An American Pessoptimist

Nonpirates, Pirates and... Oh, what is this?

2009-05-29T13:42:00.007-04:00

Big Picture has another post of Somalia photos, this time showing activities in Mogadishu. There are some really amazing - and some very heartbreaking - shots in there, including a particularly remarkable portrait of a Somali policeman (#16). Roughly half the images are of young men and younger men holding guns, and only some of them are government soldiers. Where are all these guns coming from? I honestly don't know. Anyone feel free to jump in on that one (and please cite your source if you do, if you can).

A commenter on a previous post asked why some Somalis are becoming pirates. I'd suppose there's no one answer. According to this article, many are fishermen who are losing job opportunities due to illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping. Other than that, it's a way to make big money, quick, during a time when life everywhere is dangerous and employment opportunities are wanting. Just another illegal business.

I checked out said commenter's site (she has many blogspots, actually, but only one seems to be a blog; the rest are something like product placements), and there's a Malaysian site called "Ya Aba 'Abdillah," with the address hezbollah-asia.blogpsot, which is, uh... interesting... and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm a bit concerned, honestly. There's a content warning when you click on it, which gave me pause, but I went ahead and there are a lot of videos that I have not watched, some Malay posts and some English posts. Google can't translate Malay for me, and I can't find a decent translation site, so I don't really know what's going on in those posts, though overall it appears to be a Shi'a site, judging from the references to Imam Hussein and Fatima Zahra.

It's things like this that bring home the fact that anything you put on the internet is thereafter spat out to the world, and there's no telling who may stumble upon you, or whom you may stumble upon.

It's things like this that also make you wonder whether or not the government is watching you...

Militant Boy Scouts of America

2009-05-14T13:27:00.010-04:00

Well, this is the most disturbing thing I’ve read in a long time. Apparently some branches of the Boy Scouts of America are turning their co-ed Explorers program into a paramilitary training program:

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More

That picture makes my stomach turn. Literally.

The article opens with a description of kids – boys and girls as young as 14-years-old – acting out a Border Patrol scenario involving guns, poisonous gas, gas masks, tripwire, and simulated death. It’s one of many training events used to teach the children “skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence.” In the event described above, the kids were pretending to storm a marijuana field. One of the “skills” being taught here is that putting a man on his face and putting a knee in his back will guarantee that he’ll shut up.

Did you notice the part up there about guns? Yeah. Pellet guns. 16-year-old Cathy likes guns: “I like shooting them. I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”

I am afraid if Cathy.

According to Imperial County sheriff’s deputy A. J. Lowenthal, this is all supposedly “about being a true-blooded American guy and girl… [fitting] right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. They aren’t teaching these kids good citizenry, they’re teaching them how to fight violence with violence. Brave, honorable, true-blooded Americans? Teenagers are supposed to be concerned with grades, body image, peer pressure, and ripening sexuality. Not learning how to shoot people.

The Explorers program has support from the Border Patrol, the Homeland Security Department, and the FBI, who see participants in the program as future employees. According to senior Border Patrol agent April McKee, “Our end goal is to create more agents.”

Fabulous. America is so desperate for soldiers and agents that the Boy Scouts are encouraged to start training kids as young as 13 (although the youngest they’re supposed to be is 14, but there’s wiggle room there) how to board hijacked buses, storm marijuana fields, and recognize terrorists by their traditional Arab clothing. I guess it’s never too early to learn Xenophobic jingoism.

And I’m going to assume that these youngsters are still mandated to be God-fearing heterosexuals to earn the privilege of taking part in this circus.

The comments on this article are encouraging. Several former Scouts are speaking out against the program and most if not all (I’m not about to read all 400+ comments to find out) show a degree of disgust comparable to my own. Hopefully this means that any push to make these sorts of activities Boy Scout standard won’t go over without protest.

P.S. In the described Border Patrol scenario, the gunman – the bad guy – is depicted as “a disgruntled Iraq war veteran.” Way to honor our veterans, guys. Have them cast as shell-shocked homicidal lunatics in your little war fantasy for kids.

::EDIT::
Gracious, there are even more disturbing photos than the one posted above. Here's the series. It's disgusting that they're training children how to do these things.

Bin Laden is sooo last decade...

2009-03-20T09:03:00.003-04:00

Even Somalia doesn't want the bastard.

Seems Osama bin Laden has an opinion about Somalia's new President (take a number, dude). In response to his video address calling for President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to be toppled, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, one of Somalia's hardline Islamist leaders, says:

"Somalia knows [its] future and who can involve, but it is not something for Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda either,"

and Information Minister Farahan Ali Mohamoud says:

"We know that bin Laden has his own problems in the mountainous area of Tora Bora where he is hiding, so he has no place making such statements at a time when Somalia is keen to emerge from 21 years violence."

Ow. Look who's not cool anymore.

The faces of modern piracy

2009-03-16T13:45:00.002-04:00

Big kudos to the Big Picture at boston.com.

I imagine this true for at least a few...

2009-02-24T19:30:00.004-05:00

Wudu.

HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence

2009-02-08T21:03:00.009-05:00

Though it is still a stigma.

Here's a brief diary entry by an HIV-positive orphan from Lesotho who acquired the virus from her mother, who died when she was young. She now lives with her grandmother and two older brothers.

In this diary she writes about how her brothers make fun of her and how she's isolated herself from the many friends she used to have because she's worried they'd judge her if they knew she has the virus. As heartbreaking as that is, the diary is actually quite positive in that she is determined to take her medication, no matter the stigma attached to it (or the 2-4 hour journey to the clinic), because she knows it makes her better. She's also making new friends at the clinic where she gets her medication.

Here's the kicker:

I am also happy knowing that my whole story will be told to the world, because HIV is not a secret any more.
It's important to talk about it because I have accepted it, and I am used to it.
When I grow up, I want to be a nurse and help people get well, like I have been helped to get well. [my emphasis]

When she grows up. It makes me smile to see such ambition.

And the U.S. will freak out on the count of three: 1... 2...

2009-02-03T08:52:00.004-05:00

“Dear Iranian nation, your children have placed the first indigenous satellite into orbit... With God’s help and the desire for justice and peace, the official presence of the Islamic Republic was registered in space.”
--- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran

Its name is Omid, which means hope.

Dammit!

2009-02-03T07:50:00.003-05:00

Stop! Just... stoppit already!

Al Shabaab Declare War on New President
Islamist militants who spearheaded a bloody insurgency in Somalia have declared war on the Horn of Africa country's new president, even as a global council of Islamic scholars issued a document supporting him, Radio Garowe reports.

Sheikh Hassan Yakub, spokesman for the Al Shabaab rulers in the port of Kismayo, 500km south of the capital Mogadishu, said the war will continue until Islamic law is restored across Somalia...

"Sheikh Sharif declared jihad in 2006 and now he chose America over Islam," Sheikh Yakub said.

Dudes (loose translation of shabaab شباب, there), he's barely even in office. Put your complexes on hold for a moment and give this man - a fellow Muslim, and your former leader - a chance.

A global council of Islamic scholars, chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Al Qardawi, has called on Al Shabaab and the Eritrea-based Islamist hardliners led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys to support President Sheikh Sharif's new government.

"The Islamist groups are expected to work with Sheikh Sharif and to help restore security in Somalia," read a document issued by the Islamic clerics. [my emphasis]

Yeah, like they said.

New to science!

2009-01-31T13:27:00.004-05:00

Hooray Google Earth?

Scientists from London's Royal Botanic Gardens stumbled upon "a vast forest untouched by the modern world" in northern Mozambique's Mount Mabu using Google Earth.

Cool!

It's possible they've found one or two plant species, three butterfly species, and one snake species that are new to science. They won't know for sure until more experts check them out. They've also found a bird species that isn't new, but up to now was only known to exist on one mountain, and now they've been found here as well.

The link above takes you to a nice photo and audio slideshow of the expedition lead by Jonathan Timberlake.

Somalia can has Hope too?

2009-01-31T12:38:00.006-05:00

Say what you want about Somalia's current hell and pirate show, it's got something over Zimbabwe: the ability to hold legitimate elections:

"Sharif Sheik Ahmed won the election and he is the legitimate Somali president," with 293 out of 421 votes over candidate Masalah Mohamed Siad's 126.

This is the same Sheik Sharif who lead the Islamic Courts back in 2006 before the Ethiopians came in. With the Ethiopians now gone, look who's back in power.

Masalah Mohamed Said is the late Mohamed Siad Barre's son. If you recall, Barre was the dictator ousted in 1991 and the end of his rule heralded the chaos that there has been ever since. Interesting tidbit there.

According to analysts, Sheik Sharif "will have the best chance to unite Somalis, given his Islamist roots and acceptability to other sides."

Jeffery Gettleman (yep, he's still one of the most prolific reporters for Somalia) writes that Sheik Sharif is "generally respected as being scholarly and temperate" and his election is the best news Somalis have had in years, giving them a "window of hope" and "a possible path out of the violence." Somalis overall seem very pleased with the results, and are holding cheerful rallies for the government, instead of against.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN's envoy to Somalia, is also optimistic: "I hope and I am sure that the international community will lend its cooperation to the new authorities provided they demonstrate their determination to promote a stable and tolerant Somalia."

We'll see about that. We know what happened last time...

Things are still rather volatile and many are still fleeing. All the same, many IDPs (Internationally Displaces Persons) have returned and are returning to Somalia and its capital, Mogadishu. It's sestimated that roughly 1.3 million Somalis have been displaced since the fighting between the Somali Transitional Government, Ethiopian troops, and insurgents began in early 2007.

Sheik Mohamad is an Islamist moderate separate from the extremist Islamist militias (al-Shabab) that have been causing trouble. The next step is for Sheik Sharif to appoint a new Prime Minister and thereafter form a unity government. To do that he'll most likely pick someone not from his own Hawiye clan.

Best of luck to them all.

Feed my fish

2009-01-29T21:57:00.002-05:00

Over there to the right, under my profile blurb.
Click in their pool to feed them yummy treats.

Now this is how to celebrate a New Year!

2009-01-26T20:11:00.004-05:00

Fireworks, firecrackers, dragons, acting, dancing, infinite dumplings, lanterns, and even an ecplipse! Next year I'm going to find where all this is happening nearest to me and there will be partying.

Via The Big Picture, which is always full of mind-blowing amazingness.
If you're not subscribed to it I strongly recommend you fix that.
Follow the link and scroll down for many more albums.

Squirrels!

2009-01-23T22:00:00.007-05:00

On lighter note, Wednesday was Squirrel Appreciation Day. Two days late, but still, let's appreciate the little buggers!

For many things skwerly there's Scary Squirrel World. They have news, photos, games, and videos about squirrels of all kinds, and they take themselves just seriously enough to have good content while refraining from being completely nutty.

Of course not everyone appreciates squirrels, which is okay, I guess...

CNN reported that there is a shortage of acorns along the East coast this season, which has people worried for the squirrels, but Virginian wildlife biologist John Rohm assures people they will be fine: "Animals are resourceful," he said. "If they're hungry, they're gonna find something to eat."

As this squirrel would tell you if it could remember. It got raging drunk off fermented pumpkins. I feel squeeful glee, schadenfreude, and pity all at the same time: [h/t Bad Astronomy]

You can tell by the way it hangs on for dear life that it's wondering why the tree keeps moving, which is hilarious. At about 1.30 it starts running in circles continuously.

Aaaand Britons blame our black squirrels for being a bad genetic influence on their black squirrels, because apparently one of ours long ago has consequently turned theirs into little punks that bully around the neighborhood greys and reds:

Black 'super squirrels' rapidly wiping out their grey cousins in parts of Britain descend from one individual released nearly 130 years ago, it has emerged...

It could provide an even bigger threat to our native species of red squirrel, which had already been almost wiped out by greys.

Until now it was not known whether the black squirrel was brought to the UK or was a result of a genetic mutation.

But research published yesterday in Cambridge proved that the UK variety is directly descended from the American black...

'It took just one cheeky squirrel to escape a zoo and mate with a grey. Now there are tens of thousands in the UK.' [link]

Clearly, they should have kept a better eye on their squirrels. And [sarcasm]boohoo[/sarcasm], anyway, we have to deal with their starlings because someone back in the 1890s had a Shakespeare fetish. No joke. (I think they're pretty though...)

So there you go. Squirrels. Appreciate them.

I take offense to this

2009-01-23T20:54:00.010-05:00

This post would have you, no matter who you are or where you live, be very afraid and on guard at all times, suspecting anyone who might maybe possibly have some remote interest in attacking the U.S., be they abroad or homegrown. Of course it's possible we'll be attacked again, but I'm not going to live my life in a constant state of paranoia. That's no way to live.

[Javal] Aviv believes that the United States will be attacked again and it will come within weeks or months. I remind people that al Qaeda waited eight years after the initial bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. We are eight years passed 9/11.

The attacks—there will be multiple attacks, not a single spectacular one—says Juval will come in the form of simultaneous detonations around the nation in anywhere from five to eight cities, including in rural areas. Al Qaeda doesn’t want Americans to feel safe just because they don’t live in a major city...

For these and other reasons, I think it is not ‘if’ we will be attacked, but when. And ‘when’ is coming soon...

It will transform the Obama administration in the same way it turned George W. Bush into a wartime President. The question is whether the squishy, let’s-talk-it-over approach of President Obama will override the only real way to deal with the problem of Islamofascism and that is to be pro-active and willing to deal out a great deal of retribution and revenge.

Public relations gestures such as closing down Gitmo give me further cause for concern. We are likely to need this facility for many years to come.

We hear this kind of stuff from the extreme right all the time these days. Nothing new, so that's not really what I'm taking issue with here, not that I don't take issue with it generally. But here's what's got me riled up:

Eight years is more than enough time to recruit home-grown terrorists willing to carry out the attacks, but there are Aviv points out plenty of “students” who travel between the U.S. and the Middle East every year. They are, he notes, the most dangerous because they know our language and have studied our habits.

Ahem. I happen to be one of those "students" and I know countless other such "students" and we are not terrorists, potentially or otherwise. We are not dangerous. We're learning these languages and customs because we long to bridge the divide that has in recent years turned into a global battlefield, both literally and metaphorically. We do what we do because we love our country and respect others enough to get their side of the story too.

I'd been subscribed to this blog for a quite long time because they're an excellent source of news even if I don't always agree with their interpretations, but they recently gave an award to ex-President George W. Bush, with a big ol' sticker saying "Mission Accomplished." Pardon me, but fuck that noise. His administration has been a disgraceful monstrosity. Between that and this, I am now unsubscribed. Sorry guys, truly.

::UPDATE:: Huh. It seems they've removed that particular post. Well, that article can be found elsewhere here in its entirety.

Thoughts for the day

2009-01-20T13:38:00.006-05:00

My stats prof ended class at 11.30, a full hour and a half early, so we could all go watch the inauguration. He mentioned he had wanted to watch it himself but didn't want to be the first to ask. In case, you know, we would've rather stayed in class or something? I thought that was sweet. :-)

So we streamed it via CNN on the classroom computer and put it on the screen projector.

Images that stand out:

Cheney rolling out in his wheelchair. Unlucky bastard.
Seeing Aretha Franklin's breath in the air as she sang out in the cold.
Obama "stumbling" over the oath at first reminded me a bit of my husband saying his vows at our wedding, all nervous and excited. But apparently it was the Chief Justice who got the words wrong, so it wasn't a stumble, it was more of a pause to let the man correct himself. Show 'im how it's done, POTUS!
Obama's daughter (don't know which one) taking video of her dad giving his speech. She must have been so proud...

Through all my politically-aware life, it's been Bush. I can't imagine what life will be like otherwise, but I look forward to finding out!

My statistics professor is awesome

2009-01-20T10:45:00.003-05:00

I just emailed him this:

Hello [professor],
There's something I've been debating for a few days now, and I wanted to ask you before I made any final decision. As I'm sure you know, today is the Presidential Inauguration, and we have class during the first chunk of it (ceremony starts at 11.30). It's such a historical day for the country, and I feel it is important to watch Obama get sworn into office. Would it be alright if I left class during the noon break to watch the Inauguration? Or perhaps we could all watch it together?
Thank you,
Sara

And he replied:

Hi Sara,

yes, you can leave early.
is it ok to forward your message to the class to see how many would like to watch the inauguration?

[professor]

Woot!

Good job America, now keep going.

2009-01-19T10:43:00.007-05:00

While I completely understand the GBLT crowds' and their supporters' outrage over the apparent blackout of Bishop Robinsons's prayer (way to go, HBO ::eye roll::), and while we spend today honoring the memory of a man whose dream comes true tomorrow, I'd like to point out two things:

1) we ought not stop and pat ourselves on the back lest we become complacent, seeing as we obviously still have a lot of work to do regarding civil rights,

2) these being political, government events, there shouldn't be prayers being said at these things anyway.

::EDIT:: Updated the link regarding the Bishop's blackout, and below is a video of his prayer for those who'd like to hear it. While I don't think there should be any prayers associated with government activity, this does strike me as an obvious snub to the LGBT community. And so to spite whoever's attempt it was to have it not aired to the public, I'd like to do my part to make it as visible as possible.

Kiwis and Reproduction Rights

2009-01-18T13:21:00.004-05:00

I was asked by a friend the other day if I knew anything about kiwis being a deliberate combination of strawberries and bananas. It sounded unlikely, but I honestly did not know the answer so I said I'd look it up.

It's not true.

It is a cultivar though, which means it is "cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics." In this case, it is "brown and furry" like a kiwi bird (aww...). It originates from China, where it is considered the national fruit, but is also found naturally in India, Japan, and Southwestern Siberia, and made its way to New Zealand in the early 20th century. People thought it tasted like gooseberries, a fruit to which kiwis are actually in no way related, and was called Chinese gooseberry for a while. It wasn't called a kiwi until 1959.

I will use this occasion to show you this beautiful and adorable yet heartbreaking little video:

In completely unrelated news (which made for a really catchy blogpost title I think), today is apparently "Sanctity of Human Life Day." As Derek Araujo writes: "George W. Bush, who entered office pledging to be a 'uniter, not a divider,' is leaving office by issuing an official Proclamation on the most divisive issue in American politics: abortion."

Heckuva job, Bushie. Can't wait to watch you leave office on Tuesday.

So, all of you who happen to own Pro-Choice pins, go out today and wear them proudly.

US$30 = Z$100,000,000,000,000 = 6 loaves of bread

2009-01-17T13:44:00.003-05:00

The central bank on Friday introduced new Zimbabwe dollar bank notes into circulation, this time in the trillion dollar range, in the most recent indication that Zimbabwe is a failed state...

The Z$100 trillion note is estimated be worth the equivalent of US$30 and will reportedly only buy 6 loaves of bread from those few traders still dealing in local currency. The collapsed economy and continued introduction of ludicrously high denominations of bank notes is the most visible sign of Zimbabwe's economic and humanitarian crises, which have left millions of lives at risk in a country torn apart by hunger and disease... [link]

Yep, Mugabe's still in charge.

Dreams & Aspirations

2009-01-16T22:32:00.005-05:00

1) What is the first thing you dreamed of becoming as a child?
Paleontologist. Loooooved dinosaurs.

2) Who was your first comic book/TV?Movie hero?
Dian Fossey. Obviously she wasn't a movie star, but I learned about her from a movie - Gorillas in the Mist - when I was very young, maybe 5 years old. Through learning about her work over the years I came across Jane Goodall and admired her a great deal as well. I didn't really have comic book/TV/movie heroes at all. Unless velociraptors count.

3) What was the first career you trained for?
Good question? Mid-East specialist I guess.

h/t Ed

Series of important stuff: III

2009-01-10T22:32:00.009-05:00

Russia
I saw, visited, and did the following (photos linked where applicable):

(If anyone wants details on any of the things, places, or events below, let me know, and I'll whip something up.)
-
Moscow:

Lomonosov Moscow State University (where we took classes, one of Stalin's "Seven Sisters")

Assumption Cathedral

GUM - Overhyped shopping mall

Lenin's Tomb (a dream come true...)

Biblio-Globus - Russia's 'Barnes & Noble'

Cathedral of Christ the Savior

Dioskuriya, Georgian restaurant - We did not eat the kitty; the kitty came to play with us while we ate

Tolstoy Estate Museum - Where I ate the raspberries referenced half a year ago...

Tolstoy Museum

Pushkin Literary Museum

Biblioteca imeni Lenina

Boat ride on Moscow River (that's a statue of Peter the Great)

Weekend at St. Petersburg:

Nevsky Prospect

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Kazan Cathedral (used to house the museum of atheism)

Dvortsovaya Ploshchad (check out those clouds)

Alexander Column (the column in the previous picture)

The Prodigal Son

Upper & Lower Gardens

Russian Museum - Houses the most beautiful art I have ever seen in my life. I love Repin.

Michailovsky Palace (behind the gate there, the gate was prettier than the outside of the palace, i thought)

Idiot Restaurant - Actual menu items: [1] [2]

Absinthe (seen here with a grapefruit juice mixer and a complimentary shot of vodka)

Accidental boatride through the Gulf of Finland [lying]the absinthe had nothing to do with our boarding of this boat[/lying]

Visited Eva's grandmother's childhood St. Pete apartment

Locked out of the dorm till 3am. We had to sneak back in through the gate.

Summer Garden. A well-kept forested area with Greco-Roman looking statues.

Back in Moscow:

Banya! Like a sauna/spa, but if you have a weak heart it might kill you with shock. You strip naked and walk into a sauna so hot that if you walk too quickly the air will burn your flesh. You beat yourself with birch branches (it's not a harsh as it sounds), then jump into a pool of ice water. Repeat as desired.

Lenin's tomb

Ismailovsky market

The Museum of Vodka

Miscellaneous

Homemade guacamole (made with a swiss army knife and a pair of hands)

Packs of wild dogs

Stray cats (look at it's eyes!)

Sketchy beeping satellite dishes

Sketchy scary birds (larger than crows, they walk out suddenly in front of you out from behind bushes and have a caw that sounds like a smoker's cough)

Crazy traffic from my window

Beautiful sunsets from my window

As you can see, it was beautiful and amazing and bizarre. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Series of important stuff: II

2009-01-10T22:28:00.002-05:00

Brandeis
So far so good. I'll go by class:

Advanced Research Statistics I ('B+' for the class)
While the midterm handed my ass to me on a platter (would have tied for failing with another girl if it weren't for the gracious curve, but other people did poorly too and the prof said he wasn't surprised at all by the grades), I did well enough in other parts of the class and the homework assignments and final that I pulled my final grade up to a B+. That was close...

Graduate Research Methods ('A' for the class)
Final paper titled: "The Role of Religion and Knowledge of Family History on Depression in Jewish University Students"

Child Development Across Cultures ('A-' for the class)
Final paper titled: "Sentiments, Motives, and Social Personas in the Middle East and North Africa: A case for operationalizing culture-specific emotions, traits, and self-conceptions"

Disorders of Childhood ('A' for the class)
Final paper titled: "Investigating Risk Factors for Eating Disorder / Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Comorbidity"

If anyone is interested in summaries of any of these papers, let me know and I'll whip them up.

The line up for next term:
- Advanced Research Statistics II
- Proseminar in Brain Body & Behavior
- Human Neuropsychology
- Master's Thesis

Series of important stuff: I

2009-01-09T15:30:00.009-05:00

First of all, I got married! Ceremony script follows.

OUTLINE

Entrance
Welcome, Presentation of Bride and Groom
Introductory Remarks
Exchange of Baskets (Cherokee custom)
Gifts of Bread, Salt, and Wine (Polish custom)
Message to the Parents (reading)
Couple Partakes of Bread and Wine (reading)
Exchange of Vows
Exchange of Rings
Oath of Affirmation
Pronouncement of Marriage
Presentation of the Couple

CEREMONY

Guests are seated. Officiant enters.
Groom, followed by Groomsmen, enter from the side.
Bridesmaids proceed down center aisle to music.
Bride enters to music, is escorted down center aisle by her parents.

Officiant: Welcome. Friends and loved ones, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Aaron. and Sara. It is through their deep and abiding love for each other that they stand before you today, and it is through their deep and abiding love for all of you that they have asked you here to bear witness to their heartfelt vows of marriage.
Who presents this couple in marriage?

Parents: We do!

Officiant: Sara and Aaron have chosen an appropriate setting for the public affirmation of love they are about to undertake. Four years ago on this campus, they first found in each other a sense of shared purpose, friendship, and love which has grown so strong that they return here now to unite their lives in marriage. May the love and joy we all share with them today sanctify this place, that it may house their wedding as it nurtured their relationship at the start.

Aaron and Sara, you have come to love each other deeply and sincerely. In this ceremony, you celebrate your commitment and your love for each other and dedicate yourselves to your individual growth and partnership.

For marriage is a partnership, a commitment reinforced by love, of equals who discover that they are more fulfilled together than they are apart. Two people who choose the partnership of marriage need many skills to make it work. They need patience, kindness, generosity, good humor, and the ability to compromise. They need persistence, nurturing, trust, discretion, and the willingness to be vulnerable. But almost nothing offers a greater possibility for living life well. Life is richer when experience is shared, and good lovers bring out the best in each other. In a good relationship, the partners are aware of how much they need each other — of how much they transform each other. Joy, laughter, caring, tenderness, and hope are the gifts of love. In the presence of love, we feel our power and experience life in a new way. And you are partners in love who enjoy life more fully because you have found each other.

In this spirit of partnership, and in keeping with the custom of the bride’s Cherokee heritage, I invite the parents to come forward with baskets, lovingly prepared by the bride and groom as tokens of that which they bring to their union.

Mothers of the Bride and Groom stand and approach the altar, each holding a small basket.

Officiant: [To the Bride:] Sara, what do you provide for this union of marriage?

Mother of the Bride hands the Bride her basket of corn, and stands to the side.

Bride: I provide these things to my husband and home. They are a symbol that I will care for you and love you always.

Officiant: [To the Groom:] Aaron, what do you provide for this union of marriage?

Mother of the Groom hands the Groom his basket of meat, and stands to the side.

Groom: I provide these things to my wife and home. They are a symbol that I will provide, love and protect our family always.

Bride and Groom exchange baskets and lay them upon the sides of the altar.

Officiant: In keeping with the custom of the groom’s Polish heritage, the parents are now welcomed to present gifts of food and drink to their children.

Fathers of the Bride and Groom stand and approach the altar.

Officiant: [To couple:] Your parents offer you this loaf of bread and portion of salt. The bread represents your parents' hope that you will never experience hunger or need. The salt is to remind you that your lives may be difficult and you must learn together to cope with life's struggles.

Father of the Groom hands rye bread and salt to the Groom, who sets them upon the altar.

Officiant: [To couple:] Your parents now offer you a gift of wine. With this wine, your parents hope that you will never thirst and that you will have a life of good health and cheer and share the company of many good friends.

Father of the Bride hands decanter of tokaji to the Bride, who sets it upon the altar.

Officiant: Aaron and Sara’s union brings together two family traditions, two systems of roots, in the hope that a new family tree may become strong and fruitful.

The parents may now join in kissing the bride and groom as a welcome to the family and as a sign of their love and unity.

Parents of the Bride and Groom now kiss their own child, then their new child, before returning to their seats.

Officiant: Parents. Through your love you gave your children life, and with your constant love they prospered. They stand here today the fruits of your care, your hard work, and sacrifice, and for these things they are very, truly grateful.

But now, standing here together, having come of their own free will, they must begin their lives anew.

And so I say to you now, in the words of the poet Khalil Gibran:
“Your Children are not Your Children

They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself...
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts...
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth...
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies,
so he loves also the bow that is stable.”

Will you, David and Linda, Brian and Lydia, encourage Sara and Aaron in their marriage, celebrate with them the decision they have made to choose each other, and continue to stand beside them, yet not between them?

Parents: We will!

Officiant: Having been presented with these gifts of bread and wine, let us now invite the Bride and Groom to partake of them, together, again in the words of the poet Khalil Gibran:

As the poem is read, the Bride and Groom each pour a glass of wine and offer it to the other. They then break their loaves of bread and offer a piece to the other, sprinkling the bread with salt. They eat of the bread, and drink the wine.

Officiant: Aaron and Sara:
“You were born together,
and together you shall be forevermore...
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between
the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. ***
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. ***
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress
grow not in each other's shadow.”

Officiant: The Bride and Groom will now express their promises to each other.

Groom: I, Aaron, take you, Sara, as my wife. I do solemnly avow my love for you. I will comfort you, keep you, love you, defend you in sickness or in health, in riches or poverty, in sorrow or joy, seeking only to be with you until my dying day. All these things I pledge upon my honor, and with my earnest and complete devotion, I give you my love.

Bride: I, Sara, take you, Aaron, as my husband. I do solemnly avow my love for you. I will comfort you, keep you, love you, defend you in sickness or in health, in riches or poverty, in sorrow or joy, seeking only to be with you until my dying day. All these things I pledge upon my honor, and with my earnest and complete devotion, I give you my love.

Officiant: Traditionally, the passage to the status of husband and wife is marked by the exchange of rings. These rings are a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end. Love freely given has no giver and no receiver - for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings remind you always of the vows you have taken here today.

Exchange of rings. Groom receives ring from his Best Men, Bride from her Matron of Honor.

Groom: This ring is a symbol of my love and faithfulness, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, and pledge to you my love and life.

Bride: This ring is a symbol of my love and faithfulness, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, and pledge to you my love and life.

Officiant: Do you, Aaron, take Sara, whom you have promised to love and cherish, to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Groom: I do.

Officiant: Do you, Sara, take Aaron, whom you have promised to love and cherish, to be your lawfully wedded husband?

Bride: I do.

Officiant: Intimacy is what makes a marriage. Not a ceremony, not a word, not a piece of paper from the state. A wedding ceremony is only the outward symbol, a public announcement of that which is already within. While the powers vested in me by the State have given me the great privilege of rendering your union legal, yours is a bond that law can neither create nor destroy. May the confidence, trust, and affection you have for each other on this day, and all days, be the testament to your enduring love for each other as you go forth upon your journey of life together with all that it has to offer.

The poet Homer wrote, “There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.” Aaron and Sara, having witnessed the proof of your love for each other in your vows of marriage on this, the eleventh of October, Two Thousand and Eight, all who are assembled here now joyfully invite you to embrace as husband and wife.

Smooches!!!!

Officiant: Ladies and gentlemen, Aaron and Sara Golas!

Organ voluntary (Widor's Toccata from Symphony No.5) as audience applauds. Bride and Groom exit down center aisle. Exeunt omnia.

Yar! Theez be yur pyrates!

2009-01-09T14:12:00.004-05:00

They can haz ransom for yur ship plz?
[picture source]

I did find it odd that after a little more than a year of pirating, the world didn't take notice of Somalia's pirate problem till they took a bigass Saudi oil tanker. As if this is the worst of their problems.

Somalia has had a very exciting start for the New Year.
Government changes:
Fresh Turmoil, Uncertainty as President Resigns
Former Mogadishu Warlord to Run for President
Violence Continues As Ethiopian Troops Begin Pullout
Islamic Courts Union Takes Over Police Stations
Four Islamist Insurgents Make Unity
Explosion Kills Government Soldiers in Mogadishu

More IDPs:
Fresh Fighting Uproots Another 50,000 Somalis, Compounding Present Crisis - UN

Aid problems:
WFP Official Gunned Down in Gedo Region
AU Peacekeeper Killed in Mogadishu
Gunmen Kill UN Food Aid Worker in South

Media problems:
Soldier Guns Down Journalist
Radio Reporter Gunned Down by Member of Pro-Government Militia

Today I ate raspberries from Leo Tolstoy's garden.

2008-07-19T12:19:00.003-04:00

Really. They were delicious. And he had a very nice house.

And last night at the Georgian restaurant we ate at a little boy let me play with his kitten! So adoreable, both of them.

Они не говорют по-английски

2008-07-16T10:21:00.006-04:00

When we arrived we had no running water in our suite so they moved us to different suites. There, we could not get the hot water to turn off. But it's all fixed now.

In Russia you do not run water, water runs you...

I (and four other new people) joined a class that had already been going for two weeks. I have caught up now after only three days, and I think I can safely say my Russian is better than my teacher's English. She's such a darling. A very sweet and patient woman.

Today, Eva stepped on a pigeon then I got to pet it.

I get to see Lenin this weekend. Woo!

I'm going to Russia

2008-07-10T23:10:00.000-04:00

More to follow....

World events round-up

2008-07-07T15:29:00.007-04:00

Zimbabwe:

The Germany paper company that provides Zimbabwe with banknote paper has decided to stop doing so. Considering a Coke these days costs Z$58 billion, it's not as though that paper was worth anything anyway.
The Zimbabwean press keeps taking hits.
Mugabe's agenda turns a 180 as he decides to disband his ZanuPF militia bases because "their services [are] no longer required."
Video proof that the whole election was an insult to democracy.
The AU refuses to condemn Mugabe and his sham election, and CNN reports that this may be because so many of Africa's other dictatorial leaders would be hypocrites to chastise him. In fact, they may just be taking notes. The article also points out:
"While Robert Mugabe has been singled out for condemnation, leaders of other autocratic states have largely been able to avoid sanctions and isolation. Many have friends in Western capitals. Or play a strategic role in the war on terror. Or sit on oil."
Speaking of which:

Somalia:

Shortly after posting this article outlining the many atrocities being committed against Somali civilians I came across this article, the second half of which repeats nearly verbatim a good chunk of the former article, and the first half is all about US ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto's opinion that United States thinks Ethiopia's peacekeeping role in the region is just splendid:
"'Ethiopia is right now, I think, the second largest troops contributing country in peacekeeping operations in Sub-Saharan Africa and probably has the most disciplined and qualified troops,' Yamamoto said.

"Ethiopia has been playing a very positive role in regional peace and security, Yamamoto said at a press briefing he gave on Tuesday [1 July] at the US embassy.

"The US government is working closely with Ethiopia and other countries with a view to helping enhance peace and security in the Horn of Africa, he said."
Huh, that's odd. Yamamoto's vision of troops contributing to regional peace and security looks an awful lot like rape, rape, gang rape, and more rape to me...
Getting an education is still possible, albeit incredibly difficult seeing as the schools are frequently raided under suspicions that they may be madrasas fomenting new young terrorists. Statements like these give me hope though:
"'I like to study, even though there is fighting everywhere in Mogadishu,' says Bashir Gedi, a 15-year-old student in the Somalian capital. 'Education is more important for me because if I can get an education, then I can help rebuild my country.'"

"'Classes continue even in the midst of gunfire around the school because we do not want to let ignorance and darkness to scare us away from knowledge and light,' Abdullahi [head teacher of Iqra Annamudajiah school in Mogadishu] said."

"'We believe that it is a must for our children to be educated, whatever the risk,' says Farah Nur, a father of seven school-age children."

More U.S.:

War photographer Zoriah Miller has been kicked out of Iraq for taking pictures of war.
Canadian courts are considering offering refugee status to U.S. army deserters under the premise that soldiers may be forced to commit “a war crime, a crime against peace or a crime against humanity”
John McCain refuses to recognize that the word "gook" is offensive to a very large population of people and that having been a POW (horrible as that was) doesn't give him the personal right to use the word in any way he deems fit.

Back to Germany:

A despondent Adolf Hitler, depicted in his bunker just moments before committing suicide, was beheaded in Berlin's Madame Tussauds wax museum on the new museum's opening day. Hitler's inclusion was a topic of controversy, but the museum supported its decision, saying, "Hitler's role in German history must not be ignored," and I agree.

Why?

2008-06-30T11:26:00.001-04:00

Why is no one doing anything about this?

In pictures: Mugabe's inauguration

2008-06-30T01:03:00.003-04:00

Pictures of Mugabe patting himself on the back, surrounded by sycophants.

And pictures from election day, too.

That's that. Mugabe is sworn in.

2008-06-29T12:52:00.003-04:00

All that fighting for nothing.

[sarcasm]It's a shame no one came to spread democracy in Zimbabwe.[/sarcasm]

Visa update

2008-06-26T18:24:00.000-04:00

Getting a Russian visa = success

Inflation in Zimbabwe reaches new high

2008-06-26T10:26:00.002-04:00

Three to five million percent.

Tsvangirai is still in?

2008-06-25T18:06:00.002-04:00

Apparently the ZEC has decided that Tsvangirai's withdrawal was unconstitutional in that he did so "well out of time." It is therefore unrecognized and elections will go as planned on Friday. Ballots have already been printed.

"A resident of Warren Park, a suburb in the capital, Harare, told IRIN that at an all-night ZANU-PF rally he had been forced to attend on 24 June, the community was told that Tsvangirai was still in the race, and voting was compulsory.

"'ZANU-PF youth militia and war veterans told us that they would beat up anybody whose fingers would be clean [unmarked by the indelible ink used in voting elections]. To avoid being attacked, I will just go and spoil my ballot.'"

Getting it out there

2008-06-24T17:30:00.002-04:00

I read so many articles about how Somalia's gone unnoticed. And it's true. Somalia is not front page news, and it's not a "trendy" issue to care about like Darfur, even though the situation in Somalia is at least just as bad, though more likely worse.

The situation is so bad that there is very little anyone outside of Somalia can even do about it. And I've come across another Somalia-goes-unnoticed article detailing how civil and regional wars, drought, and famine have been chipping away at the Somalian population one body at a time.

So far as I can tell here's the most we can do about it: get it noticed. Read this article, search for other articles, educate yourself about it, and talk to people about it. Ask your friends and family if they know what's been going on in Somalia, and in the likelihood that they don't, tell them about it. Write an article for your local paper. There's no reason why there shouldn't be as much outrage over this as there is for Darfur.

For the record:

2008-06-24T09:54:00.001-04:00

Getting a Russian visa = not fun. It is epic. But it will be worth it.

This makes the happy humanist in me giggle with glee

2008-06-22T23:25:00.004-04:00

Props to Hemant for pointing it out.

Happy people all over the world, brought together by a man with a camera and the love of aimless dancing.

Fear-mongers all around us

2008-06-22T11:03:00.005-04:00

Via Think Progress:

On Fox News Sunday this morning, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said that President Bush is more likely to attack Iran if he believes Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is going to be elected.

However, “if the president thought John McCain was going to be the next president, he would think it more appropriate to let the next president make that decision than do it on his way out,” Kristol said, reinforcing the fact that McCain is offering a third Bush term on Iran.

...

The claim that Obama’s potential election could force Bush’s hand also isn’t new. Earlier this month, far-right pseudo scholar Daniel Pipes told National Review Online that “President Bush will do something” if the Democratic nominee won. “Should it be Mr. McCain that wins, he’ll punt,” said Pipes.

So at least a couple people, likely more ("if there's one snake, you can bet there're more snakes," as my dad used to tell me whenever I didn't want him to kill a snake I'd found outside in the grass back home) agree that it's possible Bush might throw a bombtacular hissy fit if elections don't go the way he wants so that McCain is given the opportunity to carry out all his deepest misguided desires.

It blows my mind that people toss about the idea of bombing Iran as though it wouldn't be the beginning of WWIII.

Idiots.

My sympathies go out to Zimbabwe

2008-06-22T10:47:00.005-04:00

Tsvangirai's out:

''Conditions as of today do not permit the holding of a credible poll,'' Tsvangirai said. ''Given the totality of these circumstances, we believe a credible election is impossible. We can't ask the people to cast their vote on June 27 when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election.''

Tsvangirai said he would put forward new proposals by Wednesday on how take the country forward. He did not provide any details about what the proposals would include.

''Our victory is certain, but it can only be delayed,'' he said. [my emphasis]

I know I said before that I would lose all respect for him if he did this, but that was before his supporters were being systematically assaulted and/or killed. It was getting to the point that even if he stayed in the race, there may not have been enough supporters left to win him the election. Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu put a different spin on it:

"Unfortunately," he said, the opposition leader's decision was "depriving the people of Zimbabwe of a vote".

True, but they were being killed. Would it have been worth it? Perhaps that should have been left up to them. Perhaps they would have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to practice their right to vote their will. To stand up to their dictator, however futile the effort. So many had already.

And now Mugabe has "won." Again.

::UPDATED::
Here's the MDC's full press statement.

This does not bode well...

2008-06-22T00:40:00.002-04:00

U.S. Says Israeli Exercise Seemed Directed at Iran
WASHINGTON — Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities... [read more]

But they're fightin' terrorists, so it must be okay

2008-06-21T10:17:00.008-04:00

While the world is (rightly) throwing a fit over Mugabe's knack for taking elections, allowing women who don't support him to be raped, disallowing international observers, throwing out human rights groups, attempting to eliminate free press, encouraging the ideology of guilty until one proves oneself innocent, and potentially forcing the opposition to give up in the face of above said violence and corruption, etc...

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's party just swept the local elections with it's usual savvy, and no one is surprised. Apparently they also have a nasty habit of declaring states of emergency when results don't look to be going their way, either looking the other way from or participating in the ensuing violence, attacking civilians, disallowing the opposition to register, leading opposition parties to boycott numerous runoffs, not permitting national observers, refusing to cooperate with human rights groups, and using newly improvised red tape (calling it: "Charities and Societies Proclamation") to prevent access to foreign funding. Of the Charities and Societies Proclamation, the author of the article writes:

Heavy fines and prison terms are mandated for those who contravene the new law, which bears more than a passing similarity to a draconian law overseeing civil society organizations passed by the government of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in 2004.

And Ethiopia's crimes against its own people is nothing new.

But you know what? Ethiopia is a U.S. ally, so that's okay. This is the government to whom we sold $6 million worth of weapons back in 2006 (more weapons than we gave to any other African country, apparently) so they can put Somalia into an even deeper point of no return than it already was. But that's okay too. Because terrorists might be there.

And the whole war-ravaged region continues to fall deeper and deeper into absolute famine...

Oh my goodness is it ever time for an update.

2008-06-19T12:40:00.006-04:00

In the past month since I last posted:

(in Africa)

The Zimbabwean runoff elections did not take place (that's next week, apparently); Tsvangirai, his secretary general Tendai Biti, and some other members of his campaign were arrested a few times; the continuing political violence has prompted several African leaders to write an open letter calling for free and fair elections; and Mugabe lifted the ban on NGOs. That last little bit is some good news, at least, even though food programs are still suspended and UN human rights officials still can't work. Seems like this will never end...
Somalia is still a hellhole with severely limited access to fair journalism. But finally there may be some progress toward peace. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia have contracted the Djibouti Agreement, agreeing to end the violence with the aid of the United Nations. The Horn deserves a break; they've been fighting and dying and barely surviving for so long now...

(in my life)

Aaron and I went to Pennsylvania to watch his best friend graduate with his architecture degree (congrats, Brendan, and have fun in Japan!) and see his brother before he went off to hang out with lions and hyenas in Uganda and Kenya for the summer. Read about his exploits here, because there's so much more to Africa than politics. He has a beautiful way with words.
We moved into a new apartment that is bigger, cheaper, and nearer to the Square. It was a headache getting there, and since I respect your time more than to go into all the nasty details, [insert two-week-long infuriating real estate nightmare here]. The end.
I was accepted into Brandeis University's one-year Masters program in Psychology. It’s going to be a whirlwind of a year, but well worth going back to the basics to better prepare me for PhD programs. And Brandeis has been doing a lot of work combining social and neuro psychology with cross-cultural studies lately. Perfect.
Eva (the one who brought Zimbabwe to my attention) invited me to go to Russia with her for ~~six~~ five weeks. She has a job there, and needed to ask her parents for help getting there. They have connections in Russia and were (at first) very excited for her to be going, then quickly became worried about her going alone, which makes sense, seeing as the family fled the country from political persecution by the KGB only a couple generations ago. While that doesn't apply to Eva or Russia anymore, her family is still concerned about her safety. End result of that being that they are willing to fund Eva’s traveling companion. All expenses paid, no strings attached. That’s flights, accommodation, language classes (no, I don't speak Russian - yet), etc. For a number of reasons, I ended up being the most reasonable candidate for this position. Therefore, Я иду к Россия. We leave in about a week. Ideally. If the embassies can get their shit together and get us our visas in a reasonable amount of time.
I got shingles. It hurt very much. But I'm all better now.
The wedding planning process that had been completely stagnant since January made a little more progress.

Here's to me not letting this blog slip another month. Cheers.

Z - Sigh of relief... For now.

2008-05-10T15:09:00.003-04:00

Tsvangirai is returning to Zimbabwe to participate in the runoff.

Superstitions that kill

2008-05-07T11:31:00.008-04:00

There's a whole slew of them to be found here.

John McCain's countless superstitions haven't killed anyone/thing yet, but if anyone were to take away all his little talismans before a big speech, say, he may give himself a heart attack from worry. Or from throwing a temper tantrum.

I can't wrap my mind around people taking such things seriously. I open umbrellas indoors before I go outside all the time - to make sure I don't get wet while trying to open the umbrella outside, and to freak out people who think my opening an umbrella indoors is going to somehow change the laws of physics and probability to give me or them or whothehellever 'bad luck,' because how dare I open an umbrella indoors?!

Sorry, but that's just stupid.

Also stupid, was the woman who, as I boarded a flight to TN with my kitty in tow, said as I walked by, "What an evil looking cat!"

Here is my "evil looking cat"

See the hunger in his eyes? That is a ravenous hunger for your soul...

...Actually he just wants you to scratch his chin. Or maybe turn the faucet on so he can drink from it. It's also quite possible he wants a Fancy Feast. But no shrimp flavors, please. He hates shrimp.

The superstitious belief that black cats are bad luck kills. It kills large numbers of cats every year. A brief online search didn't yield any exact statistics, but black cats are more likely to be euthanized in shelters, because they are less likely to be adopted. Because people are stupid.

"Black cats don't get adopted nearly as frequently as other colors," said Kathleen Fram, the co-chair of adoptions for the Summit Animal Rescue Association, or S.A.R.A., a nonprofit rescue group. "People just pass them by."

A 2002 study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science that examined adoption rates over nine months in a California pound found that black cats were about half as likely to be adopted as tabby cats and two-thirds less likely than white cats. But for cats in general, the odds are not good: of the approximately 3,000 cats of all colors offered for adoption during that time, only around 600, or 20 percent, found homes. Those remaining were euthanized.

Nationally, the Humane Society estimates that three to four million cats enter shelters each year, said Nancy Peterson, the feral cat program manager at the Humane Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. Of that number, only half are adopted. The rest, including disproportionate numbers of the less-adoptable black cats, are euthanized.

Black cats are considered bad luck in most Western cultures and have been associated with witchcraft for centuries. They've been portrayed in literature as everything from T.S. Elliot's clever, phenomenal, "Magical Mr. Mistoffelees" to Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat," vilified by his master as "the hideous beast whose craft seduced me into murder."

---

It is common practice among rescue organizations to stop allowing black cat adoptions during October, to prevent them from being used as party props and returned, or, as urban legend has it, sacrificed on Halloween. "We don't adopt our black kitties out during October. We just won't take that chance," said Kathy Jentsch of the Purr-fect Sanctuary, a shelter in Hector, Ark. [link]

That last bit turns my stomach, to think someone would use a cat as a "party prop" then just leave it or return it.

Black cats are perfect for Halloween though, if you happen to have one. See what a nice witch my Lincoln made one year:

If you're thinking of getting a cat, get a black one.

They match the decor of any home.

"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere."
--- Groucho Marx

Z - Well, it's about damn time. But now what?

2008-05-05T12:07:00.003-04:00

It's official: Tsvangirai's 47.9% beat out Mugabe's 43.2% - enough to say he "won" but not enough to avoid a runoff, which must happen within 21 days of the result announcement (a date has not yet been set). The MDC is still displeased with these results, still saying that they won outright.

THE MDC has rejected the Presidential election results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Friday, insisting there is no need for a run-off as its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won an outright victory over President Robert Mugabe.

According to ZEC, Tsvangirai won 47.9% of the vote, setting the stage for a run-off with Mugabe who scored 43.2%.

But MDC party representatives resolved in Harare yesterday Mugabe should concede defeat and allow Tsvangirai to form a new government. They said ZEC had "manipulated the results", but still, these showed Mugabe had lost to Tsvangirai.

"We are convinced the run-off is unnecessary considering the clear mandate that the people of Zimbabwe showed when they voted for change, dignity and jobs," said Thokozani Khupe, the party's Vice-President.

"The MDC wishes to reiterate that this election was clearly won by the MDC and President Tsvangirai. It is for that reason that in the unlikely event of a run-off the MDC will once again romp to victory by an even bigger margin."

That last sentence sounds vaguely like Tsvangirai will participate in the runoff, even if there isn't a need of one. This article confirms my suspicion.

While Tsvangirai may no longer refuse to participate in the runoff, he does still refuse to work in any capacity with Simba Makoni. Suggestions have been brought forward that Tsvangirai should form a government of national unity (GNU) that includes a substantial role for the ex-Zanu PF finance minister, but it seems the two men stopped getting along after Makoni suggested that he should be the one to lead the GNU, even though by all accounts he came in a distant third in the election.

Aaron asked me last night what I think will happen if there's a runoff. My immediate thought was, "As long as the population of opposition supporters isn't mortally diminished through violence, I see no reason why Tsvangirai won't win again." Will there be any such violence?

According to this article, regarding the violence already underway, the main problem is not people being killed outright (though that is happening) but rather people dying from inflicted wounds, unable to receive medical attention. Government hospitals don't have the proper drugs or equipment and ambulances can no longer reach some areas to pick up the victims. There are also reports of bodies being left to rot in hospitals because the families that normally would have taken care of burial procedures have been forced to flee and are no longer available to do so.

(As the violence increases, those who choose to flee are finding refuge in Botswana and South Africa, though Botswana seems to be especially hospitable, preemptively setting up refugee centers in anticipation of an influx of Zimbabweans. Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst?)

Zanu PF militia and war veterans have also apparently forced a church to shut down, militia violence against school teachers has resulted in talks of a potential teacher strike, and members of the media are still being detained (and sometimes released) at random.

Human Rights Watch says that in such an environment, a runoff cannot be credible, and a credible environment is one of the conditions that must be met if Tsvangirai is to participate in the runoff. You already know how I feel about all this.

Even if Tsvangirai does hand Mugabe the presidency by not participating in the runoff, or if he does participate and Mugabe manages to eke out a victory, by whatever methods, it's likely he still won't be able to rule as he has since independence, for two major reasons. One:

... [T]he veteran ruler's unbridled power had been already been shaken by the ruling Zanu PF's defeat in parliamentary elections.

The two MDC factions now control parliament with 109 seats against Zanu PF's 97 in the 210 member assembly - the first time the opposition has controlled parliament since independence...

... The new balance of power hammered at the watershed polls meant that the opposition will select a speaker of parliament from its own ranks and for the first time it is in a position to block any legislation that Mr Mugabe might try to rail road through the assembly...

..."Mr Mugabe will also not be able to rule by decree because even legislation introduced through the notorious Presidential powers must be ratified through parliament before they come into force.

(Speaking of Parliament, I posted before that the MDC factions had reunited, but apparently they did not officially reunite, they just decided to generally work together and they are giving unification serious consideration.)

Two:

But a more unsettling reality for Zanu PF hardliners who are reportedly pushing for the second round because they do not want a compromise with the MDC is that the opposition just needs to find 30 ruling party MPs willing to impeach Mr Mugabe.

According to Zimbabwe's constitution, a two thirds majority is needed to impeach the president and this adds up to 140 MPs. Amid growing disaffection in the ruling party ranks, dramatised by former Finance Minister, Dr Simba Makoni's decision to run for the presidency in the elections, finding dissenting MPs in Zanu PF will not be that difficult for the MDC.

We'll see.

The news out there isn't all anti-Mugabe. One article accuses the MDC of dirty voter education and using NGOs' food distributions as weapons: "There is unchallenged evidence that these NGOs, in the last food distributions they made just prior to the election date, advised voters that they will not resume food distributions after elections in the event that the electorate voted for Zanu-PF." If that is true, than the MDC may prove no more dignified than Zanu PF.

This article states briefly and this one long-windedly (i.e. four pages, but an interesting interpretation of events, even if seemingly far-fetched) that the MDC are tools of the West, namely London and Washington, setting out to turn Zimbabwe back into a colony ruled by a white minority.

In sum: there are still no real conclusions and everyone is still paranoid of the other side's motives.

Ugh... My heart breaks for my College

2008-05-01T23:30:00.004-04:00

It's bad enough that far-right-wing conservatives are trying to take over the Board of Trustees, Dinesh D'Souza is still running around and giving the College a bad name simply by being himself and dropping the name of his alma mater and plugging his book every time he opens his mouth to release his latest edition of regurgitated swill, and the Dartmouth Review making even bigger asses of themselves than usual last year with their consistent, deliberate, blatant racism against Native Americans, but now there's this:

Ivy League Prof Sues Students for Being Mean to Her

A Dartmouth lecturer is suing her class for discrimination, as she revealed in a series of regrettable and bizarre emails that promptly ended up all over Dartmouth blogs. Priya Venkatesan (Dartmouth '90, MS in Genetics, PhD in literature) emailed members of her Winter '08 Writing 5 class Saturday night to announce her intention to seek damages from them for their being mean to her. The email, and so, so much more, below:
From: Priya Venkatesan
Subject: WRIT.005.17.18-WI08: Possible lawsuit

Dear former class members of Science, Technology and Society:

I tried to send an email through my server but got undelivered messages. I regret to inform you that I am pursuing a lawsuit in which I am accusing some of you (whom shall go unmentioned in this email) of violating Title VII of anti-federal discrimination laws.

The feeling that I am getting from the outside world is that Dartmouth is considered a bigoted place, so this may not be news and I may be successful in this lawsuit. I am also writing a book detailing my eperiences as your instructor, which will "name names" so to speak. I have all of your evaluation and these will be reproduced in the book.

Have a nice day.
Anti-federal discrimination laws? That's serious business. Or whatever the exact opposite of serious business is.

The details of the discrimination and harassment? Students didn't pay attention to her, complained about her to her boss, and accused her of not "accepting opinions contrary to her own" and said she would "lower the grades of students her disagreed with her." In other words, the exact smarmy complaints all entitled college students level against inexperienced teachers.

