Lipstick shopping demystifies Mugabe's aura

So my president has been shopping for some lipstick? How absolutely cute, not to mention sweet! Who ever thought we would ever see the softer, feminine side of our beloved Bob Mugabe? It must be true that underneath every tough exterior, there is always a supressed softie, itching to come out!


Anyone who has seen the siren blasting presidential motorcade (nicknamed Bob and the Wailers) whisking down the highways of Harare, will testify as the almost surreal image that the Zimbabwean president portrays. The sight of Zim 1, his Mercedes S600 Pullman limo speeding at breakneck speed, encircled by a convoy of motorbikes, armoured cars, trucks and ambulances, almost convinces one that he is untouchable and invincible. On top of that, media footage of him eloquently denouncing his foes, giving George Bush and others the middle finger makes him appear as the quissentential tough cookie.


It is therefore quite ironic that despite having stringent security measures, Mugabe recently found himself trapped in a New York drugstore, at the mercy of a lone protesting customer. Even more ironic is that all this happened in the USA, a country where he is not welcome and can only enter if he is visiting the UN. Add also to that, the fact that a man ranked high on the merciless world dictators' list was lipstick shopping and you have the ingredients of an unexpected thriller, its plot rich in twists and turns.


We as men tend to underestimate the power of woman. We avoid buying clothing and cosmetics for our loved ones because nine and a half times out of ten, we buy the wrong thing or can never seem to shop in the right place that has in stock what we were instructed to buy. For a man who will think nothing of brushing aside a supreme court order, a SADC tribunal desicion, or a United Nations resolution, it becomes interesting to see Mugabe going all out to personally make the lipstick purchase. Unless of course that was a clever decoy and there were more serious purchases made at the drug store (such as life saving drugs), I have to take my hat off to Grace Mugabe or whichever lady is responsible for this unexpected retail adventure!

City Grill restaurant massacre highlights need for restraint

Wedding anniversaries are supposed to be joyous occasions and not grief-bearing events. The City Grill restaurant in Main Street, Buffalo, New York is described by travel guides as “a downtown grill that attracts an electric crowd, from business people power-lunching to white-tie theatregoers in the evening.” Unfortunately today in Buffalo, a small wedding anniversary party has proven to be the curtain raiser of not just the formal anniversry party, but also several funerals, many tears and much grief. The passionate owners of the City Grill restaurant, Scott and Jenny Rossi have slaved away since taking over the establishment in 2009, to upgrade it and solidify its reputation as an eating house of note. Today, their efforts are at risk of vanishing, all because of a shooting, driven by a moment of argument, madness and anger, by one or more deranged minds


It is sad to read that seven people were shot in the early hours of the morning in Main Street, Buffalo, outside of the popular City Grill. It becomes sadder that four of them died and that one of the deceased is the host of the party.


Whatever altercations we find ourselves embroiled in, it is high time people learnt to restrain themselves. For how long shall we read of passion killings and suicides, driven by fits of intense anger, hatred or jealousy? Some take it upon themselves to shoot anything and anyone in sight at the slightest provocation. We hope and pray that police chief Dennis Richards and his men get to the bottom of the matter and bring the shooter or shooters to book. We certainly pray and wish a speedy physical and emotional recovery to the rest of the wedding party, some of whom lie in pain at the Buffalo General Hospital and Erie County Medical Centre. Restraint, restraint, we need to exercise more and more of it as the world becomes more and more volatile.