flocke's blog: January 2009

First Lady of Zimbabwe punches photographer

On a shopping trip to Hong Kong the first lady of Zimbabwe punches a photographer repeatedly in the face while her body guard holds him down.
Read article

Apparently the first lady likes to shop, but with sanctions agaist travel in Europe she has moved to the far east:

'Once, when asked why she spent thousands on expensive Ferragamo shoes while her people starved, she replied: “I have very narrow feet, so I wear only Ferragamo.” '

Zimbabwe - January 2009

Zimbabwe has just released $10 trillion note. The country has the worst inflation in history. It will soon release $20 trillion, $50 trillion and $100 trillion notes ($10 trillion worth $8US today).
John Robertson, an independent economist Zimbabwe, estimates rate of inflation is eight quintillion percent.
World health organization estimates 60,000 people could be infected with Cholera.
Robert Mugabe claims the disease is now under control.
Schools and hospitals are closed in Zimbabwe. Teachers and medical people have stopped going to work because their salaries are worthless. Soldiers are rioting because they too have no salary.
Human rights activists are being arrested and thrown in jail. Stories of torture while in detention are surfacing.
One in four children has lost one or both parents - one of the highest orphan rates in the world (the highest is not clear since various countries claim this status) - mostly due to AIDS. But the public health system is now collapsed and cholera is raging though the country.

When will it end ?