Tuesday News Round-Up: Feeling like a broken record...

The Daily Zim-date, Cliffsnotes Version: Pretty much the same bunk I’ve written about every day for the last two and a half months.

Full Version: The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party accused Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party of using state agencies, media, and state security forces to obstruct their campaign efforts. MDC leader and presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai said that Zimbabwe is “effectively being run by a military junta,” and told a press conference that talks of a ZANU/MDC unity government are premature, despite rumors that negotiations are currently underway in South Africa.

I’m all about avoiding violence and bloodshed, but it seems a tad foolish to me to think that any kind of power-sharing is even an option with Mugabe and the ZANU thugs. Why do I say this? History, my friends. Let’s learn from it. Mugabe’s rule has a nearly-30 year record of corruption and authoritarianism—what makes anyone think he will suddenly adopt a philosophy of participatory, democratic governance?

South African President Thabo Mbeki is supposedly mediating these negotiations. Perhaps he should be replace by someone with less affinity for Mugabe, and without a history of disregarding his tyrannical policies and rantings.

In other news…more warnings were issued today regarding the dire consequences of rising food prices and shortages for struggling populations. The situation is compounded by drought in Ethiopia. Children, as is all to often the case, are the first and the hardest hit.

Somalia’s transitional government signed a three-month ceasefire with a rebel group—unfortunately, there are many such groups waging war against the weak central government, and a top Islamic rebel scoffed at the agreement.

I don’t quite know what to make of this: On his last trip to Europe, President Bush told reporters that he created the wrong impression of being a warmonger, saying, "I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric" in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Uh-huh. Any other regrets?