What's missing?

By a factor of 10

The governor of Zimbabwe's Central Bank has announced that effective August 1st, the current 10,000,000,000 Zim dollar note will be replaced by a new 1 Zim dollar note. Thus at the stroke of a pen, 10 zeroes will disappear and the number of Zimbabwean billionaires will be considerably reduced. He said this was necessary because the computer systems in Zimbabwe were having trouble dealing with the hyperinflationary figures.

Given this though, one wonders what kind of paper the new currency note will be printed on.

Volte-face

Did you hear about Dubya's volte-face on talking to Iran without preconditions, something BO had proposed a few months back and which Dubya had derided and likened to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement in 1939? In fact, Dubya's administration is soon to establish diplomatic relations with Iran after a 30 year break.

Somebody else on the volte-face bandwagon is none other than Robert Gabriel Mugabe. The Zimbabwean Central Bank can no longer print money as they've run out of the requisite paper and the German company that supplies the paper won't be replenishing stock anytime soon because of pressure from the German government. If Mugabe can't pay the military and the police to continue the violence and intimidation of the MDC and its supporters, he will be in a very precarious position. So he decided to talk to Morgan Tsvangirai. However the talks are now deadlocked because Mugabe still thinks he's Top Dog and wants the winner of the March 29 elections to accept the position of THIRD vice-president. It's apparent that Mugabe shows no signs of emerging from his parallel universe anytime soon or are these the kicks of a dying horse?

Habesha cuisine

Habesha means traditional in Amharic

Top left: Tibs - fried meat in a clay pot with its own heat source

Right: Shiro - Thick bean soup


Bottom left: Injera bainyatu - Injera (Ethiopian staple made from teff) with a variety of vegetarian dishes

Food Science

Spritz (Ethiopians pronounce it to rhyme with this) can either be hot or cold. Cold spritz is made up of layers of unadulterated fruit juice eg mango, avocado, guava, strawberry. Banana can also be used. The lime is squeezed over the top and it kills any bacteria. Hot spritz is tea and coffee combination, with the coffee on top.

He came, he spoke, he WOWED!!

The setting sun against the Victory Column provided a dramatic backdrop for the 44th US President-to-be's keynote foreign policy speech and CNN's Chief International Correspondent was there to capture the moment.


The Berlin police reckoned a crowd of 200,000 had amassed at the foot of the Victory Column, but given that I was 20m from the front of the lectern, a seemingly short distance, but the intervening space was a mass of humanity and given the time it took to the crowd to disperse after the speech was over, I would say 200,000 is a conservative estimate.

BO's speech centred around the need for global cooperation to tackle the problems of the world and he drew parallels with the Berlin airlift that saw Americans, Germans and others engage in a major collaborative effort that required countries who had recently been at war with one another to trust each other. The scale of the Berlin airlift was immense and its success is testament to what can be achieved when countries put humanity before anything else. The world needs humanity to be prioritised and in Barack Obama, the world may have found the person who can attain the required global consensus.

The audacity of hope is a beautiful thing to behold.

"A saint is a sinner who got up and walked"

, are the measured words of Nelson Mandela according to his wife, Graca Machel. As mankind's moral compass, Madiba inspires us to seek out the humanity that lies within us all. Obviously, some people need more persuading than others, but the manner in which he lives his life without rancor, despite the trials and tribulations he endured, is a salutary lesson for us all.

I think it was JFK who said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" and didn't Madiba do for South African and then some!! He sacrificed his family, his health and his middle ages. Having seen his cell on Robben Island, I wondered how he had managed to stay sane through the dark times. We visited the quarry where he had to dig limestone and even though we were in a bus with tinted the windows, the glare off the rocks was very apparent - the damage to his eyes is testament to that. But throughout it all, he maintained the dignity of his royal lineage as his oppressors sought to demean him and his people.

