 16 onwards.

What did we do? Instead of exploring say.. the issues that effect Inca culture in South America? We instead watch Gangnam Style for the 10 billionth time, send nude selfies to each other, then we whack off to some porn and finally spend all day at work browsing cat memes or singletrack.

If you can’t find any instances where the internet has been positive then you have certainly watched too many Gangam style videos. You’re being quite absurdly pessimistic.