Playing chicken with Mugabe

Earlier blog entries have referenced the disastrous situation in Zimbabwe, mostly the responsibility of Robert Mugabe (e.g. the June 30th, 2008 "Gabriel' entry). Recently the band Freshlyground came out with a satirical music video, Chicken to Change, that features Mugabe...

Per the group's spokesperson: "The video is not an attack on Mugabe at all. It is a tongue-in-cheek challenge for him to reflect on things and become the hero he used to be, to consider his actions and surprise us. We are not afraid of his reaction. Why should we be in a democratic world?"

Good luck with that! It could be risky "playing chicken" with Mugabe!

Chicken to change? Robert Mugabe mocked in pop video

Did they really say that?

1. Since the Doha agreement and the investiture of President Michel Sleiman in Lebanon, Prime Minister Sinoira has been trying for over a month to put together a cabinet, with little luck in getting the various parties to agree on a division of ministerial posts... This week President Sleiman said "Lebanon is an Arab and international model of coexistence and moderation." Yikes!

Past blog entries on Lebanon...
Sleiman deems Lebanon “model of coexistence and moderation”

2. "This little device is the devil's way to try and gain entrance to our protected homes and yeshivas, disguised as something you can listen to Torah lessons through" Apparently MP3/4 players have been banned by an Orthodox Righteous Court of Law ordinance...

MP4s are devil's device, says Orthodox Court

3. "We are reaffirming the landslide victory. We are welcoming our hero back with love and honour." This by a Zanu-PF spokesman on Mugabe's return from the African Union meeting.

Past blog entries on Zimbabwe
Thousands hail Mugabe's return

4. “Alex Allan’s illness raises suspicion of foul play simply because of his job. He oversees and co-ordinates every aspect of our intelligence community. He is therefore a prime target. The nature of his sudden illness, if it is an assassination attempt, points towards the FSB, successors of Russia’s KGB. They are the masters of assassination by poison. They were blamed by Britain for the death of Alexander Litvinenko by radioactive polonium poisoning in London in 2006. And anti-Russian Vicktor Yashenko was horribly disfigured by poison which almost killed him during the election which made him President of the Ukraine. So Mr Putin, the former KGB colonel who runs Russia, ‘has form’. And he has become increasingly aggressive towards Britain, accusing us of espionage plots against Russia. Al-Qaeda is another suspect. They would see his death as a great victory, fulfilling Osama Bin Laden’s threat to strike at the heart of the ‘infidel enemy’. What better target than the man whose job is dedicated to wiping them out?”

This from "Top security expert" Chris Dobson (Ed. note; notice the Top with a capital T), speculating on what might have happened to the British chairman of the Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee, who was taken to the hospital after being found unconscious at his home. Oh, he also might just be ill, or might have attempted suicide, or... something more anodyne. Why wait for actual facts when you can speculate about international intrigue and assassination? 

Did Russians or al-Qaeda poison Britain's top spy?

Gabriel

In previous posts this blogger followed along as events unfolded in Zimbabwe (see Updates on June 12th; How stupid can one be? Answer: Very #7 on May 31st; Updates #1 on May 10th; and Can it be? on April 2nd; Updates #2 on June 12th; and Updates on June 20th). On June 29th Robert Gabriel Mugabe was declared the “winner” of the second round of voting, with 85.51% of the vote cast.

Seems appropriate for him to be named Gabriel, both archangel and the angel of death, given the destruction he has wrought on Zimbabwe… Many lives taken, many lives lost, the economy ruined, incredible inflation (e.g. the MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti, charged with treason, was released on bail of 1 trillion Zimbabwe dollars – less than $100 US!), and hunger making a comeback.

Robert Mugabe’s thugs shout: ‘Let’s kill the baby’
Voters hope ink-stained finger will keep them alive
Mugabe declared winner in sham poll
Defiant Mugabe sworn in as president, again

Note: Angel of death statue from the grave of the Haserot family in Ohio...

Updates - Zimbabwe / Housing (Updated)

1. Zimbabwe:

This blogger commented on the situation in Zimbabwe in “Can it be?’ (April 2nd) with follow-ups in “News from this week” (April 19th, #2); “Updates” (May 10th #1); “How stupid can one be? (May 31st #7); and “Updates” (June 12th #2). The second round of elections are a week from today, June 27,th and the intimidation by the supports of the egomaniacal Mugabe continue full bore…

Zimbabwe's voters told: choose Mugabe or you face a bullet
“Only God can take away the power he has given me…” (French link)

Updated June 22nd: Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) announced that he is pulling out of Friday's presidential election run-off ...

Mugabe rival quits race
Tsvangirai pulls out of 'sham' Zimbabwe election
Zimbabwe poll: Key complaints

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2. Housing:


This blogger also commented on the mortgage crisis in "Housing Stories" (April 5th) and "Housing Stories II" (May 6th). On June 19th The Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation announced “…today a national takedown of mortgage fraud schemes, the culmination of substantial coordinated efforts during the last three and a half months to identify, arrest and prosecute mortgage fraud violators through the United States. Operation Malicious Mortgage highlights the strong enforcement response undertaken by the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners to combat the threat mortgage fraud poses to the U.S. housing industry and worldwide credit markets.”  