Last night, in Berlin, we were honoured to be addressed by Denis Goldberg, Madiba's comrade-in-arms and who also endured a lengthy spell of incarceration. The evening ended with a showing of the film, Drum, and even the rain that fell as the credits rolled could not put a dampener on things.

To the man who continues to challenge us to seek out the good within ourselves and who even in his twilight years persists in illuminating a world that is morally and ethically bankrupt,

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY Madiba!!

1936

1936 was the year that Mussolini launched an ill-fated attempt to colonise Ethiopia. The Italians had been soundly defeated by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taitu's armies at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 and the Italians were still smarting over that defeat. Mussolini's imperialist ambitions required that he have another go. Emperor Haile Selassie and his family went into exile in England and directed the resistance to the Italian occupation - he was to return to Ethiopia in 1941 after the Italians had once again been defeated.

It was also the year that Jesse Owens was to complete an Olympic feat that is yet to be surpassed after 72 years. Despite being treated as a second class citizen by his own country and in front of a leader who believed in the existence of master race, he made an eloquent statement with his performances. Yet, his Olympic haul of 4 gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4 x 100m relay was not his most impressive athletic feat. That came a year earlier when in under an hour, he set world records in the long jump, the 220-yard dash, the 220-yard low hurdles, equalled the world record for the 100-yard dash, with an ailing back sustained after he fell down a flight of stairs.

I first visited Berlin's Olympic stadium in 1995, but missed the plaque commemorating Jesse Owen's achievements. 13 years on and a refurbishment later, the plaque has been moved to a VIP lounge that bears Jesse Owens name.

With the Bejing Olympics upon us, I thought it important to pay homage to a true Olympian great who personifies the Olympic motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius.

S-a-t-i-r-e

People, what The New Yorker did is called satire which is defined as

the use of humour, irony or exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

There's no sign of MO & BO's cartoon on their web site. I hope the powers that be at The New Yorker did not feel compelled to take it down because of the ensuing furore and I certainly hope they won't withdraw the latest edition of their magazine from the stands. I laughed when I saw it and thought MO would look good with a 'fro.

BO shrugged when asked about it, I would really like to know what MO thinks of it - I'm guessing she just laughed it off.

Why stop at al-Bashir?

Sudan is not a signatory to the ICC and yet the ICC's chief prosecutor has served a warrant for Omar al-Bashir's arrest, the first time the court has issued a warrant for a serving president. Now, the US of A is not a signatory to the ICC either so here's to hoping that the ICC's chief prosecutor plays fair and issues a warrant for the incumbent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Tony Bliar, masquerading as a Middle East peace envoy shouldn't fool anyone and Britain is a signatory to the ICC so hopefully we can expect to see Tony Bliar and Dubya arraigned at the Hague in 2010.

The invasion of Iraq was illegal under international law so the ICC would be acting within its powers to issue arrest warrants for G&T. Whether they will have the gumption to do so remains to be seen, but thus far it seems as if the ICC is zealously prosecuting warlords from the DRC, a former president of Liberia and some Serbs. Isn't it high time they went after some high profile international law breakers from the west?!

Inside the mind of Imperialist Robert

IR: My solitary turn on 27 June gave me an overwhelming mandate to implement my scorched earth policy for Zimbabwe for another 5 years

IR: My good friend Omar Bongo has been in power for over 40 years and I've only been Top Dog for 28

IR: To Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Ian Seretse Khama, Barack Obama, Raila Odinga and Yar'Adua, Jacob Zuma, you can "go hang"

IR: To Madiba, you're about to turn 90 and I'm 84 with the vigour and vim of a person much younger so there!!

IR: If I can't rule Zimbabwe, then nobody else will

IR: To those Zimbabweans who did not vote for me, I take that as a personal rejection and since I have never gotten over the rejection I endured in my childhood, I will banish the memories of that rejection by abducting, beating up, displacing, maiming, raping, starving and killing my fellow Zimbabweans

IR: The Chinese and Russians have got my back so it really doesn't matter that I am no longer a Knight Commander of the Order of Bath

IR: I have no idea where the £47 million that the British government gave to finance land redistribution went, all I know is that I took care of my peeps.