That email, followed by:

From: Priya Venkatesan
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008
Subject: Class Action Suit

Dear Student:

As a courtesy, you are being notified that you are being named in a potential class action suit that is being brought against Dartmouth College, which is being accused of violating federal anti-discrimination laws. Please do not respond to this email because it will be potentially used against you in a court of law.

Priya Venkatesan, PhD

Then:

From: Priya Venkatesan
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008
Subject: Class Action Suit

Dear Student:

Please disregard the previous email sent by Priya Venkatesan. This is to officially inform you that you are being accused of violating Title VII pertaining to federal anti-discrimination laws, by the plaintiff, Priya Venkatesan. You are being specifically accused of, but not limited to, harassment. Please do not respond to this email as it will be used against you in a court of law.

Priya Venkatesan, PhD

You've got to be kidding me...

There's more to it than just the students. There are professors involved:

In an interview with Dartblog, Venkatesan asserts that she was subjected to “certain inappropriate and unprofessional behavior” that she thought “incriminating and damaging” enough to bring to the attention of an attorney.

One complaint, during Venkatesan’s two-year tenure as a DHMC Research Associate, regards the alleged behavior of Dr. Lowrey. Specifically an instance during which a research lab was preparing for a conference, and Venkatesan alleges that Lowrey commented to a research tech that, “your beauty will attract people to your poster.” Venkatesan claims that she informed Lowrey of the inappropriateness of the comments and that the next day Lowrey invited her to his office to discuss the matter. At this meeting Venkatesan recounts a livid Lowrey saying comments like, “you wreck havoc wherever you go” and “you think the world revolves around you” and slamming files into a garbage can. This series of events was among what Venkatesan calls “many many many incidences” of violative and inappropriate behavior.

In her capacity as a lecturer for the Writing Program, Venkatesan recounted dealings with Dr. Cormen. One manner of incidents involved Dr. Cormen sitting in on Professor Venkatesan’s courses, during which time he allegedly repeatedly interrupted the class and would walk out of the class without acknowledgement or any sort of thanks. According to Venkatesan, Cormen was “consistently rude in that way.”

Comments from Professors Lowrey and Cormen are being sought.

She may very well have a case against the professors in questions, but dragging students along with it, then writing a book about them?! is just too much. One of the commentors on the gawker.com link points out, "In her defense smarmy, ignorant, right-wing spoiled brat undergrads will make a motherfucker go insane." Fair enough, but it's not sue-worthy; as Joe Malchow points out:

A redaction of errata seems a suitable place to begin. A class action suit? This involves a population of plaintiffs similarly aggrieved; Ms. Venkatesan is contemplating legal action against a population of defendants similarly, in her mind, guilty. Classes bring suit; they do not answer it. Thus it is not a class action, but a series of civil complaints against students and employees of the College and, perhaps, the College corporate.

Title VII does not include language about harassment—only about discrimination. Courts have occasionally elected to find harassment illegal under the code, but only, like discrimination, employer-perpetrated harassment. Since students are not Ms. Venkatesan’s employers, they cannot be named as defendants in a Title VII case.

Finally, there is the bit about “pursuing litigation to see if I have a legal claim.” This is not an advisable course of action. In fact, legal experts consulted by this page suggest that litigating to explore the possible existence of a legal claim is the precise opposite of how the modern judicial system operates.

Oy... Someone please make the scandals stop.

Z - Decisiveness. Sort of.

2008-05-01T23:02:00.007-04:00

Tsvangirai beat out Mugabe, but not by enough to avoid a runoff. I can't wait to see what happens next!

That Chinese gift ship of recalled explosive weapons hasn't left the shore yet.

The military, not necessarily Mugabe himself or the ZEC, is responsible for the past month's antics:

In what should have been its front-page lead, the paper quoted Tsvangirai as saying he knew on the Sunday following the March 29 election that the MDC had won, and that the next day an emissary from Mugabe's ruling Zanu (PF) came to see him.

"On Monday they sent an emissary to say we have been trying to persuade Mugabe to concede," Tsvangirai said. "Mugabe has accepted, now the question is how can you accommodate us? They even suggested, why don't you give Mugabe a role for six months? We said: 'No. He should go and retire.'"

Asked by the City Press reporters what went wrong, Tsvangirai replied: "I think what went wrong is this: some of the hawks in the military said we can't accept transfer of power and that's when the problem started. The hawks in the military, the hawks in Zanu (PF), were not prepared to accept the verdict of the people. I think they regrouped and went to Mugabe, and Mugabe, being a hawk himself, found a constituency."

I have managed to substantiate independently that this is indeed what happened that Monday, three days after the election.

It changed the whole strategic picture. It meant the central problem was no longer Mugabe himself, but the military commanders.

Another article saying the same thing:

Observers say the election standoff had more to do with security forces' chiefs fear of retribution by a new government than the electoral authorities' failure to conclude the exercise on time.

Happy May 1st

2008-05-01T14:11:00.005-04:00

May 1st, 2008:

We have a lot to think about today.

Some lesbians are just Lesbian, not lesbian

2008-05-01T13:48:00.002-04:00

I suppose this would be confusing.

Lesbos islanders sue Lesbian group

A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between gay women and the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos.

Three islanders from Lesbos - home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women - have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word "lesbian" in its name.

On Wednesday, one of the plaintiffs said that the name of the association, the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.

"My sister can't say she is a Lesbian," Dimitris Lambrou said.

"Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos," he said.

The three plaintiffs are seeking to have the group barred from using "lesbian" in its name and filed a lawsuit on April 10.

A spokeswoman for the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece said the action was "a joke in bad taste that borders on discrimination".

"I don't see how the word can be an insult," Evangelia Vlami said.

"We don't think doubt can be cast on dictionaries ... even the United Nations refer to us as lesbians."

Old name

Also called Mytilene, after its capital, Lesbos is famed as the birthplace of Sappho. The island, particularly the lyric poet's reputed home town of Eressos, is a favoured holiday destination for gay women.

"This is not an aggressive act against gay women," Lambrou said.

"Let them visit Lesbos and get married and whatever they like. We just want [the group] to remove the word lesbian from their title."

He said that the plaintiffs targeted the group because it is the only officially registered gay group in Greece to use the word lesbian in its name.

The case will be heard in an Athens court on June 10.

Sappho lived from the late 7th to the early 6th century BC and is considered one of the greatest poets of antiquity.

Many of her poems contain passionate references to love for other women.

New definition

Lambrou said the word "lesbian" has only been linked with gay women in the past few decades.

"But we have been Lesbians for thousands of years," said Lambrou, who publishes a small magazine on ancient Greek religion and technology that frequently criticises the Christian Church.

Vlami, the gay group spokeswoman, said any misunderstanding can easily be resolved through linguistics.

"Most people from Lesbos prefer to use the word Mytilene, which is the more ancient version and because some people may be afraid of being misunderstood," she said.

"I don't see what the problem is ... Can't a woman just say: I am from the island of Lesbos?"

Lambrou says Sappho was not gay.

"But even if we assume she was, how can 250,000 people of Lesbian descent - including women - be considered homosexual?"

Z - Yet another time table

2008-04-30T12:04:00.003-04:00

Oh goody!

[V]erification of Zimbabwe's disputed presidential election results is to start on Thursday, more than a month after the vote to decide whether President Robert Mugabe remains in power.

State radio said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had invited presidential candidates to verify the results of the presidential vote from May 1.

"All candidates who participated in the 2008 presidential election or their chief election agents are urged to attend as this exercise will pave way for the announcement of the result of the presidential election," state radio said in a notice from the commission.

But now for some heart-warming news: not all has gone awry in Zimbabwe. The politics and politicians may be fubar, but the people of Zimbabwe still have enough hope and life left in them to be creative. The need and desire to commit acts of art as one of the few remaining expressions of dissent doesn't diminish in times of dire crisis, as exhibited by Zimbabweans at Harare's International Festival of the Arts yesterday, where events of the recent election were subjected to satire:

The bloated, bloodstained king of an enchanted land takes centre stage. He extends his life vampirically by stealing the music from his people. Some he beats until they stop singing, others are persuaded to sell their melodies for Chinese tractors and other tat. His country's spirit dies - apart from the songs of hope people sing in their dreams. This was the motif for Dreamland, the opening event of Harare's International Festival of the Arts last night. The festival is an annual miracle that rejuvenates and encourages Hararians, in the midst of one political crisis after another, and cultural starvation for 51 weeks of the year.

An astonishing collection of international, particularly African, talent arrives for a week of performances and collaborative jams with talented Zimbabweans. The product is a dense programme of acts ranging from Welsh opera to Malawian tribal dance. The highlights are always the cultural fusions, like Spanish reggae act Canaman and South African supergroup Freshlyground.

As Dreamland begins, small choirs dotted around the arena sing Shona songs of love and freedom. One by one, they are silenced by storm troopers, who chillingly hood and throttle the singers before dragging them off-stage.

The backdrop to the festival is that Robert Mugabe's youth militias are rampaging through the country, dishing out punishment beatings to those who dared to support the opposition on 29 March. A wave of refugees has fled the violence, but hundreds, including mothers and children, have been arrested in Harare on absurd charges and kept in squalid police cells.

This gave new meaning to songs, like The Cranberries' haunting Zombie, richly sung by Zimbabwean singer Prudence Katomene:

"Another mother's breaking,
Heart is taking over.
When the violence causes silence,
We must be mistaken."

Anyone who knows the Cranberries' music would have noticed that Katomene changed a lyric to make clear that she was referencing Zimbabwe today, not Northern Ireland a decade ago:

"It's the same old theme since 1980."

As Katomene neared the end of her song, actors dressed as stormtroopers got on stage and clubbed her theatrically to the ground, stifling her last note.

Also altered by context was Bob Marley's celebration of independence, Zimbabwe, performed by another superb female native vocalist - Chiwoniso. Zimbabwe needs to be liberated again, but this time not from white supremacists, but from a tiny clique of old men.

The comedic high point of the show was the arrival of the king, tottering, hands dripping with blood, stuffed into military uniform. The crowd booed and jeered, only to burst out laughing, as the king sang The Jackson 5's Never Can Say Goodbye.

The climax was John Lennon's Imagine. As the song progressed, dozens of young children tried to light candles. But it's a chilly, blowy autumn here and many times their little flames were put out. They kept trying and in the end, every child was a tiny point of light. It could have been a saccharine moment, but for the genuine earnestness of the youngsters and the poignancy of youth here.

If Robert Mugabe was at State House last night, he cannot have failed to hear the sound of young Zimbabweans singing out their hopes for a better future, or of 3,000 Hararians cheering as the old man was mocked and derided.

Zimbabweans feel that this could be the last arts festival of the Mugabe era. But that does not change the fact that these are tough and dangerous times. At least for this week, the festival is lifting spirits and inspiring activists to face the trials that are to come.

[Hat tip to Danny Boy for the this article.]

Z - What?

2008-04-29T14:16:00.002-04:00

*boggled*

[T]here has been steadily rising concern over the failure of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) - whose functionaries are appointed by Mugabe - to announce the outcome of the presidential election.

---

On 28 April representatives of the presidential race were summoned by the ZEC for a further verification and collation exercise that "would lead to the announcement of the results of the presidential election".

The ZEC instructed each political party to bring its own presidential results to the ZEC. If their figures matched those of the ZEC, the result of the presidential election would be announced. Any discrepancies would be "crosschecked".

George Chiweshe, retired army officer and ZEC chairman, denied that the delay was undermining the credibility of the poll. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We wish to reiterate that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is an independent, impartial and transparent election body."

MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said, "Where in the world have you heard election management bodies asking contestants to bring their own results to compare with their own? They [ZEC] have the results and they should just announce them.

"What this amounts to is: giving Mugabe the opportunity to produce his own inflated results before a dispute is declared. ZEC is just buying time on behalf of Mugabe - first it was the recount, now they want us to produce our own results. There has also been talk of a run-off before the results are even out."

The MDC is undecided as to whether it would participate in a second round of presidential voting. "The environment and conditions pertaining to a possible run-off would depend on the situation on the ground," Chamisa said. "We are not going to participate in an election that will endorse the circus now taking place in Zimbabwe over the elections."

Z - Brace yourselves

2008-04-29T12:39:00.004-04:00

The presidential poll results?
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Aren't out yet.
Shocking, I know...

Z - No presidential poll results...

2008-04-28T15:20:00.003-04:00

...but this is big news all the same: the two MDC factions have reunited, thus giving MDC Parliament majority over Zanu PF.

Where I've been

2008-04-27T23:25:00.004-04:00

Since I started spending so much time being concerned about the realities of people across the globe, I've manage to distance myself from my own local reality, in which:

Aaron and I have roughly a month to find a new apartment, which is difficult considering that in Boston any place decent comes with a high price and anything with a decent price happens to be a dive, and finding a nice balance is not quite as unlikely as winning the lottery.
The wedding is in little more than five months and there are some major details we need to iron out, such as finding a photographer and a DJ, and fashioning from scratch the layout of our entire innovative ceremony.
Even people with pristine Ivy League pedigrees such as my own aren't necessarily guaranteed a doctoral candidacy first time around.
The integrity of my beloved alma mater is apparently under attack.
I need to find a way to get paid for all this thinking, researching, and writing I've been doing.

Right now the apartment hunt sucks up most of my time, but worry not, I have not been ignoring Zimbabwe:

Partial vote recounts were controversially held, and Mugabe's party still failed to gain control of Parliament.
Presidential poll results will be announced "soon," whatever the hell that means. "They" claim "soon" means "Monday," which happens to be exactly a month since the actual election. We'll see about that...
Hundreds of opposition supporters have been injured, some killed, and thousands displaced due to what appears to be systematic violence under the name Operation Makavhoterapapi, or "Where did you put your cross?" (i.e. "Who did you vote for?").
The U.S. thinks sanctions are the answer.
China has recalled Zimbabwe's shipment of three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and more than 3,000 mortar rounds and mortar tubes that have been hanging about the Southern African coast on the good ship An Yue Jiang for the past week or so.
Unless I missed something, Tsvangirai is still out of the country.

That's it in a very small nutshell. If presidential poll results actually come out tomorrow I will let you know immediately.

A woman asks Sinan Antoon to fabricate good news about Iraq so that she can sleep at night

2008-04-18T14:32:00.012-04:00

Last night Harvard began it's Contemporary Iraqi Film series, piloted by a showing of Sinan's film About Baghdad, followed by a q & a session with Sinan. I hadn't seen the film since it was completed in spring of 2004, so it was nice to revisit it four years later.

My impressions of the film remain pretty much the same: Sinan and his crew did a great job getting the perspective of just about every demographic imaginable, both positive and negative views. The film itself doesn't pass judgment on anyone or thing (not to say that the director doesn't, he bluntly does (hint: sanctions sanctions sanctions sanctions); it's simply a gathering of varying opinions - the audience is left to make of it what they will.

What struck me this time though, four years later (bear in mind that this was filmed in the summer of 2003, right after we invaded Iraq, and these Iraqis were asked their feelings about the fall of Saddam, the new American presence, and consequent dis/order), were the many comments to the effect of: 'We're happy and thankful Saddam is gone, some things are better some things are worse, but we will not be occupied.' And now we have what we have... احتلال (ihtilal) an occupation. Exactly what they didn't want. But at least Saddam's gone, الحمد للّة.

A lively discussion was had after the film. I was surprised by the several people who pressed Sinan - hard - for an answer to the Iraq situation, what he thinks the solution is, and he was reluctant to give one because, frankly, there isn't one. There is no "band-aid" for the situation in Iraq. There are any number of possibilities - hopefully some of them are good and hopefully those will be the ones to manifest. But there is no answer. Anyone can make up their own hypothesis about what's to be done and what the outcome will be, with varying degrees of authority, but these hypotheses are about as valuable as poker chips.

The last question was put forth by a woman who apparently lives in some bubble where the Iraqis will be suddenly inspired - after years of dictatorship, living in perpetual fear of torture and oppression, war, more war, sanctions, and now occupation and sectarian violence - to stand up together, hold hands, and rebuild their demolished city one spec of dust and mortar chunk at a time, like a big happy & hopeful Baghdadi family. The answer, in her mind, is for the Iraqis to come together in the decision to take the cleaning of their city into their own hands. Obviously. So why is this not depicted in the film? she asks. Why is Sinan's opinion about what's to be done in Baghdad so bleak? All this film does is make one feel guilty and hopeless, and what's the purpose of that? How are we supposed to sleep at night after seeing such a film? People need to know that there's something positive to be said about it all...

[combination of guffaws, dropped jaws, awkward 'umm...'s, and crickets]

Sinan proceeded to point out just how luxurious is her need to sleep well at night with the knowledge that some good has come of this, regardless of whether or not that good actually exists. He answered point blank that, as of now, right now, there is no good, and one should feel guilty. The story of Baghdad is not a feel-good tale of hope. It'd be awfully nice if that were the case, but there's this little thing called reality standing in the way of that dream currently.

But he saw her Kumbaya and raised her a Getting the U.S. Out of Iraq and Handing the Country Over to the International Community (this opinion received audibly mixed responses).

The woman began to reiterate her idealistic theory (poker chip), at which point one could feel the tension in the room and hear other audience members start to lend their voices (poker chips). The pending shouting match was palpable, and the event's interlocutor wisely stepped in with the suggestion that perhaps such a potentially "colorful" conversation might best be avoided by ending the q & a session there to allow people to meet Sinan one on one.

Which is the moment I was waiting for. I hadn't seen Sinan since he defended his doctoral dissertation in 2006, so it was lovely getting to chat with him, even if only briefly. And though I felt like a silly fangirl doing it, I couldn't pass up the opportunity: I got him to sign a copy of I'jaam for me:

In case that's hard to read:

الى طالبتي سابقا	ila talabti sabiqan	To my former student
مع محبتي	ma'a mahabbti	with love
سنان انطون	Sinan Antoon	Sinan Antoon
نيسان ١٧ ٢٠٠٨	nisan 17, 2008	April, 17 2008

On the street where I live (and elsewhere)

2008-04-18T14:19:00.005-04:00

Beautiful days like today happen as mere blips during the sporadic weather of springtime in New England, so I simply could not justify staying indoors and typing up another depressing political post (not that I won't do that too). There are flowers (and other things) to photograph!

