The Drama in Zimbabwe...Continued.....

Well, Robert Mugabe is not going to go quietly. The Election Commission in Zimbabwe reported that the lower house of parliament is now MDC & opposition territory. But, the "old man" does not seem to want to go quietly. He destroyed his legacy with his what he has done to Zimbabwe. I hate it when leaders get so thirsty with power that they believe that they are invisible. What is the big deal with reporting the election results? Mugabe does not like to lose. I don't think anybody does. But, Hugo Chavez accepted defeat. I would like to truly understand why Mugabe can't just honor the election results. Furthermore, why the military is loyal to the man, not the country. Because of him, a third of his countrymen have fled and are now refugees. The inflation has hit 100,000%. Money has no meeting. The only people who seem to be winning are Mugabe and his cronies. He should be ashamed....the question is will he just wither away? What a wasted legacy.....

The Week That Was....

As I reflected upon John McCain and the continued Democratic Struggles, I was again amazed by what happened in Latin America. The Columbians killed a Senior FARC leader by crossing into Ecuador. The whole region went through a tyriad. Presidents called each other liars and threatened to start a war. But, a sensible guy in the person of the President of the Dominican Republic brought them back from the brink. As the BBC's Americas Editor Emilio San Pedro said, it was like Kids fighting and the teacher basically brought them back and told them not to do it again. I thought that to be the funny part.

Coming back to the United States, I was sorry to see the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Barrack Obama quit over a ill-advised comment regarding Senator Clinton. I heard her recently on Democracy Now and found her to be thoughtful, reflective and truly insightful. She was right in that such comments have no place as we as a country strive to go beyond the politics of the past seven years. The worrisome development is the economy, though. Through my current business interests, I am being directly affected by it. It is a worrisome development. The President admitted it as such. Although he refuses to acknowledge that the economy has officially gone into recession. When Warren Buffett noted that the economy is in a recession, then we're in a recession. The Fed has been worried, too. We'll have some rather tough times to navigate through over the ensuing months.

Mr Chavez & Tariq Ali

As I write this, I am listening to Tariq Ali's analysis of what Hugo Chavez has done and the Coup. Mr. Chavez is an amazing man. I'll probably be reading Tariq'a book on Latin America and the alternative views being developed. He's commenting on the Coup and why it failed. An interesting view on history, to say the least...the drama continues...

Mr. Chavez and the hostages

Hugo Chavez continues to amaze me. I commend him for the humanitarian deed he undertook by continuing to maintain contact with the FARC in Columbia that culminated in the release of Ms. Gonzales and Ms. Rojas. There are over 700 hostages still held by the FARC. Alvaro Uribe reminded the world of it.

Hugo Chavez,though, disappointed me. He called for the FARC to be removed from being a terror organization. This is an organization that has used torture and kidnapping as supposed legitimate means of resistance. Plus, their supposed association with the Drug Cartels is also quite disheartening to say the least. Why Hugo Chavez mentioned this in his annual State of the Nation speech is a mystery to me.

The drama continues..... I

Mr Chavez (Cont'd-Part II)

Well, it appears that I was wrong....Mr. Chavez just lost a refrendum in Venezuela regarding some proposed constitutional changes. And, he accepted defeat. I admit I was surprised. He will be in office for five more years and will probably figure out a way to push on with his "Bolivarian" revolution. But, at least, a semblance of Democracy was preserved in Venezuela. I still can't believe he lost, although I did clap in joy when I heard he lost. I wish, though, that Chavez Friend Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also learns in adhering to true popular will. But, that is for another day. Let's savour this one, though.

:-)