It was DAFT of the
Like many other colonial-era African states, IC has no meaningful military strength. There are naval, land or airborne special forces to speak of. The citizens are not militarilised. Now the airforce is shot to bits. That leaves the army, which was the reason
The army had been resisting attacks from insurgents against the regime of President Laurent Gbagbo. The insurgents were at arms because they felt marginalised from economic development. Their candidate for president was disqualified from competing in IC elections on grounds that he is not a citizen of IC. Ivoriens had obviously not heard of globalisation, perhaps because the people were so busy being colomentally assimilated into what Franz Fannon referred to as "black skins, white masks", a phenomenom otherwise known as "coconut": brown-black on the outside, off-white on the inside.
Those from the mainly desert north never forgot or forgave the decision by Houphouët-Boigny to allow
Being illegal emigres did not stop French farmers from privatising and controlling cocoa plantations established under HB. From these plantations,
HB reminded his fellow Ivoriens, time and again, "that their closest and best friend was
Those who perceive
African progressives will need to deal with the facts of France controlling post-independence "french" Africa via CFA anchored by Ivory Coast; and with Britain controlling post-independence "english" Africa via the Commonwealth anchored by Nigeria; and with USA trying to unseat the two EU member states as Africa's new "protector of market access and provider of military assistance". The "great games" played by these three G8 members accounts for much of the stalled progress towards actualisation of cross-border trades in the ECOWAS region, and in Africa as a whole.
But those who think that the Ivory Coast fracas is about rival Ivorien factions squabbling about whom to better service French trading interests, should "smell the cocoa". Cocoa, Coffee and Palm (vegetable) oil are the main exports of Ivory Coast. The journey of cocoa, from bean to consumer, especially reveals the true extent to which African commodities underpin global trade, and exposes the various nations that have strategic interests in the outcome of Ivory Coast vs France.
Links:
http://www.newint.org/issue304/farmer.htm = African cocoa farmer visits Cadbury UK
http://www.icco.org = International Cocoa Association
http://www.icco.org/questions/production.htm = the main cocoa producers
http://countrystudies.us/ivory-coast/78.htm = the legacy of Houphouett-Boigny.
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The "strategic" national "interests" in Ivory Coast vs. France
first published 10-November-2004
The Strategic Interests in Ivory Coast vs France II
The Strategic Interests in Ivory Coast vs France II
First published 18-November-2004
First published 18-November-2004
The journey of cocoa from plantation to consumer reveals the extent to which African commodities underpin global trade. It also exposes the various nations that have strategic interests in the outcome of Ivory Coast vs France.
Cocoa is grown on large plantations. The crops are intensely farmed, in mono-culture formation and with large use of phosporus fertilizer. Most of the planting, cultivation and harvesting must be done by hand. The plantations use large numbers of labour, many of whom are migrants into IC from neighbouring Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana and Senegal. The conditions of work are atrocious. Workers are badly beaten, poorly paid, and cast out at first sign of illness.
Plantation owners borrow heavily from the international banks based in Abidjan. The loans are collateralised by a promise to deliver the physical crop in the future and to receive cash-flows on delivery. Plantation owners receive some money upfront to use in paying for seed, fertilizer, and other farming inputs. The cocoa farmer gets paid. Not all farms are big plantations. A big planter or a big wholesaler may have supply agreements with owners of small-holdings.
On the basis of these anticipated cashflows, the headquarters of these banks create commodity derivatives such as options, futures, forwards and swaps. Commodity derivatives are financial instruments. They are bought and sold many times over in the commodity exchanges such as CBOT (USA), LIFFE (UK), Marche (France). Commodity derivatives are very, very big business in the international financial markets. Some of the buyers are cocoa processing companies such as Cargill, ADM and Phillip Morris (also a big tobacco processor). Other big buyers are end-users such as the chocolate manufacturers, including Switzerland's Nestle/Rowntree, Lindt and Barry Callebrut; USA's Hershey and Mars; UK's Cadbury, among others.
