I'm actually getting really peeved off about all the Mugabe hype. Sure he is an ***. Sure people are suffering, but it is nowhere near the biggest of African problems, as the media would have you believe.

In the whole election debacle 82 people died, and that is terrible indeed. However, that represents a good day in the Congo, or Somalia where violence is ten times worse. But you wont hear about that and that is because the British and partly the US are propping up the war in Somalia at least.

Another thing getting to me is all this democracy talk. The African Union are meeting and the media are saying they should pressure Mugabe to be democratic. What hypocrisy. They fail to mention that over half of the AU states are not democracies. It is hypocrisy of the highest order. We would hear nothing of Mugabe if he didnt continually stick to fingers up to the British and the white ruling class.

It's really getting to me this subject.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

I imagine Zimbabweans are as well.

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"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

move to the US It is never on the news here. Not like I catch it on the BBC or France24

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Adaption is compromise. When the world met me it shuddered, groaned, it knelt at my feet. Illyria was all they needed to know.

I sell game curency here

I don't actually mind it being in the news, it is a terrible situation. It is the disproportionate coverage that gets to me. The fact that most Brits have not one idea about the Congo or Somalia whic are so much worse right now and all the talk of the AU and democracy.

It's just all too hypocritical for my taste.

__________________
Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

It's on the BBC website a fair bit.

__________________
"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

And it's the headline story on the morning, lunchtime and evening news....on all stations here

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

Well in all fairness, it's hot. The other conflicts you mentioned are old and "boring" in terms of fresh news.

Sad, I know.

__________________
"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

Zim is the big story right now here but the other African stories get a guernsey regularly. But then I don't watch commercial tv news (can't stand the ads every two minutes) so I don't know what trash they're running as news.

I do listen to the BBC World Service a great deal through a 24-hour ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) news station here and yes, the World Service has a great Africa coverage, they dig up stories that other sources tend to ignore.

I do wonder though if Anglophones like me are getting news about former Anglophone colonies whereas former French, Belgian, Portuguese etc colonies might get shoved to the background.

Unfortunately, when Europeans colonized Africa, they drew up national boundaries with no consideration of the tribal nations they were grouping together. The consequence has been numerous countries with tribes continuing longterm conflict. One tribe wins over another, and this usually means atrocities, massacres, starving out the losing tribe(s) and genocide.

I like Nelson Mandela's idea of an African council of elders (with tribal meaning). It would be the equivalent of an African "League of Nations." It is time African nations form a coalition to help resolve African issues. It would be a parallel to the "League of Arab Nations."

I hope not.

__________________
"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch