holy cow, a long gap
Looong gap between posts… Sorry.
I hate to be correct about Zimbabwe - indeed there was blood on the streets. Apparently Mugabe was ready to step down after the first election in March when the head of the military, Chiwenga, took charge and fought a “war” instead of an “election.” Now 84-year-old Mugabe says “only God” will remove him; um, Chiwenga and his cronies, congrats on living to corrupt for another day. But those days are numbered! God will be taking Mugabe sooner rather than later; do you really think that a military dictatorship will be next and be able to close the borders to create a state like the long-isolated Burma/Myanmar idiocy? Completely irrational.
ALL of my American friends here in Japan have gathered into an “Osaka Americans for Obama” love-in, raising cash and raah-raah-raahing. It’s fun to have them try and pull me away from McCain - kind of sad that the strongest arguments that I get are the most feeble feather-taps imaginable: “4 more years of Bush?” and “He’s too old, he’s senile!” First of all, McCain hates Bush and will not emulate Boosh’s unimaginably long 8 years in power; next, one of the most powerful politicians in America is suddenly “senile” when he’s stepping up to the highest office, like his brain suddenly will go kaput! if and when he takes a seat in the Oval Office? Absurd. Tell me how Obama is going to fix Iraq and the Middle East (i.e., oil), THEN I’ll think again about his candidacy.