The country is already on its knees and unless he has got his magic wand out I suggest he stops digging any further. Mugabe has personal vandettas with Britain and he is using Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe as weapon to fight back and in doing so he is crippling the the country even futher, something that he does not agree with.

According to him all is okay and no one is starving or struggling due to the dying economy, the only reason Bob can come out with such words is if he is ignoring the situation in his back yard or if he never comes across these families The people of Zimbabwe are already starving and telling one of your biggest foreign investors to pack and go is definately not the way forward.

For years Robert Mugabe has been warning us against Foreign Powers and how they want to come and take “our things” and colonise us again and how he will not allow this to happen again and is his main reason for holding onto Power. Frankly the people are tired of this, the year is 2008 we do not want to keep playing the Colonialism-Card, no proud Zimbabwean would let any foreigners take over, we want to move away from this. We would rather die defending ourselves from any unwanted intruders than die of hunger at the hands of a ruthless Government that is now making it job to spin stories now and again to hold on to power. We know about the activities of the British and Americans in Iraq, the atrocities and displacements of the people of Iraq, British and American citizens have stood up against this, please do not try to change the focus.

To you Robert I say Vadzvanyiriri hativadi whether British, American or Zimbabwean and we are tired of your rants, it is now embarassing everytime your “President ” is on the screen he is spouting like a disgruntled employee.

Then there is candidate number 2, Morgan Tsvangirai who 'represents' Zimbabwe's future. But I do not trust him! Here is the man who went to Western leaders and begged them to put sanctions on his own people in order to put the pressure on the Zimbabwean government, inadvertently leading to tougher times for ordinary Zimbabweans. He claims any murder person as being a MDC supporter who was murdered by Mugabe's people. It is a great time to commit murder in Zimbabwe, we will just blame it on 'Mugabe's hooligans'. Sure some are true stories but I believe Tsvangirai is a sociopath and knows how to play with peoples emotions because he knows they will believe anything that he says. Then he goes and runs to the Dutch embassy and makes a scene while leaving about how the reason why he seeked refuge there was because he feared for his safety. Im pretty sure if Mugabe or his supporters didn't kill him for treason after a tape was recovered that showed Tsvangirai discussing getting rid of Mugabe, if you know what I mean, I am pretty sure he is as safe as anyone in Zimbabwe.

Then comes the stunt where he pulls out of the run-off elections because he feared the safety of his supporters. I almost fell for that one until he refused to be involved in talks with Thabo Mbeki and Mugabe to form a unified government with Tsvangirai but he refused. Mbeki then had talks discussing the next solution which was to allow Mugabe to stay as the head of nation and allow Tsvangirai to be the Prime Minister and have more power than Mugabe until a new constitution was formed and new elections were held... but guess who wasn't there again, Tsvangirai but someone else was there, someone who hasnt been in the public eye for quite some time, Arthur Mutambara. And no, I am not related to him!

Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a faction of the MDC seems like a good option at the moment despite him not progressing in the election process. He is simple, reader to embrace national unity, something we trully need right now, not scared to compliment and criticize the other candidates. He was a student leader in the 1980's and he seems like the only person who is not playing games with Zimbabwean people. There is still much to be seen from him because he is not a very high profile person and seems to always be behind the scenes and maybe that is what Zimbabwe needs at the moment, someone who is too busy working hard for his people to be infront of the camera's playing games and making false promises and hopes.

Having said all this, would I vote? No, Zimbabwe is in a temperamental state and people like me who are outside should get off their high horses and let the people who are actually in Zimbabwe to have the last say.

This stinks of hypocrisy -- and doesn't make sense in the light of the UK's foreign policy which clearly acknowledges the despotic brutality of the Zanu PF dictatorship. Being prepared to send desperate asylum seekers (many of whom have suffered torture and persecution) to almost certain death is a callous, disgusting, two-faced disgrace. The British government can hardly plead ingorance in this case.

Clearly the sincerity of Britain's criticism of Mugabe and his thuggish cohorts is in doubt.

Shame on you!

(from Aug. 19th 2006)

regards,

Life-Upgrade.com

But is this right? Should we meddle with our genes in hope of making ourselves better? I think the ethics people will have a big case on their hands in the future when this stuff becomes a reality. I believe yes, for the right reasons, we should be able to make ourselves better. But only in the interest of health. As in sickness health. Like if we could cure the common cold by changing a gene then sure whats wrong with that. Changing things at a young age to make us look better, e.g. having the perfect looking child. No way. Along those lines are my beliefs.

But hey, you may be one of those religous fruitloops that think we shoudn't change ourselves even though it may save us a lot of pain and suffering. I got nothing against religion, I believe in God. But I believe that he wouldn't want us to suffer.

What do you think? Leave a comment and spread your opinion.

