Mugabe?

Dear All,

It is not racism .

It Is Tribalsim

Nationhood

Religion

Also the leaders of these fly begotten countries have stolen all the wealth of thier own countries.

Many years ago my Brothers wife lived in Cape Town working in a good Hotel.

The Janitor in the hotel was not south african but mozambiquan.

She asked him why he leeft a country where he was a FIRST CLASS CITIZEN and moved to a country where he was a third class ctizen.

His reply was succinct.

In mozambiqu he was hungry unemployed and had a family to feed.

In S.A. he had a job his wife had a job, his kids went to school he had a home etc and there was ample food on the table.

He loved SA.

regards David

quote:

Though the allocation of state borders that resulted from Colonialism certainly has left a big problem for some countries in Africa and elsewhere, it is the inherent racism of the peoples of some of these countries which is the problem in so many cases, and blaming the old Colonial Powers for today's problems is hypocritical.

I see your point George. If there had been no colonialism the people of the nations would still have had wars, etc. However the effects of colonialism have undoubtedly made things much worse. Racism is inherent in all countries because it is human nature IMHO. I don't see this as appointing blame, but the better we understand the cause the more likely we are to find a solution.

quote:

the success of India ...

Whilst it may be a success relative to some former colonial countries, India is another 'invented' nation along with Pakistan & Bangladesh. These nations have the same tensions caused by their former colonial masters departing. India & Pakistan have been to war with each other three times since partition in 1947. It was only a couple of years ago that India & Pakistan nearly came to nuclear blows over Kashmir.

quote:

...even generations after they were given self-determination, on the Aid of the former Colonial Masters in spite of have been left with decent infrastructures of agriculture, education, railways and so forth. In far too many cases these have been ruined by an inability at the governmental level to manage even the most basic economic and state functions once independence has been gained.

But in the often hasty exit of self-determination the resulting power vacuum destabilises the country & that is the source of many problems. We may consider we leave 'decent infrastructure' behind, but this is alien to the culture of the people. In imposing our culture & values we cause more problems, however good the intention. Is it surprising a 'new' nation emerging from what was effectively an invasion has trouble coping, considering they don't have the knowledge to run the governmental & other structures imposed on them?

quote:

You cannot help some people, and after fifty or so years they should have matured enough to work out ways forward that do not involve genocide and other demonstrations of a lack of decent human values. That this lack of values is endemic in Africa is shown by the lack of action to help root out the problem by their fellow African counties' governments.

Considering the damage done by colonialism I don't think your timescale is realistic. Genocide can happen wherever there are ethnic or other tensions. These are worst in Africa because it was the most heavily colonised part of the world, but the former Yugoslavia demonstrates it's not an African problem. Considering western states use of torture & kidnapping I don't think we are in a position to feel superior about values.

quote:

It will merely be squandered in another generation of ultra-corrupt, self -serving dictatorships.

These dictators gain power as a result of the power vacuum caused by the exit of the colonising country.

Dear John,

I don't think we are really so far apart in our views, and indeed the business of "the power vacuum" in newly self-determining nations has caused very great problems. Perhaps India already had some very big leaders waiting, and so was held together long enough to mature in a basically stable entity. I quite agree that the tension with Pakistan has been very difficult. Once again this is a question of drawing lines on maps ...

Thanks for you reply. George

Dear All,

Mugabe has achieved every politicians dream.

A Democratic election process where he is the only candidate.

Also he wins by a mile even though not many turned up to vote.

So here we have the new democracy.

Scare the Bejesus out of your oppostion, encourage the electorate to vote for you.

And there you have the Mugabe Solution

A Fair and free election where he is the only candidate.

Would resolve the Hilary and Barak problem of spending x hundred million just to select a candiadate to stand in the election.

A funny world.

regards David

Drawing lines on maps?

No need to look further afield than England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales. Alex Salmon isn't much more than a shit stirer.

But if you do need to look further afield, try Norway/Sweden. It doesn't always have to be doom and gloom.

And whatever happened to Prussia?

Christ, the list goes on and on.

It isn't drawing the lines that is the problem. Its the bloody people. Power crazy, greedy, selfish bastards like Mugabe.

They are not unique to Africa.

They don't depend on a pre-colonial existence.

Cheers

Don

quote:

And there you have the Mugabe Solution

A Fair and free election where he is the only candidate.

Could be the basis of the "African" solution we have heard so much about from the surrounding counties.

Cheers

Don

quote:

Would resolve the Hilary and Barak problem of spending x hundred million just to select a candiadate to stand in the election.

I thought Hillary needed a little bit more practice at smiling through her teeth and saying nice things about Obama through her teeth, when I saw the few sound-bites on telly last night of their new Hampshire "let's rally the troops" double-act.

cheers

Don

Dear All,

So she sounds like a loser in pain.

Physical

Emotional

Financial

Hope she feels it was worth it.

After all there is nothing the Yanks love more than some one who tried but failed.

regards David

quote:

It was close, but guess who won ?

"One man, one vote" - The African solution!

Cheers

Don