Slog Comments
The West Must Pay the Price
1
"These "big men" get their big teeth from Europe, not Africa."
Are you saying that African leaders are not capable of corruption without European influence?
Are you saying that African leaders are not capable of corruption without European influence?
2
It's always been that way, since the Portuguese first started sailing down the coast in the 15th century (and really for centuries before that, with the Arabs coming across the Sahara). Virtually every African kingdom from then til independence ruled at the sufferance of their white masters, as part payment for slaves and more recently natural resources. That's how the Mugabes and others like him learned their trade.
3
If the East had the means to produce unregulated amounts of greenhouse gases before the West, they would have. This is not an issue of moral superiority.
4
It's cute when African countries a) act self-righteous in the face of their honor killings and corrective rapes, and b) think they matter at all in the global scheme of things.
5
"The West caused these problems and yet refuses to repair them in any real way."
What, you mean the problem of prosperity? Funny, it's one of the few problems that most of Africa hasn't manage to be good at.
What, you mean the problem of prosperity? Funny, it's one of the few problems that most of Africa hasn't manage to be good at.
6
@4 The do matter and they will become increasingly important as the industrial world grapples with shrinking access to commodities and food. There's a reason countries like China and South Korea are racing to lock up access to oil, minerals, and farm land. The question is can the African states benefit from this demand or will this become a 21st century form of empire.
7
Translation: they want us to subsidize them so that their corrupt leaders can rake in even larger bribes.
Because that's what it actually means.
Because that's what it actually means.
8
@6 is smart, @7 is dumb. Who is by far the biggest investor in Africa these days? China. When they put the squeeze on us in a few years, we're all going to squeal. They will, too. No Africa means no computers, no cell phones, no airplanes (because of rare minerals) just for starters. Not to mention that they already own our financial system.
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