The British troops dismantled Mogadishu railway

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Reminds me of a saying
"Africa fed the world, but the world eats without Africa"

Africa has never fed the world. It could, but it hasn't. This article says the most basic problem is African government policy:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-...rs/2011/jul/27/africa-potential-to-feed-world

"Africa can feed not just itself but the world is a bold assertion to make at a time when famine stalks part of the continent.

But this is precisely the claim made by Kanayo Nwanze, the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), a specialised agency of the UN. Nwanze gave a forceful intervention at Monday's emergency meeting in Rome to discuss the crisis in east Africa, where, according to the UN, an estimated 11.6 million people need humanitarian assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

Nwanze drew a sharp contrast between Gansu province, in northwest China, and parts of Africa that cannot feed itself. He said like many parts of the world, Gansu suffers from frequent drought, limited water for irrigation and severe soil erosion. Yet despite the weather and the harsh environment, the farmers in the Gansu programme area are feeding themselves and increasing their incomes.

"I met one farmer whose income had risen from only $2 (£1.20) a day in 2006 to $35 a day last year," he exclaimed.

So when asked why this could be done in China but not Africa, Nwanze said the vital difference was government policy.

"What I saw in Gansu was the result of government policy to invest in rural areas and to reduce the gap between the rural and the urban and stem migration," he said in a telephone interview. "It has a very harsh environment, it has only 300 millimetres of rain annually, compared to parts of the Sahel which gets 400-600 millimetres, but the government has invested in roads and electricity. We found a community willing to transform their lives by harvesting rainwater, using biogas, terracing mountain slopes. There are crops for livestock, they are growing vegetables, wheat and maize, and generating income that allows them to build resilience."

While Somalia is a worst-case scenario, Nwanze continues, in Ethiopia and Djibouti there has been a lack of long-term investment that makes them vulnerable to climate change. "It is not enough to wait for crisis to turn to disaster to act. The rains will fail again, but governments have not invested in the ability of populations to resist drought."

Nwanze argues that Africa is facing the fallout of decades of neglecting agriculture, a fault that lies with African governments and aid donors."
 

Madaxkuti

FieldMarshalMadaxkuti
My grandfather was one of the Somalis sent by the Italians to stop the protest against Italians returning:dead:
Bandit who lives in this forested area between caynabo and horufadhi sool and togdheer are surprisingly very green
IMG_20170902_054436.jpg
 

SuldaanGuled

Rag waa shaah dumarna waa sheeko.
war taloow nin cadaanka muxuu naga rabaa ? war @grantoow fadlan naa dhaaf dalkaa soomaliyaa anaga leh ee wada ku qul qul

Waa nothing personal haye deh
 

World

VIP
After independence in the 1960s, when I was there, the cloth and rice in the markets came from India. The cooking pots came from Pakistan. The qat in Hargeisa came from Ethiopia. US and European goods were extremely rare, usually just what the diplomatic community brought in or that came in the mail or diplomatic pouches. Italian cigarettes, wine, spaghetti and olive oil were exceptions in the South. The US role included USAID projects such as building the port at Kismayu and the road from Kismayu to Jilib, in support of the banana industry and national income, for which Italy had a trade monopoly and the US had no interest. After the Kacaan in 1969, most US personnel were required to leave the country, and Russia took over many of the assistance roles, up to the war in 1977, which largely ended foreign assistance.

What raw materials did the US ever get from Somalia?

Somalia has meat. It goes to Saudi and the Gulf.

Somalia has Uranium. Yellow cake is available on the open market for cheap prices. It's the processing that makes it useful and valuable.

Somalia has fish, taken by many foreign fishermen, but not, as far as I am aware, any US company.

The rape of the country for charcoal was undertaken by al Shabaab and exploited by Saudi and the Gulf countries.

Somalia may have commercial oil, and, if so, the Somali government would like to exploit it as a source of income. In 2014 the government invited a mixed bag of explorers to look for oil:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29993447

Somalia's economic difficulties do not stem from foreign exploitation. They stem from an economy geared to the military as clients of the USSR up until 1977, and a general lack of productive investment both before and since. The weather and the civil war have not helped.

Western aid has kept many alive. The government can negotiate any deal it thinks is fair. Western investment will likely help more than it hurts and should not be driven off by claims of expected exploitation.
First time I actually agree with you.
 
