Third World Countries

[Sunset Rose]

...receive their Third World status for a reason. Usually it is because they are deliberately robbed by big multi-national corporations. Most of these countries have natural resources that First World countries want. So the First World countries come in and trick/swindle them out of their resources, pay them a fraction of what their resources are worth, upset the lives of the native people and then go on about their business after they are done.
I read about all this in a book called "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins. Mr. Perkins worked for one of these multi-national corporations, so he had a first hand account of it all. I urge you all to read this book. It is an eye opener. It needs to be read, if you want to understand more about Third World countries.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

Sounds like a great book. I have not read it, so am at somewhat of a disadvantage.

However, I would like to take issue with your OP. You mentioned First World countries paying a fraction of what Third World resources are worth. Here is my problem with that statement. Third World countries have governments. It is up to them to negotiate prices for their resources. If they settle for a fraction of what something is worth, whose fault is that? Furthermore, I have a feeling that's not quite true anyway. Or put a better way, I have a feeling a lot of the money paid for those resources are pocketed by corrupt third world leaders.

But certainly, we cannot dismiss third world profiteers. Just look at the Clintons. They raped Haiti after a natural disaster to line their pockets. I'm sure they're not the only mafia business doing the same type of thing.

 

[Sunset Rose]

Sounds like a great book. I have not read it, so am at somewhat of a disadvantage.

However, I would like to take issue with your OP. You mentioned First World countries paying a fraction of what Third World resources are worth. Here is my problem with that statement. Third World countries have governments. It is up to them to negotiate prices for their resources. If they settle for a fraction of what something is worth, whose fault is that? Furthermore, I have a feeling that's not quite true anyway. Or put a better way, I have a feeling a lot of the money paid for those resources are pocketed by corrupt third world leaders.

But certainly, we cannot dismiss third world profiteers. Just look at the Clintons. They raped Haiti after a natural disaster to line their pockets. I'm sure they're not the only mafia business doing the same type of thing.

According to Mr. Perkins sometimes the governments of these countries would cooperate and pocket a lot of the money for themselves. Other times, if the leaders didn't cooperate with the First World countries they would have "accidents" and die in mysterious ways.
In either case, the big multi-national corps didn't care anything about the little people.

 

[Sunset Rose]

I am not interested in bashing the Clintons about what they supposedly did in Haiti. This is something that happens all over the world. And it has been happening since long before the Clintons came along.
Third World countries are poor for a reason. It is cruel to call them "shitholes" without even trying to understand why they are in such tragic condition.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

According to Mr. Perkins sometimes the governments of these countries would cooperate and pocket a lot of the money for themselves. Other times, if the leaders didn't cooperate with the First World countries they would have "accidents" and die in mysterious ways.
In either case, the big multi-national corps didn't care anything about the little people.

I am certainly not surprised to hear of these "accidents". I would never and could never condone any such tactics. In business ventures, there is usually plenty of money to go around. I see no need to resort to such tactics.

As for big multi-national corporations, it's not their job to care about little people. I believe that responsibility falls to the shit hole, third world countries' governments.

But about pocketing money for themselves, normal Americans like you and I, I'm sure we wonder, "how much is enough"? I want to say I've read someone in Venezuela (I think a daughter in the Chavez family, not sure) is worth $4.2 billion. I couldn't be worth that much money and let my countrymen starve in the street. I would do something to help. What a shame greed leads to a different outcome.

On a separate note, did you read about the 20 year-old kid that won the $451 Mega Millions jackpot. I figure he'll clear about $200 million cash after the cash option reduction and taxes. He said he hopes to do something to help humanity. That warms my heart, hearing a young man talk like that. I wish him the best. $200 million can give him a very wonderful life and still a lot of money left over to do a lot of good.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

I am not interested in bashing the Clintons about what they supposedly did in Haiti. This is something that happens all over the world. And it has been happening since long before the Clintons came along.
Third World countries are poor for a reason. It is cruel to call them "shitholes" without even trying to understand why they are in such tragic condition.

I get it. You want to talk about why third world countries are shit holes, but exempt profiteers with a "D" behind their name from the conversation. I'm willing to do that, just for you.

 

[Sunset Rose]

I am certainly not surprised to hear of these "accidents". I would never and could never condone any such tactics. In business ventures, there is usually plenty of money to go around. I see no need to resort to such tactics.

As for big multi-national corporations, it's not their job to care about little people. I believe that responsibility falls to the shit hole, third world countries' governments.

But about pocketing money for themselves, normal Americans like you and I, I'm sure we wonder, "how much is enough"? I want to say I've read someone in Venezuela (I think a daughter in the Chavez family, not sure) is worth $4.2 billion. I couldn't be worth that much money and let my countrymen starve in the street. I would do something to help. What a shame greed leads to a different outcome.

