Quote Originally Posted by KingJaja View Post
Everyone who does business in Africa bribes. Halliburton bribes, Shell bribes, Total bribes. These companies have given bribes for the past fifty years. The Chinese also bribe and suddenly it is big news?
Whoa!

You forgot to mention the one consistent factor... and that is that Africans have always accepted the bribes (from whatever source).

The Chinese are the new kids on the block sucking in Africa's natural resources and selectively (and cleverly) bribing their way to that end.

Like the frog in water brought slowly to the boil by the time Africans realise that their country is owned by China it will be too late (as by then China will have become dependent on Africa's resources to the extent that they will be prepared to defend the source and trade routes militarily).

You posted Orwell's story Shooting An Elephant as a shot at the Brit empire but you obviously missed the following comment from the astute Orwell:

I did not even know that the British Empire is dying, still less did I know that it is a great deal better than the younger empires that are going to supplant it.
Now fast forward to today and look back at Burma's last fifty years of glorious independence and how they are begging the world to save them from themselves (their 50 year military dictatorship). Personally in this instance they should IMHO be told quietly that they made their own bed now they must lie in it... quietly (if you know what I mean )