The World and his Pals v. Al Fayed

The Jury in the Coroners inquest into the death of Diana and Dodi put a full stop at the end of what must the final chapter in this saga. As a country, as a world, I think we are done on the subject. I am not sure about Al Fayed though. Despite the fact that he said under oath that he would accept the verdict, I don’t think he does or will.

The problem is that he is surrounded by ‘yes’ men and women who can’t say no to the man. Fair enough perhaps, he is the boss after all and quite a powerful one at that; however you’d think he’d have a single friend amongst all the people who surround him who would be able to talk to him rationally and honestly about his beliefs. Maybe this is what they mean when they say it’s lonely at the top. If being at the top means that nobody around you will stop you from making a fool of yourself when you are vulnerable and alone then I’ve got to say that I’m quite happy being more towards the other end.

I hope perhaps for his sake that his slick PR machine which has slithered all over the press since the verdict, will perhaps see the benefits of promoting acceptance from a commercial point of view if not from a personal one at this time. If it is put in a commercial context then perhaps the man will begin to see reason, otherwise he will be destined to continue his crusade until either he or the establishment is crushed. I know who I’d put my money on and it’s not made in the Middle East.

Zimbabwe Elections....I can't hold it in any more!

I've been resisting and resisting to write about Zimbabwe for a while now because I have always thought little of the place and the little man who runs it. It's certainly not at the top of my agenda and the last thing I wanted to appear is negative towards a country that continually pokes the UK, runs away and escapes us when we try to swipe at it. Somehow we seem to look bad even against Zimbabwe when this happens. We come across as this huge vindictive and petty colonial power that is somehow doing its best to undermine this poor struggling martyr of Africa. How far from reality could that be.

In reality, I honestly don't think our government gives a stuff about Zimbabwe any more than it does about Tibet, Sudan or all these little insignificants. Why? because there is nothing in it for us to care any more. I think the reason Zimbabwe gets as much interest as it does is because Mugabe has banned the BBC and the British press from his country and it is driving them absolutely potty.

If you think about it, these elections aren't going to yield any surprises. We know Mugabe will win again. We know the system is about as corrupt as systems can get and in truth we also probably don't care much either. The chances are that there will be violence and that is a real shame. I like to think that things might for once go off peacefully. However the press wants action so it looms like a hungry wolf, waiting to see if Zimbabwe errupts into violence, perhaps on a scale similar to Kenya or just about any other African country at some point in the history of the world. If and when it does, the great british press will surely have its day once again and at any cost! Sadly nothing changes.