Category: African politics

“It’s not a good cause … it’s an emergency”

18th November 2006

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Image source: salon.com

In an interview last night on Australia’s ABC’s Lateline [RealPlayer required], Bono was his usual dapper self. Currently on tour in Australia, the aging Irish rock star (he is the same age as me) is ruffling a few feathers with the political establishment. However, … surprise, surprise … there is to be no meeting with John Howard. For once, the PM is not following in Dubya’s footsteps. Asked about his role in raising awareness about poverty in the less developed world, he employed the Sachs ‘weapons of mass salvation’ thesis rather than adopt the liberal do-gooder position. “It’s not a good cause” he said, “it’s an emergency”.

The international day of reflection

6th April 2004

The Economist reported last week, Road out of hell, that in the 13 weeks after 6 April 1994, between 500,000 and 800,000 Rwandans were murdered — the fastest genocide in history — where the killers were armed, not with guns or poison gas, but with farm tools. The Guardian also has an excellent special report, including an interactive guide giving an historical overview of events. The UN has designated tomorrow, 7 April, an International Day of Reflection to mark the 10th anniversary of this horrific episode, and we reflect we might, but some ought to be doing a lot more soul-searching than others.

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