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Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, dies aged 95
Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, dies aged 95
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:33 PM)Starke Wrote:
Gonna go against the grain here.
While certainly a courageous and brave man, Nelson Mandela was ultimately a useful idiot for the political forces behind Mbeki and Zuma.
Prior to his ascendancy to power, South Africa was the shining light of the African economy- a bastion of stability in a continent of chaos. Far safer than its neighbours, an agricultural powerhouse which was gradually gaining respect as a strong place for international business. The downside of course, being poverty for the native black population.
Today, South Africa is regarded as a basket case. It's no longer a place which attracts talent, conversely, it suffers from a massive brain-drain. Crime is rampant, South Africa now has world-leading rates for murder, assault, rape (adult, child and infant). International business no longer thrives in Jo'burg and CT - elite talent simply does not want to go there.
Native blacks are free, great, but they are still shockingly poor and now even more vulnerable to crime.
Mandela was undoubtedly an admirable bloke, but you can only judge a politician by the benefits they bring their nation
On that metric, he and his ANC have been an abject failure.
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:33 PM)Starke Wrote:
Gonna go against the grain here.
While certainly a courageous and brave man, Nelson Mandela was ultimately a useful idiot for the political forces behind Mbeki and Zuma.
Prior to his ascendancy to power, South Africa was the shining light of the African economy- a bastion of stability in a continent of chaos. Far safer than its neighbours, an agricultural powerhouse which was gradually gaining respect as a strong place for international business. The downside of course, being poverty for the native black population.
Today, South Africa is regarded as a basket case. It's no longer a place which attracts talent, conversely, it suffers from a massive brain-drain. Crime is rampant, South Africa now has world-leading rates for murder, assault, rape (adult, child and infant). International business no longer thrives in Jo'burg and CT - elite talent simply does not want to go there.
Native blacks are free, great, but they are still shockingly poor and now even more vulnerable to crime.
Mandela was undoubtedly an admirable bloke, but you can only judge a politician by the benefits they bring their nation
On that metric, he and his ANC have been an abject failure.
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:49 PM)Kingsley Davis Wrote:
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:33 PM)Starke Wrote:
Gonna go against the grain here.
While certainly a courageous and brave man, Nelson Mandela was ultimately a useful idiot for the political forces behind Mbeki and Zuma.
Prior to his ascendancy to power, South Africa was the shining light of the African economy- a bastion of stability in a continent of chaos. Far safer than its neighbours, an agricultural powerhouse which was gradually gaining respect as a strong place for international business. The downside of course, being poverty for the native black population.
Today, South Africa is regarded as a basket case. It's no longer a place which attracts talent, conversely, it suffers from a massive brain-drain. Crime is rampant, South Africa now has world-leading rates for murder, assault, rape (adult, child and infant). International business no longer thrives in Jo'burg and CT - elite talent simply does not want to go there.
Native blacks are free, great, but they are still shockingly poor and now even more vulnerable to crime.
Mandela was undoubtedly an admirable bloke, but you can only judge a politician by the benefits they bring their nation
On that metric, he and his ANC have been an abject failure.
Going to be a Great White Flight similar to Zimbabwe?
Quote: (12-05-2013 07:01 PM)Starke Wrote:
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:49 PM)Kingsley Davis Wrote:
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:33 PM)Starke Wrote:
Gonna go against the grain here.
While certainly a courageous and brave man, Nelson Mandela was ultimately a useful idiot for the political forces behind Mbeki and Zuma.
Prior to his ascendancy to power, South Africa was the shining light of the African economy- a bastion of stability in a continent of chaos. Far safer than its neighbours, an agricultural powerhouse which was gradually gaining respect as a strong place for international business. The downside of course, being poverty for the native black population.
Today, South Africa is regarded as a basket case. It's no longer a place which attracts talent, conversely, it suffers from a massive brain-drain. Crime is rampant, South Africa now has world-leading rates for murder, assault, rape (adult, child and infant). International business no longer thrives in Jo'burg and CT - elite talent simply does not want to go there.
Native blacks are free, great, but they are still shockingly poor and now even more vulnerable to crime.
Mandela was undoubtedly an admirable bloke, but you can only judge a politician by the benefits they bring their nation
On that metric, he and his ANC have been an abject failure.
Going to be a Great White Flight similar to Zimbabwe?
SA's white flight has been even larger than what went down in Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
1 million whites have fled SA since black-rule - off to places like Aus & NZ.
Essentially, the white upper and middle-class have disappeared.
The remainder are those who cannot afford the move to a Western country and hardcore lefties who see their current hardship as deserved punishment.
The white South African emigres I've met all tend to have a look in their eyes of survivors from a zombie movie, even 2 decades later.
Quote: (12-05-2013 06:33 PM)Starke Wrote:
Gonna go against the grain here.
While certainly a courageous and brave man, Nelson Mandela was ultimately a useful idiot for the political forces behind Mbeki and Zuma.
Prior to his ascendancy to power, South Africa was the shining light of the African economy- a bastion of stability in a continent of chaos. Far safer than its neighbours, an agricultural powerhouse which was gradually gaining respect as a strong place for international business. The downside of course, being poverty for the native black population.
Today, South Africa is regarded as a basket case. It's no longer a place which attracts talent, conversely, it suffers from a massive brain-drain. Crime is rampant, South Africa now has world-leading rates for murder, assault, rape (adult, child and infant). International business no longer thrives in Jo'burg and CT - elite talent simply does not want to go there.
Native blacks are free, great, but they are still shockingly poor and now even more vulnerable to crime.
Mandela was undoubtedly an admirable bloke, but you can only judge a politician by the benefits they bring their nation
On that metric, he and his ANC have been an abject failure.
Quote: (12-05-2013 07:48 PM)j r Wrote:
I am curious. Why blame the people fighting for their freedom and not the people keeping them down to preserve their own wealth and power?
Quote: (12-05-2013 07:34 PM)kosko Wrote:
Debeers has been off-shore for 100 years+ and steals 98% of South Africa's diamond wealth.
Those wealthy SA folks you met (and I know also) weren't fuking with De-Beers type money. I am talking Billions and Trillions being stolen at wholesale levels.