Ar
After independence in the 1960s, when I was there, the cloth and rice in the markets came from India. The cooking pots came from Pakistan. The qat in Hargeisa came from Ethiopia. US and European goods were extremely rare, usually just what the diplomatic community brought in or that came in the mail or diplomatic pouches. Italian cigarettes, wine, spaghetti and olive oil were exceptions in the South. The US role included USAID projects such as building the port at Kismayu and the road from Kismayu to Jilib, in support of the banana industry and national income, for which Italy had a trade monopoly and the US had no interest. After the Kacaan in 1969, most US personnel were required to leave the country, and Russia took over many of the assistance roles, up to the war in 1977, which largely ended foreign assistance.

What raw materials did the US ever get from Somalia?

Somalia has meat. It goes to Saudi and the Gulf.

Somalia has Uranium. Yellow cake is available on the open market for cheap prices. It's the processing that makes it useful and valuable.

Somalia has fish, taken by many foreign fishermen, but not, as far as I am aware, any US company.

The rape of the country for charcoal was undertaken by al Shabaab and exploited by Saudi and the Gulf countries.

Somalia may have commercial oil, and, if so, the Somali government would like to exploit it as a source of income. In 2014 the government invited a mixed bag of explorers to look for oil:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29993447

Somalia's economic difficulties do not stem from foreign exploitation. They stem from an economy geared to the military as clients of the USSR up until 1977, and a general lack of productive investment both before and since. The weather and the civil war have not helped.

Western aid has kept many alive. The government can negotiate any deal it thinks is fair. Western investment will likely help more than it hurts and should not be driven off by claims of expected exploitation.
Are you actually this stupid in real life, or only when you want to spout propaganda?

I'm not trying to offend you, i'm generally trying to understand your mental state.

1. I said "They have to continue to keep Africa powerless to get raw materials on the cheap.." Where in this statement did I say Somalia?
You're entire straw-man argument was based on fiction. Stop with the semantics fella.

2. You're lying. US goods were not rare, as they used to be smuggled into Ethiopia due to the communist ban on all american goods as they were considered "Capitalist and imperialist bourgeoisie luxuries" (many a Somali fortunes were made by smugglers)

3. Stop lying. Kismayo port was jointly built by Somalia and the US, in order to lower the cost of bananas exported to europe through italian ports.

5. Somalia was not destroyed through debt, debt is manageable. Somalia was destroyed via IMF shock therapy and world bank structural reform programs +10 years before the US engineered social chaos called the 1977 war. You need us, because your government has the world's highest debt in the history of mankind. $1.9 Quadrillion in 2016 and counting in derivatives debt hidden in the black books of the major US investment banks.

YOU need Somalis to allow the IMF to print our currency, which means we will owe you $99 for every dollar printed. Thereby keeping our people eternally enslaved and indebted. THAT'S how the US keeps Somalia and the rest of Africa poor, while the US remains so prosperous.


US figures:

iu


US debt bubble in 2011:

"The Horrific $1.5 QUADRILLION Derivatives Bubble"
That's $1,500,000,000,000,000
by Michael Snyder


"Today there is a horrific derivatives bubble that threatens to destroy not only the U.S. economy but the entire world financial system as well, but unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand it. When you say the word "derivatives" to most Americans, they have no idea what you are talking about. In fact, even most members of the U.S. Congress don't really seem to understand them. But you don't have to get into all the technicalities to understand the bigger picture.




6. What resources does give Somalia give the US kulaha.

Listen here W.i.g.h.t man (indentured servant of the Barbary moors, you should thank us for taking your ass to the US in the first place) I don't like your attempt at anointing yourself as the great white hop aka white savior. We never needed the US, but you need us to cover your mounting monthly derivatives interest payments.

So you see cracker, you need Somalia more than we need you. Now go away peasant.
 
Ar

Are you actually this stupid in real life, or only when you want to spout propaganda?

I'm not trying to offend you, i'm generally trying to understand your mental state.

1. I said "They have to continue to keep Africa powerless to get raw materials on the cheap.." Where in this statement did I say Somalia?
You're entire straw-man argument was based on fiction. Stop with the semantics fella.

2. You're lying. US goods were not rare, as they used to be smuggled into Ethiopia due to the communist ban on all american goods as they were considered "Capitalist and imperialist bourgeoisie luxuries" (many a Somali fortunes were made by smugglers)

3. Stop lying. Kismayo port was jointly built by Somalia and the US, in order to lower the cost of bananas exported to europe through italian ports.

