Somali Leader Agrees to Reconciliation

Did you notice no one else is helping them either?

Are we really admitting that absolutely nothing can be done by the international community with involvement from the U.S. True I bash the current US administration as much as the next person but you cannot blame them for absolutely everything that goes on in the world. Conversely if the US was actually helping every country it could in the world with a positive effect people would no doubt blaming them for not helping absolutely everyone.

My point is that it is extremely disappointing to think that nothing of great importance in the world can be accomplished without the involvement of the US in that decision.

As the name might indicate, I know a little bit about Denmark, and I can tell you that Denmark's assistance to Darfur consists of words. Words are hard to hide behind when someone is shooting at you.

Are we really going to wait - again - for the UN to do something? Or did we try that in Darfur? And Liberia? And Congo? Etcetera ad infinitum.

And finally, what exactly is it that China helping Mugabe does to benefit the people of Zimbabwe? The last thing Africa's dictators need is more foreign money.

Does Darfur remind anyone else of Rwanda? And we're going to wait for the Americans to come and fix it for us? Perhaps they're a little busy.

Guido is right about Europe, and I would add Norway and France to the list. China perhaps is more problematic. China needs raw materials, Africa has them cheap (in Zimbabwe they are so cheap that it might better be termed "stealing") and China can give expertise (engineers, economist, etc.) as part of the bargain. The wise African leaders are the ones who will pluck the knowledge China can offer and not just the bridges and dams they can help build. Bridges and dams will crumble and fall. Knowledge, if guarded and enhanced, will live forever and can improve one's country even after the Chinese go home.

Now as to the U.S. role (or lack thereof) in Africa: the U.S. economy is by far the biggest in the world. When the U.S. in effect bars small African countries like Malawi or Benin from trading with Americans because the only products they have that U.S. consumers want are agricultural and the U.S. is standing by Big Ag here in the states, then what the U.S. is effectively doing is standing on the throats of the Malawians and Beninois and politely insisting we are doing everything we can to help them, they just don't want to help themselves. To be sure, the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunities Act) Third Country Fabric Provision, which was just extended last week, is a small step toward helping these struggling economies, but it is like giving a thimble-full of water to a thristy man when you are sitting on a reservoir.

A stadium?

Blood diamonds. Years and years of brutal cívil war. Child soldiers. AIDS. Economic and societal collapse.

How exactly is a stadium supposed to help Sierra Leone?

"I'm not saying it's right, just that Chinese investment is succeeding because they don't set high benchmarks." His example has been repeated across the continent

I know the poor folks in West Virginia and Tennessee would sure be a lot better off if they had a stadium! Why, they could do all sorts of things there, like not be able to afford to watch a game, or sell peanuts and drinks to the few who can.