posted
You are right about basic economics Hotep. The problem here is that Basic Economics is NOT the real problem. The real problem here is Europeans wanting to be ON TOP in ANY economic enterprise in Africa. THAT is what keeps Africa poor and impoverished and unable to process raw materials in order to gain more CAPITAL for development. What you said therefore is only PARTLY true. Africa needs to DEMOLISH the system of CARTELS that run the diamond trade, oil trad and other trades in raw materials, that PURPOSELY shut Africans OUT of trading THEIR OWN resources. It isnt that Africans dont WANT to sell their resources to the international community, it is that they CANT. Debeers has a MONOPOLY on the diamond trade and WONT let Africans get a leg in edgewise.
On top of this, lets not go into how Debeers and the Anglo American corporation FORCED and CONTINUES to force Africans off of their land for LITTLE or NO money and EXPLOITS their labor to extract these diamonds. DeBeers, headed by Cecil Rhoades, was one of the WORST oppressors of AFricans in Southern Africa, OPENLY preaching the inferiority of Negroes to whites and OPENLY preaching that NEGROES had NO PLACE in civilized society except as BEASTS OF BURDEN, no better than MULES. So WHY is DeBeers, with its LILLY WHITE board of RACIST CEOs allowed to stay WHITE OWNED? Why dont the South African blacks just TAKE BACK what is theirs? That is the type of nonsense I am talking about.
The POINT I am making is that since the OVERT colonial regimes are gone, does not mean that Europeans are playing FAIR about trade and economics in Africa. Therefore, you can throw that book on basic economics in the TRASH, since what Europeans are doing in Africa will NOT allow basic economics to take root. Europeans want Africans to imagine that the colonial era and apartheid era was all just a misunderstanding about blacks being "human beings" and that it was some honest mistake and that the money and power that Europeans have over Africans is just a result of Europeans and their hard work. They want you to beleive that hard work and "basic" economics will allow Africa to get ahead and maybe, just MAYBE catch up with SOME of the Europeans. THAT is nonsense, because it avoids the CENTRAL ISSUE. White supremacy as a ideaology is about making whites SUPREME in ALL affairs of mankind, whether it be economic, military, political or otherwise. NOONE else is allowed to be on par or superior to whites in these spectrums of endeavor. Therefore, the ACTIONS of Europeans in Africa in the past SET THE STAGE for what we see in Africa today and CANNOT be separated from it. Africans must NOT let themselves be BRAINWASHED into ACCEPTING their FORCED poverty at the hands of wealthy foreigners. It is time for them to STAND UP and REJECT such nonsense of pie in the sky fantasies of "future" growth, where they STILL WORK UNDER EUROPEANS as MINIMAL WAGE (new slave) labor. It is time for Africans TO OWN THE PLANTATION, not just WORK ON IT for minimum wage, while the European MASTER gets all the profits. THIS is the voodoo economics they try and sell to Africans and THIS is the nonsense that must be stopped.
Case in point: The world bank goes into African country x and promises them 10 million dollars over 10 years in "investment" as part of an economic development package. What is the package? Allowing a consortium of European based interests to have sole access to the minerals in a certain area. First off 10 million dollars is CHUMP CHANGE. This consortium is going to tens of billions of DOLLARS in ONE YEAR off these resources and I mean from WHOLESALE trade, not MANUFACTURING. TRUST ME, there is NOTHING fair about this arrangement. The world bank is a FRONT for international corporations, that FORCE Africans to accept FOREIGN EXPLOITATION in return for VERY LITTLE. Yet, when the GNP is calculated, guess what gets added to the GNP and what doesnt? of course, the 10 million dollar "investment" gets added, but that multibillion dollar mining operation DOESNT. So stop kidding yourself and beleiving the LIES of the Europeans.
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posted
LOL. What; so now Africans don't know what basic trade and economics is? As mere examples, historic African trade centers [among the earliest in human social development] developed via the Nile-Valley corridor, across the Red Sea and the Sahara, allowing for the growth of complex societies in the various regions, now conveniently cease to exist, within the context of the economic challenges now facing various African nations as a product of European imperialism...interesting, how history can be lost in one breath.
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posted
ok, so your saying the african leaders are not very good in makeing buisness deals?
if a forein coutry offers 10 million, to make billions in one year.. (as you say)
and the african leader excepts this deal...
I guess the only logical solution is the african leader is not that bright....and the people of these countries should hold their leaders up to a higher,smarter standard?
quote: ok, so your saying the african leaders are not very good in makeing buisness deals?
if a forein coutry offers 10 million, to make billions in one year.. (as you say)
and the african leader excepts this deal...
I guess the only logical solution is the african leader is not that bright....and the people of these countries should hold their leaders up to a higher,smarter standard?
Afrikan Leaders sometimes end up NOT making wise business deals correct, which is normal because that is how trade works some times you win sometimes you loose. This is why you can't have dictators as leaders because the world has changed and today a good governing body requires itself to be surrounded by extremely intelligent people along with top QUALITY INFORMATION.
Look at Cobalt for example:
quote: Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries to impart a rich blue color to glass, glazes, and ceramics. Cobalt has been detected in Egyptian sculpture and Persian jewelry from the third millennium BC, in the ruins of Pompeii (destroyed AD 79), and in China dating from the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907) and the Ming dynasty (AD 1368–1644)[1].
Swedish chemist Georg Brandt (1694–1768) is credited with isolating cobalt sometime between 1730 and 1737. He was able to show that cobalt was the source of the blue color in glass, which previously had been attributed to the bismuth found with cobalt.
During the 19th century, cobalt blue was produced at the Norwegian Blaafarveværket (70-80 % of world production), led by the Prussian industrialist Benjamin Wegner.
In 1938, John Livingood and Glenn Seaborg discovered cobalt-60.
The word cobalt is derived from the German kobalt, from kobold meaning "goblin", a term used for the ore of cobalt by miners, who thought it worthless and who found that it was poisonous and that it polluted and degraded other mined elements, mainly due to the arsenic and sulfur also found in the ore
A byproduct which was once taught to be useless by most miners not just Afrikans, ok MOST mining companies. Add a research institute that seeks to find other uses for this mineral and look what you discover:
quote: Alloys, such as: Superalloys, for parts in gas turbine aircraft engines. Corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys. High-speed steels. Cemented carbides (also called hard metals) and diamond tools. Magnets and magnetic recording media. Alnico magnets. Catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries. electroplating because of its appearance, hardness, and resistance to oxidation. Drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks. Ground coats for porcelain enamels. Pigments (cobalt blue and cobalt green). Battery electrodes. Steel-belted radial tires. Cobalt-60 has multiple uses as a gamma ray source: It is used in radiotherapy. It is used in radiation treatment of foods for sterilization (cold pasteurization). It is used in industrial radiography to detect structural flaws in metal parts. Co-60 is useful as a gamma ray source partially because it can be produced - in known quantity, and very large amounts - by simply exposing natural cobalt to neutrons in a reactor for a given time.
[edit] Use in medicine Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or 60Co) is a radioactive metal that is used in radiotherapy. It produces two gamma rays with energies of 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV. The 60Co source is about 2 cm in diameter and as a result produces a geometric penumbra, making the edge of the radiation field fuzzy. The metal has the unfortunate habit of producing a fine dust, causing problems with radiation protection. The 60Co source is useful for about 5 years but even after this point is still very radioactive, and so cobalt machines have fallen from favor in the Western world where linacs are common.
See what research does? Now lets say your a shrewd business person who has found new uses for this mineral so you go to Afrika and sign a $10 Mil deal with a Afrikan politician who thinks he is getting over on you, only to find $10 billion dollars later that the joke was on him That politician got played but that's business you win some and you will lose some, unfortunately for his constituents in Afrika who are suffering that was a hell of a costly mistake correct? Though all along the root cause was the researcher found a gem where others thought garbage was being stored.
Welcome to the real world, now Doug M and Masonic Rebel reads about the issue and they get at Europeans for being too shrewd.
Next couple the historical problems that occurred between Afrikans and Europeans and we get a shrewd business man will now become the root cause of a Modern day racially provactive issue. Trading is not FAIR period, that's the nature of TRADE.
The problem is not that Afrikan leaders aren't smart they just are at a disadvantage due to information. Europeans have more researchers versus Afrikans, so who do you think will win 9 times out of 10 Trades?
Next Afrika is seen as a risky place to invest so Economics dictate that a PREMIUM must be paid by Afrikans because of the Risk that investors take to invest in Afrika.
If Afrika seeks to promote peace amongst all Afrikans then a politically stable environment will attract INVESTORS, which in turn will give Afrikans more room to negotiate, because if the Country or Countries are stable then Investors won't be afraid to invest.
I personally invest in Afrika and I only invest in stable countries or NON-MUSLIM countries, because it's safer to invest like that.
This question was still never answered, so let me repeat it. WHY SHOULD EUROPEANS DEAL FAIRLY WITH AFRIKANS WHILE ARABS ARE STILL ENSLAVING AFRIKANS TODAY?
Look at the Sudan Arab run government, who stole the land of the native Afrikans and murdered over 250,000 Afrikans, displaced and forced others into forced Labor/Slavery, while Afrikan nations stood by and watched this and did nothing, excluding Tchad most Afrikan Nations did absolutely nothing to protect their fellow Afrikans.
When Europeans throw crumbs at Afrikans we see a major uproar for the crumbs yet no uproar for the injustice in Sudan, Mauritania why?
posted
doug.you are letting the europeans drive you mad. africans have a basic control of their future.you make some good points but you don't see the big picture.alot ofm oney is coming back into africa now.iy is the question toady how well this will be manage and used for the folks there. this is my concern.
I JUST GAVE you a article about nigeria making bi profits.alot of money is coming in now,but i gess you don't want to see that.africans have companies too and they are getting more successful.
nigeria has joint ventures in the oil business,they control most of their oil.that is point i am trying to tell you.the reason why the money was not getting to the people was because of heavy corruption in the past.it is less so on average and most peolpe in africa in the past few years elected their leaders,so give them credit for that.
money is coming into africa now in a bigger way now. please get updated info,not just outdated info from the right. believe me africans in black ruled states control most or control the plantation.
SOME STATES have more control that others,but all nations today are influence to some extent by each other. that is why i still disagree with you to a certain extent,but you make some points that have to be look at,but in time these things will be be solve.get it time.progress is happening.
2 steps forward,sometimes one step back,and than two more steps forward. this is life.
read those articles again carefully please. thank you.
Posts: 2688 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by kenndo: doug.you are letting the europeans drive you mad. africans have a basic control of their future.you make some good points but you don't see the big picture.alot of money is coming back into africa now.it the question today is how well this will be managed and used for the folks there. this is my concern.
I JUST GAVE you articles about nigeria making big profits.alot of money is coming in now,but i guess you don't want to see that.africans have companies too and they are getting more bigger and more successful.
nigeria has joint ventures in the oil business,they control most of their oil.that is point i am trying to tell you.the reason why the money was not getting to the people was because of heavy corruption in the 80's and most of the 90's.
It is less so on average today and most FOLKS in africa in the past few years elected their leaders NOT DICTACTORS LIKE THE RIGHT WING LIKES TO STILL CALL MANY AFRICAN LEADERS TODAY,so give them credit for that.SOME EVEN CALL MANDELA BEFORE A DICTACTOR.SEE HOW FALSE THEY COULD BE.
money is coming into africa now in a bigger way now. please get updated info,not just outdated info from the right AND SOME MISINFORMED ON THE LEFT. believe me africans in black ruled states control most or control the plantation.
SOME STATES have more control of their resources than others,but all nations today are influence to some extent by each other. that is why i still disagree with you to a certain extent,but you make some points that have to be look at,but in time these things will be be solve.get it time.progress is happening.
IWAS SURPRISE THAT AFRICANS STATES CONTROLL MOST OF THE OWN RESOURSES when i got a book about modern africa in the public library,so i can't go around anymore saying that the west controls the resourses in africa because it is not the case today.I HAD TO FACE UP TO THIS new INFO THAT I LEARN AND PLACE The BLAME IN THE PAST ON MANY OF THE AFRICAN LEADERS ,BUT THE WEST PLAYED THIER PART TOO.
TODAY IS A MORE NEW BALL GAME AND WE AHVE TO FACE THIS NEW REALITY.
2 steps forward,sometimes one step back,and than two more steps forward. this is life.
read those articles again carefully please. thank you.
quote: ok, so your saying the african leaders are not very good in makeing buisness deals?
if a forein coutry offers 10 million, to make billions in one year.. (as you say)
and the african leader excepts this deal...
I guess the only logical solution is the african leader is not that bright....and the people of these countries should hold their leaders up to a higher,smarter standard?
Afrikan Leaders sometimes end up NOT making wise business deals correct, which is normal because that is how trade works some times you win sometimes you loose. This is why you can't have dictators as leaders because the world has changed and today a good governing body requires itself to be surrounded by extremely intelligent people along with top QUALITY INFORMATION.
Look at Cobalt for example:
quote: Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries to impart a rich blue color to glass, glazes, and ceramics. Cobalt has been detected in Egyptian sculpture and Persian jewelry from the third millennium BC, in the ruins of Pompeii (destroyed AD 79), and in China dating from the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907) and the Ming dynasty (AD 1368–1644)[1].
Swedish chemist Georg Brandt (1694–1768) is credited with isolating cobalt sometime between 1730 and 1737. He was able to show that cobalt was the source of the blue color in glass, which previously had been attributed to the bismuth found with cobalt.
During the 19th century, cobalt blue was produced at the Norwegian Blaafarveværket (70-80 % of world production), led by the Prussian industrialist Benjamin Wegner.
In 1938, John Livingood and Glenn Seaborg discovered cobalt-60.
The word cobalt is derived from the German kobalt, from kobold meaning "goblin", a term used for the ore of cobalt by miners, who thought it worthless and who found that it was poisonous and that it polluted and degraded other mined elements, mainly due to the arsenic and sulfur also found in the ore
A byproduct which was once taught to be useless by most miners not just Afrikans, ok MOST mining companies. Add a research institute that seeks to find other uses for this mineral and look what you discover:
quote: Alloys, such as: Superalloys, for parts in gas turbine aircraft engines. Corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys. High-speed steels. Cemented carbides (also called hard metals) and diamond tools. Magnets and magnetic recording media. Alnico magnets. Catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries. electroplating because of its appearance, hardness, and resistance to oxidation. Drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks. Ground coats for porcelain enamels. Pigments (cobalt blue and cobalt green). Battery electrodes. Steel-belted radial tires. Cobalt-60 has multiple uses as a gamma ray source: It is used in radiotherapy. It is used in radiation treatment of foods for sterilization (cold pasteurization). It is used in industrial radiography to detect structural flaws in metal parts. Co-60 is useful as a gamma ray source partially because it can be produced - in known quantity, and very large amounts - by simply exposing natural cobalt to neutrons in a reactor for a given time.
[edit] Use in medicine Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or 60Co) is a radioactive metal that is used in radiotherapy. It produces two gamma rays with energies of 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV. The 60Co source is about 2 cm in diameter and as a result produces a geometric penumbra, making the edge of the radiation field fuzzy. The metal has the unfortunate habit of producing a fine dust, causing problems with radiation protection. The 60Co source is useful for about 5 years but even after this point is still very radioactive, and so cobalt machines have fallen from favor in the Western world where linacs are common.
See what research does? Now lets say your a shrewd business person who has found new uses for this mineral so you go to Afrika and sign a $10 Mil deal with a Afrikan politician who thinks he is getting over on you, only to find $10 billion dollars later that the joke was on him That politician got played but that's business you win some and you will lose some, unfortunately for his constituents in Afrika who are suffering that was a hell of a costly mistake correct? Though all along the root cause was the researcher found a gem where others thought garbage was being stored.
Welcome to the real world, now Doug M and Masonic Rebel reads about the issue and they get at Europeans for being too shrewd.
Next couple the historical problems that occurred between Afrikans and Europeans and we get a shrewd business man will now become the root cause of a Modern day racially provactive issue. Trading is not FAIR period, that's the nature of TRADE.
The problem is not that Afrikan leaders aren't smart they just are at a disadvantage due to information. Europeans have more researchers versus Afrikans, so who do you think will win 9 times out of 10 Trades?
Next Afrika is seen as a risky place to invest so Economics dictate that a PREMIUM must be paid by Afrikans because of the Risk that investors take to invest in Afrika.
If Afrika seeks to promote peace amongst all Afrikans then a politically stable environment will attract INVESTORS, which in turn will give Afrikans more room to negotiate, because if the Country or Countries are stable then Investors won't be afraid to invest.
I personally invest in Afrika and I only invest in stable countries or NON-MUSLIM countries, because it's safer to invest like that.
This question was still never answered, so let me repeat it. WHY SHOULD EUROPEANS DEAL FAIRLY WITH AFRIKANS WHILE ARABS ARE STILL ENSLAVING AFRIKANS TODAY?
Look at the Sudan Arab run government, who stole the land of the native Afrikans and murdered over 250,000 Afrikans, displaced and forced others into forced Labor/Slavery, while Afrikan nations stood by and watched this and did nothing, excluding Tchad most Afrikan Nations did absolutely nothing to protect their fellow Afrikans.
When Europeans throw crumbs at Afrikans we see a major uproar for the crumbs yet no uproar for the injustice in Sudan, Mauritania why?
Hotep
You guys are too funny. I think some of you are PURPOSELY missing the point. The reason that the African leaders ACCEPT such deals are because they are FORCED on them. The World Bank has been LONG known to FORCE Africans into unfair trading scenarios like the one I mentioned, that BLATANTLY leave Africa at a disadvantage. It is a LIE to make this a simple tale of Africans being to DUMB to figure out how to make money off of their own resources. That is what the West and other foreigners WANT you to think. The TRUTH is that those who OFFERED the Africans 10 Million in return for Billions KNEW what they were doing before they even WENT THERE. After ALL THE YEARS OF EXPLOITATION, people STILL try to depict FOREIGN exploitation of Africans for their resources as some INNOCENT act of "shrewd" business policy by FOREIGNERS, where Africans were just too DUMB to catch on. WAKE UP! Africans are NOT DUMB! Africans had NO CHOICE in these matters. For hundreds of years Africans were FORCED off their lands, killed and maimed by Europeans and Arabs, SOLELY for access to raw materials. So HOW can you act as if Europeans are simply INNOCENT businessmen trying to make a dollar in Africa? So I guess the European and Arab SLAVE OWNERS and butchers like King Leopold of Belgium or Cecil Rhoades were SHREWD businessmen then? Stop pushing WHITE SUPREMACY propaganda and THINK for yourself. You are trying to make the poverty in Africa SOLELY the responsibility of Africans, as if FOREIGN exploitation is NOT a factor, DOES NOT exist and has NOTHING to do with Africas CURRENT economic crisis. That is PURE nonsense.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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quote: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions
Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3 Watch 128k stream Watch 256k stream Read Transcript Help Printer-friendly version Email to a friend Purchase Video/CD We speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies. [includes rush transcript] John Perkins describes himself as a former economic hit man - a highly paid professional who cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars.