Buyers usually intend to take delivery of the cocoa. However, nearly 98pc of international trade in commodity derivatives is purely speculative gambling. The speculators buy on expectation of increased prices and sell on expectation of lowered prices. Prices are volatile and change often because the quality and quantity of commodities produced in any one year cannot be predicted in advance. Excess rain during harvesting, excess exposure to sun during drying, crop pests and a thousand other risks may destroy the quality of any year's cocoa crop. Fortunes are made and lost due to the ensuring high price volatility. In order to limit their exposure to potential loss, many speculators and end-users buy insurance instruments or hedge their market positions. Not many international insurance companies and hedge fund investment companies even bother to refer to Ivory Coast in their marketing material. They still earn fortunes off the breaking back of the cocoa farmer.
One such farmer visited Cardbury's processing plants in UK. He learnt that hardly any chocolate sold in the huge UK market for "chocolate" products actually contains cocoa solids. The typical 200g bar contains an average of 0.5g of cocoa solids. There are plans underfoot to replace even that small amount with vegetable fat. The big markets for real cocoa solids are the Swiss-Benelux manufacturers of luxury chocolates. The other big market are the manufacturers of cosmetics such as cocoa butter.
The diminishing market for cocoa solids is a trend that reveals changes in the dymanics of strategic international interests across Africa. Ever since the slave trade, many of the continent's economies have been heavily dependent on exports of commodities. Most of the exports were to then-colonial, later-imperialistic, and now neo-colonial trading partners: countries such as UK/Britain, France, Belgium and USA.
Europe and USA dominate global consumption of goods and services. Their markets are now close to saturation point. Their employees are living from paycheck to paycheck. They have too much of the everyday things they want to buy. They have little spending power left after deductions for bills and credit repayments. As consumption falls, so has competitive advantage in production. USA and many Europe countries can no longer compete with the nascent Asian countries in manufacturing, information technology or agriculture. Even as their incomes fall, they are faced with rising expenditure relating to unemployment support, foreign trade deficits, and domestic social obligations.
The diminishing share of Africa's commodities in world trade is producing less slush funds both for the neo-colonials and for the local akotileta elite who rule the commodity-exporting countries on their behalf. With less slush funds, it is becoming more difficult for the neo-colonials to maintain the heavy military and diplomatic resources needed to provide "assistance" to the ruling akotileta. Scenting the opportunity, previously oppressed people are now rising to challenge years of misrule and corruption.
The disaffection in France is particularly acute. For decades, France sold the concept of "one motherland, many colors". The motherland of course was France. The many colors were not equal. Nonetheless, Africans from Mali to Gabon professed to being "french first before African". Equally, religious brainwashing caused Islam worshippers to think themselves "muslim first before African" and the Christian worshippers to think themselves "christian, full stop". Their combined colomentality continue to waste many initiatives aimed at facilitating a regional market in West Africa.
If nothing else, the recent events in Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Congo, Equitorial Guinea and Ivory Coast have helped remove the blight from the eyes of many Africans. By bombing the Ivorien military, France declared war on the country and compromised any "peace-keeping" excuses allowed their deployment by the UN. For its part, the UN has authorised France to use "any means neccessary" to contain the multi-tribal wars raging in IC. There have been six coups attempts herere since 1999. France now fights with its back to the proverbial wall. It is discredited with both government forces and rebel forces.
Just like USA in Iraq, France will almost certainly win a front-end confrontation with IC. However, it may find the cost of administering any subsequent peace exhorbitant. The same costs will apply to any misadventurous neo-colonialists scheming to step into France's soiled boots. The unhappy economics facing Europe and USA is the driving force behind the recent wave of aggressive foreign policy unto countries that fail to protect themselves. France is acting under the auspices of the wretched United Nations. USA and Britain is acting irrespective of the UN.