There are pansies all about the courtyard now, all solid yellow with no 'faces.'
Fun fact: pansies are for atheists!

"The name pansy is derived from the French word pensée meaning "thought", and was so named because the flower resembles a human face; in August it nods forward as if deep in thought. Because of this the pansy has long been a symbol of Freethought^[1] and has been used in the literature of the American Secular Union. Humanists use it too, as the pansy's current appearance was developed from the Heartsease by two centuries of intentional crossbreeding of wild plant hybrids. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) uses the pansy symbol extensively in its lapel pins and literature."

Daffodils, the quintessential April flower. I'd bring a bunch of these inside if they wouldn't kill my cat when he ate them, because he would eat them.

Look, a fallout shelter! Good to know we'd have a place to go when they drop Teh Bomb.

Perfectly blue sky

This summer these flowers will be covered in bees.

I liked the sunlight here.

Solitary red flower

Sidewalk art. I think it's Star Wars?

Censored! The top of this sign has read "Cheney is a Dick" for at least the two and a half years I've lived here, until someone recently scribbled it out. But we all still know what it says, and we all know it's still true.

The "Creepy Jesus" of St. Paul's. As sculpted depictions of Christ go, you have to admit, this one is really creepy.

I don't know what these are, but they smell nice.

Signs of the times. They've been there since the beginning of the Primary season. I recently noticed how the Hillary sign looks a tad neglected, yet the Obama sign still stands tall.

Z - "There is no crisis in Zimbabwe"

2008-04-18T00:23:00.003-04:00

Bullshit.

South African President Thabo Mbeki tries to explain his "no crisis" comment:

According to a transcript published by South Africa's foreign ministry on Thursday, Mbeki vigorously denied telling journalists in Harare last Saturday that "there is no crisis in Zimbabwe." He said his remark about there being no crisis applied specifically to the issue of election results as matters stood then...

"The question [asked by a reporter in Harare] was about the elections – it was not about the socio-economic conditions in Zimbabwe or anything like that," Mbeki said in New York...

He added: "I know, as much as you do, when something is wrong…. I think it would be good if people just credited us with a little bit of intelligence… We are perfectly capable of recognising when something is wrong…"

According to Mbeki:

"There has been a natural process taking place and we are all awaiting the ZEC [Zimbabwe Electoral Commission] to announce the results and there is also the matter of the court case... The body authorised to release the results is the ZEC. Let's wait for them to announce the results."

Those would be fine enough explanations if it weren't so obvious that the issue of election results as they stand is, in fact, a crisis.

Case in point: The ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commision) ordered a partial recount of votes cast in 23 constituencies, then the recount was put on hold by order of the High Court, but of course the ZEC was apparently unaware of such an order and vowed to go ahead with the recount, although one would have to be living under a rock not to know about it, and in any case, as MDC lawyer Selby Hwacha points out, it's absurd to demand a recount when the official results aren't even out yet. Everyone, including Zanu PF and MDC, expect a recount to end in Mugabe's victory, whether or not a victory is truly warranted. A recount of undisclosed results is indeed suspicious, especially after so much time has passed since the election. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa has said: "We will not accept any recount because for us that is accepting rigged results. The ZEC is in custody of the ballot boxes for two weeks and heaven knows what they have done to the ballot papers. They might have stuffed them with their votes." Indeed, if there is no crisis, then why are there no results?

The recounting has been stopped temporarily after Tsvangirai filed an urgent application with the High Court, but the offical hearing regarding Tsvangirai's bid to have the recounting stopped entirely has been, you guessed it, postponed. (By the way, the MDC's perpetually postponed plea to the High Court to order the ZEC to release results finally saw the light of day, and was denied. More on that in a moment.)

As if this recounting business were not bad enough, last Friday the ZEC, without consulting anyone, decided close up and move shop to an undisclosed location:

"The centre had been operating out of a hotel in the capital, Harare, where the 29 March presidential, parliamentary and council election results were to be counted and announced. Having only announced parliamentary and senatorial election results, the ZEC secretly cleared out and locked the rooms it had been using... The ZEC's new location, and ballot papers and other records, was still unclear."

When asked, 'What the hell...?' ZEC's Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Utoile Silaigwana, said: "We will make an advert and we will advise." Mmhmm...

After the High Court denied the MDC's call to order the a.w.o.l. ZEC to release results, Tsvangirai called for a stay-away strike starting this past Tuesday, but not much came of it. The call to strike was mostly ignored, and business - what little of it there is - went on as normal. Al Jazeera's correspondent in

Zimbabwe,

Supa Mandiwanzera, made predictions of what positive or negative outcomes of the strike would mean for Tsvangirai:

"If the stay-away is successful, then it will show the anger that the majority of Zimbabweans have, but if it is unsuccessful, it could also show that the MDC doesn't have any sway in terms of getting people on to the streets regarding this matter."

The strike was mostly uneventful (except for a number of arrests, but then those arrested in the city were clearly not staying at home, as called for by the strike, so could they really be considered part of the strike? or unrelated protesters? Rallies were officially banned, after all...), but I don't think its failure had anything to do with Tsvangirai's in/ability to round up the people. Inflation is now at 165,000%, and those 20% or so citizens fortunate enough to even have jobs from which to stay away can't afford to miss one single day of work.

Also largely uneventful was the Underwhelming Summit held in Zambia last weekend. What everyone agreed upon:

The ZEC should verify and announce the results of the presidential election, as guided by the country's laws.
If no candidate achieves the 50-plus-one vote required for an outright win, the second round of voting should take place in a free environment, and another delegation should be sent to observe this ballot.

What was not addressed:

The ZEC's unjustified delay in announcing the results
The rising violence and heavy deployment of soldiers and police officers across the country

And the violence is indeed spreading, the country riddled with "isolated incidents" of violence ranging from the minor to the extreme. Public businesses are being raided, houses are being burned, people are having to flee their homes, even Tsvangirai has fled to Botswana for the foreseeable future, fearing his life, after two MDC activists were killed, and hundreds of other injured (and he's been accused of treason). Farmers are also being beaten and intimidated, keeping them from their work, which leads Trevor Gifford, president of the Commercial Farmers' Union of Zimbabwe to predict that

Zimbabwe

may run out of maize by mid-July.

The media is also feeling the hurt, with foreign journalists being arrested/bailed/acquitted left, right, up, down, here, there, and everywhere.

The deadline for a runoff is April 19, "after which Mugabe could use emergency powers to amend the law and declare his own date," which is what everyone is afraid of. Tsvangirai still vows to boycott any such runoff (unless specific terms are met - such as a "secure environment" "with thorough international monitoring" - demands which are fair enough, but how likely are they to be met?), seeing as - in the MDC's eyes - he won outright; no need for a runoff . There's a little problem with that mentality: Political analyst Prof Eldred Masunungure has said that if Tsvangirai boycotted the runoff, Mugabe would be declared the winner, and Lovemore Madhuku, a constitutional expert, verifies this: "The law says those with the highest and the second-highest number of votes in the first round go to a runoff, and if one of them withdraws the other is automatically declared winner."

I will lose all respect for Tsvangirai if he allows that to happen. Mugabe clearly needs to go. Who knows if Tsvangirai is the right one for the job, but he is the best option on the table, and he will be doing his country a massive and unforgivable disservice if he backs out because things haven’t gone exactly legally. Surely he knew going into this that Mugabe would not step down without a fight, so he better stay in this, fighting all the way.

"Considering the time I spent queuing to vote and the results delay, I might never vote again in my life," says Faith Dube, a saleslady in Harare. "I could as well have gone fishing on that day."

P.S. Unity talks aren't completely off the table, and there's a Chinese cargo ship anchored off the South African port of Durban carrying 3m rounds of ammunition and 1,500 rockets, supposedly with Zimbabwe's name on it. [link]

WMD Update

2008-04-13T20:25:00.006-04:00

(Continued from this post)

Z - SADC summit scheduled for tomorrow

2008-04-11T12:24:00.006-04:00

The emergency SADC summit called for by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Zanu PF doesn't see the need for SADC's intervention, as could be expected. At first it was thought Mugabe would attend the summit, but now it has come out that he will not.

Only two articles I've come across regarding the summit have made any hypotheses as to how the summit will turn out, one positive: "We're cautiously optimistic about the outcome," the other not positive:

Moeletsi Mbeki [not to be confused with Thabo Mbeki, South African president], a political economist and the deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, an independent think-tank based in Johannesburg, said it was unlikely the extraordinary summit would resolve Zimbabwe's crisis.

"SADC has given ZANU comfort to do what it is doing," he told IRIN [UN Integrated Regional Information Networks].

He said the MDC was not just a threat to ZANU-PF, but also to SADC as it was representative of civil society and most governments in southern Africa were "nationalist parties, created by black elites during the colonial era, who saw themselves as colonial equals. They see themselves as superior to the black masses."

Mbeki said SADC, of which Angola's MPLA government and South Africa's ruling ANC party were the regional body's power brokers, had been "ganging-up against the MDC coming to power" and they were unlikely to "take any action against Mugabe" at the summit.

The summit was, Mbeki said, not a reaction to Zimbabwe's problems, but probably a response to pressure from donor nations, "as they [SADC governments] are very aid dependent, so they are susceptible to pressure".

That's a very cynical view, I think. But maybe I'm just naive... More news on the summit as it takes place tomorrow.

Updates:

Mugabe has rejected the idea of a "unity government" with the opposition. No surprises there.
Not all war veterans are interested in raiding white-owned farms at Mugabe's bidding. Others, namely those of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform (ZLP), are highly critical of the man:
[T]he Zimbabwe Liberators Platform (ZLP) blasted Mugabe for the "inexplicable failure" by ZEC to announce the election results.

The ZLP also criticized "the failure by the Zanu-PF party and government to accept and admit defeat in the election" which they said is a violation of "the popular will of the Zimbabwean electorate". The statement recommended that Mugabe "do the honourable thing and eat humble pie and leave the people of Zimbabwe in peace".

Indpendent candidate Simba Makoni and South African Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad have joined the chorus of people urging the ZEC to just release the results already.
Zanu PF has succeeded in convincing the ZEC to recount votes in seven parliamentary constituencies, and the Saturday - postponed - till - Sunday - postponed - till - Monday - postponed - till - Tuesday - postponed - till - Wednesday High Court ordeal has been postponed till Monday, again. [link]
MDC has repeatedly refused to participate in a presidential runoff, which doesn't make any sense to me. Objecting to the runoff makes sense - after all, if they really did win, then there is no point to the runoff and it would only be a waste of everyone's time. But chances are there will be a runoff, whether they like it or not, and they're not going to participate? Wouldn't that be conceding defeat to Mugabe? That would be profoundly stupid.
Speaking of the runoff, no one is optimistic about the environment in which it would take place, and for good reason. There have already been considerable reports of violence and intimidation ahead of the runoff, the Zimbabwean police (an arm of Mugabe's administration) have banned all political rallies, and the MDC is calling for a national strike to force the announcement of results:
"We call upon transporters, workers, vendors and everyone to stay at home. The power is in our hands. Zimbabweans have been taken for granted for too long. We demand that the presidential election results be announced now," the party said.
Zimbabwe's food security is in the crapper:
In addition to weather-related difficulties, farmers have faced shortages of key inputs, including fertilizer, seed, fuel, and tillage power this season. Fertilizer in particular has been in short supply. Farmers also suffered flood related damages in several districts earlier in the season.

The food security situation in Zimbabwe is critical, FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] said. Of the estimated 1.03 million tonnes of cereal import requirement for 2007/08, some 839 000 tonnes, or about 81 percent of the total, have reportedly been imported so far.

This includes 589 000 tonnes of commercial deliveries, mainly from neighboring Malawi and Zambia, and 250 000 tonnes of food aid.

However, with the world's highest annual rate of inflation above 100 000 percent in December 2007, food insecurity for about one-third of the vulnerable population keeps worsening.

With dwindling foreign exchange reserves and shrinking purchasing power, another year of low cereal production would severely affect the food security condition for a significant part of the population unless substantial assistance is provided, FAO said.

India would like a piece o' that

2008-04-09T13:13:00.007-04:00

Can't let China have all the fun.

African leaders have identified high oil prices, food security and climate change as top concerns in a joint declaration at the first-ever Afro-Indo summit on trade and investment.

Attended by 14 African countries, the two-day summit sought to deepen ties with the resource-rich continent and ensure India is not eclipsed by China.

Z - Things aren't getting any clearer

2008-04-09T12:33:00.007-04:00

Tsvangirai's been meeting with all the bigwigs in the southern Africa region. He's already met with two: South Africa's governing party leader Jacob Zuma and the President of Botswana Seretse Khama Ian Khama. He's slated to meet soon with South African President Thabo Mbeki, and also plans to visit Zambia (Levy Mwanawasa) and Mozambique (Armando Guebuza). Looks like he's got the region behind him. Mwanawasa's even calling for an emergency meeting of the 14-nation strong Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to discuss the 11-day delay in announcing election results and possible intervention.

So I'm suspicious of this [my emphasis]:

The President of the Movement for Democratic Change is alleged to have indicated that he would be prepared to form a government of national unity with President Mugabe, according to reports.

The state-led daily newspaper, The Herald, and South African radio report that Morgan Tsvangirai is prepared to form a government of national unity if he was guaranteed a post of vice president in the new government as if some of his senior party members are guaranteed ministerial posts.

Speaking from Botswana on South African state radio, SABC, Tsvangirai is reported as saying "we must move towards forming a government that has space for everyone."

Such a government would be a "more inclusive government that is not exclusive to just MDC," he is reported as saying. "President Mugabe's role in that government would be subject for discussion."

This latest move by Tsvangirai is said to have been sparked off by Zanu PF's demand that parliamentary votes be recounted in 16 constituencies.

President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is demanding a recount and is also challenging its defeat in elections to the 210-seat House of Assembly (lower house of parliament).

"If I were Tsvangirai, I would be worried about the recount. With all these allegations about rigging and the V11 and V30 discrepancies, Tsvangirai might not sit as comfortably as he does once the storm is over," said a political analyst who preferred anonymity.

"Zanu PF is adamant that they could have won that vote. But if not, they have resolved to go to a run-off. Diehards in Zanu PF do not want unity with Morgan as they view him as a sellout."

Meanwhile the Herald is reporting that Tsvangirai has sent a businessman to negotiate a power-sharing deal with Zanu PF...

... According to the paper, this was 'flatly rejected' by Zanu PF.

The paper also said that according to their source, "This suggests that the opposition is aware that it has not won the presidential polls and would like to find a way of avoiding a run-off."

What the hell?

Z- Again and again... And again.

2008-04-08T18:11:00.006-04:00

The Saturday - postponed - till - Sunday - postponed - till - Monday - postponed - till - Tuesday High Court hearing/ruling has been postponed till Wednesday.

Here's something that rubbed me the wrong way:

[regarding the MDCs application for a hearing, demanding the ZEC release results - from al-Jazeera]

Alec Muchadehama, an MDC lawyer, told the court: "The applicants have a legitimate concern to have the results announced expeditiously. The applicants have a clear right to the results."

The applicants, yes... No. The people! The Zimbabwean people have a right to know the results, to know who their president is, to know whether or not it is futile to hope for a potentially better economy and consequently a potentially better future. I understand the lawyers represent the MDC in this case, but the MDC is supposed to represent the people, and it would help their case if their lawyers reflected that same sentiment.

For some good news (yay!):

Funding by the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for three IOM programmes in Zimbabwe assisting mobile and vulnerable populations will provide critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance to communities across the country.

Nearly half of the US$1.7 million donation will provide much needed support through emergency shelter, access to clean water and sanitation as well as information and resources to counter HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence to mobile and vulnerable populations (MVPs).

Since 2006, IOM has registered more than 226,000 individuals who fall into this group and who face a daily struggle to survive. They face a heightened risk to environmental and health hazards due to a lack of clean water and sanitation facilities as well as an increased vulnerability to HIV and AIDS and gender based violence. The new CERF funding will provide life saving assistance to nearly 7,000 people.

With recent floods in Zimbabwe leading to outbreaks of diarrhea and cholera, highlighting health needs in particular among this group of people, IOM will be able to help strengthen and support the national response through the provision of community health kits, the expansion of the community health volunteer network and by conducting outreach through IOM's mobile health clinics. This emergency health assistance will reach more than 32,198 people.

The remainder of the funds, US$630,000 will be used for a new programme targeting the children of mobile and vulnerable groups, especially orphans, who have no access to basic education. Educational and recreational activities will be restored in a safe environment for children and adolescents alike. IOM will partner with the British and Norwegian arms of the international NGO, Save the Children with UNICEF serving as a technical partner to identify target groups and provide the educational recreational kits.

At least 10,000 children affected by displacement will benefit through new school books and refurbished school buildings and sanitation facilities. Teachers will also be trained on HIV and AIDS prevention, psycho-social support, sexual gender-based violence (SGBV), health and hygiene and child protection issues...

Every little bit counts.

So that's where the WMDs went! ::palm-forehead::

2008-04-08T00:10:00.003-04:00

Ahem I am not a dangerous person

2008-04-07T22:32:00.002-04:00

Quite not. I'm often accused of being "too nice for my own good," and it's very easy to take advantage of my kindness and general desire to please. Last Friday my fiance and I spent an hour in the cold trying to coax a lost cat out of a bush at 2.00am in the morning with the hopes of returning it to its owner (no such luck, unfortunately), feeling just as sorry for the more-then-likely terribly distraught owner as the more-than-likely terribly thirsty kitty.

But apparently we are a danger to our country and all the little children in it, because we commit a doubleplusungood thoughtcrime. Go figure...

Z - Journalists released

2008-04-07T15:19:00.002-04:00

The two foreign journalists who were arrested last week have been released on a bail of of Z$300 million each.

Z - To runoff or not to runoff? and will there be sugar after the runoff? (for less than Z$351.00 per kilo, please)

2008-04-07T12:18:00.010-04:00

(Sugar cost cited from The Zimbabwean Pundit: Eddie Cross)

Final Senate results!

