"Your comparison of some of the U.S. cities to Africa is useless and a very old argument used some 30 years ago in trying to make people feel "warm and fuzzy" about visiting/hunting Africa when the brutalities were taking place.
Don't work anymore, plain and simple. Go to Zimbabwe if you wish, but please do not attempt to propagandize the situation for neither you nor I or others claiming to have first hand knowledge of the situation on the ground actually know anything about what is happening or going to happen. The conditions are subject to instant change and that can be for the good or not so good. To advise people that it is fine in Zimbabwe under the present political upheaval does not exhibit good judgement. Africa is a large place and if you must hunt there, your choices are many and varied. Again, knock yourself out, break a leg, etc., go hunt, but please no promotion of Zimbabwe at a time like we are all seeing take place."


The comparison still stands. That is why I return repeatedly to Africa while avoiding South Phily and parts of NYC, NJ and my own home town.

Comms (Gov't independent) today are leagues better than even a few short years ago, and so it is entirely possible to know what is happening at any one place at any given time.

As for tomorrow, well, no one knows, eh?

But that apllies to everywhere, even right here at home. For example, we have predictions here of mass rioting, like in the 60's (think Los Angeles, think of the sensless beatings and killing, after the Rodney King verdict but multiplied), if Obama isn't nominated, and also if he is, but looses the general election. Would it be worse than it can be in Africa? Maybe very locally, like at this block at that time, but certainly not widespread, still points out the common uncertainty.

One thing Zim has that is unique, and that is reasonably affordable elephant hunting. Especially multiple elephant hunting. If it weren't for elephants, I would postpone my trip. No kudu or sable is worth the mere chance, but an elephant is, or two, or three.

And again, where there are no people, there is no mischief and no reason for anyone to come to make mischeif.

JPK

The only scary thing about Zim is all the rumour mongering going on. Politically unstable yes but no sign of violence unless you are an opposition party leader. Yes things are tough on the ground for the people both black and white who have endured Mugabe's "enlightened regime". I would try to stay out of the cities and in the bush but that is even true for South Africa and most other African countries in my book. Common sense,although not too common, is still very much needed. For Zim it is what it is. Maybe after things change politically it will get better but I have my doubts. I believe we will have to go through a couple more "self interest" groups before it gets better. However most of the people on the ground are still good people. Desperation however can make even the best resort to things they wouldnt dream of at times. I have not seen any of the mob mentality that the state department and others constantly warns us of though. I wish I knew the true motivation behind a lot of this supposed information was. I am sure it would become self evident at that point.

quote:

Originally posted by JPK:
One thing Zim has that is unique, and that is reasonably affordable elephant hunting. Especially multiple elephant hunting.
JPK

Exactly right.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiteman:

Again, knock yourself out, break a leg, etc., go hunt, but please no promotion of Zimbabwe at a time like we are all seeing take place.

Perhaps I misunderstand your location, but if you are as I assume getting your information from the same pillar of truth that I am, The New York Times, how can you stand behind that kind of remark?

In the whopping ten days that I spent in Zimbabwe last year I came to the very learned conclusion that Zimbabwe needs an economy, nothing else. It would seem that currently the Safari industry is the only viable business they have left. I am very comfortable with my economic contribution of FY 07, and am looking forward to fulfilling my FY 09 contribution to the Zimbabwean economy as well.

It's getting tense over there this morning. Go to Google and enter "Zimbabwe News". Click on "Results for Zimbabwe News." There you will find dozens of news stories, some posted within the last hour, detailing what's going on.

It seems violence has broken out in some areas, mostly aimed at MDC supporters and villages. Also, a few articles claim that the country is presently being run by a military junta, taking orders from Mugabe.

Go read it all for yourself. That way you can make your own informed decisions on whether or not to go there.

I received the following e-mail from Michelle Hein the wife of Zim PH Brent Hein this morning. Judge conditions there for your self.

"Morning Walt



Yes – all is quiet and we are safe. There is the odd farm invasion going on and MDC/Opposition activists are being given a bit of a beating (in the high density areas only). Weirdly though – business and everyday life is going on ahead with no sign of election results being posted!!!



Brent comes home today after a short stint on the ranch. He should be home for about a week which is nice for us. The kids have just started school holidays so the three of them will be home together and muggins here still has to come to work every day!!



Thanks so much for your concern – pretty certain we will continue in much the same way for the next term but can’t help being hopeful and that there will be a change !



