Amateur hour in Jo'burg/Yo. Mr. Bond?

[Brad DeLong]

>This just in from Deborah James at GX:
>
>...Originally, we planned a silent protest.... The anger at the US 
>delegation was so strong that the other people in the
>room and even the delegates from other countries joined right in and began
>interrupting Powell.  This anger has been building over the four preparatory
>meetings (over the last year), as well as the last two weeks here in South
>Africa.  Nevertheless, it is unfathomable that the delegates from other
>countries did that.  That doesn't happen at the UN.  It was unbelievably
>amazing.  The delegates from other countries (these are senior government
>officials, heads of state) booed and jeered him throughout his speech...
>
>By the way, some press thought that we were also criticizing Powell's
>comments on Mugabe of Zimbabwe.  That was completely inaccurate.

The "by the way" is a reference to a story from the Manchester 
Guardian, not usually a lapdog of the Bush Administration:

'The South African foreign minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was 
chairing the meeting, asked hecklers to stop. She said the outbursts 
were "totally unacceptable". Dissent filled the hall when Mr Powell 
criticised the government of Zimbabwe for exacerbating the food 
crisis in that country and pushing "millions of people to the brink 
of starvation"...'

I'm sure that Deborah James has told herself that everyone in the 
hall shared her agenda--as opposed to, say, a pro-Mugabe agenda--so 
many times that she believes it. But I don't see any reason to think 
that the Manchester Guardian's story is wrong.

Brad DeLong