The ZEC has now announced all 60 Senate seats for those Senators who are elected by the people.

The final count, for those 60, is as follows: Zanu PF has 30 seats, the MDC-MT has 24 seats and the MDC has 6 seats.

The Senate is actually made up of a total of 93 Senators:
* 60 directly elected by voters in 60 constituencies;
* 5 Senators appointed by the President;
* 10 Provincial Governors;
* 18 chiefs – 16 elected by fellow chiefs, plus the President and Deputy President of the Council of Chiefs ex officio.

[See the link above for full details on the people's chosen senators.]

In case anyone's confused about the two MDCs, here's the lowdown: one MDC is Tsvangirai's branch, the other faction is Arthur Mutambara's. The split occurred in 2005 after disagreements over the party's participation in Senate elections. Mutambara was slated to do very well going into this past election, but as we know now, Tsvangirai garnered a lot of unexpected support and ended up doing considerably better in opposition strongholds. All the same, MDC-AM's influence can't be ignored by MDC-MT. Here's why:

Observers said the faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai, winners of 99 of the 210 House of Assembly seats, was already courting the smaller group in order to form an alliance.

Zanu PF has 97 seats to the MDC-MT's 99. The smaller faction won 10 seats.

This means that none of the two parties will have a clear majority, giving the smaller MDC faction a powerful negotiating leverage.

Hence talk of the two MDCs working together in the new Parliament and fashioning some sort of majority.

So, results for both houses of Parliament are out, but still no news of the presidential results. Continued fury on both sides...

MDC refuses to accept a runoff because they believe they won fair & square, and that Mugabe is deluding himself, should just step down, and stop "pussyfooting" around and wasting everyone's time; and political commentators have warned Mugabe that defeat in a runoff would only lead to "indignity and embarrassment" for him - might as well avoid that.

Not one to listen to outside advice, Mugabe demands a recount, a move that Tsvangirai says would be "illegal and impractical."

The MDC's Saturday-postponed-till-Sunday court case has borne little fruit. A judge in the High Court responded to the ZEC's claims that: 'Nu-uh, the High Court has no jurisdiction over us!' by saying: 'Oh yes we do.' But the Court's insisting that it has jurisdiction over the ZEC doesn't necessarily mean it's going to do anything about it. We won't know till Tuesday whether or not the Court finds the MDC's case worthy.

Tensions surrounding the ever-pending results continue to poison the atmosphere. Tafadzwa Musekiwa from SW Africa Radio in London warns that just because Mugabe's (pretty much) out, it doesn't mean everything will be rosy when/if Tsvangirai comes into power:

[The people] are simply fed up with Mugabe and they want Morgan Tsvangirai to take over the reigns of power in Zimbabwe.

I nevertheless sense serious danger if all these people are imagining a situation where Tsvangirai gets into power, and suddenly there is food on their tables, there is foreign investment and jobs are there for everyone, repair of infrastructure goes underway, the army, police and the judiciary become professional, and Zimbabwe reverts back to the pre 1997 era or even better. I believe Tsvangirai and his government will be faced with serious issues to deal with and there is need for Zimbabweans to exercise serious patience with his government other than vice versa.

There's still concern over potential Kenya-like violence in the aftermath of Mugabe's descent from power, which may be slowly underway:

Police have arrested some election officials under Zanu PF orders after Mugabe warned the ZEC to cease releasing results and demanded a recount of the ballots. He is also contesting results in 16 parliamentary constituencies. The arrested officials are accused of vote-rigging and bribery.
"Zanu PF is planning a countrywide witch-hunt of party members suspected of sabotaging President Robert Mugabe's bid to win a sixth term of office."
White farmers of yore have begun to reclaim farms they lost after Mugabe's land reform, and Mugabe has urged black farmers to protect their land - one assumes he means 'at all costs.' War veterans are answering Mugabe's call by commandeering white-owned farms, echoing events that occurred back in 2000 and 2002:
Farmers in the area fear a repeat of the land invasions of 2000. Mugabe has in fact said quite openly that by aligning themselves with the MDC, white farmers have made themselves enemies of the state.

The wave of killings and assaults of white farmers between 2000 and 2002 was a clear warning that they would only be allowed to stay on their farms and carry out farming operations if they denounced the MDC and threw in their lot with Zanu (PF).

Tsvangirai denies all rumors that he intends to reverse Mugabe's land reform and return all previously white-own farms back to their previous owners, but he does intend to give Germany control of the Reserve Bank for a year in an effort to restore the economy (I don't predict that going over well with Zanu PFs who think Tsvangirai is a Western tool).

Tsvangirai also plans to change commanders of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Commissioner-General of Police, Director-General of the Central Intelligence Organisation, the Chief Justice and Permanent Secretary for Finance, among other high-ranking officials.

Government overhaul...

The MDC is urging the UN to step in should there be bloodshed in the event of a runoff.

Charlton Heston, one of my first crushes ever, is dead at the age of 83

2008-04-06T12:01:00.008-04:00

Say whatever you want about his politics, but that man could act.
And dear lordy was he ever good looking!

Be still, my heart.

Z - Don't know what good any of this is going to do either

2008-04-05T12:34:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I questioned the productivity of the MDC taking the ZEC to court for holding on to results for so damn long, assuming they'd probably never see the time of day in court. Turns out my instincts were right:

Police have stopped lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from entering the High Court in Harare, where they were scheduled to ask for an order that last week's presidential election results be released.

Three armed police officers barred two lawyers from entering the court building, Reuters news agency reported. [link]

----

An opposition lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, said a senior police officer gave orders to other officers, saying “no one is going to enter.” Mr. Muchadehama was also quoted by The Associated Press as saying that journalists waiting outside the court were also ordered to disperse. [link]

The hearing is apparently postponed until tomorrow.

Right...

In the meantime, Tsvangirai reasserts his victory, promises Mugabe's safety if he were to peacefully step down, and expresses concern regarding a runoff election:

"In the run-off, violence will just be the new weapon to reverse the people's win," the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader told reporters.

"In this regard, we know that thousands of army recruits are being recruited, militants are being rehabilitated and some few claiming to be war veterans are already on the warpath."

"Pretty much everywhere, it's gonna be hot"

2008-04-05T02:47:00.006-04:00

Friend o'mine sent me this email:

Subj: Increasing World Awareness through Trade
Text: "I'll read about Zimbabwe if you read about Haiti."

Seems a fair enough trade indeed. It'll take me a while to get up to speed on Haiti, seeing as I'm still covering Zim's elections, I still have that long-time-coming Somalia update (it is coming, promise!), and oh yeah, my own politics (but I'm so very tired of the primaries at the moment). But we can start with this:

Thanks to Aaron for pointing out this video to me.

And I got one of this gentleman's CDs about a year ago. He was singing in a subway station. Turns out Gifrants is pretty well known and not just another struggling subway singer. The album I have - Vwa e Gita, Volim I - is very beautiful and haunting at times.

Now I'm motivated to learn what he's singing about.

Z - Very nice article from Kenya makes some good points:

2008-04-05T02:08:00.005-04:00

[link, my emphasis]

... The very admission by President Mugabe that he was bested in the popular vote and has to go for a second round must in itself be a pivotal moment in Zimbabwe politics.

President Mugabe has ruled the country with the iron fist for all that period and routinely secured massive victories, but now must face the prospect of losing power.

There are justifiable fears that President Mugabe may well be tempted to employ unorthodox means to hold on power.

The eyes of the world are firmly on Zimbabwe right now, and western powers have been warning against any attempts to manipulate the outcome.

Just as important, however, is that at this delicate stage everything be done to encourage President Mugabe to respect the results if they do not go his way. Reassurances that he will not be harassed and will retain the respect and privileges due a former president might be more productive than threats.

Key to everything here might be the performance of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission so that whatever the outcome, the results reflect the wishes of the people. We have learnt here in Kenya, at great cost, what a disputed election can mean.

Call me a naïve, optimistic fool, but I really do like to think that things have a chance to turn out alright there...

Z - Angry Veterans, Senate Results, Soaring Z$s

2008-04-04T20:59:00.004-04:00

Looks like there definitely will be a runoff election between Mugabe ad Tsvangirai.

The war veterans marched through the capital in protest today against the MDC's claims of victory, under the impression that such a victory would just be "a way to open for the re-invasion of this country (by the British)." War veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda refers to Tsvangirai as "their [the whites']" candidate, and states, "We will be forced to defend our sovereignty... We must not be pushed."

That sounds like a threat.

Indeed it is:

Veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation war vowed to seize the remaining white-owned commercial farms if President Robert Mugabe loses the expected second round of a presidential ballot...

The reappearance of the war veterans on the political scene, who led the invasions of white farms in 2000 soon after Mugabe lost a referendum on a new constitution, has heightened fears that the ruling ZANU-PF will unleash state violence to coerce the electorate to ensure Mugabe wins the run off ballot.

Seems Sibanda truly sees a Tsvangirai win as signaling a British invasion of Zimbabwe, to which he says: "Results are just figures but an invasion is physical. We will deal with that which is tangible... As freedom fighters, we feel compelled to repel the invasion. We can not just sit back when there are all these provocations."

Yikes?

Senate news! Results so far are as follows:

Zanu PF - 20 seats
MDC (Tsvagirai) - 19 seats
MDC - 4 seats

With 17 seats pending...

Money news! The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) just released Z$50 million notes. Everyone's a millionaire! Inflation now stands at 165,000%.

Between December last year and now, Zimbabwe's reserve bank has unveiled six new bills in denominations of $250 000, $500 000, $750 000, $1 million, $5 million and $10 million bills.

Eva did the math for me, a celebratory coke in Zimbabwe costs Z$30 million. This was three days ago. It's probably at least 50% more expensive now...

Z - Still waiting......

2008-04-04T12:08:00.005-04:00

In nearly every article about the delays in announcing election results, the author writes that these delays are "unprecedented," that in the past results simply came out in favor of Mugabe and that was that. So couldn't the delays be taken as signs that Mugabe in fact, did lose? If he won, why not just announce it as usual?

The MDC grows more and more impatient, and their lawyers have filed to take the ZEC to court. I can't imagine what good that would do though, other than keep the situation in the news, although I don't see the media letting up on this anytime soon. I don't know anything about Zim's court system... Who controls it? I'd imagine Mugabe's people, and if that's the case would the opposition really be given any consideration in court? Do any readers have a clue as to how productive a court case would be?

As I was posting the House of Assembly results yesterday, I thought to myself, "What about the upper house of parliament, the senate? Where are those results? Did I miss them? How careless of me..." No, I didn't miss them. They're not out yet either, and no one knows when they will be.

I want to watch Tavonga Mahara dance:

After a quick glance at the morning news headlines on 3 April, which proclaimed a win for the Zimbabwean opposition, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), an elated Tavonga Mahara almost sang out: "This is sweeter than a miracle! ZANU-PF can be beaten after all!"

A resident of the Mbare suburb in the capital, Harare, Mahara added, "Surely, a new and brighter sun is on the horizon; our votes did not go to waste."

Mahara's excited shouts, as he broke into a little jig attracted the attention of other residents of the suburb, who crowded around him cheering wildly...

That kind of happiness must be uncontrollably contagious, and it probably makes a horrific crushing sound when tossed to the ground and trampled asunder by unexpected bad news. I can't imagine how deflated this man would be if Mugabe comes out on top somehow, and Mugabe's camp certainly seems to be trying to make this happen.

MDC offices have been raided, and two foreign journalists have been arrested and detained for working without accreditation. MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti told the Associated Press that these activities are signs that "Mugabe has started a crackdown... It is quite clear he has unleashed a war."

Theories abound as to what Mugabe is doing right now, or is preparing to do. An article proposes that Mugabe is slated to form a six-month transitional government to manage his exit from power after losing to Tsvangirai. Others still predict a challenging runoff election with the full support of his party. But most frightening is the possibility that Mugabe may declare a state of emergency and rule by decree.

As usual, more news as it comes.

Z - Still waiting

2008-04-03T11:16:00.004-04:00

Sorry about the silence yesterday. Honestly, I just needed a break from the news... And I slept most of the day because my cat's been keeping me up nights for the past couple months with his antics, and I was exhausted.

But here we are now, back on schedule.

Yesterday the MDC grew impatient, as has everyone else, and announced its own results:

MOVEMENT for Democratic Change president, Morgan Tsvangirai last night addressed the media where he said his party had won the March 29 harmonised poll but could not declare itself as the winner as it waited for the official results from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Tsvangirai thanked the people of Zimbabwe for voting for his party and said Zimbabwe would never be the same again. [link]

----

MDC Party Secretary General Tendai Biti said Mr Tsvangirai had won 50.3% of the vote to President Robert Mugabe's 43.8%, so avoiding a run-off.

Results have yet to be officially declared but the state-run Herald newspaper has predicted a run-off.

The ruling Zanu-PF party has dismissed the MDC claim as "wishful thinking". [link]

As expected, the incumbent government is none too happy with this announcement:

"The British government is wasting their time and resources trying to push for change in Zimbabwe. We will not accept a coup supported by the British in Zimbabwe," said [Bright] Matonga [Deputy Minister of Information].

He continued: "The army is ready and solid. It is strong. There are no cracks in the Zanu PF party and the British government and the US government will not succeed," said Matonga.

Zimbabwe's service chiefs last week issued a chilling warning that they "are not going to allow a situation where individuals arrogate themselves the role of election officials and announce themselves winners at any stage of the electoral process."

Nothing really new or unexpected there (unfortunately).

What is new is Zanu PF's official loss of Parliament control:

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission gave on Wednesday the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 105 seats to 93 for Mugabe's ZANU-PF in the 210-seat House of Assembly [the lower house of parliament].

One seat went to an independent. That means that even if ZANU-PF wins all the remaining seats, it will not have the 206 seats needed for a majority.

Also new is the development that MDC may actually have substantial support of Zimbabwe's defense forces:

The rank and file members of the country's defence forces are fully behind the MDC forming a new government, according to a senior legislator in the party.

Giles Mutsekwa, the MDC MP for Dangamvura-Chikanga in Mutare, said he has received assurances from several senior military officers that they would pledge their allegiance to the next commander-in-chief of the defence forces.

That was April 2's news. Now today's (so far) news.

Parliament seats data has changed. I think? Another article says that opposition parties (including MDC-Tsvagirai and others) won 106 seats (with MDC-Tsvangirai winning 96 of those) and Zanu PF won 94. And another shows Zanu PF with 93 seats instead of 94. Yet another shows them at 99 and 97 respectively, another shows 99 and 96. Whatever the exact numbers, the result is the same: opposition won.

In a move that will certainly be considered "selling out" by Mugabe supporters, the MDC has agreed upon a £1 billion rescue package from the U.K., coordinated by International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union and the United Nations. Mugabe had previously turned down such a package in favor of loans from Iran, China, and Libya.

This package assumes, of course, that either there isn't a runoff (but there likely will be one), or even if there is a runoff that Tsvangirai wins it (which MDC thinks is certain, Zanu PF not so much, and there are even hypotheses that Makoni still has a chance, with Mugabe's cunning).

Basically, absolute certainty is a luxury no one can possess at this point, and anyone's guess seems as good as another's. We just have to wait and see.

Z - How the economy got screwed up and how to make it better, in little more than 800 words.

2008-04-01T21:15:00.004-04:00

Concise, coherent, and informative. Just go read it.

Also, flying pengiuns.

Z - Possible re-run

2008-04-01T20:28:00.005-04:00

The negotiations between Mugabe's advisors and Tsvangirai may have been a fabrication. Both Mugabe's and Tsvangirai's camps deny any such talks. ::shrug:: Who knows?

The idea behind Mugabe stepping down was that a re-run between him and Tsvangirai would be embarrassing for him, assuming Makoni's supporters would back Tsvangirai in the re-run, which would assure a win for Tsvangirai, again.

But it looks like there may be a runoff anyway:

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will beat President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe's crucial election, but be forced into a runoff vote in three weeks, according to a ruling party projection.

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Two senior government sources who asked not to be named said their projections showed Tsvangirai getting 48.3 per cent, against Mugabe's 43 per cent, with Makoni taking eight per cent.

"What this means is that we are looking at a re-run because he did not win with a margin of over 51 per cent that would have given him the job straight away," one of the sources said.

A projection by the independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) had Mr Tsvangirai taking 49.4 per cent and Mugabe 41.8 per cent with Makoni on 8.2.

There's another rumor that Mugabe may be preparing to declare a state of emergency after announcing inaccurate results.

The MDC in London are going to gather at a rally/march in front of the Zimbabwean Embassy on Thursday, either in protest if results aren't out by then, or in celebration if they are. Both of these scenarios assume an MDC win.

Z - Looking good?

2008-04-01T10:57:00.004-04:00

So, the delay in announcements? Mugabe did it.

President Robert Mugabe had arbitrarily blocked the result of the weekend’s cliff-hanger presidential election to manipulate it in his favour.

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Security sources said Mugabe and the JOC decided to withhold the presidential election results and release the outcomes of the parliamentary, senate and local council polls in small batches to manage the volatile situation and prepare the nation for a Mugabe victory.

The idea is also to contain the situation because Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) have lost the polls by wide margins, sources said.

Then there's (::glee::) this:

Advisers to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe are in talks with the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, amid signs that Mugabe may be preparing to resign, a Western diplomatic source and a prominent Zimbabwe political analyst said Tuesday. The negotiations about a possible transfer of power away from Mugabe come after he apparently concluded that a runoff election would be demeaning, a diplomat said.

But then there's (::oops::) this:

That has left this nation, and a good bit of the world, wondering how he will survive what seems a repudiation by his countrymen, most of whom have become unemployed under his rule.

Ooh, good point.

Others suffering under Zim's economy tend to flee to South Africa; maybe Mugabe can do the same.

Memory Lane

2008-04-01T01:25:00.009-04:00

One of my beloved professors of times past, Sinan Antoon, is making quite a name for himself now. Even has a book out, in Arabic and several translations (just got my copy in the mail today and I plan to read it tomorrow). And of course there's the documentary he co-directed/ produced, and all of his poetry and articles (links to many of which can be found here).

