Liberal websites were thrilled with new Daily Show host Trevor Noah for comparing Donald Trump to a series of African dictators, including Uganda’s notorious Idi Amin, alleged to be responsible for more than 100,000 deaths during his reign in the 1970s.
"What I'm trying to say is Donald Trump is presidential. He just happens to be running on the wrong continent," said Noah, a native of South Africa.
"We maintain the peace through our strength; weakness only invites aggression." -- Ronald Reagan, March 23, 1983
President Reagan's speech to the nation 30 ago launched a major arms buildup to confront the expanding military power and political aspirations of the Soviet Union. It followed the disastrous presidency of Jimmy Carter, whose nonperformance during the Iran hostage crisis led to the perception in the Muslim world that America was weak and had lost its resolve to confront enemies.
File this under: "She can dish it out but can't take it."
Tuesday, the Turkish newspaper Takvim published a fictional interview of CNN's Christiane Amanpour said to have taken place in Atlanta. As seen in a Google (less than perfect) Translate screen grab, it is clearly identified as sarcasm at its end. That didn't stop Amanpour from tweeting her anger at the fake interview while implicitly leading readers to believe that the paper was trying to pass it off as real:
Update (15:50 EST, Feb. 22): Twitchy reports Amanpour deleted the tweet and subsequently insisted her birthday wish was ironic.
"[W]hat do you get for the serial human rights abuser who has everything?" the folks at Twitchy snarked today reacting to this tweet by CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour: "Happy Birthday, President Mugabe: http://on.cnn.com/VQ4kTK #Zimbabwe"
But wait, it gets better. The link in the tweet takes viewers to a short video [embedded below the page break] narrated by the CNN anchor, which opens with a strange comparison to Pope Benedict XVI:
<p>Earlier this week, NewsBusters Editor at Large Brent Baker noted how the broadcast networks <a href="/blogs/brent-baker/2009/12/13/touting-climate-justice-protesters-networks-oblivious-communist-partici" target="_blank">seemed oblivious</a> to communist protesters outside the Copenhagen global warming summit. </p><p>But the Red-friendly red meat slogans are not just being tossed about by violent demonstrators outside the conference. Today <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/58678" target="_blank">NewsBusters sister site CNSNews.com </a>noted how dissent-oppressing, private-land seizing dictators Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe yesterday denounced capitalism and praised socialism to a warm and receptive crowd at the Copenhagen climate change summit. </p><p>Of course neither ABC's "Good Morning America" nor CBS's "Early Show" or NBC's "Today" addressed that this morning in their brief updates on Copenhagen. </p><p>Reports CNS News International Editor Patrick Goodenough:</p><blockquote>
Today's Parade Magazine names "The World's 10 Worst Dictators." Topping the list is Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe:Inflation in Zimbabwe is so bad that in January the government released a $50 billion note — enough to buy two loaves of bread. The unemployment rate has risen to more than 85%. In 2008, Mugabe agreed to hold an election, but it became clear that he would accept the result only if he won. His supporters launched attacks on the opposition, killing 163 and torturing or beating 5000. He ultimately signed a power-sharing agreement with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but since then Mugabe has broken its terms and installed his own people at the head of every ministry. Meanwhile, health conditions have reached crisis levels. More than 3800 Zimbabweans have died from cholera since August.There's actually much more of a U.S. link than that. Unmentioned is the role played by former president Jimmy Carter and other liberals. The Boston Globe reported in December, 1979 that "Carter Administration officials feel they have scored a major foreign policy success in Rhodesia." (Zimbabwe was formerly known as Rhodesia). The purported success was a settlement that set the stage for Mugabe's rise to power. This was months after the Washington Post described him as a "scholarly, avowed Marxist."
U.S. link: Although U.S. leaders have called for Mugabe’s resignation, imports from Zimbabwe (primarily nickel and ferrochromium, both used in stainless steel) rose in 2008.
I held this item for a couple of days after I found it because I didn't want to spoil Christmas. Readers can fairly criticize me for waiting.
It is truly astonishing how little attention this two week-old story has received (Warning: Very disturbing content; the underlying news at caritas.org is here; bolds are mine)
Out of food, Zimbabweans eating cow dung
Harare, Dec 10, 2008 / 08:01 pm -- Caritas Internationalis is warning that the crisis in Zimbabwe is so grave that people facing crushing food shortages are mixing cow dung with their food.
With pressure continuing to mount on President Mugabe to relinquish his hold on power, Zimbabweans are suffering the consequences of his government’s policies.
Besides the lack of food, people are also suffering a cholera epidemic and crippling hyperinflation.
Robert Mugabe continues to take Zimbabwe into utter ruin. A former breadbasket when it was colonial Rhodesia, it is now a starving, rotting basket case.
The latest development in the ongoing nightmare: A sham "runoff" election where Mugabe is the only candidate, thanks to "violence against .... opposition members," whose candidate dropped out of the race less than a week ago.
For nearly a decade, we've been told, "Don't worry, (South African President Thabo) Mbeki will handle him."
In an article carrying today's date, the New York Times's Celia W. Dugger and Barry Bearak continue to make excuses for Mbeki. More on that shortly.
Meanwhile, the downward spiral has continued to the point where the country of roughly 13 million is now in a dire humanitarian crisis:
On Tuesday’s CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric reported on Zimbabwe’s opposition leader dropping out of an election against the nation’s socialist dictator, Robert Mugabe, and lamented how: "The fear and danger that now pervades the streets of Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe is a tragic departure from the hope and promise that began with his landslide victory nearly 30 years ago." File footage of an unidentified reporter covering Mugabe’s 1980 election followed: "A self-described Marxist has won the right to form the first government of the new state of Zimbabwe."
Couric continued to describe Mugabe’s promising rise to power:
When Robert Mugabe was first elected in 1980, he was a hero. He was seen as one of Africa's most promising black leaders...The son of a carpenter, the revolutionary and former school teacher said he had, quote, "inherited the jewel of Africa." A country rich in resources, Zimbabwe claimed independence from Britain in 1965 when it was known as Rhodesia. During the '80s, Zimbabwe's government received international support...at a time its neighbor, South Africa, practiced apartheid. The country's economic condition and public health improved. But in the '90s, Mugabe became more authoritarian. This one-time revolutionary squashed all opposition and faced charges of cronyism and corruption.
