Zimbabwes government slapped a six-month freeze on wages, rents and service fees on Friday, the latest step in what some analysts call an increasingly desperate campaign to sustain an economy gutted by hyperinflation. Even as President Robert G. Mugabe declared the freeze, however, Zimbabwean newspapers suggested that the governments two-month-old drive against inflation had backfired by drying up tax revenues needed to run the government.
*I* would suggest that the real tragedy was experienced by the citizens of Zimbob, but then I don't write for the New York Times.
The new freeze, announced in Fridays editions of government-controlled newspapers, is intended to combat an annual inflation rate that the government says exceeds 7,600 percent, and private economists say is twice that. It bars businesses from indexing wages or fees to inflation, a method employed in many wage agreements. All increases must now be approved by a government commission, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.
The freeze follows a fatwa decree issued in late June that forced merchants and wholesalers to reduce all prices by at least 50 percent. Shoppers stripped store shelves of clothes, meat and other basic goods after that decree, and producers have largely failed to ship new stock because goods now sell for less than it costs to make them.
Most commodities are now available only on the black market, where prices have continued to skyrocket. Moreover, as the last remaining stocks of goods trickle out of factory warehouses and onto the market, Zimbabwe could soon see the start of an inflationary spiral that would make todays prices seem cheap, John Robertson, a Harare economist, said in an interview. It could go much higher 10 times as much for some things in the next couple of weeks, as goods cease to exist, he said. Mr. Robertson said idle producers had been forced to lay off workers to cut costs, cutting the governments payroll tax receipts, and that sales-tax revenues were plummeting because stores had little to buy.
'... stores had little to sell.' Did an editor look at this piece?
Harares Financial Gazette newspaper, which is controlled by the president of the governments reserve bank, Gideon Gono, reported in this weeks edition that value-added tax receipts had dropped by up to 90 percent since the price-cutting campaign began.
The Zimbabwe Independent, one of the few newspapers not under government ownership, reported that the price cuts had cost the government 13 trillion Zimbabwe dollars in lost tax revenue. At current black market rates, that totals about $55 million a vast sum for a government that is already technically bankrupt.
The government continues to function by printing money to pay its bills, but as the currency has dwindled in value, state workers have increasingly demanded regular raises. Zimbabwes 100,000 teachers, all government employees, have been threatening to strike if their pay is not increased. The military, which is among Mr. Mugabes most reliable supporters, is also asking for wage increases for soldiers. A report issued this week by the Parliaments defense and home affairs committee warned that the military was running out of money to pay foreign suppliers and maintain its infrastructure.
#1
African Revolutionary Communist excellence! If you're determined to drive your country into the ground like a tent stake, why go light when you can use a sledge hammer?
How long before even the Army revolts? I've got 1 month in the Bob Pool
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/01/2007 12:04 Comments ||
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#2
..."Women, Minorities, Farmin B. Hard hardest hit"
Point One: All workers, wage earners, and employees of any kind whatsoever shall henceforth be attached to their jobs and shall not leave nor be dismissed nor change employment, under penalty of a term in jail
Point Two: All industrial, commercial, manufacturing, and business establishments of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth remain in operation, and the owners of such establishments shall not quit, nor leave, nor retire, nor close, sell or transfer their business, under penalty of the nationalization of their establishment and of any or all their property.
Point Three: All patents and copyrights, pertaining to any devices, inventions, formulas, processes, and works of any nature whatsoever, shall be turned over to the nation the Unification Board shall then license the use of such patents and copyrights to all applicants, equally and without discrimination, for the purpose of elimination monopolistic practices, discarding obsolete products and making the best available to the whole nation
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
09/01/2007 13:28 Comments ||
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#4
At least Zimbob is doing something about globall warming by freezing the economy....
