South African fast food chain Nando's ran
an amusing ad featuring Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe enjoying himself with a range of deceased despots, to the tune "Those were the days". The Zimbabwean
"government
" was not amused.
posted by wilful
on Dec 4, 2011 -
47 comments
You will be thoroughly beaten. Zimbabwe, in economic decline for years, may be accelerating towards collapse. Its inflation rate recently hit
1281%, the highest in the world, and a strike by
public doctors that began six weeks ago has now spread to
nurses,
electrical workers and (today)
teachers. Those that aren't allowed to strike, like
police, are quitting. Last month, Zimbabwe's top judge
warned that underfunding had (possibly intentionally) left its judiciary largely unable to function, the nation's electricity provider recently
announced that it's broke, its
sewage plants started breaking down and polluting urban water supplies, and international observers warned (based on satellite photos, since the government won't allow them in)
that famine is looming. In the past, President Robert Mugabe's response to the growing destitution has been to
forcibly evict poor urban slum residents into the countryside and bulldoze their homes, to prevent them from organizing politically and to make it difficult for rights organizations to monitor them. Now, he's
canceling the 2008 presidential elections (for now, saying that they'll be held in 2010, in conjunction with parliamentary elections, to save money) and ordering security forces to
jail and torture political activists. The situation may be approaching a breaking point.
posted by gsteff
on Feb 5, 2007 -
48 comments
the economist presents a very clear
review of why and how the zimbabwe elections went horribly wrong and what this means for the future of zimbabwe & africa. [this article is neither long nor hard but it's strong. read it] "After 20 years of ZANU government, the average Zimbabwean is a third poorer and can expect to die more than 15 years younger. . . The responsibility for reviving the sick economy still rests with Mr Mugabe and ZANU. Half of the workforce is jobless. Inflation is eating Zimbabweans’ savings at a rate of almost 70% a year. An unrealistic exchange rate has led to shortages of fuel and other imports. Mr Mugabe’s plans to seize white-owned farms without compensation, and his contradictory statements about whether he will do the same to mines and factories, have scared off both foreign and domestic investors. Despite having some of the most fertile land in Africa, Zimbabwe could need food aid this year."
posted by palegirl
on Jun 30, 2000 -
17 comments
Zimbabwe is too important not to blog My pal, technical saviour, and usurper in the race toward pessimism and gloom
Luke Tymowski has quietly beavered away producing a Tomalak's Ream-esque daily digest of Zimbabwe news. Benighted Jakob Nielsen just finished saying that Web writing like this is the only way to go. Does he read Luke? He oughta. A lotta people oughta.
posted by joeclark
on May 30, 2000 -
4 comments
