tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post3281026417930189452..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: Rwandan Diary: Day 3Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-88793620507192845762007-07-25T20:52:00.000+01:002007-07-25T20:52:00.000+01:00two hilarious photosyou in the helemet and even fu...two hilarious photos<BR/>you in the helemet and even funnier that one of the corpse with its hand on its forehad as it was saying<BR/> "oh god not another group of grief tourists looking for votes back home"<BR/><BR/>cheers IainThe Hitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007793676288933155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-18086481574094753722007-07-24T21:57:00.000+01:002007-07-24T21:57:00.000+01:00Here's one thing Rwanda has to do with the UK:ID c...Here's one thing Rwanda has to do with the UK:<BR/><BR/>ID cards.<BR/><BR/>"<I>No other factor was more significant in facilitating the speed and magnitude of the 100 days of mass killing in Rwanda.</I>" - Preventgenocide.orgDave Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13609942609008559664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-76664636910352210962007-07-24T12:03:00.000+01:002007-07-24T12:03:00.000+01:00Freeborn EnglishmanRegarding the Mongol Hordes, I'...Freeborn Englishman<BR/>Regarding the Mongol Hordes, I've just come across this-<BR/>'He ordered that all religions were to be respected and that no preference was to be shown to any of them. All this he commanded in order that it might be agreeable to God.'<BR/>From the Yasak(law code) of Genghis KhanManfaranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672026288937285646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-4302042801901929782007-07-24T10:46:00.000+01:002007-07-24T10:46:00.000+01:00Very moving Adrian. It's enough to bring a tear to...Very moving Adrian. It's enough to bring a tear to the eye. Very rarely do I use the phrase "sanctimononious self-satisfied utterly ineffectual arse-wipe", but it could have been coined for you. So how about you answer the question I put above. Roughly how many British troops should die, at Adrian's behest, so that photogenic cow-eyed Rwandans can wash their shirts in a nice clean river? How many members of your own family, for example, would you be prepared to expend? I'd remind you that the French stopped the massacres, and are now hated, or so Iaiaiaiaian tells us. Any lessons in that? <BR/><BR/>You know what Rwanda is short of? One thing: capitalism. But Dave doesn't believe in capitalism, does he?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553163741320490361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-18253882244625330702007-07-24T10:36:00.000+01:002007-07-24T10:36:00.000+01:00So DC's trip is "gesture politics". So bloody what...So DC's trip is "gesture politics". So bloody what? At least he's seeing a glimpse of the misery politicians can inflict and maybe he'll learn something.<BR/><BR/>Personally I think all aspirant politicians should spend a few weeks each year being taken around every war cemetary, preserved death camp and genocide monument possible.<BR/><BR/>Maybe then the buggers might realise that guns/machettes/hatchets don't kill people - mostly it's politicians and their stuffed up ideas that do it.The Remittance Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13104149259707414863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-5505879009321783172007-07-24T01:29:00.000+01:002007-07-24T01:29:00.000+01:00Freeborn Englishmanor Freeborn Liar as you would b...Freeborn Englishman<BR/>or Freeborn Liar as you would be called in the Middle East.The place where the British helped bring the Wahabis to power.<BR/>Of course Bin Laden's Al Qaeda was CIA sponsored,strange how they were never able to capture him after he turned against them. And why did he turn against them,because American troops were being stationed on Saudi soil.Manfaranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672026288937285646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-80133345278071262422007-07-23T23:25:00.000+01:002007-07-23T23:25:00.000+01:00Everything is not AOK in Britain but why shouldn't...<I>Everything is not AOK in Britain but why shouldn't DC, Iain, et al go and do something useful in Rwanda?</I><BR/><BR/>Because they have sandbags to fill over hereThe Bournemouth Nationalisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03813266210840102447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-52564137155918397812007-07-23T19:44:00.000+01:002007-07-23T19:44:00.000+01:00Manfarang July 23, 2007 5:27 AM said... The Kil...<EM> Manfarang July 23, 2007 5:27 AM said...<BR/><BR/> The Killing Fields<BR/> Lets not forget the Khmer Rouge.</EM><BR/><BR/>That will be as nothing compared with the slaughter of which you will be a victim when, and not if, the followers of the Religion of Peace (TM) have their way in Eurabia. It will make the Mongol Hordes look like pussycats in comparison.<BR/><BR/>Don't say you haven't been warned.Freeborn Englishmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16284512246131131219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-24018553075818953082007-07-23T18:33:00.000+01:002007-07-23T18:33:00.000+01:00Iain - while you're in Rwanda you might like to as...Iain - while you're in Rwanda you might like to ask some questions about DFID's 'general budget support' policy. In a nutshell, this involves pumping funding directly into the recipient country's bank accounts rather than allocating it to specific projects.<BR/><BR/>There are lots of good theoretical reasons for using budget support as a means of providing aid. It 'empowers' the recipient country by enabling it to take responsibility for its own expenditure planning and policy making. It avoids the high overheads involved in funding specific projects. Budget support also helps to ensure that funds get spent in country rather than paid to expat consultants and overseas suppliers.