Be Excellent To Each Other

Laughing Bob Mugabe - currently the world's most famous Bob, I think.

I'm a little worried that Changarai is going to enter into a power sharing arrangement wiht him, to be honest - that's exactly how Cap'n Bob got rid of Joshua Nkomo back in the 80s.

Also - I just got a 14% payrise. This is not enough for me to keep pace with inflation in Zimbabwe though, of course. So I shall belay a move to Harare.

For the longest time while watching various kinds of star trek, I always thought they said 'delay', not 'belay'.

I'm totally out of step with Zimbabwe these days. What exactly is going on there now?

Bobbert is trying to bolster the credibility of his illegitimate government by forming a coalition with the opposition party. He's so dedicated to this movement that he's already started arresting opposition MPs.

So, we'll try again here as myp's a big handbag-wielding nitwit with no discernable sense of humour.

Laughing Bob Mugabe - currently the world's most famous Bob, I think.

I'm a little worried that Changarai is going to enter into a power sharing arrangement with him, to be honest - that's exactly how Cap'n Bob got rid of Joshua Nkomo back in the 80s.

It's all gone worryingly quiet on the news about what's going on over there - whether this is because nothing is happening and Changarai's still pondering his position, or whether it's just because OUR HEROES were competing at some running and jumping in China and this was deemed far more important, I don't know*. The Beeb is usually pretty good about covering goings-on in Zimbabwe, particularly via the irascible Mr Simpson.

So - all quite worrying, either way.

*Actually, this may have been the case, what with the Olympics replacing EVERY OTHER PROGRAM ON THE ENTIRE BBC for two weeks.

I get the impression that the UK / US / UN are just waiting around, hoping that Mugabe dies soon, and fixes it all for them. He's 83, so he can't have that long left. God knows what will happen to the country when he does though - it'll take forever to fix that place.

Yes, but have Zimbabwe won any medals for jumping up and down and flailing their arms within a marked area?


It is odd that we haven't simply had him assassinated, though. It's usually the done thing. I can only assume somebody thinks having him around is better than not.

I remember reading somewhere that there was some chap who's supposed to be the power behind the throne who's even worse than Mugabe. When I have time I shall have a dig around.

You think? Its infrastructure is largely intact and its arable land still fertile, so with a significant foreign investment, I can't see any reason why it shouldn't get back on its feet fairly quickly. As far as I can tell, the reason it collapsed was because Mugabe insisted on confiscating the farms from those who had been running them for generations and handing them to the inexperienced. With investment and know-how from abroad, they could be up and running again in a few seasons, though some might see this as an embarrassing return to colonialism.

Indeed - Mugabe said he was happy to have Zimbabwe boycotted by Western companies as they're all imperialist scum and they're well shot of them. Well done that man. Yes. You can fall back on your indigenous industry. Oh.

He's digging the country further and further into a hole that is rapidly coming to resemble the Dark Ages.

Of course we're assuming here that Mr Mugabe in his tender years still wields policy making power and isn't for example a ceremonial figure masking some army junta. Not that he isn't a bastard, it's just that he might not be THE bastard.

Well, he could have had a hint of a good point if he'd instead, say, invited some people from neighbouring countries to help out. A bit of solidarity without interference from Us Bastards could arguably be a good thing. I mean, if he'd done it with a vaguely workable alternative in mind instead of just kicking people out and expecting things to sort themselves out through sheer willpower.

I mean the rejecting companies part, rather than the manner in which he did it, obviously.

See my sketchy comment earlier re: power behind throne. I think this is absolutely the case.

Mugabe > Myoptika

Yes.

Really? Blimey, Myoptika's getting flak from everywhere, nowadays!

I've always thought those "war veterans" probably hold a lot of power. A handy paramilitary mob to have about as long as they are on your side, but probably not the guys to tick off.

That's where it all went wrong. When government changes hands through a revolution, the new government is inevitably made up of guerillas. If Ian Fucking Smith had relaxed his iron grip on power, next year they could be celebrating 30 years of prosperity and multi-racial elections, with the modern state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia founded by Abel Muzorewa. Instead, he hung on until a gradual sharing of power was impossible.