5. Somalia was not destroyed through debt, debt is manageable. Somalia was destroyed via IMF shock therapy and world bank structural reform programs +10 years before the US engineered social chaos called the 1977 war. You need us, because your government has the world's highest debt in the history of mankind. $1.9 Quadrillion in 2016 and counting in derivatives debt hidden in the black books of the major US investment banks.

YOU need Somalis to allow the IMF to print our currency, which means we will owe you $99 for every dollar printed. Thereby keeping our people eternally enslaved and indebted. THAT'S how the US keeps Somalia and the rest of Africa poor, while the US remains so prosperous.


US figures:

iu


US debt bubble in 2011:

"The Horrific $1.5 QUADRILLION Derivatives Bubble"
That's $1,500,000,000,000,000
by Michael Snyder


"Today there is a horrific derivatives bubble that threatens to destroy not only the U.S. economy but the entire world financial system as well, but unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand it. When you say the word "derivatives" to most Americans, they have no idea what you are talking about. In fact, even most members of the U.S. Congress don't really seem to understand them. But you don't have to get into all the technicalities to understand the bigger picture.




6. What resources does give Somalia give the US kulaha.

Listen here W.i.g.h.t man (indentured servant of the Barbary moors, you should thank us for taking your ass to the US in the first place) I don't like your attempt at anointing yourself as the great white hop aka white savior. We never needed the US, but you need us to cover your mounting monthly derivatives interest payments.

So you see cracker, you need Somalia more than we need you. Now go away peasant.


I'm not sure that ignorance at this level deserves a response, but try this: I was there and you weren't. Up to the time of the Kacaan any goods that came in traveled freely. About the only thing that came from Ethiopia was qat. It was not smuggled, but only went to the North. I don't know anything personally about any Barbary Moors, but I may have taught your grandmother English. You may see that as a bad thing, but it got you an education of sorts and access to a computer in some Western country.

There is a derivatives bubble and it will hurt maybe worse than the housing collapse of 2007. A lot of value will simply get wiped out. But notice that ten years after the fact the US housing market is once again up and the banks are loaning money they essentially don't need and are perfectly capable of writing off. The US debt is backed by the US taxpayer and national assets significantly larger than the money supply. There is cause for concern, but not for panic.

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/art...ooking_a_lot_like_2007-2008_to_me_102074.html

I am not here as a Great White Anything. I am here as an ex-teacher of Somalis, with Somali friends, still interested in the country and the people and concerned with the level of misinformation being passed among young Somalis in the West. I will stick around.

Now, please explain how it is that the US needs Somalia.
 
Africa has never fed the world. It could, but it hasn't. This article says the most basic problem is African government policy:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-...rs/2011/jul/27/africa-potential-to-feed-world

"Africa can feed not just itself but the world is a bold assertion to make at a time when famine stalks part of the continent.

But this is precisely the claim made by Kanayo Nwanze, the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), a specialised agency of the UN. Nwanze gave a forceful intervention at Monday's emergency meeting in Rome to discuss the crisis in east Africa, where, according to the UN, an estimated 11.6 million people need humanitarian assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

Nwanze drew a sharp contrast between Gansu province, in northwest China, and parts of Africa that cannot feed itself. He said like many parts of the world, Gansu suffers from frequent drought, limited water for irrigation and severe soil erosion. Yet despite the weather and the harsh environment, the farmers in the Gansu programme area are feeding themselves and increasing their incomes.

"I met one farmer whose income had risen from only $2 (£1.20) a day in 2006 to $35 a day last year," he exclaimed.

So when asked why this could be done in China but not Africa, Nwanze said the vital difference was government policy.

"What I saw in Gansu was the result of government policy to invest in rural areas and to reduce the gap between the rural and the urban and stem migration," he said in a telephone interview. "It has a very harsh environment, it has only 300 millimetres of rain annually, compared to parts of the Sahel which gets 400-600 millimetres, but the government has invested in roads and electricity. We found a community willing to transform their lives by harvesting rainwater, using biogas, terracing mountain slopes. There are crops for livestock, they are growing vegetables, wheat and maize, and generating income that allows them to build resilience."

While Somalia is a worst-case scenario, Nwanze continues, in Ethiopia and Djibouti there has been a lack of long-term investment that makes them vulnerable to climate change. "It is not enough to wait for crisis to turn to disaster to act. The rains will fail again, but governments have not invested in the ability of populations to resist drought."

