Day: October 30, 2002

Paul Wellstone’s Memorial Service . . . Er, Political Rally

First Paul Wellstone’s family were reportedly upset at comments being made by Republicans about Walter Mondale over the weekend, but then they go and turn his memorial service into a three hour political rally. Could they make up their minds in Minnesota?

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and his wife, along with Trent Lott, walked out during one of the more heated “if you loved Paul, vote for his replacement speeches.”

The oddest report, however, has to be that Lott and another Republican were jeered when their faces were shown on large television monitors at the memorial service. I’ve seen a lot of things at funerals and memorial services, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of jeering.

I thought former Minnesota Republican representative captured the flair of the event best when he said, “The DFL clearly intends to exploit Wellstone’s memory totally, completely and shamelessly for political gain. To them, Wellstone’s death, apparently, was just another campaign event.”

Source:

Republicans decry service as partisan. Kavita Kumar, Dane Smith and Patricia Lopez, Minnesota Star Tribune, October 30, 2002.

Malawi Not Serious About Stemming Corruption

Malawi is one of a number of African countries facing a food crisis. Like other African nations, Malawi has taken to blaming all of its problem on international actors such as the International Monetary Fund. But its behavior suggests that most, if not all of its problems, are internal.

Malawi, for example, has been promising for months that it is finally prepared to seriously tackle official corruption — corruption that was behind the government’s sale of almost 70,000 metric tons of grain at the same time that the government knew it was likely facing shortages.

So Malawi had appointed former accountant-general Gilton Chiwaula to its Anti-Corruption Bureau. But that just created new problems as Chiwaula began to get a handle on corruption and his investigation began to threaten some high-placed officials.

So in October, Chiwaula was quickly fired on the grounds that the former chairman of the regional Southern African Forum Against Corruption was too incompetent and did not adequately understand Malawi’s anti-corruption laws to carry out his duties. This came the same week that the leader of the main opposition party in Malawi was arrested for defaming the president.

Yeah, that Malawi government is certainly serious about tackling corruption.

Source:

Malawi sacks top corruption fighter. Reuters, October 23, 2002.

Forty Million in Danger of Starvation

The United Nations recently revised its estimate of the number of people facing food insecurity to 40 million as problems in Africa continue to mount.

In the Horn of Africa alone, 14 million people face starvation unless the World Food Program begins receiving donor aid soon. Ten million of those at risk are in Ethiopia which, like other countries in the region, has been hit hard by drought. According to WFP executive director James Morris,

At least 10 million people will need food aid just in Ethiopia. But if this month’s rains stop early, up to 14 million people there will require urgent assistance.

These figures are large and dramatic and the international community should take notice. Unless we come to grips with this problem very soon we face the real possibility of witnessing a devastating wave of human suffering and death as early as next year.

Morris chalked up the Horn’s problems simply to drought, conveniently ignoring the destabilizing effect of ongoing hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea which has made it difficult to sustain an agricultural industry in either country.

Source:

Aid please as Horn of Africa raises hungry to 40m. James Astill, The Guardian, October 29, 2002.