20 years ago Perkins began writing a book with the working title, "Conscience of an Economic Hit Men."
Perkins writes, "The book was to be dedicated to the presidents of two countries, men who had been his clients whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits - Jaime Roldós, president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire. We Economic Hit Men failed to bring Roldós and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in.
John Perkins goes on to write: "I was persuaded to stop writing that book. I started it four more times during the next twenty years. On each occasion, my decision to begin again was influenced by current world events: the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1980, the first Gulf War, Somalia, and the rise of Osama bin Laden. However, threats or bribes always convinced me to stop."
But now Perkins has finally published his story. The book is titled Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. John Perkins joins us now in our Firehouse studios.
* John Perkins, from 1971 to 1981 he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas T. Main where he was a self-described "economic hit man." He is the author of the new book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
This transcript is available free of charge, however donations help us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution. Donate - $25, $50, $100, more...
AMY GOODMAN: John Perkins joins us now in our firehouse studio. Welcome to Democracy Now!
JOHN PERKINS: Thank you, Amy. It’s great to be here.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. Okay, explain this term, “economic hit man,” e.h.m., as you call it.
JOHN PERKINS: Basically what we were trained to do and what our job is to do is to build up the American empire. To bring -- to create situations where as many resources as possible flow into this country, to our corporations, and our government, and in fact we’ve been very successful. We’ve built the largest empire in the history of the world. It's been done over the last 50 years since World War II with very little military might, actually. It's only in rare instances like Iraq where the military comes in as a last resort. This empire, unlike any other in the history of the world, has been built primarily through economic manipulation, through cheating, through fraud, through seducing people into our way of life, through the economic hit men. I was very much a part of that.
AMY GOODMAN: How did you become one? Who did you work for?
JOHN PERKINS: Well, I was initially recruited while I was in business school back in the late sixties by the National Security Agency, the nation's largest and least understood spy organization; but ultimately I worked for private corporations. The first real economic hit man was back in the early 1950's, Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of Teddy, who overthrew of government of Iran, a democratically elected government, Mossadegh’s government who was Time's magazine person of the year; and he was so successful at doing this without any bloodshed -- well, there was a little bloodshed, but no military intervention, just spending millions of dollars and replaced Mossadegh with the Shah of Iran. At that point, we understood that this idea of economic hit man was an extremely good one. We didn't have to worry about the threat of war with Russia when we did it this way. The problem with that was that Roosevelt was a C.I.A. agent. He was a government employee. Had he been caught, we would have been in a lot of trouble. It would have been very embarrassing. So, at that point, the decision was made to use organizations like the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. to recruit potential economic hit men like me and then send us to work for private consulting companies, engineering firms, construction companies, so that if we were caught, there would be no connection with the government.
AMY GOODMAN: Okay. Explain the company you worked for.
JOHN PERKINS: Well, the company I worked for was a company named Chas. T. Main in Boston, Massachusetts. We were about 2,000 employees, and I became its chief economist. I ended up having fifty people working for me. But my real job was deal-making. It was giving loans to other countries, huge loans, much bigger than they could possibly repay. One of the conditions of the loan–let's say a $1 billion to a country like Indonesia or Ecuador–and this country would then have to give ninety percent of that loan back to a U.S. company, or U.S. companies, to build the infrastructure–a Halliburton or a Bechtel. These were big ones. Those companies would then go in and build an electrical system or ports or highways, and these would basically serve just a few of the very wealthiest families in those countries. The poor people in those countries would be stuck ultimately with this amazing debt that they couldn’t possibly repay. A country today like Ecuador owes over fifty percent of its national budget just to pay down its debt. And it really can’t do it. So, we literally have them over a barrel. So, when we want more oil, we go to Ecuador and say, “Look, you're not able to repay your debts, therefore give our oil companies your Amazon rain forest, which are filled with oil.” And today we're going in and destroying Amazonian rain forests, forcing Ecuador to give them to us because they’ve accumulated all this debt. So we make this big loan, most of it comes back to the United States, the country is left with the debt plus lots of interest, and they basically become our servants, our slaves. It's an empire. There's no two ways about it. It’s a huge empire. It's been extremely successful.
AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. You say because of bribes and other reason you didn't write this book for a long time. What do you mean? Who tried to bribe you, or who -- what are the bribes you accepted?
JOHN PERKINS: Well, I accepted a half a million dollar bribe in the nineties not to write the book.
AMY GOODMAN: From?
JOHN PERKINS: From a major construction engineering company.
AMY GOODMAN: Which one?
JOHN PERKINS: Legally speaking, it wasn't -- Stoner-Webster. Legally speaking it wasn't a bribe, it was -- I was being paid as a consultant. This is all very legal. But I essentially did nothing. It was a very understood, as I explained in Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, that it was -- I was -- it was understood when I accepted this money as a consultant to them I wouldn't have to do much work, but I mustn't write any books about the subject, which they were aware that I was in the process of writing this book, which at the time I called “Conscience of an Economic Hit Man.” And I have to tell you, Amy, that, you know, it’s an extraordinary story from the standpoint of -- It's almost James Bondish, truly, and I mean--
AMY GOODMAN: Well that's certainly how the book reads.
JOHN PERKINS: Yeah, and it was, you know? And when the National Security Agency recruited me, they put me through a day of lie detector tests. They found out all my weaknesses and immediately seduced me. They used the strongest drugs in our culture, sex, power and money, to win me over. I come from a very old New England family, Calvinist, steeped in amazingly strong moral values. I think I, you know, I’m a good person overall, and I think my story really shows how this system and these powerful drugs of sex, money and power can seduce people, because I certainly was seduced. And if I hadn't lived this life as an economic hit man, I think I’d have a hard time believing that anybody does these things. And that's why I wrote the book, because our country really needs to understand, if people in this nation understood what our foreign policy is really about, what foreign aid is about, how our corporations work, where our tax money goes, I know we will demand change.
AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to John Perkins. In your book, you talk about how you helped to implement a secret scheme that funneled billions of dollars of Saudi Arabian petrol dollars back into the U.S. economy, and that further cemented the intimate relationship between the House of Saud and successive U.S. administrations. Explain.
JOHN PERKINS: Yes, it was a fascinating time. I remember well, you're probably too young to remember, but I remember well in the early seventies how OPEC exercised this power it had, and cut back on oil supplies. We had cars lined up at gas stations. The country was afraid that it was facing another 1929-type of crash–depression; and this was unacceptable. So, they -- the Treasury Department hired me and a few other economic hit men. We went to Saudi Arabia. We --
AMY GOODMAN: You're actually called economic hit men --e.h.m.’s?
JOHN PERKINS: Yeah, it was a tongue-in-cheek term that we called ourselves. Officially, I was a chief economist. We called ourselves e.h.m.'s. It was tongue-in-cheek. It was like, nobody will believe us if we say this, you know? And, so, we went to Saudi Arabia in the early seventies. We knew Saudi Arabia was the key to dropping our dependency, or to controlling the situation. And we worked out this deal whereby the Royal House of Saud agreed to send most of their petro-dollars back to the United States and invest them in U.S. government securities. The Treasury Department would use the interest from these securities to hire U.S. companies to build Saudi Arabia–new cities, new infrastructure–which we’ve done. And the House of Saud would agree to maintain the price of oil within acceptable limits to us, which they’ve done all of these years, and we would agree to keep the House of Saud in power as long as they did this, which we’ve done, which is one of the reasons we went to war with Iraq in the first place. And in Iraq we tried to implement the same policy that was so successful in Saudi Arabia, but Saddam Hussein didn't buy. When the economic hit men fail in this scenario, the next step is what we call the jackals. Jackals are C.I.A.-sanctioned people that come in and try to foment a coup or revolution. If that doesn't work, they perform assassinations. or try to. In the case of Iraq, they weren't able to get through to Saddam Hussein. He had -- His bodyguards were too good. He had doubles. They couldn’t get through to him. So the third line of defense, if the economic hit men and the jackals fail, the next line of defense is our young men and women, who are sent in to die and kill, which is what we’ve obviously done in Iraq.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain how Torrijos died?
JOHN PERKINS: Omar Torrijos, the President of Panama. Omar Torrijos had signed the Canal Treaty with Carter much -- and, you know, it passed our congress by only one vote. It was a highly contended issue. And Torrijos then also went ahead and negotiated with the Japanese to build a sea-level canal. The Japanese wanted to finance and construct a sea-level canal in Panama. Torrijos talked to them about this which very much upset Bechtel Corporation, whose president was George Schultz and senior council was Casper Weinberger. When Carter was thrown out (and that’s an interesting story–how that actually happened), when he lost the election, and Reagan came in and Schultz came in as Secretary of State from Bechtel, and Weinberger came from Bechtel to be Secretary of Defense, they were extremely angry at Torrijos -- tried to get him to renegotiate the Canal Treaty and not to talk to the Japanese. He adamantly refused. He was a very principled man. He had his problem, but he was a very principled man. He was an amazing man, Torrijos. And so, he died in a fiery airplane crash, which was connected to a tape recorder with explosives in it, which -- I was there. I had been working with him. I knew that we economic hit men had failed. I knew the jackals were closing in on him, and the next thing, his plane exploded with a tape recorder with a bomb in it. There's no question in my mind that it was C.I.A. sanctioned, and most -- many Latin American investigators have come to the same conclusion. Of course, we never heard about that in our country.
AMY GOODMAN: So, where -- when did your change your heart happen?
JOHN PERKINS: I felt guilty throughout the whole time, but I was seduced. The power of these drugs, sex, power, and money, was extremely strong for me. And, of course, I was doing things I was being patted on the back for. I was chief economist. I was doing things that Robert McNamara liked and so on.
AMY GOODMAN: How closely did you work with the World Bank?
JOHN PERKINS: Very, very closely with the World Bank. The World Bank provides most of the money that’s used by economic hit men, it and the I.M.F. But when 9/11 struck, I had a change of heart. I knew the story had to be told because what happened at 9/11 is a direct result of what the economic hit men are doing. And the only way that we're going to feel secure in this country again and that we're going to feel good about ourselves is if we use these systems we’ve put into place to create positive change around the world. I really believe we can do that. I believe the World Bank and other institutions can be turned around and do what they were originally intended to do, which is help reconstruct devastated parts of the world. Help -- genuinely help poor people. There are twenty-four thousand people starving to death every day. We can change that.
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The whole myth of Africa as the "Dark Continent" and land of mystery is a concoction of European explorers who FIRST went there in search of raw materials. This STORY of them being LOST in the jungle full of savages and beasts is a blatant LIE meant to divert attention from what was REALLY happening. This is why you dont know about Leopold killing off 10 million congolese in search of rubber. This is why you dont hear about the thousands of African British soldiers MASSACRED over back pay from Britain. It is this sort of PROPAGANDA that continues in the modern day in the form of Africa being a "savage" continent of wars, disease and corruption, that ALSO diverts attention from what is REALLY going on. Every story on Africa that focuses on such things is designed to KEEP you from seeing the MONEY being sucked out of the country by foreigners. It is something like the wildife shows that show vast areas of Africa DEVOID of humans, but full of animals. Where are ALL THE AFRIANS? Why arent AFRICANS depicted as part of this NATURAL PARADISE? Why? Because they dont WANT you to see Africans as being part of paradise. You will NEVER see Africans depicted as living with flamingos, rhinoceros and other "fancy" beasts that Europeans prize so much. Therefore, it only is a psychological campaign to FORCE you to associate Africans with pain, suffering and death, but NOT with the glorious landscapes and wildlife of Africa. It is also the sams sort of psychological warfare that they use to SEPARATE Africans from the PROFITS being generated by resources mined by foreigners. Therefore, NEVER will you hear any WESTERN reporters talk about WHY Africans are SO POOR when so MANY FOREIGN COMPANIES are getting rich. They want to DISASSOCIATE Africans from the wealth generated by the natural resources of Africa, much as they want to dissasociate Africans from Africa as a place of beauty and wonder. All this is to try and paint TWO images of Africa, one where the AFRICANS struggle to survive amongst SAVAGERY, while Europeans live in an IDYLLIC paradise, with bounteous animal life as PROTECTORS of the environment and SHREWD businessmen trying to generate PEACE and PROSPERITY through the WISE use of natural resources. Dont let that BS fool you.
Africans can NOT be dissasociated from the beauty of Africa. Africans should NOT be kept out of the picture of a beautiful and prosperous land. Yet THAT is what Westerners and others PURPOSELY push as part of the campaign of pshycological warfare. The REAL question is WHY Africans dont have BILLIONARES and millionares who have PROFITED from the SHREWD use of their OWN resources to build companies and generate CAPITAL for African companies to meet the NEEDS of African economies. This is the ONLY scenario that will allow Africa to PROSPER and take its RIGHTFUL place amongst the whos who of the richest countries in the world. This ONLY comes from PROPER involvement of Africans in the plantations and mining activities in their OWN countries. This is the picture Africans should have of themselves, not as SEPARATE from the vision of a Africa of beauty and wealth, but PART of the picture and part of the future.
As long as foreigners can continue to use this psychological propaganda to divert attention from the fact that FOREIGNERS are taking MOST of the money from African countries, thereby leaving them BROKE, then you will ALWAYS have AFricans and others in the diaspora talking NONSENSE about "things getting better". Things will get BETTER when Africans get CAPITAL to BUILD their economies from their OWN resources and STOP giving them away for HANDOUTS and BEGGING for handouts from those who are getting RICH off of Africa's resources.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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So much promise, so little progress. Populated with creative people and filled with natural resources, Africa, one might think, should be a global powerhouse. Instead, the continent is filled with tragedy.
That doesn’t mean some people don’t prosper. In Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future, George Ayittey writes,
Only death will separate African politicians and elites from their Mercedes. In East Africa, they are called the wabenzi — men of Mercedes Benz — in Swahili.
A native of Ghana, Ayittey teaches economics at American University and is president of the Free Africa Foundation. He has long fingered rampant misgovernment in Africa as the primary reason so many people live in such desperate poverty. Africa Unchained paints a bleak portrait of the present, but Ayittey also looks to the future. He sees hope in “unleashing the entrepreneurial talents and creative energies of the real African people — the peasants.”
As an African, Ayittey obviously and genuinely shares the pain of a people ravaged by war, disease, corruption, oppression, and poverty. The effect on everyday life is everywhere obvious. He sadly writes of “steaming squalor, misery, deprivation, and chaos.”
The problem is not just relative failure, that is, the continent’s inability to grow as fast as states elsewhere have grown. Particularly shocking is the fact that many African countries have literally imploded, leaving their peoples poorer today than one, two, and three decades ago. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa per capita GDP shrank an average of 1 percent a year between 1975 and 1999.
Ayittey discusses Ghana, which won independence in 1957, when it matched the economic development of South Korea. The former was filled with natural resources and educated professionals and had not recently suffered through a devastating war. “But 40 years later, South Korea’s income per capita is ten times that of Ghana: $4,400 versus $420,” he relates.
Immiserating poverty leads to malnutrition, inadequate education, high child mortality, poor health care, and premature death. In a world of expanding opportunity, Africans are being left behind.
What makes the picture particularly poignant is the fact that this enormous suffering has been so unnecessary. There are African success stories, such as Botswana, Mozambique, and Uganda. The first has been an island of stability and prosperity since becoming independent four decades ago. The other two have surmounted tyranny and civil war.
Success did not come easily. But good governance yielded results. Most nations, however, have not been well-governed. As Ayittey documents so effectively, Africa’s failure is a leadership failure. Africans have not been well served by those who have won their trust in the occasional election — or, all too often, who simply seized power.
Ayittey smashes ideological icons when he argues that the failure extends back to independence. Revolutionary leaders should have stepped aside, he argues, since “the skills and expertise required to wage a successful liberation struggle are not the same as those needed for successful economic development.” None were inclined to do so and more than a few were determined to cash in on their victory.
The result, detailed by Ayittey, was economic disaster. The desire to prove that the newly independent states could succeed encouraged counterproductive economic strategies: state-led socialist planning; expensive showcase projects; rapid industrialization and urbanization. As he notes, “This psychological disposition, while understandable, plunged many African countries into a development quagmire.”
Poverty, corruption, and foreign aid
Ayittey devotes two detailed chapters to the often brutal and always counterproductive economic and political policies adopted by postindependence governments. His judgment is scathing, but born out by the facts:
Africa’s postcolonial development effort may be described as one giant false start. The nationalist leaders, with few exceptions, adopted the wrong political systems (sultanism or one-party-states); the wrong economic system (statism); the wrong ideology (socialism); and took the wrong path (industrialization via import-substitution). Equally grievous, perhaps, was the low caliber of leadership. Functionally illiterate and given to schizophrenic posturing and sloganeering, the leadership lacked basic understanding of the development process.
For decades corrupt and incompetent African leaders blamed the West for their problems. They demanded — and received — large-scale aid transfers as their supposed due. But their nations’ decline continued, often accelerating.
Indeed, as Ayittey demonstrates, Western aid officials have been complicit in Africa’s decline. The donors created many problems with foreign assistance. Much was provided on the basis of Cold War political purposes rather than sensible economic rationales. Aid programs and bureaucracies rarely acted as paragons of efficiency.
However, the greatest failings came on the recipient side. Corruption was rampant. Complains Ayittey,
More maddeningly, the donor agencies knew or should have known all along the motivations and activities of corrupt African leaders and that billions of aid dollars were being spirited into Swiss banks by greedy African kleptocrats.