IR: I feel tired, I feel sleepy, but there's SO much to be done zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The silence is DEAFENING

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

The inexorable ascent to the summit

of men's tennis by Rafa has been as remarkable as his ability to retrieve balls on court. He has mental fortitude, a boundless supply of energy, the dedication that sees his game constantly improving and the humility to make him one of the most popular no 1s of all time. On court he is a modern day gladiator and the way he bounces up and down before the coin toss is reminiscent of a pugilist, but off court he is self-effacing with his feet firmly on the ground, despite his not inconsiderable achievements - 5 grand slams at the ripe old age of 22.

Felicitaciones Rafa!!

Spain's sporting prowess has been in evidence these past couple of months.

V is for V-E-N-O-M-O-U-S

Watching V Williams take on S Williams yesterday made me wonder if V Williams had superimposed Elena Dementieva's head on Serena's body as she sent down a fusillade of serves that would not have attained a higher velocity if they had been fired from a cannon!! She sent down a serve of 129 mph (206 km/h for the metric readers), breaking her own Wimbledon serve record, she sent down serves that bounced up at Serena's shoulders, she sent down serves to Serena's body and whatever Serena threw at her, she returned with interest.

Serena played her part in the best match so far between the two of them and some of their shots were simply jaw-dropping, but when V is fit and healthy, there is no player who can match her athleticism and court coverage on what has become her Centre Court.

Martina Navratilova's record of 9 singles Wimbledon title's is definitely within V's reach.

What a great match!!

Being the kind of big sis that she is, she made sure that lil' sis had something to celebrate too by playing her part in their doubles victory later on.

Talkin' 'bout a Revolution

I've just listened to Tracy Chapman's 20 year old song Talkin' 'bout a Revolution from her critically acclaimed debut album Fast Car, after watching an interview on Al Jazeera with a Haiti police chief who said that Haiti is in need of a revolution, although he wasn't sure what form it should take - the song has timely resonance.

We ordinary people whose interests are not represented by global/regional bodies such as the AU, the IMF, the UN, the World Bank etc need to make ourselves heard. When ordinary people exercise their will, it is willfully ignored, see Kenya, Zimbabwe etc. In Haiti, the ordinary people are suffering from policies drawn up in Washington DC. Haiti which used to be a net rice exporter now imports rice from Louisiana and North Carolina because Jean-Bertrand Aristide was required to open up Haiti's markets as a condition of his return to power. Opening up Haiti's markets meant that cheaper US subsidised rice imports flooded into Haiti, eventually destroying Haiti's rice industry. As Haiti now imports most of its food, ordinary people in Haiti have been particularly susceptible to the recent hikes in food prices. USAID sends food aid to Haiti from US farmers, using US transportation so 50% of that so called aid ends up in the pockets of the US. What went on in Haiti has been replicated in Mali except substitute rice for cotton.

So the question is, what are we as ordinary people going to do about this sorry state of affairs?

I'm Talkin' 'bout a Revolution.
Aluta continua!!

Wimbledon men's final

My prediction; Rafa vs Marat Safin and Rafa to win of course.

**UPDATE**
Oh well, it was wishful thinking on my part as the Fed hasn't won 5 Wimbledon titles on the trot for nothing. I'm still plumping for Rafa to bring the Fed's reign to an end though.

Vamos Rafa!!

Family Affair

is not only a party starting crunk of a song by MJB, but it's what will happen on Saturday when Miss V Williams takes on Miss S Williams to decide who takes home the Venus Rosewater dish - I'm plumping for Queen V. There could be more celebrations in store as they are into the Ladies' Doubles semi-final which take place later on today.

It's good to see Venus swatting aside ill-judged comments like this with the same aplomb she shows on her Centre Court.

**UPDATE**
As I expected, the Williamses are set to contest the doubles final as well - here's to the sisters who do their own thing.

