There should be more of this

Now, who will do the same for Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Gen Tommy Franks, Alberto Gonzalez, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld? It looks like Tony Blair will be the headline act at the Hague in 2010.

The rise and rise of Brent Sweet Crude

Nigeria is the world's 8th largest oil producer, but her production is down by 2/3 because of incidents like this which is why the price of Brent Sweet Crude is on a continuous upward trajectory. Her current daily output is 770,000 barrels as opposed to the 2.1m barrels it should be. The Nigerian government wants the daily output to increase to 4m barrels by 2010, but this will remain a pipe dream unless the grievances of the people of the Niger Delta are resolved. Western oil companies have committed crimes against the environment in the Niger Delta and have, thus far, refused to be held accountable for their actions. However a court case has been filed against Chevron which would see them being called to account.

The arrogance of the western oil companies involved in Nigeria's exploitation is breathtaking, but times are a changing. Yar'Adua has thrown down the gauntlet by asking Shell and ExxonMobil to pay their arrears. I would like to see him do a Chavez because after all the oil belongs to the Nigerians and they should be the principal beneficiaries. Oh, and if the western oil companies are not happy about renegotiating, ask them to leave because the Chinese and Russian oil companies will be queuing up to take their places.

Tell us something we DON'T know

So Israel has 150 nuclear weapons, is it any wonder Iran wants to acquire them especially given Israel's penchant for launching air raids on its neighbours that have tried to develop them (Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007)? North Korea has shown that if one has nuclear weapons, even the world's only superpower will hesitate to attack you. North Korea has intercontinental ballistic missiles with a range of 7000 miles, that can carry a nuclear payload - there are a number of American cities within the 7000 mile range.

The world is indebted to Mordechai Vanunu for risking his life to blow the whistle on Israel's nuclear program yet he remains a prisoner of the Israeli state, despite having been released from prison - the head of Shin Bet vowed that Mordechai Vanunu will NEVER leave Israel. Why is Mordechai Vanunu's heroism not feted?

Israel has nuclear weapons, Iran should have nuclear weapons after all, Israel has attacked more countries than Iran. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander so if the IAEA wants Iran to divulge details of its nuclear program, Israel should be required to do the same. But wait a minute, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others!!

The Art of Getting Lost

You can make art out of ANYTHING as it is subjective, one man's art is another man's "shit on a stick". Here's how to turn getting lost into an art form:

1. Assume you'll be able to find your way WITHOUT map
2. If you don't see a sign, just keep on driving

By following these simple rules, you can turn what should be a 64 km (40 mile), 1 hour journey into a 300km, 5 hour odyssey.

Mind you the scenery and landscape did compensate somewhat and my destination was definitely worth it.

Where True Beauty Has No Measure

is the suitably apt slogan of Kuriftu Resort and Spa, situated in Debre Zeyt, 64km (40 miles) south east of Addis Ababa.

A bad workman quarrels with his tools so is the fact that I can't find words in the English language that will adequately describe the Kuriftu experience, despite being a native English speaker, my problem (hey, I'm all for personal responsibility) or a problem with the English language?! I fancy myself as something of a wordsmith, when I'm suitably inspired, but if I resort to using words like indescribable, magical, unbelievable then I'm leaving a lot to the reader's imagination, but then again what one reads is subject to one's own interpretation. A skilled writer is one who transports their readers so get ready.

Kuriftu was built on the banks of Lake Kuriftu, a crater lake that owes its existence to volcanic activity. When I woke up this morning and drew back the drapes in my Top Lake View Room, I was immediately struck by the tranquility of the surroundings (granted it was 7am on a Sunday morning, but still). There's a stillness about Kuriftu that is soothing, it's almost as if time stands still.

Accompanied by one of the resort staff, I went for a ride on a mountain bike and after about 20 minutes of pedalling across varying terrain, we decided to let it all hang out (a slight exaggeration as my companion kept imploring me to deploy my brakes) as we made our descent down to Lake Hora (another crater lake). On the bank of Lake Hora is a fig tree that is regarded as sacred by the Oromo and even at that early hour, there were people venerating it. The tree stands across the lake from what used to be one of Emperor Haile Selassie's palaces and which is now a hotel.