Even when it wasn’t stolen, “aid” often was wasted, immediately consumed, or “invested” in money-losing projects that could not be sustained. In this way “aid” often proved to be a hindrance. The abundant financial transfers enabled corrupt leaders to remain in power and follow foolish economic policies. The foreign aid subsidized the very causes of poverty in the recipient nations.
Here, too, Ayittey provides devastating detail, with individual chapters on what he terms first- and second-generation problems of governance. Both emanate naturally from “the predatory state.” Pervasive economic intervention invites corruption even as it suppresses commercial activity.
Regulation versus economic liberty
As Ayittey puts it so nicely (yet sadly), “The Byzantine maze of state controls and regulations provided the vampire elites with golden opportunities for self-enrichment.” Every failure, such as those in agriculture, led to a new round of interventions, such as price controls, causing more harm.
Ultimately, both the cause of and solution to poverty lie with the degree of economic freedom, especially for entrepreneurial peasants. Writes Ayittey,
Consensus is growing among economists that government, economic management, institutions, and economic freedom have more to do with successful economic development than natural endowments.
It is economic freedom, especially for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, that offers Africa hope. Until now, Ayittey complains, African elites have impeded development by attempting to control the “Atingas,” or peasants:
Seduced by sophisticated modern gadgetry and preoccupied with aping foreign paraphernalia, the elites seldom consider the Atingas “partners in development.” Worse, African governments run by the elites repress, brutalize, and plunder the wealth of the Atinga. How then does development occur in such an atmosphere?
It can’t. Only by removing the controls and interventions of the elites and leaving peasants free to be entrepreneurs will African nations finally move toward economic prosperity and higher standards of living.
Like a number of other recent economists studying development, Ayittey derides the endless succession of grand initiatives offered to save Africa. The answer to Africa’s problems won’t come from outside the continent. Rather, he writes, “the resources Africa desperately needs to launch into self-sustaining growth and prosperity can be found in Africa itself.”
He cites Africa’s “indigenous economic system,” with its emphasis on family and tribe in the midst of free markets and trade. Needed is a fresh start at development that places peasants, or the Atingas, “full-square at the center and starts from the bottom up, rather than the top down.” Development can proceed at the village level, assuming “there is peace, order, and economic freedom — that is, the country is not wracked by conflict and the Atingas are free to produce what they want, sell wherever they want, at whatever prices they choose to charge.” Ayittey goes on to offer some detailed steps to promote such a strategy.
For too long many Western political leaders have been afraid to speak the truth to African political leaders. Not so Ayittey:
Africa is a mess — economically, politically, and socially. Despite Africa’s vast natural resources, its people remain mired in the deadly grip of poverty, squalor, and destitution while buffeted by environmental degradation and brutal tyranny. Most Africans are worse off today than they were at independence in the 1960s. African leaders have failed Africa. African politicians have failed. African intellectuals have failed Africa, too. The failure is monumental.
Enabling Africa to switch course and fulfill its potential won’t be easy: vampire elites show no sign of wanting to give way and Western leaders have done more to impede than promote reform for years. But across Africa average people are demanding change. With Ayittey’s help, they have a better hope of tossing the wabenzi upon the trash heap of history.
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The last post made reference to Ayitteh as some kind of noteworthy theorist on African development. First, Ayitteh is a bit of a quack who knows little about economics. Second, he is a man of palpable bad faith. How can he be pontificating about African development when he has REFUSED to return to Africa--if he doesn't think Ghana is sufficiently developed for his tastes then he can go to South Africa--to teach and do his research? I say, always put your money your money where your mouth is--if you want to be take seriously. I contrast Ayitteh with economist Samir Amin who has spent the bulk of his career in Dakar, Senegal and has published much much more, and better, than Ayitteh. Or writer Ayi Kwei Armah, also from Ghana who has never for one minute ever thought of taking up any of those high priced posts at Harvard, Cornell that have been waved before his eyes for decades. Armah has lived in Senegal for decades(see his articles in recent New Africa Magazine issues).
No need to reinvent the wheel: Africa should just follow the paths of places like Korea, Taiwan, Norway, Finland, Sweden, etc. for development models.
As I said before the problem with Africa is PSYCHOLOGICAL--especially with those individuals in leadership roles who have been trained in the West. There is this stupid unconscious belief that Western whites have all the answers. The leadership comprador class is just too ignorant, frivolous and greedy to provide the answers. It's only the students, intellectuals and masses(trade unions and other workers) who can push the giant train of development up the hill.
The blueprint for development is there and it needs is implementation. Just read Nkrumah's classic "African Must Unite" and there you have it.
But fools are just born that way: consider that while places like Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa sit on mountain loads of weaponry and idle soldiers the African Union could muster only 8,000 troops for Darfur and the shameless cowards who run those countries are now begging for millions from the whites to do basic guard duty in Darfur.
Another example: the so-called Anglophone ECOWAS nations were supposed to have launched by now a new regional currency--the ECO--that would help trade in the West Africa. Thus instead of a bunch of usless play money we would now have the CFA and the ECO. But someone in higher places--I suspect it came from Massa--has told those mental juveniles to shelve that gesture. The whole thing is just pitiful--that grown men can be so infantile and cowardly.
Another example: Many posters on this site often refer to Cheikh Anta Diop as a major African intellectual of the last 100 years. BUT VERY UNIVERSITIES IN AFRICA HAVE HIS BOOKS AND FEW STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT HIS WORKS--thanks to the intellectual laziness of the political classes in Africa.
Posts: 5492 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote: And also we all know the big elephant in the room. The big elephant in the room is African governments. Africa has been totally mismanaged and misruled in the past decade, but nobody wants to talk about that because of political correctness. Africa's begging bowl leaks horribly. As a matter of fact, the African Union itself estimated that every year corruption alone costs Africa $148 billion. If African leaders could cut that in half, they'll find more money than what Tony Blair is trying to raise for them.
quote: GEORGE AYITTEY: Well, it is definitely a necessary condition for many Africans because we know that the African regimes, many African regimes have failed their people and many Africans want regime change, and there are a lot of African leaders who make promises but don't carry them out.
I mean, the progress -- I mean, it is noble for the rich countries to help Africa, but then the question is: What are African leaders themselves doing to help their own people?
When Uganda got debt relief in 1999, the first item President Museveni bought was a presidential jacket for himself. I mean, look at Ethiopia, for example. Smart aid is what will empower the African people to instigate reform from within. The United States and rich countries cannot change Africa from within. It has to impose reform on Africa; it has to come from within.
And civil society people -- these are the people -- civil society groups are the people who need to monitor the aid to ensure that the aid is directed to what it is supposed to. And in order for them to do so, they need to have the space, they need to have the freedom, and they need to have the right to demonstrate, and to petition their government. They can't do that in Ethiopia; they can't do that in Eritrea; and so this is why I was cautioning that we may be repeating some of our old mistakes.
Look at the Sudan Arab run government, who stole the land of the native Afrikans and murdered over 250,000 Afrikans, displaced and forced others into forced Labor/Slavery, while Afrikan nations stood by and watched this and did nothing, excluding Tchad most Afrikan Nations did absolutely nothing to protect their fellow Afrikans.
When Europeans throw crumbs at Afrikans we see a major uproar for the crumbs yet no uproar for the injustice in Sudan, Mauritania why?
Arabs DO NOT respect Afrikans so tell me why Europeans should respect Afrikans?
Arabs use brainwashing tactics and mind control techniques to manipulate and use Afrikans, now tell me why Europeans shouldn't do the same thing Doug M?
Arabs are still to this day subjecting Afrikans to forced labor/Slavery, yet you would expect me to think that Europeans are the problem.
If Europeans decided to return $200 billion dollars to Afrika today, Arabs would take away $210 billion dollars from Afrikans tomorrow, add in a extra $10 billion dollars for Islamic charity of course. When Afrikans remove Arabs out of Afrika then Afrika will get the respect it deserves.
What Arabs get away with in Afrika, they dare not do amongst Afrikans Americans because they are well aware that if Afrikan Americans knew what Arabs do to Afrikans in Afrika all hell would break loose here in America.
Arabs are willing to pay some Afrikan American sell outs like Farakahn to cover up Arab atrocities in Afrika, do you wonder why do Arabs do that Doug M?
The news about Arab atrocities is slowly reaching the Afrikan Americans here and trust me Arabs here are dealing with the consequences.
MAN LAW NO. 1 IF ONE MAN PLAYS YOU FOR A PUNK DON'T BE SUPRISED IF ANOTHER MAN PLAYS YOU FOR A PUNK ALSO.
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Most of the goverment of the Sudan are Africans with Arab mixture. Some Arabs did migrate into the Sudan but took local wives and intermarried in with the population. Both northern and southern Sudanese are Africans but the northern Sudanese have adopted the arabic language and idenity. Since according to Arabs if you father is an Aran then you are to.
Also the situlation in Sudan is not always Islam vs. Christianity,for many of the people of Darfur and eastern Sudan have been victims are Muslims. The southern Sudanese get all the attention but many people who are Muslims suffer as well.
Posts: 8675 | From: Tukuler al~Takruri as Ardo since OCT2014 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote: And also we all know the big elephant in the room. The big elephant in the room is African governments. Africa has been totally mismanaged and misruled in the past decade, but nobody wants to talk about that because of political correctness. Africa's begging bowl leaks horribly. As a matter of fact, the African Union itself estimated that every year corruption alone costs Africa $148 billion. If African leaders could cut that in half, they'll find more money than what Tony Blair is trying to raise for them.
More propaganda. Where do these CORRUPT politicians get their money from? Certainly you are not trying to suggest that MOST of the mineral wealth of these countries is in the pockets of the government, because it isnt. The corruption that is being talked about is the corruption based on KICKBACKS from foreign companies allowed to make BILLIONS of dollars by making EXCLUSIVE deals that take resources and money OUT of Africa. Africa needs CAPITAL, not AID. Investment is not a solution for Africa. Why? Because investment does not mean GIVING Africans something for nothing in return. Investment is purely a SELFISH endeavor, designed to make WEALTHY caplitalists look GENEROUS in giving a couple of pennies to some African country while making BILLIONS on the back hand side. Investment is putting money in on the front end with the expectation of MORE in return. Therefore, it is NOT designed to GIVE Africa MORE access to the capital from the harvesting of their OWN resources. It is designed to give a RETURN, as in return on investment to those FOREIGNERS who pony up the money for development projects. Africa needs CAPITAL. Capital is NOT a loan and capital is NOT aid from the West. Capital is the EXCESS profits left over from the activities of ENTREPENEURS in the country that gets RECIRCULATED in the economy and provides SEED money to OTHER businesses to start up and make MORE profits which turns into MORE capital. This is what the foreigners are taking OUT of Africa and that is CAPITAL and that is why it is VODOO economics to think that AID will build Africa's economies to the point were they will be independent and able to COMPETE with the West. THAT is nonsense. These FOREIGN powers dont base their economic policies on receiving foreign aid. They base their policies on GENERATING CAPITAL or in other words, MASSIVE PROFITS, especially those from obtaining access to precious strategic resources in the THIRD WORLD. This ALWAYS has been the case and it is NO DIFFERENT NOW. Africa will get rich and SOLVE its economic woes once it is able to PROFIT off of its own resources, NO MORE NO LESS. Aid and handouts will NOT do the trick.
I AGREE that we need to get rid of corrupt leaders in Africa. However, we need to get to the ROOT of the problem, which is that these leaders are corrupt BECAUSE of the foreign companies that desire to continue TAKING MONEY OUT of Africa. The only way they can do this is buy PAYING OFF corrupt officials, who allow the economies of their countries to suffer while FOREIGNERS make ALL the money. So, getting rid of the corrupt officials, ALSO means getting rid of FOREIGNERS getting MOST of the money from the natural resources of Africa than Africans themselves. The two go together and to focus on the corrupt officials WITHOUT focusing on the foreign governments and companies that KEEP THEM IN POWER is to IGNORE the REAL problem and BLAME the victims for EVERYTHING. The PEOPLE want change but the foreigners and western companies DONT, so dont BLAME the people, because they have LITTLE to do with the powers who CONTROL Africa and it isnt Africans.
As for your article on the G8 and their debt releif, all I can say is DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE:
quote: These are timely questions in a summer in which Blair and Bush, their hands still wet with Iraqi blood, sought to rebrand themselves as the saviours of Africa. The G8's debt-forgiveness initiative was spun successfully as an act of western altruism. The generous Massas never bothered to explain that, in order to benefit, governments must agree to "conditions", which included allowing profit-making companies to take over public services. This was no gift; it was what the merchant bankers would call a "debt-for-equity swap", the equity here being national sovereignty. The sweetest bit of the deal was that the money owed, already more than repaid in interest, had mostly gone to buy industrial imports from the west and Japan, and oil from nations who bank their profits in London and New York. Only in a bookkeeping sense had it ever left the rich world. No one considered that Africa's debt was trivial compared to what the west really owes Africa.
Beckford's experts estimated Britain's debt to Africans in the continent and diaspora to be in the trillions of pounds. While this was a useful benchmark, its basis was mistaken. Not because it was excessive, but because the real debt is incalculable. For without Africa and its Caribbean plantation extensions, the modern world as we know it would not exist.
Europeans have NEVER given anything to Africa and if they do it is FOR something in return. NEVER believe that they are GIVING Africans ANYTHING, because they arent.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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Victim of WHAT? How am I the victim when I tell the TRUTH? THAT is the victim here, when people pus h PROPAGANDA in the support of WHITE SUPREMACY which tries to BLAME Africans for all their woes and DENIES the history of GENOCIDE, SLAVERY and OPPRESSION in Africa. THAT is the victim. Anyone who tries to push NONSENSE about Africans FORGETTING the past and MOVING FORWARD without GAINING SUBSTANTIAL and IRREVERSIBLE reparations from WHITES is preaching INJUSTICE. Anyone who tries to sweep the involvement of FOREIGNERS in the DEMISE of Africans is just a LIAR, plain and simple.
All you do Mike is PARROT the propaganda pushed by the west that the FOREIGN corporations and their ALL WHITE boys club of millionaires and billionares are SAVIORS of Africa. As if WHITES NEVER did anything wrong to begin with. Save me the B.S. Mike, I dont want to hear it. Africans HAVE been suffering and will CONTINUE to suffer as long as FOREIGN corporations are allowed to PILLAGE resources from Africa with LITTLE or NO participation of Africans in the WEALTH generated by such operations. ANY economic plan that is BASED AROUND FOREIGN ownership of the MAJORITY of Africas resources and therefore the MAJORITY of the wealth in ANY African country only REINFORCES the POVERTY in Africa and is NOT a solution. The SOLUTION is Africans OWNING the MAJORITY of their OWN resources and getting the MAJORITY of the profits. Basic economics 101.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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doug, when did I ever say europeans never did anything wrong?
that would be like saying egyptians never slaughterd mass amouts of people...
the thing is doug, that was then, this is now...
let me fill you in on something..
[11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. [13] Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: [14] Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: [15] Their feet are swift to shed blood: [16] Destruction and misery are in their ways: [17] And the way of peace have they not known: [18] There is no fear of God before their eyes. [19] Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. [20] Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. [21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; [22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: [23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Posts: 1172 | Registered: Apr 2006
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Look at the Sudan Arab run government, who stole the land of the native Afrikans and murdered over 250,000 Afrikans, displaced and forced others into forced Labor/Slavery, while Afrikan nations stood by and watched this and did nothing, excluding Tchad most Afrikan Nations did absolutely nothing to protect their fellow Afrikans.
Doug M do individuals of the Dinka and Nuer tribe in the Sudan have a future today?
Doug M do Christians who live in the Sudan have a future today?
Doug M the Sudanese government is currently right Now building up weapons, why do you think the Sudanese government is building weapons?
ALTA GRACIA, Argentina (Reuters) - Cuban President Fidel Castro took his Venezuelan protege on a pilgrimage on Saturday to the childhood home of his one-time revolutionary comrade, communist icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chavez is disliked by the European power structure though he is still alive.
What does that say about White Supremacy?
Confessions of a Economic Hitman was a book written about activities in the past, today we see Afrika positioning itself for growth.
Afrikans in South Afrika have a really good future. Europeans are major INVESTORS in South Afrika today and we know South Afrika has a per capita GDP of $10,000+ which is almost as much as some Afrikan American living in America today.
Afrikans like the Dinka and some Christians living in the Sudan have NO future, their future is destined for death and destruction at the hands of ARABS and Arabized brainwashed Afrikans.
The brainwashing of Afrikans by Arabs is a atrocity by itself, do you agree or disagree Doug M?
Doug M the points you make towards unfair business practices done by Europeans in the PAST is well taken though I will advise you that the PRESENT, 2006 situation in Afrika is much better for Afrikans who are not involved with ARABS versus Afrikans who are involved with ARABS.
Sudan is a member of the Arab League, Afrikans have no future in the Sudan today, if they don't subject themselves to being brainwashed under Islam, and even acceptin Islam is not enough for a Afrikan living in the Sudan because some Afrikan Muslim from the Sudan are still sold in forced labor/Slavery. This is happening TODAY Doug M, may I repeat in 2006 a Afrikan Muslim living in the Sudan may be sold in bondage by Arabs or Arabized Afrikans.
Somalia is a member of the Arab League, Afrikans in Somalia have War and destruction staring them in the face RIGHT NOW because they are too brainwashed to think for themselves TODAY due to brainwashing effects from Arabs.
Mauritania is a member of the Arab League, we know Afrikans are subjected to forced labor/Enslavement in Mauritania TODAY. Do you understand this Doug M?
Morrocco is a member of the Arab League, we know Afrikans have no future in Morrocco because RACISM is written in to LAW there, Police in Morrocco kill Afrikans with impunity.
Libya is a member of the Arab League, Afrikans are lynched and murdered with impunity in Libya.
Doug M you seem to be trying to pull a "Fara-CON" on us because you want us to blame Europeans for dealing unfairly with Afrikans and IGNORE ARABS who have been committing these atrocities for over 1300 years, well DOUG M if you want to blame Europeans go ahead just don't move to the Sudan or Morrocco, Libya, Somalia or any country with a ARAB majority because if you are Afrikans with broad features and dark skin, your days in Arab run countries will be much more miserable and limited versus Afrikans who don't live in those countries.
posted
No Hotep, YOU are trying to confuse my point. I look at ALL foreign exploitation in Africa in the same light, whether it be Arab, Asian, European or anyone else.
