Tag Archives: Zimbabwe

International news

Good bye, good riddance to the tyrant Mugabe

Robert Mugabe’s legacy surely will be carved in stone.

He became the first head of government in 1980 of a newly renamed country that at that time was the model of prosperity in Africa. Rhodesia became Zimbabwe and Mugabe became the country’s first prime minister.

He later became its president. What happened then over the course of the next three-plus decades is shameful in the extreme.

Zimbabwe devolved from prosperity to abject poverty and deprivation. Mugabe wanted to govern the country until he died. He didn’t quite make it. He was forced out in 2017.

Mugabe died this week at the age of 95. The world should not mourn this guy’s passing. It should instead declare that Earth is a better place without him.

He took office as a revolutionary, promising even greater prosperity for his constituents. He delivered nothing but misery and mayhem. Zimbabwe plunged into a state of utter despair under Mugabe’s iron-fisted, ham-handed, brutal rule.

How does one dare call that a successful transition?

I cannot.

He saw himself as Africa’s model of reform, known around the world as a statesman. Then in 1990, something remarkable happened. A real statesman was released from prison in South Africa. Nelson Mandela took control of his country and emerged as one of the world’s pre-eminent champions of political reform. He eclipsed Mugabe almost immediately.

Mugabe’s tyrannical rule has virtually ruined his country.

So long, Mr. Dictator.

International news

Nature’s law is relentless and without remorse

Cecil the Lion’s death has touched off an avalanche of anger at the man who shot the famed Zimbabwe beast, and the guides who lured Cecil from his protected haven to a free-fire zone where he was killed by the American “hunter.”

Now some of the attention has turned to another beast, Jericho, believed to be Cecil’s brother, and what might happen to Jericho and the pride of lionesses and cubs he is protecting.

Let’s not worry too much about Jericho and the rest of the pride, shall we?

The laws of nature are going to take over no matter what we humans may think, do or want to do to save these magnificent beasts.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/man-who-studied-cecil-the-lion-for-9-years-talks-impact/ar-BBli97B

Jericho now appears to be the protector of the pride. Lion “society” consists of a brutal and fundamental truth: It becomes a fight for survival.

The pride that Jericho apparently inherited well might become a target for other male lions roaming the plains in search of a pride to conquer. They may seek to encroach on Jericho’s turf, seeking to take over the pride. Fights to the death may ensue. Jericho might not be able to fend off a challenge, if it comes. If that’s the case, he’ll be banished by his conquerors.

What happens next is a part of lions’ societal network that few of us want to discuss.

Male lions will not tolerate the presence of cubs brought into this world by the rival they’ve just eliminated. The lionesses caring for the cubs aren’t ready to mate. The conquering male lions then seek to rid the lionesses of the one obstacle preventing them from mating with them: the cubs.

They will kill the cubs.

It’s brutal, but it’s also part of nature’s irrefutable law.

Cecil met his demise likely at the hands of poachers. The law will take care of them in due course.

As for the family he left behind, well, there’s nothing anyone can — or should — do to save them.

International news

CECIL Act? Come on, senator

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s staff must have worked into the wee hours to come up with an appropriate acronym to identify some legislation that reacts to the death of a beloved lion in Zimbabwe.

It’s called — get ready for this, as it’s a mouthful — the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act.

The legislation is named in memory of Cecil the Lion, the beast that was killed by American dentist Walter Palmer, who paid 50 grand to hunt the lion that had become a favorite of tourists to the national park in Zimbabwe where he lived.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/bob-menendez-cecil-lion-act-legislation-curb-hunting-africa-species-120857.html

Palmer’s deed has caused significant outrage around the world. Cecil was a beloved animal. What’s worse, though, is that Palmer’s outfitters lured the animal out of the park — where hunting is prohibited — and into a free-fire zone, where Palmer shot Cecil with a crossbow. It gets even more grim. Cecil didn’t die right away. Palmer and his guides looked for hours to find him; then they shot him with a gun, skinned him and beheaded him.

By my definition of the word, this looks like poaching to me.

Back to the New Jersey Democrat’s legislation. It’s a ridiculous use of Congress’s time.

Menendez is upset about Cecil’s death. I am, too. However, I almost always am leery of legislation enacted in a fit of rage over a single act by an irresponsible hunter.

Palmer faces possible extradition to Zimbabwe, where he could be prosecuted for poaching.

The real bad guys in this episode, though, are the guides who went to great lengths to lure the great cat from the national park to a location where he could be shot to death.

If they are as experienced as we’ve all been led to believe they were, they knew what they were doing and they knew where they were. They knew Cecil was protected as long as he remained inside the national park boundary.

Congress need not get involved here. It has many other issues with which it should concern itself.

International news

Dentist in trouble over poaching allegation

Cecil

I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard of Cecil the Lion … until today.

That’s when I learned of the beast’s death, allegedly at the hands of an American dentist known for hunting big game in Africa.

Well, this was no ordinary hunt — allegedly!

Zimbabwe police: American dentist being sought for lion poaching

Cecil was known throughout southern Africa. He was beloved by the people of Zimbabwe. He was a rare black-mane lion.

Cecil is now dead. Dr. Walter Palmer is facing possible charges of poaching.

Look, I’m not a hunter, although I’ve gone on a couple of hunting excursions in my life. I once went looking for black bear in the Olympic Mountains of Washington state. We didn’t find any, although I did spot a cougar running through the rain forest.

Dr. Palmer has been charged with doing something quite reprehensible. He has been accused of luring Cecil out of his protected area into a neighboring tract. He was baited with a carcass and then allegedly shot with a cross bow. But the arrow didn’t kill him. Palmer and his guides allegedly then looked for hours to find the wounded animal; they reportedly killed, skinned and beheaded the great beast.

This story makes me sick.

Palmer supposedly paid $50,000 for the hunt, which I reckon came from a whole lot of root canals, bridge work and tooth extractions back in Minnesota, where the dentist has his practice.

Palmer said he didn’t realize he shot a beloved animal and that he followed normal hunting procedures.

If this man is guilty, he deserves the maximum punishment that Zimbabwe law allows.

I’m not saying he deserves the same fate that Cecil met, but I feel strangely compelled to point out that several African governments have enacted strict punishment for those caught poaching wildlife. They have ordered park rangers to shoot poachers on sight.

Yes, they take this crime seriously.