I read the news today, oh boy!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

David Cassidy is apparently in an induced coma for 'organ failure' so he might well end up in our "musical deaths" thread shortly:

http://www.msn.com/en-au/entertainment/c...li=AAgfYrC

[Jerome]

Mugabe finally gone. Only to be replaced with - you guessed it - another dictator, and incidentally, the man who was in charge of the slaughter of 20,000 Matabele people - a conservative estimate BTW. Who did he take orders from? Mugabe of course. The 'Bob Mugabe and the Wailers' show just keeps rolling on. When the masses have finally stopped dancing in the streets they are in for one major wake-up call. Santayana once said - Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. Well the chicken has come home to roost.

By the way ZIM, how did your 'freedom' work out for you? Let me remind you - 3 million of your people are now in South Africa alone, you have 90% unemployment and your inflation rate once hit 500 billion percent. Yes, that's billion - not million. Your deposed fearless 'leader' chose to resign rather than be impeached so that he could hold on to all that money & property he stole from you and your families. And to prevent himself from being prosecuted for all those crimes he has committed throughout his reign. Brave man. And let's not forget, he also managed to single-handedly destroy an entire once-properous economy. The former bread basket of Africa is now a basket case. That is his legacy.

But the really sad part of all of this is that you are about to repeat the whole process all over again.

[Ruby]

^Nothing will change – not unless there is a coalition at the very least, and a total regime change at best; and even then – how do they come back from such ruin? Not quickly, that’s for certain. The Mugabe family are the biggest landowners in the country, bar none (I don't see anyone grabbing that from them and he won't be prosecuted), and aside from orchestrating unspeakable violence, Mnangagwa is alleged to have been involved in the very ugly illicit diamond trade and has who knows what other fingers in what pies. It seems to have become quite normal for criminals and madmen to ascend to the highest office in the land, while feathering their own nests very nicely thank you! We have one of them too, of course. Kleptocracy rules, SA. The world has gone stark raving bonkers.
 
Of course the poor people who fled Zimbabwe, believe, in their ignorance, that they can now return to their families, and the country they loved so much, and that they will find jobs in a magically healed economy. There might be trouble brewing for The Crocodile and his cronies when they don’t deliver. Reminds me of another Groot Krokodil - they appear to be common in this neck of the woods! And if it wasn’t all so crazy it would be hilarious that Mnangagwa’s faction in Zanu-PF is named ‘Lacoste’ – I’m sure the company must be delighted. One just never knows when a military dictator might annex one's logo!!
 
The inevitable jokes are doing the rounds of course – Q. Where is the capital of Zimbabwe? A. In a Swiss bank account.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

and just when you thought Trump couldn't put his foot any further in his mouth....

http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/on-t...li=AAgfYrC

[Jerome]

^Nothing will change – not unless there is a coalition at the very least, and a total regime change at best; and even then – how do they come back from such ruin? Not quickly, that’s for certain. The Mugabe family are the biggest landowners in the country, bar none (I don't see anyone grabbing that from them and he won't be prosecuted), and aside from orchestrating unspeakable violence, Mnangagwa is alleged to have been involved in the very ugly illicit diamond trade and has who knows what other fingers in what pies. It seems to have become quite normal for criminals and madmen to ascend to the highest office in the land, while feathering their own nests very nicely thank you! We have one of them too, of course. Kleptocracy rules, SA. The world has gone stark raving bonkers.
 
Of course the poor people who fled Zimbabwe, believe, in their ignorance, that they can now return to their families, and the country they loved so much, and that they will find jobs in a magically healed economy. There might be trouble brewing for The Crocodile and his cronies when they don’t deliver. Reminds me of another Groot Krokodil - they appear to be common in this neck of the woods! And if it wasn’t all so crazy it would be hilarious that Mnangagwa’s faction in Zanu-PF is named ‘Lacoste’ – I’m sure the company must be delighted. One just never knows when a military dictator might annex one's logo!!
 
The inevitable jokes are doing the rounds of course – Q. Where is the capital of Zimbabwe? A. In a Swiss bank account.

Ruby, you just put it across so much better than I could ever do. Love the 'Lacoste' one. That sums it up for me. There is a black lady working in our company canteen who is from Zim. I chat to her once in a while. She says there is no way she is ever going back. She reckons it does not matter who replaces Bob, the country is basically screwed. 

[Lovely Linda]

MSN does not stop trashing Trump. No matter what he says or does nothing is good enough for them.
The liberal media needs to give it up.
Be good enough for them if Hillary had won. See where we would be then.
Using Thanksgiving as a excuse is disgusting.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

the BPI expects one million vinyl albums to be purchased in the UK for gifts this Christmas:

http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news...as__21151/

[Jerome]

Just read that masterful drummer, Simon Phillips , has lost his home due to the fires in California. I am not sure if his Phantom Recording Studio is based there or not but it seems like he has lost quite a bit in terms of equipment and personal belongings. Fortunately his fiancé Billie Rainbird managed to escape unharmed along with their pet dog. Simon was on tour at the time in NYC. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help them recoup somewhat. I will be making a donation of sorts. A shame to see such a talented man lose everything considering the amount of work he has put in over the years. Only hope that all the artists whom he provided with impeccable services for many years (Toto. Corrs, Oldfield, Who etc. etc.) will fork out as well.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I don't mean to put a damper on it Jerome, but surely the guy would have insurance????

[Jerome]

He does - but he's not sure about what it will actually cover. Insurance companies are great at taking your money but when it comes to paying out they turn into a different beast altogether. Anyway, there are going to be so many claims because of all the fires I doubt very much that people will be getting what they signed up for. Insurance = daylight robbery.