The FACT that people keep saying that exploitation happened in the PAST is part of the problem. People do NOT understand the nature of the struggle. First off, the actions of the past set the stage for what happens in the future. The racists EXPLOIT Africa in order to make themselves the SUPREME overseers of African economics. Now the descendants of these racists are EMPLOYING Africans, ie "investment" and we are HAPPY? Happy about what? Why are we HAPPY to see more Africans JUST being able to FINALLY be able to GET PAID for working? Sure, it is better than NOT being paid, but in a REAL sense, is it progress? TRUE economic progress in Africa and TRUE FREEDOM for Africa is when Africans are not JUST WORKERS, but OWNERS of the LARGE enterprises in Africa. Being JUST WORKERS is ALL PART OF THE PLAN OF WHITE SUPREMACY. Because you are STILL JUST PUTTING MONEY IN HIS POCKET. That is the whole point. So of course, they dont HAVE to kill you off by the millions, because you will WILLLINGLY go to work for this white man to make his economic CONTROL AND POWER OVER YOU THAT MUCH STRONGER. Make no mistake, I dont call just WORKING as a WAGE SLAVE for WHITE MULTINATIONALS BUILT ON EXPLOITATION as PROGRESS. THAT is the BRAINWASHING that the WEST puts in your head and MAKES YOU BELIEVE that YOU having to WORK HARD SLAVING in some WHITE owned company is PURELY FAIR and the RESULT OF NATURAL LAW. THAT is B.S. Whites being on TOP of the economic PYRAMID is NOT NATURAL, it is based on putting FOOT IN THE ASS of the black man and TAKING IT. So stop talking NONSENSE. YOU WILL NEVER get the SAME ECONOMIC POWER as WHITES just by WORKING as a wage slave. Blacks in South AFrica should not only WORK in the mines they should OWN THE MINES. THAT would represent TRUE PROGRESS, not just Africans FOLLOWING THE BLUEPRINT established by the WHITE RACISTS like Cecil Rhoades envisioned LONG AGO, where WHITE SUPREMACY put WHITES at the TOP OF ALL HUMAN ENDEAVOR, with blacks PERMANENTLY ON THE BOTTOM, as WAGE SLAVES, not OWNERS or IN CONTROL of their OWN ECONOMIES. South Africas economy is NOT OWNED AND RUN BY BLACKS, therefore, it is NOT PROGRESS for them JUST to be getting more money from WAGE SLAVERY. South AFrica's economy SHOULD be RUN BY BLACKS, but it isnt because of APARTHEID, no amount of SPECIAL PLEADING will change that. The GOAL for BLACK South Africans should be to CONTROL South AFrica's economy, from a position ON TOP of the heap not from the BOTTOM. THAT should be the goal, not just WORKING, like all BLACK South Africans have been doing ALL ALONG. HOw is that DIFFERENT? How has anything CHANGED, except you being BRAINWASHED into THINKING it changed? Why isnt the goal CONTROLLING the wealth of the country, rather than just WORKING for chump change and NOT really getting WEALTHY? The GOAL for South African blacks should be to ADDRESS the UNEQUAL distribution of WEALTH and POWER between WHITES AND BLACKS. Remember that? Remember how THAT is why WHITES KILLED so many blacks in the FIRST PLACE? Just WORKING for these racists, is NOT going to CHANGE THE BALANCE OF POWER between WHITES AND BLACKS in South Africa. By NOT persuing a goal of BLACKS being IN CONTROL of South Africa's economy, you are IMPLICITLY SUPPORTING the OBJECTIVES of WHITE SUPREMACY, whether you LIKE IT OR NOT.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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Look at the Sudan Arab run government, who stole the land of the native Afrikans and murdered over 250,000 Afrikans, displaced and forced others into forced Labor/Slavery, while Afrikan nations stood by and watched this and did nothing, excluding Tchad most Afrikan Nations did absolutely nothing to protect their fellow Afrikans.
When Europeans throw crumbs at Afrikans we see a major uproar for the crumbs yet no uproar for the injustice in Sudan, Mauritania why?
Arabs DO NOT respect Afrikans so tell me why Europeans should respect Afrikans?
Arabs use brainwashing tactics and mind control techniques to manipulate and use Afrikans, now tell me why Europeans shouldn't do the same thing Doug M?
Arabs are still to this day subjecting Afrikans to forced labor/Slavery, yet you would expect me to think that Europeans are the problem.
If Europeans decided to return $200 billion dollars to Afrika today, Arabs would take away $210 billion dollars from Afrikans tomorrow, add in a extra $10 billion dollars for Islamic charity of course. When Afrikans remove Arabs out of Afrika then Afrika will get the respect it deserves.
What Arabs get away with in Afrika, they dare not do amongst Afrikans Americans because they are well aware that if Afrikan Americans knew what Arabs do to Afrikans in Afrika all hell would break loose here in America.
Arabs are willing to pay some Afrikan American sell outs like Farakahn to cover up Arab atrocities in Afrika, do you wonder why do Arabs do that Doug M?
The news about Arab atrocities is slowly reaching the Afrikan Americans here and trust me Arabs here are dealing with the consequences.
MAN LAW NO. 1 IF ONE MAN PLAYS YOU FOR A PUNK DON'T BE SUPRISED IF ANOTHER MAN PLAYS YOU FOR A PUNK ALSO.
Hotep
Nigga are u stupid, the arabs u speak of are Africans whom are arabized. Dont try to say whats happenin in Sudan is between arabs and Africans. Everyone who lives in Sudan is an African.
Posts: 671 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
So lets talk facts now. Some keep trolling here about how the CORRUPT politicians of Africa are RUINING the country. What happens to most of these guys once they are deposed? Many times, western governments DECRY their corruption and freeze their bank accounts, then turn that money over to the people to try and REBUILD the contry. Now look at South Africa. You had a WHOLE REGIME of corrupt government officials who made BILLIONS off the exploitation of African land, labor and resources. They get deposed and WHAT HAPPENS? NOTHING. Their bank accounts arent frozen, the money they STOLE is not redistributed the POWER they had is not TAKEN (I mean true power) and they KEEP the wealth and power they STOLE from Africa. Now you want me to see that as FAIR?
Whites CONTROL South Africa the same way whites CONTROL the U.S. South Africa is black in NAME ONLY. Blacks live MOSTLY in GHETTOES, lack access to good health care, good schools, good jobs and everything ELSE that comes with MODERN civilized society. People, especially WHITE people, want us to believe that this is the result of NATURAL forces in the environment. BULL***T. This is a result of APARTHEID. White South Africans and other FOREIGNERS live in the lap of LUXURY, surrounded by wealth, while MOST black South Africans live in squalor. Sure SOME have made it, but MOST havent. Yet you want me to believe that this is all going to be rectified PURELY by blacks WORKING their way up from the bottom? Working at McDonalds is NOT going to make you rich. Blacks in South Africa will ALWAYS be the MAJORITY of the POOR population as LONG as the WEALTH of the country STAYS in the hands of the whites. As long as whites control WHERE you live, WHERE you work, HOW MUCH you get paid, what SCHOOLS you go to, what HEALTH CARE you get, the loans you get and so on. The goal of the struggle is not to be STUCK IN THE GHETTO as PERMANENT POOR. Dont look at the few who DO MAKE it as a sign of "progress", when MOST STILL live in the ghetto. If just WORKING was the solution, then by all rights BLACKS SHOULD BE RICH, since they DID ALL THE WORK, making white s RICH while they got NOTHING. This is not just an issue of WORKING it is an issue of WEALTH distribution. On a philosophical level, if I STEAL your wallet, the ONLY solution for you getting your MONEY back is to get your WALLET back from me. NOTHING ELSE will do it. If you accept a "payment plan" where I GIVE you what I THINK you deserve from YOUR wallet in small amounts, then you ACCEPT me owning YOUR wallet and controlling YOUR money. This is the SAME as saying that blacks exploited by Whites for HUNDREDS of years are going to SIMPLY get ahead JUST by working. First, that is IMPLICIT acceptance that WHAT WAS DONE TO THEM WAS OK, in the sense that the MONEY STOLEN from the blacks through slave labor, oppression, exploitation and genocide BELONGS to the WHITES and is RIGHTFULLY THEIRS TO KEEP. Second, it accepts the idea that WORKING as WAGE SLAVES, taking crumbs in the form of PAYMENT for working will CORRECT the economic imbalance between WHITES and BLACKS. It WONT.
Why do BLACKS live in POVERTY in South Africa? How long should it take to fix that? HOW should that problem be fixed? Answer that question and you will SEE how this whole idea of blacks just WORKING will NOT change the unbalanced distribution of wealth between WHITES and BLACKS in the world. Answer those questions and you will see who is a FOOL and who understands the STRUGGLE. Until blacks are on TOP of the economy, ESPECIALLY in Africa, Africans will ALWAYS be MOSTLY the poor ghetto dwellers of the world.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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We have all heard in the news about Chad's government wanting to renegotiate the terms of the oil development deal made by the world bank. Of course, the West portrayed it as Chad wanting more funds for Guns and somehow being in "jeopardy" of being CORRUPT and THWARTING attempts to help the people of Chad. Yet, look at the details of the project and you will see that this is NOTHING but a smokescreen for Western countries KEEPING CHAD POOR.
Key FACTS
MOST of the investment funds are PRIVATE being made up of the following companies:
Elf Aquitaine (17.3%) ExxonMobil Corporation (34.6%) Government of Cameroon (8.5%) Government of Chad (5%) Societe Shell du Cameroun (34.6%)
Now, before we go any further, just look at how much of a percentage stake Chad and Cameroon have in this project.
Next, lets look at the financing.
Total cost: 2-3 billion dollars MOST of this is being financed by PRIVATE banks, through NORMAL loans to the oil companies and the oil companies themselves. (Make note of this). The world bank supplied ($53.4 million for Cameroon and $39.5 million for Chad) to finance the governments' equity share in the project and a $100 million loan from International Finance Corporation (IFC) to the joint-venture pipeline companies. This amounts to a measly 200 million dollars of "investment" in total dollars by the world bank to Chad and Cameroon.
Terms of the deal. Under this program, Chad and Peak oil output per day: 225,000 barrels, with Chad getting 12.5% of the yearly royalties. Now, do the math. How does 12.5% amount to a lot of money? Why cant Chad, the SOURCE of the oil get more of the profits? Why? Because BLACK Africans are supposed to be ignorant savages and unable to HANDLE big money. This is the pretext for the World Bank going in and FORCING Chad to have to get its money from an ESCROW account controlled by the World Bank. The point here is that Chad is poor. It needs to make money off of its resources to PROSPER. The world bank comes in and provides COVER for foreign companies to make BILLIONS off of Chad's oil, while using Chad's possible CORRUPTION as a SMOKESCREEN to hide this fact.
Therefore, the SOLE purpose of the World Bank in this project, was NOT to give Chad an opportunity to PROSPER, but to JUSTIFY giving Chad a SMALL percentage of the total profits of the projected revenue. The key point to remember here is that the commercial companies are CONTINUING to expand their oilfields in Chad OUTSIDE the original oilfields specified by this project. Therefore, these NEW oilfields dont fall under the rules established by the project. However, even though these NEW oilfields are being drilled OUTSIDE the original project, the percentage Chad gets of any profits is STILL 12.5-15%. TOTALLY unfair. Why is it unfair? Do the math. The TOTAL profits of 1 year's operation of this pipeline will PAY FOR ITSELF. If gas is floating at $75 dollars a barrel and you are pumping 225,000 barrels + the amount of barrels found in OTHER oilfields, that amounts to about 6 BILLION a year. That is MORE than enough to pay off the total initial investment of 3 billion a year. ANY new oilfields FOUND in Chad SHOULD be DEVELOPED by Chad owned oil companies and NOT by FOREIGN companies getting the MAJORITY of the profits. It is ridiculous to call this some sort of HELP for Africa, since it LOCKS IN FOREIGN CONTROL of CHAD's resources and FORCES Chad to get LESS than its fair share of the profits. Just going by today's crude oil prices, this project, at 225,000 barrels a day will make over 150 billion dollars in 25 years. And that is at TODAY's prices, dont even think about what happens when the oil goes above 80 dollars a barrel. Guess where MOST of that money is going. The project projects that Chad will get about 2 billion dollars in revenue over 25 years as a result. Probably more than that due to current oil prices, but either way a measly amount compared to the TOTAL profits being made.
Bottom line, this is a PERFECT example of how the World Bank RAPES Africa and USES government corruption to JUSTIFY FOREIGN companies making MORE MONEY off of Africa's resources than Africa itself and then BLAMING governments, who only get a SMALL percentage of the profits to begin with, for all the problems.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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quote: No Hotep, YOU are trying to confuse my point. I look at ALL foreign exploitation in Africa in the same light, whether it be Arab, Asian, European or anyone else.
All foreign exploitation is NOT the same because Arabs exploits Afrikans through a BRAINWASHING process they use Islam to brainwash Afrikans into removing their Afrikan identity then assuming a ARAB identity later these Arabs use the newly formed brainwashed Arab wannabe robot into hating and killing their fellow Afrikans by labeling one group of Afrikans as Arabs or Muslims and the other group PAGANS or Bantu, typical divide and conquer tactics.
ARAB exploitation has been going on for over 1300 years, so Doug M if you claim the BRAINWASHING of Afrikan people with Islam as being the same as using UNFAIR business practices to cheat Afrikans out of their fair share of the wealth that comes from Afrika then you Doug M is the one trying to confuse the issue.
A thief is a thief, a CHEATER is a CHEATER while a LIAR is a LIAR, they are not all the same they are different. Doug M based off the evidence you have provided then it is fair to say Europeans cheat and steal while Arabs LIE and Murder these are two different actions done by two different groups in order to exploit Afrikan people.
Afrikans suffer under European exploitation while Afrikans die or get murdered under Arab exploitation so it is in the best interest of all Afrikans to recognize the difference and deal with the MOST critical problem first.
Stop the Arabs from continuing to kill Afrikans without repercussion then you will put the Afrikans in a position to better deal with European exploitative tactics.
Doug M wrote:
quote: Now you want me to see that as FAIR?
No Doug M that is not fair that racist didn’t pay for their crimes against Afrikan people in South Afrika that were victims of Apartheid, I agree with you that some form of reparations should be paid.
Doug M Europeans do NOT control South Afrika because if they did then Mbeki would NOT be president and Affirmative Actions LAWS would not be written into their legal structure right now, here in America Affirmative Action has helped some Afrikan Americans to gain wealth, this proves that Affirmative Action laws can be used to as a deterrent against RACIST practices that could go on in business.
Doug M some times you have to give people a chance to prove themselves and Europeans in South Afrika are trying to make things better for everyone their so lets hope they succeed in creating a environment where Afrikans and Europeans can work together for the common GOOD because at the end of the day South Afrika has 45+ million people to feed TODAY.
Taking away farm land and mining companies might do more harm than good for the majority of South Afrikans, Doug M are you aware that South Afrika today has the highest standard of living for any Afrikan living in Afrika? Do you want to compare South Afrika with all its problems to the Sudan, Nigeria, etc.? South Afrika has a real future for Afrikans I wish them well. Native Afrikans make up 90% of South Afrika population so guess who will always fill the ghettos by default? Simple mathematics Doug M, here in America majority of the poor are Europeans, majority of the welfare recipients are Europeans because European Americans make up majority of the population in America.
Most native South Afrikans do NOT live in Squalor Doug M because South Afrika has a generous housing policy where they are building and selling low interest houses in order to move the Afrikans out of poor living conditions and guess what South Afrika has received so much immigration from other Afrikan countries especially Zimbabwe that the immigrants are playing a major role in the problem of Afrikans living in poor living conditions.
South Afrika is in a tight and complex situation because they are trying to solve past racial injustices and having to confront the aftermath of Mugabes harsh position in Zimbabwe, so it’s a situation of your damned if you do and damned if you don’t right now, so we have to give the process some time to fix itself because Europeans took 300 years to get to where they are in South Afrika today the process of brutal oppression wasn’t overnight so the solution will NOT happen overnight Doug M.
The South Afrikan government has given up until 2014 to bring about the country where at least 30% of all businesses in South Afrika are OWNED by native Afrikans. Let’s hope that the South Afrikans who obtain wealth use it WISELY and don’t waste the opportunity, lets hope they help the poor amongst their own community and not give away the wealth with materialistic pursuits.
Doug M let me share something with you a couple of years ago Botswana tried to take a strong position in the diamond industry meaning they tried to take over the Debeers by selling diamonds of their own and cheaper, what the Debeers did was counter this move by flooding the market with diamonds which drove prices down to a point where Botswana was losing money from it’s venture, as a result Botswana conceded defeat and began working back with the Debeers because that’s business you win some and you lose some.
Botswana today has a good economy where its people are living decent even though Botswana also has to deal with the wave of migrants from Zimbabwe because of the position that Mugabe took.
Botswana and South Afrika feels the pressure from Zimbabwe issues, these countries have people to feed so they have to do the best they can Doug M. Racial problems between Afrikans and Europeans are a big problem today in Afrika and ARABS exploit these problems to the fullest in order to spread Islam, so you have Arabs who feed off Racial problems between Europeans and Afrikans by promoting tough talk and so called sympathy towards Afrikans only to use these problems as a way to brainwash Afrikans into rebelling against Racism by accepting Islam of course and this is the way the GAME is played against Afrikans, because Afrikans lose any way you look at it.
Doug M wrote:
quote: Terms of the deal. Under this program, Chad and Peak oil output per day: 225,000 barrels, with Chad getting 12.5% of the yearly royalties. Now, do the math. How does 12.5% amount to a lot of money? Why cant Chad, the SOURCE of the oil get more of the profits? Why?
Doug M Chad did NOT put up the billions needed to dig for the Oil the Corporations did, if Chad doesn’t like the deal don’t sign leave it alone.
