Zimbabwe government must stop stalling

Word from Zimbabwe that power-sharing talks between the government of President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have stalled shouldn't surprise anyone. Mugabe won't negotiate seriously with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai because he simply refuses to give up power. Mugabe appears to have been behind a campaign of state-sponsored violence that shredded the country's election process and forced Tsvangirai to halt his presidential campaign in June; MDC supporters were allegedly beaten and tortured during the campaign in government-run re-education camps. He obviously will stop at nothing to retain power, despite the fact that Tsvangirai received the most votes in the first-round of voting in March that was seen as fair by international observers. So it's clear to see why Mugabe's ZANU-PF party rejected the latest proposal from the MDC for the two men to jointly chair the country's powerful cabinet, according to the Reuters international news service. "The only new but nonetheless absurd suggestion from the MDC was that Cabinet be co-chaired by President Mugabe and (MDC leader Morgan) Tsvangirai. ZANU-PF dismissed that, not just as insolent, but also stunning ignorance on how government works," the government-owned Herald newspaper said Saturday, Reuters said. The MDC accused the government of a plot to arrest five MDC members of parliament this week to try to eliminate its majority, Reuters said. It's obviously long-past time for South African President Thabo Mbeki, the regional mediator trusted by Mugabe, to inform Zimbabwe's president that it's long-past time he left office.

Mexicans demand accountability on drug violence

The more than 150,000 protesters who marched in Mexico on Saturday to protest the government's seeming inability to stop a wave of drug-related kidnappings and murders across the country have the right idea. Tell the government what the citizens need and, if the people in power can't or won't deliver, kick them out. The protesters want President Felipe Calderon to fulfill his pledges to crack down on the drug-related crime that has terrorized law-abiding people across the country, including the capital, Mexico City, where tens of thousands marched. More than 2,300 have been killed in drug-related murders this year, according to the Reuters international news service. Authorities blame the violence and kidnappings on drug gangs battling for control of smuggling routes. Kidnappings rose 40 percent between 2004 and 2007, according to official statistics, Reuters said. Authorities acknowledge 751 kidnappings in Mexico last year, but an independent crime research institute said the real number could be above 7,000. Calderon dispatched 25,000 troops and federal police to battle the drug cartels after he took office in December 2006, but the killings have increased, Reuters said. If government officials in an oil-rich country with unlimited resources are too inept or too corrupt to defeat the drug gangs, it's time for a change.

That Georgian sense of humor

Well, at least the Georgians haven't completely lost their sense of irony. After ruinous battles against overpowering Russian forces, parliament in the former Soviet republic of Georgia voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that the government break diplomatic relations with Moscow. Gee, you think? A neighbor bombs your cities and seizes your territory -- want to sit around a table and talk to them now? Sounds like diplomacy has already failed, doesn't it? At least Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili got it right. He told the Reuters international news service that there was almost no dialog between the two countries anyway. Georgia withdrew its ambassador from Moscow in July to protest overlights by Russian military planes. "They've never taken us seriously," Saakashvili said. Earlier in the week, Saakashvili dismissed the idea of cutting diplomatic relations with Russia as academic. "This is beyond bilateral relations now," he said, according to Reuters. "I would not focus too much on procedural aspects of our bilateral relations right now." Russia invaded Georgia's South Ossetia region earlier this month after Georgia sent soldiers to battle pro-Moscow separatists. Russian forces still occupy portions of South Ossetia and another breakaway region with a large ethnic Russian population, Abkhazia, in westernmost Georgia.

