Africa News
Mugabe marks birthday with lavish celebration (2nd Roundup)
Feb 28, 2009, 16:24 GMT
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe eats some of his birthday cake to mark his 85th birthday at Chinhoyi Technical college, Harare ,28 February 2009. Mugabe his 85th birthday with a lavish party that included a 80kilogram birthday cake. EPA/AARON UFUMELI
Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe/Johannesburg - Supporters of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe gathered in the farming town of Chinhoyi on Saturday to mark their leader's 85th birthday at a lavish party, as more than half the country's population faces abject poverty.
Mugabe's birthday fell on February 21 but loyalists from his political party Zanu PF postponed the celebrations as they were raising money for the event.
'I think it is going to be a great day for the legend and icon whose birthday we are celebrating today here,' said Patrick Zhuwawo, one of the fundraisers and a nephew of Mugabe. 'The country might be having problems but we need to have a day to honour the sacrifices the president has made for this country.'
Said to have cost at least 250,000 US dollars, the jamboree's menu is reported to include champagne, cognac, lobster, caviar, and duck.
The celebrations come as Zimbabwe has asked other African countries for 2 billion US dollars to begin repairing the health, education, sanitation, water and other systems and to revitalize industry.
A regional summit has been called to decide on the request.
Located about 120 kilometres north-west of the capital Harare, Chinhoyi is also home to government hospital where only a hand-full of nurses attend to patients.
'There are no medicines,' said one nurse. 'These patients have no option but to come here but there is nothing we can do.'
Mugabe is blamed for driving the country into economic meltdown.
A cholera epidemic has claimed close to 4,000 people, and the United Nations says that more than five million people need urgent food aid.
Meanwhile, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman Nelson Chamisa denied media reports that former opposition leader, now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, will attend the bash.
'He is not attending the birthday party, I am not sure where the media is getting the information to the contrary,' said Chamisa. 'Mr Tsvangirai has other commitments as far as I know.'
Tsvangirai last year called Mugabe's birthday celebrations 'a gathering of the satisfied few.'
Western donors have been adopting a wait-and-see approach with regard to the two-week-old unity arrangement, which has been sorely tested by the state's refusal to release over 30 political prisoners, including several MDC members.
On Friday, the state agreed to release most of them - on the condition that they withdraw litigation against their captors for torture they suffered in custody, their lawyer said.
'It is a patently unlawful condition,' Beatrice Mtetwa said. 'It's the most shocking thing I've heard.'
The offer excluded Roy Bennett, Tsvangirai's popular agriculture deputy minister-designate who was arrested on the day the new government was inaugurated and charged with possessing weapons for the purpose of insurgency.
Addressing party faithful at the birthday celebrations, Mugabe said that his government's policy of redistributing land from white farmers would continue, saying there would be 'no going back.'
'They must vacate those farms. They must vacate those farms I said. They must vacate those farms,' a combative Mugabe told the crowd.
What is left of Zimbabwe's beleaguered white farming community is now reeling from a wave of new farm invasions by supporters of Mugabe, which began days before the swearing-in of Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister on February 11.
More than 150 white farmers are facing often violent, illegal eviction attempts despite the country being in desperate need of crops to feed around 7 million people that are critically short on food.
COMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Here's the current score:
Since 9/11:
Deaths in U.S. due to Iraq citizens: zero.
Deaths in U.S. due to North Korean citizens: zero.
Deaths in U.S. due to Islamic terrorists: 3,000.
Deaths in U.S. due to U.S. citizens: over 100,000 reported murders and countless killings not reported.
Deaths of U.S. babies due to U.S. citizens: over 4,800,000 (that is MILLION!).
By U.S. citizen's standards, Islamic terrorists appear down right friendly.
In this post he says : '4,800,000 (that is MILLION!).'
In other posts he says 1 million per year. That would make about 7.5 million.
I wonder how he is going to rationalise this one.
'Reality is undeniable and relentless.' Indeed it is. And one fine day it is going to slap lance right upside his foliage.
'... In other posts he says 1 million per year. That would make about 7.5 million. '
That is funny. A person arguing over whether U.S. citizens killed 4.8 million U.S. babies or 7.5 million U.S. babies.
For gods sakes, does it really make any difference once you get beyond a million or so?
If you check back at your notes you will find the reason for the difference you state. When I say '1 million' I use the word 'about' because it is closer to 800,000/year 'or so'.
But, really, why argue over it? It is absurdly high regardless and my point is very valid. You are just nitpicking to be argumentative.
'When I say '1 million' I use the word 'about' because it is closer to 800,000/year 'or so'.'
When you say something you say it. You say a million. You state fact.(even if you are wrong, factually) You never said 'about a million,' let alone 'or so.'
The other thing being: 'when I say... I use the word about.' Oh, boy, are you ever f*cked up in the head department. You create your own language and meanings and rules of grammar. I bet you are fluent in pig Latin as well.
