[Clive]

-

[backhoe]

Clive, I can't recall which African pest-hole crisis it was ( Rowanda, Somalia, whatever... ) but I can remember telling my wife that what we needed to do was load cargo planes with pallets containing a mix of food, medical supplies, and maybe some tools, fly over the country, and when the crew spotted a group of people, parachute it down to them.

That way, at least some of the needy would actually get some things they could use- instead of lining the pockets of corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, and dictators with our money.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Meager Harvests in Africa Leaves Millions at the Edge of Starvation***The countries of southern Africa have the world's highest rates of H.I.V. infection, leaving millions of people vulnerable to the ravages of hunger. The sale of Malawi's entire backup supply of grain and the past year's political upheaval in Zimbabwe have exacerbated the effects of the natural disaster. Until recently, Zimbabwe was one of the region's more stable and self-sufficient countries, and neighbors often turned to it for help during food shortages. But the government's efforts to seize land from white farmers, who own more than half the country's fertile land, have disrupted production greatly. The combination of severe drought and farm seizures has been disastrous. Production of the corn crop in Zimbabwe plunged by nearly 70 percent this year, leaving almost half the population in need of emergency food. With triple-digit inflation, a limp currency and rising unemployment, Zimbabwe can barely help itself, let alone its neighbors.

Meanwhile, officials in Malawi have been assailed by Western diplomats, international donors and civic groups for selling off the country's 167,000-ton emergency grain reserve and failing to account for the proceeds. President Bakili Muluzi denies accusations of corruption. He says his officials were told by the International Monetary Fund to sell the grain to repay debt, a charge that fund officials deny. But Mr. Muluzi acknowledges that he cannot explain why his officials sold off the entire reserve, when they could have sold part, given that 30 percent of the population may go hungry and there is nothing left. "This is the question I was asking," President Muluzi said in an interview. "I didn't understand the intelligence about that." The debate is meaningless in the villages, where men and women are too busy scrabbling for food to weigh multiple causes of calamity.***

[Brian Allen]

Hi, Clive

It is time to afford Africa and the Africans the dignity of the consequences of their own actions!

[Perhaps the stronger half can eat the carcases of the ones that in any case are doomed to perish?]

FReegards -- Brian

[backhoe]

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