So NOW you want to talk

, well Tsvangirai should tell Mugabe to "go hang". Tsvangirai had been very clear about not negotiating if the run-off went ahead and he was very quick to condemn the AU's sorry arsed resolution which did not touch on the illegitimacy of the Mugabe's presidency. The AU, as Tsvangirai pointed out, has failed to recognise the will of Zimbabwean people which was clearly expressed in the March elections. The AU is trying to impose a selection on the Zimbabwean people which they did not sign up to so fair play to Tsvangirai for saying "hell no". What's more, despite Mugabe's pyrrhic victory, Zanu-PF's thuggery is still going on and they have adopted a new tactic to reduce the MDC's parliamentary majority.

To Mugabe, the people of Zimbabwe have rejected you, so accept it and get over it - the inexorable march of Father Time goes on.

SHAME ON YOU!!

To those African leaders who did not have the gumption to condemn Mugabe's staged run off and declare his presidency illegitmate, shame on you!! To those who endorsed Mugabe such as Omar Bongo, Africa's longest serving ruler because of your practice of buying off your opponents using petrodollars from Gabon's bountiful oil reserves, and Gambia's Yahya Jammeh , shame on you!!. If you failed to speak out because of the log in your own eye, shame on you!!

The AU has let the people of Zimbabwe down so it begs the question, does the AU exist to serve governments or to serve ordinary people? The AU has the legal power to declare Morgan Tsvangirai Zimbabwe's legitmate head of state based on the results of the March elections, which even Zanu-PF concede the MDC won. The fact that the run-off was not held within 21 days of the first round elections renders it invalid, notwithstanding the blatant thuggery and intimidation employed by Zanu-PF.

How is it possible for an 84 year old man to cow 52 people? He is not superhuman, his shit stinks like EVERYBODY elses - enough with the flippin' deification!!

Why aid to Africa doesn't work

Corruption and embezzlement of aid money notwithstanding, the single point of failure for aid projects is the intransigence of the those holding the purse strings. If the end client and external expert discuss the project and decide to tweak things in such a way that the original ToR and deliverables are amended, the end client then formally applies to the purse string holders to have the amendments recognised. The purse string holders then take over a month to come back and say that the amendments have been rejected, meanwhile the external expert and end client are working to the revised deliverables.

So ultimately, where does that leave the project? As the external expert, my responsibility is to the end client - the rest is just BUREAUCRATIC BOLLOCKS!!

GNU

is a new TLA that has entered the mainstream lexicon, especially if you've been following the disputed election results in Kenya. It stands for Government of National Unity, but as the utterances by Kenya's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister show, it is anything but. For the Kenyan taxpayer, the GNU means having to pay for a bloated cabinet. Kenya's IDPs face a delay in being resettled because funds for the IDPs have been diverted to the precious lawmakers. Cocking a snoot to the plight of the IDPs, Kenya's lawmakers have decided to award themselves a non-taxable generous allowance increase.

If Zimbabwe does go down the road of the GNU, as they are being encouraged to, then I certainly hope Zimbabwean taxpayers get a better deal than that of their Kenyan counterparts. And if the wishes of the electorate are ignored as was the case in Kenya and Zimbabwe, what's the point of spending all that money on having elections in the first place? Why not set up a GNU at the outset? I believe the IDPs in Kenya and Zimbabwe would be amenable to that because exercising one's democratic right is not worth one's life, livelihood or displacement.

Africa doesn't do elections (apart from Botswana), it does selections, but there is a slight breeze of change.

Shy, retiring and VERY, VERY bitter

, this article provides an insight into Robert Gabriel Mugabe's seemingly irrational behaviour. However the abandonment by his father and his perceived betrayal by the British meant that when he lost the election in March, he took it personally and it was a rejection too far. Not wanting to revisit the sense of helplessness that he must have felt as a youth, he rules his people with an iron fist, brooking no dissent.

Any shrinks out there willing to take him on as a patient?