Quote:
quote: LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - The start of production at Exxon Mobil's (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Maikeri field could help boost Chad's oil output to 200,000 barrels per day by the end of the year, up 30,000 bpd from 2005, the country's oil minister said on Tuesday. Oil Minister Mahamat Nasser Hassane also reiterated that the country's output could rise to 400,000 bpd in about five years. "If everything works normally, we think we can achieve 400,000 barrels per day," Hassane told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil conference in London. The new Exxon field Maikeri, which the government recently allowed to commence production, could add up to 40,000 bpd to the country's output, he added. Oil revenues account for 87 percent of government revenues in Chad, one of the world's poorest countries Chad only produces 200,000 barrels per day now lets understand the Corporation took many RISK when it made this deal because the BILLIONS needed to build the rigs came from the Corporations
Doug M let me give you a secret; the lowest position an Afrikan can become is a Muslim Afrikan. A Muslim Afrikan is destined to poverty because most people are scared of Muslims period and don’t want to do any business with Muslims and definitely not a Muslim + Afrikan two lower caste positions so even before Chad comes to the negotiating table they are in a losing position trust me.
Risk taken were
Chad has a high Muslim population, Muslim Afrikans are brainwashed and unstable plus they are prone to war so at any time a war might occur and this could cause this Oil Company to lose most if not all the money it invested because some crazy Muslim could blow it all up.
Chad is close to Libya another Muslim country who also doesn’t like Afrikans so the idea of Arabs seeing Afrikans gaining wealth stimulates JEALOUSY amongst Arabs which will promote Arab aggression towards Chad, this spells WAR RISK.
Chad is close to the Sudan another Muslim country with an ongoing Civil war that could spread at any moment over the border, this spells WAR RISK.
Most Insurance Companies are going to charge a high premium to insure this Corporation doing business in Chad because it’s a stupid investment because of the WAR RISK.
Next you have unruly Afrikans might strike at any moment because they are mad about the politics that exist in the country this spells, low productivity plus WAR RISK.
Doug M the RISK outweigh the rewards for the investment when you look at the environment plus OIL prices are not stable, 6 years ago Oil was selling at under $20/ barrel, so the prices we see today will not last for 25 years trust me.
Doug M I’m not condoning the theft of profits I’m just asking you to look at the facts involved because just as we look at the Risk so do the Corporations that do these deals, sure enough look what happened in Chad, Libya attacked and the A.U. or (Arab hijacked Union) did NOTHING as we would expect the Arab Union in Afrika did absolutely nothing they left Chad to dry. Lets drop the A.U. meaning Afrikan Union nonsense because the facts show the A. U. is controlled by Arabs today, so the A.U. means ARAB UNION. Lets get back to the issue now Chad gets help because the Corporation had to protect it’s interest so we can assume some calls were made to the right people and the weapons came in to help Chad WHOOP Libya.
Trust me those weapons cost the poor people in Chad because when Chad could have been using those crumbs to build the Economy of the country funds had to go towards fighting off ARAB invaders from Libya, Doug M did Libya help Chad by raging war on a poor Afrikan country that was already being raped?
Europeans kicking Chad in the stomach next ARAB Libya comes in and knocks Chad over the head with War Clubs and Doug M only looks at the Europeans involvement.
Doug M It’s a tag team match up because the minute Chad defeats Libya what happens next the Sudanese refugees numbering 2.5 million flood the country because they are running from the ARABICIZED brainwash Afrikans living in the Sudan who were acting like the robots they are by seeking to kill and destroy Christians and Animist (so called Pagans) Arab controlled Divide and Conquer tactics at work.
Now we also can’t forget that the other Afrikan nations stand by and do NOTHING to end the problem that Chad faces.
Though that wasn’t the end of the problem because the Sudan decides to attack Chad just as the RISK assessment probably figured and as usual the other Afrikan countries stand by and watch as Chad just gets abused from every single direction and we wonder why Chad today is one of the poorest countries in the world.
AFRIKANS must remove the Arabs they have to go, Afrikans must deal with the Arabs because they are causing too much TROUBLE. When Afrikan Nations goes to War with Arab countries that’s when Afrikans will begin to prosper because ARABS are costing Afrika, LIVES and progress. Doug M war cost money plus its bad for business so it will cost countries in Afrika also, a business has to assess the risk it takes to mine those resources and in the end if the risk is high then the country loses, the solution to this problem is for Afrikan countries to stabilize politically or mine their own resources.
Europeans benefit when they don’t deal unfairly with Afrikans though in the end Afrikans have to remove the ARAB risk because they can’t afford the premium that it cost Afrikan people.
posted
Hotep, thanks for the reply, but let me say this up front. While I am talking about EUROPEAN exploitation in Africa, that does NOT mean that I do not AGREE that ARABS are also a MAJOR source of problems in Africa. It just so happens that I am focusing on the European exploitation, since MANY still dont believe it STILL exists.
Why are you so SYMPATHETIC to the whites? Do you feel sorry for them? I never said I was PRO Arab. I am PRO BLACK AFRICAN, period. You keep trying to turn this into a issue that it isnt. I want Africans to get MOST of the profit from any economic activity in Africa. The ONLY reason they are NOT getting the MAJORITY of the profits from economic activity in Africa is because of colonialism and racism. First off, Africans deserve REPARATIONS for the hundreds of years of whites BLATANTLY using Africa to get rich. Yes, I WANT to take Whites off the TOP of the economic heap. I want BLACKS to be the richest people in Africa. I want BLACKS to have the most money in Africa. I am not racist, but I have no problem saying this because of the history of racism and exploitation in Africa.
Debeers should be GONE and replaced by an African owned company. And Debeers is a CARTEL, based on the SOLE CONTROL of distribution of African diamonds by WHITE South Africans, Europeans, Arabs and Israelis. Taking BILLIONS from blacks, yet you are on DEBEERS side? The example of Debeers DEVALUATING the price of DIAMONDS is EXACTLY the problem. The PROBLEM is that Debeers is NOT PLAYING FAIR, has NEVER played fair and WILL NOT PLAY FAIR WITH PROFITS FROM DIAMONDS. Debeers is the most racist monopoly on the face of the earth and YOU act as if you SUPPORT their tactics as being FAIR. They dont WANT anyone to get money from diamonds EXCEPT THEMSELVES. The idea that diamonds are RARE is a LIE invented by Debeers in the FIRST PLACE, to DRIVE UP the price of diamonds. THEY concocted the add campaigns that made diamond rings a sign of engagement and a "womans' best friend". Then they TOOK control of MOST diamond production in African countries through OVERT and COVERT operations that killed and destroyed countless African communities to BUILD the cartel so that they could CONTROL the diamond trade and KEEP diamond prices HIGH. So Hotep, NOTHING about Debeers is based on TRUE economics of fair trade. It is purely based on exploitation, racism and market manipulation. WHY do you support them? I think you are NAIVE in that you buy the SOB STORIES and CROCODILE TEARS of Europeans who are ALWAYS shown on Western T.V. as SUFFERING because of the blacks taking the land or taking something from the whites. Dude, I dont feel sorry for whites after all their years of exploitation and their stories of "suffering" are meaningless to me.
South Africa's population is 50% poor and yes it has the highest standard of living in Africa for WHITES and INDIANS, who make up less than 10% of the population. The problem of South Africa, just like the problem in MOST of Africa with Africans and poverty is UNFAIR distribution of WEALTH due to RACISM and OPPRESSION, whether it be Arab, European or ANYONE ELSE. MARKET FORCES will not SOLVE the problem because MARKET FORCES did not CREATE the problem. The PROBLEM was caused by foreigners PURPOSELY taking MOST of the land and resources from Africans and USING them to get RICH to the DETRIMENT of the blacks. Therefore, the ONLY way for blacks to get ahead is to FIRST acknowledge that these foreigners OWE them a GREAT DEAL and DEMAND reparations. The WHOLE FARCE of this exercise of peace and reconcilliation between Africans and the former colonialists, is that EVERY TIME, the Africans are NEVER EVER paid reparations. In fact, the it is the COLONIALISTS are paid off. So the COLONIALISTS prosper EVEN MORE and the Africans are left looking STUPID. Land has to be PAID FOR by the government of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe before it can be given BACK to the Africans, they cant just TAKE it and DEMAND a percentage of the profits earned by the farm based on its years of existence during colonialism (even though many have PURPOSELY changed hands since the colonial period, to make these NEW owners seem like INNOCENT victims of African land grabs, while the TRUE racists get away with the money). Why should Africans have to PAY to get back the land STOLEN from them? Africans should NOT have to start on a farm given to them with NO MONEY. They should get LAND AND MONEY in order to make this whole exercise WORK. This WHOLE process of peace and reconciliation is RIGGED in favor of the foreigners. It is just CONTINUED exploitation, which MOST of us who are BRAINWASHED beleives is progress.
Market forces will not HELP address economic inequality UNLESS Africans OWN the businesses and make MOST of the profits from economic activity. Modern capitalism is based on PROFITS. PROFITS go to the OWNERS of the company, not the workers. The BOSS and the TOP EXECUTIVES get MOST of the money. Workers get VERY LITTLE, compared to those at the top. THEREFORE, the disparity is in how many black Africans are at the TOP of the company, CEO and UP, BOARD OF DIRECTORS and other TOP EXECUTIVE POSITIONS. Just being the stock boy does NOTHING. Therefore, to TRULY use the market to redress the legacy of exploitation, Africans MUST take over the means of production and OWNERSHIP or MAJORITY STAKE in the major enterprises of the country. Next, they have to BUILD a SUPPORT SYSTEM. Colonists in Africa did not just take LAND from Africans, they built support systems to maintain and prosper on the land. These support systems were CRITICAL to the success of these operations. Just GIVING the land to Africans, with no money and no SUPPORT SYSTEM in place is MEANINGLESS and is an excercise in futility. Colonists had HELP from the colonial NATIONS from which they came to BUILD their support system. Therefore, Africans must build SUPPORT SYSTEMS to make African farms and other enterprises BENEFICIAL to them. You need seed distribution, water distribution, disease control, mechanical equipment, technical knowledge, agricultural knowledge and other forms of SUPPORT to prosper in these endeavors.
Trust me, the FACT that reparations are NOT being paid is DIRECTLY a result of the colonialists making sure that THEY would stay on TOP of Africans in positions of economic POWER and ENSURE the longevity of WHITE SUPREMACY. This leaves blacks in South Africa and elsewhere bickering among EACH OTHER as to WHY they are still poor even though colonialism and apartheid is over:
quote: In per capita terms South Africa is an upper-middle-income country, but despite this relative wealth, the experience of most South African households is of outright poverty or of continuing vulnerability to being poor. In addition, the distribution of income and wealth in South Africa is among the most unequal in the world, and many households still have unsatisfactory access to education, health care, energy and clean water. This situation is likely to affect not only the country’s social and political stability, but also the development path it follows: countries with less equal distributions of income and wealth tend not to grow as rapidly as those with more equitable distributions. This Poverty and Inequality Report (PIR) reviews the extent and nature of poverty and inequality in South Africa, and assesses the current policy framework for the reduction of both. It attempts to provide clear conceptual and practical guidelines concerning the issues which need to be taken into consideration in the formulation of policy, its implementation, and when monitoring its impact.
The approach to reducing poverty and inequality
The approach adopted by the PIR is based on breaking the forces that have perpetuated poverty, while promoting income, wealth and opportunity. It is based on the following assumptions:
* economic growth and human development are linked, and should enhance quality of life; * this is best achieved through advancing the capabilities of disadvantaged communities, households and individuals by improving their access to assets, both physical and social; * having established a framework for short-term macroeconomic stability, government should place increasing emphasis on redistributive measures; * to achieve this, a more assertive role will be required by government in facilitating the transfer of assets and services from the wealthy to the poor, matched by market, institutional and spatial reforms benefiting the less well-off; * the collection of social, economic and demographic information to monitor the extent and nature of change is a priority in managing the reduction of poverty and inequality.
Expansion of capabilities focuses on the relationship of people to the resources they have and the commodities they require when meeting their basic sustenance requirements. The important elements in this are: (1) the assets, claims and resources that are available to people; (2) the activities they have to undertake in order to generate a sustainable livelihood; and (3) the commodities and services they require for an acceptable standard of living. Different policy options can impact on different elements within this system: for example, land reform could increase the availability of land for small-scale farming, while reforming financial markets could facilitate the actions required to produce a crop.
Experience has shown that unqualified reliance on market forces to allow the benefits of economic growth to ‘trickle down’ to the poor is not effective where the underlying institutional context has remained the same. In South Africa, while many of the institutional requirements for efficient markets are present, institutional discrimination has meant that many markets remain strongly influenced by existing positions of power and influence. Policy to reduce poverty and inequality therefore has to take into account the complementarity between different kinds of assets and the nature of the markets in which they are exchanged.
While economic growth contributes to poverty reduction, it may not necessarily reduce inequality. Further, there is evidence that countries starting off with significant inequality experience lower growth rates than others because lack of access to physical, financial and human assets constrains poor people from participating effectively and efficiently in the economy. By contrast, the Newly-industrialised Countries (NICs) of East Asia experienced rapid economic growth which was associated with interventionist government policies to achieve more equitable human resource development. In South Africa, it seems likely that the perpetuation of extreme inequality will constrain achievement of government’s ambitious economic growth targets.
posted
Doug M you make informative points. But explain why a place like Nigeria with barrels of petrodollars flowing in daily cannot solve such basic and elementary problems such as 24 hour electricity and pipe-borne water? Abuja is a nicely built-up place but the majority of Nigerians don't live there. I was listening to BBC just a few days ago and there was a discussion on corruption, and the electricity and water problem came up. One of Nigerian guests complained that there has no electricity in her area of Lagos for a very long time, etc., etc. IS THE PROBLEM PSYCHOLOGICAL? LACK OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF AFRICA? JUST PLAIN ALIENATION? IGNORANCE? After all electricity generation is an old technology--with us for more than 100 years. And the brainwashed Nigerian "elite" has been sending its members to be trained overseas now for decades. What is the point of all that if basic technologies just cannot be effectively implemented?
The answer given by the Nigerian panelist was that the funds budgeted for eletrical energy are simply siphoned off. If true, then what causes that kind of blatant irresponsibility?
To HOTEP:
I look at Sudan TV by way of a satellite here in West Africa. It's Channell 43 on my programme list--and as far as I see the people there--with fanciful Arab names and all speaking Arabic as their language--are all very black. I even saw a youth football(soccer) game on TV yesterday and everybody was--well--just black as the people of Northern Nigeria(Hausa and Fulanis).
The problem is that the black?African has no self generated modern identity to present to the world. All black/African identities have been created and imposed by others--and all are embraced as if they were self generated. Think of anything cultural today that Africans/blacks embrace and you will see that they are phony and fake: nationality(just think of that stupid conflict in Ivory Coast about who is a "real" Ivoirian and who is not. The leading ideologue in all this is President Gbagbo himself--and the man, of all things, is a historian in Africa), religion--Christianity and Islam for which people in Northern Nigeria and other parts go crazy over.
So does this alienation explain the weird and crazy behaviour of African/black governments and people all over Africa and in overseas Africa(this "diaspora" term is just so phony)?
Doug M argues that the solution is for Africans to disposses the usurping Europeans and others of their strangleholds on the economies and resourecs of Africa. So why don't the African officials just do it! What's holding them back? Ignorance, fear(of what?), being just brainwashed, etc.?
I witnessed the AU conference here in Gambia a couple weeks back. Apart from the presence of Hugo Chavez--who spoke--I was struck by the fact that nations like Haiti and Jamaica have never requested membership in the AU when such off-shore places like Mauritius, Madagascar and Comores are members. The Arab league has members on both continents--Africa and Asia. The Commonwealth has eager members from all over the world where the British plundered, killed and enslaved--with even places like Mozambique(ex-Portugese colony) joining up. Alienation? An unwillingness of the African/blackman to look at himself straight in the mirror and ask: "what am I"?
All this ties in with Egyptsearch because one of its functions has been to seek to answer the question of Africa--the another twist on the riddle of the Sphinx.
Posts: 5492 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Hotep2u: All foreign exploitation is NOT the same because Arabs exploits Afrikans through a BRAINWASHING process they use Islam to brainwash Afrikans into removing their Afrikan identity then assuming a ARAB identity later these Arabs use the newly formed brainwashed Arab wannabe robot into hating and killing their fellow Afrikans by labeling one group of Afrikans as Arabs or Muslims and the other group PAGANS or Bantu, typical divide and conquer tactics.
Tell me Hotep, other than the Northern Sudanese, what Mulsim Africans do you know who are brainwashed to deny their black African identity??
I know many Somalis and NON of them ever make claims to being Arab. The same goes for some West African Hausas I know who are also traditionally Muslim.
There are Somalis who post on this board and have you noticed that they seem very interested in things like the Land of Punt in which some of whom claim to in their homeland. They also seem interested in the connections between their heritage and the Egyptians. Yet at the same time they are also proud of being Muslims.
Multisphinx is an Egyptian who is extremely adament about his people being black Africans and their ancient civilization being African and gets sick and tired of claims saying otherwise, yet he is a proud Muslim.
Tell me, since when does being Muslim mean being "brainwashed" into being Arab??
You realize that there are many Muslims in Asia and yet non of them ever claim to be Arab. I even have a few relatives who are Muslims.
It's one thing to be angry about the situation in Sudan but it's another thing to hold such a view on Muslims in general.
Posts: 26504 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by lamin: Doug M you make informative points. But explain why a place like Nigeria with barrels of petrodollars flowing in daily cannot solve such basic and elementary problems such as 24 hour electricity and pipe-borne water? Abuja is a nicely built-up place but the majority of Nigerians don't live there. I was listening to BBC just a few days ago and there was a discussion on corruption, and the electricity and water problem came up. One of Nigerian guests complained that there has no electricity in her area of Lagos for a very long time, etc., etc. IS THE PROBLEM PSYCHOLOGICAL? LACK OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF AFRICA? JUST PLAIN ALIENATION? IGNORANCE? After all electricity generation is an old technology--with us for more than 100 years. And the brainwashed Nigerian "elite" has been sending its members to be trained overseas now for decades. What is the point of all that if basic technologies just cannot be effectively implemented?
Do you know the HISTORY of Nigeria? Why do people want to start the story at the END of the book? Anyway, just how much money is Nigeria making?
Nigeria has the LARGEST population in Africa. Nigeria has about 125 billion dollars in gdp from 2005.
Do the math. You CANNOT expect the population of Nigeria to have the SAME amount of money per person as a country like Saudi Arabia. The Saudi population numbers at 27 million. Saudi Arabia had about 350 Billion in GDP from 2005.
