This will hurt me...

I have expended quite a few words on Robert Mugabe over the past few months, but really, I think that five words is all that you need: What an odious, obnoxious prick. His comment this time? Prior to his dodgy runoff election he comes out with : "Anyone who tries to undermine our land reform we will challenge. We are prepared to fight for our country or to go to war if we lose it - as happened to our forefathers." This is exactly the rhetoric that one could see in Spain prior to the Spanish General Election of 1936 (albeit from both sides in that case). We know what happened there .

You may have heard that there has been an election going on in Zimbabwe. In what will be a test for democracy in southern Africa, the results may well decide the fate of liberal democracy in much of the under-developed world. The BBC has an interesting pictorial essay on the election, and it fits nicely with their streaming of 'on the ground' contributions and observations that have been solicited from all over the country. This is an excellent insight for those of us lucky enough to live in stable countries, and should remind us to be very thankful for our comparatively 'dull' electoral systems. The Times over the weekend featured an excellent article that spoke of the " the electricity of hope " that can be felt in the electoral processes of developing countries. In a result that has – to be frank – stunned me, independent monitoring groups have said that returns posted at about two-thirds of polling stations have given Tsvangirai 55% of the vote to Mugab...

Unlike DMX, I've heard of him. And I know that the guy has admirable qualities, and I know that it's very much against the trend (at least the global trend), but I just don't get the whole Barack Obama thing. I know what it means for people to have a viable African-American candidate, and I know that many Americans appear to be looking to make a statement that the US is capable of choosing a 'progressive' and more articulate alternative to the current occupant of the White House. But Obama? He just leaves me cold. For a while I wasn't sure what it was that left me that way. And then it clicked. I've figured out what it is that makes me unsure about Barack Obama. No, not the cult-like behaviour of some of his followers (although that too freaks me out a bit, but it's not unknown in US politics). What turns me off is who he reminds me of when I hear him speak. And who is that, you may well ask. Johnathon Livingston Seagull . That's who. And if you re...