Alden Bates' Weblog

I don't write about politics much, but here's the situation:
The NZ cricket team is going to tour Zimbabwe in August. Prevailing feeling is that they shouldn't be going because of the ongoing human rights abuses there and the possibilty they might be in danger.

This makes me wonder: (a) why book a tour in a country you know is having human rights issues anyway, (b) why call off the cricket tour while the Prime Minister is trying to negotiate a trade agreement with notorious human rights abuser China?