With shelves in the shops empty due to a serious shortage of basic commodities and crippling power and water cuts gripping the country, Robert Mugabe is about to face another bit of bad news. One of his closest allies China, has announced they are dropping all assistance except humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. The Chinese government has enjoyed lucrative construction projects and business deals in Zimbabwe for years now as Mugabe pursued his so-called "Look East" policy. China ignored human rights abuses in return and flooded Zimbabwe with cheaply made products that came to be known as "zhing-zhongs". But according to Friday's UK Daily Telegraph, the government of China has changed direction.
Stench got a little thick even for them, did it?
The Telegraph reported that Lord Malloch Brown, the British Foreign Office minister, was told by Chinese officials on Thursday that their government was dropping all assistance to Zimbabwe except humanitarian aid. This is a significant shift in policy because China has been protecting rogue states such as Zimbabwe and Sudan at the United Nations Security Council, using its position as a permanent member. Lord Malloch Brown is the Minister for Asia, Africa and the United Nations. He was in China for talks to try to bring peace to Darfur, which provides large amounts of oil to China.
The sudden shift is believed to be the result of pressure on China from the international community because of the Olympic games due there next year. Lord Malloch Brown is quoted as saying he hoped China would join the rest of the international community in refusing to "offer a lifeline" to Mugabe's failed regime.
Sidney Masamvu, a researcher on Southern Africa at the International Crisis Group, said China has simply weighed its diplomatic imperatives and decided Zimbabwe can easily be sacrificed. He said the Chinese are no longer benefiting that much economically from Zimbabwe and there was more for them to gain from siding with their partners on the UN Security Council. China has also changed its stance on the conflict in the Darfur region. They reportedly helped to pressure the Sudanese government to allow peacekeeping troops in the region.
Masamvu said this development shows there are many "back channel" diplomatic initiatives taking place, with the international community putting pressure on rogue states from many fronts. He explained that China needs the help of other Security Council members, all of whom provide humanitarian aid only to Zimbabwe.
It is largely believed that China provided the equipment being used by the Mugabe regime to jam our radio broadcasts into Zimbabwe. The Chinese have also supplied military equipment to Zimbabwe and the regime still considers China an ally. It will be interesting to see how Mugabe, a master of propaganda, responds to this sudden u-turn by his friends in the East.
#1
He said the Chinese are no longer benefiting that much economically from Zimbabwe and there was more for them to gain from siding with their partners on the UN Security Council.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/01/2007 8:07 Comments ||
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#3
Cheer up Bob, there's always North Korea. They have the most fabulous grass soup recipes.
Posted by: ed ||
09/01/2007 8:14 Comments ||
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#4
I won't be happy until Grace and Bob are stabbed to death and eaten by an unruly starving mob armed with sporks...must be slow and painful
but, hey! Call me an optimist
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/01/2007 8:52 Comments ||
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#5
MR: 商業決策
I am betting that Mugabe was behind on his bills. The Chinese lent a lot of money to him. But loans only make business sense when they are paid back. I suspect the Chinese don't think he is long for the world, either politically or age-wise. The next government may simply repudiate the Chinese loans.
Congress and the State Dept. really bungled this. Colombia has been, on balance, a fairly good ally of the US lately, with a right-leaning gov't and an improving economy. But the anti-globalists in Congress and the drug warriors in the administration chose to withhold vital US assistance and policy changes. Now Hugo is taking the initiative to step into the void, and now he can try for a cut of Colombia's narcodollars.
DaimlerChrysler and BMW are threatening legal action over Chinese-made vehicles that they claim are copies of their own models. DaimlerChrysler said it would consider unspecified legal action if Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan Automobile showed the Noble, which it says closely resembles its Smart Fortwo minicar, at next month's Frankfurt motor show, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
'We take intellectual property protection very seriously,' the newspaper quoted a spokesman as saying. 'We decided to reserve the right to pursue legal action.'
BMW said it was considering legal action against the importer of another Shuanghuan vehicle 'the CEO', which it claims closely resembles a previous version of its X5 sports utility vehicle which was discontinued in 2006, the newspaper said.