This blogger has been following the various housing-related stories via his local media (newspapers and TV), magazines, and on the web, looking for examples of the families “tricked” and “defrauded” into buying houses they could not afford, with very limited luck in finding any good examples. Presumably there are many out there, given that so many parties (“housing advocates”, politicians of all stripes, “community activists”, labor unions, etc.) keep insisting that there are all these victims out there who are losing their houses through absolutely no fault of their own. Finally, we should have some good examples, given this “operation.”

Unfortunately, having read in the region of fifty to sixty plus articles on “Operation Malicious Mortgage” this blogger couldn’t really tell if there is much “there” there. Half the articles focused on the Bear Stearns arrests although those really had nothing to do with this topic (being the garden variety “investment fund managers talking up their fund even though the fundamentals are going the wrong way”-type scam, the only connection to the mortgage crisis being that the underlying investment vehicle was subprime mortgages). Other mortgage fraud examples involved scams related to fleecing homeowners already in crisis (the bottomfeeders attempting to take advantage of folks in distress), etc. 

This blogger will keep an open mind on the subject but as of this moment is unpersuaded by the sob stories he has run across, and is still of the opinion that in cases where buyers purchased houses significantly more expensive than they could afford (via fraudulent representations of salary, etc.), the buyer should also be prosecuted for mortgage fraud along with the agents, loan originators, etc. 

Finally, some of the “victims” of the housing meltdown are showing some creativity in gaming the system, buying new homes and walking away from the old ones, thereby showing their true colors and that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Housing Stories
Housing Stories II

Operation "Malicious Mortgage" 
400 charged as U.S. cracks down on mortgage fraud
Houses stolen in mortgage fraud, indictments allege
Some Buy a New Home to Bail on the Old

Updates (updated 6/14)

1. How stupid can one be? Answer: Very #4 mentioned that President Bush and Nuri al-Maliki were trying to nail down a last minute “Status of Forces Agreement” on the QT… This has now run into major opposition in Iraq while in the U.S. there has been criticism from the Democrats, who insist that any agreement should be approved by the Congress. From McClatchy

“… On Capitol Hill, top Democrats and Republicans complain that Bush is rushing the negotiations to try to tie his successor's hands. A spokesman for Obama (D-Ill) said any long-term U.S. security commitment to Iraq must be subject to Congressional approval; alternatively the administration should seek an extension of the current UN mandate. Obama wants a new administration to make it "absolutely clear that the United States will not maintain permanent bases in Iraq," said spokesman Bill Burton….”

Hmm, exactly what is preventing Senator Obama from forthrightly declaring that if he is elected he will repudiate and declare null and void any last-minute agreement by President Bush, thereby rendering it moot? Oh yeah, that would require him sticking his neck out!

Iraq PM: security deal talks at dead end
Iraqi lawmakers reject security draft pact
Iraqis Condemn American Demands
SOFA down, but is it out?
SOFA update
Iraq's Grand Ayatollah warns from uprising against US security pact
Iraq officials question need for U.S. troop presence
U.S. security talks with Iraq in trouble in Baghdad and D.C.

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2. In April Can It Be? wondered if there was a faint hope that the odious President Mugabe had reached the end of the road. With the second round of voting in Zimbabwe scheduled for the 27th of this month this prospect now looks bleaker. A crackdown on the opposition MDC, violence directed at those who do not support the regime, arrests of MDC leaders amid accusations of treason, NGOs being prevented from carrying out charitable works in Zimbabwe, food aid to Zimbabwe being directed only to Mugabe supporters, etc. , all of these don’t bode well for the future of the country. Meanwhile, most regional “leaders” remain quiet…

The Lion Who Didn't Roar
Mugabe warns of war if defeated
The Reign of Thuggery

Update 06/14:  "The men who pulled up in three white pickup trucks were looking for Patson Chipiro, head of the Zimbabwean opposition party in Mhondoro district. His wife, Dadirai, told them he was in Harare but would be back later in the day, and the men departed.  An hour later they were back. They grabbed Mrs Chipiro and chopped off one of her hands and both her feet. Then they threw her into her hut, locked the door and threw a petrol bomb through the window."

Robert Mugabe's militia burn opponent’s wife alive

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3. Hereux anniversaire aux Schtroumpfs (50eme) noted the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Smurfs. Apparently now “…Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation are bringing a live-action/animated "Smurfs" project to the bigscreen…”

Col, SPA send 'Smurfs' to bigscreen

Can It Be?

Can it be that Robert Mugabe will step down in Zimbabwe, having lost the election? Or will the ruling ZANU-PF rig outright yet another election result? It is possible that Mugabe will concede that Morgan Tsvangirai is ahead in the votes but claim that he is below the 50% threshold forcing a runoff… that then can be fixed (with Mugabe claiming that the voters who cast their ballots for Simba Makoni broke to him)? One can only hope that this tyrant will see the writing on the wall and go into a “facilitated” exile…

Independent Results Center