This is an Ubuntu package problem, not Debian. In case you didn't notice, Ubuntu is built from a snapshot of Debian /unstable/. They call it unstable for a reas

This is an Ubuntu package problem, not Debian. In case you didn't notice, Ubuntu is built from a snapshot of Debian /unstable/. They call it unstable for a reason, I guess. On Debian stable "aptitude install rubygems" followed by "gem install rake" just works. This looks like a completely gratuitous rant, I've seen Jed Shaw better inspired.