Regards



Michelle"

Dear friend us you know im planning to visit you ,im very sad with the notice ,how much has to suffer the Rhodesians ,why USA doesnt intervene there to figth communism ,I OFFER YOU ALL MY HOSPITALITY YOU CAN LIVE AT MY FARM IF YOU WANT ,HERE WE NEED SHOOTING INSTRUCTORS LIKE YOU .Juan

All is very quiet arround Nyamandlouvu where a friend still has a game ranch. Almost Oddly quiet- except when you consider that everybody in ther heart of Hearts expected bob to quietly go when he lost.

Since he now has defacto SADAC backing I think things will go rapidly towartds the "legitimisation" of bobs government again- he will win the recounts and have his majority back in Parliment etc. Unless the oposition have a plan to face the Army down (or call thei bluff), by next month we will be back to normal, wxcet that they will have to take 90's off the currency to make it workable!

Hi Ganyana!
Good to hear that you are safe
Talk to you soon.

Interesting. Sounds like that's the way it will go. Pity but not shocking. Thanks Ganyana.

Hello Scott King,
Not sure how you concluded statement about NY Times??, but answer is no, not from there, but from most of the world wide news services, and short wave radio broadcasts from all over the planet. In short, not a good time to be in Zimbabwe and find it hard to come up with any reason to be there, including hunting. But, as I say, if you want to go, have at it, but surely no one can claim it is the best place to be at this particular time.

Uh-oh! Zimbabwe's high court has refused MDC request to requre government to release election results. So they are now calling for a general strike across the country.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0OAGzpAEHUaofL8b8EONpm_YC3g

If 80% of the poulation who would work if work were available is unemployed, as reported, then:

1.) How much difference will it make?
2.) Will the 20% with (scarce) jobs risk their jobs?

I guess we'll see, eh?

JPK

quote:

From Yahoo: Previous stay-aways called by the opposition and its allies in the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions have flopped with few of the people still in work wanting to risk a day's pay.

What would be of concern to hunters is anything impacting the airports.

quote:

What would be of concern to hunters is anything impacting the airports.

I agree. Also anything impacting trophy shipments.

Bill C

Even during our worst "civil" unrest in the late 1990's when the civil service went on strike and there were road blocks of burning tires in many of the high density suberbs, the airports were quiet and just ran a bit slower than usual.

Same went for the troubles at the hight of the farm invasions- the odd illegal road block maned by a few few thugs in isolated locations.

If you are flying into Harare/Bullawayo/Vic Falls you are a long way from any potential trouble.

Also, the days when the oposition could call for a meaningful strike in Harare are long past, so it will simply be a case of ocasional incidents. Similarly, in the rural areas, where there is no need for "voter re-education" all will be as peacful as usual.

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Following disscusions with several of my ex collegues in Government I have taken the precaution of moving my family out today. All is quiet in most of the country but there are very nasty undertones and fresh attacks on the few remianing farmers in the Masvingo area.

Being Africa, the talk my come to nothing- just posturing arround negotiations. However, by the time the first white is attacked in the streets or buisness looted, it is too late.

For the next three weeks...charter directly from the airport to the hunting concession. Even in the worst case scenario, the hunting areas will be quite. It will be people in the main cities or traveling on the open roads through turbulent areas that are the possible victims. Since thee are no airstrips near where I have my first lion hunt scheduled for the end of the month, I have provisionally delayed it until june

I'll keep folks up dated, of what the mood in the capital is like and any genuine reports in the countryside.

Ganyana,

Have you and/or your family returned? Be safe.

I'm not sure if Mugabe is still running the country. No qestion if he would leave office it would be with an imunity deal. However, others like the top generals and government officials that have amased huge fortunes would be subject to losing these ill gotten gains and even arrested and prosecuted for their crimes if the MDC comes to power. The generals especially, who took part in the massacre of their own people could end up on the end of a rope. It would be my guess the top generals now are the real government, and running the country.

Word from West Nicholson this morning was "all is well, looking forward to hunting with you" etc, etc.
I'm still hoping for a peaceful ending to the turmoil and wish all of Zim the best.
LDK

More rumors?
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2306896,00.html
It is a fact that Mr. Mug is shacking with the Chinese. Makes me worry . . .

quote:

It includes 3 million rounds of ammunition for AK47 rifles...

God help the people...and the elephants!

