the corner office

Nobody, and I mean nobody should have had any illusions that the original elections in Zimbabwe weren't flawed and rigged. Despite this, the MDC still triumphed. In recent articles, the newspapers all now refer to the fact that Tsvangirai won, 'but didn't have enough for an outright victory'. Please. Of course he won outright. I'm sure even some of the dead people on the voters' rolls voted for him. But his non-outright-victory has become accepted fact, just like the fact that the MDC 'lost' the previous round of elections.

So I don't blame the MDC for pulling out of the run-off. It would have been a farce, and the world looks on and tut-tuts and grumbles while Zimbabweans are tortured and murdered. Perhaps by pulling out things might just come to a head.

I'm not sure if they will. It's heartening to see some other African countries speaking up. It just makes me more ashamed to be a South African, though. Our president's 'quiet diplomacy', in newspaper-speak, is a standoffish attempt to respect Zimbabwean sovereignty. In real-person speak, everyone knows it means tacit support of Zanu PF's tyranny. How could it not? As the situation in Zimbabwe deteriorates, South Africa's inaction just changes from tacit to very explicit support.

Ashamed. Our leaders should be speaking truth to power, condemning injustice whatever the source. Instead, the sad old fool in charge of our country makes a mockery of everything South Africa's constitution is supposed to stand for and protect. The world is watching, incredulous at our stance towards our neighbour, and I'm sure a great many people are left wondering what the ANC will be like when its own hold on power is challenged one day. Democracy, indeed.

As a sideline to the trading, I've been dabbling with production in Eve. I did my homework, picked a border system in secure space that leads to a network of low-sec systems (I reckon ship turnover is a lot higher in those sorts of areas, and it's also nice and close to the dirt-cheap minerals that're being mined in the low-sec systems), and set up a production run.

This evening, wallet icon flickered, money's changed hands. Checked the journal, another happy sale, someone bought one of my Cormorant destroyers. The player's name was distinctive, I remembered it. Let's call him Mr X. A few minutes later, I was warping in, preparing to dock at the station, and who was undocking, but Mr X in his brand new Cormorant. A Cormorant I made. Now it's off with its new owner to take on pirates and bad guys (or good guys) and seek fortune. I felt like sending the dude a message saying 'hey, good luck in my ship'. I decided against it. But it's a pretty cool thought. I'll keep an eye on the books and see how soon before he needs to buy another one :-)

Of all the things you expect to hear when the Voices are announcing delays on the tube, 'delays due to an unexploded bomb from World War II' is not one of them.

A 1 ton bomb, sitting there for 65-odd years, waiting to go boom. And then, when the bomb squad tries to defuse it, it starts ticking! Crazy.

I love British politics. I remember how thoroughly desultory and ultimately pointless televised parliament was in ZA. Here, it's absolutely bloody brilliant. It's all theatre, they're all crooked politicians spouting BS and looking for sound bites, but it's just beautiful to see them get so pissy with each other.

Young Davey's riding high now, taking cheap shots at Brown, who looks like he's about to burst into tears at any minute (I would if I were him, too), and yet you know that in 10 years' time when everyone's had enough of the Tories and the pendulum's starting to swing again, it'll be some young Labour whippersnapper putting on the theatrics and hamming it up for the cameras.

Awesome.