Eventually, the Africans will win encounters similar to Ivory Coast vs France. Then they still face the challenge of lopsided international markets. They can meet that challenge by building strong regional and continental trade among Africa's 700 million waiting customers.
___________________
Cocoa is grown on large plantations. The crops are intensely farmed, in mono-culture formation and with large use of phosporus fertilizer. Most of the planting, cultivation and harvesting must be done by hand. The plantations use large numbers of labour, many of whom are migrants into IC from neighbouring Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana and Senegal. The conditions of work are atrocious. Workers are badly beaten, poorly paid, and cast out at first sign of illness.
Plantation owners borrow heavily from the international banks based in Abidjan. The loans are collateralised by a promise to deliver the physical crop in the future and to receive cash-flows on delivery. Plantation owners receive some money upfront to use in paying for seed, fertilizer, and other farming inputs. The cocoa farmer gets paid. Not all farms are big plantations. A big planter or a big wholesaler may have supply agreements with owners of small-holdings.
On the basis of these anticipated cashflows, the headquarters of these banks create commodity derivatives such as options, futures, forwards and swaps. Commodity derivatives are financial instruments. They are bought and sold many times over in the commodity exchanges such as CBOT (USA), LIFFE (UK), Marche (France). Commodity derivatives are very, very big business in the international financial markets. Some of the buyers are cocoa processing companies such as Cargill, ADM and Phillip Morris (also a big tobacco processor). Other big buyers are end-users such as the chocolate manufacturers, including Switzerland's Nestle/Rowntree, Lindt and Barry Callebrut; USA's Hershey and Mars; UK's Cadbury, among others.
Buyers usually intend to take delivery of the cocoa. However, nearly 98pc of international trade in commodity derivatives is purely speculative gambling. The speculators buy on expectation of increased prices and sell on expectation of lowered prices. Prices are volatile and change often because the quality and quantity of commodities produced in any one year cannot be predicted in advance. Excess rain during harvesting, excess exposure to sun during drying, crop pests and a thousand other risks may destroy the quality of any year's cocoa crop. Fortunes are made and lost due to the ensuring high price volatility. In order to limit their exposure to potential loss, many speculators and end-users buy insurance instruments or hedge their market positions. Not many international insurance companies and hedge fund investment companies even bother to refer to Ivory Coast in their marketing material. They still earn fortunes off the breaking back of the cocoa farmer.
One such farmer visited Cardbury's processing plants in UK. He learnt that hardly any chocolate sold in the huge UK market for "chocolate" products actually contains cocoa solids. The typical 200g bar contains an average of 0.5g of cocoa solids. There are plans underfoot to replace even that small amount with vegetable fat. The big markets for real cocoa solids are the Swiss-Benelux manufacturers of luxury chocolates. The other big market are the manufacturers of cosmetics such as cocoa butter.
The diminishing market for cocoa solids is a trend that reveals changes in the dymanics of strategic international interests across Africa. Ever since the slave trade, many of the continent's economies have been heavily dependent on exports of commodities. Most of the exports were to then-colonial, later-imperialistic, and now neo-colonial trading partners: countries such as UK/Britain, France, Belgium and USA.
Europe and USA dominate global consumption of goods and services. Their markets are now close to saturation point. Their employees are living from paycheck to paycheck. They have too much of the everyday things they want to buy. They have little spending power left after deductions for bills and credit repayments. As consumption falls, so has competitive advantage in production. USA and many Europe countries can no longer compete with the nascent Asian countries in manufacturing, information technology or agriculture. Even as their incomes fall, they are faced with rising expenditure relating to unemployment support, foreign trade deficits, and domestic social obligations.
The diminishing share of Africa's commodities in world trade is producing less slush funds both for the neo-colonials and for the local akotileta elite who rule the commodity-exporting countries on their behalf. With less slush funds, it is becoming more difficult for the neo-colonials to maintain the heavy military and diplomatic resources needed to provide "assistance" to the ruling akotileta. Scenting the opportunity, previously oppressed people are now rising to challenge years of misrule and corruption.
