Niger - Sad day for Africa

African neighbors finalize Niger war plans
Nigeria-led ECOWAS says it is ready to intervene for “democracy” in Niamey

ECOWAS chiefs of staff pose for photo at end of meeting on Niger crisis, August 4, 2023 © AP / Chinedu Asadu

The militaries of several ECOWAS members have agreed on a plan for military intervention in Niger and are waiting for the final political decision, a senior official of the bloc said on Friday.

The Economic Community of West African States has already sanctioned the junta in Niamey over last week’s military coup and demanded the restoration of ousted president Mohamed Bazoum before Sunday. RT 

While many African nationalist leaders are shouting for African unity and to be free from western colonialists, the French and the Americans are planning to invade Niger in the name of freedom and democracy. When that happens, Africa would be drawn into another unending war that the West and the Americans want. They are finding all reasons to start a war in Africa to destabilise the continent and keep them busy fighting, killing themselves and destroying their economies. 

A few of Niger's neighbours have joined hands to stand together to fight the French and the Americans should they dare to invade Niger. This is bad enough, but not that bad as when other neighbouring African countries are also ganging up to invade Niger in the name of freedom and democracy. Freedom and democracy are the code words used by the Americans to intervene and invade countries to conduct regime change. Third world leaders are falling into the American/western trap, using freedom and democracy unthinkingly to justify meddling and interfering in another country's domestic affairs. Asean is doing exactly the same against Myanmar, acting like the white gods, thinking they are the saints and angels and wanting to tell Myanmese how to run their country.

If ECOWAS countries unthinkingly send in forces into Niger, Africa would be in flame and the Americans and the West would be most happy to lend support and sell their arms, even providing soldiers to do the fighting. Africa would be plunged into darkness in never ending wars. All the hopes of African unity, peaceful development and economic progress would be history. Would the wiser African leaders stand up and put a stop to wars in the African continent and stop killing each other to benefit the western colonialists waiting on the sideline, to return to colonise and rule Africa?

Myanmar is safe and protected from a silly Asean wanting to meddle with its domestic affairs and to destabilise Myanmar by having China on its side. Not sure if Niger and Africa have the good fortune to stop the schemers and provocateurs from succeeding in lighting a fire in Niger. Another hotbed is South Africa now that Victoria Nuland is there just prior to the BRICS Meeting. There are many American financed mercenaries in South Africa eagerly waiting for action and their pay checks. She can easily light a fire and South Africa too would be burning and in chaos. South Africa must be on full alert to prevent riotings and attacks by external forces to disrupt and even kill the BRICS Meeting. The possibility of hit squads assassinating BRICS leaders cannot be ruled out.

The western purging of competence

The immortal words of the nameless Boeing employee about the 737 MAX apply to most large western companies; “this airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys.”

Monopoly and oligopoly is the rule and the main objective of most large western companies is to prevent anyone from infiltrating their sector – usually by bribing regulators or by buying the competition. This is a necessity because a huge number of western companies are now run by incompetent management and staffed by incompetent people, particularly in support and management functions.

Western companies are no longer competitive. They cannot compete with Chinese companies now and soon they won’t be able to compete with companies in general outside the West. They simply can’t function except inside an economic safe-space.

This also applies to western societies as a whole. The entire leadership and diplomatic classes of the West are no longer competitive against the rest of the world for exactly these reasons. They are being outmaneuvered by the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians, and everybody else at every turn. Even African leaders are now more competent than western leaders. They have consistently made decisions that are better for their people than leaders in the West – for the last few years anyway.

Anonymous

Niger - Africa standing up to French colonialists

 France is Toast.

Bitter Winter descending on them without Russian Gas and Niger's Uranium to warm them.

Toasted supposed to be hot but now many of them will freeze to death.

This be their just desserts for each and every time they are the murdering accomplishes to join their Mafia Chief, the Americunts in any wars and conflicts and invasions on any weak countries.

Their current boaster cock useless Marconi spaghetti is just hot air threatening war on Niger.

The Majority of the African countries be joining in their own NATO to fight them their White Robbers NATO.

Now with Russian and also likely China's supports and Putin wrote off many of their Billions Debts and also their Russia-Africa Summit where Putin made Bravo speech for them to wake up from the Murderers and Robbers yokes, Africans will keep the damn Whites busy with their awakening and China will be left in Peace for the time being.

Had time to further strengthen their Military and Econmic alliance of BRICs and with the Russians and also the Rest of the Global South and Asian Countries.

Time to kick the arses of the White Imperialists.

Cheers

Virgo

America destroyed ASML

 To say that China is not capable of moving to more high end chip production or making more sophisticated lithograhy machines is just denying the inevitable. Anything made by men, can always be replicated or invented by other men. It is just a question of taking the time.

As an example, why are they forcing Iran not to produce nuclear bombs? It is not because Iran does not have that capability. In fact countries like Brazil and even South Africa are perfectly capable of doing that as well.

The big question is if China succeeds in making high end lithography machines en masse, what is that going to do to ASML? And what if China could produce lithography machines as cheaply as they touted, like washing machines, what do you think will happen to those companies making lithography machines in Netherlands, Japan and South Korea and who will they be competing against? Do not say it will not and can never happen.

