Posted on 07/06/2004 8:06:27 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
A top economic adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told African countries yesterday to refuse to pay their huge debts if rich countries did not cancel them.
American economist Jeffrey Sachs made the comment to a conference on hunger on the eve of a summit of the heads of state of the African Union, which estimates sub-Saharan Africa has foreign debts of $US201 billion ($283 billion).
"The time has come to end this charade. The debts are unaffordable," said Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special adviser to Annan on global anti-poverty targets. "If they won't cancel the debts I would suggest obstruction. You do it yourselves."
The 53-member African Union, which is to discuss taking a more prominent role in conflict resolution on the continent, announced yesterday that it would send a 300-strong armed protection force as soon as possible into Sudan's Darfur province.
Sam Ibok, director of the Union's Peace and Security Division, said the troops' role would be to protect refugees in Sudan and in neighbouring Chad, where many have fled from a campaign of terror by Arab militiamen - a situation the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The force would also protect military observers currently being sent to Darfur, he said.
Advertisement Advertisement The number is a significant increase from the 150 unarmed African Union monitors who were expected to go to Darfur as part of an April ceasefire agreement in Sudan. A few AU monitors are already there.
Sachs called on the developed world to double aid to Africa to $US120 billion a year and meet commitments they made in 1970 to spend at least 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product on grants and loans.
The United States and other rich nations spent billions of dollars on arms but only a minute fraction of that on fighting poverty, he said.
In his remarks to the conference, Annan warned that hunger was becoming worse for the most vulnerable segment of Africa's population.
"Africa is the only continent where child malnutrition is getting worse rather than better," he said. "Tragically, the past decade has seen very little progress."
Annan said Africa needs a "green revolution" to meet a 2015 target to end hunger.
Jacques Diouf, director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, said progress in ending hunger was "painfully slow" and predicted it would take more than a century to achieve it in Africa.
Better now?
What would Dick Cheney say to the United Nations?
Dinesh D'Souza made that same point in one of his books.
It is an unspoken topic for the most part.
Someone send these moronsa copy of Hamilton's papers.
However, one of the conditions of such debt cancellation needs to be mandatory restructuring of those countries' economies and fiscal systems. That, unfortunately, isn't likely to happen.
Not that unspoken these days with people whining that the 'wrong blacks' are getting into Harvard *LOL* Too stupid. People come here and they really don't have time to immerse themselves in racial demagoguery. They want to succeed and make money. Black people from other countries get discriminated against just HOW it's dealt with and what sort of attitude.
A long time ago, black people had to fight for everything they wanted. It's no one else's fault but today's black Americans' own fault if other immigrant people come here and pick up where the old folks left off. Nothing stopping anyone from doing what they want in the USA. It's not the black farmer I read about who opposed Mugabe and is now taking a dirt nap.
How 'bout if we cancel our tax "debt" to your stinking university, Sachs?
What you say is true, and affirmative action has ended a lot of potential college degrees from being earned.
Many times people who would do alright at a state or city college are through affirmative action thrown into a school like USC where they my not be able to compete. Many drop out never earning any degree. (which to me is a horror of a result)
That is another unspoken topic and IMO this form of affirmative action has kept the blacks from degrees they would have earned.
I don't like the way that happens at all.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1162284/posts
too many foreign born blacks graduating from Harvard... not enough inner city poor black kids. Aside from being discriminatory, the rules are not specific enough for WHICH kinds. Which is often the trap of liberal feel good intentions. As for black kids who may not make it all the way through, Harvard and USC could care less. Except now they target people who stay all four years and thus pay them more money. It ALWAYS comes down to money.
BTW, there are many successsful black people attending state schools because they're cheaper and less of a hassle than a high brow lib fortress than Harvard. Not to mention all the folks in the military taking correspondence courses,etc. The majority of young black kids I've met joining the military are doing it for the college money and experience. So it's all as bad as the liberals want people to believe, just not going the way they like.
I find nothing redeeming in the liberal approach to life. prasites that they are.
We spent billions of dollars on Africa and all we got was genocide. Giving money to an african country is like giving money to the UN 'oil for food' program. Increasing the amount of aid is not the problem. It's the corruption.
While I don't disagree with you, it appears you are painting with a brush at least as wide as you accuse others of doing. I do agree with you on the influence of tribalism, both in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and as you have defined it, in the United States. Division has benefitted a lot of powerful people in every country.
Of course. I agree.
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