The disaffection in France is particularly acute. For decades, France sold the concept of "one motherland, many colors". The motherland of course was France. The many colors were not equal. Nonetheless, Africans from Mali to Gabon professed to being "french first before African". Equally, religious brainwashing caused Islam worshippers to think themselves "muslim first before African" and the Christian worshippers to think themselves "christian, full stop". Their combined colomentality continue to waste many initiatives aimed at facilitating a regional market in West Africa.
If nothing else, the recent events in Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Congo, Equitorial Guinea and Ivory Coast have helped remove the blight from the eyes of many Africans. By bombing the Ivorien military, France declared war on the country and compromised any "peace-keeping" excuses allowed their deployment by the UN. For its part, the UN has authorised France to use "any means neccessary" to contain the multi-tribal wars raging in IC. There have been six coups attempts herere since 1999. France now fights with its back to the proverbial wall. It is discredited with both government forces and rebel forces.
Just like USA in Iraq, France will almost certainly win a front-end confrontation with IC. However, it may find the cost of administering any subsequent peace exhorbitant. The same costs will apply to any misadventurous neo-colonialists scheming to step into France's soiled boots. The unhappy economics facing Europe and USA is the driving force behind the recent wave of aggressive foreign policy unto countries that fail to protect themselves. France is acting under the auspices of the wretched United Nations. USA and Britain is acting irrespective of the UN.
Eventually, the Africans will win encounters similar to Ivory Coast vs France. Then they still face the challenge of lopsided international markets. They can meet that challenge by building strong regional and continental trade among Africa's 700 million waiting customers.
___________________
Links:
http://www.internationalism.org/wr/262_ivory.htm = France shows its real face
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/ivory-coast.htm = Analysis of the crisis
http://www.newint.org/issue304/farmer.htm = Cocoa farmer from Ivory Coast learns the economics of chocolate production
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/may2003/ivor-m09.shtml = USA blocks intervention in Ivory Coast.
http://www.internationalism.org/wr/262_ivory.htm = France shows its real face
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/ivory-coast.htm = Analysis of the crisis
http://www.newint.org/issue304/farmer.htm = Cocoa farmer from Ivory Coast learns the economics of chocolate production
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/may2003/ivor-m09.shtml = USA blocks intervention in Ivory Coast.
Monday, January 21, 2008
When Sheep Call Rabid Dogs To Tend The Flock
He who the gods first make mad...
I am just about to finish reading "tHE SHOCK DOCTRINE" by Naomi Klein. Which highlights that for some 205 or so years from 1893 to now, the USA (and Europe) have expanded their markets by progressively 'shocking' domestic consumers or foreign countries. First by economic shock of destabilising the socio-econimy through free markets that loosens capital controls and democracy that ensures only compliant elites get to rule. If the markets are reluctant, then the shock of war as bombs rain down terror to free the markets. For those who further resist want to keep their land to themselves by all means or just to set an example, there is the body shock of torture and disappeared 'terrorists' .
For years now, we have been raising alarm that Africa is in a war of attrition. All the things that other people do by themselves, our people call on foreigners to come and do for them. Still we have people calling for foreign investment, foreign technical support, foreign aid, foreign tourists, etc. Perhaps they did not notice that all these foreign entities rarely travel without 'escorts' and 'field operatives'. They rarely lend without interest, never give without a trade agreement secured by collateral.
Let me guess why the 'eagle is now landing' while the 'vultures gather around'.