Nwanze argues that Africa is facing the fallout of decades of neglecting agriculture, a fault that lies with African governments and aid donors."
Africa has never fed the world? Looks like Alzheimer's is already taking it's toll on u lol. From slavery to the scramble for Africa that caused ww1, to the free diamonds that was being used to cut steels during the industrial revolution and now tantalum that which ur smart phone wouldn't exist with out it.

:ufdup:Ur bs is getting outta control lately old man
 
Africa has never fed the world? Looks like Alzheimer's is already taking it's toll on u lol. From slavery to the scramble for Africa that caused ww1, to the free diamonds that was being used to cut steels during the industrial revolution and now tantalum that which ur smart phone wouldn't exist with out it.

:ufdup:Ur bs is getting outta control lately old man

You're confused. Africa was peripherally involved, but the origins of WWI were mostly in Europe and involved most immediately the Balkans and the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire. The assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand triggered mutual defense treaties.

https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-war-aims-world-war-one-1222048

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_theatre_of_World_War_I

"The African Theatre of World War I describes campaigns in North Africa instigated by the German and Ottoman empires, local rebellions against European colonial rule and Allied campaigns against the German colonies of Kamerun, Togoland, German South West Africa and German East Africa which were fought by German Schutztruppe, local resistance movements and forces of the British Empire, France, Belgium and Portugal.[Note 1]"

It was relatively minor stuff.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Slaves, diamonds and Tantalum have all been items used in trade, for which items of equivalent perceived value were apparently exchanged.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The slaving occurred on both coasts and involved both native rulers in the west and Arabs in the east. Westerners were buyers, not enslavers; and it was the British that put an end to it. The Mushunguli and Gosha are remnants of Diverse Hawiyye slaves held on plantations in the Shabelli valley from about 1825 up to the Italian period, so don't tell me Africans weren't themselves directly involved.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kindly take a look at the current African diamond trade:

http://money.howstuffworks.com/african-diamond-trade2.htm

It's financing rebellion and feeding terrorists on the African continent, hardly feeding the world. De Beers exploited the African diamonds by essentially creating the market as a wedding gift and controlling trade and pricing. That is going, going... Synthetic gem-grade stones are already on the market. Even bort is being replaced by sharper synthetic materials.

Your notion that diamonds were used to cut steel during the Industrial Revolution is just bizarre. Diamond works well on harder or more brittle materials, but steel is tough and tears diamond instruments apart. Steel is cut with hardened steel instruments.

https://www.onsrud.com/xdoc/The-History-of-Cutting-Tools

"The history of cutting tools began during in the industrial revolution in 1800 A.D., but the first cutting took was cast using a crucible method in 1740. In 1868, R. Mushet discovered that adding Tungsten can increase hardness in metals and increase tool life. Tungsten is a chemical element and a steel-gray colored metal. It’s known for its robust physical properties and it has the highest melting point of all non-alloyed metals and the second highest melting point of all elements after carbon.
F.W. Taylor did the most basic research in metal cutting in Pennsylvania between 1880 and 1905. Taylor was also able to invent a high speed steel and better alloy to improve previous designs and techniques. In 1890, Tungsten carbide was first synthesized and was used in Germany."


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Most Tantalum comes from Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1715

"Tantalum Sources in Africa
Another important, albeit variable, source of tantalum is Africa, where artisanal miners recover tantalum minerals from mainly alluvial resources. These contain elevated concentrations and can easily be upgraded into saleable concentrates by simple techniques such as panning. This informal sector causes uncertainty in both reserve and production calculations as these resources are often brought into production when prices rise. This recently occurred when ‘coltan shops’ were established in East Africa, when traders bought concentrates from Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. Concern and action by the United Nations and Dianne Fosse Foundation reduced the trade in these concentrates as the proceeds were being used to fund the on-going civil war in the region."

Now, tell me again how Africa fed or is feeding the world.

:birdman::bell::drakelaugh:
 
1. "I may have taught your grandmother english" kulaha, no you didn't you indentured servant. She didn't speak english.

3. Of course you don't know about the barbary moors, you're ignorant.

2. "You may see that as a bad thing, but it got you an education of sorts and access to a computer in some Western country."

Wooooooooooooow, this right here is what I talk about when I say white great hope people. This man is literally taking credit for young Somali people being clever enough to use computers in the west. Wow. This is a new level of "I'm your great white savior.

3. Ignorance kulaha. I hit with straight facts and figures that the US is more in debt than the value of entire global economy 10x over.