Do the math. The only reason Saudi Arabia is considered a RICH country is because they have such a SMALL population in comparison to the amount of REVENUE received on a yearly basis. If Saudi Arabia had the SAME population as Nigeria, it WOULD NOT be considered a rich country. On top of that Saudi Oil has been for a LONG time OWNED by the government and even when they DID privatize it, the private company that took over was RUN by Saudi Princes. So calling the situation in Nigeria a situation based PURELY on corruption is not looking at the whole picture. If you ONLY have a limited amount of resources, NO REAL ECONOMY and a LARGE population, then you WONT have a whole lot of money to begin with. Therefore, whatever corruption that exists will be AMPLIFIED because of the LIMITED resources in the country. Wealthy countries are wealthy BECAUSE of the ability of companies run by their citizens to profit off of resources on FOREIGN soil. If the Western countries had to SOLELY depend on the resources WITHIN their borders, they WOULD NOT be rich. In RICH countries, the corruption goes unnoticed because there is SO MUCH money to begin with. We all question Dick Cheney's, George Bush's and Condoleeza Rice's connection to the OIL industry, but other than the FOREIGN POLICY implications, most consider it as the ULTRA rich getting ULTRA richer and not directly impacting their DAILY ability to EARN money. The KEY to that is the fact that Western countries have an economy OUTSIDE the oil sector and does NOT depend SOLELY on oil to survive. Therefore, no matter IF George, Dick and Condy are making millions in kickbacks, MOST Americans wont FEEL a pinch on their pocketbooks DIRECTLY, since they KNOW that the economy is big enough to spread the wealth around. At the same token however, it does make many feel, both IN and OUTSIDE the that the government of the U.S. has a foreign policy that IS based on oil and profits on oil have a HUGE part to play in many of the American political decisions. But of course, that does NOT come into play when talking about poor Nigeria.
As a comparison to the GDP of Nigeria, the total revenues for Shell Oil were 307 billion dollars in 2005. Where do you think this money comes from? Foreign oil deposits of course.
Now last but not least, lets look at the U.S. The U.S. GDP in 2005 was 12 TRILLION dollars. The population of the U.S. is about 300 million. Do the math. Thats a lot of money that can dissappear do to corruption at ALL levels with NOBODY noticing.
While I do agree that Nigeria has problems with corruption, I think that MANY are UNFAIRLY judging Nigeria and MANY African countries and NOT looking at the ABILITY of these countries to get MORE MONEY from their OWN resources and not just a mere percentage. Western countries are rich PRECISELY because of their abiliti to EXPLOIT other people's land, labor and resources for their OWN profit. This is what allowed the industrial revolution to occur. It was NOT just intellectual activity, it was the ACCESS to CHEAP raw materials extracted from COLONIAL holdings and CHEAP labor in the form of SLAVERY that generated the HUGE profits that allowed Western industrialists to EXPAND and DIVERSIFY. An even BETTER example is South Africa. The Whites took the MONEY generated by the mines and farms in South Africa to finance the development of industry and banking. These in turn were used to finance EXPANSION of South African WHITES in into NEARBY countries like Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. This in turn allowed them to make even MORE in profits from the exploitation of the resources in these countries. Therefore large prosperous economies are NOT build from depending on the resources in your OWN borders and having JUST enough to cover your debts and fiscal obligations. Large prosperous economies are built on EXCESS profits that go into the BANKING system and is used to FINANCE economic activity. Without EXCESS profits to generate CAPITAL and make economic activity POSSIBLE, there is NO WEALTH. Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE to expect countries in Africa, who SOLELY depend on one or two PRIMARY exports, have a HISTORY of exploitation that TOOK money from them, have NO economies and NO infrustructure and only get a SMALL perentage of total revenue from their resources to BE PROSPEROUS. Like I said earlier, if Europe and America were JUST limited to the resources in their OWN borders, they would NOT be rich. Especially if you expect these countries to MAGICALLY become wealthy within 20 years of gaining INDEPENDENCE from the west and IGNORE the fact that MANY of the corrupt governments and MUCH of the political stability is SUPPORTED by Western interests. Lets not forget that the U.S. SUPPORTED Obasanjo for a LONG time.
Now lets look CLOSELY at this corruption: General Abacha, the former president of Nigeria, supposedly took about 5 billion dollars from Nigeria. His rule lasted about 5 years. That amounts to 1 billion a year. While I am NOT saying I support corrupt governments in Africa, I AM saying that 5 billion over five years is NOT enough to TURN Nigera into a RICH country either. That is RIDICULOUS. And the government DID get 2 billion of it back, but how much of a difference did it make? And lets not forget the REASON why these GENERALS were put in place in the FIRST place, the Cold War.
So, while I AGREE that corruption is BAD for Africa, I disagree that it is the SOLE reason for Africa's poverty. MOST of Africa's poverty and economic woes STILL trace back to the racist exploitation of Africa for its resources, including the activities of Western Governments and their companies. This CORRUPTION is an excuse for Westerners to CONTINUE meddling in the economic affairs of Africa, EXPLOITING their resources, while using CORRUPTION as a cover. After all the years of supporting people like MOBUTU, the EPITOME of African corruption, in the first place. Learn history and dont start at the END of the book. Not only that, lets not forget that BRITAIN was a STAUNCH supporter of Aparthied South Africa for a VERY LONG time and it is the BRITISH economic interests in South Africa that are the REASON behind that B.S. truth and reconcilliation plan that FORGAVE the racists for all their SINS and LEFT them with all the money, in order to PROTECT British economic interests.
The funny thing is after all of that talk of the BILLIONS Mobutu stole from Africa, they ONLY found about 4 million in Swiss Banks..... Of course, I hope you dont beleive that this is in the pockets of AFRICANS, corrupt or otherwise.
quote: doug.you are letting the europeans drive you mad.
No he’s not Doug is on Point
Nice spin though
Question are some of you here trying to convince us that a small group who are not even indigenous to Africa for example theDe Beers Company controlling 80% of African diamonds is good for Africans?
No Indigenous Africans at this party
The same De Beers who originally help imprison Nelson Mandela in the first place under the Apartheid system
Shrewd business people is an understatment
Posts: 567 | From: USA | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Let me explain how the VODOO economics system is KEEPING Africa poor.
As I said repeatedly in my posts, Africa needs access to CAPITAL. Capital is EXCESS profits from various economic ventures which is used as the BASIS of the banking system, which, in turn, is the basis of the ECONOMY. In ANY history book, the WEALTH of the U.S. economy starts with TRADE and BANKING. Trade in resources (stolen of course from the Indians) and equipment generates wealth for the traders who deposit money in banks. These banks becomes INSTITUTIONS of STATE, allowing the FINANCIAL interests of the country to be developed. But the KEY here is that the BANKS only have as much as is deposited, so without EXCESS money from exploiting OTHER peoples land and resources, like the Indians and so forth, there wouldnt BE finances for tremendous growth.
Now. Here we have Africa. MOST African countries do NOT have their own Banks and the banks they do have DONT have a lot of CAPITAL. THEREFORE, without CAPITAL, they CANNOT stimulate the indigenous BUSINESS sector to GO OUT and MAKE MORE MONEY. So, everything in MOST African countries depends on FOREIGN banks. Most FOREIGN banks, especially COMMERCIAL banks, will NOT make direct loans to FOREIGNERS, especially Africans. MOST banks are institutions of STATE, meaning they are SOLELY for the advancement of the PROFITS of economic interests WITHIN the country, not FOREIGNERS. Therefore, they are USED to PROMOTE the expansion of economic interests into overseas markets, which promotes MORE profits and MORE capital for the COUNTRY, which puts MORE money in the banking system. So, Africans wanting to develop MAJOR industries or do MAJOR construction, have to rely on guess who? The World Bank. The World Bank is basically a consortium of the BIGGEST banking interests from the largest economies in the world. So it is INHERENT in the World Bank, in its VERY EXISTENCE to PROMOTE the interests of the BANKING SYSTEMS, meaning FOREIGN BUSINESS INTERESTS, of the countries involved in it. Therefore, any LOAN or AID gotten from the World Bank will ALWAYS have STRINGS attached. These STRINGS almost ALWAYS involve allowing COMPANIES from the countries INVOLVED in the World Bank, to expand their ECONOMIC INTERESTS in the economy of the country GETTING the aid. Most times this GUARANTEES that the FOREIGNERS are getting MORE from the AID than the COUNTRY that NEEDS it. So it is NOT really aid. In all reality the World Bank is a BROKER or FRONT company for FOREIGN firms, making sure FOREIGNERS have UNFAIR advantage over third world economies, which allows FOREIGNERS to take MUCH NEEDED resources FROM the developing world, all the while making it look like they are giving AID. And it is MOSTLY built around the legacy of RACIST exploitation of native populations for MONEY. THEREFORE, Africans just cant GET the same access to CAPITAL that whites get. So they cannot engage in the SAME level of economic activity as WHITES. But of course, the World Bank and other FOREIGN interests dont MENTION access to capital when they talk about the DEVELOPING world. And if they do, it is almost ALWAYS tied to some "plan" that generates MORE money for THEM than the country they are SUPPOSEDLY trying to help. Africans need UNFETTERED, NO STRINGS ATTACHED, access to capital, the same way some FOREIGNER who goes to Africa has ACCESS to CAPITAL from banks in their home countries. THIS would allow Africans to COMPETE and GAIN from growth in the economy, since they would be participating as ENTREPENEURS not as just LABORERS. They cant COMPETE with foreign businesses, coming into the country with all sorts of access to CAPITAL from their home countries. This puts Africans at a DISADVANTAGE in the global economy, keeping them from making the LARGE profits that they COULD make from their own economies. But that is WHAT THE FOREIGNERS WANT.
When foreigners talk about "investment" in Africa, they are talking about SUPPORTING FOREIGN business activities in Africa that make MORE money than Africans. This "investment" is not going directly to Africans, it goes to the COMPANIES and INDIVIDUALS, who in turn use it to FINANCE business activity which GENERATES profits for the COMPANIES and INDIVIDUALS involved and a RETURN for the original investors. THEREFORE, it takes money FROM Africa, keeping Africans AWAY from the CAPITAL and MONEY they need to finance their OWN economic interests. Economic activity in Africa is mainly a LOPSIDED affair, with foreign companies and minority white owned interests making the MAJORITY of the money. Africans dont HAVE the wealth, power and PRESTIGE from years of COLONIAL exploitation, military strength or economic depth to PROTECT their own interests. Most times, they are EMERGING from ONE crisis or another, either wars, colonial rule, despotic governments or something else, that FORCES them to TAKE whatever "aid" is being offered, whether the "aid" is really "aid" or not. THIS is why wars, disease and despotic governments have LONG been associated with FOREIGN influence, since it ALLOWS foreigners to CONTINUE to manipulate Africa for its OWN interests and Africas DETRIMENT.
Case in point, when was the last time you saw an African become a successful OIL tycoon, FARMER or some such OTHER entrepeneur based on corruption, warfare or some other sort of exploitation? NEVER. Whenever WHITES get involved in any sort of rebellion, exploitation or corruption, there is almost ALWAYS some corporate benefactor somewhere, which is DIRECTLY a result of such corrupt activity. This points to the fact that Europeans do almost EVERYTHING in the name of MONEY. Forget IDEOLOGY. Africans are always fighting WARS, but NEVER have anything to show for it after they are OVER. Why is that? Why fight for the country only to be WORSE OFF than you were before? The OBVIOUS answer is because MOST of these wars are NOT wars of TRUE revolutions or FOR the people. These are PROXY wars, funded by FOREIGN interests for THEIR benefit. The same with CORRUPTION in Africa. Where are the OIL tycoons and OIL conglomerates run by AFRICANS based on EXPLOITATION and CORRUPTION? NOWHERE. Therefore, it SHOWS that the CORRUPTION in Africa is MOSTLY a FRONT for FOREIGN interests, not the PERSONAL economic interest of a said African individual. Almost ALL politics in the West is based around the economic interests of BIG companies. This is the NORM. Africa, is no exception, except their politics are run by FOREIGN companies and FOREIGN interests, not those of INDIGENOUS Africans. Economics and politics go hand in hand, since one supports the other, because in all reality EVERYONE wants MORE than the next guy. It is only AFRICA and OTHER third world regions that are FORCED to live by the rule of getting more from LESS, while everyone ELSE gets rich.
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quote: Tell me Hotep, other than the Northern Sudanese, what Mulsim Africans do you know who are brainwashed to deny their black African identity??
I know many Somalis and NON of them ever make claims to being Arab. The same goes for some West African Hausas I know who are also traditionally Muslim.
There are Somalis who post on this board and have you noticed that they seem very interested in things like the Land of Punt in which some of whom claim to in their homeland. They also seem interested in the connections between their heritage and the Egyptians. Yet at the same time they are also proud of being Muslims.
Multisphinx is an Egyptian who is extremely adament about his people being black Africans and their ancient civilization being African and gets sick and tired of claims saying otherwise, yet he is a proud Muslim.
Tell me, since when does being Muslim mean being "brainwashed" into being Arab??
You realize that there are many Muslims in Asia and yet non of them ever claim to be Arab. I even have a few relatives who are Muslims.
It's one thing to be angry about the situation in Sudan but it's another thing to hold such a view on Muslims in general.
Most Muslims in Somalia, Eritrea, Djoubti, etc. are brainwashed because they aspire to be like an Arab called Muhammad. Muhammad was NOT an Afrikan so to aspire to be like Muhammad means you have to give up your Afrikan identity and take on an Arab copy that is where the brainwashing comes in. It is the Arab who defines how Muhammad was, which is just brainwashing techniques.
Most of those brainwashed Afrikans then think that Mecca is some holy place, which is just a way for Arabs to keep the TOURIST industry in Saudi Arabia profitable.
See for yourself Djehuti how Islam divides Afrikans notice how they use non-believer versus believer as if they aren’t both Afrikans.
quote: Thousands of people gathered in Mogadishu Monday carrying banners reading: "Ethiopian soldiers are unwanted in Somalia;" "Somalis have to prepare themselves for the occupation of Somalia;" "We are ready for holy war against Ethiopia." They were addressed by Islamist leaders, some of whom urged restraint while others talked up the prospect of bloodshed. " Anybody who allies himself to the Ethiopians will be regarded as a non-believer who violated the principle of Islam and will face jihad," said Sheikh Ahmed Kare, a hard-liner.
See how the game is played against Afrikans?
If Muslims in Somalia knew who they were then they would be able to show concrete facts towards Punt but they can’t because they have been brainwashed into thinking that they are descendants from Noah, Ishmael, Ishak etc. They don’t know their history so lets thank the so called Bantus like Cheikh Anta Diop and other Afrikan historians for helping to find and relate the truth towards the ethnic make up Kemet and other ancient East Afrikans because we know if the Arabs had their way they would continue lying and brainwashing other Afrikans.
Mauride Islam is very big in West Afrika, which shows that there are other forms of Islam that aren’t Arab centered.
I think if Cheikh Anta Diop was a Muslim he would have been a Mouride muslim. Djehuti Afrikans have known the Arab con along time ago and put their own spin on Islam, including their own holy city where Mourides make hajj to TOUBA.
Multispinx used the derogatory N word, which shows that Multisphinx is not intelligent enough to address a Afrikan in a respectful manner which is what we would expect from a brainwashed Afrikan who doesn’t know how to respect other Afrikans or themselves for that matter.
Djehuti I am not Asian so I don’t focus on what Asians are doing that is up to Asians to determine what they feel about Islam I’m a Afrikan and being a Afrikan I see Arabs using Islam against Afrikan people and destroying Afrikan efforts at building a strong Economy in Afrika and that is where I find my problems with Islam.
Doug M wrote:
quote: Hotep, thanks for the reply, but let me say this up front. While I am talking about EUROPEAN exploitation in Africa, that does NOT mean that I do not AGREE that ARABS are also a MAJOR source of problems in Africa. It just so happens that I am focusing on the European exploitation, since MANY still dont believe it STILL exists.
Why are you so SYMPATHETIC to the whites? Do you feel sorry for them? I never said I was PRO Arab. I am PRO BLACK AFRICAN, period. You keep trying to turn this into a issue that it isnt. I want Africans to get MOST of the profit from any economic activity in Africa. The ONLY reason they are NOT getting the MAJORITY of the profits from economic activity in Africa is because of colonialism and racism. First off, Africans deserve REPARATIONS for the hundreds of years of whites BLATANTLY using Africa to get rich. Yes, I WANT to take Whites off the TOP of the economic heap. I want BLACKS to be the richest people in Africa. I want BLACKS to have the most money in Africa. I am not racist, but I have no problem saying this because of the history of racism and exploitation in Africa.
Doug M your knowledge of Afrika shows you are well informed which is GREAT, now here is where you cannot allow your anger towards Europeans to cloud your decision because the facts look like this.
FACT 1. Europeans have a stronger military than Afrika so leave the war issue aside.
FACT 2. Europe and America has approximately 30+ million AFRIKANS who live amongst Europeans so if Europe and America fails then so do the Afrikans living amongst Europeans also end up suffering the consequence.
FACT 3. Afrika today receives Billions of dollars from Afrikans who live and work in Europe and America, so Doug M the West isn’t so bad as you might think because Afrikans who live in the West are also concerned about Afrikans who live in Afrika.
FACT 4. All Europeans are NOT racist, greedy Imperialist, don’t forget that thousands of Europeans are in Afrika today working to help feed the poor, the sick and the victims of the wars that are fought in Afrika, not to mention that some European charities fund schooling in Afrika that benefit Afrikan children and Afrika.
Europeans and Afrikans are joined in the pockets right now so the approach to solving the problems caused by racism will be fixed when Afrikans in Afrika use Affirmative Action legal structures to ensure that Afrikans don’t lose out in the future.
Doug M it is not in the best interest of Afrikans to see Europeans being taken out of their spot on the Economics positions because if Europeans get taken off then we will see China take the dominant position and the last time I checked China does NOT have Afrikans living there, China is quite racist against Afrikans.
Doug M and Masonic Rebel you have laid the standards that you would want to see taking place in Afrika which is more wealth being generated amongst Afrikans plus higher standards of living for Afrikans well that is happening Today, also you mentioned the Debeers milking the Diamond industry yet you forget that they market these Diamonds and helped to create the industry themselves, I agree that it came at the expense of Afrikans but you would have to prove to me that Afrikans over 70 years ago could have persuaded Europeans to buy diamonds.
