by Darris McNeely, Cecil E. Maranville and John Ross Schroeder
Zimbabwe—a Crisis—Torn
Country
Zimbabwe, a once prosperous African nation, is seriously
short of food, and its lack of fuel has brought industry to a standstill.
The country's infrastructure is fraying badly at the edges with schools
and hospitals struggling to survive. Most blame these humanly caused misfortunes
on President Robert Mugabe's brutal regime.
As The Sunday Telegraph reported, "With
the country's economy in tatters, thanks to years of misrule, Mugabe thought
he had a guaranteed vote winner when his loyal constitutional panel drew
up clause 57, to enshrine land confiscation and demand compensation for
white farmers by [from] the old colonial power: Britain."
Zimbabwe's government was in shock after the
people produced the courage to stand up to the regime by voting "no" in
the recent constitutional referendum. Yet there are reports of the illegal
occupation of quite a number of white-owned farms in spite of that national
vote.
Moreover, the Zimbabwe dollar was worth 50
British pence when President Mugabe assumed power. It is now valued at
1.5 pence. And as The Independent on Sunday reported, "Every week
1,200 Zimbabweans die of AIDS and life expectancy since 1980 has fallen
from 59 to 42."
A beautiful country has apparently been laid
waste and many of British descent are applying for passports at the
British High Commission in the nation's capital, Harare, preparing to
emigrate. ( The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent
on Sunday, The Daily Mail (all London).)
Nuclear Transfer Technology—Cloning
Pigs and "Growing" Organs
Genetic engineering and the cloning of pigs have come together
to encourage hope in the field of medical transplants. Some 60,000 people
in the U.S. are on a waiting list to receive a new organ. Finding a donor
is only the beginning, for every patient faces the real potential of having
a new organ rejected immediately upon transplantation. Large quantities
of powerful anti-rejection drugs are administered, but they weaken the
person's entire system. Once the initial hurdle is passed, rejection is
still possible and anti-rejection medication is necessary over the long
term.