Ganyana - Thanks for the feedback, good to know the history. A few weeks after I left Cameroon, there was a workers strike and upheaval in the cities (common theme, President wants to maintain power by changing the constitution, prices rising, people rioted and burned things, gov't cracked down, all is quiet now). The airports stayed open and Air France continued daily flights. I'd return to Cameroon in a heartbeat.

PS: Zim "Independence" is this weekend, don't be surprised if there is some sort of "announcement" mixed in with the governments festivities.

quote:

Originally posted by Sue:
Makes me worry . . .

What is there to worry about, you have already cancelled your trip?

I worry not for myself. Any trouble in the world always finds its way to the door of the innocent.

Well, the arms shipment (reported to include 3 million rounds of ammunition, 3500 mortars and 1500 RPG's) appears that it will clear from SA. The latest report is that uniformed Chinese military have been seen in Zim and are staying at the Holiday Inn with about 70 senior Zim military officers. http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=3944&cat=2

There is also an unconfirmed report that Korean troops are entering Zim at a place known as the "Forbes border post"?

My understanding is that the Zim military is comprised of roughly 30,000 men. If the reports on the arms shipments are accurate, that is an awful lot of ammo and especially a large number of mortars for an army of that size. It would, however, not be too much if it were intended to supply foreign troops as well.

Again, these are just reports and as far as I know they have not been confirmed.

I'm not one for policing the world, but sometimes I think it's a job that needs doing, especially when a group can not police themselves. That whole Serbia/Kosovo thing never required the approval of the UN Security Council. For that matter, I don't believe the current Iraq situation ever receive Security Council approval either.

The only easy answer would be for Africans to take care of Africa. So far that doesn't appear effective.

This Chinese angle is interesting to watch. There aren't enough people in Zim with money to represent any real market for their goods.

The only upside I see is for the Chinese is the (currently under utilized) agricultural capacity of the land. That or there is some mineral available there that no one else knows about.

Any other thoughts?

This past fall I read that Mr. Mug needed to infuse money into Zim as the inflation rate skyrocketed. The Chinese offered him funding in return for interests in mineral rights, land and such. Maybe they have arrived to protect their interests.

quote:

Originally posted by Sue:
This past fall I read that Mr. Mug needed to infuse money into Zim as the inflation rate skyrocketed. The Chinese offered him funding in return for interests in mineral rights, land and such. Maybe they have arrived to protect their interests.

I have been told that there are many Chinese opperated mines in Zim. I've seen one personally in the Kwe Kwe area.

JPK

Chris,

The Chinese and Bob go way back to the Ian Smith days in Rhodesia.

With that said, the Chinese have a significant interest in Zimbabwe's ore and mineral resources. Zim is said to have the world's largest reserves of Chromium, and one of if not the largest reserves of platinum. They also currently produce a large amount of lithium, and this untapped resource may yield yet another world record reserve.

Chromuimm, platinum and lithium are all used in the production of nuclear weapons. And those elements are precursors for for other elments like tritium, plutonium and uranium.

One should be particularly interested in the chromium/lithium connection. An isotope of lithium is tritium,a particularly nasty radioactive element used in the production of neutron bombs. Since it decays fairly rapidly (about 12 years), an ongoing source is necessary for any neutron bomb program.

Chromium is also preferred in neutron bomb production, since its composition allows the free flow of neutrons.

Platinum, of course, is used in trigger devices as well as other processes.

Just about all Chinese companies are connected to the military in some manner. Whether they have the capacity to produce advanced nuclear weapons like the neutron bomb is anyone's guess, but don't forget that Bill Clinton allowed Cray to sell the Chinese government 6 Cray supercomputers back in the 1990's. The concern over the sale at the time was that, while the Chinese swore they needed them for agricultural research, they all had the dual use for advanced nuclear research and lethality equations (telling how a bomb will work without actually detonating one). The information that is alleged to have been supplied to the Chinese by Wen Ho Li would have allowed them to program those computers with the proper equations and calculations.

But, I am certain that the computers are only being used for farming, the platinum is used solely in jewelery manufacture to adron all that illegal ivory shipped to China each year, the lithium used as medicine for mentally ill citizens and the tritium is only used for making the dials of their fake Rolex watches glow in the dark.

That's good info Jim... I did not know those facts, but assumed there was some clandestine motive behind their efforts.