Privatisation and deregulation programmes in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa are about to reach a higher level. Now that all the small-small governmert assets have been sold at gbanjo prices, it is the turn of the core assets: NEPA/SONANGOL may be sold to GE, NNPC may be sold to the anglo-american energy companies, and the water, telco and utilities companies may be sold to the other european multinationals. The Broederbond Afrikaners retain 80% control of SA economy and 70% of the land, as they do in Zimbabwe. Our people are fed up with squalor and suffering and dying for nothing. Previous governments have softened us up economically by allowing combination of acute fuel price hikes, inflation, unconstrained capital flight, and total-importation-among-total-unemployment to cripple local productivity. They have set examples of willingness to military violence and police brutality. Meanwhile, nothing is done to prevent people sliding off the dead-end of fundamentalist religions that call on the hopeless to beg from those who damn them the most.
When local people got too tired of the lawlessness and formed vigilante groups, some people called on the same disingenuous governments (whose complicity, incompetence or insincerity caused these crises in the first case) to deal with the 'terrorists' (academics, cultists and tribalists). The turkeys voted for christmas and youth leaders 'disappeared', were dealt with, or somehow died. Now the sheep are calling for the rabid dogs to come and tend the flock. The actors in the former mis-governments are now on the other side and are working with the multinationals and multilateral agencies of countries that open our markets while they close their borders. They want to get paid from privatising the assets that so many people gave up so much to accumulate. They expect peoples' resistance to boil over. So they have asked for (foreign) military support, to reinforce their raping and killing of us. Now, while they move the seats of government onto fortified mini-cities it is the time for you to go prepare your village, and learn the ways of the blacksmith and the bush. t is not accidental that travel into the cities and foreign countries is so problematic. Nigeria, like Iraq, may now finally unite and for all the same reasons.
I am just about to finish reading "tHE SHOCK DOCTRINE" by Naomi Klein. Which highlights that for some 205 or so years from 1893 to now, the USA (and Europe) have expanded their markets by progressively 'shocking' domestic consumers or foreign countries. First by economic shock of destabilising the socio-econimy through free markets that loosens capital controls and democracy that ensures only compliant elites get to rule. If the markets are reluctant, then the shock of war as bombs rain down terror to free the markets. For those who further resist want to keep their land to themselves by all means or just to set an example, there is the body shock of torture and disappeared 'terrorists' .
For years now, we have been raising alarm that Africa is in a war of attrition. All the things that other people do by themselves, our people call on foreigners to come and do for them. Still we have people calling for foreign investment, foreign technical support, foreign aid, foreign tourists, etc. Perhaps they did not notice that all these foreign entities rarely travel without 'escorts' and 'field operatives'. They rarely lend without interest, never give without a trade agreement secured by collateral.
Let me guess why the 'eagle is now landing' while the 'vultures gather around'.
Privatisation and deregulation programmes in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa are about to reach a higher level. Now that all the small-small governmert assets have been sold at gbanjo prices, it is the turn of the core assets: NEPA/SONANGOL may be sold to GE, NNPC may be sold to the anglo-american energy companies, and the water, telco and utilities companies may be sold to the other european multinationals. The Broederbond Afrikaners retain 80% control of SA economy and 70% of the land, as they do in Zimbabwe. Our people are fed up with squalor and suffering and dying for nothing. Previous governments have softened us up economically by allowing combination of acute fuel price hikes, inflation, unconstrained capital flight, and total-importation-among-total-unemployment to cripple local productivity. They have set examples of willingness to military violence and police brutality. Meanwhile, nothing is done to prevent people sliding off the dead-end of fundamentalist religions that call on the hopeless to beg from those who damn them the most.
When local people got too tired of the lawlessness and formed vigilante groups, some people called on the same disingenuous governments (whose complicity, incompetence or insincerity caused these crises in the first case) to deal with the 'terrorists' (academics, cultists and tribalists). The turkeys voted for christmas and youth leaders 'disappeared', were dealt with, or somehow died. Now the sheep are calling for the rabid dogs to come and tend the flock. The actors in the former mis-governments are now on the other side and are working with the multinationals and multilateral agencies of countries that open our markets while they close their borders. They want to get paid from privatising the assets that so many people gave up so much to accumulate. They expect peoples' resistance to boil over. So they have asked for (foreign) military support, to reinforce their raping and killing of us. Now, while they move the seats of government onto fortified mini-cities it is the time for you to go prepare your village, and learn the ways of the blacksmith and the bush. t is not accidental that travel into the cities and foreign countries is so problematic. Nigeria, like Iraq, may now finally unite and for all the same reasons.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Awake Afrikans: You have been warned.
