Ohh thanks .

Nice round up, seems like the mid-east is peaceful . ( sorry I couldn’t help it )

salaam and its good to read a long post again .

I hope it doesn’t slide into civil war. Somalia and the Sudan are bad enough.

As for China and the Olympics, I don’t know. Part of me says a boycott would be the right thing to do, but on the other hand, I’m not sure if it would really move China to change its policies. I get the impression they can be rather petty, so it may just cause them to dig in their heels.

They have reformatted their country to a more capitalist economy without the democratic freedoms. It’s possible they may see more of what they are seeing in Tibet, but in other parts of the country. If that’s the case they may see their house of cards fall. Which, given their economic role in the world economy, would not go unnoticed by the rest of the world. It’s a tightrope that world leaders walk. Glad I’m not one.

Good post, Mel.

Germany carries out country-wide raids for Muslim radicals
Posted: 05:56 AM ET
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) — German police conducted a series of raids across the country Wednesday as part of its investigation into nine citizens suspected of systematically trying to convert others to radical Islam.

Prosecutors said the suspects have ties to an Islamic center in Neu-Ulm, a small township in southern Germany.

I heard those news yesterday while being distracted. If I am not mistaken they said that all the ppl they had arrested were released again.
As this was a Bavarian based operation I’ll reserve any opinion until someone publishes solid proof of there being Islamists involved.
Bavaria is even more Jihadist paranoid than the rest of Germany.

@ Flo: Welcome to my blog. You almost got deleted.
Didn’t anyone tell you that only spambots leave comments like “I love your blog.”?
And as I told Axonn just now, a lot of the spam and/or porn sites leaving spam comments are on Romanian servers.
Well, glad he is sending you links that are to your liking.

The situation in Zimbabwe seems pretty dire! I certainly agree that Mugabe must go, but how to force him to do so? I’m not surprised that Mbeki is doing nothing constructive to help the situation. From what I hear, he is not very smart. Last I heard he still thinks that HIV infection is not the cause of AIDS.

Regarding China, I don’t think that boycotting the Olympics is a solution to Tibet’s problems. I sympathize with the athletes who have devoted years of their life to preparing to compete at the Olympics. They don’t care who the host is, all they want is a chance to do their best and be recognized for all their hard work. Back when Carter was President of the U.S., he decided to boycott the Olympics in Moscow. It accomplished nothing and had a major negative impact on U.S. athletes. The next Olympics in Los Angeles were boycotted by the Russians to protest the previous boycott. Again more stupid posturing and nothing accomplished.

I really do sympathize with Tibet’s people and I want them to be free from Chinese tyranny. China needs the world to buy its goods. If the world really pressured the Chinese government, I think that things could change for the better in Tibet. However, the world is full of greedy people who would like to continue to profit off of cheap Chinese labor. So, talking about pressure and actually doing something about it are very different things. I guess I’m not exactly innocent either. I buy some stuff that is made in China. The quality is good and the price is low. If I was rich, I would be happy to only buy stuff made in free and democratic countries.

It’s hard to get around buying stuff from China nowadays. It seems everything is made there. But even they are subjuct to the trials and tribulations of the free market. The United States has been on a buying binge for a long time now and China has reaped the benefits. But now we seem to be suffering from a massive hang over, so that may be at an end.

Mel,

Those kinds of stories (my link) seem to fade away under closer scrutiny.

excellent post!

am reading Sourcery right now!

The terrible thing about Zimbabwe, is that before Mugabe I believe they were doing quite well

Erm..do you mean when they were a white supremist state? Or before that when they were ruled by the Brits?
Economically they were “the bread basket of Africa” but there was mass oppression of majority by minority.
Poor Zim. Its never really had it that easy.

@ Lelly: According to German news I heard last week or so it’s on its way back to China; according to posts and comments (relying on spottings and local news) on This is Zimbabwe it is still cruising around the general African region trying to get the weapons to Zim.

I was merely talking economically. So it shouldn’t have been too difficult for Mugabe to keep it that way. He received a gift in taking over the country. He threw it away…

Erm..do you mean when they were a white supremist state?

Hardly. My meaning is the same as Mel’s.

Economically they were “the bread basket of Africa” but there was mass oppression of majority by minority.

Given my stance on Iraq, I am surprised you would think I support that.

WHHHHHHHEERRRRE ARE YOU?!

Nightwatch IS the best!

Currently reading Wyrd Sisters! am on my Big Pratchett Read, going in sequence!

Lynnette,

Erm..do you mean when they were a white supremist state?

Hardly. My meaning is the same as Mel’s.

OK. My answer to her is the same to you then.

Economically they were “the bread basket of Africa” but there was mass oppression of majority by minority.

Given my stance on Iraq, I am surprised you would think I support that.

I don’t!
I don’t think mass oppression under brutal minority rule can be counted as doing quite well even if the economy is booming.
To be honest such a view is one very popular under expats from Zimbabwe and South Africa. I know cos a large part of my family are such people.
But in no way do I think you support any such thing.

But in no way do I think you support any such thing.

Thank you, Lelly.

I have always been a firm believer in democracy and the will of the people. Come November, whoever is elected president in my country will be my president. Whether I voted for him/her or not. I will give him/her a chance to make improvements. And if I don’t agree with his/her policies I will vote accordingly in the next election.

I hope that the will of the people of Zimbabwe will be heard and Mugabe will step down. I have heard that part of the problem is with the security forces there. They seem to be intent on holding onto power even if Mugabe were to be removed. That does not bode well at all.

I don’t think mass oppression under brutal minority rule can be counted as doing quite well even if the economy is booming.
To be honest such a view is one very popular under expats from Zimbabwe and South Africa.

It sometimes seems as if we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Those who did so well with the economy in Zimbabwe were also those who were part of the repression there. How to get rid of one without screwing up the other? Mugabe obviously didn’t have a clue, or didn’t care that he might throw out the baby with the bath water with some of his policies.

erm.. where are you?

Only when I want to, only when I want to…
We have two regional newspapers, but, nah…..

@ Lynnette: Hm, there have been no further news on that story you linked to. If they had found anything I’m sure it’d have been all over the news: “Another glorious defeat of evil terrorist plans!” etc, etc, etc.

@ 13: Thank you for the praise. I wish angry posts could change the world…

But no dabbling in the magical arts, eh?
How come you’re reading such an early book so late? Did no-one give you the publishing dates of the books?

@ Lelly: Hm, were you addressing me or Lynnette….

@ David: Yes, I’d rank Night Watch among the best by him. Better than Sourcery anyway.

13, you old spammer. Do I have to block you again?

Ah, ok, I take back the question about the publishing dates…

“When shall we three meet again…?”
“Well, I can do next Tuesday.”

And to show off a little:

When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning or in rain
When the hurly-burly’s done
When the battle’s lost and won
That will be e’re the set of sun

*pats Lelly*

@ 13: Attention? Pffffft. If you knew anything about the (former) City Guard of Gae you’d know they’re quite…. free thinkers… who certainly wouldn’t take orders from some random camel driver.

I was being busy and lazy.
Conundrum? No.
I was busy weeding in the garden and shovelling soil in the greenhouse, and that excessive activity made me lazy when I finally collapsed in front of the pc late in the evenings with stiff and blistered fingers.

It’s never that easy to get rid of a Mugabe.