Saturday, August 18, 2007

the new royals, again...

URL:http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_5675236,00.html
On the road to ruin in Venezuela

August 17, 2007

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez likes being president so much he's arranging to stay in charge indefinitely. While this may be good for Chavez's boundless ego, it's bad for Venezuela.

Chavez has presented another rewrite of the country's constitution to the tame National Assembly. This latest version would abolish the current two-term limit and extend a presidential term from six to seven years.

It would also greatly diminish possible challenges to his authority by curbing the powers of elected governors and mayors in favor of local "communal councils" that will be dependent on Chavez for funding. And to secure that funding he is proposing to end the autonomy of the Venezuelan Central Bank. That shortsighted move is bound to weaken the country's currency and isolate it from international financial institutions.

Chavez has already scared off needed foreign investment in Venezuela and especially in its aging oil-industry infrastructure. He has nationalized various industries, and the new constitution would give him still greater powers to appropriate private property.

It is all part of his avowed plan to eradicate capitalism in Venezuela in favor of "21st-Century Socialism," which looks very much like 20th-century socialism with its proven record of failure.

Raid nets 42 vendors

POLICE in Gweru (Zimbabwe) have arrested about 42 vegetable vendors suspected of overcharging, mostly for cabbages and potatoes.

The raid over the Heroes and Defence Force holidays came after vendors at Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus and other markets around the city centre raised their prices.

The price hikes saw a head of cabbage being sold for $150 000 while a pocket of potatoes was selling at around $1,5 million.

The recommended price for a head of cabbage is $60 000 while a pocket of potatoes should not be sold at more than $600 000.

Acting police spokesperson for Midlands Province Assistant Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said some of the vendors had paid admission of guilt fines while others were expected to appear in court soon for either operating illegally or defying the Government directive to freeze prices. — Midlands Bureau The Herald

and so they said...

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"informed choices"

HIV test before Nigerian marriage

Nigeria is a deeply religious country

Couples must first take an HIV test before they will be allowed to marry, the Anglican Church in Nigeria says.

The church says the move is to help parishioners make "informed choices" when choosing marriage partners.

The BBC News website learnt that many Christian churches in Nigeria impose similar tests on their members as a condition for marriage.

The policy is being implemented in all Anglican dioceses across Nigeria, the church's spokesman said.

'Unacceptable'

"The aim is to help intending couples to make informed decisions because we don't want anyone to be kept in the dark about their partner," spokesman for the church Rev Akintunde Popoola told the BBC News website.


If they find out their status and still want to go ahead, we cannot object. Instead, we offer them care and support
Rev Akintunde Popoola

He said the church will not stop people from getting married if they test positive to HIV, the virus that causes Aids.

"The whole point is for couples to know their HIV status before getting married," he said.

"If they find out their status and still want to go ahead, we cannot object. Instead, we offer them care and support."

But the authorities are already challenging the new policy by the church, saying it is unacceptable.

"We cannot accept what the church is proposing. Every Nigerian must be allowed to decide on their own whether they want to be tested or not," Prof Tunde Oshotimehin, who heads Nigeria's state HIV control agency, told the BBC.

"HIV testing and counselling must be voluntary. What the church is trying to do will encourage denial."

Graduate tests

The Catholic Church in Nigeria says it is not imposing such a policy on its members because it wants HIV testing to be voluntary and personal.

"We know that some people do it, but we are not making it church policy," spokesman of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja Rev Fr Ralph Madu told the BBC News website.

Recently, a church-owned college - Covenant University, Nigeria - announced that its graduates should take HIV and pregnancy tests as conditions for graduation.

But the university suspended the policy after widespread condemnation and criticisms from government agencies and rights groups.

Nigeria is a deeply religious country with her 140 million people almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.

According to Nigeria's National Agency for the Control of AIDS (Naca), some 4.4% of Nigerians live with HIV.