The entire housing bail-out went to PRIVATE companies. The derivatives business continues because POTUS hasn't instituted a Glass-Steagall to eliminate the US standing debt. Your national debt is in the form of US treasuries, which is tied to the Federal Reserve, which is tied to your SSN number = You're royally screwed.

If you were intelligent, then you would have been worried about what's to come for the US economy, when the BRICS gold-backed bank comes online at any moment now. Gold backed currency trumps fiat currencies that are IOU's (see what I did there.)

The wight man always cries about ignorance when light has been shun on their state of affairs.
We're not ignorant but well educated and capable of rational thought. You exposed yourself by using emotional attacks against my hard facts and figures, from the US no less.

You don't need us? Then why is the US (IMF+World Bank) so anxious for us to allow the IMF to print our currency? You're done for without out currency debt.

You know nothing about complex economic matters or geo-politics. You're just an old, sad washed up man trying to reclaim a forgone past of "when I used to live in your country." Your career was to teach "Le Petit Prince" to nomads after WWII, know your place. Pathetic that you're old enough to be a grandpa but have to be online peddling nonsense at young Somali people, because you fear our potential.

You're time was 60 years ago old man. Move on and retire gracefully. The world has no use for you.
 
Africa has never fed the world? Looks like Alzheimer's is already taking it's toll on u lol. From slavery to the scramble for Africa that caused ww1, to the free diamonds that was being used to cut steels during the industrial revolution and now tantalum that which ur smart phone wouldn't exist with out it.

:ufdup:Ur bs is getting outta control lately old man
Wallahi this guy is so sad. He literally hates us due to our potential. That's why he wants us to remain ignorant.
 
Wallahi this guy is so sad. He literally hates us due to our potential. That's why he wants us to remain ignorant.
He's going thru the late stages of Alzheimer's, he's confused, he believes that we aren't natives to Somalia and we stole it from bantus :siilaanyolaugh:
You're confused. Africa was peripherally involved, but the origins of WWI were mostly in Europe and involved most immediately the Balkans and the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire. The assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand triggered mutual defense treaties.

https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-war-aims-world-war-one-1222048

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_theatre_of_World_War_I

"The African Theatre of World War I describes campaigns in North Africa instigated by the German and Ottoman empires, local rebellions against European colonial rule and Allied campaigns against the German colonies of Kamerun, Togoland, German South West Africa and German East Africa which were fought by German Schutztruppe, local resistance movements and forces of the British Empire, France, Belgium and Portugal.[Note 1]"

It was relatively minor stuff.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Slaves, diamonds and Tantalum have all been items used in trade, for which items of equivalent perceived value were apparently exchanged.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The slaving occurred on both coasts and involved both native rulers in the west and Arabs in the east. Westerners were buyers, not enslavers; and it was the British that put an end to it. The Mushunguli and Gosha are remnants of Diverse Hawiyye slaves held on plantations in the Shabelli valley from about 1825 up to the Italian period, so don't tell me Africans weren't themselves directly involved.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kindly take a look at the current African diamond trade:

http://money.howstuffworks.com/african-diamond-trade2.htm

It's financing rebellion and feeding terrorists on the African continent, hardly feeding the world. De Beers exploited the African diamonds by essentially creating the market as a wedding gift and controlling trade and pricing. That is going, going... Synthetic gem-grade stones are already on the market. Even bort is being replaced by sharper synthetic materials.

Your notion that diamonds were used to cut steel during the Industrial Revolution is just bizarre. Diamond works well on harder or more brittle materials, but steel is tough and tears diamond instruments apart. Steel is cut with hardened steel instruments.

https://www.onsrud.com/xdoc/The-History-of-Cutting-Tools

"The history of cutting tools began during in the industrial revolution in 1800 A.D., but the first cutting took was cast using a crucible method in 1740. In 1868, R. Mushet discovered that adding Tungsten can increase hardness in metals and increase tool life. Tungsten is a chemical element and a steel-gray colored metal. It’s known for its robust physical properties and it has the highest melting point of all non-alloyed metals and the second highest melting point of all elements after carbon.
F.W. Taylor did the most basic research in metal cutting in Pennsylvania between 1880 and 1905. Taylor was also able to invent a high speed steel and better alloy to improve previous designs and techniques. In 1890, Tungsten carbide was first synthesized and was used in Germany."