Ok so next topic. I don't think Americans are evil. Wellllllllllllllllll,,,,hmm mayb-no, I don't. But learning today that they had plans to test toxic nerve gas on Australians does make me a bit sus. Plans were revealed today that the US, back in the Cold War, were pushing the Prime Minister of the time to allow them to bomb 200 Australian troops in far North Queensland. Of course it didn't happen. These gas weapons were even illegal according to international law. And people still trust the government...ILLEGAL WEAPONS! SECRECY! LIES! GET THE PICTURE PEOPLE! THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! In most cases...It's 50/50 most of the time in my opinion. Read about it here

Okay, so that's about it. Another surprise that the whole world saw coming was that Mugabe's poll is a complete sham. A fraud. A have. A complete pile of bullshit. I hate that guy. Why can't he just go away. Two posts in one night, aren't we the lucky ones.

In doing this whole hero thing I regularly find myself frustrated by misuses of the word. I'd love to be able to narrow the usage of the word. It would be a nice result of the work to reduce (or eliminate) sports reporters' claims that the player who scored the winning goal is a hero. If that happened, I could die happily, knowing I'd made a positive change on the world.

But I'd be even happier if I could prevent people using the word to describe someone like Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe, having essentially elected himself in elections since 1980. This year he was defeated despite his intimidation tactics and blatant rigging. He refused to accept that and killed scores of people before demanding a run-off election. He won because he was the only candidate on the ballot.

While in power he has overseen the flooding of his economy with currency that has resulted in 100,000% annual inflation, violently cracked down on homosexuality, gave white farms to African war veterans who often tortured and killed the farmers, and ordered the massacre of 20,000 of his opponents of Ndebele descent.

The reason Mugabe is able to continue this kind of behaviour is that he was an important figure in overthrowing white colonialism in Zimbabwe. Rhodesia no longer exists in part because of the actions of Mugabe. CNN points out that this role, over 25 years ago, is a large reason that African leaders support (through words or inaction) this reign of terror. He is considered a hero. The Monitor Online from Uganda shows this attitude well. They see it as a West versus Africa issue and that Mugabe is only considered a villain by the whites who used to own the land. There's no mention of massacres, bigotry, or violence against those who oppose him. The Monitor also leads us to the second hero of this post by comparing Mugabe's pro-African efforts to those of another man who fought against colonialism.

Nelson Mandela is labeled the world's most revered political leader by the Guardian newspaper. He fought against oppression by risking his life for the people he represented and then forgave his oppressors when they released him from imprisonment. While he began his political life with non-violence, over a decade without success led him to use violent protest. That is one of many contradictions in the man - an African through and through, but a scholar of Western society and celebrity. But we forgive imperfections in our heroes. It can make them more real, more easily understood.

This past week, Mandela was removed from the U.S. terror watch list.  It means he is able to enter the United States freely.  When Mandela was fighting for equal rights in South Africa, he was considered a communist terrorist by the Reagan administration who supported the nation due to their pro-Western attitude.  One might ask why it took so long for this to occur, but this post is already getting too long.

Mandela took personal risks to improve the lives of those around him. He showed courage with caring, achievement with humility, perseverance with tolerance. These are simply not attributes evident in Robert Mugabe and thus descriptions of him as a hero or comparisons to Mandela are simply laughable. If only they were simply funny.

The footage, shot with a secret camera provided by the British newspaper The Guardian, was posted on the paper's Web site Saturday. The paper said the guard had since fled the country with his family.

The video shows the guard being summoned along with other prison guards to an office at Harare's central jail days before the June 27 runoff between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Once there, a supporter of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party instructs the guards to vote by postal ballot while he watches. The ZANU-PF supporter takes careful note of the guards' ballot numbers and which candidate they vote for, and even helps a guard properly fold his ballot and put it inside the envelope.

"The atmosphere in the room seems benign, but it's deceptive," the voiceover says, adding that the ZANU-PF supporter "has the power to condemn them as MDC supporters."

MDC is the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition party headed by Tsvangirai.

Allegations of vote-rigging in the election are not new, but evidence of it has been rare. The Guardian said the video is believed to be the first footage of vote-rigging from the Zimbabwean election.

According to the paper, the guard made the film to draw further attention to violence and corruption in Zimbabwe. He initially wanted to chronicle secretly life inside Zimbabwe's jails but kept filming when he found himself present for the postal voting, the paper said.

He also filmed a compulsory meeting at the jail at which top prison officers instructed the guards whom to vote for, the paper said.

As the guards sit in rows of chairs, a man at the front of the room says, "Forward with ZANU-PF! Down with MDC!" Later on, the man says, "Tsvangirai, even if you vote for him, even if he wins, he will never rule this country."

The paper says the guard worked for the prison service for 13 years but fled the country this week with his wife and children.