But I can say I remember him when… And here are a few quotes that I collected along the way (seems so long ago now...) Enjoy. I know I did.

"What do politicians and porn stars have in common…? They can switch positions in front of the camera very easily."
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"Nationalism is the worst thing in the world, except the atom bomb."
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"The UN is a horse for the superpowers."
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"Business requires sacrifice."
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"The world is more understandable when you think in terms of violence."
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Student, referring to a particular Arabic grammar particle:
Student: "So, it just makes things sound important?"
Sinan: "Yes. Like when Bush says, 'nexus'."
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"I don’t believe in the 'In sha allah'. I believe in human will!" - 'In sha allah' means 'God willing'
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With regards to seeing two Muslim women in DC at a drive through McDonald's ordering ice cream in full veil: "I just wanted to see how they were going to eat the ice cream."
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"Arabic is an athletic language, and when you don't use it, it hurts. No pain, no gain."
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"You must mutilate the text, it is good. Butchery is good, ultimately."
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General encouragement: "Chop up the sentences and mutilate them until they bleed."
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Referring to our progress in class: "This is good; this is like boot camp."
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"I promise we will move more slowly... If you give me $75 each. No not really. We will move more slowly, but you must promise to treat the book and the vocabulary and the text like prayer."
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Advising us to just learn the grammar and worry about how it works later, once again using a prayer analogy: "You memorize the prayer then you learn its meaning."
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Advising us to take grammar notes: "If you don't write down the maSdar the wolves will come and get you when you're alone at night..."
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We convinced Sinan one day to give us a class devoted to learning profanity, because many of us were traveling to the Arab world that summer and felt it would benefit us, should we ever be sworn at, to know what was being said to us, and how to properly respond. He agreed this was a good idea. At some point we were getting a bit rowdy and he threatened us with this punishment: "No genitalia for you today!"
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Response (jokingly, of course) to a student asking a question about a topic we literally had just covered: "We just learned it, godammit! [hammers table with fist] What the hell have we been doing for twenty minutes? Short term memory? They have medicine for that!"
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Sinan: "I'm gonna get fired from this place because I'm too sarcastic."
Me: "But they can't! Because we love you!"
Sinan: "I love you too! But the world isn't about love, it is about hate. Hate is productive. Love gets you nowhere."
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"I'm just an individual, but sometimes some individuals are endowed with a certain capital."
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With a warm, wide grin and glittering eyes: "I am the angel of death."

Z - More emails from Jack Shepherd & co.

2008-03-31T18:31:00.006-04:00

I've mentioned him before. Here are his and others' reflections on the past few days. In the last email, Eddie Cross suggests that the delays may just be the ZEC's giving Zanu PF time to clear their offices. Wouldn't that be nice?!

Dear Family and Friends,

We finally arrived at the March 29th elections in typical Zimbabwean splendour. It was a glorious day with a clear, bright blue sky, a warm sun and everywhere an overwhelmingly positive feeling. The mood was one of anticipation and relief that at last this momentous day had arrived and it would surely mark the turning point and define the future of Zimbabwe.

Voting started with long queues at a few polling stations in my home area but nothing even remotely similar to the elections of 2002 and 2005 when we had waited for ten or more hours to vote. This time people waited for short periods and by mid day the queues had reduced considerably. The actual voting process was efficient and streamlined and many polling stations were completely deserted by early afternoon - hours before the close of the election.

At 7am on the 30th March, 12 hours after polling stations had closed and counting had been underway, there was still no official information or any election results.

By 11 am, 16 hours into the counting process numerous phone calls had come in from excited, exhausted people telling of major opposition wins but still no official announcements were forthcoming. On the government controlled ZBC television there were no analysts, commentators or even news stories of Zimbabwe's most crucial election. Finally at midday a short announcement was made by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. They said results were being collated and verified and would be announced in "due course."

As I write this letter the polls have been closed and counting has been underway for over 27 hours and still not a single official result from even one constituency has been announced. Tallying results publicly displayed at individual polling stations, the MDC have declared that they have a strong advantage. British Foreign Secretary Lord Malloch Brown has said that it is "quite likely that Mr Mugabe has lost the election" and Pan African Election Observers are expressing growing concern at the lack of official results.

As each hour passes without any official results, anxiety and suspicions are growing. We are in uncharted water. Never before has there been a complete media blackout after an election. We can do nothing but hope and pray that somehow we will emerge from this with a true and honest reflection of the will of the people. Perhaps by the time you read this letter the facts will be known, I hope so. Until next time, love cathy.

Copyright cathy buckle 30 March 2008.

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A Political Tsunami

A few weeks ago I stood in a small house in a local high-density suburb addressing a meeting of about 150 people crammed into every corner. I said to them that what we needed to end the crisis in Zimbabwe was a political Tsunami. I said a Tsunami could not be detected on the open sea (during the campaign) and when it reached the shore and rose up like a mountain of water, those on the beach got little or no warning. It was silent and totally destructive, sweeping away everything in its path.

Right now (17.00 hrs on Sunday the 30th) the semi official tally is 103 seats to MDC and 5 to Zanu PF. The outcome of the election has been a stunning victory for the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai. Many of the strong holds of Zanu PF have fallen to overwhelming MDC majorities. Makoni has performed more or less to expectations - in fact did better than we anticipated - especially in Matabeleland where he seems to have garnered about 30 per cent of the vote. Nationally it looks like about 10 per cent.

It also looks like a first round victory for Morgan with over 50 per cent of the national tally. Even here in Matabeleland where Makoni took votes away from him, his margin was 2 to 1 against Makoni and 10 to 1 against Mugabe. The Police have said to us in the MDC: you may not celebrate until the official results are known. In one of my polling stations when the returning officer announced 452 votes for Morgan Tsvangirai and 14 votes for Robert Mugabe, one of the policemen in the Station made a sort of gurgling sound and collapsed!

Yesterday was extraordinary, as I have said before, no more than 2,8 million voters were active in Zimbabwe and I think we will see when the final tally comes out that a very high turnout was achieved. We knew from our own research that a high turn out would favor the opposition. Observers are saying that the turn out was low, but that is because they are looking at the voters roll against the turnout. In the rural areas the numbers were small, but still gave MDC a clear majority.

The Mutambara group fared poorly at this stage I know of only a few candidates who won their seats, David Coltart in the Khumalo senatorial seat. He will be insufferable but it is good that we are not losing his talents and experience. Otherwise it looks as if the ratio of votes Mutambara group to Tsvangirai was at least 2 to 1 in Matabeleland and they got nowhere in the rest of the country. Both Welshman Ncube and Gibson Sibanda lost their seats. I am sure Mutambara will have been annihilated in Harare.

In my long career in opposition politics, first in the Smith era and then later in the last 20 years of the Mugabe era, I have never voted for a winner before! Quite an experience for me therefore to vote for 4 candidates and have them all romp home. But I am the first to acknowledge that the circumstances were exceptional. This was, as Morgan stated, a referendum on the leadership of Mugabe.

What turned this election from a silent surge of feeling in mid ocean, into a tsunami? For a start it was the Mbeki factor. Right from the start of 2007, Mr. Mbeki played a crucial role in persuading his SADC colleagues to recognise the MDC and to back reform of the electoral process. They forced Zanu PF to come to the negotiating table and in 9 months of negotiations, got a number of concessions agreed and implemented. Frustrated at the very end of the process, Mbeki then turned to Makoni and sent him in to joust with Mugabe. It was a clever and fatal move and sunk the Mugabe ship in mid ocean. But even Mbeki could not have anticipated the size of the subsequent MDC victory.

Meanwhile the effects of the reforms agreed and implemented in Zimbabwe, even though they were limited, had started to work through the system. Here the law of unintended consequences came into play. The shift of electoral power from the Registrar Generals Office to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission seemed to Zanu PF to be a move that was without risk. After all, had they not appointed the Commission themselves and was not George Chiweshe, the chairman, a loyalist? In fact they completely underestimated the dynamics of the shift from Civil Service control under Mudede to the ZEC under a civilian Commission.

The Commission has played a crucial role, sticking to its mandate to administer the election within the guidelines of the Electoral Act. They actually frustrated several attempts by Mugabe to implement last minute changes to the electoral system and insisted on the counting at the polling stations; this opened the door to the MDC vote count and reporting system and prevented many of the rigging efforts that had enabled Zanu PF to dictate the outcome of previous elections.

Then came the MDC state of preparedness the consensus of the media and many other commentators was that the MDC was a spent force. Divided and confused, weakened by a year of relentless onslaught by the authorities and the departure of thousands of their key activists to South Africa and elsewhere. In fact, it stunned Zanu when the MDC was able to field 2000 candidates at short notice and then come out fighting with a well prepared and financed campaign. The key to that was the support network built up over several years in the region and these hidden heroes are very much responsible for the activity everyone has seen in the past few weeks - the adverts, the flyers, the poster war and the funding for our candidates.

Finally the anti rigging operation. We knew how they had rigged previous elections and we set out to try and stop a recurrence. The whistle blower campaign was a key part of that and we have had hundreds of calls from all quarters and several key hits. The many people who climbed in and said "one more time" and spent days in the bush helping with the count and the reporting system are unsung heroes.

Then the people: they had just had enough, had enough of arrogance and being taken for granted, enough of the suffering and destruction of the economy. Their steadfast faith in the electoral process and their refusal to take to violence. They chose to suffer in silence and then go out and vote. For me they are the real champions and I hope they will never again be taken for granted. I also hope they will hold their new leadership accountable for the trust they have given us.

Eddie Cross
30th March 2008

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Friends:

This is getting very interesting, even exciting.

Here is a further report from inside Zimbabwe about the election results. It looks like Mugabe may be admitting defeat at this hour (at least for now-- hold on!), and that, as Eddie Cross suggests here, the Zim Electoral Commission is delaying to let ZANU-PF clear offices.

Stay turned. I'll send along updaters as they come in.

Jack Shepherd

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The Last Kicks of a Dying Horse

What a dramatic two days this has been. With voting over in the allotted 12 hours, counting has taken another 72 hours and in some cases the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is still verifying the vote results. In a dramatic development the political masters in Zanu PF tried to force ZEC to declare Mugabe the winner with 53 per cent of the vote and a Zanu PF majority of 115 seats.

This information was sent to us by elements in Zanu PF and we made the plan public at a press conference at 10.00 hrs today. But once again the ZEC has come up trumps; they refused to gerrymander the results and are slowly releasing the final results to the public. This appears to be an effort to give the Zanu PF people a chance to "clean house" in advance of what will be a fairly rapid transfer of power once the final figures for the Presidential election are announced.

It would seem that the last minute desperate measures to frustrate a MDC victory was made late yesterday and last night but has faded by this morning. The best indication of that is that the heavy police presence evident last night has faded and there are no police or army units on the street today.

So at last it looks as if the ZEC will eventually announce that Morgan Tsvangirai has won this election. I personally expect the final ZEC tally to be 58 per cent for Morgan Tsvangirai, 27 per cent for Mugabe and 15 per cent for Simba Makoni. I also expect that the final tally in terms of the Parliamentary seats will be 115 for MDC, 12 for the Mutambara group, 8 independents and 75 for Zanu PF. It is clear that many of the Zanu PF seats were in fact rigged in their favor but ZEC is accepting this as it was what I call "micro rigging" in the sense that they manipulated the numbers of people voting.

There were many ways in which they could do this: threats against the population, "vote Zanu PF or else," multiple voting in remote areas where there was insufficient supervision, the postal ballot and moving people into key constituencies. We will have to look at all of these and decide which we will take to court once the dust has settled.

But there can be no doubt this was a huge upset. Zanu seems to have been dislodged by a variety of factors. They gerrymandered the electoral districts giving the rural vote (their traditional source of power) a 2 to 1 advantage over the urban voter. Then they gerrymandered the voters roll and the distribution of polling stations. These measures were overcome by two essential elements: a very high turn out of the voters in urban areas (30 per cent of the voters roll but probably 65 per cent of the actual number of registered voters that are still here) and a very low turn out in rural districts (15 per cent or less). They also underestimated the Makoni factor and he did much better than expected.

This was a referendum on Mugabe's leadership and even with all the rigging and gerrymandering, he is now just so unpopular that he could not be rescued. I doubt if he got 10 per cent of the vote, nationwide. What we have witnessed in the last 24 hours are the last kicks of a dying dynasty. I wonder what is going on right now behind those closed doors!

Eddie Cross
31st March 2008

Z - The latest:

2008-03-31T15:37:00.002-04:00

[link]

The Zimbabwe Election Commission has released official results for 38 constituencies so far and its neck and neck with 19 each, for the ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

Zanu-PF has won in the following constituencies: Mhangura, Zvimba West, Zvimba East, Mudzi South, Maramba-Pfungwe, Gutu West, Goromonzi North, Murehwa North, Mutoko South, Murehwa South, Masvingo South, Harare South, Hwedza North, Uzumba, Marondera East, Marondera West, Mutoko North and Chipinge Central.

The MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai has won in Kadoma Central, Chitungwiza North, Zaka West, Mazowe Central, Kuwadzana, Zaka Central, Masvingo Central, Southerton, Mabvuku-Tafara, Highfield West, Kuwadzana East, Mt Pleasant, Sunningdale, Makoni Central, Hatfield, Chipinge East, Chegutu West, Goromonzi West, Mutasa South, and Mutare Central.

Unofficial reports from the MDC claim that the opposition has won a two-thirds majority in Parliament. A reliable source told us that out of the 210 seats, the MDC has won 155 seats, Zanu-PF have 40 and the remainder are shared by independents and candidates from the Arthur Mutambara led formation of the MDC.

Z - Independent monitering group backs MDC's claims of victory

2008-03-31T12:15:00.003-04:00

From BBC:

[MDC official Tendai Biti] said the electoral commission was planning to announce that Mr Mugabe had won 52% of the vote - just enough to avoid a run-off. The MDC would not accept these results, he said.

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A new monitoring group, the Independent Results Centre, backs up the MDC's claims of victory, saying Mr Tsvangirai has won 55% of the vote in the presidential race, against 37% for Mr Mugabe and 5% for independent candidate Simba Makoni.

Z - !!!!

2008-03-31T11:48:00.003-04:00

Mugabe Set to Claim Victory

[My emphasis in bold]

In what can best be described as a shock result, President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party are about to announce victory for Mugabe in the parliamentary and presidential elections, according to unofficial results leaked from the ZANU-PF and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, ZEC, command centres.

But sources within the ZEC centre - newly christened the National Collation Centre - say Mugabe clearly lost the election to his opposition rival Morgan Tsvangirai, polling only 20 per cent of the vote. He is also said to trail Simba Makoni who garnered 28 per cent.

Tsvangirai is said to be leading but just failed to get the requisite 50 per cent plus one vote. According to ZANU-PF sources at the collation centre, ZEC is about to announce that the ruling party won by 111 seats, with some rural constituencies recording huge victories for Mugabe.
The sources said in Mugabe’s traditional strongholds, such as Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe, he won with huge margins of more than 30,000 votes, with Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, president Tsvangirai getting as few as 2,000 votes.
But commentators say it would be something of a miracle if Mugabe and his party had secured the victory, given more than 85 per cent unemployment, serious food shortages and a collapsed health delivery system.
IWPR could not get the exact percentage by which Mugabe will be said to have won but the sources said there would not be a run-off, as ZANU-PF will claim Mugabe has clinched more than 50 per cent of the total number of voters cast.
Some of the ruling party’s heavyweights that have fallen include Minister of Women Affairs Oppah Muchunguri, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Energy and Power Development Mike Nyambuya, and Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.
The supposed election results, if ZEC goes ahead to announce them, are likely to be condemned locally and internationally. The election will be viewed as stolen because of voter intimidation and allegations of vote rigging.
There are already reports coming from the United States saying sanctions, currently targeted at Mugabe and his close associates, would be intensified if the ballot were not free and fair. The same is likely to come from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other western countries.
But what is more worrying now is how Zimbabweans are going to receive the result, especially after the MDC has been saying it “has won this election beyond any reasonable doubt”.
Zimbabweans cast their votes at the weekend amid indications the poll was already stolen, with reports of stuffed ballot boxes being discovered in Mashonaland Central and Masvingo provinces. The opposition parties and independent candidates had already alleged that Mugabe was going to rig this election to avoid a humiliating loss.
The MDC last week uncovered gross irregularities in the voters’ roll, showing thousands of voters supposedly living on what turned out to be open ground. According to the voters’ roll, 65 per cent of voters registered in Harare North live on a piece of land that used to belong to the Ernest Kadungure housing co-operative.
However, upon visiting the area, the MDC found that it was one of the areas where shacks were demolished during Operation Murambatsvina, when the government destroyed homes in areas that were perceived to be MDC strongholds.
The Pan-African Parliament, PAP, at the close of voting on March 29, raised concerns with ZEC chairman George Chiweshe.
In a letter to Chiweshe, PAP Election Observer Mission leader Marwick Khumalo said it saw no evidence that there were any residents in Ward 42, which is deserted land with a few wooden sheds, despite voters from that deserted ward being listed on the voters’ roll. The Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe, CCZ, has said whatever the outcome of the results of the general elections, the process will not be a true and legitimate expression of the democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe.
CCZ spokesman McDonald Lewanika said civil society in Zimbabwe deplored the recent comments by service chiefs saying that they would not accept the election of any presidential candidate but Mugabe.
Army commander Constantine Chiwenga and head of the prison services retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi announced they would not salute anyone but Mugabe, while police chief Augustine Chihuri said he would not accept an opposition victory.
Lewanika also condemned statements by Mugabe, who has been using threatening and intimidating language in speeches to the electorate.
In Bulawayo, Mugabe told a rally that voting for the MDC would be a waste of time and that he would not allow the opposition party to rule Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai said in an interview recently that if Mugabe won the election, “it’s dead end for the country”.
Once-prosperous Zimbabwe is suffering from the world's highest inflation rate of more than 100,000 per cent, chronic shortages of food and fuel, and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that has contributed to a steep decline in life expectancy.

From an earlier article:

On Monday late morning the MDC claimed that out of 128 constituencies tallied up so far they have won 96 and that party leader Morgan Tsvangirai has 60 percent of the presidential vote.
Robert Mugabe is trailing with 30 percent while Simba Makoni is third with 10 percent.

