So What Is Wrong With Africa (and the BBC)?

On Saturday Mbeki made an idiot of himself (see post below) on his way to the emergency summit in Zambia in which a variety of African leaders convened to discuss the electoral impasse and subsequent crisis in Zimbabwe.

Tragically, the summit came out in favour of the Desperate Despot and virtually dismissed Morgan Tsvangarai and the MDC as a sideshow. Despite their clear victory in the parliamentary poll and seemingly obvious win in the presidential poll. If Desperate despot had won we'd know about it!!!

Quiet Diplopmacy = Sitting On Your Butt Doing Nothing!

THE HANDSHAKE SAYS IT ALL

One should always be a bit wary of being too critical of the president of a country in which one is a guest, but equally, one can only take so much rubbish before one has to speak out.

Another Perspective

Recently we had the pleasure of hosting the Mabbett family from Hertford Baptist Church, one of our supporting churches. It's always a pleasure to see folks from back home and it's always a pleasure to introduce people to Chris Nissen Park and some of our friends in the community.

Recent MTB Race Photos

On Saturday I rode in the Vigne à Vigne and had a great time and finished in a very respectable time. For more info take a look at my Mountain Bike Blog.

Here are two recent photos of me mountain biking. The first is from the Vigne à Vigne and the second is from the Boschendal MTB Challenge which is part of the Cape Argus.

Desperate Despot!

How can anyone call for a recount in an election before the results have been declared?

Well believe it or not that is exactly what Mugabe and his Zanu PF lackies are doing. Quite unbelievable. Next they'll be claiming that the elections weren't free and fair!

So here we are, nine days after the poll and still the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has failed to declare the results of the presidential election.

Hypocrite!

Alex Ferguson has claimed the FA Cup has been devalued by the semi-finals being held at Wembley.

The days of semi-finals being played at neutral venues like Villa Park or Hillsborough appear numbered for the foreseeable future as the Football Association have signed a 30-year staging agreement to host the games at Wembley.

The Waiting Goes On

It looks like the Mugabe circus has picked itself up, dusted itself off and got back to business. The MDC are once again being harassed and intimidated with arrests being threatened and the Meikles Hotel was raided apparently for this very purpose. The MDC have been quoted on the BBC website as saying: "Mugabe had unleashed a war after security agents ransacked its offices in Harare on Thursday." also, at least two foreign journalists have been arrested by Mugabe's circus. The inevitable state crackdown has begun.

Pirates

Joel was given some money for his birthday so yesterday we managed to sneak out to the toyshop without Eli so Joel could choose whatever he wanted (as long as he had enough money).

We don't think Joel could have been more overawed than he was and he certainly spent plenty of time taking everything in. Inevitably the pirate section was given the most thorough scrutiny and eventually Joel chose a Captain Jack Sparrow accessory pack for exactly the amount he had. Paula wasn't too pleased thinking it was overpriced but the sheer enjoyment Joel has had from it is priceless. He even slept with the headdress on last night!

Pirates remain a firm favourite in the Finnie household!

Zanu-PF Lose Majority

Breaking news From the BBC confirms what the Independent Result Centre have known for a while, that Mugabe & Gang have lost their parliamentary majority.

Seats Won:
Zanu-PF - 93 seats
MDC (Tsvangirai) 96
MDC (Mutambara) 9
Independents 1

Results So Far - Pending "Verification"

It would appear that I'm due a large serving of humble pie as the election results from Zim' indicate that Mugabe is losing and has little hope of making up ground on Tsvangarai. However, the results are pending official "verification" so the MDC could well snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with a little help from uncle Bob.

According to the Independent Results Centre the MDC are ahead in the Presidential poll and the Parliamentary poll.

The results so far are:

Cpt. Hook & Smee

Meet our pirates; Capt. Hook & his First Mate Smee.

Joel has been a bit pirate obsessed for quite a while and now Eli seems to be following suit. Joel let him dress in his 'old' pirate costume this afternoon and Eli really enjoyed it.

It's great to watch them grow together. Joel is beginning to realise that Eli's not a baby but rather is good fun, a good play-mate and a great brother. Eli is talking all the time now (his language is very advanced for his age) so they're really enjoying each other's company and getting into mischief together.

They are such a blessing they are to us!