Elections are underway in Zimbabwe as the oppostion tries to win an improbable victory inspite of dirty tricks and intimidation by incumbent ruler Robert Mugabe and his ruling party. These last few years have seen Zimbabwe slide deeper and deeper into a morass as Mugabe has turned into a despot with his diatribes,tightening of control over society using his feared state security srvice and his encouragement of armed invasions of white-owned farms and jailing of opposition party members and journalists. Once considered one of the most prosperous African countries Zimbabwe is now wrought with corruption, instability, repression and famine.