<BR/><BR/>But there's a massive downside. Most developing countries - including Rwanda, despite what you've been told - are corrupt on an almost industrial scale. It's virtually impossible to track how and where funds are used and many suspect that massive amounts of budget support funding are being pumped straight into the Swiss bank accounts of senior politicians and officials. <BR/><BR/>Some suggest that DFID - and the many other donors they've persuaded to adopt budget support - invented to the idea to ensure that they could hit their targets for % of GDP allocated to aid. A deeply cynical view, but I think there's something in it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00716916481489978222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-2342116185584482372007-07-23T17:11:00.000+01:002007-07-23T17:11:00.000+01:00Yes Iain, the French are far from popular in many ...Yes Iain, the French are far from popular in many parts of Rwanda. I touched on this <A HREF="http://tonysharp.blogspot.com/search?q=rwanda" REL="nofollow">on my blog</A> a few months ago. It is all very messy.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936858144046032905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-41790230768469744672007-07-23T16:24:00.000+01:002007-07-23T16:24:00.000+01:00john redman. I have to say, I only use the word 't...john redman. I have to say, I only use the word 'twat' on very rare occassions, but you are certainly worthy of the title. If you were here with me in Rwanda and seeing some of things we are seeing, then I defy even you to be touched.<BR/><BR/>Yesterday I visited a house (well, two room mud shack) where a 17 year old child is the head of the house. His father died a few years back and his mother died three months ago - of tetnus!<BR/><BR/>He struggles to keep his younger brothers in school and they regularly go hungry. His house has no electricity, running water or cooking facilities. He washes his clothes in a sewage infested river, from which he also gathers water for him and his three siblings.<BR/><BR/>Just because we have a less than perfect government at home doesn;t mean we have no obligation to people like this kid I was honoured to meet yesterday.Scipiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06514885826616402615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-14246918216741300182007-07-23T16:03:00.000+01:002007-07-23T16:03:00.000+01:00Putting it on the map!Have you ever heard of a pla...Putting it on the map!<BR/>Have you ever heard of a place called Karenni? Of course you haven't!But when Dave heads for Mae Hong Son you soon will and find out how the British betrayed its people.Manfaranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672026288937285646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75675248814657710062007-07-23T15:46:00.000+01:002007-07-23T15:46:00.000+01:00Helping to build schools etc.Seeing "on the ground...Helping to build schools etc.<BR/><BR/>Seeing "on the ground" what some of the problems in the less developed world are.<BR/><BR/>Presumably thinking about how "we" can help others and help ourselves - after all independent nations don't exist in a vacuum. Helping Rwanda and others to improve themselves is in our long-term interest.Old BEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06974090439936326476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-37286644435477603652007-07-23T15:33:00.000+01:002007-07-23T15:33:00.000+01:00What is Dave doing in Rwanda that's useful?What is Dave doing in Rwanda that's useful?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553163741320490361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-80370113192687329212007-07-23T15:05:00.000+01:002007-07-23T15:05:00.000+01:00john redmanWhat is Britain's strategic interest in...john redman<BR/>What is Britain's strategic interest in Rwanda?<BR/>If you haven't noticed England is about to disappear under water.In fact we may soon have to evacuate the whole country.<BR/>This is what Dave is really up to,he looking for another place for us all to go to.A bit like Moses taking us to the promised land.<BR/>Of course we need to go somewhere tropical, we don't want people to keep on moaning about the weather or income tax so we must have hot weather,but not too hot, and plenty of bananas.Manfaranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672026288937285646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-66586156460787518392007-07-23T14:56:00.000+01:002007-07-23T14:56:00.000+01:00Does the UK need to have a "strategic interest" in...Does the UK need to have a "strategic interest" in a country before people should go and help build schools and try and learn something from the problems that the country faces?<BR/><BR/>What a sickening attitude.<BR/><BR/>Everything is not AOK in Britain but why <I>shouldn't</I> DC, Iain, et al go and do something useful in Rwanda?Old BEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06974090439936326476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1197331352381903802007-07-23T14:10:00.000+01:002007-07-23T14:10:00.000+01:00I have always had a soft spot for Rwanda, especial...I have always had a soft spot for Rwanda, especially when a coffee plantation owner bankrolled the best football club in East London..LEYTON ORIENT.<BR/><BR/>Now that is a club worth supporting.strapworldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18228784526399929300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-68545843161414499382007-07-23T13:25:00.000+01:002007-07-23T13:25:00.000+01:00Just for fun here are some challenges to the Camse...Just for fun here are some challenges to the Camservative party re Rwanda. If we're all concerned about Rwanda these days, let's have some evidence that there's been any, yer know, <I>thought</I> around why we are all concerned all of a sudden. <BR/><BR/>1/ Does the Conservative Party agree that the UN totally failed in Rwanda, like it fails everywhere, and is an utterly corrupt, busted flush? <BR/><BR/>2/ 10 Belgian peacekeepers were savagely murdered in Rwanda. How many British soldiers should have died as well, saving Rwandans from each other? How many would Dave have been prepared to expend, for instance (a ballpark answer is fine - more than 10, more than 1,000, etc)? I'm with Bismarck and the Pomeranian grenadier BTW. <BR/><BR/>3/ How did the EU do in response to Rwanda? We're about to get an EU foreign minister. Does that still sound like a good idea, in the light of Rwanda? If not - well, golly, what should we do about this EU foreign minister? <BR/><BR/>4/ Exactly what was and is Britain's strategic interest in Rwanda? <BR/><BR/>5/ How many Rwandans would Dave have invited to immigrate into the UK? <BR/><BR/>6/ Is Dave going to embarrass al-BBC by mentioning that the biggest supplier of medical aid was Israel, or is Dave too scared of al-BBC to confront its leftism and anti-Israel bias in this way?