Africa is the cornerstone of the new world order. To understand this imperialistic order, one must become familiar with the concepts of dialectic reasoning and doublespeak rhetorics. The dialectic mindset was espoused by the faustian philosopher Georg Hegel. Africans are now familiar with the doublespeak rhetoric of "we are giving Africa 'foreign aid' while actually planting seeds of perpetual weakness and fanning the flames of self-destruction.
Both concepts come together in Albert Pike's tome: Morals & Dogma. Freemasonry's organisations in USA are implicated as instrumental to success of the KKK (project of the Scottish Rite),the secessionist Confederate Army, and the Democratic (Dixiecrats) party.
Freemasonry IS the intellectual, if not the true religious, basis of culture among elites in modern Europe (including the USA) where it is the dialectic opposite of christianity, and in modern Arabia where it is the dialectic opposite of islam-mohammedanism, and in the United Nations where it is cloaks the Lucis Trust with the cloth of Humanism.
The Antipasministries reveals the Dominionism agenda of the Euro-USA empire in Africa as it is implemented through religious brain-washing, disease infestation, poverty and debt bondage, slave-plantation labour, puppet governments, dumb education, mis-information, and resurgent chaos. Unchecked by Afrikans' awakening and vigilance, this agenda may lead to a new eugenics war logic of Africa without the Afrikans.
Note the role in Africa, Caribbeans and South America of 'aid workers' and 'non-governmental organisations (NGO)' in weakening governments, destabilising countries, and acting as scouts.
The Centre for Research on Globalisation highlights A Warning to Africa: The New U.S. Imperial Grand Strategy. This military positioning across the continent is largely unreported in the news media. It is the central theatre for the Project for New American Century, the think tank based in Washington DC, USA, although their report (download) in true dialectical style does not appear to concern itself with Africa. The Antipasminitries paper shows how Euro-USA's wealth is built on the back of Africa's poverty.
See also:
wake up America
Secret Societies
Both concepts come together in Albert Pike's tome: Morals & Dogma. Freemasonry's organisations in USA are implicated as instrumental to success of the KKK (project of the Scottish Rite),the secessionist Confederate Army, and the Democratic (Dixiecrats) party.
Freemasonry IS the intellectual, if not the true religious, basis of culture among elites in modern Europe (including the USA) where it is the dialectic opposite of christianity, and in modern Arabia where it is the dialectic opposite of islam-mohammedanism, and in the United Nations where it is cloaks the Lucis Trust with the cloth of Humanism.
The Antipasministries reveals the Dominionism agenda of the Euro-USA empire in Africa as it is implemented through religious brain-washing, disease infestation, poverty and debt bondage, slave-plantation labour, puppet governments, dumb education, mis-information, and resurgent chaos. Unchecked by Afrikans' awakening and vigilance, this agenda may lead to a new eugenics war logic of Africa without the Afrikans.
Note the role in Africa, Caribbeans and South America of 'aid workers' and 'non-governmental organisations (NGO)' in weakening governments, destabilising countries, and acting as scouts.
The Centre for Research on Globalisation highlights A Warning to Africa: The New U.S. Imperial Grand Strategy. This military positioning across the continent is largely unreported in the news media. It is the central theatre for the Project for New American Century, the think tank based in Washington DC, USA, although their report (download) in true dialectical style does not appear to concern itself with Africa. The Antipasminitries paper shows how Euro-USA's wealth is built on the back of Africa's poverty.
See also:
wake up America
Secret Societies
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)