Dictatorship

Nevertheless, if you aren’t actually interested in socializing the economy’s commanding heights — or, at least, are more interested in maximizing your own popularity and public support for the concept of positive economic rights — then describing yourself and your program as socialist makes little tactical sense. Sanders might feel he has no choice but to stick with the label he embraced as a radical activist and retained throughout a long and successful political career. But he could distance himself from the brand somewhat without wholly abandoning it, by owning the title of “New Deal liberal” and insisting that his two political identities are one and the same. … [Read more...] about Bernie Sanders: ‘Democratic Socialist’ Is Just a Synonym for New Deal Liberal

It is that Guinea is incredibly rich in natural resources – with the largest bauxite deposits and the single largest untapped iron ore assets in the world – none of which, until now, the people of Guinea have enjoyed. A small number of offshore companies, aided and abetted by corrupt domestic regimes, bled Guinea's resources for decades. A slow death facilitated by the network of lawyers, accountants and financial advisers sitting in offices in New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and Singapore. … [Read more...] about At Davos, the west must help us root out corruption in Africa

When Vale agreed to pay $2.5bn, one veteran of African mining was quoted in the financial press as saying that Steinmetz had hit "the jackpot". The 57-year-old Israeli tycoon was estimated by Forbes magazine to have a net worth of $4bn. But while Steinmetz's corporation defended the deal in which it acquired the rights, others were highly critical: the African telecoms billionaire Mo Ibrahim, for example, asked publicly: "Are the Guineans who did that deal idiots, or criminals, or both?" … [Read more...] about FBI arrest agent over bribery cover up claim in battle over $10bn mountain

"This inquiry is very worrying for those of us who have been in the mining industry for a long time," said the source close to former president Conté. "I worry that they are looking for simplistic outcomes – black and white. Will they be brave enough to say that there is an overlap? The directors that have been running the mining industry are close friends with the people who are still the decision makers in this country to this day." … [Read more...] about The tycoon, the dictator’s wife and the $2.5bn Guinea mining deal

The crackdown has provoked international condemnation. France suspended military co-operation with its former colony and reviewed its bilateral aid. The foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, described the repression as "savage and bloody". The African Union condemned the "indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians", and the EU called for an immediate investigation. … [Read more...] about Guinean soldiers massacre 157 pro-democracy protesters