<BR/><BR/>7/ Race hate is alive and well in Britain, too. Anti-semitic hate crimes are soaring and no, it isn't white skinheads behind it. It's another group entirely. I think we all know which one. Does Dave have any messages for us around this? <BR/><BR/>I'd be very interested in Dave's Rwanda jolly if he used it as a context in which to bring up these highly relevant points. If he doesn't, though, I'll just have to conclude that I was right all along, and that the whole junket is a meaningless bit of feelgood liberal posturing.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553163741320490361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-2300954895642135752007-07-23T12:57:00.000+01:002007-07-23T12:57:00.000+01:00LOL @ you Andrew. See, it's not just me that think...LOL @ you Andrew. See, it's not just me that thinks "Screw Rwanda". It's most of the world and the UN too:-<BR/><BR/><I>In the wake of the Rwandan Genocide, the international community, and the United Nations in particular, drew severe criticism for its inaction. Despite international news media coverage of the violence as it unfolded, most countries, including France, Belgium, and the United States, declined to prevent or stop the massacres. Canada continued to lead the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda, United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Despite specific warnings and requests from UNAMIR's commanding officers in Rwanda, before and during the genocide, the UN Security Council refused to send additional support, declined UNAMIR's request for authorization to intervene, and even scaled back UNAMIR's forces and authority.</I> <BR/><BR/>(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda_genocide)<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile poor old Iain thinks the French were the problem, when in fact it was the French intervention that finally put a stop to it all. <BR/><BR/>It's nice to know that the modern Camservative party is up with the facts and all over the issues that really matter to UK voters.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553163741320490361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-44150462839490085502007-07-23T12:17:00.000+01:002007-07-23T12:17:00.000+01:00John Redman, that is possibly one of the most self...John Redman, that is possibly one of the most selfish self centred posts I've ever seen. You really sound like you don't have an ounce of humanity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-22466892245960434812007-07-23T12:07:00.000+01:002007-07-23T12:07:00.000+01:00Sorry but who on earth cares about Rwanda? Not me....Sorry but who on earth cares about Rwanda? Not me. Screw Rwanda. <BR/><BR/>Is this supposed to make Cameron look like a world statesman? It just makes him look like a bleeding-heart liberal drip. It's also a waste of political capital because we can be absolutely 100% sure that there will always be massacres in Africa like there'll always be wars and famines. <BR/><BR/>At home we have a burgeoning police state and our country is being stolen from us by Brussels. What are Dave's thoughts on this, or does he agree with it all?<BR/><BR/>You get the government you deserve, both here and in Rwanda.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553163741320490361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-46077366386125319542007-07-23T10:04:00.000+01:002007-07-23T10:04:00.000+01:00Sounds fascinating Iain. I sympathise with the st...Sounds fascinating Iain. I sympathise with the stomach cramps, something very similar happened to me in Bolivia but when the bus did stop at a police check-point I asked to use their toilet as an emergency - a polite but firm "No" was issued. That was a difficult journey...Old BEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06974090439936326476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-16581605528881010862007-07-23T08:43:00.000+01:002007-07-23T08:43:00.000+01:00The BBC only want to talk about David Cameron on e...The BBC only want to talk about David Cameron on every interview they do. Such broad-minded people.<BR/><BR/>They are desperate to make trouble for him and whip up some treachery. Unforgiveable in a supposed world-respected news organisation. They don't seem to care about genocide. <BR/><BR/>What kind of brains do BBC journalists have? Are they all robotic tory haters?<BR/><BR/>I am glad that David Cameron and the entourage are there to find out what happened and if there is anything that could have been done to stop it. No doubt the world will have other similar events like it in the future.Tapestryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267094484651413428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-28401241383979065972007-07-23T07:17:00.000+01:002007-07-23T07:17:00.000+01:00Day 1 - Germans get it for being tight wads;Day 2 ...Day 1 - Germans get it for being tight wads;<BR/>Day 2 - British Consevatives aren't;<BR/>Day 3 - Franch get it, being no better than killers;<BR/>Day 4 - ....Chris Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15679067503215414300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-76771055992366226432007-07-23T05:27:00.000+01:002007-07-23T05:27:00.000+01:00The Killing FieldsLets not forget the Khmer Rouge....The Killing Fields<BR/>Lets not forget the Khmer Rouge.Manfaranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672026288937285646noreply@blogger.com