The ascent from Lake Hora was markedly slower - we pushed the bikes back up the hill and as I had manicure/pedicure appointment at 8am (or so I thought), we used a shortcut to get back to Kuriftu. There was time for me to have my first round of breakfast on the landing overlooking Lake Kuriftu before I headed off to the spa where I discovered that my appointment wasn't until 8:30am. I then proceeded to have a second round of breakfast from a higher vantage point than before, but still overlooking the lake. After the pampering of my hands and feet, it was time for round three of breakfast (I think the air quality may have had something to do with my hearty appetite or maybe it was the earlier bike ride) and then it was off to enjoy the steam room and sauna by the pool.

The staff provide an excellent, unobtrusive service and have this knack of materialising as if on cue.

And so in summary, I will resort (pardon the pun!!) to describing Kuriftu as UN-FLIPPIN-BELIEVABLE!! Or to put it more eloquently, a place where beauty has no measure and where quality is infinitely unquantifiable. Experience Kuriftu and the paradox that is magical realism becomes evident.

I hope you were transported.

Did the reservation system just go into meltdown?!

I was a believer

According to the IAAF, Marion Jones holds the world youth record for the 200m, which she set aged 16. Her time of 22.58s was also a world junior record until it was broken by Allyson Felix, at the Athens Olympics in 2004, where she placed second.

My first recollection of Marion Jones was at the World Athletic Championships in Athens 1997, where she won the 100m in a world leading time of 10.83s. She also ran the second leg on the US gold medal winning 4 x 100m. Here are the PBs for the duration of her career, for the 100m and 200m respectively:

1989 12.04s 24.06s
1990 11.62s 23.70s
1991 11.17s 22.76s
1992 11.14s 22.58s
1994 11.28s 23.00s
1995 23.96s
1997 10.76s 21.76s
1998 10.65s 21.62s
1999 10.70s 21.81s
2000 10.75s 21.84s
2001 10.84s 22.23s
2002 10.84s 22.11s
2004 11.04s
2005 11.28s
2006 10.91s

1998 was to prove to be the summit of Marion Jones' career in terms of her personal bests. So if her confession is to be believed, the clear actually slowed her down.

ASEAN should take the lead

Burma/Mynamar has every right to be suspicious of the west, but that does not absolve them of their obligations to their people. Cyclone Nargis is yet another example of Mother Nature's displeasure and the junta is using the disaster for their own political aims. Their inaction and lack of urgency in what is clearly an unfolding catastrophe of monumental proportions is an absolute disgrace. China has her hands full trying to deal with the after effects of Mother Nature's wrath, so the other ASEAN countries should exert intolerable pressure on the junta so that the aid effort can be stepped up in a very big way.

So more than 3 weeks after Cyclone Nargis and in the face of unstinting and unremitting international pressure, the Burmese junta has finally agreed to let the aid come in. It's estimated that Mother Nature was responsible for the deaths of 78,000 people, I wonder how many more people have died because of the junta's intransigence.

Still no 1

Liverpool FC

League titles: EIGHTEEN
European Cups: FIVE

TTFFUTM

League titles: seventeen
European Cups: three

The stats don't lie, Liverpool FC are England's most successful club.

Ersatz imitations are NOT WELCOME

To the Ivorian Duck, there is only one Zinedine Zidane and you are not fit to lace his boots. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, not in your case!! At least Zinedine Zidane had the decency to show off his full repertoire of skills before his exit, what did you do apart from hit the deck with an ease and frequency that is alarming considering your size.

You are a disgrace to the integrity of the other African professional footballers in the EPL and the sooner you clear off the better!! Then you have the temerity to wonder about this - it's known as your reputation preceding you.

You are a diver and not a very good one either.

Kenya and her FORTY TWO ministries

For comparative studies, Kenya with a population of 35 million (depending on whose statistics you look at) has a cabinet of 42 ministries, Ethiopia with a population of 80 million has 13 ministries, and, Nigeria, Africa's most populous state, with a population of 150 million has 20 ministries.

If you visit the National Assembly, you will see the following quote, "For the welfare of society and the just government of men"- Kenya's new cabinet could not be further removed from those fine words if they tried and this provides a stark illustration. Here's the list:

1. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
2. OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT
3. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
4. OFFICE OF DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER & MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
5. OFFICE OF DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER & MINISTER FOR TRADE
6. Ministry of Agriculture
7. Ministry of Co-operatives Development
8. Ministry of Development of Nothern Kenya & other Arid Lands
9. Ministry of East African Community
10. Ministry of Education
11. Ministry of Energy
12. Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources
13. Ministry of Finance
14. Ministry of Fisheries Development
15. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
16. Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife
17. Ministry of Gender and Children Affairs
18. Ministry of Higher Education, Science Technology
19. Ministry of Housing
20. Ministry of Industrialization
21. Ministry of Information and Communication
22. Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs
23. Ministry of Labour
24. Ministry of Lands
25. Ministry of Livestock Development
26. Ministry of Medical Services
27. Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development
28. Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation
29. Ministry of Public Works
30. Ministry of Regional Development Authorities
31. Ministry of Roads
32. Ministry of Special Programmes
33. Ministry of Tourism
34. Ministry of Transport
35. Ministry of Water and Irrigation
36. Ministry of Youth and Sports
37. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
38. ELECTORAL COMMISSION
39. EXCHEQUER AND AUDIT DEPARTMENT
40. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
41. STATE LAW OFFICE
42. THE JUDICIARY

can you spot the ones which overlap and what the hell is the Ministry of Special Programmes?! The cost of running this corpulent excuse for a cabinet for TWO months will be just under HALF A BILLION DOLLARS!!

Kenyan taxpayers, just say NO!!!!

You should know when to quit

Given there's no way in hell that Hillary Rodham Clinton can overtake Barack Obama's delegate and superdelegate count(even if the delegates from Michigan and Florida were to be included), it is high time she conceded the race to become the Democrat's presidential nominee, that is if she wants to see a Democrat being sworn in as the 44th president of the US of A next January. She has run an extremely divisive campaign and the Democratic Party needs to do some serious healing before the November elections otherwise Bush lite may win.

A Luo to become the next president of the US of A - the audacity of hope.

How soon we forget

During the apartheid years, the rest of Africa provided refuge for black South Africans who needed to flee - the ANC set up their government-in-exile in Zambia. After the fall of apartheid, thousand of Africans flocked to South Africa to take up jobs that could not be filled by locals because the apartheid government had systematically underfunded education for black South Africans. In 1994, when Nelson Mandela came to power, there were FOUR black South African chartered accountants out of a population on 30+ million. There was a vacuum that needed to be filled and the rest of Africa duly obliged.

Resentment started to build up between the locals and the newcomers because the former perceived the latter as taking what was rightfully theirs and this culminated in the appalling xenophobic attacks against the perceived interlopers. As usual, the world's moral conscience with his usual eloquence, has called on his fellow South Africans to remember what the rest of Africa did during apartheid. Jacob Zuma's stance on this matter and Zimbabwe is to be commended. Thabo Mbeki has termed the attacks a "disgrace", but what is disgraceful is his lack of urgency in dealing with the matter. I don't want to see it happen, but if the South African government can't get a handle on this, like yesterday, then I would want to FIFA to strip South Africa of the 2010 World Cup. I think that would provide Mbeki with a sense of urgency to address the underlying causes of his people's frustrations.

The majority of South Africans do not want their country to become synonymous with xenophobia because that would mean the death of the "Rainbow Nation" so it is that majority that the rest of Africa hopes will prevail.

It's good to talk or is it

Using the Bushman's illogical logic (that's a Rumsfeld - remember the unknown knowns?!), the ANC should never have talked the National Party which would probably mean that South Africa would still be an international pariah and Nelson Mandela would be celebrating his 90th birthday in jail. Talks between the ANC and the National Party paved the way for a relatively smooth transition of the power to the black majority. Likewise, the ceasefire between the IRA and the British government would never of happened without a lot of jaw jaw.

But no, the insatiable warmonger that is Bush says that talking with Mr. Ahmadinejad is on par with Neville Chamberlain's pathetic attempts to persuade Hitler not to invade Poland back in 1939. Like I said here, Mr. Ahmadinejad is a man of bombast, he likes to shoot his mouth off, but considering the fact that Iran has a sizeable population of Jews who are represented in the Iranian parliament, I would posit that Mr. Ahmadinejad is all mouth no action unlike you know who.

War!! What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing (unless you are Haliburton, Kellogg Brown and Root and can engage in profiteering at the expense of the American taxpayer because Dick Cheney has got your back)

Yes he KANU!!

Kanu is one of my favourite players. With his size 15 feet, he is a keeper of the ball par excellence. His languid style makes time seemingly stand still when he has the ball, as if the play on the park is frozen in time while he considers his options. Kanu can create something out of nothing and his ball skills are something to behold.

To the Kanu haters (of whom there are many), put this in your pipe and smoke it!!

