Financial socialism is unAmerican

were the words of a Republican House of Representative as he and several other Congressman initially rejected the $700 billion bailout. In the wake of this and this, it would indicate that socialism is well and truly flourishing in the so called Land of the Free.

As the gloves are well and truly off

isn't it about time the spotlight was turned on the Republican VP nominee's flirtation with a party advocating independence for Alaska? Also, what about her propensity for letting home come to work?! And as if Kenya was not getting enough airtime in the impending US election, it would appear that a Kenyan "witch-hunter " is the Republican VP nominee's spiritual adviser. The icing on the cake is the fact that she was found guilty of having abused her power as Governor of Alaska - being a bullshitter extraordinaire, she spun the verdict.

Morphing into a pitbull with lipstick her personal attacks on the Democrat Presidential nominee are tantamount to incitement or what a fellow Republican deemed, "deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate". Isn't it about time this pitbull was muzzled?!

Plus ça change

, a leopard can't change its spots, a lipstick on a pig is still a pig and it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I am referring to this. Seasoned Zimbabwe watchers greeted news of the agreement cautiously and with good reason because it appears that Mugabe is going back on his pledge to make it work. His lack of enthusiasm for the deal was evidenced by him swanning off to New York for the better part of 2 weeks with several key issues outstanding. Contrast Mugabe's stance with that of Tsvangirai and it's patently obvious who has the welfare of the Zimbabwean people at heart.

There's a lot to be said for Mbeki's so called "quiet diplomacy" when it came to Zimbabwe, but at least Mbeki plays by the rules and by tendering his resignation at the behest of his party he exhibited statesmanship. Mugabe was reputed to have been furious at Mbeki's ouster especially since Mbeki's softly, softly approach did not go down well with other members in the South African government. Indeed, a further delay in getting the current impasse resolved may hinge on whether Mbeki will continue in his role as mediator. Mugabe will want to maintain the status quo because a new negotiator may not be as accommodating

16 Beijings

The US Treasury Secretary's decision to put together a $700 billion rescue package to stop the meltdown of the US banking sector is 16.3 times the cost of the Beijing Olympic games and while the latter garnered worldwide acclaim, the rescue package, subject to approval by Congress, will generate dismay for the beleaguered US taxpayer. This will raise US national debt to $11.3 trillion. They say one has to speculate to accumulate and the bankers on Wall Street were given free reign to do just that. If Congress approve the rescue package as they are expected to, then we can expect to see tighter regulatory control. The necessary intervention by the US government has served to highlight the dangers of unchecked capitalism. What US taxpayers should ask Congress is why they should be expected to shoulder the collective responsibility of individual failures when they didn't get to partake of the eight figures bonuses that were doled out to executives whose gambles had failed quite spectacularly.

Interestingly, the country that has advocated regime change in countries it felt were not embracing capitalism sufficiently is urging similar government intervention in Britain, Japan, Germany and other industrialised nations - it's nice to hear that Germany has told the US where to go. The US government effectively nationalised Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae and AIG so when the likes of Bolivia and Venezuela continue their nationalisation of key industries, let us not hear a peep from the debt laden, capitalist to the north.

An election with no winners

, well that is the conclusion reached by South African Judge Johann Kriegler's concerning the Kenyan polls on 27 December 2007. The Electoral Commission of Kenya came in for a lot of flak which will lead to its complete overhaul, but I wonder in what guise the commission's chairman will be recycled.

I wonder if it was a case of not wanting to upset the precariously balanced apple cart.

Deal or No Deal

So Mbeki has managed to cajole Mugabe, Mutambara and Tsvangirai to sign a power sharing agreement. Should this be a cause for celebration for the long suffering Zimbabwean people? Judging by Mugabe's comments at the signing ceremony, I think it's a case of let's wait and see - he could not resist yet another swipe at the usual suspects. Although Zanu-PF's George Charamba was quick to point out that Zimbabwe was not Kenya, during a press conference at the AU summit in Sharm-el Sheikh, the power sharing agreement signed by Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M is modelled along similar lines to the one Kenya's Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed earlier this year. It would now appear that the African election model is vote, dispute the result then sign a power sharing agreement, eventually. Zimbabwe's cabinet is set to have 31 ministers, Kenya has 42. Mugabe will retain control of the JOC, but the reality seems to be the other way round. Tsvangirai wants to control the police and is set to control the finance ministry because the international community won't give Zimbabwe the aid the country desperately needs otherwise.

However, Zimbabweans will recall what happened when Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU was subsumed by Mugabe's Zanu after an earlier power sharing agreement and the subsequent atrocities that were committed in Matabeleland. So it remains to be seen how committed Mugabe is to making this latest agreement work.

The polls don't add up

Barack Obama had his best ever fundraising month in August when he raised $66 million compared to John McCain's $47 million, thanks to 500,000 new donors. This bettered BO's previous best of $55 million raised in February. His acceptance speech at the DNC was watched by 38.5 million Americans compared to Sarah Shrill Palin's acceptance speech at the RNC which was watched by 37.2 million Americans and the final of American Idol final, which was watched by 31.2 million. And yet the pollsters tell us that Barack Obama is lagging behind John McCain in the US presidential race - go figure.

Oh, the inanity

The American economy is floundering - gas prices are at an all time high, ever increasing numbers of American homeowners are having their homes repossessed and more Americans are receiving pink slips, the American military is beating a retreat in Iraq and America's standing around the world is at its lowest ebb and all the Republicans are concerned about are trivialities. The Republicans are trying to turn the November election into a personality contest - lets hope the American electorate doesn't fall for it.