Realpolitik shows its fangs

The nastiest lesson I learned from the 60s is that a quick, efficient way to change the political landscape is to assassinate the right people. Et tu? It's the oldest tactic in the world. Look at Palestine recently. It makes me fear for the life of any progressive politician who comes on the scene, in any country on the planet, including my own.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Opposition Politician Is Killed in Kenya NAIROBI, Kenya — Mugabe Were, a freshman in Parliament, could have been one of the keys to unlocking Kenya’s crisis, but he was shot dead in his driveway on Tuesday. Mr. Were, 39, was an opposition politician who had resisted his party’s often belligerent talk. He had married a woman of another ethnic group, built a footbridge in a slum with his own money and sponsored teenage mothers to go to college. As Kenya slid into chaos this past month after a disputed election, he shuttled between leaders of different ethnic groups and was organizing a peace march the night before he died. “Whoever did this has killed the dreams of many,” said Elizabeth Mwangi, a friend.