On a separate note, did you read about the 20 year-old kid that won the $451 Mega Millions jackpot. I figure he'll clear about $200 million cash after the cash option reduction and taxes. He said he hopes to do something to help humanity. That warms my heart, hearing a young man talk like that. I wish him the best. $200 million can give him a very wonderful life and still a lot of money left over to do a lot of good.

I'm happy for him too. I hope he keeps the same friends and makes wise decisions with his money.

 

[Sunset Rose]

I get it. You want to talk about why third world countries are shit holes, but exempt profiteers with a "D" behind their name from the conversation. I'm willing to do that, just for you.

I don't exempt anybody. This is much bigger than the Clintons though.

 

[Sunset Rose]

Be right back.

 

[Queen Titania]

Sounds like a great book. I have not read it, so am at somewhat of a disadvantage.

However, I would like to take issue with your OP. You mentioned First World countries paying a fraction of what Third World resources are worth. Here is my problem with that statement. Third World countries have governments. It is up to them to negotiate prices for their resources. If they settle for a fraction of what something is worth, whose fault is that? Furthermore, I have a feeling that's not quite true anyway. Or put a better way, I have a feeling a lot of the money paid for those resources are pocketed by corrupt third world leaders.

But certainly, we cannot dismiss third world profiteers. Just look at the Clintons. They raped Haiti after a natural disaster to line their pockets. I'm sure they're not the only mafia business doing the same type of thing.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

I'm happy for him too. I hope he keeps the same friends and makes wise decisions with his money.

Ha! Good one! Oprah calls it "the theory of relativity"- when you get all kinds of relatives you never knew showing up when you come into a good chunk of money. Keep the same friends- wise advice.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

Excellent lecture. Ted rarely disappoints. You know QT, I think part of my problem is that all this time, I've overestimated third world country leaders. I always figured a leader of a country had to be smart. But agreeing to go into 19% interest debt to a corporation makes it clear I was wrong. The smarter and more right thing to do is for the country building the infrastructure to agree to do so for a percentage of the revenue and some other incentive. The former is most likely setting up the third world country for failure. I suspect the bribes offered are well beyond enough to blind a not-so-smart person's good judgment. Add that to not being as smart as I thought they were, and no wonder there's economic hit men jobs.

 

[Sunset Rose]

Thank you for posting this. I admire this man's courage to speak out. Lots of other people would have just took the good paychecks and remained silent.

 

[Sunset Rose]

There is a country in central Africa called Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a Third World country. What Donald Trump would refer to as a shithole. The natural resource of this country is coltan.
Coltan is used in cell phones, lap tops, tablets and other electronic devices. The mining of this coltan is a multi-million dollar industry. But, of course the people who do the back breaking work of mining this product don't share in the real profits of it. From looking at the pictures of the people and their homes, I'd never guess there was any kind of natural resource there. They look very poor and ragged, living in shacks.
I wonder who is recieving the money from all that coltan? It sure isn't the people who live in Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

[Deleted member 21794]

There is a country in central Africa called Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a Third World country. What Donald Trump would refer to as a shithole. The natural resource of this country is coltan.
Coltan is used in cell phones, lap tops, tablets and other electronic devices. The mining of
this coltan is a multi-million dollar industry. But, of course the people who do the back breaking work of mining this product don't share in the real profits of it. From looking at the pictures of the people and their homes, I'd never guess there was any kind of natural resource there. They look very poor and ragged, living in shacks.
I wonder who is recieving the money from all that coltan? It sure isn't the people who live in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Don't be so sure about who is getting the money. My gut tells me there are some senior people in the DRC that are very rich over this. And given how much Africans and Muslims love slavery, it's not surprising those poor people are still poor.

 

[EatTheRich]

Sounds like a great book. I have not read it, so am at somewhat of a disadvantage.

However, I would like to take issue with your OP. You mentioned First World countries paying a fraction of what Third World resources are worth. Here is my problem with that statement. Third World countries have governments. It is up to them to negotiate prices for their resources. If they settle for a fraction of what something is worth, whose fault is that? Furthermore, I have a feeling that's not quite true anyway. Or put a better way, I have a feeling a lot of the money paid for those resources are pocketed by corrupt third world leaders.

But certainly, we cannot dismiss third world profiteers. Just look at the Clintons. They raped Haiti after a natural disaster to line their pockets. I'm sure they're not the only mafia business doing the same type of thing.

Governments that stand up for their own countries are attacked and either overthrown or fought.