I said: That would make about 7.5 million.
you said: That is funny.
That is some distorted sense of humour you have there, veggie.
you say:' For gods sakes, does it really make any difference once you get beyond a million or so?
I say: Big difference. 2.8 million differences. Why don't you go whole hog and say a trillion dead? Now that is an impressive number.
You say: 'But, really, why argue over it?'
I say: Who's arguing? You are obfuscating.
you say: 'my point is very valid.'
I say: Is it really, now.
you say:'You are just nitpicking'
I say: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. And the nit that I am picking is YOU.
You say:'to be argumentative.'
I say: Not so. No argument. No discussion. I merely point out the flaws in you and your 'thinking.' It is you who is ineffectually arguing. Go vegetate on that for a while.
Really lance, what do you have for a brain? Whatever it is, it has the consistency of a soggy Quiche Lorraine.
'Why don't you go whole hog and say a trillion dead?'
A reasonable question. The answer is obvious: At the present rate of baby killings in the U.S. (about 800,000 / year) it would take approximately 1,250,000 years to kill one trillion babies.
I don't think the U.S. will last that long, hence a trillion baby killings would be very unlikely.
If I were to guess, I would estimate the total baby killings by U.S. citizens to be about 25 to 50 million babies killed, far above either numbers you are quibbling about so either way the 4 or 8 million or so is a drop in the bucket.
The U.S. is a baby killing factory, no doubt about that.
hmmmm....lets see half the population are female, and lots of em have periods, voiding eggs that could produce life. oh oh....my oh my...look at all those unborn babies. but since 3 million Americans will die each year at some point of their age....the arguments are all statistic mumbo jumbo.
then again this is about Mugabe...and his crazed old age dementia birthday party...He has eaten all the meat off the bones of Zimbabwe...now its too the grissle and bone themselves.
You just don't get it do you? You have no idea at all about how thick and absurd you are. Go commune with your carrots. Leave the thinking to humans.
I like this Mugabe. Maybe I sell him Jesus bombs, abortions, and me. $20.00 for a ha*d job. Ok I'm easy!!!
lance is really corn-fused now
lance is 'corn-fused' BRILLIANT!!
Dear lance,
Now I am a bit confused. I saw your post about 'welfareism' and socialism and you recognise that there is a distinction. Not perhaps as great as you would imagine. Shall we just say that the presence of the one is a necessary but not sufficient condition to indicate that of the other.
And now I read this. How can it be explained?
Are you sometimes reasonably normal but, when you see a couple of terms juxtaposed in some article or other it triggers your personal monomania and you sort of flip over into la-la land? The presence of the words 'America' and 'Islamic' set within two lines or so of each other for example? Or 'US troops' and 'Iraq'?
What happens? Is there a sort of 'flash and bang' moment and the air becomes filled suddenly with the scent of Attar? The jaw slackens, the drool starts to run down your chin, the eyes glaze and the hands grope insanely for the keyboard?
'Hahahahahahaha! yyeeeeeeeeee! (glug)' -'Jesusbombs!!!.. ..typicalamericancitizen... ..babymurderers....
willfulignorance.. catholicpriestsrapinginnocent.. hahahahahaaha!'
Or are you just doing it for a laugh. That would be the simpler explanation and I usually subscribe to the Occam's razor rule.
Either way, you are a very funny man; and if you are 'disturbed' as I believe it is termed politely, then may Jesus have you in his keeping and give you his peace!
I shall ask the local Catholic Priest to pray for you!
If he can fit you in between altar boys, so to speak
'Jesusbombs!!!'
Proven technology deployed in the Middle East, but also used in Asia in the Vietnam war, but more like Jesus-infernos burning the flesh off of pagan Vietnamese.
' ..babymurderers....'
Yup, about 800,000 per year.
'catholicpriestsrapinginnocent'
Yup, even the catholic church admits to raping and molesting 10,000 children in the U.S. alone. World wide it is in the 100,000s, maybe even beyond a few million.
So, what's your point? I don't get it. Are you saying that there is something wrong with TALKING about these issues, or there is something wrong with DOING these issues.
I'm just TALKING about it, other people (U.S. citizens) DO it.
Intelligence and wit have, by chance, found and landed on M&C.
Rule Brittania!
Lance says: 'I don't get it.'
No, he sure doesn't, does he?
page: 1
lanceFeb 28th, 2009 - 17:51:04
Another day has come! The relentless facts are unfolding:
The boogie man from North Korea did nothing to the U.S. again. No Islamic terrorists did anything to the U.S.
However, U.S. citizens murdered about 50 other U.S. citizens today and U.S. citizens killed 2,500 U.S. babies. Countless U.S. citizens funded the Taliban today by buying their opium.
The evidence is mounting. The clock is ticking. Reality is undeniable and relentless. Ask yourself: Who is the U.S. number one enemy today? Who will it be tomorrow?
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