Cecil Rhodes and the Debeers what they did to our Ancestors was down right evil, now I can’t ignore those facts but today the diamond market is controlled by the Debeers and if Afrikans attempt to take it away then the Debeers will more likely destroy that market in the process because if they can’t profit from it then they sure as hell are NOT going to stand by and watch Afrikans profit from it. Mugabe and Zimbabwe was a lesson to all Afrikan warriors, if you play hardball then Europeans play hardball and guess who will lose? The AFRIKAN PEOPLE and EUROPEANS. Now some Europeans can afford to take a hit but most Afrikans cannot afford to take a hit in the pockets because doing so might send them over the edge. Afrika needs people who can create WIN WIN situations where Afrikans win and Europeans win, now in order for that to occur it usually means some Afrikans will be hurt and some Europeans will be hurt, though the Afrikans are usually the ones who cannot afford the losing position that they will find themselves in, this is why the Afrikans or Europeans who win MUST look out for those Afrikans and Europeans who lost out. Afrikans have got to master the art of spreading around the wealth.
Today Afrikan governments have written many laws that promote numerous Affirmative Action policies, these laws help to ensure that Doug M and Masonic Rebel will be satisfied when you see most percentage of businesses in Afrika that will, and are owned by Afrikans.
The last fact that I would like to point out is that most countries in North Afrika today practice Apartheid against native Afrikans today, the Arab atrocities that goes on in Afrika today MUST be dealt with. Now if violent revolt occurred in South Afrika as a means to end Apartheid then guess what MUST be done in North Afrika to end Apartheid that continues in North Afrika. The problem in the Sudan caused Afrikan Americans to be involved because Afrikans in Afrika would not get involved, why? Why is it that Afrikans in Afrika refuse to stand up to Arabs? It was Europeans aid agencies who embarrassed the Black Caucus here in America by pointing to the hypocrisy that Afrikan Americans would not help Afrikans in the Sudan who were being put into forced labor in the Sudan, that sparked the response you see today, because most Afrikan Americans did NOT know that forced labor/ Slavery was still going on in Afrika TODAY by Arabs.
Let me repeat that over a decade ago Oil was found in the Southern regions of the Sudan now this region belonged to native Afrikans who were not brainwashed Muslims yet the Arabs and brainwashed Arabicized Afrikans in the North attacked and killed over 250,000 native Afrikans in the south. They also displaced 2.5 million refugees which destabilized Chad and Afrikans did nothing to stop this problem, this type of behavior does not give Afrikans the respect they need at the negotiating table because when business people negotiate deals if you are seen as a pushover then you will get bad deals period.
The warrior who is willing to fight for the meal will eat while the warrior who won’t fight for the meal will go hungry.
Doug m and Masonic Rebel please research the Economic benefits that Afrikans stand to gain by standing up to Arabs.
If Afrikans want to get ahead in the Economic heap then they must stand up to Arabs because Arabs have been stepping on Afrikans for too long.
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Hotep, you are confused. I am not unaware of Arabs and their exploitation of Africans. There are MANY groups who are helping exploiting Africans, including Saudis, Lebanese, French, British, Americans, Indians, Chinese, Taiwanese.... and so on. The point is that there isnt a NEED to list them all, the OVERALL point is STILL the same. Africa NEEDS to get MOST of the profits from its OWN resources. THAT will alleviate MANY of Africa's economic problems.
As for the REST of the nonsense you posted about the reason why Africans should NOT threaten European econmomic power, ie WHITE SUPREMACY, is so ridiculous, so LUDICROUS that it is really NOT worth my time to reply to. However, KEEP this in mind, Debeers and ALL OTHER white owned businesses that PROFIT from the resources in Africa are RICH because of a LOT of money going into the hands of a VERY few. This IMBALANCE of wealth is INHERENTLY unnatural. WHITE SUPREMACY is inherently unnatural. OF COURSE the economy will suffer if AFRICANS gain the UPPER hand in their OWN economic interests. THAT was the WHOLE POINT IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUILD an economic system on the BACKS of African blacks, USE their labor and resources and TAKE the majority of the WEALTH from Africa to BUILD economic POWERHOUSES that would DOMINATE for a long time to come. OF COURSE this system would crumble if the Africans were to get an upper hand. So what are you saying, you dont WANT Africans to get an upper hand? Dont you understand that in ORDER (new world order) for this system to SURVIVE, that Africans must CONTINUE to die and SUFFER? DONT you understand that? What kind of IDIOT are you? Who will SUFFER more if the UNJUST and UNFAIR economic system of Europe and the West crumbles? It wouldn't be Africans. Africans dont NEED super modern, hight tech industrial economies to survive. MOST Africans just want to LIVE on their land able to FEED themselves through subsistence farming and other MINIMALLY invasive agricultural techniques that have been their way of life for HUNDREDS of years. It is the WEST who would suffer, since THEY are the ones that need to take MORE than their fair share of the earth's resources in order to MAINTAIN their standard of living. The standard of living in the West is NOT something that EVERYONE can achieve. If EVERYONE burned fossil fuels and emitted carbon dioxide gases at the levels of Western countries, we would ALL BE DEAD ALREADY? Therefore, the WHOLE PROBLEM and THE WHOLE CONCEPT of PROGRESS meaning MORE AND MORE construction and MORE AND MORE CITIES and MORE AND MORE "THINGS" is UNMAINTAINABLE. This CAN NOT BE supported by the earth and the natural environment. EVERYONE can not live that Western standard of living. If EVERYONE consumed resources at the RATE of the West, there would BE no trees, no oil, no clean water, no NOTHING for ANYONE. For a long time, people have overlooked the CENTRAL basis of white supremacy, that by KILLING OFF the indigenous non white population of the world, not ONLY would that give them UNFETTERED access to the world's resources, but it would guarantee that their standard of living could be MAINTAINED for a long time into the future. The time is NOT far off when mankind will realize that THIS level of "progress" is NOT maintainable. Therefore, DONT be brainwashed into thinking that Africans are the PROBLEM, because there are TOO many Africans or TOO many Asians or TOO many NONWHITES trying to CLAIM more resources. HOW IS THAT, when Western countries, like the U.S. which only has 5% of the population, consumes more than 40% of its resources? On the other hand, Africans and South Asians, one third of the earths population, is only consuming 3% of the resources. So WHO is THREATENING the earth's resources. It is the WEST and WESTERN systems that PROMOTE an INHERENTLY UNSUSTAINABLE amount of consumption. And it is these SAME people who BLAME it on the poor and developing countries who consume LESS than a small percentage of the earth's resources compared to their population size. All of this is based around an inherently UNFAIR and UNEQUAL economic system that CONTINUES to REWARD as SMALL percent of the earth's population in the RICHEST countries and PUNISHES the LARGE percentage of the earth's population in the POOREST countries.
Hotep, it is time for you to STOP talking nonsense about caring about this Western economic system as if it is GOD's gift to mankind and the ANSWER to the problems of the world. It isn't and is ACTUALLY the CAUSE of most of the world's problems. So while I do enjoy the BENEFITS of such a system to a degree, at least I am HONEST enough to admit that it is DOOMED to crumble over the long run, unless a WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE get killed off in some MAJOR catastrophe (and not the "civilized" countries of course).
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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quote: KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (AP) -- Thousands of opposition supporters clashed with Congo riot police Tuesday, burning President Joseph Kabila's campaign posters ahead of historic elections meant to bring lasting peace to the Central African giant.
Security forces swung batons and fired tear gas at protesters who threw chunks of masonry and Molotov cocktails. They also ripped Kabila's campaign advertisements from signposts and torched the banners in the streets of the capital, Kinshasa. There was no immediate word on injuries.
One onlooker said Congo's young people -- who made up most of the seething 4,000-person crowd in an outlying slum -- were outraged by their poverty after years of war and corrupt rule that has hobbled their vast, mineral-rich nation.
"Our poverty stems from our politics, which don't work. Our leaders are corrupt and sell our riches overseas while we have nothing," said Bob Massoud, a 23-year old artist. "We're mad because we're suffering. Everyone is angry."
WASHINGTON, Jul 5 (IPS) - International companies and local elites in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are pocketing revenues from copper and cobalt production instead of sharing it with local communities or spending it to reduce poverty, a watchdog group charged Wednesday.
A new report by the London-based Global Witness says that despite being one of the richest copper- and cobalt-producing areas in the world, the province of Katanga in southeastern DRC remains severely poor and the population has little or no infrastructure or public services.
"The profits are serving to line the pockets of a small but powerful elite -- politicians and businessmen who are exploiting the local population and subverting natural riches for their own private ends," says the report, whose authors based their findings on field research in November and December last year.
The 56-page report also scrutinises the role of local regulators, international donors and multinational firms. It says that government officials are actively colluding with mining companies to skirt regulations and the payment of taxes.
The report, "Digging in Corruption", explains that a significant share of the copper and cobalt is mined informally and exported illicitly from the African nation, representing a major revenue loss for the Congolese economy and a lost chance to reduce poverty.
A local source quoted in the report estimated that at the end of 2005, at least three-quarters of the minerals exported from Katanga were leaving illicitly. Since the DRC's recorded copper and cobalt exports were estimated at 390 million dollars last year, that means the illicit trade could amount to as much as 1.1 billion dollars.
And since most of the products mined by hand are exported in raw form, even when these exports are declared, the DRC is losing out on the higher prices it could obtain if it processed the minerals before export.
Global Witness urged the international community to seize the opportunity of the Jul. 30 elections to press for real reform.
"In the run-up to elections, politicians and companies have been scrambling to get their hands on ever-greater shares of the lucrative mineral trade, with little or no regard for the welfare of the Congolese population," said Patrick Alley, director of Global Witness.
"The plunder of the DRC's natural resources continues to undermine the country's opportunities for peace, stability and development," he said.
The world's appetite for minerals is rapidly growing. Copper is sought after for use in power transmission and generation, building wiring, telecommunications, and electrical and electronic products. Cobalt is used in super-alloys to make parts for gas turbine aircraft engines and demand is continuing to soar as it is used for rechargeable batteries in globally popular mobile phones and devices.
It is also used to make magnets, tire adhesives and catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries.
The price of copper has quadrupled since 2001, standing at 7,603 dollars per tonne in May this year.
Resource-hungry Western nations have viewed the interest in copper and cobalt from rising industrial powers like India and China with worry. The two Asian giants suffer from scarce domestic resources.
World production of copper is expected to increase by six percent and total use by five percent in 2006, with the areas on the border between DRC and Zambia playing a major role.
The so-called copperbelt running through Katanga and Zambia contains 34 percent of the world's cobalt and 10 percent of the world's copper. Since 2004, there has been a massive influx of foreign companies pouring into Katanga on the DRC-Zambia border.
The study says operations have been marred by price fixing in contract negotiations in the capital Kinshasa, where politicians have quickly approved several large contracts with multinational companies, leaving only a small share for the state mining company, Gécamines.
The Kamoto copper mine, the Dima-Kamoto Concentrator and the Luilu hydro-metallurgical plant are one example, with Kinross-Forrest inking a deal with Gécamines that gave the former a 75 percent share and Gécamines 25 percent. The main shareholders of Kinross-Forrest are George Forrest International in Britain and the Canadian company, Kinross Gold Corporation.
International companies have been returning to the country prompted by high copper and cobalt prices, and by the gradual decrease in conflict in DRC over the last two years. The establishment of a transitional government in 2003 and the advent of elections in 2006 have all contributed to creating a more attractive climate for international investment.
Those companies and banks include the Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals Ltd, the Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg, and Adastra, a Canadian company with its head office in Britain.
The report also examines the ties between international mining firms and global public lenders such as the World Bank. It says the World Bank is involved in copper and cobalt mining in DRC and in promoting foreign investment despite classifying the country in one of its publications as the worst country in the world in which to do business.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private investment arm, has provided financing for a feasibility study carried out by Adastra, which is hoping to establish a copper and cobalt project in Kolwezi.
The IFC now has a 7.5 percent stake in Adastra's project that was taken over by First Quantum, another Canadian mining company.
The report called on private companies to help reform the sector and declare all mineral exports, pay the appropriate taxes and ensure that the working conditions of the estimated 150,000 miners who supply them meet minimum health and safety standards -- or refuse to buy products originating from those mines.
The average miner in Katanga earns about two or three dollars a day. Most work without protective clothing, equipment or training, and scores die every year in preventable accidents, the report says.
"We know that the Congo is rich. But despite this, we don't even have enough to eat. Only one category of people profits," one miner told Global Witness. (END/2006)
Not everyone is sharing in the dividends. On a busy street lined with some grocery stores, a pharmacist, a small clothes shop and a hairdresser, the young pharmacist told me that he earned $4 per day.
Lwishiwishi mine A tenth of world cobalt consumption is extracted from the Lwishiwishi mine in Katanga "I haven't really seen the effects of this investment," he said.
"I actually studied law at university but because there isn't enough employment I had to open this pharmacy."
It was a sentiment expressed by several other shopkeepers, although further along, the barber was more optimistic.
He had cut an Indian man's hair that day, and had recently had American, Lebanese and Chinese customers - all of them working for mining companies, he said.
"I'm happy to see foreigners coming to my country. If foreign people are coming, we can move forward together. If foreign people are not coming, you can't go anywhere."
The hidden fact not mentioned in this piece is that these FOREIGNERS are making MORE than the indigenous Africans on these mines. So WHY is he happy? Outsourcing labor to India, Lebanon or China is NOT cheaper in this scenario. Indians, Lebanese, Chinese and others are making GOOD MONEY compared to the Africans. This OUTSOURCING is another example of how OTHERS are BENEFITTING from Africa's wealth but NOT Africans. Mining and industry in Africa is only designed with ONE purpose in mind and that is to TAKE money from Africa to ENRICH everyone else.
Congo is MINERAL rich, so HOW COME the country is SO POOR? Corrupt Africans are not like corrupt Europeans. These Africans are NOT getting kickbacks from AFRICAN OWNED mining companies that make billions in profit and are MAJOR players in the African economy. When Europeans are involved in corruption and exploitation, it is used to build INSTITUTIONS that perpetuate the wealth and power of the European. When Africans are involved in corruption and exploitation, it generates NOTHING and MOST times the money ends up dissappearing and there is NO INSTITUTION to perpetuate African wealth and power.
If the World Bank and other international finance organizations were SERIOUS about helping Africa, they would do some KEY things. First, they would provide Africans with access to regular COMMERCIAL LOANS from Western Banks, without the strings attached forcing them to share profits with FOREIGN companies. Then they would help the African governments build SEED BANKS, African banks that would take a good percentage of the profits made from such ventures to provide SEED money to OTHER African ventures. These would not be small MICRO businesses either, these businesses would be mining, construction, farming and communication, which would in turn provide MORE deposits to the SEED bank for FURTHER capital to be used to fund MORE businesses. These CORE companies would then be the MAJOR players in ANY economic activity in the country, given a 10 year incubation period that ALLOWS them to grow and prosper, so they are NOT forced to compete at a DISADVANTAGE to Western companies. After this 10 year incubation period, things would be opened up to more INTERNATIONAL involvement. In this 10 year period, the government would use a percentage of all the profits from the various mineral and other resource revenue, with help from GOOD FAITH LOANS from other countries, to rebuild the country. This money of course would GO to the companies being financed by the seed banks. These countries would be on the road to a complete TURNAROUND in 10 years.
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Your knowledge of how the economic and political game is played in Africa is very commendable. The game, obviously, is stacked against African agency yet there is very little protest. Note that when a political game does not suit the U.S. or Europe they just block the game then change its rules. If that doesn't work they simply don't play.
So the question is why don't African governments by way of the AU seek to play the game on their own terms? Ignorance? Fear? Greed and selfishness?
You made a point about the population of Saudi Arabia. Forget it: the population of bonafide Saudis is NOT 27 million. The Saudis simply rigged their numbers to impress. In the last century Arabia was just mostly desert with a few bedouins straggling from watering hole to watering hole dragging their tents with them. I don't deny though that the Saudis have imported lots of people to do all their dirty servant work for them and to have ready-made servant/concubines on the spot.
If Europeans have been able to do to Africans all the things you describe and keep getting away with it, then something must be wrong. Is it the effect of history? Even so, why is the learning curve for African governments so slow--after the works of people like Nkrumah, Diop and Fanon?
To Hotep
Diop was a Muslim--though maybe a lapsed one. Most Senegalese are Moslem by the way. Also West Africans are not Bantus. Diop, a Wolof, was obviously not Bantu.
Posts: 5492 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote: She said: "Remittances today are becoming an important source of income for many countries, and sometimes surpassing exports as the source of foreign exchange. The World Bank estimates that about $167 billion in remittances was sent to developing countries in 20o4.
"It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa receives about $7.7 billion in inward remittances, with Nigeria accounting for nearly $3 billion. These are all, however, conservative estimates and economists agree that the actual values may be up to 50 percent higher. So in the case of Nigeria, we are looking at a total value of remittances of over $4 Billion! This is a valuable source of income for the country, and it is some thing we want to encourage."
Billions of dollars coming from Afrikans working in the West.
Doug M what exactly does the African Union do? they seem to have a nice sounding name though I wonder with a name like African Union one would expect that forced labor/Slavery would not occur in Afrika including Apartheid systems yet these systems are in place today in North Afrika. Doug M are you aware that it is the Black Caucus here in America along with European organizations that were fighting to end forced labor/ Slavery in Afrika today. What is the African Union for, if I see non-Afrikan Organizations dealing with these legacies of Colonialist.
quote: The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) or Organisation de l'Unité Africaine (OUA) was established on May 25, 1963. It was disbanded July 9, 2002 by its last chairman, South African Thabo Mbeki and replaced by the African Union.
Its intended purpose was to promote the unity and solidarity of the African States and act as a collective voice for the continent. It was also dedicated to the eradication of colonialism and established a Liberation Committee to aid independence movements
I have two stories on Somalia now tell me where the African Union should be concerned with the famine in Somalia or the possible Jihad against Ethiopia.
quote: A New Humanitarian Hot Spot is Building in Somalia Where Patchy Seasonal Rainfall And Rising Military Tension Threaten the Food Security of 2.1 Million, FAO Said Today.
"Somalia is in deep crisis. Additional tension or conflict would be disastrous," said Henri Josserand, head of FAO's Global Information and Early Warning Service. "We are watching the situation very closely," he added.
