Nigeria just defaulted on $33 Billion debt!

BBC ^

[blackdog]

Democracy, freedom, and liberty are awesome but worthwhile burdens to place on a citizenry. The problem is that global societies who never saw it in their role as individuals to participate in their government, are not capable of establishing, operating, and maintaining a democracy. Corrupt communists is all they deserve. No better than the previous tribal chiefs who sold them into slavery when they got uppity or too little food was around.

[lewislynn]

What little infrastructure they have, they got from us. Pardon me, but WE will take our share of the oil.

Yea but the $33 bn., they got from us....Sell YOUR oil then pay up.

[Diver Dave]

They must have started the e-mail scam already. I got one yesterday. :^)

[Austin Willard Wright]

Why not invade? Isn't that the stock freeper answer these days?

[aruanan]

Nigeria just defaulted on $33 Billion debt!

Could it be due to all those email giveaways of millions?

[r9etb]

Another typically corrupt and incompetent African government begins its swoon.

It's a source of never-ending amazement to me that the Western governments continue to pretend that these folks are capable of maintaining a civilized society.

The real reason for such pretense is, of course the intrinsic charm of the countries in question, which originally drove the colonization of the place. Nigeria's charm is measured mostly by the 55-gallon barrel. Other places feature a charming profusion of carats or troy ounces, or quaint cottage industries based on refractory metals.

Sure, you'll find the occasional (and invariably Western-educated) able statesman. You might even find a group of them, who might be able to maintain a government for a few years. Kenya seems to demonstrate that it's possible to maintain a relatively stable, if authoritarian, government. There have been only two post-colonial presidents in the past 40 years: Jomo Kenyatta, and Daniel Arap Moi, whose longevity in office is due almost entirely to their success in suppressing internal opposition. (It doesn't hurt, either, that Kenya had the most gradual and thorough de-colonization experience.)

There are many, many honest, decent, hard-working people in Africa. But for the most part Africans do not have any political tradition based on rule of law. They're still steeped in their ancient tribal customs, and as has been demonstrated with awful and bloody regularity, those tribal ties still bind very tightly.

The problem is that we want their stuff, and the only way to get it is to prop up governments of people with whom we can deal -- however many bribes it takes, and however many people they oppress.

[Marysecretary]

America had darn well better get on its knees! And start praying for this and other nations, stat!

[rockfish59]

Jeez, and I was hounded and threatened with jail for owing California a $50 tax bill.

[1234]

America had darn well better get on its knees! And start praying for this and other nations, stat!

nice thought, but its too late for anything except 'thinning of the herds' by whatever mix of factors-also might throw in some violent force into the mix, for our security concerns.

[Bill Davis FR]

and the stock markets continue to tumble...

[Former Proud Canadian]

I think it will take a complete collapse of the economies, mass starvation and mass murder, not to mention epidemics of AIDS and other diseases like ebola and the old traditional tropical diseases we thought pretty much conquered...

I think this is happening now.

[Former Proud Canadian]

I just throw this in for discussion, sort of a "what if" comment. Before black rule, South Africa developed nuclear weapons, with the help of the Israeli's. A test explosion was detected over the South Atlantic.

Now, the Boers are under tremendous pressure. As someone commented earlier, they have a love for that particular patch of land. They have the brains, I am just wondering how well they are organized. If osama can obtain suitcase nukes (I don't think he has any, but that's another story), why can't the Boers acquire/develope their own WMD's like they once did? Wouldn't use of such weapons trump anything the indiginous revolutionaries might try?

Just asking.

[1234]

"I think it will take a complete collapse of the economies, mass starvation and mass murder, not to mention epidemics of AIDS and other diseases like ebola and the old traditional tropical diseases we thought pretty much conquered..."
I think this is happening now.

kinda, but a question for ya: ya think US stock market would be helped by an acceleration of the tempo of these factors?

[Former Proud Canadian]

I think, if we woke up tomorrow and Africa was depopulated, it wouldn't cause a ripple in the markets.

[andy_card]

Black Commies / tyranical. 'Nough said.

Not, that's not enough said. Yes, they are black, but they're not exactly communists. This is the first generation of democratically elected rulers, and they've been trying to privatize government services. After decades of military mismanagement, they've been having all sorts of problems. And the predominantly Muslim north of the country has been threatening to secede. But you can't call them communists, and you can't dismiss their government simply because of skin color.

[1234]

I think, if we woke up tomorrow and Africa was depopulated, it wouldn't cause a ripple in the markets.

'pity, that'.
least i'm glad to not hear the tripe that we need'em for our export markets....

[Billthedrill]

Nigeria has more than oil. Three decades ago we were talking about it becoming another Saudi Arabia - its income from natural resources being returned directly to the people and the latter pulling all of Africa up by its collective bootstraps. Some said it was richer in natural resources than South Africa and (remember this one?) Rhodesia combined. About that I don't know, but it certainly had tremendous potential.

A fine fantasy. It fell to a looting elite like so much else in that haunted continent. And now instead of exporting wealth it's importing it and defaulting on repayment. And naturally they're falling back on the old whipping boy, colonialism.

[andy_card]

True. But now, for the first time, they've had the opportunity to democratize and share the spoils of their resources among more than their corrupt ruling elites. If this bankruptcy is any sign, they may have blown the chance. I guess time will tell, but regardless, Royal Dutch/Shell will still buy their oil.

[steve50]

You just co-sign the loan, the IMF/WB banksters get the profit, you get the loss. Sounds fair to me,not.

[CatoRenasci]

Oh, it is happening now, but it will be 5 or 10, maybe even 15 or 20, years before things get so bad that they throw in the towel: I mean millions, perhaps even tens of millions dead from starvation and an equal number dead from disease, perhaps 100-200 million dead overall.