"I've decided to leave Zimbabwe," he tells the camera. "It is a painful decision that I should leave."

Asked about the Zimbabwe video, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that "there should be no question in anyone's mind that Mugabe was not elected by the people.

"He used corruption, intimidation, and violence to keep this election from being free and fair, as the evidence seems to show every day. The international community should stand together in recognizing that the election was a sham, and Mugabe is not the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe."

Tsvangirai dropped out of the runoff amid complaints of violence and intimidation, but his name and image remained on the ballot in what became a widely discredited one-man election. Mugabe claimed victory and was sworn in for a sixth consecutive term this week.

Mugabe has come under harsh international criticism for the election-related violence. The African Union this week stopped short of condemning him but urged dialogue between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

The opposition leader has rejected that call, saying conditions are not conducive to talks.

A draft resolution before the U.N. Security Council would impose U.N. sanctions on Mugabe and 11 senior members of his government.

The sanctions would impose a travel ban on Mugabe and the others, would freeze many of their assets, and would impose an international arms embargo on the regime.

The draft, circulated by the United States this week, expresses deep concern at voting irregularities, violence, and intimidation ahead of the runoff vote that it said made free and fair elections impossible.

Story courtesy of CNN.COM

iNPLACENEWS

A film that graphically shows how Robert Mugabe's supporters rigged Zimbabwe's election has been smuggled out of the country by a prison officer. It is believed to be the first footage of actual ballot-rigging and comes as Zimbabwe's president faces growing international pressure.

Shepherd Yuda, 36, fled the country this week with his wife and children. He said that he hoped the film, which was made for the Guardian, would help draw further attention to the violence and corruption in Zimbabwe.

Much of the footage was shot inside the country's notorious jail system. Yuda, who has worked in the prison service for 13 years, was motivated by the intensifying violence directed towards the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the murder, two months ago, of his uncle, a MDC activist.

Initially he intended to chronicle secretly what life was like inside Zimbabwe's jails but he found himself present when a war veteran and Mugabe supporter organised the vote-rigging by getting prison officers to fill in their postal ballots in his presence.

Using a hidden camera, Yuda filmed for six days prior to last Friday's run-off election in which Mugabe claimed victory with 90% of the vote. Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, had earlier said his party would not be participating in the run-off because of intimidation.

"I had never seen that kind of violence before," said Yuda, of the run-up to the election. "How can a government that claimed to be democratically elected kill its people, murder its people, torture its people?"

The film, made for Guardian Films, shows how Yuda and his colleagues at Harare central jail had to fill in their ballots in front of Zanu-PF activists.

Yuda also obtained footage of Zanu-PF rallies where voters were told they should pretend to be illiterate so that an official could fill in their ballot for them on behalf of Mugabe.

He was able to film the MDC's general secretary, Tendai Biti, in leg irons in jail. Biti, now on bail, faces treason charges which carry the death penalty.

Having completed filming, Yuda left Zimbabwe with his family for a new life and is now at a secret destination.

"I don't regret doing this, although it is a....

Read full article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/04/zimbabwe1

See video:

Source: GuardianFilms

------------------

Una cámara oculta revela el alcance del engaño de Mugabe en los comicios

Una película rodada con cámara oculta muestra cómo los seguidores del presidente zimbabuense, Robert Mugabe, manipularon los votos en los comicios del pasado 27 de junio, en los que éste se declaró vencedor.

La grabación, hecha para el periódico "The Guardian", fue tomada y sacada de Zimbabue por un guardia penitenciario de 36 años, Shepherd Yuda, que se vio obligado a huir de su país con su familia.

Según el diario, Yuda decidió tomar las imágenes al ser testigo de la violencia contra los seguidores del Movimiento para el Cambio Democrático (MDC), partido de la oposición, y el asesinato, hace dos meses, de su tío, que era activista de esa formación.

Yuda pudo ver que los seguidores de Mugabe manipulaban los votos cuando éstos pidieron a los guardias penitenciarios que organizasen una votación postal y rellenasen las papeletas.

El hombre utilizó una cámara oculta y tomó imágenes durante los seis días previos a la segunda vuelta electoral, celebrada el pasado 27 de junio, en la que Mugabe se declaró vencedor con el apoyo del noventa por ciento de los votos, añade "The Guardian".

"Nunca había visto antes este tipo de violencia. ¿Cómo puede un Gobierno que afirma ser elegido democráticamente matar a su gente, asesinar a su gente, torturar a su población?", dijo.

La filmación muestra cómo Yuda y sus colegas de la prisión central de Harare tenían que rellenar las papeletas, en favor de Mugabe, delante de los activistas del Zanu-PF del presidente.

También dijo que vio cómo los seguidores de Mugabe observaban en las calles cómo la gente votaba.