Union refuses to unload Zim arms

April 17 2008 at 07:02PM

Opposition to a shipment of arms being offloaded in Durban and transported to Zimbabwe increased on Thursday when South Africa's largest transport workers union announced that its members would not unload the ship.

SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) general secretary Randall Howard said: "Satawu does not agree with the position of the South African government not to intervene with this shipment of weapons.

"Our members employed at Durban Container Terminal will not unload this cargo neither will any of our members in the truck driving sector move this cargo by road."

He said the ship, the An Yue Jiang, should not dock in Durban and should return to China.

"South Africa cannot be seen to be facilitating the flow of weapons into Zimbabwe at a time where there is a political dispute and a volatile situation between the Zanu-PF and the MDC."

"The view of our members is that nobody should ask us to unload these weapons," he said.

Satawu said it planned to engage support from the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).

Defence secretary January Masilela on Thursday that the scrutiny committee of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee's (NCACC) scrutiny committee, which he chairs, had approved the conveyance permit on Monday already.

He said a inspection team from the NCACC would still have to ensure the cargo met the requirements of the permit before the cargo could begin to be transported to Zimbabwe.

The permit would be endorsed by the NCACC when it meets next month.

Asked about the controversy surrounding the shipment Masilela said: "This is a normal transaction between two sovereign states. We are doing our legal part and we don't have to interfere."

In Cape Town, government communications head Themba Maseko said the country could not stop the shipment from getting to its destination as it had to be seen to be "treading very carefully" in its relations with Zimbabwe, given the complexity of facilitating talks between the Movement for Democratic Change and Zanu-PF.

Chris de Vos, the secretary general for the United Transport and Allied Trade Union, said the union was "not happy" about the arms shipment being transported through South Africa.

"We are going to request an urgent meeting with the management. We are aware that members are very uncomfortable with the situation," he said.

He said that while no decision had been taken by the union on offloading the weapons and arms, the union leadership was not in favour of the weapons being transported.

Democratic Alliance defence spokesman Rafeek Shah said the government's approval to allow the arms to be shipped was "the surest sign yet that government has completely lost the plot on the Zimbabwe issue".

Shah said: "The world's astonishment at President (Thabo) Mbeki's political defence of Robert Mugabe will likely turn into outright anger as we are now not only denying the existence of a crisis in Zimbabwe, but also actively facilitating the arming of an increasingly despotic and desperate regime."

Kallie Kriel, AfriForum chief executive, said the organisation intended organising "an extensive campaign of peaceful demonstrations in an effort to prevent a consignment of Chinese arms from being transported from Durban across South African territory to Zimbabwe".

The SA Institute of Race Relations said on Thursday: "It would be unconscionable for South Africa to allow an arms consignment through its borders en route to Zimbabwe."

Spokesman Frans Cronje said that if the shipment went ahead, "South Africa's culpability in the Zimbabwe crisis would then be without question".

Noseweek editor Martin Welz told Sapa on Wednesday that "the cargo ship was openly delivering a containment of arms for Zimbabwe".

He said he had copies of all the documents, including the bill of lading and a packing list.

The controversial cargo packed into 3080 cases included three million rounds of 7.62mm bullets (used with the AK47 assault rifle), 69 rocket propelled grenades, as well as mortar bombs and tubes.

The cargo is, according to the documentation, valued at R9.88 million.

Welz said: "It's very detailed and even has the phone numbers."

Increased media interest around the shipment prompted both the SA Police Service and the SA Revenue Service to send their top public relations officers to Durban to deal with media enquiries.

Adriao said he would only comment on the ship once it had docked in port while Lackay said that the work of the SARS "is guided by the SARS Act and the confidentiality provisions in the Act".

Lackay said: "SARS Customs does not release cargo until the Customs declaration has been processed and the requirements of the any other legislation have been adhered to. On the basis of the documents submitted by the shipping line -- the company operating the vessel -- SARS Customs decides whether there is a potential risk, whether cargo must be inspected and whether or not goods will be detained.

"These are standard Customs procedures that apply daily to any cargo vessel entering a South African port of entry. At this time the vessel.

