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