Microkhan by Brendan I. Koerner

Entries Tagged as 'corruption'

Security and the Soil

November 20th, 2009 · 3 Comments

In Pakistan’s chaotic North-West Frontier Province, there’s a movement afoot to temporarily ban the sale of fertilizers containing ammonium nitrate, which are frequently used in bombmaking. (The article mistakenly fingers urea fertilizers as the target of the ban.) This got us thinking about the reasons for ammonium nitrate’s continued popularity among the world’s farmers, despite […]

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Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

October 28th, 2009 · Comments Off on Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

We recently argued that symbols do, indeed, matter. Is it possible that someone in the administration of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki read our screed? Because the Nairobi regime has suddenly decided to make a rather brilliant token gesture, obviously designed to indicate a willingness to tackle government excess: it’s forcing officials to give up their […]

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The Nom de Politique Rule

October 19th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Nom de Politique Rule

Following up on last week’s post regarding the general dreadfulness of rulers who get their mugs put on coins, we had to add another rogue to the gallery: the late Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire. One of his personalized coins can be glimpsed here, and some of his paper money above. Mobutu certainly proves our […]

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Mzungu Back on the Scene

October 5th, 2009 · 2 Comments

After an interminable 27-plus hours in transit from Nairobi, punctuated by some dire experiences aboard Swiss Air, we finally made it back to Microkhan HQs late yesterday. Great to be back in sunny Atlah, though an enjoyable and productive time was had by all in Kenya. We’ll be posting plenty of East Africa-related material in […]

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The Filipino Route Around

August 4th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Filipino Route Around

Yesterday we looked at the economic benefits of the Philippines’ divorce ban. In doing so, we noted that while legal splits are certainly uncommon over there, they’re certainly not unheard of. Filipinos who want out of bummer marriages must opt for an annulment, which is ostensibly tough to obtain. But as is usually the case […]

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Dibs on Miss Peru

June 22nd, 2009 · 2 Comments

Just as we’d hoped, The Economist decided to memorialize the late Gabonese president Omar Bongo in its current issue. And as befits an old-school strongman who appeared to care not a whit for his people’s welfare, the obituary is fairly damning—though, granted, not as gloves-off as the magazine’s posthumous takedown of Prabhakaran. The choicest bit, […]

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Rough Trade in the Delta

June 9th, 2009 · Comments Off on Rough Trade in the Delta

Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to settle with the family of executed activist Ken Saro-Wiwa reminded us of this disturbringly prescient piece from a decade ago. It’s an account of all the dirty dealings that surround Nigeria’s oil wealth, and how oil companies and Big Men manage to keep enriching themselves despite frequent grassroots protests (or […]

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Old-School Strongman Sheds Mortal Coil

June 8th, 2009 · 3 Comments

Microkhan is big enough to admit when we were wrong. And so we must eat a bit of humble pie regarding Gabonese president Omar Bongo, who apparently wasn’t faking his illness. Last month, we opined that the timing of Bongo’s medical leave seemed curiously perfect, given that he was under French investigation. Given Bongo’s horrendously […]

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Department of Odd Timing

May 18th, 2009 · 4 Comments

After 42 years at the helm of Gabon, President Omar Bongo appears to be easing his way out the door. The official reason is declining health, but Microkhan finds it odds that Bongo seems to have taken ill after a French court lowered the investigative boom, in response to a complaint by Transparency International. The […]

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The Pride of Sagaing Division

May 11th, 2009 · 1 Comment

The handsome logo at right belongs to Zeya Shwe Myay FC, one of eight teams that will soon compete in Burma’s National League Cup, the nation’s first-ever professional soccer league. Matches kick off this coming Saturday, with the early money on Mandalay’s Yadanarpon FC as the prohibitive favorite; the team is owned by a drinking-water […]

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Combating Corruption with Sandwiches

May 5th, 2009 · Comments Off on Combating Corruption with Sandwiches

Indonesia regularly languishes near the bottom of Transparency International‘s corruption index; in the 2008 rankings, the world’s fourth-most populous nation came in tied for 126th, alongside Honduras, Uganda, and Mozambique. With everyone’s hand out when foreign investors come knocking, it’s no wonder that major development deals fall through all the time. So what’s to be […]

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Rough Times in Guinea-Bissau

March 2nd, 2009 · Comments Off on Rough Times in Guinea-Bissau

In light of today’s stunning assassination news out of Guinea-Bissau, it’s worth revisiting this fine Washington Post investigation from last August. The West African nation has apparently become a key transshipment point for Colombian cocaine traffickers, en route to major European markets: [Guinea-Bissau] is best known for its cashews and mangoes, but its main attractions […]

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The Lipstick of Dictatorship

February 25th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Lipstick of Dictatorship

The happy gentleman to the right is José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s president for the past 30 years. During that time, he has allegedly managed to skim $4 billion from the nation’s oil revenues—quite a despicable feat, given that Angola remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with 70 percent of the population living on […]

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The Consequences of Patronage

February 24th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Consequences of Patronage

Given my curious fascination with Sri Lanka and its long-running ethnic conflict, I thought it wise to provide some context. The island nation’s 34-year civil war is pretty baffling, and the partisan journalism on both sides doesn’t make it easy to parse the details. That’s why I heartily recommend Sri Lanka: History and the Roots […]

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Madagascar and Daewoo

February 9th, 2009 · 2 Comments

The political turmoil in Madagascar is getting ugly. An ultra-shady land deal may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

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