There's a great scene in R.K. Narayan's A Tiger for Malgudi in which the tiger anticipates the day when he'll be holding the whip and the Captain will be cowering in fear.
That day has come. Portugal's Prime Minister is in Angloa today, begging cup in hand, pleading for financial assistance from the former Portugese colony. Seems the IMF is putting the screws to Portugal and forcing them to sell off as much of the public infrastructure as possible in order to pay off their debts. You've got to say one thing for the IMF: they're just as happy to screw the former colonizers as they are to screw the former colonies.
Former international basket-case Angola has done well learning the lessons of the First World. While they still have shocking statistics in the areas of infant mortality and so on, their one percenters have become world class. While most of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, the capital city Luanda has become the most expensive city in the world, and the economy is one of the fastest growing on the planet.
All for the benefit of the one percent of course, but that's beside the point. GDP is GDP, and as we all know a rising tide lifts all ships. Eventually. Maybe. Unless you drown first. But I digress.
PM Coelho is in Angola offering up Portugal's infrastucture at fire-sale prices to Luanda's one percenters.
The wheel of karma may turn slowly, but still it turns.
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