[Cincinatus' Wife]

Parisian diplomats give good, decent French people a bad name. They need to vote out that disgusting lot. A two party system would serve them better.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Zimbabwe leadership hangs on hunger -Rumors of possible end to Mugabe reign***"There is no doubt that a power struggle is under way within the ranks of the party," says a former government official who lost his job after he was suspected of sympathizing with the opposition. "The hard men in the party can see the writing on the wall. They know the world wants Mugabe gone, and they don't want to go down with him." Zimbabweans have plenty of reasons to want to get rid of Mugabe. The country has been isolated internationally since his government carried out a land reform program that drove most white commercial farmers, who were responsible for much of the country's food production, from their land. Since then, drought in southern Africa, combined with the disruptions in farming, have pushed more than half of the population to the brink of starvation.

Now there are hints that after 22 years in power, Mugabe may be on shaky ground. Earlier this month, the government-owned newspaper, the Sunday Mirror, reported that two of Mugabe's closest aides, Defense chief Vitalis Zvinavashe and parliamentary speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa, were negotiating a deal with opposition politicians to allow Mugabe to retire in exile in return for immunity from prosecution for human rights violations during his long rule. In this scenario, Mugabe would settle in another country, probably Malaysia.

Back home, members of his ruling party would form a unity government with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, allowing several years for a return to stability before elections could be held. Since the plan was made public, however, Mugabe as well as Zvinavashe and Mnangagwa have vigorously denied that any such scheme exists. "This was a very tentative approach," says Paul Nyati, official spokesman for the MDC. "What is needed is a bold move by members of the ruling party," Zimbabweans are running out of patience with Mugabe. A recent survey by the Mass Public Opinion Institute, a Harare think tank, found that 65 percent of respondents wanted Mugabe to immediately announce his retirement plans.

International pressure is also increasing. The United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the European Union have proposed "smart sanctions," which target individuals rather than countries by freezing personal and business assets held by Zimbabwe's leadership. And Washington and the European Union have slapped an arms embargo on the country. ***