July 07, 2003
HIRED GOONS DON'T COME CHEAP
It’s great to see native Zimbabweans making financial progress:
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has had his annual salary hiked more than sixfold, while those of cabinet ministers and parliamentarians have also been increased.
The state-run Herald newspaper said Saturday Mugabe would now receive 20.2 million Zimbabwe dollars (24,000 US dollars) per year, up from the three million (3,640 dollars) announced last year.
Somehow I don’t think this is Mugabe’s only source of revenue.
UPDATE. Mugabe and his media functionaries have clearly been reading the Pilger-Rall-Monbiot-Fisk idiot playbook:
Mugabe told supporters in the Chivi district, 350 kilometres south of Harare, on Saturday that Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were responsible for human rights abuses in Iraq, the Sunday Mail reported.
"When Bush visits here it should not send tremors to your nerves ... he would not dare to try what he did to Iraq. He knows the situation is different. After all, we do not have oil here," Mugabe told his Zanu-PF party's 125-member central committee.
Zimbabwe's state-controlled media called Powell an "Uncle Tom", who lied about political and economic conditions in the southern African country.
The newspaper said Bush will be "roaming around Africa for the first time since he stole the American election ... in a bid to spread his imperialist wings".
US "blood dollars" would be offered in return for pro-Western reforms in Africa for the benefit of corporate interests and to win African support in the fight against terrorism, the newspaper said in an editorial.
But Africa should not buckle to US pressure, the paper said.
"It really should not, because while Mr Bush has the resources, he doesn't have the brains," the editorial said.
So ... Bush is stupid, he stole the election, America is imperialist, the war was all about oil, Powell is an Uncle Tom, and the coalition is guilty of human rights abuses. Is Mugabe funding Indymedia?
Posted by Tim Blair at July 7, 2003 04:54 AM"Is Mugabe funding Indymedia?"
i rather think that the dnc is funding him (or at least writing his speeches)
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at July 7, 2003 at 06:35 AM"Is Mugabe funding Indymedia?"
Good question, but outside funding's not necessary for those clowns. They're so full of themselves they'll gladly fund their own insanity.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut at July 7, 2003 at 07:03 AMLadie and Gentleman:
I present you Governor Howard Dean's next press secretary.
Mr. Mugabe? Will you take some questions about the governor?
SMG
Posted by: SteveMG at July 7, 2003 at 09:16 AMThe SMH has it, Mugabe led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980. Utter rot. Rhodesia was indenpendent long before 1980.
The problems which Smith faced had nothing to do withindependence.Both Rhodesia and South Africa had to deal with communist insurgency, heavily backed by Cuba's communist regime, including committing Cuban forces in Africa.
To muse, the Cuban communisto army had the crap blasted out of them.
The other concern was economics and the rule of common law.In other words, opening up the ecomomy, so the political dangers would be overcome by the blacks having as much interest in the maintenance of the rule of law as possible.
Smith's dilemma is a common enough dilmemma, the belief `political independence'is both necessary and sufficient to liberate people can be nonsense . As a boy, one understood, Mugabe and his gang were just that, a gang of murdering savages as they remain today.The reason for Smiths quandary, in other words, has been confirmed.
Posted by: d at July 7, 2003 at 11:49 AMThere's an expat Zimbabwean lady working in the office with me. She almost cries at what has happened to her country since Mugabe. Where's the coalition of the willing when you need 'em .....
Posted by: BruceT at July 7, 2003 at 12:13 PMMate, you only think you're kidding about him
funding Indymedia. Well, not quite Indymedia, but
International ANSWER (close enough, I'd say)
has office space in downtown
San Francisco, and somebody must be paying their rent.