Russia raises stakes in Georgia crisis

Russia's decision to recognize two rebellious regions of Georgia adds more diplomatic fireworks to a region already ripped apart by war. Russia's move -- despite contrary warnings from the United States and the European Union -- demonstrates that Moscow does not believe Western nations will defend democracy in the new republics of the former Soviet Union. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said any hope of peaceful co-existence between Georgia and the breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions had been shattered by Georgia's attempt to recapture the regions by force earlier this month, according to the Reuters international news service. U.S. President George W. Bush said Abkhazia and South Ossetia "must remain" part of Georgia. "Russia's action only exacerbates tensions and complicates diplomatic negotiations," Bush said. NATO and the European Union nations also condemned Russia's move. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Russia's decision to recognize the breakaway regions "absolutely unacceptable." But Medvedev, who is no doubt expressing his frustration over the West's rapid recognition of Kosovo, said Russian forces would help defend Abkhazia and South Ossetia if they were attacked. But such an attack is highly unlikely, given Russia's military strength. Western nations have discussed penalizing Russia by kicking it out of the Group of Eight or preventing it from joining the World Trade Organization.

Could Army return to power in Pakistan?

Monday's collapse of the parliamentary coalition that forced Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, to resign under pressure raises the prospect of another military intervention, like the one that brought Musharraf to power in 1999. Fortunately, Gen. Ashfaz Kiyani, Pakistan's first post-Musharraf army chief, has shown little desire to involve himself in the country's ragged politics. But that could change, especially if Musharraf, who led the army until last year, decides to try a comeback. Musharraf resigned last week rather than face impeachment charges being drafted by the coalition government, led by Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People's Party, the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-N party. But Sharif pulled his party out of the coalition Monday to protest Zardari's reluctance to reappoint 60 judges ousted by Musharraf last year, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudry, according to the Associated Press. The political turmoil also could hurt the country's battle with Islamic militants in its autonomous tribal regions, which border Afghanistan. Pakistan-based militants are believed to be training and assisting insurgents battling U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, the AP said. The United States has provided more than $10 billion in military aid to Pakistan to help it fight the militants.

First humanity, then the Olympics

Nice to hear that the United States is urging China to release eight U.S. citizens arrested for protesting during the Beijing Olympics, but shouldn't these 'minor' details have been worked out before the games were even awarded to China? Why Western nations continue tolerate China's repressive ways is hard to figure out. Does anyone really think China will pull back from its policy of engagement -- which has enabled Beijing to join the world economy and become a major economic player -- if the West insists it respect basic human rights? No, it's too late for that. China is too engaged with the rest of the world and won't withdraw, not after tasting the fruits of cooperation. Yet the West has tolerated China's crackdown on pro-Tibet demonstrators in China and has allowed Beijing to censor the Internet. And that's only what has happened publicly. Who knows what kind of pressure has been leveled on residents behind the scenes. The eight Americans, who belong to the group Free Tibet Reporters, will be released by Aug. 30, Chinese authorities said, according to the Reuters international news service. Two of the Americans were detained after hanging a Free Tibet banner near an Olympic venue and six members were detained on Aug. 20.
"We are disappointed that China has not used the occasion of the Olympics to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness," the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a written statement, according to Reuters. "We encourage the government of China to demonstrate respect for human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion, of all people during the Olympic Games and beyond." Demonstrations favoring an independent Tibet took place around the world during the torch relay prior to the start of the Beijing Olympics, apparently triggered by China's crackdown on Lhasa, Tibet's capital, earlier this year.

The three Fs -- Fannie, Freddie and Failure

Friday's cut in the credit ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raises the likelihood that the U.S. government-backed mortgage-finance companies will be swept under the raging tide of the housing industry collapse like millions of homeowners who have lost their homes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which underwrite half of all mortgages in the United States, are in danger of going under in the foreclosure crisis unless the U.S. Treasury intervenes. The companies, known as government-sponsored enterprises, are too important to be allowed to fail. But what role will the government assume in the bailout, which is expected by most observers? The taxpayers are obligated to back the mortgages, but Fannie and Freddie are more complicated than that because they also have sold common and preferred stock that are traded on public exchanges. The companies' common stock, which sold for as much as $65 last year, is trading at only a few dollars per share because traders expect any bailout to eliminate the stock's value. Moody's Investors Service cut the two companies' preferred stock ratings to "Baa3" from "A1," and the bank financial strength rating to "D-plus" from "B-minus," according to the Reuters international news service. Even noted stock market investor Warren Buffett said there was a "reasonable chance" that Fannie and Freddie stock will get wiped out in a government rescue, Reuters said.