Zimbabwe

South African dockworkers refused to unload 3080 cases of weapons and ammunition from a Chinese vessel. The shipment was destined for Zimbabwe, possibly for use against opponents of President Robert Mugabe.

What could be more stirring than the sight of a few thousand Durban longshoremen standing up against one of Africa's great despots? Consider me duly stirred. But this triumph of organized labor in South Africa has a worrisome side as well.

Having apparently lost Zimbabwe's presidential election, Robert Mugabe is said to be considering stepping down after 28 increasingly tyrannical years in office.

Now is the first time in nearly a decade when it would be only foolish and loopy, and not downright insane, to invest in the Zimbabwean dollar. When I visited in 2001, Zimbabwean currency was losing its value at catastrophic rates, which led to scenes of South Africans' rushing over the border to spend their rand on quick, absurdly cheap holidays in Zimbabwe. It was like Weimar Germany with elephants and baobabs, and even with its own homegrown "Hitler." If Mugabe leaves, will tourism recover? Will the farms (Zimbabwe's main foreign-exchange earner) produce more? They could hardly produce less.