DaimlerChrysler, which following its sale of Chrysler is due to change its name to Daimler AG, has not elaborated on its legal plans, but the company is understood to have contacted Shuanghuan about the issue. The German company last year succeeded in stopping another Chinese producer from bringing to market another vehicle that closely resembled the Smart.
#5
Wait no more tu - tada. Do not do this at home boys and girls. This should only be attempted by professional crash test dummies [or one billion Chinese].
#6
DaimlerChrysler and BMW are threatening legal action over Chinese-made vehicles that they claim are copies of their own models.
Wow! I'll bet nobody saw this coming. Daimler and BMW are two of Germany's largest industries. I wonder if they'll have the courage to initiate a boycott of all Chinese goods? There needs to be a growing movement towards economic boycott of China for its predatory commercial conduct.
Just a few short months of a total lockout would implode China's economy so badly that they wouldn't be building any carsmuch less copying those of othersfor a very long time. It is far better that we tank the communist Chinese regime nowwhile their military is still so outdatedthan wait until they can retaliate in any effective way.
#8
saves on those bothersome "do not resuscitate" forms
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/01/2007 14:21 Comments ||
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#9
The article doesn't come out and say it, but this seems like classic reverse-engineering rather than a more prosaic licensing contract dispute. IOW, brazen intellectual property theft rather than subtle IP theft.
All that's bad enough (and good enough reason for a trade war), but then add in minimal or no regulation, shoddy contracting and fraudulent cost cutting (what's in the paint, carpet, chassis, doors, beams, etc.) and we'll be reading about "product flaws" from China for years to come.
Good luck to them either finding a products liability legal tort system, or consumer product regulations in depth.
At least the Japanese started with cheap quality and worked their way up - same for the Koreans. Hope the Indians are paying attention.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia, one of the most authoritative voices in Congress on the military and a key figure in the debate over Iraq, said Friday he will not seek a sixth term in 2008. Warner, 80, has held the seat since 1979, when the dashing former Navy secretary campaigned alongside his wife at the time, Elizabeth Taylor.
"Public service is a privilege and I urge all to try to find time some time in their lifetime to serve the needs of others," Warner said at a news conference. "I have tried to be not only true to myself, but true to the people of this great commonwealth I've served for 29 years now."
Warner, who chaired the Armed Services Committee when the GOP controlled the Senate, thanked those who had helped give him "a magnificent and very rewarding career" in the Senate. Warner, a courtly senator with chiseled features and a full shock of gray hair, chose a sentimental setting for his announcement: the steps of the University of Virginia's signature structure, the Rotunda, designed by school founder Thomas Jefferson.
The most likely Democratic contender is former Gov. Mark R. Warner, a wealthy Alexandria businessman who left office in early 2006 with unprecedented job-approval ratings. Mark Warner, who is not related to the senator, unsuccessfully challenged him in the 1996 Senate race. The nomination battle among Republicans probably will include former Gov. Jim Gilmore and U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis.
#1
Republican Sen. John Windbag Warner's stepping down should provide greenhouse gas reductions...
I regret the potential loss of a R vote in the senate, but this POS was getting tiresome with his "elder statesman" pose, most recently with a 5,000 troop reduction proposal for Iraq, to "show something..."
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/01/2007 8:55 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Tony Snow, the highly visible White House press secretary, will leave his job on Sept. 14 and be replaced by his deputy, Dana Perino, an administration official said Friday. President Bush was to announce the changes during an appearance in the White House briefing room.
Snow, ailing with cancer, had said recently he would leave before the end of Bush's presidency. The father of three children, Snow said he needs to make more than his White House salary of $168,000. He could earn far more money on the speechmaking circuit.
The 52-year-old Snow was a conservative pundit and syndicated talk- show host on Fox News Radio before he was named press secretary on April 26, 2006. Snow earned his stripes within the White House for his striking popularity around the country, relentlessly good-natured and bright tone, and smooth, snappy repartee with the media during briefings.
