Jane
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Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 12:40
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This guy is a dude. I salute his bravery!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6445071.stm
Would you have the guts to stand up and challenge one of the world's biggest, most dangerous thug? (I speak, of course, of Robert Mugabe.) I wouldn't.
Me and Moth spent just three hours in Zimbabwe last month and even in that short time, the sense of desperation from the people I saw was tangible.
I wish Zimbabwe had oil and not simply copious natural resources, soil in which you could grow anything and hard working people. Then perhaps the rest of world would come to its aid in the face of Mugabe's reign of terror. *sigh*
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Daminxa
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 13:08
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Why won't Mugabe just do the decent thing and DIE?! He's 83 and has had his innings so it really IS time he just fucked off and died. Preferably quite messily. I have been banging my head against the wall over that cunt cyst for years and am exasperated that nobody on the international stage seems to give a fuck that he's starved and tortured his own people for little more reason other than he's a greedy arogant tyrannical fuck. And yes, Jane, as you so rightly say, things would be SO different had Zimbabwe had oil. That way Bush and Blair would've been over there YEARS ago, quicker than shit through a goose...
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Jane
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 13:35
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I wish there was something we could do to help get rid of Mugabe and support the long-suffering Zimbabwean people :-(
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grufty jim
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 13:45
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Daminxa wrote: And yes, Jane, as you so rightly say, things would be SO different had Zimbabwe had oil.
Don't be so sure. Discovering oil in Africa can be a death sentence for a nation. There's a widely-held view that nothing is being done about the horrors in Darfur because the Chinese have vetoed any attempts in the UN. Why? Because they import a lot of oil from the Sudanese government.
Or take Nigeria... ostensibly an oil-rich democracy, but one of the most corrupt and unjust places in the world. My father worked there for two years and one evening while attending a function at the mansion of a local dignitary he was given a tour of the place. One room in the mansion (and not a small room either by my father's account) was literally filled with stacks of U.S. $100 bills. An entire room full of money. Beyond the walls of the compound, millions live in abject poverty.
If Zimbabwe discovered oil tomorrow, the Zimbabwean political classes would get rich, people who own shares in oil companies would see a modest rise in their assets, and westerners would pay a couple of pence less per litre when filling their cars. I fear, however, that life for the average Zimbabwean would change not a single jot.
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Daminxa
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 14:25
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No but Western politicians might be a bit more eager to intervene rather than just turning their backs and pretending the place doesn't exist.
I reckon the reason they were so opposed to Saddam was they thought he might be difficult to deal with when it came to oil, so they got rid of him in the hope of sticking a puppet-in-the-pocket-of-the-States type government in his place. Well yes, they well and truly fucked that one up for sure, but I reckon they might have the same view on Mugabe if there were oil in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe has to be every bit as bad as Saddam. He's just as much of a dangerous pscychotic power-hungry bully. To make matters worse, from what I can gather it's nigh on impossible to send aid to Zimbabwe. There's just no way of making sure it gets to where it's supposed to go. And now he's threatening to stay in power for another seven years - what will there be left for him to be in charge of?
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grufty jim
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Edited Mar 13, 2007, 14:52
Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 14:51
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Daminxa wrote: No but Western politicians might be a bit more eager to intervene rather than just turning their backs and pretending the place doesn't exist.
I reckon the reason they were so opposed to Saddam was they thought he might be difficult to deal with when it came to oil, so they got rid of him in the hope of sticking a puppet-in-the-pocket-of-the-States type government in his place. Well yes, they well and truly fucked that one up for sure, but I reckon they might have the same view on Mugabe if there were oil in Zimbabwe.
But that's pretty much my point. If there was oil in Zimbabwe, the US/UK alliance might decide it was time for a bit of regime-change. And there's at least 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians demonstrating why that might not be a great idea. From what I'm reading, life for the average Iraqi has gotten measurably worse since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Why would it work out any different in Zimbabwe? (especially since there's a very powerful anti-white / anti-colonialist faction there). Mugabe is not without plenty of support.
And all that is assuming an oil-rich Zimbabwe didn't become a Chinese client state like Sudan. In fact, given the distrust (in many ways justified) that Zimbabwe has towards the west, I feel quite certain that Mugabe would forge closer ties with China (the main non-Western oil importer) rather than allow himself to be invaded / controlled by US/UK. A move that hasn't worked out too well for the people of Darfur.
Don't get me wrong, something should be done about Zimbabwe. Just as something should be done about every despot. But historically speaking, that's not what tends to happen when oil is discovered. Indeed, there's nothing western oil companies like more than a compliant dictator. It's populist leaders like Hugo Chavez who pose the greatest threat to their profits, not corrupt tyrants.
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Jane
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 15:16
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Gosh, I wish I hadn't mentioned oil! What I should have said is I just wish that SOMEONE SOMEWHERE would apply some pressure on Mugabe.
It's so frustrating not to be able to do anything to help our desperate Zimbabwean brothers and sisters. Like Daminxa says, you can't even send aid!
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Daminxa
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 17:15
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Fair enough, but I'd still shoot the fucker given half the chance.
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Jane
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 13, 2007, 19:36
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nicely put, sweetie!
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Lupus
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Re: Morgan Tsvangirai
Mar 14, 2007, 14:58
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Oil is dangerous stuff! ;)
He's in hospital now, with a skull fracture, undergoing intensive care.
Saw him on the news yesterday, his face swollen & wounded from the debating techniques of Mugabes police.
I hope the UN will see its responsability and put some serious pressure on Robbie The Mug!
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