Decades ago, a copying machine was the size of a car, cost a bomb and very few companies could afford that. Rank Xerox was at its pinnacle together with IBM in that sector. Now, a printer cum copying machine costs less than S$200 and is the size of an attache case, or even smaller. Did people thought this was possible then?

Or did anyone foresee fifty years ago that China could ever rise to what it is today? Poverty strickened, fraught with natural calamities like floods, earthquakes and civil unrest, who could have bet on China becoming the second largest economy today. Cooks, laundrymen and farmers they were, completely brushed aside as irrelevant and ignored as a perennial basket case by the West. They only see the potential of China's cheap labour and invested in China, reaping all the benefits, fabricating all the lies, exporting all their pollution, consuming 20% of all the food produced in the world with only about 4% of the global population. That is just food alone, not to consider consumer products, all in exchange for pieces of toilet paper.

Anonymous

Presidential Election - Opportunity for cheap publicity or ego massage?

 Some of us may recall the Slipper man in past GEs. He was an unassuming man, wearing T shirt and slippers and putting himself up as a candidate in the GE. Could not figure out what was his motivation, but the law permits every citizen the right to nominate himself as a candidate as long as he is not of bad character, not unsound mind, or a criminal or some lesser conditions. There was also another guy, something like a 'parrot' man, with a parrot on his shoulder, also in the fray.

Many took them lightly, probably jokers or mentally challenged, or perhaps they thought they were good enough and stood a chance, with some luck, to be successful in the election. Some thought they were naive or just messing with a serious democratic process. Or could they be in just for just cheap publicity or attention?

The strict criteria for the EP, actually not just strict, but prohibitive criteria that angels would not even qualify, unless the angel is rich and powerful, have one positive effect, to rule up charlatans and jokers from nominating themselves as EP candidates. But the elitist terms have ruled out many good men and women that could easily do the job of the EP without any difficulties, and would also allow more good men and women to make themselves available, to give the people a better choice, to give every citizen an equal chance, equal right, to be the EP.

Putting the bizarre terms aside, the number of eligible candidates is now limited to a very exclusive few individuals deemed to be good enough to be the EP by the ruling party, and ordinary citizens with lesser means were not. The picture becomes very simple and clear when less than a handful of candidates are on the nominated list and comparison of who is the better candidate can be quite obvious. This is in another way like the saying, in the land of the blind, the one eyed Jack shines. 

With a very good candidate like Tharman being thrown in by the government, the alternative candidate would have to be someone as good as him in many areas to stand a chance to beat him. When George Goh offered himself, there is still some semblance of a chance that he could win, on a one versus one basis. George's credential may not be as illuminating as Tharman's, but 50:50, anything can happen. Then Ng Kok Song appeared. This quickly reduces the odds for George and both would be seen to be contesting against the government's candidate Tharman. The votes against the government candidate would be diluted and Tharman's chance would increase.

Any candidate coming in after George and Kok Song would only ensure that Tharman would win, unless this candidate is so outstanding that he would overshadow George and Kok Song. Anyone that is at best the equals of George and Kok Song would further wither down the votes and their own chances as well. It is like coming in to spoil the party. Any reasonable man would know this. 

What is the purpose of someone that is obviously not an outstanding candidate and still wanting to come into the fray as the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh candidate? Is there any good reason to do so other than being deluded, or a personal quest, ego, fantasy, or some publicity to boot as a presidential candidate after the event? For whatever personal reasons, candidates adding to the pool would not only affect the chances of serious and better candidates. It also deprives the people from getting the better candidate of their choice.

Hypothetically, no matter how good Tharman is, if the people wants a non PAP candidate, there is a chance for a non PAP candidate to be elected if it is 1:1 or at worst 1:2 fight. Anything more would destroy whatever slim chances for an upset. In a 1 versus 3 fight, we have seen what happened before. The people were angry at the missed opportunity to put Cheng Bock in the Istana. And we are going to see the fiasco repeating again this time.

We can understand that everyone eligible should have his right to nominate himself as a candidate. We also understand that everyone thinks very highly of himself or herself.  We also understand that there is an element of luck or accident to happen. But the probabilities are real and difficult to change.

With all due respect to Tharman, if another candidate is to beat him, the chances for that to happen would be a 1:1 contest. Anything more would be in Tharman's favour. Let's hope that on nomination day, only one candidate other than Tharman, would be left to contest the election. We have at least two to date. Let's hope commonsense and the public good would convince the other hopeful candidates to make a wise decision to withdraw from the fight and make the election a serious election for the best candidate to be the EP, not for someone to enjoy the limelight for the sake of being under the limelight, without any hope of winning, but to undermine the chances of another good candidate having an even chance of winning against Tharman, and a non PAP or less politically tainted man becoming the next EP.

We do not want to see a 4 corner fight again. It is irresponsible for this to happen for people to put their self interest ahead of national interest, to turn the Presidential Election into a personal roadshow at the expense of the common good of the people and country.