In 2005, Snow had his colon removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer. This March, he underwent surgery to remove a growth in his abdominal area, near the site of the original colon cancer. Doctors determined it was a recurrence of his cancer. He was out of work for five weeks, then returned and underwent chemotherapy, treatments that only recently concluded and have left him thinner, grayer and with less hair.
#1
Saw him in a recent press press conference. He looked awful and his voice was very weak. I really feel bad for the man, and wish him a speedy and complete recovery.
A Republican US senator arrested in a police sex sting in an airport men's bathroom will resign from the Senate amid a furor over his arrest and guilty plea, Republican officials said Friday. Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig will hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. MDT Saturday and say that he will resign effective Sept. 30, three state Republican officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Word of the resignation came five days after the disclosure that Craig had pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge arising out of his June 11 arrest during a lewd-conduct investigation at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The three-term Republican senator had maintained that he did nothing wrong except for making the guilty plea without consulting a lawyer. But he found almost no support among Republicans in his home state or Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/01/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
From what I heard, prior suspects divulged contact codes among gays seeking casual sex at that airport. I condone stings of this nature, especially where children use the same facilities.
#5
While I don't have love for either party, at least the Trunks still have a modicum of shame which, of course, the MSM and Donks hypocritically exploit.
#7
In other news former Senator Larry Craig announced he will begin his new career as the Ty-D-Bol Man.(wearing a Captain's hat, blazer and turtleneck) on a raft with two calypso guy musicians and two bushels of lemons [singing] "We put the lemon in the Ty-D-Bol for you."
TARAPUR (Maharashtra) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday dedicated to the nation two state of the art nuclear reactors here and stressed that India could not afford to miss the nuclear bus.
There is today talk the world over of a nuclear renaissance and we cannot afford to miss the bus or lag behind these global developments, Dr Singh said after inaugurating the two 540 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) reactors in Thane district, about 100 km from Mumbai.
Dr Singhs comments came a day after the government and its communist allies agreed to form a panel to study the controversial deal to address objections of the Left parties, who have threatened to end support to the coalition over it.
Energy security was critical to sustaining the long-term economic growth of India, Asias third largest economy, and the country could not pick between different fuel sources, he said. Nuclear power is recognised as an important and environmentally benign constituent of the overall energy mix, Dr Singh said. India is now too important a country to remain outside the international mainstream in this critical area. We need to pave the way for India to benefit from nuclear commerce without restrictions.
Speaking about a comprehensive nuclear energy plan, the prime minister said: "I have no doubt whatsoever that the sustainability of our long-term economic growth is critically dependent on our ability to meet our energy requirements in future.
"When a country of the size of India begins to grow at the rate of nine per cent per annum, with a prospect of higher rates of growth, energy becomes a critical issue."
He said it was crucial to pave the way for India to benefit from "nuclear commerce" without restrictions. "We need to enable our industries to gain access to cutting edge technology, and we need to create opportunities for our scientists to participate in international exchange of scientific ideas and technical know how," he stressed.
He said that the target of generating 20,000 MW by 2020 could be doubled with "international cooperation" and made clear that such cooperation would not be dependent on any one country. "We will source supplies from many of the countries of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) including the US, France and Russia. However, the international cooperation with these and other countries cannot become effective until the NSG adapts its guidelines to enable nuclear commerce with India," he pointed out. Once these steps are taken, he said, India could commence civil nuclear cooperation with all the 45 members of the NSG.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmed said on Friday that the opposition parties would block former prime minister Benazir Bhuttos way if she attempted to gain power through the backdoor.
Talking to reporters after Friday prayers at Masjid Mohabbat Khan, the JI Ameer, who is also the president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), demanded the government appoint the Senate chairman as acting president in accordance with the Constitution and establish an independent election commission to hold fair and free elections. Qazi said that President General Pervez Musharrafs policies had demoralised the army and he should either step down himself or be removed by the supreme court. The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) had the option to resign en bloc in protest against General Musharrafs re-election, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/01/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Qazi's MMA received 10% of the national vote in the last election; he's a gas-bag who needs to meet the real God.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said President Musharrafs re-election in uniform from current assemblies is inevitable for political stability in the country.
