Your question why TED's rejection of Bono's wish was not made public also triggered me to write about it http://theconcoction.blogspot.com/2006/03/can-aid-industry-be-reformed.html

I think this whole episode has exposed the further failure of the aid industry, which is becoming a joke now. Pretty much like Hurrican Katrina exposed the extent of poverty, race and class problems in the US. It is a joke because even a smart economist like Jeff Sachs, whom you'd think should have poverty down to a science, is repeating the same mistakes. He, you can even sense the impatience in his voice when you read his comment, flat out said he does not have time to dwell on corruption and politics because he's on a mission to end poverty by 2015. Knock yourself out,and watch my post on January 1, 2015 entitled - Ha! I told you! I am going to save it as a draft for immediate release.

I had breakfast with Chris Anderson yesterday, who has promised to write at more length about the TED decision. He points out something that I didn't point out well in my piece - the decision to hold the next TED global conference in Tanzania was a direct outcome of TED's investigation of the project in Ethiopia. But you're right... it's not exactly "near" Addis.

Your Feb 24, 2006 comment "The dream is over" contrasts with your comment of Jan 14, 2005,"The shock of the new". The plasma screen, not unlike the other concoctions of western altruism, has turned into a fiasco.

Failing to relate to a machine, disconnected and disinterested students along with their redundant teachers responded to the extravagance with their own extravagantly expressed mass doze off(s). A generation of Ethiopian school kids are now guinea-pigged and tossed into the carcass bins of the uneducated and the unemployable.

Bother not much Andrew.Somalia will extend its helping hand for the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation and our internet access problem is history.

I don't know if Ethan was part of the team who did the feasibilty study for Bono's wish. From what I was told, Chris Anderson, Amy Novogratz and Woldeloul Kassa were the ones who travelled to Ethiopia to do the study.

Indeed, as you mentioned, I was told that the wish may not be granted due to infrastructure issues, which true for most African countries.

I am not sure Ethan's politics and his dislike to Zenawi has anything to do with the failure of the wish. But I am sure Zenawi will not be removed even an inch away from his palace because of a failed wish or Ethan's' politics.

If western democracy was the yardstick for thousands of NGO projects through out Africa (almost all are ruled by dictators), there would be thousands of white NGO experts unemployed.

Danny

Did you read the article in the FT on wednesday about Broadband in Ethiopia? Interesting read.

QUESTION: Why would one want to connect every hospital in Ethiopia, to internet/intranet/any net? Why?

Is it in an effort to increase the quality or quantity of doctors? Does it provide means of better patient care in a place like Ethiopia? Does it alter scarcity in provision of medical supplies? It's not like you can e-mail patients(yet!), so does it help to know what's available in another remote hospital in Ethiopia anyway? How does internet connectivity beat phone lines in most cases?

I wonder how much they were looking to spend on the project. I don't think it's that impossible to connect all hospitals in Ethiopia, especially since there aren't that many hospitals to begin with. But even a $10 spent on this project may already be too much.

The problems sounds like an interesting job interview question for Microsoft. "How much will it cost to connect all hospitals in Ethiopia?" But I don't see further merit to it beyond that.

I still think Bono's cool, though ... :-)

Oh Bono, Bono, Bono,... isn't that the guy with funky TINTED glasses? No wonder he couldn't see that Ethiopians do not even have food to eat let alone enough hospitals that can or need to be wired.