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by anigbrowl 4057 days ago
Really. So someone went in and started drilling wells without asking anyone? Go on, tell me who.

I was heartily against the invasion of Iraq, but trying to equate the two is just bullshit. This is a great example of why our politics are so dysfunctional - people just trading zingers instead of making the slightest attempt to be factual.
2 comments
XorNot 4057 days ago
No, someone went in, paid off some local politicians and military leaders, who then went in and forcibly (read: murdered a few of them) locals and any opposition. Then underpaid some contractors so that there would be none of the pesky expensive safe disposal of waste. Oh, not to mention also had some militias shakedown workers when they protest a lack of pay, late pay or basic rights.

Think it doesn't happen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M42ATZXmIKw

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anigbrowl 4057 days ago
This is a video about the South African mining strike (which I agree was a clusterfuck). The conversation was about oil exploitation in Iraq. How can I take your position seriously when you just move the goalposts around like that?

My basic point is not that corporate investments are necessarily fairly run or favorable to poor people in a developing country. They're not, and if you read my posts here regularly you'll see I'm actually quite skeptical of corporate governance and market idealism.

On the other hand, one has to recognize that it takes two to tango; corporations buy things like mineral exploitation rights from governments, and ultimately the government of a nation has to be responsive to its population, notwithstanding the fact that many governments are despotic. This being the case, it behooves new governments reviewing unfavorable deals to renegotiate terms like royalty rates or lease terms (both of which happen all the time), whereas unilateral expropriation should be a last resort because it signals to any and all investors that the country in question is an unreliable place to invest, so you scare away ethical investors as well as greedy ones.

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ubernostrum 4057 days ago
Well, the historical precedent here is actually Iran. And look how well things went when foreign business interests were given that kind of standing there.
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