All hail the King of Clay, long may he reign

In the face of the Fed's relative slump of this season, El Pirata's steady but sure progress to the summit of the game has been overshadowed by the emergence of the Joker. Even his semi-final loss at the Australian Open was progression on last season where he fell in the quarter-finals. Now the tennis authorities, seemingly bored with his continued domination on clay, decided to make it physically impossible for El Pirata to defend his Masters' titles by scheduling Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome on consecutive weeks. As the defending champion in all of them, it was only natural that he would try to play them all. The blister he sustained in Rome was a consequence of too much playing, but if anybody thinks that it showed a chink in his formidable clay court armor, they've probably inhaled too much clay.

Vamos Rafa! Vamos!

Despite him having taken 3+ hours to see off the Joker, I expect him to dispatch the Fed with relative ease in today's final.

It goes without saying that Rafa is set to become the first man to win four consecutive French Open titles and given his year-on-year progression, he'll go on to win Wimbledon this year.

Ill gotten gains

So now we know how the Bush family made their fortune, out of the misfortune and misery of others. But now it seems that it's payback time as the Bush family is being sued by 2 holocaust survivors. Who said the sins of the father should not be revisited on the son (or grandson for that matter)?!

Can you feel the beat?

Do you hear music or do you feel it? For me, it's the latter. A beat speaks to me in a language that my body responds to instinctively with controlled movements more commonly known as dance moves. While I generally tend to over analyse things to the point of procrastination, when the beat speaks, my response time is immediate. The beat has a direct route to my subconscious which sometimes causes wonderment in my higher conscious as it marvels at some of the moves my limbs contrive to pull (as an analogy, the Swiss Maestro sometimes finds himself marvelling at some of the shots he makes). Just as a good DJ seamlessly merges one song into another, I dance with a fluidity that defies explanation. However, if I start thinking while I'm dancing, the erstwhile fluidity disappears and my movement becomes spasmodic.

Having said all that, I wonder what the patrons of this very chic establishment thought of last night's performance - I can tell you there was no applause.

It's about time

It has taken awhile for Kobe Bryant to mature into the team player of today and his MVP is richly deserved. The NBA's All time leading points scorer echoes similar sentiments in his endorsement. I'm hoping Kobe, ably supported by Pau Gasol, will lead the LA Lakers to the NBA finals and garner a championship ring to go with his MVP statuette. For a player who has been synonymous with the word selfish, it was nice of him to acknowledge the part played by his teammates while accepting his award.

And it was good to see Kobe invoke the spirit of the MVP award to overturn a 20 point deficit against the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Kobe, unlike LeBron James and Diego Armando Maradona has difficulty lifting his team mates to his level, but now even that no longer seems to be a problem for da MVP. Kobe to propel the LA Lakers to the NBA Championship finals where he will guide them to the NBA Championship crown and be named MVP of the finals - who needs Shaq!!

The NBA Championship final will be between the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Rogue State

Rogue State describes America's foreign policy (read regime change, interventionism, state sponsored terrorism and meddling in the affairs of sovereign countries) from the 1960s to the 1990s. The author worked for the US State Department during that period so you could call him the proverbial fly on the wall. The first four pages of the book detail facts that the average American is unlikely to know, however these pages provide the context for the "chickens coming home to roost" quote.

Did you know that:

• America is the ONLY country in the world to have been found guilty by the World Court for crimes against Nicaragua (read the Iran-Contra affair)
  
• every UN resolution pertaining to Israel has been vetoed or abstained by the good ol' US of A
• the CIA with the tacit approval of the US government carried out biological warfare against Cuba in order to try and wipe out their potato crop
• the CIA in collusion with the Belgian government were complicit in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and bequeathed the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Mobutu Sese Seko - one of THE crimes of the 20th century
  
• the US government has carried out overt and covert operations (read regime change) against socially leaning democratically elected governments in Africa (from Angola to Zimbabwe) and Latin America

The analogy that comes to mind is the one about those who are born into wealth and those who acquire it later on. The latter are ostentatious and they make sure that everyone knows they have "made it".

OBL name checked this book last year, I can tell you I read it 5 years ago.

232 years after she came into existence, America has the chance to elect a candidate who has inspired millions of people in the US and around the world, and who through his own family background can be said to be truly representative of the diverse melting pot that is America today. Admittedly only 1 in 3 Americans eligible to vote in 2004 voted to give the present occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a second term and we won't even talk about the hanging chads of 2000, but this time around will America vote Yes, We Can?

What's the point of the IMF and the World Bank?