 

[EatTheRich]

There is a country in central Africa called Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a Third World country. What Donald Trump would refer to as a shithole. The natural resource of this country is coltan.
Coltan is used in cell phones, lap tops, tablets and other electronic devices. The mining of this coltan is a multi-million dollar industry. But, of course the people who do the back breaking work of mining this product don't share in the real profits of it. From looking at the pictures of the people and their homes, I'd never guess there was any kind of natural resource there. They look very poor and ragged, living in shacks.
I wonder who is recieving the money from all that coltan? It sure isn't the people who live in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Don't be so sure about who is getting the money. My gut tells me there are some senior people in the DRC that are very rich over this. And given how much Africans and Muslims love slavery, it's not surprising those poor people are still poor.

The DRC actually has a lot of resources and a strategic location. It is 80% Christian and only 12% Muslim, but it was the scene of some of the most brutal and widespread slavery in African history, by the king of Belgium (who owned the Congo Free State as a personal possession) in his greed for ivory, and later by the Belgian government in its greed for rubber.

After independence, fights over the country's copper and bauxite (used for aluminum), including the UN-engineered murder of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, a civil war between a U.S.-backed faction and a Belgium - backed faction, and U.S. bombings of villages, led to the installation of Mobutu Sese Seko, a CIA agent who robbed the country to enrich his friends and family and sponsored terrorism. China also backed Mobutu as part of their struggle with the Soviet Union over influence in southern Africa.

He was overthrown in a rebellion sponsored by Rwanda and Burundi following the overthrow of Rwanda's genocidal Hutu-nationalist regime which also became a struggle over copper, cobalt, and coltan, as well as control over the marijuana hoards in the country's northeast.

This struggle continued with a civil war between the government and forces backed by Rwanda and Burundi (which got in their own little turf wars over cobalt and coltan), with Angola, Zimbabwe, and Namibia invading to defend the government and their own access to resources copper and diamonds. This was the bloodiest war on Earth since WWII, with 5.4 million killed according to Wikipedia.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in the DRC getting rich from these resources, but the Rwandans are getting much richer, along with the Chinese who are mostly the ones buying the coltan and using it to make electronic devices that won't be made in Africa until it's unprofitable to make them anywhere else.

 

[Queen Titania]

There is a country in central Africa called Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a Third World country. What Donald Trump would refer to as a shithole. The natural resource of this country is coltan.
Coltan is used in cell phones, lap tops, tablets and other electronic devices. The mining of this coltan is a multi-million dollar industry. But, of course the people who do the back breaking work of mining this product don't share in the real profits of it. From looking at the pictures of the people and their homes, I'd never guess there was any kind of natural resource there. They look very poor and ragged, living in shacks.
I wonder who is recieving the money from all that coltan? It sure isn't the people who live in Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

[Queen Titania]

Don't be so sure about who is getting the money. My gut tells me there are some senior people in the DRC that are very rich over this. And given how much Africans and Muslims love slavery, it's not surprising those poor people are still poor.

Indians and Chinese and Corporates.

 

[Queen Titania]

The DRC actually has a lot of resources and a strategic location. It is 80% Christian and only 12% Muslim, but it was the scene of some of the most brutal and widespread slavery in African history, by the king of Belgium (who owned the Congo Free State as a personal possession) in his greed for ivory, and later by the Belgian government in its greed for rubber.

After independence, fights over the country's copper and bauxite (used for aluminum), including the UN-engineered murder of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, a civil war between a U.S.-backed faction and a Belgium - backed faction, and U.S. bombings of villages, led to the installation of Mobutu Sese Seko, a CIA agent who robbed the country to enrich his friends and family and sponsored terrorism. China also backed Mobutu as part of their struggle with the Soviet Union over influence in southern Africa.

He was overthrown in a rebellion sponsored by Rwanda and Burundi following the overthrow of Rwanda's genocidal Hutu-nationalist regime which also became a struggle over copper, cobalt, and coltan, as well as control over the marijuana hoards in the country's northeast.

This struggle continued with a civil war between the government and forces backed by Rwanda and Burundi (which got in their own little turf wars over cobalt and coltan), with Angola, Zimbabwe, and Namibia invading to defend the government and their own access to resources copper and diamonds. This was the bloodiest war on Earth since WWII, with 5.4 million killed according to Wikipedia.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in the DRC getting rich from these resources, but the Rwandans are getting much richer, along with the Chinese who are mostly the ones buying the coltan and using it to make electronic devices that won't be made in Africa until it's unprofitable to make them anywhere else.

Don't be so sure about who is getting the money. My gut tells me there are some senior people in the DRC that are very rich over this. And given how much Africans and Muslims love slavery, it's not surprising those poor people are still poor.