One wonders whether "Sir" Bob Geldolf and the assorted types trying to create a ruckus later this month have a clue, or indeed, give a toss, about what Mugabe and his cohorts are up to.

"One wonders whether "Sir" Bob Geldolf and the assorted types trying to create a ruckus later this month have a clue, or indeed, give a toss, about what Mugabe and his cohorts are up to."

Assuming you're genuinely curious and weren't just making lazy and stupid insinuations, I have to wonder why you didn't, for example, just type "geldof mugabe" into Google. If you had you would have found numerous examples of Geldof lambasting Mugabe, including this one where he calls him a "murderous thug".

I also have to wonder why you made the connection between Mugabe and Geldof in the first place. I do hope it wasn't just because you'd use any excuse whatsoever to bash Geldof and the MakePovertyHistory campaign.

MakePovertyPermanent more like.

These people are in favour of tariffs for poor countries. Meaning well isn't good enough. They are ignorant and if they havetheir way, billions will become poorer.

I'm wondering, Julius, considering that the world's population is only just over 6 bn, and MPH are in favour of scrapping the CAP and other rich-world subsidies, how exactly the limited application of targeted import-protection tariffs in some countries (which every currently developed country used at some point in its history) for a limited period is going to succeed in making 'billions' poorer and poverty permanent? Or were you just sounding off?

Job security, is what it is.

If you let the markets take care of poverty then who needs a Department of International Development sucking up tax dollars?
'crats are smart folks, they know that as long as they dont actually solve the problem people will keep throwing money at it and everyone at the office will have a nice pension to look forward too.

Okay, there is probably some incompotence involved as well.

It appears that a new tactic used by Mr. Mugabe is the driving of many homeless people in cities in Zimbabwe back to their rural roots.

Didn't Pol Pot use that strategy successfully in Cambodia?

But, it did reduce the population of Cambodia successfully.

A certain tribe in Zimbabwe will undoubtedly have a decrease in its numbers.

There was a small article in my local Australian paper, not online and I've not been able to google it either, but there was a photo of the Kenyan High Commissioner to Australia chatting with a couple of local dairy farmers.

What about?

He was offering them FREE farms if they would just up sticks and bring their valuable farming skills to Kenya.

Of course, there would be some terms and conditions. Namely that you live in Kenya (and teach the locals, farming skills being not up to scratch is apparently what is behind all this.) But after Zimbabwe, you'd be mad to take him up on it.

The difference with a country like Kenya is that sabre-rattling is regarded by much of the population as just that - politicans keen to get re-elected by whatever means necessary. Sure you hear every so often calls for 'Zimbabwean-style land reforms' but just about everyone disregards such nonsense.

The real danger comes with an impressionable population, as you might well find in certain parts of South Africa. I recall that a letter appeared in the Cape Times a few weeks after the elections in 1994 stating, "now we are free where is the Mercedes Benz, the 2 chickens and the new house that the ANC promised us all?"

The ridiculous thing about the "Landless Peoples Movement" was the webpage was making some important points, particularly about Zwa-Zulu Natal, until it got into the Zimbabwe hand clapping.

I was recently reading H Rider Haggard's (of King Solomon's Mines fame) diary of his time working for the colonial commission in the early 20th century. He had lived in Natal for year during the Boer War and returned in the early years of the 20th century to review how things had changed. He interviewed numerous Zulu farmers who had basically had their land legally removed from them and were being kicked off lands they had purchased legally during the 19th century. His predictions about the resulting strife were uncanny in their accuracy.

I am a kenyan journalist who keenly follows stuff that's happening around my homeland ... and that report about a minister offering free land to locals is ..well.. rubbish!. It never happened. as usual, western media playing tricks on a largely ignorant population that would rather know what color is brad pitt's underwear than find out what is happening out there. No worries though, Bush,Blair and co. will always be there to fill you up on stuff and to lead you from one war to another.