China and Russia veto Zimbabwe sanctions

Last week, me

The US and UK are expected to announce an ineffective sanction into the UN soon which will be blocked because some country gets widget grease out of Zimbabwe and can't have that vital resource interrupted.

This week, world.

British and US efforts to apply punitive pressure on Robert Mugabe were abruptly undermined last night when Russia and China vetoed a UN security council resolution seeking sanctions against Zimbabwe.

The resolution, calling for an arms embargo, and financial and travel restrictions on Mugabe and 13 other regime leaders, was backed by nine nations but foundered on the vetoes of the two permanent members. The arms embargo would have affected Russian and Chinese weapons exporters.

Yes, yes, I know. I am the brain lord elect, able to see into the future and tell you it's horrid secrets. Bow before my mighty and awesome powers.

Arms sales are more important than dictators stealing elections and brutalizing people. I was wrong that the veto would get blocked over something inconsequential, nope, China and Russia just came right out and said weapons dealing. Russia further compounded the misery by claiming that there was no threat regional security. Well, if a brutalized populace and 3 million plus refugees already aren't security problems I guess nothing is.

Though he is right that no inter-state wars will break out over this, mostly because the nearest countries are crooked, kickback partners of Mugabe. The only danger is civil war, or that would be if the militias weren't already brutalizing a dirt poor populace unable to fight back because their money is worthless and what they do have is stolen by Mugabe to feed and pay the militias and send his wife off to Ferragamo for the designer handbags.

China didn't want sanctions to override negotiations overseen by South Africa. The same South Africa that supports Mugabe wholeheartedly, saw no problem with the election, and has referred to the refugees as fugitives. The same South Africa who supports Mugabe's negotiation conditions that he's free to steal elections when he wants and the opposition is free to die horribly and be buried shallowly. Like MDC official Gift Mutsvungun who was found burned to death with his eyes gouged out.

But hey, gotta protect those arms sales.