by the Editors

Surely there is hope for South Africa. The dreaded Economic Freedom Front (EFF) led by Julius Malema hit the hustings promising a land of milk and honey following Mugabeesque policies like booting white farmers based on the suppositions that the ‘land is ours’ and ‘the land was stolen’. They also undertook to grab the mines and apply their unique expertise to their more equitable exploitation. The fact that this message did not get huge traction with the voters, particularly that large constituency that is seriously impoverished, suggests a welcome maturity and sensibility. That offers well-intentioned politicians a real opportunity to reach out to these people, help make their lives better and take this country to where so many want it to be.

More of the same in Zambia where the incumbents squeaked in amid a storm of predictable controversy. The ubiquitous Israeli ‘election consultants’, the same mob that have ‘consulted’ ZANU PF in Zimbabwe, were in attendance. Given the size of Zambia and the dilapidated infrastructure, ‘rigging’ in the remote rural areas, is a cinch when you have access to the machinery of state. Litigation is underway but if past precedents provide a pointer the status quo will likely remain.

Western media is so exercised with demonising Donald Trump, lionising Angela Merkel and celebrating the jailing for 18 months of an Englishman who committed a near capital crime when he told a ‘lady of colour’ he disapproved of  interracial marriage they seem to have missed a seismic geopolitical shift in their own back yard.

Turkey has signalled its intention to move closer to Russia and consider some sort of military alliance which potentially takes a big chunk out of the NATO alliance. After the United States the Turkish army is the biggest in the pact and home to a large number of nuclear warheads that are pointed east. They could soon be doing a 180° turn and an army of over 600,000 may shuffle off to the other side ie, the ‘enemy’ side. In the unlikely event Trump wins, he wants to take the American army home and end the costly interventionist era that Obama has supervised. That could change lifestyles for all those liberal slobs in Europe that have long loathed the Americans while extolling the virtues of multiculturalism. They have laid the groundwork for Islamic inspired aggression that promises a home-grown reign of terror as a reward for their efforts for the foreseeable future and now they might need to get off the couch and man their borders themselves. This could be interesting if they carry on poking the Russian Bear with that little stick they carry when Uncle Sam’s around to do the heavy lifting.

At the same time Putin is making Russia the dominant force in middle-eastern politics as he fills the void left by the Western powers who have become confused and feckless as they survey the wreckage they helped cause.

For the first time since WWII,  Iran has allowed a foreign power to base in the country and the Russian Air Force is now flying sorties out of there in a joint bid with the Iranians to snuff out ISIS and Al Nusra. The White House greeted this seemingly good news with a reprimand saying this was a violation of a United Nations resolution so in other words leave the head-hackers alone. When the State Department spokesman was asked by a reporter who the US was backing in Syria his eyes glazed over and he started mumbling incoherently into the microphone leaving nobody any the wiser as to what the answer was. The truth is he doesn’t know because the department he works for doesn’t know and they don’t know because the president doesn’t know but he was busy improving his record for the most presidential rounds of golf.

This is what happens when you have a former intelligence operative in Moscow who is shrewd, learned, listens and understands the world of realpolitik up against a former Chicago community organizer in Washington who has never read anything other than his teleprompter. Under Obama, American influence has collapsed because nobody has a clue what the guy stands for other than that he dislikes white cops.

Carrying on from last week on the rule of law or lack thereof it now turns out that Hillary Clinton almost certainly perjured herself recently. On at least four separate occasions when giving evidence under oath over the Benghazi debacle and regarding questions relating to the private e mail server she used, her testimony appears highly questionable. Either that or FBI Director James Comey is lying but he has bluntly contradicted her positions on critical events and nobody has suggested he’s making anything up. If this was Trump he would, without a doubt, be in chains in jail awaiting trial but in the corrupted world of US politics, the media and the Justice Department are politely looking away while saying nothing and doing nothing. A banana republic beckons if someone doesn’t do something.