wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] RC from Queens July 30, 2008 - 11:51AM

  I understand that Mugabe is a despot. But how is he any different than any of the other despots that America supports? Such as Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, Mubarak in Egypt, some of the ex soviet republics etc. Didn't we grant MFN status to China after they slaughtered those students in Tianamen Square?

  What I am trying to understand is why am I being made to care about Zimbabwe and the Sudan when it seems that there are a lot of atrocities committed by ruthless people running different countries?

  Shouldn't we have a comprehensive human rights policy that sets standards of conduct for regimes that we decide to support? It seems rather selective that we pick and choose who the bad guys are.

  
  
• [2] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey July 30, 2008 - 12:18PM

  Ask him about Gukurahundi... that showed Mugabe's true colors right from the start.

  
  
• [3] AWM from UWS July 30, 2008 - 12:28PM

  I'm no fan of Mugabe but this sounds like more of the same old paternalistic stuff that is the foundation of western reporting on Africa.

  The US and Europe in particular wouldn't care at all about what Mugabe did if he didn't kick the white people out.

  
  
• [4] andy z. from hastings-on-hudson July 30, 2008 - 12:31PM

  Much of what Mr. Hammer is saying is true. But he blew the answer to the question about continued support for Mugabe by blaming it on tribal loyalty. If you know that eighty percent of the country belongs to Mugabe's Shona tribe, this idea seems silly.

  Yes, there are still Mugabe supporters in Zimbabwe - who are these gangs of kids who go around beating and killing MDC supporters? You will have to dig deeper to find the answer.

  
  
• [5] Steve (the other one) from Manhattan July 30, 2008 - 12:32PM

  Leonard - please ask him why he thinks nobody's tried to assasinate Mugabe ... it seems like the people are that desperate.

  
  
• [6] gabby from new york July 30, 2008 - 12:37PM

  A friend's father's lump sum pension after 20 something years of work was enough to buy a gallon of milk and a few sticks of butter.

  
  
• [7] Jennifer Hickey from Queens, New York July 30, 2008 - 12:47PM

  What no one seems to have touched on is that Mugabe and Mbeki were both western educated unlike Tsvangirai. So how much of this divide reflects the class system of these former British colonies.