Z - My heart is pounding for these people

2008-03-31T11:11:00.001-04:00

They've begun announcing parliament seat winners (MDC, largely), but not yet the Presidency. The rumor is still that Tsvangirai has won, but that Mugabe will be announced.

I can hardly take the suspense anymore. I can't imagine how Zimbabweans must feel!

Z - Bear in mind the 6 hour time difference

2008-03-31T02:37:00.004-04:00

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is scheduled to start announcing results of the 2008 harmonised elections at 6am today, after undergoing the necessary verification and authentication, ZEC chairman Justice George Chiweshe, announced last night. [link]

And that's it for tonight. See you in the morning.

[Time zones]

Z - Concerns

2008-03-31T00:35:00.007-04:00

Delays in announcing election results cause many to worry something fishy might be going on.

"The delay in announcing these results is fuelling speculation that there could be something going on," said Noel Kututwa, the head of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN).

"I'm worried," said Marwick Khumalo, head of the Pan-African Parliamentary Observer Mission, "these are the delays that start causing problems in a country".

And, oh shit...

The MDC US Representatives are reliably informed that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will, within the next 2-4 hours declare Robert Mugabe the victor of Zimbabwe's Presidential election. [my emphasis]

The military brass in Zimbabwe met earlier today and decided to instruct the ZEC to declare Mugabe the winner. This is being done despite results showing that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has won a great majority of the parliamentary seats and its Presidential candidate is ahead in the already counted votes by about 68%. [my emphasis]

The ZEC was given 2-4 hours to allow the military to deploy in all the major urban areas to crush any potential revolt by Zimbabweans.

...

Zimbabweans have overwhelmingly decided to elect new leaders to rebuild their ravaged country and Mugabe seems determined to stop that. The international community must not allow this to happen.

Eva wonders:

"so if everyone already knows tsvangirai won... what will happen when Mugabe tries to steal it?"

Commenter Perseus wonders:

"I fear that the results, fabricated or not, will make no difference. There's some sort of carnage on the way. I don't understand why the UN, or some other theoretically non-aligned force are not there to help the average everyday Zimbabwean who is about to cop the backlash."

Good questions, both. Thoughts?

I fear that Perseus's "I fear..." answers Eva's "what will happen?..." I dread the news these next few days, especially if Mugabe's "victory" is announced.

I think I'll go get myself a Coke (scroll down to the last line for the reference) and hope for the best.

Z - Statistics! Candidate responses!

2008-03-30T16:55:00.008-04:00

First, I just want to say that every article I've read says voting day went off practically without a hitch, sans the expected rigging and caging (i.e. no riots!) which is phenomenal. Hopefully things will stay calm after official results come in.

Some 'Unofficial' Results - from Eddie Cross, an opposition candidate

Well what a night! The Elections closed more or less on schedule and counting got under way at polling stations about 20.00 hrs. The procedure followed is very cumbersome but results started to come in about 2 AM.

It now appears from the results recorded at polling stations that there has been a huge upset. It looks likely that Morgan [Tsvangirai] might just get more than 50 per cent of the vote with Mugabe in second place and Makoni a distant third.

In my own constituency we saw the following unofficial results:
Presidential
Tsvangirai 58.45%
Mugabe 9.32%
Makoni 32.23%
Total votes cast 6897
Senate
MDC (T) 60.18%
Zanu PF 9.17%
MDC (M) 26.90%
Others 3.17%
House of Assembly (yours truly)
MDC (T) 58.86%
Zanu PF 11.66%
MDC(M) 30.72%
Others 2.13%
Council
MDC (T) 57.86
Zanu PF 11.66%
MDC (M) 25.88%
Others 4.60%
In Matabeleland it would seem that Makoni did well - beating Zanu PF into third place in almost all areas. Elsewhere he did very poorly and is still likely to be in third place. We now wait for the official results - but remember that these results are based on the actual count at each polling station. The first time we have been allowed to do this. [my emphasis]
My own guess is that we are already over half of all seats in the House and are able to form the next government. But it might still be necessary to have a Presidential re run and in that case I expect Makoni to back MT.

Hopefully things will become official soon, because Mugabe ain't happy:

President Mugabe's camp meanwhile said it would treat any announcement by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai that he was now the rightful president as tantamount to a coup.
Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba meanwhile fired a warning to Tsvangirai, who has twice been charged with treason, against an early victory claim.
"He announces results, declares himself and the MDC winner and then what? Declare himself president of Zimbabwe? It is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled," Charamba told the Sunday Mail."

... and people are wondering what the armed forces are going to do, seeing as they promised to serve no one but Mugabe.

Makoni is thus far taking things in stride.

Here's AllAfrica's Zimbabwe news page. Candidate profiles are on the right hand side, and if you scroll down you'll see a big long list of the latest articles, and a handful of ongoing discussions.

Z - No definitive results yet

2008-03-30T10:56:00.006-04:00

The MDC is claiming victory based on early results from yesterday's election, but it's unclear whether or not this claim is warranted yet. According to al-Jazeera "[t]he first results were expected on Sunday, but the final official result may not be known until later in the week," so it might be a while before we know for sure, and even then it might be contested.

Senate and parliamentary seats are thus far going to the MDC: they've won all 12 parliamentary seats and 5 out of 6 senatorial seats in the Bulawayo district, parliamentary seats in Zanu PF strongholds Mashonaland West, Central and East, and they've claimed victory in Nyanga, Chipinge South, Makoni central, Makoni south, Mutare central and Dangamvura Chikanga in Manicaland.

::UPDATE::

It's looking more likely that MDC's Tsvangirai actually is in for something of a landslide. MDC has announced this likelihood ahead of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, who is supposed to announce, because ZEC is reluctant to do so themselves so soon.

Z - Today is the day, Pt. VIII

2008-03-29T19:46:00.003-04:00

In response to Mugabe's legislation that mandating a presidential candidate to have the backing of a particular political party - essentially disallowing independent candidates, such as Makoni - Makoni has promised to form such a party after the election, regardless of the outcome, thus officially extricating himself from the Zanu PF party. As a representative of this new party, he will continue to defy Mugabe should he remain in office.

An official statement to Zimbabweans from the military chiefs of police headquarters, promising they will keep the peace and urging voters not to disturb the peace.

More suppression & intimidation.

An interview between business editor to the Zimbabwe Independent, Shakeman Mugari, and presidential candidate Simba Makoni. That man's confidence is impenetrable, and he doesn't offer any definitive answers to the economy problem:

Mugari: I want to know what you think will be the scenario on March 30 after the election.
Makoni: I can tell you that we are romping home to victory. There are no two ways about it.
Mugari: Do you mean you will win so convincingly that there won't be a run-off?
Makoni: There will be no re-run. Tsvangirai will be a distant second and Mugabe will be a further distant third.
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Mugari: You are on record as saying that if Tsvangirai thinks that the economy will turnaround in 100 days then he is dreaming.
Makoni: No, what I have said is that I believe Tsvangirai is promising to solve our problems in 100 days and I have asked for the method he will use. What I have seen is that he is promising US$10 billion but I can assure you that the amount is not enough to solve the problems that we have.
Mugari: How much time do you need to turnaround the economy? Dr Gideon Gono is promising that there will be a new policy after the election to drive the economy until 2010.
Makoni: That is very interesting coming from Gono because remember according to him this year is the mother of all agricultural seasons. Why is he talking about 2010? What has gone wrong with this season? I am not in a position to give a time table for the turnaround. Without a deep analysis of how this economy has been eroded and how much damage has been caused by the quasi-fiscal buying of votes, it will be difficult to have a timetable. A timetable is not possible without looking at how much the lying and looting of the national assets has been done.

Z - Today is the day, Pt. VII

2008-03-29T15:20:00.005-04:00

The polls are closed.

Voting appears to have occurred peacefully, even though some claim to have sensed some apathy among the voters. There also appears to have been extensive vote caging & rigging and some ongoing intimidation.

And despite strict prohibitions against Western observers, it seems the U.S. appears to have smuggled in a few.

Z - Today is the day, Pt. VI

2008-03-29T13:07:00.006-04:00

Compliments of Eva again (who needs to get her danged blog up and running so I can link to her)

BBC links. One has a slideshow of pictures and another has a running thread of comments from voters in Zimbabwe, and on that page are more links to a number of other BBC articles on the topic and some audio and video as well.

Some of the comments:

1430 GMT Radcliffe, near Kwekwe: Georgina says: "I went to four different polling stations in the area and my name was not on any of the voters' rolls, even though I checked two weeks ago to make sure, and my name was on the voters' register then.

My grandmother's name was on the roll but she was told she could not vote this time, even though she has voted in all previous elections - she is 78. However, seven members of my family who have all passed away were on the list, including my uncle, who died a week ago and was an MDC member of parliament.

This is very disturbing for us. But we are not the only ones. Out of the four polling stations I went to, I would say half of all the people who turned up were turned away. They still took everyone's names however, including my neighbours.

I was hoping to vote for Morgan Tsvangirai and I am afraid they will attribute my vote to Zanu-PF. The same thing must be happening across the country and it will probably mean another Zanu-PF victory. It's very sad."

1402 GMT, Victoria Falls: Harrison Muronga emails: Got to the polling station in Ward 10 at 0730 (0530 GMT) and voting was peaceful, stretching to over 300 metres. Please Zimbabweans let's keep up the discipline. Let's show the whole world we are a peaceful nation despite the difficulties we are facing as they shall all come to pass.

1305 GMT, Bulawayo: Colin Chigiyegiye texts: "I have voted and the system is quite easy and transparent, in my view. I do not expect any rigging. There is total peace."

1059 GMT, Karoi: Gandawa emails: "I came to the polling station at 0720 (0520 GMT). The queue is moving fast with approximately 1,000 people behind me. The voting is peaceful. The mood in the queue is good and people are joking. The wind of change is blowing."

1001 GMT, Harare: Rose texts: "Have voted in the northern suburbs. Very peaceful. Friendly and helpful officers. Whole process took approximately 35 minutes."

0921 GMT, Harare: Nicky told the BBC by phone: "I went to one station but the queue was too long. The people there told me they had been waiting since 0100 local time (2300 GMT). I only got there at 0600 (0400 GMT) and waited till now but it's too slow so I'm driving around to find a shorter queue within my ward - there are four stations that I can vote at so I'm going to try the others."

0906 GMT, Kadoma: Olla in Kadoma, north-west of the capital, says voting is going on very well except for some cases where suspected Zanu-PF supporters are being forced to vote while being observed because the ruling party suspects that some of its supporters will vote for opposition candidates. "They are forced to declare to polling officers, as illiterate and they need assistance," Olla emails.

Z - Today is the day , Pt. V

2008-03-29T11:47:00.003-04:00

No news yet really. A few articles saying more of the same, but no election results.

In the meantime, here is a link to an article summarizing what's up with the banks in Zimbabwe, and what they're doing to help or hurt the economy.

Z - Today is the day, Pt. IV

2008-03-29T02:26:00.004-04:00

From Al-Jazeera

According to Tsvangirai:

It's now time to give Mugabe a red card and his pension. Those who refuse to join this bandwagon will need cleansing.

Well, that sounds scary as hell...

Police commissioner Augustine Chihuri sounds a bit more reasonable:

Those who have been breathing fire about the Kenyan-style violence should be warned that violence is a poor substitute for intelligence and that it is a monster that can devour its creator, as it is blind and not selective in nature.

::EDIT::

Then again, Chihuri is the same fellow who said this:

[T]his time we are wiser and we are determined, and this must serve as warning to puppets. We will not allow any puppets to take charge. I am happy that Zimbabweans are wise.

... pretty much backing up General Constantine Chiwenga when he said this:

[T]he army will not salute sell-outs and agents of the West before, during and after the presidential elections.

... so who knows how much his warnings against violence are worth.

Z - Today is the day, Pt. III

2008-03-28T19:53:00.001-04:00

Washington Looks At Landmark Polls
Experts on Zimbabwe from within and outside the country gathered for a panel discussion at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, Thursday to give decision-makers in the U.S. capital city the benefit of a more detailed briefing and discussion on the elections than is normally available in the U.S. media.

Country Goes to the Polls Amid Fears of Rigging By Mugabe
There was a mixture of suspense and hope among voters and political players on the eve of the combined presidential, parliamentary, senatorial and municipal elections, in which 5.9 million voters hope to deliver a verdict that will stop the world's fastest economic decline.

Poll Shows Tsvangirai is Likely Winner
A recent pre-election survey in Zimbabwe puts main opposition leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, as the people's favourite.Coming second is President Robert Mugabe's former ally turned challenger, Mr Simba Makoni... Ruling Zanu-PF spokesperson, Dr Nathan Shamuyarira, dismissed the survey as "not scientific and biased." He said: "Zanu-PF has a landslide victory in this election. We will not lose sleep on something that is not scientific and was done in a boardroom to further the interests of their colonial masters."

Z - Today is the day, Pt. II

2008-03-28T19:12:00.002-04:00

The latest

The Tsvangirai MDC on Thursday won a major victory over the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The ZEC agreed to provide them with a complete copy of the voters' roll, and conceded to demands that all ballots be counted and displayed publicly in each ward and constituency.

Z - Today is the day, Pt. I

2008-03-28T18:11:00.002-04:00

I spent a good part of my day fashioning a post summarizing the past week's worth of news on Zimbabwe in preparation for tomorrow's elections, except it didn't occur to me: our today is their tomorrow. It's early Saturday afternoon right now and people are voting this very moment.

So much for a preparatory post.

Time for live blogging! Sort of!

Mugabe (current President), Makoni (former finance minister), and Tsvangirai (Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader) supporters have threatened to revolt against respectivly percieved unfair elections - Mugabe's supporters because they will feel betrayed, and Makoni's and Tsvangirai's because they will feel robbed. Threats are being countered by more threats, and comparisons have been made to Kenya's recent post-electoral outbursts, but in this case citizens of all stripes have been warned that, compared to Zimbabwe, Kenya will "look like a picnic."

Oh goody.

Although so far, violence has not been that bad, relatively speaking.

By all accounts except the Government's, this will not be a free and fair election. Paper ballots have been grossly inflated and opposition supporters have been harassed, intimidated, and oppressed. Mugabe himself has admitted that voting for the MDC would be "tantamount to wasting votes."

Mugabe continues to accuse the West of sabotaging Zimbabwe through sanctions that they publicly claim are targeted at certain individuals but are also affecting the majority, and by seeking to widen these sanctions by dissuading Zimbabwean allies, such as Libya and China, to cut ties with the capital (Harare), hence the spectacularly failed economy. And he continues to tie the opposition with the West, explaining in one of his rallies that the MDC opposition party was founded with British funds with the intent of "[safeguarding] the interests of white commercial farmers and British concerns in Zimbabwe at the expense of the black majority." He's also tried to link the opposition with the failed economy, saying that rising prices are a "deliberate attempt to frustrate Government efforts by those pushing for regime change."

By the way, not only is inflation at 100,000%, unemployment is at 80%.

Here's something to think about: Mugabe recently spoke with Supa Mandiwanzira at Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview. He says partnerships with countries such as China and Iran are bringing in foreign currency, which he feels will help the economy. He says:

We have realigned ourselves [and] are not depending on the West anymore... we are looking East... we have lots of friends in the East. Already we have started going into various partnerships with the Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, and Iranians - across the sectors - these alignments will start bearing fruits, and they are steadily investing in the country.

If Iran and China start really investing in African countries such as Zimbabwe, or Somalia, who clearly share some disdain for Western international policies, how will that change the West's relations with Africa?

During the Cold War, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. used Middle Eastern countries as political battlegrounds, each trying to win influence to gain an upperhand against the other. Could Africa become the new battleground for political influence, with similar consequences? Who will be the key players? U.S. and who else?

Oh shit...

Have to give this more consideration.

Oh, sweet pessoptimism...

2008-03-27T10:38:00.000-04:00

I delight in any situation that highlights McCain's bullshitting, and this does it perfectly, but oh how I wish this didn't have to be:

McCain's Iraq victory speech interrupted by reports of violence in Iraq

While giving one of his standard “we’re winning in Iraq…I don’t care what you say” speeches today, Senator McCain was interrupted by MSNBC with some breaking news of violence from that country. Turns out Muqtada al-Sadr, whose cease-fire agreement was a major component to the declining violence, has decided he doesn’t want to play nice anymore, with forces loyal to him clashing with Iraqi forces in Southern Iraq, leading to at least 50 deaths and 120 wounded.

It's official

2008-03-24T14:29:00.000-04:00

4000 dead, as of today

My Professor

2008-03-23T16:28:00.001-04:00

Sinan Antoon, one of my Arabic professors, appeared recently on Charlie Rose to discuss the Iraq War. This is a 16 minute video; I recommend you watch the whole thing. Charlie Rose sits down with Sinan, an Iraqi exile, poet, author, and NYU professor (he taught me at Dartmouth, and helped me get into Harvard, where he earned his PhD), and fellow Iraqi exile Ali Fadhil, a journalist, to discuss in detail what has happened and what is happening in Iraq. It's enlightening to hear from Iraqis their point of view on this. Their views are severely overlooked.

Women of good repute never wore togas

2008-03-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

They wore stolas.

While people around the world fasted yesterday, we decided to stuff our faces at a Roman toga party, complete with wine, dates & honey, grapes, apricots, wine, Jordanian almonds, cheeses (dill havarti, sharp cheddar, feta, haloumi, and some kind of firm mild cheese with a tasty rind that no one knew anything about), crackers, hummus, olives, wine, spanakopita, and pigs 'n' blankets.

We watched The Passion of the Christ without subtitles to see what Aramaic and Hebrew we could pick up (because we're just that nerdy), followed by Life of Brian. 'Twas a good time had by all four in attendance.

I can hardly keep these two off each other. ;-)

Roma Invicta - Dies Veneris, Martivs XXI, MMVIII

Lion King's "Be Prepared" auf Deutsch

2008-03-20T22:43:00.000-04:00

Watching it in German makes the Nazi symbolism so much more obvious.

Z - 9 days

2008-03-20T12:31:00.001-04:00