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Most Tantalum comes from Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1715

"Tantalum Sources in Africa
Another important, albeit variable, source of tantalum is Africa, where artisanal miners recover tantalum minerals from mainly alluvial resources. These contain elevated concentrations and can easily be upgraded into saleable concentrates by simple techniques such as panning. This informal sector causes uncertainty in both reserve and production calculations as these resources are often brought into production when prices rise. This recently occurred when ‘coltan shops’ were established in East Africa, when traders bought concentrates from Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. Concern and action by the United Nations and Dianne Fosse Foundation reduced the trade in these concentrates as the proceeds were being used to fund the on-going civil war in the region."

Now, tell me again how Africa fed or is feeding the world.

:birdman::bell::drakelaugh:
U quickly dismissed the 250+ yrs of free labor in the West like it didn't contribute to a vast amount of free wealth.

U also down played the exploitation of resources in Africa like it was a trade when in reality it was out right theft.

Tell me, was the Belgium rubber exploitation another trade too by countries too?
The rubber came from wild vines in the jungle, unlike the rubber from Brazil(Hevea brasiliensis), which was tapped from trees. To extract the rubber, instead of tapping the vines, the Congolese workers would slash them and lather their bodies with the rubber latex. When the latex hardened, it would be scraped off the skin in a painful manner, as it took off the worker's hair with it.[34]

Don't even get me started with France.:nahgirl:
 
He's going thru the late stages of Alzheimer's, he's confused, he believes that we aren't natives to Somalia and we stole it from bantus :siilaanyolaugh:

U quickly dismissed the 250+ yrs of free labor in the West like it didn't contribute to a vast amount of free wealth.

U also down played the exploitation of resources in Africa like it was a trade when in reality it was out right theft.

Tell me, was the Belgium rubber exploitation another trade too by countries too?


Don't even get me started with France.:nahgirl:

I have NEVER said Somalis stole the country from Bantus. The Bantus came later, as Omani slaves. The Eyle are the only group with direct archaeological evidence old enough to qualify as indigenous. Most, but probably not all of the rest, came as migrants within the last two to five thousand years. Sadly, the Gabaweyn, Shabelli, Makanne and Shidle, who are not Bantu, get confused with them.

Trade is not theft. Trade is trade. Did the Chinese steal ivory or turtle shell when they traded with porcelain on the East African coast?

Leopold II of Belgium did other than he was authorized to do. It was a huge scandal and the Belgian government finally seized control in 1908 to put an end to his private horror factory. He was, and still is, considered the worst of the worst, right up there with Hitler and Stalin. Nobody defends him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium

"Leopold became the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf. He used explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 the colonial nations of Europe authorized his claim by committing the Congo Free State to improving the lives of the native inhabitants. From the beginning, however, Leopold essentially ignored these conditions. He ran the Congo using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal enrichment. He used great sums of the money from this exploitation for public and private construction projects in Belgium during this period. He donated the private buildings to the state before his death, to preserve them for Belgium.

Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo—initially by the collection of ivory—and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s by forced labour from the natives to harvest and process rubber. Under his regime millions of the Congolese people died: modern estimates range from one million to fifteen million, with a consensus growing around 10 million. Human-rights abuses under his régime contributed significantly to these deaths. Reports of deaths and abuse led to a major international scandal in the early twentieth century and the Belgian government ultimately forced Leopold to relinquish control of the colony to Belgian civil administration in 1908."

The French were also lousy colonial administrators. So were the Japanese in both China and Korea. In the 1200s the Mongols nearly destroyed Islam before settling down to rule Persia, Iraq and Anatolia, along with Chna and Central Asia.. They utterly destroyed Baghdad and the Caliphate and were only stopped by the Mamluks of Egypt. That was also a form of exploitation.

Read it and weep.

http://lostislamichistory.com/mongols/

The British tried to stop the expanding Somalis at the Tana, but were unsuccessful. Some clans are now in Tanzania and headed south, still taking over Bantu land. It's a matter for bragging rights among some Somalis; if you are on the taking side, it's not an issue. The British ended the slave trade out of Africa, on both coasts. The US North fought the South in the US Civil War over slavery and won. Slavery in the US ended in 1865, 152 years ago, 76 years after the formation of a unified government of slave and free colonies. A descendant of slaves, Michelle Obama, was recently First Lady of the United States, so I believe some in the West are making progress. It's not Arabs or Africans feeding the needy in Africa, so I also think Europe and the US can be forgiven for some admitted bad past mistakes. No historian worth his salt expects or wants anybody to forget them.

There may be a cure or at least prevention coming for Alzheiner's. Ignorance takes reading and a certain amount of intelligence to cure. I do hope you and Cadmus are doing a lot of reading.
 
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