Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Politics and Other Controversies
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-01-2013, 10:28 PM
 
Location: southern california
61,289 posts, read 87,188,930 times
Reputation: 55551

Advertisements

they need the infrastructure good idea. however the chinese know well enough to only use their own people.
the african governments are unbelievably corrupt. we could learn from the chinese. we give away too much money to corrupt governments.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-01-2013, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,533,215 times
Reputation: 20674
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunlover View Post
liberals love to spend other peoples money.
Did it bother you when Bush spent $20 billion on Aids relief in Africa?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 10:51 PM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,533,215 times
Reputation: 20674
Quote:
Originally Posted by softblueyz View Post
Ahhh, someone is paying attention. Add Russia as they have had a foot in Africa.

Obama slams unfair deals with Africa | News24

$7 billion is a drop in the bucket once the US corporations start to reap the rewards and pay taxes as a result of the deals that Obama has made in Africa for US corporations to set up business there. Africa sits on huge natural resources and minerals. US companies want to get a foot in the door to extract those natural resources and minerals to be exported, some of which will be exported to be refined and sold back to Africa. Obama thinks this is a winner, gaining a new trade partner that the US can sell "all kinds of good stuff" to the people. He's going to be quite the job creator for Africa. I bet the Africans can't wait to go from earning nothing or $150 a month, to earning $200 a month.

Goodwill tour or a deal making tour serving the interests of corporate America? Can only wonder how much of Obama's personal wealth will be invested in the US corporations that will be setting up business in Africa.
No different than the $20+ billion Bush gave them for Aids Relief. Anyone think U.S. Big Pharm did not benefit from this act of kindness?

BTW, Obama and Bush and wives will hook up in Tanzania tomorrow. I suspect more funds for Aids Relief will be forthcoming.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 10:56 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas,Nevada
9,282 posts, read 6,720,493 times
Reputation: 1531
Quote:
Originally Posted by middle-aged mom View Post
Did it bother you when Bush spent $20 billion on Aids relief in Africa?
Yes I did then, and i do now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 11:09 PM
 
Location: Too far from home.
8,732 posts, read 6,763,464 times
Reputation: 2374
Quote:
Originally Posted by middle-aged mom View Post
From your link:

"The program includes $1.5 billion from the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and $5 billion from the Export-Import Bank, the White House said."

These are likely loans and will create new opportunities for some U.S. businesses.
OPIC : Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Those "opportunities" for US businesses is to get a foothold in foreign countries.

Quote:
OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported more than $200 billion
of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated an estimated $75 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 276,000 American jobs.
Quote:


OPIC to Dedicate Staff Member for South Africa in 2013 | OPIC : Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Read the entire link and see the interest OPIC has had in South Africa and the sub-Sahara region. In over 40 years OPIC invested $200 billion in 4,000 projects and the return for American jobs was only 276,000 which were probably due to financing small businesses in the US.

Quote:
OPIC’s Board of Directors consists of fifteen members - eight from the private sector and seven from the federal government.

Government members include the Administrator of the Agency for International Development, the United States Trade Representative or Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, the President of OPIC, and four additional members who are senior officials of other government agencies, including the Department of Labor. All members must be appointed by the President of the United States and
confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The Board of Directors, which meets four times per year, provides policy guidance to the Corporation and approves all major insurance, project finance and investment funds projects
Board of Directors | OPIC : Overseas Private Investment Corporation

It's nothing more than a consortium (slush fund) funded by private investors (corporations) with a Board of Directors, appointed by the President, who decide how and where to use the funds to get a foothold in foreign countries. More than likely the President has great influence on the how and where.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Los Awesome, CA
8,653 posts, read 6,109,277 times
Reputation: 3368
Quote:
Originally Posted by malamute View Post
Yes, he's a major clown. A buffoon.

How does building more power plants in third world nations lower global warming? Making sure every African has lots of electricity to heat and air condition their homes will only hike up the planet's temperatures.
I thought neo-cons didn't believe in global warming...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 11:23 PM
 
Location: Southern California
15,083 posts, read 20,420,143 times
Reputation: 10343
Quote:
Originally Posted by KUchief25 View Post
Obama pledges $7 billion to upgrade power in Africa
For once I would like to see a year go by where we, the United States, do not spend a dime overseas.

