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Alas, not from the Onion
Zimbabwe has won approval to lead the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
Here are some previous posts on our new world leader on sustainable development: Zimbabwe 1, Zimbabwe 2, Zimbabwe 3, Zimbabwe 4.
Hat tip to Independent Sources.
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on May 22, 2007 at 07:22 AM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
From the article:
"In 2000, Mugabe's government began violently seizing thousands of white-owned commercial farms as part of a program to redistribute land to poor blacks. The chaotic way the seizures were carried out disrupted the agriculture-based economy in Zimbabwe, a former regional breadbasket. Drought, government corruption and repressive policies have compounded the problems."
I love how they article seems to imply that the problems were initially created by the CHAOTIC seizing of the farms, not the fact that the farms were seized from people who knew how to work them and produce mass amounts of food.
It seems to imply that if the seizing had been orderly and "planned" then things would be much more peachy. Forgive me if I'm skeptical of that.
Posted by: Jon at May 22, 2007 9:37:54 AM
Hasn't Mugabe's program[me] been excellent for "sustainable development" ... in that it, you know, ensures
that there won't be any agriculture?
Posted by: Person at May 22, 2007 10:13:18 AM
Zimbabwe's methods are sustainable, but just for Mugabe. Course that's because he's 83 years old and is at the top of the heap.
Several European nations have also called Zimbabwe's candidacy inappropriate.
Whoa, stop with the harsh language EU! "Inappropriate" is passing gas during a dinner date. I would hardly call the slow death that Zimbabwe's going through the same thing.
Posted by: BlogReader at May 22, 2007 10:17:11 AM
See the discussion in the latest Economist on why making bad countries run good causes might be a good move:
http://www.economist.com./opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_JTJDRSV&CFID=5945191&CFTOKEN=4961032
(subscription required)
Posted by: silviu at May 22, 2007 11:24:35 AM
Someone must be trying to make the Bush foreign policy look good in comparison. . .
Posted by: Matthew at May 22, 2007 1:32:37 PM
Personally I find the whole thing appropriate. The UN is corrupt and incompetent, the notion of sustainable development is a redundant joke ( obligatory Julian Simon link), and Zimbabwe is a corrupt, incompetent country run by a tyrannical dictator out of touch with reality.
All three belong together.
P.S. I'm still waiting for the BBC to have the intelligence and/or integrity to point out the role of monetary policy in Zimbabwe's hyperinflation.
Posted by: happyjuggler0 at May 22, 2007 1:33:37 PM
I'm with Happyjuggler here, nothing like seeing incompetence glorified... Oh well, it is the UN what else should we expect?
Posted by: Jon at May 22, 2007 1:57:41 PM
Welcome to the Global World. Ufff...
Posted by: Nikita at May 22, 2007 7:23:16 PM
Please don't belittle the League of Nations - give it a chance.
Posted by: Surabaya Johnny at May 23, 2007 2:36:27 AM
大家好，我是臺灣人，從臺灣一個人搬家來到美國，環境很陌生，感覺很孤單。以前在臺灣幾家知名的徵信社工作過，我是一個優秀的徵信工作者，希望早點找到適合自己的工作。希望通過貴站，認識更多的朋友。
Posted by: 謝文豪 at Apr 2, 2008 4:20:30 AM