After reading Globalization and Its Discontents, I don't think there's much point in the continued existence of the aforementioned institutions unless they are prepared to undergo the transformation necessary to make them relevant. The IMF in particular has consistently subscribed to the view that they have all the answers and disregarded the opinions of experts on the ground and when the implementation of their policies has failed the link between their approach and the failure is not apparent.

Last year, we had the unedifying spectacle of the neocon Paul Wolfowitz, architect-in-chief of the invasion of Iraq, who had bizarrely been appointed head of the World Bank doing favours for his girlfriend that called into question the bank's probity.

Black Gold

There's coffee and then there's Ethiopian coffee and once you've drunk the latter in a buna ceremony, your tastebuds won't settle for anything less. Today I participated in a buna ceremony and while I've been raving about the other coffee I've been drinking since I arrived here, it really does pale in comparison to the traditionally prepared coffee.

Buna is the Amharic word for coffee and a buna ceremony is a tradition that dates back to ancient times. The buna ceremony is to Ethiopia what the tea ceremony is to Japan.

The last day of the EPL

The premiership race has gone down to the wire and my money is on the boys in blue to dip across the finishing line first, despite the superior goal difference of that team.

I am disappointed that Arsenal will win nothing this season - their football deserved it. It all went pear shaped for them in the game against Birmingham when Martin Taylor's challenge broke Eduardo's foot and then to add insult to injury, the referee awarded a penalty that never was - Gael Clichy GOT the ball and James McFadden duly converted it. In subsequent games, Arsenal had goals disallowed that should have been allowed and their confidence was knocked. It's good to see Theo Walcott finally blossoming - his slalom run against Liverpool in the 2nd leg of the Champions League quarter final was quite special and I'm sure we'll see more good things from him next season.

As for my team, WELL!!!! We started off so well, but we've not yet learnt to grind out victories and we continue to lose to teams that we have no business losing to. The wrangling in the boardroom must stop so that Rafa can get the funds he needs to mount a credible title bid next season. Congrats to El Nino for his very successful debut season - more of the same next year.

So just for today, I'll be a Chelski supporter and here's hoping they go on to do the business in Moscow on 21 May.

What price dignity?

The Pianist tells the story of how Polish Jew survives the second world war by hiding out in a ghetto. Like Schindler's List before it, The Pianist does a remarkable job of conveying how the Jews were debased and stripped of their dignity on a regular basis. So why should Israel revisit what happened to her citizens over 60 years ago on the Palestinians? Take away a man's dignity and what is he left with?!

What is evident about the descendants of the Queen of Sheba aka Ethiopians is their dignity, but then again their civilisation goes back thousand of years.

A few things Hillary should know

Following Hillary Clinton's pathetic attempt to display her "testicular fortitude", here are a few things she should know:

1. Apart from Israel, Iran is the only other country in Middle East where Jews have parliamentary representation
   
2. Israel tried to entice the Iranian Jewry to move to Israel by offering cash, the Iranian Jews told Israel what they could do with the money
3. The apocryphal quote attributed to Mr. Ahmedinejad is that "Israel should be wiped off the map". However, it turns out that he was calling for "regime change" in Jerusalem.
4. If she thinks that the US can afford to start another war with Iran, even if means their proxy will do the dirty work, then she really doesn't understand just how perilous the state of the US economy is.
   

Sharing lanes

The last time someone tried to share my lane, I objected quite vehemently and maybe that's because I was travelling at 80 m/h (128 km/h for metric readers) and I'm quite sure the silly twat didn't see me which was very disconcerting as I wasn't driving a white car.

Here in Addis, sharing lanes is the norm and despite the lanes on the road being clearly demarcated, Addis drivers hold them in complete disregard. It's as if you're in a live series of Bumper Cars except the aim is to avoid hitting the encroaching car and I'm yet to see any cars with rubber round the front. There are near misses a plenty accompanied by a tooting horn, but the only "accident" I witnessed was when a chap who was parking his car made a misjudgement and went into the side of a stationary car.

In Addis, the pedestrian is king unlike New York or Atlanta. Addis is a jaywalkers' paradise as pedestrians cross the word anywhere and everywhere, and the onus is on the driver not to hit them. The pedestrians here cross the road while looking away from the oncoming traffic - they assume they've been seen.

Let's just say that driving in Addis requires one to be fully alert, but the scenery and the landscape more than make up for those infernal pedestrians.