For the third consecutive season, the main Somali cereals harvest in August is expected to be poor due to insufficient rainfall during the main rainy season from April to June.
At the same time, rising tension between opposing armed groups, with reports of a military build-up around the seat of the transitional government, Baidoa, is seen as a major threat.
NOTICE WHAT THE A.U. SEEKS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS!
Somalia: AU Urges UN to Lift Arms Embargo On Somalia
The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
July 26, 2006 Posted to the web July 26, 2006
Dagnachew Teklu Addis Ababa
The African Union (AU) Commission urged on Tuesday the UN Security Council to expedite the exemption of arms embargo in Somalia to allow IGASOM to be deployed in the troubled Somalia.
The call was made after the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) received a briefing session from its special envoy to Somalia and the TFG of Somalia ambassador to Ethiopia and the AU.
Ambassador Said Djinit, Peace and Security Commissioner of the AU told journalists that it is crucial to lift the arms embargo in Somalia in order to undertake a peacekeeping operation in that country.
Djinit also indicated that the Council also expressed its concern at the fragility of the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia since it's meeting on 17 June 2006 and expressed its full support to the TFG.
"In this respect, the Council once again calls on all concerned parties in Somali to seek the path of dialogue and to extend necessary cooperation to TFG in order to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation in Somalia, building in the dialogue facilitated by the League of Arab States," he said.
It was the second time when the AU called for the end of arms embargo in Somalia.
AU has yet to receive a response from the Security Council.
Ambassador Djinit also told journalists that the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) ministerial meeting will be held in Addis Ababa in the coming few days to discuss on the current situation in Somalia.
The ministerial meeting is expected to hear a report by the AU mission, which convened an assessment and reconnaissance trip in Somalia from 5 to 9 July 2006, according to the Ambassador.
The Islamic Courts Union (ICU), of Somalia which controls Mogadishu and the surrounding towns, declared Jihad on Ethiopia this week after it accused Addis Ababa of sending troops in Somalia But the Ethiopian government still denies the ICU accusation as rubbish and has threatened to crush any attack on the Transitional government.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia said on Tuesday that the decisive role in resolving the crisis in Somalia was in the hands of the people and the political forces of that country.
In a statement issued on the current situation in Somalia yesterday, the Ministry of Information said neighboring countries, including Ethiopia, can not play the key role of the Somali people in resolving the crisis besides supporting efforts toward that goal, it said.
quote: "The Ethiopian government believes that the recent crisis in Somalia is a result of absence of government and lawlessness in that country. The prime victims of the crisis are the people of Somalia," it said.
Ethiopia is closely observing developments in Somalia since "any crisis in that country could have negative repercussions on Ethiopia and the neighboring countries," the Ministry said.
Ethiopia has a responsibility only to support ongoing efforts geared toward creating a legitimate government in Somalia, ensuring peace and stability in the country and thwarting the suffering of the Somali people, it said.
Somalia invaded Ethiopia in 1978 in an attempt to grab land occupied by ethnic Somalis. Since then, Ethiopia has attempted to influence Somali politics to prevent another invasion. Addis Ababa sent troops into Somalia in 1993 and 1996 to crush Islamic militants who it said were perpetrating terrorist acts to destabilize the country attempting to establish a religious government. --------------------------------------------------
The A.U. seeks WEAPONS instead of food Aid because Arabs rule the African Union it's a front for Arabs to spread Islam.
I wonder if the African Union knows that ARABS were the first Colonials in Afrika? African Union or Arab Union which is it?
Doug M you have some ideas wrong.
When Afrikans gain wealth Europeans also benefit, like wise when Afrikans don't gain wealth it actually hurts Europeans also. Zimbabwe is a perfect example of this because those mining rights in Zimbabwe were sold to the Chinese which means European mining companies lost out. Racism does not benefit Europeans in the long run,what benefits both Europeans and Afrikans is to work together in fair trade, cooperation and a mutual respect for each other this would lead to a win win situation for both groups.
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HOTEP!! I NEVER SAID that the AU was a PROGRESSIVE African oriented institution. WHY must you PICK an ARGUMENT with me where there ISNT ONE? I KNOW that the AU wants to ARABIZE Africa and make Africa a PAN ARAB nation-state. You ARENT telling me ANYTHING I DID NOT KNOW. So PLEASE STOP ACTING as if I SUPPORT Arab imperialism, because I DONT.
Likewise, stop trying to FOIST off your LOVE of Europeans on me. I love myself and Africans above Europeans. I seek the benefit of MYSELF and AFRICANS before anyone else. EVERYONE ELSE does it and it is only FAIR for Africans to do so. Sure, in a THEORETICAL sense, Europeans and Africans SHOULD be able to work together in FAIR trade. But REALITY is that they DONT. Economics and trade in Africa is UNFAIR. WHEN it becomes fair and WHEN the Europeans dont DOMINATE trade in Africa, THEN I will agree that everything is fair. And on TOP of that, it is NOT because of Africans that economics are UNFAIRLY practiced. It is because of the RACIST history of WHITE and other FOREIGN activity in Africa, including ARABS that economics in Africa does NOT benefit the MAJORITY of black Africans. How in the WORLD would I be MORE CONCERNED with the profits of some white MULTIMILLIONARE, while Africans are STARVING? HOw in the HELL could I equate some MULTIBILLION DOLLAR company LOSING some profits as equal to the SUFFERING of starving POORLY PAID African PEASANTS? How could I feel SYMPATHY for the SUPER RICH economies of the West and WHITE South Africa when Africans have SO LITTLE. WHY would I be concerned about the TRIFLING sob stories of RICH WHITES while BLACKS suffer. Your ATTITUDE of SYMPATHY is RIDICULOUS. ESPECIALLY when that SYMPATHY is NOT returned. SYMPATHY has NO PLACE in the ROUGH AND TUMBLE, EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF WORLD of MODERN ECONOMICS. MODERN economics is NOT ABOUT SYMPATHY it is about GREED, PURE AND SIMPLE. You are a perfect example of the BRAINWASHING that has LULLED so many Africans to SLEEP, ALLOWING the FAKE TEARS and FAKE CRIES of SUFFERING by RICH WHITES to BLIND THEM to their OWN SUFFERING. I am being nice Hotep, but you can keep that NONSENSE about Europeans and their economic SUFFERING to yourself. Europeans are NOT SUFFERING. AFRICANS ARE SUFFERING. That B.S. you keep posting about how Europeans suffer is the biggest boatload of nonsense propaganda brainswashed happy feely TRASH that I have EVER heard in my life. Worry about YOUR OWN suffering and stop worrying about EVERYONE ELSES, especially WHITES whose SUFFERING is NOT SUFFERING AT ALL! The point is that WHY would Zimbabwe SELL the mines to the CHINESE in the first place? Doesnt Zimbabwe NEED MONEY? Dont they want to PROFIT of their OWN resources? Are Zimbabweans INHERENTLY STUPID and unable to MASTER the economics of RUNNING A MINE? What sort of STUPID STUFF are you talking about? Countries dont GO TO AFRICA and start MINES just because they NEED RESOURCES. THey GO TO AFRICA to GET RICH off the resources THEY NEED. If they had to PAY AFRICANS a FAIR WAGE and FAIR MARKET VALUE for their RESOURCES, they WOULD NOT get rich, but they WOULD STILL buy the resources anyway. The economy of the world WILL NOT SUFFER because Africans FINALLY become MASTER of their OWN economics. That FALLACY is so blatantly ridiculous as to be laughable. How in the HELL is the world economy going to SUFFER because Africans FINALLY make a PROFIT and GENERATE some WEALTH for themselves? Are you REALLY trying to say that SUDDENLY ALL these European economies will SUDDENLY be BROKE? The 12trillion dollar economy of the U.S. will be BROKE because Congo, a 5 Billion dollar economy gained MORE than a small percent of the TENS of billions of dollars taken OUT of ther country every YEAR? You want to cry FOUL and SYMPATHIZE for the CAPITALISM which GLORIFIES getting RICH from the WORK OF OTHERS? You want to call RICH companies and countries that make HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of DOLLARS a year not being able to take EVERY PENNY from Africa as SOMEHOW SUFFERING? Dude..... I THOUGHT you understood what this is about. Yet and you IGNORE the fact that SO MANY Africans LIVE OR DIE because of those PENNIES? PLEASE, this NONSENSE must CEASE!
Hotep, please dont say anything else to me about this issue, it seems you have NO concept of FAIRNESS or COMMON SENSE.
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Doug M i'm a Afrikan, plain and simple though at the same time I don't allow my anger against SOME Europeans to lead me into the ARAB brainwashing, fake sympathy, accept Islam as a way to show your anger towards Europeans "Trap" or the Chinese fake sympathy Trap.
Too many outsiders are using the fact that Afrikans have suffered greatly due to European Racism. Too many outsiders are using European racism as a means to score political points amongst Afrikans in general, this process has to STOP.
The Arabs and Chinese are just as racist yet when they want to score political points with Afrikans they play the anti "West" or anti "Europeanism" drum, and score political points amongst Afrikans.
Afrikans have to change, we have to start shouting i'm PRO AFRIKA, and I AM PRO AFRIKAN PEOPLE and I AM PRO BLACK, Black Empowerment, Reparations Now, More Black wealth, Freedom and Justice for Afrikans and Black people.
I am all for Afrika getting wealthier because it means that Afrikans in the West will also get wealthier also. Europeans are at the top so Europe will not go to the bottom if Afrika goes up a notch, though if Europe goes down a notch then Afrika will also go down from the bottom to the bottom because Economies moves in small levels ONE step at a TIME. The richest man in the world did not get rich from natural resources because Computers and technology generate more wealth versus RAW MATERIALS.
Doug M some of the richest Afrikans live in the "West" or Europe so why in the world would you want to see western Economies fall? Doug M their are many wealthy Afrikans who live in the West yet you Mr. Pro Afrikan are hating on the west while at the same time working to see these wealthy Afrikans who live in the West also go broke too. Afrika does NOT benefit if Afrikans in the west go broke. Afrikans laid the foundation for what we call America today so America is a child of Afrika also because without Afrikan people America would not be the Super power it is today. 30+ Million Afrikans contribute to Western Economies don't forget that. The West should not be synonomous with Europeans, the West should be synonomous with Diverse populations.
Byzantines were removed by Arabs due to the Kemetic people allowing the Arabs to invade and look at Afrika today as a result of that last mistake, the people living in Kemet were ANGRY at the Byzantines and look what happened.
ARAB-AFRIKA sounds strange to you now but that's how the Arabs intend for the future of Afrika. Tell me what position native Afrikans will play on the newly named continent of ARAB-AFRIKA?
Doug M, China today is a major user of Resources and China's thirst for Resources means that if Western nations use less, China will only fill the gap that Western Nations save, effecient use of Resources is necessary for the protection of the planet, China does not seem to care about effecient use of resources either.
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Hotep, there is no need to keep going on and on with this. You keep putting words in my mouth that WITHOUT any BASIS OF FACT. You seem DESPERATE to put a "spin" on EVERYTHING I say in order to introduce some sort of focus on Arabs or Chinese or whoever else you want to focus on. Stop TWISTING my words in order to MAKE an argument. This is ridiculous. Technically, if we go by the BASIC economics of supply and demand, Africans should be EVEN MORE RICH, because of Chinese demand for their resources. I HATE when people try and look DOWN on Africans when they do what EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING, which is GET RICH, no matter WHAT RULES they may break in the process. Yet when Africans start trying to get their act together, everyone tries to put them under "SPECIAL" scrutiny, as if Africans are some sort of IGNORANT BACKWARDS SAVAGE people who DONT have the ability to manage themselves. THIS is the point underlying what I have been saying about how WESTERN economies PURPOSELY cast Africa in a UNFAIR light, in order to reinforce RACIST stereotypes that allow Europeans, Arabs, Chinese, and many OTHERS, to RAPE Africa but make AFRICANS look like the bad guy.
Like I said, there is NO REASON why an African government should have to PAY to get land back that was TAKEN from Africans as a result of COLONIAL EXPLOITATION. Yet and still this is EXACTLY what happens in the countries of Southern Africa, even though MOST of these countries CANT AFFORD IT in the FIRST PLACE. Then people WONDER why Africans dont have more of thier OWN LAND. And the ONLY people that see this as FAIR are the WHITES and BRAINWASHED Africans who think that by Whites PAYING Africans what they OWE them in REPARATIONS it would HURT the economy. What about the HURT put on Africans to BUILD that economy? Doesnt that COUNT? How can you DEFEND someone else's right to PROSPER off of STOLEN land where the people that TRULY have a CLAIM for legal compensation are PAYING the CROOK? If you are going to DEFEND something and DEFEND a person's right to PROSPER off the land then why not DEFEND those who had the land STOLEN from them? Doesnt that seem like HYPOCRISY to you? Doesnt it seem SILLY to want the VICTIM to pay for the actions of the AGRESSOR? That is like someone going to COURT hand having to PAY the THIEF who STOLE their wallet in order to get back an EMPTY wallet..........................
NONSENSE is NONSENSE my friend.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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doug, as long as YOU, BLAME the white man for YOUR FAILURES..YOU will allways end up being a LOSER! YOU need to stop YOUR WELFARE mentality, and GET A JOB.stop acting like the WORLD owes you something,and TRY to become a PRODUCTIVE citizen. in the fantasy world of DOUG nobody is responsible for THEIR actions, as long as WHITEY is around to BLAME.in doing this YOU are no better than the WELFARE queen who sits IDEL in SQUALAR, and cries that WHITEY should buy her a new CADIALAC, and give her a GOVERMENT job...to work for the same GOVERMENT YOU CLAIM has robbed her.
might I suggest YOU move to africa, and PRACTICE what you PREACH! untill then you are just a LIL man, who doesn't PRACTICE what you PREACH. Im white dougy, what do YOU want from me? a dollar?
I'll send you a DOLLAR dougey, if it will HELP you get off your KEYSTER, and GET A JOB.but fist I suppose I will have to sell ALL the land I OWN in africa..
quote:Originally posted by mike rozier: doug, as long as YOU, BLAME the white man for YOUR FAILURES..YOU will allways end up being a LOSER! YOU need to stop YOUR WELFARE mentality, and GET A JOB.stop acting like the WORLD owes you something,and TRY to become a PRODUCTIVE citizen. in the fantasy world of DOUG nobody is responsible for THEIR actions, as long as WHITEY is around to BLAME.in doing this YOU are no better than the WELFARE queen who sits IDEL in SQUALAR, and cries that WHITEY should buy her a new CADIALAC, and give her a GOVERMENT job...to work for the same GOVERMENT YOU CLAIM has robbed her.
might I suggest YOU move to africa, and PRACTICE what you PREACH! untill then you are just a LIL man, who doesn't PRACTICE what you PREACH. Im white dougy, what do YOU want from me? a dollar?
I'll send you a DOLLAR dougey, if it will HELP you get off your KEYSTER, and GET A JOB.but fist I suppose I will have to sell ALL the land I OWN in africa..
Mike, ignorance is BLISS but NONSENSE is retarded. I dont BLAME anyone for MY failures. This is NOT an issue of BLAME. I call it the TRUTH. Stop trying to deny that Europeans, Arabs and OTHERS have been PURPOSELY exploiting black Africans for hundreds of years and STILL do. Once again, you are just ANOTHER example of people trying to BLAME the victim for the actions of the AGRESSOR in order NOT to have to give the VICTIM the APPROPRIATE compensation for the CRIMES commited. It is NONSENSE like that that allows white South Africans to get away with YEARS of exploitation and outright GENOCIDE with nothing but PHONY crocodile tears at a truth and reconcilliation hearing, but yet KEEP all the wealth and power they gained from Apartheid. And then get PAID OFF for the land they stole. This is RIDICULOUS. So I guess you call that FAIR and putting those WHITES in jail that committed those atrocities IN JAIL, where they belong is NOT justice, but BLACKS trying to get SOMETHING for NOTHING? What is it then when BLACKS are KICKED off the land, and USED as SLAVE labor then? Is that NOT getting something for nothing or is that SHREWD economics? Dont give me that B.S. about FAIRNESS.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by mike rozier: what if oprha or mikey jordan copped dougey's attitude? and just sat around complaining and comeing up with conspiracy theories?
^ Then they would end up like you. Wasting their lives away throwing childish tantrums on the internet to distract themselves from their personal life failures.
So, we should be like Mike J. the player, and ignore rosey Mike....the hater.
This company is an internet service provider that is supposedly the LARGEST in sub-saharan Africa. It makes it possible for Africans to get online. It also has one of the LONGEST historical records in Africa.
Now. Think about it, if you read the history of this company you would think that this is an HONORABLE company that is founded by HONORABLE MISSONARIES helping Africans in trade. Sure. Trade that BENEFITTED THEMSELVES more than Africans. Sure, I want to see internet in Africa, but at the SAME TOKEN, I want AFRICANS to OWN these companies or have MAJORITY stakes in these companies. Likewise, browse the sites linked from the main page on this site. Most refer to BRITISH colonial companies that are STILL in Africa and PROMOTING these BRITISH firms as POSITIVE forces for Africans. SURE, it is good for Africans to be able to WORK, but I would rather see AFRICAN run Insurance, Banking and Telecommunications firms. My point is that THESE FIRMS are DIRECTLY related to the OLD COLONIAL SYSTEM of oppression. Working for them DOES NOT represent PROGRESS for Africa, it represents PROFITS FOR BRITISH INTERESTS. Sure I WANT TRADE for Africa, but trade that BENEFITS Africans, not just as WORKERS, but as OWNERS, INVESTORS, BANKERS and TRUSTEES. This idea that these FORMER colonial enterprises are SOMEHOW FAIR, is ridiculous. These companies are about PROFITS, PROFITS Africans would get, making Africans more PROSPEROUS, if NOT for the legacy of COLONIAL rule that FOUNDED such institutions. Africans will NOT become prosperous as long as they HAVE NO INSTITUTIONS promoting THEIR OWN INTERESTS. Just as the page above BLATANTLY promotes BRITISH INTERESTS in Africa.
Posts: 8912 | Registered: May 2005
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UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
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correct? Though all along the root cause was the researcher found a gem where others thought garbage was being stored. ![[Mad]](mad.gif)
at Europeans for being too shrewd.
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