Zimbabwe okays payment of school fees with livestock, labour

[James Comey]

http://www.africanews.com/2017/04/17/zim...ck-labour/

What the actual fuck.

[sswbm]

I got an ad "Safely send money to Zimbabwe" on that page Can I send a goat too?

[James Comey]

I don't know how the hell that country hasn't collapsed yet.

[brainiac3397]

(04-18-2017 07:42 AM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  I don't know how the hell that country hasn't collapsed yet.

Technically, they've collapsed constantly in every area except their government institutions which I assume are held together by a mix of corruption, propaganda, and authoritarianism.

[James Comey]

Isn't Zimbabwe also propped up by China these days?

China and Israel making a lot of moves in Africa these days.

[brainiac3397]

China has a massive advantage in Africa and that's their reputation. Seeing as they were never a Western imperial power that pillaged, looted, raped, and mutliated across the continent for centuries, it's safe to say Africans aren't as perturbed by their presence.

[James Comey]

Actually Brain many African countries look very positively towards the United States, especially during the Obama years; helps that the US really hasn't done too much shady shit in Africa compared to the British, French, or Germans.

Also helps that China is quite wealthy relatively speaking and has the resources to do its shit in Africa.

Traditionally American policy is to nation build and make sure there's a democracy in place; the Chinese don't really give a shit and don't give restrictions with their aid.

[sswbm]

What was the last time a country collapsed?

[James Comey]

Didn't Yugoslavia collapse in the 90s (and again actually in 2000) and Libya collapse in 2011?
Iraq in 2003
Somalia in the 90s
The Soviet Union in the early 90s
Venezuela looks very dangerously close

[brainiac3397]

I never said the US was viewed badly. Seeing as we never imperialized in traditional sense, we would be the exception. However our involvement in Africa in regards to investment is quite limited. American investors have generally stuck to European countries and riskier ones aimed at South America, with a few outliers tapping East Asia(albeit Japan and South Korea being on par with Europe).

The Chinese on the other hand are more than happy to invest in these low-yield markets because they aim to build up the infrastructure as well to boost the value of their investments. Western investors dont often do that kind of thing, especially when you generally dont have the governments support to the degree the Chinese government supports.

[James Comey]

It also helps that the Chinese government is trying to expand militarily as well, and they see Africa as a pretty major opportunity. China seems to provide those governments with weapons and resources to fight rebellious as well as terrorist groups.

Of course, if this happened in the West, we'd here of some massive ass scandal. China doesn't give a fuck in that regard as they've been openly propping up shady regimes for a while.