Paul.L

Germany and Japan are completely different to say Iraq or Zimbabwe.

Both the former already had a sense of nation over clan/tribe/grouping, in fact nationalism was one of the driving forces behind their various war ambitions. I would also like to point out, that Germany had a democracy (weak as it was) and that the Nazi's actually made it to power on the back of a legitimate vote.

Iraq on the other hand was a convenient carve up based on the needs of the european nations rather than ethnic, religious or language groupings, which is why we are seeing the low level civil war we see today.

Zimbabwe is in a similar situation.

So before you advocate "democracy at the point of the sword" you might want to consider the on the ground situation.

>.Most African nations are run by warlords and strongmen and providing aid relief in those countries is very difficult. So called 'Administration Costs' are a constant feature of doing business in those countries and no aid would get through at all in some places without this greasing of the wheels.<<

The warlords and strongmen are kept in power by vested interests. Nothing in Africa has changed since Conrad wrote "Heart of Darkness". Aid is directed to puppet dictators & to mecenaries. The rape of Africa continues courtesy of Big Business. To blame the people of Africa is convenient but a travesty of justice.

Better to find out from whence comes your coffee, diamonds, chocolate, wood, petrol and the vital minerals needed for mobile phones, etc.
For putting hair on your chest read, or listen to interviews with, Keith Harmon Snow. Here is a link to a recent interview.
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=20604

Or read >>www.allthingspass.com

"Or we could sit back for another twenty years while the soft left think of a politically correct way to help Africans suffering famine and oppression. Of course there won't be nearly as many starving people to feed by then." Paul, yes there will. There might not be many MORE to feed, but there wont be any less. Why? Because they will keep breeding at a rate that ensures that they are unable to feed themselves during hard times. War only exacerbates existing problems by uprooting large sections of population, often forcing them into refugee camps where they become fully dependant, rather than being on the land where they can at least maintain a subsistence level of living most years. One clear answer is birth control. Its not the only one, but will go a long way towards stemming overpopulation. Christianity is to blame here, mainly the catholics (which represents a large part of african religion), for banning use of condoms and other contraception (which is why aids is so rampant in Africa as well). Preach abstinence and fidelity all you like, but lets have a little worldly wisdom about human weaknesses at the same time.

Aid programs that target clean water, health care and improving farming practices all make a good contribution and often involve little money to be skimmed by the powers that be.

Forceful intervention can sound tempting, but the history of western (read mainly US) interference in domestic problems is not a good one. Quick results are often not lasting ones, with old despots often replaced by new ones. Hard to swallow for us "satisfaction now" westerners!

I know a few people who've lived in Africa - honest, hardworking people, but they all made the point that things are very different in Africa. After a while, people tend to lose their civic mindedness in favour of cold, hard selfishness. It becomes an issue of survival.

Basically, when you are faced with a country where everybody else is looking after themselves, you have no choice but to do the same thing to survive.

It's all well and good for us to sit here criticising poor nations for rampant corruption and squandering the money given to them, but the fact of the matter is, if you are surrounded by people who would rob and kill for what we would consider to be trivial amounts, you're left with no choice but to amass what you can.

Of course dictators should be punished and of course, this corruption and brutality shouldn't be allowed to flourish - I'm not arguing on behalf of these people, I'm just trying to bring a little perspective to the debate.

“Famines in Africa usually have more to do with gov'ts than with population.”, what a true statement.

This is clearly evident in Zimbabwe where Mugabe’s attempts at some form of socialism/communism have been disastrous. Add in his blatant racist policies and you have a collapsing economy, leading to famine.
The key racist policy is the forced confiscation of white-owned farms, which are then handed over to blacks who let them run down to uselessness. It’s now at the stage where many blacks are (privately for fear of reprisals) stating that they were better off under white rule. The people go hungry while Mugabe squanders millions on armaments.

South Africa, with its communist dominated ANC, is heading in the same direction. Both countries have escalating crime; murder, rape, robbery.

We can thank European support for the terrorists Mugabe and Mandella for the mess in Southern Africa. All those unwashed lefties that chanted “Free Mandella” should be made to go live with him. See how they would like that. They would soon whinge for a return to the old systems.

”Whats your solution for someone like Mugabe?”, when he is worried about a coming election result, he issues threats that, if beaten, he will return to the bush war. Also, opposition politicians are assaulted and intimidated. The only solution is to get rid of him.

James Purser, Zimbabwe is not similar to Iraq. As Rhodesia, it was a prosperous country, “the bread-basket of Africa”, until PC leftists pressurised and Mugabe’s terrorists weakened the white Rhodesians.

All true white people of conscience should consider aid, but to the dispossessed white farmers and businessmen.

Anyway, on the subject of aid, shouldn’t we look after our own drought-stricken farmers first?

"All true white people of conscience should consider aid, but to the dispossessed white farmers and businessmen.

Anyway, on the subject of aid, shouldn’t we look after our own drought-stricken farmers first?"

What the hell does skin colour have to do with conscience?

The dispossessed white farmers and businessmen have been accepted into Australia, the UK and other nations and the UK and Australia have both been leading the charge against Mugabe's regime, not just for the whites (who always represented a minority in Zimbabwe), but for all the people who are suffering.

As to your charge of terrorism against Mendalla, it just goes to show, one mans terrorist is another's freedom fighter.