"Están (los seguidores del Zanu-PF) delante de ti cuando depositas el voto. Ellos observan", afirmó.

Entre los prisioneros que Yuda vio está Tendai Biti, destacado diputado de la oposición y abogado especializado en derechos humanos, que está a la espera de ser sometido a juicio por traición.

Según explicó, mucha gente es secuestrada y obligada a asistir a manifestaciones organizadas por el Zanu-PF para convencerles que apoyen al partido en el poder.

Una vez realizada la grabación, Yuda se vio obligado a abandonar Zimbabue con su familia y está en un lugar secreto, dice el diario.

"No lamento lo que hice, si bien tomé una decisión difícil. Podemos vivir sin los recuerdos de ver cuerpos muertos en la prisión, muertos en las calles, muertos en mi familia", dijo.

"Perdí a mi tío. Mi padre también fue golpeado por el Zanu-PF", resaltó Yuda en sus declaraciones publicadas hoy.

Esta filmación fue divulgada hoy por la cadena BBC y coincide con la condena internacional por el resultado electoral en Zimbabue.

El primer ministro británico, Gordon Brown, calificó recientemente de "farsa" la celebración de la segunda vuelta electoral en Zimbabue y resaltó que los únicos comicios válidos fueron los primeros, en los que triunfó la oposición del MDC.

Robert Mugabe juró el pasado 29 de junio como presidente de Zimbabue tras las controvertidas elecciones, a las que concurrió como único candidato tras la retirada del líder del MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mbeki in Harare for crisis talks (story)

It doesn't cease to surprise me what individuals can get away with in this world. I wish Mbeki all the best, but getting Mugabe to back down... I don't see it happening. How can you "win" a game from someone who doesn't care about the rules?

Film of Zimbabwe 'vote-rigging' (story)

That's nice. It's a two-minute story here in the West but to what avail. I applaud the bravery of Shepherd Yuda, the prison guard that made the movie in secret, but wonder if the trade-off is truly worth it. In one week we'll all forget his name, but not in Zimbabwe I'd imagine.

A glimpse inside Mugabe's world (story)

Good read.

Iran nuclear position 'unchanged' (story)

Amazing how diplomacy and reality seem to be living in two completely different rhythms of time. The world changes by the hour, yet diplomatic agreements and such take years to make any king of progression. I think Iran just love the fact they can get away with just about anything, simply by keeping this dynamic in mind. One step backwards in diplomacy (give in a little) and ten steps forward in the real world and all is well :)

Waxwork Hitler beheaded in Berlin (story)

He finally gets his due.

Bush heckled at 4 July event (story)

Even making headlines abroad!

Is third 9/11 tower mystery solved? (story)

Story starts saying "no skyscraper ever came down because of fire" ... conclusion of the video "Tower 7 came down because of fire". I don't think the guys from loose change gonna accept this one.

Swedes' drive-in weddings (story)

See CNN isn't the only one with goofy stories on their main page.

Kidnap ordeal (story)

"Colombia's pain over those still held hostage". Finally some perspective on the Betancourt rescue.

Flip-flop guide (story)

Sigh, let's all jump the bandwagon of the flip-flop here. for some reason you can't change this mind in the world of politics. I know there are many reasons why you could change your stance on an issue... but please not every flip-flop is negative.

'Many killed' in Syrian jail riot (story)

"Military police fired live bullets at Islamist inmates." K, beside the obvious joke that this is one effective way to deal with jail overcrowding, I'm thinking isn't it kinda normal that the inmates in SYRIA are Islamists. "They said the guards had also desecrated copies of the Koran." ... now wouldn't the guards be Muslim as well?

Lebanon 'set to announce cabinet' (story) & Yemen blast 'kills five people' (story)

Why they keep using these 'xxx' quotations. Nowhere in the story there is an actual quote. Either it's true and you say "Lebanon set to announce cabinet" or "Yemen blast kills five people. Or it's hearsay, and you go out there and get a confirmation ... and then you post it on the front page.

Queen Mother's note: 'pack the gin' is sold for record price (story)

What money can't buy for ya. Oh an later on the page: The most read story in North America is: Queen Mother 'pack gin' note sold. In case you actually thought another story was favorite with the North American audience.

UShotdog champ keeps title (story)

World news! At least it's in the section "Also in the news".

Will the hostages rescue change Colombian politics? (story)

Lol BBC is still asking the question ... TIME had the insight already... Two days ago ... Time: Rescue changes the game in Colombia. (story)

The other headlines I don't want you to miss:

Canada ruling boosts US deserter *** Gender 'impacts on transplants' *** Smallest planet shrinks in size *** Abba quartet at Mamma Mia showing *** Google 'faces Street View block' *** Tofu 'may raise risk of dementia' *** UK shops 'misleading customers'