Corruption Archive
Justice Becalmed, Justice Bedeviled
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Kenya, Politics on April 30, 2013
Today’s final detailed explanation by Kenya’s Supreme Court of its decision to affirm the March presidential election makes me doubly angry with Bush vs. Gore. The clear consensus by much more scholarly analysts who have rushed out their initial impressions is pretty negative, that the detailed decision is “disappointing.” But quite to the contrary, it [...]
The Impoverished Kenyans
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Kenya, Politics on April 15, 2013
Poor Kenya. The world waits to see if the new president and vice-president will travel next month to The Hague to stand trial for crimes against humanity. Kenyans elected these men free and fairly. They chose alleged murders to lead them. As a businessman in tourism I wait for more signs. As a devoted student [...]
By All Means Peace
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Kenya on April 1, 2013
Only a couple violent incidents following Saturday’s court decision upholding Kenya’s election. Peace is predicted, specifically because the architects and instigators of the deadly violence following the 2007/2008 elections are now the country’s president and vice-president. Uhuru Kenyatta is the country’s new president. William Ruto is vice president. The two are indicted for crimes against [...]
Ripped Off Paradise
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Ecology, Environment, Ngorongoro Crater on January 17, 2013
Paradise is being abandoned. Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, its greatest single tourist attraction and one of the most pristine areas on earth, is in the midst of a political crisis that threatens normal tourism there. Officialdom in Tanzania is rarely much more than organized crime, but even that can be better than the mayhem currently being [...]
Line Up Punctures the Big Top
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Politics, South Africa on December 20, 2012
Much like China’s communist party convention, South Africa’s ANC convention that ends tomorrow was supposed to determine who runs the country for as long as the next decade. South Africa’s African National Congress has run South Africa since the end of apartheid with its standard bearer and first president, Nelson Mandela. The ANC’s history goes [...]
Out of This World
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Culture on December 7, 2012
Evangelical preachers have long been on the list of greatest scam artists but five Nigerians with active churches in the U.S. take the cake! “God is good,” says Forbes magazine, “especially if you’re a Nigerian pastor.” Two with special attachments to Texas and other blind congregations that vote against their medicare benefits, hate blacks and [...]
Beach Bums
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Kenya, Planning Travel, Politics on November 13, 2012
Don’t feel sorry for the harassed billionaires of the world; they’ve found a place to hide from those nasty journalists linking them to blood money, laundering and drugs: the incomparably beautiful beaches of Malindi, Kenya. This summer Brian Dabbs writing for The Atlantic unmasked the Italian cartel in Malindi, Kenya, that uses “Eden” as a [...]
The Democratic Challenge
Posted by jimheck in "Modern" Africa, Corruption, Culture, History, Kenya, Politics on October 12, 2012
Two of Africa’s wisest old men have echoed the same cautions that America’s founders gave a young democracy about its elections. Beware: Bad elections are the greatest threats to democracy. Yesterday Kofi Annan and Ngugi wa’Thiongo focused on the upcoming Kenyan elections as a marker for world democracy and reflected on America’s distortion of elections [...]
Zuma is not Jefferson
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Economy, Politics, South Africa on October 4, 2012
Tolerant, patient South Africans have basically given their leaders wide berth publically and privately since Mandala stepped down 15 yeas ago … until now. The current president’s buffoonery and corruption threatens the nation. Working every day under the threat of massive censorship, South Africa’s still vibrant press has systematically reported both the corruption of its [...]
Renewing [or not] The Strongman
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Global Relations, History, Politics on August 24, 2012
Last week’s death (unusually of natural causes) of Ethiopia’s strongman Meles Zenawi is an unique opportunity for America to reflect on its impact in East Africa, if not the whole of the developing world. Meles was one of the most ruthless dictators in the world. He was also heavily supported (argue, “propped up”) by the [...]
Anything for A Buck!
Posted by jimheck in Big Game Hunting, Corruption, Environment on August 13, 2012
Tanzania’s scandals and sheer wastefulness of its bountiful natural resources are legendary. But last month’s incident took the prize. In addition to the world’s second largest single vein of gold, countless copper and recent rumors of off-shore oil, large deposits of uranium were discovered hardly 100 miles from the port of Dar-es-Salaam last year. The [...]
The Undemocratic Election
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Culture, Kenya, Politics, South Africa on July 30, 2012
South Africa like the U.S. allows unlimited campaign financing but Kenya has moved to severely regulate it. Which democracy is likely to last? These two democratic powerhouses both have progressive constitutions but differ radically on candidate funding. Kenya has yet to hold an election under its new constitution but South Africa is well along, yet [...]
Tusks For Terrorists
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Poaching, Politics on June 18, 2012
Until recently Republican obstructionism in Congress hurt few but us Americans. Now, it’s seriously hurting Kenya and harming Somali peace while supporting al-Shabaab! This is a no brainer. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) director, Julius Kipng’etich, told the Senate foreign relations committee last week that Senate Bill 1483 (if it became law) would drastically reduce elephant [...]
Rhino RipOffs
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Corruption, Poaching on June 14, 2012
Despite my better reasoning I can sympathize with poachers just trying to survive. But when rangers and other paid officials participate in the crimes, my blood boils. Several weeks ago Serengeti officials admitted that two of the Moru area’s 31 black rhinos had been killed by poachers… in April! We probably wouldn’t even have learned [...]