Talking to PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat at the PMs House, Aziz vowed to continue his support for the presidents re-election from the incumbent assemblies.
According to NNI, both leaders, along with other PML-Q members, discussed the political situation, talks between Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto and Sharif brothers. Shujaat Hussain said the ruling party has no reservation on talks with political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He told the meeting that no decisions would be taken on Bhuttos dictation. He said the proposal to amend the Constitution to allow a third prime ministerial term had been rejected. The meeting also considered contacts with Maulana Fazl.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/01/2007 00:00 ||
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Following a deadlock in the Musharraf-Benazir talks and Nawaz Sharifs decision to land in Islamabad on September 10, the government made a last-ditch effort on Friday by activating two different diplomatic channels to clinch a deal with Benazir and stop Nawaz from returning to Pakistan.
Sources told Daily Times that contacts were established with the British and Saudi governments after the president consulted and briefed the PML leaders on the proposals being discussed with Benazir, and Nawazs decision to return. Inside sources said that after Benazir declined to postpone the joint meeting of her partys central working committee and federal council beyond August 31, it was decided to involve a common friend through diplomatic channels to act as guarantor and broker a deal between the president and the PPP chairwoman.
The common friend is the British government and a meeting between a senior British official and Benazir took place before the latter chaired her party meeting. The CEC meeting is expected to continue late into the night. PPP Information Secretary Sherry Rehman confirmed to Daily Times from London that a meeting had indeed taken place between British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Benazir. It was a meeting, not a call on, Rehman insisted, adding that the forthcoming election(s) were discussed.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/01/2007 00:00 ||
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US First Lady Laura Bush has urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon to condemn Burma's crackdown on pro-democracy protestors. In a rare political intervention, she also called on the UN Security Council to act to prevent further violence.
Her direct intervention shows growing frustration in the White House with the UN's muted response to problem. President George W Bush has already called for the release of all political prisoners and urged the Burmese government to "stop its intimidation".
The White House issued a statement confirming that Laura Bush had telephoned the UN secretary general to express her deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Burma. In what can only be seen as a sharp rebuke to Mr Ban, Mrs Bush added that by staying quiet the United Nations, as well as other countries, condoned the abuses. She also called for the UN Security Council to take unspecified action.
Mrs Bush has taken a particular interest in Burma's political future, meeting dissidents and convening a discussion at a UN General Assembly on the country's future. She is calling on UN member states to support the Burmese people in their struggle for freedom.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/01/2007 00:40 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
DaimlerChrysler and BMW are threatening legal action over Chinese-made vehicles that they claim are copies of their own models. DaimlerChrysler said it would consider unspecified legal action if Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan Automobile showed the Noble, which it says closely resembles its Smart Fortwo minicar, at next month's Frankfurt motor show, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tony Snow, the highly visible White House press secretary, will leave his job on Sept. 14 and be replaced by his deputy, Dana Perino, an administration official said Friday. President Bush was to announce the changes during an appearance in the White House briefing room. 
A Republican US senator arrested in a police sex sting in an airport men's bathroom will resign from the Senate amid a furor over his arrest and guilty plea, Republican officials said Friday. Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig will hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. MDT Saturday and say that he will resign effective Sept. 30, three state Republican officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 
TARAPUR (Maharashtra) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday dedicated to the nation two state of the art nuclear reactors here and stressed that India could not afford to miss the nuclear bus.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmed said on Friday that the opposition parties would block former prime minister Benazir Bhuttos way if she attempted to gain power through the backdoor. 
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said President Musharrafs re-election in uniform from current assemblies is inevitable for political stability in the country.
Following a deadlock in the Musharraf-Benazir talks and Nawaz Sharifs decision to land in Islamabad on September 10, the government made a last-ditch effort on Friday by activating two different diplomatic channels to clinch a deal with Benazir and stop Nawaz from returning to Pakistan. 