So they are all at it

It would appear to be a given that every single athlete who has ever been coached by Trevor Graham has been caught up in a drugs scandal, which begs the question, why hasn't he been investigated before now? He was the coach who posted the syringe of THG to the authorities, but only because more money was not forthcoming. This story is particularly amusing because it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Now that Antonio Pettigrew is turning state's evidence, it begs the question as to whether Michael Johnson will have to return his relay gold medal from the Sydney Olympics.

It's patently obvious that it's not the athletes who manufacture the drugs so why is it that the focus is always on those at the bottom of the food chain? In society, the authorities normally go after the supplier, isn't it about time the IAAF did the same?!

CAA Championships

The 16th edition of the CAA Championships ended yesterday. South Africa topped the medal table with 22 (12g, 2s, 8b), Nigeria were second with 19 (7g, 7s, 5b) , Ethiopia third with 15 (6g, 6s, 3b) and Kenya fourth with 16 (5g, 5s, 6b).

Having spoken to one of the Kenyan coaches at length on Saturday, he told me that he was expecting Kenyan to win gold in the women's 800m despite the presence of the Maputo Express aka Maria Mutola. Pamela Chelimo turned on the afterburners with 200m to go to fulfill her coach's prediction. She then ran a storming leg in the 4x400m to earn Kenya a silver medal. A former African junior champion at 400m, she's one to watch in Beijing. It was good to see Kenya with a 200m sprint finalist by the name Joyce Zachary and the coach said that there should be more of them by the time the next World Athletics Championships come round. To the dismay of my Nigerian companion, Nigeria only won a bronze in the women's 200m, South Africa claimed the men and women's 200m crowns. However, Nigeria dominated the women's shot put, winning gold and silver.

Botswana's Kgosiema Kabelo put on a masterful display in the high jump, entering the competition at 2.24m and winning the event with a world class 2.34m which was also a national record.

Tirunesh Dibaba led Ethiopia's clean sweep of the women's 10,000m and for 25 laps, the stadium pulsated to the wall of the sound generated by the 35,000 capacity crowd - it was a sight to behold, seeing the crowd "bouncing". On the decibel scale, the women's 10,000m was off the charts, closely followed by the men's 5,000m where Kenenisa Bekele held off Kenya's Isaac Songok to take gold. Kenya got a measure of revenge in the men's 1,500m, winning gold and silver.

Just before the men's 5,000m, Haile Gebrselassie was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Leeds Metropolitan University and he interrupted his lap of honour to give Kenenisa a hub and no doubt, a few words of encouragement.

I had an illuminating tête-à-tête with Nigeria's African 100m champion, Olusoji Fasuba, and he dropped a few bombshells. To quote Dwain Chambers, "if the drug users have an off day", then I expect Olu to do the business in Beijing.

Kenya is set to host the next edition of the CAA championships and they have a lot to live upto.

Maria Mutola, Mastercard and me

Disclaimer: The use of Mastercard in the title of this posting is to provide context and in no way represents an endorsement. However,

Lets just say that Mastercard still has some way to go in making its presence felt in Addis Ababa. Thus far, the Addis Ababa Hilton is the only place I've found in Addis Ababa that envelopes Mastercard in a loving embrace. So it was there that I found myself earlier this morning, hoping to do a forex transaction and looking for Nike ankle support socks in their "sports shop". It turned out that the only socks they stocked were Wilson and the bank's network was down, so disappointed I headed for the lobby to plan my next move. A phone call later and I was heading out of the hotel when I encountered the living legend that is Maria de Lurdes Mutola, who's here for the 16th CAA African Athletics Championships. For the next 5 minutes, we chatted Osaka, Beijing, Janet Jepkosgei, Kenya and South Africa, and as is the 21st century thing, I snapped her on my mobile phone.

To Maria, thanks for your time today, all the best for Saturday and here's to hoping you bow out on high in Beijing.

The Ivorian Duck

As a swan conjures up visions of grace, serenity and majesty, I would be loathe to use it in the same sentence as Didier Drogba. For a guy with his talent, it's a crying shame to see him resort to such dark arts. Admittedly, he can play when he feels so inclined, but why oh why does he have to pull moves on the park that should only really be done in the swimming pool. Just before the Chelski supporters sharpen the knives, I am not referring to yesterday's match against Liverpool where he was voted man-of-the-match. He even admitted he dives only for Chelski's PR machine to get him to backtrack.

Granted, the greatest footballer to play the game aka Diego Armando Maradona was a master proponent of the dark arts too, but he's genius and we can always cut genius some slack.