[just once]
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 11:33 PM
 
Location: East St. Paul 651 forever (or North St. Paul) .
2,860 posts, read 3,375,109 times
Reputation: 1446
Quote:
Originally Posted by middle-aged mom View Post
From your link:

"The program includes $1.5 billion from the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and $5 billion from the Export-Import Bank, the White House said." It will occur over a 5 year period.

These are likely loans and will create new opportunities for some U.S. businesses.
OPIC : Overseas Private Investment Corporation

This does not strike me as too different than the $20+ billion in loans and grants Bush issued for the Aids Relief effort in Africa. I am jaded enough to note the connection between this humanitarian initiative and U.S. big pharm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by middle-aged mom View Post
Did it bother you when Bush spent $20 billion on Aids relief in Africa?
It absolutely did. I did original research on this topic in college back several years, how Africans absolutely love Bush and how he will go down (in history) as a far better president than he recently has been remembered. There are a number of other historical facts that will have most of America remember him as a far better president than he was.

More reason I simply can't stand either party; in fact on this position I have a serious problem with people who consider themselves "conservative" or as "neocons," because many of them don't realize these issues well enough. Similarly to Reagan and how he legalized (illegally!!!!) millions of illegal aliens!!!!


Never forget. But I am 31...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-01-2013, 11:47 PM
 
Location: South Africa
5,563 posts, read 7,195,256 times
Reputation: 1798
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunlover View Post
I know if South Africa had nuclear arms you would have been left alone, and you guys do have large amount of oil, shale oil, and nature gas.
We did have nukes but in the transition they were dismantled and signed onto the non proliferation treaty. Dunno why we needed them as not even back then would we have used them against anyone. We still do our own enrichment for peaceful purposes.

We had some cool missiles, from what I heard they sunk a floundering ship by a missile fire from the Pretoria area - no proof though.

I did interview for a job with Armscor and the division making missiles. Saw what was essentially our version of the sidewinder missile. SA never really had a civil war but there was always a strong military presence round and about SA. There were camps in/near most big cities.

The only place we encountered air to air combat was against Cubans in Angola and usually we had the better pilots and results. We had a revamped version of the mirage and we used the Canberra bombers for ground strikes.

I don't know how that area of the industry changed but even back in apartheid days, it was uber secret and folk did not speak. I passed my security clearance and was eligible but being an immigrant probably counted against me even though both my parents were born here. I had served in the Rhodesian Intelligence Corps and also had to pass security clearance there.

They are still making weapons but for export. Nothing really changed. In the old days we bartered weapons with Iraq for oil and recently were told to cease and desist dealing with Iran with the threat of sanctions. I am sure we still get oil from them just via the Chinese.

The real economy here is still run by big business that is still under white control. We even now have a private police force in certain areas b/c the official one is so incompetent.

Sleeping police in South Africa





Not only that, there used to be a strict physique requirement to be a cop but nowadays obese women and men are hired b/c there is no real boot camp for them anymore and pretty much very indicative of the jobs for mates program operating here. These pics are all from the public and the cops sleeping in what we typically call the charge office.

With all the pics on the web of politicians sleeping in parliamentary sessions, they are just mimicking what their leaders do.

I personally saw a dude fast asleep in a car which had a big fat sticker "Anti-Corruption" unit on it.


This is a pic of two nursing sister at a govt hospital using hospital trolleys to load sliced bread and packs of toilet paper into their vehicle. They have security at the hospital and just walked past them nonchalantly. You guessed it, there is never toilet paper in the public toilets.

We call the head nurses sisters here and these new sistas drive cars like Merc E class, Audis, huge SUVs. In the old days, sisters never had a car allowance and would pool with their colleagues.

This is another hospital in Pretoria where the drop off for the maternity and emergency vehicles are supposed to drop off patients. The nursing staff simply park their cars here as they are too lazy to walk from the parking lot.


I personally saw how emergency vehicles had to navigate around to drop off patients and where there was a roofed section for protection from rain, there were two cars parked under it and patients had to be wheeled in via a side door.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-02-2013, 12:19 AM
 
Location: East St. Paul 651 forever (or North St. Paul) .
2,860 posts, read 3,375,109 times
Reputation: 1446
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeekerSA View Post
We r.
SA was never a black country, like Rhodesia was never Zimbabwe. The only people that "owe" these countries anything are the colonizing countries, NOT America.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Politics and Other Controversies
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top