ACCRA, Ghana — Taking a break from work, hotel desk clerk Augustine Kumi, 23, briefly wondered aloud why he and many fellow Ghanaians are poor. After all, his stable country enjoys a democratically elected government and, he pointed out, it boasts valued natural resources such as gold, timber and cocoa. That doesn’t account for the high inflows of foreign aid, perhaps comprising more than 40 percent of the annual budget. But then Kumi answered his own question. “We don’t have good leaders,” he said. “They are greedy.” Kumi’s gripes, in part, are tied to his frustrations with President John Kufuor’s [...]
Thousands of Venezuelans gathered in front of the offices of the Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Counsel/CNE) in downtown Caracas on Saturday, Aug. 12, to demonstrate their support for Pres. Hugo Chávez Frías. Chávez had come to CNE’s offices to formally register his re-election bid and he came accompanied by members of his Movimiento Quinta República (Fifth Republic Movement/MVR) and members of Bloque del Cambio (Bloc for Change) an alliance of twenty-three left-wing political and social justice groups that support his administration. Supporters applauded the popular incumbent as he announced the opening of his re-election campaign in the Plaza Caracas. [...]
Israelis take very seriously the admonition that during the life-and-death times of warfare, criticism of the government and the military must wait until the guns have gone quiet. This time, the effort to refrain from second-guessing proved particularly challenging. That’s because the results proved frustrating, painful and frightening in the 34-day war against Hezbollah. The rumbles of a political earthquake are now following the conflict that destroyed Israel’s aura of invincibility. Now that the soldiers are returning home, the shakeup will begin and the careers of respected politicians and military men will be changed forever. This conflict lasted longer than [...]
