Thursday, April 26, 2012

from fracking to water rights: how foreign interests are cleaning out africa

treehugger | There are a lot of misconceptions about Africa, including that the continent needs help from the rest of the world in order to overcome the economic challenges it faces. It doesn't need help, though, so much as to be on equal footing with the rest of the world. Yet it continues to be seen not only as the 'dark' continent, but also a resource-rich one whose wealth is there for the taking. Foreign countries and companies are racing to claim not only the continent's mineral resources, which often fuel conflict and environmental disasters, but also arable land to grow water-intensive crops for export. That's no small problem, considering the droughts that African countries already face and how vulnerable the region is to climate change.

These resource grabs often proceed in the name of development, but all they develop are gains for foreign countries. In the process, they make every problem that the continent already faces a lot worse. Fist tap Dale.

8 comments:

umbrarchist said...

Economic Wargames amounts to making other people pay you to live on the planet.

Before 1900 it was political-economy. Economics was not separate from politics.  It still isn't but many people try to pretend that it is.  Now technology is not separate from economics.  Technology changes economics.  It takes technology to drill that water and that requires economic resources.  Giving money to the White man for his useless variations in crappy cars is worthless.

Big Don said...

@ pilfered resources -
Usual ground rules apply: 
If you aren't smart enough to properly defend your Stuff, you will be ripped off by superior folks...

Tom said...

I dunno.  If anybody wants to give me money, I'll put it to good use.

CNu said...

lol, who will then proceed to squander said resources in their delusional quest to prolong their unsustainable "superior" lifestyle..., you humans crack me up with your capacity to chase your little prehensile tails unto extinction

umbrarchist said...

 Are they SUPERIOR?  Do you really believe that?

CNu said...

Dood, you KNOW it's his most fundamental religious tenet....,

Tom said...

It's confusing.  Sometimes people who pilfer stuff are superior, sometimes they're inferior.  I can't seem to break the code.

Dale Asberry said...

It's not about superior/inferior. It's about who has all the marbles and literally steal them from new players entering the game saying, "those are the rules!"

Master Arbitrageur Nancy Pelosi Is At It Again....,

🇺🇸TUCKER: HOW DID NANCY PELOSI GET SO RICH? Tucker: "I have no clue at all how Nancy Pelosi is just so rich or how her stock picks ar...