"An Yue Jiang is at outer anchorage or off-port limits and therefore the cargo is not deemed to have been imported into South Africa yet," he said. - Sapa

[QUOTE]An isotope of lithium is tritium,a particularly nasty radioactive element used in the production of neutron bombs. Since it decays fairly rapidly (about 12 years), an ongoing source is necessary for any neutron bomb program. /QUOTE]

Tritium is not an isotope of lithium. Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen. Tritium is "manufactured" by bombarding Li-6 with neutrons. Tritium is then used as a fuel in Hydrogen bomb.

quote:

Tritium is not an isotope of lithium. Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen. Tritium is "manufactured" by bombarding Li-6 with neutrons. Tritium is then used as a fuel in Hydrogen bomb.

OK....My bad. The point I was trying to make is that Lithium (Li on the periodic table) is what is needed to produce tritium. So, a country with large deposits of lithium would be on the shopping list of those up to no good.

Why even send it through South African ports? Why not just use Chinese cargo planes to fly it straight into Zim?

I say good for the Union workers to make a stand and not unload the cargo. Even if Mbeki doesn't do the right thing, the blue collar workers of RSA know it's the wrong thing to do. I'm not a big fan of Mbeki in general and especially the way he protects Mugabe. I think that will cost him somewhere down the road.

quote:

Originally posted by Sue:
This past fall I read that Mr. Mug needed to infuse money into Zim as the inflation rate skyrocketed. The Chinese offered him funding in return for interests in mineral rights, land and such. Maybe they have arrived to protect their interests.

Certainly plausible, and I agree with many of the sentiments in your and Yukon Delta's posts.

I lived in Zimbabwe from 1999 to 2002, and had the good fortune to be befriended by Ganyana and others who occasionally post on this forum. I observed the intimidation and interviewed some of the surviving victims of the ZANU-PF directed violence that occurred during the parliamentary elections in 2000 and the presidential elections in 2002. As others have said, it's not that all of the country is engulfed in violence at any one time - it tends to be scattered. You may well be able to go there and see and experience no problems, as I did recently. However, that doesn't mean there aren't problems, and where there are problems, the problems are very real.

You may not need to cancel your hunt, and if you don't, I'm happy for you - Zimbabwe is a truly wonderful place, with a lot of great sites and PHs. But, all the same, listen to the guys on the ground - they'll know what's happening in their areas. And just because you don't hear of any problems in your area, please don't be lulled into believing Bob is not so bad - he's severely damaged that beautiful country, and my more recent experiences aside, just do a little research into what happened in Matebeleland in the early 1980s.

The chinese dont give a damn about selling anything to Zimbabwe be it goods or arms. What they do care about is geting their hands on all the raw resources Zim can provide. These resources are needed to fuel the continued growth of the chinese economy. The time frame on aquisitions is speeding up as China's economy grows and increasing monetary pressures are going to force what should be a 20 percent reductin in the value of th RMB. In truth we will be lucky if we see 10 percent but a reduction is coming. So the chinese have to feed the growth somewhere. I have friends both in China and Zim so dont feel I am biased on either count. To my favourite Zim Rats and you know who you are, May god bless and keep you and yours safe. I know you will persevere as you always do. Keep your heads up and your powder dry.Will see you all soon. If the shit really hits the fan you all have an open invitation to come for a long visit. Hope to see you there before anything else deteriorates. I for one think Im not ready to give up on zim yet. Nor anyntime soon unless somethting really bad happens But I think the odds are better that things will start circleing the drain fast. Rhodesians black an white are not only some of the toughest people I know there but are also the most resiliant Thsese men an women will roll with the punches and deal with whatever hand they get dealt.

Right on about our friends in Zim - tough, resilient, and honorable. They've got a lot of places to stay over here.

I keep trying to get them to come to Alaska but they really don't like the cold. They're tough until the mercury starts to fall!

quote:

I'm not a big fan of Mbeki in general and especially the way he protects Mugabe. I think that will cost him somewhere down the road.

YD, it already did cost him he lost the top Chair in the ANC against Jacob Zuma, it seems to me that since he lost the seat he doenst give a rat's arse what is happening since he knows that by the next election he's out. You know like not doing anything at the job since you resigned and leaving anyway.

One day there is no crisis in Zim and Last night suddenly there is a crisis in Zim. One day Aids doesnt exiast and the next yes it does. The list goes on, more severe intl. pressure is needed.

Frederik, I remember that comment a few years back, took me by surprise I must say! I can't remember his exact statement, but was something along the lines that HIV did not cause aids,...it was suspected to be poverty related or something along those lines! I am sure that must have left many scientists, especially virologists bemused, and am sure that he was told to change his statement before long!