They Shoot Protesters Don't They?

"The Economist" June 28-July 4 issue. Bill Gates dominates the cover. "The Economist" isn't as important as the "Wall Street Journal" used to be, but it is read by business and world leaders, which means the magazine has to tell it like it is. It can't be Fox or CNN.

This particular issue has a piece in the Leaders section on Robert Mugabe. You may recognize him as the brutal leader of Zimbabwe. He has opposition, and their children, executed in some creative ways. "The Economist" doesn't like him, and it is calling on other countries (and Africa) to oust him. It says his leadership has weakened and that he needs to step aside for the good of the country. There is no mention of neoliberalism or any of the other usual stuff you would expect from "The Economist." That was refreshing on its own, but it was the last sentence in the article that really caught my eye.

"But most of all it needs its African neighbours to tell the tyrant unambiguously to go -- and to snuff him out if he refuses. It can be done."

I never thought I'd see "The Economist" call for assassination. It seems kind of bold. I don't disagree with it or anything even like that. I'm just surprised that would actually see print. It makes me want to reread all the Bush articles it has done.

Kudos to "The Economist." The call for Mugabe's removal had a wonderfully wicked tone to it at the end (almost as if written by a 1930s anarchist), and it made me smile. Now where are those Bush articles?