Corruption's take: $148B

National Post ^ | Peter Goodspeed

[staytrue]

A Kuwaiti diplomat once told me the following joke. This is from memory and may not be as funny as it should be.

Two sons of prominent leaders, one from africa and one from asia, attended school together in the US. They became friends and years latter the one from Asia went to visit the one from Africa.

The one from africa says "I hear you are doing very well"
The asian replies "yes, I am a multimillionaire".
"how did you do that ?" the african asks.
The asian holds up a picture of a new bridge, highway and skyscraper and he says "you see this bridge, highway and skyscraper, I got 5% of that"

The asian asks his classmate, "how are you doing?"
The african answers "Oh I am a multibillionaire"
The asian asks "really, how did you do that ?"
The african points out the window to dirt road winding through a vast undeveloped jungle, and he says "you see that bridge, highway and skyscraper, I got a 100% of that."

[staytrue]

please read post 21, you might like it.

[ikka]

My jaw DROPPED when I saw the first part of this article as the main, front page headline, above the fold on the National Post - it ran the day that Live Aid 8 was having their big shindig!

Congrats to the NP for their guts in taking on the real issue head-on.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Forgiving African debt will personally benefit the kleptocrats, and do nothing for the rank and file Africans.

The problem is that decolonization failed. No African nation has proven capable of self-governance. The only future for Africa that might work is some kind of custodial relationship, like would be done for a retarded orphan.

But no sane government would want the burden of African colonies.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F